Tsunami’s economic costs emerging
The tsunami catastrophe in South Asia is likely to cause an economic devastation of more than $13.6 billion.
The tsunami has left more than 68'000 people dead, with
Sri Lanka,
Thailand,
India and
Indonesia worst-hit.
Economists believe that the countries hit by the giant waves could see a slowdown in economic growth.
In
Sri Lanka, certain economists expect annual economic growth to slow down as much as 1%. For
Thailand, this figure is 0.1%.
Governments are projected to take measures such as reducing taxes and increasing spending in order to facilitate recovery.
The World Bank, which provides about $20 billion a year as development aid to the world's poorest countries, stated that it is in negotiations with countries, including
Sri Lanka and
Indonesia, about redirecting existing loans to the rebuilding process.