Asian countries' economic growth to hit 5.9% this year

South Asia will register the strongest growth at 7%.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised its growth outlook for developing Asian countries from 5.7% to 5.9% in its 2017 report.

The bank made a smaller change of outlook from 5.7% to 5.8% for 2018, saying it remains cautious of the sustainability of the recent export push.

In a statement, ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada said, “Despite lingering uncertainties surrounding the strength of the global recovery, we feel that the region’s economies are well-placed to face potential shocks to the outlook.”

The bank also forecasted growth for major industrial economies to remain at 1.9% in 2017 and 2018.

Out of all regions in the Asia Pacific, South Asia will still be the fastest growing with projections of 7.0% in 2017 and 7.2% in 2018, the bank said.

Growth in Central Asia is also seen to improve as unexpected recovery came by due to domestic demand and exports. The report reflected a rate of 3.2% in 2017 and 3.8% in 2018.

Rates for the Pacific region stuck to the original projections at 2.9% in 2017 and 3.3% in 2018. Recovering mining and agriculture industries and stronger tourism are expected to drive growth further.

The predicted consumer price inflation (CPI) is also lower at 2.6% in 2017 and 3.0% in 2018 due to steady oil and food prices stemming from their increasing demand.