INTERNATIONAL
Gartex 2016, a comprehensive tradeshow on garment textile machinery organised by MEX Exhibitions will be held from August 27-29 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The event will welcome participants, visitors and other key decision makers from the textile and garment machinery market in India. The event will showcase products, services and technologies related to the complete production chain, covering 6,000 sqm of exhibition area and with over 200 booths. Visitors will be offered the chance to witness live demos of equipment and techniques, new product launches, and an enormous array of machinery, fabrics and accessories available in the Indian market. Gartex will also incorporate 3 distinct shows namely Digitex: an exclusive show on digital textile printing technologies, Fashion 'Fabs' Show: the fabrics show and Trims Expo: a complete exhibition on apparel accessories.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
India needs to cut all "unnecessary red tape" and ease visa restrictions to speed up the process of setting up Chinese industrial parks in the country, an official media report here said. "The slow process of building parks exclusively for Chinese investors, which is partly attributed to the lengthy and tedious procedures that Chinese passport holders are required to endure to apply for Indian visas, might aggravate the imbalance in bilateral trade," an article on the website of state-run Global Times said. Though setting of industrial parks was conceived by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, during his visit to China in October 2013 to reduce trade deficit, both sides have kept a close watch on industrial park initiatives that have gradually taken shape since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, it said. "In a fresh reminder of the intent to forge closer ties through the continuation of these plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with visiting Indian President Pranab Mukherjee last month proposing that the two sides 'tap the potential for practical cooperation on railways, industrial parks'," it said. China's official data showed that its trade with India totaled $71.64 billion in 2015, well below the ambitious $100 billion mark the two countries had envisioned for last year.
Worryingly for India, its trade deficit with China rose to a whopping $45 billion last year, as its exports to China plunged by more than 18 per cent. "Therefore, while the industrial park initiative decidedly promises benefits to both countries, India is actually expected to be the primary beneficiary. Chinese industrial parks have been envisioned as a way to make up for India's weakness in the manufacturing sector, which would accordingly promote India from its current status as essentially a raw materials exporter to an exporter of finished goods," it said. "The presence of Chinese industrial parks would also mean that more jobs would be available for the roughly 15 million young people who join India's workforce every year. All that said, India needs to cut all unnecessary red tape and smooth the process for Chinese industrial parks to be set in motion eventually," it said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The US has a "massive" trade deficit with countries like India, China and Mexico, presumptive presidential nominee of Republican party Donald Trump today said, alleging that practically every country in the world who do business with the US tries to "rip it off". "People are tired. They want to have strength. They don't want to have trade deals where China has got a trade deficit of $505 billion a year; where we have trade deficits, massive trade deficits with Mexico, with Japan. "People are tired. They want to have strength. They don't want to have trade deals where China has got a trade deficit of $505 billion a year; where we have trade deficits, massive trade deficits with Mexico, with Japan, with Vietnam, with India, with everybody, folks, with everybody," Trump told a crowded election rally in Atlanta, Georgia. "I mean, practically every country in the world when they do business with the US, it's called let's rip them off. It's like we're all the big, bad dummies. Those days are over if I win. Those days are over. They're over," Trump said.
The Republican presidential nominee continued with his campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. "If you look at what Hillary Clinton has done with women, No 1 from certain countries, her foundation has taken millions, tens of millions of dollars, from countries that want to enslave women," he alleged. "As far as the gay community, they kill gays. And she's taking money in. And now, she wants to allow them to come into our country, pretty much un-vetted, because every law enforcement person that I've spoken to and that you watch and that you read is saying it's very hard, if not impossible, to check out people. There's just no papers," he said. The migration, he said, is a horrible thing to watch. "I have a heart as big as anybody else. We have to build safe zones over there. And we have to take care of people. Let's build safe zones, but bill them over there. Build them in Syria. Build them in places over there," he said. Trump reiterated his call for temporary ban on the entry of Muslims into the US. "We have to stop, on a temporary basis at least, but we have to stop people from pouring into our country. We have to stop it until we find out what the hell is going on. And we can do that, but we have to have people come in that cherish us, that love us, that want to love us, that want to do things, that don't want to destroy us, that don't want to go to a club where you have innocent people and where you had no guns on the other side," he said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Indian steel companies will export rails worth USD 150 million to Iran next month as part of a pact between the two countries for developing railway and other infrastructure at strategically important Chabahar port. “The maiden consignment of rail from India worth USD 150 million would be sent to Iran in July,” a top official told PTI after Ambassador of Iran to India Gholamreza Ansari called on Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. The consignment of rails will be shipped by steel companies, the official said, adding that both Gadkari and Ansari deliberated on taking further the historic pact between the nations on the strategic Chabahar Port in southern Iran which will give India access to Afghanistan and Europe bypassing Pakistan. The pact to develop the Chabahar port and other infrastructure was inked last month during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Persian Gulf nation. Gadkari last month said that India would invest billions of dollars in setting up industries — ranging from aluminium smelter to urea plants — in Iran’s Chabahar free trade zone. Also, railway PSU IRCON will build a rail line at Chabahar to move goods right up to Afghanistan. The rail links are being built so that the land-locked Afghanistan can get access to the Iranian port as an alternative to the Pakistani port of Karachi.
