Asian financial executives optimistic about local economies.

• Author: Ladd, Scott
• Position: GLOBAL ECONOMY - Survey

Chief financial officers in Asia--with the notable exception of those in Japan--are expressing optimism about their regional economies, but remain cautious in their view of the world economy overall. That's the finding of the inaugural CFO Outlook Asia report recently issued by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The survey touched on a wide range of local and global economic issues, with participants grading the regional economy at 6.4 out of a possible 10, while the rankings for the world economy fell substantially below that, at a rate of 4.7 of 10.

Responses from the fourth quarter of 2011 from 465 financial executives in Australia and six Asian locales--China, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore--revealed a general consensus that though they will be relatively safe this year from the economic threats posed by Europe and the United States, they do not believe they are out of the woods.

In China, chief financial officers are most positive about the state of V their economy, with a score of 7.5 out of 10, while their Japanese counterparts hold a less favorable view of their own economy, with a rating of 4.1. Chinese financial executives also are relatively confident they would be buffered against the economic is sues of the West, rating their economy's sensitivity V to a global slowdown at 6.6, below the Asia average of 7.0.

But those Asian CFOs ques-tinned sound less optimistic about the future. Only 32 percent predict higher gross domestic product growth in their own country in 2012, while 27 percent believe GDP growth will decelerate. CFO pessimism in Japan was high, with 44 percent...