National
International
Indian government hiked duties to check textile imports from China which has resulted in the expansion of export from Bangladesh to India. Indian Textile Industry believes that cheaper Chinese products are getting access in the Indian market via Bangladesh which is affecting the business.
The labour unrest in Bangladesh seems to have little impact on exports. As per the data from Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau apparel exports from the country to India grew 143 percent between July and December to $270 million from $166 million in the same month last year.
Sanjay Jain, chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry said: ―Under the free trade agreement with us, imports from Bangladesh are not subject to any duty. We suspect that Chinese fabric is making a backdoor entry through Bangladesh as garments. We have asked the government to implement the rule of origin provision for imports from Bangladesh.‖
Bangladesh‘s government had doubled the duties to 20 percent for over 300 textile products, ranging from fibre to apparels to check rising imports of cheaper products from China. After the implementation of GST, Imports started increasing. In the post-GST, effective duty rates came down as the countervailing duty of 12 percent was removed.
India‘s textile imports jumped 16 percent to a record $7 billion and of this approximately $3 billion is from China in the previous year.―Cheaper imports are a threat to the existence of MSMEs, which is the backbone of India‘s textile industry,‖ said Jain.
Bangladesh‘s Apparels are up to 30 percent cheaper than Indian products because of cheap labour. Moreover, Bangladesh can get affordable fabric from China. The fabric constitutes 75 percent of the cost of apparel, cheaper fabric adds to the savings. Apart from fabric, proximity is an advantage that supports shipping products easily from Bangladesh to India.
Source: Eurasian Times
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry on Monday said the government should extend benefits of RoSCTL scheme, which presently covers apparel and made-up segments, to yarn and fabric as well to boost their export competitiveness.
The Union Cabinet in March approved the scheme for rebate of all state and central embedded levies for apparel and made-up segments, which would make shipments zero-rated, thereby boosting India's competitiveness in export markets.
CITI chairman Sanjay Jain appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government to extend the benefits of RoSCTL to the yarn and fabric segments and stated this would help them achieve higher growth trajectory and generate more employment opportunities.
Jain said a Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) analysis of the quick estimates of shipments of textile and apparel for July 2019 shows there is an increase in the exports of apparel while cotton yarn and fabric exports have declined by 9.98 per cent and 10.54 per cent, respectively on year-on-year and cumulative basis.
He observed that the change in the trends of exports of apparel and cotton yarn/fabrics is mainly due to the Scheme 'Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL)' announced by the government in March 2019.
RoSCTL scheme has been introduced to provide reimbursement of central and state taxes to make sure that taxes are not exported along with the products, Jain said. www.citiindia.com
However, he added that yarn and fabric segments have been kept out of the scheme, hence both the sectors are suffering badly at present and their exports are declining.
The CITI chairman claimed that some categories like cotton yarn have seen a year-on-year fall of 35 per cent in exports in the first quarter of the financial year while in June it was at a staggering 50 per cent low.
He said there has also been a downfall in India's position in global textile and clothing exports.
India, which was the world's second largest exporter of T&C products in 2014-17 after China, fell to fifth position in 2018 as Germany, Bangladesh and Vietnam stepped in, Jain said.
Source: Business Standard
Under the Solar Energy Credit initiative, an integral part of the scheme, the central government is providing a subsidy of 50% to power loom units having maximum eight looms for adopting solar energy for captive use either in grid or off grid system.
Even as the much-publicised PowerTex India scheme aimed at development of power loom sector completes its stipulated three years by March 2020 and the central government is indicating its intent to continue it with some modifications, Gujarat-based textile units have demanded to enhance cap on the solar machinery under the scheme.
Under the Solar Energy Credit initiative, an integral part of the scheme, the central government is providing a subsidy of 50% to power loom units having maximum eight looms for adopting solar energy for captive use either in grid or off grid system.
According to Gujarat-based power-loom operators, the cap of eight power-looms under the scheme was too low and it should be increased to at least sixty to encourage the use of solar energy.
