The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday halved its 2009 growth forecast for developing countries in Asia, warning that an anticipated rebound in 2010 was heavily dependent on a broader recovery of the world economy.

The Asian lender said that Asia excluding Japan was likely to grow 3.4 per cent this year, compared with a forecast of 7.2 per cent in September. The region is however expected to rebound in 2010 to growth of 6 per cent.