Goyal said both merchandise and services exports are poised to hit a record this fiscal. India will clinch a clutch of balanced free trade agreements (FTAs) in the coming months, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, exhorting domestic industry to take advantage of the immense opportunities that are set to come its way and scale up exports. Speaking at an interactive session with industry leaders on the Budget for FY23 in Mumbai, organised by BSE, Goyal said India will sign a trade deal with the UAE in the next few days and the FTA talks with Australia are at an advanced stage. New Delhi will also launch the second round of formal talks with London in March for such a trade pact. Interestingly, the Gulf Cooperation Council has evinced interest in forging an FTA with India, the minister said. According to sources, India has zeroed in on more than 1,000 products across sectors, including textiles and garments, gems and jewellery, leather, spices, engineering goods, chemicals and poultry, where it wants duty concessions from the UAE under the proposed FTA. India and the UK are negotiating for a pact that could cover more than 90% of tariff lines; both are aiming to double bilateral trade of both goods and services to about $100 billion by 2030. With Australia, India had a deficit of $4.2 billion in FY21 on a bilateral goods trade of $12.3 billion. “The world wants to trade with you, and you have to seize this opportunity,” Goyal told the captains of industry. At the same time, he impressed on industry to be more proactive and flag non-tariff barriers being faced by Indian exporters overseas so that appropriate remedial measures can be initiated by the government. “I want you to come and tell me which country is creating a problem. Unless you tell me, how can I fight for you?” he asked exporters. For instance, Indonesia was not allowing tyre imports from India while it was dumping its own tyres here until the Indian government took retaliatory measures. Goyal said both merchandise and services exports are poised to hit a record this fiscal. While goods exports will touch $400 billion, services exports are set to touch $240 billion, he said. In fact, merchandise exports between April and January this fiscal touched almost $336 billion, higher than the earlier annual record of $330 billion (in FY19), with two more months to go, he added.
Source: Financial Express
The authorities is reviewing the continuation of a key export scheme, Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG), launched within the Nineteen Nineties, that permits exporters to import sure capital items utilized in manufacturing without paying obligation. The commerce division is inspecting whether or not the scheme discovered to be inconsistent with the foundations of the World Trade Organization continues to be wanted or will be discontinued. “There is a thought in certain sections of the government that the EPCG scheme is not supporting the growth of the domestic capital goods industry and should be discontinued,” mentioned a authorities official, who didn’t want to be recognized. Commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam advised the media final week that EPCG shouldn’t be off the desk however sure schemes are under query. According to individuals accustomed to the matter, the income division is in favour of regularly phasing out the scheme. The advantages under the scheme provided to the ability sector have been withdrawn virtually ten years in the past. The commerce and business ministry has held one spherical of talks with business on the difficulty. Under the scheme, import of capital items for pre-production, manufacturing and post-production is allowed at zero obligation. However, that is topic to fulfilment of particular export obligation equal to 6 occasions of obligation, taxes and cess saved on capital items, to be fulfilled in six years from the date of challenge of authorisation. Almost 95,000 authorisations have been issued between 2015-21. Exporters have urged the federal government to proceed the scheme as a six-year export obligation interval helps them maintain their exports regardless of difficult situations. “Many companies would have stopped exporting had there been no export obligation under EPCG,” an business consultant who participated within the stakeholder session late final month mentioned. As per one other commerce consultant, the finance ministry’s Manufacturing and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations Scheme permits duty-free import of capital items even for home manufacturing in contrast to EPCG, which generates dedicated exports, and therefore, the scheme shouldn’t be withdrawn.
