Asia Economics Update New Zealand's monetary tightening on hold into 2011 The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) today kept policy rates on hold at 3.0%, as expected. The aftermath of the earthquake will inevitably cause some disruption in coming months but the RBNZ even... 16th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India's Reserve Bank still likely to tighten this week Wholesale price data published today were based on a new index and probably exaggerate the easing of price pressures which is coming through. What’s more, the upswing appears to be speeding up. The... 14th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysian ringgit internationalisation is far away Over the weekend, Prime Minister Najib Razak stated that Malaysia was looking at allowing offshore trading of the ringgit. But Malaysia would need to make the currency fully convertible on the capital... 13th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea biding its time, but rate hikes lie ahead The Bank of Korea (BoK) unexpectedly held its policy rate at 2.25% today. Concerns about rising global uncertainties tipped the balance in favour of no change, despite the BoK expecting solid GDP... 9th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Further rate hikes still look close in Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at 4.5% today, as expected. Nevertheless, the local economic upswing remains strong, at a time when there is little spare capacity. Accordingly... 7th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan gets some help from the IMF The IMF late last week approved an emergency $0.45bn loan for Pakistan. The funding is small compared to the cost of the reconstruction work but is a vote of confidence in a government whose initial... 6th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand's central bank to pause in September The weekend earthquake in the South Island makes it virtually certain that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will pause its monetary policy tightening next week. The latest shock comes on top of... 6th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia steps up its policy tightening Bank Indonesia (BI) left its policy rate at 6.5% today, as expected. However, it also announced that the reserve requirement will rise from 5% to 8%, starting from the beginning of November. The... 3rd September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia's manufacturing boom is easing to a pace that can last The manufacturing PMIs declined in August. The global upswing is shifting to a slower pace but we expect that the industrial sector expansion in Asia will stabilise at trend rather than collapse. 3rd September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia's policy tightening pause unlikely to last long Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left the reference rate unchanged today at 2.75%, as expected. Our view is that the local economic upswing will comfortably survive the tough global conditions which are in... 2nd September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's economy will continue to outperform Australia’s GDP growth accelerated in Q2 and was led by exports and household spending. The economic outlook remains bright, with the mining boom set to sustain above-trend growth in 2010-11. The... 1st September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Slow start to Q3 but Thailand's outlook is still upbeat Bank of Thailand (BoT) monthly indicators for July are consistent with industrial activity and export growth in the second half of the year being weaker than in the first. But this should be no... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India is well-placed to shrug off global concerns Q2 GDP data published today were strong relative to a year ago but suggest that momentum slowed sharply in q/q annualised terms. We had expected the recent weakness but do not think that it will last... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Investment grade looks close for Indonesia The consensus expects that Indonesia will achieve investment grade over the next one-to-three years but we believe that an upgrade by one of the three major ratings agencies will probably happen over... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam set for rapid, but high risk, growth August data published over the last week show that the upswing in Vietnam remains strong, inflation has stayed on a slower track, while higher capital inflows are easing the strain on the balance of... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Strong growth in the Philippines to bring rate hikes soon Q2 GDP in the Philippines came in stronger than even our above-consensus forecast. Domestic demand will probably stay strong and should offset the fading support from foreign conditions and inventory... 26th August 2010 · 1 min read
