(VOVWORLD) - ASEAN economies are expected to grow 4.9% this year and 5.2% in 2023 amid higher vaccination rates, but challenges remain, according to the 11th edition of the ASEAN Economic Integration Brief (AEIB).
The effective roll out of vaccination programs enabled ASEAN member states to reopen, which sped up economic activities and supported employment recovery, said the report. ASEAN continues to work towards fully re-opening the region for tourism and travel.
According to the report, optimism continues into 2022, with manufacturing index continuing to gain momentum despite risks of COVID-19 variants and spikes in commodity prices in the first half of the year.
The region’s economies grew 3% last year from the 3.2% contraction in 2020, driven by robust consumption and trade.
Unemployment rates, which spiked during the pandemic, wound down while trade expanded by 25.1% to more than 3.3 trillion USD last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.