The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the Indian textile sector has been finalised, with Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal signing the proposal earlier today. Stating this, government sources added the scheme would soon be taken up by the Union Cabinet for approval. The scheme, expected to provide incentives of around Rs 7,000 crore for man-made fibre (MMF) apparel, and around Rs 4,000 crore for technical textiles, is aimed at reviving the labour-intensive Indian textile sector. In the recent past, Indian textile exports have lost ground to Bangladesh and Vietnam. The PLI scheme is an effort to boost Indian textile manufacturing and increase exports.The Union government had announced an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore for PLI schemes for 13 sectors in the budget for 2021-22. The scheme is expected to cover around 40 MMF apparel product categories and around 10 in the technical textile category. An incentive of 3 to 11 per cent of the incremental revenues' year-on-year for five years may be provided to existing as well as proposed investments in the sector.
Source: Business Today
Ludhiana: In a breather for the domestic yarn manufacturers, especially those who are into polyester spun yarn (PSY), the Union minister for industry and commerce has accepted their demand to impose anti-dumping duty (ADD) on the import of PSY from China, Indonesia and Vietnam. The import had increased by 943% during the past five years. One of the biggest bodies of yarn manufacturers, Northern India Textile Mills’ Association (NITMA), had been taking up this demand at different levels, claiming that the uncontrolled imports of PSY had eaten up a significant share of domestic markets and was hurting the local industry. Now all eyes are on the ministry of finance as a formal notification is awaited to confirm imposition of ADD. Sanjay Garg, president of NITMA, said, “We are thankful to minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal and the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) for their recommendation to impose ADD on PSY originating in or exported from China, Indonesia and Vietnam. There has been a huge surge in the import of this yarn post-GST, as with the removal of excise and other duties the polyester yarn is being cleared at zero duty. Imports of virgin PSY have increased by 943% in five years and in a shocking trend, imports from Vietnam alone have increased by 88 times. Imports for this yarn in 2020-21 are 60,810 tonnes, out of the total domestic consumption of 264,000 tonnes, which means that imports have gobbled up 23% of the total market share and this trend is increasing at a great speed.” Asserting that now the domestic yarn manufacturers would be able to survive, Garg added, “We urge the minister for finance to notify the ADD at the earliest, as any delay will push the domestic industry backwards, jeopardising jobs of many.” According to yarn manufacturer Siddharth Khanna, “NITMA members made several representations to all the authorities about the increasing import of the PSY and its dangers. Besides this, many other producers of PSY throughout the country undertook the herculean task of collecting data so that facts could be presented before the authorities. Finally, the DGTR, in its final findings, agreed to the concerns flagged by the NITMA.” Association’s vice-president Aman Gupta said, “Due to increase in the imports of PSY, the synthetic yarn segment of India’s textile sector was devastated, as a result most of the units had become NPAs and the rest were on the verge of it. Only a handful of PSY manufacturers in India are doing well and majority are in dire straits. The recommendation by the Union minister has come as a big relief for us.”
Source: Times of India
As per a joint press statement issued after the talks between the trade ministers of the two sides, they have agreed to instruct officials to speed up the negotiations and to meet as often as required to achieve an early harvest announcement by December 2021. India and Australia have decided to work towards concluding an early harvest agreement over the next four months that will pave the way for a bilateral comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA). As per a joint press statement issued after the talks between the trade ministers of the two sides, they have agreed to instruct officials to speed up the negotiations and to meet as often as required to achieve an early harvest announcement by December 2021.
