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India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) recently notified the rules of origin related to the eligibility requirement to claim preferential customs duty on trade in goods under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which will come into effect from December 29 this year. The rules will also come into effect on that date. The India-Australia interim trade deal is set to kick off later this month. Called the Customs Tariff (Determination of Origin of Goods under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement) Rules, 2022, the notification by the CBIC lays out the origin criteria based on which the product would be eligible for the preferential customs duty. The ECTA was signed in April this year and is expected to cover 90 per cent of bilateral trade. India will benefit from preferential market access provided by Australia on cent per cent of its tariff lines. India will offer preferential access to Australia on over 70 per cent of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to Australia which are primarily raw materials and intermediaries such as coal, mineral ores and wines. “Once the tariff notification is rolled out for the ECTA, Indian businesses need to evaluate the benefit extended on the inbound and outbound trade from the perspective of supply chain optimisation and enhanced access to a new market, covering a large cross section of goods or sectors,” said PwC in a note. Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia’s 9th largest trading partner.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
India’s Department of Commerce (DoC) has developed the National Import-Export Record for Yearly Analysis of Trade (NIRYAT) portal—a real-time online monitoring system—to supplement the offline monitoring of export performance. NIRYAT, which was launched in June 2022, covers 200 countries/territories by 31 commodity groups via a digitised data-driven framework for facilitating timely policy making/ interventions in international trade, India’s DoC, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in its Year End Review 2022. The portal also displays state/UT wise export performance with respect to 31 commodity groups. It is accessible to government stakeholders (including embassies/HCs/missions) and export promotion councils (EPCs)/commodity boards/authorities, etc through individual login and password, for regular monitoring of the export performance of their respective jurisdictions and to take necessary action, wherever required. Moreover, the DoC has said that a public portal has been created and is now accessible to all.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Textile Department reached out to entrepreneurs and investors in the district of Tiruchi to spread the word about the benefits of the Mini Textile Park scheme, as per a report by The Hindu. Earlier in December, potential investors in Tiruchi district were briefed about the salient features of the New Integrated Textile Policy 2019. The policy provides incentives and subsidies to different sectors to develop the textile industry. The department officials informed the participants that the policy is focussed on southern districts with the objective to grow the textile value chain and promote the technical textiles. Subsidy worth Rs 2.5 crores or 50 per cent would be provided for establishment of each Mini Textile Park under various categories including – spinning, weaving, knitting, processing, garmenting and technical textile, the report added, citing a senior official of the Textile department. Further, the prospective investors got to know about the other important aspects of New Integrated Textile Policy 2019 which offers 10 per cent capital subsidy for all new machines. It also includes provision of 25 percent (with the ceiling of Rs 10 crores) for establishment of trade facilitation centre; 10 percent capital subsidy for wider width fabric processing; five percent interest subsidy for common effluent treatment plant; 15 percent capital subsidy for the individual effluent treatment plant, and Rs 1 crore Research and Development assistance for establishment of effluent treatment plant. Meanwhile, in November, Tamil Nadu received 100 applications from representatives of textiles units to set up mini textile parks across the state and of these 43 are from Karur district, informed handlooms and textiles minister, R Gandhi, as per another report by The Hindu. The union government in an attempt to bring the second edition of Textile PLI earlier next year, has invested Rs 1,536 crore so far and is left with Rs 4,000 crore of unutilised budget.The second version of the scheme may cover bedspreads and textile accessories like lace, button, and zippers.
Source: Financial express
Slowing global growth and cooling demand are likely to shrink India’s goods exports by more than 2% in 2022-23 and grow just 1.5% next year, CARE Ratings said in a research report on Tuesday, signalling a sharp drop in outbound shipments over the next quarter. India’s merchandise exports have grown 11.1% through the first eight months of the year to touch $295.3 billion, but the rating agency cited recent months’ trend of moderating exports to reckon that the full-year figure would be 2.3% lower than the record $422 billion achieved in 2021-22. With major economies likely to experience a sharp slowdown and global trade growth moderating, India’s manufacturing sector, whose Gross Value Added to the economy contracted 4.3% in the second quarter, will feel the pain of lower external demand as is evident in the 4% drop in industrial output in October, economists at the rating agency pointed out. “Sectors with high export intensity will specifically be hit hard by the ensuing global slowdown,” they said, identifying gems & jewellery, ceramic & glassware, leather & leather products, drugs & pharmaceuticals, engineering & electrical goods, and textiles as the most export-intensive sectors in manufacturing. “Some of these export intensive-sectors like textiles and garments, gems & jewellery, leather products are also highly labour-intensive. Hence, slowdown in these sectors will have implications for the overall employment scenario in the economy,” they cautioned in the note. India’s average monthly trade deficit of $25 billion so far this year compares with an average of $16 billion last year. CARE said it expected India’s overall trade deficit for the year to be $294 billion, or 8% of GDP, compared with $189 billion, or 6% of GDP, in 2021-22. This deficit could moderate to 6.9% of GDP in 2023-24 with easing commodity prices, it projected. The current account deficit, which hit a 15-quarter high of 2.8% of GDP in the April-to-June 2022 quarter, is pegged at 3.6% of GDP for 2022-23, but may moderate to 2.2% next year, partly helped by lower commodity prices and partly by an expected easing in domestic demand, CARE said in the report. “Region-wise analysis of trade balance data shows a worsening of trade deficit with China. Given that India has a large trade deficit with China, worsening growth prospects in China are worrying for the Indian economy. Moreover, with the U.S. and EU slowing down, India’s trade surplus with these regions has also been falling,” it pointed out in the report.
