The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 20 JULY, 2018

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Hike in import duty will strengthen local industry: SRTEPC

The Government of India’s decision to increase basic customs duty (import duty) to 20 per cent on 76 textile and apparel items at 6-digit level, is a significant move and will strengthen the domestic textile industry, The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has said. The duty has come into effect from July 16, 2018. One of the main MMF fabrics tariff line included in the list of 76 items is other woven fabrics dyed containing 85 per cent or more by weight of textured polyester filaments covered under ITC HS code 540752. Major products in this tariff line are polyester shirting, suitings and saris. Highlighting the Government’s initiative as encouraging, SRTEPC chairman Narain Aggarwal pointed out that the step was very critical to protect the domestic fabrics segment, as post GST imports have substantially surged due to withdrawal of CVD and SAD on imports. “Increase in the basic customs duty rates on these textile and apparel items will help in protecting the domestic manufacturers from cheap imports from countries like China, Vietnam, etc,” he added. Besides fabrics, import of man-made fibres and MMF yarns has also surged in the post GST regime. Around $1.6 billion worth of man-made filaments and man-made staple fibre products were imported into India during 2017-18 alone. Import of PSF and VSF have increased by 5 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. In case of PFY, NFY and VFY the imports have gone up by 13 per cent, 3 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. In case of import of polyester spun yarn, viscose spun yarn and nylon spun yarn the increase was 94 per cent, 526 per cent and 15 per cent respectively which is impacting domestic man-made fibre and MMF yarn manufacturers in a big way. Increasing imports is also against the Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Therefore, it also needs to consider increase in customs duty on other products of MMF textile value chain, Aggarwal said in a statement. In case of MMF based fabrics, Government had increased customs duty from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in October 2017. However, important tariff lines in the knitted fabrics segment such as 60011020, 60059000 and 60069000 were left out through which substantial imports still continue. Therefore, duties on these three fabric lines also need to be increased to 20 per cent, he said.

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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Centre to take measures to resolve GST issue for MMF sector: Industry leaders

Surat: The central government on Thursday hinted at taking proactive decisions in favour of the man-made fabric (MMF) sector in order to resolve the issues and problems under the goods and service tax (GST) latest by July 21. A delegation from the city’s textile sector led by Navsari MP CR Paatil was summoned by Union Textile minister, Smriti Irani to New Delhi on Thursday morning to discuss the issues related to GST faced by the sector. The textile industry leaders along with Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) made representations to Irani and met union finance secretary, Hasmukh Adhia in the afternoon, where it was decided that the government will take proactive measures at the upcoming GST Council meeting to solve the issues of MMF textile sector. The powerloom weaving sector has been demanding refund of accumulated input tax credit (ITC) from a very long time, while the textile traders are demanding simplification of GST law, relief under e-way bill and the problems faced by the trade in filing the ITC-04 form. It must be noted that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had organised GST open house at city’s Surat International Exhibition and Convention Centre (SIECC), where they had to face the ire of the people from the textile sector, over the pending issues under GSTLeader of powerloom weaving industry, Ashish Gujarati, who was present in the meeting at New Delhi said, “The meeting was held in positive atmosphere and we are hopeful that the central government will take measures to resolve our ITC refund issue on July 21. The ITC refund will give a new lease of life to the dying powerloom sector.” SGCCI president, Hetal Mehta said, “There is some good news waiting for city’s textile sector. This time the government is very proactive towards our demands related to GST, especially ITC refund.”

Source: Times News Network

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Government aims to promote Khadi as global fabric, says Suresh Prabhu

The government aims to promote Khadi as a global fabric as it has the potential to boost economic growth, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said today. The government aims to promote Khadi as a global fabric as it has the potential to boost economic growth, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said today. To achieve this aim, new designs and styles in Khadi are essential, he said. His remarks came through a video message at a conclave jointly organised by Ficci, IIFT and Khadi India. The minister said district-level development is the key to promote Khadi as a global fabric which in turn will promote economic growth. For this, 6 districts in 5 states have been identified and taken up as pilot projects. Besides, Directorate General of Foreign Trade Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi said Khadi sector employs 80 lakh people and government assistance and promotions can provide once-in-a-while push, but long-term sustainability requires inherent demand. He said there is huge opportunity for Indian fashion industry in textile sector, both in domestic and international market, and Khadi needs to create demand. Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Indian Railway Board, said there is a need to make Khadi a symbol of national pride. Lohani said the railways on a daily basis require four lakh bedrolls and would be willing to partner Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in developing a strategy to provide disposable Khadi bedrolls and towels at economical rates.

Source: Financial Express

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Gujarat clocks 22% growth in exports in 2017-18: Govt

If exports from SEZs are taken in to account, then Gujarat accounts for nearly 30 per cent of national SEZ exports. Gujarat exports a wide variety of items ranging from gems and jewellery, agriculture, automobiles, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, among others. Gujarat has clocked an impressive 22 per cent growth in exports in 2017-18, government officials said on Wednesday. The growth has also increased the state’s overall share in India’s export pie. “Gujarat’s exports have increased to $66 billion in 2017-18 from $54 billion in 2016-17,” said MK Das, Principal Secretary to the chief minister while sharing the data from Niti Aayog. These numbers are in line with the forecast of the socio-economic review for Gujarat tabled in the state legislative assembly in February 2018 which stated that Gujarat would clock a “double-digit growth” for the year 2017-18. “Not only have we grown in terms of volume, our share in national exports have gone up. Gujarat’s share in Indian exports also increased to 22 per cent in 2017-18 from the earlier 19 per cent. The figures were revealed by Niti Ayog today (Wednesday),” Das added while speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an event held at GMDC auditorium. He said the state largely exports to eastern European countries, Africa and middle-east nations. “Overall our imports have been going up and exports have not been able to keep pace. But this is a good growth for the state,” he added. Gujarat exports a wide variety of items ranging from gems and jewellery, agriculture, automobiles, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, among others. If exports from SEZs are taken in to account, then Gujarat accounts for nearly 30 per cent of national SEZ exports. This increased by four per cent in 2016-17, after falling to 20 per cent in 2015-16 and 2014-15.

