TOKYO (AP) -- Soaring inflation is battering Asian economies and threatens to stifle growth, but the still-robust region isn't at risk of a serious downturn, said Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda Friday.Energy and food prices are hitting record highs and pushing up inflation -- 7.7 percent in China, 7.8 percent in India, 6.2 percent in Thailand and more than 20 percent in Vietnam. And rising food prices have set off riots and protests worldwide and raised fears about a global crisis that could drive millions into poverty and malnutrition.
The problem is particularly acute in Asia, which is home to one billion people who spend at least 60 percent of their income on food, Kuroda said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
Still, the ADB remains bullish on the region. It estimates 7.6 percent aggregate GDP growth this year for the region, though that figure may be cut by 1-2 percentage points when revised figures are released in September, Kuroda said on his way to the Group of Eight leaders' summit this weekend in northern Japan.
Read More
