ADB lowers India's 2013-14 growth forecast to 5.8%
16 Jul 2013
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects the Indian economy to grow at a slower pace of 5.8 per cent in the 2013-14 financial year, against the 6 per cent growth rate projected in April this year.
ADB attributes this to the slow progress in pushing through the requisite reforms for removing business bottlenecks.
''India's slow progress in pushing through the reforms needed to ease business bottlenecks means growth is likely to be 5.8 per cent this year, slower than the previously forecast 6.0 per cent,'' ADB said in its Asian Development Outlook supplement released today.
ADB, however, maintains India's 2014-15 growth forecast at 6.5 per cent
Elsewhere in South Asia, Sri Lanka will continue to show stronger grow while other parts of the region will see softer than anticipated growth, the report said.
China, developing Asia's largest economy, is expected to expand at 7.7 per cent this year and by 7.5 per cent in 2014, after growing at 7.8 per cent in 2012, the report notes.
The slowdown in China is being reflected in the rest of Asia where import and export growth has slowed given weak external demand. To a lesser extend it has also affected growth in the ASEAN, the report noted.
''The drop in trade and scaling back of investment are part of a more balanced growth path for PRC, and the knock-on effect of its slower pace is definitely a concern for the region. But we are also seeing more subdued activity across much of developing Asia,'' said ADB chief economist Changyong Rhee.
Continued tepid demand from major industrial economies coupled with slower growth in the People's Republic of China (PRC) are weighing on the outlook for developing Asia, according to the ADB report.
Consumer confidence in most of Asia, however, remains robust, according to the report.
The latest Asian Development Outlook Supplement released today trimmed the 2013 growth forecast for the 45 developing member countries of ADB to 6.3 per cent in 2013 and cut its 2014 forecast to 6.4 per cent, against the 6.6 per cent and 6.7 per cent growth rates forecast in April.