Cambodia is among six “recovering” economies in the ASEAN bloc, according to Moody’s Analytics. The others they identified are Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Brunei and Singapore.

The emerging markets are lagging the global average for the first time since the EMs crisis in the 1990s which saw the gross domestic product of “The Asian Tigers” drop for four consecutive years, according to Jesse Rogers, an economist for Moody’s Analytics.

Falling commodity prices, combined with the rising dollar and unhedged currencies. tested the “Asian Miracle” as the Asian Financial Crisis de-stabilised local currencies in the late 1990s.

“The pandemic has rubbed some of the sheen off fast-growing Southeast Asia, with economic recoveries blunted last fall and early this year by successive outbreaks. Although most emerging economies in Southeast Asia were able to temper first waves through a combination of stringent lockdowns and contact tracing, the pandemic’s return late fall and intensification this year have thrown the region’s economies for a curve,” Rogers said.

Vietnam is the lone ASEAN country experiencing “expansion”. Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia are said to be “at risk”, with Myanmar reported as experiencing a recession.