(VOVWORLD) -Developing Asia's growth this year is expected to be slightly stronger than previously forecast thanks to healthy domestic demand in many economies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday.
 Illustrative image (Photo: AFP) |
The ADB nudged up its 2024 growth forecast for developing Asia to 4.9% from 4.8% projected in December, but warned of persistent challenges, such as rising geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, that could disrupt supply chains and reignite inflation.
ADB's growth forecast this year was slightly weaker than the region's 5.0% growth in 2023. Growth for 2025 was also forecast at 4.9%.
China remains a weight on the regional growth outlook. The ADB forecast that China will grow 4.8% in 2024, which is higher than its 4.5% estimate made in December, but slower than the growth of 5.2% in 2023.
The ADB forecast that regional inflation will slow to 3.2% in 2024 from 3.3% in 2023, and ease further to 3.0% in 2025.