April 25, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean economy is expected to grow 3 percent for the second consecutive year in 2018, a state think tank said on Nov. 27.

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade expected the real gross domestic product for Asia’s fourth-largest economy to expand 3 percent in 2018, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than the number forecast for this year.

“The local economy may experience slower growth in 2018 due to robust exports and investment this year, but the domestic consumption will rise thanks to hikes in the minimum wage and the government‘s labor-friendly policies,” the KIET said in a 2018 economy prospect report.

The projection is the same as estimates by the Finance Ministry and the International Monetary Fund, and higher than the average of nine investment banks at 2.8 percent. 

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heralcorp.com)