Asian economies remain well positioned for growth despite rising energy, commodity prices: Standard Chartered chair
- China, other Asian economies should remain resilient, even as commodity and energy prices rise sharply, Jose Vinals says
- Asia to remain ‘fastest driving economic area in the world’, Vinals says
European economies are likely to feel greater pressure because of the triple whammy of sanctions on Russia, a disruption of household confidence and higher oil and energy prices as they are more dependent on Russian oil and gas, Vinals said.
Without minimising the current challenge, Vinals said he is not “agonising about Asia”. Beyond the short-term uncertainties, the region should remain “the most dynamic economic area in the world over the medium and long term”, he said.
As a major importer of oil and commodities, rising prices may be reflected more in the producer price index in China, for example, rather than overall economic growth, Vinals said. China imports about 70 per cent of its oil and is the world’s largest consumer of industrial metals.
“The fact that the Chinese authorities have set a 5.5 per cent growth target for this year – and the importance of this year politically – means monetary and fiscal policy are going to be further countercyclical in order to get to get as close as possible to 5.5 per cent,” Vinals said. “I think China has enough policy room to manoeuvre, enough power on the monetary and the fiscal front to be doing well.”
02:11
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