East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

Korea March data finally showed a fall in offshore buying by residents, only to be replaced by domestic selling by foreigners. Taiwan's April trade data show limited Iran impact. Japan wage growth in March was strong, but only at the headline level. And my latest video, on why Taiwan macro matters.

Paul Cavey

May 8, 2026 • 3 min read

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Taiwan – limited impact yet

April trade data show little damage from the Iran war. If the crisis remains limited to energy prices, Taiwan should be somewhat insulated. Energy imports are small relative to chip exports, and while import prices will rise, export prices are now also increasing for the first time in a generation.

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Taiwan – why macro matters

Latest video, discussing one of my main themes: that Taiwan macro is more relevant for global investors than it has been for a long time.

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Korea – from foreign buying to foreigner selling

March data offer more evidence that the KRW just can't get a break. Finally, retail outflows into foreign assets eased, only to be replaced by huge domestic selling by overseas investors. That has normalised in April, so perhaps investors are realising that a CA surplus of 20%+ of GDP should matter