Asia’s biggest worry isn’t Grexit

Greece’s financial meltdown has sent shockwaves throughout the world, sending markets tumbling and wiping billions of dollars off equity valuations. Yet for the Asia-Pacific region, the biggest economic threat lies closer to home.

Asia awoke Monday morning to news that the Hellenic Republic had voted in a referendum to reject bailout terms demanded by creditors. This followed reports last Wednesday that Greece had become the first developed nation to default on a loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the IMF confirming that Greece had joined Cuba, Zambia, and others in the defaulters’ club after failing to make a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) payment to the Washington-based institution.