APEC Growth Projected To Hit 3.1 Pct This Year

GYEONGJU (South Korea), Oct 31 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- Economic growth in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region is estimated to reach 3.1 per cent this year, the regional forum has said, slightly higher than its earlier forecast of 3.0 per cent, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The group, made up of 21 member economies, is expected to grow faster than earlier projected on the back of "resilient" trade activity and "robust" demand for high-tech goods, according to the APEC Policy Support Unit's latest report.

Trade volumes of exports and imports in the region grew by 8.8 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively, in the first half of the year from the previous year, the report said.

"APEC economies, particularly businesses, have demonstrated remarkable agility in responding to shifting trade and policy conditions," Carlos Kuriyama, director of the APEC Policy Support Unit, said in a release.

"But this resilience is being tested as the boost from temporary factors fades and deeper structural pressures, like rising debt and slowing trade, begin to take hold."

The region's growth is expected to slow down to 2.9 per cent amid rising public debt, a weaker trade performance and fading temporary drivers such as advance shipments and inventory buildup in anticipation of trade restrictions, according to the report.

The latest data comes as leaders and top delegates of APEC economies gathered in South Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju for the two-day APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting that kicked off Friday.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP