"Investors are attracted to companies that are producing 30%-40% earnings growth per year and are willing to pay a high premium to participate in this kind of growth, " says Vineet Mishra, Southeast Asia head of equity capital markets at J.

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Once all the spare labour was used up and capital employed per worker reached rich-country levels, he argued, Asia's growth would slump.

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The stalled growth overseas is likely a consequence of uncertainty in Europe and a slow-down in Asia, says Lazard Capital analyst Matthew DiFrisco.

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