The economic landscape across the Asia Pacific region remains challenging, with consumption expenditure moderating from the post-pandemic surge and higher cost-of-living pressures weighing on households. Despite these headwinds, bright spots persist, including signs of a turnaround in global trade and easing inflationary pressures. We expect Asia’s economic outlook to be uneven, with China’s growth projected to decelerate further to 5.0 percent this year and 4.4 percent in 2025, while Japan’s economy should pick up starting next year, with growth expectations of 1.4 percent in 2025. Other major Asia Pacific economies, such as Australia, South Korea and Singapore, could see their economies expand by between 2.0 percent and 2.5 percent in 2025.

Country-specific themes continue to shape the investment climate across the Asia Pacific region. Further policy rate hikes by the Bank of Japan hinge on addressing the challenges of inflation volatility, higher wage-growth expectat