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Asia


                          15 June 2010
  Macro




                          Asia Economics Monthly                                                                    Economics
                                                                                                                     Table of Contents

                          June                                                                                      Asia economic and financial forecasts ............... Page 2
                                                                                                                    Overview ............................................................ Page 3
Global Markets Research




                                                                                                                    China................................................................... Page 8
                                                                                                                    Hong Kong........................................................ Page 14
                                                                                                                    India .................................................................. Page 16
                                                                                                                    Indonesia .......................................................... Page 22
                                                                                                                    Malaysia............................................................ Page 24
                                                                                                                    Philippines ........................................................ Page 26
                                                                                                                    Singapore ......................................................... Page 28
                                                                                                                    South Korea ...................................................... Page 30
                                                                                                                    Sri Lanka ........................................................... Page 34
                              OVERVIEW: After another very strong quarter of export-led growth                      Taiwan .............................................................. Page 38
                              (investment-led in India) we think growth has probably peaked. We expect a            Thailand ............................................................ Page 40
                                                                                                                    Interest rate and inflation charts....................... Page 42
                              steady decline in growth over the next few quarters with the possibility of a         Asian economic indicators ............................... Page 46
                              rebound later in 2011. Direct contagion from peripheral Europe seems limited,
                              but heightened risk aversion leading to lower asset prices carries a real cost.        Research Team
                                                                                                                    Michael Spencer, Ph.D
                              CHINA: May economic data point to slightly lower CPI peak rate but growing            Chief Economist, Asia
                              risk of property oversupply. Labour actions and wage inflation may exacerbate         (+852) 2203 8305
                                                                                                                    michael.spencer@db.com
                              investors’ concern on social stability and margin squeeze in the short term.
                                                                                                                    Jun Ma, Ph.D
                              HONG KONG: Consumption is under pressure from equity price declines,                  Chief Economist, Greater China
                              which we think will reverse. Exports continue to grow robustly, but the               (+852) 2203 8308
                                                                                                                    jun.ma@db.com
                              outlook is for a slowing of QoQ(sa) GDP growth from exceptionally high rates
                              in recent quarters towards long-run trend growth rates later this year.               Taimur Baig, Ph.D
                                                                                                                    Chief Economist, India
                              INDIA: Given the strong GDP outturn of Jan-Mar’10, we now expect real GDP             (+65) 6423 8681
                                                                                                                    taimur.baig@db.com
                              growth to rise to 8% in FY10/11, versus our earlier estimate of 7.7%.

                              INDONESIA: Q2 is off to a strong start as indicated by April indicators;              Juliana Lee
                                                                                                                    Senior Economist
                              inflation outlook appears to remain manageable.                                       (+852) 2203 8312
                                                                                                                    juliana.lee@db.com
                              MALAYSIA: The governments’ 2011-15 Plan proposes to reinvigorate private
                              investment, but not to reduce the importance of exports as a driver of growth.        Kaushik Das
                                                                                                                    Economist
                              We remain positive on the near-term prospects for growth, but cautious on             (+91) 22 6658-4909
                              the long-run outlook.                                                                 kaushik.das@db.com


                              PHILIPPINES: Growth picks up sharply in Q1, improving the outlook for the
                              rest of the year. Trade could be affected if Euro area economies slow,
                              creating some constraint to continued exports growth.

                              SINGAPORE: Exports continue to power the economy, supported by
                              residential investment, as other construction weakens and consumption
                              falters. Weakening exports in H2 will likely bring GDP growth down sharply.

                              SOUTH KOREA: Southern Europe and regulatory concerns leave the KRW
                              significantly weaker in May, despite positive trade reports.

                              SRI LANKA: The economy is enjoying a growth spurt after the end of many
                              years of conflict.

                              TAIWAN: Growth rises strongly in Q1 and risks to growth tilted to the upside
                              in Q2, amid strong growth in exports and tame inflation.

                              THAILAND: GDP growth rises strongly to 12%yoy in Q1, supported by
                              inventory restocking. The growth outlook for coming quarters is clouded by
                              political tension and adverse weather conditions.
Economics




                          Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
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                          Bank does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. Thus, investors should be aware that the
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                          single factor in making their investment decision. DISCLOSURES AND ANALYST CERTIFICATIONS ARE LOCATED IN
                          APPENDIX 1. MICA(P) 007/05/2010
15 June 2010             Asia Economics Monthly


Asian Economics and Financial Forecasts

I. Macroeconomic Indicators
                                     Real GDP Growth                                Inflation                        Current Account                          Fiscal Balance
                                        (YoY%)                                  (YoY%)                                 (% of GDP)                             (% of GDP)
                                    2008 2009 2010F 2011F                   2008 2009 2010F 2011F                   2008 2009 2010F 2011F                  2008 2009 2010F 2011F
   China                               9.6       8.7     9.8       9.3        5.9      -0.7      3.4      2.5         7.2      5.8       4.3      2.9        -0.4     -2.9     -2.5      -2.0
   Hong Kong                           2.2     -2.8      6.5       5.5        4.3       0.5      2.0      3.0       13.6       8.7       6.4      8.7        0.1       1.6      0.4       0.1
   India                               6.4       5.7     9.0       8.0        9.1       2.2      9.3      6.9        -2.5     -2.6      -2.7      -2.7       -5.9     -6.7     -5.8      -5.6
   Indonesia                           6.0       4.5     5.5       6.5        9.8       4.9      4.5      6.5         0.0      1.4       1.5      1.8        -0.1     -1.5     -1.7      -1.8
   Malaysia                            4.6     -1.7      6.7       4.5        5.4       0.6      1.5      2.0       17.6      16.7      13.3     10.3        -4.8     -7.0      -4.5     -3.0
   Philippines                         3.5       1.1     4.5       5.0        9.3       3.3      4.5      5.5         2.2      5.3       6.5      6.5        -0.9     -3.8     -3.5      -2.6
   Singapore                           1.8     -1.3      9.0       5.0        6.6       0.6      2.1      2.4       18.6      17.8      19.7     22.5        9.0      -1.7      1.5       1.8
   South Korea                         2.2       0.3     5.5       3.9        4.7       2.8      2.9      3.9        -0.7      5.1       1.0       0.5       1.2      -1.7     -0.1      -0.2
   Sri Lanka                           6.0       3.5     6.0       6.5       22.7       3.5      6.5     10.0        -9.5      -0.5     -3.0      -4.0       -7.0     -9.8     -8.5      -7.5
   Taiwan                              0.7     -2.0      6.5       4.2        3.5      -0.9      1.1      1.9         6.5     11.2       8.5      6.3        -0.9     -3.9     -3.7      -3.3
   Thailand                            2.5     -2.2      5.5       4.1        5.5      -0.8      3.9      4.1         0.6      7.7       4.1      3.0        -1.1     -4.3     -4.8      -3.9
   Vietnam                             6.2       5.3     6.9       6.4       23.2       6.8     10.7     10.9       -10.2      -8.3     -9.7      -7.0       -4.7    -10.2      -7.5     -6.0
   Emerging Asia*                      6.9       5.5     8.4       7.6        6.9       0.9      4.6      4.0         4.7      5.0       3.5      2.6        -1.1     -3.5     -3.0      -3.0
   EM Asia ex China&India*             3.2       0.3     6.0       4.8        7.1       2.1      3.4      4.4         4.1      6.9       4.9      4.5        -1.1     -7.7     -2.6      -2.1

II. Exchange Rates (vs. USD) Forecasts vs Forward Rates

                                                            Spot                              3-Month                              6-Month                               12-Month
                                                          15-Jun                          DB      Forward                          DB     Forward                        DB      Forward
    China                          CNY                      6.83                         6.80           6.81                     6.77           6.79                    6.65            6.76
    Hong Kong                      HKD                      7.80                         7.80           7.78                     7.80           7.78                    7.80            7.76
    India                          INR                      47.0                         44.6           47.1                     44.0           47.4                    42.7            47.9
    Indonesia                      IDR                     9200                         9050            9334                    8925            9445                   8850             9686
    Malaysia                       MYR                      3.31                         3.23           3.29                     3.20           3.30                    3.15            3.32
    Philippines                    PHP                      46.5                         45.6           46.9                     45.0           47.2                    44.2            47.9
    Singapore                      SGD                      1.41                         1.39           1.40                     1.38           1.40                    1.36            1.40
    South Korea                    KRW                     1248                         1280            1236                    1180           1,236                   1170            1,237
    Taiwan                         NTD                      32.4                         32.5           32.0                     31.5           31.8                    30.5            31.4
    Thailand                       THB                     32.6                         32.5            33.5 32.5               32.0             33.5 32.5             31.5             33.6 #
    Vietnam                        VND                    18975                        19200           19399                  19300            19935                 19400             20999

III. Interest Rates (3-Month Interbank Rate)** Forecasts vs Implied Offshore Rates

                                                                                 3-Month                                     6-Month                                    12-Month
                                          15-Jun                                DB         Implied                          DB          Implied                         DB         Implied
    China                                 2.25                                 2.52             2.13                        2.52           2.22                        2.52             2.60
    Hong Kong                             0.34                                 0.50             0.69                        0.90           1.01                        1.80             0.94
    India                                 5.05                                 4.80             5.18                        5.25           5.18                        5.50             5.99
    Indonesia                             6.50                                 6.50             7.38                        7.25           7.05                        8.00             8.00
    Malaysia                              2.70                                 2.90             2.78                        3.10           2.90                        3.10             3.02
    Philippines                           4.15                                 4.30             4.36                        4.80           4.17                        5.20             4.63
    Singapore                             0.60                                 0.80             0.87                        1.00           1.29                        1.35             1.23
    South Korea                           2.45                                 2.85             2.84                        3.20           3.22                        3.70             3.67
    Taiwan                                0.51                                 0.60             0.72                        0.70           0.70                        1.30             1.03
    Thailand                              1.35                                 1.65             1.15                      1.90             1.57                       2.50              2.05
    Vietnam                               8.00                                 9.00              n/a                     10.00              n/a                      10.00               n/a

Source: Bloomberg, Reuters, DB Global Markets Research
Note: * GDP (PPP) weighted. ** Except for China, 1-yr deposit rate; India and Philippines, 3-mth T-bill yield; Indonesia, 1-mth BI rate; Pakistan, 12-mth T-bill yield; South Korea, 3-mth CD
rate; Taiwan, 3-mth CP rate; Thailand, 3-mth on-shore THB/THB swap rate.



Page 2                                                                                                                                                   Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010                 Asia Economics Monthly