Source: The Indian Express

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ECGC reports Rs 130-cr pre-tax profit for FY18

Mumbai :  The Export Credit Guranatee Corporation (ECGC) today reported a pre-tax profit of Rs 130 crore, pulled down by a record claim settlement in the year to March 2018. Geetha Muralidhar, chairman-cum-managing director attributed the lower profit to higher claims. "Gross claim payout exceeded gross premium income owing to the landmark settlement of claims to banks. Total claims paid during the year to both banks and exporters rose to the highest ever level at Rs 1,283 crore. In addition, provisions of Rs 6000 crore have been set aside for future payouts," she said. The corporation had 34,740 covers in force with a maximum liability of Rs 96,101 crore as of March 2018, while the total risk value covered during the year stood at Rs 6,41,449 crore which is 33 per cent of the total exports of the country. It is notable that over 85 per cent of this cover is to MSME exporters only, she said. The corporation has 1,19,46 covers in force with a value of Rs 1,77,349 crore. The major coverage has been to Europe and North America for high risk transactions and the major sectors covered are employment intensive sectors like engineering goods, cotton, textiles and readymades. Under the medium and long term cover, over 190 policies were issued to 40 exporters worth Rs 7,416 crore. Exports worth Rs 28,800 crore are supported through ECGC and Rs 14,700 crore through buyer credits, she said. On the future plans fo the corporation, she said it plans to increase the value of business covered to Rs 9.60 trillion from Rs 6.41 trillion which will increase the share of exporters business from 27 to 38 per cent. The corporation has also declared Rs 15 crore divident payout ot the government for the year. ECGC has an authorised capital of Rs 5000 crore and a paid-up capital of Rs 1,500 crore as of March 2018 and its networth stood at Rs 3,737 crore. The corporation has 60 branch offices and five regional offices.

Source: Outlook India

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Rupee Closes At Life-Time Low Of 69.05 Against Dollar

Mumbai: The rupee weakened by 43 paise to close at a historic low of 69.05 against the US currency on Thursday. That marked the first time the rupee ended below the 69 level against the greenback. The US dollar strengthened as upbeat comments on the US economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell drove the American currency to a one-year high against global currencies. Thursday also marked the biggest single-day fall in the rupee against the US currency since May 29. The domestic currency suffered a major setback as forex sentiment wobbled once again with a resurgent dollar and a slew of local issues sparking jitters among investors. The US dollar surged to fresh one-year high after the Fed chief's testimony to the US Senate on Wednesday bolstered the expectations of interest rate hikes, though gradually. The two-year Treasury yield was near the multi-year high mark of 2.624 per cent, hitting appeal of emerging market currencies. Also, Parliament will on Friday debate a no-confidence motion tabled by opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which weighed on forex market sentiment. Traders and speculators saw no signs of intervention by monetary authorities into the foreign exchange market to support the local currency, pushing the Indian currency down to a low of 69.07 in day trade. The rupee had touched an all-time low intraday low of 69.10 on June 28 but had recovered later on suspected Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention. The market mood has somewhat worsened as China steps up its game against the US after the People's Bank of China devalued the Yuan once again in what many see as a move against the US. Most Asian currencies also dropped against the dollar on as concerns over a tariff war between the US and China endured, keeping investors cautious on regional trades. Extending its overnight bearish undertone, the rupee resumed substantially lower at 68.72 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market on heavy demand for the American unit from importers and local banks. It later took a deep slide to hit a session low of 69.07 in late afternoon trade before ending at 69.05, showing a sharp fall of 43 paise, or 0.63 per cent. The Financial Benchmarks India (FBIL), meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 68.8331 and for the euro at 80.1153. The domestic bond market also showed volatile trading and the 10-year benchmark yield falling 4 bps to 7.79 per cent. The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was up at 95.39. In the cross-currency trade, the rupee also fell back against the pound sterling to finish at 89.69 per pound from 89.39 and dropped against the euro to close at 80.05 compared to 79.72 earlier. The local unit also drifted against the Japanese yen to settle at 61.12 per 100 yens from 60.74. In forward market on Thursday, the premium for dollar showed a mixed trend due to lack of market-moving factors. The benchmark six-month forward premium payable in November eased to 105-107 paise from 106.75-108.75 paise, while the far-forward May 2019 contract edged up to 255-257 paise from 254.50-256.50 paise.

Source: NDTV

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India under pressure from Singapore, Indonesia to agree to early RCEP pact

India is under diplomatic pressure from countries such as Singapore and Indonesia to agree to a speedy conclusion of the ambitious Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, the 23rd round of which is currently on at Bangkok. “The Prime Minister of Singapore and the Indonesian President, in their recent meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are learnt to have pushed for the RCEP in a big way urging India not to hold up the agreement. Commerce Ministry officials participating in the negotiations are now facing the Herculean task of meeting expectations of other RCEP members on market access for goods while protecting interests of the Indian industry,” a government official told BusinessLine. The RCEP, which includes the 10-member ASEAN, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, is likely to be the largest free trade bloc covering about 3.5 billion of the world population and 30 per cent of the gross domestic product. Interestingly, while India had initially placed the condition that the offers in services under the RCEP have to match the offers in goods, the argument seems to be losing steam.

Goods offer

 “The ASEAN is just not interested in giving substantial offers in the services sectors. India is being urged to improve its offers in goods despite the fact that there is not much improvement in services offers,” the official said. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s stress on early conclusion of the RCEP talks in their meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to their country, has increased pressure on Indian negotiators. India, however, is finding it difficult to adequately respond to the steep demand for tariff elimination on 92 per cent of items made by the ASEAN. It is finding it especially hard to negotiate with China as the Indian industry is already reeling under pressure from cheap Chinese imports and trade deficit with the country has touched $63 billion. It is also difficult for India to make substantial offers to Australia and New Zealand as it does not have any free trade pact with these countries. “What is making matters worse for India is the fact that the ASEAN does not seem interested in budging from its demand of tariff elimination for 92 per cent of items. India’s reluctance to agree to such a large number is being interpreted as obstructionism,” the official said.

Select deviations

Although certain deviations in tariff cut commitments would be allowed to India for dealing with partners including China, Australia and New Zealand, it cannot be much lower from what is extended to the others, the official added. Based on the progress in negotiations in the on-going round which will end on July 27, Trade Ministers from all 16 member countries will try to move negotiations on various chapters towards a conclusion when they meet in Singapore in end-August.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

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India may lose trade battle with US on export subsidy at WTO: Teaotia

Kolkata : Commerce and Industry Secretary Rita Teaotia on Thursday said India may lose the battle with the US on trade disputes relating to export subsidy as it has crossed the income threshold to be able to give direct export-linked subsidies. It may be noted that India was dragged to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism by the US over export subsidies. “We have a whole lot of challenges in the WTO. We get atleast one dispute a month and we respond strongly. But there is every possibility that this one dispute (export subsidy) we will lose because India has crossed the income threshold to be able to give direct export-linked subsidies,” Teaotia said at an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here. According to her, while anything which is a refund of statutory levy is ‘legitimate’, an incentive being given only because someone is exporting is ‘not legitimate’. “We have an expert group studying to see what the WTO-compliant supports are and what the practices are globally. This exercise is almost complete. In fact, we are having the first round of presentation next week. Hopefully, we will have a draft set of schemes for discussion in a month or so,” she said.

