Temasek Holdings, Singapore's state-owned investment company, announced its support for a new forestry fund as the city-state looks to increase its carbon tax. Singapore plans to ratchet up the tax it charges on greenhouse gas pollution to S$25 a ton by 2024 from S$5 at the time it was first implemented. According to the David Brand, Sydney-based New Forests chief executive, Temasek is among investors including Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. They are investing US$120 million in the New Forest Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2. He further anticipates 14 to 18 percent annualized return over its 10
On Feb 27, Saudi oil giant Aramco found new gas fields in four regions within the nation. According to Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Samna and Umm Khansar are "non-conventional" or shale fields. The gas field was found in the central area of the country in the desert Empty Quater which is near the northern border and in the eastern region. Shadun, located in the Central Region, was discovered after Shadun-1 well produced 27 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, with 3,300 barrels of condensate. Gas was discovered in the Shehab natural gas field in
India and France have signed a roadmap to enhance the nation's bilateral exchanges on the blue economy. Through the deal, the parties share a common vision of ocean governance and collaborate on building resilient coastal and waterways infrastructure. The deal was signed during the three-day visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to France. The trip began on Sunday which included the bilateral talks with his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian. Mr. Jaishankar said in a statement, “Indian and Frane intend to make the blue economy a driver of the progress of their respective societi
The head of the Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC) which is home to the Dubai Diamond Exchange said on Monday that the United Arab Emirates became the top trading hub for the rough diamonds in 2021, overtaking Belgium. Rough diamonds were traded for more than $22.8 billion through the Gulf state in 2021. DMCC CEO and executive chairman, Ahmed Bin Sulayem said that the polished diamonds sector continues to grow. Ahmed Bin Sulayem’s office announced that the diamond trade in UAE has grown up to 76% since 2015. Between 2020 and 2021, the total diamond trade for UAE has grown by 83%.
Thailand’s economy bounced back more quickly than expected in the fourth quarter. The economy retired to growth on robust and recover its domestic activity post relaxing the restriction on borders and opening it for foreign visitors. After a 6.1 percent contraction in 2020, Thailand's economy grew 1.6 percent in 2021, one of the slowest in Southeast Asia. In addition to the 1.8 percent growth in the December quarter, data from NESDC showed the economy expanded 0.9 percent in the third quarter after it contracted 0.9 percent in the third quarter. A year before the GDP grew 1.9 percent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Asia’s biggest Bio-CNG plant in Indore. The plant has been set up on a 15-acre ground that was initially used as a dumping zone. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was highly appreciated for setting up the bio-CNG plant in a very short span of time at Devguradia. Mr. Modi added that the project will serve as an inspiration to other cities in the country. Mr. Modi said that the efforts were made under the Swachh Bharat-2 campaign. The initiative was taken to remove piles of garbage from vast chunks of land that are present in several cities of
Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary, will urge her counterparts at the G20 this week to advance efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries and ensure they have the resources they need for an equitable recovery. According to the U.S. Treasury official, Yellen is scheduled to attend the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, on Thursday and Friday, which will be hosted by Indonesia. Initially, the finance meeting of G20 was planned in person in Bali. However, the venue was changed to Jakarta in January due to a hybrid gathering with many officials
The India-UAE Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is likely to be signed soon between the nation. This agreement is expected to increase the exports of gems and jewelry to the United Arab of Emirates. Due to the pandemic, the export of gems and jewelry was badly hit. From April 2021- to January 2022, UAE witnessed the highest fall of 41.50% among the top 10 gem and jewelry export destinations. This list was followed by Belgium with a 15.81% fall and Hong Kong with a 3.06% fall as compared to April 2019-January 2020. The Gem & Jewels Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has recommended the govern
Singapore and Cambodia will strengthen their cooperation particularly in new areas of mutual interest like agri-trade, infrastructure development, connectivity, digital economy, and fintech. Dr. Balakrishnan said, “We both urged the Myanmar military authorities to swiftly and fully implement the FIve-Point Consensus, including by facilitating the Special Envoy’s visit to Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned”. Dr. Balakrishnan expressed regret that there had been no significant progress in implementing the Consensus. According to the ASEAN "five-point consensus" reached in Ap
On Thursday, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan discussed the proposed free trade agreement (FTA). the meeting was aimed to promote the economic ties between the two nations. Mr. Goyal tweeted, “Had comprehensive talks over lunch with my good friend and Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan in New Delhi. We had an engaging discussion on easy to further deepen India-Australia economic and trade ties”. The Australian Minister is in India to advance negotiation on the proposed FTA that is officially dubbed the Comprehensive Econ