The government will look into the textile industry's apprehensions regarding embedded duties not being refunded fully and see that no tax is imposed on exports, Union minister Smriti Irani said. She made the remarks at the Textile Conclave organised by Assocham in Gandhinagar on January 20, a release said. "Government is rolling out two new initiatives – one for estimating the domestic market consumption while the other would be to develop India-specific apparel sizing which will help in taking policy decisions for growth of domestic industry," Irani said while inaugurating the conclave along with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. The textiles minister added that since 2014, Rs 35,000 crore has been invested in the textile and apparel sector on account of government support. Irani congratulated Rupani for announcing the new textile policy in Gujarat wherein Rs 3 per unit electricity subsidy is offered to small power loom units and Rs 2 per unit to all other segments.
Source: Money Control
The African nation offers much cheaper labour and power, apart from easier access to key markets, plug-and-play infra for new plants, and friendly tax laws. KPR Mills, one of the major factories in the textile town of Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, said today that it has started a unit in Ethiopia to take advantage of lower labour cost, duty savings and shorter shipment time to the US and European markets. KPR joins a clutch of other prominent textile players, such as Raymond, Arvind, Best Corporation and JJ Mills that have set up shop in the East African nation largely because their Made-in-India products are finding it difficult to take on the competition from Bangladesh, Cambodia and other nations. These companies are hoping their Africa investments would bring about a new wave of growth for them. While KPR has invested $5 million to set up a capacity of 10 million units, providing employment for nearly 1,000 people, Raymond's Rs 130 crore plant in Ethiopia has a capacity of 2 million jackets. Best Corporation invested Rs 30 crore in its phase-I project. SCM Garments, Arvind and JJ Mills are some of the other companies to have set up factories in Ethiopia the past few years. Ethiopia offers ready-to-use sheds, income tax breaks and training subsidies and offers tax-free gateway into US, Europe and China. Besides the labour cost, which is 50 per cent lower compared to India, another big advantage in Ethiopia is that the Government already has the land and building readily available. So it is just a plug and play model with cheap power. Power is available for three cents in Ethiopia, compared with 10-12 cents in India. Labour is cheaper, at $60 a month, compared with $130-150 in India, said an industry representative. During the last analyst call, P Nataraj, MD, KPR Mill said while Bangladesh has Free Trade Agreements with major importing countries, the Indian industry is struggling to get into a similar arrangement. The government has been negotiating for the past two or three years with the other countries, but to little avail, as any concession given to Indian textiles must come with commensurate concessions to other products that the textile importinf country might want to export to India. Import duty generally ranges from 10 per cent to 18 per cent for most European products, but could go up to as much as 28 per cent for certain categories. In comparison, Bangladesh imposes little or no duty on the products it imports. Despite this India isn't really out of the market, because of its inherent strength in terms of availability of cotton, a key raw material. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has to rely 100 per cent on cotton imports to feed its textile units -- and India is the only country with surplus cotton. In any case, its technical expertise and technology gives India an edge in textiles. While incentives and concessions are available in India, actually getting them in takes a long time. Another major challenge is labour availability and attrition. Despite the fact that companies have invested huge sums of money, their factories are not able to run at even 50 per cent capacity.