Tea auction platform

On the need to revamp the tea auction platform, Teaotia said, the Tea Board has been working on improving the ‘acceptability’ of the auction platform. Only about 50 per cent of the tea produced in the country comes for the auctions, as compared to close to 100 per cent in countries like Africa, she said and added, “Currently the acceptability of the auction platform is not too high. The Tea Board is interacting with different parts of the industry to understand how it can be made more acceptable.” According to Azam Monem, Chairman of Indian Tea Association (ITA), discussions are on to see how auctions can be revamped to make them more ‘user-friendly and cost-effective’. “Currently transaction costs are too high primarily because of transportation and warehousing. While discussions are at very initial stages, talks are on to see if we can have an ex-estate model which can bring down warehousing costs,” he told BusinessLine. Possibilities are also being explored to see if it would be feasible to have one common auction platform and link it to various sourcing points, he said. There are three auction centres in South India and three in the North at present.

Source: Business Line

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Washington meet: India, US to hold more talks for trade package

Senior officials from India and the US met in Washington last week and agreed to hold further deliberations on a mutually-acceptable trade package, which will take some more time to materialise. Senior officials from India and the US met in Washington last week and agreed to hold further deliberations on a mutually-acceptable trade package, which will take some more time to materialize, a source told FE. The meeting was held amid escalation of the global trade war, with the US and China having already imposed additional tariff on each other. India has proposed an additional tariff worth $235 million on 29 US goods, including almonds and apples, in retaliation to the additional duty on Indian steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) by the US. In the absence of a solution soon, India could implement its proposed retaliatory tariffs from August 4. While India wants exemption from the additional duty that the Trump administration has imposed on steel and aluminium, the US is seeking to use a special tariff regime — generalised system of preference (GSP) — it offers to India and some others to extract greater market access from New Delhi. The trade package is also aimed at fixing specific goals for improving the Indo-US trade through greater market access and removing irritants. The latest meeting was a follow-up of a similar huddle late last month in New Delhi, which was attended by an American team, led by assistant US trade representative Mark Linscott. “Both the sides have decided to continue exchanging notes on all the relevant issues and work out a solution,” said the source. For India, a greater access to the American market for its food, farm, engineering goods and auto and auto parts segments hold promise in the long term (over five years), said the official. The US sees good prospects for its companies in Indian civil aviation, oil and gas, education service and agriculture segments. Any successful outcome of this meeting could later be announced by the leaders of both the nations. India also wants delinking of the GSP from market access talks. For its part, the US wants greater market access to reduce the trade imbalance with India and remove price curbs on stents and other medical equipment. Under the GSP programme, select developing countries are allowed duty-free export of specified products to the US. According to sources, India was a major beneficiary in 2016, as it shipped out goods worth $4.7 billion to the US under the GSP, which were equal to more than 11% of its exports to the world’s largest economy. Exports of select items in the textiles, engineering, gems and jewellery and chemical sectors are allowed duty-free access to the US. India made up for just 2.8% of US goods trade deficit and occupied the 9th spot on the list of nations with which the Trump administration seeks to pursue a trade balance agenda. However, India is the only major country whose goods trade surplus with the US narrowed in 2017 — a fact New Delhi recently highlighted in its talks with Washington.

Source: Financial Express

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More GST items to get relief

New Delhi: The GST Council is likely to consider a reduction in rates for 30-35 products, including sanitary napkins, handlooms and hotels, at its meeting on Saturday. The GST on sanitary napkins could be brought down to 5 per cent from 12 per cent, according to sources in the finance ministry. However, the Centre will not place any proposal to bring petroleum products under the ambit of the all-India tax regime. "Objections from the states mean that any such proposal will be rejected. Hence, it was meaningless to bring such a proposal at this stage," officials said. Women rights activists as well as female politicians, cutting across party lines, had sought the reduction of the GST on sanitary napkins. The handloom industry had been seeking a better rate as it had a complex duty structure where some items are exempt from tax, while other attract 5-18 per cent GST. Various weavers associations from the south met textile ministry officials on Thursday and demanded the reduction and simplification of the duty structure. Officials said that some more handloom items could be placed in the zero tax bracket and some items in the 12 per cent or 18 per cent bracket could be brought down to 5 per cent. Similarly, the hotel industry finds the differentiated rates between 0 per cent and 28 per cent confusing and at times discriminatory. Restaurants who face the GST of 5 per cent are unable to claim credit. Hoteliers have complained foreign tourists would visit rival locations such as Nepal and Sri Lanka where the rates were lower. "The 28 per cent tax rate on our hotels, resorts and conference venues is a killer," said Debasish Chatterjee, director with travel firm CTI Ltd. Finance minister Piyush Goyal had last week said the GST Council may look at rationalising more rates based on "meritorious reason", while ensuring such cuts in taxes did not hit revenues. Officials said they also planned to bring in amendments to the GST act to allow for easier return filing procedures and omission of liability to pay tax on reverse charge. It will also allow more service providers to opt for a composition scheme and permit changes in input tax credit norms and refund rules.

Source: The Telegraph

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India stays fastest-growing economy

