ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said that large-scale manufacturing grew to 5.46 percent during the period of July to October 2020.
The minister added that the growth recorded was in October was even higher at 6.66 percent than the responding period last year. “Industrial growth accelerates as economic recovery gathers pace,” he said.
Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar also hailed the grown in the large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector. He said that at a time when the global economy is facing a period of a deep recession, the industry is driving economic growth and recovery in Pakistan.
Industrial growth accelerates as economic recovery gathers pace. Large scale manufacturing grew by 5.46% in July to October 2020 vs same period last year. Growth in October was even higher at 6.66% vs October last year.
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) December 15, 2020
Large Scale Manufacturing grew by 5.46% in Jul-Oct period. At a time when the global economy is in a deep recession, Industry is driving economic growth and recovery in Pakistan.
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) December 15, 2020
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that Pakistan’s economy was recovering but did not provide any growth projection. “Pakistan’s economy is recovering, particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors, supported by the government emergency relief,” said a brief seven-page report released last week.
Despite the continuous spread of COVID-19, most economies have continued to relax containment measures and strict lockdowns have been deemed economically unsustainable.
Developing Asia is now forecast to contract by 0.4% in 2020, less than the 0.7% contraction envisaged in the Asian Development Outlook 2020 update in September.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s economy is recovering: ADB
Growth will rebound to 6.8% in 2021, but prospects diverge within the region. Recovery in Southeast Asia would lag as coronavirus containment efforts in larger economies hamper economic activity.
Subregional forecasts have been downgraded for 2020 from 3.8% contraction to 4.4%, and for 2021 from 5.5% growth to 5.2%. With improved prospects for India, South Asia’s growth forecast for 2020 is revised up to from 6.8% contraction to 6.1%.
The earlier South Asia forecast for 6.8% contraction is upgraded to 6.1% in line with an improved projection for India. Growth forecasts for Central Asia and the Pacific are unchanged from September.
