The new tariff of 200% is higher than India’s average bound rate for agricultural products of 113.5% and that for non-farm goods of 34.6%. India on Saturday hiked the customs duty on all goods imported from Pakistan to 200% with immediate effect, a day after it revoked the most favoured nation (MFN) status that it had given its neighbour in 1996. “India has withdrawn MFN status to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. Upon withdrawal, basic customs duty on all goods exported from Pakistan to India has been raised to 200% with immediate effect. #Pulwama,” finance minister Arun Jaitley tweeted on Saturday. The punitive action has followed the Pulwama terrorist attack that killed about 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on Thursday. “Central government is satisfied that the import duty leviable on all goods originating in or exported from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan...should be increased and that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action,” the government said in a notification. The move is likely to hit Pakistan’s exports to India which were $381 million in the AprilNovember period compared with $489 million in all of FY18. India’s major imports are fruits and nuts, gypsum, sulphur, finished leather, ores, mineral oils and cement. The new tariff of 200% is higher than India’s average bound rate for agricultural products of 113.5% and that for non-farm goods of 34.6%. The MFN applied rates are 32.8% and 10.7%, respectively for farm and non-farm products. India’s move is in accordance with its domestic Foreign Trade (Development And Regulation) Act that allows it to prohibit, restrict or regulate the import or export of goods. It also conform to the global trade norms which do not require any country to furnish any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests and allow countries any action which they consider necessary for the protection of their essential security interests.
Source: Economic Times
In March, the government will launch an exercise to measure a group of people to prepare a comprehensive 'India Size' chart. You may soon be able to walk into a shopping mall and try on clothes with the 'India Size', tailored to suit the body measurements of the country's populace. The government will also begin collating information for "trend forecasting" for textiles this month, using commercial intelligence to determine what could be in vogue in the near future, a move bound to exert major influence on global fashion trends, a top official said. In March, the government will launch an exercise to measure a group of people to prepare a comprehensive 'India Size' chart, which can be adopted by the country's apparel industry. "We want that we should have Indian size for two things. It can boost our retail market. South Asian size will also get fillip, plus our own diaspora which is outside, we will become influence drivers for foreign companies also. We are actually rolling out the exercise in March itself," Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh told . He said the government is trying to complete the "sizeable" project as soon as possible, so that a standardised size chart can be prepared for the ready-to-wear industry, based on body measurements of the domestic population. The project approved earlier by the government will entail measuring of 25,000 male and female Indians in six cities across six regions of the country: Kolkata (East), Mumbai (West), New Delhi (North), Hyderabad (Central India), Bengaluru (South) and Shillong (North-East). Using 3D whole body scanners and computers that will extract hundreds of measurements from scan. Providing well fitting garments in the absence of standardised size chart is proving to be a big challenge for the domestic textile and apparel industry, which is projected to reach USD 123 billion by 2021 and holds 5th position in apparel imports. At present, India's apparel industry uses size charts which are tweaked versions of sizes of other countries, so returns of the garments are in the range of 20 per cent to 40 per cent and increasing with the growth of e-commerce with the main reason for returns being poor garment fit. A large percentage of shoppers face difficulty in finding clothes that fit perfectly according to their body measurements, as there is no standard size chart at present. Moreover, there are differences in anthropometric built of people in different geographical regions across the country. Once ready, the standardised size chart will impact various other sectors like automotive, aerospace, fitness and sport, art and computer gaming, where insights from this data can produce ergonomically designed products, which are suited for the domestic population. Till date 14 countries have successfully completed national sizing surveys: the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Korea, China and Australia.