Overview

Review of Q1 and a look ahead to Q2                                                                          The rebound in export volume growth, starting in the third
                                                                                                             quarter of last year, allowed the government to scale back
                                                                                                             its counter-cyclical stimulus.     Credit growth slowed
With all economies now having reported first quarter
                                                                                                             quickly from Q3 last year – by the beginning of this year
GDP, we begin with a review of this past quarter. It was
                                                                                                             (and through May) credit growth on a 3m/3m(saar) basis
another quarter of above-potential GDP growth as the
                                                                                                             has been 17% or lower, consistent with our
stronger-than-expected recovery from last year’s
                                                                                                             understanding of the central bank’s target for credit
recession continued. Indeed, with few exceptions GDP
                                                                                                             growth in 2010 – and with it fixed assets investment
growth exceeded our forecasts and we have often been
                                                                                                             growth slowed.
forced to revise up what were already above-consensus
growth forecasts for 2010.
                                                                                                             Encouragingly, inflation-adjusted retail sales growth has
                                                                                                             been essentially stable over the past year.           While
Another quarter of surprising growth starting in China
                                                                                                             consumption does not appear to be getting more
The quarter started with positive news out of China: Q1
                                                                                                             important as a driver of growth in the economy -- we
GDP rose 11.9%yoy, slightly higher than our forecast.
                                                                                                             estimate the consumption/GDP ratio was essentially
We estimate that this resulted from a 2.4%QoQ(sa)
                                                                                                             unchanged in 2009, which is itself an achievement – the
expansion, unchanged from 2009Q4 and slightly higher
                                                                                                             resilience of consumption in the face of the external shock
than our estimate of the economy’s long-run potential
                                                                                                             to exports is exceptional.
growth rate. While the government does not publish
quarterly expenditure-side national income accounts, we
fashion monthly real growth rates in retail sales, fixed                                                     Real GDP growth in India
assets investments and exports using their respective                                                          %yoy                           GDP                               Priv cons'n        %yoy
price indices as indicators of the sources of demand                                                           20                             Fixed inv't                       Exports (rhs)        40
during the quarter. Quite clearly, China (like the rest of
Asia) has seen an impressive recovery in exports. The                                                          15
                                                                                                                                                                                                     30
government’s export quantum index rose on average
34.8%yoy in Q1, up from 7.8% in 2009Q4 and -18.4% a                                                                                                                                                  20
                                                                                                               10
year ago. April saw 31.6% growth in export volumes,
                                                                                                                                                                                                     10
reportedly, and while the May value for the index has not
                                                                                                                 5
yet been published, the 48.4%yoy growth in export values                                                                                                                                             0
last month, given nearly unchanged export unit values
                                                                                                                 0
over the previous two months, suggests that export                                                                                                                                                   -10
growth might be higher in Q2 than in Q1.
                                                                                                                -5                                                                                   -20
                                                                                                                     2005          2006             2007            2008            2009
China: monthly indicators of real demand growth
                                                                                                             Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. GDP growth as reported by the production accounts.
    %yoy                                              FAI                                     %yoy
  45                                                  Retail                                    60
                                                      Credit                                                 India too, but consumption was soft            Indian GDP
  40                                                  Exp (rhs)                                     50       growth also surprised slightly to the upside, rising to
  35                                                                                                40       8.6%yoy in Q1 from 6.5% the previous quarter. We
  30                                                                                                30       estimate this implied QoQ(sa) growth of 3.7% after a
  25                                                                                                20       slight contraction of 0.6%QoQ(sa) in the previous quarter,
  20                                                                                                10       the first decline in more than five years. As elsewhere,
  15                                                                                                0        export growth rose sharply last quarter, but exports are
  10                                                                                                -10
                                                                                                             much less important as a source of growth in India than in
                                                                                                             other economies, even China. The more important recent
    5                                                                                               -20
                                                                                                             development has been an increase in fixed investment,
    0                                                                                               -30
                                                                                                             which rose 17.7%yoy last quarter. Last year’s election
        2006              2007               2008                2009               2010
                                                                                                             seems to have reinvigorated investment in India after two
Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. Official export quantum growth rate; FAI growth deflated by the FAI
price index (available only through March); retail sales growth deflated by the retail price index; credit
                                                                                                             years of weakness. The government’s own infrastructure
growth deflated by the CPI.                                                                                  spending and, more importantly in our mind, a
                                                                                                             commitment       to    private-public  partnerships    and



Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                                                                                                                                         Page 3
15 June 2010                 Asia Economics Monthly


disinvestment has                       been          instrumental               in      reviving         real GDP to illustrate both how important exports are to
investment demand.                                                                                        the business cycle in Asia’s “high beta” economies and
                                                                                                          how strong the recovery in the last year has been. On
Conversely, consumption growth was disappointingly                                                        average, exports have grown 22%QoQ(saar) in this
weak last quarter – at 2.6%yoy, by a narrow margin the                                                    recovery, more than double the long-run average of 10%.
weakest growth in eight years. We think high food prices                                                  Not surprisingly, GDP growth has averaged 10%saar over
have played a significant role in this declining                                                          the past year in these seven economies, likewise double
consumption growth.                                                                                       the long-run average.

Sources of demand in Asia excl China and India                                                            QoQ annualized growth in exports and GDP
  %yoy                                          Exports                                   %yoy                 60       %QoQ(saar)                                            %QoQ(saar)            15
  25                                            Fixed inv't                                  10
                                                Priv cons'n (rhs)                                              40                                                                                   10
   20
                                                                                                 8
   15
                                                                                                               20                                                                                   5
   10                                                                                            6
     5                                                                                                           0                                                                                  0
                                                                                                 4
     0
    -5                                                                                           2            -20                                                                                   -5
  -10                                                                                                                                                 Exports (lhs)
                                                                                                 0            -40                                                                                   -10
  -15                                                                                                                                                 GDP (rhs)
  -20                                                                                            -2
                                                                                                              -60                                                                                   -15
         00      01      02      03      04      05      06      07      08      09      10
                                                                                                                      00    01      02     03      04     05     06      07     08       09    10
Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted exports, private consumption and fixed investment           Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted real exports of goods and services and GDP for Hong
growth in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.   Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand



Same pattern in Asia-8: strong exports, slightly weak                                                     So where to from here? Given the importance of
consumption The other eight economies for which we                                                        exports to the recovery in most economies, that should
have quarterly expenditure accounts data showed a                                                         be our primary focus in trying to plot the immediate future
broadly consistent pattern of soaring export growth and                                                   for Asia. When we consider where Asian exports are
rising “domestic demand” growth. We have long argued                                                      going, we are confronted with what appears to be a
that the linkages between investment and consumption                                                      resurgence of intra-regional trade. The conclusion that
on the one hand and exports on the other hand in small                                                    many investors drew in late 2007 – that a rising share of
open economies make the distinction between “external”                                                    intra-regional exports implied greater insulation from a US
and “domestic” demand artificial – the former drives the                                                  recession – was wrong. Intra-regional trade fell more
latter. So while we weren’t surprised to see fixed                                                        rapidly than exports to the US. So a relatively higher
investment growth rising strongly as export growth                                                        growth rate for intra-regional trade a year later is to be
soared, we found consumption growth overall surprised a                                                   expected.
little to the downside.
                                                                                                          Exports by destination from Asia excl China and India
Only in Hong Kong and South Korea did Q1 GDP in this
                                                                                                              100          %yoy,3mma                                          Asia ex CH, HK
group not surprise significantly to the upside. Indeed, so
                                                                                                                                                                              China
powerful has been the growth impulse of late that not                                                           80                                                            US&EU
only did Singapore’s advance estimate of Q1 GDP come
                                                                                                                60
in much higher than consensus expectations, but the
second reading – after only one more month’s data – was                                                         40
more than 2ppts higher.
                                                                                                                20
Singapore is exceptional, as a very small, very open                                                              0
economy, but this group of eight economies has seen a
very strong impulse to growth from the recovery in global                                                      -20
demand. Since Indonesia is a much less export-sensitive                                                        -40
economy than the others – it avoided even one quarter of
                                                                                                                      96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
QoQ GDP decline – in the chart below we exclude it from
                                                                                                          Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted, seasonally adjusted real GDP.
our estimate of QoQ(sa) growth in export volumes and


Page 4                                                                                                                                                         Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010               Asia Economics Monthly


But exports to China have nearly doubled over the past         A persistent loss of output, or growth? Longer term,
year, whereas other intra-regional exports (excluding          the reliance on exports to drive growth in most Asian
Japan, although it matters little whether Japan is included    economies could be a liability if the major export markets
or not) have risen only about 40%. Is this evidence of a       in the US and Europe are not able to regain their pre-crisis
surge of Chinese demand for Asian exports? Or is it a          vitality.
repeat of the outsourcing boom of 2002-03 when China’s
entry into the WTO combined with the post-recessionary         Our index of GDP in the seven economies in Asia other
impulse to lower production costs saw regional                 than China, India and Indonesia shows that after a 5.9%
production networks extended to include China at the final     drop in seasonally adjusted GDP, GDP has risen 10.4% to
stages? If the nascent decline in the growth of exports to     a level well above the pre-crisis level. Importantly, output
China continues then our inclination is to infer the latter.   is growing faster than the pre-crisis pace and the gap to
                                                               the pre-crisis trend is closing.
That would imply, though, that demand in the US and EU
remains uppermost as the primary driver of regional            Real GDP index, Asia excl China and India
export growth. Our US GDP growth forecast is slightly
                                                                   170          2000Q1=100
higher than the consensus at 3.5% this year, but much
                                                                   165
higher than consensus at 3.6% next year. Our Euroland
                                                                   160
forecasts for both years are slightly below consensus.
                                                                   155
The combination, we think, means that export growth,
measured YoY, will likely decline – at times precipitously –       150
over the balance of this year. And while we think growth           145
could pick up again in mid-2011, we don’t expect to see            140
growth rates anything like as strong – on a QoQ(sa) or YoY         135
basis – as we have seen over the past few months.                  130
                                                                   125
Our GDP forecasts, therefore, have the same profile. We            120
expect YoY growth in exports and GDP to peak in the first                 2005           2006             2007          2008            2009        2010
half of this year – in most economies Q1 was the peak –
                                                               Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted, seasonally adjusted real GDP.
and we currently forecast a rapid decline in growth over
the next two quarters. India is a notable exception, where     In the aftermath of the 1997-98 crisis in Asia, these
we see growth dipping a little in Q2 but ending the year       economies recovered much more slowly. Whereas pre-
stronger.                                                      Asian crisis growth in these economies was about 8%,
                                                               since 1999 it has averaged closer to 6%. The crisis
Our Macroeconomic Momentum Indicator – a monthly               caused a permanent loss of output. Even though Asia
GDP growth proxy – suggests this is indeed what is             wasn’t at the center of this crisis, it is likely that there will
happening. But with complete data only for April there is      be a permanent loss of output in the US and Europe and
as yet only the barest hint of a slowdown in growth.           perhaps as well a permanently lower growth rate.

Asian macroeconomic momentum indicator                         Real GDP index, Asia excl China and India
     2.0                                                           160          2000Q1=100
     1.5                                                           150
     1.0                                                           140
     0.5                                                           130
     0.0                                                           120
    -0.5                                                           110
    -1.0                                                           100
    -1.5                                                             90
    -2.0                                                             80
    -2.5                                                             70

           95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10           60
                                                                           93      94       95       96      97       98       99      00      01    02
Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank.
                                                               Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted, seasonally adjusted real GDP




Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                                                                                          Page 5
15 June 2010                Asia Economics Monthly


Unless these Asian economies can stimulate domestic                                                   international markets by European banks. Lending by
demand to a greater extent, or can tap Chinese demand                                                 banks in peripheral Euroland to Asian economies is
for their exports, this persistent weakness in the US and                                             insignificant – amounting to about 0.1% of Asian GDP.
Europe will likely translate into a persistently weaker                                               Lending by all Euroland banks together is still only about
growth rate in Asia.                                                                                  3% of Asian GDP. Indeed, even borrowing from the UK
                                                                                                      and Switzerland (together almost 4% of Asian GDP worth
Direct contagion from peripheral Europe is limited                                                    of credit) and the US (3.2%) is generally small. Only
The more immediate concern for markets, though, is the                                                Malaysia and South Korea have significant exposures, but
potential spillover from the problems in peripheral Europe                                            compared with Eastern Europe or Latin America these are
to Asia. In our view, the direct channels of contagion are                                            small levels of external indebtedness to banks in Europe.
weak. Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain account
for only about 3.5% of Asian exports. Euroland accounts                                               Of greater concern is the impact on Asia of heightened
for 12.2% of exports versus the US’ 14% share but as                                                  international investor risk appetite arising from worries
we’ve seen in recent weeks, EUR depreciation has been                                                 about their own losses in peripheral Europe. Asian equity
almost matched by depreciations in Asia. In our view, the                                             markets have sold off in tandem with global markets, and
direct channel for contagion through falling peripheral                                               credit spreads have widened, and these carry real
European demand or a weaker euro are not worrisome.                                                   economic consequences.        The negative wealth effect
                                                                                                      from falling asset prices is likely reducing consumption
Exports to Europe and the US as % of total exports                                                    growth and reducing banks’ willingness to lend.
    45        %                 GIIPS         Oth EUR             Oth EU           US                          Michael Spencer, Hong Kong, (852) 2203 8305
    40
    35
    30
    25
    20
    15
    10
      5
      0
             CH HK IN               ID MY PH SG SK TW TH VN Asia
Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. “GIIPS” is Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain; coverage of
“other EUR” and “other EU” may not be comprehensive due to data limitations.



European and US bank lending to Asia
    35         % of GDP                                                                 US
    30                                                                                  Oth.EU

    25                                                                                  EUR

    20

    15

    10

      5

      0
              CH       IN        ID      MY       PH        SK      TW        TH       VN Asia
Sources: BIS and Deutsche Bank. “Other EU” includes only the UK, Sweden and Switzerland.



