Devastated by natural disasters and caught in the middle of the war on terror, Asia's economy took a beating in 2001, the Asian Development Bank said in its annual report yesterday.
The report stressed that, although the region is expected to rebound in the months ahead, last year was unexpectedly tough. India and Turkmenistan were hit with earthquakes. A severe winter gripped Mongolia. Already-poor Afghanistan was further ravaged by the war on terrorism.
That all translated into dismal economic figures -- with the growth of developing Asian nations slowing to half that of the year before, largely because of decreased demand.
"Exports, tourism and foreign investment fell," the report said. "It was a year of slow and uneven growth worldwide, a year when the external economic environment challenged many of the ADB's developing member countries at every turn."
The 60-member Asian Development Bank, created in 1966 to help reduce poverty in Asia, approved US$5.3 billion in loans throughout the region and more than US$145.4 million in technical assistance projects last year, the report said.
The Manila-based bank also approved grants for 16 projects worth US$93.8 million and three equity investments for a total of US$30.4 million.
It provided additional assistance to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the central Asian countries affected by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the US.
Other areas noted in the report included:
-- East Timor, which recently gained independence from Indonesia, saw economic recovery last year in tandem with the restoration of order and security. But while its gross domestic product grew by an estimated 18 percent, it remains heavily dependent on external funding.
-- China was a bright spot in 2001, it said, with GDP growing by an estimated 7.3 percent. But the global economic slowdown was felt strongly in exports, which grew only 6.8 percent, compared with 27.9 percent in 2000.
-- The Philippines saw growth decelerate from 4 percent in 2000 to 3.4 percent last year, in large part due to domestic political disruptions. Unemployment was down slightly to 11.1 percent, from 11.2 the year before.
Despite the difficulties last year, the bank earlier this month forecast a better year lies ahead for the region.
It estimates developing Asian countries will have average economic growth of 4.8 percent this year and 5.8 percent in 2003, helped by stronger demand for exports in the reviving US and European markets and growing domestic consumption.
In a separate report, the World Bank, based in Washington, said East and Southeast Asian economies, excluding Japan, will grow 4.7 percent this year and 5.6 percent next year.
RSS