The nation is likely to be the second best performer in terms of economic recovery in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a report recently released by the S&P Global Ratings, which revised up GDP predictions of regional countries this year following the revival of trade and consumption.

The credit rating agency based in the United States forecast that the nation’s GDP will pick up by 1.9% this year, and a further 11.2% next year. China is anticipated to see the highest growth, which was raised to 2.1% in comparison to the previous figure of 1.2%. In addition, its forecast for 2021 was cut to 6.9% from 7.4%.

The S&P Global Ratings expect the Philippine’s economy to suffer a dramatic drop of 9.5% this year, representing the largest fall throughout the region, before enjoying a recovery involving 9.6% growth next year. Elsewhere, India is predicted to be the second worst performer with a 9% contraction expected to hit this year.

Overall, the regional economy is predicted to fall by 2% this year, while next year’s rebound will see 6.9% growth.

According to the rating agency, employment is set to play a decisive factor in the region’s pace of recovery. In the majority of cases, the employment rate will return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022 at the earliest, it said. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific region’s economic growth will likely be stimulated by trade and production, although a full recovery would also require improvements in the service sector.