Revised Downward. We’ll be hearing those two words a lot over the next month as ratings agencies scramble to update their forecasts for countries and companies reeling from the historic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest “revised downward” forecast from S&P Global Ratings hits South Korea. The global ratings agency is forecasting a 0.6% contraction in 2020 for South Korea, the world’s 12th largest economy.
S&P also sees economic contractions in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, and a significant decline in expected output in China, as reported by Korea JoonAng Daily.
According to the report, S&P Global Ratings has “revised downward” their forecasts for the three countries plus Hong Kong listed above.
They are:
- Hong Kong: -1.7%
- Singapore: -0.8%
- Japan: -1.2%
- China: +2.9%
China’s growth of less than 3% would represent a fall of more than 50% from the previous year. S&P Global also notes that the region will lose some $620 billion as a result of the pandemic.
“This loss will be distributed across sovereign, bank, corporate and household balance sheets,” it stated.
For the full piece in Korea JoonAng Daily, go here
