ASIAN CURRENCIES LIKELY TO REMAIN UNDER PRESSURE IN NEAR TERM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Asian currencies are likely to remain under pressure in the near term, given the strong linkage to the Chinese renminbi’s performance and the strengthening of the US dollar, Eastspring Investments said today. 

Credit research director, Clement Chong said Asian currencies are generally correlated, noting that depreciation pressures on China’s currency are likely to continue, given the current state of its economy.

“It is hard to pick (any Asian) currency that will stand out. Asian governments have better current accounts now, enabling them to support their currencies in the foreign exchange market," he said during Eastspring Investments’ Asian expert webinar today. 

Chong said there should be enough support from the People's Bank of China to make sure that the renminbi does not materially depreciate.

“The same thing applies to a lot of Asian economies as well. We like to see more support from their respective central banks," he added. 

As for economic growth, Eastspring Investments highlighted that a lot of Asian economies are actually experiencing improving fiscal positions, which bodes well in terms of the outlook.

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However, the focus is currently on China, the largest economy in Asia.

"I think there is a lot of expectation for China to power ahead strongly post-pandemic, and that has not really materialised.

“An important thing to note is that China is not facing negative growth; it is still growing but not as fast as people had expected at the start of the year," said Chong. 

Apart from China, he noted that some Asian countries such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines recorded strong growth.

“These are the markets that continue to power Asia ahead and we should expect economic growth of 4.0 to 5.0 per cent for these countries," Chong said. 

-- BERNAMA