Bangkok (dpa) – Gross domestic product (GDP) across the 21-country Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region shrank by 1.9 per cent in 2020, the group’s Singapore-based secretariat said on Thursday.
The better-than-expected outcome was down to governments learning «effective ways to manage the pandemic» and providing «continued fiscal and monetary support» during the second half of the year, underpinning «a gradual reopening and resumption of economic activities.»
Peru and the Philippines saw the biggest contractions, with GDPs shrinking by around 10 per cent, while growth was reported in just four countries – Brunei, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Economies across the group – which accounts for half of global merchandise trade and includes China, Japan and the US, the world’s three biggest GDPs – should grow by a collective 6.3 per cent this year «as pent-up demand is unleashed.»
However, APEC warned that «recovery will be uneven» due in part to «a resurgence of infections» in places. Some restrictions have been reimposed recently in APEC countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand due to a rise in coronavirus case numbers.
