Asia set to raise rates, but will still lag US Fed

Hong Kong

TIGHTER monetary policy is coming to Asia next year. Yet it will lag the US Federal Reserve's rate hikes as Asian central banks balance an exports-led revival in growth with a slowdown in regional locomotive China.

That will mark a shift from a few months ago when most economists expected Asian policymakers to hold their ground or even ease further, but the trade windfall behind a synchronised uptick in global growth is seen as lasting longer.