…but several risks hang over the region
There are sound reasons to be upbeat about Asia’s prospects for the coming year. Several countries in the region have managed to subdue COVID-19 and have left the worst behind. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts that China, Taiwan and Vietnam will all register positive growth for 2020, something that will elude G20 economies other than China. Across developing Asia as a whole, ADB expects growth in gross domestic product of around 7% in the coming 12 months.
Business leaders in the biggest Asian economies exude confidence about the near-future. The December 2020 McKinsey Global Survey of executives found that a larger share of respondents from both Greater China and India say that things will be better in six months than those from Europe, Latin America and North America. Bloomberg News reports that official data from China show that 2020 may be a record year for new foreign investment in the country. Exports have been surprisingly resilient for many Asian countries, due in part to great demand for computers and other IT equipment by professionals working from home.
While prospects for an accelerating rebound are bright, several uncertainties could tarnish the picture. Here are seven risks that investors, businesspersons and policy makers should keep in…
