Singapore's economy is expected to recover at a slower pace in 2021 than other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, according to Nikkei, citing data provided by the global financial institution International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia to recover quicker

Using IMF's country-based projections for real gross domestic product for each country, Nikkei set the figures for 2019 at a baseline of 100.

As Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam scored above the 100 mark for 2021, this means that their economies are expected to grow in 2021 as compared to 2019, which was the year before the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked its havoc.

As for Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, they are not projected to exceed the 100 mark in 2021.

Vietnam to have largest recovery in 2021 than 2019

Among the six countries, Vietnam is projected to have the greatest economic growth next year, Nikkei reported.

Nikkei further reported that its economy is predicted to expand 10.9 per cent in real terms in 2021, noting that it is the only country out of the six to record real economic growth this year due to its relative success at controlling the spread of the pandemic.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, however, has given a more conservative outlook, saying on October that the country's economic growth should speed up to six per cent next year, Bloomberg reported.

Recovery across economies to be slow and varied

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry has also projected the country's economy to grow by four to six per cent in 2021, although it is expected to be gradual and is highly dependent on the global economy's performance.

How well the country manages its Covid-19 outbreak will affect its recovery too.

Back in September, the economy was forecast to shrink by six per cent in 2020, according to economic analysts polled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The ministry also warned that economic recovery for many countries are likely to be slow, with some economies recovering at a faster rate than others.

It further said many economies are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until the the end of 2021.

Related story:

Totally unrelated but follow and listen to our podcast here

Top image by @huchenme & @patresinger via Unsplash