In an effort to minimize the impact of the economic slowdown in the United States, Southeast Asian central bankers will attempt to encourage intra-regional trade within Southeast Asia, Heng Swee Keat, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told reporters on Sunday. Despite widespread talk about recession in the U.S., Heng said that “the fundamentals in most economies [in Southeast Asia] are better than they were in previous recessions.” Heng spoke at a conference of the region's central governors.
Suhaimi Ilias, an economist at Aseambankers Malaysia, an investment bank, told Bloomberg that Southeast Asian central banks “are hoping that intra-regional trade will provide some buffer against the likely slowing down in [Southeast Asian] exports to the U.S. and Europe.” The Indonesian central bank has kept its interest rate at a three-year low of about 8 percent since December, supporting domestic consumption in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Journal of Commerce
