Asia Economics Weekly Mixed Korea activity data, climate change The latest batch of activity data from Korea indicate that the automotive sector was hit hard by shortages last month, but that the service sector is enjoying a recovery. The provisional Q3 GDP... 29th October 2021 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly GDP to rebound after gloomy Q3 The next few weeks will see the publication of a host of third quarter GDP figures from across the region. While the data are likely to paint a downbeat picture, output should rebound strongly in the... 22nd October 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia reopens, more hikes in Korea & Sri Lanka Countries across Emerging Asia are making renewed efforts to reopen their borders to boost flagging tourism sectors. However, the recovery is likely to be very gradual, not least because China (which... 15th October 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Time to worry about inflation? The recent jump in energy prices will put upward pressure on inflation across the region, but the impact should prove short lived and is unlikely to worry policymakers. 8th October 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly PacMan joins the race, baht set for further falls The next presidential election in the Philippines is not until May, but the contest is already generating plenty of headlines with former boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao (PacMan to his fans) this... 1st October 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Rate cut in Thailand, Taiwan applies to join CPTPP With the economy in the doldrums and deflation worries increasing, we think the Bank of Thailand will cut interest rates by a further 25bp at its meeting on Wednesday (most other analysts are... 24th September 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Two non-consensus calls on monetary policy There are four major monetary policy meetings scheduled in the region next week. While we expect the central banks of Indonesia and Taiwan to leave rates unchanged, we are pencilling in a hike by the... 17th September 2021 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Encouraging signs in South East Asia Virus outbreaks across South East Asia are in retreat. Having taken a severe hit from the most recent Delta wave, economic recoveries in the region should now resume. Falling virus cases and reopening... 10th September 2021 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea spending boost, Malaysia rate meeting Korea’s proposed budget for 2022 indicates that fiscal policy will remain supportive next year. This should give the BoK added reassurance that the economy will be able to withstand further rate hikes... 3rd September 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly South East Asia: hit from Delta will be slow to fade There are some signs that the Delta outbreak battering South East Asia is at least past its worst. But a rapid turnaround in the region’s economic fortunes looks unlikely. 27th August 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea to hike rates next week With new cases of COVID-19 rising, most analysts expect the Bank of Korea (BoK) to leave rates unchanged on Thursday. While it is likely to be a close call, we are sticking with our view that the... 20th August 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Slow vaccine progress will delay return to normality Slow vaccine rollouts mean the economic disruption from COVID-19 is likely to last well into next year in many countries. There are a few exceptions though. In particular, Singapore has already... 13th August 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Rate cuts coming in Thailand and the Philippines Whereas several EM central banks are in the middle of aggressive tightening cycles, Thailand and the Philippines are likely to resume rate cutting soon. 6th August 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Virus now hitting industry in Malaysia and Vietnam Industry in Malaysia and Vietnam was already feeling a pinch from restrictions and worker shortages brought about by a jump in COVID-19 cases, but the situation is deteriorating fast. Data early next... 30th July 2021 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam-US tensions ease, new GDP forecasts Surging virus cases have cast a shadow over Vietnam’s near-term outlook, but there has also been some good news in the form of Monday’s announcement of a resolution to the long-running currency... 23rd July 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly South East Asia becomes virus epicentre The virus situation across South East Asia has gone from bad to worse over the past couple of weeks, with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all reporting a record high number of daily cases... 16th July 2021 · 6 mins read