Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia holds again, rates unlikely to change this year Bank Indonesia kept its policy rate on hold at 4.75% today, and we think that worries about inflation will prevent the central bank from loosening policy any further over the rest of the year too. 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q4) Malaysia’s economy continued to gain momentum in the final quarter of last year, but against a backdrop of lacklustre external demand, high household debt and limited scope for additional policy... 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Hong Kong and Singapore: a tale of two housing markets The gradual deflation of what had looked like a housing bubble in Singapore has left the economy in much better shape to cope with rising interest rates. The contrast with Hong Kong, where property... 10th February 2017 · 1 min read
EM Markets Chart Pack Recent recovery likely to prove a false dawn Financial markets in the emerging world have maintained their strong start to the year. But we don’t expect this to be sustained, as the Fed resumes its tightening and geo-political uncertainty... 8th February 2017 · 1 min read
India Economics Update RBI brings loosening cycle to an end The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) decision to keep interest rates on hold today was in line with our non-consensus forecast and it signals the end of the loosening cycle. Looking ahead, with... 8th February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka holds rates, but hikes likely soon The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept rates on hold at its meeting today, but against a backdrop of rapid credit growth, rising inflation and a weakening currency, we think it is only a matter of... 7th February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Indonesia GDP (Q4) Indonesia recorded another quarter of disappointing growth in the final quarter of last year. With commodity prices likely to remain depressed and policymakers running out of scope to stimulate the... 6th February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Trump’s “America first” policy poses threat to Philippines China and Mexico were the main focus of Donald Trump’s protectionist threats on the campaign trail. But the Philippines also stands out as vulnerable to any moves by the US towards isolationism. In... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Can manufacturing revive growth in Indonesia? A strong manufacturing sector would go some way to reviving the economic fortunes of Indonesia. However, the challenges are formidable, and unless more progress is made on liberalising the labour... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Jan.) Emerging Asia’s PMIs for January suggest the region’s manufacturing sectors started 2017 on a lacklustre note. Focusing on the two economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, Taiwan’s... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Signs of life in Brazil and Russia Our GDP Tracker suggests that the EM GDP growth has continued to accelerate in recent months and is now running at its fastest pace in two years. While the recovery is still being driven by China... 31st January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian financial markets make good start to 2017 Asian currencies have rebounded against the US dollar over the past month, with the Korean won leading the way. For the most part, the recent gains reflect a weak dollar, which has fallen in value... 31st January 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM dollar debt – a primer The recent strength of the US dollar has prompted several questions from clients about dollar debt burdens in emerging economies. In this Update, we outline the key points and provide a comprehensive... 27th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Thailand’s current account surplus is a sign of weakness Large current account surpluses are sometimes a sign of economic strength. In the case of Thailand, however, where the surplus is over 10% of GDP, it is a symptom of a deeply depressed economy. 27th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Philippines GDP (Q4) The Philippines recorded another quarter of solid growth in Q4 and should continue to grow reasonably strongly over the forecast period. The uncertain political situation at home and Donald Trump’s... 26th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Taiwan GDP (Q4 Advanced) Taiwan’s economy rebounded strongly in the final quarter of last year, but with weak global demand set to drag on exports and limited scope for more policy support, the recovery is likely to run out... 25th January 2017 · 1 min read
