|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1199.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
VSF |
2420.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
ASF |
2006.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1235.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3373.28 |
USD/Ton |
0.87% |
1/22/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
4580.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2151.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
1570.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3547.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5519.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1483.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3140.64 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3067.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1817.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2675.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1962.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2239.16 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3198.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2297.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.34 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.83 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.16 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/22/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14540 USD dtd.
22/01/2017)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
A buyer seller meet for textile industries was organized by local Powerloom Seva Kendra in Burhanpur. The meet was inaugurated by woman and child development minister Archana Chitnis. Archana Chitnis at the inaugural function urged everyone to promote textile industry and assured that government would provide all necessary help for the growth of the textile industry. She also informed the gathering that the central government would be increasing subsidy under group shed scheme from Rs 300 square feet to Rs 400. She further said that 65 acre of land has been earmarked at Rehta for textile industry and she urged industrialists to file application along with Rs 25,000 fee for setting up units. A bridge between Rehta and Neemgaon has been sanctioned by public work department which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.07 crore soon. Also to meet the requirement of water a barrage has been proposed at Mohna, she announced. Burhanpur is best known for textile industry and it is the largest hub for powerloom industry in the state. Burhanpur is also known for banana plantation and cotton. Cloth made from banana trees is a good source of income for farmers here. At the buyer seller meet, municipal president Manoj Tarwala, assistant director from textile commissioner’s office in Mumbai, Humayun K and textile ministry officer Pranav Parashar were among others present on the occasion.
Source: Yarns and fibres
Textiles Minister Government of India will facilitate Tangaliya weavers in purchase of looms, by providing them an assistance amounting to 90% of the price of looms. The Union Textiles Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani made this announcement yesterday evening, during her interaction with Tangaliya weavers in Surendranagar district of Gujarat. Upon listening to their concerns, the Minister also announced the formation of a special association of Tangaliya workers, which will work for their interest. Expressing appreciation for the Tangaliya embroidery, Smt. Irani said that the work needs to be marketed through international platforms; she requested the district administration to make proper arrangements for the same. The Minister appealed to fashion designers to use the Tangaliya art work for their fashionable garments. She also spoke of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, exhorting weavers to avail its benefits. The Minister also visited Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA), in Ahmedabad. Smt. Irani commended the achievements of the institute and directed the officials to devise a scheme for the benefit of small and medium industries.
Source: PIB India
Amid a debate on the future of globalisation, WTO and trade ministers from various countries, including India, on Friday called for greater engagement at global level and push for inclusive growth with better domestic policies without resorting to trade barriers. Underlining that trade barriers would actually destroy jobs rather than creating them, they observed that increase in trade globally has led to higher economic growth and greater employment generation. Swiss Economic Affairs Minister Schneider Amman said the meeting focussed on trade issues and other matters. First, ministers noted that protectionism is not the right approach for trade and it should be made more inclusive. They also emphasised the need to build on successes of last two ministerial meetings and ministers have agreed to increase their engagement levels. "We went through a very intensive and constructive meeting to prepare for the December meeting in Beuones Aires," he said. Amman was speaking at a press conference here at WEF after an informal ministerial meeting of WTO attended by representatives from 29 countries, including from India, ahead of the next ministerial meeting in Argentina. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Shouwen Wang, EU's Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom, Brazil's Vice Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs Amb Carlos Cozendey and Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura were among the participants. WTO's Director General Roberto Azevedo said 2017 is an important year for WTO and clearly trade is very high on agenda here at WEF and it has helped revive growth as well as create jobs. Obviously trade has to be inclusive and we need better domestic policies to get people who have lost job get back job. But putting up trade barriers would not help it. They will destroy jobs actually rather than creating jobs, he said.
Source: PTI
NEW DELHI: Claiming that demonetisation has affected country's growth, a major central revenue body has asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley not to implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a hurry and threatened to take legal recourse in case their concerns are not addressed. It termed as "illegal" certain decisions taken by Jaitley-headed GST Council and demanded that they be corrected. It also sought that the officer's body be consulted before any final decision is taken. The Council in its meeting on January 16, had agreed to give states the powers to levy tax on economic activity within 12 nautical miles of territorial waters. Also, it was decided that the states will have powers to assess and administer 90 per cent of the tax payers under Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover, while the remaining would be controlled by the Centre. In a letter to Jaitley, the All India Association of Group B Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers, said the decision to transfer 90 per cent of service tax assessees to states is not supported by any lawful and logical base and therefore, the decisions taken by GST Council should be withdrawn immediately. "Needless to say, any judicial intervention in the illegal decisions taken by GST Council, and if implemented by the Centre, would cause unnecessary delay in the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). "It is further added that due to demonetisation of old bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the GDP of the country is expected to fall at least 1 per cent (from 7.6 estimated to 6.6 per cent, as reviewed), and in case implementation of GST is delayed further, due to judicial scrutiny of the illegal decisions taken by GST Council, the country may suffer economically as the GDP may further slow down," it said. It said the GST Council has not been conferred upon any power by the Constitution to recommend transfer of rights or allowing levy and collection of IGST (which deals in levy on inter-state supply including stock transfers of goods or services) to states. It said the area in sea (territorial waters) up to 12 nautical miles from the coastline falls within the territory of India and therefore, the powers to tax transactions in such areas are vested in the Union Government. "The decision taken by the GST Council to empower states to levy state GST or central GST or IGST, as the case may be, is in gross violation of the constitutional provisions," the association said. The GST is likely to be rolled out from July 1, as against April 1 decided earlier by the government. There is no logic or rationale, legally, to transfer the 90 per cent GST assessees to states for the purpose of audit and assessment, it said. "Moreover, the service tax assessees falling within the annual turnover limit of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore are at present being assessed by the Centre smoothly. By transferring of 90 per cent of these assessees to states for levy and collection of SGST and CGST, the officers of the Centre would become work-less," the association said in the letter. The transparency in collection of CGST from these 90 per cent assessees may be compromised in the hands of state officers, said the body which claims to represent about 50,000 Group B and Group C tax employees. "Would the Centre like to empower CBI and CVC to have their jurisdiction upon states' officers also for any laxity or compromise by these officers in revenue collection of CGST? "Would states allow these organisations to interfere in the functioning of their officers? Does the GST Council take guarantee that any laxity or collusion with the trades, and compromise to collect CGST revenue would be investigated by CBI and CVC in case of states' officers?" it asked. The association "condemns and opposes the illegal decisions" taken by the GST Council and expresses anguish among its members over the transfer of their taxing powers to state officers, the letter said. "You are requested to please take immediate necessary action to resolve these issues. Otherwise, the association will call for a meeting of its all members and pass a resolution to oppose the decisions taken by the GST Council, initiate non-cooperation movement towards implementation of GST, and may also take legal course of action to protect the levy and collection powers of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). "Any such decisions taken by GST Council, without prior consultation from the associations of affected officers of CBEC, would be agitated, leading to country-wide protest agitation against the decisions taken by the GST Council, unilaterally," it said.