Source: Financial Express
With the aim to promote textile industry in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has decided to set up a textile park in Farrukhabad for which land has been acquired and investment has been arranged. www.citiindia.com
Principal Secretary (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Navneet Sehgal said that the proposed park would be spread over 14 hectare area. He said the land had been arranged and the textiles units in Farrukhabad would be shifted there one by one.
We are expecting an investment of Rs 200 crore which would not only give a boost to the textile sector but also help in generating jobs for local youth at their doorsteps. This will end the exodus of educated youth from small cities to bigger cities,‖ he said.
At present there are 104 textile units in Farrukhabad and 80 of them are in position to shift to the park.
The process to shift the remaining units to the park has been initiated,‖ Sehgal said.
The dusty town of Farrukhabad in western UP is famous for potato as well as textile printing and for over last 200 years textile sector has been a source of livelihood for local craftsmen.
The issue of setting up of textile park in Farrukhabad was raised almost a decade back. A series of meetings had taken place but nothing happened.
The local traders have been demanding a textile park as it will provide tax benefits and power subsidy to handloom/powerloom units.
Sehgal said that in view of the increasing pollution, the Central Pollution Control Board had asked the textile units to shift out of city limit. He said in view of that order, the Union Textile Ministry had given permission to set up a textile park.
This park will be developed by the Central government in collaboration with UP,‖ Sehgal said.
The park will be maintained and developed by private players under Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
Source: The Pioneer
The report of the task force on Direct Taxes Code (DTC) submitted to the Finance Minister on Monday is yet to be made public. But sources say that the panel may have suggested tweaks in personal tax slabs and an introduction of a new rate between 5 per cent and 20 per cent. While this brings cheer for the individual tax payers, it is worth recalling that a lot of a lot of changes mentioned in the earlier version of the DTC have already been introduced in varied forms over the years. What remained for the tax force were decisions on the instruments that qualify for 80C deduction as well as adjustment of tax slabs.
Changes over the years
The Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010 lapsed when the NDA 1.0 came to power in May 2014. The NDA set up a task force to review and rewrite the Income-Tax Act in end-2017, For individual tax-payers, a lot has changed since the DTC was first mooted. On personal taxation, the DTC Bill of 2010 spoke of an enhanced Section 80C deduction limit of ₹1.5 lakh, with ₹50,000 specifically set aside for expenses on life insurance premiums, children’s tuition fee and health insurance premiums. Besides, it proposed that life insurance premium paid is deductible only if it does not exceed 5 per cent of the capital sum assured, against the then existing 20 per cent cap. The idea was to provide a fillip to savings by separating investment from insurance and other expenses.
Following this, Budget 2012 moved the cap on eligible premium payment to 10 per cent of sum assured. This tilted the scales in favour of term insurance which provides pure life cover over fancy money-back /endowment /market-linked policies. The Sec 80C deduction limit was raised to ₹1.5 lakh in the July 2014 Budget. While deduction for expenses was not carved out separately, an additional ₹50,000 deduction (Budget 2015) was given solely for investment in the NPS, a long-term savings product. Budget 2017 announced a 5 per cent tax rate for the ₹2.5 -5 lakh income slab, lower than the earlier DTC proposal. Over the years, 80D deduction limits for health premiums have also been enhanced.
The earlier version of the DTC also called for a tax on long-term capital gains in equities. Budget 2018 implemented it by taxing long-term gains on equites above ₹1 lakh at 10 per cent. The NPS was virtually granted ‘Exempt-Exempt-Exempt’ tax status (a proposal in the erstwhile DTC) by word of mouth in end- 2018. This move was notified earlier this year.
What to expect now
What remained for the new task force were a few decisions on the personal taxes front — one, on whether short-term savings products such as ELSS, five-year tax saving deposits and NSC qualify for Sec 80C deduction.
