Finance/APEC meeting

Editorial Team

APEC economy is projected to expand by 2.5 % this year.

The Asia-Pacific region (APEC) economy is projected to expand by 2.5 %, growing at a slower pace than last year which was 5.9 % while a projection of 2.6% next year.

Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith who chaired the 29 th APEC Finance Ministers’ meeting (APEC FMM) on October 20

Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith who chaired 29 th APEC Finance Ministers’ meeting (APEC FMM) on October 20 said the meeting agreed that APEC economy is projected to expand by 2.5 %, growing at a slower pace than last year which was 5.9 % while a projection of 2.6%, a slight acceleration compared to this year’s expected growth.

The meeting discussed and exchanged views on the economy with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) providing a forecast on global and regional economic growth. For 2022, global growth is projected at 3.2 %, a reduction from 6 % growth last year.

For 2023, global economy is expected to grow by 2.7 %, decelerating from that of this year’s projection.

These forecasts can be attributed to the tightened monetary policies, the US dollar appreciation, and fluctuating global energy prices. These views on global and regional economic outlook have been echoed by ADB and APEC SPU.

The recommendation from the ADB to support economic recovery included enhancing regional economic cooperation.
Thailand’s representative presented to the meeting the economic outlook for Thailand.

Mr Arkhom reported that the Thai economy is projected to grow by 3 - 3.5 % in 2022, an improvement from 1.5 % growth in 2021.

Mr Arkhom, who was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of finance ministers from Apec, said the economy was expected to grow 3.7% next year and the baht's performance was in line with regional peers.

This recovery is mainly driven by growing domestic consumption and the revival of the tourism sector. Moreover, the targeted fiscal policies help to alleviate negative effects from the increased energy and commodity prices.

The meeting also discussed related issues in sustainable finance and digitalization under the theme “Advancing Digitalization, Achieving sustainability”.

On sustainable finance, ADB and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggested that APEC economies should identify clear environmental sectors that need prioritized attention, issue bonds to finance them accordingly.

The OECD highlighted green investment promotion and transitional processes toward net-zero targets, and the tool and standard of sustainable development which shall be cooperative among APEC member economies.

On digitalization for digital economy, ADB recommended on how to increase efficiency in tax-related systems, the increase in speed and efficiency of the tax and other government services, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to do the analytics and forecasts.

The29 th APEC FMM meeting was chaired by Thailand’s minister of finance. APEC member economies’ finance ministers or representatives as well as representatives from the international organizations, such as the IMF, the World Bank Group (WBG), ADB, APEC SPU, and OECD attend this meeting.

The 30thAPEC FMM will be hosted by the United States of Americain Fall 2023.