Source: Business Line
India is likely to face pressure from developed countries to open up its ecommerce sector. G-20 has for the first time asked various countries, including India, their views on ecommerce. In three issue notes circulated to the governments of member countries, the forum has asked for views on enhancing the readiness of countries to engage in digital trade, how the WTO can promote ecommerce and measuring the digital economy. “The German G-20 presidency aims to develop a conceptual framework for measuring cross-border digital trade,” the grouping said. “In addition, the G-20 could explore the applicability of WTO rules for digital trade, including potential limits of and gaps within these rules, and assess its development dimension.” A commerce ministry official acknowledged that “G-20 has sought comments on digital trade for the first time.” The issue is likely to be taken up at the G-20 meeting this year. India does not allow foreign investment in business to consumer ecommerce retail. Amazon and foreign investor-funded Flipkart function as marketplaces. Citing lack of international accounting standards and common understanding as challenges in capturing the digital trade in statistics, G-20 noted that the uptake of ecommerce is uneven. It has called for full participation of SMEs in developing countries and less developed economies to benefit from online trade. Ahead of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Argentina in December, G20 has posed queries on the extent to which the existing WTO framework contributes to promoting ecommerce and the areas where new trade rules are needed, besides lessons that can be learnt from rules being made on ecommerce in various regional trade agreements. “The G20 should assess how the WTO could play off its particular strengths by providing for a substantive outcome for digital trade/ecommerce at the 11th ministerial con. India’s response will be crucial since it has reservations about ecommerce getting included in the WTO’s agenda. More than 30 delegations, most of which are G-20 members, have asked to explore linkages between digital trade and economic development within the WTO grouping while addressing “digital protectionism.” “This would allow members to identify elements that could possibly be used at the 11th ministerial conference, while others might be deliverables in the longer term,” said the WTO note. “Ecommerce will be attacked in multiple ways at WTO endorsed by the G-20,” an expert said. “Though there is no negotiating mandate for ecommerce to be discussed at WTO, an early harvest of a few issues is possible at MC 11 and negotiations on the difficult decisions could take place later.”
Source: Economic Times
The principle of horizontal equity in taxation predicates that passive incomes (such as from capital gains on investments) and active incomes (such as from business profits or salaries/wages) should be dealt similar tax treatment. Similarly, returns on capital and returns from labour should be taxed on comparable terms. However, in a globalised world where there is seamless movement of capital, capital-deficit economies seek to attract capital to their markets to provide liquidity and depth besides facilitating domestic listings. In such a scenario, tax on capital gains from transfer of listed shares becomes a matter of competitive choice given rates are one of the factors in investors’ ex ante calculations of post-tax returns while allocating capital to emerging markets like India. This is by no means the only factor, as other comparative factors like the real growth of the economy, expected performance of financial markets, regulatory environment, quality of corporate governance of domestic companies, rule of law, stable and predictable government policies, ease of operation, expected returns from other emerging markets and the cost of risk-free capital are equally important. Given capital gains tax is a critical factor for investors, let’s look at the current Indian regime. Since 2004, all transactions for listed shares on exchanges are subject to a securities transaction tax (STT), which is essentially an indirect tax as it bears no relation to the capital gains from the transaction. Capital gains taxation is based on taxing gains held for longer periods (long-term gains) at a rate lower than those held for shorter periods (short-term gains). Following the introduction of STT, the Income-Tax Act was amended to exempt long-term capital gains (LTCG) arising from transfer of listed shares, since they are subject to STT. The holding period for the listed share-sale to qualify as a LTCG is 12 months (as compared to 24 months for unlisted shares and 36 months for other classes of assets). The lion’s share of foreign investment in Indian capital markets is from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), many of which are large investment funds. Since 1993, the law outlined a separate taxation regime for FIIs and, after modifying it post the introduction of STT, it is as follows:
*short-term capital gains (STCG) on listed shares (held for 12 months or less) is taxed at 15% (and subject to STT); *LTCG on listed shares (held for more than 12 months) exempt from tax (and subject to STT); * STCG on unlisted shares (held for 24 months or less) taxed at 30%; and *LTCG on unlisted shares (held for more than 24 months) taxed at 10%.
It is fair to conclude that India has tweaked its tax policy to attract capital. Now, except for LTCG on unlisted securities, the taxation regime is the same for FIIs and domestic investors. Unlike India, most countries with active stock markets don’t tax capital gains on listed shares in the case the transferrer is an FII. Thus, there is a ‘no capital gains tax for portfolio investments in listed securities’ for non-resident investors (‘portfolio investments’ generally mean less that 10% shareholding in a listed company). India, however, does tax such gains under its tax law (that applies to both resident and foreign investors) if such shares are held for 12 months or less (at 15%), besides garnering STT (which, in FY17, will be in excess of R7,000 crore). While the taxation of capital gains on listed shares is lighter than that for unlisted shares and debt securities, these other asset classes are not subject to STT. FIIs investing in India have adjusted to the STT regime alongside a nil rate for LTCG and a 15% rate for STCG due to the ease in terms of tax collection and administration. Over the years, a major concern of the Indian administration was FIIs (and other non-residents) investing via Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus in Indian capital markets. In the bilateral tax treaties/protocols India signed with the three countries, it had given up the right to tax capital gains as such gains were taxed only in the country in which the FII was resident. Since these countries were not taxing such capital gains under their domestic tax laws, such income remained untaxed in both jurisdictions except for the STT paid in India. This is the reason why a large part of India’s foreign investment (in listed and unlisted securities of Indian companies) emanates from these countries, as global investors preferred to set up legal structures in these locations to get the highest possible post-tax returns on their investments. The Indian tax administration was also concerned about round-tripping of domestic capital through these jurisdictions, done to take advantage of the nil tax regime on capital gains. In 2016, these three treaties/protocols have been renegotiated (with grandfathering and transition provisions) such that investors from these three jurisdictions will now be subject to India’s capital gains tax regime. Given that the ‘nil’ capital gains tax regime for non-resident investors in India’s capital markets has now been done away with, and there is level playing field as far as the capital gains tax regime is concerned, it would not be opportune to change the regime. One important and persisting tax-evasion concern for policymakers is the circulation of unaccounted income by misusing capital gains exemption in case of LTCG on listed securities through the trading of ‘penny stocks’ (low cap, thinly traded shares), whose listed price can be manipulated. This can be addressed by excluding such penny stocks from the specified ‘listed shares’, which are eligible for exemption from LTCG tax.
