Asia losses: $15 trillion

MANILA - FINANCIAL assets in Asia lost US$9.6 trillion (S$15 trillion) in value in 2008, slightly more than a year's worth of GDP, the Asian Development Bank said on Monday.

It said Asia was hit especially hard as the global downturn led to an estimated US$50 trillion in capital losses around the world.

'Asia was hit harder than other parts of the developing world because the region's markets have expanded much more rapidly,' the Manila-based bank said in a new study.

It said losses in Asia, not counting Japan, amounted to more than a year's worth of gross domestic product.

'Losses on financial assets in developing Asia in 2008 totalled 9.6 trillion dollars, or just over one year's worth of GDP.' -- AFP