Growth in the East and South Asia region stabilized in the final quarter of 2018, although it remains low by historical standards. Solid private consumption, on the back of declining unemployment rates and wage gains, supported the expansion. Nevertheless, domestic economic imbalances, declining global demand and diminished business sentiment—partially, although not entirely, due to the trade spat between China and the United States— continued to put downward pressure on regional growth. According to an estimate for the region produced by FocusEconomics, ESA countries grew an aggregated 6.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. The print matched both Q3’s expansion and last month’s estimate.

SUMMARY 3 

CALENDAR 15 

BANGLADESH 16 

CHINA 19 

HONG KONG 34 

INDIA 46 

KOREA 62 

MONGOLIA 78 

PAKISTAN 81 

SRI LANKA 84 

TAIWAN 87 

NOTES 102