Source: Financial Express
Visa abuse, jobs, lobbying: Trump lays out his agenda for first 100 days India will take up visa, trade issues with Donald Trump administration Tellis urges Trump to retain Obama's policy towards India 'India should be less worried about trade with US than others' T N C Rajagopalan: Donald Trump impact on trade deals
- US is the biggest merchandise export destination (among countries) for India
- India has huge trade surplus with the US — over $20 billion a year in the past five years
- Policies of the Donald Trump administration, in terms of protecting US interests, are bound to be vital concern for India
- New Delhi is yet to engage with the new US administration over trade issues
- Intellectual property: India is already one of the worst offenders in the eyes of the US administration in terms of intellectual property regime. But, we used our bilateral platform, India-US Trade Policy Forum, with the Obama administration to make it see sense, for instance about our drugs industry in terms of generics
Trade expert Biswajit Dhar says:
“The Obama administration, over the past two years has been telling New Delhi that it should do something about trade deficit that the US has with India. If, instead of market forces, the Trump administration manages trade, it can have serious implications globally, including for India. But, since the Trump administration is talking about protecting US interest, it would be another area which India needs to watch out”
Trade barriers
India and US have been at loggerheads over poultry and solar energy, which the former lost out in WTO. However, if there are barriers imposed by the US that hurt India's interests, then New Delhi will certainly have to redo what it does in terms of its engagement, even in terms of challenging US in WTO, feels Dhar
Source: Business Standard
When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents the Union Budget this year, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) will be listening with rapt attention. They will want to know if there is any concession from two significant regulatory changes set to take effect from April 1, 2017. Come April, foreign investors using the Mauritius and Singapore routes will have to pay capital gains tax on fresh investments, albeit at a reduced rate for some time. Tax authorities will also have more power to question investments through shell companies set up in tax havens.
Tax treaty tweak
The government has finally brought in changes to ensure that foreign investors using double tax avoidance agreements (DTAAs) with Mauritius and Singapore do not get away without paying capital gains tax on their investments. The DTAAs with these countries were amended this fiscal to the effect that capital gains that arise from shares purchased after April 1 by foreign investors based in these countries can be taxed in India. There is, however, a 50 per cent concession on the tax rate from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2019, if the investors are able to show that they have a substantial presence in these countries. Else, the full rate will apply. From 2019-20, these investors will be taxed at the full domestic capital gains tax rate. So, capital gains tax of at least 7.5 per cent can be charged on short-term gains from equity of investors from Mauritius and Singapore over the next two years and 15 per cent thereafter. There will be no capital gains tax on investments held for more than a year, in line with domestic regulations. The second impact is through the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) that will be applicable on income earned in 2017-18, relating to tax assessment year 2018-19. While investments prior to March 31, 2017, are protected from GAAR, any tax benefit that arises from this April due to innovative tax arrangements can be scrutinised and questioned by the taxman. Brass-plate companies set up in low-tax jurisdictions such as Mauritius and Singapore are likely to be under the lens hereafter.
Will it affect flows?
While these changes are pretty significant, they might not impact flows materially. GAAR has been a Damocles’ sword over FPIs’ heads since 2013, when Pranab Mukherjee first proposed it. FPIs have had sufficient time to realign their investment routes. In 2016, FPIs’ investment in Indian equity, at ₹20,568 crore, was among the lowest in recent years. While it could be partly due to the lacklustre returns of Indian equity markets last year, the rule changes could also have influenced flows. In 2016, equity investments of FPIs from Mauritius declined 5.95 per cent to ₹3,90,323 crore from ₹4,15,001 crore towards the end of 2015. On the other hand, investments of FPIs from the US increased 5.49 per cent and those from Luxembourg saw a significant jump of 9.35 per cent, implying that alternate routes are already becoming popular.
FPIs churn portfolios
These regulatory changes do not appear to have impacted the investment strategies of FPIs, which mostly moved in tandem with sectoral returns. According to NSDL, foreign investor stakes in the metals and mining sector increased 86 per cent in 2016 as prices of these stocks surged last year. Hindustan Zinc saw the FPI stake rising from 1.51 per cent to 3.03 per cent between September 2015 and end-2016. Hindalco Industries, NALCO and Vedanta are the other metal stocks that recorded a rise. The construction materials sector, too, witnessed a surge in FPI interest, with foreign investments increasing from ₹35,752 crore to ₹43,789 crore last calendar. JK Cement, which had a mere 0.03 per cent foreign holding, saw it surging to 11.46 per cent.
However investments in software services dropped 9.82 per cent in 2016 as the sector struggled with growing competition. Consumer durables, healthcare and textiles are other sectors where FPIs reduced their holdings.
Source: Business Line
KATRA: A Special Handloom Expo 2017 was inaugurated by Managing Director, Handloom Development Corporation Showkat Ahmed Zargar at Spiritual Growth Centre Katra here today. Director Handloom R.K. Sharma was also present on the occasion. This exhibition is being organized by the State Handloom Corporation with sponsorship from Development Commission Handloom, Union Ministry of Textile with an aim to promote the local handloom products. As many as, 50 stalls have been set up by the cooperative societies from various parts of the State with products like woolen, Cotton silken products, Kani shawls, Pashmina shawls, Stoles, Pherans, ladies suits, embroidery dress material etc. MD Handloom Development Corporation, while speaking on the occasion assured the artisans that all requisite steps will be taken to promote the cooperative societies by providing them better marketing opportunities through such exhibitions at various important places so that they can fetch good returns by selling products directly to the customers. Director Handloom, while addressing the participants, said that all possible support shall be extended to the artisans to promote their products and also to ensure that they avail the benefits of various welfare programmes. Earlier, the dignitaries inspected all the stalls and interacted with the weavers. Among others present on the occasion were General Manager Vinod Koul, Nodal Officer Om Singh, AO Arun Tandon and other officers of the corporation and the department.
Source: Kashmir Reader
Ethnic wear brand Soch has held talks with private equity (PE) funds, including L Catterton,Westbridge Capital and CX Partners, for a majority stake sale valuing the company at around $200 million, people privy to the matter told TOI. Soch's share sale comes at a time when investors have been scouting for companies in the fast-growing domestic womenswear market buoyed by rising disposable income among urban women, who are joining the workforce. Once completed, the transaction, which is likely to give a controlling stake to the investor, would emerge as a rare one in the domestic apparel sector where most PE funds have picked up smaller stakes. L Catterton is the combined entity after LVMH-backed L Capital merged with Greenwich-based Catterton last year. In its earlier avatar, L Capital had bet on domestic fashion and apparel players like FabIndia and Genesis Luxury Fashion, which retails brands like Jimmy Choo and Satya Paul, among others. When contacted, Vinay Chatlani, CEO of Soch, declined to comment while Sanjay Gujral, regional MD at L Catterton Asia, said, "We do not comment on speculation." Sandeep Singhal, MD at Westbridge Capital, declined to comment and Jayanta Basu of CX Partners did not respond to our query. Mumbai-based investment bank O3 Capital is advising Soch on the fund raise. MD Retail,, the parent of brand Soch, started off as a family business running a multi-brand retail chain Favourite Shop at Bengaluru's Commercial Street. In 2007, the Chatlani family launched its own line under Soch from a local mall, and is now spread across with more than 80 brand stores in the country. Last year, another women's fashion brand W successfully raised $140 million from private equity major TA Associates clocking great returns for early investor Matrix Partners, while others like Ritu Kumar roped in Everstone Capital and BIBA got funds from Warburg Pincus over the past few years. Chatlani told TOI that, besides running its own brand stores, Soch has now started retailing through shop-in-shops across Shoppers Stop and Central. "Next year, we are looking at opening 35-40 stores and that's not including any shop-in-shops. We have been growing annually at 46% for the last five years," he said.Chatlani said Soch would register revenues of Rs 350 crore for 2016-17. The brand is also growing its online presence as it's now being sold on commerce portals, including Myntra, Jabong and Amazon, he added. "Spends on womenswear in the apparel market is catching up with the share of menswear. This is driven largely by the Indian ethnic and fusion wear brands which appeal to young audiences. Fast fashion turnaround based on innovative technology and materials at relatively affordable price has been the key to this growth," said Debashish Mukherjee, a partner at consulting firm AT Kearney.
