Martin Brudermueller, vice-chairman of BASF (IW1000/34), the world's largest chemicals maker, said that business momentum in Asia is weaker than expected, partly blaming Europe's debt crisis.
"Asia, as a whole, is not showing the momentum at present that one could expect," Brudermueller, who is also BASF's head of the Asia region, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily in an interview.
"The region is becoming more vulnerable," he said.
Some of the problems in Asia are of its own doing, Brudermueller said, citing for example India where he said "the political paralysis in places acts as a brake."
But he said the effects of the euro crisis were also being felt in Asia, adding that "stabilizing the situation in Europe is urgently needed."
China, which accounts for half of BASF's business in Asia, is so forward-looking and so inter-connected with the world economy, that it has to continue opening up, Brudermueller said. His comments follow a survey published on May 29 showing that China was losing its appeal as a place for investment among European businesses.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
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