Category: Economy

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has said that the redeveloped, new Dharavi – Asia’s largest slum cluster located in Central Mumbai – will produce “millionaires without the slumdog prefix.”

Adani Properties has been appointed by the Maharashtra government for the redevelopment of Dharavi. In an open letter on July 19, Adani expressed his commitment to creating a “state-of-the-art world-class city” that would reflect a resurgent and self-assured India “as the 21st century belongs to India”. He personally vowed that eligible residents of Dharavi would be relocated to their new homes as part of the redevelopment project.

“As we embark on this completely uncharted journey, I am aware of the colossal challenges ahead. Even in comparison with Singapore’s trailblazing project to resolve its housing crisis in the 1960s, Dharavi is a unique project in a league of its own,” Adani said in an open letter on July 19.

The redevelopment project of Dharavi will be unique for three reasons. It is one of the world’s largest urban resettlement and regeneration projects, where about a million people will be rehabilitated and resettled. It will resettle not only the residential units, but also diverse establishments of various sizes and scales dealing with trading, shopping and other business transactions. The project will also aim for comprehensive and holistic redevelopment, as it caters to the housing and rehabilitation needs of both eligible and ineligible residents, added Adani.

India and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on semiconductor development. The agreement was signed between Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura in New Delhi on July 20.

The MoU is on five fronts, namely semiconductor design, manufacturing, equipment research, talent development, and bringing resilience to the semiconductor supply chain, informed Ashwini Vaishnaw. He added that the agreements such as the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and the one with Japan provided clear directional support when industries from the respective nations engage in talks. The government’s strategy is now evidently focused on supporting industries in India, whether collaborating with the US or Japan, the minister said, adding that discussions were underway to sign a similar agreement with the Japanese company Rapidus.

Vaishnaw underlined that the semiconductor industry is witnessing rapid growth, surpassing $650 million and expected to reach $1 billion within the next five to six years. To meet the increasing demand, a substantial talent pool and significant growth at multiple locations are required. Japan sees India as a reliable partner with complementary strengths, making it an ideal collaboration prospect, he added.

India has extended approximately $32 billion in credit to 42 African nations in the last 10 years, accounting for 38 percent of India’s total credit distribution, according to Export-Import Bank of India Managing Director Harsha Bangari. In addition, India has opened 195 project-based lines of credit in Africa worth around $12.8 billion – triple the number in its own region.

This makes Africa the second-largest recipient of credit from India. In a media interview, Bangari said that credit extended by India in the last decade is just a few percentage points below its neighbours. She added that Africa has made good use of credit lines, extending for projects in the areas of healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and irrigation.

While China’s loans to Africa have dipped since 2016, overall in the 10 years to 2020, it pledged $134.6 billion to African nations, says the data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. The amount is almost 11 times more than what India has offered.

The Government of India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has pushed for deeper engagement with Africa, strengthening both diplomatic and economic ties. In the last nine years, 18 of the 25 new Indian embassies or consulates were opened in Africa. In February 2023, India hosted 48 African countries at the Voice of Global South summit. PM Modi has also been championing India as a representative of the Global South and using platforms such as the presidency of the Group of 20 nations to highlight the debt crises in developing economies.

Japan is assisting Bangladesh to turn its coast into an economic hub, say reports. Under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative, Japan has been implementing projects for improving connectivity, developing infrastructure and accelerating industrial growth along the Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar belt area, say experts familiar with the development. The projects include a power plant, port and corporate parks.

The BIG-B initiative aims to boost connectivity between Bangladesh and its neighbouring countries Bhutan, Nepal and northeastern India, and make it the heart of the regional economy. Under this initiative, Japan is developing the Matarbari Deep Sea Port in Chattogram, coal and gas-based power plants, and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Matarbari, according to officials.

The Japanese projects will connect landlocked north-eastern India with the Bay of Bengal and at the same time tap into the local markets. China is also eyeing a permanent presence in the Bay of Bengal via Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is implementing the Moheshkhali-Matarbari area project to facilitate smooth transportation of goods. It will be connected with Dhaka by rail, road and inland waterway.

Bangladesh, in cooperation with JICA, is also developing a Japanese EPZ in the suburbs of Dhaka at Araihazar in Narayanganj. The EPZ will house manufacturing units of agro-food, light engineering, chemical, automobile assembly, garments and pharmaceutical industries, among others.

A Norwegian mining company has announced that the phosphate rock deposit discovered in June could meet the global demand for solar panels and batteries for the next 100 years.

Norge Mining, an Anglo-Norwegian company, announced the discovery of massive deposits of ultra-rich phosphate rock, vanadium and titanium in south-west Norway this June. The company has said that the deposit is estimated to be worth at least 70 billion tonnes. This is very close to the proven global reserves of phosphate, which are estimated to be 71 billion tonnes, according to a US Geological Survey report released in 2022.

Phosphate rock contains high concentrates of phosphorus, which is a key component for building green technologies. The countries that are using this component are already facing significant supply issues. A bulk of mined phosphate rock is used for the production of phosphorus for the fertiliser industry, besides making solar panels, lithium batteries, semiconductors and computer chips due to the mineral’s higher energy density, enhanced safety and longer life span.

