|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1028.54 |
USD/Ton |
0.61% |
12/9/2015 |
|
VSF |
2175.53 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
ASF |
1944.1 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Polyester POY |
970.1 |
USD/Ton |
-0.88% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2384.35 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
40D Spandex |
5064.8 |
USD/Ton |
-0.61% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5808.16 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1223.34 |
USD/Ton |
-0.63% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2212.93 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Nylon POY |
2131.11 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1036.34 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2672.66 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
10S OE Cotton Yarn |
1823.33 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
32S Cotton Carded Yarn |
3007.71 |
USD/Ton |
-0.52% |
12/9/2015 |
|
40S Cotton Combed Yarn |
3740.16 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2805.12 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1620.74 |
USD/Ton |
-0.95% |
12/9/2015 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2602.53 |
USD/Ton |
-0.60% |
12/9/2015 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2976.54 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2524.61 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1792.16 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2228.51 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.09 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.92 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
12/9/2015 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15584 USD dtd. 09/12/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
A week-long district-level training on the new textile policy 2013-18 of the State government was organised by the Department of Handloom and Textiles, in association with Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat and the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development of Karnataka, in Kalaburagi on Wednesday. Inaugurating the training programme, Deputy Director of the Department of Handlooms and Textiles Shivaraj Kulkarni stressed on the need to promote the textile industry and achieve advancement by creating awareness of the untapped sector in the region.
Textile hub
Mr. Kulkarni said North Karnataka was ideal for production of high quality cotton, and Kalaburagi district would emerge as a hub of the textile industry in the coming days. The entrepreneurs should come forward to establish textile units, for which a modest investment was required. The programmes would impart training on various aspects of textile business including orientation to textiles and textile processes. The training sessions would guide entrepreneurs to prepare project reports and on procedures for applying loans to set up textile units. The department has selected 20 entrepreneurs for the week-long training programme.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Exporters operating from Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have strongly opposed the recent move by the finance ministry mandating the rollback of most tax benefits as sudden brakes on growth but falling export figures amidst growing SEZ numbers point at deeper issues. In line with the overall aim of instituting a simpler and predictable tax code announced in the last budget, corporate tax rates would be reduced from the current 30% to 25% over the next four years. This would be accompanied by a corresponding phase-out of several exemptions and deductions by 2017-18.
PLUMBING THE DEPTHS OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES
On the eve of commerce secretary Rita Teaotia’s meeting with SEZ developers on December 10, export oriented units (EOU) located in SEZs claim the move will adversely affect them, especially on the back of falling exports. According to government data, exports fell for the 11th consecutive month in October dropping to $21.35 billion. Exports from SEZs declined to Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15 from Rs 4.94 lakh crore a year back. P C Nambiar, Chairman of the Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES), termed the move as 'regressive'. The high rate of Minimum Alternate Tax – 20.5% of book profits for SEZs, Nambiar said already combines with indirect taxes to offset any gains made from corporate tax deductions and resulted in ‘severe liquidity issues’. The government has set March 31,2017 as the date after which sunset clauses with regards to tax exemptions will be renewed. After that, no weighed deduction will be applicable for operation, maintenance and development of export units in SEZ, as is the case now. Currently, the sunset date for SEZs is 10 years from the date of opening. The government maintains the current corporate tax effectively measures up to 23%, due to many exemptions and deductions. In 2014-15 the government is estimated to have forgone revenue worth Rs 62,398 crore in corporate taxes on account of various incentives, up from Rs 57,793 crore a year ago. The corresponding figures for deduction of export profits for export oriented units (EOUs) located in SEZs was more than Rs. 18,000 crore in 2014-15, up by more than a thousand from a year ago.
Official data by the commerce ministry shows that even though 327 SEZs have received all requisite clearance certificates and been notified as of November, 2015, currently only 204 are operational. The developers of a large number of SEZs face allegations of inactivity even after receiving land at discounted rates which are later sold off at a premium when the entity opts out citing lack of interest among producers to set up units. SEZ owners maintained justify this saying the currently prevailing weak investment climate along with rollback of benefits meant businesses were not incentivized enough to move operations inside SEZs. The Rs 1,50,000 crore proposed investments are also looking to exit, they allege.