Clearly incentivising only long-term investments such as the PPF and NPS, the earlier version of the DTC had removed 80C deduction for short-term products. Second, the standing committee report on the earlier DTC Bill, which submitted its report in 2012, recommended a return to higher basic exemption limits for women as well as the automatic adjustment of tax slabs for inflation by indexing them to the consumer price index. We will have to wait for the report to be put up in the public domain to see if these changes have been implemented.
Source: The Hindu Business line
The Union Finance Minister said the rate for companies with over ₹ 400 crore turnover will be gradually cut to 25% and the government will support wealth creators
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said corporate tax rate for companies with over ₹ 400 crore turnover will be gradually cut to 25% and the government will support wealth creators.
In her maiden Union Budget last month, she had cut corporate tax for companies with annual turnover of up to ₹ 400 crore to 25% from 30% earlier.
Last year, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had cut the corporate income tax rate to 25% for companies with a turnover of up to ₹ 250 crore.
Speaking at an industry event here, Ms. Sitharaman said the corporate tax reduction for the rest of corporates would be gradual. She did not give a timeframe for the reduction. Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s Independence Day speech, she said Indian wealth creator entrepreneurs will be given all kind of support.
Mr. Modi had in his annual Independence Day address to the nation on August 15 had extolled the role of wealth creators and said they must not be viewed with suspicion.
Let us never see wealth creators with suspicion. Only when wealth is created, wealth will be distributed,‖ he had said. ―Wealth creation is absolutely essential. Those who create wealth are India‘s wealth and we respect them.
Source: The Hindu
The second edition of TMT Expo will be held from September 25-27, at the International Exhibition Center in Sofia, Bulgaria. The forum will form an ecosystem for presentation of trends in materials, machinery and technology in the textile industry, building up professional contacts and sustainable business in the direction of East and South-Eastern Europe.
TMT Expo will unite the entire process of creating textile products - design, engineering, cutting, software, CAD/CAM systems, and preparation for production up to technological production.
The exhibition, which registered a growth of almost 25 per cent, will provide the opportunity to present the most advanced solutions in textile logistics, pressing and
ironing, finishing, testing, internal material flow, quality assurance, laundry and dry cleaning equipment. The accompanying programme will bring extra added value, enabling the acquisition of know-how through professional events and company presentations.
The production machines – automatic weaving machines, sewing machines, printers for direct printing on textiles, sublimation and thermal transfer printers will be among the demonstrated innovative products. An important place will be given to the most innovative materials like smart thermos-regulated yarns with thermochromic and photochromic grades, with a controlled length of the coloured area. The visitors will be able to see multifunctional fabrics, textured fabrics and many others.
"With its first edition TMT Expo has proven itself as a valuable platform," said the organisers. "The companies involved are representatives of almost the entire spectrum of activities and industries in the sector."
"Building contacts with established business representatives here allows us to promote our name and expand our distribution network in the area," said the attendees of last year's edition.
The first edition of TMT Expo proved that success lies in symbiosis. This is why this year's exhibition will be held in parallel with COPIS. This International forum is the only forum dedicated to advertising and printing communications in Bulgaria. As one of the main focuses of this year's edition stands the printing on textiles.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
A top American lawmaker has urged the Trump Administration to resolve the trade tension with India as soon as possible, saying the dispute benefits none.
“This ongoing trade dispute does not benefit either nation and it is hurting Californians. India has long been a friend and strategic partner of the United States, and I urge you to work toward resolving trade tensions with India as quickly as possible,” Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
In the letter dated August 16, the Democratic Senator from California said she met Indian Ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla the previous month to discuss the current US-India trade relationship.
“The trade sanctions that have resulted from recent disputes are hurting both countries, and I hope that they can be resolved as quickly as possible,” Feinstein wrote.
Observing that trade with India has grown dramatically since 2000, Feinstein said India imported goods worth over $ 6 billion from California in 2018 and is a major customer of agricultural and electronic products from the western-US state. “It is the people caught up in these trade conflicts such as California’s almond and walnut producers, who were subject to recent retaliatory tariffs from India, who suffer most,” she said.
