Korea's Rapid Aging Doesn't Have to Be Economic Destiny
April 3, 2025--Boosting AI adoption, increasing labor participation, and allocating resources more efficiently can help offset the economic drag from an aging population
Strong economic fundamentals and sound macroeconomic policies have helped the Korean economy through multiple shocks in recent years. However, potential growth has slowed more quickly than in other major advanced economies, and the economic expansion is likely to moderate this year.
The country also is aging more rapidly than almost all others. That's likely to reduce the labor supply and weigh on investment demand, further lowering growth and diminishing living standards. Aging could shrink the labor force by more than a quarter by 2050, leading to an average annual decline of 0.67 percentage point in potential growth, according to our latest Article IV report.
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Source: IMF
Japan: 2025 Article IV Consultation
April 2, 2025-Summary
After three decades of near-zero inflation, signs are growing that Japan's economy is reaching a new equilibrium with inflation sustained at the Bank of Japan's 2 percent headline inflation target.
But Japan continues to face challenges, including from its aging population and high public debt.
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Source: IMF.org
Spotlight on STAR Market Amid Tech-driven Rise in China
April 2, 2025-- As of March 31, China's technology sector has demonstrated exceptional resilience and growth, underscored by the strong performance of key indices such as the STAR AI Index and the STAR Growth Index, recording year-to-date increases of 18% and 12%, respectively.
The STAR market's growing prominence has sparked significant interest among fund managers, with over 30 fund companies now offering STAR market-related index products. Among these, E Fund Management ("E Fund"), the largest mutual fund manager in China, has emerged as a leader in this space.
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Source: E Fund Management
HashKey Group and Bosera Launch World's First Tokenised Money Market ETF
March 28, 2025-The newly launched Money Market ETF will pioneer the integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology
HashKey Group ("HashKey"), a leading end-to-end digital asset financial services group in Asia, and Bosera Asset Management (International) Co., Limited ("Bosera") today announce the launch of the tokenised money market ETFs, Bosera HKD Money Market ETF (Tokenised Class) and Bosera USD Money Market ETF (Tokenised Class), which have been approved by Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and will be formally launched in April.
The ETFs are one of the use cases in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKM's) Project Ensemble Sandbox, which explores innovative tokenisation of real-world assets (RWAs).
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Source: HashKey Group
Southeast Asia's Economies Can Gain Most by Packaging Ambitious Reforms
March 25, 2024--Combining overhauls in areas including business and external regulation, governance, and human development can boost output levels by 3 percent over four years.
Southeast Asia's major economies have made major strides over the last couple of decades.
The largest have seen income per capita grow at least three-fold over the past 20 years amid global integration and prudent policymaking. Vietnam now enjoys an income level that's 11 times higher than in 2000. Building on such gains to close the region's gap with high-income countries-an ambition for many seeking to break from the so-called middle-income trap-while challenging, is in reach.
view more/a> E Fund: Harnessing AI Trends in China to Drive Innovation and Enhance ETF Offerings view more Viet Nam's Economy Forecast to Grow 6.8 Percent In 2025: WB
view more/a> Coinbase returns to India: Crypto exchange confirms securing FIU regulatory nod
In 2023, the Union government brought virtual digital assets (VDAs) such as cryptocurrencies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
view more Viet Nam's Economy Forecast to Grow 6.8 Percent In 2025: WB
view more KB Asset Management Launches KB RISE US Quantum Computing ETF, Tracking the Solactive US Quantum Computing Technology Index
Transformative quantum computing technology will immensely boost the computational capabilities across industries and accelerate global technological advancement.
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Source: imf.org
March 17, 2025-- The recent AI model developed by DeepSeek has taken the world by surprise and triggered a rally in Chinese tech stocks. As of March 12th, Wind data showed that the CSI Artificial Intelligence index recorded an impressive year-to-date gain of 14.7%.
The significant reduction in deployment costs for large language models has fueled widespread adoption across finance, government, and healthcare, while Chinese tech giants like Alibaba, Baidu, and Huawei are rapidly integrating DeepSeek into their ecosystems. This momentum signals an imminent explosion in AI applications and end-user devices, reshaping industries and driving innovation.
Source: E Fund Management
March 12, 2025--Viet Nam's real GDP is projected to grow 6.8 percent in 2025 and 6.5 percent in 2026, according to the World Bank’s latest economic update report for Viet Nam-Taking Stock, released today.
A rebound in exports, powered by the global demand for technology products, supported growth in 2024. However, the momentum is expected to slow this year. The main uncertainties to the growth outlook stem from slower-than-expected global growth and trade disruptions, particularly among Viet Nam's major trading partners.
Source: worldbank.org
March 12, 2025--The announcement comes more than a year after Coinbase ceased operations in India due to regulatory challenges with UPI services.
US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase confirmed on Tuesday, March 11, that it has secured the necessary approvals from the country's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to re-enter the Indian crypto trading market.
"Coinbase plans to launch its initial retail services later this year, followed by additional investment and products in India thereafter," the company said in a press release. The announcement comes more than a year after Coinbase ceased operations in India due to regulatory challenges with UPI services.
Source: indianexpress.com
March 12, 2025—Viet Nam''s real GDP is projected to grow 6.8 percent in 2025 and 6.5 percent in 2026., according to the World Bank's latest economic update report for Viet Nam-Taking Stock, released today.
A rebound in exports, powered by the global demand for technology products, supported growth in 2024. However, the momentum is expected to slow this year. The main uncertainties to the growth outlook stem from slower-than-expected global growth and trade disruptions, particularly among Viet Nam's major trading partners.
Source: World Bank
March 11, 2025--Solactive is pleased to strengthen the partnership with KB Asset Management with the launch of KB RISE US Quantum Computing ETF, tracking the Solactive US Quantum Computing Technology Index. Designed to capture the growth of the leading innovators in the quantum computing industry, the index aims to offer investors targeted exposure to companies at the forefront of quantum technology.
The quantum computing market has experienced rapid growth, expedited by the recent breakthroughs in both physical hardware and software algorithms, in which they collectively provide the foundational framework for groundbreaking achievements in extensive technology domains such as drug discovery, battery chemistry, multi-variable logistics, autonomous vehicles, and precise asset pricing.
Source: Solactive AG
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