Chief Economist & Political Strategist, CrossASEAN Research

Prasenjit K. Basu

PK Basu has 34 years experience covering Asia's economies and markets (equities, fixed income and currencies), including 20 years covering the global economy. He was Chief Economist (SE Asia & India) at Credit Suisse First Boston for 5 years, and Chief Asia (x-Jpn) Economist at Daiwa Securities for a similar period. Among other roles, he was global head of research at Maybank Kim Eng, Malaysia equity research head and chief ASEAN economist at Macquarie, Chief Economist at ICICI Securities, ASEAN economist at UBS and the first chief economist at Khazanah Nasional (where he was co-head of research, and led all agri-business initiatives). PK Basu started his career in the Asia Service of WEFA (Wharton Econometrics) in Philadelphia in 1990, rising to be Director of their Asia Service in June 1994. 
PK's book, "Asia Reborn: A continent rises from the ravages of Colonialism and War to a New Dynamism" won the Tata Literature First Book Award (non-fiction) for 2018. It is the first single chronicle of the modern economic and political history of the whole of Asia (from Iraq and Turkey to Korea and Japan, and everything in between), told from an Asian perspective.

Chief Economist & Political Strategist

India: The Economy Is Turning Around Despite the RBI's Huge Policy Error

Gujarat Election Setback: Modi Needs a Growth Revival Well Before May 2019

India: Government In "RURAL" Overdrive, Risks and the Opportunities

Low Inflation and Poor Industrial Growth Figures = The Time Is Right for Rate Cuts by RBI

India: Trim Positions in an Overvalued Market Compounded by RBI Policy Error

India: Has the Modi Govt Done Better than UPA on Industrial Activity in the Country?

REAL-Economics.com

Macroeconomics

-Although the RBI is likely to admit its policy error and cut its policy rate by 25bp on 2nd August, the MPC will still be behind the curve (as inflation is far below its "4% YoY in the next 5 years" target). With inflation at record lows and industrial growth desultory, India needs a 50bp cut now, but is unlikely to get it. -The sharp widening in the trade deficit over the past half-year (with imports surging despite the absence of any rebound in domestic demand) suggests that the rupee has…

-Although the RBI is likely to admit its policy error and cut its policy rate by 25bp on 2nd August, the MPC will still be behind the curve (as inflation is far below its "4% YoY in the next 5 years" target). With inflation at record lows and industrial growth desultory, India needs a 50bp cut now, but is unlikely to get it. -The sharp widening in the trade deficit over the past half-year (with imports surging despite the absence of any rebound in domestic demand) suggests that the rupee has…

India: Cyclical Downturn Is Getting Worse as the RBI Sleeps; the Rupee Needs to Depreciate