Asset prices are still falling. All those empty office buildings and apartment blocks are not going to disappear just because currencies are no longer diving. In a recent report on key Asian countries, international property consultancy Jones Lang Wootton warns of falling rents and capital values as property markets adjust to structural changes. But they are still way down from their 1997 peaks. Lower asset prices mean companies have a harder time raising funds, banks have trouble meeting capital adequacy requirements, and millions of individuals end up with lower gains.
Economic growth remains sluggish.
South Korea and Thailand will be in recession too. For Asia, the days of double-digit growth rates will remain a distant memory in the foreseeable future. That should help economies get on with bank recapitalization, interest-rate cuts, debt renegotiations, economic restructuring and other reforms. Ogus would also like to see better governance and more transparency in corporate affairs. He fears entrenched interests in many countries could get in the way because they would lose power and patronage.