Source: Economic Times
Shaktikanta Das tells TV channel that capacity utilisation is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may consider changing its policy course after economic activity shows signs of “durability and sustainability”, but it would be done in manner so as not to surprise the markets, Governor Shaktikanta Das has said in an interview with a television channel. Capacity utilisation is “nowhere near pre-pandemic levels”, and there is a “slack in the economy”, the RBI governor told CNBC Asia. “We are constantly monitoring the situation, and we will act at the appropriate time. At the current juncture, we feel that the appropriate time has not come,” Das said, clarifying that the monetary policy committee (MPC) would want the supply-side factors to correct themselves and the authorities should take necessary corrective measures to address the issue. US Fed meetings and other policy actions by other central banks are being monitored by the RBI because those impact the domestic situation, but “our monetary policy is primarily and principally determined by domestic macroeconomic conditions”, the central bank chief said. “All our actions will be calibrated, they will be well-timed, they will be cautious ... We don’t want to give any sudden shock or any sudden surprises to the markets,” he said. The governor expects consumer demand to “increase substantially” by the end of the year over the current levels or “over the levels seen where the Covid impact took them down”. The pandemic has dented consumption, and aggregate demand is “still nowhere near normal”, he said. He saw impulses of inflation as transitory and should moderate by the third quarter. The current inflation momentum is driven by supply-side factors, which are getting corrected through actions by the authorities concerned. The RBI’s endeavour will be to ensure that “inflation does not become uncontrollable”, and that it would be “dealt with”. The 9.5 per cent growth projection by the RBI, which is a scale-down from the 10.5 per cent earlier, is “quite appropriate for the current (fiscal) year”, Das said. He defended the MPC’s stance on tolerating an inflation rate of around 6 per cent, because the flexible inflation-targeting regime allowed that freedom in an extreme situation like the present. The central bank plans to start pilot projects involving the central bank digital currency (CBDC) “by December or so”. “We are being extremely careful about it because it’s a completely new product, not just for the RBI but globally,” Das said, adding the central bank was evaluating the security of the digital currency, and assessing what impact it might have on the financial sector and monetary policy. However, on private cryptocurrencies, the central bank is still concerned about their impact on financial stability.
Source: Business Standard
''We continue to work together to make this insolvency framework more effective and efficient. It will surely be one of the important chapters in the success story of India becoming a $ 5 trillion economy,'' ministry of corporate affairs secretary Rajesh Verma said while addressing a CII conference. The government is looking to make the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code more comprehensive and broad-based so that there is an enhanced ease of exit, a senior official said Friday. ''We continue to work together to make this insolvency framework more effective and efficient. It will surely be one of the important chapters in the success story of India becoming a $ 5 trillion economy,'' ministry of corporate affairs secretary Rajesh Verma said while addressing a CII conference. Elaborating on the efforts to make the insolvency law framework more effective and efficient, the corporate affairs secretary said the infrastructure of NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) and NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) was being strengthened to address the delays in disposal of cases by filling up the vacant positions. ''Concerns of the market with respect to implementation of resolution plans due to claims by various government entities are also being addressed... advocacy efforts are being taken up to sensitise state government entities also,'' he said. Verma said the corporate affairs ministry was working with the finance ministry, Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on the issue of the conduct of the committee of creditors (CoC) under the insolvency resolution process. ''We are working with IBA, RBI and Department of Financial Services on the very important issue of the conduct of CoC,'' he said, without elaborating.
Source: Economic Times
The increase in export numbers comes at a time when India's consumption economy, which contributes to two-thirds of growth, is slowing down and is unlikely to revive quickly. At textile company Indo Count, the surge in demand has led to it shipping record numbers of beddings to clients across the western world. As demand for textiles remains strong, vice chairman Mohit Jain puts this down to the rise of the ‘homebody’ economy where people staying home are spending more on making their surroundings comfortable. According to Jain, the initial cyclical spurt in demand on account of restocking and pentup demand is over. He sees this round as more sustainable. India now has a 50 percent market share in the US market in the home textile space—60 percent for bed linen and 44 percent for towels. “Plants are running to a higher capacity and there are more economies of scale,” he says. “The key here is demand.” The company’s profits have quadrupled to ₹251 crore in the year ended March 2021 and its market cap is up two-and-a-half times to ₹5,000 crore. The spurt in textile exports is part of a broader jump in exports this fiscal when compared to the same month last fiscal. Over the last five years, India’s exports have averaged $495 billion a year (see table). The jump, which has been sustained since April when compared to the same period last year, begs the question as to whether exports and the thrust to manufacturing could be a significant contributor to growth in the years to come. The increase in export numbers comes at a time when India’s consumption economy, which contributes to two-thirds of growth, is slowing down and is unlikely to revive quickly. Government spending adds another 10 percent to growth. Investment spending and net exports have been flat and not contributed incrementally to growth over the last five years. For exports to move the needle, the spurt in both merchandise and service exports would have to be sustained. Manufacturing, which accounts for 14 to 15 percent of growth, would then see a revival. There are some initial signs that the thrust on manufacturing could bear fruit.
