NEW YORK: Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday said in a new report that the coronavirus outbreak adds to other pressures on growth in Asia Pacific, with the impact felt primarily through trade and tourism, and for some sectors also through supply-chain disruptions.
This shock comes on the back of a marked slowdown in 2019 as decelerating global trade hit the region. “Our baseline assumption is that the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak will continue for a number of weeks before tailing off and allowing normal economic activity to resume,” says Christian de Guzman, a Moody’s Senior Vice President.
“We have lowered our China growth forecast to 5.2% for 2020 from 5.8% previously, reflecting a severe but short-lived economic impact, with knock-on effects for economies across the region,” adds de Guzman.
