Asean tipped to keep medium-term growth: Report

ASEAN is tipped to maintain its pace of economic growth in the medium term, even as the rest of emerging Asia takes a breather.

The regional grouping is projected to grow an average 5.4 per cent yearly in 2014-18, against 5.5 per cent in the pre-global financial crisis years of 2000-07, according to a report launched on Thursday by the OECD Development Centre and the Asean Secretariat.

The rest of emerging Asia, including China and India, is likely to expand at an annual clip of 6.9 per cent, down from 8.6 per cent in the pre-crisis period, the "Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2014" report predicts. The slowdown reflects the moderation in growth of the two emerging Asian giants, China and India. But the report says it in no way indicates that emerging Asian economies are weakening.