Hong Kong/Prague - During his Asia tour, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said the country's economy is "relatively resistant to the global recession" and he expects growth as early as next year.

"The Czech Republic is a country that has a healthy banking and financial sector without any toxic assets when compared with other countries in the region," Fischer said over the weekend in Hong Kong at an investment forum.

"I'm pretty sure that investment activities will recover in the forthcoming months and next year," he added.

Fischer said the Czech economy may grow by 0.3 to 0.5 percent next year. It contracted in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first three months of this year.

The economy emerged from recession between the first and second quarters, growing 0.3 percent But experts claim it will take months before growth fully revives.

In the first quarter of 2009 the country saw $342.8 million in investment. The 2008 attracted  $2.97 billion, according to data from the Czech National Bank. Hong Kong is a major export market for the Czech Republic.

European countries represented $2.47 billion of the total new investment last year with Asian countries investing $275.7 million of the total.

Jan Fischer is scheduled to visit the Philippines on Monday. He will meet the Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to discuss issues of bilateral interest.