Gives time till July 25 for suggestions on market access, data protection, fixation rights in IPs To maximise benefits from the proposed India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Commerce Ministry has sent out a detailed consultation format to trade and industry associations and other stakeholders for listing out precisely their priority areas, specific areas of interest, justifiable suggestions on what the pact should achieve, existing positions & challenges and concerns related to the exercise…………..
Source: The Hindu Businessline
India SME Forum, which has more than 86,000 members from about 270 different industries, has pleaded the PM to save the MSME sector from negative trickle down impact of the proposed measures. The country's largest association of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to "relook" at the "growing compliance burden for ecommerce" in the proposed amendments to ecommerce regulations. India SME Forum, which has more than 86,000 members from about 270 different industries, has pleaded the PM to save the MSME sector from negative trickle down impact of the proposed measures. The new amendments proposed in the Consumer Protection (ecommerce) Rules 2020 will be "counterproductive for the growth of the ecommerce sector overall and the MSMEs dependent on the ecommerce sector", it said. Almost 70% of SME Forum's members are engaged in selling products online with majority of them involved in B2B or business-to-business dealings while about 30% of them sell their products directly to consumers through various marketplaces. "Many of the amendments may act as a roadblock to the sales prosperity unlocked by ecommerce marketplaces for MSMEs in their present form," the letter by SME Forum said. ET has seen a copy of the letter dated June 27, coinciding with International MSME Day. The consumer affairs ministry had on June 21 unveiled the draft proposal aimed at further tightening rules for This follows years of unabated allegations by small vendors and trade bodies that large ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart rampantly flouted rules. The bill also seeks to strengthen consumer protections. The ministry is currently seeking views from various stakeholders in the online retailing ecosystem. "On one hand you are technologically and digitally motivating everybody to get online in the new digital India, (and) on the other hand you are culling their very ability to reach out to the consumer and to get more people onboard," said Vinod Kumar, president of SME Forum. "That is contrary to your role in the first place."
Source: Economic Times
The Jharkhand government on Tuesday gave its nod to new Industrial and Investment Policy 2021 to attract fresh investments in the state, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said. The approval was given to the policy at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Soren. "Cabinet has approved a new industrial policy to attract investments in the state in a better manner," Soren said after the cabinet meeting. Earlier in March this year showcasing Jharkhand as one of the most attractive investment destinations, the state government had urged industry players to come forward to invest in proposed projects with investment potential of Rs 1 lakh crore and reap rich dividends. Promising that the Jharkhand government did not believe in selling "glass as diamonds", it said it was ready to offer lucrative sops to industry players for investing in the state that alone houses India''s 40 per cent of mineral wealth with 33 percent of forest cover. Making a strong case for investment in the state, Soren had said, "If you are looking to invest in agro and food processing, textiles, automobile, electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and electronic system design and manufacturing to name a few areas, Jharkhand promises exciting opportunities." He was addressing a meeting to come out with a Jharkhand industrial investment and promotion policy in consultation with stakeholders. "Jharkhand has huge potential in all the areas, be it in mines and minerals, forest produce, textiles or vegetables....Entire country knows Tatas...This is the region where he set his foothold...This is the place which saw gigantic establishments like HEC, steel, coal, power and fertiliser and other plants. "Unfortunately soon after taking charge as CM, the entire country faced this pandemic...Now it is the mission and vision of this government to take it forward on the path of progress with steely resolve," Soren had said. Apart from being a mineral-rich state, Jharkhand ranks second in the country in production of tomatoes, fifth in peas and beans, sixth in cabbage, okra and cauliflower and has over 175 minor forest produce with 33 per cent forest cover. The policy entails subsidy, sops and land for investors. The Jharkhand cabinet also okayed a proposal to provide incentive amount equivalent to one month''s honorarium to outsourced personnel deputed for coronavirus related work in the control rooms of COVID hospitals among others.
Source: Outlook India
Assam handloom and textile minister Urkhao Gwra Brahma on Tuesday took stock of the various sericulture projects in Udalguri district. He inspected the various projects in the vicinity of the office of the sericulture department and visited eri and mulberry farms, eri cocoon bank, muga silk worm rearing, silk weaving, reeling and spinning units in the district. The minister also sought to get a glimpse of the present schemes being implemented and future course of action of the sericulture office. A number of officials of the Udalguri district administration and sericulture department of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) were present on the occasion. Udalguri has an excellent track record as a model district in the entire BTR region in terms of production of eri, muga and mulberry silk. The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) region, covering Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri enjoys the unique distinction of producing all three varieties of commercially exploited natural silks. The Bodo belt is the largest producer of eri silk in Assam after Karbi Anglong. Nearly 51,195 families are directly involved in the business of sericulture.
