Asian Development Bank lowers economic growth forecast as pandemic continues

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ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada said Asia and the Pacific’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, although the path remains precarious amid renewed outbreaks, new virus variants and an uneven vaccine rollout.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revealed that Asia’s economic growth this year will be slightly lower than previously projected, citing the resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The ADB said recovery is underway in the bank’s 46 members, including China and India, but growth was revised down to 7.2%, from 7.3% projected in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report released in April.



ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada said Asia and the Pacific’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, although the path remains precarious amid renewed outbreaks, new virus variants and an uneven vaccine rollout.



In Southeast Asia, the ADB revised 2021 growth forecasts to 4.1% from 4.5% for Indonesia; 2.0% from 3.0% for Thailand; 5.5% from 6.0% for Malaysia; and 5.8% from 6.7% for Vietnam.

For 2022, the ADB maintained its growth forecasts for most Southeast Asian economies: 5.0% for Indonesia, 5.7% for Malaysia, 5.5% for the Philippines, 4.1% for Singapore, and 7.0% for Vietnam. But it raised the growth projection for Thailand to 4.9% for next year from 4.5%. (NNT)