|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1285.46 |
USD/Ton |
1.14% |
2/14/2017 |
|
VSF |
2498.30 |
USD/Ton |
1.18% |
2/14/2017 |
|
ASF |
2149.70 |
USD/Ton |
1.37% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1309.43 |
USD/Ton |
0.17% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3544.10 |
USD/Ton |
0.41% |
2/14/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
4793.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
5621.18 |
USD/Ton |
0.52% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
1525.13 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3326.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2294.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1612.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3747.45 |
USD/Ton |
0.39% |
2/14/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3122.88 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1917.30 |
USD/Ton |
0.38% |
2/14/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2701.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3268.13 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2338.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2048.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2294.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.34 |
USD/Meter |
0.22% |
2/14/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.83 |
USD/Meter |
0.17% |
2/14/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.17 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/14/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0.22% |
2/14/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14525 USD dtd. 14/02/2017)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The Andhra Pradesh Government is encouraging the textile sector in a big way and entrepreneurs should make use of the benefits being offered by the State as well as the special package given by the Union Government in the Budget to set up more units, according to K. Srikanth Prabhakar, the Joint Director in the office of the Commissioner of Handlooms and Textiles, AP Government. He was speaking at an interaction session with entrepreneurs here on Wednesday in which the state government officials, the Union Government and the AP Chambers of Commerce and Industries Federation participated. He said during the recent CII partnership summit here 12 MoUs were signed by the State Government with different companies for setting up 12 apparel units in the State entailing investment of Rs. 963 crores in all and generating 46,000 jobs. "These 12 projects will come up in the next one to one-and-a-half years. Four of the units will come up in the Brandix apparel park here, including two by Chinese companies, five units in Anantapur district and the remaining in Chittoor district," he added. Alok Dwivedi, the Deputy Director-General of Foreign Trade, spoke about the importance of promoting exports in the sector and B. Punnam Kumar, the Assistant Director-General of Foreign Trade, spoke about Export Promotion Credit Guarantee (EPCG) scheme which enables entrepreneurs to import capital goods (machinery) without paying duty. They have, however, an export obligation in the first six years. T. Indira, of the Employee Provident Fund Corporation, spoke about the Pradhan Mantri Paridhan Rojgar Protsahan Yojana under which the Union Government shall bear the entire 12 per cent contribution of the employer for new employees of the garment and apparel industry for the first 3 years, if the the employees are earning less than Rs. 15,000 per month. Ramalinga Raju, the General Manager of the Visakhapatnam district industries centre, said clearances would be given speedily under the single window scheme and entrepreneurs should make use of the opportunity. G. Sambasiva Rao, the president-elect of the Andhra Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation, and others spoke.
Source: Business Line
Report summary India ranks as the world's second largest producer of textiles and clothing after China. Also, its textile and clothing industry is its largest manufacturing activity – in 2015/16 the industry accounted for 4% of India's gross domestic product and 14% of its national export earnings. The Indian textile and clothing industry comprises thousands of ginning factories and mills, and millions of hand looms and power looms. As such, it provides direct employment for around 45 million people and indirect employment for an estimated 263 million people, and it benefits from a highly skilled workforce. Furthermore, the industry serves a huge domestic market which is forecast to be worth US$314 billion by 2025. Despite these bright spots, however, the industry faces several challenges – including an inadequate infrastructure, frequent power outages and a significant technological deficit compared with competing Asian countries. Also, many of the industry's production units operate at a low level of scale. This report looks at the development of the textile and clothing industry in India, its size and structure, and textile and clothing production and consumption. In particular, the report features: a geographical, political and economic profile; a detailed look at the country's imports and exports; a review of government policies and investment incentives; an analysis of the industry's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT); and a look at India's infrastructure and human resources and how these affect the industry.
Source: Innovations in Textiles
Trade between India and the UAE is set to hit USD 100 billion by 2020, up from the current USD 60 billion, the Confederation of Indian Industry has said. “This is evident in the growing interest by the Indian companies towards the Middle East markets and in particular the UAE and efforts made by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and CII to further strengthen the trade and investment ties,” Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a statement released here. Currently, the trade between Indian and the UAE is estimated around USD 60 billion, it said.