The issue of trade tension came up in a telephonic conversation between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. “Referring to their bilateral discussions in Osaka, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that the Commerce Minister of India and the US Trade Representative would meet at an early date to discuss bilateral trade prospects for mutual benefit,” said the Prime Minister’s Office in a readout of the call.
According to White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, the two leaders discussed ways to strengthen US-India economic ties through increased trade.
Source: The Hindu Business line
China unveils interest rate reform; Germany hints at stimulusUS stocks climbed on Monday as reports of stimulus efforts in China and Germany calmed fears of a severe downturn in the global economy that were stoked last week as bond yields fell.
The benchmark S&P 500 has recovered most of its losses following Wednesday's brief inversion of the yield curve between 2-year and 10-year Treasuries, commonly viewed as an indicator of a recession within the next two years. After falling nearly 3 per cent on Wednesday, the S&P 500 has risen for the last three sessions.
China's central bank unveiled a key interest rate reform on Saturday to help steer borrowing costs lower for companies. On Sunday, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz suggested that Berlin could make available up to 50 billion euros ($55 billion) of extra spending. “Those are positive stories, and it's fostered a risk-on environment that has persisted throughout the day,” said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. “Investors are glad to see that countries are recognizing the risks out there.”
After the market close, the Washington Post reported that White House officials have discussed the possibility of a temporary payroll tax cut to spur the U.S. economy, joining other global economic stimulus efforts.
Stocks also received a boost as Washington extended by 90 days the window during which China's Huawei Technologies , blacklisted by the US government in May, can buy components from US companies to supply existing customers.
Shares of Apple Inc rose 1.9 per cent to provide the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and the second-largest boost to the S&P 500 and the Dow. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had spoken with Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, who ”made a good case” that tariffs could hurt Apple.
The S&P 500 technology index rose 1.6 per cent, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 1.9 per cent. “You're really seeing some of the trade-sensitive names doing better,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina. ”It's put a boost under risk assets today.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 249.78 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 26,135.79, the S&P 500 gained 34.97 points, or 1.21 per cent, to 2,923.65 and the Nasdaq Composite added 106.82 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 8,002.81. All of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher. Energy shares , which rose 2.1 per cent as oil prices advanced, led S&P sectors in percentage gains. Reflecting Monday's risk-on sentiment, defensive sectors such as real estate and utilities lagged the broader index in percentage gains.
Given concerns about economic growth, investors have looked closely for cues from the Federal Reserve on monetary policy. In July, the US central bank cut interest rates for the first time in more than a decade. Wednesday's release of minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting, as well as Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, might provide indications on whether the central bank will cut rates further, investors said.
Shares of Estee Lauder Cos Inc jumped 12.5 per cent to a record high as the beauty company forecast full-year revenue and profit above estimates, bolstered by booming demand for its premium skincare products in the Asia-Pacific region. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.81-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.45-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 57 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 78 new highs and 60 new lows. Volume on US exchanges was 6.28 billion shares, compared to the 7.58 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Source: The Hindu Business line
More than two decades since the Asia debt crisis gripped the region, global consulting firm McKinsey & Co is warning that signs of a rerun are “ominous.”
Increased indebtedness, stresses in repaying borrowing, lender vulnerabilities and shadow banking practices are some of the concerns cited by McKinsey in an August report. Whether building pressures are “enough to trigger a new crisis remains to be seen” but governments and businesses need to monitor potential causes, authors Joydeep Sengupta and Archana Seshadrinathan wrote.
McKinsey’s warning shot comes as a slowing global economy puts pressure on earnings at Asian companies, and the US-China trade war makes debt investors more risk adverse. Still, fund managers point to improved credit metrics of Asian dollar bond issuers in recent years, and Moody’s Investors Service said last week it expects most Asian economies can offset the domestic impact of the global slowdown through monetary and fiscal policy measures.