Source: The hindu
The textile and apparel industry, which is highly labour-intensive, is careful once again as Covid has started spreading its arms in some parts of the world. The workers have started observing the Covid-19 protocols including usage of masks regularly. In Tamil Nadu, the Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) issued an advisory to its 1.2 million workers and sought to allay fears about a fresh wave of the pandemic among migrant workers so that they do not leave their workplaces. In Surat, Surat Municipal Corporation held a meeting with representatives of textile and diamond trade to discuss the Covid-19 situation and said it is looking at how to provide booster doses to the workers. The diamond and textile units in Surat together employ more than 2.7 million workers. In many factories of Delhi-NCR, workers can be seen using masks again. Though sensitisation is still rare, but factory staff are creating awareness among workers. Dense fog, cold waves in Delhi-NCR and in North India are another cause of worry for the factory owners and manufacturers as the weather is conducive to growing cases of cold and flu.
Source: Apparel resources
India is the fifth-largest economy and is poised to be the third-largest in the near future. A 5 trillion USD economy size is in sight. 2047 is the target for India to be a developed nation. All these require a strong MSME sector and also require a larger industry sector.Any person with a cursory interest in the MSME Sector is aware of the criticality of the sector to the economy. India has close to 64 Million MSMEs. However, the problem is over 94% of them are micro and about 4.5 % are in the small and medium sectors whereas just 1% are large companies. Large companies without an exception are dependent on MSMEs for the supply of goods and services and also as consumers of their products. So the large and the small companies exist to add value to each other. One can safely say that neither can exist without the other. Automobile, Pharma, Chemicals, and Engineering in manufacturing to travel and tourism in the services – all see this symbiotic relationship between the large sector and the MSMEs.The budget is around the corner and many memoranda have been presented or are in the process of being presented to the Finance Ministry. The Ministry, of course, will consider them in the context of the priorities for the government in the context of domestic and international economic situations and challenges. As the Chair of the MSME committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I have been part of such deliberations and recommendations. So what should the MSME sector expect from the FM on the 1st February 2023, when she raises to present the Budget for fiscal 2023 – 24? But the better question to my mind is, why should the MSME sector expect from the FM on the 1st February 2023, when she raises to present the Budget for fiscal 2023 – 24? MSME Sector is considered a priority sector by banks for lending. The government created the ECGLS and CGTSME windows for lending to MSMEs stressed during the Covid disruption. The TREDS platform has been created for faster settlement of dues to MSMEs. So what else should the government be expected to do? Some direct tax sops? Change in GST rates? Reclassification of some items? Additional export benefits? Import duties reduction or increase, depending on where the business sits? The larger question is what do SMEs need? Some short time sops or a long-term sustainable growth opportunity. I am convinced that the long-term sustainable model must be pivoted on Industry helping industry rather than Government helping the industry. It is often mentioned that the business of the government is not business but what is also true is that the business of business is business. So the question is, what can large corporations and medium corporations do for the growth of their customers and supplier-vendor ecosystem? Actually three areas!Let’s start with the supply chain. Large corporates can assist by prioritising buying from Indian MSMEs. The oft-repeated excuse for not doing so are – quality and scale. But the auto industry has demonstrated that this is possible. Some of the Indian auto ancillaries are billion dollar corporations with world class quality. This has been possible because the OEMs invested time, money but more importantly effort in building the supplier ecosystem. India has huge advantages in chemicals, pharma, electronics, and textiles that are waiting to be explored. If large corporates were to invest time, money, and effort in building good quality systems and effort to train the supplier teams, these industries can be world beaters. The second area is the quality of manpower. Today engineering graduates and MBAs prefer large corporates as employment options but SMEs are never on the radar. Not their fault! The HR systems, business processes, and compensation structures of large corporates are definitely more attractive. But large corporates can work towards training personnel in their SME ecosystems to ensure appropriate systems and HR practices are instituted to make them attractive employers. With TREDS, a large part of supply chain finance can be addressed. Large corporates must actively consider being part of it and encourage all their suppliers to join. This will ensure prompt and competitive financing for MSMEs which addresses the problem of access to finance. This is the third area for intervention and collaboration. Large corporates must step up the game and MSMEs must be willing to scale. There is a benefit for all in this process. Government support must be limited to creating an enabling ecosystem and facilitating an architecture for sustainable growth. Industry supporting industry to grow in a mutually beneficial and sustainable way is the true meaning of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Source: livemint
Advantage under the India-Australia free trade agreement will help Indian apparel exporters get greater market access in that country as compared to their competitors, AEPC said on Tuesday. The agreement is coming into force from December 29. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Vice Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said Australia is the largest importer of garments in the southern hemisphere. While China's share in import of apparel into Australia is more than 70 per cent, India's share is less than 5 per cent. "With the India-Australia ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement ) getting operationalised, India will have a slight duty advantage over Vietnam and Indonesia for imports in the Australian market," he said. India's ready-made garment exports to Australia have seen a growth of an average of 11.84 per cent over the last 5 years, which is "purely on account of China Plus One strategy adopted by most countries," he added. Going by this growth trend and with the agreement coming into play, AEPC believes that the exports to Australia would grow three times by 2025, the Vice Chairman said. An outreach programme with apparel exporters was organised on Tuesday by the Department of Commerce in association with AEPC and Okhla Garment Textiles Cluster (OGTC). OGTC President P M S Uppal said most of the big Australian companies have deep roots in China and they will only be considering India as an option if "we give them lucrative incentives and reasons to shift to India for sourcing their requirements". The government has assured AEPC that it will look into the challenges and respond positively.
Source: Economic times
The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) on Monday urged Railways to run special trains to major cities across the country and add more coaches to ensure cost-effective transport of textile goods from Surat to other destinations in the country. The demand was raised in a meeting held to discuss transportation of goods through railway and postal department. It was chaired by SGCCI president Himanshu Bodawala and attended by the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) president Manoj Agrawal, executive director of Railway Board (strategic planning and implementation) GVL Satya Kumar, Surat railway station director Mukesh Kumar and regional director of South Gujarat Post services Shivram among others. Addressing the meeting, Bodawala pointed out that more bogies should be added to existing long distance trains, so that textile parcels can be delivered easily and safely to major markets. Raising the demand for additional coaches, he said that there will be no shortage of parcels of textile goods and a collection point should be set up at the market area by railway and postal department. The Railway started textile parcel goods services from Surat to Varanasi in October 2022 for which train number 9011 runs regularly from Udhna railway station in Surat to Varanasi. “We have got good response for the service from Surat to Varanasi, The Railways and postal department are working together to regularise the transportation of textile goods by January 2023,” Railway Board official pointed out. In their efforts to support traders, the Railway authorities have made a mobile application for textile traders to make bookings.
