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Japan's economy ends the year on a sour note as China looks set to continue fast-paced growth MOREINFO: A visit by Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda to China this week signals a new warmth in bilateral relations. But the economies of the Asian powerhouses have walked on a very different path in 2007. SCRIPT: A ceremony opening a summit between Japan and China. Top officials may be sharing a world stage...but the economies of the two countries look entirely different. Japan's interest rates are near historical lows with a weak stock market and sluggish growth hampering investment. China has raised interest rates six times in 2007 as a means to put the brakes on its red hot economy. Regional money manager says Japan is past its prime while China is soaring: Puru Saxena runs an investment firm in Hong Kong: SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) PURU SAXENA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PURU SAXENA WEALTH MANAGEMENT SAYING: "Japan has seen the best they had the industrialisation and urbanisation 20 years ago. They had a massive boom which ended in the bubble popping in 1990. So I don't think Japan's going to provide the best returns becasue they have a demographic problem. Even the Japanese are now investing their money overseas." Statistics for market performance this year tell a similar story. As a gong closed trade in Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 11 percent in 2007, its first annual fall in half a decade. Shanghai shares look set to gain 80 percent this year with companies such as PetroChina listing on the exchange. Investors have also rushed into Hong Kong's stock market in a bid to buy into fast-growing China. China's ICBC bank is now the largest in the world by market cap, far eclipsing Japan's biggest financial institution. Tara Joseph-Hui, Reuters, Hong Kong .