INTERNATIONAL
The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), Association of Synthetic Fibre Industries and Association of Manmade Fibre Industries have demanded reduction in excise duty on manmade fibres in line with growing neighbouring economies China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Thailand. Backed by Ministry of Textiles and Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, all textile bodies in India have demanded to reduce the much needed relief to this industry. Meanwhile, SRTEPC has welcomed the changes announced by the Centre in duty drawback scheme, which will help boost exports. The Centre has notified certain changes in the all industry rates of duty drawback effective from tomorrow. New entries in the drawback schedule have been created for cotton yarns mixed with Man Made Fibre (MMF) - both grey and dyed. It has also increased the drawback caps in the case of certain MMF fabrics. “We highly appreciate the step taken by Ministry of Finance,” SRTEPC Chairman Anil Rajvanshi said in a statement here. However, he pointed out that India’s exports of MMF textiles can increase to 10 billion dollar from the present 6 billion dollar if the excise duty on MMF are reduced.
On the 3 per cent interest equalisation scheme, Rajvanshi lauded the Centre for initiating necessary steps to implement the scheme smoothly by saying the problems faced initially by some of the exporters in getting the benefit from their banks have been largely resolved. With regard to exports of manmade textiles, Mr. Rajvanshi said even though Indian manmade textiles products are preferred in International markets, these remain noncompetitive in the world markets, owing to high burden of excise duty which has restricted the product development. Vietnam exports US$27 billion worth of textiles comprising mainly of sports and active wears which are largely produced from manmade fibres.
Despite having two of world’s largest producers of manmade fibres in India, India’s exports of sports wears and leisure wears is not even 5% that of Vietnam. Further, some of the countries have got preferential access to export markets like the EU and USA, besides, discriminatory excise duties on manmade fibres, Indian manmade textiles are subjected to trade barriers in markets like China, Turkey and Canada. SRTEPC Chairman further asked the Union government to initiate dialogue with EU to fast track FTA wherein there is agreement between both sides to reduce tariff to zero for zero.
SOURCE: Tecoya Trend
In the wake of the Make in Maharashtra slogan – a toddler initiative adapted from Make in India, the Government of Maharashtra plans to accelerate the textile sector of the state which is the largest employer and covers the largest area of around 41.92 per cent under cultivation for cotton. The Maharashtra government, which has already announced 14 textile parks in the state, has invited businessmen to invest in the sector through its initiative. The state also plans to set up 10 new mega textile hubs and new garment park at Solapur and Nagpur. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on the sidelines of Make in India (MII) Week that the Government seeks investment in textile parks in a big way. They have already announced 14 textile parks and one mega textile cluster in major cotton growing region in the state. Fadnavis assured the industry with more policy support and ease of doing business. He added that global economic slowdown has given the nation’s textile sector an opportunity to increase their market share in the world market at 5 percent as compared to over 30 percent of China. He said that everything is needed to be done in coming years and opined Maharashtra continued to remain an industrial powerhouse. Out of 18,709 industrial projects approved from August 1991 to October 2014, 10.6 per cent belongs to textile sector, only next to chemical and fertilizer sector. The CM added that the state has contributed 15 per cent to the national GDP, has the highest exports, and highest FDI inflows. With Make in India, (the) Make in Maharashtra initiative has also started.The state has 78 lakh bales cotton production capacity and 25 lakh bales are processed to manufacture yarn. Meanwhile, on ease of doing business, Fadnavis said Maharashtra has brought down the number of permissions required for setting up an industry drastically.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Surat Technical Education and Research Society (STERS) has embarked on a mission to encourage textile entrepreneurs in the country's biggest man-made fabric (MMF) hub here to manufacture and market western outfits from the city. As part of Valentine's Day celebration, over 140 fashion designing students displayed their elegantly designed western and Indo-western outfits at the three-day exhibition, which concluded on Monday. STERS now plans to hold a fashion show in the textile market on Ring Road where outfits of the designing students will be displayed.
