Asia growth improves but Asian Development Bank warns of persistent headwinds
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Strong demand for semiconductors tied to AI investment has helped cushion the impact of higher energy prices, particularly in advanced Asian economies.
PHOTO: AFP
- Asia's economic growth is forecast to improve slightly to 4.9 per cent in 2026, but remains below earlier estimates due to ongoing disruptions from the Middle East conflict.
- Inflation is expected to ease from 5.2 per cent to 4.3 per cent in 2026, yet risks from energy market instability, supply chain issues, and adverse weather persist.
- Strong AI-driven semiconductor demand boosts advanced Asian economies, but benefits will be uneven; the ADB advises against fossil fuel subsidies to protect fiscal health and energy conservation.
AI generated
Economic growth across Asia is expected to remain subdued despite a modest improvement in outlook, as lingering disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East continue to weigh on supply chain and production costs, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Manila-based bank forecast the region’s economy will expand 4.9 per cent in 2026, up from the 4.7 per cent estimate in a special update issued after the Middle East conflict disrupted global energy markets.
The projection remains below the 5.1 per cent estimate in the bank’s regular April Asian Development Outlook.
Inflation is projected at 4.3 per cent in 2026, down from the 5.2 per cent forecast in the bank’s April update as oil prices and supply conditions gradually stabilise.
Even so, the figure remains above the 3.6 per cent projection in the bank’s regular April outlook.
Inflation is expected to ease to 3.4 per cent in 2027, though the ADB cautioned the conflict’s effects could spread beyond energy markets and feed through to the broader economy with a lag.
Strong demand for semiconductors tied to AI investment has helped cushion the impact of higher energy prices, particularly in advanced Asian economies such as Taiwan, China, South Korea and Hong Kong, ADB chief economist Albert Park said in a Bloomberg TV interview on July 9.
The improved outlook reflects lower oil prices and easing supply disruptions since the height of the conflict.
Even so, the ADB said risks remain tilted to the downside, including a renewed escalation of the war, prolonged energy market uncertainty, tighter financial conditions and a deeper property downturn in China.
“The Middle East conflict has lasted longer than assumed in April, leading to prolonged disruption to energy and supply chains that has raised production costs and will dampen regional activity more than previously anticipated,” the bank said.
It also flagged risks from disruptions to shipping routes and adverse weather, including El Nino, warning that they could push up food prices by affecting agricultural production and trade flows.
The ADB raised its growth forecast for advanced economies in Asia and the Pacific to 2.6 per cent from 2.2 per cent in April, citing strong external demand for electronics and machinery driven by the AI boom in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore.
“We are overall bullish on the AI movement,” Park said. “Eventually, we should start to see higher productivity growth for economies that start to adapt AI more broadly.”
Still, he warned that the benefits of AI are likely to be uneven across Asia, with countries that lack digital capabilities at risk of falling further behind.
Meanwhile, the bank advised governments against fossil fuel subsidies to improve fiscal resilience while preserving incentives for energy conservation.
“Governments should rely primarily on temporary, well-targeted measures that protect vulnerable households without compromising fiscal sustainability or blunting incentives,” the bank added. BLOOMBERG
