IMF says Asian economies to lead world growth in 2015 despite China slowdown

Asian economies will lead world growth this year, expanding at a 5.6 per cent pace that is level with last year, as recoveries in India and Japan help to offset the slowdown in China, the IMF said in a report on Thursday.

IMF economists expressed concern, however, over the potential for weaker growth if regional policymakers fail to follow through with needed changes, saying it was a time not for "alarm but it is a time for alert".

The IMF's regional economic outlook forecasts that growth in the Asia-Pacific area will moderate to 5.5 per cent next year.

Asian growth fell to 5.5 per cent last year from 5.9 per cent in 2013, and is bound to shift lower as mainland China's economy, settles at a more sustainable level than the torrid double-digit pace of the past decade.

The mainland's report of 7 per cent growth in the first quarter was in keeping with that trend.

"You cannot expect that a country can keep 10 per cent growth forever," said Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department. "The current phase of growth is in line with our forecasts, but even a desirable slowdown can have a negative impact on other countries."