Friday, September 21 2018 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
HO CHI MINH CITY – ANZ Bank is forecasting strong GDP growth for Vietnam this year and next as Vietnam continues to attract FDI inflows and expand its manufacturing base.
JAKARTA - The Indonesian economy accelerated to 5.3%YoY in Q2 2018 thanks to robust private consumption and government expenditure, which expanded 5.1%YoY and 5.3%YoY, respectively. This is the first significant pickup since 2013, but investment decelerated to 5.9%YoY in Q2 from 8%YoY in Q1 2018, suggesting that the V-shaped recovery remains elusive.
HONG KONG - China-US trade tariffs seem to have had more impact on China’s exports than its imports from the US, according to research conducted by ANZ Bank. July marks the first month since China and the US started to impose additional 25% tariffs on each other’s products worth US$34 billion (from July 6).
TAIPEI - Chia-Lung Lin, Mayor of Taichung City, which was to host the 1st East Asian Youth Games (EAYG) in 2019, says the City Government and the Taichung 2019 EAYG Organising Committee have formally lodged a complaint with the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC), requesting that Taichung continue to host the Games.
NEW DELHI - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised its policy repo rate to 6.50% while retaining a neutral stance. ANZ Bank comments that the neutral stance implies that future policy actions will be data dependent.
JAKARTA - At 5.3% year-on-year, Indonesia’s Q2 GDP growth has come in marginally higher than expected. Consumption activity provided support to overall growth and domestic demand in particular, compensating for the slowdown in investment.
SEOUL - South Korea has delivered a letter from its Vice Minister of National Defence, Suh Choo-suk, inviting a North Korean delegation to attend the Seoul Defence Dialogue in Seoul from September 12 to 14.
WASHINGTON - There is little denying that the continued imposition of tariffs as a means of punishment will result in what it terms “nontrivial damage” to each economy, BBVA Bank says in a special report on current US-China trade conflict.
JAKARTA - After years of complacency, emerging markets seem to have finally become scared of the FED, and Indonesia is no exception, says the French banking group Natixis in a research note. “(But) while the situation may look worrisome, we argue that the problem should not be overestimated,” the note says.
HONG KONG - China’s economic growth moderated to 6.7%YoY in Q2, mainly due to a deceleration in investment and net exports. The growth of fixed asset investment reached a historical low of 6%YoY, with local infrastructure spending acting as a drag. Industrial value-added also weakened, especially in the old economy sectors like mining and utilities.
TAIPEI - Diversification has helped Taiwan to thrive for another quarter, but stronger investment push is needed, says the French banking group Natixis in an Asia research note.
SINGAPORE – The island State is rigorously exploring innovative artificial intelligence healthcare solutions to tackle challenges brought by the aging population and a shrinking supply of local manpower.
SYDNEY - After steady gains over the first half of 2018, commodity prices have undergone a modest correction over the past two months. After a small dip in June, prices fell by a further 2% overall in July.
SINGAPORE - India is making progress in scaling up its infrastructure, but still has a long way to go before it can close the sizable deficit between supply and demand, says S&P Global Ratings in a report released today.
TAIPEI – Taiwan has condemned what it calls “China’s politically motivated pressure” on the East Asian Olympic Committee to cancel the 2019 East Asian Youth Games in central Taiwan’s Taichung City “in the strongest possible terms”. The move represented political meddling in sports, the Office of the President said, adding that “China’s irrational behaviour and the EAOC’s erroneous decision are extremely regrettable”.
HONG KONG – a statement from China’s State Council (chaired by Premier Li Keqiang) sends a clear message that the Government is preparing to defend growth, says ANZ Bank. The statement lists a number of policy measures to support China’s real economy: