Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka set to sustain above-trend growth this year Data released today show that Sri Lanka’s economy grew by 8.0% in 2010 as a whole, as we had long been expecting. The central bank (CBSL) left policy rates unchanged at its meeting in March, but we... 30th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam to continue focusing on inflation risks Vietnam’s Q1 GDP figures were released today and show that growth eased at the start of the year. We expect the expansion to stay on a weaker track this year given policymakers’ ongoing efforts to... 29th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan's economic reforms push back monetary tightening The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) left its policy rate unchanged at 14.0% over the weekend. The fiscal adjustment programme appears to be back on track and means that there is less urgency for SBP to... 28th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More rate hikes on the way in the Philippines The Philippines’ central bank (BSP) raised its key policy rate by 25bp to 4.25% today, as expected. Rising food and fuel prices suggest that inflation will continue to accelerate in coming months and... 24th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand set for a challenging year Today’s Q4 GDP figures confirm that New Zealand’s recovery was struggling to gain traction at the end of last year. Growth will be weak in the near term following the recent earthquakes, but we expect... 24th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Reserve Bank raises rates as core inflation rises The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the repo rate by 25bp to 6.75% today, as expected. In response to the RBI’s concerns about core inflation, we have revised our rate hike expectations upwards to 7... 17th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Negara shifts back into tightening mode Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) left its policy rate unchanged at 2.75% today, in line with the consensus view but contrary to our expectations of a hike. Nonetheless, BNM resumed policy tightening by... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand's cash rate to rise sooner than markets expect The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) yesterday cut its cash rate by 50bp to 2.5% in response to last month’s devastating earthquake in Christchurch. The RBNZ made it clear that it intends to stay in... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s central bank has more work to do The Bank of Korea (BoK) lifted its policy rate by 25bp to 3.0% today, as was universally anticipated. Policymakers are rightly focused on tackling local price pressures, which are not solely due to... 10th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More Bank of Thailand tightening to come The Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its policy rate by 25bp to 2.5% today, as expected. As with elsewhere across the region, keeping a lid on inflation is the key concern for policymakers. We expect... 9th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam aims for a comprehensive policy shift The decision of Vietnam’s central bank to raise both the refinancing and discount rates to 12% today (from 11% and 7% respectively) was in line with the recent top-level directive to get a grip on... 8th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka rates likely to move up later this year The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept its policy rates unchanged at today’s meeting, as expected. The economy looks set for another year of above-trend growth, while inflation has already begun to... 8th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia's pause will be short-lived Bank Indonesia (BI) paused the tightening initiated last month, leaving the reference rate unchanged at 6.75%. But today’s pause will probably be brief, given that underlying growth has remained... 4th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's mining boom to bring above-trend growth Australia’s economy grew at a faster pace at the end of last year than in Q3, as expected. Recent natural disasters will lower GDP in this quarter but the outlook is positive. Growth should accelerate... 2nd March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia's industrial sector gathering momentum Manufacturing PMIs for February, released overnight and today, improved in India, Singapore and Australia and stayed above the key 50 level which signals expansion in Taiwan. Factory output looks set... 1st March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India's budget targets look hard to achieve The Indian budget, passed today, aims to bring the deficit down to 4.6% of GDP in 2011/12. We judge that this will be difficult to achieve, primarily because the planned expenditure reduction looks... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