The official said that a meeting is also “scheduled next month between Shipping Minister and his Iranian counterpart to develop a workplan for industrial needs and investments needed for Chabahar free trade zone”. The focus will be setting up industries in the Chabahar free trade zone. Besides the bilateral pact to develop the Chabahar port for which India will invest USD 500 million, a trilateral agreement on transport and transit corridor has also been signed by India, Afghanistan and Iran, which the Prime Minister said could “alter the course of the history of the region”. Also, Gadkari has been stressing that the distance between Kandla and the Chabahar port is less than the distance between New Delhi and Mumbai and the pact would enable India quick movement of goods first to Iran and then onwards to Afghanistan and Russia through a new rail and road link. “Over Rs 1 lakh crore investment can happen in Chabahar free trade zone,” he had said.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India, China and Myanmar should establish a joint dialogue mechanism to restore the Stilwell Road connecting the three countries to revitalise trade in the region, Chinese media said. "The Stilwell Road was called the Ledo Road, but renamed after Stilwell at the suggestion of Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek. Ledo, a small town in northern India, is the starting point of this legendary road," an article in the state-run Global Times said. From Ledo to Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, the road is 1,800-km-long. It is obvious that the road that connects China, India and Myanmar bears economic significance for South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, it said. "Driven by the economic potential and the need to reinforce transport network in the region, an increasing clamour of voices in China, India and Myanmar is calling for the restoration of the road. It is time for the three countries to deliberate over project," it said. "The road is not intact. China has completed the reconstruction of the section from Kunming to the Sino-Myanmese border and connected the road to China's well-developed road system," it said. "With China's help, Myanmar has also accomplished the section from the Sino-Myanmese border to Myitkyina. However, the sections from Myanmar to India and within India are barely usable. Some parts have already been deserted due to bad conditions," it said. "Myanmar has started to renovate part of the road, but the reconstruction is not smooth due to lack of funds and technologies and the presence of Indian and Myanmese ethnic insurgents in the area," it said. "India is worried about the reconstruction of the road for two reasons. First, the road starts from Assam, a state where local militants have become increasingly active. Second, China-made products can flood into the Indian market through the road," it said. "But India has toned down the two concerns because New Delhi has adopted a Look East policy, and the process of advancing the strategy requires the stability of northern India, in which a well-functioning road system matters a lot. Thus, recently Assam has started to fix part of the road," it said.
China as a "more developed country" should play a major role in the reconstruction work, it said. "All three countries should set up a joint dialogue mechanism, in which their concerns and problems can be put on the negotiating table, including how to make peace with ethnic insurgents, and the three countries can find out solutions together. China can be the initiator of the communication mechanism," it said. "The restoration of the Stilwell Road will revitalise the promising path, which will interconnect Southwest China, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and merge the region into an emerging market. The ethnic groups living in this area can seize the chance and prosper," it said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
India and Bangladesh today launched transshipment operations at the Ashuganj port to boost trade and facilitate seamless movement of goods in the landlocked region, with a cargo vessel unloading the maiden consignment to be transported to Tripura through Bangladeshi territory. Bangladesh’s Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan launched the operation at Ashuganj port in central Bangladesh, where 1,000 tonnes of iron and steel sheets were unloaded to be trans- shipped to Tripura through Bangladesh territory in trucks. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Bangladeshi lawmakers and senior officials witnessed the inaugural ceremony.