Source: North East Now
Digital adoption by MSMEs has seen a twofold rise, driven by first-time digital adoption from small businesses in tier-2 and 3 towns. Fintech companies say there has been a significant demand for various digital business management services like e-invoices, cloud-based bookkeeping, integrated interface to file GST returns, creating payment vouchers for vendors and salary slips for employees since March 2021. It is primarily driven by traders, retailers, wholesalers and other small businesses. Digital payments and financial services company PhonePe saw the number of offline merchants onboarding its platform double since last year. Its VP of offline business development Vivek Lohcheb says, “We have over 20 million offline merchants who accept PhonePe across 11,000 towns and 4,000 talukas across the country, from 10 million merchants accepting PhonePe across 300 cities in March 2020. A majority of these merchants are MSMEs such as kiranas and neighbourhood shops like pharmacies and street food stalls among others. And there has been a 300% growth in merchant onboarding from tier-2,3,4 towns and villages in the last year. For online payment gateway platform Razorpay, about 51% of online transactions happened through MSMEs from tier-2 and 3 towns. It's business head of SME Vedanarayan Vedantham says they saw over 1.5 million MSMEs adopt digital payment solutions for the first time during this period. And its digital transaction volume has grown by 200% from smaller towns. Chattisgarh-based fintech startup GimBooks, which offers cloud-based business management and accounting platform for SMEs, saw the number of MSME enrolment on its platform grow by 2x-3x between March 2020 and June 2021. The mobile-first business management firm’s CEO and founder Yash Raj Agarwal says, “We have been steadily adding 20% higher number of MSME units on a monthly basis. We have seen a 33% price increase in the services offered; i.e., our yearly plan or subscription has increased from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,400 currently.” Even companies that trade in industrial goods like wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors have adopted the digital mode of bookkeeping. It offers a cloud-based mobile-first business management platform with the solutions like invoicing, bookkeeping, creating payment vouchers for vendors and salary slips for employees, domain-based bookkeeping ensuring businesses stay compliant, and an integrated interface to file GST returns. For fintech firm Payoneer India, which offers online money transfer, digital payment services, it saw a 22% growth in Indian MSME volume post lockdown in 2020 till now. With over two lakh micro, small and medium sized businesses on its platform currently, its vice-president Rohit Kulkarni says, “Users under the ecommerce business segment; i.e., MSMEs like goods sellers who sell on ecommerce portals has grown by 20-22% YoY. Businesses like textiles, herbal products, teas to newer sectors like toys, home and kitchen were the key categories of ecommerce exports from India.” There is a huge demand for micro SMEs like freelancers who offer services like coding, software development, photography and others. “Post lockdown, a lot of businesses adopted cross border ecommerce channels. We saw good traction from tier 2 and tier 3 towns in ecommerce growth. For example, Udaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Erode and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu were amongst the largest growth markets in ecommerce growth,” he added.
Source: Times Of India
Sudden pick-up in e-way bills after May dip signals recovery, says govt Gross goods and services tax (GST) collections, after remaining above the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for eight months in a row, came in at Rs 92,849 crore in June (May transactions), reflecting the blow to the economy from a virtually pan-India lockdown. The government, however, said thanks to reduction in Covid-19 case numbers and easing of the lockdowns, e-way bills generation by businesses rose to 5.5 crore in June, from 3.99 crore in May, indicating a smart recovery of trade and business. About 5.9 crore e-way bills were generated in April. Gross receipts had come in at `1.03 lakh crore in May, markedly lower than the record Rs 1.41 lakh crore mopped up in the previous month. Other high-frequency indicators available for June point at a mixed bag. While both manufacturing and services PMI shrank the most in 11 months in June, exports jumped 47% from a year before and 30% from the pre-pandemic (same month in 2019) level. With the impact of the second Covid wave waning and vaccination drive making progress, some parts of the economy may start looking up from July. However, no substantial recovery is seen before September when manufacturers typically start to stock up to cater for festive demand, thus boosting economic output. In recent months, the government’s GST revenue has been robust, thanks to steps taken to curb evasion, increased compliance and also a shift of business away from the informal sector. A nascent economic recovery that appears to have been quickly disrupted by the pandemic’s second surge, also helped. For the second year in a row, the Centre will borrow under a special, relatively low-cost mechanism in 2021-22 to bridge a yawning shortfall in the GST compensation cess pool and transfer the funds to states as back-to-back loans, sans any big fiscal cost to states. While the amount borrowed under the RBI-enabled mechanism last year was Rs 1.1 lakh crore — there was still a shortfall, Rs 60,000-70,000 crore against the 14% annual revenue growth guaranteed to states — the idea is to borrow some Rs 1.58 lakh crore in 2021-22. The GST mop-up of June 2021 was still 2% higher than that in the same month last year, which belonged to transactions in May 2020, which saw tapering off of complete nationwide lockdown. Of the June mop-up, Central GST was Rs 16,424 crore, state GST Rs 20,397 crore and IGST Rs 49,079 crore (including Rs 25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and cess proceeds of Rs 6,949 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on import of goods). “The daily average generation of e-way bill for the first two weeks of April 2021 was 20 lakh, which came down to 16 lakh in last week of April 2021 and further to 12 lakh in the two weeks between May 9 to 22. Thereafter, the average generation of e-way bills has been increasing and has reached again to 20 lakh level since the week beginning June 20. Therefore, it is expected that while the GST revenues have dipped during the month of June, the revenues will see an increase again July 2021 onwards,” the finance ministry said in a statement. The ministry said GST collections reported for June included collection from domestic transactions between June 5 to July 5 since taxpayers with turnover up to `5 crore were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for the return filing month June, in the wake of the second wave of the Covid pandemic.