New Delhi : India will continue to be the world’s fastest growing major economy, ahead of China, with 7.3 per cent growth rate in 2018-19 and 7.6 per cent in 2019-20, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday. The growth in India will be driven by increased public spending, higher capacity utilisation rate and uptick in private investment, said its supplement to the Asian development outlook. While retaining India’s gr­owth rate for the current and next financial year, ADB stated that economic growth in China would decelerate to 6.6 per cent in 2018 and further to 6.4 per cent in 2019. China’s growth rate was 6.9 per cent in 2017. On India, the bank said: “In sum, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for FY18 (ending March 2019) is maintained at 7.3 per cent. Growth in FY19 is expected to rise to 7.6 per cent as measures taken to strengthen the banking system bolster private investment and as benefits kick in from the goods and services tax. Any further increase in oil prices poses a downside risk to growth.” The Manila-based institution said India is the dominant economy in the South Asia sub-region with its gro­w­th gaining momentum at 7.7 per cent in the last quarter ended March of 2017-18, the highest rate of growth since Q1 of 2016-17. This pushed full -year growth to 6.7 per cent (2017-18), a tad higher th­an estimated in the Asian development outlook 2018, largely driven by the government spending for both consumption and public administration. “In the first half of 2018-19, the growth rate is expected to benefit from a low base. Other key drivers of growth include an uptick in public consumption, which is typical before elections, and a recovery in exports following shortages of working capital related to a new goods and services tax,” said the outlook supplement. In India, the private consumption is expected to grow at a healthy rate as disruption caused by demonetisation in 2016 fades. Capacity utilisation rates are at their highest in 4 years and should provide incentives to firms to invest. Growth in Asia and the Pacific’s developing economies for 2018 and 2019 will remain solid as it continues apace across the region, despite rising tensions between the US and its trading partners. “South Asia, meanwhile, continues to be the fastest growing sub-region, led by India, whose economy is on track to meet financial year 2018 projected growth of 7.3 per cent and further accelerating to 7.6 per ce­nt in 2019, as measures taken to strengthen the banking system and tax reform boost investment,” it said. Developing Asia is largely on track to meet growth expectations as set out in April in Asian development outlook 2018, said the report. The regional GDP is forecast to expand by 6 per cent in 2018 and 5.9 per cent in 2019, the rate envisaged in April, the supplement said. In April, ADB had said India’s economic growth would rise to 7.3 per cent this financial year and further to 7.6 per cent in the next financial year, retaining the fastest-growing Asian economy tag, on back of GST and banking reforms. “Although rising trade te­nsions remain a concern for the region, protectionist tr­ade measures implemented so far  have not significantly dented buoyant trade flows to and from dev­e­loping Asia,” said ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “Prudent macroeconomic and fiscal policy-making will help economies across the region prepare to resp­o­nd to external shocks, ens­u­ring that growth in the regi­on remains robust,” he said. The outlook has also retained the combined growth forecast for the major industrial eco­nomies – the US, the eurozone and Japan – as growth in the US and the Euro area remains robust. In Japan, though, unanticipated contraction in the first quarter prompts slight revision of the 2018 growth forecast, it added. But, ADB said the rise in protectionist trade measures from the US and countermeas­u­res from China and other countries “poses a clear do­wnside risk to the outlook for developing Asia”. The Asian development outlook supplement has factored in the tariffs imposed by July 15. “The risk of further ratcheting up of protectionist measures could undermine consumer and bu­siness confidence and thus developing Asia’s growth prospects,” ADB said. On price rise front, the outlook has raised the South Asia inflation forecast to 5 per cent from 4.7 per cent, mainly to accommodate an increase in the forecast for India, but kept at 5.1 per cent for 2019.

Source: Money Control

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Govt takes first step to halt cheat-and-scoot

New Delhi : The government on Thursday refused to lower the threshold for applicability of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Law and said the law will apply to all those who have been declared fugitives in big economic crimes by Indian courts. The Lok Sabha gave its consent to the Bill, which will now be discussed in the Rajya Sabha before its passage. Once approved by both the houses and assented by the President, the Bill will become an Act and replace the Ordinance promulgated on April 21. All actions taken under the Ordinance will have the same legal validity once the law is enacted. Empowered by the Ordinance, the Enforcement Directorate has already moved a special court for action against Vijay Mallya and is preparing to do the same against Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowksi, who are alleged perpetrators of the Punjab National Bank scam. “First we want to catch big offenders. Lowering the threshold will crowd the special courts,” Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said after 19 members participated in the discussion of the Bill. The Bill defines the fugitive economic offender “as an individual who has committed a scheduled offence or offences involving an amount of ₹100 crore or more and has absconded from India or refused to come back to India to avoid facing criminal prosecution in India.”

No relief for offenders

He also made it clear that that Fugitive Economic Offenders Law will be applicable to “any individual who is, or becomes, a fugitive economic offender on or after the date of coming into force of this Act.” It means the Bill will not be effective from a retrospective date. However, this does not provide any relief for offenders such as Mallya, Modi, Chowksi and others who have already been declared fugitive by Indian courts. There is a provision in the Bill that economic offenders who flee from the country will be brought back, prosecuted and their properties will be confiscated. It seeks to quickly recover the losses to the exchequer or public sector banks in cases of frauds. Among other things, the Bill makes a provision for a Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 to declare a person a Fugitive Economic Offender. Initiating the debate on the Bill, Nishikant Dubey (BJP) strongly supported the measure, saying it will allow the government to recover the dues from the absconding offenders. He claimed that absconding accused like Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Choksi were “products of the Congress government”, which had “facilitated” their scams. He alleged that the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram had “tweaked rules” to help certain firms linked to some of these accused days before the BJP government took over in 2014. Shashi Tharoor (Congress) said there was a significant gap between the government’s “rhetoric and action” and took a dig, saying that Nirav Modi was photographed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Davos. The Prime Minister had promised to be a “chowkidar”, he said, and referred to a number of economic offenders who had fled the country.

Treaty with other nations

Some members asked why courts in other countries would honour the orders passed by Indian courts, Goyal mentioned that India has treaties with many countries, which would help in honouring the orders given here. He said the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill gave power to the agencies to seize properties that are not only in the name of the offender, but ‘benami’assets. Union Minister Arun Jaitley had, in his Budget for 2018-19, said the government was considering bringing a new law to confiscate the assets of such absconders. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) on March 12, but could not be taken up due to a logjam in Parliament over different issues and hence the President promulgated the Ordinance.

Source: Business Line

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India's economic growth remains intact; GDP to grow around 7.5%: Ficci

Despite short-term challenges, India's economic growth story remains intact and the country's GDP is expected to grow around 7.5 per cent in the current financial year, industry body Ficci said on Thursday. According to the body, the slowing down of industrial output growth in May and higher retail inflation in June are "short-term challenges which are being pro-actively acted on by the government and the RBI, and these should not be seen in any way as hurting the signs of revival in the economy significantly"."While the industrial output growth is expected to rebound in the next few months, the rise in inflation is being watched by the RBI closely, and the apex bank and the government will certainly take necessary measures to keep it at the manageable levels," Ficci President Rashesh Shah was quoted as saying in a statement. "The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will play the role of a catalyst in this. While the GST collection trends clearly indicate towards a positive sentiment in the economy, the national integrated indirect tax structure will also bring down inflation, going ahead." Shah elaborated that GST Council and the central government have shown willingness to rationalise the GST rate structure, bringing in the excluded items and simplifying the tax administration. "Equally important is the fact that GST has shown that industry, and the country, on the whole, is ready for adopting big-bang reforms," he said, adding: "there is no doubt now that larger economic reforms involving both the centre and the states are here to stay." He added that along with GST, reform measures like IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) and RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) have already started yielding results and will help in taking the GDP growth beyond 8 per cent.