Source: KNN
As of 2016, coal consumption in India had tripled and energy consumption more than doubled. These figures are expected to rise significantly in the coming years due to a growing population (soon to be the world’s largest) and a period of rapid economic growth. In a fossil fuel-dependent country like India, are there ways to ensure more efficient and sustainable energy-use? Renewable alternatives, which often demand large investments in infrastructure and an overhaul of existing systems, may not always be feasible. One widely proposed solution to this problem is to make the country’s existing energy infrastructure more efficient by reducing or decarbonising energy consumption. Both international climate policy and national energy policy in India have long focused on energy efficiency, that is, reducing the amount of energy required for a given energy output (Think: requiring fewer units of electricity to achieve a given level of cooling using an energy efficient air conditioner). Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), high income countries have focused their efforts on funding mitigation efforts around energy efficiency in low and middle income countries like India. The rationale? Investing in energy efficiency can reduce pollution by reducing the demand for fossil fuels in the production of electricity or thermal power. The Government of India places a high priority on energy efficiency in manufacturing. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the ministry of power, has also launched the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency across many energy-intensive industries in the country. Indian states also subsidise energy efficiency both in collaboration with and independently of the national-level policy. Despite significant policy momentum around energy efficiency programmes, there is limited evidence of their real-world effectiveness in factory settings and of how firms respond to energy efficiency upgrades. An alternative school of thought in energy economics suggests that the drive for energy efficiency may be misguided when it comes to reducing industrial emissions. Energy efficient technologies, it argues, may actually increase energy demand and consumption by making each unit of electricity less expensive.
Source: Hindustan times
The Odisha Cabinet today approved the Odisha MSME Development Policy 2022 for accelerating growth of enterprises in the MSME Sector, State. The new policy will replace the existing Odisha MSME Development Policy, 2016, said an official press release. According to the press release, the new policy announces various progressive measures to incentivise the growth of MSMEs in promoting employment and contribution of MSME sector to the State’s GDP. The Capital Investment Subsidy to new Micro, Small Enterprises has been extended to New Micro, Small and Existing Micro & Small Enterprises undertaking Expansion, Modernisation and Diversification (E/M/D) at the rate 25% of Capital Investment made in Plant & Machineries and the subsidy limit has been enhanced from Rs 1 crore to upper limit of Rs 2 crore. Similarly, the upper limit of Capital Investment Subsidy for new and existing enterprises owned by SC, ST, persons with disabilities, women & technical (Degree/Diploma) entrepreneur has been enhanced from Rs 1.25 crore to Rs 2.50 crore. In order to support growth of Micro, Small enterprises in industrially backward districts namely Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Subarnapur, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Gajapati and Mayurbhanj, in designated IDCO Industrial Estates or Industrial Areas along Biju Express Highway Corridor and Enterprise of eight focus sector in Automobile & Auto Components, Plastics & Polymers, Steel & Stainless Steel, Defence Equipment, Aluminium, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Equipment and Apparel & Textile sector, an additional Capital Investment Subsidy @ 5% of investment made in Plant and machinery up to Rs 20 lakh over and above the limit prescribed of each of the category will be available. For the first time, New and existing Anchor enterprises undertaking E/M/D shall also be eligible for CIS @30% of investment made in Plant & Machinery subject to a maximum limit of INR 4 Crores and the Policy also provisioned an additional CIS @5% of capital investment made in technical civil works and Plant & Machinery for the New and existing enterprises adopting non-polluting measures, subject to an upper limit of INR 25 lakh. This will help in promoting green industries with a view to promote manufacturing of new type of products in the State.
This Policy also provides:
Source: Ommcom news
With the elimination of duty, India's exports of textiles and apparels to Australia are expected to gain from USD 0.5 billion to USD 1.1 billion in the next 3 years, said Parul Singh, Deputy Secretary in the Department of Commerce (DOC) on Tuesday. Presenting on Indo- Australia ECTA which highlighted the benefits of the deal for the Apparel Industry, she said additional capacity creation due to exports and re-investment, is likely to create additional employment of 40,000 persons per annum. This ECTA has a higher value addition of 35 per cent for specifying country of origin, which has been deliberately kept to avoid the leakages from other countries, said Singh at an outreach programme with apparel exporters was organized by the DOC in association with AEPC. “We are now going to work for board-based CECA building upon the ECTA deal which will make it comprehensive,” she added. This was the first outreach programme on Indo- Australia Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) where government and exporters exchanged their views to harness the best potential of the ECTA deal. The prominent members of garment trade including members from OGTC, GEMA, ATDC, etc. were present in the meeting. Delivering the special address Sudhir Sekhri, Vice Chairman AEPC said,“Australia is the largest importer of garments in the Southern Hemisphere. While China's share of import of apparel into Australia is more than 70 per cent, India's share in imports is less than 5 per cent. With the India-Australia ECTA getting operationalized, India will have a slight duty advantage over Vietnam and Indonesia for imports in the Australian market.” Sekhri noted that as MOQ is small for Australia it will provide a big opportunity for even smaller and medium size exporters to supply Indian products. Members suggested ways how the fabrics imports can be easily facilitated without going for an advance authorization scheme and suggested ways for faster clearances at the ports. The other concerns and challenges raised by the exporters during the meeting included; smaller MOQs, availability of fabrics, simplification of procedures and timely facilitation at the ports, direct shipping lines with countries having FTA, design and fashion mapping, faster adjudication process, skill mapping, etc.
