Asia Economics Update The Korean won’s rebound has further to run The Korean won has rallied recently as some of the factors that had previously weighed on the currency, such as foreigners’ selling of Korean equities, have started to unwind and major Korean firms... 8th September 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update How should Asian central banks respond to the AI boom? Growth in several Asian economies is running well above previous estimates of trend, driven by a surge in demand for semiconductors and other AI-related products. Yet inflationary pressures remain... 2nd September 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s 2027 Budget: saving the AI windfall, for now Korea’s 2027 budget proposal released today suggests that the government will save more than two-thirds of a tax windfall from the boom in the country’s AI-related exports. That will provide some... 1st September 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: end of hiking cycle in sight The Bank of Korea raised rates by a further 25bps (to 3.00%) today but stressed that the move was pre-emptive, while its latest dot plot pointed to only a gradual tightening cycle from here. We expect... 27th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: capitalising on the AI data centre boom Malaysia is emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI boom. Rapid growth in data-centre investment and information-service exports should provide a powerful boost to GDP over the... 19th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update The Philippines – on the wrong side of the AI boom The Philippines risks falling behind in the AI revolution. Unlike much of the rest of the region, it is neither benefiting significantly from the surge in AI-related electronics exports nor well... 12th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update AI boom will keep Korea’s GDP growth strong Korea’s chipmakers have announced huge investment plans which means that the near-term risks to our GDP forecasts are tilted to the upside. But we expect the AI boom to run out of steam in 2028 so the... 12th August 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Can Vietnam grow by 10%? Vietnam is set to remain one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies over the rest of the decade. The government could probably push growth towards its target of 10% between now and 2030 by further... 11th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia – welcome signs of improvement The nomination today of Bank Indonesia’s senior deputy governor, Destry Damayanti, as the sole candidate to replace Perry Warjiyo is a welcome development. It should help ease concerns over the... 10th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update New Thai government is squandering a rare chance for reform Thailand’s re-elected government began its new term with a strong mandate and a rare opportunity to pursue structural reform to boost long-term growth. Six months on, that opportunity risks being... 10th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Philippines: war and corruption campaign weigh on growth The Philippines slowed further in the second quarter of the year as the impact of the ongoing anti-corruption campaign and higher inflation brought about by the crisis in the Middle East weighed... 7th August 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update PMIs point to strong growth and easing price pressures The early July data for Asia were generally encouraging. Manufacturing surveys remained upbeat and, together with another strong set of Korean trade figures, suggest that booming electronics exports... 3rd August 2026 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update MAS tightens policy, further moves unlikely Singapore today unexpectedly tightened monetary policy, but the communications from the central bank suggest that further tightening is unlikely in the near term. Although growth should remain strong... 27th July 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update AI is lifting Asia’s non-chip manufacturers too The global AI investment boom is delivering a bonanza to electronics manufacturers across Asia well beyond just chipmakers in Korea and Taiwan. 23rd July 2026 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update What is the future of US tariffs? The “Section 122” global tariff imposed by the Trump administration after the Supreme Court struck down its IEEPA tariffs (including those from “Liberation Day”) in February will expire on Friday, to... 23rd July 2026 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: solid, but unbalanced growth Korean growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, but still grew by a healthy 0.6% q/q, helped by strong export demand. Domestic demand struggled again, however, and we expect Korea to continue... 23rd July 2026 · 3 mins read
