Asia Economics Update Taiwan's central bank under little pressure to hike rates Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) left interest rates on hold today, as was widely expected. The economy is performing better, but with inflation set to remain subdued we expect the CBC to keep interest... 27th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Still no end to Thailand's political crisis in sight Thailand’s ongoing political crisis took a new turn on Friday with the constitutional court deciding to annul the February general election. The annulment brings the crisis no closer to a resolution... 24th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Optimism over India’s elections may be misplaced Recent polls pointing to a rising margin of victory for the opposition BJP in the upcoming elections have boosted business confidence. But we think such optimism may be misplaced, with coalition... 21st March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Has Australia already turned a corner? A recent collection of upbeat data has been taken by a number of commentators as a sign that Australia's economy has turned a corner. Most are expecting faster growth in 2014. But with the economy on... 20th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand’s outlook still healthy, despite Q4 slowdown New Zealand’s economy slowed in Q4, largely owing to the fading impact of the recovery from a drought that hit the country in the first half of last year. Broader indicators suggest the economy is in... 20th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka’s growth outlook remains strong Sri Lanka recorded another quarter of strong growth in Q4 last year on the back of a continued recovery in external demand and accommodative monetary policy. These factors are likely to continue to... 17th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean rates set for prolonged hold The Bank of Korea (BoK) left interest rates on hold today for the tenth consecutive month in what was Kim Choongsoo’s final meeting as central bank governor. The handover to Lee Ju-yeol, a former... 13th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India on cusp of export rebound With India’s domestic demand held back by tight monetary policy, export demand is likely to play a pivotal role in any economic recovery this year. Recent export data have been disappointing. But a... 12th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Encouraging Indian data unlikely to sway hawkish central bank Today’s industrial production and inflation data show India’s beleaguered economy moving in the right direction, but we doubt the latest drop in inflation will be enough to prompt the Reserve Bank to... 12th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand lowers policy rate, but further cuts unlikely Amid rising downside risks to growth, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) opted to cut its policy rate by 25bps today. With no clear sign that the political impasse will be resolved soon, we expect interest... 12th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia’s rate hike around the corner Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.0% today as expected, but with the economy gradually gaining a firmer footing, a 25bp rate hike is unlikely to be far away. 6th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia’s economy set to slow in 2014 GDP growth in Australia accelerated in the final quarter of last year. Looking ahead, we expect the economy to lose momentum over the coming quarters, as the boom in mining investment continues to... 5th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australian rates to stay on hold for now The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at 2.5% today, as expected. For now, policy loosening looks to be off the agenda, but we suspect that a rate cut will be needed later in the year... 4th March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update PMIs point to gradual and uneven recovery The February PMIs for Emerging Asia point to a slight deterioration in the region's manufacturing conditions. The pullback in the new orders component suggests Asia's manufacturing recovery is likely... 3rd March 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India’s road to recovery to remain bumpy Economic growth in India dipped in the final quarter of 2013, having picked up in Q3. Looking ahead,we continue to expect the economic recovery to remain slow and uneven. 28th February 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian currencies rebound, rupiah leads the way Following sharp falls in January, Asian currencies and equity markets have rebounded over the past month. Meanwhile, government bond yields have been broadly flat. 27th February 2014 · 1 min read