Source: Business Standard
India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC. As per the report, while the UK and France have regularly switched places owing to similar levels of development and roughly equal populations, India’s climb up the rankings is likely to be permanent. PwC’s Global Economy Watch report projects real GDP growth of 1.6% for the UK, 1.7% for France and 7.6% for India in 2019. "India and France are likely to surpass the UK in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, knocking it from fifth to seventh place in the global table," the report said. According to World Bank data, India became the world's sixth largest economy in 2017 surpassing France and was likely to go past the UK which stood at the fifth position. PwC’s Global Economy Watch is a short publication that looks at the trends and issues affecting the global economy and details its latest projections for the world's leading economies. "India should return to a healthy growth rate of 7.6% in 2019-20, if there are no major headwinds in the global economy such as enhanced trade tensions or supply side shocks in oil."The growth will be supported through further realisation of efficiency gains from the newly adopted GST and policy impetus expected in the first year of a new government," said Ranen Banerjee, Partner and Leader - Public Finance and Economics, PwC India. Mike Jakeman, senior economist at PwC, said India is the fastest growing large economy in the world, with an enormous population, favourable demographics and high catch-up potential due to low initial GDP per head. "The UK and France have regularly alternated in having the larger economy, but subdued growth in the UK in 2018 and again in 2019 is likely to tip the balance in France’s favour. The relative strength of the euro against the pound is an important factor here," Jakeman said. The global economy as a whole is expected to slow in 2019 as G7 countries return to long-run average growth rates, the PwC report said. PwC expects that the pick-up in growth of most major economies seen between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2018 is now over. As per the World Bank data, in 2017, India became the sixth largest economy with a GDP of $2.59 trillion, relegating France to the seventh position. The GDP of France stood at $2.58 trillion. The UK, which is facing Brexit blues, had a GDP of $2.62 trillion, which is about $25 billion more than that of India, the data showed. The US was the world's largest economy with a size of $19.39 trillion, followed by China ($12.23 trillion) at the second place in 2017. Japan ($4.87 trillion) and Germany ($3.67 trillion) were at the third and fourth places, respectively.
Source: Live Mint
Apart from launching a size-India project, the Union minister also said that government will launch a statistical study to ascertain the domestic demand in India." Following the steps of United Kingdom, the United States and Europe, the Indian textiles and garment industry will soon get it’s country-specific “size-India” said Union textile minister Smriti Irani while addressing a textile conclave on the concluding day of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors summit 2019. “In apparel export segment one of the biggest challenges is that the UK has a size, the US has a size, Europe has a size and a measure. India does not. Honorable chief minister, I hereby present the resolve of the Government of India that soon a size-India project will be rolled out for the entire country, the first of it’s kind in Indian history,” said Irani at the event where Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was also present. Gujarat’s exports of apparel have grown at an impressive CAGR OF 35 per cent from $162 million in 2012-13 to $297 million in 2014-15, stated knowledge report on the textile sector that was released during the event. Apart from launching a size-India project, the Union minister also said that the government will launch a statistical study to ascertain the domestic demand in India.”Ours is a country that has a capacity to create huge demand, not only for domestic industry but also for an industry that comes from overseas. Never before in the history of our country was a study done to ascertain the strength and the magnitude of our domestic market. The Government of India will soon embark upon a statistical study to actually categorise the entire domestic demand of the Indian market so that becomes a base for policy creation and further strengthen industry and manufacturing possibilities,” she added. Speaking on the issue of embedded taxes under Goods and Services Tax {GST} as well as the demand for an increase in rebate on state levies {ROSL} to boost exports, Irani said, “I want to ask those sitting on the first two rows here, what will you do about ROSL and embedded tax… It has been resolved by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the finance minister that taxes are not to be exported. We are under that resolution… ensuring that you will have good news very soon.”
