Iya Forbes | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesInflation in consumer goods will persist as a "new normal" as the global economy undergoes structural changes, Asian business leaders warn. While rising interest rates might eventually temper asset prices, deglobalization and decarbonization could continue to drive up costs for everyday goods, said V. Shankar, chief executive of emerging markets investment manager Gateway Partners. "Despite helicopter money and zero interest rates, the reason why the price of goods stayed down for so long is because of a vast efficient manufacturing agent called China, and the integration of global supply chains." Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Singapore's multinational hospitality group Banyan Tree Holdings agreed, saying higher interest rates are not the new normal, rather, zero or low interest rates were "abnormal." "The world is going, in my view, back to probably a long-term situation of low interest rates, and hopefully, low inflation, but zero inflation, zero interest rates, that's the abnormality, and not the future that we're looking at."

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