Asia

According to sources, India is considering a potential trade agreement with Trump.
20Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, World

According to sources, India is considering a potential trade agreement with Trump.

India is discussing a possible trade and investment deal with the United States, according to officials in New Delhi. The Modi government is looking to offer tariffs cuts on some farm and other goods imported mainly from the US in a bid to clinch a broader trade and investment deal once president-elect Donald Trump takes charge, according to a report by Reuters that cited government and industry sources. To tackle Trump’s threat of a “reciprocal tax” on Indian goods for high tariffs, some officials of the Indian commerce ministry are ready to consider cuts on products such as pork, a senior government source told Reuters. India currently slaps about a 45% import tariff on pork, which is mostly supplied by the US. Tariffs could also be reduced on high-end medical devices such as p...
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Quarterly economic overview for Southeast Asia: Mixed growth
20Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

Quarterly economic overview for Southeast Asia: Mixed growth

Southeast Asia economies continued to deliver credible economic performance, although growth momentum was mixed across the region. Vietnam’s GDP growth of 7.4 percent in the third quarter was its third-highest attained in the past five years, while Singapore saw its strongest quarterly GDP growth since 2022 at 5.4 percent. Thailand, too, saw accelerated growth. Growth momentum, meanwhile, abated in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Exhibit 1). Core growth drivers remained broadly solid, with the combination of strong exports, higher investments, output expansion, and stable consumption prevalent across most markets.1 The resilient labor markets and lower inflation conditions, coupled with sustained demand from key global markets, such as China and the United States, should prov...
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The Hasina administration disregarded economic warnings: Farashuddin
17Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

The Hasina administration disregarded economic warnings: Farashuddin

The previous government, led by Sheikh Hasina, ignored repeated warnings from experts on various economic issues in Bangladesh, according to Mohammed Farashuddin, a former governor of the country's central bank. "The Hasina administration did not heed warnings from economists on the lack of good governance in the banking sector or rampant money laundering and tax evasion in Bangladesh," he said. "Rather, the people who brought up such issues became victims of rudeness," he said during a public lecture on "World Trade and Bangladesh" organised by East West University (EWU) at its auditorium in Dhaka today. The former central bank governor informed that he was prohibited from entering Hasina's residence at Gono Bhaban for six years while he was also banned from Bangabhaban for four...
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The central bank of Pakistan lowers the main policy rate by 200 basis points to 13%.
16Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

The central bank of Pakistan lowers the main policy rate by 200 basis points to 13%.

Pakistan's central bank on Monday further reduced the key policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 per cent from 15 per cent amid improvement in inflation. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 200 bps to 13 per cent, effective from December 17, 2024. It said that the decision was helped by the continued decline in food inflation as well as the phasing out of the impact of the hike in gas tariffs in November 2023. However, it added that core inflation, which stood at 9.7 per cent, was proving to be sticky, whereas inflation expectations of consumers and businesses remain volatile. The MPC also noted that the current account had remained in surplus for the third consecutive month in October 2024, wh...
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Fulfilling Promises for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Takeaways and Future Directions
16Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

Fulfilling Promises for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Takeaways and Future Directions

This article examines the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a decade after its launch, highlighting the disparity between its ambitious promises and its actual outcomes. Through original data analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, the authors identify centralized, top-down planning and limited local engagement as major obstacles to realizing sustained economic benefits. To address the problems, the authors propose a shift toward a more inclusive approach that gives local stakeholders a greater voice, as well as a candid reassessment of development plans, which are necessary to foster trust and achieve long-term success. Introduction The Pakistani government celebrated the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2023 with...
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As investors anticipate a crucial policy meeting in China, Asia-Pacific markets close mixed.
12Dec mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

As investors anticipate a crucial policy meeting in China, Asia-Pacific markets close mixed.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday, after major Wall Street benchmarks declined ahead of key inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. China is reportedly kicking off its annual economic work conference on Wednesday to outline its economic policies and growth targets for next year. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index reversed gains to trade 0.76% lower as of its final hour, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index was 0.17% down and closed at 3,988.83. In South Korea, the blue-chip Kospijumped 1.02% and finished at 2,442.51 and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 2.17% to 675.92, a day after the country’s parliament passed a downsized budget of 673.3 trillion won ($470.60 billion) for 2025 late Tuesday. This is reportedly the first time that a spending...
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Tuesday is the start of the fourth economic census.
9Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

Tuesday is the start of the fourth economic census.

After a decade, the country’s fourth Economic Census is set to begin on Tuesday and will continue until December 26. The matter was confirmed in a press briefing on Monday, regarding the Economic Census 2024 project. The event was held at the conference room of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in Agargaon, Dhaka. Deputy Project Director of the Economic Census Project, Mizanur Rahman, provided an overview of the census during the briefing. According to the briefing, the census will feature 70 questions, and for the first time, data will be collected using the CAPI method via tablets. So far, 12.2 million units have been identified through listing, with detailed information to be collected from these and other sources. This year’s census will, for the first time, ...
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As tensions rise, Siliguri’s economy is severely impacted by a decline of Bangladeshi tourists.
5Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

As tensions rise, Siliguri’s economy is severely impacted by a decline of Bangladeshi tourists.

Siliguri, a key gateway to Northeast India, is facing significant economic setbacks due to a drop in Bangladeshi visitors amid the escalating political and social unrest in Bangladesh. The town, known for its tourism, education, medical services, and trade, has seen a sharp decline in tourists, particularly from Bangladesh, as the crisis deepens in the neighbouring country. Siliguri's strategic location near the borders of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan has made it a popular destination for Bangladeshi nationals, who frequent the area for tourism, education, medical treatment, and visa-related matters. However, recent events in Bangladesh have led to a fall in the number of Bangladeshi visitors, severely affecting local businesses, especially hotels and bus services. Hotel owners ...
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3Dec By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia

The GDP of India falls to a multi-quarter low.

India’s real GDP growth fell to a multi-quarter low of 5.4% in the second quarter of 2024, according to official figures released Friday. Economists told Reuters ahead of the release that private consumption, which accounts for about 60% of the country’s GDP, had been affected by higher flood inflation, borrowing costs, and ”sluggish″ real wage growth. But increased government spending is driving a more positive long-term outlook, analysts said: India could overtake Japan next year to be the world’s fourth-largest economy, The Economist wrote, benefiting from geopolitical tensions over China’s rise, and because ”capital will be attracted to India’s liquid stockmarkets and the inclusion of its bonds in global indices.” India’s central bank governor also said the country is&nb...
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A new dollar bloc: Reglobalization in the face of United States-China hostilities
3Dec By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, USA

A new dollar bloc: Reglobalization in the face of United States-China hostilities

The fragmenting of free trade and the rise of industrial policy have resulted in the nascent formation of a trade, finance and currency bloc organized around American economic and security interests. Although not formalized, the democracies in the West and their primary trading partners in Asia, excluding China, appear to be coalescing around mutual economic and security interests in a de facto dollar bloc, with the U.S. Federal Reserve as the lender of last resort. A trading bloc of democracies would include more than 56% of the world’s gross domestic product. China, by contrast, has a 16.8% share of world GDP, while India has 3.4% and Russia 1.9%. In some respects, this dollar bloc evolved out of the crucible of the 2008−09 financial crisis and lessons learned around supply cha...
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