Indian garments have a limited market with consumption only in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Therefore, STERS wants textile entrepreneurs to grab the opportunity by manufacturing western outfits, in order to increase garment exports across the globe. Saris and dress materials worth Rs110 crore are traded at the textile wholesale markets here on a daily basis. "Only 3% of Indian outfits are exported to other countries except Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. As production of western outfits is on a very small scale in India, China has grabbed the opportunity to export garments from that country," STERS secretary Dinesh Jhaveri said.
There are a few players in the textile industry manufacturing western kurtis and leggings, while majority of textile players make Indian outfits including saris, chudidars, lenghas, Punjabi dresses, etc. Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkatta and Ahmedabad have been manufacturing western and Indo-Western outfits for India and export markets. Most western outfits are exported to UAE, the US and Europe. "City's textile industry is the polyester fabric hub employing over 10 lakh workers. There is a big opportunity for textile entrepreneurs to create job opportunities by setting up western outfit manufacturing units. The employment in the textile industry will rise from 10 lakh to 20 lakh due to addition of the garment sector," Jhaveri added.
SOURCE: The Times of India
It is not only the infrastructure sector, but also the domestic consumer durables industry that is looking for opportunities that the Make in India programme will throw up. The durables industry is hoping that the initiatives announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 29 during the Budget presentation will help boost demand as well as incentivise manufacturing in the country. An excise duty cut on consumer appliances is one of the key demands of the industry that is facing a fall in demand. The government had doled out excise duty sops for consumer durables in 2014, which were later rolled back. “With the fall in rupee, the sector is eagerly awaiting a Budget that can stabilise the economy and give a boost to the struggling industry. A reduction in excise duty from 12 per cent to 10 will bring relief,” said Anirudh Dhoot, Director at Videocon Group. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has been working towards stricter energy efficiency norms, which have also contributed to rising costs for the industry and rising prices for the consumers. “As the energy efficiency norms are getting tightened, industry players are finding it challenging to make some of the five-star rated products in categories, such as frost-free refrigerators, as the cost is exorbitant. “Consumers cannot afford them due to such high costs. The government needs to incentivise consumers to upgrade to higher star rated products,” explained Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice-President, Godrej Appliances. The consumer durables industry has been seeing muted growth of 4-5 per cent year-on-year for the past four to five years. Industry players say, for the growth rates to be sustainable, the industry needs to grow at about 10-15 per cent and this requires measures to boost demand.
Shantanu Das Gupta, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Strategy, South Asia, Whirlpool, said the industry is hoping the Budget will lead to more disposable income in the hands of the consumers to spur consumption. The industry is also hoping that the government will remove inefficiencies in the system posed by the inverted duty structure. Industry players are urging the government to remove basic customs duty levied on import of components used to make appliances such as refrigerators, air-conditioners and washing machines. Nandi said this will ensure a level playing field for the industry and encourage companies to manufacture appliances locally rather than import them into the country. Kim-Ki-Wan, MD, LG Electronics India, said Make in India must be incentivised for Indian products to be competitive in the world markets and must be supported by the development of a world-class infrastructure to reduce transaction cost and overheads. Also, companies are hoping for a lower rate of taxes with the implementation of GST. Wan said, “Tax reforms implementation should include a fast roll out of GST, so as to have an equitable tax system and unified market which, in turn, can improve efficiency and competitiveness. Simplified and transparent tax policies will improve ease-of-doing business and reduce litigations or disputes, thereby building investor confidence and supporting the Make in India campaign.”
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
India has to change the way it looks at manufacturing to become world's factory by bringing in digitization and without worrying about immediate job losses, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion Secretary Amitabh Kant said on Monday during the 'Make in India' week. Indian government is holding a 'Make in India' week in collaboration with CII to promote manufacturing in India with an aim to create jobs and bring down expensive imports. "The world of manufacturing is changing. It used to dark and dangerous but now it is fashionable," said Kant during a panel discussion on the way forward for 'Make in India'. "Go look at Tesla Motors. It is not a manufacturing company anymore. It is a digital company."
Kant said while each state can have its own labour-intensive core competencies like tourism, food processing, gems and textiles many other states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat must get into the next level of internet and digital technology-led manufacturing. Kant added that if one job is lost due to automation and digitization many more will be created, becoming a far more valuable workforce to the country.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar emphasized the need to surmount the skill gap in the Indian workforce to be ready to meet the challenges created by the new wave of technology in manufacturing. "We need people who are trained well. Absorbing technology and getting the right skill set in a highly technical industry like defence is a challenge we have to surmount in the coming months," Parrikar said. Parrikar said that while the government can't get out completely from defence manufacturing he wants the boards of defence public sector undertakings to think more like their private counterparts. He too is trying to reinvent the old products that these companies are selling for decades.
Business tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla said industrial growth has potential to transform economies, giving the example of South Korea, which saw per capita income jump 35 fold during rapid industrialization is 1960s. He, however, added a note of pragmatism saying that while India understands cutting edge technology it will take time for the country to get on with new innovations. "Elephant can't dance in a few months," he said. Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the onus was on the industry to deal with rising imports of several essential items. "I cannot stop all imports...but India's manufacturing companies have to capture this market and identify how they can link themselves to the global value chain," she said. DIPP's Kant added India must become a disruptor in the world to take its manufacturing forward as the industrialists can't demand the right to exports without allowing imports in a globalised world. Sitharaman said that the talks with European Union on Free Trade Agreement on textiles have started and are expected to be completed soon, giving a big boost to the textile sector, which provides direct employment to 45 million people in the country.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday signed memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with an investment intention of over Rs 45,000 crore in automobiles, steel, fertilisers, realty, IT & ITES, ports and skill development. These MoUs were exchanged in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Make In India Week function at the MMRDA grounds at BKC. These are in addition to the MoU with Vedanta group for a LCD Fab plant worth Rs 20,000 crore and the Rs 1,400 crore MoU with Raymond in the textile sector. Mahindra & Mahindra will invest Rs 8,000 crore, comprising Rs 6,500 crore at its Nashik plant and Rs 1,500 crore in the Chakan unit in the next five years. In Nashik, the company proposes to continue its Ingenio project (Xylo, Qyanto and its variants). Mercedes will investment Rs 2,000 crore at the Chakan plant. This would be the third expansion, taking the vehicle capacity to 80,000 from the present 20,000. Posco and Uttam Galva together signed an MoU but did not disclose the investment amount. Uttam Galva has already announced expansion of its steel plant in Wardha at Rs 3,750 crore while Posco would invest in the Wardha and Sindhudurg plants of Uttam Galva.
The state-run Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers would invest Rs 6,204 crore for the third phase of Thal plant to expand urea capacity in Raigad district and another Rs 631 crore in energy saving schemes at Thal plant. Additionally, it will invest Rs 131 crore to revamp its urea plant in Trombay, north east Mumbai. Additional investments include Rs 4,571 crore by Ascendas in Navi Mumbai in the IT sector, Rs 5,000 crore by Panchshil in realty and IT in Pune, Rs 3,750 crore by K Raheja in IT parks, Rs 3,000 crore by Godrej to expand its existing unit at Khalapur in Raigad district. Furthermore, Sudarshan Chemicals proposes to invest Rs 1,100 crore to produce pigment and agro chemicals in Raigad district while JSW Jaigarh Ports Rs 6,000 crore in Ratnagiri district to set up LNG terminal. Additionally, JSW Foundation, Uber, Volkswagen will invest in skill development.