Source: KNN
Traders request package for industry to avoid layoffs, enhanced audit limit and other measures With resurgence of covid in other nations, the textile industry is now wary of its impact and has sought a relief package. The Karnataka Hosiery and Garment Association has written to PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stating that the Centre should provide a relief package for the textile and readymade garment industry, so that it can support a huge workforce, and mitigate any risks of layoff in the industry. “We thank the government for listening to the traders’ request last year by not increasing goods and services tax (GST) rates for readymade garments. The Indian economy has been able to withstand the rigors caused due to inflation and recession fears throughout the world till now,” said the letter. “However, there is fear in the industry due to the recent spike in covid cases, and its impact on the Indian economy. We request to remove the anomaly completely by bringing textile and readymade garments under a single rate of 5 per-cent on all textile and readymade garments, irrespective of value, which would enhance the ease of doing business,” it added. According to Prakash Kumar T Bhojani, association president, the garment association urges the government to enhance the audit limits to Rs 10 crore without any conditions attached. “At present, the income tax audit clause of Rs 10 crore is equipped with various conditions leading to anomaly and hardship to the trade. Similarly, GST annual return filing for all the future years should also be enhanced to Rs 10 crores,” he said. “Another area of concern in the GST regime is the restriction on utilisation of input tax credit (ITC) to the extent of 99 per-cent of the output tax for those with turnover of over Rs 50 lakh per month, which leads to working capital issues for genuine traders who have purchased more, but their sales have not been in consonance with the purchases,” he added.
Source: Bangalore mirror
Cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and data sharing will all be discussed by Parliament in 2023. MEPs will agree a position on a legal framework for artificial intelligence in January, which aims to introduce a common regulatory and legal basis for artificial intelligence in line with EU values. The focus is on specific applications and possible risks.
Rules on cryptocurrencies to protect consumers and establish safeguards against market manipulation and financial crime are on the agenda in February.
MEPs will also work on the Data Act, establishing common rules to regulate the sharing of data when using connected products or related services. The aim is to make it easier to switch between providers of cloud storage and other data processing services. It would also put in place safeguards against unlawful international data transfer by cloud service providers.
In the wake of the global semiconductor shortage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Parliament will set out its position on the Chips Act, which aims to ensure that the EU has the essential skills, tools and technologies to become a leader in the field. The goal is to help achieve the digital and green transition as well as help boost production and avoid supply chain disruption.
Political advertising
Parliament members will discuss rules to ensure a fairer and more open democratic process in the EU and prevent attempts to manipulate public opinion by increasing the transparency of sponsored political advertising.
Migration
Following the agreement on a joint roadmap on migration and asylum between Parliament and Council in September 2022, MEPs will work on proposals regarding the European Commission’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum. This includes dealing with migration management, screening procedures, resettlement framework and EU asylum procedures.
Source: Bangalore mirror
With a focus on perfection and precision, Ginni Filaments Limited is holding its leading position in the nonwoven, technical textile and consumer wipes market, ensuring that hygiene is paramount when it comes to creating quality products Back in the 1990s, Dr. Rajaram Jaipuria started Ginni Filaments. After being part of several other industries such as sugar, synthetic fibre, etc., he was with a firm belief that India could be the largest producer of textile goods. His fifteen-fold growth over its first 10 years brought honour to the organisation’s existence. He came to be known as a powerful modernism advocate who employed top-notch technologies to instil high standards of culture throughout the group. Shishir Jaipuria is carrying forward the legacy of his family and is currently serving as Chairman and Managing Director at Ginni Filaments Limited. Jaipuria is also Chairman of the Seth Anandram Jaipuria Education Society, which is involved in imparting quality education through its schools and management institutes. The group has always made a considerable contribution to philanthropic endeavours, including educational institutions, hospitals and charity organisations, in addition to being the principal driver behind the Ginni Filaments Group. The dream was always to make Ginni Filaments the ‘go-to’ supplier for cotton yarn, knit textiles, clothing, and technical textile by providing constant quality. Over the years Ginni Filaments has aggressively expanded the wipes industry in India and kept its position as a pioneer and an industry leader. All these plans and visions have turned into reality over the past several decades and as the following interview illustrates, the journey to excellence continues.
Inception of Ginni Filaments
Ginni Filaments Limited’s Chief Executive Yash Japuria recalls how the company started when there was almost no demand or awareness about technical or nonwoven textiles and their uses, especially in India. Then, with the vision of Dr. Rajaram Jaipuria, Ginni Filaments started working towards its goals. Moreover, the consumer products division was started as an entity integrated with technical textiles. A public limited company that has expanded into several divisions, locations and products. They are established as a wet wipe converter since 2006-7, and expanded into liquid cosmetics products in 2018, offering a great range of products to their partners. With confidence and assurance of over 32 years of consumer satisfaction, every Ginni product is carefully built to deliver exceptional quality. Right from the materials used, to detailed quality checks and thoughtful improvements, quality is at the core of everything they do. Down the line, multinational brands such as Johnson and Johnson started making their mark. Partnering with such multinational companies, Ginni Filaments has jointly grown throughout the years. Even today, according to Yash Jaipuria, almost 40% of the wet wipes market is operated by Ginni Filaments Limited. The initial production of wet wipes by Ginni Filaments started in Haridwar. Soon, the research and development team of the company analysed that there was going to be a higher demand for wipes and other pharmaceutical, hygiene and personal care products in the country. Therefore, the designing of pharmaceutical and alcohol-based wipes apart from other cosmetics was started in the Haridwar plant itself.
Technology for Wet Wipes
When Yash Jaipuria was asked to explain the type of technology being used to produce wet wipes in Ginni, here’s the narrative. He started by explaining the mission, and clarifying that there are two types of wet wipe packs. The bigger one is known as a flat pack. On the other hand, the smaller is known as a cross-fold pack. Both types are used for baby care, personal care, hygiene and surface disinfectant purposes. “We only use European state-of-the-art technology and no human touch or intervention in any of the machines. Therefore, hygiene is top-notch in this type of manufacturing system, and every machine in the plant has gone through factory acceptance tests,” he elaborates. Every product that is manufactured by the company considers the feedback of customers who have already used the previous versions. To be able to keep up with the quality, Ginni Filaments Limited uses only specially manufactured machines that run on a unique technology. This is one of the primary aspects that the company takes care of. The other is the solution that is used to manufacture wet wipes. To be able to offer only the best quality solution, Ginni Filaments has joined hands with world-class equipment manufacturers who have proven technology and quality systems. Such collaborative efforts backed by a strong mission statement have helped Ginni Filaments Limited explore new paths, and create products that have stood the test of time across global markets.
