(REUTERS): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to bring Asia’s economic growth to a standstill for the first time in 60 years.
Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department said, “These are highly uncertain and challenging times for the global economy. The Asia Pacific region is no exception.”
He further said, “The impact of the coronavirus on the region will be severe, across the board, and unprecedented.”
“Governments must offer targeted support to households and firms hardest-hit by travel bans, social distancing policies and other measures aimed at containing the pandemic,” he opined.
According to an IMF report on the Asia-Pacific region, Asia’s economy is likely to suffer zero growth this year for the first time in 60 years.
The IMF said, “The projection is worse than the 4.7 percent average growth rates throughout the global financial crisis, and the 1.3 percent increase during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.”
The IMF also expects a 7.6 percent expansion in Asian economic growth next year on the assumption that containment policies succeed but added the outlook was highly uncertain.
The pandemic was directly hitting the region’s service sector by forcing households to stay home and shops to shut down, the IMF said.
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