Asia Economics Weekly Korea: dovish central bank as political turmoil continues The Bank of Korea’s latest minutes highlight growing concern over the economy. Given the deteriorating outlook, we expect the BoK to cut rates by a further 75bps this year, a more dovish stance than... 21st March 2025 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Duterte in the dock, Korea’s welcome workforce shift The arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the ICC will not have any direct economic consequences, but it shines a light on the deepening political instability in the Philippines, particularly... 14th March 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly From tariffs to troops: what Trump means for Taiwan The focus of Trump’s tariff measures may soon extend beyond China, Mexico, and Canada, with Taiwan emerging as a likely target due to its large trade surplus with the US. While potential reciprocal... 7th March 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Jump in Korea’s fertility rate, Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund Figures published earlier this week showed the fertility rate in Korea increased last year for the first time in nine years. However, we think this was mainly due to a post-COVID rebound in marriages... 28th February 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore’s budget, Trump auto tariffs, BoK to cut Singapore’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year contained a number of giveaways designed to boost support for the government ahead of elections, which must be held by November. In terms of the... 21st February 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Who will be hit hardest by Trump’s latest tariff threats? President Trump looks to have abandoned the idea of imposing a flat universal tariff of 10%-20% on all imports to the US, and now appears to be favouring new reciprocal tariffs that will be imposed on... 14th February 2025 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: What would a global trade war mean for Asia? Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on China (along with those threatened for Mexico and Canada) could prove to be the start of a protracted trade war. Other countries in Asia could benefit if penal tariffs... 7th February 2025 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Further easing ahead in Pakistan and Sri Lanka Pakistan’s central bank cut interest rates by 100bps at its scheduled meeting earlier this week. But with the economy recovering, inflation concerns continuing to linger and the central bank sounding... 31st January 2025 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: How vulnerable is Korea to a second Trump presidency? Our assumption is that Trump will impose a 10% tariff on all US imports (including on Korea), most likely sometime in the second quarter. On its own this would not have a huge impact on Korea, since a... 24th January 2025 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Korea’s political crisis, BI’s surprise cut, Trump and Asia There are growing signs that the economy in Korea is being affected by the political crisis. This is one of the key reasons why we think the central bank will resume its easing cycle soon, following... 17th January 2025 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Bank of Korea to cut rates again, free meals in Indonesia With inflation under control and signs the political crisis is weighing on the already-weak economy, we expect the Bank of Korea to cut interest rates by a further 25bps at its meeting on Thursday... 10th January 2025 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Dovish BoK minutes, bumper rate cut in Pakistan The Bank of Korea’s minutes from its November meeting confirm that supporting the economy is now its main priority. We are expecting another 100bps of rate cuts next year in Korea. Meanwhile, Pakistan... 20th December 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Close call for the Bank of Thailand The coming week sees scheduled central bank meetings in Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines. We are expecting holds in Indonesia and Taiwan, but cuts in the rest. The closest... 13th December 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly What next for Korea? The longer the political crisis in Korea drags on, the worse the economic consequences will be. Consumer spending is likely to be affected and there will also be disruption if the country’s powerful... 6th December 2024 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea’s interest rate cut, falling inflation in Singapore The Bank of Korea surprised most analysts (although not us) when it cut interest rates at its scheduled meeting yesterday. The weakness of today’s activity data makes us more confident in our view... 29th November 2024 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Will the Bank of Korea spring a surprise? The Bank of Korea pushed back strongly against the prospect of back-to-back rate cuts when it began its easing cycle last month, and most analysts expect rates to be left unchanged at the BoK’s... 22nd November 2024 · 6 mins read