Brand USP
As regards why its clients choose Ginni Filaments over other brands, Yash Jaipuria, says, “There are several reasons why Ginni is the preferred choice for several customers. One of the primary reasons is proven quality standards, and in addition, we were the first players who came up with innovative solutions meeting the customer vision and requirements in the market. We make sure that everything is on point right from the beginning of the manufacturing process till it reaches the end users.” Wet wipes are a highly critical product. For example, if you are using a towel and dump it in one place while it is still wet, you will see that after a few hours it starts smelling. It is because textile along with water are perfect food for microbes. The challenge is also the same with wet wipes because it also is made out of textile fabrics. However, in this case, the makers have to ensure that the wet wipes are still fresh and fragrant for the next two years or till their expiry date. Therefore, Ginni ensures that everything is perfect right from the start. For instance, they ensure that the water has zero contamination, the environment is perfect and germ-free and the workforce is skilled & trained for handling advanced technologies. Even the machines should be in perfect condition to produce the most excellent quality product. It is worth mentioning that Ginni is proud of its highly talented and dedicated team of workers – a force of around 3,000 personnel across India.
Types of Fabric Used
Ginni Filaments Limited is a vertically integrated company and makes their requirement of Fabrics. While manufacturing wet wipes, one can use multiple varieties of fabrics as raw materials. However, the company is extremely fortunate for being able to produce its own raw material. The primary types of fibres used for the manufacturing of wet wipes in the company are viscose and polyester, which are more straightforward than other materials. However, the combination of viscose and polyester will depend on the type of product that the customer demands. Apart from this, the company is using a particular spunlace manufacturing system currently in high demand.
Vision for Growth
According to Yash Jaipuria, the company has constantly been on the growth path since its inception and is trying to keep up the pace even now. Moreover, the new unit in Panoli, Gujarat has become a more significant advantage for them to achieve its goals, and break their own records in the future. It is the largest wet wipes manufacturing facility in India with capabilities for Alcohol, Pharma and Cosmetic Wipes. Further, Ginni Filaments Limited does not believe in manufacturing low-quality products just for quick perks. Therefore, each system and machine is highly certified and the technology is commendable too. With high levels of dedication, state-of-the-art technology, workers’ expertise, and customer satisfaction and feedback, Ginni strides into the future as a leader.
Source: Indian textile magazine
With over 1,200 data layers of concerned central ministries/departments and 755 essential layers of states/ union territories (UT), India’s PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) is fully operational in 2022, as per the year-end review of Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI). PM GatiShakti has also complemented the National Logistics Policy for any transport related challenges. Individual portals for 22 infrastructure and user economic ministries and all 36 states/UTs with necessary data layers, customised tools, and functionalities were developed, according to the MoCI. Altogether thirty-eight meetings of the Network Planning Group (NPG) were held during the year, wherein 57 projects were examined. In addition, user ministries shared 197 critical infrastructure gaps pertaining to road, rail, and port connectivity. These were examined by the NPG. Online course on PM GatiShakti was hosted on Integrated Government Online Training (iGoT) platform to build capacities within the government. Resolution of issues for time bound project implementation gained momentum through the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) mechanism. Twenty-eight states submitted their annual action plans. Plans of all states worth ₹5,023 crore were recommended to department of expenditure (DoE). For efficient operation of the PM GatiShakti NMP, training and capacity building of over 1,000 State level officers in physical mode at Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N) was completed, apart from 6 zonal conferences. Furthermore, 15 states developed logistics policy. States of Karnataka and Punjab notified their logistics policy in the month of November, the MoCI said in its year-end review. A new digital platform—ease of logistics services or E-Logs—was also started under the National Logistics Policy. The integration of Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), with 32 systems of 7 different ministries through 100+plus application programming interfaces (APIs), covering 1600-plus fields was completed successfully. ULIP was designed and developed by NICDC under the guidance of Niti Aayog. “Through this portal, industry associations can directly take up any such matters which are causing problems in their operations and performance with the government agencies. A complete system has also been put in place for the speedy resolution of such cases,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during the launch of National Logistics Policy in September 2022. National Workshop on PM GatiShakti was also organised on October 13, 2022, during which the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2022 report was released by the union minister of commerce and industry.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
India’s economic growth is expected to moderate reflecting the less favourable outlook and tighter financial conditions, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose executive board recently concluded the Article IV Consultation with India for this year. Real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow at 6.8 per cent and 6.1 per cent in fiscals 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. Uncertainty around the outlook is high, with risks tilted to the downside, IMF noted. Reflecting broad-based price pressures, inflation in the country is projected at 6.9 per cent in FY23 and is expected to moderate only gradually over the next year. The current account deficit is expected to increase to 3.5 per cent of the GDP in FY23 as a result of both higher commodity prices and strengthening import demand, IMF said in a press note. A sharp global growth slowdown in the near term would affect India through trade and financial channels. Intensifying spillovers from the war in Ukraine can cause disruptions in the global food and energy markets, with significant impact on India, IMF said. Over the medium term, reduced international cooperation can further disrupt trade and increase financial markets volatility. Domestically, rising inflation can further dampen domestic demand and impact vulnerable groups, it noted in a release. On the upside, however, successful implementation of wide-ranging reforms or greater than expected dividends from the remarkable advances in digitalisation could increase India’s medium-term growth potential. IMF executive board directors noted that additional monetary policy tightening should be carefully calibrated and clearly communicated to balance inflationary objectives and impact on economic activity. Noting that India’s external position was broadly in equilibrium, they observed that the exchange rate should continue to act as a shock absorber with foreign exchange intervention limited to addressing disorderly market conditions. They welcomed the authorities’ plans to introduce a central bank digital currency.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
