The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday trimmed down its growth forecast for South-east Asia this year to 4.6% from 4.7%, as weaker global demand has hampered manufacturing exports.
The region’s growth is expected to rise to 4.9% in 2024, down from earlier projection of 5%, as “weaker global demand for manufactured exports has slowed growth while domestic demand has remained intact,” according to ADB’s latest Asian Development Outlook report.
For this year, Singapore and Vietnam have seen their growth forecasts lowered due to lower external demand, which is having an impact on manufacturing output. In the meantime, the prognosis for Thailand improved while that for Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines remained unchanged.
However, by 2024, South-east Asia is forecast to outpace emerging Asia, which is forecast to grow at 4.7%, down from the 4.8% predicted in April.
Reducing global commodity prices and tighter monetary policy have resulted in a lowered inflation projection for South-East Asia of 4.3% in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024.
