The rest of Asia, including the Philippines, may reel longer than expected from anemic exports as demand from the United States and other advanced economies may not immediately respond to pump-priming initiatives, the International Monetary Fund said.

In its latest report on Asia released Wednesday, the IMF raised the need for governments in the region to implement measures that will boost domestic demand. It said the Philippines and other Asian countries must rely more heavily on domestic consumption to keep their economies afloat.

"Over the long horizon, Asian economies are at risk of a structural decline in demand from advanced economies," IMF said in the report titled ‘Global Crisis: the Asian Context’.

"The spillovers from the global crisis have affected Asia with considerable speed and force. Looking ahead, Asia’s growth path will continue to run parallel to the global economy," the IMF added.

According to its latest projection, the IMF said it expected Asia to grow an average 1.3 per cent this year, a stark slowdown from last year’s 5.1 per cent.

For the Philippines, its latest estimate showed a zero growth this year from 4.6 per cent last year.

The government, however, is less pessimistic than the IMF and expects the country’s growth in gross domestic product to expand by 3.1-4.1 per cent this year.

A lingering recession in the United States and Europe would continue taking its toll on households, the IMF said.

Households in industrialised nations were likely to keep their spending tight as they suffer from dwindling incomes—with unemployment seen to rise further next year—and as they address burgeoning debts.

The debts, largely composed of credit card and home mortgages, are blamed largely on lax lending policies of American banks in the past.