Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea stands pat, but more action still likely The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate on hold at 0.50% today and while it did not unveil any further unconventional policy measures, the Bank gave hints it could employ them in future. With... 16th July 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka opts for 100bps cut, more easing likely The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) cut both its deposit and lending rates by 100bps to 4.50% and 5.50% respectively at its meeting today, and given the poor outlook for the economy, we think the... 9th July 2020 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update More easing to come from Malaysia’s central bank Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) cut its main policy rate by 25bps to 1.75% today, and with the economic recovery still in its infancy, we doubt this marks the end of the central bank’s easing cycle. 7th July 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Philippines: more rate cuts coming The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today cut its policy rate by a larger-than-expected 50bps, to 2.25%, and with economic activity unlikely to recover fully anytime soon, we expect further... 25th June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update What will the Bank of Thailand do next? The Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.5% today despite the dire outlook for the economy suggests that further cuts to the policy rate are unlikely. Instead, the... 24th June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan keeps rates on hold, but easing likely to resume Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) kept its policy rate on hold today at 1.125%, but given the poor outlook for the economy, we think it will cut again soon. 18th June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia to ease further Bank Indonesia (BI) cut interest rates today for the first time in three months, but the modest 25bp cut suggests that it remains worried about the outlook for the rupiah. Given the bleak growth... 18th June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Tracking the recovery The high-frequency data that we track suggest that while all countries in the region are now rebounding, the pace of recovery varies significantly. The recovery is most advanced in China, Taiwan and... 17th June 2020 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Further signs of improvement in Korea Despite the sharp rise in the unemployment rate last month, there are signs that the Korean labour market has turned a corner. This adds to evidence that the economy has now bottomed out. 10th June 2020 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update South Asia and the lockdown dilemma Lockdowns are being eased in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh without any sign that coronavirus infections are being brought under control. Economic recoveries will face greater headwinds than in places... 9th June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan: raising our GDP forecasts on stronger exports With domestic infections contained, the main way in which the global pandemic has threatened Taiwan economically is through weakness in external demand. Exports have held up much better than we had... 8th June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Raising our GDP forecast for Vietnam A sharp slowdown in Vietnam this year is unavoidable, but with the virus contained and with exports holding up better than might have been expected, we are raising our 2020 GDP growth forecast... 2nd June 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update How bad is the outlook for exports? Given the collapse in the global economy, merchandise exports from Emerging Asia have so far held up better than might have been anticipated. The fact that the global slump has been driven by services... 29th May 2020 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update BoK stops short of full QE, more action still likely The Bank of Korea (BoK) cut its policy rate by 25bps to a new record low of 0.50% and gave some vague assurances that it would act to keep long term government bond yields down. With growth likely to... 28th May 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Inflation to stay low for a long time The impact of the crisis so far has been overwhelmingly disinflationary, and with demand likely to be depressed for a long time to come, inflation is set to remain very weak. A period of entrenched... 27th May 2020 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Singapore: boost from pharma sector will not last A surge in pharmaceutical production has provided a significant boost to Singapore’s economy over the past couple of months, but this is likely to prove temporary and will not prevent a massive... 26th May 2020 · 3 mins read
