China gdp growth rates

Singapore's economy exited negative territory in the first quarter of this year after three consecutive quarters of contraction, signalling that the trade-reliant city is set to recover steadily. The country's export-dependent economy grew 0.2 per cent from the same period last year, according to advance estimates released by the trade ministry on Wednesday, rebounding from -2.4 per cent in the fourth quarter. On a quarterly seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew 2 per cent. The growth was driven primarily by the manufacturing sector, which expanded 7.5 per cent year on year, propped up by output expansions in the electronics, precision engineering, chemicals and biomedical manufacturing clusters, the trade ministry said. However, analysts warned the worsening coronavirus situation in Southeast Asia and the slow vaccine roll-out in the region could threaten the rosy outlook. Lee Ju Ye, economist at Maybank Kim Eng, noted the services and construction sectors were still ... » Learn More about Singapore posts surprise economic growth in first quarter, with GDP expanding 0.2% year on year

BANGKOK – Thailand’s central bank is likely to keep benchmark interest rates on hold this week, according to the consensus view of strategists at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN last week. The country’s central bank, which meets Wednesday to decide on policy, is under pressure to raise the lending rate from a record low of 1.5 percent after the economy grew 4.6 percent in the second quarter from a year ago. That exceeded a forecast of 4.5 percent, though growth expanded at a slower pace quarter-on-quarter, and ING economists said investment remains a “missing link” in the economy. The state planning agency kept its 2018 growth forecast at 4.2 to 4.7 percent and raised its projection for export gains despite escalating global trade tensions. “Strong quarterly GDP growth above 4.5 percent year-on-year coupled with full employment is a recipe for the upcoming [Bank of Thailand] rate hike,” Koon How Heng, head of Markets Strategy at UOB, said in an e-mail on Friday. “A rate hike ... » Learn More about Thailand’s Central Bank Likely to Keep Benchmark Interest Rates on Hold

BEIJING (Global Times): There is a high likelihood that China and the US will post a bilateral trade record this year, experts said, as their industries and economies are closely intertwined and cannot be decoupled, despite ongoing geopolitical spats and some US politicians' hue and cry intended to stem China's rise. The inseparable China-US economic relations are reflected in the two countries' trade data. Although no moves have been taken yet to remove the trade-war tariffs, China-US bilateral trade started to take off around mid-2020 in the depths of the pandemic and has showed no signs of abating into 2021. According to Chinese customs data released on Tuesday (April 13), China-US trade spiraled up by a striking 61.3 per cent in yuan terms in the first quarter of this year to reach 1.08 trillion yuan ($165 billion). This growth outpaced all of China's other major trading partners including Japan, the EU, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economies. Although ... » Learn More about Soaring China-US trade points to ‘political chill, economic heat’

SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) -The bitter war of words at the US-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Alaska last March portended the rough waves of the new Cold War between the US and China with profound implications for this region and the world. Geopolitically, Asean and Korea lie on the frontlines of US-China competition. Southeast Asia is particularly important to China because the region is a crucial gateway for China to access major sea routes to the rest of Asia and the world. And to gain greater leverage, China appears determined to display its rapidly growing economic and military prowess in the region. Flexing its military muscle, China has been increasing its presence on the disputed islands in the South China Sea. The country's colossal investments, through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in the much-needed infrastructure projects in countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are also further strengthening China's clout in Southeast Asia. ... » Learn More about Asean and Korea amid mounting US-China rivalry: Korea Herald contributor

The central bank has extended the cap on credit card charges that it imposed late last year, saying the policy of cheaper consumer debt would help consumers weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. In an online briefing ahead of the weekend, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said the policy-making Monetary Board recently decided to maintain interest rate ceilings on credit card transactions that it first approved in September last year. As such, the central bank chief explained that the maximum interest rate or finance charge on the unpaid outstanding credit card balance of a cardholder would remain at 2 percent a month or 24 percent a year. Similarly, the monthly add-on rates that credit card issuers could charge on installment loans was retained at a maximum rate of 1 percent. Meanwhile, the maximum processing fee on the availment of credit card cash advances remained at P200 per transaction. “The decision is based on a holistic ... » Learn More about Bangko Sentral extends 24% cap on credit card rates

