Asia Economics Update Dong devaluation not part of Asian currency war Although today’s decision by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to devalue the dong by a further 1% against the US dollar and widen the trading band was in part linked to China’s devaluation of the... 19th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bombings add to Thailand’s economic and political concerns The bombings in Thailand’s capital present a new downside risk to the country’s economic outlook. Not only are the attacks a blow to the important tourism sector, they also add to concerns about... 19th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka’s elections unlikely to end political uncertainty Financial markets are likely to welcome the re-election of Ranil Wickremasinghe as Sri Lanka’s prime minister. However, with the new prime minister likely to have to govern as part of a coalition... 18th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Interest rates in the Philippines to remain on hold for a while yet The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left its policy rate on hold at 4.0%. With growth set ton recover in the coming quarters, but inflation likely to remain low, we think the central bank... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean rates to stay on hold for a while yet The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 1.50% today, despite talk of a fresh round of "currency wars" across Asia following the People's Bank of China's decision to... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Talk of a fresh round of Asian "currency wars" is overblown The second downward revision to the People‘s Bank of China‘s daily reference rate for the renminbi has today intensified talk that a fresh round of “currency wars“ is about to sweep across Asia. We... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Too soon to call the end of Thailand’s easing cycle The Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) kept its policy rate on hold at 1.5% today, but with the economy still struggling for momentum, we think it is still too early to call the end of the easing cycle. We... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How useful is Malaysia's PMI? A new manufacturing PMI survey for Malaysia launched by Nikkei and Markit earlier this month appears to track the hard data reasonably well and points to a further slowdown in the manufacturing sector... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian currencies caught up in EM sell-off Asian currencies have been caught up in a general sell-off of EM assets this month, as interest rate hikes in the US have started to loom. Some currencies are now at or close to multi-year lows. That... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Drought adds to Thailand’s economic headwinds A severe drought in Thailand is hurting its agricultural sector and adding to the country’s economic woes. Rising downside risks to growth will increase pressure on the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to... 21st July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia to cut rates before the end of the year With inflation still well above target, today’s decision by Bank Indonesia (BI) to leave its main policy rate on hold at 7.50% was no great surprise. While we think rates will stay on hold in the... 14th July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Further rate cuts in Korea unlikely Despite the weak economy, the Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 1.50% today. We think it will take a severe deterioration in the growth outlook to convince the BoK... 9th July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Ringgit weakness to remain a constraint on policy in Malaysia The Malaysian ringgit weakened past its 1998-2005 peg level of 3.80 against the dollar today for the first time since the peg was scrapped. Today’s decline may have been triggered by concern over the... 6th July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian markets remain calm about "Grexit" threat Although most Asian equities markets and currencies weakened in June, reflectingrising expectations that the US Fed will soon start to raise interest rates and thegrowing risk of Greece exiting the... 30th June 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean government responds to MERS threat The Korean government’s proposed fiscal stimulus package comes in response to the growing threat on the economy posed by the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Although details of... 25th June 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rate cuts likely in Indonesia before year-end Bank Indonesia (BI) today left its main policy rate on hold at 7.50% against a backdrop of slowing growth, high inflation and a weakening currency. We doubt there will be any changes in interest rates... 18th June 2015 · 1 min read
