Continued moderate demand from the major industrial economies coupled with slower growth in People’s Republic of China (PRC) could mould the outlook for developing Asia, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said. The latest ADB outlook supplement released on Tuesday trimmed the 2013 and 2014 growth forecast of the 45 developing ADB member to 6.3 and 6.4 percent respectively. In April, the ADB had predicted the region to grow at 6.6 and 6.7percent for the two years. “The drop in trade and scaling back of investment are part of a more balanced growth path for PRC, and the knock-on effect of its slower pace is definitely a concern for the region. But we are also seeing more subdued activity across much of developing Asia,” ADB Chief Economist Changyong Rhee said. Asia’s largest economy, China, is likely to see its economy expand 7.7 percent this year and 7.5 percent in 2014 after growth of 7.8percent in 2012. Slower growth in China has subdued the outlook for the entire east Asia region as well as, to a lesser extent, for southeast Asia. Meanwhile, in India, slow progress in pushing through the reforms needed to ease business bottlenecks means growth is likely to be at 5.8 percent instead of the previous forecast of six percent. Elsewhere in south Asia, Sri Lanka continues to grow strongly while other parts of the region will see lower than anticipated growth.
Slower growth in China threatens Asian growth targets: ADB report