Arpita Mukherjee, economist at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations said identifying the operational players in the industry was instrumental to reviving interest in SEZs. She added it will be key for such businesses to start operations before then to utilise the tax break. While macro economic factors have influenced falling international demand, a glut in the immediate regional space has also contributed. The Asian Economic Integration Report, 2015 by Asian Development Bank points out that in the 1995-2015) period, the number of SEZs exploded from about 500 to over 4,300. While the report says the existence of SEZs in a country correspond to 82% greater Foreign Direct Investment levels, it cautions that diversification of production bases away from assembly of imported inputs and increase in sales of own branded merchandise in domestic markets is important for long term success.
According to a senior commerce ministry official, this has not been the case in India where rather than becoming a major part of the national manufacturing growth narrative, SEZs have remained only as ‘special export zones’, appropriating benefits to produce goods which have high profit outlay. Rahul Gupta, Vice Chairman of EPCES, pointed out that to offset this trend, idle units in SEZs have been proposed to be let out to domestic manufacturers who are in want of facilities. Sophisticated plant and machinery, conforming to international standards form the bulk of the nearly Rs 3,50,000 crore investment into SEZs, he added. The draft schedule for phasing out these exemptions was put up in the public domain for comments by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 20 November and is available till 5 December.·
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The rupee has been range-bound between 66.43 and 67 since the beginning of this month. The currency fell to a record two-year-low of 67.01 on Friday. The recovery thereafter was short-lived as the rupee lost momentum again after recording a high of 66.5650 on Monday. It finally closed at 66.84 on Wednesday, down 0.35 per cent for the week. Global markets are turning jittery as the US Federal Reserve meeting next week draws closer. Crude oil prices fell to their lowest levels since 2009 after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to keep its output at around 31.5 million barrels per day as against market expectations of a cut in production. This has also added more pressure. There is a high degree of risk aversion in the market, which is keeping the rupee pressured and negating the positive effects of the fall in crude oil prices. However, lower oil prices will be good for the rupee in the long term. The currency unit is now likely to move in tandem with the global developments ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting on December 15 and 16. Hence, the domestic macro economic data releases, such as the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) on Friday and the Wholesale and Consumer Price Index (WPI and CPI) inflation numbers on Monday may not have a major impact on rupee movement in the near term.
The outflow from Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) seems to have gathered momentum in the past three weeks, especially in the equity segment. FPIs have sold $485 million in debt and $1 billion in equity over this period. They have turned net sellers after buying $2.4 billion in debt and $1 billion in equity in October. Since then they have sold $788 million in the debt segment and $1.77 billion in the equity segment. The outlook for both the Sensex and the Nifty 50 are bearish and they look vulnerable to further falls. It suggests that more FPI outflow could be on the cards. This could keep the rupee under pressure, especially if the FPI sell-off intensifies in the debt segment too.
Rupee outlook
Though, Wednesday’s candlestick pattern on the daily chart reflects the indecisiveness in the market, the price action since Monday suggests that the rupee is witnessing strong selling pressure in the 66.50-66.70 zone. The immediate reversal from near 66.50 leaves open the probability of a downward break from the current sideways range. Such a fall can drag the rupee lower to 67.3 and 67.5 in the short term.
On the other hand, if the rupee manages to reverse higher from 67 once again, the currency might continue to trade range-bound for some more time. However, the short-term outlook will turn positive only if it decisively breaks above 66.50. Such a break can take the rupee higher to 66.30 and 66 in the short term. But this upmove in the short term looks less probable. The expected fall below 67 mentioned above will also keep the medium-term bearish outlook intact for the rupee for a revisit of 68 levels. The reversal from the high of 66.43 recorded on December 1 confirms the head and shoulder reversal pattern on the daily chart. The neckline level of this pattern is near 66.45. The target of this reversal pattern is 68.35, which is more likely to be targeted in the coming weeks on a strong fall below 67.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
India will move away from a ‘zero-duty’ model in future free trade agreements (FTAs) it negotiates as it is not very comfortable with arrangements where tariffs have to be eliminated.“We are doing some restructuring on how we negotiate. Territorial Joint Secretaries have been asked to examine how to fast-track potential trade agreements in a manner that India is comfortable with. We are not very comfortable with zero and this is a clear signal we are giving to our trade partners,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine. India is examining possible FTAs with a host of countries, including Russia, Canada, Peru, Chile, Iran, New Zealand, Australia and the European Union. “The idea is to either not move to zero duties on any item in such pacts or keep such items to the bare minimum,” the official said. Where it is a legacy of the past and commitments have been made, it would not be possible to backtrack, the official said. “We have already agreed to zero duties for a substantial number of items in our FTAs with Japan and Korea and the Asean. In the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) structure, too, the architecture is towards zero. So, those are the givens that we can’t do much about,” the official said. For both Japan and South Korea, tariffs have to be eliminated by India on about 70 per cent of tariff lines over 10 years of implementation. In the RCEP being negotiated, New Delhi has agreed to eliminate duties on more than 40 per cent of items with China — the country Indian industry is most apprehensive about. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry, too, support the strategy of moving away from zero duties. “The overall thinking in the government is that the FTAs should be structured such that the Indian industry and farmers should not have major issues with it,” the official added.