McKinsey examined the balance sheets of more than 23,000 companies across eleven Asia-Pacific countries, and found firms in most of Asia face “significant stress” in servicing debt obligations. In countries such as China and India, those pressures have risen since 2007, while falling sharply in the US and UK during the same period, according to McKinsey.
The analysis looked at the share of long-term debt held by corporations with an interest coverage ratio of less than 1.5 times. At these levels, corporations are using a predominant share of their earnings to repay their debt, according to the study. In 2017, in China, India and Indonesia more than 25% of long-term debt was held by companies with a ratio of less than 1.5, it said.
Since 1997, financial regulators have put in place safeguards to prohibit a repeat of the crisis that engulfed Thailand, Korea, Indonesia and several other Asian nations and had long-lasting repercussions. Potential triggers of a crisis that need to be monitored include defaults in repayment of debt, liquidity mismatches, and large fluctuations in exchange rates, according to McKinsey.
Source: The business Standard
The next edition of Texcare International, the world's most important trade fair for textile care, will focus on rapid spread of digitalisation in textile sector with the trend shifting from digital to smart, i.e, intelligent textiles communicate with intelligent machines and organise themselves. Texcare will be held in Frankfurt from June 20-24, 2020.
Texcare will highlight the basis for the smart flow of data within the textile sector as well as the use of RFID and robot technology.
"We are very pleased that our concept for expanding the fair has been so successful. At the coming event, we aim to take particular advantage of the potential for growth offered by Hall 9.0. This means we will be able to react much better to market
developments, such as the growing significance of IT and logistics solutions in the sector," said Kerstin Horaczek, group show director technology of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition.
"Digitalisation is already widespread in the textile-care sector, especially when it comes to logistic processes. Accordingly, the industry will present numerous innovations that go a step further and take account of the demands of the smart factory at next June's Texcare International," said Elgar Straub, managing director of VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies.
Other facets of digitalisation include new business models between laundries or dry cleaners and their customers and / or suppliers. Online shops and apps are gaining in significance to cater for the demand for readily available, fresh and hygienic laundry. The digital-transformation process is also impacting on the fields of training and professional development with, for example, more and more e-learning units being offered. All these themes will be covered by the complementary programme of events at Texcare International.
In this connection, the Texcare Forum plays a vital role in the international transfer of knowledge and the exchange of ideas and opinions between experts and business partners. When it comes to planning the conference, Messe Frankfurt works closely together with the German Textile Cleaning Association (Deutscher Textilreinigungsverband – DTV), VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies and other organisations. Awards ceremonies, competitions and a fashion show will round off the programme of events at the trade fair.
Texcare consists of worldwide events held by Messe Frankfurt for the laundry, dry cleaning and textile services sectors. With the Clean Show in the US, Texcare Asia & China Laundry Expo in Shanghai, Gulf Laundrex in Dubai and JET Expo in Paris, Messe Frankfurt holds textile-care events in all important economic regions of the world. They are rounded off by numerous conferences held under the Texcare Forum brand.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC) 2019 exhibition, sponsored by China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel, kicked off Monday at The International Centre near Toronto.
The three-day exhibition has attracted the attendance registration of more than 5,000 people and over 500 exhibitors from 15 countries including China, Canada, India, Pakistan and the United States, according to ATSC.
The exhibition covers more than 8,000 square meters to include additional categories such as accessories, gift ware, home electronics, footwear, luggage and houseware, and general merchandise.
Over 300 booths line the exhibition hall floor at the center, featuring the latest and greatest trends and unique offerings in apparel. A total of 189 Chinese brand companies will show their products at the exhibition.
The exhibition is expected to provide thousands of expected attendees with unprecedented networking and business opportunities with international suppliers. It is also a major feat for local businesses that are poised to benefit from making connections and securing deals with top-rate international suppliers.
During the exhibition, more than 20 lectures and forums will be held, and world-renowned industry experts are expected to explain business knowledge, fashion trends and trade trends to the audience.
Source: Xinhua