Phosphorus was first discovered in 1669 by German scientist Hennig Brandt. As of now, Russia controls the world’s largest phosphate rock deposits. China, Iraq and Syria are also home to large phosphorus deposits.

A spokesperson for the European Commission described the discovery as “great news” for meeting the objectives of the Commission’s raw material objectives.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will set up a new ministry of investment to develop its investment strategy at home and worldwide. The Prime Minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum tweeted the plans after a cabinet meeting on July 3, adding that Mohammed Hassan Al Suwaidi will become the investment minister.

The objectives of the upcoming federal ministry would include stimulating the investment environment in the UAE and to make the UAE’s legislation and procedures more competitive to attract global investment, Sheikh Mohammed said. The UAE will also set up a Financial Stability Council to monitor risks, and deal with financial crises to further its objectives of becoming a major global financial centre.

Earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed launched a 10-year economic plan known as D33, which aims to double the economy’s size and make Dubai one of the top four global financial centres in a decade.

Last year, Dubai attracted an estimated $12.8 billion in foreign direct investment capital, according to the 2022 Financial Times “fDi Markets” report. Foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia was about 30 billion riyals ($8 billion), based on data from the Saudi investment ministry.

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, launched the first phase of the Waste to Energy Centre in Warsan –  the world’s largest and most efficient waste-to-energy plant – on July 4. The facility built at a cost of AED4 billion features advanced technologies that do not have any adverse environmental impact.

The Crown Prince of Dubai also watched the Centre’s first waste-to-energy conversion operations. Two of the plant’s five lines are now operational and process about 2,300 tonnes of solid waste daily. The sophisticated process employs steam pressure to create rotational energy that powers the generator to produce electricity. At present, the facility generates about 80 MWh of renewable energy. In the second phase, the facility’s output will expand to 220 MWh, translating to 5,280 MWh daily.

The waste-to-energy facility has the capacity to treat around 2 million tonnes of solid waste annually and can generate power that can meet the needs of more than 1,35,000 housing units. Built on an area of 400,000 square metres, it has five production lines that have the capacity to treat 5,666 tonnes of waste per day.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is using beams of light to deliver internet service to India’s rural and remote areas. This new project, called Taara, is part of the US company’s innovation lab, X or the Moonshot Factory.

Taara is now working on deploying the laser internet technology on a larger scale in the country in collaboration with Bharti Airtel. The project aims to connect internet services in multiple countries, and has partnered with companies like Econet Group, Bluetown, and Digicel.

The technology involves small machines that transmit data through lasers, providing fibre-optic internet without the need for cables. The initiative is seen as disruptive and cost-effective, mainly for building communication infrastructure in hard-to-reach places.

The deployment of Taara in Indian villages will bring high-speed internet access to people for the first time. The goal is to connect numerous villages across the country and empower people with online connectivity. Alphabet has invested considerably in India’s digitisation, including a stake in Bharti Airtel.

In its earlier attempts, Alphabet tried to bring internet access to rural and remote areas by using high-altitude balloons in the stratosphere.

Housing sales in India hit a record high in the April-June quarter of 2023, according to a report by ANAROCK Research. Over 1.15 lakh units were sold in Q2 across India’s top cities, which is nearly 36 percent higher than the 84,940 units sold in the same quarter last financial year. Among the top seven cities, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune accounted for over 51 percent of the total sales, the researcher added.

Housing sales in the second quarter of 2023 has far surpassed the previous peak of the first quarter in 2023 despite rising home loan rates. As many as 58,770 units were sold in MMR and Pune, said Anarock. Pune saw the highest jump in the number of units sold at 65 percent. It sold 20,680 units in Q2 2023. MMR saw housing sales increased by 48 percent with 38,090 units sold, while Bengaluru saw an increase of 31 percent with 15,050 units sold in the second quarter.

Chennai saw sales of 5,490 units in Q2 2023, amounting to an increase of 44 percent, while Hyderabad recorded sales of 13,570 units, which is a spike of 21 percent over Q2 2022. Housing sales in Kolkata increased by over 20 percent in Q2 2022 with sales of 5,780 units.

NCR is the only region to see a single-digit yearly growth – of 7 percent. It saw 16,450 units sold in the second quarter, while it was 15,340 units in Q2 2022.

Many Hong Kong businessmen are planning to sell their assets to cut debt. Swire Pacific, New World both announce plans to sell units, as firms are contending with rising borrowing costs.

Swire Pacific Ltd. has become the second notable Hong Kong company to announce plans to offload assets to reduce debt. The conglomerate on June 28 announced to sell its US beverages business to its controlling shareholder run by the wealthy Swire family for $3.9 billion. The sale would lower the company’s indebtedness by more than one-third, it said in a statement. It also suggested a special dividend of about HK$11.7 billion ($1.5 billion), which is about half of the expected gain from the disposal.

The deal came a day after the billionaire Cheng family announced a similar deal of $4.5 billion to buy a unit owned by builder New World Development Co. The step would effectively shift cash from the family’s investment holding company to New World, which is one of Hong Kong’ most indebted real estate firms.

Rising borrowing costs are making it tougher for companies worldwide to manage their debt loads. In Hong Kong, the one-month cost of interbank borrowing has jumped to about 5 percent from less than 1 percent a year ago. An unusual slump in the property market is adding to economic pressures with major developers resorting to providing discounts and perks to increase sales.