Under a revised protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade as part of a bilateral agreement signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June last year, India and Bangladesh agreed to let each other use their territories for transiting goods to a third country. The deal would enable Bangladesh to use Indian territory to transport goods to Nepal and Bhutan while on the other hand India would access Myanmar by crossing through Bangladesh. Under the arrangement, vessels carrying Indian cargos would unload at Ashuganj port, from where Bangladeshi trucks will carry the goods to Tripura to be delivered at the Akhaura checkpoint, the second largest trading point between India and Bangladesh after the Benapole-Petrapole post with West Bengal. India had long been seeking transit and transshipment facility to carry goods to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, from West Bengal through a shortened route via Bangladesh. At present, trucks from Kolkata travel around 1,600 kilometres to reach Agartala. The distance through Bangladesh would be only 500 kilometres, according to experts. According to analysts, it costs India USD 67 to transport per tonne of goods from Kolkata to Agartala and Indian trucks take 30 days to reach there through the rugged terrains. The transshipment facility – combining riverine and land routes – would now enable India to deliver goods in an estimated 10-day time and reduce transport cost by nearly 50 per cent.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Thailand today invited Indian companies to invest in Thailand as trade between the countries is quite low and there is room for more cooperation. “Trade between two countries is quite low and there is room for more cooperation between Thailand and India,” Thailand Board of Investment Deputy Secretary General Chokedee Kaewasang said here. “Thailand and India are in unique position to help each other. Thailand will help India in getting access to ASEAN,” he added. Kaewasang said over USD 200 million has been invested by Indian companies in Thailand in last two years. The Deputy Secretary General said by 2022, the Thailand government will invest USD 53.4 million in improving infrastructure. “The government has identified so called next generation industries to enhance our competitiveness,” he said.
Stressing that the Thailand government is focusing on digital infrastructure as well, Kaewasang said his government plans to invest USD 12 billion in digital infrastructure. Speaking at the same occasion, Thailand Board of Investment Executive Director Bonggot Anuroy said if Indian companies will import material into Thailand then the Thailand government can exempt import duty. She further said if any foreign company will establish international headquarter (IHQ) in Thailand then they will get special tax incentive up to 15 years. Meanwhile, Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha arrived India today on a three-day visit with an aim to deepen bilateral cooperation in areas of trade and investment, defence, security and tourism. Chan-o-Cha will have extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow during which both sides are likely to explore ways to expand maritime security cooperation, deal with threat of terrorism and boost trade. Issues related to the proposed Free Trade Agreement between the two countries are likely to figure in talks. The volume of current annual bilateral trade between the two countries is nearly USD 8 billion and both sides are keen to expand it further.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research on Wednesday recommended the imposition of Regulatory Duty (RD) on the import of cotton bales from India. The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, observed that import of cotton lint from India via Wagha border despite sufficient stock in the country would adversely affect cotton growers. The committee urged the Finance Ministry to direct Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) to impose RD on import of cotton from India, Pakistani newspapers have reported. A senior official of Ministry of Commerce informed the committee that presently approximately 400,000 cotton bales are available in the country. Shah said that arrival of new cotton crop in the market has already started therefore import of cotton from India will substantially add to the existing cotton stock. Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah informed the committee that Pakistan is importing extra long staple cotton from the US and some other countries and wondered why the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) is urging for import of cotton from India. He said Pakistan's cotton acreage has declined by 12.7 per cent but in Punjab the acreage was 14 per cent short of the target. He claimed that the APTMA's imports through land routes caused a loss of Rs 22 billion to Pakistani farmers last year. The APTMA also came under fire from Minister for National Food Security Sikandar Hayat Bosan who said that the Association was instrumental in shifting the subject of cotton to the Ministry of Textile, which is not capable of handling the issues of agriculture and growers. Bosan said the APTMA was importing cotton from India claiming that it was extra-long staple, but that kind of cotton is not grown by India and only the US and African countries grow that variety. Pakistan began importing cotton from India earlier this year after rains and pests destroyed much of its crop.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
