Developing Asian economies will expand 4.8 percent in 2023 and 2024, up from last year’s 4.2 percent, as the continued easing of pandemic restrictions boosts consumption, tourism and investment, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report on Tuesday.
“Improved consumption and investment are boosting recovery in many regional economies, offsetting the impacts of elevated food and energy prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other global headwinds,” the Manila-based lender said its Asian Development Outlook 2023.
“Prospects for economies in Asia and the Pacific are brighter, and they are poised for a strong recovery as we return to normalization following the pandemic,” ADB Chief Economist Albert Park said in the report.
With the lifting of the zero-COVID strategy last December, gross domestic product (GDP) of China, Asia’s biggest economy, is forecast to expand 5.0 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2024, compared with 3.0 percent growth in 2022, according to the bank. India, the region’s second-largest economy, is expected to grow 6.4 percent this year and 6.7 percent next, due to healthy domestic demand.
The ADB also said economies of Southeast Asia are forecast to grow 4.7 percent in 2023 and 5.0 percent in 2024.
Despite the positive estimates, the ADB warned that risks to developing Asia’s economic outlook persist, saying, “A protracted or escalated Russian invasion of Ukraine could stoke renewed spikes in commodity prices and global inflation and induce further monetary tightening.” It also pointed out that tighter global financial conditions, combined with the increase in debt over the past decade and during the pandemic, have elevated financial stability risks, as evidenced by the recent banking sector turmoil in the US and Europe.
Developing Asia covers 46 nations in Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, but excludes Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The ADB is a multilateral development finance institution dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific. Established in 1966, it is now owned by 68 members, with 49 from the region, as well as the US, Britain and Germany.
Source: Kuwait News Agency