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The Indian rupee today strengthened further against the American currency by surging 16 paise to end at 68.07 on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters on the back of a sharp recovery in the equity market despite higher greenback overseas. The rupee resumed higher at 68.20 per dollar as against the last Friday’s closing of 68.23 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 68.01 before concluding at 68.07, showing a gain of 16 paise or 0.23 per cent. The Indian rupee has gained by 23 paise or 0.34 per cent in two days. The domestic unit hovered in a range of 68.20 and 68.01 per dollar during the day. Meanwhile, the dollar index was up 0.14 per cent against a basket of six currencies in the late afternoon Asian trade. Overseas, the US dollar was mostly up against its major rivals in Asian trade. Investor sentiment has turned positive after a rally in commodities and banking shares that elevated European markets and US stocks Friday. The positive mood has translated into a sharp recovery in the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average by 7.16 per cent.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India recently unveiled its apparel and textile export potential at Mexico's Intermoda exhibition via the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The event was held at the Expo Guadalajara Exhibition Centre in Guadalajara, Mexico. India's participation at the Intermoda was aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Mexico, a strategically-located Latin America country bound by the United States to the North and Belize and Guatemala to the South-East. Being a regular participant, the ITPO aims to provide an excellent business opportunity in high potential Mexican markets which attract a large number of buyers from North America and Latin American regions. India's participation offered excellent opportunities for Indian companies to export apparel, textile, leather garments, fashion accessories blouses, skirts, evening wear, woollen shawls, tie & die items, made-ups, fashion jewellery, , wooden block printed garments and terracotta items, etc. The fair also brought together Mexican and international companies, manufacturers, importers and distributors, and was an ideal place for publicising brand image, besides giving one and all the opportunity to analyse competition, step up sales, launch new products, get to know the market trends and expand network of business contacts. This fair is regarded as one of the most important and specialised apparel and textile events in Mexico which connects potential buyers. The fair was supplemented with a fashion extravaganza showcasing the latest fashion trends on colours, textures, fabrics and merchandising.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The country’s merchandise exports fell in January, for a 14th month in a row, by 13.6 per cent to $21.1 billion against $24.4 bn a year before. Major items such as petroleum and engineering continued to contract, due to softening prices and subdued demand, official data showed on Monday. As compared to this, during the 2008-09 global financial meltdown, the decline was for nine months in a row. Exports had previously seen monthly growth in November 2014, rising 7.3 per cent over a year. India is not the only market to see a sharp deceleration in export. These dropped 11.2 per cent to $177.5 bn in January in the largest trader of goods, China, year-on-year. December’s fall in Indian exports was a little over 15 per cent. Imports also fell in January, by 11 per cent to $28.7 bn as compared to January 2015, when it was $32.3 bn. As such, the trade deficit stood at a 11-month low of $7.6 bn in January 2016 against $11.6 bn in December 2015.
Exports fall for 14th straight month, down 13.6% in January Non-oil imports were lower by 1.4 per cent at $23.7 bn in January against $24 bn a year before. However, gold imports rose by 85.2 per cent to $2.9 bn, up from $1.6 bn a year before. In all, non-oil and non-gold imports went down 7.4 per cent in January, much more than the two per cent fall of December. A total of $20.8 bn in January this year, against $22.45 bn earlier. Non-oil, non-gold imports are taken as demand for industrial products and so, the data cast doubt on recovery of industrial production. Output as measured by the Index of Industrial Production contracted both in November and December, by 3.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. This is the last major data on the macro economy to be issued by the government before its Budget 2016-17 proposals. The major contraction in exports were in petroleum (35.2 per cent), engineering goods (27.6) and in readymade garments (6.1). “The fall in engineering exports by over 27 per cent will have a negative impact on jobs as well, since the sector is dominated by small and medium enterprises, with large numbers of employment,” said T S Bhasin, chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council.
