Asia Economics Update Indonesia set to hike rates later this year Bank Indonesia (BI) left rates at 6.50% today, as expected. The economic upswing will stay strong but the high level of the rupiah is helping to hold down prices. Nevertheless, inflation will probably... 5th July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly The first Bank of Korea rate hike is close The Bank of Korea (BoK) meets this week and the decision whether to hike or not looks to be finely-balanced. We expect the policy rate to be unchanged at 2.0%, although the chance of a July move is... 5th July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More India rate hikes on the way Today’s unscheduled Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rate hikes are a sensible and not unwelcome move. India’s economic upswing is strong and price pressures are already uncomfortably high. Further... 2nd July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia's industrial sector recovery is losing some power Manufacturing PMIs in emerging Asia and Australia moved lower in June. The recent explosive growth in industrial production will inevitably slow in coming months as the boost from inventory re... 1st July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand to start monetary tightening in Q3 Bank of Thailand (BoT) monthly indicators for May suggest that the hit to the economy from the violence in Bangkok has not been too severe, which is what we expected would be the case. Exports and... 1st July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan targets closer ties with China A so-called Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was approved yesterday between Taiwan and China. The deal should increase trade and for Taiwan there are two major implications. Firstly... 30th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Crisis in North to increase Korean re-unification costs The Bank of Korea (BoK) released its latest annual estimates of the North’s economy late last week. In short, the North-South income gap remains massive. The shift away from free market reform in the... 29th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Singapore still firing on all cylinders Strong April-May industrial output data suggest that Singapore will post another stunning q/q annualised GDP gain when the Q2 figures are released by mid-July. Even Singapore cannot keep this up but... 29th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam’s upswing is accelerating again Vietnam data published over the next few days will almost certainly confirm that the economy has picked up speed and is now expanding close to the government’s target pace of 6.5% y/y. It is likely... 28th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia outlook strong despite the leadership upheaval International investors should not be concerned by the change of prime minister even though, by Australian standards, the events of this week have been unprecedented. Data on population trends, which... 25th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand set for a sub-par upswing Data released overnight showed that New Zealand’s economy expanded again in Q1, albeit at a slower pace than at the end of 2009. The recovery should not come under serious threat in coming quarters... 24th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan is struggling to retain IMF support The delay in implementing a new value added tax has soured relations between Pakistan and the IMF and means that the capital inflow needed to shore up the balance of payments will be slow in coming... 23rd June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian currencies set to rise further The shift to de-peg the renminbi against the US dollar, announced on Saturday, will probably bring further FX rate appreciation across Asia, even though China is likely to move slowly from now on. The... 21st June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly New Zealand set for a long hard slog New Zealand’s GDP looks to have expanded in Q1, albeit at a slower q/q pace than at the end of 2009. The recovery should not come under serious threat in coming quarters but is likely to be sluggish... 21st June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia aims to manage capital inflows, not stop them Indonesia yesterday joined the regional trend and introduced new measures designed to reduce the volatility of capital flows and encourage foreign investment in longer term financial instruments. The... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update The Philippines upswing remains in good shape Data published over the last few days have been mixed but the Philippines economic recovery still probably stayed strong in Q2. Fiscal consolidation can proceed slowly and the expansion will almost... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
