Asia Economics Update Kim Jong-il's death adds to Korean uncertainty Given the lack of transparency in North Korea, it would be unwise to leap to any conclusions following news of Kim Jong-il’s death. Our best guess is that the uncomfortable status quo will continue... 19th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Exports weaken amid global slowdown Exports from the region have been weak due to lower demand from the West. However, domestic demand has so far remained fairly resilient across the region. Central banks in Australia and Thailand have... 15th December 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Update How vulnerable is Asia to a euro-zone banking crisis? The impact on emerging Asia of a fall in lending by euro-zone banks to the region would be small. However, Asia would be vulnerable if the crisis in the euro-zone caused global credit markets to... 15th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea and New Zealand central banks too sanguine The government in Vietnam has moved to restructure some of the country’s banks. This comes after a surge in lending in recent years, which has contributed to a rise in bad debt. The non-performing... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Asian currencies to remain undervalued Most Asian currencies looked weak even before the falls of the past few months. We expect them to fall further over the coming year as the euro-zone crisis intensifies. And even when global risk... 5th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update What would a euro-zone break-up mean for Asian markets? Following changes to our assumption about the timing of an EMU break-up, we have revised down our forecasts for emerging Asia’s currency and equity markets for next year. However, we see both... 2nd December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Manufacturing PMIs support case for policy loosening Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMIs) released today for India, Korea, Taiwan and Australia confirm that manufacturing in these countries is weak. With fears for growth rising and inflation trending... 1st December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly How well will domestic demand hold up? Hopes that Asia had de-coupled from the rest of the world were dashed during the 2008-09 global crisis, as domestic demand fell almost as sharply as exports. However, there are good reasons to expect... 28th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Is emerging Asia experiencing a property price bubble? Although Asia as a whole is not experiencing a property price bubble, we believe that prices in Hong Kong and Taipei are now in bubble territory. There is a growing risk of a sharp correction in these... 25th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Growth falters in Q3 With the exception of Indonesia, Q3 GDP figures published across emerging Asia so far have been weak. Exports have been hit by low demand from the West, and growing fears for the global outlook are... 17th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly How important are remittances for emerging Asia? Concern is growing that the ongoing debt problems in the euro-zone could lead to another global financial and economic crisis. Remittances should provide a relatively stable source of income... 14th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Central banks of Korea and Malaysia to cut rates in 2012 Policy rates were left unchanged in Korea and Malaysia today, but both central banks are becoming increasingly concerned about the downside risks for exports. We expect policymakers in both countries... 11th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Where and why we differ from the consensus We have below-consensus forecasts for interest rates and GDP growth in emerging Asia next year. The main reason for the difference relates to our views on growth in the developed world and commodity... 7th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Assessing the fallout from Thailand's flood disaster Thailand’s flood situation deteriorated in early November, with water breaking through defences and flowing further into Bangkok and its surrounding provinces. Agriculture, manufacturing and tourism... 7th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Emerging Asia PMIs point to further slowdown October manufacturing PMIs for Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Korea and India released today remained weak, and are at or around their lowest levels since the 2008-09 global financial crisis. With... 1st November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s growth to be sluggish next year Today’s Q3 GDP data from Korea confirm that the economy grew at a sub-trend pace in the third quarter. Growth is unlikely to pick up sharply over the next few quarters amid weak global conditions... 28th October 2011 · 1 min read
