Based in Paris, BNP Paribas' Economic Research Department is composed of economists and statisticians:
The Economic Research department’s mission is to cater to the economic research needs of the clients, business lines and functions of BNP Paribas. Our team of economists and statisticians covers a large number of advanced, developing and emerging countries, the real economy, financial markets and banking. As we foster the sharing of our research output with anyone who is interested in the economic situation or who needs insight into specific economic issues, this website presents our analysis, videos and podcasts.
+33(0)1 42 98 56 27 christine.peltier@bnpparibas.com
The economy continues to recover. Initially driven by a rebound in industrial production and investment, the recovery broadened over the summer months. Exports have rebounded and activity has also picked up in the services sector. Yet it continues to be strained by the timid rebound in household consumption, which is far from returning to normal levels. The unemployment rate began to fall right again after the end of lockdown measures, but this decline has been accompanied by an increase in precarious jobs and large disparities, with the unskilled and young college graduates being particularly hard hit.
China’s economic dynamics continued to improve in August 2020. As seen in our monthly Pulse, the expansion of the blue area compared to the dotted area shows a more widespread recovery in activity. Whereas the improvement since March was initially driven by the rebound in industrial production and investment in public infrastructure and real estate, it has now reached other parts of the economy [...]
Activity indicators for July reflected the continued recovery of the Chinese economy. Real GDP growth already rebounded to 3.2% year-on-year in Q2 2020, up from a 6.8% contraction in Q1. The acceleration in investment growth since March has been driven mainly by public infrastructure projects, the construction and the real estate sectors, which have been supported by the government’s stimulus measures. Manufacturing investment has recovered more slowly, held back by the financial difficulties of corporates, particularly amongst SMEs. In the second half of 2020, investment in public infrastructure is set to remain strong, helped by continued expansionary fiscal policy
China’s economic dynamics continued to improve in June. In fact, real GDP rebounded by 11.5% quarter-on-quarter (-3.2% year-on-year), which was strong enough to completely regain the ground that was lost in Q1...
The economy has been recovering gradually since March, and the rebound in real GDP was strong enough in Q2 2020 to enable it to recover rapidly the ground lost in Q1. Yet the shock triggered by the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown measures has severely weakened some sectors (such as export-oriented industries), some corporates (notably micro-enterprises and SMEs) and some households (especially low-income earners). The central bank has cautiously eased credit conditions and the government has introduced a stimulus plan estimated at about 5 points of GDP for 2020. Public investment in infrastructure projects remains the instrument of choice, but direct support to corporates and households is also expected to boost private demand.
The shock triggered by the Covid-19 epidemic has been violent and has hit an already very fragile economy. Over the past five years, economic growth has averaged only 0.8% and the country has slipped into recession since mid-2019. The economic contraction and the deterioration in public finances will be on an unprecedented scale in 2020. Real GDP may well not return to its pre-crisis level before 2025. The government has been adept in adjusting its financing strategy to cover its needs, which have increased steeply following the introduction of the fiscal stimulus plan. The support expected from multilateral lenders in the short term is reassuring, but trends in government debt will continue to be a concern over the medium term.
The economy has been recovering gradually since March, and the rebound in real GDP should be strong enough to enable it to recover rapidly the ground lost in the first quarter. Yet the shock triggered by the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown measures has severely weakened some sectors (such as export-oriented industries), some corporates (notably micro-enterprises and SMEs) and some households (especially low-income earners). The central bank has cautiously eased credit conditions and the government has introduced a stimulus plan estimated at about 5 points of GDP for 2020. Public investment in infrastructure projects remains the instrument of choice, but direct support to corporates and households is also expected to boost private demand.
Our barometer shows an improvement in China’s economic momentum during the period between March and May 2020, compared to the preceding three months. This came as no surprise as economic activity collapsed in February, the first month of the lockdown, before beginning a very gradual recovery in March...
Economic activity contracted sharply in February, the first month of the lockdown, before rebounding very gradually in March and April. The recovery is bound to be very slow after this brutal first-quarter shock [...]
China’s population and its economy were the first to be struck by the coronavirus epidemic. Activity contracted abruptly during the month of February before rebounding thereafter at a very gradual pace. Although the situation on the supply side is expected to return to normal in Q2, the demand shock will persist. Domestic investment and consumption will suffer from the effects of lost household and corporate revenues while world demand is falling. The authorities still have substantial resources to intervene to help restart the economy. Central government finances are not threatened. However, after the shock to GDP growth, the expected upsurge in domestic debt ratios will once again aggravate vulnerabilities in the financial sector.
