Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs & Korea Trade (Feb.) Manufacturing PMIs in Emerging Asia rose in February, helped by a rebound in the export orders sub-component. While the data provide the first tentative signs that the worst may be over for the region... 1st March 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Chart Pack How will central banks respond to the latest currency falls? Asian currencies have dropped back over the past few weeks against the US dollar, with the two worst hit currencies (the Thai baht and the Korean won) down around 6% against the greenback since the... 27th February 2023 · 15 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Malaysia’s infrastructure budget, Korea’s hawkish hold Malaysia today announced a modest tightening of fiscal policy for 2023, but the most eye-catching element of the budget was a significant (and welcome) increase in infrastructure spending. Global Drop... 24th February 2023 · 7 mins read
Global Markets Update East Asian equities may hold up despite plunging exports Falls in exports from Korea and Taiwan have weighed on corporate earnings in these economies, but even if that continues for a while we think their equities will hold up fairly well. 23rd February 2023 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: cuts coming sooner than consensus expects The Bank of Korea today left interest rates unchanged (3.5%), but appeared to leave open the door to further hikes later in the year. However, with the economy struggling badly and inflationary... 23rd February 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: demographic drag worsening Figures released today highlight the dreadful demographic outlook facing Korea, with the population (excluding migrants) falling for a third year in a row. Poor demographics are the key reason why we... 22nd February 2023 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Korea: recession and rate cuts The near-term economic outlook for Korea is very poor, with falling real incomes, problems in the housing market, and weak global demand all set to weigh on prospects this year. Our forecast is that... 21st February 2023 · 10 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM investment: weak outlook and clear divergence EM investment surged far above pre-pandemic levels last year, but there was a clear divergence across countries and we think investment growth will slow in 2023. One worrying development is that... 20th February 2023 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia in 2050, Malaysia budget, Korea rate meeting Emerging Asia is set to play an increasingly important role in the global economy over the coming decades. According to our latest Long Run Outlook, seven of the world’s 20 largest economies will be... 17th February 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Data Response Thailand GDP (Q4) Thailand’s economy contracted sharply in the final quarter of last year, as a strong recovery in the tourism sector was unable to compensate for weakness elsewhere. Looking beyond the weak fourth... 17th February 2023 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Update Philippines: tightening cycle not over yet The central bank of the Philippines today raised its main policy rate by a further 50bps (to 6.00%) and increased its inflation forecast for this year significantly. We are revising our interest rate... 16th February 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia: No more rate hikes this year Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its main policy rate unchanged today (at 5.75%), and signalled that further rate increases this year were unlikely. This supports our view that the tightening cycle has now... 16th February 2023 · 2 mins read