Asia Economics Weekly Thailand: Demographics and politics to drag on prospects Thailand’s working age population is forecast to start shrinking from next year, presenting a headwind to the country’s economic prospects. With productivity growth set to remain weak, economic growth... 15th June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Five questions (and answers) on Trump-Kim summit Today’s historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un represents an extraordinary turn of events, and comes just a year after it appeared North Korea could be heading for a devastating war with... 12th June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: Latest currency devaluation a stopgap The latest devaluation in the Pakistani rupee has once again put the spotlight on the country’s precarious external position. The government will hope to keep the situation under control until next... 11th June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Could North Korea be the next Vietnam? Tomorrow’s historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore has raised the (distant) prospect of international sanctions against North Korea being lifted, a move that one day could... 11th June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly How will the Trump-Kim summit impact South Korea? Next week’s summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jung Un, is a big deal politically, but even if a major breakthrough is announced, the impact on South Korea’s financial markets... 8th June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly What next for growth? GDP growth across Emerging Asia edged up slightly in the first quarter of the year, and should continue to hold up relatively well in the near term, despite the drag from higher oil prices and weaker... 1st June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (May) Most of Emerging Asia’s PMIs picked up in May. However, the manufacturing sector in Taiwan, one of the economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, appears to be losing momentum. 1st June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian markets stumble in May Emerging Asia has not been spared in the recent EM sell-off, but its financial markets have held up better than those in other EM regions. 31st May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Heightened uncertainty in Malaysia post-election In a massive political upset, the incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition led by Najib Razak was ousted by a resurgent opposition led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia’s 14 th... 28th May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia’s mega-projects could be up for the chop There is growing speculation that Malaysia’s new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, will cancel some of the huge Chinese-backed infrastructure projects approved by his predecessor. Given Malaysia’s... 28th May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly What does the latest spike in oil prices mean for Asia? The recent jump in oil prices will act as a headwind to economic activity across the region, with the drag on growth likely to be biggest in Thailand, Taiwan and Korea. However, with monetary and... 25th May 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Why there’s less to the EM sell-off than meets the eye Warnings that the market turmoil in EMs over the past few weeks could presage a spate of crises similar to the late 1990s look overdone. A more sober assessment reveals three key points. 24th May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea: July rate hike looks unlikely The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate on hold at 1.50% today, as expected, and there was nothing in the accompanying statement or the governor’s press conference that suggest the BoK will... 24th May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Singapore GDP (Q1 Revised) The revised estimate of Singapore’s Q1 GDP showed that the economy started 2018 on a better note than previously thought. However, a gradual slowdown in global growth and a tightening of domestic... 24th May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Who will follow Indonesia higher? The Philippines, India and Korea are all likely to follow Bank Indonesia by hiking interest rates over the next couple of months. But unlike Indonesia, these three are set to tighten policy from a... 18th May 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q1) While today’s figures show that the new government inherits an economy in decent health, the scrapping of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and campaign pledges to review Chinese investment have made... 17th May 2018 · 1 min read