Regional economic growth in developing Asia will decline sharply in 2020 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic before recovering in 2021, according to a report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The report, entitled Asian Development Outlook 2020, forecasts regional growth of 2.2% in 2020, a downward revision of 3.3 percentage points relative to the 5.5% ADB had forecast in September 2019.

Growth is expected to rebound to 6.2% in 2021, assuming that the outbreak ends and activity normalizes. Excluding the newly industrialized economies of Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, developing Asia is forecast to grow 2.4% this year, compared to 5.7% in 2019, before rebounding to 6.7% next year.

“The evolution of the global pandemic – and thus the outlook for the global and regional economy – is highly uncertain,” says Yasuyuki Sawada, ADB’s chief economist. “Growth could turn out lower, and the recovery slower, than we are currently forecasting. For this reason, strong and co-ordinated efforts are needed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and minimize its economic impact, especially on the most vulnerable.”

In China, a sharp contraction in industry, services, retail sales, and investment in the first quarter due to the Covid-19 outbreak will pull growth down to 2.3% this year. Chinese growth will rebound to an above normal 7.3% in 2021 before reverting back to normal growth.

In India, measures to contain the spread of the virus and a weaker global environment this year will offset the benefits from recent tax cuts and financial sector reforms. Growth in India is forecast to slow to 4% in fiscal year (FY) 2020 before strengthening to 6.2% in FY2021.

Underpinning much of the weakness across Asia is a deteriorating external environment, with growth stagnating or contracting in the major industrial economies of the US, the eurozone, and Japan.

Some commodity and oil exporters, such as those in Central Asia, will be hit by a collapse in commodity prices. Brent oil prices are expected to average US$35 per barrel this year, down from US$64 in 2019.

All of developing Asia’s subregions will see growth weaken this year because of weak global demand, and in some economies because of domestic outbreaks and containment policies.

Subregions that are more economically open like East and Southeast Asia, or tourism-dependent like the Pacific, will be hard hit. Economic activity in the Pacific subregion is expected to contract by 0.3% in 2020 before recovering to 2.7% in 2021.