The Philippines and Malaysia are the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Growth in Emerging Asia has shown resilience in the face of global uncertainty. The economies of the ASEAN region have stood up well to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and a global economic slowdown.
The strong economic rebound of the region in the first quarter of 2023 has been headed by the Philippines, expanding by 6.4%. The Philippines and Ireland were the fastest-growing economies in the world in the last quarter, at least among the 29 economies.
Next was Malaysia with a 5.6% economic expansion. The Country’s growth in the first quarter of 2023 was supported by a further expansion of household spending. Continued investment activity, improving the labor market, and higher tourism activities.
While Southeast Asia’s Biggest Economy grew by 5.03%. Indonesia’s economic growth held steady in the first quarter, as improving consumption and government spending offset a slowdown in exports and investment.
According to Capital Economics analyst, Indonesia’s economy is set to struggle over the coming quarters, underlining weakening exports and the impact of Bank Indonesia’s tightening on demand.
Due to softening global demand, Vietnam's economic growth slowed to 3.32% in the first quarter, as exports fell sharply and a general slowdown in Vietnam’s manufacturing sector.
Vietnam is among the world’s most open economies, and weak external demand is taking a toll on the economy. Adding that an over-leveraged property sector has been hit hard by tightening lending conditions.
The Thai economy grew 2.7% in the first quarter of 2023 from a year earlier supported by a strong recovery in tourism and rising consumption. However, the gloomy global economic outlook still weighed on the nation.
Thailand's tourism industry, which accounts for around 18% of GDP, started to recover in the second half of 2022 when Bangkok eased all entry rules to welcome foreign tourists.
However, the sluggish global economic outlook eroded demand and slashed exports. Thailand's exports contracted 4.5% in the January-March quarter, worth $70.3 billion. Due mainly to the poor economic outlook and cutting purchasing power of major trade partners.
Meanwhile, Singapore had almost flat growth at 0.1% on year in the first quarter on further contraction of the manufacturing sector, with growth projected to moderate significantly this year in line with the global downturn.
The first quarter’s actual economic performance of the Southeast Asia nations was a validation of the International Monetary Fund forecast for 2023.
Based on IMF, World Economic Outlook database, the Philippines will be the growth leader among the Emerging Economies in Asia and the Pacific, beating India, and China, which is expected to expand by 6%, compared to 5.9% and 5.2% to the later.
Meanwhile, among the other major economies in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is expected to grow by 5.8%. Malaysia by 4.5%. Indonesia by 5%. Thailand by 3.4%, and Singapore by 1.5%.
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