ICC Secretary General Guy Sebban today appeared on CNBC Europe's Morning Exchange show to discuss the results of the latest ICC-Ifo World Economic Survey which were published yesterday.

Mr Sebban told CNBC presenter Louisa Bojesen that the third quarter poll of over 1000 business experts in 95 countries indicated that we are now seeing the end of the worldwide economic slowdown. An improvement in global economic prospects is expected over the next six months.

"During the first half of 2005 the US and Asia were in a better situation than Europe, with US growth fuelled by strong consumer spending and business investment, and Asian growth by exports driven by global demand," Mr Sebban said.

"Europe will probably continue to grow at a lower rate than the rest of the world, but we know that all economies are interdependent. Therefore, in an open world economy, Europe should benefit from stronger growth in the rest of the world," he said.

Mr Sebban attributed Europe's slow growth in part to its less than optimal conditions for doing business and called on governments to create an environment that stimulates entrepreneurship.

In response to a question about the impact of oil prices on the global economy, Mr Sebban said that the recent hike in prices has had less of an impact on the global economy than one might think. He put this down to the fact that services now represent increasingly higher percentages of the world economy and are less energy intensive than manufacturing and agriculture.

The interview also covered the poll's findings regarding the current climate for interest rates. Mr Sebban said that the survey suggested interest rates would remain stable in the euro zone but that they had slowly started to rise in the US and some Asian countries, where they have been very low in the last few years. He added that higher interest rates should not jeopardize economic growth in these regions, as they should largely be compensated by productivity improvements and increased trade.

Finally, Mr Sebban touched upon the respondents' assessments of currency valuations.

"The US dollar is still undervalued, even though this undervaluing was reduced earlier in the year," he said. "The euro is not as strong today as it was at the beginning of the year, mainly because of political reasons, as its value decreased just after the "No" to the French and Dutch referenda on the proposed EU constitution."

"Therefore, the US dollar is more appropriately valued than it was but remains undervalued, as does the Chinese yuan, despite its recent re-evaluation," he concluded.

CNBC Europe is Europe's leading financial news channel, reaching more than 85 million offices and households worldwide.

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