Asia Economics Update Emerging Asia PMIs fall sharply Purchasing Manager Indices (PMIs) released over the past two days for India, Taiwan, Australia and Singapore all worsened considerably. Manufacturing across Asia is likely to remain subdued for the... 3rd August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Monetary policy in Pakistan becomes increasingly haphazard In an unexpected move, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) at the weekend cut its main policy rate by 50bp to 13.5%. The cut came despite continued strong inflationary pressures, and follows growing... 2nd August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand’s “insurance cut” to be reversed in September The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has signalled that its policy rate will soon be raised from a post-earthquake emergency level, provided its worst fears for the global economy do not materialise... 29th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update One more rate rise this year in the Philippines The Philippines’ central bank (BSP) kept its overnight rate on hold at 4.5% today, however, it did still tighten monetary policy by raising the reserve requirement ratio. Although inflation is above... 29th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s growth slows, but policymakers will focus on inflation Today’s Q2 GDP data from Korea confirm that the economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter than it did in the first. Nonetheless, we believe that Korea’s policymakers will continue to focus... 28th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Reserve Bank of India hikes and remains hawkish The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) surprised markets with a 50bp rate hike today, lifting the repo rate to 8.0%. With the accompanying policy statement reinforcing the RBI’s hawkish policy stance, we now... 27th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update High inflation in Singapore will not bring more MAS tightening The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) revised up its 2011 inflation forecast last week while data out today show that inflation rose in June. Nonetheless, talk of runaway price pressures looks... 26th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How quickly will remittances to the Philippines grow this year? Growth in remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) to the Philippines has slowed since the 2008-09 global crisis. However, we believe that remittances growth is likely to stabilise rather than... 20th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More policy tightening required in India Today’s price data from India show that both headline and core inflation rose further in June. What’s more, we expect the headline rate to reach double-digit levels in the third quarter. While growth... 15th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Singapore’s economic weakness will be short-lived Singapore’s advance estimate of GDP in the second quarter shows that the economy contracted due to weakness in the manufacturing sector. However, the expansion should resume in the second half of this... 15th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s policy rate has further to rise The Bank of Korea (BoK) held its base rate at 3.25% today, as expected. Nonetheless, the policy rate is still below pre-crisis levels, while core inflation has further to climb. The upshot is that the... 15th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand’s central bank to focus on fiscal developments The Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its repo rate by 25bp to 3.25% today, as expected. Fiscal policy is likely to be looser under the incoming government than the outgoing administration. The upshot is... 14th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia to resume rate hikes later this year Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its reference rate at 6.75% today, as expected. Declining headline inflation and greater uncertainty about the outlook for the global economy were the two main factors behind... 13th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How big a worry is the suspension of US aid for Pakistan? The US government announced on Sunday that it has suspended $800m in military aid to Pakistan amid a further deterioration in the relationship between the two countries. The announcement is clearly a... 12th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka’s central bank focused on supporting growth The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept its policy rates on hold today, as expected. Growth slowed at the start of the year due to heavy floods, while headline inflation has been trending lower and... 9th July 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia’s monetary tightening has not ended Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kept its policy rate at 3.0% today whereas both we and the consensus had anticipated a 25bp hike. Malaysia’s central bank instead opted to raise its reserve requirement... 8th July 2011 · 1 min read
