India's annual wholesale price index (WPI) inflation reduced to 8.39% year-on-year in October 2022, to come in single digits and the lowest since March 2021, thanks to the reduction in commodity prices. The WPI came in double digits for 18 consecutive months from April 2021 till September 2022. The inflation last month was lower than the 10.70% recorded in the previous month of September. This is the first time in 19 months that WPI inflation has come in single digit, last recorded at 7.89% in March 2021. In its statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry credited
Kenya has inked a deal with Australian firm Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to establish a green hydrogen and ammonia plant that will begin its plan to utilise green energy across the African continent. The deal was signed on the sidelines of the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Egypt. Kenya President William Ruto signed the deal with the FFI Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest. The company will set up an initial 300 MW green hydrogen and ammonia plant in the next three years, which will also produce fertiliser. The project
Malaysia’s economy posted double-digit growth in the third quarter of the year, boosted by rising domestic demand and strong exports, its central bank said on Friday. The rise is the first time in over a year. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 14.2% in July-September from a year earlier, at a faster pace than the 8.9% annual rise in the previous quarter. The increase is also the fastest pace of growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy registered a growth of 16.1%. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) credited the growth to continuous expansion in domestic demand
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based money transfers between India and Singapore will become possible soon, as the countries are all set to link their respective fast payment systems, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow, said India’s High Commissioner in Singapore P Kumaran. The technical work to connect UPI and PayNow has been finished. The central banks of India and Singapore, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) respectively, will collaborate on the move. The service will enable easy fund transfers between the countries at the lowe
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionally agreed to a $4.5-billion support programme for Bangladesh on Wednesday. The aid will help the South Asian country evade economic instability escalating into a crisis, said its Finance Minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal. The IMF said that a “staff-level agreement” had been reached with Bangladesh for a 42-month arrangement, which includes about $3.2 billion from its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and about $1.3 billion from its new Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The objectives of the support
The EU-India InnoCenter, a programme financed by the European Union’s research and innovation framework programme Horizon 2020, is bringing high-impact and unique tech startups (Series-A funded) to explore, enter and scale in the Indian market. The ventures are coming for the first in-country flagship event, Blue Carpet Night, to be hosted by EU-India InnoCenter in Bengaluru. The Ambassador of the European Union to India Ugo Astuto will virtually launch the meet. The event will showcase European Innovation on November 15. The visiting technology start-ups are focused on sustainability
Egypt has signed partnerships for its Nexus of Water-Food-Energy (NWFE) programme to support the implementation of climate projects with investments worth $15 billion, the country said in a statement issued from the presidency of United Nations’ conference on climate change, COP27, currently underway in its seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The projects to be funded include one energy project worth $10 billion and eight food security, agriculture, irrigation, and water projects. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad on Wednesday said that funding is a major challenge, but access must be
The Japanese cabinet led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday approved a 29.1 trillion yen ($198 billion) extra budget to fund an economic stimulus package to ease the impact of inflation on the country. This is the second supplementary budget for the year ending in March. The extra budget consisted of steps to help people cope with rising costs of electricity, gas, and gasoline. The other objective was to help various regions take advantage of the weak yen to attract tourists. The budget also kept aside money for an emergency budget reserve. The government will now present the budge
Saudi Arabia on Monday committed $2.5 billion to a green initiative in the Middle East for the period of the next ten years at the ongoing COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the kingdom aims to fulfill the goal of providing sustainable energy systems for the world, adding that his country would build a headquarters for the initiative. Saudi Arabia aims to generate about 50% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2050. The Crown Prince and the new Saudi Arabian prime minister promised that his government plans to slash 44 million tonnes o
The UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has said that the UAE will remain a supplier of oil and gas for "as long as the world is in need". The leader was speaking at the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday. "The UAE is considered a responsible supplier of energy, and it will continue playing this role for as long as the world is in need of oil and gas," he added. The UAE will host next year's COP28 summit in Dubai's Expo City. The summit will include the "first evaluation of the implementation of the Paris Climate Accords," he said. The UAE leader met many heads