The end of the beginning for Asia

The Chinese story has started to appear as a major blip on many people's radar as the overall implications are felt world-wide. As the year 2004 draws to a close, it is good to glance back and realise real GDP growth for the Asian region has been impressively over 5% and set to continue next year. The star performer is expected to be China once again with a projection of 8%-10% growth for 2005. However, in order for us to go forward, we must understand the recent past and certain issues. The first issue - extremely low interest rates - has fuelled a revival in the fortunes of Asia and hel...