ICU - 3 Most Talked About Economies in the World in 2009

ICU - 3 Most Talked About Economies in the World in 2009
(Copyright 2009; Benjamin Goh, www.bensglobal.com)

ICU sounds like Intensive Care Unit. Yes, indeed the current global economic crisis is like a patient (or similarly the global economies) housed in the ICU. It is a specialized department used in many countries' hospitals that provides intensive care medicine.

It was projected that by 2018, China will overtake the USA as the largest economy in the world, with India as number 3. As such, I like to classify my choice of the 3 countries as ICU.

I for India. Thanks to Asian giants like Gandhi, Nehru, Mao and Deng, the revival of India and China is changing the 21st century. India’s growth rate will slow in 2008-09. Principal reasons for this modest drop in economic growth include (i) a large and diversified consumption base for the Indian economy; (ii) India’s trade to GDP ratio is much smaller than that of, say, China; and (iii) Indian financial markets are still relatively insulated from global financial markets. India has a healthy external balance, with high foreign exchange reserves, low ratio of short term external debt to GDP and less than complete capital account convertibility.

C for China. Its now, by far, one of the most mentioned Asian economy in everything around us, from daily products that we use to international news that we hear. China has become somewhat the Big Brother in Asia and it is definitely a country that's worth mentioning. By 2030,China must and will play a constructive role in tiding over global financial crisis and thus, strive to create trade and investment opportunities for its trading partners and international investors.

U for United States of America. The natural BIG Brother of the world since ages before. Most countries looked up to the US for directions and support. In the 1980s global downturn, the U.S. economy accounted for about one-third of the world's economy. It now accounts for one-quarter. The U.S. government is also far more indebted than it was in the '80s.