INTERNATIONAL
China’s major industrial firms saw their profits decrease by 3.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) during January–November 2022. Industrial firms, which earn an annual business revenue of at least 20 million yuan or around $2.88 million, gained combined profits totalling about 7.72 trillion yuan during the period, as per the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “In November, industrial production slowed down, and the pressure on business operations increased due to factors such as the resurgence of the epidemic and weak demand, but the profit structure continued to improve,” senior NBS statistician Zhu Hong was quoted as saying by local media reports. Moreover, 20 out of 41 major industries showed an increase in profits during the first 11 months of 2022 compared to 19 industries in the first 10 months. The combined revenues of China’s industrial firms surged 6.7 per cent YoY to 123.96 trillion yuan during the first 11 months of the year.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
In the first ten months of this year, total trade turnover between Vietnam and member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) reached $88.1 billion—a year-on-year (YoY) rise of about 19.2 per cent. Vietnam’s exports hit $45.1 billion during the period—up by 22.1 per cent YoY, a top Vietnamese official said. Trade revenue between Vietnam and other CPTPP member nations has witnessed double-digit growth every year in the three years after the pact took effect, according to Luong Hoang Thai, director of Vietnam’s multilateral trade policy department under the ministry of industry and trade (MoIT). Thai was addressing a meeting in Hanoi to review the deal’s implementation. Impressive growth has been recorded in the import-export revenue between Vietnam and CPTPP countries that are yet to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the former, including Canada and Mexico, he noted. In the first 10 months of this year, Vietnam earned about $6 billion from exporting goods to Canada—a YoY rise of 24.1 per cent, while the figure was about $4.6 billion from the Mexican market—up by 9.9 per cent YoY. However, Thai drew attention to a number of limitations of the deal, including a modest market share in the CPTPP markets and unequal chances for domestic firms and those having foreign direct investment, a news agency reported. Bui Tuan Hoan, head of MoIT’s American market division, said despite positive growth in exports, domestic businesses have still faced many difficulties, especially in logistics cost, while exporting to CPTPP markets, particularly American markets due to the long distance. High requirements on products’ quality and food safety in those markets have also been another challenge for Vietnamese exporters.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Decline in global freight prices is severely affecting South Korea’s global order outlook, a country which heavily depends on overseas trade and 99 per cent of which is done by ship. The country is expected to have 42.9 per cent fewer global orders in 2023 than in 2022, according to an Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) report released last month. The decline in exports and production rates is also hampering the country’s job security, as per South Korean media reports. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which is one of the most widely used indices for ocean freight rates, fell 16.2 points from December 16, 2022, to 1107.09 on December 23, 2022. The latter figure is its lowest since July 31, 2020, when the index fell to 1103.47. South Korea recently unveiled its maiden container freight index to better reflect shipping rates on Asian routes, according to its oceans and fisheries ministry, which said the Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC) Container Composite Index (KCCI) stood at 2,892 for the second week of November. The ministry collaborated with the state-run KOBC in July 2020 to develop KCCI to better tackle rising uncertainties from global supply chain disruptions.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Vietnam will focus on improving its logistics competitiveness and make it a high value-added services sector to promote socio-economic development, according to a recent government decree. A top official noted that 2023 would be a difficult year as the global economy is in recession and inflationary risk would lead to a fall in trade and logistics activities. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the import-export department under the ministry of industry and trade (MoIT), urged enterprises to prepare for uncertainties in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, natural disasters, diseases or unexpected incidents. The logistics industry will be promoted through production, import and export. The drivers would come from transportation and information technology infrastructure development, enhancing the competitiveness of logistics companies and increasing linkages to make the country an important logistics hub of the region, a report in a top Vietnamese media outlet said. Tax policies and fees would also be reviewed while customs procedures would be simplified to create favourable conditions for logistics services providers. Green logistics, arising as an important indicator for the sustainable development of the logistics industry, will also be promoted. An MoIT report found only 31 per cent of logistics enterprises used renewable energy in warehouses operation, 26.8 per cent did not have green development strategies and 35.2 per cent did not have activities related to environmental monitoring.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Netherlands’ gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, compared to Q2 2022, according to the second estimate conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The first estimate of CBS, which was published on November 15, 2022, also amounted to 0.2 per cent contraction in the country’s GDP. The second GDP estimate is published 85 days after the end of each quarter. For Q3 2022, the increase in household consumption was adjusted from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent. In addition, investments were revised slightly upward, from minus 1.7 per cent to minus 1.6 per cent. However, the decrease in public consumption was adjusted from minus 0.1 per cent to minus 0.4 percent. On balance, the growth figure is equal to that of the first estimate. The overall picture has also not changed. Contraction was mainly due to less investment, as per CBS. In absolute terms, the adjustment in the second estimate relative to the first estimate has averaged nearly 0.09 percentage points over the past five years (2017-2021), with the two extremes ranging between minus 0.3 and 0.7 percentage points, both occurring in 2021. With each new estimate, CBS also recalculates the seasonally adjusted series of previously published quarters. This has not led to an adjustment of GDP growth in previous quarters. On a year-on-year basis, GDP increased by 3.1 per cent in Q3 2022. In the first estimate, the increase also amounted to 3.1 per cent. The overall picture has not changed. Growth was mainly due to a higher trade balance, more household consumption, and larger investments. The second estimate shows that the number of employee and self-employed jobs increased by 53,000 in Q3 2022 compared to Q2 2022. The first estimate suggested an increase of 59,000 jobs.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
