Economics

Asia’s Economy to Shrink, First Time Since 1960s, ADB Says

China to buck downturn, India to contract 9% this year
GDP levels in 2021 still seen below pre-pandemic projections

Watch: Yasuyuki Sawada, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank, explains why the multilateral lender lowered its forecast for the region’s gross domestic product for this year to a contraction of 0.7% from its June’s projection of an increase of 0.1%, and discusses when he expects to see a recovery. (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Siegfrid Alegado and Michelle Jamrisko

September 15, 2020 at 1:30 AM UTC

Updated on

September 15, 2020 at 4:06 AM UTC

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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% in 2020, down from June’s projection of an increase of 0.1%, 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.