Broadcasters time coded version

00.01 Developing Asia's recovery has taken a firm hold. A return to stronger, sustainable growth is in sight if the region can beat the challenge of strengthening domestic demand.

00.12 Asian Development Bank forecasts robust growth of 7.5% in 2010, which is accelerating from the 5.2% growth in 2009, and 7.3% in 2011.

00.27 The region weathered the harsh global environment quite well in 2008 and 2009 due to decisive government support. But now the challenge is to shift from the monetary and fiscal support to robust private demand.

00.45 Another risk is coming from the increasing inflation pressure as well as the volatile capital flows as the recovery proceeds.

Toward Strong Sustainable Growth

01.01 Asian governments must take the challenge of adjusting monetary, exchange rate, and fiscal policies to prepare their economies for the changing environment in the post-crisis period. They need to go back to fiscal prudence and discipline.

1.20 Asian countries must strengthen financial supervision and regulation and coordinate them much better with monetary policy to prepare for the disruptive asset price bubbles. They need to avoid excessive intervention in the foreign exchange markets and must allow for greater exchange rate flexibility. They will have to rebalance their source of growth.

01.55 And also, Asian countries need to promote more close coordination in the exchange rate policies that will help them initiate exchange rate flexibility because some countries are afraid of losing export competitiveness vis-a-vis their neighbors.

2.13 Asia has led this global recovery. I think the much stronger and more sustainable growth of the Asian countries will help Asian people and the global economy.