Asia Economics Weekly Export bright spots Given the collapse in global demand, the relative strength of Asian exports has come as something of a surprise. We estimate that Asian exports are down by around 15% y/y, which is much less than the... 19th June 2020 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly How quickly will tourism recover? Tourism across the region has been decimated by the pandemic and is likely to be one of the last sectors of the economy to recover. This will weigh heavily on prospects in countries like Thailand... 12th June 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines: collapse in April, recovery to lag Labour market and industrial production data released today for the Philippines confirm that output collapsed in April. With the lockdown being eased only gradually, the recovery in the Philippines is... 5th June 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bumps in Korea’s recovery, how to interpret the PMIs A couple of new outbreaks of coronavirus in Korea’s capital city, Seoul, has led to renewed fears of a second wave of infections. The recent spike appears to have put the recovery on hold and has led... 29th May 2020 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK to launch QE, labour market woes in Taiwan The Bank of Korea is likely to cut its policy rate to a record low of 0.5% and step up non-conventional support at its meeting on Thursday. Meanwhile, today’s labour market figures from Taiwan show... 22nd May 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Tourism slump in Thailand, Korea’s “second wave” The first quarter GDP figures for Thailand (due on Monday) will make for grim reading. While all economies have been hit hard by coronavirus containment measures, the collapse in global tourism means... 15th May 2020 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Infections ease, but recovery proving slow Though there are notable exceptions, there are some encouraging signs that new infections of the coronavirus are falling in many places in Emerging Asia. The slowing spread of the virus should allow... 8th May 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines economic woes, Singapore slump Next Thursday’s Q1 GDP figures for the Philippines are likely to show that the economy grew at its slowest rate in over 10 years last quarter. But worse is still to come. Meanwhile, Singapore’s latest... 30th April 2020 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore lockdown extension, deflation arrives The decision by Singapore’s government to extend and toughen its lockdown will further reduce economic output this year. We are cutting our GDP forecast again. Meanwhile, the most recent batch of... 24th April 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Elections in Korea, further easing in Pakistan With all the votes from Korea’s parliamentary election now counted, it has been confirmed that President Moon’s Democratic Party (DP) and its affiliate party won 180 of the 300 seats in the National... 17th April 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Lifeline for Bank Indonesia, more stimulus on the way With the rupiah recovering strongly over the past week, we think Bank Indonesia will lower interest rates at its meeting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, more countries have unveiled fiscal stimulus and support... 9th April 2020 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore shutdown, new forecasts, Korea elections Singapore today become the latest country in Asia to announce strict new social distancing rules to slow the spread of the coronavirus. We estimate that the economy will be running at around 30% below... 3rd April 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam Q1 slowdown, Malaysia on “war footing” First quarter GDP figures for Singapore and Vietnam confirm that a sharp downturn is now underway. The figures for the second quarter are likely to be even worse. Meanwhile, Malaysia today declared... 27th March 2020 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Currencies under pressure, virus spreads in S E Asia Asian currencies have dropped back sharply in recent days, and with no end in sight to the crisis, further big falls are likely. For most countries, weaker currencies are not much to worry about. The... 20th March 2020 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Good news and bad news Despite the turmoil in regional financial markets over the past week, there has been some good news to report from Asia. New cases of the coronavirus in China have continued to fall sharply. There are... 13th March 2020 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea inaction, rupiah under pressure There has been some better news from Korea over the last few days, with the country reporting a drop in the number of new infections. However, with people avoiding public spaces such as shops and... 6th March 2020 · 6 mins read
