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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Pacific member economies contracted by 5.8 percent in 2020 due to Covid-19 but it forecasts a recovery by year s end.
The ADB tips 1.4 percent growth but notes that is contingent on a return of tourism, a start of delayed construction, and the resumption of labour mobility and international trade.
But the bank s Pacific economist Rommel Rabanal said not every country will return to growth and that there are ongoing risks. Progress on national Covid-19 vaccination roll-outs as well as the uptake and sustainability of safe travel bubble arrangements, may temper the speed of growth said Rabanal.