Nov. 4--KUWAIT -- The global economic recession is approaching its nadir with a sustained recovery being in sight. According to Timothy Flynn, Chairman KPMG, one of the four global public accounting firms that provide audit, tax, and advisory services, "There is no question that things have stabilized." Taking the point further, Flynn says, "We are beginning to see the formation of recovery in many parts of the world. I am optimistic that the worst is behind us and that we will now begin a long, sustained recovery.

In an exclusive interview with the Kuwait Times during his first visit to Kuwait earlier this week, Flynn expressed his optimism regarding the recovery of markets and stressed that "it will take time.

Flynn, who also serves on the World Economic Forum's International Business Council, argues that the Asian countries -- China in particular -- are recovering first. The US economy has begun to recover with Europe following closely behind, he observed.

To support his viewpoint, he said that the US's GDP growth of 3.5 percent for the third quarter, that comes after four consecutive quarters of being down, "is a good signal that the US economy is recovering." He said that Asia Pacific, has been growing strong in leading the way to recovery and added that Korea also witnessed a strong GDP growth.

The confidence in the Gulf remains upbeat. "Kuwait is a very important part of the region for us," says Flynn. Stressing that the Gulf region is one of great prosperity and growth, and one that KPMG is "heavily investing in," Flynn reiterates his organization's commitment to the region. "We are here to stay for a long time," he says, elaborating that the Gulf "is a very vibrant region with natural resources and economic power.

In Flynn's words, KPMG eyes fast-growing and maturing markets as having potential for development where they invest heavily. The Middle East and Kuwait in particular, offer tremendous opportunities for expansion, he says, in addition to India, China, Brazil, and Russia.

When asked to assess where the industry went wrong in retrospect, Flynn says, "Fundamentally, there was a freezing of liquidity because there was a lack of trust, and transparency within the markets.

The business model of financing long-term mortgages with short-term commercial paper all created a crisis of liquidity and transparency and led to the markets freezing, he opined.

To explore this premise further, he said, "It was a matter of trust and confidence; people lost trust in the system. There was no clear transparency as to the depth of the problems and where all the instruments were.