In its latest supplement to the Asian Development Outlook 2024, the bank's flagship annual economic publication, the ADB said that resilient domestic demand and strong export growth, particularly in electronics, fueled the region's fast growth.
The Manila-based bank raised East Asia's 2024 growth projection to 4.6 percent due to strong exports of semiconductors and other goods driven by the artificial intelligence boom, with the 2025 projection maintained at 4.2 percent.
The growth forecast for Southeast Asia remains at 4.6 percent in 2024 and 4.7 percent in 2025, and for the Pacific at 3.3 percent in 2024 and 4 percent in 2025.
The growth forecast for South Asia remains steady at 6.3 percent for 2024, with the 2025 projection down marginally to 6.5 percent.
The outlook for growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia is raised to 4.5 percent from 4.3 percent in 2024 and 5.1 percent from 5 percent in 2025.
Headline inflation in developing Asia is now projected to ease further from 3.3 percent last year to 2.9 percent this year, stabilizing at 3.0 percent in 2025.
However, "interest rates in the United States and other advanced economies continue to shape the outlook, which is subject to several downside risks," the ADB said, adding that uncertainty about the U.S. election outcome, elevated geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, and weather-related events could hurt growth.
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