Asia Chart Pack Oil prices compound inflation concerns Markets are concerned that rising oil prices will lift inflation and hit economic growth in Asia. Relative to their economies, Korea and Taiwan are the biggest net oil importers within the region but... 28th February 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
Asia Economics Weekly Australia's central bank still likely to hike this year The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is virtually certain to keep its cash rate on hold at 4.75% on Tuesday. Low inflation, sluggish household spending, and the uncertainty created by the recent... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Who is most vulnerable to high oil prices? India and Thailand would struggle most within Asia if oil prices were to remain at their current level. China is less reliant on oil than most in the region. In general, Asia’s strong growth would... 24th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Set for above-trend growth GDP growth across Emerging Asia has slowed, but is likely to pick up again soon. Domestic demand, trade between the emerging markets, as well as policy flexibility, will cushion the downside... 22nd February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand set for strong growth Today’s Q4 GDP data for Thailand show that the economy returned to q/q growth at the end of last year, as expected. Growth is likely to pick up during the course of this year, led by strengthening... 21st February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Malaysia set for good growth Malaysia posted its fastest annual GDP growth for a decade last year, and we expect the economy to expand at a healthy pace in 2011. Tough conditions in the West are likely to weigh on exports and... 21st February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam's base rate hike a step in the right direction Vietnam’s central bank hiked its policy rate by a larger-than-expected 200bp to 11% today, which follows on from last week’s devaluation of the dong against US dollar. It appears that policymakers are... 17th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Singapore to focus on tackling inflation Q4 GDP figures were revised lower today, as expected, but the economy nonetheless grew by a spectacular 14.5% in 2010 as a whole. GDP growth is likely to be robust this year and will increase the... 17th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India's inflation still warrants further tightening Yesterday’s wholesale prices data show headline inflation is falling. But inflation remains too high for comfort so we continue to expect the Reserve Bank (RBI) to raise rates by a further 50bp by mid... 15th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore's upswing will stay in good shape Singapore announces its latest budget on Thursday, and we anticipate that the key measures will include supports for low-income groups to cope with higher food and fuel prices. In addition, the budget... 14th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea's central bank bides its time The Bank of Korea (BoK) unexpectedly held its policy rate at 2.75% today. Nonetheless, core inflation has surged and looks set to climb further while GDP growth should pick up too. The upshot is that... 11th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam still needs to do much more Vietnam’s central bank today devalued the reference rate for the dong by around 9%. The move was bigger than expected but long overdue. To be a success, today’s adjustment has to be complemented soon... 11th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rate hikes in the Philippines only a matter of time The Philippines’ central bank (BSP) kept its policy rate unchanged at 4.0% today, as expected. We are sticking with our long-held view that rates need to move up this year to ensure that inflation... 10th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India stocks still look good for the long term Indian equities have fallen sharply since mid-November and the pain will probably continue for a few more months yet. Nevertheless, we anticipate that the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy tightening... 10th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka still likely to tighten policy this year The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept its policy rates unchanged at today’s meeting, as expected. The upswing will probably stay strong while inflation is likely to accelerate in coming months. We... 8th February 2011 · 1 min read