Similarly, the direct financial channel is weak. As a region
of mostly surplus economies – many of whom are net
creditors to the rest of the world –Asian economies are
not especially exposed to possible retrenchment from

Page 6                                                                                                                               Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010   Asia Economics Monthly




                                    This page is left blank intentionally




Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                  Page 7
15 June 2010    Asia Economics Monthly




China                                                                                          A1(Pos)/A+/A+
                                                                                                           Moody’s/S&P/Fitch


    May economic data point to slightly lower CPI peak        and real estate investment growth still accelerated to 44%
    rate but growing risk of property oversupply.             in May. Incidentally, real estate floor space sold dropped
                                                              3%yoy in May (indeed, Soufun’s weekly data has shown a
    Labour actions and wage inflation may exacerbate
                                                              70% drop in transaction volume since mid-April), down
    investors’ concern on social stability and margin
                                                              from the 27%yoy increase in April. The combination of
    squeeze in the short term.
                                                              rising completions and falling sales indicates a growing
    In the next three years we expect wage inflation to       risk of over-supply in the property market in the coming
    reach 14-17% per year, way above nominal GDP              months.
    growth. Over this medium-term, the wage inflation
    trend will have a profound positive implication for the   Labour actions and wage inflation may exacerbate
    structural shift towards a consumption-driven             investors’ concern on social stability and margin
    economy. Our model shows that the long-term               squeeze in the short term. The spread of labour strikes
    beneficiaries include instant noodle, dairy, tobacco,     over the past ten days and the minimum wage increases
    and wine.                                                 announced by Beijing and Shenzhen in recent days
                                                              suggest that wage inflation is becoming a material risk to
    Infrastructure and real estate FAI growth will likely
                                                              inflation and corporate margins. Foxconn announced
    slow further, and thus sentiment on commodities will
                                                              wage increases of 30-100%, and this increase will no
    likely remain weak in coming months.
                                                              doubt spill-over to other companies very quickly. The
    We expect a slower pace of monetary (including rates      threat of the contagious effect of labour strikes will also
    and RMB) tightening in coming months.                     likely pressure many more local governments to raise
                                                              minimum wages.
May economic data point to slightly lower CPI peak
rate but growing risk of property over-supply. We see
                                                              We expect labour-intensive sectors (such as electronics
the following specific implications from a number of May
                                                              components, auto parts, apparel, retailing, construction,
data points:
                                                              etc) to see an average of additional 10% wage inflation
                                                              over the previous market expectation. For monopoly
First, Q2 GDP growth will likely slow to 10.2%yoy. IP
                                                              sectors and/or sectors that are dominated by large SOEs
growth dropped by 1.3ppts to 16.5%yoy in May, lower
                                                              (such as oil, power, telco, and financials), wage pressure
than consensus expectation. We expect IP growth to
                                                              will be much less as their average pay is 1-2 times higher
continue to slow to around 15.3% in June, which – based
                                                              than the average manufacturing salary, and the
on the correlation between IP and GDP -- implies that Q2
                                                              government is trying to limit wage growth in these
GDP growth will decelerate to about 10.2% from 11.9%
                                                              sectors as part of the effort to limit income disparity. For
in Q1.
                                                              the economy as a whole, we expect 4-5% extra average
                                                              wage increase this year, compared with our baseline
Second, the peak of officially reported CPI inflation may
                                                              projection of about 12%.
be somewhat lower (between 4.0-4.2%) than our previous
expectation of 4.5%. May CPI inflation rose to 3.1%yoy
                                                              Our simulation with a 135 sector computable general
vs 2.8% in April. On a mom basis, inflation dropped 0.1%
                                                              equilibrium (CGE) model shows that a 10% wage inflation
largely on the decline in vegetable prices. Going forward,
                                                              in 13 labour-intensive sector (assuming other sectors see
we expect some further increase in yoy CPI inflation to
                                                              no changes in wages) will result in the following macro
around 3.4%yoy in June. For Q3, we now think the peak
                                                              consequences, compared with the baseline case:
of CPI inflation will more likely to be between 4-4.2%yoy
(assuming only modest recovery in food prices in coming
                                                              1.       Push up CPI by 0.4%;
months) in August or September, vs our previous
expectation of 4.5%.         This is because the upward
                                                              2.       Reduce real GDP growth by 0.12%;
pressures from manufacturing goods inflation (partly
reflecting the newly added wage inflation) and rental hikes
                                                              3.       Reduce employment by 0.7 million jobs;
are partially offset by the recent drop in food prices.
                                                              4.       Reduce real exports by 0.6%;
Third, the real estate sector will likely suffer from more
serious over-supply in the coming months. Real estate
                                                              5.       Boost real consumption by 0.2%;
project completions rose by a massive 102% yoy in May,


Page 8                                                                                        Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010         Asia Economics Monthly



In the short term, the negative macro implication is that it           is likely to be overstated due to the lack of statistical
would exacerbate some investors’ fear of “stagflation”,                coverage of private firms). Also worrying is that
as it may boost inflation and reduces GDP growth in a                  government revenue grew (at 21% per annum)
period (Q2 and Q3 this year) when yoy CPI inflation is                 significantly faster than workers’ income over the same
already poised to rise and yoy GDP growth is set to                    period.
decelerate. At the firm level, it reduces profit margins for
many low-end manufacturing companies (see our June 8                   Annual average growth of govt revenue,
note on “who is vulnerable to wage inflation”). Along                  manufacturing profits, and labour income
with the possibility of further spread of labour actions to
other companies and regions, this wage-driven margin
squeeze will likely remain as headwinds against the                            Industrial profits
market for a while.

Over the next three years, we expect labour income                                    Govt revenue
growth to reach 14-17% per annum, significantly
higher than nominal GDP growth of 11-12%. Over this
medium term, this wage trend will have a profound                         Manufacturing wage
positive implication for the structural shift towards a
consumption-driven economy. The government now
                                                                                                     0%   5%   10%   15%   20%   25%    30%
feels – more strongly than ever – that income inequality
can become a material threat to social and political
                                                                       Source: CEIC
stability. According to our calculation based on studies of
Prof. Cai Fang of the Social Science Academy, between
                                                                       One of the root causes of income disparity is that the
2000 and 2007 migrant workers’ (mostly in labour
                                                                       monopoly nature of the many large SOEs has allowed
intensive sectors) wage increase was only 5-6% per
                                                                       them to enjoy excessive (and excessive growth) of profits,
annum. During the same period, annual average nominal
                                                                       and these profits are not redistributed properly to the
GDP growth was 15%, and SOE wage inflation was 16%
                                                                       labour force via the budgetary system. There are also
per annum. It is obvious that to address the income
                                                                       complaints about excessive taxation on personal incomes.
distribution issue, low-income labour force will need to
                                                                       Therefore, some fundamental – and politically very difficult
see a faster wage increase than average especially those
                                                                       – reforms will need to be implemented to reverse the
in the SOEs.
                                                                       perilous trend of rapid widening of income gap. In addition
                                                                       to the increases in minimum wages, we think two major
Annual average wage increase of migrant workers,                       reforms will need to be pushed through: (1) drastically
SOE employees, and nominal GDP: 2000-2007                              increase the dividend payout ratio of major SOEs (from
                                                                       the current 7.5% to 30-40% in the next 3-4 years), and
                                                                       use the proceeds to pay for social spending and to cut the
               Wage of SOEs
                                                                       personal income tax; (2) transfer a large part of liquid SOE
                                                                       assets (shares of listed companies) owned by the national
                                                                       and provincial SASACs to the social security funds. These
               Nominal GDP
                                                                       transfers should be used to increase the pension
                                                                       standards of the retirees and to fill the “empty pension
                                                                       accounts” of the individual pension plans.
   Wage of migrant workers
                                                                       While the specific policy actions remain to be worked out,
                              0%   2%   4%   6%   8% 10% 12% 14% 16%   we are confident that there will be much stronger
                                                                       determination for the government to engineer a rapid
Source: CEIC                                                           wage growth for the labour force (especially the low-
                                                                       income labour force), partly due to the labour actions in
Another aspect of the growing income disparity that                    recent weeks. Government officials are now talking
needs to be addressed is that between the corporates                   seriously about doubling workers’ wages in the next five
and the labour force. From 2000-2008, the industrial                   years, which implies a 15% annual average wage increase
profits rose 6.2 fold, but industrial workers’ average wage            in the next five years. With a rapid rise in minimum
has increased only 1.8 fold. In other words, the annual                wages (e.g., at about 15-20% in most places this year)
average corporate profit growth was 28% vs                             and the possible structural reforms discussed above, we
manufacturing wage growth of only 14% (even this figure                think it is even possible to see labour income growth

Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                                                                             Page 9
15 June 2010           Asia Economics Monthly



exceeding 15% per annum in coming years. We project            Long-term winners and losers of wage inflation: %
that over the next three years, the disposable income          change in production from baseline
growth (after taxes and including various transfer receipts)
will likely reach 14-17%, significantly higher than nominal
GDP growth of 11-12%.

Assuming that annual average wage inflation will be 4ppts
higher than the baseline for the next five years (i.e.,a
cumulative 20% additional wage rise), our CGE model
shows that the structure of the economy will see the
following changes:

      Consumption as % of GDP will rise by 1.9ppts;

      Investment (capital formation) as % of GDP will          Source: DB CGE model

      increase by 2.0ppts.
                                                               Infrastructure and real estate FAI growth will slow
      Net exports as % of GDP will fall by 3.9ppts.            further, and sentiment on commodities will thus likely
                                                               remain weak in coming months.                    Government
The obvious results are that consumption will play a more
                                                               sponsored investments (in infrastructure, health,
important role in GDP, and the importance of exports will
                                                               education, and water treatment, etc) have already
diminish. The more interesting, but counterintuitive, result
                                                               decelerated sharply from the peak of 64%yoy in May
is that investment as % of GDP will also rise as a result of
                                                               2009 to 23%yoy in April 2010. We think these sectors
wage inflation. The logic is that due to higher wage
                                                               will likely see further deceleration in yoy FAI growth in the
inflation, companies will find it more attractive to
                                                               coming few months, and the growth rate will likely hit or
automate many production processes by investing in
                                                               fall below zero in June. The main reasons include the
machinery. The increase in capital intensity will thus
                                                               decline in new lending to local financing platforms starting
require an increase in the proportion of investment in
                                                               from early this year, the cut in government budget for
GDP.
                                                               infrastructure spending, and an increasingly less
                                                               favourable base effect (note that the yoy growth of
Change of GDP composition due to wage inflation                infrastructure FAI was as high as 77% in June last year, vs
                                                               the 20% average growth in the previous few years). The
                                                               rapid decline in the yoy growth in new project starts in last
                                                               few months also bode negative for actual FAI growth in
                                                               the coming months.

                                                               Real estate FAI will likely pose the next short-term
                                                               downside risk to market sentiment. The following chart
                                                               shows that property transaction volume has come off by
                                                               70% already since mid April. 2-3 months later, this should
                                                               lead to a significant deceleration in developers’
                                                               construction activities. We expect from the current yoy
Source: DB CGE model                                           rate of 30%, real estate FAI growth will also slow to zero
                                                               around September. Thus, between June and September,
These changes are in line with the broader objective of        sentiment on China demand for commodities will likely to
the government in developing a consumption-driven              remain weak.
economy. At the sector level, our model shows that the
beneficiaries in the consumer sector include instant
noodle, dairy, tobacco, and wine. The following chart
shows the estimated % increase in production due to
additional wage inflation over the next five years.




Page 10                                                                                        Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010                Asia Economics Monthly



Property transaction volume index (weekly), yoy %              its Treasury review of China’s currency regime (likely in
  300
                                                               July), and one should expect more anti-dumping cases
                                                               against China. As a compromise, we think the best and
  250
                                                               likely scenario is for China to move towards a basket
  200                                                          based system (which will introduce two-way volatility to
                                                               the CNY/USD rate) within the next two months without a
  150
                                                               one-off appreciation. We now think that the RMB
  100                                                          appreciation vs the USD will likely be less than 1% before
   50                                                          the end of the year vs our previous expectation of about
                                                               3%.
     0
         100301-100307
         100322-100328
         081124-081130
         081215-081221
         090105-090111
         090126-090201
         090216-090222
         090309-090315
         090330-090405
         090420-090426
         090511-090517
         090601-090607
         090622-090628
         090713-090719
         090803-090809
         090824-090830
         090814-090920
         091005-091012
         091026-091101
         091116-091122
         091207-091213
         091228-100103
         100118-100124
         100208-100214
         100301-100307
         100322-100328
         100412-100418
         100503-100509
         100524-100530
                                                                                  Jun Ma, Hong Kong, (852) 2203 8308




Source: Sofun.com; DB calculation



We expect a slower pace of monetary (including rates
and RMB) tightening in coming months. Several macro
developments in recent weeks have led to concerns by
the many officials and policy advisors on the potential of a
second dip of the global economy and potential over-
tightening of economic policies. The arguments against
rate hikes and RMB appreciation are gaining popularity.
These arguments include: (1) the sovereign debt crisis in
Europe may be as destructive as the Lehman-led crisis in
terms of impact on the global economy and thus on
Chinese exports (this is a point that we disagree -- we
continue to expect Chinese export growth to surprise to
the upside at least in coming few months); (2) the anti-
property speculation policies promulgated in mid-April are
already strong enough and could potentially lead to a hard
landing of investment and GDP (again we think this
concern is over played; we think yoy GDP growth will
slow in Q2 and Q3 but will stabilize at 8.5%-9% in Q4); (3)
the RMB has appreciated by 15% vs the EUR over the
past two months and exports will lose a great deal of
competitiveness (our estimate is that the impact is
manageable); (4) the A share market has corrected
significantly in recent months (indeed it’s been the worst
performing compared with other major markets); (5)
inflation risks have receded somewhat in the past few
weeks due to the decline in food prices and some
commodities prices.