Source: Business Standard

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Rural market drives consumption demand

Consumption-led sectors have started reporting strong sales numbers for the June quarter buoyed by volume growth which has been backed by revival in consumer demand along with low base effect of the year-ago quarter. Except for textiles and jewellery, most of the consumption-led sectors have seen better growth compared to the previous quarters. Crisil finds that June quarter should record the fastest growth in three years. “The performance would be in line with our estimate of double-digit growth for the whole of fiscal 2019 with 15 of the 21 key sectors expected to log growth above 10 per cent this time. The pick-up in volumes is expected to have sustained in both consumption and commodity-linked sectors,” said Prasad Koparkar, Senior Director, CRISIL Research. “This is driven by improving macros, a pick-up in consumer sentiment, and growing rural demand, besides government support to farmers and expectations of a third year of normal monsoon. Inflation, though rising, is not going off the handle, aiding consumer sentiment,” he said. June quarter of FY18 had not recovered from the impact of demonetisation and was awaiting the roll-out of GST. Apart from jewellery and textiles, de-stocking prior to GST had a low base effect on most of the sectors as de-stocking was happening at the channel level rather than with the consumer.

Recovery

“Recovery in demand has been happening in the past one to two quarters and the demand has been coming mostly from the rural segment,” said Subrata Ray, senior group vice president at ICRA. According to him, though the monsoons were good last year, demonetisation had hit the rural economy. “Water table has risen with two good monsoon years. Some of the government initiatives like raising minimum support price of different crops also have lifted sentiments in the rural side. Both agricultural income and non-agricultural income were seen rising in the rural side and this has been evident in the rural sales number reported by companies across consumption-led sectors,” he added. The automobile sector is one of the key sectors that have reported strong volume growth. “Most of the auto segments, including commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and tractors have reported good volume growth in June quarter. While demand has certainly improved, the low base effect of the last June quarter, which was mired by uncertainties related to GST roll-out, helped growth,” Abhishek Jain of HDFC Securities. According to him, commercial vehicles have recorded 50 per cent growth in volumes as CV manufacturers including Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have reported high double-digit growth on the back of higher infrastructure spending and construction activity. “However, commercial vehicles do not reflect the consumer demand as it is driven by infrastructure-related activities,” added Ray. The two-wheeler segment continued its growth trajectory with 17 per cent volume growth. “Hero Motors reported growth of 10 per cent and Honda around 20 per cent. Despite a high base, Eicher continued its double digit growth at around 22 per cent. Bajaj Auto reported 38 per cent y-o-y growth and 17 per cent q-o-q growth,” said Jain. Maruti Suzuki, which has 36 per cent of the sales coming from the rural markets, also reported double-digit volume growth. Overall passenger vehicles too have reported a volume growth of around 18 per cent in June quarter. Tractor sales reflect rural demand and the volume growth has been around 20 per cent in the segment. “Tractors have reported better-than-expected growth. Higher diesel prices and reversal of interest rates were expected to subdue the growth,” added Jain. “The demand drivers for the industry continue to remain intact, which has aided robust volume growth. A healthy rabi crop output, adequate financing availability, as well as the measures announced by Union Government with an aim of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022, continue to bolster farm sentiments. In addition to enhanced allocations to schemes aimed at improving irrigation and insurance coverage, the MSP hikes for the current kharif season have been significantly healthier than previous year,” said Anupama Arora, Vice President and Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.

Consumer off-take

In the FMCG segment, improvement in off-take has been evident for the past three to four months. “The volumes growth has improved to 7 to 9 per cent from 5 per cent in the past four to five quarters. De-stocking prior to GST had happened at the channel-level in the year ago quarter. But consumer off-take too has improved this time and rural demand is the main driver,” said Naveen Trivedi, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Equity at HDFC Securities. HUL, which derives around 50 per cent of its sales from the rural market, reported like-to-like revenue growth of 16 per cent driven by 12 per cent volume growth. It also had a favourable base of the year ago quarter which had recorded revenue growth of 5 per cent. Improvement in demand along with company’s own initiatives like new launches, distribution expansion and digital push aided growth. Most of the FMCG companies are expected to report better volume growth depending upon their exposure to the rural market. In the consumer durable segment, cooling products like air coolers and air conditioners and derivative products like stabilisers were impacted by an erratic summer resulting in muted consumer off-take. Fans and switchgears continue to enjoy the benefits of lower GST rates, lighting products have witnessed a growth of above 15 per cent with the rising penetration of LED lights. Cable segment too has seen buoyant growth. “Sales growth in consumer durable segment in June quarter does not fully reflect the revival of consumer demand as it also depends on the housing sector growth, real estate demand and government spend on infrastructure. However, appliances have reported a volume growth of 12 to 13 per cent volume growth,” said Trivedi. Among consumption-led sectors, apparels and jewellery witnessed a muted growth in June quarter. For jewellery, Q1 is generally a lean quarter. “The muted growth in jewellery sales is due to weak demand in adornment in the quarter. There was also a high base effect as consumers had preponed purchases in the year ago June quarter fearing higher GST rates from July,” said Trivedi. Apparels too suffered from the high base effect of year-ago June quarter. “We were offering large quantum of stocks for discounts prior to the roll-out of GST and the retail sales had gone up in the quarter. Now we are seeing a flat like-to-like growth,” said Vasanth Kumar, managing director of Lifestyle International.

Source: MydigitalFc.com

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2018-07-19

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1299.46

USD/Ton

-0.23%

7/19/2018

VSF

2173.21

USD/Ton

-0.34%

7/19/2018

ASF

3096.08

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Polyester POY

1405.89

USD/Ton

0.43%

7/19/2018

Nylon FDY

3468.21

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

40D Spandex

5209.75

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Nylon POY

1615.02

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Acrylic Top 3D

3564.96

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Polyester FDY

5619.09

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Nylon DTY

1629.91

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Viscose Long Filament

3118.41

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

Polyester DTY

3200.28

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

2872.81

USD/Ton

-0.52%

7/19/2018

32S Polyester Yarn

2095.81

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

45S T/C Yarn

2902.58

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

40S Rayon Yarn

2232.75

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2470.91

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

45S Polyester Yarn

3051.43

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2575.11

USD/Ton

0%

7/19/2018

10S Denim Fabric

1.39

USD/Meter

-0.11%

7/19/2018

32S Twill Fabric

0.86

USD/Meter

0%

7/19/2018

40S Combed Poplin

1.19

USD/Meter

-0.12%

7/19/2018

30S Rayon Fabric

0.67

USD/Meter

-0.22%

7/19/2018

45S T/C Fabric

0.71

USD/Meter

0%

7/19/2018

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14885 USD dtd. 19/7/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

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Vietnam ready to receive South Korean investment in textile & garment sector

