Pandemic a ‘perfect storm’ for South Asia: WB

OBSERVER REPORT
ISLAMABAD India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries are likely to record their worst growth performance in four decades this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the World Bank said on Sunday. The South Asian region, comprising eight countries, is likely to show economic growth of 1.8% to 2.8% this year, the World Bank said in its South Asia Economic Focus report, well down from the 6.3% it projected six months ago. It said that South Asia is on course for its worst economic performance in 40 years, with countries likely to record their worst growth performance due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to a report by the World Bank, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Maldives are expected to fall into recession. “Pakistan, which has already experienced low growth rates in recent years, could well fall into a recession. With 1.8% population growth, that would imply a painful decline in per-capita income,” noted the global lender. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other smaller nations, which have 1.8 billion people and some of the planet’s most densely populated cities, have so far reported relatively few coronavirus cases but experts fear they could be the next hotspots. “South Asia finds itself in a perfect storm of adverse effects. Tourism has dried up, supply chains have been disrupted, demand for garments has collapsed and consumer and investor sentiments have deteriorated,” said the World Bank report. Worst hit will be the Maldives where the collapse of tourism will result in gross domestic output contracting by as much as 13%, while Afghanistan could shrink by as much as 5.9% and Pakistan by up to 2.2%.