As a result, the likelihood of significant rate hikes has
diminished. We still think one rate hike in Q3 is possible,
but would not be surprised if the PBOC is on hold
throughout this year. On RMB, some of the above
arguments have also reduced the probability of an
immediate reform, but we still think that a reform in the
coming two months is possible and desirable. Otherwise,
pressure from the US will likely rise quickly: the Senate
may resume the legislative process of the Schumer and
Graham bill, the US administration will likely play tough in


Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                                                       Page 11
15 June 2010                 Asia Economics Monthly



China: Deutsche Bank forecasts
                                                     2008        2009F         2010F         2011F
National Income
Nominal GDP (USD bn)                                 4526          4862          5663          6630
Population (mn)                                      1353          1364          1374          1375
GDP per capita (USD)                                 3345          3564          4122          4822

Real GDP (YoY%)1                                       9.6           8.7           9.8           9.3
 Private consumption                                  10.0           9.0           8.8           9.0
 Government consumption                                9.9          10.0           9.0           8.5
 Gross fixed investment                               11.2          18.8           9.5          10.6
 Exports                                              12.0         -10.2          20.0          12.0
 Imports                                              15.9          -0.5          19.5          13.5

Prices, Money and Banking
CPI (YoY%)                                             5.9           -0.7          3.4           2.5
Broad money (M2)                                      17.8          29.0          17.0          16.5
Bank credit (YoY%)                                    18.8          31.0          17.0          16.0

Fiscal Accounts (% of GDP)
Budget surplus                                        -0.4          -2.9          -2.5          -2.0
  Government revenue                                  20.5          19.0          19.3          19.7
  Government expenditure                              20.9          21.2          21.8          21.7
Primary surplus                                        0.3          -1.5          -1.3          -0.9

External Accounts (USD bn)
Merchandise exports                               1428.5 1201.7 1562.2 1780.9
Merchandise imports                               1133.1 1005.6 1367.6 1641.1
Trade balance                                      295.4 196.1 194.6 139.8
  % of GDP                                           6.4    4.0    3.4    2.1
Current account balance                            426.1 284.0 244.6 189.8
  % of GDP                                           7.2    5.8    4.3    2.9
FDI (net)                                          163.0   70.0   90.0 100.0
FX reserves (USD bn)                              1946.0 2399.1 2700.0 3000.0
FX rate (eop) CNY/USD                               6.84   6.83   6.77   6.53

Debt Indicators (% of GDP)
Government debt2                                     20.0          21.0          20.3          19.6
  Domestic                                           19.1          20.2          19.6          18.9
  External                                            0.8           0.8           0.7           0.7
Total external debt                                   8.3           7.4           6.1           5.1
  in USD bn                                         375.0         360.0         340.0         330.0
  Short-term (% of total)                            65.0          60.0          50.0          50.0

General (YoY%)
Fixed asset inv’t (nominal)                           25.6          30.1          19.0          21.0
Retail sales (nominal)                                21.6          15.5          18.0          15.0
Industrial production (real)                          12.9          12.0          14.0          13.0
Merch exports (USD nominal)                           17.2         -16.0          30.0          13.0
Merch imports (USD nominal)                           18.5         -18.0          36.0          16.0

Financial Markets                                 Current            3M            6M           12M
1-year deposit rate                                 2.25            2.52          2.52          2.52
10-year yield (%)                                   3.25            3.35          3.45          3.65
CNY/USD                                             6.83            6.80          6.77          6.65
Source: CEIC, DB Global Markets Research, National Sources
Note: (1) Growth rates of GDP components may not match overall GDP growth rates due to
inconsistency between historical data calculated from expenditure and product method. (2) Including
bank recapitalization and AMC bonds issued.



Page 12                                                                                                Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010   Asia Economics Monthly




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Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                  Page 13
15 June 2010                Asia Economics Monthly


Hong Kong                                                                                                                                      Aa2(Pos)/AA+/AA
                                                                                                                                                                  Moody’s/S&P/Fitch


       Consumption is under pressure from equity price                                                 consumption is possibly much weaker than we have been
       declines, which we think will reverse.       Exports                                            expecting.
       continue to grow robustly, but the outlook is for a
                                                                                                       But not only was consumption weaker than we’d
       slowing of QoQ(sa) GDP growth from exceptionally
                                                                                                       expected in Q1, the early indication for Q2 is also
       high rates in recent quarters towards long-run trend
                                                                                                       disappointing. Seasonally adjusted, retail sales volumes
       growth rates later this year.
                                                                                                       have declined for three consecutive months through April,
       Asset price declines are depressing consumption and                                             by a cumulative 5.3%. With equity prices still falling, and
       reflect deteriorating investor sentiment more than the                                          if property price inflation continues to moderate, it seems
       fundamentals.                                                                                   that the weight of bearish investor sentiment may further
                                                                                                       depress consumption in Hong Kong.
Consumption under pressure from weak sentiment…
As we remarked last month, we were surprised at the                                                    Seasonally adjusted retail sales volumes
weakness in private consumption as reported in the Q1
                                                                                                           150         index
GDP figures. Seasonally adjusted, consumption was
unchanged in Q1 from Q4. We’ve subsequently received                                                       140
data that help us to understand what happened. The
                                                                                                           130
decline in consumer confidence in recent months has
evidently been much worse than we’d expected. Both                                                         120
the housing market and the equity market ended the
                                                                                                           110
quarter much weaker than they began, and this appears to
have dragged down spending. In our simple consumption                                                      100
model the equity market is particularly important – more
                                                                                                             90
so than property prices.
                                                                                                             80
Consumption and real asset prices
                                                                                                                  00      01      02     03   04   05   06   07     08    09    10
     60         %yoy                                                             %yoy           14
                                                                                                       Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank
                                                                                                12
     40                                                                                         10
                                                                                                       …largely stemming for European growth concerns
                                                                                                8
     20                                                                                                The decline in sentiment recently has little to do with
                                                                                                6
                                                                                                       Hong Kong – specific factors, in our view, and more to do
                                                                                                4
       0                                                                                               with concerns about global growth. But on that front, we
                                                                                                2
                                                                                                       think fears are exaggerated. The peripheral European
    -20                                                                                         0
                                                                                                       economies – Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain –
                                                                                                -2
                                         Real HSI (-1)                                                 will likely experience another year of recession as they
    -40                                  Real prop'y price                                      -4
                                                                                                       tighten fiscal policy dramatically. But they account for
                                         Cons'n (rhs)                                           -6
    -60                                                                                         -8
                                                                                                       only 2% of Hong Kong’s exports. And while economic
                                                                                                       sentiment indicators and purchasing managers’ indexes
           03         04        05         06        07         08        09         10
                                                                                                       have pulled back a little in the last month, they continue to
Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. “Cons’n” is real private consumption expenditure; “real HSI” is the
CPI-adjusted change in the Hang Seng Index; “real prop’y price” is the CPI –adjusted change in the     point to strong month-on-month growth.
property price index.

                                                                                                       Indeed, while there was a small 0.5%mom(sa) decline in
The quarterly average changes in real property and                                                     export volumes in March, this followed a 8.3%mom(sa)
(lagged) equity prices in Q1 pointed to much stronger                                                  increase in February. We estimate that exports rose 3.5%
consumption growth than in Q4.          Our consumption                                                - 4.0%mom(sa) in April and we forecast a further (smaller)
model, combining exports (the key driver of income                                                     increase in May. While the outlook for growth in Europe
growth in Hong Kong), real asset prices and interest rates)                                            is weaker than it was a few weeks ago, the Euroland
indicated consumption growth would be about 8.4%yoy.                                                   growth forecast hasn’t been cut by more than 0.2% given
In fact, it was estimated at 6.5%. Based on April real                                                 still reasonably strong growth in the core countries.
property prices inflation and the first quarter’s still
                                                                                                       In fact, when we look at the recent export data, growth in
elevated equity prices, we would expect Q2 consumption
                                                                                                       exports to Europe is still holding up well. The recovery in
growth to be little changed from Q1. But the decline in
                                                                                                       that market lags somewhat the recovery in exports to the
equity prices in Q2 suggest that the growth outlook for
                                                                                                       US, but this reflects the slower pace of recovery in Europe

Page 14                                                                                                                                            Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
15 June 2010              Asia Economics Monthly


compared to the US. Bu certainly through April there was                       Hong Kong: Deutsche Bank Forecasts
no sign of renewed weakness in Europe as an export                                                                                2008      2009F    2010F    2011F
market.                                                                        National Income
                                                                               Nominal GDP (USD bn)                             215.3       210.6    223.2    239.0
Hong Kong exports to the US and EU                                             Population (mn)                                    7.0         7.1      7.1      7.2
     40                                     Total         EU         US        GDP per capita (USD)                             30663       29762    31296    33234
              %yoy,3mma
     30
                                                                               Real GDP (YoY %)                                      2.2      -2.8     6.5       5.5
     20                                                                         Private consumption                                  2.4      -0.4     7.8       5.0
                                                                                Government consumption                               1.8       2.4     3.5       4.0
     10                                                                         Gross fixed investment                               0.8      -1.8    10.2      13.5
                                                                                Exports                                              2.5     -10.1    17.0       8.0
       0
                                                                                Imports                                              2.3      -8.8    18.0       8.4
    -10
                                                                               Prices, Money and Banking
    -20
                                                                               CPI (YoY %)                                           4.3      0.5      2.0       3.0
    -30                                                                        Broad money (HKD M3)                                  7.1      7.1      4.4       1.9
                                                                               HKD Bank credit (YoY %)                               8.8      0.3     10.5       5.7
           00     01       02     03   04   05      06   07    08   09    10
Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank
                                                                               Fiscal Accounts (% of GDP)1
                                                                               Budget surplus                                       0.1       1.6      0.4       0.1
                Michael Spencer, Hong Kong, (852) 2203 8305
                                                                                 Government revenue                                19.2      19.1     18.5      18.0
                                                                                 Government expenditure                            19.1      17.5     18.1      17.9
                                                                               Primary surplus                                      0.1       1.6      0.5       0.1

                                                                               External Accounts (USD bn)
                                                                               Merchandise exports                               365.4      321.9    374.7     412.1
                                                                               Merchandise imports                               388.6      348.7    411.6     448.7
                                                                               Trade balance                                     -23.1      -26.9    -36.9     -36.5
                                                                                 % of GDP                                        -10.7      -12.8    -16.5     -15.3
                                                                               Current account balance                            29.3       18.4     14.3      20.8
                                                                                 % of GDP                                         13.6        8.7      6.4       8.7
                                                                               FDI (net)                                           9.1       -3.8      2.5       3.5
                                                                               FX reserves (USD bn)                              182.5      255.8    243.1     234.5
                                                                               FX rate (eop) HKD/USD                              7.75       7.75     7.80      7.80

                                                                               Debt Indicators (% of GDP)
                                                                               Government debt                                     1.0        1.4      2.3       3.7
                                                                                 Domestic                                          0.2        0.7      1.6       3.7
                                                                                 External                                          0.8        0.7      0.7       0.0
                                                                               Total external debt                               308.2      319.5    291.2     261.5
                                                                                 in USD bn                                       663.4      673.0    650.0     625.0
                                                                                 Short-term (% of total)                          73.8       75.0     73.1      75.0

                                                                               General
                                                                               Unemployment (ann avg %)                              3.4      5.2      4.6       4.0

                                                                               Financial Markets                               Current        3M       6M       12M
                                                                               Discount base rate                                0.50        0.50     1.00      2.00
                                                                               3-month interbank rate                              0.34      0.50     0.90      1.80
                                                                               10-year yield (%)                                   2.32      3.00     3.20      3.60
                                                                               HKD/USD                                             7.80      7.80     7.80      7.80
                                                                               Source: CEIC, DB Global Markets Research, National Sources
                                                                               Note: (1) Fiscal year data.




Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong                                                                                                                                   Page 15
15 June 2010              Asia Economics Monthly




India                                                                                                          Baa2/BBB-(Neg)/BBB-
                                                                                                                                      Moody’s/S&P/Fitch


       Given the strong GDP outturn of Jan-Mar’10, we now                   Expenditure side GDP, contribution to growth
       expect real GDP growth to rise to 8% in FY10/11,
       versus our earlier estimate of 7.7%.                                       %            Private consumption            Public consumption
                                                                                               Investment                     Net exports
       High domestic inflation and fragile global financial                     5.0
       market considerations likely to complicate RBI’s
                                                                                3.0
       monetary policy decision.
                                                                                1.0
Growth on a firm footing                                                       -1.0
                                                                               -3.0
The economy stepped into 2010 with a strong growth
                                                                               -5.0
outturn, with real GDP rising by 8.6%yoy in the Jan-March
quarter. Earlier data revisions were also released; the Oct-                   -7.0
December growth rate was revised up to 6.5%, and as a                                  Mar-08             Sep-08    Mar-09      Sep-09      Mar-10
result, annual average real GDP growth rate for FY09/10
                                                                            Source: CEIC, Deutsche Bank
was 7.4% (6.7% in the previous year). This marks a
remarkably resilient growth performance for India given                     Latest high-frequency economic indicators such as
the global economic turmoil during the timeframe. The                       manufacturing and services PMI indicate continued
quarterly outturn was about ½% higher than what we had                      buoyancy in non-farm sector growth momentum. The
expected, owing primarily to a strong showing in the                        manufacturing PMI reading for May was 59.0 (57.2 in
trade/hotel/transportation/communication sector.                            April), the strongest since Feb’08. On a 3mma basis, the
                                                                            May PMI now stands at 58.0, same as the Jan-Mar’10
Production side GDP                                                         average, indicating strong industrial sector GDP growth
%yoy                          Mar-09    Jun-09   Sep-09   Dec-09   Mar-10   prospect for Apr-June’10 quarter. The May services sector
Agriculture, Forestry            3.3       1.9      0.9     -1.8      0.7   PMI at 58.2, on the other hand, remained comfortably
and Fishing
                                                                            above the threshold expansion mark of 50, indicating
Mining and Quarrying             -0.3      8.2     10.1      9.6     14.0   buoyant services sector growth prospect as well.
Manufacturing                    0.6       3.8      9.1     13.8     16.3
Electricity, Gas and             4.1       6.6      7.7      4.7      7.1   PMI readings firmly above 50
Water Supply
Construction                     5.7       4.6      4.7      8.1      8.7       3mma                      Manufacturing PMI          Services PMI
Trade, Hotels,                   5.7       5.5      8.5     10.2     12.4       65
Transport and
Communication                                                                   60
Financing, Insurance,           12.3      11.8     11.5      7.9      7.9       55
Real Estate & Business
Services                                                                        50
Community, Social and            8.8       7.6     14.0      0.8      1.6
Personal Services                                                               45
Source: CEIC, Deutsche Bank
                                                                                40
Other than agriculture (+0.7%yoy), there was across the                             2006              2007         2008       2009          2010
broad strength among the components of GDP, with the
manufacturing sector as the growth leader (+16.3%yoy).                      Source: Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank

Agriculture growth (+0.7%yoy) perhaps bottomed in the
Jan-March quarter, and ought to become a bigger                             With the recent developments, we are upgrading our
contributor to growth with rains expected to return to                      growth forecast to 8% for FY10/11. There is some upside
normal this year. India's expenditure side GDP data gets                    to the outlook if there is a bumper harvest, and
little attention, given serious problems with methodology                   investment picks up at a faster rate. There are some
and coverage. Nevertheless, note that the data from the                     downsides from external demand, especially if the Euro
spending side showed real GDP rising by an astonishing                      area debt and financial market turmoil deepens further in
11.2%yoy, one of the strongest growth rates on record.                      the months ahead.
Strong investment and net exports were the key drivers,
contributing 5.8% and 4% to growth, respectively.


Page 16                                                                                                                Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
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D B Report Asia Economics Monthly Jun

