S. Korea to be 5th fastest growing economies among G-20 this year

Korea Herald – Mar. 12, 2010

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy is expected to grow at the fifth fastest pace among the Group of 20 advanced and emerging countries this year, continuing to rebound from the global downturn, a report said Thursday.

According to the report by the International Monetary Fund, South Korea's economy is expected to expand 4.5 percent this year, the fifth-highest growth rate among the G-20 member nations. The report was submitted to a G-20 meeting held late last month in South Korea.

Chile ranked first with a 10 percent growth for this year, followed by India with 7.7 percent. Indonesia and Brazil came next with 5.5 percent and 4.7 percent growth, respectively, the report showed.

South Korea's economy was feared to face what could have been the first contraction in more than a decade last year but grew 0.2 percent last year, the fifth fastest growth among the G-20 countries, the report added.

For 2011, however, the Washington-based organization expected that South Korea's economy will expand 5 percent, slightly lower than a 5.2 percent advance it predicted in October last year.

The growth outlook is still the fourth-highest among the G-20 countries, following Chile, India and Indonesia. It is also better than the G-20 average of a 4.4 percent expansion for next year, the report showed.