Source: PTI
A week after the US Chamber of Commerce released its Global Intellectual Property Report that named India among worst countries in terms of IP rights, the commerce ministry has stood its ground by asking those discontented with the country's IP regime to take up the issue at multilateral trade channels. “We are maintaining the position that India is TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) compliant and if any country thinks we are in violation they can raise this at the multilateral forum,“ said Sudhanshu Pandey , joint secretary in the commerce ministry . Talking to ET on the sidelines of a summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade facilitation agreement, Pandey said: “Those who are making these (allegations), are not challenging that there is any violation of the TRIPS. Some countries are trying to push the regime to TRIPS but that is what we are not signatory to. Our commitment is to TRIPS and that is the position we have maintained. “The annual report of Global Intellectual Property Centre, an organisation under the US Chamber of Commerce, has ranked India 43 among 45 countries as part of its global IP report card. According to the report, United States ranks number one in enforcing IP rights, followed by United Kingdom and Germany , while the bottom three countries are Venezuela, Pakistan and India. The concerns over India's IP regime raised in the report include National Intellectual Property Rights Policy not addressing fundamental weaknesses in India's IP framework, lengthy pre-grant opposition proceedings in place, previous use of compulsory licensing for commercial and non-emergency situations, and limited participation in international IP treaties. On the issue of Compulsory Licensing (CL), Pandey said the country has behaved responsibly .Countering the charges of activist groups that have accused the Indian government of being timid to US pressure and rejecting the new applications, Pandey sa id India is a responsible country and takes responsible positions. As calls of protectionism grow across the western world, the commerce ministry is taking a wait-and-watch approach with India's trade partners such as the UK and the USA.
Source: Economic Times
Exports of goods continued to rise for the fifth straight month though at a slightly slower pace at 4.32 per cent to $22.11 billion in January, led by higher shipments of petroleum products, engineering goods and iron ore. Merchandise exports stood at $21.19 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, imports during the month increased by 10.7 per cent to $31.95 billion, and the overall trade deficit widened to $9.84 billion. The trade deficit was at $7.66 billion in January last year. However, it was much higher at $10.36 billion in December 2016. “Overall the trade balance has improved,” said the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday.
Iron ore exports zoom
As many as 17 of the 30 sectors reviewed registered a positive growth in exports, led by a 974 per cent rise in iron ore exports in January. In an indication of muted demand following the demonetisation move, gold imports fell by 29.94 per cent last month to $2.04 billion from $2.91 billion in January 2016. Noting that the continuous growth in exports is encouraging, SC Ralhan, President, FIEO, said exports would touch about $270 billion this fiscal. “Increasing protectionism, volatility in currencies and uncertainties clouding over global economy pose major challenges for export sector in 2017,” he cautioned. The increasing retreat from globalisation was also one of the challenges to growth that was highlighted by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget.
April-Jan deficit shrinks
The overall merchandise trade deficit between April and January this fiscal also shrunk to $86.38 billion, which is 19.82 per cent lower from $107.74 billion in the corresponding period a year ago. It was however, still lower at $76.54 billion in April and December 2016. Merchandise exports in the period rose just 1.09 per cent to $22.09 billion from $21.85 billion in the corresponding period a year ago. Goods imports in the first 10 months of the fiscal contracted by 5.81 per cent to $30.73 billion as compared to imports of $32.62 billion between April 2015 and January 2016. Reflecting the rising crude oil prices in global markets, oil imports during January 2017 rose 61.07 per cent to $8.14 billion in January 2017 from $5.05 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, non-oil imports were static at $23.81 billion in the month under review. Non-petroleum exports also grew marginally by 1.6 per cent to $19.42 billion in January 2017 from $19.11 billion a year ago.