Source: Financial Express
Focus should not be on just growing the exports pie, but also on employment and raising competitiveness The rise in India’s exports — 63.1 per cent on-year in the first half of calendar 2021 (January-June) has been nothing short of spectacular, with more than a ‘low-base effect’ as its driving force. Quite the apposite hour to raise India’s export competitiveness because global growth is accelerating as Covid-19 afflictions and vaccinations go the right way, and fiscal support is ample. Global trade in goods and services is ticking along nicely, growing 10 per cent on-year in the first quarter of 2021 and sailing past 2019 levels, according to an UNCTAD report in May. The World Trade Organisation expects global merchandise trade volumes to increase 8 per cent on-year in 2021, after having contracted 5.3 per cent in 2020. Goods demand is forecast to be stronger in North America and Europe, particularly due to the large fiscal stimulus in their economies. Importantly, the organisation expects majority of this global demand to be met by Asia. Riding the global wave India has a golden chance to support its own economy through exports after the second Covid-19 blow, if only it leverages this growing strength in global trade. India’s major trading partners — the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, China and Hong Kong — which together account for 43 per cent of India’s total exports, have seen their growth forecasts for 2021 revised upwards (see table below). Consequently, India’s exports to these destinations have soared. It grew 6.9 per cent, 13.9 per cent, 14.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent to the EU, UK, China and US, respectively, in the three months to March (in seasonally adjusted terms). This trend is expected to continue, as demand improves further. But core export lagging However, even as overall exports have grown steadily, core exports (non-oil, non-gold exports) growth has been relatively muted (see figure below). The growth in overall exports could partly be attributed to rising petroleum exports, on the back of improving global demand and rising crude prices. Among core exports, large industrial sectors, such as electronic goods, engineering goods and chemicals too, are seeing robust growth. Electronic goods have particularly benefited from increased global demand during the pandemic. On the other hand, growth in exports of labour-intensive products such as readymade garments, leather, and agriculture and allied products (rice, fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, and poultry, and seafood) have slowed down after a transitory pickup in early 2021. This is particularly so in April and May, when the second Covid-19 wave raged in India: exports of fruits and vegetables, readymade garments and leather products declined 3.8 per cent, 3.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent in the three months to May (in seasonally adjusted terms). These trends suggest that exports have supported growth but not so much employment. Seize the moment to raise competitiveness The pace of India’s export growth should sustain for the rest of 2021, given the swift rebound in its major export partner regions (US, EU, China) is only set to get stronger in the second half. Besides, global demand for petroleum, pharmaceuticals and electronic goods — major constituents of India’s export basket — is also expected to be robust. Rupee depreciation would be an added boost. However, the slowdown in labour-intensive textile and agriculture and allied exports is bad news for the domestic economy, reeling under employment losses since the pandemic began. India has already lost market share in global trade in 2020: its export share has declined to 1.5 per cent from 1.7 per cent in 2019. Moreover, export competitiveness has been eroded particularly in apparel and minerals sectors (according to UNCTAD, February 2021). So while a depreciating rupee and accelerating global economic growth offer a window of opportunity to increase exports over the next couple of quarters, structural improvements must assume significance. The government’s recently announced support for project exports by enhancing insurance cover is positive and will help India expand its footprint in this area over the medium run. But there are still many creases to iron out. Lower comparative advantage of India’s exports is often attributed to higher trade costs (tariff and non-tariff barriers), infrastructure bottlenecks, and land and labour laws. The World Bank, in its Global Economic Prospects (June 2021) shows how trade costs can double the price of a good traded externally over a similar domestic good, particularly in emerging economies, hindering competitiveness. Lowering these through reduction in compliance costs at border processes and improving domestic infrastructure, especially in shipping and logistics, could help boost trade flows. India’s progress on the ease of doing business rankings, particularly in reducing ‘time and costs of trading across borders’, is one step forward in this regard. The pandemic has accelerated the process of diversification of suppliers and production destinations, especially away from China. This again offers a chance for India to integrate itself further into global value chains. Improving competitiveness of exports through a focus on domestic infrastructure building and reduction in trade costs would go a long way in improving its chances of being noticed. India needs to do more than just ride on the turning tide.
