Tell ASEAN truth about shakey economic recovery

Tell ASEAN truth about shakey economic recovery

BANGKOK (AFP): Southeast Asians should be told the truth about
the region's wobbly recovery from the 1997 financial crisis,
which is often glossed over in official statistics, a leading
social activist said Friday.

Walden Bello, coordinator of the anti-globalization movement
Focus on the Global South, said the recovery remains fragile
because it is being powered mainly by higher government spending.

"This is not really an investment-driven growth," he told a
symposium here ahead of a ministerial meeting of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In many ASEAN countries, financial systems are still unsound
and non-performing loans are high, he said. Heavier government
spending, which has led to severe budget deficits, spurred the
growth.

"Let me just say that this so-called Asian recovery should be
put into perspective," Bello said.

"Unless you have banking systems that are healthy, any sort of
recovery that you have will be fragile and that is exactly what
you have at this time," he said.

The US economy, which absorbs a bulk of ASEAN exports, is
being "deliberately slowed down," and Japan's economy remains
sluggish, he said.

"The external stimulus is going to be disappearing very
soon ... but the problems remain."

ASEAN members Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines, along with South Korea, were the hardest hit by the
1997-1998 financial meltdown.

Most analysts however say that while they have some concerns
about the region's economic health, it is generally well on its
way to recovery.

The other ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,
Singapore and Vietnam.