Developing Asian Economies Remain Strong

     Developing Asian economies will continue to grow strongly this year but will face the risk of surging prices, says the Asian Development Bank’s annual economic outlook released Wednesday.  The bank lauded¹ China’s recent interest rate hike as an appropriate(适当的) move to tackle inflation.

    Rhee Changyong, chief economist² of the ADB, says economic growth among developing nations in Asia will average 8 percent both this year and next.

    However, economic activity could slow if governments fail to adequately tackle surging food and commodity prices. Pakistan is expected to suffer the highest rate of inflation this year at 16 percent, followed by Vietnam at 13.3 percent.

    Rhee says with developing Asia home to two-thirds of the world’s poor, governments need to make inflation a top priority.

    On Tuesday, China raised interest rates for the fourth time since October to help curb³ rising prices. Rhee said China is moving in the right direction.

    "Still I believe there is room to tighten⁴ monetary⁵ policy a little bit more because their policy rate [interest rate] compared with inflation rate is still at a modest level," Rhee said.

    India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea have also raised interest rates in recent months.

    Rhee said the economic impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami⁶ on the Japanese economy will be large in the next two quarters, but will moderate in the long run as reconstruction⁷ spending kicks in.

    The earthquake forced some Japanese companies to halt production, disrupting the supply of key materials to other Asian countries. Some international banks have also shifted staff from Tokyo to other financial centers such as Hong Kong and Singapore because of fears of radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

    "Under the assumption that there will be no further deterioration⁸ of the nuclear situation, we believe the impact of the Japanese earthquake on other Asian regions will be contained and not very big," Rhee said.

    The non-profit lender also said the region needs to develop new sources of growth for the future, such as enhancing trade and investment with other economies in the southern hemisphere. The report finds considerable potential to broaden links between Asia and fast growing emerging economies in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East if policy makers⁹ remove barriers to trade and investment.

    The bank says Southeast Asia’s economic expansion will slow this year to 5.5 percent from 7.8 percent last year. Indonesia will be the fastest growing economy in the region, at 6.4 percent.

    In South Asia, India is expected to continue to expand strongly at 8.2 percent but faces risks from inflation, a drop in private investment and structural¹⁰ constraints¹¹ such as poor agricultural productivity.

    The bank says the resource-rich Central Asian region has been benefiting from high prices for oil and gas, metals, cotton and gold. The region’s growth is forecast to rise by 6.7 percent this year, up from 6.6 percent last year.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

7 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

8 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

11 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