The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently stated that the Southeast Asian nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) cannot side step a global slowdown. Yet, it has penciled in 6.1 percent growth in 2013 for the ASEAN 5, which only includes The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The remaining countries that are part of the 10-member ASEAN bloc are Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.  If that figure does nothing for you, consider the forecast for the Western economies. The crisis-hit Eurozone has its growth forecast for 2013 pegged at 0.7 percent, the UK at 1.4 percent and the US at 2.3 percent.

It’s ironical that the region mired in a financial crisis in 1997 has proved itself more resilient to the global gloom. Some media commentaries actually dub it as a safe haven in these tumultuous times. But behind the obvious need for public investment in infrastructure, the consumption theme and good demographics, the nations that comprise this 10-member bloc are a very diverse lot and no generalization is justified.