The coronavirus crisis has hit a fast-growing economy, which expanded by more than 6% year-on-year in H2 2019 and looked set to continue at the same pace in 2020. The pandemic and the very strict lockdown imposed by the Duterte government will cause all the engines of growth to seize up: production will stop in the country’s economic centre, the fall in domestic demand will be exacerbated by reductions in remittances from workers abroad and losses in the informal economy, tourism will collapse and exports of goods and services will follow suit. This is a substantial shock, but the strong macroeconomic fundamentals and the modest level of government debt give the authorities scope to introduce support measures.
The Covid-19 pandemic strikes an economy that has already been weakened by several quarters of decline in merchandise exports, tourism, private consumption and investment. Since February, the government has launched a major fiscal stimulus plan representing about 10% of GDP. The plan includes direct support measures in favour of corporates and households. Additional structural measures will be needed going forward, in order to fuel a sustainable rebound in private demand and bolster medium-term economic growth prospects. Thanks to abundant fiscal reserves and minimal debt, the government has comfortable manoeuvring room to pursue an expansionist policy for several years to come.
The most recent PMIs announced the shock earlier this month: industrial production fell strongly in January-February 2020, declining by 13.5% year-on-year. China also registered a very severe contraction in total exports (-18% y/y), fixed-asset investment (-24.5%) and volumes of retail sales (-23.7%). Such a collapse in economic activity is an unprecedented situation in China, which is expected to record a contraction in real GDP in Q1 2020. Activity has been recovering gradually in recent days, and a rebound in real GDP growth is expected in Q2 2020, notably supported by the authorities’ stimulus policy measures
A large number of economic sectors have been struggling with the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on Chinese consumer demand, transport, tourist flows and industrial production chains. Over the past month, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has loosened monetary and credit conditions in order to support local corporates, help them cover their cash requirements et encourage a rapid recovery in activity. PBOC has injected a large amount of liquidity into the financial system, reduced interest rates – monetary rates, medium-term lending facility rate and benchmark lending rate – and announced special loans to firms directly affected by the virus outbreak. As a result, the weighted average lending rate, which has declined since Q2 2018 (from 5.94% to 5
In 2019, economic growth slowed to 6.1%. Total exports contracted and domestic demand continued to weaken. The year 2020 is getting off to a better start as activity shows a few signs of recovering and a preliminary trade agreement was just signed with the United States. Yet economic growth prospects are still looking downbeat in 2020. The rebalancing of China’s growth sources is proving to be a long and hard process, and economic policy is increasingly complex to manage. Faced with this situation, Beijing might decide to give new impetus to the structural reform process, the only solution that will maintain the newfound optimism and boost economic prospects in the medium term.
Taiwan’s export sector has been hit by the slowdown in trade between China and the United States since spring 2018, but it has also benefited rapidly from some of the positive effects of the trade war. US importers have replaced certain Chinese products with goods purchased directly from Taiwan. Plus the US-China trade war provides Taiwanese manufacturing corporates an incentive to leave Mainland China and relocate production in Taiwan, with firm government support. Thanks to these developments, Taiwan’s economy reported stronger than expected growth in 2019, and this trend should continue in 2020.
Economic growth has averaged only 1% per year since 2015, and weakened further in H1 2019. Exports have suffered from slower world demand growth while structural constraints have weighed heavily on investment, which has declined continuously since early 2018. Major power outages have disrupted activity in 2019: they result from the severe troubles of state-owned company Eskom, and illustrate well the country’s lack of infrastructure. Only steady progress in the structural reform process will allow investment to recover in the medium term. Meanwhile, real GDP growth is expected to remain low (projected at 0.4% in 2019 and 0.8% in 2020) and policymakers’ room for manoeuvre to boost domestic demand is very narrow
Economic growth slowed to 6.0% y/y in Q3 2019 from 6.4% in Q4 2018. This is well under the annual average of 8% recorded over the past decade: the structural slowdown continues, aggravated since last year by the consequences of US protectionist measures on exports. Growth in private consumption has also decelerated, delaying the process of rebalancing of Chinese growth sources. Fiscal and monetary policy easing measures have been multiplied, and their impact on domestic demand should be visible in the last quarter of 2019.
