China News Service, Beijing, September 22 (Reporter Liu Liang) Out of concerns about the continuation of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the 22nd lowered the growth forecast for Asian developing economies in 2021, but maintained The Chinese economy is expected to grow by 8.1% this year.
In its flagship economic publication "Asian Development Outlook 2021 (Updated)", ADB forecasts that Asian developing economies will grow by 7.1% this year, compared with the previous April forecast of 7.3%.
Factors that slow down the growth prospects of the region include: variants of the new coronavirus, the return of a local epidemic, the restart of restrictions and blockades at all levels, and slow and uneven vaccination.
The data disclosed by ADB shows that since the emergence of the delta mutant virus in April, the number of new coronary pneumonia cases in Asian developing economies has increased.
The number of new daily cases reached a peak of 430,000 in May.
On August 31, there were more than 163,000 new cases per day.
At the same time, vaccination progress in Asian developing economies is still uneven and lags behind developed economies.
As of August 31, 2021, only 28.7% of the population in this region have completed the vaccination, while the vaccination rates in the United States and the European Union reached 51.8% and 58.0%, respectively.
The recovery in the region remains uneven.
East Asia’s economic growth forecast for this year has been revised up to 7.6% from 7.4% in April. This is because the surge in global demand has boosted the region’s exports.
The growth forecast for East Asia in 2022 remains unchanged at 5.1%.
As the largest economy in the region, China's economic growth is expected to remain at 8.1% and 5.5% in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
As the economic growth prospects of Central Asian countries continue to improve, the economic growth prospects of Central Asian economies this year have been revised up to 4.1% from the 3.4% forecast in April.
ADB expects South Asia’s economic growth rate this year to be 8.8%, compared with a 9.5% forecast for the subregion in April.
India is the largest economy in South Asia, and its growth forecast for 2021 has been revised down from 11.0% to 10.0%.
Growth expectations in Southeast Asia and the Pacific have also been lowered.
The growth forecast for Southeast Asia in 2021 has been revised down to 3.1% from the 4.4% forecast in April.
The economy of the Pacific region will shrink by 0.6% this year, while the April forecast is for a 1.4% increase this year.
According to the Asian Development Bank, inflation in Asian developing economies will remain within control. This is expected to be 2.2% this year and 2.7% in 2022. The current trend of rising international commodity and food prices may exacerbate inflation in some economies in the region. (over)