Asia's spectacular export-led recovery from the 1997-1998 financial crisis turned out to be short-lived as the region fell victim this year to a US-led global slowdown.
Economists said the region's woes this time round are distinctly different from the economic mess four years ago, which were essentially triggered by weak financial systems and unsustainable exchange rates.
Instead, Asia's over-reliance on exports -- particularly in electronics -- was cruelly exposed as demand slumped worldwide, particularly in the US, the biggest market for several economies in the region.
"The highlight of the year has been the slowdown in electronics exports feeding into the economies," said Sanjeev Sanyal, a regional economist at Deutsche Bank.
The Asian Development Bank echoed similar thoughts.
"While the slowdown has cut across all sectors, it is most evident in manufacturing and particularly in the production and export of electronics," it said.
According to Sanyal, a revival in electronics exports will be the key challenge facing the region.
"Looking forward, one of the big issues will be when and to what extent electronic exports will revive next year," he said.
At this stage, however, the prognosis is looking bleak for Asia as the fallout from the September terror attacks on the US continue to reverberate throughout the global economy, said the ADB.
The ADB said the region is projected to grow 3.9 percent this year -- its second slowest growth in decades -- compared with 7.4 percent growth last year.
"Over much of the last year or so, East Asia has come under stress. After a faster than expected recovery in 1999 and 2000 has now come a sharp economic slowdown, which has been made worse by the Sept. 11 attacks on the US," the ADB said in its latest quarterly review.
"With the worsening of the global economic situation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the economic slowdown in East Asia is likely to deepen further while being more prolonged," it said.
One glaring development has been the reversal of fortunes for economies which, having weathered the 1997-1998 crisis better than their neighbors, are now in a recession or on the verge of slipping into one, said economists.
Singapore and Taiwan are the most striking examples.
"The worst hit during the 1997 crisis are actually not in a recession. Taiwan which hardly blinked its eye during 1997 is now in a recession," said Chia Woon-khien, regional economist at Anglo-Dutch bank ING Barings.
Taiwan's economy last month was confirmed to be in a recession after its GDP suffered the biggest quarterly fall in 26 years with a 4.21 percent contraction in the September quarter.
Singapore, Southeast Asia's strongest economy, was the first in the region to fall into a recession in July when its second quarter GDP shrank.
"Some have been hit harder especially for those who are small and dependent on exports and has a small domestic economy, for example Singapore," said Irene Cheung, a sovereign and forex strategist at Dutch bank ABN Amro.
In contrast, the five countries -- the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea -- most affected during the 1997-1998 crisis will still see some growth this year, although the figures are likely to be well down from last year, the ADB said.
The five economies as a whole will grow 1.9 percent this year, down sharply from 7 percent last year, it predicted.
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