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
Emerging Markets Economics Update Where are EM external vulnerabilities largest? If the recent tightening of external financing conditions is sustained, it would result in severe balance of payments strains for the usual suspects (Turkey and Argentina) as well as some of the... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update South Asia at high risk of wide-scale virus outbreak The rising number of new coronavirus infections in Asia beyond China has largely been confined to Korea and Japan. But poor healthcare provision, the density of population and high levels of internal... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade (1st – 10th Mar.) Korean trade data for the first 10 days of March suggest that the disruption from factory closures in China to regional industry eased recently, although both imports and exports remain depressed. 11th March 2020 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Focus New forecasts for Emerging Asia as coronavirus spreads There is a huge amount of uncertainty over how things will play out over the coming weeks as the coronavirus crisis continues to unfold, and any forecasts should be taken with more than the usual... 10th March 2020 · 10 mins read
Asia Economics Update What do falling oil prices mean for Emerging Asia? Most countries in Emerging Asia are net importers of oil, so would usually stand to gain from a big drop in prices. But with the coronavirus continuing to spread and people increasingly avoiding... 9th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea could be next to disrupt global supply chains Korea’s position as a key supplier of high-tech intermediate goods means it plays an important role in regional supply chains. Extended factory closures due to the spread of the coronavirus would... 9th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Global Markets Update Emerging Asian equities likely to lag in any rebound If, as we expect, worst fears about the coronavirus outbreak don’t materialise, global stock markets will probably generally recover. However, we doubt that this will be the case for equities in... 6th March 2020 · 3 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
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka to keep rates on hold this year The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) left interest rates unchanged today, and while it kept the door open to loosening, high inflation and the CBSL’s concern over the rupee limits the scope for... 5th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Further rate cuts likely in Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today cut its policy rate from 2.75% to 2.50%, and with headwinds to growth worsening, we think the central bank will ease policy again at its next policy meeting in May. 3rd March 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update PMI slump may underestimate coronavirus hit The collapse in the EM manufacturing PMI to an 11-year low in February all but confirms that EM growth has fallen to its weakest rate since the global financial crisis. But the survey is yet to fully... 2nd March 2020 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Coronavirus: the long-term impact on supply chains The coronavirus itself may not trigger a wholesale reorganisation of supply chains, but it strengthens the argument for companies to reduce associated risks. One response might be to introduce more... 2nd March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Feb.) PMI readings for Asia are likely to have understated the disruption to industry from factory shutdowns in China, and the recent rise in coronavirus cases outside of China means that worse may be yet... 2nd March 2020 · 2 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade (Feb.) Growth in Korean trade in February masks underlying weakness. Trade with China shrank sharply due to disruption from the coronavirus, and there were few signs of strength elsewhere. 2nd March 2020 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Coronavirus: five points on the hit to EM activity so far This Activity Monitor outlines five key points on the coronavirus fallout for EMs, including what we can say about the impact so far. At the very least, it looks like the virus will cause aggregate EM... 28th February 2020 · 3 mins read