Source: The Hindu Businessline
The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) will set up the district’s first skill development centre (SDC) for the local youths, especially farmers’ children with the aim to provide employment opportunities. For this, the authority has tied up with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), where training in IT and electronics, hospitality, textiles and gadgets will be given to over 1,100 youths in the first phase. “We are working on setting up a big regional level skill development sector, which was passed in our 122nd board meeting held last month. For this, we have a tripartite agreement with NSDC, National Industrial Development Corporation of India (NIDC) and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor-Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida Limited (DMIC-IITGNL) where Greater Noida is a 50% partner. GNIDA will be funding everything where the first agreement is of about Rs 1 crore with NSDC as our knowledge partner,” Narendra Bhooshan, CEO GNIDA. Under this, NSDC will work on every aspect of setting up a regional level SDC. They will prepare the DPR after studying the viability, requirement, skill sets, including supply and demand situation and how much people can be absorbed in Greater Noida with a focus on rural areas. “It will be the first SDC in GB Nagar district where skills in the field of IT and electronics, consumer white goods, textiles, ready-made garments, mobile parts and manufacturing and automobiles will be developed. NSDC will initially operate from the GNIDA authority building. However, later they will be given a plot in the IITGNL area,” Bhooshan added. “For the time being, we have agreed to provide one floor in GNIDA office building to NSDC to start work within 100 days from the date of signing the contract. Their own plot and building will take about 1-3 years depending on the scale and manpower they may require,” Bhooshan said, adding that talks with NSDC were held earlier this year in April but could not be pursued due to the second wave of Covid pandemic. “We had talks with NSDC which has sanctioned a special project for Greater Noida. This process was started in April, but then the second wave of Covid came and the process got delayed. I have lined up the next review meeting with them on it this week to expedite the process,” said Bhooshan.
Source: Ele Times
As the Kerala Government is trying to somehow wriggle out of the Kitex imbroglio, the Government of Karnataka has invited the apparel manufacturer to set up its new projects in the neighbouring state. On Monday, Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director of Industries and Commerce, Government of Karnataka has written to Sabu M Jacob, chairman of Kitex Group on Monday offering incentives. “I am formally reaching out to you to understand Kitex's upcoming investments plans in detail and showcase Karnataka's interest in having Kitex Garments manufacture in the state,” said Krishna in his email. Karnataka is offering 25% capital investment subsidy (without cap) on fixed assets like land, building, dormitory, ETP (effluent treatment plant), machinery. Investment subsidy for anchor industries up to Rs 7-10 crore, 5% interest subsidy on term loan for 5 years, concessional registration charges (0.01% of value), 100% exemption of stamp duty, 40% grant support for fixed capital investment in factory buildings ft common infrastructure, 50% subsidy on fixed capital investment in CETP ft CSTP up to Rs 5 crore are the major incentives on the capital expenditure side. Power tariff subsidy up to INR 2 for 5 years, Wage subsidy of up to INR 1500 per employee per month for 5 years, 75% reimbursement of ESI & EPF for 5 years, 2.25% of turnover as investment promotion subsidy for 6-10 years for 40-60% Value of Fixed Assets are the incentives on the operational expenses s According to Krishna, the positive aspects of setting up business in Karnataka include: Strong existing ecosystem for textiles and garment manufacturing in the state; Multiple financial incentives to create favorable economics for manufacturing activities announced as part of the Textile and Garment Policy 2019-24 and the New Industrial Policy of Karnataka 2020-25 e.g.- Investment promotion subsidy of up to 2.25% of annual turnover; Readily available land options along with multiple textile clusters; Highly skilled & trained labor workforce, along with eased labor norms; and well-connected and efficient logistics network, connecting to all demand centers and export hubs. Revamped processes to facilitate ease of doing business e.g., Affidavit based Clearance System (ABC) implemented to put 3- year moratorium on multiple approvals and clearances are other incentives offered by the Karnataka Government.
