Odds favour Singapore, Australia: Poll - surviving economic downturn

Business Asia, Sept 21, 1998

Singapore and Australia are the countries most likely to withstand the downturn in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a recent Business Asia readership survey.

Taiwan and Hong Kong ranked as the third and fourth countries most likely to survive, while Indonesia failed to receive a single vote.

Business Asia conducted a survey of readers throughout August in an attempt to gauge the impact of the region's financial turmoil on business activities.

More than 40 per cent of respondents said the effect of Asia's crisis on business had been "moderate".

Some readers expected business benefits to arise from the crisis, including greater investment opportunities, more competitive prices and increased scope for joint ventures.

When asked how long they expected Asia's downturn to last, about 65 per cent of readers indicated the region would take two to three years to recover.

More than half the respondents, 61 per cent, stated they were not considering alternative business markets despite the region's financial crisis.

A change in interests was also apparent in the survey's results, with Business Asia readers indicating they would most like to read about China and Japan, rather than Indonesia and Malaysia - the countries that topped the previous survey in March.

As part of the poll, readers were required to rate the level of leadership shown by four Asian leaders during the turmoil.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed received the most votes for "poor" levels of leadership, followed closely by Indonesian President BJ Habibie.

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung received the most votes for "good" leadership, while a spread of "satisfactory" and "poor" responses were recorded for Thailand Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.