Asian economy to shrink, first time since 1960s, thanks to Covid-19: ADB

In India, where lockdowns have stalled private spending, GDP will shrink by 9% this year, sharply down from June's forecast of -4%

Developing Asia’s coronavirus-battered economy will shrink for the first time since the early 1960s, with the level of output next year still seen below pre-pandemic projections even as growth recovers, according to the Asian Development Bank.

The region’s gross domestic product will decline by 0.7 per cent in 2020, down from June’s projection of an increase of 0.1 per cent, the Manila-based bank said in a report Tuesday. A contraction this year would be the first since 1962, Yasuyuki Sawada, the ADB’s chief economist, said in a live-streamed briefing.

“The economic threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic remains potent, as