Source: The Indian Express
This will encourage the mill owners to shift their units out of the city and enjoy the benefits provided by the state government.” The textile mill owners are upbeat as the FSI for industrial units in city areas is only 1.2, whereas they will be getting a total of 2.7 FSI in the special nod areas located under the development plan of the Suda.Keeping in mind the future development, provisions has been made to construct wider roads. In these areas, Particulate Matter (PM10) levels is exceedingly higher than the national annual average at 184 per micrograms per cubic meter of air (UG/M3) per annum.President of SGTPA, Jitu Vakharia told TOI, “We are elated that CM Vijay Rupani has accepted our proposal for shifting the textile mills out of the city and providing us with specialised industrial zone with 2.7 FSI. To check the reservations suggested in the Suda DP 2035, a local level consultative committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Suda president and municipal commissioner, M Thennarasan.The SGTPA has urged the state government to allocate 100 hectare land for developing new industrial area to facilitate the shifting of textile mills located in the walled city, Ashwani Kumar Road, Katargam, Varachha, Kadodara and Udhana areas.About 65 textile mills are operating in the city’s residential areas including Khatodara, Udhana, Ashwani Kumar Road, Ved Road, Bombay Market, Puna Kumbharia etc. Surat: The shifting of polluting textile dyeing and printing mills outside the city limits could be a reality with the state government approving specified shifting zones for the industrial units with the addition of few provisions in the General Development Control Regulation (GDCR).While approving the development plan (DP) for the Surat Urban Development Authority (Suda), the Gujarat government has made special provisions for the shifting of the industrial units located within the city to the outskirts in a specified shifting zone.The decision has come following a strong recommendation by the south Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA) and the state industries minister, Saurabh Patel for shifting the textile mills to the outskirts.The textile mill owners wanting to develop their factories in the special nod areas will get the base floor space index (FSI) of 1.8 free and chargeable 0.9 FSI based on the jantri (annual land rates) rates.
Source: Nyooz
Organisers of the Farm to Fashion Expo at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2019 said that textile exhibitors have so far received orders worth Rs 2,500 crore, and the same is likely to cross Rs 3,000 crore by the time the expo ends on Tuesday. “I got orders equivalent to contracts for about three months at Farm To Fashion. This is a major revival after after about two-year slowdown during which sales dropped,” director of Ahmedabad-based Prakash Textiles, a manufacturer of fabrics, Prakash Bagrecha said. Prakash is just one of hundred odd fabric manufacturers and traders from Ahmedabad who exhibited their products at the five-day expo that began on January 18 in Gandhinagar, as a part of the summit. “Nearly 60 per cent of exhibitors have stopped accepting new orders. They have their hands full for over three months now. Orders have been pouring in from major cities of the country as well as from Nepal and African countries,” president of Ahmedabad Textile Processors Association, Naresh Sharma said. The association is a partner organiser of the expo along with Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Maskati Kapad Market Mahajan (MKMM). Majority of 105 exhibitors at the expo are from Ahmedabad. Orders poured in from about 1,500 buyers from Amritsar, Ludhiyana, New Delhi, Kanpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai among other cities. Buyers from Nepal and African countries also placed orders.” After the Textile Policy of 2012, manufacturers had imported modern machinery, which improved quality of products in weaving, ginning and processing as well as product categories like denim, suiting and shirting. This improved export-worthiness of products. Under such circumstances, Farm To Fashion proved to be a game-changer in the sense that it brought buyers,” said Gaurang Bhagat, president of MKMM. Ahmedabad is a major sourcing hub of cotton fabrics for wholesalers and retailers from across India and even abroad. However, sales dropped by about 25-30 per cent after demonetisation and roll out of GST as the business is based on cash and credit. Even as Diwali failed to bring back the lost charm Farm To Fashion has revived order-books, said business leaders.
Source: Daily News & Analysis
The clarification came amid reports of the investment figures in the state's textile sector not matching up. The government Monday said investments worth Rs 30,934 crore have flown into the textile sector of Gujarat since 2014-15, as a reaffirmation of investor confidence. The clarification came amid reports of the investment figures in the state’s textile sector not matching up. “It is reaffirmed through Office of Textile Commissioner that upon perusal of project costs submitted by 7,182 units in Gujarat, Rs 30,934 crore as investment into textile sector in Gujarat was brought to the notice of Textile Commissioner office after scrutinising and confirming each project by banks for which Unique Identification (UID) has been issued,” the textile ministry said. The Centre sanctioned and released Rs 1,855 crore to aid 2,109 units through 60 banks, it added. The ministry said the reaffirmation is to ensure that investor confidence and prospects of textile sector in Gujarat do not receive a setback due to rumour-mongering.
