Category: Economy

Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources is now on an official visit to Spain, where he has participated in a series of high-level conversations aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. In Madrid, Alkhorayef met with Jordi Hereu, Spanish Minister of Industry and Tourism, and Carlos Cuerpo, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Business, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation, notably in the industrial and mining sectors.

During his conversation with Hereu, Alkhorayef emphasised Saudi Arabia’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Spain. He laid out the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030, which aims to diversify its economy and attract foreign investment, notably in the industrial and mining sectors. Alkhorayef also described the various incentives and resources accessible to foreign companies, demonstrating Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fostering a friendly investment environment.

In conversations with Cuerpo, the emphasis switched to industrial and mining collaboration. The ministers discussed the possibility of establishing cooperative research and development centres, improving technological skills, and promoting mineral exploration and extraction, all while adhering to environmental sustainability objectives. They also stressed the need to boost Spanish private sector engagement in Saudi Arabia’s big development projects, which would strengthen economic relations between the two nations.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Serbia have agreed on a 36-month agreement to support the country’s ongoing economic reforms, the organisation stated on Wednesday. The agreement, known as a Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI), will help Serbia pursue reforms without providing direct financial aid. However, this arrangement may facilitate Serbia’s ability to obtain loans from other financial organisations.

The accord remains subject to approval by the IMF’s executive board. This comes after Serbia signed a two-year, €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) standby agreement with the IMF. The new arrangement reflects the IMF’s confidence in Serbia’s economic prospects.

According to the IMF, Serbia’s growth rate is predicted to reach around 4.25% in the following years. The country’s financial sector remains strong, with the IMF noting that it is “well capitalised and liquid.”

Despite this, concerns associated with foreign demand and commodity prices may pose problems to Serbia’s economy.

The IMF emphasised that Serbia must maintain robust buffers against these uncertainties. The country’s foreign exchange reserves, government deposits, and stable levels of public and external debt, as well as its solid banking system, were cited as favourable characteristics.

According to an economist poll, Argentina is projected to achieve its eleventh straight trade surplus in September, collecting a net $16.5 billion in hard currency since President Javier Milei took office in December. As per the reports, the country’s trade surplus in September was $1.28 billion, despite facing triple-digit inflation, a prolonged recession, and depleted foreign currency reserves.

Milei, a libertarian leader, has promised to overhaul Argentina’s economy, and this run of trade surpluses contrasts with the deficits observed last year. Increased exports from important industries like agriculture, mining, and energy are what’s driving the reversal.

Milagros Suardi, an economist with Eco Go consultancy, stated that Argentina’s exports have improved, particularly in agriculture and hydrocarbons. The country is a major global provider of soy and corn, and it has significant quantities of shale oil, gas, and lithium.

Pablo Besmedrisnik of VDC Consultant emphasised the benefits of increased local energy production. He predicts that the energy industry will conclude 2024 with a $5 billion surplus, owing to higher hydrocarbon output and lower energy use. INDEC will issue official trade data for September on Friday.

The Union Cabinet has allocated Rs. 35,000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) project, spanning the 15th Finance Commission Cycle until 2025-26. This move tries to maintain fair prices for farmers while keeping consumer costs stable.

PM-AASHA combines the Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS), and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) into a single program. Beginning with the 2024-25 season, the scheme will procure 25% of pulses, oilseeds, and copra at the Minimum Support Price. This season, Tur, Urad, and Masur pulses will be procured at 100%, reducing distress sales among farmers.

The government has also increased its procurement guarantee for pulses, oilseeds, and copra to Rs. 45,000 crores, assisting the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) in obtaining these commodities, particularly through platforms such as NAFED’s eSamridhi portal.

To keep prices stable and minimise hoarding, the PSF plan would manage buffer supplies of pulses and onions. The PDPS coverage for oilseeds would be increased to 40%, with the central government covering up to 15% of MSP. MIS will assist tomato, onion, and potato farmers with transportation and storage costs as well as cover 25% of their production expenses.

Singapore’s GDP grew significantly in the third quarter of 2024, increasing by 4.1% over the same period last year. Preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) indicate that the manufacturing sector, which had recovered after two quarters of contraction, was primarily responsible for the increase.

This amount exceeds the 2.9% growth rate achieved in Q2 2024. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy expanded by 2.1%, above the previous quarter’s 0.4% growth.

The manufacturing sector expanded 7.5% yearly, reversing a 1.1% decline in the second quarter. Except for biomedical, all industrial clusters showed production growth, with a healthy 9.9% increase quarter on quarter. The construction sector grew by 3.1%, owing to increasing public sector activity.

Meanwhile, the wholesale, retail trade, transportation, and storage sectors all expanded by 3.5%, with retail trade remaining modest. Water and air transport drove growth in transportation and storage, while machinery and equipment in the wholesale trade increased. Singapore revised its annual GDP prediction in August to between 2% and 3%, citing strong early-year performance.

On October 9, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das declared that an increase in UPI transaction limits would be implemented in order to improve digital payments. The adjustments include raising the UPI Lite wallet limit from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 and raising the UPI 123Pay per-transaction limit from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000.

