Word: asian
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...Indonesia here). On another level, however, it is a story that explains why Indonesia has slipped in status from roaring economic tiger to chronic underachiever. Considering the country's population of 225 million, its large consumer market and the abundance of natural resources, Indonesia ought to be a rising Asian powerhouse, mentioned in the same breath as China and India. But its economic-development policies are vague and scattershot; a devolution of political power from the central government to the provinces has created an unpredictable business environment rife with corruption, competing interests and confusing regulations. This not only thwarts...
...early 1990s, Indonesia's fast-growing manufacturing sector was a magnet for foreign investment, and rural development schemes were so successful that the nation became self-sufficient in rice for the first time. The government even had ambitions to build commercial jets and cars. But since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Indonesia has been virtually marching in place while its neighbors hit their strides. Last year China's GDP was nearly 30% higher than Indonesia's on a per capita basis. While annual economic growth rates in China and India averaged 10.6% and 8.7% respectively over the past five years...
...Indonesia's relatively sluggish performance can be traced to the fall of Suharto - an autocrat who repressed political dissent but who, like other Asian strongmen of his era, was able to guide the country toward prosperity. After he was forced to step down in 1998 amid an economic meltdown, a new government set about erasing his dictatorial imprint; in 1999 an effort began to decentralize the once all-encompassing power of Jakarta, giving provinces and cities more influence over local affairs. Today, Indonesia's political system is more inclusive and remarkably stable. Some 34 political parties will participate in next...
...reform is required, economists say, if Indonesia is to become more competitive regionally and globally. China in 2007 attracted seven times more FDI than Indonesia, India almost twice as much. Indonesia "has to be at par with what its neighbors are doing," says Ifzal Ali, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, "or foreign investment won't flow...
...this season. Hurricane Hanna gathered strength in the Atlantic last week, and Ike is swirling not far behind, headed now for the U.S. That's just in the Atlantic, this month. Last May in the Pacific, the massive Cyclone Nargis killed an estimated 100,000 people in the Southeast Asian nation of Burma...