Asia Economics Update Growth remains weak in India, pick up unlikely soon Today’s GDP data from India show that although the y/y rate of growth increased, the economy remains very weak. India’s economic troubles are mostly self-inflicted and result from policy paralysis... 31st August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Scandal highlights problems with Vietnam's banking sector The arrest last week of two well-connected businessmen has helped to highlight the worsening problems in Vietnam’s banking sector, which has seen a sharp rise in non-performing loans and a slump in... 30th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Growth in the Philippines remains strong, but will it last? GDP growth in the Philippines remained strong in Q2, with the pace of expansion slowing only slightly compared with Q1. Both domestic demand and exports continued to grow at a healthy pace. But with... 30th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia's worsening current account raises currency risks Indonesia has seen a sharp deterioration of its current account position over the past year. Large inflows of foreign direct investment mean the country should have few problems sustaining the deficit... 29th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Is Malaysia stuck in a middle-income trap? Malaysia’s government is hoping that its Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) will take the country to high-income status by the end of this decade. Structural problems and sluggish global growth... 29th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update ASEAN outperformance set to continue Thanks mainly to strong domestic demand, economic growth in ASEAN has held up much better than in the rest of Asia so far this year. Although weaker exports will weigh on demand in the coming quarters... 21st August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand’s post-flood rebound to give way to subdued trend Today’s Q2 GDP figures from Thailand were better than the consensus had expected. Nonetheless, we still think that growth will be sluggish over the next few quarters and that the Bank of Thailand (BoT... 20th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan-China trade agreements are not a big deal Efforts by policymakers in Taiwan and China to strengthen their economic ties have had a negligible impact on Taiwan’s merchandise exports to the mainland, although Taiwan has benefitted in some other... 16th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia proving resilient to global slowdown Today’s GDP data show that Malaysia’s growth unexpectedly increased in Q2, with strong domestic demand more than offsetting export weakness. We are raising our 2012 growth forecast and no longer... 15th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India mired in stagflation The latest output and inflation data suggest India is now suffering from stagflation. Industrial production has stopped growing while inflation is stuck at around 7%. What’s more, there is little... 14th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Emerging Asia set for weak recovery despite policy easing Asia’s strong rebound from the 2008-09 global financial crisis took many by surprise. Despite the policy easing now underway in Asia, the region’s recovery from the current global crisis is unlikely... 13th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan’s central bank in a difficult balancing act The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cut its discount rate by 150bp to 10.5% today. Monetary policy is likely to be loosened further in an effort to revive growth, even at the risk of stoking already-high... 13th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea not done cutting rates The Bank of Korea (BoK) held its policy rate at 3.0% today. Nonetheless, we believe that global growth will continue to disappoint and that more policy stimulus will be needed soon to support Korea’s... 9th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia pauses, but one more rate cut is on the way The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its policy rate at 3.5% today. It probably won't be long until the RBA cuts again, but it is nearing the end of its loosening cycle. 7th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia continues to outperform Indonesia’s economy picked up slightly in the second quarter, despite weaker export demand. Indonesia is weathering the global slowdown well compared with other countries in the region. We expect GDP... 6th August 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Manufacturing deteriorates further The July PMIs showed that conditions within Asia’s manufacturing sectors are getting worse. A silver lining is that price pressures continue to ease, which should make more policymakers comfortable... 1st August 2012 · 1 min read
