Asian Development Outlook 2004

The annual Asian Development Outlook provides a comprehensive economic analysis of 41 economies in developing Asia and the Pacific. The report overviews aggregate trends and medium-term prospects by subregion — East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and the Pacific — in the context of global economic movements.

The report particularly highlights that:

• the region's developing economies generally showed remarkable resilience in 2003. Despite the uncertainties generated by the Iraq conflict, high oil prices, the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, and a slow recovery in major industrial countries during the first half of the year, economic growth reached 6.3% in 2003, making it the most dynamic region in the world
• the overall economic strength of the region hides significant differences in economic performance both among the subregions and among countries within subregions. Among the subregions, economic growth in 2003 was particularly strong in East Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia, moderate in Southeast Asia, and still fragile in the Pacific. Within subregions, developments also varied considerably
• the region has witnessed two notable economic developments over the past 2 years. The first is the emergence of the People’s Republc of China as a major engine for intraregional trade. The second main feature of recent regional economic developments is the increasing importance of consumer demand in most countries
• a the brighter economic outlook for 2004-2005 will present a timely opportunity to strengthen policies aimed at resolving macroeconomic imbalances, addressing the fragility of banking and financial systems, and implementing structural policy reforms to progressively improve the investment climate

[adapted from author]