THE Philippines and three other Southeast Asian countries, and newly industrialized economies, are expected to provide a boost to developing Asia’s trade growth this year, a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

Imports to these economies will be buoyed by robust domestic demand, while exports will benefit from growing intra-regional demand, the Asian Economic Integration Report 2018 (AEIR) noted.

The ADB report said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will remain the key driver of developing Asia’s trade growth, while economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand as well as Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taipei can also step up growth.

This, as developing Asia’s trade is expected to grow albeit at a slower pace.

The report identified the escalating trade friction between the United States and China as the key risk to the trade volume projection.

World trade growth is also expected to slow moderately from 4.7 percent in 2017 to 4.5 percent in 2018 as growth eases in some advanced economies--likely to affect exports of emerging and developing economies as well.

Meanwhile, the report underscored the importance of regional integration in Asia as a development strategy.

Over time, trade and investment have strengthened as a major contributor to regional integration, it said.

The report cited an empirical exercise indicating that regional value chains, movement of people, and institutional and social integration have been significant drivers of economic growth, while overall regional integration helped reduce poverty. (PHILEXPORT NEWS AND FEATURES)