Economic Growth in Asian Countries to slow down due to Coronavirus pandemic By CIOReviewIndia Team

Economic Growth in Asian Countries to slow down due to Coronavirus pandemic

CIOReviewIndia Team | Tuesday, 31 March 2020, 11:20 IST

  • No Image

Economic Growth in Asian Countries to slow down due to Coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is not just disrupting the day to day lives of people around the globe but it is also slowing down the economic growth of China, the Pacific and other East Asian countries, as per the economic update provided by World bank on Mar 30th.

The coronavirus is causing “an unprecedented global shock, which could bring growth to a halt and could increase poverty across the region,” said AadityaMatoo, World Bank Chief Economist for East Asia and the Pacific.

Owing to the rapidly changing situation, the bank said it is difficult to forecast precise growth rates in developing economies.  However, the growth rate in these regions is anticipated to slow to 2.1 per cent in the baseline scenario in 2020, -0.5 per cent in a lower-case scenario when compared to the estimated growth of 5.8 per cent last year.

Growth in Chinaafter the COVID-19 outbreak, was projected to slow down to 2.3 per cent in the baseline scenario. The country may escape a recession, but will nevertheless, suffer a sharp slowdown, unfortunately.

In an updated forecast released yesterday, the World Bank urged countries in the region to invest in healthcare capacity and take targeted fiscal measures such as providing subsidies for sick pay and healthcare in order to mitigate some of the immediate impacts of the pandemic. Moreover, it also asked countries to follow Korea’s example to ramp up testing and containment measures, as this would help economies to return to normal more quickly. “This is not rocked science,” Mattoo said.

“In this interdependent world where our economic destinies are intertwined, there’s going to be mutual amplification, because the shock is simultaneously affecting all these important countries,” added Mattoo.

However, “The good news is that the region has strengths it can tap, but countries will have to act fast and at scale not previously imagined,” said Victoria Kwawka, Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank.

🍪 Do you like cookies?

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more...