First domestic container shipping route has been launched at Vietnam’s Chan May Port in the central province of Thua Thien Hue. This route, jointly launched by Chan May Port JSC and Hai An Transport, will connect Chan May Port with domestic and international seaports and is expected to help businesses reduce transport time and logistics costs. Chan May Port, located in the south-east corner of Thua Thien Hue Province, received the first container vessel, Hai An View, at the launch ceremony on December 25, 2022, as part of the Haiphong, Chan May, and Ho Chi Minh City shipping line, according to Vietnamese media reports. The service’s opening affirmed the potential and advantages of Chan May Port, which has been working to improve its infrastructure and services to handle containers safely and efficiently, said Duong Ba Hoa, chairman, Chan May Port JSC. The Chan May port will expand its container storage areas in the coming months to raise its capacity and receive larger container vessels. In the coming years, the port aims to receive container vessels and cargo ships of up to 70,000 tons and develop a transhipment area of 200,000 tons, a bonded warehouse, and a container freight station.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Vietnam’s Aurora Industrial Park (IP), a green, clean, and sustainable textile industrial park, has been established in Nam Dinh province to facilitate sustainable development and meet growth requirements of investors. It is one of the few IPs in Vietnam that meets the legal and utility infrastructure requirements for accommodating the fabric-dyeing industry. The eco-industrial park has been set up by leading real estate developer Cat Tuong Group. Aurora IP offers green, clean energy facilities, clean water production with green energy, and international standard waste collection and treatment, according to a press release by Aurora IP. “It has one of the largest wastewater treatment systems in the country with a capacity of 110,000 m3/day-night, divided into modules with advanced and synchronous technology. The system ensures the treatment standard of wastewater before discharging. Aurora IP’s water extraction and treatment system takes water from the Day River, and minimises groundwater exploitation and its impact on the environment while always ensuring adequate water supply for producers,” the release mentioned. “Aurora IP, which features a well-designed system and developed complex social infrastructure, is intended to provide optimal facilities for textile and dyeing production. In addition, the IP also prioritises and encourages manufacturers to apply energy-saving solutions using renewable energy and environmentally friendly materials. Along with the advantages of its geographical location and model infrastructure, Aurora IP offers attractive investment incentives and long-term commitment to investors throughout its operation in Vietnam,” added the release. “We at Cat Tuong Group believe that development must go hand in hand with eco-preservation. Therefore, protecting the ecological environment is our top priority. Since its establishment, Aurora IP has made great strides towards the eco-industrial park goal, which aligns with our vision of being a sustainable real estate developer,” said Tran Quoc Viet, chairman and CEO of Cat Tuong Group. “Sustainability is the core of everything we do. We are aware of our responsibility to bring investors an ideal destination for production and contribute to the stable development of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry in the industrialisation and modernisation process,” he added. As part of the efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Vietnam has been encouraging developers to establish eco-industrial parks and transition from traditional to ecological ones.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Sustainability ran high in decisions, actions and policymaking across the European Union (EU) this year. The European Fashion Alliance and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel were launched; the £2-million Circular Textiles Fund in Scotland was unveiled to help reduce the environmental burden of textiles; and EURATEX planned fibre-to-fibre recycling for 2.5 million tonnes of textile waste by 2030, writes Dipesh Satapathy. Here is a glimpse into some of the major developments in the bloc. Policy November saw business activity fall across the euro zone for the fifth consecutive month, according to flash purchasing manager’s index data released by S&P Global. Although the rate of decline remained the second strongest since 2013—excluding COVID-19 lockdown months—the intensity of the downturn moderated in response to a reduced rate of loss of new business, fewer supply constraints and a pick-up in business confidence about the year ahead. Business sentiment remained gloomy by historical standards, and demand continued to fall at a steep rate. In April, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to launch the EU-India Trade and Technology Council at their meeting in New Delhi. The strategic coordination mechanism will allow both sides to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security, and deepen cooperation. The European Parliament and the EU member states reached a political agreement in June on the directive on adequate minimum wages proposed by the EC in October 2020. The new legislation will apply to all EU workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship. The EU countries in which the minimum wage is protected exclusively via collective agreements will not be obliged to introduce it nor to make these agreements universally applicable In July, New Zealand and the EU concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) that offers duty-free access on 97 per cent of the New Zealand’s existing goods trade to the EU within seven years, and 91 per cent from day one. The FTA is expected to raise the value of New Zealand’s exports to the EU by up to $1.8 billion per year from 2035.The EC in October proposed an emergency regulation to address high gas prices in the EU and ensure security of supply this winter. In combination with already agreed measures on gas and electricity demand reduction, gas storage and redistribution of surplus energy sector profits, these new steps will improve stability in European gas markets this winter and beyond. The regulation will aggregate EU demand and joint gas purchasing to negotiate better prices and reduce the risk of member states outbidding each other on the global market, while ensuring security of supply across the EU. The EC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed an InvestEU guarantee agreement in December that will unlock EBRD finance of up to €2.1 billion for investments in green economy, sustainable infrastructure and digitalisation, as well as research and innovation in the EU. The agreement was worth up to €450 million. The EBRD will use this guarantee to mobilise investments across a wide range of sectors, including energy, digital connectivity, circular economy, and low carbon technologies. It will also support investments in bioeconomy, research and digitalisation, critical raw materials value chain solutions, life science, and sustainable blue economy. Early finalisation of India-EU FTA is among the priorities of Sweden when it takes over the rotating presidency of the European Council for a six-month period from January 1 to June 30 next year. The Scandinavian country will also work on the 18-month programme jointly drafted with its predecessors France and the Czech Republic. EU member states in December reached an agreement to implement at the bloc level the minimum taxation component, known as Pillar 2, of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s reform of international taxation. The profit of large multinational and domestic groups or companies with a combined annual turnover of at least €750 million will be taxed at a minimum rate of 15 per cent. The new rules will reduce the risk of tax base erosion and profit shifting and ensure that the largest multinational groups pay the agreed global minimum rate of corporate tax, the European Council noted.
