The Asian Development Bank has predicted that the COVID-29 international pandemic will end up costing the world economy as much as $4.1 trillion as countries struggle to combat the outbreak of the virus as well as shortages in medical equipment. The Asian Development Bank, headquartered in Manila, Phillippines, has stated that the pandemic will cost the international economy nearly 5% of all economic activity.
The bank also stated in a Friday update the growth in developing Asian countries will most likely fall on average 3%. The bank stated that Southeast Asia, which consists of a market of more than 600 million that has been growing over the past several quarters, will likely struggle to record growth this year as a result of the virus. The report also claims that China will see double-digit contractions in business activity in the coming months as it did from January to Frbuary. It also alleges that the country will see growth fall to 2.3% this year, representing a three decade low of 6.1% in 2019. Although the country is attempting to revitalize its economy after the Wuhan-based virus began, the country could suffer a total loss of $692 billion.