PH, Asia-Pacific countries to post strong growth—Fitch

MANILA, Philippines—Fitch Ratings said the Philippines and countries in the Asia-Pacific were likely to remain the most resilient to global economic weakness among the regions in the world until 2014 given the strong domestic demand in these economies.

In one of its latest reports, Fitch said emerging Asian countries were projected to post the fastest growth rates this year and next because of robust consumption and investment activities within their economies that would make them less susceptible to the ill effects of weak external demand.

It added that increasing trade among Asian countries also helped temper the drag caused by a relatively weak demand from other key markets like the United States and Europe.

“Fitch views domestic demand and intra-regional trade as important buffers against a weak global environment, particularly for export-led countries,” Fitch said in the report on Asia-Pacific. “Buffers built up by economies in the region play an important role in creating policy flexibility for offsetting external shocks and maintaining growth while keeping inflation in check.”

Fitch also noted that improvements in the balance sheets of governments in Asia-Pacific also helped member-economies stay resilient because manageable debt levels could give governments the ability to spur public spending in the event of further deterioration of the global economy.

Given its favorable sentiment on Asia-Pacific, Fitch said existing credit ratings of countries in Asia-Pacific were generally not facing threats of a downgrade.