SIMIC

THE economic headwinds that faced Asia last year have subsided, easing global finances, thus reducing food and oil prices as the Chinese economy rebounds, according the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development.
"These developments are helping improve prospects across the region, with growth set to accelerate to 4.7 per cent this year from 3.8 per cent in 2022. This will make it by far the most dynamic of the world's major regions," said the statement.
"The region's emerging and developing economies, poised to expand by 5.3 per cent this year, drive this dynamism. These economies are hitting their stride as Covid crisis supply chain disruptions fade and the service sector booms.
"China and India alone are expected to contribute more than half of global growth this year, with the rest of Asia contributing an additional quarter. Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are all back to their robust pre-pandemic growth.
"The most significant revision since we last published forecasts in October has been to China, where a sudden re-opening has paved the way for a faster-than-expected rebound in activity. China has strong trade and tourism linkages, so this is positive news for Asia, as half of the region's trade takes place between its economies.
Our analysis in the latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific shows that, for every percentage point of higher growth in China, output in the rest of Asia rises by around 0.3 per cent.