Korea's Growth Could Plummet to Zero If Coronavirus Drags on
24 February, 2020
Korea's economical growth rate could fall below to zero this season as a result of coronavirus epidemic, Morgan Stanley and Nomura Securities forecast.
Eight finance institutions including ING Group and Bank of America Merrill Lynch projected Korea's growth at around one percent this season. At the optimistic end, IHS Markit and Société Générale forecast 1.9 percent growth, while Oxford Economics and Merril Lynch predict 1.8 percent, ING Group 1.7 percent and Capital Economics 1.5 percent.
Nomura also projected 1.8 percent but warned that could further fall to 0.5 percent if China's lockdown of afflicted cities continues until late June. Morgan Stanley warned Korea's growth could fall to 0.4 percent if the epidemic drags on.
The last time Korea's growth fell below two percent was back 2009 at 0.8 percent, right after the global financial meltdown. The last time before that was in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in
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