It's a positive story for Asian currencies, especially with these kinds of statements.
Asian economies are in better shape, so it's more than possible that Asian central banks will allow further gains.
The Japanese yen will become less of a driver for Asian foreign exchange and the influence of the yuan will grow.
From March, the year-on-year inflation rate will probably come off quite substantially.
I see more interest rate hikes and this will dampen domestic consumption. Also, the coming 50 percent increase in fuel prices will have a major impact on inflation.
The economy is improving and there is a case building for the central bank to hike rates. We will look to short the bonds on price rallies.
China is now a more important trading partner than Japan.
This will be the sovereign benchmark for Singapore. This is a high-grade issue and there will be solid demand for the bonds.
For North Asia, Korea is the prime candidate to see consumption-led demand in 2006, given the turnaround of domestic spending.
If we see uncertainty easing, we expect investment to come back. It would be a boost to the economy.
