Raising its growth forecast for Asia’s economy for this year, the Asian Development Bank in its latest report has said that the South Asia will remain the fastest growing of all sub-regions in Asia and the Pacific, while Indian economy is expected to achieve previous growth projections 7.4 per cent in 2017 and 7.6 per cent in 2018 on the back of strong consumption demand.
In its Asian Development Outlook Supplement report, the ADB sees the improved growth prospects for developing Asia owing to a strong export demand in the first quarter (Q1) and pegged growth rate of 5.9 per cent for it. The report further said that the combined growth for the major industrial economies will remain at 1.9 per cent in 2017 and 2018.
ADB report sees improved outlook for Central Asia this year as stronger domestic demand and exports in some countries have fueled an unexpected recovery in the sub-region, forecasting growth rate at 3.2 per cent in 2017 and 3.8 per cent in 2018 compared to the original projections of 3.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. Besides, it said that growth projections for Southeast Asia are expected to remain at 4.8 per cent in 2017 and 5.0 per cent in 2018.