(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-01 19:39

HANOI - The East Asia's economic growth is estimated at 7.3 percent this year, down from 8.7 percent last year, according to the World Bank's latest six-monthly review of the East Asia and Pacific region's economies launched Tuesday.

The decline is a result of the unfolding financial turmoil in the United States and global economic slowdown, it said.

China is forecast to gain economic growth of 9.4 percent in 2008, down from 11.4 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, the economic growth of Vietnam, another transitional economy, is predicted to decrease to 8 percent this year from 8.5 percent last year, it said.

In 2008, economic growths of developing East Asian economies and newly industrial ones are forecast to slow respectively to 8.6 percent from 10.2 percent, and 4.6 percent from 5.6 percent in the previous year.

Challenge for governments of the region is the inflationary effect of mounting food and fuel prices, said the bank.