S.Korea's 2014 growth outlook revised down by IMF

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S.Korea's 2014 growth outlook revised down by IMF

(Xinhua) 17:24, October 09, 2013

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised down its 2014 growth outlook for South Korea, citing growing downside risks to the global economy.

The South Korean economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.7 percent next year after expanding 2.8 percent this year, according to the IMF's World Economic Outlook report on Tuesday, cited by Seoul's Finance Ministry.

The 2014 growth forecast was downgraded from 3.9 percent estimated three months earlier, with the 2013 figure left unchanged.

The Finance Ministry set its 2014 growth outlook at 3.9 percent, higher than the IMF's forecast. But the country's parliamentary budget office projected the economy to increase 3.5 percent next year. The central bank is widely expected to revise down its outlook from the current estimate of 4 percent.

The IMF's downward revision came amid growing concerns over the world economy. The Washington-based body said that downside risks to the global economy mounted due to the tapering of U.S. bond purchases and China's economic slowdown.

The South Korean economy, or a small open economy relying heavily on exports, is easily rattled by global risk factors. The IMF revised down its global growth outlook by 0.2 percentage point to 3.6 percent for 2014.

The IMF, however, noted that the South Korean economy would show modest recovery trend, citing monetary and fiscal stimulus measures such as the policy rate cut in May and the supplementary budget plan worth 17.3 trillion won (15 billion U.S. dollars).

（Editor：WangXin、Liang Jun）