TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised down its growth forecast for countries in Asia in 2022 to 4.2% but maintained the 3.4% forecast for Taiwan in its latest report released on Wednesday (Dec. 14).

The ADB’s GDP forecasts for the region are down from 4.3% to 4.2% in 2022 and from 4.9% to 4.6% in 2023. For Taiwan, the figures remain 3.4% and 3%, respectively.

The report indicates that Taiwan’s GDP growth picked up to 4.1% in the third quarter on a yearly basis. Private consumption rose by 7.5%, thanks to relaxed COVID restrictions and efforts to encourage travel and spending.

Nevertheless, Taiwan’s exports logged a sluggish growth of 1.4% in the three months ending in September due to weak global demand and are expected to remain so, the ADP suggests in its outlook.

Inflation in Taiwan hit 3.6% in June but gradually dropped to 2.7% in October. The ADB put its inflation forecasts for the country at 2.8% in 2022 and 2% in 2023 as global supply chain bottlenecks alleviate.

Overall, Asia continues to be faced with three main headwinds in terms of economic recovery, the ADB points out, which are the recurrent lockdowns in China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and sagging global growth.

For other countries and areas in the region, India is expected to grow 7.2% in 2023, followed by Vietnam (6.3%), the Philippines (6%), Indonesia (4.8%), Malaysia (4.3%), China (4.3%), Thailand (4%), Hong Kong (2.9%), Singapore (2.3%), and South Korea (1.5%), according to ADB.