Source: Economic Times
Exporters body FIEO Sunday suggested a series of measures including outright exemption from GST, interest subsidy for agri-sector, and more funds for MSME players to boost outbound shipments. With increasing protectionism in several countries, domestic exporters need incentives to increase shipments, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said. "These support measures, if provided on time has the potential to take the country's exports to USD 375 billion in 2019-20 and create lakhs of jobs. This fiscal, we will cross USD 325 billion to USD 330 billion," he said on Sunday. On Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said, it is necessary that an outright exemption window may be provided to exporters as was in existence before the GST regime to mitigate the liquidity problem. "Though, the government has taken several measures to provide quick GST refunds to exporters, but due to one reason or the other, substantial GST refunds remain outstanding for long time causing acute liquidity problem which adversely affect our exports growth," he said. There is a good potential for agricultural produce in overseas markets and, for that there is a need to extend the interest subsidy scheme to the sector, he added. Besides, the FIEO president sought more funds for improving trade related infrastructure in states, incentives to promote shipments of value added branded products, steps to increase trade with neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangaldesh, and benefits on sales to foreign tourists. "To reduce transaction time and cost simultaneously increasing competitiveness, there is a need to provide more facility to the MSME exporters in the forthcoming foreign trade policy particularly of non-fiscal nature," Gupta said adding exemption from IGST under advance authorization scheme. Under this scheme, manufacturers are allowed to import inputs at zero duty but only for the export purposes. During the April-January period of the current fiscal, exports grew 9.52 per cent to USD 271.8 billion. Several key sectors like gems and jewellery, rice, marine product, leather, tea, coffee and cashew has recorded negative growth for the current period. Since 2011-12, India's exports have been hovering around USD 300 billion. During 2017-18, the shipments grew by about 10 per cent to USD 303 billion.
Source: Business Standard
Mumbai: About 25 importers have approached the Supreme Court after they had mistakenly paid higher customs levies on inbound shipments but failed to secure refunds from the tax authorities. The companies had paid 12% Goods and Services Tax (GST) during the imports while they were required to pay only 6%. Realising their mistake, they applied for refunds that didn’t arrive. The tax department, meanwhile, claims that refunds cannot be granted unless the assessment order is challenged. In none of these cases, the tax department has issued an assessment order. An assessment order is similar to a notice issued by the tax department after a tax officer scrutinises the company and a particular transaction. Tax experts say that the tussle between the tax department and the importers over a technicality in the law has affected several importers. As per the tax department, the importers cannot conduct a “self-assessment” in this situation. “The revenue department claims that refunds cannot be granted unless assessment order is issued and challenged but in most cases of refund, there are no assessment orders. This has led to several refunds being stuck and now clarity would come only after the Supreme Court decision,” said Abhishek Rastogi, partner, Khaitan & Company, which represents one of the importers. The case reached the apex court after the Customs department challenged an earlier ruling of November 2017 by Delhi High Court. After the implementation of the GST, differences have at times surfaced between the viewpoints of the tax authorities and those of businesses importing or exporting goods on the treatment of specific provisions. Exporters recently got a reprieve from the ‘pre-import’ condition. Earlier this month, the Gujarat High Court allowed exporters to claim tax exemption on imported raw material even if the finished products had already been shipped out. Companies had paid 12% GST during the imports while they had to pay only 6%.
Source: Press Reader
There are speculations that the popular scheme may be revoked soon for India. Indian exporters are apprehensive of losing their competitive edge in the US market, especially in labour-intensive products, if Washington decides to withdraw the popular generalised system of preferences (GSP) scheme and have asked the Centre for support. “In the recent Board of Trade meeting, several exporting sectors raised concerns over the imminent withdrawal of the GSP benefit by the US. While some suggested that the government should lobby further with the US government with the help of American industry for its continuation, most wanted some alternative schemes devised by the Centre to support exporters in case the benefits are revoked,” a government official told BusinessLine. India is the largest beneficiary of the US government’s GSP scheme, devised to promote exports of developing countries, which allows duty-free access to about 3,500 items from the country. In 2017, Indian exports to the US benefiting from GSP were worth $5.7 billion, of its total exports to the country worth $49 billion. New Delhi’s eligibility for the scheme, however, came under cloud last year when the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office started a review process for India, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. The eligibility review was initiated on the basis of complaints against perceived trade barriers made by the US dairy industry and the medical equipment industry. Although there has been no official communication from the USTR on withdrawal of GSP benefit to India, there are speculations based on media reports that the move could be soon as Washington is unhappy with the recent tightening of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules on e-commerce by India. “We have proposed to the government that in case the GSP benefits are withdrawn, losses to exporters could be offset by giving some additional incentives to certain labour-intensive sectors,” said FIEO Director-General Ajay Sahai. According to industry body CII, continuation of GSP benefits will also help boost the competitiveness of American manufacturers by lowering their costs. “Approximately two-thirds of the US imports under GSP are raw materials, components, or machinery and equipment used for manufacturing goods for domestic consumption or for exports,” pointed out Sanjay Budhia, Chairman, CII National Committee on EXIM.