Source: Financial Express
Industries in Coimbatore have sought more focus on the western region at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) to be held in Chennai later this month to attract investments here. The Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) has said that 30 % of the investments agreed to at the Meet should be diverted to in and around Coimbatore. “Even in the previous edition of GIM we gave an option to hold the Meet here. But, we did not have proper flight connectivities then. This year, we have said that 30 % of the investments should be brought to in and around 100 km of Coimbatore,” said R. Ramamurthy, president of CODISSIA. This is the most industrialised belt in the State and having the Meet here will take Coimbatore to the global industrial map and thus bring in more investments, he said. The Association is promoting two industrial parks and these will attract investments from several micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs). The larger units can leverage on this, he said. According to secretary general of Southern India Mills’ Association, K. Selvaraju, Coimbatore will get the much-needed visibility if the GIM is held here. It is an industrial city and now has adequate social infrastructure to host such an event. However, Coimbatore’s strengths are in the MSME sector and the recent investments are in sectors such as automobiles. Chennai has several large-scale industries. Coimbatore can be one of the cities where a related event to GIM can be held, he suggested. Industry sources added that this year, there are no major fresh investments from industries in this region in sectors such as textiles and pumpsets. Though the State Government has expedited the process for granting approvals, the industrial infrastructure should be upgraded across the State, including Coimbatore, for it to attract more investments.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The ninth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit ended with micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) filling in the the shoe of large corporate groups and making promises for investments in the State. According to the figures shared by the government after the conclusion of the three-day global investment summit on Sunday, as many as 21,889 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed by the MSME sector, which formed 77 per cent of the total 28,360 MoUs signed in latest edition. The number of MoUs signed in the 8th edition in 2017 was 25,578. The government, however, maintained silence on the total quantum of investments promised during the summit. Barring a few major long-term investment announcements, which were made in presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the inaugural day on Friday, no other announcements could catch the fancy of the industry. The Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said, “The (investment) amounts need not to be given much attention. Rather, what is to be seen is that the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is now providing a platform to global and Indian players to showcase their strength and forge business and strategic tie-ups.” The Summit saw political and business representatives from 15 partner countries and six States — Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Odisha. Most of them ruled by non-BJP parties. “The biggest success of Vibrant Gujarat Summit is that other States have started emulating this model of attracting investments with their own versions of business summits. Those who were criticising the Vibrant Gujarat Summits are now conducting these summits themselves in their own States,” said Patel referring to some of the business summits since 2015 in the States such as West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The State government said as many as 2,458 B-2-B meet took place, against 350 last year. Similarly, B-to-G meetings where businesses interact with different Gujarat government departments for policy or regulatory guidance or resolution, were 1,140 this year, about five times more than 260 meets last year. Addressing a press meet after the valedictory session at Mahatma Mandir, Patel said the success ratio of MoUs from the past eight editions is 70 per cent. “As per the initial estimates based on the past success ratio of MoUs, we can see that these MoUs have a potential to generate employment for 21 lakh people.”
