HONG KONG. Dec 31 Aslan economies lumped out of the starters' blocks In Olvntpk year but most share markets hobbled off in the opposite direr ■ Hou. reports AFP

China's Shanghai small B-shares market was the best performer worldwide this year and Australian slocks ended about even. Elsewhere In the region, markets were awash in a va of red ink. many ending 2001) near their lows

New Zealand. Hong Kong. Malaysia and Bombay investors had to swallow losses of he-; tween 11 and 20 per cent,

Singapore and Tokyo suf-lered losses of over 20 p-r • nt ‘•nd the Indonesian and Philippine Ijoursrs dived about 35 |>cr ‘ent amid sluggish ecoiioniics and politic a| tu^on

Taiwan investors qulcklv lie-came disenchanted with their nr\y government as shares rac Red up ww,s o( owr 40 |>cr

In Bangkok, the sluggish pa e of reforms and political uncertainty sent foreign Investors packing and the rest nursing losses of nearly 45 per

South Korea was in the strange position of cheering cconomk growth expected to be nearly 10 per cent while weeping over share losses ol nearly •I per cent, as around 166 billion dollars in market capitalisation went up in smoke

Jiareinarkets in Asia had an excellent year In 1999 but owr-eiithiisbistn then left little room lot further gains on the basis of economic growth tills year. Some markets tliough. eoniiii ued to forge ahead early in the year thanks to the tcchnolo^' and Internet bubble

But when the dotcoin In nz\ started to sour hi March (h downward pressure on Asian markets was IrresLslable. In the

serond half of the year, slovin. giowth in informailon let hnol ogt industries inrncd tie tech stock descent Into a tailspin

A strong U.S dollar lunla r discouraged foreign Investors who had to face likely currency losses as well as stumbling stock prices Oli prices took off renewing economic worries

A cominon complaint from dealers was the lack of foreign money in Asian markets, particularly in some of the politically unstable nations in Southeast Asia such as the Philippines and Indonesia.

I liailand and to a lesser extent Malaysia continued to be shunned by mativ foreign in-u sKirs because ol their pan li\ rriuid on economic and market

"There Is no confidence in ’ corporate governance anymore." said Mecury Securities analyst Vk tor Wan of the Kuala Lumpur market, adding that debt

restructuring was also a worry.

Even the more mature Asian inarke,ts had difficulty in attracting foreign cash with tlir Us and Europe attracted the lion's share.

Local concerns often played second fiddle to watching the US, especially the Nasdaq which tumbled from its March high to lose as much as 50 per cent of Its value.

The decision of the Tokyo stock Exchange to give added weight to technology stocks in tin krv Nlkkel-225 index in April - |ust as these stocks started diving worldwide added to the gloom in Japan

"The uncertainty on Wall Street combined with foreign investors' selling was the major lai lor behind this year's decline'' said Nikko Securities senior market analyst Hlroit hl Nishi.

I long Kong suffered following the slump hi tech stocks, fol-

lowing frenzied Initial public ollerlngs for local Internet and communications companies earh In the year.

Richard Li pulled off the deal of the year in taking over dominant Hong Kong trlci oms carrier Cable and Wireless HKT only to see Ills Pacific Century CyberWorks plunge from a high ol around 28.50 Hong Kong dollars In February to around 3 00 dollars by the end ol the

Although Malaysia has re-stimed strong economic growth, iii\rsiors have been scared off b\ the (ax on repatriated share Investment profits - tint that many profits would have been made this year -- and corporate governance issues.

The Bombay market dived about 30 per cent as te Ii stocks slumped and "old ecoii oiuy" stocks faltered along with ecunoniic growth in India.

Shanghai B shares •• foreign

Investors cannot trade A shares - more than doubled in price in a spectacular year, due to speculation (hat their huge discount to A shares would disappear with an eventu.il merger.

For 2001. Aslan Investors can expect some gains on prospects ol lower interest rates in the US. likely early in the year, analysts said. Most economists ,ue picking a soft landing In the US next year, which should help growth continue in Asia, although al a slower rate.

Investors may have to on dure some rocky periods at the beginning of the year before the picture brightens.

"We have to keep watching prices on Wall Street next year out moves are likely to be mod-.■late on expectations that the I s economy will achieve a soft landing. ' Nikko Securities' Nishi said