Source: Times of India
Seeks focus on branding and marketing to push the two segments Technology and globalisation have created lucrative opportunities for the fashion and textile industry of Pakistan and they should be tapped by concentrating on branding and marketing, said Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mian Tariq Misbah. Chairing a seminar titled “Latest Trends and Collaboration in Fashion and Textile Industry” on Tuesday, he said that the textile sector was the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and held great significance. “Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textile products in Asia, fourth largest producer and third largest consumer of cotton,” he said. “Pakistan’s textile sector covers 46% of the total manufacturing sector of the country and provides employment to 40% of the total labour force.” He pointed out that the sector also held 60% share in total exports and contributed 8.5% to the gross domestic product (GDP). Misbah remarked that Pakistan’s fashion designing and textile industry had emerged as important components of national trade because of their export potential. He was of the view that the two segments had tremendous potential to secure a mammoth share in the international fashion market, which was worth billions of dollars. “Pakistani entrepreneurs have successfully earned good name in the local fashion industry and developed various prominent brands with the passage of time,” he said. “Some of them have been able to establish their brands in the international arena as well.” He appreciated local women entrepreneurs, saying they were lifting the textile sector to new heights. “Pakistan can grab a significant share in fashion industry exports if it succeeds in attracting the attention of foreign buyers,” Misbah added. He stressed the need for focusing on value addition because it would help enhance profit margins in the export market. He was of the opinion that by enhancing collaboration and liaison between the textile sector and the fashion industry, Pakistan could get the desired results. The LCCI president also talked about the importance of forecasting trends in apparel business and said certain techniques were required to safely anticipate the future. LCCI Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry said that Pakistani entrepreneurs associated with the fashion industry should remain up to date with modern requirements and be aware of the changing trends in the global market.
Source: The Tribune
About 98 per cent of UK fashion and textile companies have experienced increased bureaucracy around exporting and importing after the UK’s exit from the EU on December 31, 2020, according to a recent survey. Close to 92 per cent of the respondents had experienced increased freight costs and 83 per cent had problems with customs clearance following Brexit. Three quarters (74 per cent) said they had experienced an increase in costs due to new tariffs and almost half (44 per cent) had been affected by unexpected duties when reexporting goods, according to the survey conducted by the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT). “We have had lots of VAT costs in our EU supply chain, extra paperwork, product caught at customs for weeks,” said one UK menswear brand, adding that freight costs have increased by a minimum of 30 per cent. Others have reported freight costs increasing by as much as 50 per cent during the first months of 2021. Over 83 per cent had experienced problems with customs clearance while 55 per cent had cancelled orders from wholesale customers/retailers where Brexit was the only cause. Similarly, 44 per cent had rejected/returned orders from consumers where Brexit costs were the only issue. One UK menswear brand said there was now a 12 per cent tariff payable by EU consumers on the brand’s products bought online. Over a third (38 per cent) had problems returning goods to the UK from the EU (for example if they were unsold). The complex nature of Rules of Origin requirements has been particularly problematic, with almost a third of respondents (32 per cent) saying they did not know if their UKmanufactured goods met the Rules of Origin requirements for the UK-EU Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA). Forty-one per cent had been hit by double duties as a result of the implications of free circulation in the TCA. “As we had already sold for the season, we have had to absorb the cost [increases], which is having a dramatic impact on our business,” said one UK outerwear brand. “The next season we will need to pass this on, but we have already encountered problems with our existing customers. The increase has been approximately 12 per cent.” However, some respondents pointed to new opportunities the UK’s exit from the EU offers, particularly in light of reshoring and the appeal of UK-produced product domestically, the UKFT survey said.