Low utilisation
Interestingly, despite India signing a large number of FTAs with individual countries and groups, industry is yet to utilise them properly. A study carried out by the Commerce Ministry earlier this year showed that Indian exporters preferred the normal route for exports to FTA partner countries, paying higher duties, rather than using the FTA route and paying lower duties as they found procedures difficult to comprehend. According to estimates, the utilisation rate of India’s FTAs varies between 5 per cent and 25 per cent — which is one of the lowest in Asia.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
India has not sought membership in either of the two mega trade deals, Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic, the government informed Parliament. "The government has not sought for membership of either the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)", Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. However, the government is continuously monitoring the developments with regard to the two trade deals in close consultation with industry stakeholders, she said. The TPP is a trade agreement between 12 countries including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. TTIP is under negotiations between the European Union and the US. The TPP agreement has been concluded but is not yet ratified for implementation by the participating countries. In a separate reply, she said the government has not received any proposal from the US to join the TPP. As per 2014 statistics of the WTO, the TPP countries account for 22.5 per cent of global trade in goods and commercial services. "The government has not taken any decision to join the TPP", she added.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country has increased by 24 per cent to $60.69 billion under the present government, Parliament was informed. The country had attracted USD 48.9 billion FDI during February 2013 to May 2014, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. "Yes sir. FDI in the country has increased since the inception of the present government," she said. Sectors that have attracted healthy foreign investment during the period, June 2014 to September 2015 include computer software and hardware, trading, services, automobile and telecommunications. Foreign investment is crucial for India, which needs about USD 1 trillion by March 2017 to overhaul infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways and boost growth.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 36.75 per barrel (bbl) on 09.12.2015. This was lower than the price of US$ 37.34 per bbl on previous publishing day of 08.12.2015.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 2453.22 per bbl on 09.12.2015 as compared to Rs 2493.98 per bbl on 08.12.2015. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 66.75 per US$ on 09.12.2015 as against Rs 66.80 per US$ on 08.12.2015. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on December 09, 2015 (Previous trading day i.e. 08.12.2015) |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.12.2015 (Nov 11 to Nov 26, 2015) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
36.75 (37.34) |
41.17 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
2453.22 (2493.98) |
2725.87 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
66.75 (66.80) |
66.21 |
SOURCE: http://pib.nic.in/
Pakistan has not yet granted the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India, Parliament was informed. "No," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on whether Pakistan has granted India the MFN status. During the seventh round of talks on trade and economic cooperation between commerce secretaries of India and Pakistan in Islamabad in September 2012, it was agreed that Pakistan would transition fully to MFN (non-discriminatory) status for India by December 2012, she said. "Pakistan, however, did not adhere to the timelines," she added. She also said Pakistan has not been able to honour its commitments of removing trade restrictions on the land route and granting MFN status to India.