Source: Economic Times
Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today said that the Union Budget 2022-23 has laid a focus on demand stimulus and that the enhanced capital spending would lead to greater demand and job opportunities. “Capital expenditure has been raised by 35%, to more than Rs. 7.5 lakh crore. Rs. 1 lakh crore is being given to states as interest-free 50-year loan to support funding of infra projects. Centre and states together, we are looking at Rs. 10.5 lakh crore of public spending.” The Minister said that the enhanced capital spending of Rs. 10.5 lakh crore provided in the Budget 2022 is expected to have at least a 3-4 times multiplier effect in economic activity. The Minister said this during an industry interaction on the Union Budget, at the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai today, February 5, 2022. The Minister noted that import figures were rising, indicating revival of demand. He added, together with capex thrust provided by government, this opens up huge opportunities to businesses to expand and look at new business avenues. Union Minister Shri Goyal said India was showing rapid recovery in terms of tax collections, industrial output, consumer demand. He said in the Budget 2022-23, there are no new taxes, no new revenue generation measures. The government has forecast conservative revenue estimates. ‘We don't over-commit, while ensuring needs of every department's expenditure needs’, he added. Union Minister further said Budget 2022 has provided sufficient funding so that economic growth continues to be above 8% in next year and hope to look at least two decades of growth, ensuring prosperity can flow to everyone. Detailing the focus on PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan in the Budget, Union Minister Shri Goyal said that the Plan will help us plan infrastructure projects more intelligently, and also reducing logistics costs. Shri Goyal said India did not let down a single international obligation even during COVID19 period. ‘Thanks to Digital India and thrust given for broadband expansion, we were able to continue to provide services to any part of the world”, he added. The Minister exhorted the merchandise sector and services sector to go for a race to the top. The merchandise exports target which stands at $ 400 billion and service exports which stands at $ 240 billion should each aim to reach $ 1 trillion, he said. Commerce and Industry Minister shared with the industry that despite the pandemic, our services export this year will cross $ 240 billion, the highest ever in India's history. The Minister recalled that to determine India's export target PM did a first-of-its-kind bottom-up approach in consultation with industry and foreign missions in 180 countries. Minister was glad to inform that as of 31st January, India has already achieved $ 336 billion of exports, thanks to 10 months of continuous $ 30 billion plus exports. While interacting with the representatives of the Gems and Jewellery industry, Shri Goyal said that Jewellers’ registration has been made lifetime. Commerce Minister exhorted the industry to take up this exports challenge. He said noting that the world is not for the meek, but for bold people. ‘When all of us work together with our collective wisdom and efforts behind the New India we are working for, I have no doubt that we are looking at a developed and prosperous India, as we look at India @ 100 in 2047’ he added.
Source: PIB
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal today termed the Union Budget 2022-23 as a direction setting budget, addressing both macro-economic and micro-economic concerns, looking at inclusive development. Speaking at a Public Function to explain the nuances of the Union Budget in Mumbai today, the Minister said “the Budget should be seen as an exercise in continuity to make India future ready”. Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of converting crisis into opportunity, Shri Goyal said, the Government has been pro-actively announcing new projects and schemes through the year, and Union Budget has attempted to show the way ahead for the next 25 years. Shri Goyal said the budget has laid a big thrust on infrastructure development and highlighted the importance of the PM Gati Shakti National Plan. He said the plan will leverage data and inter-connected national maps to better align infrastructure projects. Explaining how the nation adopted to the Covid 19 pandemic by swiftly moving to remote working mode, Shri Goyal asserted that India did not let down a single international obligation, thanks to Digital India and thrust given on expansion of broadband connectivity. He said despite the pandemic, India’s services export remained robust and would achieve $240 bn target. Shri Goyal said that India produces second highest number of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) graduates and this should encourage us to become not only the Start-up Capital but also the R&D and innovation hub. The Commerce & Industry Minister further added that India has been working on a number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Citing the India-UAE FTA, Shri Goyal said the entire process was completed in just 88 days. He informed that India-Australia FTA is also in advanced stage of finalization. FTAs with UK, Canada are also in the pipeline, even as GCC also wants to sign an FTA with India “The world wants to work with us, we have to seize the initiative” the Minister added. The Minister also spoke about the enhanced capital spending of Rs 10.5 lakh crores provided by the Budget 2022-23 to have a multiplier effect of 3-4 times, leading to enhanced demand and increased job opportunities benefitting all people.
