"We are reliable partners; we are people who look for a long term relationship. There are no political strings attached when you deal with Austrian businesses, I can assure you that," the minister said. He added that businesses of both countries can increase cooperation in areas like renewable energy, safe water, hydro plant, infrastructure and waste management. Huge business opportunities exist for India and Austria to enhance bilateral trade and investments, Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday. The bilateral trade between the two countries has crossed USD one billion and "it shows what kind of potential we have," he said here at AustriaIndia Business Forum, organised by industry body CII. "We are reliable partners, we are people who look for a long term relationship. There are no political strings attached when you deal with Austrian businesses, I can assure you that," the minister said. He added that businesses of both countries can increase cooperation in areas like renewable energy, safe water, hydro plant, infrastructure and waste management. "We all know that there is an enormous untapped potential in relations between Austria and India," Schallenberg noted. He said that Austrian small and medium-sized companies are looking for business potential in new markets. "We are facing challenges in Ukraine and Russia" and Austrian companies are looking for newer opportunities and markets, he pointed out. "Indian markets might be one of the most challenging ones...but we are hopeful that out of these meetings and talks, some doors will open," he added. Talking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said that it is a direct attack on the rules-based international system. "As far as businesses are concerned, we have (to) be aware that there is a real earthquake going on...Yes, there might be medium-term or long-term opportunities for other countries...but this is something where we should not look at it in that way because what we seeing is actually a catastrophe," Schallenberg said. He added that when there is a war in Europe, "it has a tendency of spilling over to other continents and other countries. So, nobody can be indifferent of what is happening in Ukraine".
Source: Economic Times
Russia, Ukraine account for around 80% of India's exports to CIS countries Exporters are readying back-up routes to send their shipments to the nations belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia, as the war in Ukraine continues to intensify. Three routes are being explored. The first is the China route using Qingdao port. The second is the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route that connects Mumbai to Moscow via Iran and Azerbaijan. The other is the one that traverses between Hamburg in Germany and Poti port in Georgia, industry sources said.
Source: Business Standard
Indian start-ups are disrupting the world and women-based entrepreneurship is one of the vehicles for realising a more equal society, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday Indian start-ups are disrupting the world and women-based entrepreneurship is one of the vehicles for realising a more equal society, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday. Addressing an event organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Kant further said India at present has more than 61,000 start-ups and 81 unicorns. "Indian start-ups are disrupting the world especially in new emerging areas of health, nutrition and agriculture," he said. According to Kant, women-owned businesses and enterprises are playing a very prominent role in society and will soon be the next big disruption within the Indian startup ecosystem. "Women-based entrepreneurship is one of the vehicles for realising a more equal society as more women take on entrepreneurship, it serves as a catalyst for socio-economic transformation, by enhancing women's agency and status," he said. The Niti Aayog CEO noted that presently venture capital (VC) and private equity firms are supporting women start-ups. "This will help frame strategies and suggest appropriate measures to facilitate healthy growth of startups and will help promote women entrepreneurship," he said. Kant said today India is a compelling growth story poised for rapid growth in consumption, urbanisation, digitisation along with rising income levels. To all the women entrepreneurs including potential entrepreneurs, he said: "The world is looking at India very favourably.
Source: Business Standard
The 'China Plus One' supply chain diversification strategy triggered by the global Covid19 pandemic is creating opportunities for Indian players. Besides, the changing role of China's manufacturing sector in the global export value chain, is leading to the creation of growth opportunities for Indian companies. "China's strategic change towards manufacturing of high-value goods from low-value goods is evident in both inter-sector such as shift to capital goods from footwear, and intra-sector such as shift to man-made fibres from home textiles or cotton apparels, and in the pharmaceutical sector, to formulations from active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)," said India Ratings and Research. "These opportunities as well as other factors such as increased self-reliance, increased domestic and global demand would be the key drivers for increased capex requirements in some of these sectors." Till recently, China was a world leader in several sectors such as home textiles and cotton apparel, but with the changing dynamics of the world supply chain, there is a considerable shift in its production strategy. "Unlike India or Pakistan, China does not have enough supply of cotton yarn, discouraging some of their local giants to invest further in this space. This scarcity however has led to Chinese manufacturers' increased interest in man-made fibres." "In India, this opportunity could lead to additional demand and consequently additional capex to the tune of Rs 120 billion over the next 10 years." Similarly, Chinese majors are moving away from APIs to formulations gradually. "This again opens up a huge opportunity of import substitution for Indian players. Supply chain issues related to China during Covid-19 also gave this sector some impetus with the government making supportive gestures." Furthermore, India is expected to concurrently move in both the directions - APIs and complex drugs - to keep itself self-reliant. Additionally, a new world of opportunities has opened up for India's footwear sector and few South Asian players as Chinese competitors have lost traction and started focusing elsewhere, driven by both low value addition and wage pressures. "India has a very fragmented footwear market; but given the increasing global footprint, this can change fairly quickly, and a few scaled-up players can gain market share." In addition, the China, Plus One strategy is creating some order book growth for India's capital goods sector.