A new investment wave is expected to hit Vietnam’s textile & garment industry in the time to come, triggered by the Vietnam-South Korea FTA. Vietnam’s textile and garment exports to South Korea have been growing very rapidly since 2015. Textiles and garments received big benefits from the trade agreement, with 24 product categories enjoying preferential tariffs lower than the tariffs applied to other ASEAN countries. An analyst, citing reports of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), affirmed that exports of some products have been increasing steadily by 3-4 percent each year in the last three years. Textiles & garments now account for 17.8 percent of Vietnam’s total exports to South Korea. However, Vietnam’s textiles and garments only account for 30 percent of South Korean market share. This means there are still opportunities for Vietnam to boost exports to the market. This, plus the CPTPP, of which Vietnam is a member, have prompted South Korea to invest in Vietnam and make products for export to South Korea. The Korean Trade & Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) has confirmed a South Korean investment wave heading for Vietnam. A survey of the agency found that Korean investors in China are considering moving to Vietnam. Investment is expected to become stronger in two or three years. Meanwhile, Le An Hai, deputy director of the Asian & African Markets Department, reported that 62 percent of South Korean textile & garment companies in Vietnam plan to expand the production scale and make diverse products from fibre and cloth to finished garment products. An analyst commented that there are still many problems that need to be solved. Many provinces have refused textile and dying projects for fear of pollution. In addition, the policy on encouraging investments into the textile and garment sector remains unattractive. Hai said in order to receive the investment, the MOIT of Vietnam and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of the Republic of Korea have signed an agreement on cooperation in many fields, including textiles & garments. The two sides decided to join forces to build up the policies to encourage South Korean enterprises to make investment in the industry in the most effective way. MOIT recommends South Korean enterprises prioritize investing in support industries, especially in textile and dying, affirming that Vietnam will create favorable conditions for South Korean investors to access land and labor, and fulfill procedures.

Source: Vietnam Net Bridge

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Reduce fuel consumption: Smart Myanmar to garment sector

Smart Myanmar, a project funded by the European Union (EU), has advised garment factories in Myanmar to reduce consumption of fuel, regardless of the source. It said that it is necessary to invest in steam condensate recovery, a system that actually saves the company money in the medium term, however, companies are hesitant about initial investment. “It is also practical and necessary to make certain the steam system is effectively designed and does not suffer from any broken steam traps or separators. Among ten newly built factories surveyed in 2017 a majority had mistakes in the design and set-up of their steam systems, most resulting in substantial waste of steam,” said Smart Myanmar on its website. Smart Myanmar has also recommended factories to consider options for solar thermal assist. Solar thermal assist can be as simple as having black water tanks and a network of black water pipes exposed to the sun which are thereafter piped into the feed water tank for the boiler. The thermal gain in a tropical climate saves energy by reducing the amount of fuel needed to heat the water. The third recommendation is to consider various biomass options. There are several potential options, but risk husks are very common in Myanmar due to the large rice growing industry of the delta region. Compressed rice husk pellets are a viable fuel option for boilers. Many wood-fired boilers are able to handle risk husk pellets without any need for conversion of technology. Some types of biomass, though, require specialised equipment. The EU-funded project’s fourth recommendation for boiler fuel and emissions is to consider fabric scrap boilers. Special care should be exercised to make sure plastics are not being burned, but generally some boiler technology is specifically designed to safely burn fabric scraps (special flue gas treatment equipment is essential). The project has also recommended multiple ways to address over-extraction and pollution of water. It said factories should outline water reduction priorities in the company’s environmental management policy. Factories must meter their water usage and, hence, measure it. Meters should be used to determine overall usage, but also for water intensive processes, such as with washing and dyeing machines. Based on such measurements, key performance indicators can be set and improvements can be targeted over time via new processes and technologies. Regular facility checks should be made by maintenance staff to check for and fix leaks. Flow aerators and restrictors should be in place in toilet areas so that less water is used. Factories should also take care not to set-up new wet processing facilities in dry zone areas. If production is set-up in such areas, the factory should be ready to invest in expensive closed loop technologies such as zero liquid discharge. The key considerations for water pollution reduction include wastewater treatment. All process wastewater must be effectively treated to safe levels. This can be done via biological or chemical processes, but a suitable treatment system must be in place. Although regulatory enforcement in this area was inadequate in years past, the Myanmar government is beginning a stricter enforcement process and factories violating Myanmar’s emissions guidelines and requirements for effluent treatment are likely to face large fines and possible forced shutdown. Even with an effective treatment system, factories ought to have a contingency plan in place in case the system temporarily breaks. This can be via an auxiliary treatment system, a holding tank, production stoppage or other means. Hazardous liquid waste, such as pad printing waste, must be given over to a third party disposal company. A reasonable plan should also be in place for ETP sludge management, said Smart Myanmar. The project has also instructed companies to store hazardous waste in a locked area and dispose it via a qualified service provider. It even suggests using automated cutting machines to improve cutting efficiency and reduce cut fabric wastage. Smart Myanmar said that exploring and adopting many of the above recommendations benefits the local environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately also benefits factories by reducing costs and often helps additionally by boosting their Higg Index scores.

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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Pakistan Textiles flourish despite the odds

Almost every industrialist and trader sounded dejected at the policies of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) governments over the last 10 years. To them, the anti-business and anti-trade policies did not allow them to run their industries and businesses to garner optimum yield, lead to lesser growth and greater inflation, increasing pressure on valuations and cost of doing business in Pakistan. The main reasons behind this dejection were the non-availability of utilities and higher cost of electricity and gas. Without cheap utilities, the industry pundits claim, the factories and businesses cannot be run efficiently. During the last 10 years of democracy, the governments of PML-N, PPP, and Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) failed to overcome the power crises in the country, blaming each other for it. To them, the country’s export could not be enhanced without electricity, gas, and water. The wrong policies of the previous governments hit the exports while the imports increased at a breakneck pace, with the trade gap surging to over $27.9 billion in the last eleven months. According to the economic experts, the Pakistan exports would rise to $25 billion in 2017-18, up by 13-14 percent compared to the last fiscal year, though imports touching $56 billion or above during the same period, remain a major issue.  The profitability of each exporting textile company surged by 10-15 percent while its workers remained where they were a decade ago because of rising inflation and devaluation of the Pak rupee.

The enormous size and import

The Pakistani textile industry combined is the 8th largest manufacturer in Asia, contributing 8.5 percent to the country’s GDP, while employing about 45 percent of the total labour force (38 percent of it being manufacturing workers). Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India and contributes 5 percent to the global spinning capacity. At present, there are 1,221 ginning units, 442 spinning units, 124 large spinning units and 425 small units producing textiles. Textile is the most important manufacturing sector of the country and has the longest production chain, with inherent potential for value addition at each stage of processing – from cotton to ginning, spinning, fabric, dyeing and finishing, made-ups and garments. The textile products have maintained an average share of about 62 percent in national exports.

