ADB set to cut growth forecast for developing Asia

TOKYO, Feb 18 (Reuters) -The Asian Development Bank will likely cut its 2009 growth forecast for developing Asia again in its upcoming outlook in March, the president of the Manila-based international finance institution told a conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Given a much gloomier outlook issued recently by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kuroda said the ADB's regional growth forecast will likely undershoot one projected in December.

In December, the ADB cut its growth forecasts for the region to an eight-year low of 5.8 percent for 2009 from 6.9 percent last year.

The ADB normally updates its forecasts twice a year, in April and September, but it issued an off-cycle update of its growth forecasts for the region as the global economy heads for a deeper and more prolonged slowdown than initially expected. (Reporting by Charlotte Cooper and Tetsushi Kajimoto)