Source: SME Times
Service exports contribute to 40% of total exports but have been growing at a faster clip than merchandise exports. India's target for merchandise exports for FY22is $400 billion while that for service exports is $240 billion. Ajay Sahai said that the trade agreements like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement recently signed between India and UAE will help. India already has such agreements with ASEAN nations including Singapore and Malaysia. He, however, added there need to be more facilitation in services through the mutual recognition agreement degrees between countries as well as easier immigration rules to exploit the huge potential in Mode4 of services.
Source: Economic Times
A delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) met the minister and presented a white paper on e-commerce. They urged Goyal to roll out an e-commerce policy and form a regulatory authority for the sector. A delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) met the minister and presented a white paper on e-commerce. They urged Goyal to roll out an e-commerce policy and form a regulatory authority for the sector. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that several ministries, which are related to e-commerce, are deliberating on the e-commerce policy draft and it will be put out in the public domain after discussions, according to a statement issued by domestic traders body CAIT. A delegation of the Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT) met the minister and presented a white paper on e-commerce. They urged Goyal to roll out an ecommerce policy and form a regulatory authority for the sector. "Piyush Goyal, while talking to the trade delegation, said that e-commerce sector is on priority of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several ministries which are related with e-commerce are deliberating on the draft of e-commerce policy and as soon as the draft is discussed at the level of the government, the same will be put in public domain," the confederation said in statement. According to CAIT, Goyal also advised the officials to explore the possibilities of formation of a regulator for e-commerce trade so that laws and rules are followed in both letter and spirit.
Source: Economic Times
Changing role of China’s manufacturing sector in the global export value chain may lead to the creation of growth opportunities for Indian and other Southeast Asian countries, according to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). China’s strategic change towards manufacturing of high-value goods from low-value goods is evident in both inter-sector such as shift to capital goods from footwear, and intra-sector such as shift to man-made fibres from home textiles/cotton apparel. These opportunities as well as other factors such as increased self-reliance, increased domestic and global demand would be the key drivers for increased capex requirements in some of these sectors (textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, capital goods and footwear), Ind-Ra said in a press release. China was a world leader in several sectors such as home textiles and cotton apparel, but with the changing dynamics of the world supply chain, there is a considerable shift in its production strategy. Unlike India or Pakistan, China does not have enough supply of cotton yarn, discouraging some of their local giants to invest further in this space. This scarcity, however, has led to Chinese manufacturers’ increased interest in man-made fibres. In India, this opportunity could lead to additional demand and consequently additional capex to the tune of ₹120 billion over the next 10 years. Similarly, a new world of opportunities has opened up for India’s footwear sector and few South Asian players as Chinese competitors have lost traction and started focusing elsewhere, driven by both low value addition and wage pressures. India has a very fragmented footwear market; but given the increasing global footprint, this can change fairly quickly, and a few scaled-up players can gain market share, Ind-Ra added.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
Lenders approve resolution plan with 100% vote Lenders to ailing textile firm Sintex Industries Ltd (SIL) have approved a resolution plan submitted by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) jointly with Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd (ACRE). The plan (RIL-ACRE) has been duly approved by the 100 per cent members of Committee of Creditors (CoC) as the successful resolution plan subject to approval of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the company informed BSE. Gujarat based SIL said all four compliant Resolution Plans submitted by four Resolution Applicants were put for e-voting for approval by the CoC members in accordance with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) and regulations. The e-voting concluded On March 19, 2022 at 10.00 p.m. The plan is that existing share capital of the Company will be reduced to Zero. The company will be delisted from the stock exchanges i.e. BSE and NSE. The lenders to the company include Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Export Import Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. Lenders – members of CoC - exposure to SIL is about Rs 7,718.72 crore, according to filing with BSE. SIL has been undergoing substantial financial stress and severe liquidity constraints since last Financial Year. Coupled with changed industrial dynamics, it has been facing time and cost overrun in completion of projects, reduction in subsidies and incentive benefits and Covid related disruptions.
