Asia Economics Weekly Singapore: MAS in no rush to tighten Given the subdued outlook for inflation, we think the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will leave its policy settings unchanged not just at next week’s meeting, but throughout 2018 as well. In... 6th October 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Inflation to remain subdued, interest rates to stay low Whereas the consensus is expecting monetary policy in Emerging Asia to be tightened next year, we think central banks will be in little hurry to raise interest rates. One of the main reasons is the... 29th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Thailand to resist pressure to cut interest rates The government is putting pressure on the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to cut interest rates in order to weaken the baht, which has been the best performing currency in Asia so far this year. The central... 22nd September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly No need to worry about Fed and ECB policy normalisation The next stage of monetary policy normalisation in the developed world – balance sheet reduction by the US Fed, and the shift towards QE tapering in the euro-zone – will not have a major impact on... 15th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Will Asian exports continue to grow strongly? Exports from Emerging Asia have rebounded strongly over the past year. Despite the protectionist threat from the US, exports should continue to expand at a decent pace. This in turn, should provide an... 8th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines: No need to worry about the weak peso Subdued inflation and a relatively low level of foreign currency debt mean the weakness of the Philippine peso, which has recently been hitting multi-year lows against the US dollar, is not a major... 1st September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Exports to continue supporting regional growth Economic growth held up well across most of Emerging Asia last quarter. Poor prospects for domestic demand mean growth has probably already peaked in many countries, but with exports likely to remain... 25th August 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Remittance slowdown a big risk to South Asia A fall in remittances to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is a big concern for these economies. If sustained, it could cause growth to weaken and put their currencies under downward pressure. 18th August 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly What does the crisis in Korea mean for the markets? Financial markets in Korea and the rest of Emerging Asia have fallen in response to the latest increase in tensions on the Korean peninsula. However, given the scale of the risks involved, the falls... 11th August 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea: Plans to reduce inequality may cause growth to slow Since becoming president of South Korea in May, Moon Jae-in has introduced a range of measures aimed at reducing inequality and cutting youth unemployment. Moon’s policies are likely to boost growth... 4th August 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Election won’t solve Malaysia’s institutional problems There is growing speculation that Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, will take advantage of the recent strength of the economy by calling an early general election. The weak state of the... 28th July 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Taiwan infrastructure projects to boost growth The Taiwan government’s Infrastructure Development Programme should not only provide a boost to near-term growth at a time when the economy is slowing, but should also improve prospects over the... 21st July 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly KORUS renegotiation could benefit Korea The announcement earlier in the week from the US government that it is formally seeking to renegotiate the Korea-US free trade pact (KORUS) is not a big threat to the Korean economy. The negotiations... 14th July 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly External pressures mounting in Pakistan The “devaluation” of the Pakistani rupee earlier in the week is a reminder of the country’s precarious balance of payments position. Pakistan will soon be forced to either let the currency fall much... 7th July 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Asian financial crisis twenty years on There are more differences than similarities between the situation now and the position many Asian countries found themselves in on the eve of the Asian financial crisis 20 years ago. But there is no... 30th June 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines: Duterte undermining country’s economic prospects One year since coming to power, President Duterte of the Philippines has not been the disaster for the economy that some feared. His wisest move has been to hand over responsibility for economic... 23rd June 2017 · 1 min read
