IMF says Asian economies still have room for stimulus

The International Monetary Fund said that Asian countries, including China, still have scope for a stimulus if global growth continues to slow, The Wall Street Journal reported. “In the event of a further slowdown in the global economy, our sense is that most economies in Asia have room for a strong policy response,” said Anoop Singh, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department. Singh added that he does not expect a “hard landing” in China. “There are risks, but they’re not systemic. I don’t think they will derail growth,” he said. The organization also said that by trimming trade surpluses – a particular concern for China – countries could reduce their exposure to troubled economies in the US and Europe. The prospect of continued recession has raised concerns in China about whether the government has the fiscal capacity to launch another stimulus while the reprecussions of the 2009 lending binge have yet to hit home.