Textile companies owners

“More than Rs200 billion of the export rebate, sales tax refund etc. of the textile industry is stuck up with the government, and they are compelled to buy electricity and gas at rates most expensive compared to other countries in the region. Even the water has to be procured through the tanker mafia,” said Jawed Bilwani, president of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Despite all this chaos, Pakistan’s exports have gone up this year, and all its credit goes to the exporters and not to the government, added Bilwani. “The government has not given us any major incentive in the last 10 years. So, on what basis is the government expecting a major upsurge in exports,” questioned Bilwani, a business leader who is president of the SITE Industries Association. Last year the government announced a package of Rs180 billion in 2017, said he, adding, “but it has released only Rs25-30 billion. Subsequently, the finance ministry has linked this package with the growth.” The industry cannot be run without energy and financing. The past and present government never considered releasing the stuck up money. “If released, this stuck-up money may bring more dollars through higher exports,” said Bilwani, adding, the exporters were waiting for it. The decision of the finance ministry to devalue the local currency further hurt the profits of local exporters and 20 percent depreciation in Pak rupee made the imports of raw material more expensive. “Devaluation of the local currency was the wrong decision of the [previous] government and it will put the external account under pressure instead of supporting the exports,” Bilwani claimed. The exporters said when the government devalues the local currency, foreign buyers demand the share of the devaluation. The exporters get nothing from such measures, while they have to face costly import of raw materials, they claimed. The president of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) said, the stuck up payments create liquidity problems for the exporting units – the main hurdle in getting optimum industrial growth. Giving details, he said that Rs30 billion of textile exporters have been withheld in the sales tax regular refund regime, whereas another Rs10 billion have been withheld on account of custom rebate and Rs 15 billion under income tax credit. Similarly, incentives allowed under textile policy 2009-14 also remain unpaid with Rs20 billion being outstanding under TUF schemes, he said. Another Rs10 billion under markup support and Rs3 billion are stuck up under the DLTL (Drawback on Local Taxes and Levies) scheme. In addition to that, an amount of Rs21 billion is also unpaid against duty drawback of taxes under the Prime Minister’s Trade Enhancement Initiative, he noted. Zahid Mazhar, senior vice-chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has recently welcomed Chinese interest to relocate their industry in Pakistan. He invited them to take advantage of liberal trade and investment policies of the Pakistani government by entering into joint ventures with the Pakistani entrepreneurs in the textile industry. Highlighting the trade and investment policies of the government, Zahid Mazhar said that the government of Pakistan is an advocate of an open deregulated and market-driven economy, creating enabling environment by investing heavily in infrastructure and capacity building, special emphasis on attracting foreign investment and duty-free import of machinery, equipment, and raw material.

Textile sector profitability

Despite all the furore from the textile industry, analyst Shanker Talreja of Topline Securities said, the profitability of the textile sector increased by 10 percent in the current fiscal year, while the financial cost of the companies declared in the quarterly result is 30 percent. “Every listed or non-listed textile company has gained profit in the fiscal year 2017-18 from the share of Rs180 billion,” the analyst claims. Major profit of the textile companies occurred from the depreciation of the Pak rupee, (half of which was passed on while the other half was profit). “The main reason for the rising cost of doing business is the stuck-up export rebate and others incentives, which is around Rs 200 billion,” the analyst claimed.

Investment

Pakistan’s textile industry has experienced decreasing investments over the last decade, as potential investors have been hesitant to make new investment due to high business costs. This has caused the sector to miss out on technological advantages to its competitors. The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) announced that its members have a plan to increase investment in Pakistan’s textile industry by establishing 1,000 garment manufacturing plants with a total of $7 billion in investments, the association said. The plan is to set up garment plants near major textile producing cities like Lahore, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Kasur, Multan, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Peshawar, with the plants installing half a million stitching machines, which will boost annual production to 3 billion pieces. New investments dropped to more than half a billion rupees ($4.52 million) in 2016-17, compared to Rs 1 billion ($9 million) in 2005-06, the association said. Further, currently, about 35 percent of the textile industry’s production capacity was damaged, causing loss of approximately $4.14 billion worth of potential exports. Once the proposal is implemented, the industry will need an additional 10.3 million bales of raw cotton, 345 million kilograms of manmade fiber, 1.98 billion kilograms of additional yarn and an additional 7.93 billion square meters of processed fiber. This while cotton-producing area and cotton production have decreased 30 percent and 38 percent, respectively, in Punjab since 2011.

The textile performance

While the textile sector performed poorly overall, readymade garments did show reasonable growth. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports of readymade garments registered 13 percent year-on-year growth in July-May 2017-18, which stood at $2.346 billion in 2017-18. Total exports of the textile industry grew by 9.82 percent in the last eleven months, to $12.336 billion. During the period, Pakistan’s textile exported cotton yarn worth $1.247 billion, cotton cloth $2.015 billion, knitwear $2.460 billion, bed-ware $2.055 billion, towels $736 million. The APTMA members have reportedly provided the government with a long list of corrective and conducive policy measures in return for their investments, including implementation of long-term policies, like consistent nationwide energy prices, removal of Rs3.50 (3 cents) per kilowatt-hour surcharge on electricity tariff, an extension of the duty drawback scheme for five years and drawbacks to be increased every year by 1 percent for garments (up to 12 percent) and made-ups (up to 10 percent) against realisation of export proceeds. The proposal also suggested the government allow long-term financing facility (LTFF) to indirect exports, Islamic financing and building of infrastructure for garment plants. Textile manufacturers in their budget proposal to the government have requested to decrease the cost of doing business primarily through decrease in electricity tariff in line with regional players. Similarly, manufactures have also proposed for the timely release of pending refunds, continuation of the drawback duties and the reduction/elimination of the customs duties on import of synthetic yarn and Polyester Staple Fiber (PSF).

Deteriorating Balance of Payment

In May 2018, the current account deficit in the first 11 months of 2017-18 amounted to $15.9 billion, up 43.2 percent from the previous year. According to data released by the central bank, the gap was $1.9 billion in May. This was nominally down from the preceding month, data showed. The current account tracks a country’s overseas transactions, such as net trade, earnings on cross-border investments and transfer payments. According to the leading global credit rating agency Moody’s assessment, Pakistan was facing increased external pressure arising from strong domestic and capital-import heavy investments under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It projected the current account deficit for the financial year 2017-18 to be 4.2 percent of GDP and reserve coverage of external debt repayments was sufficient for now but projected it to erode.The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $16.243 billion on June 22. The reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stood at $9.662 billion, while commercial banks held $6.581 billion.

