On Wednesday, India’s Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi announced the digital currency's launch by the RBI and said that the digital rupee can be exchanged for cash. The statement was proposed in the Union Budget will open new opportunities in the fintech sector. PM said, “The digital rupee will revolutionize the fintech sector by creating new opportunities and lessen the burden in handling, printing, logistics management of cash”. He further added the Central Bank Digital Currency (CDBC) will be in the digital form for the physical rupee which will be regulated by the RBI. This sy
On Wednesday, The House Of Representatives along with the Senate ratified a reconciled bill amending the 85-year-old law that stopped foreign ownership of public utilities to 40%. The new bill allowed full foreign ownership of telecommunication and railway services. The announcement came from the Philippine Congress regarding opening up one of the world's most restrictive economies. Earlier the lawmakers agreed in their version of the bill regarding railway, shipping, and telecommunication should be further opened to foreign investors. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Grace Poe said that a
On Thursday, the Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) released survey data which shows UAE’s non-oil sector continuing to expand sharply in January. The report showed a high increase in new work led to a further significant increase in output in the non-oil sector Strong sales in Expo 2020 had boosted the business activity once again within the nation along with a broad recovery in economic conditions from the pandemic. IHS Markit UAE Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy, fell from 55.6 in December to 54.1 in January
On Tuesday (Feb 1), Nirmala Sitharaman, India's finance minister, proposed a $713 billion (39.5 trillion rupees) expansion in the economy's annual spending for the fiscal year beginning in April. As India stages a world-beating recovery from the pandemic, the government is vowed to devote more resources to promoting growth. India is targeting a deficit of 6.4% of GDP for the next fiscal year and hopes to build high tax revenues and increase the privatization of state firms. Finance Minister said that she will be left with a budget shortfall of 6.4% of gross domestic product, this is 6.1
For the first time in the United Arab Emirates history, the government plans to introduce a federal tax on corporate earnings. As part of this effort, it is dismantling a levy-free tax regime that had made it a global magnet for businesses. From June 2023, the government is set to introduce a 9% federal corporate tax on profits earned by businesses. Employees in the UAE will not be directly affected by this new taxation, but consumers could be indirectly affected if corporations raise prices as a knee-jerk reaction. Thomas Vanhee, the Partner, Aurifer Middle East Tax Consultancy, said,
On Wednesday, a free trade agreement stuck between Singapore and a bloc of countries comprising Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Mexico. Through the agreement, local companies will now be able to bid for government projects in the Americas, which together represent the eighth largest economy in the world. Singapore's first direct free trade agreement, or The Pacific Alliance-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (PASFTA), is with the Pacific Alliance, a bloc with a combined economic output of more than $2.6 trillion. These negotiations have lasted over four years. The Pacific Alliance continues simi
On Tuesday, in a record 7.95 percent interest rate, Pakistan has raised a whopping $1 billion loan through its Sukuk bond, the highest rate it's ever paid on an Islamic bond in its history. The media also reported that in return for the much-needed loan, Pakistan also agreed to pledge a portion of the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. The country issued the 7-year tenor asset-backed Sukuk bond to raise $1 billion with 7.95%. This rate is half a percent higher compared to the 10-year Eurobond which Imran’s government floated in April last year. The key difference between the traditional Eurob
India’s imports from China soar to almost $100 billion for the first time in the calendar year 2021 due to imports of electrical and electronic goods, machinery, and particularly smartphones. A massive surge was also seen in imports of special chemicals including APIs, fertilizers like ammonia sulfate, urea, and other varieties, industrial goods, telecom equipment, machine tools, and auto components. According to China’s General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), India’s imports from China have reached $97.52 billion in 2021, whereas the total two-w
On Monday, the oil prices rose on worries regarding supply disruption amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This can make an already tight market even tighter. Meanwhile, Opec and its allies are struggling to raise their output. On Friday, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 57 cents (0.7%) to US$85.71 a barrel which fell to 0.5%. By 0742 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 58 cents, or 0.7 percent, to US$88.47 a barrel, reversing Friday's losses of 0.6 percent. Since October 2014, both the benchmarks rose for a fifth week in a row last week. It
Post-mid-term elections in September, Prime Minister Justine Trudeau returned to power. Shortly after four months, his popularity is taking a battering due to high levels of inflation. According to the government's data agency Statistic Canada, the consumer price for the month of December was at 4.8%, which reached the highest point in three decades. This level of data is considered as an “inflation anxiety”. Hashtag #JustinFlation is making rounds on social media by Trudeau’s opponents. In September, he formed another minority government for the first time after precipitating sna