Positive outlook for emerging markets

Roundtable panellists

Moderator: Anthony Rowley, Tokyo Correspondent, The Business Times

AFTER several decades of being stars in the investment firmament, emerging markets appear to have fallen to earth, with China suffering the most spectacular burnout. The World Bank noted recently that emerging market growth has halved in the past few years and that this is unlikely to be a temporary phenomenon. Under certain scenarios, emerging market growth could even come to a "stop", the bank suggested. Meanwhile, the Institute of International Finance says that emerging markets are "ageing prematurely" and are now past their best. The Business Times convened its panel of leading economists to look at what is going on and to tell what it all means for investors.