India's growth set to be higher than China in 2018: Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank(ADB) in its report said South Asia will remain the fastest growing region in Asia Pacific with India projected to grow at 7.3 per cent next year, slower than ADB's pervious estimate of 7.4 per cent.

The Manila-based ADB said India'sgrowth will be at a lower rate of 6.7 per cent in 2017 from previous estimate of 7.0 per cent with South Asia growing a tad slowly at 6.5 per cent from earlier forecast of 6.7 per cent this year.

The recovery in the Indian economy “is more subdued than assumed earlier due to rising crude oil prices, soft private investment growth, and weather-related risks to agriculture,” the ADB said.

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ADB raised the growth outlook for Southeast Asia to 5.2 per cent for both this year and in 2018, higher than the September forecasts of 5.0 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.

ADB said the overall growth forecast for South Asia next year would be maintained at 7.0 per cent.

On China, the ADB report said the country is projected to grow at 6.8 per cent this year which is higher than its estimate of 6.7 per cent, however, in 2018, China's growth could see a dip with the economy growing at 6.4 per cent.

"Developing Asia's growth momentum, supported by recovering exports, demonstrates that openness to trade remains an essential component of inclusive economic development," ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada said in a report.