Taper tantrum nightmares won’t haunt Asia’s emerging markets

Bigger risk: A security guard walks in front of a Covid-19 poster in Bangkok. Rather than the Fed, the biggest risk for EMs now is a worsening virus outbreak as the delta variant spreads through the region. — AFP

NEW YORK: For all the worries of emerging markets (EMs) staring down a repeat of the 2013 Taper Tantrum, policymakers in Asia should be considerably more calm.

Unlike then – when the Federal Reserve sent shock waves through global markets with surprise plans to unwind its massive monetary stimulus programmes – Asian emerging economies are largely in stronger positions, while the Fed has signalled a longer lead-time on any change.