Asia Chart Pack Asian banks in decent shape, but credit risks lurk The turmoil in the global banking system over the past month has had a limited impact on Asia – currencies have held up well and outflows of capital have been small. And in general, banking sectors in... 30th March 2023 · 16 mins read
Asia Economics Update Policy to remain tight as Pakistan eyes IMF deal Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) raised its policy rate by 300bps (to 20.0%) today, and signalled monetary policy would remain tight as policymakers look to secure a loan deal with the IMF and tackle... 2nd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Pakistan closing in on IMF deal By raising interest rates and allowing the currency to fall against the US dollar, Pakistan this week took more steps towards securing new funding from the IMF and avoiding a default. The remaining... 27th January 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: further tightening on the cards Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) raised its policy rate today by a further 100bps (to 17.0%), and we expect more tightening over the coming months amid concerns about high inflation and the worsening... 23rd January 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economic Outlook Rate cuts in 2023 as growth slows Economic growth will slow sharply in most of the region in 2023 as higher interest rates and weaker exports drag on demand. Our GDP growth forecasts are below consensus in most countries. With... 13th December 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Consumer resilience unlikely to last Most countries in the region have now reported GDP figures for the third quarter, and growth was generally faster than we (and the consensus) had expected. One factor behind this resilience was the... 29th November 2022 · 15 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Policymakers increase currency support Central banks across the region have been stepping up the pace of intervention in foreign exchange markets to support their currencies, resulting in a drop in FX reserves. In most countries, reserves... 31st October 2022 · 15 mins read
Asia Economic Outlook Tightening cycles to be short lived as headwinds grow Further interest rate hikes are likely across the region in the near term, and we have raised some of our year-end forecasts to reflect growing concern among the region’s policymakers about inflation... 20th July 2022 · 34 mins read
Asia Economics Update Tough times ahead as Pakistan agrees IMF deal The resumption of the loan deal between Pakistan and the IMF should put the economy back on a more secure footing and limit the biggest downside risks. But the cuts to government spending that the... 14th July 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: Further hikes likely as IMF deal nears The State Bank of Pakistan today raised its main policy rate by 125bps (to 15.0%), and made clear that fighting inflation would remain its priority. Given that inflation looks set to rise further in... 7th July 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Worries over weak won, Pakistan nearing IMF deal The weakness of the Korean won, which has fallen by over 8% against the US dollar since the start of 2022, is likely to be welcomed by the country’s exporters, who face the prospect of a sharp... 1st July 2022 · 6 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Thai economy to receive tourism boost After more than two years in the doldrums, Thailand’s tourism sector is finally showing signs of life. Arrivals in May reached 520,000 – a 77% increase from the previous month and 19% of the level... 27th June 2022 · 14 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Pakistan edges closer to IMF deal Talks between Pakistan and the IMF ended last week without agreement, but the subsequent decision by the government to cut back fuel subsidies has cleared one of the major hurdles towards a deal being... 30th May 2022 · 15 mins read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: Further tightening needed, as IMF talks begin High inflation and the fall in the currency were the two key factors behind the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to raise interest rates by a further 150bp today. More tightening looks... 23rd May 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia late to tightening but won’t have to go far Central banks in India, the Philippines and Malaysia have all raised interest rates for the first time this cycle in recent weeks, and we expect further hikes next week in Indonesia, Korea and... 20th May 2022 · 9 mins read
