Macroeconomics

Macroeconomic Growth Opportunities in Post-COVID-19 ASEAN covers the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic on the economy of 4 countries—Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by World Health Organization on 11 March, 2020 and is expected to severely impact the global economy. As of early Jun...

As countries are making a conscious shift towards cashless societies, mobile payments are expected to be an alternate digital payments solution for consumers. Majority of the population already has access to internet and mobile phones, therefore mobile payments have the potential to reach people with diverse backgrounds, such as the older generatio...

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be defined as machines running cognitive processes that are designed based on human intelligence. AI is one of the foundations for the growing digitization of industries or Industry 4.0 around the world. The application of AI leads to productivity and economic growth, as these technologies are capable of analyzing l...

Economies in Asia-Pacific are likely to experience sluggish growth in 2020 on account of the unexpected ramifications of the COVID-19 outbreak. Regional growth is likely to remain stunted in H1 2020 due to the outbreak, but expected to pick up in H2 2020 as the lockdowns and travel bans are expected to be lifted. Key economies like Australia and ...

The macroeconomic outlook for South Asia is expected to be relatively strong in 2019 on account of infrastructural development and investments. Nevertheless, the outlook doesn’t look great in terms of even higher growth as a result of a trade war between two economic giants, the United States and China, affecting the region. The growth pattern is...

The growth outlook for the Middle East countries in Q3 2017 was somber amid burgeoning geopolitical crisis and ongoing low oil prices. The Saudi Arabian economy continued deterioration in 2017 registering negative growth rates in Q1 and Q2 2017 owing to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreement on curbing oil production...

Low oil prices will continue to take a toll on the economic health of the gulf economies in the second quarter of 2017. Low energy prices leading to burgeoning fiscal deficit have adversely affected Qatar’s economic prospects. Output in the oil and gas sector remained flat and GDP growth appears to have contracted in Q1 2017. The multi-year $200 ...

The economic outlook for the Middle Eastern countries is challenged by the continued oil price sluggishness. The fiscal consolidation measures will continue throughout 2017 to combat deficit and is expected to ease in 2018 if oil prices uptick. On one hand, the first half of 2017 is being characterized by Saudi Arabia led oil production cut agreeme...

Mounting geopolitical risks dampen the growth outlook for the Middle East countries despite higher oil prices and strong global growth. The intensified political instability in Saudi Arabia with the large scale operation by the Crown Prince to curb corruption led to oil price hitting over two-year high. The economy is expected to stabilize in 2018,...