During the meeting between Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in May last year, it was decided that the two countries could move immediately towards full trade normalisation. Grant of the MFN status to India would help in boosting trade between the two countries. India granted the MFN status to Pakistan way back in 1996. During April-October this year, the bilateral trade between the countries stood at $1.14 billion. For 2014-15, it came in at 2.35 billion. India's main exports to Pakistan include sugar, man-made filaments and chemicals while imports comprise mineral fuels.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
After showing downtrend for few months, textile and garment exports from the island nation of Sri Lanka bounced back to show positive trend in September 2015. During the month, export earnings from textiles and garments, which account for around 48 per cent of total exports increased by 1.8 per cent year-on-year to $411.2 million, data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka showed. The increase in export earnings reflect “a considerable expansion in garments exports to non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia, India, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong,” the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank said in its press release on external sector performance for the month. Cumulative textile and garment exports for January-September 2015 stood at $3.629 billion, registering a decline of 0.8 per cent compared to exports of $3.659 billion during the corresponding period of last year, the data showed. Textiles and apparel accounted for about 59.67 per cent of all industrial exports and about 45.39 per cent of all exports made by the South Asian nation during the nine-month period. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s expenditure on import of textiles and textile articles increased by 2.8 per cent year-on-year to $1.715 billion during the nine-month period under review. However, September imports dropped significantly by 15.5 per cent to $168.2 million, as against imports of $199.1 million during the same month last year. In 2014, Sri Lankan textiles and garments exports increased by 9.4 per cent year-on-year to $4.929 billion.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Asia Pacific is the most lucrative market for technical textiles, with demand expected to reach 11,468 thousand tonnes by the end of 2015, up from 10,715 thousand tonnes in 2014. China and India are expected to be at the forefront of demand for technical textiles, with these two countries collectively accounting for 74% share of the Asia Pacific technical textiles market. China and India will continue to account for the bulk of demand for technical textiles, propelling the market to USD 155 billion valuation by 2015 end. Demand for Hometech and Indutech from world’s two behemoth economies is expected to fuel the technical textiles market. Growth of the industrial sector in China and India is driving the demand. Hometech is expected to witness the highest demand, reaching 2,015 thousand tonnes by 2015 end, up from 1,910 thousand tonnes in 2014 and Indutech is expected to gain 62 BPS between 2015 and 2020 and account for nearly 14.68% of the overall market in terms of revenue. In terms of volume, demand for Indutech is expected to reach 2,832 thousand tonnes by the end of 2015.
Robust growth of the automotive sector in emerging markets and increasing applications of technical textiles in the construction industry are key factors fuelling the demand for technical textiles. Increased spending on healthcare and growing awareness on environmental conservation and sustainable manufacturing are other key factors driving the demand for technical textiles globally. The cost of procuring raw materials and manufacturing technical textiles is higher than other substitutes, owing to which adoption is lower in price-sensitive markets. Spurt in SMEs in China and India has further fragmented the market, leading to shrinking profit margins. On the basis of application, the key categories of technical textiles include Agrotech, Buildtech, Hometech, Indutech, Sportech, Packtech, Mobiltech, Meditech, Clothtech, Geotech, Protech, and Oekotech.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has said that different non-tariff measures are harming the business capabilities of the knitwear manufacturers and exporters of the country, despite some reductions of tariffs in the international trade. At a seminar in Narayanganj on problems and measures regarding non-tariff measures for RMG industry, BKMEA officials said developed countries are increasingly introducing non-tariff measures including anti-dumping, countervailing, safeguard measures etc. Speakers at the seminar said manufacturers and exporters in developing countries lack key information, facilities and capabilities. The complex requirements of a variety of non-tariff measures have made it expensive and difficult of the manufacturers and exporters, they claimed. BKMEA director Md Habibur Rahman said the buyers impose conditions on the manufacturers of buying raw materials from certain firms, which negatively impacts the capacity of the manufacturers. Former vice-president of BKMEA, Md Hatem said Bangladesh's garment factories are also subjected to strong compliance. He also said production cost is increasing due to the compliances despite no increase in the export earnings. Apurba Sikder, director of Wisdom attires, said the export products are also subjected to different kinds of certification and samples have to be sent abroad due to the lack of adequate number of accredited laboratories which delays shipments.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
As the US Federal Reserve considers an imminent rise in interest rates ahead of 2016, emerging markets face their fifth consecutive year of slowing growth and a possibly longer period of sluggish performance than previously thought, according to a new World Bank Policy Research Note: Slowdown in Emerging Markets: Rough Patch or Prolonged Weakness? Since 2010, emerging market growth has been buffeted by global headwinds such as weak international trade, slowing capital flows, and slumping commodity prices, external challenges which have compounded domestic problems including blunted productivity and bouts of political uncertainty. “After enjoying years of enviable economic performance, emerging markets are coming under strain, with a marked divergence in growth among them,” said World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Kaushik Basu. “As some of these economies slow down, the goal of eradicating extreme poverty will become harder as it burrows in and becomes more concentrated in regions most affected by conflict.” The slowdown comes after a golden period of expansion for emerging markets. In the two decades beginning in the early 1980s, emerging markets almost doubled their contribution to world GDP, acting as the main engine of global economic expansion, and accounting for about 60 per cent of global growth during 2010-14. However, emerging market growth has been fading steadily since 2010, slipping from an average 7.6 per cent in 2010 to a projected less than 4 per cent this year. China, the Russian Federation, and South Africa have all logged three consecutive years of slowing growth. “The emerging market economies of today are surely not the crisis-prone countries of the 1980s or 1990s,” saidAyhan Kose, Director of the World Bank's Development Prospects Group and co-author of the new report. “However, given the persistent factors that have driven the slowdown so far, and the significant global risks going forward, emerging markets will want to adopt policies to promote growth as quickly as possible.”