Source: The Hindu Business
Merchanting trade, when an Indian buys goods from a foreign country and then sells these to a buyer in another country, without bringing the goods into India, will not attract GST. A number of important changes in the goods and services tax (GST) laws have taken effect from the beginning of this month. Some of these relate to import and export. Merchanting trade, when an Indian buys goods from a foreign country and then sells these to a buyer in another country, without bringing the goods into India, will not attract GST. Further, sale of goods when still in a Customs bonded warehouse would also not attract GST — this would be paid upon clearance of such goods by the buyer. High seas’ sale transactions also would not attract GST. These situations ...
Source: Business Standard
Pakistan can raise this issue at different forums including the World Trade Organisation, Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said. India has not informed Pakistan that it was withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation status to it, a senior Pakistani official said February 17, after New Delhi took strong economic action against Islamabad following the Pulwama terror attack. India on February 15 announced the withdrawal of the MFN status for Pakistan, following the deadly terror attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, and hiked the customs duty by 200% on goods Two days after India made the announcement, Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said New Delhi has not informed Islamabad about withdrawing Pakistan’s MFN status, Geo News reported. Mr. Dawood said, “We are looking into the withdrawal of the MFN status by India. We can speak to India about this issue”. Pakistan can raise this issue at different forums including the World Trade Organisation as both countries are members of the global trade body, he added. India granted the MFN status to Pakistan way back in 1996. Under the MFN pact, a WTO member country is obliged to treat the other trading nation in a non-discriminatory manner, especially with regard to customs duty and other levies. India’s decision would significantly hit Pakistan’s exports to India, which stood at $488.5 million (around ₹3,482.3 crore) in 2017-18 as it would drastically increase the prices of its goods. “India has withdrawn the MFN status to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. Upon withdrawal, basic customs duty on all goods exported from Pakistan to India has been raised to 200 per cent with immediate effect,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a tweet on February 16. The two main items imported from Pakistan are fruits and cement, on which the current customs duty is 30-50% and 7.5%, respectively. Slapping an import duty of 200% effectively means almost banning the imports from Pakistan, official sources said in New Delhi. Items which Pakistan exports to India include fresh fruits, cement, petroleum products, bulk minerals and ores, finished leather, processed minerals, inorganic chemicals, cotton raw, spices, wool, rubber product, alcoholic beverages, medical instruments, marine goods, plastic, dyes and sport goods. The total India-Pakistan trade has increased marginally to $2.41 billion in 2017-18 as against $2.27 billion in 2016-17. India imported goods worth $488.5 million in 2017-18 and exported goods worth $1.92 billion. During April-October 2018-19, India’s exports to Pakistan stood at $1.18 billion, while imports were $338.66 billion. India mainly exports raw cotton, cotton yarn, chemicals, plastics, man-made yarn and dyes to Pakistan. At least 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle with explosives into their bus in Pulwama
Source: The Hindu
India can play a key role in Nepal's bid to expand its international trade being a close neighbour of the landlocked Himalayan nation, a top UN official has said. India is already a major trading partner of Nepal with free movement of goods, services and labour, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (LLDCs) Fekita 'Utoikamanou said. "India is part of South-South cooperation which is playing an increasingly important role in addressing the persistent development challenges of vulnerable groups of countries including LLDCs through trade, technology transfer, development finance, infrastructure development and collective solutions to address emerging challenges such as climate change," she said. "The Motor Vehicles Agreement of 2015 between Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India (BBIN) aims to facilitate the movement of cargo across their borders," Fakita said. Several railways infrastructure projects in Nepal have been undertaken with India's assistance, she pointed out. India can also help Nepal by improving trade facilitation through improved simplification and harmonisation of border crossing procedures, she told PTI in the backdrop of the recently-concluded UN Conference on LLDC. "This can help reduce delays at the borders and trade costs. Both India and Nepal have ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and their enhanced implementation of the agreement will help to achieve improved trade facilitation," Fakita said. The LLDCs are amongst some of the most vulnerable countries, she said. "It is one of the three groups of countries that my office has been created to serve and advocate for. "Some 90 per cent of the world's trade is carried by sea. Their location makes LLDCs isolated from major centers of economic and trade activity and lack economies of scale," Fakita said, adding these factors make it expensive for LLDCs to conduct trade, attract investment and achieve sustainable development. The UN Office of the High Representative for LLDC and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) is ensuring effective follow-up, implementation, monitoring and review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action, she said. "It is supporting Nepal as an LLDCs in its efforts to implement the priority areas of the Vienna Programme of Action that include fundamental transit policy issues, infrastructure development and maintenance, international trade and trade facilitation, regional integration, structural economic transformation and means of implementation," the diplomat added.
Source: Business Standard
Exports by were adversely affected by a delay in refund of upfront goods and services tax (GST) and input credit, which put pressure on their working capital requirements, a study published by the Reserve Bank of India () said. According to the study, micro, small and medium enterprises () saw a slowdown in credit even before and declined further during the phase. In contrast, implementation does not seem to have had any significant impact on credit. MSME credit and especially microcredit — including loans by banks and NBFCs — show a healthy rate of growth in recent quarters. According to the report, bank credit to MSMEs increased on an average by 8.5 per cent in the first quarter of FY19. The findings of the staff study are significant considering that the trade deficit has widened. Numbers released last week show that merchandise exports growth eased 370 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) to 14.3 per cent year-on-year in July, compared with 18 per cent in June. On the other hand, import growth soared 930bps to 28.8 per cent in July. MSMEs contribute nearly 40 per cent of the shipments from India despite accounting for only 30 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Gems and jewellery, carpets, textile, leather, handlooms and handicrafts items are export items that are highly labour-intensive and depend heavily on cash for working capital requirements and payment towards contractual labourers, the report said. “MSME exports showed only mild weakness post-October 2016 (demonetisation period) but decelerated sharply during April and August 2017 (GST implementation period) with only a temporary recovery during the post-GST implementation period,” it said. In contrast, non-oil, non-MSME exports growth showed healthy growth after demonetisation but also suffered a dip during April-July 2017, it added. Given the difficulties faced by MSMEs in debt repayments after demonetisation, the RBI announced a series of measures to provide some relief, it said. “The prudential norms were relaxed (on November 21, 2016) by providing an additional 60 days for repayment of dues, beyond what is applicable for loans to be considered as sub-standard for running working capital account, for accounts with a sanctioned limit of Rs 1 crore or less,” it said. The relaxation was extended (on December 28, 2016) by providing additional 30 days for repayment of dues, it said. “On December 29, 2016, the RBI advised banks to use the facility of providing an additional working capital limit to their MSME borrowers to overcome the cash flow mismatches. This was a one-time measure valid up to March 31, 2017,” it said.
