Trade tensions tie down Asian Pacific economies: World Bank

Growth in developing Asian Pacific economies is expected to slow this year due to weakening demand and increasing uncertainty amid ongoing trade tensions, a World Bank report said on Thursday.

The World Bank said in the October edition of Weathering Growing Risks that growth for developing economies in the region is expected to slow from 6.3 per cent in 2018 to 5.8 per cent in 2019, and to 5.7 and 5.6 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively, reflecting a broad-based decline in export growth and manufacturing activities.

The region's growth prospects face an intensified set of risks, including trade tensions, faster-than-expected slowdowns in major economies such as the Eurozone and the United States, as well as uncertainties around the Brexit, said Andrew Mason, World Bank Lead Economist for East Asia and the Pacific.

The World Bank also warned that the short term gain of some countries in the region would not be unsustainable in the long run.IANS