Within commodities, the effect of government measures against dumping of steel through higher duties was evident from a continued decline in imports of iron & steel. These fell 16.4 per cent in January year-on-year, says a note by YES Bank. For the first 10 months of the current financial year (April-January), exports plummeted 17.65 per cent to $217.7 bn against $264.3 bn a year before. To achieve even the revised and lower target of $300 bn, the country has to export $82 bn in the last two months of year, a formidable task. Federation of Indian Export Organisations president S C Ralhans said cumulative export might only reach $260 bn. It was a total of $310 bn in 2014-15, down 1.2 per cent over the previous year’s. So, this financial year is set to be the second year in a row to see a contraction in exports. The country’s cumulative imports in April-January was $324 bn, a drop of 15.5 per cent from $383 bn in the corresponding period of the previous year. As a result, the trade deficit narrowed to $106 bn for April-January 2015-16, lower than the $119 bn in the same months of the previous year.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Reports say India is keen to ratify, at the “earliest”, the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) on goods, of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The move makes perfect sense. As India seeks to better integrate with the world economy, clear-cut transparent norms on trade facilitation would be very much in our interest. However, the TFA would come into force only after twothirds of the 162 WTO member countries formally accept it; thus far only 63 mostly developed nations have done so. This is why we need to explore heightened engagement on trade across sectors and geographies. The gains from trade can be huge. Tariff and non-tariff walls can disincentivise the Make in India initiative and keep it below its potential. A TFA on services would also be apt, although it may make better sense to eschew WTO wide consensus and aim to seek an agreement with a limited number of nations, say, 50, initially. When it comes to policy reform, the broader point is to shift trade liberalisation from the back burner. The EU-India free trade agreement needs to be concluded without further delay, never mind if it is somewhat lacking in scope, to begin with. The best must not be the enemy of the good.
Also, India needs to up its diplomatic ante to seek membership of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, representing 44 per cent of global trade. We cannot have an Act East policy and yet not join Apec. Last year’s Indo-US joint declaration merely noted India’s “interest” in Apec and New Delhi now needs to proactively demonstrate keenness for formal membership, from ‘observer’ status. Apec membership could in due course make it possible for us to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is still a work in progress. We do need to genuinely liberalise our trade policy.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The rupee may a see a bout of volatility this week with the resumption of Chinese financial markets on Monday after a week-long New Year celebrations, triggering movements in emerging markets currencies.Investors are not taking fresh bets on the dollar as they expect the rupee to reflect the Chinese yuan, a major emerging market constituent. "All eyes are now on Chinese markets, which would drive the rupee-dollar exchange rate this week," said Navin Raghuvanshi, a currency trader at DCB Bank. "Unlike in the past few weeks, some investors are not really shorting the dollar as they aren't sure of the yuan move." On Monday, the rupee gained about 17 paise, or 0.25%, to close at 68.06/dollar. The local unit may swing more than 1% this week as some traders see a range of 67.70-68.50. The rupee is one of the four worst performing emerging market currencies so far this calendar year as overseas investors are seen selling domestic securities, seeking the safest of safe haven assets in the US.
"Sensing the risk flowing from China next week, RBI may have been overly aggressive on its intervention last week," said Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst, Kotak Securities. "With the approaching financial year-end, RBI would not prefer too weak a rupee as it could exacerbate the pain on corporates." "Companies are reeling from the dual menace of liquidity and demand crunches," he said. The Chinese central bank has fixed the yuan at its highest rate in over a month as it tried to stem the speculation about devaluation. "With the China factor coming back to the markets, the rupee is bound to be more volatile as it would follow the unpredictable yuan," said Abhishek Goenka, founder, IFS Global. The rupee lost about 6% to the dollar since August last year when China started devaluing its currency after a long gap. During the same time, renminbi lost close to 4.5% but the rupee is still seen overvalued. Reflecting the recent retreat in the US currency, the Monday fix of 6.5118 yuan per dollar — a reference point for trading — was much stronger than the 6.53 set before the holiday, and the onshore spot rate firmed more than 1% to 6.50, Reuters reported.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
For the first time, a full day has been dedicated to a business session at the 8th edition of the India-Asean ‘Delhi Dialogue’ — an annual Track 1.5 forum for discussing politico-security, economic and socio-cultural issues between the two sides. Briefing media persons ahead of the two-day dialogue starting February 17, Anil Wadhwa, secretary (east) MEA, said, “Delhi Dialogue VIII is appropriately themed “Asean-India Relations: A New Paradigm”. “Ongoing negotiations for regional trading agreements involving Asean member states including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has the potential to alter the regional trade architecture,” he added. The dialogue has been organised by the MEA and five industry chambers as well as think tanks from New Delhi, Singapore and Indonesia. The combined GDP of almost 4.7 trillion that Asean and India bring together defines one of the most important economic spaces to impact the lives of nearly two billion people. With the coming into force of Asean Economic Community on 31st Dec 2015 and the expected conclusion of RCEP negotiations this year, the India Asean relationship is expected to receive a shot in the arm.