Source: Business Line
The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), apex body for engineering exporters, today said it has received representations from several members claiming that payments to the tune of over Rs 100 crore for shipments to Iran have been held up. The lack of clear banking mechanism and channels have caused the problem, EEPC India said in a statement here. “Under the Foreign Trade Policy, export proceeds in Iran can be treated at par with Foreign Convertible Currency (FCC). The modus operandi is through UCO Bank. The Indian banks are not handling payments or any form of commercial transaction and hence the UCO Bank was allowed to handle INR proceeds. But Iranians do not have Rupee balances but they are willing to pay in FCC,” the EEPC India statement said. As a result, the payments are held up and goods are detained at sea ports leading to demurrage and detention, it added. Further, exporters run the risk of losing the money, as buyers may refuse to accept the cargo charges. The EEPC India said the issue has been pending before the authorities for quite some time and discussions have also taken place at different levels. “No solution has come about as yet. As a result, companies are not receiving their payment. It is estimated that over Rs 100 crore are pending for payment by the Iranians to Indian exporters,” it noted. It has suggested among other options that the UCO Bank should be allowed to accept FCC or euro from Iran and eBRC (electronic bank realisation certificate) be issued.
Source: Tecoya Trend
Days after TOI reported that the Maharashtra government had amended the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 to substantially reduce establishments and contractors covered by it, trade unions in the state have announced a protest on Friday "We will protest against the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Maharashtra Amendment Act 2016 at Azad Maidan. We will hold a rally during the state assembly session on March 9," said Vishwas Utagi, convenor of the state's Trade Union Joint Action Committee. Earlier, the law applied to units with 20 or more workmen. After the amendment in Maharashtra, it will apply to units with 50 or more workmen. As a result, it will no longer apply to smaller units or contracts covering 20-49 workers which once came under its purview. Officials said the move will boost the ease of business and boost employment of informal workers. But the state's Trade Union Joint Action Committee said it will erode workers' rights and it plans to challenge the amendment in court. The contract labour Act regulates working conditions, including the payment of wages on time. It also mandates the provision of holidays, hours of work and conditions of service matching those given by principal employers. It demands the provision of a canteen, rest-room and creche facilities. It also requires contractors to be licensed and establishments employing contract workers to be registered with the government. "There are 18 lakh contract workers in Maharashtra. The changes in this law will mean that employers will deny them statutory benefits like Provident Fund, ESIC, leave and overtime money," said Utagi. Trade unionists said key provisions under the contract labour Act were not being implemented and that the amendment would further reduce the bargaining power of workers. "Even today, the Minimum Wages Act is not implemented," he said.
Source: Times of India
With just six public sector units (PSUs) listed in eight years, the government plans to fix strict timelines for all profit-making, large and medium sized state-owned firms to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) and list on stock exchanges. The government is very clear in its approach of getting all profit making central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) listed in a time-bound manner to open them up for public scrutiny and higher transparency, department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) secretary Neeraj Gupta told PTI in an interview. Towards this end, he said, CPSEs should set their house in order by meeting all listing requirements like audited accounts for last three years and fully constituted board with requisite number of independent directors. Although he did not indicate the time-frame the government is looking at for listing them, another senior official said the process “should not take more than one to two years, at max, three years”. The Union Budget 2017-18 has given a clear “focus and direction” to listing of CPSEs, said the secretary, department of investment and public asset management which was earlier known as department of disinvestment, “Profit making large and medium sized CPSEs—no point listing small CPSEs—should list. They should open up for public scrutiny and higher transparency. They should compete in the market and establish themselves for whatever worth they can command in the market,” he said. In the process, they will have access to the capital market for expansion of business activity and not rely merely on their own resources, which is government investment, he said. “This policy clearly indicates that government has the intention to complete these processes in a time bound manner,” he said, adding that the listing process has two parts—internal process and the actual transaction i.e. initial public offering and listing. The administrative ministries, he said, will have to shoulder responsibilities in getting the companies ready for listing, which has to be done “prudently and at the right time”. The CPSEs to be listed would be selected based on their turnover, profitability and net worth thresholds, guidelines for which will be issued shortly, he said. “Time bound means what should be a reasonable time-frame for creating a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP)... Once the books of accounts have been audited and approved how much time should they take in filing a DRHP? 6 months? Some time-frame would be stipulated after discussing with everyone,” he said.