Source: PIB
West Jaintia Hills today witnessed the first-of-its-kind Fly-Off Event to demonstrate the use of novel and innovative Drone/UAV technology for payload delivery, that could serve as a model of solving the 1st mile connectivity issues for Lakadong Turmeric farmers from the hinterland. Lakadong Turmeric has been identified under The One District, One Product (ODOP) Initiative under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, as a product with excellent potential for growth and export for West Jaintia Hills. ODOP partnered with AGNIi Mission, one of the nine technology missions under the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to identify Indian innovative technologies that can play a transformative role in the end-to-end processing of Lakadong Turmeric, starting with leveraging payload drones (UAVs) to transport the turmeric in large quantities. Addressing the gathering at the event, Ms. Sumita Dawra, Additional Secretary, DPIIT said that this event was a first step towards showcasing the innovative solutions that can propel 1st mile connectivity while ushering in Industrial Revolution 4.0. It may be noted that the Lakadong Turmeric from West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, one of the world’s finest turmeric varieties with the highest curcumin content of 7- 9% (in comparison to 3% or less in other varieties), is fast becoming a game changer in the economy of the district. The State of Meghalaya has applied for a Geographical Indication tag for Lakadong turmeric. The percentage of curcumin and oleoresin content in turmeric determines the demand by the industry along with the price. India is the largest producer and exporter of turmeric (APEDA, 2019). India exported US$ 236.5 million worth of turmeric in 2018 from US$ 182.53 million in 2017. Turmeric is a positive crop; it improves health and is not water guzzling. Highlighting the fact that despite India being the world’s largest turmeric producer and exporter, turmeric imports had also been increasing, the Additional Secretary said that the major importers were the extraction and processing industries that require high curcumin and oleo resin. Inspite of the highest curcumin content and excellent potential for domestic sales and export, Lakadong turmeric faces severe market access issues due to the remoteness of the location, topography and terrain. Thus, buyers have to incur additional costs to transport the goods from the villages via local pick-up trucks till the major transporters’ loading point. Additional costs of transportation and delays in the same act as barriers / disincentives for the buyer in the process of procurement. The flyoff event would not only to give a fillip to the mandate of the ODOP initiative but also leverage modern technology as a fundamental solution to overcome the bottleneck of transportation that acts as a barrier in realizing the optimal potential of this exceptional spice from Meghalaya, Ms. Dawra said. In consonance with its mandate in April last year, the ODOP Team successfully facilitated the trade of 13,136 kgs of sliced and dried Lakadong Turmeric to a large food processing industry in Ernakulam, Kerala in 2021. It may also be noted that under ODOP initiative, the price of Lakadong Turmeric has increased by Rs. 20, from Rs. 150 per Kg in the Year 2021 to Rs. 170 per Kg in 2022. ODOP is a transformational step forward towards realizing the true potential of a district, fuelling economic growth and advancing the goal of Vocal for Local. Lauding the success of the ODOP team in pitching the highest curcumin content of Lakadong Turmeric as its Unique Selling Proposition, Ms. Dawra said that the team had succeeded in the creation of market linkages for 500+ plus farmers from Self-Help Groups and Co-operative Societies from 4 villages in West Jaintia Hills District. Ms. Sumita Dawra said that under ‘Lakadong Turmeric 2.0’, new efforts were being planned to scale up procurements for sustainable sales for the harvest season of 2022 and the years to come. For the same, the ODOP team led buyer visits to Meghalaya in December 2021 wherein direct interactions at the farm level and buyer-seller meets were organized for representatives of interested buyers. These have ended in the finalization of procurement orders for over 25,000 kgs already with a plan to increase the same even further, subject to final negotiations this year, she added. India produces 78 per cent of the world’s turmeric, as per a reply given by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in the Rajya Sabha on March 12, 2021. In the year 2018-19, turmeric production was 389 thousand tonnes, with area and productivity 246 thousand hectares and 5646.34 kg per hectare respectively.