Sectoral MoUs
On sectoral front, agro and food processing sector saw 408 MoUs; power, Oil& Gas including renewable saw 548; urban development sector had 1,516; other mineral-based industries saw 977 MoUs; while 197 MoUs were reported in engineering and auto sector, and 313 for environment and forest sector. In the renewable sector, Patel said investment of at least ₹1 lakh crore will flow in for the production and distribution of renewable energy through private sector players such Suzlon, Torrent Power, Adani Green Energy Ltd among others. In the textiles sector, 5 MoUs were signed between Government of of Gujarat and Welspun, Chiripal Group, Jindal Group, Natural Texan and GM Textile Park. For the agri and allied sector, Nabard and Government of Gujarat inked a MoU of ₹31,800 crore which comprised of 9 MoUs in the areas of credit facility to federations, dairy infrastructure, rural infrastructure and climate change. Also, agri business player Jayant Agro and Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation (GAIC) inked an MoU for castor oil and value-added derivatives worth ₹501 crore, that will enable jobs for 600 people. Dubbed as possibly the largest gathering of business fraternity in India, the ninth edition of the summit saw more than 45,000 people visiting from 135 countries, while over 1.05 lakh people had registered online as visitors.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Exporters body FIEO has sought immediate intervention of the government and RBI to resolve issues related to payment mechanism for Iran and flow of credit to push shipments. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said that clarity is required on product coverage under rupee payment mechanism to Iran. “Exporters have pointed out that UCO bank branches are not clear about products, which can be exported under such mechanism. The main problem is related to engineering and chemical products,” Gupta told PTI. He said that the understanding of trade is that if the end use of product is not under the sanctioned list, or exports is not to the Iranian government, it should be allowed for exports under the Rupee Trade Mechanism. “A clarification will help exporters to take such orders and push for quantum jump in our exports to Iran,” he said. He also said that banks have expressed their inability to handle documents of exporters for shipments to Central Asian countries, if there is a reference to Bandar Abbas as a transit port in Iran. “This has affected the movement of cargo through INSTC which the Centre is promoting as an alternative route being time and cost effective,” he said. It is requested that directives to banks be issued for handling of documents properly for transit goods through Iran, where the combined transport bill of landing shows the destination to be Afghanistan/Russia/ Central Asia or any other non-restricted countries, he said. It is expected that a meeting of bankers and exporters is soon being convened by the Finance Ministry to address some of the concerns. Talking about flow of credit to export sector, he said that the recent data of the RBI for August 2018 shows a decline of over 50 per cent in export credit as compared to the corresponding month in 2017. “MSME exporters are the worst sufferer and the lack of credit equally affects our export performance,” he said. He added that there is a need for increasing the flow of credit to export sector by encouraging banks and also ensuring online filing, processing and monitoring of export credit.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The Department of Clothing and Textile of M S University’s Faculty of Family and Community Sciences on Saturday inked a MoU with the Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) to provide skill development training in the apparel sector. ATDC has a pan-India presence under the aegis of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The MoU was signed on the occasion of ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit between Dr Darlie Koshy, director general and CEO of ATDC, Gurgram and N K Ojha, in-charge registrar of MSU in presence of officials from both the institutes. The clothing and textile department was interested to promote wage employment and entrepreneurship oriented skill development training activities in the apparel and other allied sectors which can benefit candidates especially those belonging to the disadvantageous sections of the society. ATDC on its part was ready to provide necessary industry linked curricula, pedagogy, mobilization, infrastructure support, pre and post counselling placement after training, industry placement tracking among others. “The MoU is a collaborative agreement for implementing a pilot project for imparting quality vocational skill training in the apparel sector for unemployed youth and women and other disadvantaged sections of the society,” a release issued by MSU said. The MSU department and ATDC will also collaborate for industry placement tie-ups and programmes to final year graduate and post graduate students of clothing and textile and programmes under the department, support in recruiting quality faculty for ATDC Gujarat and other States. ATDC will initially undertake skill development programme under the Gujarat Urban Livelihood Mission at ATDC-Smart centre at MSU with the aim to provide industry specific and self-employment oriented technical skills. “This would have added soft, life skills for career advancement and building endurance for working in an industry,” the release further mentioned. The commencement of basic sewing operator session of 300 hours is scheduled in the second week of February.
Source: Times of India
The govt's serial failures to negotiate free trade agreements, and the industry's dependence on duty drawbacks at the expense of innovation are causing the textile industry to lose out to Bangladesh. India’s garment-making success has started to fray at the seams. Once a leading supplier of apparel to western clothing lines, its exports have stagnated and remained at $17 billion for the past three years. It is not that the demand has shrunk. Instead buyers have moved to neighbouring Bangladesh, which is riding on free trade agreements (FTAs) and lower wages to edge out competitors in international market. During the time India saw a slide in exports, Bangladesh nearly doubled its shipments. In the eight months till November in the current fiscal, India's exports.
