Economic and Credit outlook for South and East Asia. (International Affairs Section).(economic aspects)(Brief Article)

Credit conditions are deteriorating throughout South and East Asia as the economic downturn in the U.S., Europe and Japan continues to extract a heavy price from the region. The U.S., the European Union and Japan absorb nearly half of all exports from developing Asia and the Pacific. As the three largest global economies drifted into or near recession in 2001, demand for Asian exports dropped precipitously, pushing the most highly exposed Asian nations into recession. Many of the South and East Asian economies have been particularly hit hard by the severity of the recession in Japan and the collapse in demand in the high tech and electronics sectors.

Economists ...