As Southeast Asia Central banks retreat, focus shifts to budgets

(Feb 2): Governments in Southeast Asia are ramping up spending just as central banks are putting away their policy-easing tools.

From Thailand to Malaysia, states are boosting budgets for railways, roads and other infrastructure projects to help bolster growth in a region facing uncertain global markets and the threat of a pullback in trade under U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Fiscal is going to be the main story this year,” said Selena Ling, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “All of these countries don’t really have much room for cutting rates further. Their currencies may weaken more if rates are lower.”

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