The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India is a regular flagship publication on Asia’s regional economic growth and development processes. It focuses on the economic conditions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) and two other large economies in the region, the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”) and India. The Outlook was proposed at a 2008 informal reflection group on Southeast Asia following the 2007 Council Meeting at Ministerial Level (MCM) and approved by ministers and senior officials from ASEAN countries at the occasion of the 2nd OECD-Southeast Asia Regional Forum in Bangkok in 2009. The Outlook was launched as a series in 2010 and the first edition was released in November of that year.

Emerging Asian economies – comprising the ten ASEAN countries along with China and India – are showing resilience. Economic growth in the region will be driven by robust domestic and regional demand and continued recovery of the services sector, particularly tourism. The improvement of financial conditions is expected to continue this year. However, the region will face several challenges, such as external headwinds; the impact of extreme weather; and elevated levels of debt, particularly mounting private debt.

Emerging Asian economies are showing resilience. Emerging Asia includes the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam – plus China and India. Economic growth in the region will be driven by robust domestic and regional demand and continued recovery of the services sector, particularly tourism. The improvement of financial conditions is expected to continue this year. However, the region will face several challenges, such as external headwinds; the impact of extreme weather; and elevated levels of debt, particularly mounting private debt.

Emerging Asian economies – the ASEAN member countries, China and India – are showing resilience. Economic growth in the region will be driven by robust domestic and regional demand and a continued recovery of the services sectors, particularly tourism. The acceleration of the digital and green economy could benefit services sectors and exports in the region. Overall, inflation continued to moderate thanks to prudent monetary policies. Extreme weather could threaten food and energy security and other economic activities in the region, and mounting private debt could increase the risks of excessive leverage.

Disasters endanger people from all walks of life and all sectors of a country’s economy. Beyond their devastating immediate effects, disasters hamper the achievement of sustainable development. Achieving disaster-resilient development requires a holistic policy approach. This chapter discusses key policy areas to consider in designing a holistic approach: transforming governance and improving institutional capacity, ensuring adequate budgets, broadening financing options, strengthening disaster-risk reduction training and education, investing in disaster resilient infrastructure, addressing disaster-induced migration and adopting risk-sensitive land-use planning, developing and adopting technology to bolster disaster response and resilience, fortifying health responses to disasters, and facilitating the contributions of the private sector.