Macroeconomic outlook
We see the global economic climate for the second half of 2012 as “not pretty” as Europe is headed for a recession, while the United States is facing anemic growth at best, and slowing growth rates in Asia. Nonetheless, Asia remains the bright spot for growth amid the bleak economic backdrop. We view Asia as an extremely heterogeneous market. Asia has approximately 50 countries which are different from each other in terms of stage of development, governance systems, transparency in real estate markets, tax regimes, and official languages used. Given the diversity in Asia, we view Asia as a collection of distinct local markets and broadly classify them into two categories: developed Asia and emerging Asia.
We see the global economic climate for the second half of 2012 as “not pretty” as Europe is headed for a recession, while the United States is facing anemic growth at best, and slowing growth rates in Asia. Nonetheless, Asia remains the bright spot for growth amid the bleak economic backdrop. We view Asia as an extremely heterogeneous market. Asia has approximately 50 countries which are different from each other in terms of stage of development, governance systems, transparency in real estate markets, tax regimes, and official languages used. Given the diversity in Asia, we view Asia as a collection of distinct local markets and broadly classify them into two categories: developed Asia and emerging Asia.