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Bangladesh's exports jumped 15per cent to US$38.76 billion in the financial year ended June, data showed on Tuesday, led by a rebound in demand for garments as Western economies recovered. Bangladesh's exports jumped 15per cent to US$38.76 billion in the financial year ended June, data showed on Tuesday, led by a rebound in demand for garments as Western economies recovered. The world's second-largest apparel producer after China took a roughly US$6 billion hit in the 2019-20 financial year, with overseas apparel sales falling 18per cent to US$27.94 billion. Garment exports rose 13per cent to US$31.5 billion in 2020/21 from a year earlier, thanks to a 21per cent surge in overseas sales of knitwear products such as t-shirts and sweaters, but were 7per cent below the pre-pandemic period of 2018-19 financial year, the Export Promotion Bureau said. Sales of woven garments, such as formal denim shirts and pants, rose only 3per cent, which exporters attributed to tepid demand as more people worked from home and avoided social gatherings. Bangladesh's exports in June grew at a record pace of 31per cent from a year earlier to US$3.58 billion, led by more orders from the United States and Europe, the main destinations of apparel sales. Garment industry leaders said they expect exports to increase but rising costs of freight and raw materials could hold back growth. "Order flow is satisfactory. But freight costs and cotton prices are rising up, that could hamper our exports" Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garments Exporters and Manufacturers Association, said. "Our garment factories are largely unaffected by the latest pandemic situation at home but we need to control it soon," said Azim, who supplies European and North American retailers. Bangladesh is currently battling a record spike in coronavirus cases, prompting the government to extend its strictest lockdown to July 14. Garment factories, however, are allowed to operate observing health protocols. Some garment workers are happy as they are able to earn overtime wages, which often account for 20per cent of their monthly income. "I am really happy that I can earn some more doing overtime. There was a time when we went to the factory and sat idle all day as there were no orders," said Munna Khan, a worker in Gazipur, on the outskirt of the capital city Dhaka. Low wages have helped Bangladesh build its garment industry, with some 4,000 factories employing 4 million workers, supplying brands such as H&M and GAP. Readymade garments are a mainstay of the economy, accounting for almost 16per cent of the country's GDP.
Source: Channel news Asia
Receives C of O from state government The Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has disclosed that the Textile Free Zone located in Funtua, Katsina State when completed would create over 10,000 direct jobs for the citizens of the country. Speaking, on Tuesday, in Abuja while receiving the C of O of the over 277 hectares of land from the state government, the Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof Adesoji Adesugba, stated that work has commenced at the site of the trade zone already. “If you will recall, a few weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved for projects worth about N2 billion for pickup points. “The initial plan is for us to start up, we already have the project Team going into the construction of the perimeter fencing for security. “You have to secure the free zone as a whole, construct the internal roads, power plant to power the place and the Administrative block” he stated. Adesugba explained that “we already have a plan for the place, so currently the. “We believed that within the next 18 months the Zone will be ready for investors. From the business model we have, we believe that direct jobs of about 10,000 will be created when the zone is fully operational. “While more than 60,000 indirect jobs will be created in the locality and its environs” the MD stated. He further said that the Agency believed Funtua was the right place for the location of the Textile trade zone considering the history of the sector’s existence in the location for more than 100 years. Presenting the C of O of the trade zone land to the MD on behalf of the Katsina state government, the Director-General of Katsina State Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur Jikamshi, expressed the state readiness to support development at the trade zone. He said the state government had initiated the Katsina Green Economic Zone when “suddenly we got an opportunity which we cashed in on, that NEPZA wanted to introduce Medical hubs in the country. “Since we have started developing an economic zone in the state, we now say we can easily key into it and we did. We are going to bring our plan for UNIDO to support us in collaboration with NEPZA to look at how they can integrate our Medical hub,” he stated. It is expected that when the Medical Economic Zone becomes operational, it will reduce medical tourism in Nigeria.
Source: Tribune online
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) approved 70 projects with a total capital investment of $2.428 billion in the first half of this year, as reflected in CDC statements issued on social media from January to June. It approved 29 investment projects in textiles, garments, footwear and travel products with a capital investment of $194.71 million. The council also gave green signal to four furniture plants with a capital investment of $55.6 million, according to a top newspaper in the country. The textile, garment, footwear and travel goods sector accounted for the bulk of the value of the new projects, followed by electrical components and vehicle parts, Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice president Lim Heng said. The government’s 10-million-vaccinations campaign will also contribute to the growth of investment as investors will not be worried about the impact on their business, Heng claimed. In 2019, investment approvals logged $9.40 billion, of which China invested $2.75 billion, followed by Hong Kong at $912.55 million and Japan at $298.84 million, according to the CDC.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
