TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The World Bank announced in a report that growth in developing East Asia and Pacific remained resilient and is expected to ease only modestly during the 2016-2018 period. The report, titled 'East Asia and Pacific Economic Update' suggested that countries in the Asia and Pacific region should continue to prioritize monetary and fiscal policies aimed at reducing vulnerabilities and strengthen credibility, while deepening structural reforms.
Growth in developing East Asia is expected to ease from 6.5 percent in 2015 to 6.3 percent in 2016 and 6.2 percent in 2017-2018. The report also predicted that Chinese economic growth will shift to slower, more sustainable growth at 6.7 percent in 2016 and 6.5 percent in 2017, compared to the previous 6.9 percent in 2015.
"Developing East Asia and the Pacific continues to contribute strongly to global growth. The region accounted for almost two-fifths of global growth in 2015, more than twice the combined contribution of all other developing regions," said Victoria Kwakwa, incoming World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice President.
Kwakwa added that the region's macroeconomic policies, and efforts to boost revenue made by commodity-exporting countries had also provided benefits for the region. However, Kwakwa underlined to importance of making progress in structural reforms to achieve sustainable growth.
MAHINDA ARKYASA
