Growth Forecast for Developing Asia Downgraded as COVID-19 Persists

Workers labor at a construction site in Shanghai, China, on July 12, 2021. Aly Song/Reuters

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its 2021 economic growth outlook for developing economies in Asia, a region weakened by the rapid spread of new COVID-19 variants.

The region’s economy will expand by 7.1 percent this year, down from the 7.3 percent forecast in April, the ADB said in its Asian Development Outlook Update released on Wednesday.