As Donald Trump's presidency and the fallout from Brexit continue to create a global climate of uncertainty, Deloitte says 2017 will be better than many think, thanks to Asia.
The global accounting firm said that despite the protectionist rhetoric from the United States and gloomy forecasts from the International Monetary Fund, three factors suggest global growth is about to give a pleasant surprise, with Asia leading the way.
"First, the global economy is finally normalising after a decade of shocks and a natural healing process is underpinning a more resilient recovery," said Deloitte economist Chris Richardson.
"Second, world trade is already lifting and the benefits of this are spilling into Asia. And third, Asia's mega-economies of India and China are increasingly being powered by consumer booms acting as a stabilising force in their economies and for the region."
Deloitte New Zealand partner Linda Meade said this was good news for New Zealand, which was increasingly connected to the economies and cultures of Asia.
"With nearly 60 per cent of the world's population, Asia is a primary hub of global diversity and innovation and is hugely important for New Zealand's future prosperity and wellbeing," she said.
Deloitte predicted that global growth could in fact accelerate in 2017, with leading indicators already pointing to a lift in world trade.
"This will begin a virtuous circle in which global growth triggers an upsurge in trade which, in turn, fuels stronger growth," the company said.
"Asia's major markets of China and India are also powering ahead and growth in most other countries in the region [is] strengthening, aided by a buoyant US economy."
Of course, there would still be risks in 2017, the largest of which may be the anticipated depreciation of the Chinese Yuan, which could affect the region's recovery.
However, China and India were both seeing consumer booms, providing the region with an additional line of defence should global growth fail to be as good as expected.
"There has never been a better time to create a cohesive narrative that reflects the interdependence of the region and provides a glimpse of what's possible across Asia," Meade concluded.
Deloitte's predictions stand in stark contrast to ASB bank's, which said earlier this week that Donald Trump's inauguration marked the "end of the world as we know it".
"This is very much the end of the world as we know it, with the new President likely to take the US in a different direction to what the rest of the world has been accustomed to," ASB said.
"What exact changes will be made, and the impact on New Zealand (direct and indirect) is still difficult to ascertain at this point. What we do know is that change is coming."