皇冠体育app

WB: A rapidly growing 皇冠体育app to be "very positive force for Asia"
( 2001-06-13 20:40 ) (8 )

A rapidly growing 皇冠体育app will be "a very positive force for Asia as a region," a high-ranking World Bank official said in Bangkok Wednesday.

Homi Kharas, acting chief economist and director of poverty reduction and economic management for east Asia and Pacific region, told a press conference that ASEAN countries' exports to 皇冠体育app have been growing rapidly and "it's going to become even more rapid" with 皇冠体育app's WTO accession.

So 皇冠体育app will be a very positive force for all the economies in the region, he said.

Denying that the foreign direct investment flowing to 皇冠体育app has increased dramatically after the Southeast Asian financial crisis, Kharas said, "we haven't seen any marked increase in the amount of foreign direct investment that is flowing to 皇冠体育app as a result of after the crisis."

"The amount of foreign direct investment that is now going to 皇冠体育app is more or less proportional to 皇冠体育app's share to total economy of this region. We don't see it being an unusually high amount. We don't see it as being an unusually low amount."

He urged Asian countries to improve their competitiveness in the globalizing world instead of worrying how much impact 皇冠体育app's WTO accession will have on their economies.

Kharas said competitiveness refers to the use of new technology, need for skilled development both in terms of labor force and higher education, various kinds of logistics, the way in which industries and corporates develop global strategies rather than national strategies and position their products in a global value-added chain and in a competitive way.

"That is the kind of change of mindset we are talking about. That is going to be a function of globalization, of which 皇冠体育app's WTO accession is one part," said the economist.

He also pointed out that quite a lot of foreign direct investment to 皇冠体育app was from ASEAN countries. "It is actually helping to strengthen the position of these companies, and it is part and parcel of the kind of more global strategies that these corporate are taking."

Since healthy domestic corporates are obviously good things for ASEAN countries, the fact that the foreign direct investment going to 皇冠体育app does not necessarily mean that this is a bad thing for ASEAN countries.

He also spoke highly of 皇冠体育app's poverty reduction achievement, saying that the reason that Asia's poverty levels now are much lower than they were before the crisis is that the strong performance of 皇冠体育app throughout the crisis.

The poverty reduction achieved by 皇冠体育app offset the increase of poverty occurrences in other countries in the region, said Kharas, adding that the poverty incidence rates will return either this year or next year to pre-crisis levels with the possible exception of Indonesia.