Sri Lanka’s economy grew 5.5pc in 3q
Sri Lanka’s economy grew 5.5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, official data showed on Tuesday as the country posted a strong rebound from its worst financial crisis in decades.
Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector grew 3 percent in July-September from a year earlier, industrial output expanded by 10.8 percent and services grew by 2.6 percent, Sri Lanka’s Census and Statistics Department said in a statement.
Struck by a severe dollar shortfall, the economy went into freefall in 2022, contracting 7.3 percent as it grappled with soaring inflation, a sharply weaker currency and a historic foreign debt default. The economy shrank 2.3 percent last year.
But it has been steadily recovering after securing a $2.9 billion four-year bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March last year, which new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has pledged to take forward.
Bank of Thailand holds interest rate steady at 2.25pc
The Bank of Thailand held its main lending rate steady at 2.25 percent, aligning with its targets for economic growth and inflation, while keeping a close eye on global economic shifts.
Despite economic challenges from major global economies, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) is playing it safe, keeping its interest rate unchanged at 2.25 percent. This approach supports the expected economic growth of 2.7 percent in 2024 and 2.9 percent in 2025. On the domestic front, while the tourism sector is boosting the economy, manufacturing faces hurdles, particularly in the automotive industry, affecting income recovery unevenly. Current inflation forecasts are modest, with headline inflation at 0.4 percent next year – largely thanks to low energy prices – and core inflation expected to be slightly higher. Meanwhile, the depreciation of the Thai baht against the US dollar reflects global monetary policy shifts. To cushion these impacts, the BoT introduced the ‘Khun Soo, Rao Chuay’ initiative, focusing on debt relief to assist those most affected by the patchy economic recovery.
Singapore key exports see surprise rebound in November
Singapore’s key exports enjoyed a rebound in November, beating analyst expectations, as electronics shipments resumed a double-digit expansion.
This might be due to exporters front-loading their shipments before US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs kick in, experts said.
Non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) grew 3.4 per cent from a year ago, reversing a revised 4.7 per cent drop in October, according to figures released by trade agency Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) on Dec 17.
China’s slowdown has changed the trade war
The China that President-elect Donald Trump will face in 2025 is fundamentally different than the one he encountered when his first administration began in 2017, or even the one with which he negotiated a trade deal near the end of his term. Now, for the first time in more than four decades, China’s share of the world economy is shrinking—it peaked at just above 18 percent of global GDP in 2021 and stands at around 16 percent.
China’s growth has slowed significantly since the property sector collapsed in 2021 and COVID-related restrictions impeded all types of economic activity in 2022. Domestic demand and household consumption made only a limited rebound after those restrictions were lifted at the end of 2022. Official Chinese GDP growth rates showed just a minor blip, but rising trade imbalances and falling domestic prices tell a grimmer story. China remains an investment-led economy: it is the world’s largest source of investment (around 28 percent) and gross manufacturing output (35 percent), but it represents only around 12 percent of global consumption. China’s domestic economy cannot generate nearly enough demand to absorb everything China produces.
| China GDP Annual Growth Rate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Related | Last | Previous | Unit | Reference |
| Full Year GDP Growth | 5.20 | 3.00 | percent | Dec 2023 |
| GDP Growth Rate YoY | 4.60 | 4.70 | percent | Sep 2024 |
| GDP Constant Prices | 900619.40 | 583168.10 | CNY Hundred Million | Sep 2024 |
| GDP from Agriculture | 57733.10 | 30660.00 | CNY Hundred Million | Sep 2024 |
| GDP from Construction | 60892.30 | 37771.10 | CNY Hundred Million | Sep 2024 |
| GDP from Manufacturing | 302192.10 | 199858.10 | CNY Hundred Million | Sep 2024 |
| GDP from Services | 530651.10 | 349646.10 | CNY Hundred Million | Sep 2024 |
| GDP from Transport | 45121.40 | 28684.30 | CNY Hundred Million | Sep 2024 |
| GDP Growth Rate | 0.90 | 0.70 | percent | Sep 2024 |
| Gross Fixed Capital Formation | 521112.30 | 504835.00 | CNY Hundred Million | Dec 2023 |
| Gross National Product | 1251297.00 | 1197250.40 | CNY Hundred Million | Dec 2023 |
India: Is the fastest-growing large economy losing steam?