Source: PIB
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is confident of meeting the target of raising Rs 88,000 crore from asset monetisation this fiscal year. In an interview to TOI’s Surojit Gupta and Sidhartha, Kant details the strategy for transition to electric mobility and the need for government departments to push capital spending. Excerpts: One of the key themes of the budget is electric mobility. What are the next steps on this? An all-comprehensive support system, which encompasses different thrust areas of the EV ecosystem–manufacturing, demand creation, regulatory framework, specifications and standards, charging infrastructure, research and development, all have been taken care of under the National Mission for Transformative Mobility, which is housed in NITI Aayog. We have witnessed an overwhelming response to the National Programme on Advanced Cell Chemistry Battery Storage for achieving manufacturing capacity of 50 GigaWatts. We received responses from 10 bidders for 130 GW - this far surpasses our expectations. Secondly, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles and automobile components industry is directed towards EVs and will bring in fresh investments of over INR 43,000 Crores. This PLI has also received an overwhelming response. We will facilitate the transition of industries towards EVs and new technologies. Over 27 states have moved forward in formulating the state EV policies and 18 states have notified these policies. In order to create a support system, nine IITs have come up with centres and programmes on clean and sustainable mobility solutions. The FAME scheme was completely restructured to reduce upfront cost of two wheelers, three wheelers and electric buses. We have now made two-wheelers and three-wheelers cheaper than combustion enginevehicles. Under the FAME scheme, 5 lakh EVs have been supported so far. We have also thrown a grand challenge for 5,585 electric buses including 135 doubledecker buses, which some states wanted. This is the biggest global tender for electric buses in the world. 2,877chargers in 68 cities across 25 states/UTs and a further approval for 1,576 EV charging stations across 16 highways and 9 expressways has been made under the FAME scheme. In addition to this, Oil companies are putting 2,200 integrated fast charging stations in their retail outlets. We are determined to have a network of charging stations across all major cities and highways. We have also developed 12 charging standards. We will come up with battery swapping standards and they will be finalised within the next 60 days. NITI Aayog will publish the National Battery Swapping Policy within the next three months. We are determined to give an impetus to clean mobility in India What are the key elements of this battery swapping policy? Battery Swapping allows you to swap a discharged battery with a charged on, to continue your onward journey. This also allows for the battery and the vehicle to be sold separately. In fact, this can reduce the cost of the vehicle by 40%, as one of our startups, Bounce, has done. Thus, the battery becomes a separate entity by itself which can be constantly charged and put on the vehicle. These batteries will be interoperable and will have fast charging. The overall goal is to bring down the cost of the vehicle, while also bringing down any time delays on account of battery charging. What is the investment that we are looking at from battery swapping? In India, it is our young start-ups which have disrupted the EV ecosystem already, thereby forcing the established players to also go on the EV route. If these players do not do so, they would be unable to retain their market share. It is not the investment in battery swapping which is important, but the total investment in the EV ecosystem which is crucial. This EV ecosystem entails investments towards manufacturing, battery storage and charging. The shift from combustion engine vehicles to EVs is inevitable as the price of battery falls. Battery Swapping will be a catalyst and facilitator, providing the much needed thrust for further adoption. By when do you think EV’s will be about 10-15% of the vehicles in India? Our objective should be to get a minimum of 30% of the market electrified by 2030. Our target is that from 2025 onwards, on account of the lower prices in India, all two wheelers and three wheelers sold should be electric. How significant is the announcement in the budget to improve logistics? How will it operate? Logistics is the backbone for realising the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government of India. Today, it is necessary to interconnect all the players in the logistics chain and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) aims to deliver that. In ULIP, 24 logistics systems of 6 ministries and departments have been mapped and integrated through 78 Application Programming Interfaces (API’s) covering 1,454 fields. NICDC’s Logistics Data Bank (LDB) project has been leveraged to develop ULIP. It is in line with PM Gati Shakti, which aims at breaking individual silos, promoting integration among all ministries