TOKOYO, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The economic growth in the Asia- Pacific region has slowed, according to the Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook, released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday morning during the annual meetings of IMF and World Bank.
"For Asia as a whole, GDP growth fell to its lowest rate since the 2008 global financial crisis during the first half of 2012," said Anoop Singh, IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director on the press conference.
The economic slowdown, bigger than previously projected, in Asia and Pacific region was caused by the euro area crises and fiscal shock through trade-channel effects, as the recovery in advanced economies suffered setbacks, the report said.
But looking forward, growth is projected to pick up very gradually, and Asia should remain the global growth leader, expanding over 2 percentage points faster than the world average next year, it added.
IMF considered China as an important engine of growth for the region and each one percentage-point decline of investment growth in China would lower GDP growth by more than half of a percentage point over four quarters in those economies with the closest regional supply chain links to China, including South Korea, Malaysia and China's Taiwan.
IMF's outlook on Asia-Pacific economy in near-term remains subdued, as the downside risks still remain, so the policymakers need to support stable noninflationary growth, maintain financial stability and lay the foundations for sustained and shared prosperity over the medium term.
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