Manufacturing: Lack of consistency in policy Indian manufacturing has been hobbled by labour shortages, land availability, logistics costs and inconsistency on the taxation front. This has resulted in businesses being unable to plan for the long term. A manufacturing outfit may draw up a business plan only to see its assumptions go awry on account of extra costs or a higher tax rate or input tax credit not being passed on. Manufacturing the world over operates on economies of scale and Ebitda margins of no more than 15 percent. This lack of consistency in policy has led to a loss of investments from both Indian entrepreneurs and global manufacturers. So far, the government has sought to address this by working on the ease of doing business. How long did it take to register a company, how long did tax filing take or how long did the enforcement of contracts take. “Now they’ve moved from ease of doing business to addressing the cost of doing business,” says Sachchidanand Shukla, chief economist at Mahindra & Mahindra. This has been a paradigm shift for the industry. In this year’s Budget, the finance minister announced an outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore for production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. The government estimates that the minimum production, as a result of these PLI schemes, will be $500 billion over the next five years, according to the Press Information Bureau. In addition to PLI, in August, the government notified the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) that would refund levies until March 2024. There is also the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products that has yet to be notified. According to Jain of Indo Count, a problem investors had was calibrating earnings as earlier refund schemes were notified for a year. Now these longer-term measures would give more clarity to entrepreneurs planning to make investments in manufacturing. Over the last three months, Indian exporters have benefited from a resurgence of demand in the West as high vaccination rates coupled with income support during the pandemic have kept demand elevated. This, coupled with the “pattern of the second wave that has seen infections spike in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, have seen buyers switch away from producers in these countries”, says Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank. He’s unsure whether this switch could be long lasting. Categories like auto ancillaries and engineering goods have benefited as a result. There are also specific categories like women’s uppers or home textiles where India has built a niche. The demand for software exports continues to be strong as companies have upped spending on digitisation of their businesses. But the longer term trajectory for exports is uncertain as Barua points out that there is as yet no evidence of buyers adopting a China-plus-one strategy and Indian exporters benefiting from it. He would like to wait before he makes a final assessment. “This is so far a cyclical uptick and I haven’t seen anything structural,” he says. He says that areas where India has exported more are the ones that have been voluntarily ceded by China mainly on pollution grounds. Categories like specialty chemicals and pharma APIs, which have seen a rise in exports. Steel is another area where China, Japan and Europe have made commitments to cut production and are following through on those announcements. Another aspect of the surge in export numbers has been the fact that the growth may have been primarily value- and not volume-led, points out Shukla. The pandemic has seen a boom in commodity prices, and exports of petroleum products or iron ore would have attracted significantly higher prices than last year. Take the case of iron and steel. In the last fiscal, India exported worth ₹89,931 crore ($11.99 billion). In April and May 2021, that number was ₹23,089 crore ($3.07 billion) or 25 percent of the annual number last year. This is primarily on account of the fact that steel prices are up four-fold since last year. For now, the big question remains whether manufacturing could provide the incremental growth the economy needs over the next three years. The answer to that is unclear as there has been no change in labour laws at the central level. The four labour codes passed by Parliament have yet to be notified. Manufacturers, in addition to tax clarity, also seek the ability to hire and fire at will. While exports have fared well when compared to the same period last year, they are not up meaningfully when looked at on an annualised fiveyear rolling basis. This could change meaningfully once the PLI scheme investments kick in in areas as diverse as autos, textiles, pharmaceuticals, telecom equipment, solar modules and specialty steel. Expect India to make some gains there once those investments are made, and plants are up and running. Exporters now also have clarity till 2024 on the refund of taxes and this should see them make quick brownfield investments to take advantage of the pent-up demand in western economies. It would be fair to expect a slow and steady uptick in export numbers and manufacturing employment to take care of a slowdown in consumption-led growth in the economy.