Source: Times of India
The principle of horizontal equity in taxation predicates that passive incomes (such as from capital gains on investments) and active incomes (such as from business profits or salaries/wages) should be dealt similar tax treatment. Similarly, returns on capital and returns from labour should be taxed on comparable terms. However, in a globalised world where there is seamless movement of capital, capital-deficit economies seek to attract capital to their markets to provide liquidity and depth besides facilitating domestic listings. In such a scenario, tax on capital gains from transfer of listed shares becomes a matter of competitive choice given rates are one of the factors in investors’ ex ante calculations of post-tax returns while allocating capital to emerging markets like India. This is by no means the only factor, as other comparative factors like the real growth of the economy, expected performance of financial markets, regulatory environment, quality of corporate governance of domestic companies, rule of law, stable and predictable government policies, ease of operation, expected returns from other emerging markets and the cost of risk-free capital are equally important. Given capital gains tax is a critical factor for investors, let’s look at the current Indian regime. Since 2004, all transactions for listed shares on exchanges are subject to a securities transaction tax (STT), which is essentially an indirect tax as it bears no relation to the capital gains from the transaction. Capital gains taxation is based on taxing gains held for longer periods (long-term gains) at a rate lower than those held for shorter periods (short-term gains). Following the introduction of STT, the Income-Tax Act was amended to exempt long-term capital gains (LTCG) arising from transfer of listed shares, since they are subject to STT. The holding period for the listed share-sale to qualify as a LTCG is 12 months (as compared to 24 months for unlisted shares and 36 months for other classes of assets). The lion’s share of foreign investment in Indian capital markets is from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), many of which are large investment funds. Since 1993, the law outlined a separate taxation regime for FIIs and, after modifying it post the introduction of STT, it is as follows: *short-term capital gains (STCG) on listed shares (held for 12 months or less) is taxed at 15% (and subject to STT); *LTCG on listed shares (held for more than 12 months) exempt from tax (and subject to STT); * STCG on unlisted shares (held for 24 months or less) taxed at 30%; and *LTCG on unlisted shares (held for more than 24 months) taxed at 10%. It is fair to conclude that India has tweaked its tax policy to attract capital. Now, except for LTCG on unlisted securities, the taxation regime is the same for FIIs and domestic investors. Unlike India, most countries with active stock markets don’t tax capital gains on listed shares in the case the transferrer is an FII. Thus, there is a ‘no capital gains tax for portfolio investments in listed securities’ for non-resident investors (‘portfolio investments’ generally mean less that 10% shareholding in a listed company). India, however, does tax such gains under its tax law (that applies to both resident and foreign investors) if such shares are held for 12 months or less (at 15%), besides garnering STT (which, in FY17, will be in excess of R7,000 crore). While the taxation of capital gains on listed shares is lighter than that for unlisted shares and debt securities, these other asset classes are not subject to STT. FIIs investing in India have adjusted to the STT regime alongside a nil rate for LTCG and a 15% rate for STCG due to the ease in terms of tax collection and administration. Over the years, a major concern of the Indian administration was FIIs (and other non-residents) investing via Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus in Indian capital markets. In the bilateral tax treaties/protocols India signed with the three countries, it had given up the right to tax capital gains as such gains were taxed only in the country in which the FII was resident.
Since these countries were not taxing such capital gains under their domestic tax laws, such income remained untaxed in both jurisdictions except for the STT paid in India. This is the reason why a large part of India’s foreign investment (in listed and unlisted securities of Indian companies) emanates from these countries, as global investors preferred to set up legal structures in these locations to get the highest possible post-tax returns on their investments. The Indian tax administration was also concerned about round-tripping of domestic capital through these jurisdictions, done to take advantage of the nil tax regime on capital gains. In 2016, these three treaties/protocols have been renegotiated (with grandfathering and transition provisions) such that investors from these three jurisdictions will now be subject to India’s capital gains tax regime. Given that the ‘nil’ capital gains tax regime for non-resident investors in India’s capital markets has now been done away with, and there is level playing field as far as the capital gains tax regime is concerned, it would not be opportune to change the regime. One important and persisting tax-evasion concern for policymakers is the circulation of unaccounted income by misusing capital gains exemption in case of LTCG on listed securities through the trading of ‘penny stocks’ (low cap, thinly traded shares), whose listed price can be manipulated. This can be addressed by excluding such penny stocks from the specified ‘listed shares’, which are eligible for exemption from LTCG tax.
Source: Financial Express
India is likely to face pressure from developed countries to open up its ecommerce sector. G-20 has for the first time asked various countries, including India, their views on ecommerce. In three issue notes circulated to the governments of member countries, the forum has asked for views on enhancing the readiness of countries to engage in digital trade, how the WTO can promote ecommerce and measuring the digital economy. “The German G-20 presidency aims to develop a conceptual framework for measuring cross-border digital trade,” the grouping said. “In addition, the G-20 could explore the applicability of WTO rules for digital trade, including potential limits of and gaps within these rules, and assess its development dimension.” A commerce ministry official acknowledged that “G-20 has sought comments on digital trade for the first time.” The issue is likely to be taken up at the G-20 meeting this year. India does not allow foreign investment in business to consumer ecommerce retail. Amazon and foreign investor-funded Flipkart function as marketplaces. Citing lack of international accounting standards and common understanding as challenges in capturing the digital trade in statistics, G-20 noted that the uptake of ecommerce is uneven. It has called for full participation of SMEs in developing countries and less developed economies to benefit from online trade. Ahead of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Argentina in December, G20 has posed queries on the extent to which the existing WTO framework contributes to promoting ecommerce and the areas where new trade rules are needed, besides lessons that can be learnt from rules being made on ecommerce in various regional trade agreements. “The G20 should assess how the WTO could play off its particular strengths by providing for a substantive outcome for digital trade/ecommerce at the 11th ministerial con ..
India’s response will be crucial since it has reservations about ecommerce getting included in the WTO’s agenda. More than 30 delegations, most of which are G-20 members, have asked to explore linkages between digital trade and economic development within the WTO grouping while addressing “digital protectionism.” “This would allow members to identify elements that could possibly be used at the 11th ministerial conference, while others might be deliverables in the longer term,” said the WTO note. “Ecommerce will be attacked in multiple ways at WTO endorsed by the G-20,” an expert said. “Though there is no negotiating mandate for ecommerce to be discussed at WTO, an early harvest of a few issues is possible at MC 11 and negotiations on the difficult decisions could take place later.”
