Category: Economy

India and Australia have agreed to conclude the negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement “as soon as possible” as there is huge potential to enhance bilateral commerce in the next five years, said a joint statement.

The statement was issued after the meeting of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell in New Delhi on March 11.

Both countries already implemented an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) in December 2022, and are now negotiating to widen the scope of that pact into a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA). The ministers noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese look forward to swift progress in negotiations and for an early conclusion of the ambitious CECA, which will build on the foundation laid by the ECTA, including new areas of trade, investment and cooperation. The CECA will create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and improve the general welfare in both countries, the statement said.

The ministers also highlighted the importance of a smooth and timely clean energy transition.

“India-Australia bilateral trade exceeded USD 31 billion last financial year. Both agreed that given the trade complementarities between the two countries, there is considerable potential for significantly enhancing bilateral trade within the next 5 years,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka has used over $10 million from India’s assistance of $1 billion to print nearly half of the textbooks for its four million young students, the Indian High Commission here said on March 12.

A concessional credit facility of $1 billion was extended to the Government of Sri Lanka by the Government of India in March 2022 for supply of essential items, including food, fuel, medicines, and industrial raw materials. Out of this facility, over $10 million has been used by State Printing Corporation (SPC) and private importers to procure printing paper and material from India. The fund is being used to print 45 percent of textbooks required by 4 million young students of Sri Lanka for the academic year 2023, it said in a statement.

India and Sri Lanka enjoy a multi-faceted and multi-sectoral partnership. Under India’s Neighbourhood First policy, the country assisted the people of Sri Lanka in various ways, such as through concessional credit facilities and lines of credit. To date, lines of credit worth over $4 billion have been extended to Sri Lanka in diverse areas, including supply of essential items, petroleum, fertilisers, development of railways, infrastructure, defence sector and renewable energy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will virtually inaugurate the first cross-border oil pipeline between the two countries on March 18 for diesel transportation to Bangladesh. Delhi would use the 130-km long India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL), which has been built at a cost of ₹346 crore, from the Indian line of credit (LoC).

Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Andalib Elias has called the cross-border oil pipeline the real manifestation of the wonderful friendship of India and Bangladesh. “PM Modi and my PM Sheikh Hasina first initiated this pipeline a few years ago. On 18th March, it will be formally launched. The oil will start going through it. That’s a huge step forward in the wonderful friendship that we have.”

The pipeline stretches 125 km inside Bangladesh territory and 5 km inside India. The two premiers joined the ground-breaking ceremony for the IBFPL in September 2018 through video conferencing.

Bangladesh used to import diesel from India through railway carriages. The Bangladeshi foreign minister said that he has also urged New Delhi to ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential products to Bangladesh. Momen said India gave high respect to the Bangladesh delegation throughout the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting reflecting the excellent Dhaka-Delhi bilateral relations.

The merchandise and services exports of India in the current financial year ending March 2023 will be close to $760-770 billion, said Union Minister for State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel on March 9, 2023.

The country’s merchandise and services exports stood at $672 billion in the last fiscal.

“We are focusing in every possible way on how we can export more and more because today India’s share in global merchandise trade is close to 1.8 per cent. As far as services trade is concerned, it is just 4 per cent. We want to take it to 10 per cent,” Patel said at the Sourcex India event in New Delhi.

The union minister also mentioned that the Indian economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and with the increasing globalisation of trade, there is immense potential for Indian businesses, particularly brands, to expand their footprint in the international market.

Around 100 foreign buyers from more than 30 countries participated in Sourcex India 2023, the flagship reverse buyer-seller meet organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). A. Sakthivel, FIEO President, said that despite global headwinds, Indian exports will give an additional $100 billion over and above what was achieved in 2021-22.

Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Ministry allowed all residents in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states to apply for a tourist visa online to visit the kingdom, regardless of their profession.

Saudi Arabia on March 9 announced that all expatriate residents in GCC countries, irrespective of their profession, will be allowed to obtain a tourist visa. The multiple entry visa is valid for both tourism and for performing Umrah, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb said. The tourist visa does not allow the holder to perform Hajj or perform Umrah during the Hajj season.

Also, all first-degree relatives of residence visa holders and domestic workers who wish to visit along with their sponsors are allowed to obtain a tourist visa. In the past, only certain categories of professions were allowed to apply for a tourist visa.

Saudi Arabia in recent months unveiled a host of facilities for Muslims wishing to come to the country to undertake Umrah. The number of Muslims performing Umrah or lesser pilgrimage since the start of the season last July is expected to reach 9 million by the end of the upcoming Ramadan.

Ramadan, due to begin later this month, usually marks the peak of the Umrah season. Saudi authorities have also extended the Umrah visa from 30 days to 90 and allowed holders to enter the kingdom via all land, air and sea outlets and leave from any airport.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 2 announced the establishment of a ‘Startup Bridge’ between India and Italy.