  • 1. Asia 15 June 2010 Macro Asia Economics Monthly Economics Table of Contents June Asia economic and financial forecasts ............... Page 2 Overview ............................................................ Page 3 Global Markets Research China................................................................... Page 8 Hong Kong........................................................ Page 14 India .................................................................. Page 16 Indonesia .......................................................... Page 22 Malaysia............................................................ Page 24 Philippines ........................................................ Page 26 Singapore ......................................................... Page 28 South Korea ...................................................... Page 30 Sri Lanka ........................................................... Page 34 OVERVIEW: After another very strong quarter of export-led growth Taiwan .............................................................. Page 38 (investment-led in India) we think growth has probably peaked. We expect a Thailand ............................................................ Page 40 Interest rate and inflation charts....................... Page 42 steady decline in growth over the next few quarters with the possibility of a Asian economic indicators ............................... Page 46 rebound later in 2011. Direct contagion from peripheral Europe seems limited, but heightened risk aversion leading to lower asset prices carries a real cost. Research Team Michael Spencer, Ph.D CHINA: May economic data point to slightly lower CPI peak rate but growing Chief Economist, Asia risk of property oversupply. Labour actions and wage inflation may exacerbate (+852) 2203 8305 michael.spencer@db.com investors’ concern on social stability and margin squeeze in the short term. Jun Ma, Ph.D HONG KONG: Consumption is under pressure from equity price declines, Chief Economist, Greater China which we think will reverse. Exports continue to grow robustly, but the (+852) 2203 8308 jun.ma@db.com outlook is for a slowing of QoQ(sa) GDP growth from exceptionally high rates in recent quarters towards long-run trend growth rates later this year. Taimur Baig, Ph.D Chief Economist, India INDIA: Given the strong GDP outturn of Jan-Mar’10, we now expect real GDP (+65) 6423 8681 taimur.baig@db.com growth to rise to 8% in FY10/11, versus our earlier estimate of 7.7%. INDONESIA: Q2 is off to a strong start as indicated by April indicators; Juliana Lee Senior Economist inflation outlook appears to remain manageable. (+852) 2203 8312 juliana.lee@db.com MALAYSIA: The governments’ 2011-15 Plan proposes to reinvigorate private investment, but not to reduce the importance of exports as a driver of growth. Kaushik Das Economist We remain positive on the near-term prospects for growth, but cautious on (+91) 22 6658-4909 the long-run outlook. kaushik.das@db.com PHILIPPINES: Growth picks up sharply in Q1, improving the outlook for the rest of the year. Trade could be affected if Euro area economies slow, creating some constraint to continued exports growth. SINGAPORE: Exports continue to power the economy, supported by residential investment, as other construction weakens and consumption falters. Weakening exports in H2 will likely bring GDP growth down sharply. SOUTH KOREA: Southern Europe and regulatory concerns leave the KRW significantly weaker in May, despite positive trade reports. SRI LANKA: The economy is enjoying a growth spurt after the end of many years of conflict. TAIWAN: Growth rises strongly in Q1 and risks to growth tilted to the upside in Q2, amid strong growth in exports and tame inflation. THAILAND: GDP growth rises strongly to 12%yoy in Q1, supported by inventory restocking. The growth outlook for coming quarters is clouded by political tension and adverse weather conditions. Economics Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong All prices are those current at the end of the previous trading session unless otherwise indicated. Prices are sourced from local exchanges via Reuters, Bloomberg and other vendors. Data is sourced from Deutsche Bank and subject companies. Deutsche Bank does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. Thus, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. DISCLOSURES AND ANALYST CERTIFICATIONS ARE LOCATED IN APPENDIX 1. MICA(P) 007/05/2010
  • 2. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly Asian Economics and Financial Forecasts I. Macroeconomic Indicators Real GDP Growth Inflation Current Account Fiscal Balance (YoY%) (YoY%) (% of GDP) (% of GDP) 2008 2009 2010F 2011F 2008 2009 2010F 2011F 2008 2009 2010F 2011F 2008 2009 2010F 2011F China 9.6 8.7 9.8 9.3 5.9 -0.7 3.4 2.5 7.2 5.8 4.3 2.9 -0.4 -2.9 -2.5 -2.0 Hong Kong 2.2 -2.8 6.5 5.5 4.3 0.5 2.0 3.0 13.6 8.7 6.4 8.7 0.1 1.6 0.4 0.1 India 6.4 5.7 9.0 8.0 9.1 2.2 9.3 6.9 -2.5 -2.6 -2.7 -2.7 -5.9 -6.7 -5.8 -5.6 Indonesia 6.0 4.5 5.5 6.5 9.8 4.9 4.5 6.5 0.0 1.4 1.5 1.8 -0.1 -1.5 -1.7 -1.8 Malaysia 4.6 -1.7 6.7 4.5 5.4 0.6 1.5 2.0 17.6 16.7 13.3 10.3 -4.8 -7.0 -4.5 -3.0 Philippines 3.5 1.1 4.5 5.0 9.3 3.3 4.5 5.5 2.2 5.3 6.5 6.5 -0.9 -3.8 -3.5 -2.6 Singapore 1.8 -1.3 9.0 5.0 6.6 0.6 2.1 2.4 18.6 17.8 19.7 22.5 9.0 -1.7 1.5 1.8 South Korea 2.2 0.3 5.5 3.9 4.7 2.8 2.9 3.9 -0.7 5.1 1.0 0.5 1.2 -1.7 -0.1 -0.2 Sri Lanka 6.0 3.5 6.0 6.5 22.7 3.5 6.5 10.0 -9.5 -0.5 -3.0 -4.0 -7.0 -9.8 -8.5 -7.5 Taiwan 0.7 -2.0 6.5 4.2 3.5 -0.9 1.1 1.9 6.5 11.2 8.5 6.3 -0.9 -3.9 -3.7 -3.3 Thailand 2.5 -2.2 5.5 4.1 5.5 -0.8 3.9 4.1 0.6 7.7 4.1 3.0 -1.1 -4.3 -4.8 -3.9 Vietnam 6.2 5.3 6.9 6.4 23.2 6.8 10.7 10.9 -10.2 -8.3 -9.7 -7.0 -4.7 -10.2 -7.5 -6.0 Emerging Asia* 6.9 5.5 8.4 7.6 6.9 0.9 4.6 4.0 4.7 5.0 3.5 2.6 -1.1 -3.5 -3.0 -3.0 EM Asia ex China&India* 3.2 0.3 6.0 4.8 7.1 2.1 3.4 4.4 4.1 6.9 4.9 4.5 -1.1 -7.7 -2.6 -2.1 II. Exchange Rates (vs. USD) Forecasts vs Forward Rates Spot 3-Month 6-Month 12-Month 15-Jun DB Forward DB Forward DB Forward China CNY 6.83 6.80 6.81 6.77 6.79 6.65 6.76 Hong Kong HKD 7.80 7.80 7.78 7.80 7.78 7.80 7.76 India INR 47.0 44.6 47.1 44.0 47.4 42.7 47.9 Indonesia IDR 9200 9050 9334 8925 9445 8850 9686 Malaysia MYR 3.31 3.23 3.29 3.20 3.30 3.15 3.32 Philippines PHP 46.5 45.6 46.9 45.0 47.2 44.2 47.9 Singapore SGD 1.41 1.39 1.40 1.38 1.40 1.36 1.40 South Korea KRW 1248 1280 1236 1180 1,236 1170 1,237 Taiwan NTD 32.4 32.5 32.0 31.5 31.8 30.5 31.4 Thailand THB 32.6 32.5 33.5 32.5 32.0 33.5 32.5 31.5 33.6 # Vietnam VND 18975 19200 19399 19300 19935 19400 20999 III. Interest Rates (3-Month Interbank Rate)** Forecasts vs Implied Offshore Rates 3-Month 6-Month 12-Month 15-Jun DB Implied DB Implied DB Implied China 2.25 2.52 2.13 2.52 2.22 2.52 2.60 Hong Kong 0.34 0.50 0.69 0.90 1.01 1.80 0.94 India 5.05 4.80 5.18 5.25 5.18 5.50 5.99 Indonesia 6.50 6.50 7.38 7.25 7.05 8.00 8.00 Malaysia 2.70 2.90 2.78 3.10 2.90 3.10 3.02 Philippines 4.15 4.30 4.36 4.80 4.17 5.20 4.63 Singapore 0.60 0.80 0.87 1.00 1.29 1.35 1.23 South Korea 2.45 2.85 2.84 3.20 3.22 3.70 3.67 Taiwan 0.51 0.60 0.72 0.70 0.70 1.30 1.03 Thailand 1.35 1.65 1.15 1.90 1.57 2.50 2.05 Vietnam 8.00 9.00 n/a 10.00 n/a 10.00 n/a Source: Bloomberg, Reuters, DB Global Markets Research Note: * GDP (PPP) weighted. ** Except for China, 1-yr deposit rate; India and Philippines, 3-mth T-bill yield; Indonesia, 1-mth BI rate; Pakistan, 12-mth T-bill yield; South Korea, 3-mth CD rate; Taiwan, 3-mth CP rate; Thailand, 3-mth on-shore THB/THB swap rate. Page 2 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
  • 3. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly Overview Review of Q1 and a look ahead to Q2 The rebound in export volume growth, starting in the third quarter of last year, allowed the government to scale back its counter-cyclical stimulus. Credit growth slowed With all economies now having reported first quarter quickly from Q3 last year – by the beginning of this year GDP, we begin with a review of this past quarter. It was (and through May) credit growth on a 3m/3m(saar) basis another quarter of above-potential GDP growth as the has been 17% or lower, consistent with our stronger-than-expected recovery from last year’s understanding of the central bank’s target for credit recession continued. Indeed, with few exceptions GDP growth in 2010 – and with it fixed assets investment growth exceeded our forecasts and we have often been growth slowed. forced to revise up what were already above-consensus growth forecasts for 2010. Encouragingly, inflation-adjusted retail sales growth has been essentially stable over the past year. While Another quarter of surprising growth starting in China consumption does not appear to be getting more The quarter started with positive news out of China: Q1 important as a driver of growth in the economy -- we GDP rose 11.9%yoy, slightly higher than our forecast. estimate the consumption/GDP ratio was essentially We estimate that this resulted from a 2.4%QoQ(sa) unchanged in 2009, which is itself an achievement – the expansion, unchanged from 2009Q4 and slightly higher resilience of consumption in the face of the external shock than our estimate of the economy’s long-run potential to exports is exceptional. growth rate. While the government does not publish quarterly expenditure-side national income accounts, we fashion monthly real growth rates in retail sales, fixed Real GDP growth in India assets investments and exports using their respective %yoy GDP Priv cons'n %yoy price indices as indicators of the sources of demand 20 Fixed inv't Exports (rhs) 40 during the quarter. Quite clearly, China (like the rest of Asia) has seen an impressive recovery in exports. The 15 30 government’s export quantum index rose on average 34.8%yoy in Q1, up from 7.8% in 2009Q4 and -18.4% a 20 10 year ago. April saw 31.6% growth in export volumes, 10 reportedly, and while the May value for the index has not 5 yet been published, the 48.4%yoy growth in export values 0 last month, given nearly unchanged export unit values 0 over the previous two months, suggests that export -10 growth might be higher in Q2 than in Q1. -5 -20 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 China: monthly indicators of real demand growth Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. GDP growth as reported by the production accounts. %yoy FAI %yoy 45 Retail 60 Credit India too, but consumption was soft Indian GDP 40 Exp (rhs) 50 growth also surprised slightly to the upside, rising to 35 40 8.6%yoy in Q1 from 6.5% the previous quarter. We 30 30 estimate this implied QoQ(sa) growth of 3.7% after a 25 20 slight contraction of 0.6%QoQ(sa) in the previous quarter, 20 10 the first decline in more than five years. As elsewhere, 15 0 export growth rose sharply last quarter, but exports are 10 -10 much less important as a source of growth in India than in other economies, even China. The more important recent 5 -20 development has been an increase in fixed investment, 0 -30 which rose 17.7%yoy last quarter. Last year’s election 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 seems to have reinvigorated investment in India after two Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. Official export quantum growth rate; FAI growth deflated by the FAI price index (available only through March); retail sales growth deflated by the retail price index; credit years of weakness. The government’s own infrastructure growth deflated by the CPI. spending and, more importantly in our mind, a commitment to private-public partnerships and Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong Page 3
  • 4. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly disinvestment has been instrumental in reviving real GDP to illustrate both how important exports are to investment demand. the business cycle in Asia’s “high beta” economies and how strong the recovery in the last year has been. On Conversely, consumption growth was disappointingly average, exports have grown 22%QoQ(saar) in this weak last quarter – at 2.6%yoy, by a narrow margin the recovery, more than double the long-run average of 10%. weakest growth in eight years. We think high food prices Not surprisingly, GDP growth has averaged 10%saar over have played a significant role in this declining the past year in these seven economies, likewise double consumption growth. the long-run average. Sources of demand in Asia excl China and India QoQ annualized growth in exports and GDP %yoy Exports %yoy 60 %QoQ(saar) %QoQ(saar) 15 25 Fixed inv't 10 Priv cons'n (rhs) 40 10 20 8 15 20 5 10 6 5 0 0 4 0 -5 2 -20 -5 -10 Exports (lhs) 0 -40 -10 -15 GDP (rhs) -20 -2 -60 -15 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted exports, private consumption and fixed investment Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted real exports of goods and services and GDP for Hong growth in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand Same pattern in Asia-8: strong exports, slightly weak So where to from here? Given the importance of consumption The other eight economies for which we exports to the recovery in most economies, that should have quarterly expenditure accounts data showed a be our primary focus in trying to plot the immediate future broadly consistent pattern of soaring export growth and for Asia. When we consider where Asian exports are rising “domestic demand” growth. We have long argued going, we are confronted with what appears to be a that the linkages between investment and consumption resurgence of intra-regional trade. The conclusion that on the one hand and exports on the other hand in small many investors drew in late 2007 – that a rising share of open economies make the distinction between “external” intra-regional exports implied greater insulation from a US and “domestic” demand artificial – the former drives the recession – was wrong. Intra-regional trade fell more latter. So while we weren’t surprised to see fixed rapidly than exports to the US. So a relatively higher investment growth rising strongly as export growth growth rate for intra-regional trade a year later is to be soared, we found consumption growth overall surprised a expected. little to the downside. Exports by destination from Asia excl China and India Only in Hong Kong and South Korea did Q1 GDP in this 100 %yoy,3mma Asia ex CH, HK group not surprise significantly to the upside. Indeed, so China powerful has been the growth impulse of late that not 80 US&EU only did Singapore’s advance estimate of Q1 GDP come 60 in much higher than consensus expectations, but the second reading – after only one more month’s data – was 40 more than 2ppts higher. 20 Singapore is exceptional, as a very small, very open 0 economy, but this group of eight economies has seen a very strong impulse to growth from the recovery in global -20 demand. Since Indonesia is a much less export-sensitive -40 economy than the others – it avoided even one quarter of 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 QoQ GDP decline – in the chart below we exclude it from Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted, seasonally adjusted real GDP. our estimate of QoQ(sa) growth in export volumes and Page 4 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
