Economic prospects will increasingly diverge by nation

Headline INTERNATIONAL: Growth prospects will diverge further

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Davidson ◽  
Wei Ding ◽  
Anthony Marshall

Purpose To better understand the challenges and opportunities facing China, the IBM Institute for Business Value in cooperation with Oxford Economics surveyed 1,150 executives from across China. Survey respondents represented a variety of industries and included executives from Chinese corporations, start-up enterprises, the government sector and educational institutions. Design/methodology/approach This report shares the executives’ vision for the Chinese economy, and proposes actions to help spark growth and positive change. Findings The Chinese executives surveyed see the current economic environment in China as encompassing five main challenges – immature services sector, declining domestic consumption growth, lending decisions creating over investment in some sectors, declining export growth and environmental issues impacting economic development. Practical implications The article identifies the six most important ways to accelerate China’s growth according to the executives: Originality/value Despite challenges, Chinese executives are optimistic about the country’s economic growth prospects. In fact, 93 percent of executives believe China will maintain stable to high growth of more than 5 percent over the next five years. And almost a quarter of them believe China will be able to return to its recent very high growth rates in excess of 8 percent.


Significance Debt markets have failed to pressure Argentina to end the impasse with holdouts, with the government arguing that it could not offer them new terms without offering similar concessions to holders of restructured debt. With elections scheduled for October, the current government is likely to kick the problem to its successor, leaving Argentina facing continued litigation in US and UK courts. Impacts The Central Bank has effectively managed drawdowns of dollar reserves, helping the government to maintain its hard line against holdouts. While this policy persists, the country will remain locked out of international capital markets. The severe shortage of dollars will continue, and will continue to dampen growth prospects until resolved.


Significance Sirisena's victory is a potential game-changer: instead of entrenching the autocratic tendencies of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration, the election results hold out the promise of democratic consolidation under a new government with a robust mandate for constitutional and policy reform. However, the diversity of the coalition backing Sirisena and the sharing of power with newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe augur a period of volatility. Impacts If Tamil parties emerge as 'kingmakers' in April, governance of war-torn Northern and Western provinces is likely to be overhauled. Delhi, Washington and Brussels will welcome the political transition. Long-term growth prospects will turn on the precise rebalancing of budgetary allocations.


Subject The diversification and quality of European exports. Significance For all the gloom about Europe's economy, one fact stands out: the continent is a proficient exporter. This is not just true of Germany, the biggest exporter in Europe and the world's third-largest exporter overall. Half of the world's top-ten exporters are European. Impacts Export prowess suggests Europe's long-run growth prospects remain good. This finding is independent of the currency fortunes of individual members or the region. This supports a more bullish view on the euro-area growth prospects than currently foreseen.


Subject Kenya power outlook. Significance The government's geothermal generation programme is driving a structural change in the power sector. Plans are for electricity generation to roughly double to 3,000 megawatts (MW) over the next few years, with hydroelectricity losing its dominant role. Kenya's medium-term economic growth prospects turn on the success of the government's rising spending on infrastructure investment in the energy and transport sectors. Impacts Focus on industry sources (diesal, gas, coal) obscures the dominant role of bio-energy (firewood, charcoal) in the energy mix. Increasing the role for natural gas in domestic power sectors will be pushed by regional governments with new offshore finds. Policymakers will continue to advocate the efficacy of mini grid or off-grid systems to augment the limited reach of 'national' grids.


Subject Outlook for infrastructure spending. Significance European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed a 315 billion euro (340 billion dollar) infrastructure initiative to revive the EU economy, expected to reinforce ongoing monetary policy efforts to boost growth. Fund raising is progressing through the European Investment Bank (EIB). The programme can benefit both short-term and long-term growth prospects, while its actual impact will depend on the projects implemented, as politically motivated choices can delay, distort and depress the benefits. This plan comes late, six years after the global financial crisis; one of its priorities is generating rapid results to boost the economic recovery. Impacts To have a net positive impact, any infrastructure proposal would have to avoid drawing funds away from existing investment plans. The plan could help reducing disparities between labour markets in different euro-area countries. Persistently high euro-area unemployment will need a domestic demand revival to boost sentiment, growth and job creation.


Subject The deteriorating fiscal position. Significance According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), government deficits in most South American countries and Mexico widened in 2015 for the third consecutive year, in a context of slower economic growth and lower commodity prices. Barring Brazil, the increase was generally small but government borrowing, rising for several years, is increasingly limiting administrations' room for fiscal manoeuvre. Impacts Government borrowing is rising -- as are borrowing costs. Declining revenues may force unpopular spending cuts, worsening growth prospects. Caribbean countries in particular face unsustainable debt-servicing burdens that leave little for social and investment spending.


Subject Correlation between oil prices, equity markets and global growth. Significance Weak global growth and volatile equity markets in early 2016 illustrate how the real economy and distressed investors are struggling with rapid changes in such key parameters as the new energy and commodity price regime. This is because the 'losers' have to react quickly, plunging economies into recession before the 'gainers' generate any positive effects. These asymmetries, along with disappointing data, are spooking stock markets into a broad-based sell-off. After a nearly 10% fall in global equities between end-December and mid-February wiped as much as 6-7 trillion dollars off wealth, markets have rallied, especially in the United States, where key indices have recouped losses to trade at levels last seen at end-2015. Impacts A recovery in global growth prospects could emerge by mid-2016, stabilising commodity prices and underpinning gains in equity markets. Distressed sales of assets should abate and have less influence on markets. Easing fears over China will help markets rebound after the panic attack in early 2016. The consumer benefits of low energy and food costs have disappointed, but there could be higher spending throughout 2016.


Subject The economic outlook for Fiji. Significance Fiji has returned to political stability and a degree of international legitimacy in recent years, albeit in a context of poor to moderate economic growth. GDP growth of 4.0 % is forecast for 2015, but the outlook for Fiji's main industries (tourism, gold and services) remains stagnant as aggregate regional demand for resources slumps and Fiji's comparative advantage as a regional services hub erodes. Impacts The government will actively promote FDI to boost Fiji's lacklustre economic growth prospects. The government will promote agriculture and fisheries to provide opportunities for disadvantaged rural and ethnic populations. Foreign investment in tourism will probably increase slowly as demand from Asian countries grows. Fiji's dominance in the South Pacific economy will likely diminish as advances in ICT allow it to be bypassed. Ways must be found to prevent loss of trained and educated personnel if Fiji is to maintain its central role.


Subject Prospects for emerging economies to end-2016. Significance Despite political risks causing bouts of volatility in countries such as Brazil and Turkey, emerging market (EM) growth prospects have improved moderately and asset prices have rebounded after the turbulence of early 2016. More stability in exchange rates has helped, with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) holding off raising rates. The rebound in commodity prices has been supportive, too, together with receding concerns about China's slowdown. Some countries have also eased fiscal policy to reduce social tensions risks.


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