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy grew by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, a turnaround after three quarters of contraction, as the country continued its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2 per cent between January and March, extending the 3.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter, advance estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday (Apr 14) showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 0.2 per cent. Singapore's economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the first case was reported in Singapore on Jan 23 last year, Singapore posted 0 per cent growth in GDP in the first quarter, followed by contractions in the following three quarters. Last year, the economy shrunk by 5.4 per cent, Singapore's first annual contraction since 2001 and its worst recession since independence. "The expansion is a ... » Learn More about Singapore economy grows 0.2% in Q1, first expansion since COVID-19 outbreak

SINGAPORE - Singapore’s central bank kept monetary policy settings unchanged on Wednesday (April 14) and said the accommodative stance was appropriate due to a benign inflation outlook and global economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was, however, more upbeat about official 2021 growth projections while data showed the economy unexpectedly growing in the first quarter from a year earlier. The central bank manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, rather than interest rates, letting the local dollar rise or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed band. Barring a setback to the global recovery, Singapore’s economy is likely to exceed the upper end of the official 4–6 per cent forecast range, the MAS said. But the sectors worst hit by the crisis will continue to face significant demand shortfalls, it added. “As core inflation is expected to stay low this year, MAS assesses that ... » Learn More about Singapore keeps monetary policy on hold amid patchy recovery

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s central bank left its monetary policy unchanged on Wednesday (Apr 14), as widely expected, on the back of weak inflation and uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic. In its half-yearly monetary policy statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it is maintaining “a zero per cent per annum rate of appreciation” of its policy band. The width of the policy band and the level at which it is centred also remains unchanged. All 15 economists polled by Reuters had predicted that the central bank would keep its exchange rate-based policy settings unchanged. Instead of setting interest rates, the MAS manages the economy through the currency . It lets the exchange rate float within an unspecified policy band, and changes the slope, width and centre of that band when it wants to adjust the pace of appreciation or depreciation of the Singapore dollar. READ: Singapore economy grows 0.2% in Q1 amid easing of COVID-19 restrictions It kept ... » Learn More about MAS leaves monetary policy unchanged amid COVID-19 uncertainties, low inflation

Times are tough. Singapore is staring at an upcoming recession, with the Singapore Government projecting Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to fall 4 per cent to 7 per cent this year. Unemployment is also rising. In the first quarter of 2020, data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) indicates that Singapore’s overall unemployment rate has risen from the previous quarter, increasing from 2.3 to 2.4 per cent. This 2.4 per cent rate is the highest Singapore has experienced since the 2009 global financial crisis, due in part to the fallout from Covid-19. [[nid:446200]] I would think that most of us would be affected financially or know someone who has been financially affected during this difficult time. And it’s times like this when debt like your home loan can weigh heavily on your finances and affect your cash flow. In Singapore, the Median Gross Monthly Income from work , inclusive of CPF contributions of full-time employed residents is at $4,563 . Out of this amount, ... » Learn More about Definitive guide to using your CPF to repay your home loan installments for HDB flats and private property

Fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) incurred an attributable loss of P13.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, a turnaround from its P4.2-billion profit in the same period last year. In a regulatory filing on Monday, JFC also reported 27.1-percent weaker revenues for the period to P92.7 billion from P127.2 billion year-on-year. Its system-wide retail sales for January to September was 26.1-percent lower year-on-year to P126.4 billion from P171.1 billion. Meanwhile, JFC booked an attributable loss of P1.6 billion in the third quarter, a contraction from the P10.2 billion loss in the second quarter, which included the P7-billion expense of its business transformation program. Revenues for the quarter stood at P30 billion, 30.6-percent down year-on-year due to the lost sales related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. JFC’s system-wide sales for July to September this year also slumped 29.2 percent to P40.6 billion from P57.4 billion last year. ... » Learn More about JFC still unprofitable in Jan-Sept