Development bank cuts growth forecast for East Asia in 2012
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Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday downgraded its growth forecast for emerging East Asia next year amid a worsening euro debt crisis and a fragile US economy.
The Manila-based ADB said East Asia's economy was now expected to expand at a slower rate of 7.2 per cent in 2012, down from its September forecast of 7.5 per cent.
Growth in 2011 is still predicted to be 7.5 per cent, the bank added in its Asia Economic Monitor report.
The report covers the 10 Association of South-East Asian countries - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar - as well as China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.
It warned that the region's growth in 2012 could be a weaker 5.4 per cent if the eurozone and US economies contract as much as they did in 2009.//DPA