By implementing these changes, UPI should be able to reach a wider audience and enable more people to use digital payments. The ability to conduct transactions without internet access with UPI 123Pay is very helpful for people who live in places with spotty connectivity. Users will now be able to make larger transactions with greater comfort thanks to the new ₹10,000 limit.

Additionally, the limit on the UPI Lite wallet—which enables minor transactions without bank authorization—will be raised to ₹5,000. The purpose of this update is to make frequent, low-value transactions easier to utilise, which will help users who depend on the Lite service.

According to Mehul Mistry, Global Head of Strategy at Digital Financial Services, the rise will make UPI Lite users’ convenience and feature phone users’ ability to make digital payments easier.

The UPI network handled more than 500 million transactions every day in September, with average daily values of ₹68,800 crore—up from ₹66,475 crore in August—and transaction values above ₹20 lakh crore for five months in a row.

With a 12% increase in spending, the UAE cabinet has approved the highest budget ever for the fiscal year 2025, at AED 71.5 billion ($19.5 billion). This significant increase comes after a nearly 50% increase in capital expenditures at the beginning of the year. In addition to this record-breaking spending, the UAE expects AED 71.5 billion in revenue this year.

The Social Development and Pensions sector receives a large budget (39%, or AED27.9 billion). This category includes contributions to public and higher education (15.3%), healthcare and community prevention (8%), pensions (8%), social affairs (5.2%), and public services (2.5%).

AED 25.5 billion is allocated to the Government Affairs sector, accounting for 35.7% of the overall budget. AED2.9 billion (4%) is set aside for financial investments, while the Infrastructure and Economic Affairs sector receives AED2.6 billion (3.6% of the budget) in total. Other federal expenses, or AED12.6 billion claim the remaining 17.7%.

In the first half of 2024, the UAE had a 50.7% increase in capital expenditure, with AED5.6 billion spent in Q1. Even with a 17% decline in Q2, overall investment is still high.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has begun operations in India’s tax-neutral finance hub, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

The Indian government has promoted GIFT City as a “gateway for global capital and financial services,” and it is located in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. This key financial hub provides major benefits to businesses, including a 10-year tax break and tax exemptions on international capital transfers, as well as closeness to Indian markets.

ADIA’s plans to construct a base in GIFT City were initially announced in July 2023. Earlier this year, in February, reports surfaced that ADIA was intending to build a special $4 billion to $5 billion fund to invest in India via this financial centre. This decision is likely to greatly increase foreign investment in the country, hence improving India’s financial landscape.

The UAE is already India’s largest Arab investor, with investment totalling almost $3 billion in fiscal year 2023-24. With ADIA’s new operations, the UAE is poised to expand its financial presence in India, taking advantage of the tax breaks and strategic location provided by GIFT City.

On October 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the importance of the Maldives in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy at a meeting with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in New Delhi. Modi emphasised India’s consistent support, citing previous help provided to the Maldives during emergencies, such as vital commodities, drinking water during natural catastrophes, and COVID-19 vaccines.

Modi emphasised that development cooperation remains critical to India-Maldives relations. He announced a $100 million rollover by the State Bank of India for the Maldivian Treasury, as well as a $400 million and ₹3,000 crore currency swap agreement. “We have committed to comprehensive support for Maldives’ infrastructure development,” he said.

To strengthen economic connections, Modi cited the completion of over 700 social housing units built with Indian assistance and declared plans to pursue a free trade agreement. He also stated that India and the Maldives would soon join via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), following the successful launch of RuPay cards in the Maldives.

The leaders also discussed security cooperation, with Modi highlighting the continuing work on the Ekatha Harbour project and India’s commitment to strengthening the Maldivian National Defence Forces. He reaffirmed India and the Maldives’ commitment to working together for regional peace and prosperity.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met with American business magnates in New York on Thursday to promote investments in India. Executives like Robert Goldstein (COO of BlackRock), Anup Popat (CEO of Systems Technology Group), Sanjiv Ahuja (CEO of Tillman Holdings), Shailesh Upreti (CEO of C4V), and Ali Dibadj (CEO of Janus Henderson Investors) were among those he met with. Goyal highlighted changes to increase infrastructural development and the ease of doing business, emphasising India’s potential as a worldwide manufacturing base.

Goyal highlighted the government’s commitment to strengthening the manufacturing and intellectual property rights sectors through various incentive programs. Investments under production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, he said, may achieve Rs 2 lakh crore, up from an earlier estimate of 850,000, and 1.2 million direct jobs. This is in addition to the fact that they could surpass the initial projection of Rs 1.32 lakh crore.

Previously, while in Australia, Goyal encouraged Australian pension funds to engage in renewable energy, fintech, and agritech. He met with Tania Constable, CEO of Australia’s Minerals Council to establish closer ties in vital minerals. While meeting with Joel Katz of the CLIA and Robin Khuda, CEO of AirTrunk, Goyal addressed coastal tourism and explored digitalisation potential.