Source: PTI
A top level Ethiopian government delegation has extended an invite to Tirupur based garment producers to set up an apparel manufacturing facilities in Ethiopia and is offering free land for the same. These investors would get the benefit of preferential tariff benefits of zero import duty, when exporting clothing to markets of the US and EU. “Ethiopia is an ideal investment destination for Tirupur based apparel exporters as exports from Ethiopia to the US and EU would not attract duty, as against shipping to these destinations from India,” Tadesse Haile, the state minister for exports and investment told a leading daily. The minister also added that these investors would also benefit from the world’s lowest energy rates, while there is also abundant skilled labour available in the country. in order to speed up export of cargo, the country has recently started a high speed train between Addis Abba, the capital and Djibouti port, which is well connected to several major importing countries.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Textile chemicals have a close association with the textile industry; the growth in textiles market along with the growth of textile trade is expected to have a positive influence on the India textile chemicals market. An increasing thrust for export of quality textiles to Western countries is also positively driving the textile chemicals market. In addition, increasing investments by the industry players for the development of eco-friendly chemicals will also contribute to the growth of the India textile chemicals market. Textile chemicals are a class of specialty chemicals that are used for dyeing and processing of textiles in order to obtain the final product with required characteristics. The India textile chemicals market is highly fragmented with a presence of more than 300 small and large players. The presence of a large number of players is attributed to the heavy subsidies provided by the Government of India to small players for setting up business operations. This accounts for the majority share being held by minor players. However, the share of small textile chemical manufacturers is expected to decline in the coming years due to the increasing preference for quality products and the increasing penetration of technical textiles. Increasing Export of Quality Textiles Exhibit Demand for Auxiliaries Textile Chemicals The production of textiles involves numerous water and chemical intensive processes. These chemicals, which are broadly classified into colourants and auxiliaries, are used during textile processing and manufacturing processes. Auxiliaries will account for a major share of the India textile chemicals market owing to the increasing demand for quality textiles and technical textiles in both domestic and international markets. The increasing exports of high-quality textiles in the U.S. and Western Europe are also exhibiting an increasing demand for auxiliaries. Chemicals such as azo dyes and formaldehyde that are used in textile processing pose a risk to the environment. To address this, textile chemical manufacturers are investing in R&D and striving to develop green products that are environmentally sustainable. Producers of textile chemicals are also stressing upon the use of bio-auxiliaries and alternate environment-friendly materials to curb the overall pollutant concentration. The Indian textile chemicals industry is a major consumer of water and energy. The use of novel textile processing techniques such as beck dyeing modification, dye bath reuse, close cycle textile dyeing, foam process, mach nozzle fabric drying, and ink and film application can reduce water and energy consumption in the textile chemicals industry. Launch of ‘Technology Mission' for Textiles by Government of India Encourages Entry of New Players The India textile chemicals industry is witnessing a sea of change in terms of product innovation. Top players in the India textile chemicals market such as Clariant and Huntsman and BASF are striving for the development of eco-friendly products as well as high-end products that impart functional properties to textiles. These companies are extensively utilising bio-auxiliaries and other eco-friendly chemicals to curb the overall pollution caused by textile processing plants. Other than this, product manufacturers are implementing functional solutions such as negative ion therapy, anti-microbial effect, novel effect, and stain releases. In this regard, the Government of India has introduced ‘Technological Mission' in the bid to encourage new players to participate in the technical textiles industry and allied industries. The programme aims to educate new players and share knowledge about technical textiles. Apparel, home furnishing/textiles, and industrial textiles are the major end users of textile chemicals. Among these, apparel accounts for the largest share owing to the increasing demand for fashionable and eco-friendly products. The expeditious growth of the apparel industry is a major factor supporting the growth of the India textile chemicals market. The information presented here is sourced from Future Market Insights latest report on the Asia Textile Chemicals Market. A free sample of this report is available upon request.
