Asia Economics Update Korea: rate cuts likely in mid-2024 The Bank of Korea (BoK) today left its policy rate unchanged (at 3.5%) for a seventh consecutive meeting, and hinted that interest rates would remain elevated as it continues to clamp down on... 30th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: Anwar failing to make progress on reform One year into his premiership, Anwar Ibrahim has made very limited progress on his key reform objectives. Given his weak position in parliament, we don’t anticipate this will change anytime soon, and... 22nd November 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Singapore: strong growth unlikely to be sustained Economic growth in Singapore rebounded strongly in the third quarter of the year, but we don’t expect this strength to last. A combination of weaker global demand and high interest rates will cause... 22nd November 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Thailand: steady growth ahead Economic growth in Thailand picked up in the third quarter of the year and we expect the economy to record steady, if unspectacular growth over the coming quarters, helped by looser fiscal policy and... 20th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan: Would an opposition win boost the economy? An opposition win in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election could lead to a complete or partial reversal of the economic sanctions that China has imposed on Taiwan’s economy during Tsai Ing-wen’s... 9th November 2023 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Manufacturing PMIs & Korean trade The October PMIs for Emerging Asia generally dropped back further inside contractionary territory. The outlook for manufacturing in the region remains bleak in the near term as elevated inventory... 1st November 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia election – what is at stake? Reforms introduced by President Joko Widodo (commonly known as Jokowi) should enable the economy to continue growing rapidly once he steps down next year. The key question as the election approaches... 24th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update “One and done” in Indonesia In a surprise move, Bank Indonesia (BI) today hiked its main policy rate by 25bps (to 6.0%) in an attempt to support the currency. But there is a good chance this will be a case of “one and done”. Our... 19th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update First signs of a dovish shift at the Bank of Korea The Bank of Korea today left its policy rate unchanged (at 3.5%), and while Governor Rhee left open the possibility of further interest rate hikes, there are signs that some members of the central... 19th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Renewed inflation worries unlikely to trigger rate hikes Headline inflation has jumped across much of Emerging Asia over the past couple of months on the back of rises in food and fuel prices. This won’t prompt central banks to resume tightening (the... 11th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Asian Tigers: AI boost will not offset drag from demographics The Asian Tiger economies of Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are likely to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the emergence of new AI technologies. But the boost will not be enough to offset... 9th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka: further easing ahead The central bank (CBSL) today cut interest rates by a further 100bps. With inflation low and the economy still very depressed, further easing is likely over the coming months. 5th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: weak activity data but inflation worries mount The latest activity data from Korea were downbeat. Although industrial production grew strongly, the manufacturing PMIs, along with the export figures and retail sales data, all point to continued... 5th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update The bond market sell-off and the global economy The sell-off in bond markets has taken a breather today, helped in part by softer data on the US labour market. However, the scale of the moves over the past week has invoked comparisons to previous... 4th October 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: drag from weak construction set to continue Construction spending in Korea is falling sharply as developers respond to an oversupply of new homes by cutting back on new projects. The sector’s weakness will remain a major drag on economic growth... 3rd October 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Manufacturing PMIs, Korean trade, Indonesia CPI The PMIs for September suggest that manufacturing activity across Emerging Asia remained weak last month. Worryingly, the PMIs point to a further rise in price pressures across the region, with the... 2nd October 2023 · 2 mins read
