Asia Economics Weekly Indonesia acts to support the rupiah, Korean job woes The authorities in Indonesia have redoubled their efforts to support the rupiah over the past week amid further downward pressure on EM currencies caused by the crisis in Turkey. Meanwhile, labour... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q2) Today’s figures show that Malaysia’s growth slowed sharply in Q2, partly reflecting the political transition following the May election. While consumer spending should continue to be buoyed by the... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update What happens after an EM currency crisis? Both Turkey and Argentina have now suffered currency crises this year. In previous EM currency crises, economies experienced a sharp slowdown in GDP growth, averaging 5-6%-pts, and a rise in inflation... 16th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update What does the crisis in Turkey mean for Asia? There is a good chance that the recent volatility in financial markets triggered by the crisis in Turkey will prompt Bank Indonesia into hiking interest rates at its meeting on Wednesday. For most... 13th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Singapore GDP (Q2 Revised) The revised estimate of Singapore’s Q2 GDP confirmed that the economy lost some steam in the second quarter. With global growth set to cool and local interest rates rising, Singapore’s growth is set... 13th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Jokowi to stand again, tightening cycle to lose steam Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi) confirmed earlier this week that he will be seeking a second term as president, setting the stage for a repeat of the 2014 election, which saw him narrowly edge past... 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
EM Valuations Monitor EM corporate credit spreads appear unsustainably low Aside from a brief drop in July, emerging market (EM) credit spreads have generally been rising in recent months and are well above their January troughs. Nonetheless, corporate credit spreads in... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand holds rates, but one hike likely this year The Bank of Thailand left its policy rate at 1.50% today, but the hawkish shift in the central bank’s tone means a rate hike is now likely before the end of the year. We are revising our end-2018... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Indonesia GDP (Q2) Indonesia’s growth picked up to 5.3% y/y in Q2, from 5.1% in Q1, with a slowdown in investment growth compensated for by a pick-up in consumption and government spending. However, we doubt Indonesia’s... 6th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM tightening cycle to kick on Inflationary pressures now seem to be building in many EMs. As a result, we think that the interest rate hikes seen in a few countries this week and that are likely next week will be followed by... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines central bank to turn more aggressive? Rising inflationary pressures mean that the central bank of the Philippines (BSP) is almost certain to raise interest rates at its meeting on Thursday, the only question is by how much. 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka: rate cut still likely before the end of the year Given the recent rebound in inflation, it was no surprise that the central bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) decided to leave policy on hold today. But with growth continuing to disappoint and inflation likely... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Assessing Asia’s vulnerability to a trade war Rising trade tensions between the US and China pose a major threat to the economic outlook for the region. The impact of the measures announced so far by President Trump should be small, and will be... 1st August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Jul.) Most of Emerging Asia’s PMIs fell in July. However, there were no clear signs in the PMI surveys that suggest the first tranche of US tariffs on Chinese goods that came into effect in early July have... 1st August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack What next for the Pakistani rupee? The rebound in the Pakistani rupee, which has gained around 4% against the US dollar since last week’s election, is likely to prove fleeting. The exact trigger behind the surprise jump in the currency... 31st July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor EM growth starting to lose momentum Our GDP Tracker suggests that aggregate EM growth was stronger over Q2 as a whole than it was in Q1, but there are early signs that momentum faded towards the end of the quarter. 30th July 2018 · 1 min read
