Asian policymakers unfazed by Europe’s debt woes

Policymakers in Asia are not panicking about chronic sovereign debt problems in the Euro-region and U.S., says Dilip Shahani, head of Asia-Pacific credit research in the Asia-Pacific.

Shahani says policymakers in Asia can greatly increase monetary supply and reduce official interest rates to stimulate economic growth if the sovereign debt crisis in developed-world markets continues to intensify.

“If it slips further they can reduce monetary restraint,” Shahani says. “If policymakers have the levers they should recover faster.”

The “soft patch” in which the U.S. and Euro-region economies are mired is easing inflationary pressures in Asia, says Shahani, making authorities less concerned with suppressing growth.

“In a way it has become a godsend because it extends the business cycle in Asia,” he says.