North Korea economy: Going nowhere.

Among the last of the communist bastions, and arguably the least open of economies, North Korea is seen to be on the brink of economic collapse by its rivals, including South Korea. It is even said that the United States and its allies have a contingency plan in case of a sudden flare up in North Korea, leading to its downfall of its present regime.

The North Korean economy is a highly centralized one and a good part of it is dedicated to cater to the demands of the military. The diversion of resources, as such scarce, for defence purposes, has left the civilian sector starved of development funds. Almost all the sectors of the economy are stunted, and in need of new investments to make them properly functional.

The agricultural sector is in dire need of developmental funds, and the country is reduced to depend on food aid from various quarters. Among the agricultural produce is rice, corn, pulses, soybean, etc. The industrial sector hosts machine building, chemicals, textiles, food processing, etc. Mining is also an important activity, and includes coal, iron, zinc, copper, lead, graphite, and certain precious metals. The country exports minerals, agricultural products, textiles, armaments, etc. It in turn imports machinery and equipment, food grains, petroleum, etc. China and South Korea are the main trading partners of North Korea. Other include Russia, India, Thailand, etc.

Statistics about vital economic parameters are hard to come by, but the North Korea economy is expected to grow overall by about 3% in 2009. The country is burdened with a huge external debt. And the country’s poor external relations, especially with the United States have compunded its economic problems. In particular, its nuclear program is a target of the West, especially the U.S., rightly or wrongly.

The North Korean regime, of late, is seen slowly moving towards more openness, and a major change in its international relations and economic system is likely to have great repercussions in its region.

Bhutan economy: India centric.

One of the smallest countries in the world, and a landlocked one at that, Bhutan is tied to India in a fundamental way, for its survival and sustenance. The country’s foreign policy and defence is under India’s control, and it is India’s technology and economic assitance that keep the country going, practically speaking.

Agriculture and forestry, hydroelectricity, tourism, etc are the major economic activities of the country, and the major components of its economy. Rice, corn, citrus, etc., are the major agricultural produce. Cement, processed fruits, wood products, etc., are the major industries. Electricity is the major export of Bhutan. Other exports include timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, spices, precious stones, etc. Among the imports are machinery, equipment, vehicles, textiles, rice, fuels, lubricants, etc. India is Bhutan’s leading trade partner. Others include Japan, Sweden, Bangladesh, etc.

Bhutan’s GDP growth rate is around 6% for fiscal 2009, and services accounts for the major share of the GDP at 40%, followed by industry at 38%, and agriculture at 22%. Whereas 63% of the labor force is engaged in agriculture, 315 in services, and 6% in industry. The unemployment rate is around 2.5%, and inflation is around 5%. A major problem is the public debt that stands at 80% of the GDP. A good part of Bhutan’s budgeted expenditure is financed by India, which is like a Big Brother to Bhutan.

The Government of Bhutan is making efforts to develop responsible tourism that is eco-friendly, and trying to attract upper end tourists who would contribute more to the economy, while causing little damage to the environment.

Bhutan has a long way to go before it puts a sound industrial and services infrastructure in place. And in the forseeable future, it does not seem to have a way around India, that will continue to call the economic shots in Bhutan.

Sri Lankan economy: Badly bruised, but recovering.

After the end of the twenty five year old civil war between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan economy has started looking up once again, though it is a along way off from recovery, much less its earlier vibrancy.

The Island nation, a tourist paradise, is set on the path to regain its past glow and glory as a preferred tourist destination, that would tremendously aid in its recovery.

The country is expected to touch 6% GDP growth this fiscal. But inflation at nearly 23% is a worrisome factor for the economic planners. While the trade deficit is coming down steadily, unemployment is going up at 5.2% presently. Among the major economic activities of the country are tourism, agriculture, and industry.

Tea, coconut, rubber, etc., are among the major agricultural produce. The country exports, tea, coconuts, apparel, rubber goods, fish, diamonds, emeralds, etc., and imports transport equipment, textiles and fabrics for its garment export units, petroleum products, machinery, etc.

Remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad have gone up steadily, and are helping in countering the trade deficit. With the end of the civil war, the resources that were earlier diverted to the war effort are now available for development purposes, and should bear fruit in the next one to two years.

The end of the civil war has also given a fillip to the economic activities in various parts of the country, especially those areas that were affected by the civil war. New businesses are coming up, and Banks are lending more and more money to businesses and opening up new Branches to cater to increased demand.

At long last, Sri Lankans can look forward to an upswing in their economic fortunes.

Nepal economy: Aiming for steady growth.

The Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal is one of the poorest countries of the world, with over 40% of the population living below the poverty line, and over 46% of the workforce out of work. The fact that the country is landlocked adds to its problems in terms of free access to markets around the world.

An agricultural economy, Nepal producesd barely, fruits, medicinal herbs, rice, tobacco, etc. Among the important industries are cement, cigarettes, garments, jute spinning, and of course tourism. Tourism is a major foreign exchange earner, and Nepal is not embarking on a controversial plan to boost alternate sex tourism. That is to attract gay and lesbian tourists from around the world, through special tourist packages. Until now, adventure toursim was the mainstay of the tourism industry, attratcting the adventorous from around the globe that are fascinated by the Himalayas. The country received over half a million tourists this year, and aims for the one million figure by 2011.