Source: Business Standard
The 2nd Global Textile Technology & Engineering Show (GTTES) turned out to be a grand success with more than 9,000 attendees, its organiser the India ITME Society said. GTTES 2019 proved to be an optimum business platform with more business leads and new customers offering best sourcing solution to the textile industry’s demand in India and across the globe. GTTES is a global relationship builder in textile industry that provides a platform to the textile & textile technology segment to facilitate meaningful business relationships. These services inspire, empower and connect the most promising companies with latest technologies, corporations, investors, industry experts, and international media, with the goal to increase their rate of economic success and have positive impact on the textile Industry, said a press release by ITME. “GTTES 2019 has risen above the expectations and no doubt is the best business event of the textile industry for the year 2019. GTTES 2019 is the platform which looks forward to showcase the textile potential,” said Mario Cortopassi, editor Textilia Brazil. As a trend setting exhibition organiser, India ITME Society strives to assimilate and disseminate more knowledge and power to the textile industry through futuristic technology and trending topics. The conference sessions by Indian Technical Textiles Association Society on ‘International Conference on Nonwoven Technical Textiles’ and by Society of Dyers & Colourists International India Pvt Ltd on ‘Educating the Technology Innovations in Textile Colouration’ were held on January 19th and 20th respectively at GTTES 2019. GTTES 2019 and ITME AFRICA 2020 together with ITME 2020 series organised by India ITME Society are all set to empower the textile industry and catapult it to glorious future.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1288.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
VSF |
1953.16 |
USD/Ton |
0.08% |
1/21/2019 |
|
ASF |
2376.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1221.47 |
USD/Ton |
1.97% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2714.37 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4750.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
1438.32 |
USD/Ton |
1.04% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2979.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5561.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1504.70 |
USD/Ton |
0.99% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2552.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2522.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2714.37 |
USD/Ton |
0.55% |
1/21/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1984.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2861.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2139.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2522.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3009.41 |
USD/Ton |
0.49% |
1/21/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2507.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.36 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.82 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.10 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/21/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14752 USD dtd. 21/1/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has called upon the government to consider early groundbreaking of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under CPEC in Islamabad in order to boost industrial and investment activities in the region. Ahmed Hassan Moughal, President, ICCI said that Prime Minister Imran Khan during a recent meeting held to review progress on CPEC was informed that Rashakai-KP, Dhabeji-Sindh and M-3 Faisalabad-Punjab SEZs would be ready for groundbreaking by June 2019, which was very encouraging, a statement issued by ICCI said on Saturday. However, he said that groundbreaking of IT SEZ in Islamabad could get unnecessarily delay as the government has not selected any site or acquired land for this project so far. He urged that the government should strictly follow the timelines set for the development of prioritized SEZs to complete them on time. Ahmed Hassan Moughal said that China had shown interest to establish over 100 SEZs in Pakistan under CPEC, and nine SEZs have been approved so far for development. He said that development of more SEZs under CPEC was of paramount importance to promote investment, industrialisation and employment generation in Pakistan. He emphasised that government should consider increasing SEZs under CPEC to maximize their benefits for the economy. He said development of more SEZs under CPEC would also put Pakistan on the path of sustainable industrial growth and urged that the government should pay priority attention to this issue. Rafat Farid Senior Vice President and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi Vice President, ICCI said that government should provide level playing field to local and foreign investors for joint ventures (JVs) and investment in SEZs under CPEC so that indigenous industry could also flourish by investing in these Zones. They said the government should allow duty free import of industrial machinery and technology in the forthcoming mini-budget to facilitate industry in upgradation and enable it to compete more effectively for JVs in SEZs. They said that Pakistan was mostly depending on textiles and few other products for exports due to which the export base of the country could not be expanded. They were of the view that allowing duty free import of machinery & technology would help in production of value added products and making significant increase in exports.