  • 5. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly But exports to China have nearly doubled over the past A persistent loss of output, or growth? Longer term, year, whereas other intra-regional exports (excluding the reliance on exports to drive growth in most Asian Japan, although it matters little whether Japan is included economies could be a liability if the major export markets or not) have risen only about 40%. Is this evidence of a in the US and Europe are not able to regain their pre-crisis surge of Chinese demand for Asian exports? Or is it a vitality. repeat of the outsourcing boom of 2002-03 when China’s entry into the WTO combined with the post-recessionary Our index of GDP in the seven economies in Asia other impulse to lower production costs saw regional than China, India and Indonesia shows that after a 5.9% production networks extended to include China at the final drop in seasonally adjusted GDP, GDP has risen 10.4% to stages? If the nascent decline in the growth of exports to a level well above the pre-crisis level. Importantly, output China continues then our inclination is to infer the latter. is growing faster than the pre-crisis pace and the gap to the pre-crisis trend is closing. That would imply, though, that demand in the US and EU remains uppermost as the primary driver of regional Real GDP index, Asia excl China and India export growth. Our US GDP growth forecast is slightly 170 2000Q1=100 higher than the consensus at 3.5% this year, but much 165 higher than consensus at 3.6% next year. Our Euroland 160 forecasts for both years are slightly below consensus. 155 The combination, we think, means that export growth, measured YoY, will likely decline – at times precipitously – 150 over the balance of this year. And while we think growth 145 could pick up again in mid-2011, we don’t expect to see 140 growth rates anything like as strong – on a QoQ(sa) or YoY 135 basis – as we have seen over the past few months. 130 125 Our GDP forecasts, therefore, have the same profile. We 120 expect YoY growth in exports and GDP to peak in the first 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 half of this year – in most economies Q1 was the peak – Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted, seasonally adjusted real GDP. and we currently forecast a rapid decline in growth over the next two quarters. India is a notable exception, where In the aftermath of the 1997-98 crisis in Asia, these we see growth dipping a little in Q2 but ending the year economies recovered much more slowly. Whereas pre- stronger. Asian crisis growth in these economies was about 8%, since 1999 it has averaged closer to 6%. The crisis Our Macroeconomic Momentum Indicator – a monthly caused a permanent loss of output. Even though Asia GDP growth proxy – suggests this is indeed what is wasn’t at the center of this crisis, it is likely that there will happening. But with complete data only for April there is be a permanent loss of output in the US and Europe and as yet only the barest hint of a slowdown in growth. perhaps as well a permanently lower growth rate. Asian macroeconomic momentum indicator Real GDP index, Asia excl China and India 2.0 160 2000Q1=100 1.5 150 1.0 140 0.5 130 0.0 120 -0.5 110 -1.0 100 -1.5 90 -2.0 80 -2.5 70 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 60 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. PPP-weighted, seasonally adjusted real GDP Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong Page 5
  • 6. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly Unless these Asian economies can stimulate domestic international markets by European banks. Lending by demand to a greater extent, or can tap Chinese demand banks in peripheral Euroland to Asian economies is for their exports, this persistent weakness in the US and insignificant – amounting to about 0.1% of Asian GDP. Europe will likely translate into a persistently weaker Lending by all Euroland banks together is still only about growth rate in Asia. 3% of Asian GDP. Indeed, even borrowing from the UK and Switzerland (together almost 4% of Asian GDP worth Direct contagion from peripheral Europe is limited of credit) and the US (3.2%) is generally small. Only The more immediate concern for markets, though, is the Malaysia and South Korea have significant exposures, but potential spillover from the problems in peripheral Europe compared with Eastern Europe or Latin America these are to Asia. In our view, the direct channels of contagion are small levels of external indebtedness to banks in Europe. weak. Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain account for only about 3.5% of Asian exports. Euroland accounts Of greater concern is the impact on Asia of heightened for 12.2% of exports versus the US’ 14% share but as international investor risk appetite arising from worries we’ve seen in recent weeks, EUR depreciation has been about their own losses in peripheral Europe. Asian equity almost matched by depreciations in Asia. In our view, the markets have sold off in tandem with global markets, and direct channel for contagion through falling peripheral credit spreads have widened, and these carry real European demand or a weaker euro are not worrisome. economic consequences. The negative wealth effect from falling asset prices is likely reducing consumption Exports to Europe and the US as % of total exports growth and reducing banks’ willingness to lend. 45 % GIIPS Oth EUR Oth EU US Michael Spencer, Hong Kong, (852) 2203 8305 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 CH HK IN ID MY PH SG SK TW TH VN Asia Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. “GIIPS” is Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain; coverage of “other EUR” and “other EU” may not be comprehensive due to data limitations. European and US bank lending to Asia 35 % of GDP US 30 Oth.EU 25 EUR 20 15 10 5 0 CH IN ID MY PH SK TW TH VN Asia Sources: BIS and Deutsche Bank. “Other EU” includes only the UK, Sweden and Switzerland. Similarly, the direct financial channel is weak. As a region of mostly surplus economies – many of whom are net creditors to the rest of the world –Asian economies are not especially exposed to possible retrenchment from Page 6 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
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  • 8. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly China A1(Pos)/A+/A+ Moody’s/S&P/Fitch May economic data point to slightly lower CPI peak and real estate investment growth still accelerated to 44% rate but growing risk of property oversupply. in May. Incidentally, real estate floor space sold dropped 3%yoy in May (indeed, Soufun’s weekly data has shown a Labour actions and wage inflation may exacerbate 70% drop in transaction volume since mid-April), down investors’ concern on social stability and margin from the 27%yoy increase in April. The combination of squeeze in the short term. rising completions and falling sales indicates a growing In the next three years we expect wage inflation to risk of over-supply in the property market in the coming reach 14-17% per year, way above nominal GDP months. growth. Over this medium-term, the wage inflation trend will have a profound positive implication for the Labour actions and wage inflation may exacerbate structural shift towards a consumption-driven investors’ concern on social stability and margin economy. Our model shows that the long-term squeeze in the short term. The spread of labour strikes beneficiaries include instant noodle, dairy, tobacco, over the past ten days and the minimum wage increases and wine. announced by Beijing and Shenzhen in recent days suggest that wage inflation is becoming a material risk to Infrastructure and real estate FAI growth will likely inflation and corporate margins. Foxconn announced slow further, and thus sentiment on commodities will wage increases of 30-100%, and this increase will no likely remain weak in coming months. doubt spill-over to other companies very quickly. The We expect a slower pace of monetary (including rates threat of the contagious effect of labour strikes will also and RMB) tightening in coming months. likely pressure many more local governments to raise minimum wages. May economic data point to slightly lower CPI peak rate but growing risk of property over-supply. We see We expect labour-intensive sectors (such as electronics the following specific implications from a number of May components, auto parts, apparel, retailing, construction, data points: etc) to see an average of additional 10% wage inflation over the previous market expectation. For monopoly First, Q2 GDP growth will likely slow to 10.2%yoy. IP sectors and/or sectors that are dominated by large SOEs growth dropped by 1.3ppts to 16.5%yoy in May, lower (such as oil, power, telco, and financials), wage pressure than consensus expectation. We expect IP growth to will be much less as their average pay is 1-2 times higher continue to slow to around 15.3% in June, which – based than the average manufacturing salary, and the on the correlation between IP and GDP -- implies that Q2 government is trying to limit wage growth in these GDP growth will decelerate to about 10.2% from 11.9% sectors as part of the effort to limit income disparity. For in Q1. the economy as a whole, we expect 4-5% extra average wage increase this year, compared with our baseline Second, the peak of officially reported CPI inflation may projection of about 12%. be somewhat lower (between 4.0-4.2%) than our previous expectation of 4.5%. May CPI inflation rose to 3.1%yoy Our simulation with a 135 sector computable general vs 2.8% in April. On a mom basis, inflation dropped 0.1% equilibrium (CGE) model shows that a 10% wage inflation largely on the decline in vegetable prices. Going forward, in 13 labour-intensive sector (assuming other sectors see we expect some further increase in yoy CPI inflation to no changes in wages) will result in the following macro around 3.4%yoy in June. For Q3, we now think the peak consequences, compared with the baseline case: of CPI inflation will more likely to be between 4-4.2%yoy (assuming only modest recovery in food prices in coming 1. Push up CPI by 0.4%; months) in August or September, vs our previous expectation of 4.5%. This is because the upward 2. Reduce real GDP growth by 0.12%; pressures from manufacturing goods inflation (partly reflecting the newly added wage inflation) and rental hikes 3. Reduce employment by 0.7 million jobs; are partially offset by the recent drop in food prices. 4. Reduce real exports by 0.6%; Third, the real estate sector will likely suffer from more serious over-supply in the coming months. Real estate 5. Boost real consumption by 0.2%; project completions rose by a massive 102% yoy in May, Page 8 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
  • 9. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly In the short term, the negative macro implication is that it is likely to be overstated due to the lack of statistical would exacerbate some investors’ fear of “stagflation”, coverage of private firms). Also worrying is that as it may boost inflation and reduces GDP growth in a government revenue grew (at 21% per annum) period (Q2 and Q3 this year) when yoy CPI inflation is significantly faster than workers’ income over the same already poised to rise and yoy GDP growth is set to period. decelerate. At the firm level, it reduces profit margins for many low-end manufacturing companies (see our June 8 Annual average growth of govt revenue, note on “who is vulnerable to wage inflation”). Along manufacturing profits, and labour income with the possibility of further spread of labour actions to other companies and regions, this wage-driven margin squeeze will likely remain as headwinds against the Industrial profits market for a while. Over the next three years, we expect labour income Govt revenue growth to reach 14-17% per annum, significantly higher than nominal GDP growth of 11-12%. Over this medium term, this wage trend will have a profound Manufacturing wage positive implication for the structural shift towards a consumption-driven economy. The government now 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% feels – more strongly than ever – that income inequality can become a material threat to social and political Source: CEIC stability. According to our calculation based on studies of Prof. Cai Fang of the Social Science Academy, between One of the root causes of income disparity is that the 2000 and 2007 migrant workers’ (mostly in labour monopoly nature of the many large SOEs has allowed intensive sectors) wage increase was only 5-6% per them to enjoy excessive (and excessive growth) of profits, annum. During the same period, annual average nominal and these profits are not redistributed properly to the GDP growth was 15%, and SOE wage inflation was 16% labour force via the budgetary system. There are also per annum. It is obvious that to address the income complaints about excessive taxation on personal incomes. distribution issue, low-income labour force will need to Therefore, some fundamental – and politically very difficult see a faster wage increase than average especially those – reforms will need to be implemented to reverse the in the SOEs. perilous trend of rapid widening of income gap. In addition to the increases in minimum wages, we think two major Annual average wage increase of migrant workers, reforms will need to be pushed through: (1) drastically SOE employees, and nominal GDP: 2000-2007 increase the dividend payout ratio of major SOEs (from the current 7.5% to 30-40% in the next 3-4 years), and use the proceeds to pay for social spending and to cut the Wage of SOEs personal income tax; (2) transfer a large part of liquid SOE assets (shares of listed companies) owned by the national and provincial SASACs to the social security funds. These Nominal GDP transfers should be used to increase the pension standards of the retirees and to fill the “empty pension accounts” of the individual pension plans. Wage of migrant workers While the specific policy actions remain to be worked out, 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% we are confident that there will be much stronger determination for the government to engineer a rapid Source: CEIC wage growth for the labour force (especially the low- income labour force), partly due to the labour actions in Another aspect of the growing income disparity that recent weeks. Government officials are now talking needs to be addressed is that between the corporates seriously about doubling workers’ wages in the next five and the labour force. From 2000-2008, the industrial years, which implies a 15% annual average wage increase profits rose 6.2 fold, but industrial workers’ average wage in the next five years. With a rapid rise in minimum has increased only 1.8 fold. In other words, the annual wages (e.g., at about 15-20% in most places this year) average corporate profit growth was 28% vs and the possible structural reforms discussed above, we manufacturing wage growth of only 14% (even this figure think it is even possible to see labour income growth Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong Page 9
  • 10. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly exceeding 15% per annum in coming years. We project Long-term winners and losers of wage inflation: % that over the next three years, the disposable income change in production from baseline growth (after taxes and including various transfer receipts) will likely reach 14-17%, significantly higher than nominal GDP growth of 11-12%. Assuming that annual average wage inflation will be 4ppts higher than the baseline for the next five years (i.e.,a cumulative 20% additional wage rise), our CGE model shows that the structure of the economy will see the following changes: Consumption as % of GDP will rise by 1.9ppts; Investment (capital formation) as % of GDP will Source: DB CGE model increase by 2.0ppts. Infrastructure and real estate FAI growth will slow Net exports as % of GDP will fall by 3.9ppts. further, and sentiment on commodities will thus likely remain weak in coming months. Government The obvious results are that consumption will play a more sponsored investments (in infrastructure, health, important role in GDP, and the importance of exports will education, and water treatment, etc) have already diminish. The more interesting, but counterintuitive, result decelerated sharply from the peak of 64%yoy in May is that investment as % of GDP will also rise as a result of 2009 to 23%yoy in April 2010. We think these sectors wage inflation. The logic is that due to higher wage will likely see further deceleration in yoy FAI growth in the inflation, companies will find it more attractive to coming few months, and the growth rate will likely hit or automate many production processes by investing in fall below zero in June. The main reasons include the machinery. The increase in capital intensity will thus decline in new lending to local financing platforms starting require an increase in the proportion of investment in from early this year, the cut in government budget for GDP. infrastructure spending, and an increasingly less favourable base effect (note that the yoy growth of Change of GDP composition due to wage inflation infrastructure FAI was as high as 77% in June last year, vs the 20% average growth in the previous few years). The rapid decline in the yoy growth in new project starts in last few months also bode negative for actual FAI growth in the coming months. Real estate FAI will likely pose the next short-term downside risk to market sentiment. The following chart shows that property transaction volume has come off by 70% already since mid April. 2-3 months later, this should lead to a significant deceleration in developers’ construction activities. We expect from the current yoy Source: DB CGE model rate of 30%, real estate FAI growth will also slow to zero around September. Thus, between June and September, These changes are in line with the broader objective of sentiment on China demand for commodities will likely to the government in developing a consumption-driven remain weak. economy. At the sector level, our model shows that the beneficiaries in the consumer sector include instant noodle, dairy, tobacco, and wine. The following chart shows the estimated % increase in production due to additional wage inflation over the next five years. Page 10 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
