In an update of its flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2016, ADB kept its 2016 and 2017 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts unchanged from its March estimates. This is aided by resilience in the region’s two largest economies - China and India.
“Strong growth in the PRC and India is helping the region maintain its growth momentum,” Juzhong Zhuang, deputy chief economist, said in a statement released from Hong Kong office “Still, policymakers need to watch for downside risks including potential capital reversals that could be triggered by monetary policy changes in advanced economies, especially the US.”
A delayed recovery continues to hamper major industrial economies (the US, the euro area, and Japan) and the ADO Update has trimmed the earlier 2016 growth forecast to 1.4 per cent, rising slightly to 1.8 per cent in 2017.