ADB projects Korea’s growth rate at 3.5%

The Asia Development Bank forecasted Korea’s economic growth rate for this year at 3.5% in the 2021 Asia Development Outlook, which is 0.2% higher than initial forecasts, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The projection is up 0.2 percentage points from previous forecasts at 3.3%, released in December last year. The Bank forecasted Korea’s growth rate for next year at 3.1%, backed by the government’s expansionary fiscal and monetary policy, export growth led by higher demand for semiconductors and IT products.

Economic growth for 46 Asian countries excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand is expected to growth 7.3% this year, which is up 0.5% points from previous forecasts (6.8%). Such revisions reflect COVID-19 vaccination development and expansionary policies at respective governments.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in Korea has shown signs of improvement over the last four months. According to a consumer trend survey by the Bank of Korea, the Composite Consumer Survey Index (CCSI) for April recorded 102.2, 1.7 point higher than the previous month. CCSI is a metric that reflects consumers’ sentiment on the economic situation, with figures higher than 100 indicate positive consumer sentiment. “Consumer sentiment is improving, backed by strong exports, COVID-19 vaccination roll-outs and higher employment metrics,” explained Hwang Hee-jin, the head of the Statistics Research Team at the BOK.


Ae-Jin Ju jaj@donga.com · Hee-Chang Park ramblas@donga.com