  • 11. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly Property transaction volume index (weekly), yoy % its Treasury review of China’s currency regime (likely in 300 July), and one should expect more anti-dumping cases against China. As a compromise, we think the best and 250 likely scenario is for China to move towards a basket 200 based system (which will introduce two-way volatility to the CNY/USD rate) within the next two months without a 150 one-off appreciation. We now think that the RMB 100 appreciation vs the USD will likely be less than 1% before 50 the end of the year vs our previous expectation of about 3%. 0 100301-100307 100322-100328 081124-081130 081215-081221 090105-090111 090126-090201 090216-090222 090309-090315 090330-090405 090420-090426 090511-090517 090601-090607 090622-090628 090713-090719 090803-090809 090824-090830 090814-090920 091005-091012 091026-091101 091116-091122 091207-091213 091228-100103 100118-100124 100208-100214 100301-100307 100322-100328 100412-100418 100503-100509 100524-100530 Jun Ma, Hong Kong, (852) 2203 8308 Source: Sofun.com; DB calculation We expect a slower pace of monetary (including rates and RMB) tightening in coming months. Several macro developments in recent weeks have led to concerns by the many officials and policy advisors on the potential of a second dip of the global economy and potential over- tightening of economic policies. The arguments against rate hikes and RMB appreciation are gaining popularity. These arguments include: (1) the sovereign debt crisis in Europe may be as destructive as the Lehman-led crisis in terms of impact on the global economy and thus on Chinese exports (this is a point that we disagree -- we continue to expect Chinese export growth to surprise to the upside at least in coming few months); (2) the anti- property speculation policies promulgated in mid-April are already strong enough and could potentially lead to a hard landing of investment and GDP (again we think this concern is over played; we think yoy GDP growth will slow in Q2 and Q3 but will stabilize at 8.5%-9% in Q4); (3) the RMB has appreciated by 15% vs the EUR over the past two months and exports will lose a great deal of competitiveness (our estimate is that the impact is manageable); (4) the A share market has corrected significantly in recent months (indeed it’s been the worst performing compared with other major markets); (5) inflation risks have receded somewhat in the past few weeks due to the decline in food prices and some commodities prices. As a result, the likelihood of significant rate hikes has diminished. We still think one rate hike in Q3 is possible, but would not be surprised if the PBOC is on hold throughout this year. On RMB, some of the above arguments have also reduced the probability of an immediate reform, but we still think that a reform in the coming two months is possible and desirable. Otherwise, pressure from the US will likely rise quickly: the Senate may resume the legislative process of the Schumer and Graham bill, the US administration will likely play tough in Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong Page 11
  • 12. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly China: Deutsche Bank forecasts 2008 2009F 2010F 2011F National Income Nominal GDP (USD bn) 4526 4862 5663 6630 Population (mn) 1353 1364 1374 1375 GDP per capita (USD) 3345 3564 4122 4822 Real GDP (YoY%)1 9.6 8.7 9.8 9.3 Private consumption 10.0 9.0 8.8 9.0 Government consumption 9.9 10.0 9.0 8.5 Gross fixed investment 11.2 18.8 9.5 10.6 Exports 12.0 -10.2 20.0 12.0 Imports 15.9 -0.5 19.5 13.5 Prices, Money and Banking CPI (YoY%) 5.9 -0.7 3.4 2.5 Broad money (M2) 17.8 29.0 17.0 16.5 Bank credit (YoY%) 18.8 31.0 17.0 16.0 Fiscal Accounts (% of GDP) Budget surplus -0.4 -2.9 -2.5 -2.0 Government revenue 20.5 19.0 19.3 19.7 Government expenditure 20.9 21.2 21.8 21.7 Primary surplus 0.3 -1.5 -1.3 -0.9 External Accounts (USD bn) Merchandise exports 1428.5 1201.7 1562.2 1780.9 Merchandise imports 1133.1 1005.6 1367.6 1641.1 Trade balance 295.4 196.1 194.6 139.8 % of GDP 6.4 4.0 3.4 2.1 Current account balance 426.1 284.0 244.6 189.8 % of GDP 7.2 5.8 4.3 2.9 FDI (net) 163.0 70.0 90.0 100.0 FX reserves (USD bn) 1946.0 2399.1 2700.0 3000.0 FX rate (eop) CNY/USD 6.84 6.83 6.77 6.53 Debt Indicators (% of GDP) Government debt2 20.0 21.0 20.3 19.6 Domestic 19.1 20.2 19.6 18.9 External 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 Total external debt 8.3 7.4 6.1 5.1 in USD bn 375.0 360.0 340.0 330.0 Short-term (% of total) 65.0 60.0 50.0 50.0 General (YoY%) Fixed asset inv’t (nominal) 25.6 30.1 19.0 21.0 Retail sales (nominal) 21.6 15.5 18.0 15.0 Industrial production (real) 12.9 12.0 14.0 13.0 Merch exports (USD nominal) 17.2 -16.0 30.0 13.0 Merch imports (USD nominal) 18.5 -18.0 36.0 16.0 Financial Markets Current 3M 6M 12M 1-year deposit rate 2.25 2.52 2.52 2.52 10-year yield (%) 3.25 3.35 3.45 3.65 CNY/USD 6.83 6.80 6.77 6.65 Source: CEIC, DB Global Markets Research, National Sources Note: (1) Growth rates of GDP components may not match overall GDP growth rates due to inconsistency between historical data calculated from expenditure and product method. (2) Including bank recapitalization and AMC bonds issued. Page 12 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
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  • 14. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly Hong Kong Aa2(Pos)/AA+/AA Moody’s/S&P/Fitch Consumption is under pressure from equity price consumption is possibly much weaker than we have been declines, which we think will reverse. Exports expecting. continue to grow robustly, but the outlook is for a But not only was consumption weaker than we’d slowing of QoQ(sa) GDP growth from exceptionally expected in Q1, the early indication for Q2 is also high rates in recent quarters towards long-run trend disappointing. Seasonally adjusted, retail sales volumes growth rates later this year. have declined for three consecutive months through April, Asset price declines are depressing consumption and by a cumulative 5.3%. With equity prices still falling, and reflect deteriorating investor sentiment more than the if property price inflation continues to moderate, it seems fundamentals. that the weight of bearish investor sentiment may further depress consumption in Hong Kong. Consumption under pressure from weak sentiment… As we remarked last month, we were surprised at the Seasonally adjusted retail sales volumes weakness in private consumption as reported in the Q1 150 index GDP figures. Seasonally adjusted, consumption was unchanged in Q1 from Q4. We’ve subsequently received 140 data that help us to understand what happened. The 130 decline in consumer confidence in recent months has evidently been much worse than we’d expected. Both 120 the housing market and the equity market ended the 110 quarter much weaker than they began, and this appears to have dragged down spending. In our simple consumption 100 model the equity market is particularly important – more 90 so than property prices. 80 Consumption and real asset prices 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 60 %yoy %yoy 14 Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank 12 40 10 …largely stemming for European growth concerns 8 20 The decline in sentiment recently has little to do with 6 Hong Kong – specific factors, in our view, and more to do 4 0 with concerns about global growth. But on that front, we 2 think fears are exaggerated. The peripheral European -20 0 economies – Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain – -2 Real HSI (-1) will likely experience another year of recession as they -40 Real prop'y price -4 tighten fiscal policy dramatically. But they account for Cons'n (rhs) -6 -60 -8 only 2% of Hong Kong’s exports. And while economic sentiment indicators and purchasing managers’ indexes 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 have pulled back a little in the last month, they continue to Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank. “Cons’n” is real private consumption expenditure; “real HSI” is the CPI-adjusted change in the Hang Seng Index; “real prop’y price” is the CPI –adjusted change in the point to strong month-on-month growth. property price index. Indeed, while there was a small 0.5%mom(sa) decline in The quarterly average changes in real property and export volumes in March, this followed a 8.3%mom(sa) (lagged) equity prices in Q1 pointed to much stronger increase in February. We estimate that exports rose 3.5% consumption growth than in Q4. Our consumption - 4.0%mom(sa) in April and we forecast a further (smaller) model, combining exports (the key driver of income increase in May. While the outlook for growth in Europe growth in Hong Kong), real asset prices and interest rates) is weaker than it was a few weeks ago, the Euroland indicated consumption growth would be about 8.4%yoy. growth forecast hasn’t been cut by more than 0.2% given In fact, it was estimated at 6.5%. Based on April real still reasonably strong growth in the core countries. property prices inflation and the first quarter’s still In fact, when we look at the recent export data, growth in elevated equity prices, we would expect Q2 consumption exports to Europe is still holding up well. The recovery in growth to be little changed from Q1. But the decline in that market lags somewhat the recovery in exports to the equity prices in Q2 suggest that the growth outlook for US, but this reflects the slower pace of recovery in Europe Page 14 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong
  • 15. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly compared to the US. Bu certainly through April there was Hong Kong: Deutsche Bank Forecasts no sign of renewed weakness in Europe as an export 2008 2009F 2010F 2011F market. National Income Nominal GDP (USD bn) 215.3 210.6 223.2 239.0 Hong Kong exports to the US and EU Population (mn) 7.0 7.1 7.1 7.2 40 Total EU US GDP per capita (USD) 30663 29762 31296 33234 %yoy,3mma 30 Real GDP (YoY %) 2.2 -2.8 6.5 5.5 20 Private consumption 2.4 -0.4 7.8 5.0 Government consumption 1.8 2.4 3.5 4.0 10 Gross fixed investment 0.8 -1.8 10.2 13.5 Exports 2.5 -10.1 17.0 8.0 0 Imports 2.3 -8.8 18.0 8.4 -10 Prices, Money and Banking -20 CPI (YoY %) 4.3 0.5 2.0 3.0 -30 Broad money (HKD M3) 7.1 7.1 4.4 1.9 HKD Bank credit (YoY %) 8.8 0.3 10.5 5.7 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Sources: CEIC and Deutsche Bank Fiscal Accounts (% of GDP)1 Budget surplus 0.1 1.6 0.4 0.1 Michael Spencer, Hong Kong, (852) 2203 8305 Government revenue 19.2 19.1 18.5 18.0 Government expenditure 19.1 17.5 18.1 17.9 Primary surplus 0.1 1.6 0.5 0.1 External Accounts (USD bn) Merchandise exports 365.4 321.9 374.7 412.1 Merchandise imports 388.6 348.7 411.6 448.7 Trade balance -23.1 -26.9 -36.9 -36.5 % of GDP -10.7 -12.8 -16.5 -15.3 Current account balance 29.3 18.4 14.3 20.8 % of GDP 13.6 8.7 6.4 8.7 FDI (net) 9.1 -3.8 2.5 3.5 FX reserves (USD bn) 182.5 255.8 243.1 234.5 FX rate (eop) HKD/USD 7.75 7.75 7.80 7.80 Debt Indicators (% of GDP) Government debt 1.0 1.4 2.3 3.7 Domestic 0.2 0.7 1.6 3.7 External 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.0 Total external debt 308.2 319.5 291.2 261.5 in USD bn 663.4 673.0 650.0 625.0 Short-term (% of total) 73.8 75.0 73.1 75.0 General Unemployment (ann avg %) 3.4 5.2 4.6 4.0 Financial Markets Current 3M 6M 12M Discount base rate 0.50 0.50 1.00 2.00 3-month interbank rate 0.34 0.50 0.90 1.80 10-year yield (%) 2.32 3.00 3.20 3.60 HKD/USD 7.80 7.80 7.80 7.80 Source: CEIC, DB Global Markets Research, National Sources Note: (1) Fiscal year data. Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong Page 15
  • 16. 15 June 2010 Asia Economics Monthly India Baa2/BBB-(Neg)/BBB- Moody’s/S&P/Fitch Given the strong GDP outturn of Jan-Mar’10, we now Expenditure side GDP, contribution to growth expect real GDP growth to rise to 8% in FY10/11, versus our earlier estimate of 7.7%. % Private consumption Public consumption Investment Net exports High domestic inflation and fragile global financial 5.0 market considerations likely to complicate RBI’s 3.0 monetary policy decision. 1.0 Growth on a firm footing -1.0 -3.0 The economy stepped into 2010 with a strong growth -5.0 outturn, with real GDP rising by 8.6%yoy in the Jan-March quarter. Earlier data revisions were also released; the Oct- -7.0 December growth rate was revised up to 6.5%, and as a Mar-08 Sep-08 Mar-09 Sep-09 Mar-10 result, annual average real GDP growth rate for FY09/10 Source: CEIC, Deutsche Bank was 7.4% (6.7% in the previous year). This marks a remarkably resilient growth performance for India given Latest high-frequency economic indicators such as the global economic turmoil during the timeframe. The manufacturing and services PMI indicate continued quarterly outturn was about ½% higher than what we had buoyancy in non-farm sector growth momentum. The expected, owing primarily to a strong showing in the manufacturing PMI reading for May was 59.0 (57.2 in trade/hotel/transportation/communication sector. April), the strongest since Feb’08. On a 3mma basis, the May PMI now stands at 58.0, same as the Jan-Mar’10 Production side GDP average, indicating strong industrial sector GDP growth %yoy Mar-09 Jun-09 Sep-09 Dec-09 Mar-10 prospect for Apr-June’10 quarter. The May services sector Agriculture, Forestry 3.3 1.9 0.9 -1.8 0.7 PMI at 58.2, on the other hand, remained comfortably and Fishing above the threshold expansion mark of 50, indicating Mining and Quarrying -0.3 8.2 10.1 9.6 14.0 buoyant services sector growth prospect as well. Manufacturing 0.6 3.8 9.1 13.8 16.3 Electricity, Gas and 4.1 6.6 7.7 4.7 7.1 PMI readings firmly above 50 Water Supply Construction 5.7 4.6 4.7 8.1 8.7 3mma Manufacturing PMI Services PMI Trade, Hotels, 5.7 5.5 8.5 10.2 12.4 65 Transport and Communication 60 Financing, Insurance, 12.3 11.8 11.5 7.9 7.9 55 Real Estate & Business Services 50 Community, Social and 8.8 7.6 14.0 0.8 1.6 Personal Services 45 Source: CEIC, Deutsche Bank 40 Other than agriculture (+0.7%yoy), there was across the 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 broad strength among the components of GDP, with the manufacturing sector as the growth leader (+16.3%yoy). Source: Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank Agriculture growth (+0.7%yoy) perhaps bottomed in the Jan-March quarter, and ought to become a bigger With the recent developments, we are upgrading our contributor to growth with rains expected to return to growth forecast to 8% for FY10/11. There is some upside normal this year. India's expenditure side GDP data gets to the outlook if there is a bumper harvest, and little attention, given serious problems with methodology investment picks up at a faster rate. There are some and coverage. Nevertheless, note that the data from the downsides from external demand, especially if the Euro spending side showed real GDP rising by an astonishing area debt and financial market turmoil deepens further in 11.2%yoy, one of the strongest growth rates on record. the months ahead. Strong investment and net exports were the key drivers, contributing 5.8% and 4% to growth, respectively. Page 16 Deutsche Bank AG/Hong Kong