Asian Growth Predictions Increased: Multilaterals

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has upgraded their projected economic growth for ‘developing Asia’ in a new supplement to their annual Asian Development Outlook report.

The increased growth prospects are based to a large extent on higher consumption and demand in the region and on higher than expected growth rates for China, which they predict to grow at 6.7 per cent in 2017 and 6.4 per cent in 2018. The overall prediction for the region covered by ADB is 5.7 per cent growth for 2017 and 5.8 per cent in 2018.

In their recent Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank predicts India to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2017 and 7.5 per cent in 2018 – which is slightly lower than ADB predictions, and growth in Southeast Asia at 4.8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

These predictions may come as a positive signal in a global economy which grew at a below average rate of 3.1 per cent in 2016, according to the IMF, and where concerns over volatility in emerging markets have prompted a slowdown in investment in previous years.