The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which was held in Hainan on Tuesday, released its annual report for 2023, which included its estimate that Asia’s economy will grow by 4.5% this year.
The report, titled Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report, describes the growth prospects and risks to Asia’s economy in 2023 and describes global economic governance as entering an “Asian Moment”.
According to the report, Asian economies will face four issues of concern: resilience to external shocks, restructuring and resilience of industrial chains, coping with climate change, and implementation of regional trade agreements.
The report forecasts that Asian economies will grow at a real rate of 4.5% in 2023, up from 4.2% in 2022. It also describes “a bright spot in a slowing world economy in Asia”.
Global inflation is expected to fall from 8.8% in 2022 to 6.6% in 2023, the report said.
“For Asian markets, although stimulus and slowing inflation coexist, inflationary pressures are expected to ease in the region in 2023,” it explained.
On the employment front, however, the report sees a deterioration in the global labor market in 2023, with sluggish employment growth across Asia, although employment in East Asia expected to be better than previously feared.
The mainland Chinese government stated during its recent NPC and CPPCC that China’s economy is expected to grow by about 5% this year, while in Macau, the University of Macau released a report in mid-March estimating that Macau’s economy will grow by between 20.5% and 44.1% in 2023, mainly due to a change in its pandemic policy and a significant increase in the number of tourists.
Boao Forum for Asia 2023 will run for four days starting today, with about 2,000 delegates from more than 50 countries and regions around the world participating.
