"Asia's return to rapid economic growth will require increasing domestic demand which, in turn, is partly dependent on the development and growth of the region's small and medium enterprises, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday. In a special chapter of Key Indicators 2009, its flagship annual statistical publication, the Manila-based development bank said there is a need for some Asian economies to accelerate rebalancing of economic growth toward domestic sources...." [Dow Jones/Factiva]

AFP adds that "... 'It is precisely because SMEs employ so many of Asia's workers that their productivity, and the earnings and wages they generate become crucial in determining living standards of many Asians,' the report said. Vibrant SMEs are crucial to the development of a large Asian middle class, seen as an important driver for domestic demand, the ADB said...." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Xinhua writes that "...the global economic downturn has forced many of the region's most dynamic and export-oriented enterprises to scale back operations, cut production, and lay off workers, the ADB said. ...Smaller enterprises... have been less affected, but the credit crunch and a slump in demand are now beginning to hurt, it added. 'It's unlikely that Asia can export its way out of this slump, as they did after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis,' said ADB Chief Economist Jong- Wha Lee. To assist the process of increasing domestic demand, some of the region's economies need to take steps to unleash the constraints to growth on SMEs... he added...." [Xinhua/Factiva]