Prying Open Asian Wallets

摘要

Clare Cheng's family is crazy about seafood. So when Cheng received a voucherrnworth $108 from the Taiwanese government in January, she treated her parents and two sisters to oysters, salmon, and scallops at a local restaurant. "My mother loves the all-you-can-eat buffet," says Cheng. "We used up the entire voucher."rnCheng's family outing came courtesy of an Asia-wide push to persuade people to spend. One of Asia's traditional strengths, a penchant for saving, has become a weakness in the current downturn. Their fat bank accounts funded Asia's exporters. Now, with exports off by nearly half in some countries, governments from Beijing to Bangkok are scrambling to boost consumption to make up the difference.