The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that Pakistan ‘s economy, which is expected to contract by 0.4 percent in the fiscal year 2019-20 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, will recover momentum and grow by 2 percent in the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year.
“Pakistan ‘s economy was on its way to recovery before Covid-19 and, once the impact of Covid-19 subsides, Pakistan will resume its efforts to address macroeconomic imbalances and initiate structural reforms, with economic growth likely to reach a projected 2% in FY2021,” the ADB stated in a regular supplement to its annual economic flagship publication.
The supplement added that India ‘s economy is forecast to contract by 4 percent in FY2020, ending March 31, 2021, before FY2021 growing by 5 pc. In terms of the inflation rate, the ADB supplement suggested that Pakistan’s inflation rate would remain at 11 percent compared to the earlier projection of 11.5 percent in the current fiscal year ending June 30.
The economic activity in Central Asia is expected to contract by 0.5 percent compared to April’s 2.8 percent growth forecast due to trade disruptions and low oil prices. Growth is expected to rebound by 2021 to 4.2 percent.
Limited trade flows and decreasing numbers of tourism have dampened the economic outlook for the Pacific sub-region. The sub-regional economy is predicted to contract by 4.3% in 2020 before rising to 1.6% in 2021.
Extracted from City42 News
