Australia in economic fast lane: Treasurer

Australia will be one of the biggest winners, if not the biggest winner, as the global economy climbs out of recession and gravitates toward Asia, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Wednesday.

Swan made the comments in a speech in Sydney on Wednesday to the New South Wales Business Chamber.

"As the global economy slowly climbs out of recession and gravitates toward Asia, we can expect that Australia will become one of the biggest winners, if not the biggest," Swan said.

"This makes me an optimist about the future of our economy as I expect some of you in this room are as well - as too is the governor of the Reserve Bank."

Swan cited Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens' recent remark that Australia was in a part of the world that was seeing the most growth and benefiting from a strong, sustainable fiscal position.

Swan also said different parts of the world are growing at different speeds.

"Sitting on the edge of Asia as we are, we're in the fast lane and shifting into third gear, while many major advanced economies are still stuck in first," Swan said.

Recent turbulence in global financial markets, particularly in Greece, showed the world economic recovery remains fragile, Swan told the Australian Associated Press.

But Australia is in a strong position, traveling in an economic fast lane on the edge of Asia, and with gross domestic product ( GDP) expected to expand by 3.75 percent next financial year, Swan said.

Source:Xinhua