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.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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