Asia Economics Weekly BoT forecast change, welcome progress in Sri Lanka Inflation in Thailand is falling sharply and is likely to drop back to the central bank’s 1-3% target by May. With the economy struggling, we are taking out the rate hike we originally had pencilled... 10th March 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Update How will Asia respond to a more hawkish Fed? For most economies in Emerging Asia it will be local factors, not the actions of the US Fed, that determine the next moves by the region’s central banks. Given the poor outlook for economic growth in... 9th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Global Markets Update We think the struggles for equities in India will resume We think MSCI’s India Index will fall over the next couple of quarters in local-currency terms, amid subdued domestic economic activity and a general deterioration in investors’ appetite for “risky”... 9th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: Rates on hold, further tightening unlikely Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) left its policy rate unchanged today (at 2.75%) and with the economy likely to remain weak and inflation set to fall back further over the coming months, we expect rates... 9th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM slowdowns and NPLs: lessons from the past Non-performing loan (NPL) ratios have risen by as much as 4-5%-pts during non-banking crisis downturns in EMs in the past. This time around, there are reasons to think that the increase will be... 6th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Q4 may mark the trough, only weak recovery ahead There are tentative signs in recent data that the slump in Asian goods exports may be nearing an end and that, after a dreadful performance at the end of 2022, GDP in much of the region may have... 3rd March 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Policy to remain tight as Pakistan eyes IMF deal Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) raised its policy rate by 300bps (to 20.0%) today, and signalled monetary policy would remain tight as policymakers look to secure a loan deal with the IMF and tackle... 2nd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Event China Drop-In: The National People’s Congress and China’s economic outlook 1678107600 The annual meeting of China’s National People’s Congress began this weekend with the publication of key economic targets for the coming year.
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs & Korea Trade (Feb.) Manufacturing PMIs in Emerging Asia rose in February, helped by a rebound in the export orders sub-component. While the data provide the first tentative signs that the worst may be over for the region... 1st March 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Chart Pack How will central banks respond to the latest currency falls? Asian currencies have dropped back over the past few weeks against the US dollar, with the two worst hit currencies (the Thai baht and the Korean won) down around 6% against the greenback since the... 27th February 2023 · 15 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Malaysia’s infrastructure budget, Korea’s hawkish hold Malaysia today announced a modest tightening of fiscal policy for 2023, but the most eye-catching element of the budget was a significant (and welcome) increase in infrastructure spending. Global Drop... 24th February 2023 · 7 mins read
Global Markets Update East Asian equities may hold up despite plunging exports Falls in exports from Korea and Taiwan have weighed on corporate earnings in these economies, but even if that continues for a while we think their equities will hold up fairly well. 23rd February 2023 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: cuts coming sooner than consensus expects The Bank of Korea today left interest rates unchanged (3.5%), but appeared to leave open the door to further hikes later in the year. However, with the economy struggling badly and inflationary... 23rd February 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: demographic drag worsening Figures released today highlight the dreadful demographic outlook facing Korea, with the population (excluding migrants) falling for a third year in a row. Poor demographics are the key reason why we... 22nd February 2023 · 4 mins read
