ADB maintains S. Korea’s 2024 growth forecast at 2.5 pct

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) kept its outlook for South Korea's economic growth this year at 2.5 percent given strong exports, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday. The bank raised the outlook by 0.3 percentage point in July and maintained the level for the latest forecast. It is on a par with the forecasts by the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Korea. The South Korean government and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development presented a 2.6 percent expansion. The Manila-based bank also maintained the growth projection for 2025 at 2.3 percent. The ADB cited strong global demand for South Korean semiconductors and automobiles, among other items, as a main growth engine. Exports rose 11.4 percent on-year to $57.9 billion, the 11th consecutive monthly gain, in August on the back of solid chip sales, according to government data. The bank also kept the forecast for inflation for this year unchanged at 2.5 percent and 2 percent for next year. For the broader Asia-Pacific r egion, the ADB presented a 5 percent expansion projection this year, pointing to the upcycle of the semiconductor industry and rising demand for electronics. As major risk factors, it pointed to concerns about protectionism following the election results in the United States, deepening geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the slump in the Chinese real estate market and weather conditions, the ministry said. Source: Yonhap News Agency