Source: Glenwood Guardian
Traders assuage the possibility of reciprocal hike in duty by Pakistan. While the withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status by India and the 200 per cent hike on goods imported from Islamabad has put an end to the import of cement from Islamabad, ginned cotton and cotton yarn exports to the neighbouring country may remain impervious of the current turmoil. A shortage in domestic output and the favourable cotton market provided by India will keep Pakistan a key buyer of Indian cotton. “Cotton export is unaffected so far and we don’t expect Pakistan to pose hurdles as their cotton industry requires raw material from India. India is the most accessible and price-lucrative market for them,” Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, told ET. He said that Pakistan is expected to import around one-million bales of cotton from India in the current financial year. Traders assuage the possibility of reciprocal hike in duty by Pakistan on the purchase of cotton from India. “It will be detrimental for Pakistan as it faces a shortage in domestic output of the natural fibre and growth of its textile industry will be hampered,” Ganatra said. Exporters believe that the cotton export to Pakistan will continue even in the event of increase in duty as the consignments would be routed via ports in Dubai and Singapore. “It has happened in the past, but we don’t see the possibility of such a step by Pakistan as it will raise the cost of raw material for their local industry,” he said. Cotton purchase by Pakistan has grown in recent years due to the growth of the local textile industry and price advantage due to geographical proximity with India. “Consignments from India through road route are available within two weeks to manufacturing plants in Pakistan, while it may take up to twomonths if they are shipped,” a cotton exporter based in Amristar said. Wary of turmoil in relations between the two countries, exporters are expecting a temporary slump in flow of consignments for a few days. “ Traders are going slow and may keep a tab on the situation for a week to see if the situation escalates,” Pradip Jain, president of the Khandesh Cotton Gin/Press Association said. Most Indian textile makers feel that the cotton trade will survive the prevailing situation. The cotton yarn export to Pakistan has been unaffected. “Cotton yarn exports will remain untouched as Pakistan gets most affordable fine count cotton yarn from India,” an executive of Vardhman Group, India’s leading cotton yarn maker said. Meanwhile, the import of cement from Pakistan has come to abrupt end along the Wagah Attari border. “ The 200 per cent increase in import duty has put an end to cement trade as it has doubled the cost of 50 kg bag to Rs 500 now. The trade will no more be viable and it is the end of cement trade,” DK Trading, a Amritsar-based cement trader said.
Source: Economic Times
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1318.07 |
USD/Ton |
-0.33% |
2/17/2019 |
|
VSF |
1989.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
ASF |
2377.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1254.60 |
USD/Ton |
-0.41% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2760.12 |
USD/Ton |
0.54% |
2/17/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4723.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
2568.24 |
USD/Ton |
0.58% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2523.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1461.24 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3011.04 |
USD/Ton |
0.49% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5564.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1535.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2715.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1999.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2848.68 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3011.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2509.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2154.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2523.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.36 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.83 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.11 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/17/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14760 USD dtd. 17/2/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Thailand is looking for India's support to help settle talks and conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of this year. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, the acting commerce minister, said that at the fourth India-Asean Expo and Summit, scheduled for New Delhi during Feb 22- 23, she will meet with Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, Asean secretary-general Paduka Lim Jock Hoi and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu to discuss Indian support to conclude the RCEP this year. The talks will also focus on a backlog of issues, including the market access package on the exchange of goods and service items. Other issues on the agenda are trade obstacles, the rule of origins, and e-commerce and intellectual trade competition. "Thailand is ready to host the meeting on the backlog issues so that the RCEP negotiations can be concluded within this year," Ms Chutima said. The RCEP was launched in November 2012 with the aim of establishing deeper economic cooperation between the 10 members of Asean and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, with a focus on trade in goods, services and investment. If signed, the agreement will create an economic bloc with a combined population of 3.5 billion and trade volume of US$10.7 billion, accounting for nearly 30% of global trade. The fourth India-Asean Expo and Summit will also conduct business matching between the Thai and Indian private sectors, including construction/logistics, electronics and rubber tyres. In 2018, bilateral trade between Thailand and India amounted to US$12.46 billion, a rise of 20.2% from the year before. Exports from Thailand represented $7.6 billion, with key shipments including plastic pellets, chemicals, automotive and auto parts, gems and jewellery, and machinery and parts.
