Economic growth in Asia Pacific to rebound in 2010: ADB

04 May 2009

ADB proposes an additional $10 billion of assistance in 2009-2010 to help Asian countries out of the current financial crisis even as the bank expects the Asia Pacific region to regain growth momentum in the later part of 2010.

The crisis assistance will include a new $3-billion countercyclical support facility to disburse funds quickly and efficiently for urgent needs, and a front-loading of Asian Development Fund resources to provide $3.4 billion to ADF recipient countries this year. It also includes up to $1 billion to support trade financing, which is expected to generate up to $15 billion in trade support, the bank said in release.

"With strong national and regional efforts, and a mild recovery expected in the global economy next year, developing Asia should bounce back to 6 per cent growth in 2010," Asian Development Bank  president Haruhiko Kuroda told the opening session of the 42nd annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia. 

In a speech focusing on the global crisis, economic rebalancing and environmental sustainability, Kuroda stressed the importance of continuing to support the region's growth and poverty reduction efforts. The region's aggregate growth is expected to fall to 3.4 per cent this year from record growth of 9.5 per cent in 2007, he said.

"Therefore, this should not be a time of despair. Our region continues to grow and will remain a touchstone of dynamism and hope, contributing substantially to global growth and poverty reduction," he added.

"Under our current projections, 60 million more people will remain trapped in poverty this year and yet another 100 million next year – an alarming setback to our vision of an Asia and Pacific free of poverty," Kuroda said, noting that the crisis and climate change are the two major threats to poverty reduction in the region.