Countries could counter the growth slowdown in different ways, depending on the causes of the weaker growth and the policy tools available to them. Limited space for counter-cyclical policies in many emerging markets suggest that structural reforms will be an important ingredient of any policy response. “Structural reforms will be key to kick-start growth in emerging markets. Particular emphasis should be given to improvements in governance, which can lift growth considerably,” said Franziska Ohnsorge, World Bank Global Macroeconomic Trends Team manager and co-author. The slowdown brings serious risks. One notable concern is that a spike in financial volatility could halt or reverse capital flows to emerging markets, which in turn could stop growth in its tracks, and hamper global and national efforts to create jobs, raise incomes, and further reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity, the report said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The inordinate delay in announcement of much trumpeted Textile Package is further deteriorating the largest industrial sector of the country and biggest export earner; this was stated by acting Chairman (S.Z.) Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), Arshad Aziz. In a statement he said that he current scenario is extremely worrying the precious foreign-exchange earning industries and the ever increasing cost of utilities and inputs is causing closure of many units across the country. He said that biggest foreign exchange earning sector of textiles that was touching almost 4 to 5 billion dollars before PPP regime is now, dwindling and fallen to less than two billion dollars during current fiscal year. He said that it’s a shame that countries like Bangladesh that import cotton yarn for Pakistan, has brought to its garments exports to over $15 billion. Similarly some other competitors like Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India have increased their garments exports to even more than Bangladesh. “Textile Package delay has created further unemployment and closure of many units, which could not survive due to funds stuck up in refunds and no package announced to compete with the competitor countries which have given incentives to the exporters which has increased their export”, Arshad said adding that we were given GSP plus facility by the European Union but due to stuck up capital with the government to the tune of billions of rupees rendered us unable to exploit this opportunity. “Unfortunately we are unable to increase the exports nor able to sustain but in fact we have lost our market share to the competitors.
SOURCE: The Pak Observer
Sri Lanka will never sign the long- pending CEPA with India mooted during the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today told parliament but said Colombo will instead enter into a new economic and technology pact with its neighbour next year. Wickremesinghe's clarification in the Sri Lankan parliament came a day after trade union of state doctors -- Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) -- claimed that the government is trying to sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India under a new name. "Our government will never sign the CEPA agreement under any circumstance, and that it won't be signed under another name," he said and lashed out at GMOA for "misleading its members and the public" by making baseless statements. He said the government does not agree with the clauses that were included in CEPA by Rajapaksa government and the "harmful" agreement has been completely removed. He said the government will instead enter into an economic and technical cooperation agreement (ETCA) with India that is favorable to Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe said the new pact will replace CEPA.
The ETCA will not have most of CEPA features which were seen as inimical to Sri Lankan interests, he said, adding that the new pact will create employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth in the country. The Prime Minister's statement followed yesterday's statement by Foreign Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema that the framework agreement would be signed in January. There will be negotiations lasting 5 to 6 months, Wickremesinghe clarified. The government will hold discussion with trade unions and political parties and will seek the approval of the Cabinet before finalising any agreement, he said. He said a Sri Lankan negotiating team is due to visit New Delhi on December 21 for preliminary discussions. The CEPA has been in the works for several years but talks have proved futile as Sri Lanka's services sector have voiced apprehension over the pact's perceived advantages to India.
A decision to set up a Joint Study Group for making recommendations for CEPA was first announced in April 2003 and its report was submitted in October 2003. Since then both countries have held several rounds of negotiations. Despite the FTA being in force for 17 years, the trade balance continues to remain in favour of India. India emerged as Sri Lanka's largest trading partner in 2012, accounting for 20 per cent of that country's imports and 5.6 per cent of exports. The bilateral trade in 2013-14 was USD 5.23 billion of which Indian exports accounted for USD 3.98 billion.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
CBRE's Asia Pacific Logistics Hubs 2015 report reveals that Asia Pacific's global hubs share strong similar characteristics, while improvements in infrastructure, stronger population growth - particularly in China - and additional trade agreements between nations are helping to normalize the differences between these global hubs, making them more equal in logistics importance. CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, developed a new model for ranking the region's logistics hubs based on primary demand drivers: infrastructure developments, market demand and the business environment. The report categorizes hubs as global, regional or local.
