Asian economies will probably ease “substantially” as a global slowdown erodes demand for their exports, consumer confidence falters and banks restrain lending amid the credit crunch, the IMF said.
Growth in Asia including Japan, Australia and New Zealand will probably slow to 4.9 percent next year, from a 5.6 percent pace predicted last month, the Washington-based lender said in a report on Monday. The economies, which grew 7.6 percent last year, could expand 6 percent this year, the IMF said.
“Asia is being rattled by the crisis as a result of its close trade and financial integration with the rest of the world and any hope that the region would escape the crisis unscathed has by now evaporated,” it said. “It remains unclear how domestic demand would stand up to a sharp decline in export growth and tighter financial conditions.”
The IMF this month lowered its global economic growth forecasts and predicted the first simultaneous contraction in the US, Japan and euro region since World War II. The worldwide slump has prompted policy makers to cut lending rates, announce spending packages and cut taxes to sustain growth.
China, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are among countries in the region that have lowered borrowing costs in recent weeks.
“With inflation projected to moderate, monetary policy in most countries has room to ease to stabilize financial conditions and provide support to address significant downside risks,” the IMF said. “Greater exchange-rate flexibility in some cases will provide more monetary-policy autonomy and help mitigate the impact of volatile capital flows.”
China will expand 8.5 percent next year, slower than a previous forecast of 9.3 percent, the IMF said. India’s growth is estimated to be 6.3 percent next year, down from an earlier prediction of 6.9 percent, the report showed.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday vowed to investigate claims made in a YouTube video about China’s efforts to politically influence young Taiwanese and encourage them to apply for Chinese ID cards. The council’s comments follow Saturday’s release of a video by Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) and YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” on China’s “united front” tactics. It is the second video on the subject the pair have released this month. In the video, Chen visits the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park in Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province and the Strait Herald news platform in Xiamen, China. The Strait Herald — owned by newspaper
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