Source: Economic Times
The Centre has pruned the business reform action plan for states that will require them to sharpen focus on improving licencing and related processes in health, pharma, fertilizer and transport for this year’s ease of doing business rankings. The DIPP in consultation with states and World Bank has drawn up the new agenda that concentrates on 294 action points instead of 340 in last year’s list. “We have not reduced the number of parameters but tried to avoid repetitions,” a senior DIPP official said. “States’ inputs have been factored in for the reforms they felt required to be taken up with greater urgency.” DIPP has invited comments from states over the list likely to be announced by January-end. Last year, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana jointly topped the Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms, which covered the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. Most low income states had succeeded in accomplishing 70-90% of the reforms last year. In keeping with the process for World Bank’s global Doing Business rankings, the government will take into account user feedback on the reforms accomplished on the ground. DIPP will also collect feedback from companies, lawyers and other users for the global ranks as well on all the 10 parameters of the World Bank’s global report. Reforms by states last year included single-window systems for regulatory and fiscal incentive approvals, e-registration for VAT, professional tax and online payment. DIPP has also come up with a separate list of reforms to be taken up by central ministries to improve India’s global rank. India is aiming for a leap of 80 spots next year to be in the world’s top 50 countries for ease of doing business
Source: Economic Times
ET Intelligence Group: The stock of home textiles company Trident has gained close to 29% in the past six months compared with the 3% gain in the S&P BSE MidCap index. The Ludhiana headquartered company's focus on debt reduction and improving its financials have made it attractive for investors. The growth momentum is likely to continue considering the sustainable export demand for home textile and cotton yarn.
BUSINESS
Trident manufactures bed sheets, towels, cotton yarn and paper. In the first nine months of FY17, the company derived 48% of revenue from bed and bath linen, 34% from cotton yarn and the remaining from the paper segment.
The export of home textiles recorded improvement due to shift in demand from China to India. Trident going strong on local and export demandChina has started focusing on high-end textile products and therefore has started importing yarn. This has resulted in higher demand for Indian cotton yarn and home textiles. Since Trident is present in both cotton yarn and home textiles, it was able to add three clients and expand its reach to UK, Italy, France, Japan, and Australia during the September quarter. Apart from export demand, companies in north India such as Trident reported better domestic sales in the nine months to December 2016 since south-based companies faced power supply interruptions. Due to these factors, Trident's revenue from home textiles segment grew by 32% to `2,838 crore year-on-year in the nine months to December.
Source: The Economic Times
Strong resentment prevails among lakhs of daily wagers, skilled, semi-skilled labourers and industrialists of the holy city over liquidity shortage in the market and stringent withdrawal norms. Industries like textile, wood screws, pharmaceutical and rice milling with a combined annual turnover of 30,000 crore and employing over 2.5 lakh people have suffered badly due to demonetisation. This anger may reflect in the upcoming Assembly election scheduled on February 4. The Focal Point Industries Association president, Kamal Dalmia, said highly labour intensive textile industry employed over one lakh direct and equal number of indirect labourers. He said 15,000 labourers lost their jobs while equal number was laid off in the textile sector. He said, “There are over 1,000 textile units with a combined annual turnover of over Rs 25,000 crore. Most of them are forced to remain closed for two to three days a week following demonetisation.” Its impact would reflect in the balance sheet of the current fiscal, he added. He anticipates that units with deep pockets would sustain jolt of liquidity crisis while others might face closure. Earlier, the wood screw industry, in which the border city is a leader in the country, went through a similar crisis. A player in the iron and steel industry Sameer Goyal said nearly half of the total 200 units perished after the demonetisation. He added that the remaining units were functioning for nearly four to five hours daily. He said Rs 500 crore industry directly employed 10,000 persons and half of them lost their jobs after closure of these units. While ruling out any hope of their revival he said these units might switch over to importing wood screws from China and re-packaging in their own brands. A pharmaceutical exporter Raman Gupta said, “Similar situation prevails in Rs 75 crore annual turnover industries, which employs thousands of labourers.” He said a majority of units were running under capacity.
Source: The Tribune
The market is basically prepared for a holiday, and the operation rates of textile filament plants planned are also confirmed gradually.There are almost 30 textile filament plants that plan to keep running during Spring Festival, and the plants were concentrated in Changle and Xiaoshan. Plants basically plan to reduce production rather than to stop production during Spring Festival except several filament plants that plan to stop production. The plants mainly plan to run at the rate of 50-70%, and several at 80% or at full capacity. In other areas, mainstream large and medium plants basically do not plan to stop production, and the plants are concentrated in Zhejiang. But there are less plants that do not plan to stop production in Jiangsu, where there are more filament plants. The lowest operation rate may be at around 41%, which is higher than 23% in 2016, 22.5% in 2015 and 39% in 2014. Here are the reasons for the high operation rate.
1. Filament plants are under less pressure, as inventory is low and collection of account receivables speed up. Most account receivables have been collected till end-Dec, and some account receivables would also been collected before Spring Festival gradually. Only a few customers always repudiating the debt may pay after Spring Festival. Besides, inventory of filament plants basically stays at a low level, and is mostly within 20 days, which is evidently lower than the inventory of one month in the same period of the past few years. Thus, filament plants are mainly under less pressure.
2. Costs are low, as filament plants have restocked chips at low prices, which are lower than current prices. Filament plants have restocked chips at low prices around Jan 1, so filament produce with low costs. Filament plants intensively stocked up when nylon 6 semi-dull HS chip prices were at 19,000-19,300yuan/mt, and then stocked up again when prices rose to 19,500-19,600yuan/mt. Filament plants basically finished restocking chip when prices rose to 19,800-20,000yuan/mt, and there were rare firm talks. Besides, some chip plants tend to set the prices according to Sinopec’s CPL settlement in 2017. Sinopec has settled the Jan contract for CPL at 17,800yuan/mt, so chip prices are also low at 19,500-19,600yuan/mt. Imported chip prices were also low when filament plants restocked chips. With more chips restocked when prices have been low, filament plants are able to keep running during Spring Festival.
3. Chip prices are expected to go up after Spring Festival, despite some uncertainties.
CPL supply continues to be tight, and CPL projects are expected to start up in the second half of 2017 after Spring Festival, except Yangquan Coal Industry’s project. Besides, due to short supply of cyclohexanone, high-grade CPL supply may extend to be tight for a long time, which may support the prices. Thus, it is more likely for the market to go up, as upstream and downstream inventory is at a low level, despite uncertainties of crude oil and benzene market trend and changes on demand and supply. As a whole, filament plants mainly produce with high-grade chips during Spring Festival, so high-grade HS chip demand may show up earlier than low-grade chips. With tight CPL supply after Spring Festival, it may be hard to lift the operation rate of chip plants, which may promote high-grade CPL and high-grade HS chip prices to go up.
