Southeast Asia's sundry economies are set to grow about 5 per cent this year, thanks to buoyant exports. Local demand could add some icing towards the year-end as borrowing costs peak and oil prices ease.
More gloss may come from petrodollars falling from bulging Arab pockets. Meanwhile, more and more factories will revamp to suit Chinese and Indian tastes.
Despite dizzying deficits, the United States economy continues humbling naysayers, while across the Pacific, China shows no sign of slowing and Japan's much larger economy is getting into gear after a decade of dawdling.
'World trade is booming, which is supporting the export sector, including the electronics industry, which has been picking up from a soft patch,' says David Cohen, Action Economics Asia's forecasting head.
Southeast Asia's plantations and mines are also doing brisk business, providing the oils, latex and minerals that northern economies depend on.
'A lot of the resource-based economies should do pretty good,' says Arthur Woo, an economist at Merrill Lynch. 'China and India need resources - Southeast Asia is well placed to provide them.'
