Southeast Asian economies hit hard by the global crisis expect to return to positive growth in 2010 as signs of recovery started to emerge in recent months following massive government stimulus measures, veteran journalists from the region told a recent symposium.
With demands in the United States — a major export market for many of the southeast Asian nations — not expected to recover anytime soon, the countries need to boost domestic consumption with debt-financed spending to keep their economies going, they said.
Five journalists from key members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines — took part in the Oct. 29 symposium organized by Keizai Koho Center to discuss the region's economic prospect and partnership with Japan. Keiko Chino, a senior editorial writer of the Sankei Shimbun daily, served as moderator.