Source: CCF Groups
JAIPUR: The East India Company initially came for trade but soon made 'loot' a part of their lexicon and action to conquer India, said Shashi Tharoor, politician and writer at the session on 'How the East India Company Took Over India'. For the company, the best way to conquer India was to control its trade. Speaking about India's glorious textile industry of the yore, Tharoor noted that even Birtish shopkeepers sold locally manufactured products as Made in India for better prices. "India was the world's leading exporter. They destroyed mills in Murshidabad and Dhaka to eliminate the prospect of any completion," said Tharoor. According to him, the "horrendous" organization did not even spare weavers and cut their funds. "The Company also cut the funds of weavers. The largest exporter of textiles was reduced to importing textiles from England," he said, adding that India also had a "sophisticated" banking system. Agreeing with Tharoor, JLF director and writer William Dalrymple said the company was a "tiny multinational which created mayhem". Terming the company a "sinister beast", he said its taking over of India was an "extraordinary" story in the history of the country. Hundreds of thousands of people died in Delhi alone after the first War of Independence, he said.
Source: The Times of India
Surat: A pall of gloom descended on the textile industry on Saturday following the demise of veteran industry leader, Arun Jariwala at the age of 86. Also known as the 'bhismapitamah' of man-made fabric (MMF) sector, Jariwala passed away here on Saturday after long illness.Jariwala is survived by his 81-year-old wife Asha Jariwala and 53-year-old son, Ketan Jariwala. His funeral was attend by hundreds of people and many leading personalities from the city's diamond and textile sectors.He was the longest serving chairman of the Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI) for around 23 years and one of the pioneers for establishing the Surat Art Silk Cloth Producers' Cooperative Society Limited. He was also the president of the Man Made Textile Research Association (MANTRA) and the Surat Technical Education and Research Society (STERS).Apart from this Jariwala was associated with dozens of trusts and social institutions. Jariwala was also on various committees of the Ministry of Textile for the upliftment of the textile sector including the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFs)Dinesh Zaveri, a senior textile leader and secretary of MANTRA said, "It is a big loss to the Art Silk industry in the country. Arunbhai was always seen in the high esteem among the textile circles in the country.
Source: Time of India
PIYASET VIA GETTY IMAGES Well, Trump is now US president and for anyone concerned about climate change, women’s rights and equality, the reality of the situation has hit home with a hefty dose of uncertainty about what it all means. The fact that within minutes of his inauguration climate change had been removed from the White House website as a major area of policy gives a chilling indication of where things are headed. As the founder of an online store whose reason for being is to promote brands that protect the environment, support the disadvantaged and stand up for equality and fairness I have to say my outlook since Trump’s election triumph has been pretty bleak. Everything we stand up for was being at best undermined at worst under attack. And worse still it felt that attack was being sanctioned by the US electorate. I had the same sad feeling immediately after the election that I felt the morning after the Brexit vote, the same sad feeling I feel every time I read a hate-filled, xenophobic headline in the UK press or listen to a pundit belittling the importance of climate change on the radio. What should the response be for a small business like ours to a worrying shift that isn’t just on a different page, but that seems to be speaking a totally different language? After a lot of soul searching and and several conversations with disheartened colleagues the conclusion we have come to is this: chin up and double our efforts. Increasing numbers of consumers share our values and want their product choices to reflect them. It is down to us to make the choice and easy and attractive one. For us the most worrying aspect of what lies ahead is the issue of climate change. President Elect Trump has implied that the problem doesn’t exit, that it has been fabricated by China and that he would like to remove the USA’s involvement in the Paris Climate Change Agreement. He is ignoring climate specialists all over the world and clear fact that human actions have caused the warming of the earth’s temperature by 1 degree in the past century alone. Last year, at the time of the Paris Climate Conference we wrote a piece entitled Fashion and Climate Change. It is one of our most popular editorial features to date which indicates just how much this topic matters to our customers. Fashion has a huge impact on the environment - in fact it is the second most polluting industry after oil. As an industry we need to face facts and do something about it. Never has this been more critical than now we are faced with a Trump administration. The outcome of the vote might not have been what the we wanted but the way to stand up to policies that we don’t agree with is to stand up even more ferociously for the values that we do believe in. So if Trump is going to follow a policy that endangers the environment we must make choices in our every day lives that protect it, starting with our fashion choices. By carefully considering our purchases, recycling, repairing and also by choosing, organic and sustainably produced clothing we can make a difference. Take organic vs non organic cotton for example - a study of organic cotton in one region of India, commissioned by PUMA found a 40% reduction in global warming potential, 72% lower primary energy demand, and lower water consumption. Not only that, the farmers and workers involved in production are not exposed to the harmful chemicals that regular cotton growing demands. In addition to choosing better it is time put pressure on the big brands to follow suit, to protect the environment, reduce waste and consumption. These guys have serious clout and the potential to make a genuine difference. Creating a small range of organic cotton pieces isn’t enough when the damage caused by the lions share of your business clearly outweighs the positive impact of your “conscious” campaign. It’s time we start calling the brands to account and to demand transparency about both their environmental and social footprints. Where are their products made, under what conditions and by whom? How much energy do they use, what chemicals, and how do they offset their emissions? The fashion industry, so often touted as ‘creative’ and ‘liberal’, was pretty much unanimous in its support of Hillary - now let’s put our money where our mouth is. We need a gear change in environmental responsibility within the fashion industry. With raw materials running low and climate change itself being a direct cause of poverty, the argument that protecting the environment should come second place to protecting the economy misses the point entirely. The two are inextricably linked - we can’t have a sustainable fashion industry (a trillion dollar industry no less) without doing something about the environmental impact. We need to think about our choices and brands need to re-address their policies. In the words of Mrs Clinton, “never give up for fighting for what you believe is right.” That fight might have got a little bit harder but now, like never before, it is imperative we act both as individuals and as businesses.
