Market participants may find some irony in the idea that as the capitalist West embarks on bailouts and nationalization, the still–officially–Communist nation of China is adopting more and more capitalist-style measures for its financial services sector–a move that some say is likely to be emulated throughout Asia in financial services and other sectors.
But Asia is no more immune to the financial flu affecting the United States and Europe than the United States and Europe were immune to the Asian contagion just over a decade ago.
"We foresee prospects of slower economic momentum ahead," predicts Desmond Ch'ng, an Asian equity analyst for Standard & Poor's. "Against the backdrop of slower global economic growth, China's economy has also entered a cooling-off phase and we forecast a moderation in GDP [gross domestic product] growth to 9.6% for 2008 and 8.8% in 2009, from 11.9% in 2007."
