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Is another depression to hit Asia after '97? |
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July 25, 2000
MANILA (AP) - Asia, which is still recovering from the financial crisis that hit the region in 1997, is under threat of another crisis, Philippine President Joseph Estrada said Monday. "After a brief period of recovery from the financial crisis, the Asian region is suffering from a mild relapse," Estrada said in his annual state-of-the-nation address. Estrada noted that all over Asia, currencies are depreciating, oil prices are increasing and unemployment rates are rising. "Investments are nervously staying away from the East Asian region as a whole," Estrada said. Estrada attributed the depreciation of the Philippine peso, which has stayed below 44 pesos per dollar for weeks, to weaker regional currencies. "The depreciation of the peso is the result largely of a new Asian currency contagion," Estrada said. He said regional currencies have been weak because of political issues and the stronger dollar. But he acknowledged that nervousness over intensified fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines also contributed to the peso's depreciation. "As we take a long, hard look at the future, what we see is the need for long, hard work ahead," Estrada said. He said the pace of reforms must be kept up, particularly by improving governance, implementing sound economic policies, and keeping the banking and financial system sound. |