The world economy is likely to shrink this year despite growth in Asian powerhouses China and India, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) head Angel Gurria said yesterday, warning of a first global contraction in 60 years.
“Now we are probably seeing a world which will go negative because even the positive growth of India and China is not going to be enough to offset the negative growth in [developed countries],” he told reporters.
He was replying to a question about his expectations for growth this year.
Gurria’s remark came after the IMF said it also believed the global economy could contract this year.
“The IMF expects global growth to slow below zero this year, the worst performance in most of our lifetimes,” IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in Tanzania earlier this month.
Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, also said in yesterday’s briefing that Chinese economic growth this year was likely to reach 6 percent to 7 percent.
In November, the estimate was 8 percent. The revised forecast will be issued on March 31, Gurria said at a briefing in Beijing yesterday.
“We do see growth in China of between 6 percent and 7 percent and the stimulus package is a very important element,” he said, referring to Chinese government’s 4 trillion yuan (US$585 billion) stimulus plan announced late last year.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
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