World Bank Predicts Slow Growth for East Asia Next Year

World Bank Predicts Slow Growth for East Asia Next Year
By VOA News
10 December 2008

The World Bank says East Asian economies will face slower growth in
2009, a prediction that mirrors the institution's forecast for the
global economy.

A report issued by the Washington-based bank Wednesday says economic
growth in the region, with the exception of Japan, will fall to just
over five percent next year, from an expected seven percent this year.

The World Bank says East Asia is better prepared to handle the current
economic crisis than other regions in the world, thanks to policies
enacted after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. But it says the region
is vulnerable to a decline in investment and demand for exports from
developed markets.

The bank urges East Asian nations to increase government spending to
boost their economies.

The institution issued a report Tuesday saying global economic growth
will slow significantly next year, as world trade shrinks for the
first time since 1982.

The World Bank projects world trade will fall more than two percent
next year, which it says will cause a drop in exports from developing
countries.

In a sign of the slowing economy the world's third largest mining
company, Rio Tinto, will eliminate 14,000 jobs worldwide in the face
of falling demand for metals.

Despite the ongoing bad news, Asian markets are trading higher
Wednesday. Investors are buoyed by news of a possible deal between the
Bush administration and U.S. Democratic lawmakers on a financial
rescue plan for the nation's struggling auto industry.




Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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