Source: Gather&See.Com
KARACHI: Three-day GTex International B2B Textile Machinery Brand Expo concluded with $18 million confirmed deals at Expo Centre Karachi on Sunday. The event organized by Global Enterprise. Sindh Minister for Transport Syed Nasir Hussain Shah was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. Global Enterprise Chief Executive Officer Mujib R Siddiqi, Director Sohail Aziz, General Manager Ghousia, Zohaib Siddiqi and Naeemuddin of the United Machinery were also present. Talking to media, Nasir Hussain Shah said that the textile sector was being ignored in Pakistan since many years and the federal government should immediately support this sector. "Textile exports in 2013 were upto $25 billion which had to be increased but it is on decline. The exporters are unable to compete in international market due to heavy electricity bills and other input costs," he said. He said that such expos should be held on regular basis to boost business opportunities. He also said that the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) should solve issue of refund to exporters which is about 250 billion rupees. About unpleasant incident occurred in the Sindh Assembly few days back, the minister said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has already taken strict action in this regard. He said that the provincial lawmaker was equally respectable for all and no such incident should be reoccurred. Speaking about Karachi mayor's allegations against the Sindh government, he disagreed that the mayor has no powers. "He (mayor) has many powers and should utilise those first. This is not true that Sindh government is not supporting," he argued We want to keep a balance of power. Mayor Wasim Akhtar is very friendly and Sindh government supports him and his team. We are providing five crore rupees every month while all development schemes are also being implemented under the provincial ADP. The Karachi Municipal Corporation has just to look after water and cleanliness of city," he said. Later, the minister visited EPZA Stall where an officer briefed him regarding the motive of launching the KEPZ Phase-III extension and also providing the promotional facilities to their investors of the Karachi Export Processing Zone. He appreciated efforts of the EPZA towards increasing the exports to earn foreign exchange as well as helping to build a good image of Pakistan in at the international level. Talking to media persons, Global Enterprise CEO Mujib R Siddiqi termed the GTex expo as successful, saying that $18 million business deals have been materialised and much more were in the pipeline. "This event provided a great business opportunity to importers and exporters," he said., adding that GTex is the largest and the most successful expo of its kind in the region in which all the leading international brands from textile, garments, leather, digital printing, embroidery machinery, accessories, chemical, dyes and energy sectors are participating. The leading brands displayed the latest innovations from various countries including China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Czech Republic, India, Hong Kong, France, Austria, Iran, South Korea, Ireland, Malaysia, Belgium, UK, US, Singapore etc with more than 670 major partner brands. Few of major brands were Al Amin Industries, Nazer Group, CHT Pakistan, Madhani Associates, Humble Embriodery and Taji Maan.
Source: Daily Times
At least 14 activists and workers have been detained since labor unrest began last month in Bangladesh, source of much of the world’s clothing. At first, the police knocked. Then they tried to kick the door down. Protests over low wages had erupted at dozens of garment factories in Bangladesh, one of the top suppliers of clothing for global brands like H&M andGap, and the officers had come to question Jahangir Alam, the president of a local trade union in Ashulia, a suburb of the capital, Dhaka. They told his wife that he would be back within a few hours. That was a month ago. Instead, his wife said, Mr. Alam has sat in a jail cell so dark he could not see his own hands. She said they had spoken briefly when she finally tracked him down to a Dhaka court. Mr. Alam is one of at least 14 labor activists and workers who have been detained since the unrest began in December, according to arrest records. The demonstrations disrupted work at factories that supply clothing to global fashion companies like Inditex of Spain, owner of the Zara brand, and PVH, which owns the Tommy Hilfiger brand. The police say the unrest has led to the suspension or firing of roughly 1,500 workers, many of whom took part in the protests.The police have accused the activists of inciting vandalism and other crimes, and several factories have pressed charges against many of their workers. But labor rights groups say the government is trying to scare workers into silence by detaining innocent people. They say the detentions, and the looming risk of more arrests, are the biggest setback for workers since the collapse of Rana Plaza, a building that housed garment factories, where more than 1,100 people died in 2013.
Workers leaving a Ha-Meem Group factory for a lunch break. Bangladesh is the second-largest ready-made garment exporter in the world after China. CreditSalahuddin Ahmed for The New York Times That tragedy, one of the worst industrial disasters in history, exposed major safety hazards at factories in Bangladesh, which churns out a steady stream of low-cost goods. And it prompted some of the world’s biggest brands to push for better conditions for the workers who make their clothes. By some measures, conditions have improved. But the brands now say the arrests and firings could undermine the progress they have made. In letters to Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and other officials, retailers urged the government to take action to protect workers, including addressing wage issues that had led to the protests. The minimum wage in Bangladesh is 32 cents an hour. They stopped short, though, of threatening further action. “Such situations damage the industry’s reputation and confidence levels, which we, together with the government and social partners, are all working so hard to bolster,” wrote Rob Wayss, the executive director of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The accord, a coalition of retailers, is dedicated to improving safety for the country’s garment workers. Gap, in a separate letter, said it was troubled by the recent events, and urged officials to ensure that no one was targeted “solely because of any association with a trade union or other group.”
The Al-Hamra Garments factory, right, has an exterior staircase. The 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza building, in which about 1,100 people died, prompted retailers to press for better working conditions.CreditKhaled Hasan for The New York Times The prime minister’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Bangladesh exports billions of dollars’ worth of clothes each year, making it the world’s second-largest exporter of ready-made garments after China. But its factories are efficient for some of the same reasons that they have been deadly: overcrowded buildings, limited oversight and a government that has historically repressed workers’ efforts to organize and fight for better conditions. In the wake of the Rana Plaza collapse, retailers formed two coalitions dedicated to improving the lives of workers: the accord, led by H&M, and theAlliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which includes Gap andWalmart. Both groups have created safety standards and mechanisms to enforce them, although the accord, with a legally binding arbitration provision, is largely seen as the stronger of the two. The alliance has no such clause, but it can impose financial penalties and expel members that violate its terms. Both groups point to progress, like the installation of fire doors and regular safety inspections. But as international attention has waned in the years since Rana Plaza, worker rights groups have expressed concern that the gains could be lost. “Now the spotlight is off Bangladesh,” said Richard Appelbaum, a labor and worker rights expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “The government is responding more typically as it would have responded several years ago, if it could have.”
Protesters at a rally this month in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Garment workers have been demonstrating since December to protest low wages. CreditMaher Sattar for The New York Times The police came for Mr. Alam at night, said his wife, Jhorna Begum. When he did not return after several days, Ms. Begum scraped together about $12 to pay a lawyer who helped track him down to a local jail. The couple saw each other briefly when Mr. Alam appeared in court, just long enough for them to shout at each other across a crowded room. With two children at home, Ms. Begum said she could not afford to fight his case. She recently returned to work as a machine operator for the Palmal Group, another garment maker. “We live hand to mouth, waiting for the paycheck at the end of the month,” Ms. Begum said, tears in her eyes. “I don’t know when he’ll get out — how am I supposed to run my family without him?” While Ms. Begum was willing to give her name to a reporter, many garment industry workers are afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals by the government. Labor rights workers suspect that agents of the government or factory owners ransacked a number of union offices after the protests. And the death ofAminul Islam, a labor activist who was found tortured and killed in 2012, is still fresh in many minds. The complaints against the 14 people who have been arrested also include charges that could cover more than 1,000 possible suspects — a tool that can help the police arrest people in the future, according to labor lawyers. Some of the people who were arrested, for example, had been named in an unrelated political violence case that has been open since 2015.“When they find someone they want to put in jail, they enter that person’s name into the case,” said Jyotirmoy Barua, a lawyer based in Dhaka, who is representing protesters who have been charged with conspiring to harm the state.
