China Chart Pack NPL ratio remains low but is set to climb Rising non-performing loans (NPLs) at Chinese banks have been making headlines recently. So far the increase has not been much to get excited about. Official data suggest the NPL ratio has barely... 21st May 2014 · 1 min read
China Data Response Hong Kong GDP (Q1 14) Hong Kong’s economy slowed sharply in Q1, due to a slump in exports. However, the slowdown is likely to prove temporary, and we expect growth to rebound over the coming quarters as the global economic... 16th May 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Would a further slowdown in growth threaten employment? In recent months, Chinese policymakers have stressed repeatedly that employment growth, rather than rapid GDP growth, is their number one priority. This has led to speculation about how fast the... 2nd May 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Further RMB weakening tests the PBOC’s nerves After large-scale intervention succeeded in weakening the renminbi and rattling many investors, there are tentative signs that the People’s Bank is now trying to introduce some stability. 30th April 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Oversupply weighs on property sector The outlook for China’s property sector is increasingly gloomy. The usual rebound in sales after Chinese New Year has been feeble, and the glut of unsold properties on developers’ books continues to... 24th April 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Four risks to watch out for in Emerging Asia Our recently published Emerging Asia Outlook paints a fairly benign picture of the region’s growth prospects, with most economies set to make a gradual recovery in 2014-15. This Weekly looks at some... 14th April 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update A new route for foreigners to invest in China’s equities The introduction of a new scheme allowing global investors to access Shanghai’s equity market is China’s latest step to relax controls on its cross-border capital flows. The announcement gave a brief... 11th April 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Liquidity tightens again The renminbi weakened against the dollar in March for a second month in a row but it is still one of the emerging world’s better performing currencies over the past year. Meanwhile, a renewed... 31st March 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Hand of People’s Bank seen in currency fall A rare trade deficit in February relieved some of the upward pressure on therenminbi, but the latest data suggest that the People’s Bank (PBOC) additionally purchased around $25bn of foreign exchange... 19th March 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Premier Li shrugs off slowdown concerns Today’s weaker-than-expected data won’t do anything to settle investors’ nerves about the state of China’s economy. Hopes for an imminent policy response will also have been dented by Premier Li’s... 13th March 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Initial thoughts on the National People’s Congress The unchanged GDP growth target is the big news on the opening day of the National People’s Congress, though the government has given itself more wriggle room on growth than may immediately be... 5th March 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Hong Kong set for gradual recovery Hong Kong’s economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the last quarter of 2013, thanks mainly to a continued recovery in exports. Looking ahead, with the territory’s prospects largely dependent on... 26th February 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Would Hong Kong benefit from higher interest rates? Concerns are mounting that higher interest rates in the US could cause Hong Kong’s economy to slow sharply. With growth picking up and with little slack in the labour market, tighter monetary policy... 21st February 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack No shift of monetary stance January’s surge in bank lending in China does not signal any change in policy stance. Bank lending is always strong in January. Looked at in y/y terms, last month’s increase in loan growth was barely... 18th February 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Credit risks remain high Worries about the health of China’s financial sector have been eased by today’s news that a high-profile default has been avoided on a troubled RMB3bn trust product (“Credit Equals Gold No. 1”). In... 27th January 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Local government debt key challenge for 2014 China's government has sounded a sanguine note about GDP growth at the close of its Economic Work Conference. Monetary policy will remain "prudent" and fiscal policy "proactive" in 2014. In practice... 13th December 2013 · 1 min read
