The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday raised its economic growth estimate for developing Asia to 6% for this year from a previous estimate of 5.9%, citing stronger than expected exports and China’s resilience. The Manila-based ADB kept its 2018 growth forecast at 5.8%.
“Developing Asia’s growth momentum, supported by recovering exports, demonstrates that openness to trade remains an essential component of inclusive economic development,” ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada said in a report, an update of the bank’s previous estimates released in September, news outlets reported.
Sawada said, "Countries can further take advantage of the global recovery by investing in human capital and physical infrastructure that will help sustain growth over the long-term."
China’s economy, the world’s second largest, is projected to expand by 6.8% this year, higher than the ADB’s prior estimate of 6.7%, on strong consumption, the bank said. It kept China’s 2018 growth forecast at 6.4%.
By region, South Asia will remain the fastest growing region in Asia Pacific, the ADB said, even after the bank cut its 2017 forecast to 6.5% from 6.7%, with India’s growth outlook lowered to 6.7% from 7%.
The recovery in the Indian economy “is more subdued than assumed earlier due to rising crude oil prices, soft private investment growth, and weather-related risks to agriculture,” the ADB said.
For 2018, India’s economy is projected to grow by 7.3%, slower than ADB’s previous estimate of 7.4%, while the overall growth forecast for South Asia was maintained at 7%, Reuters reported.
The growth outlook for Southeast Asia was raised to 5.2% for both this year and in 2018, higher than the September forecasts of 5% and 5.1%, respectively, the bank said.
The report says growth for East Asia is revised upward to 6.2% in 2017, from 6%, while 2018 projections of 5.8% are unchanged.
ADB also revised Vietnam’s growth prospect upward to 6.7% in both 2017 and 2018 compared with earlier forecasts of 6.3 and 6.5%, respectively. The report showed Vietnam's GDP for the first three quarters of 2017 grew by 6.4%, up from 5.9% in the same period of 2016.
“Agriculture recovered and grew by 2.8% in the first nine months as drought eased in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands. Industry and construction remained strong despite drag from the mining and oil subsector, which contracted by 8.1% in the first half of the year,” the report said.
Subdued Recovery
Although the strong manufacturing expansion helped the economy reverse five consecutive quarters of deceleration in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, it says the recovery is more subdued than assumed earlier due to rising crude oil prices, soft private investment growth, and weather-related risks to agriculture.
It says the sub-region is benefiting from stronger investments and exports, with accelerating growth for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, adding that infrastructure investment continued to play an important role in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Robust domestic demand, particularly private consumption and investment, will continue to support growth in the sub-region, according to the report.
The outlook for Central Asia this year has further improved as stronger domestic demand and exports in some countries have fueled recovery in the sub-region. Growth is expected to reach 3.6% in 2017 compared to the 3.3% originally projected. The 2018 forecasts for Central Asia are unchanged at 3.9%.
The report says that growth in the Pacific is expected to remain at 2.9% in 2017 and 3.2% in 2018 with Papua New Guinea, the sub-region's largest economy, continuing its gradual recovery due to rebounding mining and agriculture industries.
Post-disaster reconstruction and tourism are expected to drive growth further in the sub-region, particularly in Fiji and Vanuatu, the report says.
The report further says that combined growth for the major industrial economies is revised upward to 2.2% for 2017 and 2% for 2018, due to robust domestic demand in the euroarea, and in Japan due to private investment and net exports.
Growth projections for the United States remain unchanged at 2.2% in 2017 and 2.4% in 2018, according to the report.
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