Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs and Korea Trade (Jan.) PMIs for Emerging Asia (ex. China) and Korean trade data were mostly unchanged in January, but neither give a good indication of how the coronavirus has hit the regional economy most recently. With... 3rd February 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia leaves rates on hold, but hints at further cuts Bank Indonesia (BI) today left interest rates unchanged at 5.0% but kept the door open to further cuts. With the economy struggling, inflationary pressures low and the rupiah continuing to appreciate... 23rd January 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: reform package key test for Jokowi The legislation that President Joko Widodo has presented to parliament, which includes proposals to cut red tape, lower taxes and free up the labour market, would form the basis of any foreign... 22nd January 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Taiwan election, Thailand’s currency dilemma Given her huge lead in the opinion polls, it will come as a major surprise if Tsai Ing-wen is not re-elected for a second and final term as Taiwan’s president on Saturday. However, whether Tsai can... 10th January 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Dec.) PMIs for Emerging Asia (ex. China) improved slightly in December, which is consistent with our view that while regional growth remains weak, it has at least bottomed out. 2nd January 2020 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK to cut again, Sri Lanka on slow road to recovery Minutes from the Bank of Korea’s (BoK) November rate meeting reveal that while only one of the seven members of its Monetary Policy Board voted for a cut, other members also struck a dovish tone. We... 20th December 2019 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Focus What to expect in 2020 and how we differ from consensus Growth in Emerging Asia has struggled over the past year. While most economies should stage a modest recovery over the coming quarters on the back of looser fiscal and monetary policy, with China... 19th December 2019 · 9 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Nov.) PMIs for Emerging Asia (ex. China) were slightly more positive in November, suggesting that while industry remains weak it is starting to recover. The continued improvement in PMIs for China provides... 2nd December 2019 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update A slow recovery ahead GDP growth was either flat or picked up slightly in most parts of Emerging Asia last quarter, and we think regional growth will rise gradually over the coming year helped by a slow recovery in exports... 22nd November 2019 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: Further easing likely Bank Indonesia (BI) today left interest rates unchanged, but the cut to the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) and dovish comments from Governor Perry Warjiyo suggest that further interest rate cuts are... 21st November 2019 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Why we don’t trust Indonesia’s GDP data Indonesia’s GDP figures lack credibility – economic growth has been far too stable over the past few years to be believable. We think a better guide to the health of the economy is our own Indonesia... 11th November 2019 · 8 mins read
Asia Data Response Indonesia GDP (Q3) GDP growth in Indonesia has been suspiciously stable at around 5% over the past five years, and it was no surprise that it recorded another quarter of growth at this rate in the third quarter. Our... 5th November 2019 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Oct.) PMIs for Emerging Asia (ex. China) softened slightly last month and continue to suggest that industry remains weak. The PMIs for China gave mixed signals, but on balance provide some hope for a pickup... 1st November 2019 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: Further rate cuts likely Today’s rate cut by Bank Indonesia (BI) clearly signals that its main priority at the moment is supporting the struggling economy. While we think further easing is likely, the central bank is likely... 19th September 2019 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade, Manufacturing PMIs (Aug.) Weak trade data for Korea and the weakness of regional manufacturing PMIs in August suggest that economic conditions failed to improve in the middle of this quarter. While we suspect that regional GDP... 2nd September 2019 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea budget boost, inflation remains low in August The announcement yesterday of plans for a large fiscal boost in Korea’s draft 2020 budget has led us to revise up our Korea growth forecast for next year to 2.5%, from 2.0% previously. That said, we... 30th August 2019 · 7 mins read
