Asia resilient to global slowdown: ADB

SINGAPORE: Asia's economic growth will likely be hurt by the slowdown in the United States and Europe, but the impact should be minimal, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday.

ADB chief economist Changyong Rhee said the development institution is expected to slash its economic growth forecast for Asia's developing economies this year and next.

"Definitely, it's going to slow down and we have already started to see some slowdown in exports from Asia," he told journalists in Singapore.

"But having said that, I believe that the current situation at this moment is not like the crisis in 2008. We believe that Asian economic growth at this moment is robust and resilient enough to cope with a slowdown in the advanced economies."

The Manila-based ADB in March forecast developing Asia would grow 7.8 percent this year and 7.7 percent next year.

Rhee said however the ADB may have to revise its projections "slightly downwards" when it releases its latest outlook in September.

"As long as it (the economic slowdown) is not like 2008, Asia has more resilience to continue its growth momentum and still remain as an engine of growth for the global economy," he said.

Rhee added that another "full-blown" global recession such as the one that happened in 2008 was "very unlikely."

Asia rebounded faster than the rest of the world after the 2008 recession which was sparked by problems in the US housing market and lasted well into 2009.

Rhee also said that the ADB will raise its inflation target this year above its earlier forecast of 5.4 percent after consumer prices rose higher than expected in the first six months.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011