Source: OilVoice
Under this project, interested villagers will be given charkhas (spinning wheels), looms and other equipments required to set up small scale industries, such as candles, incense sticks, honeybee cultivation, bakery, etc.(File photo) Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Wednesday announced that it would set up five ‘Khadi Villages’ each in all states to make rural populations self reliant and prevent their migration into cities. According to KVIC chairman V K Saxena, khadi and related industry is the best way to uplift the economic condition of poor people living in villages. “KVIC is working on a project of setting up five Khadi Villages in each state within one year. This will make villagers self reliant and it would also stop migration of rural population into cities,” said Saxena on the sidelines of a function here today. Under this project, interested villagers will be given charkhas (spinning wheels), looms and other equipments required to set up small scale industries, such as candles, incense sticks, honeybee cultivation, bakery, etc. “We will identify five villages each in every state and then train the beneficiaries to carry out that business, which requires very less investment. Under this initiative, they will be able to sell their own products in the village through a sales outlet,” said Saxena. According to him, KVIC is taking several initiatives to increase the sale of khadi, which today stands under one per cent among the total textile sale in the country. “In the last financial year (2015-16), khadi sale stood at Rs 1,510 crore. This year(2016-17), we expect to achieve a turnover between Rs 1,900 crore to Rs 2,000 crore. We have set a target of achieving Rs 5000 crore in next two years,” said Saxena. He also added that KVIC is in talks with the Gujarat government to supply khadi for police uniform. “We are in talks with Gujarat government to supply khadi for police uniform. We have also urged many other state government to buy our khadi for that purpose. We are taking many such steps to increase the sale of khadi,” he added.
Source: Hindustan Times
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 54.49 per barrel (bbl) on 15.02.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 54.79 per bbl on previous publishing day of 14.02.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3646.31 per bbl on 15.02.2017 as compared to Rs. 3667.79 per bbl on 14.02.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 66.92 per US$ on 15.02.2017 as compared to Rs. 66.94 per US$ on 14.02.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on February 15, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 14.02.2017) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.02.2017 (Jan 28, 2017 to Feb 13, 2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
54.49 (54.79) |
54.67 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3646.31 (3667.79) |
3683.12 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
66.92 (66.94) |
67.37 |
Source: PIB
Shares in America’s banks are booming again, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. hitting fresh trading milestones Tuesday that seemed unreachable during the crucible of the financial crisis. Investor expectations of higher interest rates, lower taxes, lighter regulation and faster economic growth under the Trump administration have added $280 billion in combined market value to the nation’s six largest banks since Nov. 8. On Tuesday, shares of Goldman hit a record high, passing a bar first set in 2007 before the financial crisis. J.P. Morgan also hit an all-time closing high. Meanwhile, Bank of America traded in line with its net worth—or the difference between its assets and liabilities—for the first time since late 2008. The bank had been trading as low as 15% of this level in March 2009. Bank stocks overall have outperformed broader stock markets since the election. The roughly 27% gain since Nov. 8 for the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index is around three times that of the S&P 500. Markets rose further Tuesday; the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 92.25 points, or 0.45%, to close at 20504.41. One reason for such investor optimism: After years of hacking away at expenses—shedding businesses, cutting staff and investing in technology that can be ramped up and down cheaply—expenses are near all-time lows across Wall Street. That means that if revenue does grow as many investors expect, the payoff could be especially big. Essentially, all the belt-tightening at banks means each extra dollar of revenue should be more profitable than the last. “They’ve come out of this thing lean and mean,” said Ed Wachenheim of Greenhaven Associates, a $6 billion investment firm that counts Goldman, Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan as its three biggest holdings. Once revenue starts increasing, “there’s a ton of upside,” he said. Hopes for such positive “operating leverage”—when revenue grows at a faster pace than expenses—were in evidence during the bank-earnings season that wrapped up last month. The phrase was mentioned 11 times on Bank of America’s call with analysts, nine times on Goldman’s and six times on Citigroup’s. Indeed, expenses at the six biggest U.S. banks in 2016 are down 13% from 2013, while revenue is roughly flat. Savings are coming from all corners of the financial firms. Last year, the six biggest U.S. banks booked a combined 23 cents of every dollar of revenue as profit, up from 15 cents five years ago. Employees at Morgan Stanley are taking a nickel less out of each revenue dollar than they did in 2010. Bank of America cut the equivalent of 15 Empire State Buildings from its real-estate footprint over five years. J.P. Morgan stopped paying for employees’ BlackBerrys. At Goldman, noncompensation expenses are their lowest since 2007. “This represented a lot of work,” Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said at an industry conference last week. “We’ve taken a lot of costs out—not to hunker down, but to give ourselves a lot of operating leverage, frankly.” Investors hope