Asia Economist and CEO, Centennial Asia Advisors

Manu Bhaskaran

Asia Economist and CEO

Centennial Asia Advisors

At Centennial Asia Advisors, we tell it like it is. We have no vested interests, no need for a China wall, and no reason to skew our outlook any other way. With over 30 years experience covering Asia’s political economy, you can be sure our conclusions and analyses are based on the unadulterated facts. Through years of fine-tuning our research methodologies, we deliver a quality of macroeconomic analysis few other houses can match.

Centennial Asia Advisors is an independent research and advisory firm that works with governments, multilateral institutions, financial firms and leading MNCs.

Economic Policy and Strategic Advisors

Macroeconomics

Prime Minister Modi appears to be making a renewed effort to push reforms including in contentious areas such as labour laws:<ul><li>
Labour laws being tweaked: The Cabinet is discussing fixed-term employment contracts that reduce the disparity in wages and incentives between contractual and permanent workers. The government also aims to bear the 12% of employers’ contribution of the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme to leave more money in the hands of the workers and promote employment in the formal…</li></ul>

Prime Minister Modi appears to be making a renewed effort to push reforms including in contentious areas such as labour laws:
Labour laws being tweaked: The Cabinet is discussing fixed-term employment contracts that reduce the disparity in wages and incentives between contractual and permanent workers. The government also aims to bear the 12% of employers’ contribution of the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme to leave more money in the hands of the workers and promote employment in the formal…

<ul><li>The global environment appears more and more threatening to Asian economies, with rising risks of currency market volatility in Asia. In this context, we see the credibility of central banks and how appropriately valued their currencies as crucial determinants of resilience in the face of potential shocks.</li><li>We examined inflation differentials to identify which currencies could be under threat and which would be relatively more robust.</li></ul>

The global environment appears more and more threatening to Asian economies, with rising risks of currency market volatility in Asia. In this context, we see the credibility of central banks and how appropriately valued their currencies as crucial determinants of resilience in the face of potential shocks.We examined inflation differentials to identify which currencies could be under threat and which would be relatively more robust.

Asian Currencies: What Inflation Differentials Show

Asia focused research insights & advisory, Asia Advisors

Vinay Patel

Asia focused research insights & advisory

Asia Advisors

Asia Advisors is an independent financial advisory and research firm working closely with corporates and institutions to provide consulting solutions & research insights. We provide advisory services including capital solutions, business strategy and investment insights.
Firm is headed by Vinay Patel who has close to two decades of experience in research and business development at large, international investment banks such as HSBC and ICICI Securities. Led research efforts in areas of Macroeconomics, Asset Allocation & Investment Strategy for close to a decade in global & domestic research teams. As a business head in Singapore, advised top global investment management firms & Portfolio managers in Asia for India related investments.
Vinay was recently joined by Swapnil Manish, an investment banker and ex-ecommerce entrepreneur with more than 12 years of experience. Swapnil was the TMT banker at BNP Paribas and was part of several large M&A and ECM transactions (Bharti-Zain, Bharti Infratel IPO, Schneider-Zicom among several others). He's also had a stint as an ecommerce entrepreneur having launched & led Mumbai's first online grocery player.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The reforms credentials of Modi government have been dented with news of exit of Raghuram Rajan, Governor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September. Rajan is widely credited for initiating monetary policy reforms, maintaining the independence of RBI and also raising its stature as a strong institution globally. Failure to retain him will cost the economy in the medium to long run especially if any of the reforms undertaken are diluted. Many of the critics of Rajan state that a country does not…

The reforms credentials of Modi government have been dented with news of exit of Raghuram Rajan, Governor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September. Rajan is widely credited for initiating monetary policy reforms, maintaining the independence of RBI and also raising its stature as a strong institution globally. Failure to retain him will cost the economy in the medium to long run especially if any of the reforms undertaken are diluted. Many of the critics of Rajan state that a country does not…

Post Rajan World: Potential Red Flags to Watch & Why Strong Personality Head Imp in EMs Institutions

Chief Economist & Political Strategist, CrossASEAN Research

Prasenjit K. Basu

Chief Economist & Political Strategist

REAL-Economics.com

We consider any sell-off in INR or India equities upon Raghuram Rajan's announced departure from the RBI a buying opportunity. India under Modi/NDA can manage comfortably without Raghu, given low current account and fiscal deficits, and positive real interest rates (which existed in the final 3 years of NDA1 too). UPA desperately needed Raghu in Sept 2013 because India was otherwise headed for a full-blown Balance of Payments crisis -- having already suffered currency crises in 2011 and 2013.  …

We consider any sell-off in INR or India equities upon Raghuram Rajan's announced departure from the RBI a buying opportunity. India under Modi/NDA can manage comfortably without Raghu, given low current account and fiscal deficits, and positive real interest rates (which existed in the final 3 years of NDA1 too). UPA desperately needed Raghu in Sept 2013 because India was otherwise headed for a full-blown Balance of Payments crisis -- having already suffered currency crises in 2011 and 2013.  …

India: Fiscally Conservative Government Doesn't Need a Global Finance Star

<ul>
<li>
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will step down: Rajan informed RBI staff that he will step down when his 3-year term ends on 4th September. He indicated that he had been willing to carry on but “after consultation with the government”, he had decided he would return to academia.</li>
<li>Over the past twenty years, virtually all RBI governors had been given an extension on their first 3-year term so Rajan’s departure is unusual. Rajan had come under attack from parliamentarians from the…</li>
</ul>



Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will step down: Rajan informed RBI staff that he will step down when his 3-year term ends on 4th September. He indicated that he had been willing to carry on but “after consultation with the government”, he had decided he would return to academia.
Over the past twenty years, virtually all RBI governors had been given an extension on their first 3-year term so Rajan’s departure is unusual. Rajan had come under attack from parliamentarians from the…


India: RBI Governor Bids Adieu, India Loses a Game Changer

India

iShares MSCI India ETF is an exchange-traded fund incorporated in the USA. The ETF seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI India Index.

iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA US)

India: Deregulation a Boost to FDI

Prime Minister Modi appears to be making a renewed effort to push reforms including in contentious areas such as labour laws: Labour laws being...

Manu Bhaskaran

Asian Currencies: What Inflation Differentials Show

The global environment appears more and more threatening to Asian economies, with rising risks of currency market volatility in Asia. In this...

Manu Bhaskaran

Post Rajan World: Potential Red Flags to Watch & Why Strong Personality Head Imp in EMs Institutions

The reforms credentials of Modi government have been dented with news of exit of Raghuram Rajan, Governor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September....

Asia Advisors

India: Fiscally Conservative Government Doesn't Need a Global Finance Star

We consider any sell-off in INR or India equities upon Raghuram Rajan's announced departure from the RBI a buying opportunity. India under Modi/NDA...

Prasenjit K. Basu

India: RBI Governor Bids Adieu, India Loses a Game Changer

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will step down: Rajan informed RBI staff that he will step down when his 3-year term ends on...

Manu Bhaskaran