APEC economies down by less-than-feared 1.9 per cent last year

MANILA, May 30 (dpa): Gross domestic product (GDP) across the 21-country Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region shrank by 1.9 per cent in 2020, the group's Singapore-based secretariat has announced.

The better-than-expected outcome was down to governments learning "effective ways to manage the pandemic" and providing "continued fiscal and monetary support" during the second half of the year, underpinning "a gradual reopening and resumption of economic activities."