ASIAN ECONOMIES OUTPACING US AND EUROPE ON GROWTH

       Asia is outpacing the United States and Europe in the rebound from the global economic slump, thanks to multi-billion-dollar stimulus packages and robust demand from China, analysts said.
       Second-quarter indicators showed the region's recession-hit economies such as Singapore and Hong Kong have returned to the growth path despite sluggish demand from the US and European markets, their main export destinations.
       Countries with bigger domestic populations, including China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, have been growing during the global downturn although the pace has slowed.
       Japan, the world's second largest economy, lumbered out of recession in the Philippines and Vietnam, have been growing during the global downturn although the pace has slowed.
       Japan, the world's second largest economy, lumbered out of recession in the second quarter and Prime Minister Taro Aso credited the government's stimulus package for the achievement.
       In contrast, US gross domestic product was estimated to have shrunk 1 per cent in the second quarter, and the eurozone economy dipped a m ilder than expected 0.1 per cent after Germany and France emered from recession.
       US - based credit ratings firm Standard and Poor's said that five of the 14 Asia-Pacific economies it covers will post positive growth this years, with nine expected to report contractions.
       But by next year, all 14 should post year-on-year growh, led by by china's projected expansion of 8-8.5 per cent. The US economy is forecst to contrract by 2.9 per cent this year and grow 1.5 per cent in 2010, it added.
       Asian economies were hammered after a crisis in the US housing market sparked global financial and econnomic turmoil late last year.
       Some analysts said hte impact on Asia showed that the region's fortunes remain largely linked to the West and tht there would be no recovery until after the industrialised economies had rebounded.
       "The pattern we're seeing is that while the US remains a very significant contributor to Asian growth, it has become less significant over time," Subir Gokarn, Standard and Poor's chief economist for the Asia Pacific, said at a recent media briefing in Singapore.