ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ASIA TO HIT 4% IN ’24–UNCTAD
THE Asian economy as a whole is projected to grow by 4 percent in 2024 amid trade disruptions, climate change and persisting inequalities, among others, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (Unctad) Trade and development report.
Unctad’s latest projections point to global growth of 2.6 percent in 2024, slightly slower than in 2023 on the back of “pressing challenges” of trade disruptions, climate change, low growth, underinvestment and inequalities “growing more serious.”
As persisting trade disruptions made it to the list of the pressing challenges for this year’s economic outlook, Unctad speci cally noted that the situation in the Red Sea is likely to remain “highly uncertain” as long as the war in Gaza endures. With this, the UN trade body noted that global merchandise trade remains “subdued” while trade in services shows “more dynamism.”
Meanwhile, in terms of regional growth, the UN trade body said it sees the Asian economy growing by 4 percent in 2024, as it disclosed the respective economic growth projections of some countries within Asia.
For one, Unctad said China expects to grow by around 5 percent on the back of its “economic con dence and ambition” as the country’s economic data from January to Feb
ruary showed that its manufacturing sector and merchandise trade grew by 7.7 percent year on year, and 8.7 percent, respectively.
India, for its part, expects to expand by 6.5 percent this year as it banks on continued growth of its services sector in 2024.
Unctad noted Indonesia is seen to grow its economy by 4.9 percent this year which is expected to be driven by “strong” private consumption, public outlays on large infrastructure projects and the recovery of tourism.
Japan, meanwhile, projects its economy to grow by 1 percent this year as its domestic demand remains low and wages remain subdued, among others.
For the Republic of Korea, Unctad said the country had set a 2.1-percent economic growth forecast for this year on the back of reduced export, slowing consumption growth and a “sharp fall” in construction investment as well as tight scal and monetary policies.
Saudi Arabia sees a 2.7-percent growth for its non-oil sectors in 2024 while the Turkish economy is likely to grow by 3.5 percent in 2024 due to an expected “continued tight monetary policy” which Unctad said will continue to negatively a ect domestic investment and consumption.
While the Philippines was not included in the countries cited in the trade and development report update of Unctad, the Cabinetlevel Development Budget and Coordination Committee (DBCC) had set a growth target for the Philippine economy this year at around 6 to 7 percent due to the continuing slowdown of the global economy and the uptick in oil prices, among others.