and creating one single window. It will therefore cut across Railways, Roads, Airways, Ports and Waterways. ULIP will be a game changer for logistics in India and it will make India globally cost competitive. The ULIP programme will be utilised by the government, private sector, service providers and industry bodies. It will be an open and secure delivery platform and there will be interoperability, scalability, security and accountability for data exchange. A private sector enterprise will then be able to clearly find out which transit mode they should choose which is the fastest and cheapest. It also provides the timeframe for sending their goods. Every player in the value chain will compete with one another to bring down the costs. This will be one of the path breaking initiatives to bring down the cost of logistics in India. There will be unified documentation and all data will be available on a real time basis. This will be like the UPI for logistics. PLI has been expanded to include solar cells and module manufacturing. How will this help? When the PLI was announced by the PM, the objective was to bring manufacturing incentives centre stage to drive India’s growth and create jobs. We have stuck to 14 sectors and we have a total outlay of INR 1.97 lakh crore. We envisage that it should lead to $520 billion worth of total production enhancement in India. The scheme is for a defined period of 5 years from the point of investment. All the schemes that have launched received a very positive response from the private sector. These are all sunrise areas of growth for India. When we were drafting the PLI scheme, the PM’s direction was that we should look at high growth areas and therefore we picked areas where India companies can become global champions. These are areas where the demand will grow in India and the world. We have also picked up some job creating sectors like textiles and food processing. The budget focuses on a massive capital spending ramp up. How do you see the implementation? India can have sustained growth over a long period of time and can grow at high rates only on the back of good quality infrastructure, and this requires capital expenditure. It is a very progressive policy pursued by the FM in the budget. She has actually thrown a challenge to all of us in the civil service to ensure that we are able to structure projects quickly, we are able to get land, we are able to get all the approvals and we are able to get environmental clearances, to be able to get projects off on the ground quickly. This means that we need to roll out projects, and we need to roll out projects fast. All departments will have to play a key role and agencies like NHAI will play a major role. The states which have been given INR1 Lakh Crore will also have to play a very critical role. We will shortly have an interaction with all the state governments and infrastructure departments to drive both infrastructure development as well as asset monetisation programmes of the state governments. The private sector will need to play a crucial role in good quality infrastructure creation. Do you think a tax cut would have helped consumption? I am a believer that there has to be predictability and consistency of policies over a long period of time. The government, last year, reduced the corporate tax sharply and the focus has been on capital expenditure by the government. This focus is there so that when the government spends, it will crowd in private sector investment and that will drive growth. If we keep tinkering with the direct tax policy on a yearly basis through the budget, it will not be a good thing for the country. We do not need to tinker with our policies. We also need revenues over a long period of time to ensure the country grows and expands. I am a believer that the corporates should start spending and accelerating the pace of expenditure in India. Once that happens, and growth takes place on a sustained basis, then further reforms in direct taxes may be considered. What has been the progress on asset monetisation after last year’s announcement? Asset Monetisation is being undertaken as a “whole of government” initiative in diverse sectors of the economy. The indicative value of the central sector core assets proposed for monetisation is INR 6 Lakh Crore for financial years 2022 to 2025. This includes assets from sectors such as Railways, Roads, Highways, Power Generation, Coal, Mining, Transmission, Warehouses and Hospitality, besides others. This year’s target till March 31 is INR 88,000 Crore for various ministries. I can assure you that we are fully confident of achieving this target and surpassing it. Every ministry has worked very sincerely and roads, power, coal, mining, city gas distribution have done well. We are very confident that we will fully achieve our target. In the coming years, you will soon see a lot of action to bring in efficiency through new models such as InViTs, REITS and TOT proposals. We need to sustain this on a regular basis as the Operation and Maintenance by the private sector will bring in greater efficiency and enhance overall productivity.
