APAC region to grow fastest in 2024: S&P Global Market Intelligence

The medium-term outlook for the APAC region is for continued resilient expansion in the region, with robust domestic demand in many Asian emerging economies, including China, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam supporting economic growth momentum, Rajiv Biswas, APAC chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, wrote on the company website.

In India, industrial output has shown strong growth last year, with the latest industrial production data showing an 11.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in October 2023. Manufacturing output rose by 10.4 per cent YoY in October 2023.

Despite falling from 56.0 in November to 54.9 in December, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, continued to indicate strong expansion in the Indian manufacturing sector, remaining well above the neutral mark of 50, Biswas noted.

New orders placed with Indian manufacturers continued to show positive demand conditions in December, albeit moderating from the previous month.

Economic recovery is expected to continue in China for a second year, albeit the pace of economic expansion is expected to be moderate somewhat.

Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate last year is estimated at around 5 per cent, with a similar pace of economic growth forecast for 2024.

Singapore's GDP growth rate improved to a pace of 2.8 per cent YoY in the fourth quarter last year. Malaysia's economy showed resilient economic expansion in 2023 at an estimated rate of around 4 per cent. Economic growth in the Philippines remained strong last year as well, Biswas noted.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)