India to grow at 7.7 per cent in 2018-19

Nonetheless, there are challenges ahead. The IMF expects growth in India to accelerate again in the medium term, however, underpinned by key structural reforms.

After a slowdown in 2016, regional growth is forecast to speed up in 2017.

Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa should recover slightly to 2.6 percent this year after a more than two-decade low in 2016 as commodity exporters faced lower prices, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

Among other things, the report predicted 2.6 per cent economic growth for Sub-Saharan countries in 2017; 0.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent economic growth for Nigeria this year and 2018 respectively.

Productivity growth in Asia has slowed since the global financial crisis, with limited convergence toward the U.S. and other countries at the technological frontier, the report noted.

“The report is positive about the country’s economic outlook and endorses New Zealand’s macro-economic and fiscal policy settings”.

South Korea’s exports gained 1.9 percent in the first quarter from a quarter earlier.

The forecast for India is 7.2 per cent for 2017, making it among the fastest growing economies in the world.

Rhee added that he hoped a recent agreement between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping on a 100-day plan for trade talks would lead to expanded global trade rather than a reduction.

He said, “With policies behind the curve, pressures on sovereigns rising, and spillovers to the private sector intensify, the near-term outlook for growth in the region is foreseen to remain subdued”.

But for now, both globally and regionally, the largest economies are picking up.

The demographic shift will also likely keep downward pressure on real interest rates and asset returns for most major countries in Asia, said the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF also said Sub-Saharan African countries “should strengthen social protection for the most vulnerable people”.

“Lower consumption will weigh on growth, reflecting heightened uncertainty amid political turmoil”, it said.

Asia needs to tackle two longer-term challenges: population aging and slow productivity catch-up.

He also said the overall weak outlook for the region partly reflected insufficient policy adjustment, holding back investments and generating risks, particularly in oil exporting countries like Angola and Nigeria. Agriculture remains the most labour-intensive sector of the economy and employs around half of India’s workers.

Thailand’s policy space and ample buffers can be deployed to minimise the risk of a low-inflation, low-growth trap.

Growth can be reinforced by appropriate demand support and structural reforms.

Such type of disruptions would also be dissipated on account of a good monsoon season and sustained progress in resolving the bottlenecks on the supply side, it said.