Strong leadership vital for Asia's economic recovery

Asian Economic News, June 7, 1999

NEW YORK, June 4 Kyodo

Strong Asian political leaders are leading their countries out of economic turmoil toward a mightier Asia, a U.S. weekly business magazine said in its latest issue to go on sale Friday.

"Countries with strong reformist political leaders are coming out of the starting gate first." Business Week said in a special report announcing 50 "Stars of Asia" from 11 countries. "Thanks to consistently bold policies aimed at restructuring their ailing economies, they are giving foreign investors the confidence to return to the region," the report said.

Such reform-minded politicians "tend to be straight-talking, no-nonsense technocrats who have a vision of where they're going and relentlessly pursue it," it said.

Business Week specifically praised reform efforts made by South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

"South Korea is making one of the swiftest comebacks...(and Kim) can largely take credit for that," it said.

As for Singapore, liberalization of the financial sector, particularly sweeping banking reforms, initiated by Lee has "made the country far more competitive than before the crisis."

The magazine selected leaders in five categories: policymakers, entrepreneurs, managers, financiers and opinion shapers.

Economists Pasuk Phongpaichit of Thailand and He Qinglian of China exposed corruption in their respective countries, prompting their governments to take actions, the magazine said.

If examples set by reform-minded leaders are followed widely, "Asia will reemerge mightier than before," it said.

Of the 50 leaders, 10 were from Japan, followed by India at eight and China with seven.

Hakuo Yanagisawa, head of the Financial Reconstruction Commission, and Kohei Nakabo, president of Resolution and Collection Corp., were the only two Japanese selected for leading policymakers.