Source: The News
Pakistan's volume of exports would increase to around USD 27 billion in 2019, a top financial advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan has said. The Imran Khan led government is facing increasing pressure for rising inflation, new taxes and an overall struggling economic picture since coming into power last year after the general elections. Adviser to Khan for Commerce, Textile and Industry Production Abdul Razak Dawood said that the target of exports the government had set by the year end was around USD 27 billion. This year we will achieve the target of setting a new record for highest exports from Pakistan and we are looking at around USD 27 billion of exports, Dawood said at an Edible oil conference here on Saturday. The government is due to announce a mini budget on January 23rd in the National Assembly, which could bring more taxes and duties for the consumers and importers. Stating that reducing imports was vital for economic growth, Dawood said the government is focusing on increasing volume of exports in 2019. Official data by State Bank of Pakistan shows that total exports have yielded USD 11.5 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year which means another target of USD 15.5 billion has to come in the remaining months of the fiscal year. Dawood said that the government was formulating a strategy to increase exports this year and added that the figures for December 2018 were much better than December 2017. We have achieved success in acquiring a one billion dollar market in China for export of sugar and rice, he said. Dawood admitted that one of the biggest challenges facing the country was current account deficit and the government was taking steps to resolve this. He said the people would hear good news soon as the country's economy was headed for improvement despite the difficulties. Dawood said that as opposed to the past when the country was asking China for infrastructure projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), "we (current Government) are asking them for agricultural input"."We are pursuing an export-led growth strategy," he said.
Source: Business Standard
China's economy grew 6.6 per cent in 2018, the weakest annual performance since 1990, confirming a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy that could threaten global growth, according to official data on Monday. China's growth in 2018 was down from 6.8 per cent growth in 2017. The country's economy grew 6.4 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, levels last seen in early 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis. "We see that there are changes in stability, concern about these changes. The external environment is complicated and severe," Efe news quoted Ning Jizhe, director of China's National Statistic Bureau, as saying in a media conference on Monday. "The economy is facing downward pressure," Ning added. Adding to the gloom was the ongoing trade conflict with Washington, according to the data. The uncertain outlook for Chinese exporters caused companies to delay investing and hiring and in some cases even to resort to layoffs - a practice that is often discouraged by China's stability-obsessed Communist Party rulers. The official jobless rate ticked up to 4.9 per cent last month from 4.8 per cent in November.In the southern technology and export-manufacturing centre of Shenzhen, for instance, many private makers of electronics, textiles and auto parts furloughed workers more than two months before the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins in February, according to business owners and local officials. The neighbouring city of Guangzhou saw growth slump to 6.5 per cent last year - well short of the 7.5 per cent annual target set by the city government - as trade tensions hit the city's manufacturing sector hard. Some economists and investors have said China's economy is far more anaemic than the government's 6.6 per cent rate of expansion for 2018. They said the government's move on Friday, just ahead of Monday's data release, to cut the 2017 growth rate to 6.8 per cent from 6.9 per cent, which they said provides a slightly lower base, giving a slight boost to the fresh 2018 data. Monday's economic data also included some indications that this year's downturn may not be as severe as initially thought, reports the Guardian.The country's industrial output rose 5.7 per cent, while retail sales increased 8.2 per cent in December, compared to a year earlier. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the US on January 30-31 for the next round of trade talks with Washington. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday there has been progress toward a trade deal with China, but denied that he was considering lifting tariffs.
Source: Live Mint
Government has suspended plans to begin the implementation of the tax stamp policy for the textile industry which is slated for this month. The move is to ensure additional security features are added to the stamp. Government revealed last year of its plans to extend the tax stamp policy to textiles in order to curb smuggling of the product in the country and to increase jobs in the sector. The Tax Stamp Policy emanates from the Excise Stamp Act, 2013 (Act 873). The policy requires that specified excisable products are affixed with tax stamps with specific features designed and supplied by the Ghana Revenue Authority before they are delivered ex-factory, cleared from any port of entry and presented for sale. Speaking to Starr Business, the Head of Tax Policy at the Finance Ministry Daniel Nuer said the policy will only be extended to the textile industry after modalities for its implementation are addressed. “Now we are drawing up a timetable to come out with the modalities that are needed to implement the system,” he said, adding the Finance Minister will soon come out with an executive instrument giving the exact time for implementation as determined by law. “Until we sort out the modalities…it’s teamwork. So we need to hear from the technical team because there are some technicalities to be sure that all the modalities are in place then we can fix a date,” he added. The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union believes the delay will inure to the benefit of players in the textile industry. The General Secretary of the ICU, Solomon Kotei said: “Government has remained focused on this matter.”