Source: Bangkok Post
Uzbek Prez signs decree for further textile sector reforms.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree recently for further reforms in the textile sector to fully reprocess raw cotton in the country and raise its export potential. The decree instructs the government to develop and approve within three months the concept of accelerated development of the textile and clothing-knitting industry from 2019 to 2025. Uzbekistan aims to raise the annual export volume of textile products to $7 billion by 2025, Aa news agency reported citing the decree document. The decree also provides various stimulating measures for enterprises engaged in export of textile products beginning April 1. Uzbekistan, the world's sixth-largest cotton producer, produced 2.3 million tons of raw cotton in 2018. According to the National Statistical Committee of Uzbekistan, the annual export of textiles in the country reached $1.6 billion, up by 41.4 per cent from the previous year.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Experts have been upbeat about Vietnam’s merger and acquisition (M&A) market this year, fueled by the government’s continued initiatives to relax the foreign ownership ceiling and the country’s adoption of new trade deals. Seck Yee Chung from global law firm Baker & McKenzie said Vietnam’s M&A value, especially in the retail, consumer goods, and food and beverage (F&B) sectors, will rise in 2019 as more foreign investors look to increase their investment and further expansion within the local market. The amount of M&A and investment activities in the market indicate many trends, in particular, reflecting confidence in the market, Chung said, noting M&A activities in 2018 did not outpace 2017, which had two high-profile public company deals in the beverage sector. However, M&A activities in the retail, consumer goods and F&B sectors remain higher than other sectors. Specifically, he said, within the consumer goods industry, convenience stores and mini-marts in Vietnam remain one of the fastest growing segments in the industry and it is expected to see continued investment. “We have seen and can expect an increase in foreign investment into privatized state-owned enterprises due to the continued initiatives to relax the foreign ownership ceiling, which has been integrated into the government’s desire to divest its ownership in big players in the consumer goods market,” Chung said. Echoing Chung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises Nguyen Van Toan, is also optimistic about the M&A market in 2019 thanks to recent positive developments. According to Toan, M&A deals hit US$9.9 billion last year, making a record disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) of US$19.1 billion in the year. This shows foreign investors’ increasing confidence in Vietnam as well as achievements in state divestment and privatization.
Big push underway
Toan forecast Chinese enterprises will shift their investment strategies by pouring more capital into building plants in Vietnam to take advantage of its integration commitments within ASEAN and other free trade deals, which will contribute to pushing up M&A activities. Chung also believed Vietnam will gain from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in various ways, from lowered tariffs to exports to increased confidence in the Vietnamese market. “The adoption of the CPTPP would result in a reduction of tariffs on consumer goods, such as certain milk and dairy products and textile products, leading to a potential overall increase in the growth of these consumer goods, thereby increasing incentives to invest and driving M&A activities in the areas,” he explained. In addition, Chung said, there are some positive trends from a regulatory perspective which may further build confidence for investors in M&A deals in the retail, consumer goods and F&B sectors, which include the government’s increasing willingness to engage in state divestment; regulations to ease some of the requirements for foreign-invested traders; and the drafting of the Securities Law aiming to ease foreign ownership limitations and conditions. However, in order to remain an attractive destination for foreign investors, Chung suggested the government should continue to embrace Industry 4.0 and prioritize making digital tools and services available to businesses besides cutting regulatory red tape to lessen unnecessary burdens for investors and entrepreneurs. Besides, Nguyen Thi Viet Nga from the Academy of Finance recommended legal regulations should be streamlined as there are no full details for M&A in Vietnamese documents and laws, causing difficult for state agencies to manage and prevent local firms from finding suitable partners. Serving as brokers for M&A deals, securities, financial and audit companies should enhance their roles in the deals as their human resources, professionalism and information have remained insufficient, Nga added.