In a survey done by FICCI, it underlines industry’s optimism about the enabling environment created by the Government of India and the move towards consolidating the Asean region as an economic powerhouse of Asia through the formalization of Asean Economic Community (AEC) in December 2015 and expected conclusion of RCEP negotiations this year. However, there is a room for creating greater awareness about the specific possibility of economic cooperation with the various Asean countries and addressing NTBs of doing business with each other. According to the survey findings, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore are the destinations in the Asean region which are currently the most important for India’s industry. The survey has revealed that there is immense scope for systematically educating industry on the available incentives and possibility of leveraging inter-governmental economic agreements. Given the great cultural and historical affinity between India and Asean, strengthening the people to people connect has been a common response from industry, in line with the government’s emphasis on popular diplomacy with Asean.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
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$ 30.38 per barrel (bbl) on 15.02.2016. This was higher than the price of US$ 28.34 per bbl on previous publishing day of 12.02.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs 2070.04 per bbl on 15.02.2016 as compared to Rs 1939.52 per bbl on 12.02.2016. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 68.13 per US$ on 15.02.2016 as against Rs 68.44 per US$ on 12.02.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on February 15, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 12.02.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.02.2016 (28 Jan to 11 Feb, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
30.38 (28.34) |
30.05 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
2070.04 (1939.52) |
2040.70 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
68.13 (68.44) |
67.91 |
Source: Ministry of Textiles
Seven large and four medium textile and apparel companies are participating from 15 to 18 February 2016 in the forthcoming edition of Sourcing at Magic at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, USA. The delegation is being led by Enterprise Mauritius's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Arvind Radhakrisna. The participants are: Flamsafe Maxisoft Ltd, CIEL Group, Ji Yun Knits Ltd, Palmar Knits, Palmar Woven, Star Knitwear, Tara Group, Tex Group, Tropical Garments, V Formula Ltd, and Denim Bay Ld. Sourcing at Magic Fair is known to be one of the largest and the most important textile and apparel exhibition held in the West Coast in Las Vegas. This fair is a focal meeting point for more than 1100 companies coming from over 40 countries. Mauritian manufacturers have been participating in the event since 2009. It offers a unique opportunity to connect with US buyers principally those located in the West Coast. A number of workshops will be organised in parallel with the session 'Africa on the Verge'. Eminent personalities such as Jeremy Lott from the American Apparel and Footwear Association and Mr Bill McRaith, President of SanMar Group, will address the audience. For this edition, there is a lot of emphasis on the long term renewal of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The United States Agency for international Development has designed a special African Pavilion where Mauritian companies will be showcasing a wide range of apparel products.
Exports to the USA for the Textile/Apparel category have shown an increasing trend over the last 5 years. While exports were at Rs 4.1 billion in 2010, they have attained Rs 6.3 billion in 2014. For the period January to September 2015, exports to the U.S. for Textile and Apparel were Rs 5.2 billion. The recent renewal of AGOA for a further period of 10 years coupled with the extension of third country fabric derogation till 2025, offers a tremendous opportunity for Mauritian manufacturers to boost up exports even further.
SOURCE: The All Africa
A slide in China's exports in January was eclipsed by an even bigger tumble in imports, leaving a record trade surplus for the world's biggest trading nation. Overseas shipments declined 11.2 per cent in January in US dollar terms from a year earlier, the customs administration said on Monday, compared with a 1.4 per cent drop in December. Imports extended a stretch of declines to 15 months, tumbling 18.8 per cent, leaving a record trade surplus of $63.3 billion. The slide in exports suggests the yuan's depreciation since August has yet to result in a sustained boost to the competitiveness of China's factories. While the decline in shipments to and from most major destinations raises concern of a lingering trade slowdown, the readings may also be influenced by the timing of China's week-long Lunar New Year holiday and volatility in trade flows with Hong Kong. "Taken at face value these numbers are a negative sign for the Chinese economy," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at fund manager AMP Capital Investors Ltd in Sydney. "But Chinese economic data is traditionally very volatile around January reflecting the floating timing of the Chinese new year and they may also reflect a correction to possible over-invoicing and disguised capital outflows that could have boosted the December data."