Source: Forbes India
India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.470 billion, during the week ended August 20 India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.470 billion, during the week ended August 20. According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly statistical supplement, the reserves decreased to $616.895 billion from $619.365 billion reported for the week ended August 13. India's forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs), and the country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). On a weekly basis, FCAs, the largest component of the forex reserves, edged lower by $3.365 billion to $573.009 billion. However, the value of the country's gold reserves rose by $913 million to $37.249 billion. On the other hand, the SDR value slipped by $3 million to $1.541 billion. In addition, the country's reserve position with the IMF decreased by $15 million to $5.096 billion.
Source: Business Standard
As part of its efforts to give a fillip to the local economy and generate employment, the State Government has proposed to develop textile, jewellery and spices parks in Karnataka. As part of its efforts to give a fillip to the local economy and generate employment, the State Government has proposed to develop textile, jewellery and spices parks in Karnataka. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who was in New Delhi on Thursday, met Union Minister of Commerce and Textile Piyush Goyal, and the duo discussed the state’s new textile policy. “The minister has asked the State Government to submit a proposal to establish a textile park in Karnataka. He assured us of all the required facilities, including subsidy from the Centre. He also said that he will help the state in forging tie-ups with national and international textile manufacturers. The proposed park will help in generating more employment, especially for women,” Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru on Friday. The textile park is expected to come up in North Karnataka. It may be recalled that the UPA government, in 2011, had proposed to set up a mega textile park in Kalaburagi. The project, however, was scrapped last year owing to fund crunch. Apart from the textile park, there is also a proposal to set up a jewellery park in the state. Bommai has asked the Jewellery Association to submit a detailed proposal on the requirements. He said that the sector has the potential to generate employment. The location of the park, however, is yet to be decided. Meanwhile, Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani held discussion with Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shobha Karandlaje, in Bengaluru on Friday on establishing a spices park at Ambale in Chikkamagaluru district. The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board will provide financial assistance for the proposed spices park that will come up on 10 acres at Ambale. They also discussed establishing food processing units and providing guidance to farmers on exporting farm produce. “We will strive to make Karnataka a leader in agriculture export,” Nirani added.
Source: New Indian Express
As climate change accelerates globally, five circular business models will help organizations transition to the circular economy. With the Code Red for Humanity officially issued by the latest IPCC report and the planet’s clock ticking, it’s time to accelerate relevant solutions. Earlier this year, there was another important early alert report released globally – the 2021 Circularity Gap report. This report stated that over the past decade humanity has crossed two major milestones: the world consumes 100 billion tonnes of materials and it has become warmer by 1 degree. As a result, the world is only 8.6% circular. The silver lining and a cue for the solution – the mix of all production and consumption activities that meet the material-related needs of final consumers account for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. For civil society members alarmed by the IPCC report, it’s time to make the entire climate change campaign more inclusive with active roles for the general public who are the consumers. Fortunately, a global circular economy (CE) can help mitigate climate change as better resource management also slashes emissions. By using circular strategies where materials and emissions hotspots intersect, value retention is increased and excessive consumption curbed, thereby slashing emissions. What does it take? A complete switch from the linear ‘take-make-waste’ model being followed since the Industrial Revolution. While this raised living standards for many people worldwide through mass production and consumption, there were clear downsides too, including increased waste and pressure on finite resources, despite technological advances. What does a circular economy mean? CE is based on three pivotal principles: design out waste and pollution; keep materials and products in use; regenerate natural systems. Accordingly, resources are repaired, reused, recycled or remanufactured, retaining their value for as long as possible. But as a consumption-driven society, we want new products as well as utility on the demand side. Unfortunately, on the supply side, long-lasting products are not deemed profitable since these trigger a drop in consumption. This is then assumed to curtail spending in the economy at large, impacting jobs and, ultimately, living standards. Mobile phones are the biggest example – used and thrown, then bought again several times, driving huge demand for resources and material extraction while