Source: The New York Times
Export proceeds from value-added products have recorded growth for three consecutive months. The government recently announced Rs180 billion bailout package for the textile and clothing sectors to promote exports.—White Star Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports grew only 0.02 per cent to $1.035 billion in December year-on-year driven by value-added products, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Friday. Export proceeds from the value-added products recorded growth for three consecutive months. The rise in export proceeds is also evident in rupee terms. Last year, the government announced a textile policy that gives a 4pc rebate on the exports of readymade garments on a 10pc incremental increase over the preceding year, 2pc on home-textiles and 1pc on fabric. No support was announced on raw material or yarn exports. Under this policy, the government paid out Rs2.5bn to exporters in the last fiscal year. This shows the policy worked to some extent and promoted exports of value-added textile products. The government recently announced Rs180bn bailout package for the textile and clothing sectors to promote exports. In this package, the government also announced a subsidy on the export of raw materials and low-value added products. One of the reasons cited for the textile package was the need for countering the rising cost of production. The package will be implemented from January 2017 to June 2018. Product-wise details show that the export of readymade garments grew 9.23pc while that of knitwear increased 4.21pc in December. Exports of bed-wear went up 9.26pc, but those of towels fell 4.22pc in December. In primary commodities, the export of cotton yarn witnessed a year-on-year decline of 3.38pc, cotton cloth 18.53pc, cotton carded 100pc and yarn other than cotton yarn 37.15pc. Exports of made-up articles, excluding towels, witnessed growth of 2.71pc while those of tents, canvas and tarpaulin grew 74.68pc. The export of raw cotton also recorded a year-on-year decline of 6.99pc. Art, silk and synthetic textile exports declined 16.44pc. One reason for the rise in exports of value-added textile products is Pakistan’s preferential access to the 28-nation European Union under the GSP-Plus scheme. In the six months to December, the value of exported textile and clothing products fell 1.65pc year-on-year to $6.15bn. Overall export proceeds in July-Dec fell 3.82pc to $9.91bn. In April, the Ministry of Commerce announced a Strategic Trade Policy Framework, which remains to be implemented.
Source: Dawn.
Spanish textile and clothing trade fair Momad Metrópolis will be held February 3-5, 2017 at IFEMA-Feria de Madrid and will bring together street, urban and sustainable fashion at the show. The show will also feature a Momad Catwalk, which will showcase proposals from a selection of exhibitors for plus sizes, sustainable fashion and party wear, among others. Showcasing street, urban and youth fashion will be various brands like Solid, Coronel Tapioca, Brave Soul, Tiffosi, Six Valves or Celop, etc. There will also be joint participation of Portuguese denim brands under the name ‘Fashion from Portugal’, who will exhibit the latest in denim innovations. Committed to the use of natural fabrics, environmental protection and ethics in the production process will be a bunch of companies like Slow Clothes, Karin de la Sierra, Veganized-Non Toxic Fashion, Pamukkaleworld, Punto a Mano and others.
Source: Fibre2fahion
HSF presents ‘Spinning History: The Rise and Fall of North Carolina’s Textiles Industry’
Cotton mills and the surrounding housing, often built by the mill owners for their workers, shaped the fabric of small towns and cities throughout the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The textile manufacturing business played a major role in the economy and employed thousands of people. The fall of the textiles industry in the Piedmont left many of towns and cities, Salisbury and Rowan County included, struggling economically and tore a hole through the fabric of our communities. Historic Salisbury Foundation will host noted historian Peter Coclanis who will speak on the history of the textiles industry in North Carolina on Feb. 7, at 5:30 p.m. Coclanis is the Alfred R. Newsome Distinguished Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A past chairman of the department of history, Coclanis currently serves as director of the Global Research Institute at UNC Chapel Hill. He is married to Salisbury native Deborah Busby. Creating unrest, fear.”This month, protesters gathered in Dhaka, chanting and holding up signs as a plainclothes officer took notes nearby.Abul Hossain, the president of the Dhaka chapter of the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, said workers were frustrated by stagnant wages in a country whose cost of living had risen over the past few years. Wages have risen only twice in the past decade, even as inflation has risen as much as 10 percent a year, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Ms. Begum holding photos of her husband, now in detention. With two children at home, she said she could not afford to fight his case, and had returned to work at a garment factory.CreditSalahuddin Ahmed for The New York Times Workers expected their pay to be reviewed last year by a government wage board that can meet every three years. When that did not happen, they started protesting. Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a trade association that represents factory owners, said factories, too, had come under pressure: Costs have risen 17.5 percent annually for the last two years, he said, even as global clothing prices have decreased. Mr. Rahman added that while global retail brands had called on Bangladeshi factories to improve safety standards and wages, they had resisted paying higher prices to help compensate for the increased costs. He also said that fewer than 1,500 employees had been fired, and that some had returned to work. Both Gap and H&M said that they supported a regular wage review mechanism to ensure stability in the future, and that they were monitoring the situation closely. Labor advocates, though, say the global companies should be doing more, since billion-dollar brands like H&M have a lot of leverage with local factories and the government. A spokesman for H&M, Patrick Shaner, said in an email that the company had no plans to change its sourcing arrangements. Other companies that buy clothes from the factories that are currently pressing charges, including Abercrombie & Fitch, PVH and American Eagle Outfitters, did not respond to requests for comment. “At a certain point in time you have to wonder just how much the brands and retailers will tolerate,” said Scott Nova, the executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a labor rights group based in Washington that is among the most active nonprofits working in Bangladesh’s garment industry. “They can tell the factories to drop these charges.”
Source: Salisbury Post
Eight months and a failed negotiation attempt since the start of the Panda Textile Factory strikes, disgruntled workers are pressing the Union government to intervene in the dispute. The workers began protesting again yesterday over post-negotiation additions to their employment handbook made by the factory management. The protests started in June 2016 as over 600 workers staged a sit-in at the entrance of the Singu township factory, accusing management of cutting their pay and forcing them to work weekends, in breach of their employment contracts. Nearly 300 workers rode motorbikes across six neighbouring townships demanding that the government provide an immediate solution and also press charges against Panda Textiles for breaking the agreement. In November, it seemed like a breakthrough had been reached, with both sides ready to sign an accord detailing 28 points of agreement. The truce was meted out between workers and management in a process overseen by the Mandalay Region government. However, according to the workers’ leader Ma Zarchi Win, Panda Textile Factory revised the points after the two groups had agreed to the settlement. On the day the two groups met to sign the contract, Panda Textile Factory claimed they needed more time to discuss with the company team. When they met again, the company brought up 8 points that still needed revision, said Ma Zarchi Win.
Dabbling in revisions triggered further industrial action.
“We are protesting because we want the Union Government to inspect and finalise our case,” said Ma Zarchi Win. “We cannot accept their proposal because it says the company will not employ dismissed workers and this violates our rights. We have never increased our demands throughout this protest,” she said. “The company only started to behave like this when it was time to sign the agreement. I think they were completely disregarding the negotiation committee formed by the regional government.” In 2012, the Ministry of Industry called for tenders for the privatisation of Paleik No 2 Factory, to which the Panda Company bought the rights and long-term factory lease for K360 million per year. Since the transfer of power, workers claim the Panda Company has not honoured its contractual agreements, particularly when it comes to the rights of dismissed workers. The regional Hluttaw was called in to mitigate both the transfer of power and the rising tensions among factory workers. The workers told The Myanmar Times that once the 28-point agreement overseen by the regional government is put into force, they are willing to return to the factory floor.
Source: Myanmar Times
