ADB projects 6.2% growth for Asia in CY14

Asian Development Bank (ADB) today projected a steady economic growth of 6.2% for Asia in calender year 2014.

For 2015, the Manila-based multilateral funding agency has projected a growth rate of 6.4%.

"Asian Development Outlook 2014 (ADO), released today, forecasts developing Asia will achieve gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.2% in 2014, and 6.4% in 2015. The region grew 6.1% in 2013," ADB said in a release here.

"Developing Asia is successfully navigating a challenging global economic landscape and is well positioned to grow steadily over the next two years," ADB President Takehiko Nakao said in the statement.

ADB said demand for Asia's output is expected to grow as recovery in major industrial economies gains momentum.

"Combined GDP growth in the United States, the euro area, and Japan is expected to pick up to 1.9% in 2014 from 1% 2013 before strengthening further to 2.2% in 2015."

As per the outlook, Asia is poised for steady growth in 2014 even as higher demand from recovering advanced economies will be dampened somewhat by moderating growth in China.

In the developing Asian sub-regions, East Asia will see its growth trend flatten because of moderating growth in China, and a slower growth in China will offset upswings in the newly industrialised economies such as Korea, Hong Kong and Taipei, it said.

South Asia remained the slowest growing sub-region with GDP expansion of 4.8% in 2013, it added.

"... Moderation in India had an outsized impact on the sub-regional average. Growth (in South Asia) is forecast to improve to 5.3% in 2014 and 5.8% in 2015, with projected recovery in India to 5.5% and 6%, (respectively during the period), assuming the implementation of long-delayed structural reforms," it said.

For Southeast Asia - Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia - growth patterns will be dominated by country-specific factors, it said, adding that the GDP decelerated to 5% during 2013 in the region, on soft export markets.

However, Central Asia is expected to maintain its growth pace on strong performance by Kazakhstan by way of public spending.

"Unexpectedly strong performance in Kazakhstan, which accounts for nearly half of sub-regional GDP, and sharp gains in Azerbaijan and the Kyrgyz Republic raised Central Asia's growth rate by nearly a percentage point to 6.5% in 2013.

"The sub-region is forecast to maintain this rate through 2015, though tensions arising from events in Ukraine pose downside risk," it said.

Further, for Pacific region, it is expected to rebound on production of natural gas in Papua New Guinea.