Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea to continue tightening into 2022 We were among the first forecasters to call that the Bank of Korea (BoK) would begin tightening monetary policy this year and it duly delivered today, raising the policy rate by 25bps to 0.75%. Given... 26th August 2021 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Em. Europe & Lat Am leading the recovery in Q3 Most economies in Emerging Europe and Latin America look set for a strong third quarter and, while the near-term outlook for Southeast Asian economies remains challenging, high-frequency mobility... 25th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EM goods exports may have reached a turning point Having surged over the past year or so, EM exports appear to be peaking as final demand is levelling off and commodity prices are dropping back. That said, exports will likely remain at elevated... 23rd August 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade (1st - 20th August) Korean export values look set to hold steady at elevated levels in August. With few signs of a drag from virus disruptions, the levelling off in exports probably instead reflects a plateau in final... 23rd August 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Shortages to remain a drag on global manufacturing There are growing signs that global demand for Asian consumer goods has peaked. Despite this, supply shortages look set to persist for some time amid growing evidence that surging virus cases across... 20th August 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: major challenges await new PM Malaysia’s new prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, takes over an economy poised to rebound strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic. But the new government looks ill-equipped to deal with the many long... 20th August 2021 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor Net capital outflows from major emerging markets have picked up sharply over the past couple of weeks, driven by virus concerns, growing expectations that the Fed will begin tapering asset purchases... 20th August 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea to hike rates next week With new cases of COVID-19 rising, most analysts expect the Bank of Korea (BoK) to leave rates unchanged on Thursday. While it is likely to be a close call, we are sticking with our view that the... 20th August 2021 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka: more hikes to come The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) hiked interest rates today to help support the currency. With the rupee likely to remain under downward pressure over the coming months, further rate hikes are... 19th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: rates set for prolonged hold Bank Indonesia left its main policy rate on hold at 3.50% today, and signalled that rates are likely to remain low for the foreseeable future. We think the policy rate will remain unchanged until at... 19th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Asia bucks the monetary policy trend Several EM central banks have continued to tighten monetary policy over the past month or so in response to strong reopening rebounds (Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary) and/or rising inflation concerns... 18th August 2021 · 10 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Five years on from the “End of a Golden Age” Five years ago this October, we published a piece arguing that the “golden age” for emerging markets had ended and that they were entering a period of permanently weaker growth. Since then, many of... 18th August 2021 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Korea: the next 30 years Korea has performed relatively well through the pandemic, and we expect the economy to emerge from the crisis with little lasting damage. However, the long-run outlook is less promising. Although... 17th August 2021 · 16 mins read
Asia Data Response Thailand GDP (Q2) The surprise rise in Thai Q2 GDP is unlikely to be repeated this quarter as cases surge and the vaccine rollout makes only slow progress. The tourism sector is still on its knees, meaning any recovery... 16th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q2) Malaysia’s economy shrank by less than most had expected last quarter and while a further worsening in the virus situation means the immediate outlook is poor, rapid progress on vaccination has set... 13th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Slow vaccine progress will delay return to normality Slow vaccine rollouts mean the economic disruption from COVID-19 is likely to last well into next year in many countries. There are a few exceptions though. In particular, Singapore has already... 13th August 2021 · 7 mins read