Speaking at an interactive media roundtable following the bank’s 2018 year a head briefing and the publication of Our Global Focus he said that revenue-led fiscal consolidation too is continuing but at a slower pace.

“We expect growth in the US and euro area to exceed 10-year averages, although this is not a particularly high bar, growth in India should recover but we think expectations of rate hikes in 2018 are premature. In the ASEAN region, Thailand’s growth could positively surprise after years of underperformance.”

David Mann, Chief Economist, Standard Chartered said that they expect solid global growth of 3.9% in 2018, similar to 2017. He predicted that China will likely contribute 62% of global growth in 2018. ‘China’s growth is likely to slow, but not aggressively. We expect the tightening of financial-sector leverage to continue. The market has finally adopted a two-way risk mentality on the direction of the exchange rate.”

Commenting on the ASEAN region he said that economies with proactive government investment in infrastructure projects including Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand should be supported, even if external demand is softer than in 2017.”

Sarah Hewin, Economist, Europe, Standard Chartered said that the Euro area is likely to experience strong growth as the region puts crisis years behind it on the back of buoyant domestic demand and accommodative policy.

“Politics will be in focus, with risks around Italy’s election and Brexit negotiations,” he said.