Going their own way?

Asian markets have significantly developed over the past few years. However, with the process still in its infancy, investors should be aware the region's markets are decoupling rather than decoupled

As a result of the economic slowdown taking place in America, some economists have stated they expect Asian GDP growth also to slow. However, general expectations are that Asian GDP growth would only contract by a less than 1%, which shows just how far Asian economies have developed over the past few years. If you go back to the 2000-2001 period, Asian economies then were much more susceptible to a US slowdown. Back then, GDP growth fell in the region of 2-2.5%. This new resilience has lead to a suggestion amongst many commentators that Asia is starting to decouple from the US. That is, A...