Unlike 1997, Asian economies are expected to bend, not break

Kuala Lumpur

THE world market turmoil bears ominous similarities to the contagion that laid Asian economies to waste beginning in 1997: pressure on regional currencies, a worsening trade outlook and slowing growth.

But despite the daily beatings suffered by stock markets and currencies in Asia, painful lessons learned 18 years ago have left its economies far more able to withstand severe shocks, economists said.