creating massive mounds of waste. Is there a way out and can CE be profitable? The good news: CE can be profitable with multiple business drivers to ensure profitability. For instance, it helps hedge risks related to uncertain future commodity supplies and price volatility. The transition to selling services instead of products assists manufacturers in controlling and recycling or reusing raw materials and other components deployed to produce goods as corporate assets. Consider a simple case. Remanufacturing car parts is 30-50% less expensive while generating 70% less waste compared to making new parts. Companies that cannot recycle/reuse their waste, products or by-products could offer these to those that can, fostering a symbiotic circular partnership. This creates a robust circular business model, avoiding waste management costs and producing new revenue streams. Car manufacturer Renault has successfully demonstrated this through its recycling program. Various materials such as steel, copper, plastics and textiles are sourced from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and used in new ones, offering similar performance levels as virgin materials. In Europe, 36% of its total newly-manufactured vehicles come from recycled materials and 85% of Renault’s ELVs are recyclable. There are five examples of circular business models: 1. Performance Model The provider remains responsible here as users are interested in the service quality – not the product offering this. The provider decides on the machinery or products used to undertake the required tasks. Here, Philips is the best example, selling light as a service. Instead of selling light fittings at a one-time cost, the subscription model lets users pay a recurring cost based on the lumens used. 2. Access Model Here, money is made by providing access to the product while its ownership is retained by the access provider. Excellent examples – all bike sharing or rental models worldwide. Some cities in India offer the PBS (public bike-sharing) system, allowing users to rent bicycles for brief periods. This acts as an affordable, socially New age start-ups such as Furlenco and Flyrobe are other rental examples. Furlenco is India’s first home furniture rental company that leases furniture such as sofas, tables, beds and more at affordable rentals. The minimum subscription period varies from three to six months for different products. Likewise, Flyrobe is an online forum that permits users – both male and female – to rent handcrafted ethnic wear. Customers rent clothes for a predetermined period and pay a particular amount for this. Its delivery and pickup facilities are free. Flyrobe is for those who don’t wish to purchase clothes but want good quality garments at reasonable rental amounts, which varies as per the usage period. 3. Gap Exploiter Model It creates nothing new but feeds into value gaps in the existing system of second-hand equipment sellers from repair shops to shoeshine boys, including refurbishing old machines. This is now done with laptops and mobile phones. By simply harvesting parts, old products are offered ‘as good as new’. Another example of this comes from the health tech industry where companies like Philips are selling refurbished models of MRI machines and other diagnostic equipments thereby creating a new offering as well as a recurring revenue source. 4. Hybrid Model This is based on profit from the repeat sales of relatively cheap goods or parts with a short lifespan that only function along with a dedicated but durable high-quality product. HP is the best example. In 2005, HP used polyethylene terephthalate (PET), recovered from its ink cartridges, as source material for making new ink cartridges. Its program disassembled returned ink cartridges, segregating them into plastics, metals and other parts. The plastics were then mixed and processed with those from other sources, including plastic hangers and bottles, for creating plastic for the new cartridges. By 2016, three billion-plus ink and toner cartridges were produced by HP, using more than 177 million pounds of recycled materials. Consequently, 682 million cartridges, 3.3 billion post-consumer plastic bottles and 50 million apparel hangers were kept out of landfills and upcycled for sustained use. 5. Classic Long-life Model Based on a high-quality product having a long lifespan, here sales serve as a classic income source. Though not cheap, it provides assured value for money. Examples include Fairphone and MUD jeans. Fairphone offers improved repair-ability by providing consumers with the option to buy spare parts to repair their phones. With MUD jeans, consumers buy a pair for €119. On returning the jeans, they receive a €30 discount on their next MUD jeans purchase. The returned jeans are turned into new products such as hats and sweaters. As climate change consequences such as landslides, flash floods and sudden storms surge globally, adopting a circular economy is critical for all companies across the spectrum. Besides new markets and business opportunities, CE drives greater jobs creation. This is mainly due to higher spending from lower prices, labour intensive recycling activities and the higher skills required in remanufacturing. Moreover, new roles are created in diverse industrial segments, including SMEs, through greater innovation, entrepreneurship and an emerging service-based economy. In India, we already have a sharing economy and repair-ability culture. But we must mainstream these models because circularity is the future we need to embrace to meet our climate change objectives.
