Asia Economics Update What would a rebalancing of China’s economy mean for Asia? A rebalancing of China’s economy away from investment and towards consumption would be bad for the region’s capital goods and commodities exporters, with Korea, Indonesia and Australia likely to be... 18th May 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Thailand in no rush to change policy stance The Bank of Thailand (BoT) kept its policy rate at 3.0% today, as was widely expected. The economy looks to have grown strongly in Q1, following floods that brought a slump in GDP late last year... 2nd May 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Export improvement brings fragile recovery Emerging Asia’s economies fared better in Q1 than Q4. Both Singapore and Taiwan returned to quarterly growth, while Korea’s economy grew at a faster q/q rate. Business and consumer surveys show an... 30th April 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Chinese tourism bonanza for Asia The past 15 years has seen a surge in the number of mainland Chinese travelling overseas. Although Chinese tourists are becoming increasingly adventurous and travelling further afield, the vast... 30th April 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Asia well placed to withstand weaker global growth Asia is well placed to withstand the impact of any major shocks to the global economy. The health of economic fundamentals and policymakers’ room for stimulus should enable the region to grow by just... 19th April 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia’s costly fuel subsidies to remain in place The recent increase in oil prices is putting the budgets of countries that operate fuel subsidy regimes under strain. Nevertheless, any meaningful reform of subsidy programmes across Asia looks... 9th April 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Is China's move up the value chain a threat to Asian economies? As China develops, its manufacturing firms are moving into higher-value sectors. While this is a boon for low-wage Asian economies that represent a good alternative for low-end producers... 29th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly High oil prices will not lift inflation The pick-up in oil prices in recent weeks has caused some to fear that inflation in Asia will soon rise sharply. These fears are over-blown. Even if oil prices stayed at current levels, inflation... 26th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Thailand pauses to assess recovery The Bank of Thailand (BoT) kept its policy rate at 3.0% today, as expected. The speed of the local recovery from last year’s floods and global developments will determine monetary policy decisions in... 21st March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack A promising start to 2012, but will it last? Growth in emerging Asia looks to have picked up in Q1. Strength in the US is helping to offset weakness in Europe for Asia’s exporters. There are encouraging signs of domestic demand improving early... 20th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Does the US still matter to Asia? The recent run of improved data from the US has led us to raise our US GDP growth forecasts for 2012 and 2013. But we believe that improved prospects for the US will make little difference to emerging... 19th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How have last year's natural disasters affected Asia? Asia was hit by several natural disasters in 2011, most notably the tsunami that struck Japan in mid- March. These events were foremost human tragedies, but they also had an economic impact. While... 12th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Policymakers in wait-and-see mode The trend in Asia has been towards loosening policy recently. However, signs of stronger global growth and the pick-up in oil prices are likely to persuade central banks across the region to keep... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Capital inflows are a threat to Asia The return of global risk appetite has helped to push up asset prices across Asia. If we are correct that the crisis in the euro-zone will worsen again later this year, global risk appetite is likely... 28th February 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How vulnerable is Asia to high oil prices? Recent oil price increases are not a big threat to emerging Asia. The inflationary impact will be small even if prices remain at current levels. Asian economies are relatively oil-dependent but their... 28th February 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Risks to growth still skewed to the downside Almost all countries in emerging Asia have now released their Q4 GDP figures. Growth slowed across most of the region, mainly due to weakness in external demand. The recent improvement in the US, a... 23rd February 2012 · 1 min read