profits will gain even further if revenue growth materializes. Bank of America shares, for instance, are up more than 41% since the election, the most of any big, U.S. bank. That is partly a function of its focus on U.S. consumers and its large pool of rate-sensitive mortgage securities. These tie its fortunes more closely to potential increases in U.S. interest rates than many peers. The share-price gains led Bank of America’s stock to trade at book value, or the firm’s intrinsic worth, for the first time since October 2008. The shares were valued below this level as the bank was sucked into the financial crisis and then as it struggled with legal fines, credit losses and lackluster returns since then. Despite the stock’s higher valuation, the share price is still less than half of its precrisis peak of $54.90. And the bank’s return on equity, a closely watched measure of profitability, is still below the 10% level investors typically demand. Citigroup is now the only one of the big, U.S. banks to trade at a discount to book value, at about 81% of this level, according to FactSet data. Even so, it, too, hit a milestone Tuesday: Stock options granted to executives in 2011 expired on Tuesday “in the money,” that is, exercisable at a gain, the first time that has happened since August 2007. Goldman shares, meanwhile, closed at an all-time high of $249.46, beating by more than a dollar a share the previous record set on Halloween 2007. Shares are up 37% since the election. Its fuel is different than Bank of America’s. Goldman, with few consumer-facing businesses and a smaller portfolio of loans, won’t get the same boost from higher interest rates. Rather, investors are betting on Goldman’s once-mighty trading desk, which has been hurt by postcrisis regulations and quieter markets. Volatility has returned, helped by diverging interest rates around the world, swings in stock-market sectors and the occasional presidential tweet. President Donald Trump has promised to trim trading regulations that ban some lucrative trading activities and require banks to hold extra capital. A Goldman alumnus, Gary Cohn, is the face of the administration’s deregulation push. But higher revenue at Goldman and its rivals still depends on factors that have yet to emerge. Mr. Trump has said he supports tax cuts and a rollback of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law but has offered few details. And most major changes require action in Congress, where Democrats may prove an obstacle. “There’s a lot of stuff the administration has talked about doing, but there’s still many things they have to do,” said Jason Goldberg, an analyst at Barclays PLC.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Pakistan’s struggling textile industry is facing new threats of further losing its market share to China, which is heavily investing in textile manufacturing facilities in its province bordering the south Asian nation, a leading trade body said on Wednesday. “The anticipated glut of textile and garment from the Xinjiang textile park in the export as well as domestic markets of Pakistan poses a serious threat to Pakistan’s textile sector already struggling to remain afloat,” the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said in a report. “Setting up of the textile park at Xinjiang will give a heavy blow to Pakistani textile exports.” The KCCI, which represents more than 50,000 businesses across the city, said China’s textile-ware from Xinjiang passing through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region would experience a further reduction in costs in terms of transportation. It said China is giving primary importance to its Xinjiang province, bordering Pakistan, under the CPEC. The province accounts for 60 percent of China’s seven million tons of cotton production. The under-developed province is seeing a rapid industrialisation under China’s plan of developing it into a major textile exporting hub. The world’s second biggest economy is investing $27 billion in Xinjiang’s transport infrastructure for better regional connectivity in 2017 alone, while a $2.8 billion is being invested into standard garment factory constructions. By 2020, Xinjiang is expected to produce about 500 million garments a year. China is also building a 3,000-kilometre long road from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in China. The route would cost-effectively connect the China’s western and central regions to MENA. Textile exports contribute around 60 percent to the Pakistan’s total exports, which are already on the declining trend owing to a host of factors, including high production cost and lack of government incentives. “A $1.7 billion textile package, recently announced by the government, doesn’t match the incentives provided to textile exporters by China,” the Karachi Chamber said. “Pakistan would simply not be able to compete with the Chinese exporters.” It said Pakistani markets are already awash with hordes of low cost Chinese products, which are already manufactured in the country. “Chances are high that Pakistan would be experiencing a similar influx of goods under China’s transit trade ….” The KCCI said CPEC will support Pakistan’s economy through a series of developments in energy and transportation sectors. “In fact, if sensibly utilised, it (CPEC) provides Pakistan with an exceptional opportunity to become a developed nation.” The trade body, however, urged the government, “to smartly negotiate and exploit CPEC to achieve maximum economic strategic depth for Pakistan and to make all transactions transparent.” It called for improvement in competitiveness of textile production and diversification in the country’s exports. “Transit fee with China and all partnering countries needs to be prudently negotiated as such a fee would be a major earning source for paying off the CPEC-related debts and other associated costs,” it said. “Infrastructural improvement will encourage green-field industrial setups, but it is the focus on high tech and value additive industries that will provide the real platform for competitive trade in the global economy.”
