The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded its projections for Indonesia’s economy this year and in 2021 due to a continued slowdown in economic activity as a result of the continuing coronavirus outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a contraction of around 3.5 percent year-on-year (yoy) in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, taking the country into its first recession since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, after a 5.32 percent contraction in the second quarter, according to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). “GDP forecast in 2020 has been downgraded for Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines as COVID-19 containment measures have hampered economic recovery,” ADB country economist for Indonesia Emma Allen said in a virtual briefing on Thursday. “So in light of these developments with the third quarter outcome and assuming a gradual...