At the recent EBRD annual meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, Trade Finance Global’s Editor, Deepesh Patel, sat down with Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist at EBRD, to discuss the economic outlook for the regions under EBRD’s scope. Despite various external pressures, the EBRD’s Regional Economic Prospects Report predicts a 3% growth for these economies in 2024.
Javorcik outlined the many growth drivers across different regions. In Central Europe and the Baltics, key factors include rising wages, increased purchasing power, EU funding, and anticipated lower interest rates. In Central Asia, strong commodity demand, capital inflows from Russia, and robust IT sectors are driving growth, even as intermediary trade with Russia has levelled off.
Addressing the impact of friend-shoring and near-shoring policies, Javorcik highlighted that companies are diversifying their supply chains and opting for suppliers closer to home to reduce carbon footprints. Emerging Europe has experienced a surge in ICT exports, and greenfield FDI from China has emerged as a significant investment trend in these areas.
Though the past couple of years have been filled with challenges, many of these countries within the EBRD region have shown resilience and adaptability, better positioning themselves for future growth.
Watch the full interview for more insights.