Source: Times of India
State textile minister Aslam Shaikh on Sunday announced that the government has decided to stay its decision to stop giving power subsidy to mid-sized powerlooms. The powerloom operators, in order to put pressure on the government, decided not to pay the electricity bills. Relenting to the pressure, Shaikh on Sunday visited textile town of Ichalkaranji and interacted with the stakeholders. “The decision to stop subsidy has been stayed temporarily. We are making the process of online registration easy which will be done in a month. I request the powerloom operators to pay the electricity bills as per the subsidised rates. Also, I assure the powerloom operators to soon table a proposal to increase subsidy by 75 paise per unit on power consumed before the state cabinet,” Shaikh said.
Source: Times of India
India accounted for the highest growth of intermediate goods imports in July to September 2021, led by a triple-digit increase in gold imports, data by World Trade Organization (WTO) showed. India’s intermediate goods imports grew from supply chains by 65% year-on-year in the quarter ended September, the highest in the world for the third straight quarter. It was mainly due to a 161% increase in non-monetary gold imports. Non-monetary gold covers exports and imports of all gold not held as reserve assets (monetary gold) by the authorities. India's gold imports reported a 252% rise to $24 billion in April-September period compared with the corresponding period last year on the back of revival of festival demand post the second covid-19 wave. Yellow metal imports jumped to $5.11 billion in September alone compared with around $600 million in the corresponding month last year. It led to record widening of the country's trade deficit to $22.6 billion during September compared with $2.96 billion in the year-ago period. In the Union budget last year, the government had lowered import duty for gold to 7.5% from 12.5%. According to the WTO, exports of intermediate goods (IGs) increased in all regions in the third with a world average of 27% in Q3 compared with a 1% contraction in the corresponding period last year and 47% growth in Q2 (April-July). IG are inputs used to produce a final product. They range from crops used in food production to textiles and metals needed to manufacture goods. Trade in IGs is an indicator of the activity in supply chains, which was severely impacted in the early stages of the covid-19 crisis. The share of IGs in total trade (excluding fuels) in Q3 2021 was 53%, a ratio that remained constant over the last decade, WTO noted. While India accounted for the highest growth in IG imports, it was followed by Japan, at 42% reflecting the high level of industrial activity in the economy.
Source: Live Mint
Earnings from textile and apparel accessories grew by Sh8 billion in the nine months to September last year, boosted by higher sales to the United States (US) and the Netherlands. Data from the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (Keproba) shows that revenue for textile firms rose to Sh33.7 billion in the review period compared to Sh25.7 billion a year earlier. This represented a 31.1 percentage growth. Keproba’s chief executive officer Wilfred Marube said in the report that the Netherlands and US were Kenya’s largest export markets in the period. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) – the US free trade scheme- allows Kenya to export selected goods at preferential terms to the US, exempting them from paying tax. The initiative, which was expected to end in 2015 after an initial deadline of September 2012, was extended by US lawmakers for 10 years until 2025. For example, it allows the country to export more than 6,000 product lines, which has been dominated by the export of textile and apparel. Locally, the revival of Rivatex has also boosted the sector since it has created a demand for locally produced cotton and created thousands of jobs. Likewise, the introduction of Bacillus Thuringiensis cotton, Kenya’s first genetically modified, insect-resistant cotton seeds, has boosted cotton farming as well as quality. Currently, Kenya produces an average of 25,000 bales of cotton against a demand of 200,000 bales annually. “The introduction of the genetically modified cotton variety is projected to bridge the production gap in the coming years by increasing output,” Mr Marube says. Mr Marube added that Keproba has supported the sector by partnering with its key stakeholders including business membership organizations (BMOs) like Kenya Fashion Council to maintain high production standards and create value-added products that meet the global export market standards. A new strategy was recently developed to increase uptake of locally designed and manufactured apparel, textiles, leather and accessories including through the “Buy Kenya Build Kenya” campaign.
