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 Update Thai rates to stay on hold through 2018 With growth robust and inflationary pressures subdued, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) unsurprisingly kept its policy rate on hold today at 1.50%. The accompanying monetary policy statement reaffirms our... 20th December 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Nov.) The November PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors rebounded strongly last month. Encouragingly, the headline readings for Taiwan and Korea – the two economies where... 1st December 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Thailand GDP (Q3) Thailand’s GDP growth picked up to its fastest pace in more than four years in Q3. A combination of robust external demand and increased infrastructure spending should help keep growth robust in the... 20th November 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thai rates to stay low Against a backdrop of robust growth and subdued inflation, today’s decision by the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 1.50% came as no surprise. The accompanying... 8th 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 Economics Update Bank of Thailand in no rush to raise interest rates The Bank of Thailand (BoT) today resisted pressure from the government to loosen monetary policy, and instead left its key interest rate unchanged at 1.50%. With headwinds to the economy mounting and... 27th September 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Thailand to resist pressure to cut interest rates The government is putting pressure on the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to cut interest rates in order to weaken the baht, which has been the best performing currency in Asia so far this year. The central... 22nd 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 Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Aug.) Emerging Asia’s PMIs for August suggest the region’s manufacturing sectors gained a little bit of momentum last month. In particular, there were signs of improvement in both Korea and Taiwan – the two... 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
