World Bank: Growth in East Asia & Pacific – sustaining resilience

The World Bank published its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update today. According to the report, the outlook for developing East Asia is expected to remain broadly positive in the next three years, driven by domestic demand and gradual recovery in the global economy and commodity prices.

“Sound policies and a gradual pickup in global economic prospects have helped developing East Asia and Pacific sustain growth and reduce poverty,” said Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific.

China is expected to grow moderately, reflecting the government’s measures to reduce excess capacity and credit expansion. In the rest of the region, including the large economies in Southeast Asia, growth is expected to pick up slightly to 5 per cent in 2017 and 5.1 per cent in 2018, up from 4.9 per cent in 2016.

The report calls for macroeconomic prudence to address the significant risks to the region’s economic prospects.