Asia’s developing countries will suffer their worst year for growth in six decades this year, according to the Asian Development Bank, which has slashed its previous forecast and said it now expects the region to grow by just 0.1 per cent in 2020.
In a regular supplement to its annual economic report on the region published on Thursday, the Manila-based multilateral bank sharply downgraded its economic outlook for the region from the 2.2 per cent growth it forecast in April. The new forecast would represent developing Asia’s slowest growth since 1961.
“Economies in Asia and the Pacific will continue to feel the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic this year even as lockdowns are slowly eased and select economic activities restart in a ‘new normal’ scenario,” said ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada.