AKIPRESS.COM - Growth in Central Asia will drop to 2.8% in 2020 as economies falter worldwide and drag down global commodity prices,according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020. 

Lower petroleum prices and sluggish production will weaken oil exporters, with growth slowing to 0.5% in Azerbaijan and 1.8% in Kazakhstan, the largest economy in the subregion, slowed as well as by reduced public investment.

Fiscal consolidation and lower remittances from the Russian Federation will weaken growth in Tajikistan.

Georgia’s highly tourism- and trade-dependent economy will be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 as closed borders and monetary tightening grind growth to a halt in 2020.

Growth in Armenia, a metal producer notable for its sales to the PRC, will fall sharply this year, and slower mineral exports to the PRC will slow growth less dramatically in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan.

Subregional inflation at 7.6% this year will be little changed as mixed projections balance out. Monetary tightening is expected to lower inflation in Georgia and Uzbekistan both years and in Kazakhstan in 2021.