International Business News – According to Cambodian media news, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) maintained its forecast for Cambodia’s economic growth rate of 5.3%, while the economic growth rate in 2023 is forecast to be 6.2%, compared with the original forecast of 6.5%, due to the slowdown in global economic development.
According to a recent ADB press release, Cambodia’s exports of apparel, tourism products and footwear remain solid, growing by 39.8% year-on-year in the first half of 2022, according to the latest update of the Asian Development Outlook 2022 released on September 21. rate, despite a slowdown in the U.S. and European economies.
In the construction industry, Cambodia is gradually recovering, with imported building materials increasing by 22.8%. Industry is estimated to grow by 9.1% this year, but will slow to 8.6% in 2023 due to weaker overseas demand.
Jyotsana Varma, representative of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Cambodia, said: “The growth of Cambodia’s manufacturing exports and the gradual recovery of the construction and services sectors will help the economy to grow in 2022, despite the Agricultural growth rates have been affected by rising fertilizer prices and weather factors such as rainfall. The Cambodian government is implementing policies, such as cash subsidies to poor and vulnerable households, which have effectively reduced the impact of rising global commodity prices on this population.”
In the above report, Cambodia’s inflation rate in 2022 was raised to 5.0% from 4.7% predicted in April, and the forecast was based on the increase in fuel prices caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the inflation rate in 2023 is forecast to remain at 2.2%. Risks to this outlook include the COVID-19 pandemic, monkeypox, rapid growth in non-performing loans, slower economic growth in key trading partners, disruptions to global supply chains and growth, and potentially worse-than-expected increases in energy and commodity prices.
ADB’s support for Cambodia is in line with the government’s development priorities, and ADB is currently implementing investment projects in Cambodia worth US$2.43 billion. In 2021, ADB committed $327 million in loans and assistance to state institutions and raised $5 million through co-financing for Cambodia. ADB’s 2022-2025 loan for Cambodia includes US$1.17 billion in concessional loans and US$43.9 million in assistance to support the country’s economic development and recovery from COVID-19.