Halfway into the year, the Asian Development Bank has raised the estimated GDP growth rate for developing countries in Asia this year and next by a few tenths of a percentage point. In a mid-year supplement to its Asian Development Outlook report, which is updated twice a year, the ADB increased developing Asian countries’ predicted growth rate for this year from 5.7 per cent to 5.9 per cent, while next year’s growth rate was bumped up from 5.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent.

The report also suggests Cambodia’s inflation rate would increase from an earlier prediction of 3.4 per cent because of strong demand and increased food prices. The bank inched up its growth rates for Asia’s developing nations because the region saw higher local prices for consumer goods and a stronger demand for exports than originally predicted.

It has not changed its prediction for southeast Asia’s overall growth rate, which is still expected at 4.8 per cent this year. The Asian Development Bank was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.

ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.