The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its 2021 economic growth outlook for developing economies in Asia, a region weakened by the rapid spread of new COVID-19 variants. The region’s economy will expand by 7.1 percent this year, down from the 7.3 percent forecast in April, the ADB said in its Asian Development Outlook Update released on Wednesday.  The bank projected that the region’s growth will slow to 5.4 percent in 2022. “Developing Asia remains vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Joseph Zveglich, acting chief economist at ADB, said in a related statement. “New variants spark outbreaks, leading to renewed restrictions on mobility in some economies.” The ADB report said that a resurgence in COVID-19 “possibly due to new virus variants, waning effectiveness of vaccines, or slow progress on vaccination” is the main risk faced. The ADB said the region’s recovery has been uneven. East Asia has boosted exports because of …