Asia Regional Integration Center

GDP growth continued to expand by 4.8% in 2018 due to rising exports and tourism, despite slower expansion in infrastructure projects and worsening regional volatility. On the supply side, industrial growth slowed sharply from 6.4% in 2017 to 2.3%—as a 2.5% decline in construction spending offset 4.1% growth in manufacturing and 10.8% in mining. Growth in services accelerated from 5.1% in 2017 to 5.9% on strong gains of 4.5% in trade, 17.9% in finance, and 9.8% in real estate. Agriculture rebounded from a 3.8% contraction in 2017 to 0.4% growth as better weather increased crop production. Growth is forecast to rise to 5.0% in 2019 on higher infrastructure spending, slowing marginally to 4.9% in 2020 as investment growth weakens slightly. Net exports, consumption, and investment are all expected to support growth in 2019 and 2020.