Source: Times of India
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan today said Bangladesh and India can reap more mutual trade benefits through further collaboration, especially in the area of apparel and textile industry. “There are huge opportunities for Bangladesh and India to complement each other in boosting apparel and textile business in both countries,” he remarked during a meeting with High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, Vikram K Doraiswami who paid a courtesy call on BGMEA leaders at BGMEA office here today. BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Directors Asif Ashraf, Md. Mohiuddin Rubel, Tanvir Ahmed, Abdullah Hil Rakib, Deputy High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Dr. Binoy George, and Commercial Representative of the High Commission Dr. Pramyesh Basall were also present at the meeting, said a press release. They had discussions about existing problems in export-import especially in RMG and textile industry and possible ways to address them. They also discussed potential areas of further collaboration between Bangladesh and India to derive mutual trade benefits. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said: “While Bangladesh relies on India for the import of raw materials including machinery, cotton, yarn, fabric, chemicals, and dyes, India is a potential RMG export market for Bangladesh. Indian domestic apparel market is growing, and Bangladesh can tap the opportunity. So, there lies a reciprocal trade benefit for both Bangladesh and India.” He also called for easing travel procedures including visa and resuming flights especially for business people from Bangladesh. Faruque Hassan has sought the cooperation of the Indian High Commissioner in exchanging knowledge, and expertise in apparel and textile industry.
Source: The Independent
"Our customers embraced summer with optimism, hungry for mood-boosting clothing as vacations and reunions became a reality," Gap Chief Executive Officer Sonia Syngal said on an earnings call. Gap Inc on Thursday raised its full-year net sales forecast for the second time, betting on hot demand for its Old Navy and Athleta clothing brands as socializing makes a comeback with easing pandemic curbs. San Francisco-based Gap also lifted its annual profit estimate, sending shares up 7% aftermarket as both forecasts surpassed market expectations in a strong earnings season for retailers such as Macy's, Kohl's and discounter T.J. Maxx. "Our customers embraced summer with optimism, hungry for mood-boosting clothing as vacations and reunions became a reality," Gap Chief Executive Officer Sonia Syngal said on an earnings call. Old Navy's net sales jumped 21% in the second quarter from pre-pandemic levels two years ago, while Athleta surged 35%. Its tie-up with rapper Kanye West also brought in a windfall for the retailer, as 75% of pre-orders for the Yeezy-Gap jacket came from brand new customers. The Banana Republic owner has also been spending more on its digital business to tap the surge in online shopping, and said earlier in the day that it bought Drapr, a startup that lets customers try on clothes virtually. Gap expects fiscal 2021 net sales growth of about 30%, compared with a prior forecast in the low-to-mid 20% range. Analysts expected a 24.3% growth, according to Refinitiv data. The company, which has also been sharpening its focus on marketing and inclusivity, forecast annual adjusted profit between $2.10 and $2.25 per share from $1.60 to $1.75 earlier. Analysts expected $1.80. Net sales of $4.2 billion were the highest second-quarter sales in over a decade, rising 29% to beat estimates. However, Gap said it is investing in air freight as it deals with delayed inventory deliveries due to shipping congestions and pandemic-led factory closures in countries it sources from, echoing comments from rival Abercrombie & Fitch.