Speaking at the press meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Delhi’s Hyderabad House, the Prime Minister said that both countries have laid special emphasis on increasing cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, semiconductors, telecom and space. On India and Italy celebrating 75th years of bilateral relations this year, the PM said, “We have decided to give the status of Strategic Partnership to India-Italy partnership.”

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of India-Italy relations, Narendra Modi said, “We decided to make an action plan. With this, we will be able to showcase the diversity, history, science and technology, innovation, sports and achievements of both countries on the global stage.”

He also welcomed Italy’s active participation in the Indo-Pacific, saying the move will help in identifying concrete themes for enhancing our cooperation in the region.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also spoke on bilateral engagement between the two countries in areas of defence and security, economy and technology. She was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajan and a high-powered business delegation. This is her first visit to India and an Italian Prime Minister’s first visit in five years.

The United Arab Emirates’ economy expanded 7.6 percent in 2022, said the country’s Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq al-Marri on March 2. This is about double the rise in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) recorded in 2021, as the Gulf nation bounced back sharply from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, higher energy prices supported economic growth across the Gulf region’s oil exporters in 2022. This year, a slowdown is forecast with a more uncertain oil price outlook and a challenging global macroeconomic environment. The UAE aims to double the size of its economy by 2031 and diversify away from hydrocarbons. “In order to do that, we need 7 percent GDP growth every year,” the UAE minister said in an interview on the sidelines of the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE’s foreign trade hit 2.2 trillion dirhams ($599 billion) in 2022, up 17 percent year on year, and it has signed bilateral trade agreements with global partners, including India to Israel and Indonesia. Talks with Turkey, and others, are underway. The UAE will also host the UN’s flagship COP28 climate conference at the end of the year.

Abdulla bin Touq al-Marri expects the re-opening of the Chinese economy to play a “big role” in reducing inflation around the globe, especially on goods and products coming from China, one of the UAE’s biggest trade partners.

Indian exports to Australia would be tariff and quota-free within six years, said former Prime Minister of Australian Tony Abbott in New Delhi on March 2 during an interaction organised by the India-Australia Strategic Alliance.

Calling the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) to be one of the best deals for India, Abbott said, “It’s the best trade deal that India has done with any major economy. About 90 percent of Australia’s exports to India are to be tariff and quota-free. Within six years, 100 percent of India’s exports to Australia will be tariff and quota-free.”

Currently, India’s imports from Australia amount to $17 billion, while its exports to Australia are worth around $10.5 billion, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement in January. The ministry expects the total bilateral trade to cross $45-50 billion by 2035.

The ECTA, which came into effect on December 29, 2022, would benefit various labour-intensive Indian sectors currently subjected to a 5 percent import duty by Australia. “The agreement will result in immediate market access at zero duty to 98.3 percent of tariff lines, accounting for 96.4 percent of India’s exports to Australia in value terms. The remaining 1.7 percent lines are to be made zero-duty lines over five years. Overall, Australia is offering duty elimination on 100 percent of its tariff lines,” said the statement.

Private investors were the most active buyers in global commercial real estate investment in 2022, says a new report by Knight Frank. The year saw a significant $455 billion invested, making for 41% of the total investment.

The Wealth Report of Knight Frank said that the number represents private investors’ highest share of global commercial real estate on record, and is the first-time private investment has surpassed institutional investment. The year 2022 was the second strongest year on record for commercial real estate investment volumes among private investors, with investors capitalising on repriced assets and encouraging currency positions. The year saw $1.12 trillion global commercial real estate investment, Knight Frank’s flagship report said.

Private investors and private capital refer to investment from family offices, private individuals and privately held companies.

The US, UK, Germany, Canada and France were the top destinations for private capital in 2022. However, of the top 10 destinations, the UK (with an increase of 1%) and France (with an increase of 21%) were the only countries to see year-on-year increases in investment from private sources. The US ($302 billion), Canada, France, Germany and the UK made up the top five sources of private investment, with private capital from France increasing investment by 27% in 2022.

Dubai is scaling up efforts to transform itself into a global industrial and manufacturing hub and attract major investments across key sectors such as aerospace, pharma and medical equipment, to name a few. This is in line with the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, which projects an additional $5 billion in industrial sector growth by the year 2030.

In the past 10 years, the contribution of Dubai’s industrial sector to its GDP has been around 11-14%, making it the third largest sector, after trade and logistics. It has continued to demonstrate solid growth even during times of global crisis, buoyed by a range of strategic government initiatives and programs, such as the Dubai Industrial Strategy, to boost the global competitiveness of the sector and attract foreign investments.

Global as well as Indian companies, including India’s Himalaya Wellness, have built manufacturing facilities and research and development centres in Dubai. Himalaya Wellness, which is a global manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, herbal, and personal care products, signed an agreement to build a 120-million-dirham herbal pharmaceutical factory in Dubai Industrial City, with the commercial production of the plant set to begin in the first quarter of 2024. The city is home to more than 750 businesses and hundreds of advanced factories using fourth industrial revolution technologies to make everything from car parts to coffee.