Source: The News International
The Senate was informed on Wednesday that the government has announced a special package for textile sector to boost the industry. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the House during that question hour that import of textile machinery have been made duty free. He said sales tax on five export-oriented sectors including textile, leather, sports goods, surgical goods and carpets has been made part of zero rated tax regime in the current budget. He said 2,747 companies including 65 textile companies were registered during first half of the current fiscal year. He said eight companies including two textile companies were delisted from July to December last year. To a question, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shaikh Aftab Ahmad told the House that a comprehensive plan has been designed for upgradation of airports throughout the country. He said three billion rupees have been allocated for upgradation of airport in Peshawar and 30 to 40 percent work has been completed. He said work will also be expedited for renovation of Quetta airport.
Source: Daily Times
Mirza Azam, state minister for textiles and jute; Ma Mingqiang, ambassador of China to Bangladesh, and Shubhashish Bose, secretary in charge of the ministry of textiles and jute, attend the opening of the 11th Dhaka International Yarn & Fabric Show 2017—Winter Edition and Dhaka Int'l Denim Show 2017, at International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital yesterday. CEMS Global and CCPIT (CCPIT-TEX) organised the three-day event. CEMS Global Global textile and yarn makers see Bangladesh as a potential market despite the country's apparel export is facing challenges in some of its strong markets, including the United States and Europe. Though fabrics and yarn are being locally made, Bangladesh still needs to import a good quantity to meet the growing demand. In Bangladesh, local spinners meet over 90 percent demand for raw materials of the knitwear sector and over 40 percent demand of the woven sector. “Bangladesh is a good market for us as the demand for fabrics here is rising from the garment makers,” said Lavender Zhang, manager of Jiangsu Wulong Knitting Co, a knitwear fabrics maker. Zhang spoke at the 11th Dhaka International Yarn & Fabric Show 2017—Winter Edition and Dhaka Int'l Denim Show 2017. Mirza Azam, state minister for textiles and jute, inaugurated the fair jointly organised by CEMS Global and CCPIT (CCPIT-TEX) at International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital. Around 180 companies from six countries are showcasing their products at the three-day event. Bangladesh's apparel exports to the US, its single largest destination, declined 1.96 percent year-on-year to $5.49 billion in 2016, due to the volatile US economy and the recent presidential election. Exports to the UK and some other European markets also fell last year. “Bangladesh is our future market as China has been losing its market share in the global apparel business,” Zhang said. She said the demand for specialised textile like linen is very high in Bangladesh, which is quite capable of supplying fabrics in bulk to the garment makers. “We have a plan to open a sales office in Dhaka in future as the business is growing,” said Zhang, who came in Bangladesh for the first time to take part in the fair. “The fabrics and yarn market in Bangladesh is growing riding on the higher demand from the customers,” said Arifur Rahman Dewan, manager for sales and marketing at Huaren Linen Group (Bangladesh), a major supplier of linen fabrics from China worldwide. Dewan said currently his company supplies linen fabrics to 15 customers and it has a target to increase the customer base to 100 by the end of 2020. “Achieving the target of 100 customers is not difficult in Bangladesh, as there is huge demand for linen products,” Dewan said. His company produces nearly 60 million yards of fabrics a year. Ma Mingqiang, ambassador of China to Bangladesh; Shubhashish Bose, secretary in charge of the ministry of textiles and jute, and Faruque Hassan, senior vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, also attended the opening ceremony of the fair.
