Like many other financial firms, Morgan Stanley has noted the withdrawal of international investors from stocks in Asia as the economies in the region begin to falter.
One example of this is South Korea, as the won continues to decrease in value. Morgan Stanley’s growth estimate for the nation has been lowered from 4% to 3.6%, while Deutsche Bank AG has lowered its expectations for China’s expansion as well, claiming that the economic crisis throughout the rest of the world will lessen the demand for Asian exports.
“Reported downgrades of economic forecasts reduced appetite for regional assets,” explained Lee Jin III of Hana Bank. “Stock market declines affected Asian currencies including the won.”
Finance Minister Bahk Jae Wan has confirmed that inflation issues continue to plague South Korea and that the government plans to use “all possible” measures in an effort to stabilize prices. For example, the Bank of Korea left interest rates unchanged for a second month in a row, following three major increases this year.