Source: Vietnam Net
MUSCAT - The Indian Embassy in Muscat, as part of its endeavour to promote business relations between India and Oman, last week organised a roadshow to promote Vibrant Terry Towel Global Expo & Summit 2019 (VTTGES). The roadshow also facilitated business interactions between visiting Indian delegation and stakeholders in Oman. Eng Redha Juma al Saleh, member, Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was the chief guest on this occasion. Eng Saleh stressed on the immense potential for further increase in trade between India and Oman. Rakesh Adlakha, deputy chief of mission, in his welcome remarks referred to the historical trade links between the two countries and invited Omani businessmen to attend VTTGES 2019. Representatives of Textile Development Foundation (TDF), Solapur, gave a detailed presentation on VTTGES 2019, which will be held from September 25 to 27 in Solapur, Maharashtra. Solapur, known as ‘The Towel City of India’ for its crafty terry towels and bath linen being manufactured at reasonable costs, possesses a rich blend of culture, interesting mythology and a thriving cottage and small-scale industry. The unique design of Solapur’s terry towels and bath linen is protected and recognised ‘Geographical Indication’ under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). ‘VTTGES 2019 and Make in Solapur’ organised with the support of Ministry of Textiles, Government of Maharashtra will bring together all stakeholders from ‘yarn to fabric’ viz cotton growers, manufacturers, traders, exporters and importers both domestic and international, and consumers to a unique platform to harness export opportunities of towel manufacturers for their foray into national and international markets.
Source: Muscat Daily
LAHORE: Pakistan’s retail sector was thought to be in a saturated mode, but this term was largely adopted by those trivial groups who prefer not to invest in constant innovation methodologies, human resources and research and development. Interestingly, the big retail groups like Sapphire, which is largely supported by its parent company, are not captivated by this term. Their top management still believes that today’s retail market symptoms are not a point of saturation at least for them as the country’s population and more importantly its middle class, both are constantly evolving, consequently bringing new markets, especially from second and third-tier cities. However, challenges remain for them and some other large-scale retailers, primarily in the shape of promotional activities coupled with inflation or cost escalation for many brands, which have resulted in low sales volume for them. “Promotions, unfortunately, have become a trend in Pakistan for almost the entire year; the customers wait for such sales, which hit top brands, as the customers are not ready to pay full price for a product,” remarked Nabeel Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Sapphire Retail. In an interview with The Express Tribune, Abdullah said Sapphire was actually a high-cost producer as it spent much more on research and development and other product development and innovative techniques. “At the beginning of our retail journey back in 2014, we set up the entire infrastructure and spent on backend technology like digital printing; since then we are growing at a yearly pace of almost 40%,” he said. Sapphire Retail is a sister concern of the Sapphire group, with textile being its core business. The group is vertically integrated comprising yarn manufacturing, fabrics, grey fabrics, home textile, garments, etc and has an entire in-house supply chain mechanism. The group exports textile products to many parts of the world as it is its core business, but interestingly its retail section is not that interested in expanding its footprint outside Pakistan. “Our strength is textile manufacturing, but over the period of time we felt that export markets are shrinking in terms of margins, and since we have core competency in producing good-quality products, so why not tap the domestic market. “We do sell our products to other countries, but that volume is currently low and that too via third party or online sales,” he added. For Abdullah, the retail business cannot be managed without putting in place constant innovation and product development mechanisms. Fortunately, the group has invested much in modern methodologies in retail business; still it feels a lot more should be done for constantly replacing old technology with new ones. Textile industry likely to get higher import orders from US “We were the second brand in Pakistan to use digital printing in 2014; now the country has almost 100 such machines and a majority is replicating the same product,” he said. “Now, is the time for us to look towards new innovative tools as yesterday’s innovations became a commodity today.” Abdullah is looking towards mass customisation as it is a new concept in world retail markets. “Many renowned brands are using this technology for their customers; we also have to work on this in Pakistan as right now we are at basic levels of mass customisation; this will make the shopping experience better for our customers,” he said. The brand is currently operating a chain of 20 stores, apart from online sales, which Abdullah said