Asia Pacific
Escalating tensions over Senkaku/Diaoyu islands underestimated
The political risks of the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute are heavily mispriced in global markets. Conflict is still on the table. For more than a year now Japan and China have
Despite India’s uncertain economy, solar energy is a good bet
While things seem to have turned around in the last couple of months, in 2013 India’s economy grew at its slowest rate – around 5% – in over a decade. However,
South Korea is set to perform well in 2014
Despite a looming threat from the north, South Korea is set to perform well in 2014. The government focuses on broadening away from exports and reducing dependency on the yen.
Diaoyu Islands may be China’s Islas Malvinas
China’s combative strategy, which is not supported by its actual military capabilities, risks more than it is likely to gain. It does not matter how slowly you go as long
U.S. Fed holds the fuse to Singapore’s bubble time bomb
The United States’ monetary policy has far-reaching, sometimes unintended consequences, and these past few years have seen unprecedented liquidity injections from the Fed. One way the stimulus manifests itself is
China’s territorial sovereignty dispute is all about energy
China seeks energy security through its territorial claim to the possibly ‘natural resource rich’ areas of the South China Sea, jeopardising diplomatic relations with the remaining five countries, who also
Growth prospects are strong for Australia
Despite discouraging news towards the end of 2013, the prospects for the Australian economy are strong for 2014. However, dependence on continued Chinese growth and a potential housing bubble may
Vietnam increases foreign bank ownership
Vietnam looks to attract more foreign investment to sustain growth trajectories. The government hopes that changing regulations of foreign ownership of its banks will attract more capital. To boost growth
For soft landing, China must tackle debt-to-GDP ratio
China passed multiple economic hurdles in 2013, but there are more challenges to come. A sustainable debt-to-growth ratio will be the key issue to tackle in 2014. China showed the
Cambodia protests highlight deeper corruption issues
Recent surveys have ranked Cambodia highly on the corruption index and low on investor attractiveness within the ASEAN region. The recent spate of protests are reinforcing the obstacles that Cambodia
