Asia Economics Update Malaysia: more rate hikes unlikely Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) raised its key policy rate by 25bps to 3.25% today, but with growth set to slow, inflation benign and the currency continuing to strengthen, we suspect this will be a... 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea set for strong 2018, but not because of the Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics, which get under way in South Korea next month, will not provide much of a boost to the country’s economy. But this will not stop South Korea from recording another year of... 19th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly A guide to elections in 2018 In this first Weekly of 2018, we take our usual look at the important elections that are set to take place in Asia over the coming year, assessing the implications for policymaking and economic growth... 5th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Dec.) The December PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors remained in good health. Focusing on the two economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, Taiwan’s... 2nd January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Malaysia Trade (Oct.) Today’s trade figures suggest that Malaysia’s external sector remains in rude health. Both exports and imports continued to grow at a rapid pace. Looking ahead, although export growth is likely to... 6th December 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q3) Malaysia’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in three years in Q3. While we think growth has now peaked, the economy should continue to grow at a decent pace over the next year, supported by robust... 17th November 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Oct.) The October PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors lost some momentum at the start of Q4. The headline readings for Korea and Taiwan – the two economies where the PMIs... 1st November 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Malaysia’s budget won’t be a giveaway bonanza While Malaysia has made good progress in bringing down its budget deficit, there remains limited room for a pre-election giveaway in the 2018 budget, which is due to be announced on 27th October... 26th October 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Sep.) Emerging Asia’s PMIs for September suggest the region’s manufacturing sectors ended Q3 on a solid note. Focussing on the two economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, Taiwan’s... 2nd October 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian equities and currencies come off the boil Asian equities and currencies have generally fallen over the past month. Although worries about the Fed have played a role, local factors have been important too. 29th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Inflation to remain subdued, interest rates to stay low Whereas the consensus is expecting monetary policy in Emerging Asia to be tightened next year, we think central banks will be in little hurry to raise interest rates. One of the main reasons is the... 29th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Will tougher sanctions on North Korea work? The United Nations has agreed a new set of sanctions on North Korea, which while falling short of what was originally demanded by the US, constitute the strongest sanctions ever imposed on the country... 12th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Will Asian exports continue to grow strongly? Exports from Emerging Asia have rebounded strongly over the past year. Despite the protectionist threat from the US, exports should continue to expand at a decent pace. This in turn, should provide an... 8th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia rates set to stay on hold this year and next With growth strong and inflation moderating, it came as no surprise that Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.0% today. In its statement, BNM stressed the positive outlook... 7th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines: No need to worry about the weak peso Subdued inflation and a relatively low level of foreign currency debt mean the weakness of the Philippine peso, which has recently been hitting multi-year lows against the US dollar, is not a major... 1st September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Will other central banks follow Bank Indonesia? Despite the current subdued rates of inflation across most of Emerging Asia, we don’t expect many of the region’s central banks to copy Bank Indonesia, which yesterday surprised markets by cutting... 23rd August 2017 · 1 min read
