Here’s a thought: if economic growth in developed markets were to fall off the cliff, would growth in emerging markets save the world economy? Would the penny-saving populations of Asia at least provide a backstop? In short, is there any hope of a growing market anywhere, for Western corporations which are faced with declining sales and revenues from their home markets?

In his most recent note to clients, Can Asia Save the World?, HSBC’s Frederic Neumann illustrates why it’s not all bad news.

Neumann first looks at global GDP and breaks down contribution to global GDP by the US, the eurozone, China and Asia (excluding Japan and China). He points out that each year since 2006 Asia has contributed more to the global economic pie than the US and the EU combined.