The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) estimates that the ASEAN+3 region will grow by 6.1 percent this year and five percent in 2022 after posting flat growth in 2020.
The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) on Thursday (Oct 7) published the Update to its annual flagship report, the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO) 2021.
Earlier in March, the AMRO had forecast that the ASEAN+3 region would grow by 6.7 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022, after shrinking slightly by 0.2 percent in 2020.
AMRO’s Chief Economist, Hoe Ee Khor, stated that the research office was updating its annual report due to the third wave of COVID-19 triggered by the Delta variant.
ASEAN countries are currently struggling with the third wave of the coronavirus, he pointed out.
“The road to recovery is paved by vaccinations,” AMRO Chief Economist, Hoe Ee Khor, stated at the virtual launch of AMRO’s Annual Report Update titled “ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO 2021)” monitored in Jakarta, Thursday.
“With most regional economies on track to achieve their vaccination targets by early 2022, we expect the ASEAN+3 region to grow by five percent next year, slightly better than our March projections,” Khor remarked.
The chief economist believes that the region’s rapid progress in vaccinations will be a game changer for containing the virus and gives cause for cautious optimism.
According to Khor, a year and a half into the pandemic, the goal of achieving herd immunity and protection from the virus through mass vaccinations is becoming a reality for the region even while infections have evolved from a pandemic into an endemic state.
The combination of efficacious vaccines and treatments in addition to greater adeptness at targeting containment and support policies are fueling optimism and providing greater clarity on what a post-pandemic “new normal” could look like, he emphasized.
Khor stated that the pandemic had altered the way businesses and consumers transact, accelerated digitalization, and led to the emergence of new business models and types of firms.
Source: Antara News