would lead future sales. In recent months, the management has entered into second-tier cities and is likely to enter third-tier urban centres as it assesses the customer base via online sales. Textile value addition: Govt taking steps to make industry competitive “We do have a clientage of unstitched fabric and other accessories in such cities and it is likely that they will come to the stitched fabric soon,” he pointed out. Interestingly, Abdullah is satisfied when it comes to taxes on the retail sector, though the sector in general is facing some issues, but these can be largely tackled under an association. “We do not need government subsidies, however, increasing cost, due to rupee depreciation, and other factors are hurting us as we do not want to pass on this impact to our customers. Customers right now are highly inclined by sales’ offers; we, through our association, will now try to tackle this issue as we have to open new product lines to keep expanding at a rapid pace,” Abdullah said. Pakistan’s retail market has witnessed a boom after different textile groups felt the heat from shrinking export markets due to energy shortages and the resultant lack of price competitiveness. This growth has largely been supported by growing population and innovation in Pakistan’s shopping experience. There is no data to show how many brands are currently operating in the domestic market, but the growth over the past one decade has led to expansion of Pakistan’s retail market. According to Statista, a Germany-based market research and business intelligence portal, Pakistan’s retail size at the end of 2018 stood at $210.28 billion.
Source: Tribune
Ghana recently launched a development partnership with Germany to build and sharpen vocational skills of managers and workers and drive the country’s apparel manufacturing sector. Called ‘Socially Responsible Jobs in Ghana’s Emerging Apparel Sector’, it is being championed through private sector expertise and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). The project, part of the German Government’s develoPPP.de programme, is set up by the German ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ). It is a partnership between Dignity Do the Right Thing (DTRT) Apparel, West Africa’s largest apparel manufacturer and exporter of sports lifestyle apparels, the Ethical Apparel Africa, a profit sourcing company that provide apparel brands, and the GIZ, a German organisation providing international cooperation services for sustainable development. Gerd Muller, Germany’s minister for economic cooperation and development, launched the partnership at the DTRT premises in Accra. The German minister and his delegation also explored investment opportunities in Ghana’s textile sector.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Fiber-based electronics are expected to play a vital role in next-generation wearable electronics. Woven into textiles, they can provide higher durability, comfort, and integrated multi-functionality. A KAIST team has developed a stretchable multi-functional fiber (SMF) that can harvest energy and detect strain, which can be applied to future wearable electronics. For more information see the IDTechEx report on E-Textiles 2018-2028. With wearable electronics, health and physical conditions can be assessed by analyzing biological signals from the human body, such as pulse and muscle movements. Fibers are highly suitable for future wearable electronics because they can be easily integrated into textiles, which are designed to be conformable to curvilinear surfaces and comfortable to wear. Moreover, their weave structures offer support that makes them resistant to fatigue. Many research groups have developed fiber-based strain sensors to sense external biological signals. However, their sensitivities were relatively low. The applicability of wearable devices is currently limited by their power source, as the size, weight, and lifetime of the battery lessens their versatility. Harvesting mechanical energy from the human body is a promising solution to overcome such limitations by utilizing various types of motions like bending, stretching, and pressing. However, previously reported, fiber-based energy harvesters were not stretchable and could not fully harvest the available mechanical energy. Professor Seungbum Hong and Professor Steve Park from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and their team fabricated a stretchable fiber by using a ferroelectric layer composed of P(VDF-TrFE)/PDMS sandwiched between stretchable electrodes composed of a composite of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and poly 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). Cracks formed in MWCNT/PEDOT:PSS layer help the fiber show high sensitivity compared to the previously reported fiber strain sensors. Furthermore, the new fiber can harvest mechanical energy under various mechanical stimuli such as stretching, tapping, and injecting water into the fiber using the piezoelectric effect of the P(VDF-TrFE)/PDMS layer. Professor Hong said, "This new fiber has various functionalities and makes the device simple and compact. It is a core technology for developing wearable devices with energy harvesting and strain sensing capabilities."
Source: Printed Electronics World
