SINGAPORE, January 26, 2022 – The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) expects the ASEAN+3 region to remain resilient in 2022, despite new challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy.
AMRO points out that the emergence of the Omicron variant towards the end of 2021 brought new uncertainties and set back the progress of economic re-opening. Nevertheless, high vaccination coverage has mitigated the risk of nationwide lockdowns, as experienced during the early days of the pandemic.
“The ASEAN+3 region has sufficient policy space to navigate through these new challenges, and stay on its recovery path,” says AMRO’s Chief Economist, Dr. Hoe Ee Khor.
“A resurgence of infections continues to be the key downside risk, amplified by lingering global supply chain disruptions and rising global price pressures,” adds Dr. Khor. “While the rise in global inflation is likely to prompt major advanced economies to roll back extraordinary monetary support earlier or more sharply than anticipated, the spillover effects for the region is likely to be limited because of greater resilience.”
AMRO maintains a positive outlook on ASEAN+3 economies for 2022, with regional GDP growth of 4.9 percent and inflation remaining relatively low at 2.9 percent for the year.
AMRO’s conclusions are a part of its latest update on its flagship report titled the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO). The AREO 2022 will be published in April this year.
