Asia’s economic growth will slow to a crawl this year amid weaker expansion in China, the Asian Development Bank said Tuesday.
ADB trimmed the growth outlook for developing Asia to 6.3% this year from 6.6% as China’s slowing economic growth weakened momentum throughout the region.
The Manila-based lender also cut its 2014 forecast to 6.4% from 6.7%, Bloomberg reports.
“The drop in trade and scaling back of investment are part of a more balanced growth path for China, and the knock-on effect of its slower pace is definitely a concern for the region,” ADB chief economist Changyong Rhee said in a statement.
“We are also seeing more subdued activity across much of developing Asia.”
The report came a day after Beijing released data showing sluggish growth for a second successive month in April-June, according to AFP.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, said Monday gross domestic product expanded 7.5% in the second quarter, following 7.7% in the previous three months and 7.9% in October-December.
ADB now projects China’s economy growing 7.7% this year and 7.5% in 2014. Both figures are lower than its April forecasts of 8.2% and 8.0%.
Southeast Asia’s economies is expected to expand 5.2% this year, down from 5.4%, the ADB report said.