Source: Economic Times
In what is being hailed as a landmark achievement, Pakistan's textile exports have risen by an impressive 17% to $1.49bn in July, the first month of fiscal year 2021-22, as per a report in The News. Last year, Pakistan's textile exports numbered to around $1.28bn in July 2020, as per the export data of textile products seen by The News. The value added sector that represents 78% of the textile export has also registered an unprecedented growth of more than 17% cumulatively. Shahid Sattar, Secretary General and Executive Director of All Pakistan Textile Association (APTMA), said a 17% growth in textile is a "landmark achievement". He said 10 years back, Pakistan textile sector used to get a benefit of $2.50 by using cotton of one US dollar. Now, its capacity has increased to benefit up to $6.50 with the use of cotton valuing one dollar. "The textile sector has substantially increased its capacity to produce the value added and finished products which will further increase by 20 percent by the end of current fiscal 2021-22", he said.
Source: Geo News
Trade secretary Liz Truss hopes US can be persuaded to rejoin the body it left in 2017 The UK aims to wrap up negotiations to join the trans-Pacific trade group by the end of 2022 and hopes that the US can be persuaded to rejoin the bloc, according to the international trade secretary. In an interview with the Financial Times’ Payne’s Politics podcast, Liz Truss said that negotiations with the group of 11 countries was the immediate focus of the government’s “Global Britain” post-Brexit trade agenda. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership includes several fast-growing economies such as Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam along with established regional players Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Truss said she was hopeful “we will be able to have concluded negotiations by the end of next year” to join the bloc, arguing it would enable the UK to benefit from the “huge” economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. “Two-thirds of the world’s middle classes are going to live in Asia by 2030 and the types of products that they’re demanding are the types of things Britain produces — whether those high value manufactured goods, quality food and drink, digital and data products, financial services,” she said. “The EU is going to be a smaller proportion of the world economy in 20 or 30 years’ time and countries like Vietnam, or Malaysia, which are part of CPTPP are going to be a bigger share.” Striking a trade agreement with the US is the biggest trading prize for the Johnson government, despite the challenges of differences on agricultural standards. But Truss expressed hope that UK-US trade could be liberalised if America rejoined CPTPP, which it left in 2017. “The United States was one of the initial parties in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the new administration has not indicated they want to join it. But who knows what might happen in the future.” Despite fears from farmers over potential compromises on standards to strike a US trade agreement, Truss said “the important principle for me is that in any negotiations I undertake, we don’t undermine British farmers with their high standards”. She added she was “very confident there is a deal to be done” with the US. She also defended the trade deals struck by the UK since formally leaving the EU, despite the government’s internal economic analyses suggesting they will have minimal immediate benefit and will not compensate for the lost advantages from leaving the bloc. “The key point about the analysis that we conduct is it is static comparative analysis, so it doesn’t predict the future. It simply says in the state where we are now, how can we expect things to change across the economy. It isn’t a forecast of the future.” Truss also announced that her Department for International Trade would accelerate the relocation of around a fifth of its 2,455 staff from Whitehall as part of the ‘levelling up’ programme to address regional inequalities. The ministry aims to have 500 staff based in Darlington’s Treasury North campus by 2030. The venue will also include officials from the Treasury, Department for Business, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Office for National Statistics. The department has already advertised a hundred positions for the ‘UK Trade and Investment North’ department. DIT will also have one of the department’s five directors-general based permanently in Darlington. Truss also hopes to expand its offices in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff with a total of 750 officials based outside Whitehall by 2030. Truss, who is frequently rated as the Tory party’s most popular member of the government by the ConservativeHome website, did not deny she had ambitions to one day lead her party. “I am extremely happy as trade secretary, I think I’ve got the best job in government, striking these new trade deals for the first time in 50 years,” she said. “The prime minister is doing a fantastic job. And I’m sure he’ll be in office for many years to come.”