Based on the CBRE logistics hubs model, there are currently eight logistics hubs in Asia Pacific ranked as global - Greater China's Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin; Japan's Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe; and Singapore. The report finds that these hubs will continue to dominate in 2030. However, other emerging regional and local hubs, such as China's Chengdu, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo; India's Delhi, Mumbai; South Korea's Busan; and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, are also growing in importance due to the shift in low-end manufacturing, rising consumption power, infrastructure and policy developments. “We expect the current dominant global hubs to remain strong in 2030,” says Dennis Yeo, Managing Director, Industrial & Logistics Services, CBRE Asia. “The drivers of infrastructure, market demand and the business environment are expected to remain robust in these hubs. These hubs are located along the major trade corridors, connected to major international transportation networks, contain large amounts of prime logistics space and have a variety of sophisticated logistics operators.”
The relatively stronger population growth and migration rate into the Chinese global hubs - Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen - are making these hubs more consumption driven. In Japan, despite low population growth, Tokyo is still forecast to be the largest urban agglomeration in the world in 2025, which helps the city remain a prime consumer market. Furthermore, in addition to China opening more free trade zones, recent negotiations were concluded on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The world's largest free trade agreement is expected to increase trade flows and lower cost of goods for participating Asia Pacific countries. China and Japan are also spending heavily on infrastructure and gradually reducing tariffs to support the movement of goods. According to the report, while the current global hubs will remain dominant in 2030, several emerging hubs are set to rise in significance, regionally and locally.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
China said on Wednesday it would cut some import and export taxes next year to boost its ailing trade sector, raising concerns that cheaper Chinese products could exacerbate a global oversupply of basic materials such as steel and chemicals.Trade tensions are already growing with Europe and the United States which have accused China of dumping steel on world markets, and industry experts said the tax breaks on other types of steel, iron and other products could aggravate supply gluts. The intense pressure facing Chinese manufacturers was clear in data early in the day which prompted worries that the world's second-largest economy could be falling into a Japan-style deflation trap. Companies slashed prices for the 45th month in a row in November as they struggled to sell their goods, with the producer price index (PPI) down 5.9 percent from a year earlier, the fastest since the global financial crisis. The weak price report came on the heels of trade data on Tuesday which showed China's exports fell for the fifth consecutive month in November while imports contracted for the 13th month straight, casting doubt on hopes that the cooling economy would stabilise in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, basic material exports were relatively strong, as weak domestic demand spurs firms to redirect cargoes abroad. "We think it's a longer-term dynamic playing out: China exporting its surplus to the Western world," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes, referring to a 15 percent surge in unwrought aluminium and product exports to 450,000 tonnes in November.
China's oil refiners shipped a record amount of fuel products in the first 11 months of the year, aluminium processors sold their second-highest tonnage ever and steelmakers increased exports by 22 percent to a new record. The export tax cuts will apply to steel billet (bars) and pig iron, lowering them to 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from the current 25 percent effective Jan. 1, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. Export tariffs on phosphoric acid and ammonia also will be eliminated. Taxes also would be adjusted to encourage imports of advanced equipment, energy raw materials, and some components.
STRONG DEFLATIONARY FORCES
While higher equipment and raw material imports could be a boon for China's trading partners and some Western firms, the policy move raised concerns that China hopes to ease pressure on its embattled heavy industrial sector by sending more excess production abroad. The price deflation in China's industrial sector is in part a reflection of slumping global commodity prices since 2011, but also highlights weaker demand for basic construction materials at home following an extended downturn in the property market. And with a large inventory of unsold homes discouraging new construction and investment, much of the heavy industrial build-out in steel, cement and other materials created to serve China's housing boom in the 2000s now has nowhere to go. "Alarmingly, the GDP deflator, a broader measure of price changes in the economy, declined 0.7 percent y/y in Q3, indicating that China has entered a deflationary era," wrote Liu Li-Gang and Louis Lam, economists at ANZ Bank in Hong Kong in a note.
While China's consumer inflation ticked up on the year to 1.5 percent in November from 1.3 percent in October, the increase was largely due to food prices, not an improvement in economic activity. Other data this week is expected to show further weakness in industrial output and investment, with a possible pick-up in retail sales the lone bright spot. That will reinforce expectations that Beijing will have to roll out more stimulus in 2016 after six interest rate cuts over the past year and a slew of other measures.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
