The bird flu outbreak was not expected to have as great an impact on the region as Sars did last year, because it was seen being contained and dealt with quickly.

The quarterly poll of more than 100 analysts in 12 countries showed confidence for 2004 being maintained rather than an upgrading of growth forecasts, which was seen in the previous survey, conducted in October 2003.

Then, optimism was rising after the region had overcome the Sars outbreak. Global growth prospects were also improving.

"Asia is the region to watch in 2004," KC Kwok, Standard Chartered Bank's chief economist for North East Asia, said in a regional overview report.

"From a cyclical perspective, Asia will continue to be underpinned by rapidly growing exports, benefiting from the strong rebound in the US economy, the improvements in Europe, and the dramatic growth in intra-regional trade, driven in large part by developments in China." In the current survey, most GDP forecasts for 2004 were within 0.3 of a percentage point of the October forecasts. The notable exception was Hong Kong, where the median forecast for growth has risen by 1.0 percentage point to 5.5 per cent.

"This year we will see growth across the board: tourism, exports and local consumer confidence, which will help revive domestic demand," said Joe Lo, an economist at Citibank in Hong Kong. The survey showed China and India were the outstanding economies of the region, and their influence over Asia was only expected to grow as their domestic demand developed.

Elsewhere, the Thai economy remains strong, and Singapore and Hong Kong, two of the economies worst affected by Sars, were expected to rebound healthily in 2004.

All Asian economies were forecast to show at least four per cent growth for 2004, and the mature Pacific economies of Australia and New Zealand were both forecast to grow more than three per cent.

Earlier this week Standard and Poor's ratings agency said the outlook for sovereign ratings in the region was generally stable in 2004, due to favourable macroeconomic conditions.

Elections feature as a prominent risk for several countries this year, notably the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.