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
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
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
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
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, providi
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 we
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
Inflation pushed in different directions in Europe last month, as it increased in Germany and fell again in Spain. German consumer prices jumped 6.8 percent in June from a year earlier, up from 6.3 percent in May, according to the state statistics office Destatis. The figure also partly increased due to a widely used offer of cheap transport tickets last summer, analysts said. However, in Spain, lower food and energy inflation raised the consumer price index only 1.6 percent in June from a year earlier, down from 2.9 percent in May. The increase in inflation in Germany – Europe’s la
InterGlobe Aviation Limited’s IndiGo has become India’s first airline with a combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of more than Rs 1 lakh crore. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs. 2,634.25 on the BSE earlier in the session 28 June 2023, with a market value of ₹1.01 trillion. The turnover of the company stood at Rs 9.20 crore on BSE, commanding a m-cap of Rs. 1,01,007.56 crore. The stock on June 28 climbed 3.55 percent to settle at Rs 2,619.85 over its previous close of Rs 2,529.95. The scrip has so far gained more than 28 percent this year. The market share of India’s largest
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon has said that India now has a very high growth trajectory, with a predicted growth of 6-7 percent over the next three years. In an interview on June 28, Solomon said that global CEOs are thinking about India as a big growth opportunity while recognising some of the challenges with investing in the country. Over the period of a year, the global economy, and the United States in particular, have been ‘more resilient’ than he would have expected, adding that there could be a period with 0-1 percent growth and 4 percent inflation. The