The second salient feature is Asia's high rate of savings, exceeding 30% of gross national product (GNP) in most Asian economies, which have enabled the private and public sectors to fund capital accumulation from domestic sources. While the private sector focuses on investing in physical capital and adopting new technologies to raise productive efficiency, governments across Asia place commensurate emphasis on developing infrastructure, such as roads, ports and utilities, as well as on healthcare and education. The combination of efficient capital and productive labour in turn generates more higher-value-added activity, thereby accelerating economic growth. Third, the Asian economies have adopted an outward-oriented development path, rather than depended only on domestic demand, to expand industrial production. Just five decades ago, Asia was amongst the world's poorest regions. Asia recognised that its development process would be slow and marginal should low-income-driven domestic demand be relied upon to incrementally stimulate industrial activity. It accelerated the movement of resources from low-productivity traditional activity to high-productivity modern activity. Most of Asia, early among the developing economies, has been very open to international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), resulting in Asia to be rapidly integrated with the global economy. The trade volume of Asia as a share of total world trade increased from 14% in 1970 to 22% in 1990, and subsequently to 28% in 2008. Furthermore, Asia has also been a major recipient of FDI, with FDI flows into Asia increasing from 7% of total global FDI to 20% in 2007.
The EMU will reinforce monetary and financial stability The international role of the euro With regard to the international role of the euro, let me say that the Eurosystem does not regard it as part of a zero sum game in an atmosphere of confrontation. On the contrary, I view it as a positive sum game, based upon close international cooperation and certainly not on confrontation. The international role of a currency is a complex matter. A currency can be used by different groups of economic agents for different purposes, as an anchor and reserve currency on the official side, as an invoicing and payment currency for international trade, as well as a currency of denomination for financial assets, on the private side. BIS Review 81/1999  6  My understanding of the process towards internationalisation of the euro is based on the following observations: í  firstly the euro , as I said before, has the full legacy of the most credible currencies in Europe, taking into account the fact that the European monetary convergence process has been based upon a benchmarking principle. The euro is not starting from scratch but from the solid soil of currencies having proved their solidity over time like the franc, the DM, the guilder, and so forth;  í  secondly, the policy which is pursued by the European Central Bank is a policy of stability, credibility, low inflation so that the euro will be an excellent store of value. This is called upon us by the Treaty.