Welcome to Your Week in Asia.
Newly installed Vietnamese President To Lam, who has the rare status of also being leader of the Communist Party, heads to China to meet Xi Jinping, who holds both titles in his own country. Vietnam-China ties have been warming amid closer business cooperation, although Hanoi and Beijing remain at odds over the South China Sea.
India has already faced a significant impact from the Iran war, from its stock market to the rupee to factory operations. Although the nation’s central bank opted on Wednesday to hold its key policy rate at the existing level, the conflict’s impact on energy prices and various inputs is raising the question of whether India’s low inflation rate will start to tick upward. Data on that as well as the trade impact of the war will be published this week.
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TUESDAY
To Lam visits China
Two of the world’s last communist party bosses meet as Vietnam’s To Lam flies to China on the invitation of Xi Jinping. This marks Lam’s first state visit since he took the rare step of holding two of Hanoi’s most powerful posts and became president a week prior.
Philippine committee hearing on Sara Duterte impeachment
The Philippines’ House of Representatives’ justice committee resumes deliberations on the merits of the impeachment complaints lodged against Vice President Sara Duterte. Her team continues to question the proceedings, which began in February after a one-year Supreme Court prohibition.
Monetary policy: Singapore
Data: Singapore gross domestic product, China trade
WEDNESDAY
Opening of Canton Fair
China opens the Canton Fair, its largest trade show, in Guangzhou, with exhibitors touting everything from vehicles and electronics to furniture and toys. This spring’s expo, which runs until early May, comes as companies in China and around the world grapple with supply chain disruptions from the Iran war.
Indian inflation and trade data
India is set to report its March consumer inflation data as well as its trade balance for the same month. As the third-largest importer of crude oil in the world, the country is extremely sensitive to the energy price increases set off by the Iran war. In February, inflation came in at 3.2%, still within the central bank’s tolerance band of 2% to 6%. The Middle East conflict is also expected to have hit shipments of goods, particularly to the region, as well their production.
THURSDAY
TSMC earnings
TSMC announces first-quarter earnings. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom, logging record annual profit for 2025. This time around, analysts and investors will be watching for any updates to its capital expenditure plans, outlook for AI demand and impacts from the conflict in the Middle East on the tech industry.
Earnings: Wipro
Data: China GDP
FRIDAY
Data: Malaysia inflation
SATURDAY
Indian bank earnings
Indian banking heavyweights HDFC and ICICI are set to report their earnings as the wider sector recovers from a slate of controversies in recent weeks. The unexpected resignation of HDFC Bank Chairman Atanu Chakraborty triggered a wipeout worth billions of dollars from the sector leader’s market capitalization, while fraud at an IDFC First Bank branch also jolted the industry, forcing the Reserve Bank of India to give assurances that banking did not face any systemic risks.