Source: Pakistan Today

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How the China Textile Information Center Speeds Up the Supply Chain

With the sports business in China on the increase, the demand for quality accredited performance fabrics is growing. With this in mind, speedy testing at the China Textile Information Center (CTIC) ensures functional fabrics certified ‘Fabrics China’. The China textile industry is a competitive one, standing out from the crowd is key, and the ongoing development of functional fabrics continues to push through, evident with textile exhibitors at ISPO Shanghai. With the sports business in China on the increase, the demand for quality accredited performance fabrics is growing. With this in mind, China textile mills are readying themselves for business, qualifying their products at development stage. With over two hundred members, the China Textile Information Center (CTIC), part of the China Textiles Development Service, offers a speedy testing and accreditation process for a vast range for performance, from easy care to cool touch, moisture management and UV protection, prior to being certified with the ‘Fabrics China’ hangtag. Simple Statements and Performance Symbols for B2C and B2B. The China textile industry has made great inroads in generating more sophisticated performance collections, shifting from its big volume basics to a new level of functionality, not just for the overseas market but for the growing domestic market too. The increase of performance fabrics for the China market is a result of the growing interest from consumers in sports brands but also for the increased interest in varying levels of performance infiltrating ready-to-wear as ‘active living’ takes hold. For the China market, the inclusion of the hangtag system is appealing to China sports brands, including Anta, Erke, Kailas and Li-Ning among the many, incorporating the system and highlighting the performance aspects of the textile for B2C communication. The joint hangtag program between textile suppliers and brands adds another level of confidence to the consumer. For international brands, sourcing functional fabrics from China that are already accredited with the ‘Fabrics China’ hangtag, the system confirms the level of performance, speeding up the supply chain in eliminating additional testing at the sampling stage.

Efficient Lab Testing

Members of the China Textiles Development Center can submit their new developments to the CTIC and have them tested with a turn around of between three to five days before receiving final approval. The test centre is kitted out with the latest equipment, with a wide range of tests undertaken before the textile is accredited with the relevant hangtag. A four step process applies. Step one: the applier mails the samples and products instruction to CTIC. Step two: CTIC experts evaluate the products. Step three: the product is tested following the technical requirements of Fabrics China. Step 4: issue certificate and hangtag. The ‘Fabrics China’ hangtag system is backed up by a strong marketing campaign for business members and consumers in the form of a bi-annual publication highlighting textile developments through to workshops with members.

Source:  ISPO TexTrends

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Vietnam turns top textile importer in RoK, surpassing PRC

Vietnamese textile products made up 34.05 per cent of the South Korean market in terms of value in the first three months of 2018, an annual increase of 2.33 per cent, according to statistics from the Korea International Trade Association. These figures helped Vietnam turn the top textile importing country in South Korea (RoK), surpassing China (PRC). In 2017, South Korean firms invested in 44 textile projects in Vietnam, with a combined registered capital of $178.16 million, according to a Vietnamese news agency report. Trade between the two countries grew by more than 20 per cent annually to reach $64 billion in 2017, said Ahn Seong Ho, trade counsellor at the South Korean consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) will also come into effect soon, opening up more opportunities for bilateral trade. (DS)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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IGF Expo 2018 to present global trends in home textiles

IGF Expo, beginning November 13, will provide opportunities for global home decor brands and trend setting start-ups to enter the Nigerian market, build strong relationships and take high value bulk orders. The 3-day fair will also host seminars for retailers, interior designers and buyers to increase revenue, upskill their teams and promote their brand. "The event is a must-attend whether you’re on the look-out for design-led or mid-low price point interiors, furniture, textiles, coverings, gifts and objet or fashion and accessories. The IGF Expo presents an exciting edition of trend-setting brands from around the globe including the Best of Made in Nigeria, many exclusive to the show. Hundreds of suppliers will bring their complete portfolios for specifiers, installers, hospitality, importers, wholesalers and Retail businesses to see, touch and feel in a showroom setting," said Bunmi Aliyu, event manager IGF Expo, Clarion Events West Africa, organiser. Russell Hughes, commercial drector, Clarion Events West Africa, also affirmed that Nigeria has a lucrative growing fashion and apparel market with over $4 billion spent annually on importing textiles, clothing. It is the largest retail market in Sub-Saharan Africa worth $215 billon per annum. (RR)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics draws global firms

The earlier date for the industry’s largest trade event, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Autumn edition, is attracting many of the biggest apparel fabrics and accessories. The famous apparel trade show, which will be held from September 27 to 29, 2018, will see around 4000-plus suppliers and more than 70,000 trade buyers from all over the world. Signed up to return with their group pavilions, which will feature these brands’ partner mills, are Birla, DuPont, Hyosung, Invista and Lenzing, while ECOCERT / GOTS and OEKO-TEX will also have their own pavilions in the All About Sustainability area. In the Functional Lab area, leading players such as Aquafil, Nilit, Toray, and Unifi will feature again, while 3M are confirmed to participate in Accessories Vision. Two international promotion bodies Cotton Council International and The Woolmark Company also return, as do global Chinese players Bros Eastern. and Huafu Fashion. Among the many Japanese participants will be Komatsu Seiren and Stylem, while Dormeuil and Malhia Kent from France participate again this year. Halls 4.1 and 5.1 will feature international exhibitors, while domestic exhibitors will be grouped by product end-use throughout eight halls. In hall 4.1, country / region pavilions will include India (TEXPROCIL and Indian Chamber of Commerce Pavilions), Pakistan and Taiwan. Group pavilions will include Birla, DuPont, Hyosung, Invista, and Lenzing, and the Feature zones will include the Digital Printing Zone and Functional Lab. In hall 5.1, country / region pavilions and zones will include France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey, as well as the Milano Unica Pavilion. Group pavilions will include ECOCERT / GOTS, Korea Textile Centre, Korea Textile Trade Association, and OEKO-TEX; and the Feature zones will include All About Sustainability, Premium Wool Zone, SalonEurope, and Verve for Design. Hall 6.2 will include domestic exhibitors in the ‘Accessories Vision’, which will feature overseas exhibitors and the Button & Garment Accessories Industry Chamber Pavilion. The Beyond Denim category in hall 7.2 will include overseas exhibitors, and the Pakistan and Invista pavilions. Casual wear will be seen in halls 1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.2, and 8.2. Functional / sportswear will be in hall 1, Ladieswear will be in halls 7.1, 7.2, 8.1 & 8.2; lingerie and swimwear will be in hall 8.1. Hall 6.1 will have shirting and halls 6.1 and 7.1 will have suiting. As the most comprehensive sourcing platform in the industry, the fair’s product groups include cotton, wool, man-made, silk, linen / ramie, denim and knitted fabrics, as well as lace & embroidery, fibres & yarns, garment & fashion accessories, original pattern designs, sustainability products & services and digital printing technologies. (GK)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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