Source: The Daily Star
State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam said on Wednesday the proposed Textile Industries Establishment Act-2015 is expected to be enacted shortly, paving the way for further development of the country's garment and textile industries. He came up with the remark at the inaugural ceremony of '11th Dhaka International Yarn and Fabric Show 2017-Winter Edition' and 'Dhaka International Denim Show 2017-Winter Edition'. CEMS Global in association with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) organised the four-day event at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the city. Presided over by CEMS Global - USA & Asia Pacific President and Managing Director Mehrun N Islam, the programme was also addressed by Chinese Ambassador in Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang, Textiles and Jute Ministry Secretary in- charge Shubhashish Bose, CCPIT Secretary General (Textile) Zhang Tao, and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Senior Vice-President Faruque Hassan. While delivering his speech as the chief guest, the State Minister said the Ministry has already formulated the textile act taking suggestions from all the stakeholders including BGMEA, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) and other entities to help the sector fetch US$ 50 billion per year by 2021. Referring to the country's increasing global share in RMG sector, he said there are seven garment factories in Bangladesh that placed in the top ten environmentally-compliant RMG factories around the world which indicates the country's capacity in the sector. Addressing the RMG sector entrepreneurs, Mr Azam said the big investors should come up with investments to set up industries to produce viscose fibre from jute to meet local demand. Terming production of viscose fibre profitable than RMG, he said currently Bangladesh imports viscose worth Tk 8.0 billion per year which can be easily saved by producing the product from own raw materials. He also informed that the government has made a deal with China for building a plant to make viscose fibre from jute using Chinese technology and finance. Speaking at the programme, Mr Mingqiang said China is the top exporter of apparel products in the world while Bangladesh secured the second place. "Due to the fast economic growth, the country will catch up with China in even shorter time than the people think," he added. Mentioning that many Chinese citizens are now investing outside China, he said, "Bangladesh is an ideal and attractive destination for the Chinese investors because of various government incentives." The Chinese Ambassador also noted that the Chinese investment in Bangladesh has increased by 30 per cent in last couple of years. However, he termed Bangladesh a close companion of China, not competitor in terms of global business. More than 180 exhibitors from six countries including China, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, and the host Bangladesh taking part in the show to display state-of-art fabrics, garment accessories, different types of yarn, denim, knitted fabrics, artificial leather, embroidery, button, zipper, linen blend etc. The show will remain open for all and will continue from morning to evening till February 18.
Source: Financial Express Bangladesh
Asia is undoubtedly the largest textile and apparel supplier in the global market, with China leading the way over the last 30 years. Asia’s dominating position in the global textile and apparel market is mainly caused by its low production costs and especially low labour costs. However, with the dynamics of textile and apparel manufacturing changing globally, minimum wages in textile and apparel industries across Asian countries have also seen dramatic changes from 2015 to 2016. The key reasons for the minimum wage increases are due to economical and humanitarian causes. For example, the minimum wage for textile workers in Cambodia increased to $140 from 1 January 2016, mainly pushed by labour unions to improve workers low living standards, while India increased its textile minimum wages in 2016 to be in aligned with nation’s inflation rate and consumer price index. Data from the China Chamber of Commerce for Importer and Exporter of Textiles and Apparel (CCCT) also shows that the increasing minimum wage for textile workers in China is currently almost twice as high as the minimum wage in Philippine or Indonesia, triggering concerns that China may lose its position as textile and apparel industry leader in the world. But the analysts believe that the current labour cost in China is not necessarily a big enough factor to endanger its global dominance, thanks to its massive demand of domestic market, excellent infrastructure and supply chain management, as well as high industrial productivity. Minimum wage increases across Asia’s textile and apparel industry seems to be a good improvement for workers’ living standards. However, it may also have negative effect on the nation’s textile sector. For example, the Cambodian government worries that the country’s increasing minimum wage, which is already more than double the minimum wage for apparel workers in Bangladesh, will drive investors away when sourcing the textile and apparel products. On contrary, Myanmar has the lowest monthly minimum wage in textile sector of all ASEAN countries, with workers being paid a minimum of nearly $67 a month for a six-day work week. The low wages, combined with a vast workforce and low production costs, are attracting more and more international companies to outsource their garment and textile factories to Myanmar.
Source: Textile World