Source: Business Daily Africa
Loan programme will conclude in September this year Pakistan is scheduled to receive the remaining $3 billion under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $6 billion loan programme over the next seven months, which will help stabilise its foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the rupee. The IMF has released $1.05 billion after completion of the sixth review, taking the total amount to $3 billion so far under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). “According to a recently released country report, the remaining $3 billion will be received in three tranches coinciding with March ($965 million), June ($965 million) and September ($1.05 billion) reviews, while the programme will conclude in September 2022, as per schedule,” said Ismail Iqbal Securities Head of Research Fahad Rauf. In a commentary titled “IMF Sixth Review - Focus on SBP Autonomy, Energy Reforms and GST Rationalisation” on Saturday, he added that the delay in IMF’s programme revival was creating uncertainty in the stock and foreign exchange markets. “Since the programme has been resumed now, the balance of payments gap is fully financed,” he said. “The rupee is expected to stabilise (over the next couple of months),” he predicted. “It will also improve investor confidence in the stock market as most of the reform measures are structural in nature and will benefit the economy and listed companies in the long term.” The commentary, based on IMF’s sixth review of Pakistan’s economy, suggests that the country’s external debt would continue to mount during the ongoing fiscal year, however, it would start receding from next fiscal year (2023) onwards. “Government’s external debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach 30% in FY22 (28.5% in FY21) before gradually coming down to 25% by FY26,” Rauf said. The IMF’s projections, however, showed that the Pakistani currency would hit Rs199 against the US dollar during fiscal year 2026, maintaining its average depreciation in the range of 3.7-6% per annum. The currency appreciated Rs1.04 (or 0.6%) and hit a two-and-a-half-month high of Rs174.48 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday. Noting that the rupee has maintained its uptrend in recent days, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that the currency would continue to appreciate. The rupee recovered a total of Rs2.5 (or 1.41%) over the past six consecutive working days, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) data. IMF’s projections suggest that the collection of tax revenue would increase by a notable 28% to Rs6.1 trillion in the ongoing fiscal year compared to Rs4.764 trillion in the previous fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. Similarly, Pakistan’s current account deficit, fiscal deficit, exports, workers’ remittances and inflation reading would improve from fiscal year 2023 onwards. The IMF has urged the SBP to unwind housing and construction incentives such as mandatory lending targets for banks and lower risk weight on REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) “as it can hurt financial stability.” “IMF also highlighted this as part of April 2021 review but no action was taken, however, considering the SBP Amendment Bill, it cannot be ruled out now. If implemented, it could impact demand for construction and allied industries (cement, glass, steel and tiles).” The government, through the mini-budget, unwound numerous incentives provided in the FY22 budget, however, the “IMF has recommended the removal of exemptions on fertilisers and tractors in FY23 budget.” The government has sought time to replace exemptions with subsidies. This might impact the fertiliser sector as previous subsidy mechanism did not prove to be fruitful and companies have started to book provisions on the same. On the other hand, higher taxation can dent the demand for tractors.” The increases in the electricity tariff have been made to a large extent, “while further increases are likely in near term. This would impact plants that heavily rely on the power grid like steel industry,” the analyst pointed out. However, more important would be the increase in gas tariffs, which was last done in September 2020. “As per the document, the government is working on revising the enduser prices. Moreover, OGRA (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) Amendment Act has been made a new structural benchmark which would allow recovery of full gas cost. These measures could impact gas intensive industries like fertilisers, chemicals, and textiles (especially the ones based in southern region of the country).”