Source: Business Standard
In the last financial year, Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton from the international market, of which 11% was from the US Textile millers in Bangladesh have called for introducing direct vessel operations between the Chattogram Port and the United States to reduce the time and cost of cotton imports, the main raw material for readymade garments. "Direct vessel service will definitely increase the use of US cotton in Bangladesh," said Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). He made the call to US cotton exporters at a seminar on the "US cotton and the golden triangle of spinning profitability" organised by the Cotton USA at a city hotel on Monday night. The BTMA president said, currently, Bangladesh imports 11% of its cotton needs from the US. This is likely to be 14% this year. If the direct vessel service is introduced, it will increase further. At the same seminar, he highlighted the time-consuming process of compulsory fumigation at Chattogram port in the import of cotton from the United States. "We are working on it, need to have your positive initiatives for the withdrawal of compulsoriness of fumigation on US cotton. Withdrawal of fumigation will also increase the use of US cotton in Bangladesh," he added. At the event, Peter D Haas, the newly-appointed US ambassador to Bangladesh, assured the businesses that he would work for the withdrawal of the mandatory fumigation. In the last financial year, Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton from the international market, of which 11% was from the US. Among others, Sharif Zahir, managing director at Ananta Group, Fayyaz Khundker, managing director at Ocean Network Express Line, and Cotton USA's representatives Darren Long, Steve Dyer and Hope Brooks, spoke at the seminar.
Source: TBS News
Energy is among potential fields for investment cooperation between Vietnamese and US firms, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announcing that Vietnam gives high priority to sustainable energy development to maintain national energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Pham Tan Cong. At a recent Vietnam-US Business Summit in Hanoi, the VCCI leader said the chamber has introduced its Green Index initiative with support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), aiming to promote environmental institutional reform and sustainable investment activities. Cong said he believes that Vietnamese and US enterprises have good chances for successful cooperation in liquefied natural gas, and clean and renewable energy and contribute to the countries’ trade growth and energy security, a news agency reported. Vietnam has set a target of making renewable electricity account for 45 per cent of the national power generation capacity by 2030, reflecting its orientation towards renewable energy. The implementation of the power source and grid development programme will cost an estimated $14 billion, and therefore, Vietnam needs the participation of businesses, especially those from the United States, in resources and technology sharing.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
The value-added industrial output of China increased by 7.5 per cent in January and February this year, compared to the previous year, according to official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The high-tech manufacturing sector posted a high growth rate of 14.4 per cent year on year in the first two months of 2022. The industrial output measures the activity of enterprises that have an annual business turnover of 20 million yuan (approximately $3.14 million) or more. The output of state-owned enterprises went up by 5.9 per cent in the same period, while that of the private sector rose by 8.7 per cent, compared to last year, according to NBS. China’s production demand recorded a growth despite the pandemic and complex international environment, Chinese media reports said quoting Fu Linghui, NBS spokesperson. The purchasing managers' index for the country’s manufacturing sector was 50.1 and 50.2 in January and February, respectively.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
As Bangladesh prepares to graduate from its least developed country (LDC) status in 2026, it stares at losing many benefits from trade partners, including Japan, with which it is celebrating 50 years of friendship this year. Economists and businesses feel signing a free trade agreement (FTA) is a solution to address this, and both governments also perceive this as the most viable alternative. Japan would be a strong contender in Bangladesh's list for signing an FTA, the latter’s planning minister MA Mannan recently said. "Based on the experiences of the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Japan over the last 50 years, we are looking forward to the next 50 years, which are going to be much better, stronger and warmer," he said, while addressing a dialogue titled ‘Bangladesh-Japan Partnership for the Next Development Journey’ organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Mannan also said Bangladesh is attaching the highest importance to its relationship with Japan, adding that completion of the special economic zone (SEZ) at Araihazar in Narayanganj would change the landscape for Japanese investors, according to Bangla media reports. Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said Tokyo is considering initiation of a joint study on framing the FTA with Bangladesh. According to a recent Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) survey, 68 per cent of Japanese companies in Bangladesh are ready to expand their business operations in the coming years, the envoy added. Naoki also noted that there is a need to focus on training the Bangladeshi workforce for catering to the needs of the Japanese market.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong told reporters the two sides were also discussing a separate loan of up to $1 billion which the Sri Lankan government had requested China is considering offering a $1.5 billion credit facility to Sri Lanka and a decision is expected soon, a top Chinese official said on Monday, as part of efforts to help the island nation amid its worst economic crisis in decades. Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong told reporters the two sides were also discussing a separate loan of up to $1 billion which the Sri Lankan government had requested. He added that the South Asian nation was offered a loan of $500 million from the China Development Bank on March 18. Sri Lanka has to repay about $4 billion worth of debt this year, including a $1 billion international sovereign bond maturing in July. But its reserves dipped to $2.31 billion as of end February, down around 70% from two years ago. The country is also struggling to make payments for imports of essentials such as fuel and medicines and enforcing nationwide power cuts due to a lack of fuel for power generation. "We believe our ultimate goal is to solve the problem but there may be different ways to do so," Qi said in response to questions on possible restructuring of the Chinese loans. China is Sri Lanka's fourth biggest lender, behind international financial markets, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan. Over the last decade China has lent Sri Lanka more than $5 billion for the construction of highways, ports, an airport and a coal power plant. But critics say the funds were used for white elephant projects with low returns, which China has denied. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa asked China to help restructure debt repayments when he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in January, but China is yet to respond to the request. Repayments to China are estimated at about $400-$500 million, a finance ministry source told Reuters. Rajapaksa said last week Sri Lanka will work with the International Monetary Fund to help solve the country's economic crisis with official talks to begin in mid-April. Before the pandemic China was Sri Lanka's main source of tourists and the island imports more goods from China than from any other country. Sri Lanka is a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a long-term plan to fund and build infrastructure linking China to the rest of the world, but which others including the United States have labelled a "debt trap" for smaller nations. (Editing by Swati Bhat and Jacqueline Wong)
Source: Business Standard
As the economy recovers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is optimistic that free trade agreements (FTA) will help boost the growth of exports. As defined by Investopedia, FTA "is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports." The Philippines currently has free trade agreements with Japan and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), which was signed in Helsinki, Finland by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sept. 9, 2006, is the first bilateral FTA of the Philippines. The Philippine Senate concurred with the ratification of the PJEPA on Oct. 8, 2008 and the agreement officially entered into force on Dec. 11, 2008. The PJEPA covers, among others, trade in goods, trade in services, investments, movement of natural persons, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and improvement of business environment. Based on Article 161 of the PJEPA, the Philippines and Japan shall undertake a general review of the agreement and its implementation and operation in 2011 and every five years thereafter, unless otherwise agreed by both parties. At present, the Philippines is pushing for greater market access for agricultural products in the PJEPA review. "The Philippine's bilateral agreement with Japan was its first ever bilateral FTA and since it has already been enforced for quite a number of years, we really are prioritizing this review and renegotiation to keep it up to date with the other FTAs whether bilateral or regional that the country has already been a party to. So, that the PJEPA would maintain its relevance I think with really the intent of preferential access to each other market," said Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo. Rodolfo said DTI is pushing for greater market access for Philippine bananas while Japan, on the other hand, will most likely push for greater access for their industrial products. FTA with four other countries The Philippines-EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), meanwhile, was signed in 2016 and came into force on June 1, 2018 for the Philippines, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, and on Jan. 1, 2020 for Iceland. Today, exporters to the EFTA markets are no longer required to secure a certificate of origin from the Bureau of Customs under the FTA's self-certification/self-declaration system. According to the Trade department, the agreement provides the Philippines duty-free market access for all industrial and fisheries tariff lines. The country also secured tariff concessions on frozen tuna/mackerel, canned pineapple, crude coconut oil, fresh/dried bananas, which will benefit the Philippine agriculture sector. The Philippines may also qualify for zero tariffs for preparations of meat/fish, even if the meat or fish is imported while garment exports may also claim preferential tariffs even if the textiles used are imported and only cut and sew processing are done in the country. "Philippine service suppliers who want to enter the EFTA market can benefit from the commitments made by EFTA in all modes of supply. Commitments in cross border supply and movement of natural persons present opportunities for both skilled workers and professionals, particularly architects and engineers," said DTI. Aside from PJEPA and EFTA, the Philippines also has a pending FTA with South Korea. It also joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement that is considered as the largest free trade agreement in the world. The FTA with South Korea, which was finalized last year and is slated to be signed early this year, covers trade in goods, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, economic and technical cooperation, competition, and legal and institutional issues. The RCEP, meanwhile, covers trade in goods, including rules of origin; customs procedures and trade facilitation; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures; and trade remedies. The agreement, however, still needs to be ratified by the Senate. In summary, FTAs facilitate the flow of products and services between the countries that are part of it, allowing exporters that include small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to earn more. The lowering of tariffs for industrial product imports will also benefit companies in the Philippines, including SMEs. For an economy recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, FTAs can be a blessing.
Source: Manila Times