Source: Ghana Web
Forty representatives of Cambodia's business community and workers on Monday called on the European Union (EU) not to withdraw trade preferences for Cambodia, saying that such a withdrawal would adversely affect millions of people. The call came after the EU said in October last year that Cambodia could lose its special trade access to European markets under the Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential trade scheme, citing concerns over human rights and labor rights in the country. EU would take at least 18 months to decide whether to withdraw the EBA preferences for Cambodia or not. EU is a major trading partner for Cambodia, especially for textiles and footwear sector. As a Least Developed Country, Cambodia has enjoyed exports of all products, except arms and ammunition, to European markets with duty-free for decades. "The consequences of such a decision will impose serious economic damage on Cambodia," said a joint letter addressed to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. The letter was jointly signed by Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, Van Sou Ieng, president of Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, and Arnaud Darc, chairman of European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, among other business and union leaders. It said over the past decades, Cambodia has managed to leverage itself out of humanitarian and economic turmoil to become a world leader of GDP growth, by servicing global markets with the support of multilateral partners and favorable trade preferences. "However, the withdrawal of this arrangement will jeopardize this progress, by directly harming the livelihood of millions of workers and their families that rely on employment within the garment sector, placing them once again at risk of returning to poverty," the letter said. The letter added that the cumulative effect of this decision will threaten the income of another 3 million people, including dependents and service providers from the hospitality, transportation and accommodation sectors. "We appeal to the European Commission and European member states to continue in its unwavering support of Cambodia's development by refraining from taking any action that will harm the interests and livelihoods of the country's people," the letter said.
Source: Xinhua
Ethiopia has invested in setting up industrial parks to drive economic growth through industrialization. Six textile and garment oriented industrial parks that Ethiopia is currently busy setting up, are expected to generate $30 billion worth of exports by 2025. The country continues its rigorous quest to build industrial parks, which is part of the initiative to make the East African nation a manufacturing hub of Africa, and a middle-income country. Multinational engineering and construction company China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) has been involved heavily in the establishment of the industrial parks, collaborating with the Ethiopian government in its line of infrastructure development to better the country’s ease of doing business and attract potential investors. Antex Group Chinese textile company in Zhejiang province in China was the first firm to enter the Adama Industrial Park and has already commenced its operations in the manufacturing sector. The firm manufactures sportswear, underwear, swimwear as well as fashion wear, exporting its products to Europe, the United States and Australia. The company which has investments as well in Vietnam, Spain and the United Kingdom plans to venture in the hospitality sector and tourism in Ethiopia extending its reach in the country. The company was hailed for strengthening the export sector of Ethiopia, having created over 1,500 employment opportunities for the Ethiopian youth. Jimma Industrial Park and Adama Industrial Parks are projected to provide over 40,000 employment opportunities collectively, the former inaugurated early December 2018. Hawassa Industrial park, once fully operational should reap $1 billion in revenue for Ethiopian government from textile and garment exports. Ethiopia’s textile and Garment sector export revenue during the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2016/17 ended with an 89.3 million US dollars earning out of a planned 271 million US dollars during the Fiscal Year. Insufficient supply of manufacturing inputs, delay in commissioning of several industries contributed to the underachievement as highlighted by Assefa Tesfaye, Corporate Communications Director at Ethiopia Ministry of Industry (MoI).
Source: The Exchange
