Market

17Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market

Pakistan’s Many Economic Challenges

Managing a household and a nation share striking similarities. Both thrive when there is wealth, education, health, and sufficient daily amenities. However, these provisions are intricately tied to financial stability. When finances are in order, operations run smoothly; if not, internal strength and resilience against external pressures are compromised. Currently, Pakistan is grappling with severe economic challenges. Achieving economic prosperity is now the top priority, critical to our national security and survival. To chart a path forward, we must first identify the primary economic issues facing Pakistan. First of all, for decades, Pakistan has been heavily reliant on debt. According to the latest data shared with the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, Pakistan’s external d...
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16Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

Press Conference: World Economic Outlook Update, July 2024

DE HARO:  So good morning everyone, and welcome to this virtual Press Briefing.  I'm Jose Luis de Haro with the Communications Department here at the International Monetary Fund, and we are gathered here today for the launch of the World Economic Outlook Update.  I hope that by this time you all have access to the document.  If not, I will encourage you to go to imf.org.  There you will find the flagship, but also Pierre-Olivier’s blog and other assets that might be helpful for your reporting.  And to discuss the World Economic Outlook Update today, we are joined by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas.  He is the Chief Economist and the Director of the Research Department.  Next to him are Petya Koeva Brooks, she is the Deputy Director of the Research Depa...
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15Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

The ‘Second China Shock’ and its Implications for Southeast Asia

The term ‘second China shock’ has been coined to describe China’s changing role in the global economy.  China’s aggregation of global manufacturing capacity and progress up technological ladders appears increasingly not as a passing phase in transition to a consumption and services-led economy. Rather, it is a lasting phenomenon that is reshaping the world economy and politics. Few countries will be more impacted by this than those in ASEAN, whose economies are already closely entwined with China’s. The guiding thread in Chinese economic and industrial policy is to develop ‘new quality productive forces’, based on advancing domestic capacities in science and technology (S&T). The government work report delivered at China’s last legislative session earlier this year priori...
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15Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, USA, World

Will China ever overtake the US economy?

The idea of China's outstripping the United States to become the world's largest economy has been a fixation for policymakers and economists for decades. What will happen, they argue, when the US — one of the most dynamic, productive economies — is usurped by an authoritarian regime with a workforce of 750 million? Predictions of when exactly China would steal the US's crown have come thick and fast ever since the 2008/9 financial crisis, which hampered growth in the United States and Europe for many years. Before what became known as the Great Recession, China saw double-digit annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth for at least five years. In the decade following the crisis, China's economy continued to expand by 6%-9% annually. That is, until COVID-1...
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13Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market, USA, World

India beckons UK and France after Europe’s election earthquakes

Seismic election upheavals in Britain and France have redrawn the political landscape of Europe, and the ripple effects could reshape trade dynamics with Asian growth engines like India and Southeast Asia in the months ahead. Voters’ economic anxieties propelled the UK’s Labour Party to a landslide win, toppling the Conservatives after 14 years in power. Across the English Channel, the left-wing New Popular Front coalition secured the most seats in France’s hung parliament. For Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resetting ties with the European Union will top his agenda. But his “pragmatic” government will also be keen to engage with Asia’s emerging, surging economies, analysts say. “They see Asian tiger economie...
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12Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

The global evolution
of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation

The annual meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – the political, economic, security and defence organisation established by China and Russia in 2001 – have long attracted international attention. This year’s summit on 3-4 July, however, took on a new gravity, set against the backdrop of the Russia–Ukraine war, escalating tensions between Russia and the West, enduring strains in China–US relations, and the dynamics surrounding the US elections. The SCO is seeking to evolve from a regional security framework to powerful geopolitical entity. The recent accession of Russian ally Belarus to membership represents a push to transform the grouping in Eurasia as well as a move towards countering Western institutions led by the United States an...
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12Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market

Pakistan, Azerbaijan agree to take economic relations to new heights

ISLAMABAD, July 12, 2024 (BSS/XINHUA) - Pakistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to take economic relations to new heights, enhancing the bilateral investment level of up to 2 billion U.S. dollars in areas of mutually beneficial projects. In a joint press stakeout along with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that both countries are ready to ink agreements worth 2 billion U.S. dollars to start with as there is great potential to multiply this figure in years to come. The Azerbaijani president said that for an initial investment of 2 billion U.S. dollars, several projects in the areas of energy, connectivity, infrastructure and defense industry were reviewed, adding that Pakistan and Azerbaijan will build strong partnership not onl...
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12Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

China: Unbalanced economic resilience at home, rising trade tensions and conflict risks abroad

Event China’s economic activity continues to show signs of resilience but with discrepancies among growth drivers. Besides, China is facing rising external risks, from trade to conflicts in Asia. Impact The Chinese economy grew by 5.3% YoY in the first quarter of 2024. In an upward revision from the IMF, it is expected that the country’s GDP growth will reach 5% this year (i.e. slightly less than +5.2% in 2023) while a deceleration to +4.5% in 2025 is still forecast, pursuing the structural economic slowdown. Industrial production, investments and particularly exports tend to support growth. Nevertheless, domestic demand continues to be relatively weak given the households’ confidence crisis – exacerbated by high youth unemployment – deleveraging local governments and a continuin...
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12Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

China: Unbalanced economic resilience at home, rising trade tensions and conflict risks abroad

Event China’s economic activity continues to show signs of resilience but with discrepancies among growth drivers. Besides, China is facing rising external risks, from trade to conflicts in Asia. Impact The Chinese economy grew by 5.3% YoY in the first quarter of 2024. In an upward revision from the IMF, it is expected that the country’s GDP growth will reach 5% this year (i.e. slightly less than +5.2% in 2023) while a deceleration to +4.5% in 2025 is still forecast, pursuing the structural economic slowdown. Industrial production, investments and particularly exports tend to support growth. Nevertheless, domestic demand continues to be relatively weak given the households’ confidence crisis – exacerbated by high youth unemployment – deleveraging local governments and a continuin...
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12Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Market, USA, World

US inflation cools – plus other economics stories to read this week

1. US inflation cools, raising hopes Price increases in the US slowed significantly in June, raising hopes that the world's largest economy is moving past the high inflation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.The Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics reported a 3% rise in prices over the year to June, the slowest rate in a year, driven by lower petrol prices and moderating rents, Reuters reports. However, food prices and shelter costs both rose 0.2% in June, while grocery prices are up 1.1% and housing costs by 5.2% compared to the month before. This marks the third consecutive month of declining inflation, lessening financial pressures on households and leading analysts to predict the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates as early as September. "Barring rogue...
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