Source: Daily News Egypt
Xi told Duda the two countries should "respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns," Global Times reported Chinese President Xi Jinping met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and pledged closer cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor investment program to build roads, power plants and other infrastructure. He said China was willing to join hands with its longtime ally to “build a closer ChinaPakistan community with a shared future in the new era," Global Times reported. “The strategic relationship between China and Pakistan is of prominence in a changing world," Xi was quoted as saying. China upholds fairness and justice in international affairs. China is willing to strengthen the coordination and cooperation with Pakistan in multilateral venues such as the UN and promote justice and world and regional peace," Xi said. He also met Poland President Andrzej Duda and said that China seeks to further improve ties with Poland, whose warm relationship with Beijing has not sat well with main rival the United States. Poland was the only European Union nation to send an elected leader to the Games despite a US-led diplomatic boycott. The meeting also comes amid concerns over a Russian attack on Ukraine, with which NATO member Poland shares a lengthy border. Xi, who has not left China since 2019, has met a range of world leaders over recent days, including President Vladimir Putin of Russia, with which China is building a closer informal alliance. The meetings highlight Xi's moves to elevate himself as a major player in world diplomacy, while positioning China's single party authoritarian political model as an alternative to the long-dominant liberal world order led by the United States. Xi told Duda the two countries should “respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns," Global Times reported. Along with strengthening communication on “major international issues," they should “tap the potential of their economies, trade and investment, transportation and logistics, and high and new technologies, and lift bilateral practical cooperation to a new level," Xi said. He said China is ready to take an active part in the construction of a logistics hub in Poland and help Poland become a key node in the China-Europe supply chain. No statement was immediately available from Duda. However, in Warsaw, his foreign policy advisor Jakub Kumoch said Poland wanted “the best possible relations with China and we can see a similar interest on the Chinese side.” Poland, along with Hungary and Serbia, has been viewed as one of China's backdoors into Europe. The uncritical support from Beijing contrasts with Washington's expressions of concern over the increasing autocratic rule of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Poland participates in a Chinese initiative to nurture relations with Central and Eastern European governments known as the China-CEEC group, as well as Xi's signature “Belt and Road" drive to build infrastructure linking China to Europe and beyond. As well as prompting unease in Washington, China's moves have raised concerns among France, Germany and other Western European governments that Beijing is trying to make political inroads into the European Union.
Source: Business Standard
Gamea said that the establishment of this council came with the aim of developing textile industries at the level of the republic and coordinating efforts to strengthen all the textile industry’s circles and working to implement its strategic vision. Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea has issued a decision to establish a textile industries council headed by the minister and includes a number of other state officials and experts in the field. The minister said that the decision will be implemented on the date of its publication in the official gazette and that ministerial Resolution No. 783 of 2017 and all that contradicts the provisions of this decision will be rescinded. Gamea said that the establishment of this council came with the aim of developing textile industries at the level of the republic and coordinating efforts to strengthen all the textile industry’s circles and working to implement its strategic vision. She noted that the government pays great attention to upgrading the spinning, weaving, and ready-made garments industry’s system in Egypt as per international standards that will meet the needs of the local market and enhance the quality of Egyptian products for export to global markets through expansion in all production phases. Textile industries are among the most vital industries in which Egypt possesses great competitive advantages that qualify it to double its exports and access more foreign markets, she elaborated. Gamea explained that the decision specified competencies that the council is undertaking in coordination with the concerned authorities in textile industries, including listing the problems and obstacles facing this industry, setting an action plan to implement the state’s strategy and objectives for promoting and developing the spinning and weaving industry and an executive programme to implement the strategy. It also includes studying the cost of local production and proposing the necessary measures to reduce these costs in a way that contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of local products compared to imported ones; and developing a map for textile industries that determines their gathering places, growth potential, and efficiency; increase their added value; and strengthen value chains. The minister pointed out that the council’s tasks also include setting mechanisms to link feeding industries and major companies in the spinning and weaving industry and finding a modern mechanism to communicate with all world markets with the aim of presenting Egyptian products as a strong and competitive alternative to products from other countries. It will also prepare a study to design Egyptian brands for the local market and export with the assistance of concerned authorities locally and internationally in this regard, as well as set up vocational training programmes to qualify the required employment for this industry and ways to implement it. The decision stipulated that the council would have a technical secretariat to implement its recommendations and decisions with the concerned authorities, and to provide technical assistance in the council’s work. The council will convene at least once every three months and may be called to convene at the request of its head or at least five members, the minister concluded.
Source: Daily News Egypt
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