The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast Tuesday that Taiwan's economy will grow 5.9 percent in 2010 from the previous year when it was feeling the effects of the global financial crisis. The forecast was upgraded from the 4.9 percent growth that the bank predicted in April. As one of the four newly industrialized economies (NIEs) , Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP) has been boosted by a significant improvement in exports, a rebound in investments and industrial production, the ADB said in its Asia Economic Monitor on its website. Taiwan's economy is also benefiting from a recovery in consumer spending which has spurred robust growth of retail sales, the bank said. Among the other NIE economies, Singapore is expected to achieve economic growth of 12.5 percent in 2010, Hong Kong 5.4 percent and South Korea 5.5 percent, the bank said. Following China significant economic growth rate of 11.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, its pace is expected to slow down for the rest of the year and its 2010 GDP growth is likely to be 9.6 percent, ADB said. The economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to grow 6.7 percent, with Malaysia's GDP growing 6.8 percent, Indonesia's 6.0 percent, Thailand's 5.5 percent and the Philippines 5.0 percent, the bank forecast. The bank also upgraded its growth forecast for the 14 emerging economies in East Asia from 7.7 percent to 8.1 percent. However, the emerging East Asia economies -- China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and the 10 member states of ASEAN -- are faced with three major risks despite the positive outlook, the bank said. The risks are a disruption in the recovery of advanced economies, destabilization of capital flows and unintended policy errors in winding down stimulus measures, it added. 'With a few exceptions, it is now time for the region to begin to exit its various stimulus packages,' the ADB said. 'In terms of policy mix, a strategy of normalizing monetary policy first and consolidating fiscal policy later is more appropriate for most of emerging East Asia,' it added. 