Asia Economics Focus Will the Philippines continue to grow strongly after Aquino? Much is at stake as the Philippines prepares to go to the polls on 9th May. The current president, Benigno Aquino, who is forbidden from standing again, deserves much of the credit for turning the... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore is not a global bellwether As a small, very open economy that releases GDP data much earlier than most other countries, Singapore is often billed as a bellwether for the global economy. In reality, Singapore’s GDP is far too... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM Manufacturing PMI rises to strongest in a year The rise in the EM manufacturing PMI in March to its highest level in a year adds to evidence that economic conditions across the emerging world are improving. The pick-up in the survey in China is... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Mar.) Emerging Asia’s PMIs picked up across the board last month but, while the worst appears to be over for the region’s manufacturing sectors, conditions remain weak. 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean won leads the way Asian currencies continued their recovery in March, helped in part by fading fears of a sudden devaluation in the renminbi. 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
India Economics Update State elections take centre stage The raft of upcoming state elections in India are likely to have an important bearing on economic policy at the local level. But perhaps more significant, the outcome of the state elections could be... 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor EM growth dragged down by Brazil Our GDP Tracker suggests that aggregate EM growth dipped at the start of this year, but this appears to have been driven by deepening problems in Brazil and a recent soft patch in India. China’s... 30th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Where next for Myanmar? Today’s handover from military to civilian rule in Myanmar marks another welcome step forward in the country’s political development. But the new government must overcome a number of major challenges... 30th March 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Inflation rises in commodity consumers but stays below target Seasonal factors pushed up food inflation in Asia last month, but the underlying picture is that inflation remains below target in commodity-consuming EMs in Asia as well as in Central Europe. In... 29th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka leaves rates on hold, but further tightening likely soon Despite mounting concerns over rapid credit growth, rising inflation and a weakening currency, the central bank in Sri Lanka (CBSL) opted to keep its key policy interest rates unchanged at its meeting... 29th March 2016 · 1 min read
RBI Watch Stage set for further modest loosening It's not a done deal yet, but the balance appears to be tipped towards the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deliver ing another interest rate cut in next week's policy meeting . This is due to a number of... 29th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan approaching the limits of conventional monetary policy Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) cut its discount rate by 12.5 basis points to 1.50% today against a backdrop of very weak growth and low inflationary pressures. Further cuts to the discount rate are... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier financial markets recover some ground A combination of improving investor sentiment and a pick-up in global commodity prices has underpinned a recovery in frontier financial markets in recent weeks. Since reaching a two-year low in early... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam: Short-term prospects good, but risks building Vietnam has been one of the region’s fastest growing economies over the past couple of years, and looks set for another year of strong growth in 2016. But risks are starting to build, and policymakers... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack EM markets bounce back strongly The last month has seen EM financial markets recover from their poor start to 2016. Our Synthetic EM Exchange Rate Index has rallied to its strongest level since November. Almost all EM currencies... 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Fiscal policy to take lead over monetary policy in supporting growth The Bank of Thailand (BoT) unsurprisingly kept its policy rate unchanged at 1.50% today. With the government stepping up efforts to support growth, we expect rates to be left on hold throughout 2016. 23rd March 2016 · 1 min read
