Asia Economics Weekly BoT meets amid border clashes, Taiwan’s export boom The Bank of Thailand is likely to restart its easing cycle next week, against a backdrop of weak activity, deflation, an appreciating currency, and political/geopolitical uncertainty. Meanwhile... 12th December 2025 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Update Thailand-Cambodia conflict: assessing the fallout The economic fallout from renewed border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia should remain modest. Trade between the two countries is small, and Thailand’s tourism sector should be insulated given... 9th December 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asian easing cycles have further to run Tropical storms have caused disruption in Southeast Asia but should have only a modest economic impact and won’t sway upcoming policy meetings. GDP growth in the Philippines has slowed sharply as a... 5th December 2025 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Update Asia Manufacturing PMIs, Korea Trade (November) The November PMI readings for most countries in Asia remained consistent with soft manufacturing activity. However, the PMIs haven’t been a great guide to the hard activity data for some economies... 1st December 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Thailand GDP (Q3 2025) Thailand’s economy contracted during the third quarter and we think it will struggle over the coming months, prompting the central bank to step in and loosen monetary policy by more than most expect. 17th November 2025 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Thailand: growth to struggle as consumers pull back Thailand’s recovery from the pandemic has been one of the weakest in Asia and, with the boost from consumer spending fading as households deleverage, the economy is running short of growth drivers. We... 14th November 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Are cheap imports from China lowering Asian inflation? We aren’t convinced that cheaper imports from China had much to do with the recent sharp fall in inflation in the rest of Asia. While we expect inflation to remain soft next year, that reflects our... 11th November 2025 · 4 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Asia Chart Pack (October 2025) Our Asia Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. With growth likely to soften in the coming months and inflation subdued, further interest rate cuts... 31st October 2025 · 0 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam export boom continues, Thai deflation risks GDP growth in Vietnam held firm at 8.2% y/y in Q3, underpinned by resilient exports despite the 20% US tariffs introduced in August. The strength of the export sector likely reflects increased re... 10th October 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea defence spending boost, Thailand stimulus South Korea this week confirmed plans to lift defence spending by 8.2% in 2026, the sharpest rise in nearly 20 years, as US pressure pushes allies to shoulder more of their own security burden. Korea... 3rd October 2025 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Is the appreciation of the baht a threat to the Thai economy? Despite policymakers’ renewed concern over the Thai baht’s rise, there is little evidence that the appreciation of the currency is hurting the economy. We do not expect it to be a major drag on growth... 24th September 2025 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Update Asia Manufacturing PMIs (August) The August PMI readings for most countries in Asia were subdued and we continue to expect manufacturing in the region to struggle in the near term. And with inflation set to remain contained, we think... 1st September 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update More to strong Asian exports than tariff front-running Strong growth in exports from Asia in the first half of the year has fuelled talk that, with US tariffs now in place, shipments will fall sharply as tariff front-running ends. But we’re not convinced... 19th August 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Thailand Q2 GDP (August 2025) Economic growth in Thailand slowed in the second quarter of the year, and we think the economy will struggle over the coming months as weaker exports, slower government spending and weak private... 18th August 2025 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Malaysian growth to slow, Indonesia’s 2026 budget Malaysia’s economy grew by 4.4% y/y in Q2 as strong investment was offset by weak exports. Looking ahead, growth is likely to slow in the near term as planned fiscal tightening and subdued global... 15th August 2025 · 7 mins read