Nepal exports carpets, jute, leather goods, rice, sugar, timber, etc., and imports foodstuffs, machinery, transport equipment, etc. India is Nepal’s major trading partner.

The country’s GDP is expected to grow by 4.7% in fiscal 2009, while inflation is running at 7.7%. Industrial growth is around 7% for 2009. Deforestration is a major problem that is having several side effects, including flooding. Political instability, of late, has aggravated the economic problems of the country.

Nepal is a regular receipient of foreign aid that has helped the country in its developmental efforts. However, the tough geographical location, and the shortage of skilled manpower, coupled with infrastructural bottlenecks hinders the country’s march towards economic development and progress.

Nepal faces tough choices in its efforts at economic development, and must adopt prudent economic policies, aimed at creating a pool of trained manpower, and attracting foreign investment, especially in the infrastructure field, to ensure its future development. The Government appears to be alive to this challenge and taking tentative steps in this direction.

Bangladesh economy: Doing well against odds.

For long a “basket case”, Bangladesh seems to be doing well economically, despite the global recession and its after-effects. Of course, it is not such an important player on the world economic scene to be badly affected, too.

However, it goes to the credit of the country’s establishment that its people have been spared of a nightmarish situation that citizens of some of the more advanced economies find themselves in, today.

Agriculture, for Bangladesh, is the major economic activity, and employs the majority of the workforce. And a good crop in the recent past have contributed to the economic stability of the country, and society at large. The country has a very modest industrial base, and it is still agriculture that sustains the people through good and bad times.

Bangladesh has enjoyed a fairly consistent growth in its GDP, and is expected to clock around 6% in the year 2010, having recorded 6.2% so far this year. Next year’s target for GDP growth appears to be within reach, provided the country enjoys good monsoons, and foreign remittances from millions of Bangladeshis working abroad continue to flow in. If there is a further improvement in the international economic environment, it will help further with economic development.

As for industries, Bangladesh’s major export in this sector is the Garments industry, that has grown well, despite the economic crisis in the importing countries, especially the United States. In fact, it appears that the economic downturn in the U.S. has increased demand for Value for Money goods and services, away from branded items.

The garment industry of Bangladesh is real success story, and of special significance for the least developed, and the developing economies, that can leverage their low wages, and high quality goods and services, to offer a better deal to the consumers in the importing countries.

If Bangladesh continues with its prudent economic policies, and is favored by good rains, and continued foreign remittances, the country should be in a position to climb up the economic ladder to the next level in a few years time.

South Korea, the struggling tiger.

South Korea, not long ago was the envy of the world, with its dramatic growth and capture of markets for its consumer and other goods throughout the world. Even today, it is the fourth largest economy in Asia.

But like many such success stories, South korea’s success run has been rudely interrupted by the global recession, that has put paid to many a dream.

Some of the positive signals coming from the realm of the South Korean economy, are the confidence displayed by the Central Bank of the country in not slashing key interest rates any further, that has been the norm for the last few months.

The South Korean economy has got an uplift from Government policies in regard to public spending and low interest rates, that have contributed to growth and public confidence. The economy has grown in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 at the rate of slightly abov e 2%, resulting in a economic expansion of about 1%, compared to the contraction of about 5% in the previous fiscal.

On the negative side, is the steady increase in the housing prices. The Central Bank has cautioned against the rise in mortgage lending, and one of the options of dealing with this problem is a change in the regulations related to this. That apart, speculation in the Bond markets is also causing concern.

While South Korea has taken several practical steps to counter the effects of the global recession, and has been successful to an extent, a self-sustaining recovery which should be the goal of any recession-hit economy, is still some distance away. The Asian tiger is aware of the hard road ahead, and may spring out of the economic chaos if it makes the right moves.

Turkey on road to recovery.

The global economic crisis has played havoc with the economies of several countries, big and small, and forced them to redraw their priorities.

Some of these countries had expected to emerge as strong economic powers at around this time, but have ended trying to regain their earlier positions of a few years back.

Turkey, the Asian-European country that was growing at a fast clip in recent years, had its wings clipped by the crisis. Now it is once again recovering from the effects of the crisis, and hopes to end fiscal 2010 in the black, or rather green.

The reason why Turkey did not suffer too much in the crisis, in spite of its strong alliance with western markets is the strict regulation applicable to the financial services industry, that ensured no Bank failures took place. And with few or no toxic assets of the type plaguing American Banks, the Turkish Banking industry remained strong and stable through the crisis.

According to figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, industrial output has been done especially in capital goods, production in manufacturing has declined, as also in mining and energy. One the plus side, the current account deficit is said to have dropped and foreign trade deficit has also come down.

The stimulus package of the Turkish Government seems to have been of much help to business and industry. With improvement in the global economic situation, things are likely to get better for Turkey.