Asia's Economies Can Embrace Services to Boost Growth and Productivity

October 30, 2024--Manufacturing has been the engine of growth in Asia, but a transition to modern, tradable services could be new source of growth and productivity
The Asia-Pacific region prospered by becoming the source of more than half of global factory output, but another transformation to higher-productivity services has the potential to further support growth.

Employment and production typically move from agriculture to manufacturing to services, as part of natural progression that comes with rising income.

Today, many Asian countries-including China, Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand-are highly industrialized. If history is a guide, industry's share of production will shrink as more activity passes to services.

Indeed, the growth of services has already drawn about half of the region's workers into that sector, up from just 22 percent in 1990, as hundreds of millions moved from farms and factories.

view more

view more


China economic database update

November 17, 2025-The monthly update of the China Economic Database highlights a consistent trend of decreasing fixed asset investment in China, including in the real estate sector which shows no signs of bottoming out. This update incorporates data published today by China's National Bureau of Statistic.

view more

Samsung Active Asset Management Launches KoAct US Biohealthcare Active ETF, Benchmarking the Solactive US Biohealthcare Index

November 11, 2025-Solactive is pleased to announce its collaboration with Samsung Active Asset Management on the launch of the KoAct US Biohealthcare Active ETF,which uses the Solactive US Biohealthcare Index as a benchmark. The product aims to provide investors with targeted exposure to US-listed biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies,reflecting the momentum of groundbreaking healthcare innovation.

view more