Category: Economy

India’s imports from China reached a record $57.51 billion in the first half of 2022, as per China’s trade data released on Wednesday, July 13.

The India-China trade is all set to exceed USD 100 billion for the second consecutive year as it has gone up to USD 57.51  billion in the first half of this year during a big surge of Chinese exports.

Imports from China are up by 34.5 percent from last year, while Indian exports to China declined to USD 9.57 billion, a fall of 35.3 percent compared to last year

China’s all-inclusive export performance in June showed a recovery, up 13.2%, with a total trade up 14.3% in June. The trade deficit, after six months, stood at USD 47.94 billion. In 2021, the trade deficit for India increased by USD 69.38 billion.

In May, China declared it is still India’s biggest trade partner in 2021-22 according to its figures, referring to news that the US has dislodged it to take the first position.

“China remains the largest trade partner of India and for the first time the bilateral trade exceeded USD 100 billion in 2021,” Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao said.

The euro stands at par with the United States dollar, and stock markets fell as the investors are no longer anxious about the possibility of the central bank tightening further and about the health of the global economies.

On Tuesday at 10:00 GMT, the euro was at a low of $1, its weakest in over two decades.

The US dollar’s fame as a reliable currency for investors worried about the economic outlook has recently improved, with the US currency reaching a 20- year high against various currencies. The euro has been in peril due to the effect of a sharp increase in natural gas prices on the regional economy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mizuho analysts stated that parity was happening as “recession in the eurozone is priced in” and said the backdrop showed almost nothing to improve risk sentiment.

SG Futures described this as a “catastrophe” for the European Union as energy imports carry the risk of becoming more expensive. “Energy supply is already unaffordable, and as we head into winter, it’ll likely get even worse,” it added on a tweet.

The largest single pipeline transporting Russian gas to Germany, the Nord Stream 1, began its yearly maintenance on Monday, with energy flows expected to stop for ten days.

Several GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, may sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India ahead of the maiden West Asian Quad Summit scheduled for July 14. Oman is India’s oldest strategic partner in the region.

In the course of President Joe Biden’s tour to Israel and Saudi Arabia, the US, Israel, UAE, and India will host a virtual summit. On May 1, the UAE and India signed the CEPA, with the first consignment of goods arriving from India with tariff exemptions. This will help the West Asian Quadrilateral in its economic projects.

As per a senior official in UAE, the nation might welcome a wider GCC-India CEPA/FTA that includes a clause in UAE-India CEPA for allowing this.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy of UAE Abdalla Al Saleh said, “We wanted to move quickly to deliver a new generation of trade and investment deals that will open new markets, secure supply chains, and spur greater economic growth for our nation and the region and, now that three such deals have been concluded, we believe they can provide the framework for future deals with GCC”.

French aerospace major Safran announced its decision to institute its first and biggest aircraft engine MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) facility in Hyderabad.

The facility requires an investment of Rs 1200 crore ($150 million) and is expected to create nearly 1,000 high-skilled jobs in Telangana. The MRO will also significantly promote the Hyderabad International Airport and the Telangana Aviation ecosystem.

KT Rama Rao, Telangana Minister, welcomed the Safran group’s decision to choose Hyderabad for its mega airplane engine, MRO.

The MRO facility in Hyderabad will conduct a thorough examination of their market-leading LEAP 1A and Leap 1B aero-engines used by Indian and foreign commercial airlines. As per reports, this will also be the largest MRO Shop on the Safran aircraft engine MRO network globally.

This top-class engine MRO facility is expected to hugely boost the local aerospace manufacturing ecosystem and has the potential to lure more investments and make way for high-value jobs in the state.

Safran has recently built two mega aerospace projects in Hyderabad. The Safran electrical and power factory manufactures engine wire harnesses, and the Safran aircraft engine factory produces vital aero-engine parts for LEAP engines.

On Friday, the South Korean government removed tariffs on some food imports and increased welfare support for low-income earners announcing measures valued at $873 million to ease people’s living costs.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called the current economic conditions an emergency and ordered his administration to take all feasible measures to reduce the strain on people’s means of subsistence. The government is reaffirming its bet on the central bank to raise the policy rate by 50 basis points at its next meeting.

These measures will include the removal of tariffs on beef and chicken imports and quotas on post imports. The finance minister said the measure might cost 330 billion in savings for later this year. The policy may need 330 billion in savings for later this year, according to the finance minister.

Meanwhile, economists claim these measures will deal with the effect of inflation rather than find the cause of it. This could lead to a lessened effect on inflation.

The economist at the HI Investment & Securities Park Sang-Hyun, said, “There would be a very limited effect, if any, on the price movement as these are targeted steps on the living cost and for a specific group of people.”

In June, the nation touched its highest inflation since the last Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

The Indian services sector grew at its fastest pace in more than eleven years in June, according to the S&P Global India services PMI. Despite strong demand, persistent inflation remains a concern as prices soared at their most rapid rate in almost five years.

