TOKYO (AP) -- Companies in the crisis-stricken economies of Asia are recovering more quickly than expected, but investors should avoid growing too optimistic too soon, World Bank officials said today. The outlook for Asian companies in the year ahead depends on implementing financial and corporate sector restructuring that combats the causes of the nearly two-year-old turmoil, they said. ``Recovery is proceeding in some countries and in some sectors even more rapidly than the firms thought would be the case a few months ago,'' said Francis Colaco, president of Asia-Pacific Management Consultants Inc. and a consultant to the World Bank. In particular, there was growing optimism among South Korean firms, which have done more to cut bloated work forces and reform their operations than companies elsewhere, said Dominique Dwor-Frecaut, a senior economist for the World Bank. The officials spoke at a press conference in Tokyo. Their conclusions are based on a World Bank survey of 4,000 companies in South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand between November 1998 and February 1999. The results were first presented in Bangkok last month. Recent rallies in Asian stocks have been seen as a sign of recovery. But World Bank officials warned against growing too optimistic. ``We are talking about a spectacular recovery only in asset markets and stock markets, but these markets are very small,'' Dwor-Frecaut said. ``You need only a very small capital flow to have a very big impact on these markets one way or the other.'' To ensure a full recovery, the countries should strengthen laws on bankruptcy and mergers so resources are transferred quickly from failed companies to healthy ones, the World Bank said. The countries should also develop their stock and bond markets so companies have sources of funding other than bank loans. South Korea's economy is expected to grow about 2 percent this year, compared with a 5.5 percent contraction in 1998, according to a recent report from the International Monetary Fund. The Philippines and Malaysia are also likely to grow this year, although at modest rates. -=-=- 