China's yuan surged by the most in more than a decade, catching up with dollar declines during a week-long holiday, after the central bank chief voiced support for the currency and set its fixing at a one-month high. The slide in exports underscores the fragility of global demand and signal that policy makers may accelerate fiscal and monetary easing, according to Fielding Chen, an economist at Bloomberg Intelligence in Hong Kong. The People's Bank of China has held the main rate at a record low since October. "Weak exports pose a further downside risk to the weak economy, suggesting the government may need to step in more quickly with policy support to shore up domestic demand," Chen wrote in a report Monday. "In particular, policy makers may want to ramp up fiscal stimulus as soon as possible in order to bolster investment and consumption."
China's economy continues to give mixed signals. While areas like consumption and services show signs of holding up, the manufacturing sector remains in the doldrums. Retail sales over the Spring Festival holiday rose 11.2 per cent from the same vacation period a year earlier, with cinemas posting sharp increases in box-office sales, the country's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. A fuller reading on how China's economy has started 2016 won't be available until next month, when fresh readings on retail sales, investment and industrial output are due. "This shows that if China wants to deliver a 6.5 to 7 percent growth target this year they have to rely on domestic demand," said Larry Hu, head of China Economics at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. "Exports are likely to grow zero percent this year and property investment by zero to 5 percent. They need to come out with a bigger infrastructure package to invest."
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Maglital, an Italian textile manufacturer based in Trevi (Perugia), has received an €8million guarantee from Sace, an Italian export credit agency (ECA), to boost Italian textiles exports, according to media reports. Sace would be providing export credit guarantees and insurances for buyers and suppliers credit, to help Maglital develop foreign business and investments through insurance cover. Maglital, which sells locally manufactured accessories and clothing under the brand Cruciani, is planning a €21million international expansion to boost the Italian textiles export. The company is currently present in the US, the UAE, South Korea, Japan, Spain and other European markets. The company is focusing particularly on the Chinese and Turkish markets, with plans to open 20 stores and 100 franchising points worldwide.
Italy's third largest bank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena would be distributing €3million, while the other financing tranche would be provided by another bank whose name has not been disclosed. Simest, which is a part of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti group, would be providing additional financial support to Maglital. Recently, Simest bought 26 per cent stake, worth €7million in Maglital's mother company Gruppo Finac, owned by the Caprai family.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Pakistan and South Korea to hold rounds of negotiations to launch a free trade agreement (FTA) to capitalize on each other's geo-strategic leverage, following an ongoing feasibility study conducted jointly by Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy since July 2015, is expected to be completed by June. Pakistani Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan, in an interview with The Korea Herald highlighted the policy of prioritizing trade and investment with Korea since Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took office in 2013. The envoy said that following agreements with China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Islamabad aimed to strike a deal with Seoul, which would be the first of its kind with a member economy of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Khan said that as the Korean economy is undergoing structural changes with low-value- added industries outsourced overseas, Korean companies could base their operations in Pakistan in this segment of manufacturing. Seoul has recently scaled up contributions to the economic development cooperation fund from $180 to $500 million, under which the Korea Eximbank has agreed to establish an information and communications technology park in Islamabad. A government-to-government project with anticipated investments by Korean firms, the scheme is worth over a million dollars.
According to the ambassador, the project's spirit is to emulate the success of ICT parks in Korea. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding for the Pakistan-Korea Joint Trade Commission in July last year, during the visit of Pakistan's Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan to Seoul. The ninth bilateral policy consultation session was also held in Islamabad with the participation of Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam wherein upgrading the policy consultation to a strategic level was discussed. Pakistan has comparative advantages in textiles, cotton and leather goods over other competing countries.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
