In their advice and assistance to countries in Southeast Asia, the IMF and the World Bank, to a large extent acting jointly, have devoted a large part of their efforts to banking and corporate sector restructuring.

CNN: REFORM IS CRUCIAL

"Interest rates are coming down, current-account surpluses are emerging, corporate balance sheets are being restructured, and banking-sector recapitalization is moving along at a good pace almost everywhere in the region, " contends Manu Bhaskaran, a managing director at SG Securities (Singapore).

CNN: THE LONG, HARD CLIMB BACK UP