The latest GDP numbers paint a sobering picture. Between July and September, India’s economy slumped to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 percent, well below the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forecast of 7 percent.
While it is still robust compared with developed nations, the figure signals a slowdown.
Economists attribute this to several factors. Consumer demand has weakened, private investment has been sluggish for years and government spending – an essential driver in recent years – has been pulled back. India’s goods exports have long struggled, with their global share standing at a mere 2 percent in 2023.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies report tepid sales, while salary bills at publicly traded firms, a proxy for urban wages, shrank last quarter. Even the previously bullish RBI has revised its growth forecast to 6.6 percent for the financial year 2024-2025.
“All hell seems to have broken loose after the latest GDP numbers,” says economist Rajeshwari Sengupta. “But this has been building up for a while. There’s a clear slowdown and a serious demand problem.”
Hardcore poor in Malaysia drops to 2,191 families
The number of hardcore poor in Malaysia has dropped to 2,191 families as of November this year, a significant decline from the 91,789 families recorded in the previous year.
Data from e-Kasih, shared by the Ministry of Economy in a parliamentary written reply, revealed that four states — Putrajaya, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Perlis — have reported zero cases of hardcore poverty as of November.
Kuala Lumpur has the highest number of hardcore poor at 474 families, followed by Kedah (341), Sabah (298), Johor (275), Pahang (174), Penang (122), Selangor (112), Terengganu (103), Kelantan (99), Sarawak (91), Perak (62), and Labuan (49).
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said eradicating hardcore poverty is one of the government’s top three priorities, and the efforts have made significant progress.
“As of November 30, four states — Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, and Putrajaya — reported zero cases.
Weak Yen helps Japan’s exports increase ahead of BOJ meet
Japan’s exports posted another gain in November as the yen’s weakness helped exporters, although the underlying trend in trade remained lackluster ahead of this week’s Bank of Japan meeting.
Exports measured in value rose 3.8 percent from a year earlier led by chipmaking machinery and nonferrous metals, while cars dragged on shipments, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday. That beat the consensus estimate of a 2.5 percent increase. Imports fell 3.8 percent led by crude oil, but still left a negative trade balance of ¥117.6 billion ($765 million).
While the value of exports rose, trade is giving limited support overall to the economy. Demand in the United States and Europe continued to wane, while it rose in China, where the government is trying to support growth with aggressive stimulus measures. Measured in volume, exports were barely changed.
Shipments to the U.S. declined 8 percent led by cars and medicine, and those to Europe sank 12.5 percent also led by autos, the report showed. Shipments to China rose 4.1 percent.
BI: Trade surplus strengthens economic resilience
The Indonesian Central Bank (BI) has assessed that the trade balance surplus in November 2024 was positive to support the external resilience of the Indonesian economy.
It was commenting on a report by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) that Indonesia’s trade balance surplus in November 2024 reached US$4.42 billion, an increase from the October 2024 surplus of US$2.48 billion.
“Moving forward, Bank Indonesia (BI) will continue to strengthen policy synergy with the government and other authorities to increase external resilience and support sustainable national economic growth,” BI Spokesman, Ramdan Denny Prakoso, said in Jakarta, on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The higher trade balance surplus in November mainly came from an increase in the non-oil and gas trade balance surplus which recorded a surplus of US$5.67 billion, an increase compared to October 2024 which was US$4.80 billion. This development was supported by strong non-oil and gas exports which reached US$22.69 billion.
Non-oil and gas exports were supported by natural resource-based commodities such as nickel and its derivative products, as well as manufactured products such as iron and steel and machinery and mechanical equipment.
In SDGs significant achievements made
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has said that Nepal has made significant progress in the implementation of action plans prepared for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Addressing the opening ceremony of the high-level regional consultation on financing for development in the Asia and Pacific region held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, DPM Paudel said that despite limited resources, due to collective efforts, significant progress has been made in the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for achieving sustainable development goals globally.
Expressing the opinion that the financial gap in underdeveloped and developing countries is an important issue for the continuation of development, he said that budget planning, efficiency in resource allocation, effective project implementation capacity development and sustainable expenditure management are growing challenges.
Most of the underdeveloped and developing countries are struggling to improve their revenue mobilisation capacity, he said and added that it is necessary to strengthen and make the capacity of tax administration effective by bringing new modalities of digital economic transactions under the scope of taxation.