Volume 2, issue #13 - 06-05-1997

Apr. 21, 1997 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced its prognosis for economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, covering 35 nations and districts.
According the report, the average economic growth rate on a GDP base for 1996 was 7.4%, down from 8.2% in 1995. While the rate is still higher than other regions, there is a downtrend, and 1997 and 1998 rates are likely to hover in the bottom half of the 7 percentile range. The report noted such reasons for the turn as sluggish exports of electronic equipment and tighter governmental policies implemented to avert overheated economic growth. By district, NIEs members, such as Singapore and South Korea, faced diminished demand for electronic and computer-related goods. The rate in this area slipped from 7.5% to 6.3%. Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand experienced slow export activity and inflation-control measures by government. The rate here thinned from 8.2% to 7.4%. China succeeded in moving from four straight years of double-digit growth to a more even-paced expansion, holding at 9.7% and taking the world lead in economic figures.