Asia braces for worst slowdown since 1997 crisis (Nov 08)

So much for decoupling. With the world headed for its worst recession since the 1930s, even the most resilient economies in the region will slow. We now expect growth in Asia ex-Japan to slow to around 5.0% next year, from 7.5% this year and an average of 8.0% over the last five years. That would be the weakest since the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The most affected will be those with a high dependency on trade, such as Singapore. But the region as a whole has been and will continue to be weighed by the stress in global financial markets, as evident from the plunge in stock markets in October and continued downward pressure on currencies.