Cambodia’s Economic Growth to Slow in 2020, Rebound Expected in 2021 — ADB
After two decades of strong performance, Cambodia’s economic growth is expected to drop to 2.3% in 2020. This is due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the resulting economic slowdown in the major advanced economies and the People’s Republic of China, and the country’s reduced access to export markets, according to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020, released today.
“Cambodia’s economy is expected to rebound to 5.7% in 2021, assuming that the pandemic ends and economic activity normalizes,” said ADB’s Country Director for Cambodia Sunniya Durrani-Jamal. “Facing unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, the Government of Cambodia has taken the right steps to respond to the crisis, including providing wage support for garment workers and tax and credit relief for businesses. The government has also created the fiscal space to minimize the economic impact of this crisis, especially on the most vulnerable people.”
Cambodia’s services sector is expected to contract by 1.7% in 2020, as tourism drops and growth in real estate slows. Industry growth is forecast to slow to 6.5%, with deceleration in garment production for exports and slower growth in construction. Inflation is expected to remain low, averaging 2.1% in 2020 and remain subdued in 2021, as international fuel prices remain low. ADO highlights the government’s commitment to diversifying the non-banking financial sector and developing local capital markets to provide much-needed financing for diversified investment and growth.