Source: Financial Times
The Logistics Business Association (Loba) and the Singapore-based Supply Chain Asia (SCA) industry body are teaming up to create greater synergy in both countries’ supply chain networks and freight industries, which are widely expected to stage a healthy recovery as the world navigates the post-Covid-19 era. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to this effect by Loba president Chea Chandara and his SCA counterpart Paul Lim on Aug 27 at an online ceremony. According to the MoU, the two sides will work to forge closer cooperation in transportation and the supply of goods, facilitate online and offline business networking, and organise joint study tours in fields related to supply chain management and the international freight sector. Loba’s Chandara said he was pleased to embark on a partnership with SCA, acclaiming the industry body for its wide range of logistics and freight networks all over the world. He told The Post that one of the MoU’s primary goals is to foster joint participation between members of the two organisations and better acquaint them to promising and innovative logistics supply chain management practices and technologies. The agreement also seeks to encourage events to be organised around logistics and supply chain operations to keep investors, entrepreneurs, students and the general public in the loop of the latest developments in the industry, he said. “This MoU will serve as a guide for Loba and SCA members on business development, capacity building, exchange programmes and... [improving] logistics business networks,” Chandara said. He emphasised that although Cambodia is a developing country in a world still beset by the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for goods imports and exports in the Kingdom remains exceptionally strong. Popular import items include raw materials for the construction, foodstuffs, and textilerelated sectors, and in-demand export goods include agricultural and finished textile products, as well as components for various industries, he said. “Setting this cooperation with SCA in motion is crucial, bearing in mind that Singapore is a technologically advanced country and a potential port in Asia,” he said. During the ceremony, SCA’s Lim said the industry body vows to share its technological knowledge and experience of international trade with Loba, adding that the supply and freight sectors will see more activity as the economy recovers. He said he would visit Cambodia – once Covid permits – to build new experiences and gain insight into the economic opportunities and investment potential offered by the Kingdom. “When Covid-19 tapers, I, along with SCA members, will visit Cambodia to promote cooperation with Loba, as well as explore investment potential there,” Lim said.
Source: The Star
The programs comprise vocational education and training program, value-added and industrial competitiveness improvement program, as well as management support program Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has elaborated on the Industry Ministry's three priority programs, with a 2022 indicative budget ceiling of Rp2.61 trillion, to the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Commission VI here on Thursday. "The program2 comprise vocational education and training program, value-added and industrial competitiveness improvement program, as well as management support program," he stated. Meanwhile, Rp797 billion of the budget ceiling will be allocated for personnel expenditures, Rp360.26 billion for operational expenditures, Rp1.45 trillion for nonoperational expenditures, Rp982 billion to conduct education-related functions, and Rp1.62 trillion allotted to run economic functions. Furthermore, the minister has informed that the vocational education and training program will be implemented by the Industrial Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMI). The program will hold the drafting of the Indonesian National Work Competency Standards of the industrial sector, certification of competent industrial workers, competent industrial workforce training through the 3 in 1 training system (training, certification, and placement), industrial 4.0 workforce training, as well as equipment procurement and operationalization of the Indonesian Digital Industrial Center (PIDI) 4.0. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of the Agricultural Industry; Directorate General of the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Textile Industries (IKFT); Directorate General of the Metal, Machinery, Transportation, and Electronics Industry (ILMATE); Directorate General of Small, Medium, and Miscellaneous Industries (IKMA); Directorate General of Resilience, Territorial, and International Industrial Access (KPAII); as well as the Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency (BSKJI) will apply the added value and industrial competitiveness program. The Directorate General of the Agriculture Industry will prioritize the facilitation of the Industrial Vegetable Oil/Industrial Lauric Oil (IVO/ILO)-based Green-fuel Industrial Pilot Plant construction; machinery restructuring of the furniture industry; and the provision of assistance for the industry 4.0 application to the marine and fisheries food processing industry as well as beverage, tobacco products, and refreshment industry. Furthermore, the Directorate General of IKFT will run machinery restructuring of the textile, leather and footwear industry; facilitate investors for the growth and development of the petrochemical industry in Bintuni Bay; and ensure assistance for the implementation of industry 4.0 at the textile and apparel industry, downstream chemical and pharmaceuticals industry, as well as the ceramic cement and non-metallic mineral processing industry. The Directorate General of ILMATE’s attempts comprise facilitating the strengthening of the electronic component industrial structure, verifying the capability of the national steel www.citiindia.org
Source: Antara News
