The euro-zone crisis threatens to derail the global economy, and especially the power of China and other Asian countries to pull the rest of the world out of its downturn.
That was the sombre message from some of the world's leading financial and economic policymakers at the final big set-piece debate on the global economic outlook from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Perhaps the most alarming note was struck by David Tsang, the chief executive of Hong Kong. "Asia has 7 per cent growth, China has 8 per cent. It looks robust and rosy.
In Hong Kong we have balanced books and full employment. It all seems very nice, but I can tell you I have never been so scared," he said.
Mr Tsang said that, unlike the way Asian leaders dealt with the 1990s financial crisis in the region, European leaders had not come together to solve their own crisis. "We need decisive action by governments."
The danger posed by Europe to the world economy was echoed by other leaders. "No one is immune. This is not just a euro-zone crisis. It could have spill over effects in the rest of the world," said Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF.
Other economic leaders agreed.
"We want a firewall in Europe," said Motohisa Furukawa, the Japanese minister for economic and fiscal policy." If not, it would have serious effects on the global economy. My concern is that the crisis could have an impact outside Europe, especially in Asia and Japan."
There was a consensus that the past four and a half years of economic and financial turmoil in the West had led to a permanent shift in the global balance of power.
"The world is never going back to the way it was," said Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank.
"At international gatherings, I have noticed a general disdain among Asian leaders towards their western counterparts. This will persist for years to come."
Ms Lagarde said one element of a solution to the euro zone's problems should be greater resources for the IMF to back European countries under sovereign debt pressure.
She appealed for more funds from the emerging market countries to bolster the IMF's resources. "I'm here with my little bag to collect some money," Ms Lagarde said as she held up her handbag to the audience.
But she also pointed out that emerging markets would have little incentive to increase their contributions if the funds were to be given to support uncompetitive indebted countries in Europe.
"Why should the well-managed countries of the world help a zone that's not able to help itself, that is a fair question," she said. "If the fund is big enough, it will never get used, and even if it does get used, it always gets paid back."
Others were more sceptical.
"I agree the euro zone needs more resources in the firewall, but the IMF has to demonstrate it will be effective," said George Osborne, the British chancellor of the exchequer, or finance minister. "The fund was never intended to help countries that had a single currency, like the euro zone."
There were no representatives of the euro-zone countries on the panel.
"I find myself in the strange position of being the closest thing to a spokesman for the euro zone," Mr Osborne said. "It's the only time in my life I'll speak for them."
He added however that the euro zone had already achieved a lot by "pooling national resources to help others and bringing in austerity measures that usually get you kicked out of office".
Ali Babacan, the Turkish deputy prime minister for finance and the economy, said his country had faced its own financial problems in 2009, and had adopted different measures from the Europeans.
"We adopted a very prudent, tight fiscal policy. We didn't think fiscal stimulus would work, and it hasn't worked in Europe."
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Al Assaf, Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister, said the world's top oil exporter may be willing to raise its contribution to the IMF, aided by an "extremely solid" fiscal position.
"We have been there for the IMF for a long time; over 35 years we have been providing loans to the IMF. Also we have a large shareholding," Mr Al Assaf said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Davos, Switzerland.
"We like to maintain that or increase it."
fkane@thenational.ae
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
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The%20specs
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
THE%20FLASH
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
more from Janine di Giovanni
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RIVER%20SPIRIT
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INDIA SQUAD
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
