Центробанк Южной Кореи определил показатель роста ВВП экономики по итогам 2015 г. - 2,6 % (плюс 2,6). Ниже, чем ожидало правительство. Ожидают, что в текущем году будет еще хуже. России бы их показатели...


Korea's full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in at 2.6 percent last year, the lowest in three years, deepening worries that the country is entering an era of low growth.

The economy grew 0.6 percent from a quarter earlier in the final three months of the year, down from 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter growth, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday.

"Korea has posted low growth for the last three years, and the trend will continue this year," said Park Hyung-joong, an economist at Daishin Securities. "No clear growth steam is shown at this moment as consumption is weak, investment is declining and exports are poor."

He expects that the country will expand less than last year's 2.6 percent growth in 2016.

In its preliminary report, the bank said the slowing GDP growth reflects drops in construction investment, which more than offset recovery in exports and consumer spending. GDP grew 3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.

Despite the government's projection of 3.1 percent growth this year, most economists believe the growth will stay below 3 percent. They also expect it to remain weak in the years to come.

At the same time, the LG Economic Institute also expects the nation's potential economic growth rate, the maximum growth rate without fanning inflation, to remain at 2.5 percent until 2019. The market consensus for Korea's economic growth is 2.9 percent for this year.

Economists said any meaningful growth rebound is unlikely in the near future, considering that China is suffering from slowing growth.

"Without a meaningful recovery in China, the Korean economy will remain sluggish too," said Mark Walton, an economist at BNP Paribas. "Any improvement in global demand appears unlikely."

Construction investment plunged 6.1 percent from a quarter earlier; while consumer spending expanded 1.5 percent compared with a 1.2 percent gain the previous quarter. Exports grew 2.1 percent from a quarter earlier.

The central bank said the fall in construction sector investment reflects a base effect stemming from rapid growth posted in previous quarters, a slump in the property market and a drop in large engineering projects.

Exports increased 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter from three months ago, while government spending gained 1.2 percent and equipment investment increased 0.9 percent during the same period.

In the fourth quarter, the country's gross domestic income (GDI) grew 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, also slowing from a 0.9 percent increase in the previous quarter, according to the BOK.

GDI represents the sum of all income earned by all economic sectors within a country.

"Private spending and investment in the construction sector expanded at a fast clip, contributing to the expansion of the overall economy, but the growth of exports and investments in intellectual property slowed," said Jeon Seung-cheol, director general of BOK's economic statistics department, in a press briefing.

Korea's exports dipped every single month in 2015.

GDP in the agricultural sector gained 2.7 percent in 2015 from a year earlier, while those in the manufacturing and service industries growing at 1.4 percent and 2.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

GDI, on the other hand, grew 6.4 percent year-on-year in 2015, quickening from a 3.7 percent rise in the previous year and a 4 percent expansion in 2013, according to the BOK.