Asian economies The east is in the red

摘要

Sliding currencies, weak stockmarkets, soaring corporate defaults: it all bears an eerie resemblance to the nightmare of 1997-98. After achieving economic growth of around 7% in both 1999 and 2000, the countries of developing East Asia are suffering a sharp slowdown. In Thailand, where the last crisis began, some analysts believe the economy may actually have shrunk in the first quarter of this year. Recoveries in the other countries worst hit in 1997-98-Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea-are all also under threat. Policymakers and multilateral lenders insist another crisis is not looming. But this month's announcement of a string of defensive "currency-swap" arrangements shows there are genuine concerns.