World Bank: East Asia-Pacific to grow 6.3% in 2018

Manila: Developing countries of the East Asia and Pacific region will grow at 6.3 per cent in 2018, the World Bank has said.

The outlook for the region remained positive despite a lower growth prospect than in 2017 owing to a moderation in China's growth, it said on Wednesday.

The October 2018 edition of the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update also warned of uncertainty in the region owing to trade tensions, higher US interest rates, a stronger US dollar and financial market volatility in many emerging economies, Efe news reported.

"Protectionism and turbulence in financial markets can hurt the prospects for medium-term growth, with the most adverse consequences for the poorest and most vulnerable," Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.

According to the World Bank, China's growth will slow moderately to 6.5 per cent after it posted a higher-than-expected growth the previous year, while the rest of the East Asia and Pacific region will maintain a stable growth of 5.3 per cent between 2018-2020 mainly due to a domestic demand, the report said.