September 16, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released on September 15 the Asian Development Outlook 2020 reporting an update on the economic activities of 45 countries in the Asian Pacific in the current financial year 2020-21. The ADB stated the COVID-19 pandemic has pulled the region's developing economies into recession. The ADB revealed the first negative quarterly forecast since 1962 as the first regional recession in 60 years. In addition, developing Asia's regional economies are reportedly expected to shrink by 0.7% in 2020.

The ADB has seen China, the world’s second-largest economy, decline in its 2020 growth forecast at 1.8%. Meanwhile, the ADB also has projected India a 9% decline in its economy during the current financial year 2020-21. ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada indicated that India imposed a strict lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic which hurt the country’s economic activities badly.

According to ADB’s 2020 outlook, the regional economy is expected to recover in the year 2021 with projected growth of 6.8%. China's economy is expected to rebound by 7.7% growth while India will also bounce back with 8% growth in 2021. Sawada suggested taking effective measures to deal with the expansion of the capacity to control, investigate, monitor, and treat the COVID-19 pandemic, which is important for the growth of the regional economy in the next financial year 2021.

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