During the month of June, the S&P Global India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index increased from 58.9 to 59.2, reaching its highest level since April 2011. The difference between expansion and contraction is 50 points or more.

Stronger than expected, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index was at 58.2, down from 58.3 throughout May. The manufacturing PMI hit a 9-month low in June, according to prior data.

The new orders sub-index reached its best level since February 2011 thanks to a substantial uptick in increased demand, higher sales, and a favorable economic climate that put it over breakeven again for the eleventh consecutive month. Despite dropping to a three-month low in June, input price inflation stayed higher than average due to increased prices for chemicals, food, and gasoline.

Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence said, “Demand for service improved, supporting a robust economic expansion for the sector over the first quarter of social yeat 2022/23 and setting the scene for another substantial upturn in output next month”.

On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated the Adly Mansour Transportation Hub in east Cairo. Kamel al-Wazir, Minister of Transport, provided President Abdel Fattah with a detailed explanation of the station and inspected an electric train at the Adly Mansour station.

The Adly Mansour Transportation Hub is the largest in the Middle East and is designed as a central interchange station. It will include an integrated service transportation complex along with a commercial investment area on 15 acres.

In terms of accomplishment, Adly Mansour station is the first metro station in history to be built entirely by Egyptians through Egyptian companies.

Five different modes of transportation are available at the station, including a metro station on the 3rd subway line, an electric train station (Adly Mansour – the New Administrative Capital – the 10th of Ramadan), a railway station (Cairo / Suez), an airport shuttle station, and a superjet station.

There are approximately 7.5 kilometers of overhead stations in the project, starting at Nozha Station 1 in the Gesr al-Suez area, passing through Hisham Barakat and Quba stations, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, and Huckstep stations, all the way to Adly Mansour station.

Indonesian officials claim that they are hopeful of boosting the country’s exports to the Middle East after the signing of a new economic pact with the UAE.

Indonesia’s Trade Minister Zulfikli Hasan and UAE Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on Friday in Abu Dhabi. This is Indonesia’s first such agreement with a Gulf country and the UAE’s first with a Southeast Asian nation. In September 2021, both countries had discussed ways to eliminate tariffs and boost bilateral investment.

According to data from Indonesia’s Trade Ministry, trade between both countries reached almost $4 billion in 2021, a 38 percent increase from the previous year, when it was worth $2.9 billion.

After the implementation of the the deal, the new agreement will hopefully augment Indonesian exports to the UAE by 54 percent, or about $844 million, in the coming ten years. This is largely due to the exemption of nearly 94 percent of existing tariffs. Indonesia mainly exports jewelry, palm oil, and motorized vehicles to the UAE.

“This agreement will be Indonesia’s entryway to the UAE, which is a hub to increase exports to non-traditional export destinations in the Gulf, Middle East,” Hasan said in a statement issued on Friday.

France and Australia, India’s main partners in the Indo-Pacific region, have suggested restoring the trilateral involving New Delhi to secure and maintain the Indian Ocean Region at a time of worries over China’s assertive behavior. This happened on Friday during the new Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Paris.

Earlier this year, the trilateral did not get active consideration or development after France got frightened following Australia’s decision to dump the submarine deal and launch AUKUS to obtain nuclear-powered submarines with the help of the US and UK.

Australian Prime Minister hailed the “new start” in relations with France as he met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday. Admitting the challenging times. Macron emphasized the strategic partnership between both countries, their common European war history, and their collaborative efforts in bringing stability to the Pacific region.

 Allies France and Australia developed a split after the previous Australian PM, Scott Morrison, worked out secretly to buy submarines made by the US and discarded an Aus$50 billion (33 billion euros) submarine contract signed with France in 2016.

A joint statement issued on Friday after talks between the leaders of Australia and France said, “Australia and France will shape a new defense relationship and strengthen our collaboration and exchange on shared security interests, including through operational engagement and intelligence sharing,”.

The board of the World Bank on Thursday approved the creation of a fund intending to finance investments in building the fight against pandemics.

The fund will support prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR), with the focal point being on low- and middle-income countries, the bank said in a statement.

“The devastating human, economic, and social cost of Covid-19 has highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to build stronger health systems and mobilize additional resources,” it said.

The World Bank also said that the fund, which they plan to start later this year, was developed under the guidance of the United States, Italy, and Indonesia as part of their G20 presidencies, and with far-fledged support from the G20.

World Bank President David Malpass said in the statement.”The World Bank is the largest provider of financing for PPR with active operations in over 100 developing countries to strengthen their health systems,”

The W.H. O is a stakeholder in the project and will render technical skills, its president Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

A World Bank spokesperson told AFP that if the Covid-19 pandemic is persisting when the fund is implemented, it could provide support against the existing as well as future pandemics.