Certain trends and developments in Asia have emerged and necessitate the need for policy makers, lenders, investors and corporations to adopt smart technology like Vector expert systems and modules - in order to strengthen their decision making process at rapid speed. Businesses are undergoing structural changes in their balance sheet and need advanced decision-making tools that do rapid-fire analysis and recommendations . Some of the key dynamics that precipitate this need emanate from the following events:

• 2009 will mark the most severe recession in Asia’s history, surpassing the Asian Financial Crisis (when GDP contracted 1.4pc) and the 2001 tech recession.

• Underpinning this view are the observations that China, Russia, India and Brazil, with their vast markets and rising wealth, could provide little support as the engines of growth that could save the world from recession. Those hopes are fading fast and forecasts are getting gloomier.

• Factories in China, India and Russia slashed output and jobs at a record pace in December08 in another sign the world’s largest emerging markets were wilting under the recession that has gripped most industrialised nations.

• Factory activity surveys in the United States and Europe showed steeper contractions in December08, as demand collapses at home and crushes growth in many of the developing nations that rely on Western consumption.

• SMEs sorely lack funds for expansion as banks are avoiding lending to the SMEs for fear that they would not be able to recover their money.

• Expansion of business gets constrained for the SMEs, potential loss of profitable income due to the fear to reach out to SMEs.
  According to IFC study on SME benchmarking released in December 2007, the unmet demand in financing for SME sector could be up to USD 1.5 billion.

• Problems arise due to sub-prime, relaxation of lending standards, financial liberalization, a limited credit reporting infrastructure in certain markets and higher lending rates.

• The bankers and the policy makers need to be deeply familiar with the micro challenges with businesses to allow them to be fully aware of the financial positioning of the potential customers before approving the credit card facilities.

• More stringent guidelines expected to be set for the applicants and as well as the approvers from the financial institutions.

• According to an IFC report, SMEs account for more than 95 per cent of companies in key Asian-Pacific economies and yet have been sidelined by financial institutions.

• The SME market is a huge market and yet minimal attention had been given. Tailored-made products with proper criteria should be developed to target these markets with two end objectives; open up another avenue of revenue and assist the growth of the SMEs in the market.