Textile & Garments The Technological Centre for the Textile and Clothing Industry of Portugal (CITEVE) in October launched a large collaborative project on bio-economy called Be@t, or Bioeconomy at Textiles, which will invest €138 million, including €71 million from the Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan approved by the European Commission. Be@t will boost the development of value-added products from biological resources instead of using fossil raw materials. France’s L'Union des Industries Textiles (UIT) and several other trade unions concluded an agreement, raising the minimum wages in the textile industry from May 1. The agreement provides for a 2.7 per cent increase in conventional minimum wages for all professional categories in the industry—workers, supervisors and executives. UIT represents 2,150 textile companies in France. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the official ecolabel of the Nordic countries, launched in May, revised and sharpened requirements for clothing and other textile products certified with the label. More requirements for product design, increased emphasis on quality, longevity and a ban on dumping surplus clothing are some of the innovations. The European Textile and Apparel Confederation’s (EURATEX) ReHubs initiative in May announced its plans to pursue fibre-to-fibre recycling for 2.5 million tonnes of textile waste by 2030. The initiative brings together key European and world players to solve the European textile waste problem by transforming waste into a resource, and to boost the textile circular business model at large scale. Based on the ambitious European Waste law, all EU member states must separately collect textile waste in two years and half. Zero Waste Scotland and the Scottish government launched a £2-million fund in June to help reduce the environmental burden of textiles. The Circular Textiles Fund goes directly to businesses across the textile industry in Scotland, from fashion to upholstery. It will support innovative projects in which resources are valued and made to last. Potential business models include those that reduce demand for new textiles, such as clothing and textile rental, reuse and repair services; employ sustainable manufacturing processes; reduce in-life environmental impacts; and maximise the amount of textile waste that is captured and recycled. The Fashion Council of Germany (FCG) and 24 other fashion institutions founded the European Fashion Alliance in June to unite to foster a sustainable and inclusive European fashion ecosystem. Just before that, FCG brought together leading European fashion organisations in Frankfurt to form a coalition of change with the support of Messe Frankfurt and its global Texpertise network.
Sustainability The EC in April finalised its scoping assessment to identify the priority list of waste streams for the development of further EU-wide end-of-waste criteria, as announced in the Circular Economy Action plan. Plastics and textiles—separately collected clothes and other textiles prepared for re-use and cellulosic or mixed fibres recovered or recycled from textile waste—are the top two candidate streams. EU transport ministers agreed in June on a range of legally-binding measures, including new binding targets in shipping, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector in the coming decade. The agreement includes new technical standards and mandatory targets for EU airlines’ use of sustainable aviation fuels, and new binding targets for GHG reductions in shipping. The measures were agreed under the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package—the flagship suite of legislation announced in July 2021 to ensure the bloc meets its 2030 climate targets. In November, the EC launched the 2023 European Semester cycle of economic policy coordination. The four priorities are promoting environmental sustainability, productivity, fairness and macroeconomic stability, to foster competitive sustainability. The European Parliament and Council have agreed on a new law that fights global deforestation and forest degradation driven by EU production and consumption. The law, once adopted and applied, will ensure that a set of goods sold in the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU or anywhere else in the world. The EC has also proposed late this year new EU-wide rules on packaging to tackle this constantly growing source of waste. The new rules aim to stop the trend of rise in packaging waste, ensure reusable packaging options, get rid of unnecessary packaging, limit over-packaging and provide clear labels to support correct recycling. In December, the EC adopted a proposal for a first EU-wide voluntary framework to reliably certify high-quality carbon removals. The proposal will boost innovative carbon removal technologies as well as sustainable carbon farming solutions, and contribute to the EU’s climate, environmental and zero-pollution goals.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
There is a story of a very small country called Bangladesh. In 2015, the country was exporting $25 billion of garments and apparel to the world and they had the plan to double the exports to $50 billion. Last year, they hit their target of $50 billion, four years in advance, offering 4.2 million jobs. Their manufacturing contribution in 2015 was 16 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) and today it’s 22 percent. Kenya’s manufacturing industry should go back to its path of generating 20 percent of the GDP by 2030. It is possible, Bangladesh has done it and Kenya can do it. From a perspective of how manufacturing contributes to the GDP of other countries, China is at 28 percent, Egypt is at 30 percent, India at 16 percent, South Africa at 14 percent and Kenya is at 7.2 percent. Over the years has come down from 20 percent, which is a shame but it’s better to be honourable and accept that there is a problem and let’s move and let’s deliver the plan. Going to the textile apparel sector, it’s probably one of the biggest supply chains in the world, and a huge market opportunity, Kenya today is the largest exporter under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to the US. That is about the third top export, overtaking coffee which is fourth at $500 million and has 52,000 jobs. Covid 19-has brought a new reality to global supply chains, which are re-organising away from the traditional sourcing destinations, offering Kenya a business opportunity.In addition, the current market access under AGOA and the recently endorsed US-Kenya strategic trade and investment partnership favours Kenya as the preferred sourcing destination. There is opportunity ahead of us in just one market which is the US with $100 billion but if we also start to look at the European Union (EU) with 27 countries, that’s about $150 billion meaning the total pie is $800 billion. If the size of the pie in the US is $100 billion under AGOA and our contribution to that market is $500 million, there is no need to chest-thump and say, we are the biggest and the best in Africa, yes we are but globally, what have you done, we are 0.5 percent of US imports, which is a shame because we are duty-free. We must be cognisant that we need to remain globally competitive to secure a bigger slice of the market access available to Kenya. The main drivers of competitiveness that need urgent attention are as follows — bill of materials, productivity, utility costs, financing costs and logistics costs. We need to aspire to build a world-class textile apparel value chain that is globally competitive irrespective of duty-free market access to secure global dominance as our competitive and comparative advantage. Let’s become world-class operators otherwise, we will be no-class operators. There is an opportunity for us in one sector and in that sector, there are no factories left in our Athi River EPZ. I believe in Naivasha it can be a reality and deliver 100,000 jobs. We don’t have an option but to create jobs and even President William Ruto has said that his three agendas are spot-on, which are agenda one jobs, agenda two jobs and agenda three jobs. The textile industry in Kenya is once again going to deliver that opportunity for jobs as we connect that pipeline back to the farm gates, the farmers and the field to fashion which is possible and it can happen thus this is a serious opportunity ahead of us that we should not lose.
Source: Businessdailyafrica
