Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea on hold, for now The Bank of Korea (BoK) today unsurprisingly kept its policy rate on hold at 1.50% for its second straight meeting, and the accompanying statement and governor’s press conference suggest the central... 27th February 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Jan.) Emerging Asia’s PMIs for January suggest the region’s manufacturing sectors gained momentum at the start of 2018. Encouragingly, the headline readings for Taiwan and Korea – the two economies where... 1st February 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Korea GDP (Q4) While Korea’s economy cooled at the end of 2017, we expect growth to regain some momentum in the coming quarters, supported by a turnaround in the tourism sector. 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea set for strong 2018, but not because of the Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics, which get under way in South Korea next month, will not provide much of a boost to the country’s economy. But this will not stop South Korea from recording another year of... 19th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea on hold, tightening will be gradual The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate on hold at 1.50% today, and the governor’s accompanying press conference signalled aggressive tightening is not in the pipeline. With the economy set to... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Will minimum wage hikes hurt Korea’s economy? The South Korean government hopes that steep hikes to the minimum wage will provide a boost to private consumption and help to reduce inequality, but there is a risk that the policy may do more harm... 11th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Dec.) The December PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors remained in good health. Focusing on the two economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, Taiwan’s... 2nd January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Will corporate tax hikes dent Korea’s competitiveness? The programme of tax hikes and spending increases passed today by South Korea’s parliament is unlikely to have much impact on the country’s growth prospects. The budget is forecast to be fiscally... 6th December 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Nov.) The November PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors rebounded strongly last month. Encouragingly, the headline readings for Taiwan and Korea – the two economies where... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s policy tightening will proceed gradually The Bank of Korea (BoK) raised its policy rate for the first time since 2011 today. Looking ahead, the tone of the governor’s accompanying press conference suggests aggressive monetary policy... 30th November 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Raising our Korea growth and interest rate forecasts China and South Korea’s decision to “reset” relations should provide a significant boost to Korea’s economy by bringing an end to China’s boycott of Korean goods as well as the clampdown on Chinese... 1st November 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Oct.) The October PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors lost some momentum at the start of Q4. The headline readings for Korea and Taiwan – the two economies where the PMIs... 1st November 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Malaysia’s budget won’t be a giveaway bonanza While Malaysia has made good progress in bringing down its budget deficit, there remains limited room for a pre-election giveaway in the 2018 budget, which is due to be announced on 27th October... 26th October 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Korea GDP (Q3) GDP growth in South Korea rose to a seven-year high in q/q terms last quarter as the economy brushed off the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Provided conflict is avoided, South Korea should... 26th October 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Indonesia’s Jokowi failing to deliver on reform Joko Widodo (commonly known as Jokowi) came to power three years ago promising to reinvigorate the struggling economy and raise growth to 7%. Despite some encouraging progress at the start of his... 20th October 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea to keep rates low for some time yet The Bank of Korea (BoK) left interest rates on hold today and the governor’s accompanying press conference makes clear that monetary policy will remain accommodative. We continue to expect the policy... 19th October 2017 · 1 min read