In May, Managing Director Mr von Bismarck of Terrot Group, leading manufacturer of electronically and mechanically controlled circular knitting machines travelled to Iran together with other Saxon entrepreneurs and guided by the Saxon Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport Martin Dulig, the delegation was looking for new business contacts and sales opportunities in the country. First contracts have been signed and the company’s activities have been successful as well, according to the manufacturer. Terrot Group reached its first agreement with an Iranian textile manufacturer on the purchase of five new circular knitting machines. This contract encompasses approximately EUR 220,000. The machines are to be delivered in the following months. According to Saxon State Minister of Economy, this positive start by Terrot helps Saxon business in general to gain foothold on the Iranian market. Innovations have a long tradition at Terrot, it develops and produces innovative products at the manufacturing site in Chemnitz. Their goal in the sector of Research and Development is to seize current market trends and to realize them as innovative products. Quality, a maximum degree of efficiency and a high cost-performance-ratio are always in the foreground at the development and the engineering of their machines. Their advantage through experience, technical know-how, expertise and commitment is shown by their everyday performance. With around 50 global cooperating representatives, own subsidiaries and service centres.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
China’s economic growth is likely to experience a “gradual moderation” over the next few years, though there are a number of risks to be mindful of, an Australian central banker said on Thursday. Speaking on “The Economic Transition in China” at a business lunch in Brisbane, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor Christopher Kent said Beijing has so far relied on more, rather than less, accommodative monetary and fiscal settings to support its slowing economy. “To the extent that this represents a re-prioritization of short-term objectives over longer-term sustainability, it may increase the likelihood of a future disruptive adjustment,” said Kent, who is also chief economic advisor to the RBA Governor and the Board. “Even so, the (Chinese) authorities will no doubt respond if the economy experiences shocks that might otherwise lead to a so called ‘hard landing’ for the economy as a whole.”
For Australia, Kent said the primary risk posed by the uncertain outlook in China is to commodity prices and the exports of goods, particularly resources, and services. China is Australia’s single biggest export market. Kent made no mention of Australia’s monetary policy setting. The RBA left the cash rate unchanged at a record low 1.75 percent earlier this month as widely expected, following a surprise cut in May on persistently low inflation.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
A Paris-based international group is forecasting that the U.S. economic expansion, celebrating its seventh birthday this month, should remain on track over the next two years with growth strengthening in 2017. The 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is projecting that U.S. growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, will slow this year to 1.8 percent but accelerate slightly in 2017 to 2.2 percent. The OECD puts the risks of a U.S. recession as a ”low-probability prospect” but it does point to a number of long-term challenges facing the country. It recommends well-designed investments in innovation, infrastructure and improving job skills as a way to combat a prolonged period of weak growth in worker productivity.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Oil prices slumped about three percent to hit one-month lows on Thursday, down a sixth straight day, as the dollar's rally on fears of Britain's exit from the European Union hammered commodities priced in the currency. Crude futures bounced slightly off session lows as sterling briefly turned positive against the dollar after campaigning was suspended for next week's EU membership referendum following a deadly attack on a lawmaker for Britain's opposition Labour Party. Brent crude futures' front-month contact was down $1.35, or 2.8 per cent, at $47.62 per barrel by 12:58 pm EDT (1658 GMT). The session low of $47.09 was its lowest since May 12. Oil was on track for six straight days of losses, which would be the most since January. Since June 9, Brent has lost about $5 a barrel, or nearly 10 per cent. Prior to that, it hit an eight-month high of nearly $53 on supply disruptions out of Nigeria and Canada. Front-month US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.43, or nearly three per cent, to $46.58 a barrel. During the session, it hit a one-month low of $46.16. The dollar hit a two-week high against a basket of currencies as global markets feared economic turmoil if Britain votes to leave the European Union. "With no new supply interruptions occurring and the UK vote looming, oil is not likely to stage a new upward leg in the short term," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York. Then Jo Cox, a British Member of Parliament, was shot in the street. Her death shocked the country and prompted suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on EU membership.
Sterling rebounded
Oil was also pressured by the Federal Reserve's hints on Wednesday that there may be two US rate hikes this year despite slower-than-expected growth. A stronger dollar makes oil and other commodities priced in the greenback more expensive to holders of the euro and other currencies. Also weighing on oil, the US government reported a much smaller drawdown than expected in crude inventories despite peak summer driving demand. The Energy Information Administration said domestic crude inventories fell 933,000 barrels last week, less than half the 2.3-million-barrel decrease forecast. Market intelligence firm Genscape reported a weekly decline of 76,317 barrels in stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for WTI futures, traders who saw the data said. In the previous week, Genscape reported a drawdown of 299,058 barrels at Cushing.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
