IMF raises Asia 2009 growth forecast on improved prospects for China, India

September 22nd, 2009 MANILA - The overall economic expansion of developing Asia this year was expected to rise to 3.9 percent, sustained by the region's larger economies like China and India, the Asian Development Bank said in a report Tuesday. The update to ADB's flagship annual economic publication Asian Development Outlook, upgraded its forecast of the region's growth from a slightly lower 3.4 percent projection made in March and said it is likely to top 6.4 percent in 2010.

September 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Owing to increased public spending and improved business confidence, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has hiked its growth forecast for India from 5 percent to 6 percent this fiscal. The update to ADB's Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2009 report released Tuesday said that India will grow at 7 percent in 2010, a revision from its earlier forecast of 6.5 percent.

September 21st, 2009 ADB raises Asia forecasts as region leads recoveryBEIJING — The Asian Development Bank raised its growth forecasts for China and India on Tuesday and said the region is leading a global recovery but warned against ending stimulus efforts too quickly. The bank increased its 2009 growth forecast for China from its 7 percent outlook in March to 8.2 percent, and India from 5 percent to 6 percent.

September 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's economic growth is forecast to slip to 5 percent in 2009 from 7 percent during the previous calendar year, even as the world output is slated to decline by 2.7 percent, said a report released by a UN agency Monday. "Since domestic demand accounts for a large and increasing share of total demand, South Asia, particularly India, is expected to see continued growth in 2009," said the annual Trade and Development Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

September 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Global consultancy Moody's, which last week contended that the drought would bring India's growth down to 6.2 percent, Thursday revised its prediction to say the "stronger-than-expected start" this fiscal spelt a 6.4 percent growth in 2009-10, and 9 percent by 2012-13. "India's June quarter economic performance surprised slightly on the upside.

August 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Global rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) Thursday raised India's growth forecast for the current fiscal from 5.8 percent to 6.3 percent taking into account the improving performance of the industrial sector. "If yesterday's number (industrial production figures released Wednesday) is anything to go by, credit offtake in the coming days would be much better than we have anticipated earlier," said Subir Gokarn, chief economist at the Indian arm of S&P.

July 27th, 2009 MUMBAI - A day ahead of the review of its monetary policy Tuesday, India's central bank sharply raised its growth forecast for the country's economy to 6.5 percent from its earlier projection of 5.7 percent. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the revision was on account of positive outlook emanating from several sources, including the performance of core infrastructure industries, overall manufacturing output and roboust showing by the services sector.

July 14th, 2009 Singapore's economy emerges from recession in Q2SINGAPORE — Singapore's economy grew for the first time in a year, soaring 20 percent in the second quarter, a sign Asia is emerging from the global slump. Gross domestic product jumped an annualized, seasonally adjusted 20.4 percent in the three months through June from the previous quarter, the Trade and Industry Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

July 7th, 2009 China's 2Q growth may top 7.5 pct, researcher saysBEIJING — China's economy is improving and growth might top 7.5 percent for the quarter that ended in June, a central bank researcher said in an official journal. Growth is benefiting from Beijing's stimulus spending and rising investment and consumption, said Zhang Jianhua, chief of the bank's research bureau, in an article in the July issue of the bank's magazine, China Finance.

June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Warning that the world is entering an era of slower growth, the World Bank Monday said that without India and China, the developing countries' output would shrink 1.6 percent. But with the two Asian engines of growth included, developing countries are expected to grow by only 1.2 percent this year, after 8.1 percent growth in 2007 and 5.9 percent growth in 2008.

June 22nd, 2009 World Bank cuts 2009 global growth forecastBEIJING — The World Bank has cut its 2009 global growth forecast, saying the world economy will shrink by 2.9 percent and warning that a drop in investment in developing countries will increase poverty. "The global recession has deepened," the Washington-based multilateral lender said in a report.

June 18th, 2009 World Bank raises China 2009 growth forecastBEIJING — The World Bank raised its 2009 economic growth forecast for China from 6.5 percent to 7.2 percent due to its stimulus-driven investment boom but cautioned Thursday it was too soon to say a sustained recovery was on the way. The stimulus impact is bigger than expected and will "strongly support growth," said Ardo Hansson, the bank's lead China economist.

June 18th, 2009 World Bank raises 2009 China growth forecastBEIJING — The World Bank is raising its 2009 growth forecast for China due to the country's stimulus-driven investment boom. But it also cautions that it is still too soon to say a sustained recovery is on the way.

April 7th, 2009 BEIJING - A recovery in China, fuelled largely by the country's huge economic stimulus package, is likely to begin this year, the World Bank (WB) said Tuesday in its mid-year report. As countries in the East Asia and the Pacific region prepare for an expected surge in joblessness resulting from the global economic slowdown, a ray of hope may be emerging with signs of the Chinese economy bottoming out by mid-2009, said the report, which is a half-year assessment of the region's economic health.

March 18th, 2009 BEIJING - The World Bank (WB) has cut its forecast for China's 2009 economic growth yet again, this time to 6.5 percent from 7.5 percent, it said here Wednesday. This is the second cut the WB has made for China's 2009 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast.