Asia

31Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

China’s PMI data softened slightly in July

Manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs both edged slightly lower in July dragged down by weak domestic demand Manufacturing PMI remained in contraction China's July official manufacturing PMI slowed slightly to 49.4, down from 49.5 in June. This marked the third consecutive month the PMI has been below 50 - the threshold between expansion and contraction - and also marked a 5-month low.  By subcategory, we saw some mixed performances but generally, the more important subcategories trended a little weaker. The biggest decline was in production, which fell from 50.6 to 50.1. New orders also fell further into contraction from 49.5 to 49.3, as domestic demand remains sluggish. In contrast, we saw slightly smaller contractions in new export orders (48.5) and imports (47.0)...
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No reconsideration of the policy on Chinese FDI: Goyal
31Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, World

No reconsideration of the policy on Chinese FDI: Goyal

The government is not looking at a review of the cautious policy regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) from China though the Economic Survey had backed a a more open approach to capital inflows from the neighbour to meet the manufacturing ambitions of the country. “There is no rethinking at present to support Chinese investments in the country,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said here on Tuesday, in the first categorical statement on this from a senior government functionary. He said the Economic Survey was a report that always flags new ideas, though it is “not at all binding on the government.” The survey last week had suggested that welcoming FDI from China will help India better meet its ambition of having a greater share in the global va...
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Together, China and Australia can accelerate Asean’s energy transformation.
31Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia

Together, China and Australia can accelerate Asean’s energy transformation.

The Australia-China relationship has stabilised after years of geopolitical and trade turbulence. This lays the groundwork for further cooperation, including through joint initiatives in Asia. A significant opportunity lies in Southeast Asia’s push towards an electrified future. Almost all countries in the region have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions, and electrifying the end-user sectors, including transport, is a crucial strategy in this effort. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s road map to keep the global temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, Southeast Asia is set for a rapid electrification, with more than half of its energy consumption coming from electricity by 2050, up from 22 per cent in 2018. This shif...
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China offers Pakistan $300 million in Panda bonds in an effort to alleviate its economic woes.
27Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China

China offers Pakistan $300 million in Panda bonds in an effort to alleviate its economic woes.

Panda Bonds are onshore renminbi-denominated bonds issued in the People’s Republic of China by non-Chinese entities and serve as a capital-raising platform for foreign countries or companies targeting Chinese investors. With an aim to improve the financial stability of a cash-strapped country which is grappling with several other challenges such as high inflation and declining forex reserves, Pakistan has sought cooperation from Chinese institutional investors to launch Panda Bonds to raise between $250 million and $300 million initially. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb discussed the plan with the Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Pan Gongsheng during a meeting in Beijing, covering a wide range of economic issues on Friday. Panda Bonds are ...
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What role does toilet paper have in the Indian economy?
26Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, World

What role does toilet paper have in the Indian economy?

The discussion on India's economy took a toilet break. Among the numerous mentions in the Economic Survey 2023-2024 of tax, trade deficit, fiscal prudence -- terms that some might find difficult to metabolise -- there was a very unusual mention of toilet paper. It tries to send a green message to the West, which might not be a smooth wipe. The Economic Survey 2023-24 presented by Nirmala Sitharamanmentioned toilet paper to underscore its rampant use in Western countries and its significant environmental implications. In the chapter dealing with climate change, the annual document also highlighted how substitute hygiene practices followed in Asian countries have been ignored by the West and how they can provide valuable insights into more sustainable use of resources. The que...
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25Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Xi tackles slow growth as economy ‘hits the brakes’

China's economy stumbled in the second quarter, official data shows, just as the country's top leaders gathered for a key meeting to address its sluggish growth. It grew 4.7% in the three months to June, falling short of expectations after a stronger start in the first three months of 2024. The government's annual growth target is around 5%. "China’s economy hit the brakes in the June quarter," said Heron Lim at Moody's Analytics, adding that analysts are hoping for solutions from the meeting under way in Beijing, also called the Third Plenum. The world's second-largest economy is facing a prolonged property crisis, steep local government debt, weak consumption and high unemployment. Past outcomes of the Plenum have changed the course of history in China - in 1978, then l...
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25Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

China’s updated playbook for reviving growth risks more tensions with the world

China’s most senior leadership concluded a major political meeting in July with a communiqué correctly identifying a “grave and complex international environment” and “arduous tasks” at home. But as expected, there was limited indication of new policy approaches to revive its slowing economy and recover from a real estate crisis. Nor did the meeting portend a serious effort to defuse growing backlash in the United States, the European Union, Indonesia, Brazil, and others against China’s economic playbook, which emphasizes increased investments in manufacturing for exports to boost its sluggish growth. The closely watched Third Plenum of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, which occurs approximately every five years, set goals of “innova...
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China’s downturn suggests a special liquidity trap
25Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China

China’s downturn suggests a special liquidity trap

HONG KONG, July 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China is awash with money and its growth is slowing. To avert a prolonged stagnation, President Xi Jinping’s administration may need to spend its way out of the problem. Yet this and other classic remedies to such a malaise may not be effective in Beijing’s “socialist market economy”. China’s condition may be seen as what economists call a liquidity trap, though the term means different things to different people. Writing a century ago during the Great Depression, John Maynard Keynes described a situation where bond yields fall to a lower limit and individuals hoard cash. In 1998 after Japan’s property bubble burst, its economy slid into recession and monetary policy lost impact as interest rates were close to zero, Paul Krugman warned,...
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24Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China

China is going through its worst-case scenario of a financial catastrophe in 2008.

China’s leaders on Thursday announced lofty economic goals for the coming years, repeated Chinese Communist Party (CCP) buzz phrases and offered up traditional Marxist jargon after the Communist Party’s much-anticipated Third Plenum. However, as Reuters reported, they provided “no implementation details.” As a result, the Chinese economy will continue to erode. Continued erosion will almost inevitably result in a debt crisis, undoubtedly one of historic proportions. The CCP pledged, at the meeting held once every half decade, to enhance social security and healthcare programs and implement tax and financial reforms, but the ruling organization has promised these changes before. The Plenum communique said China would support “new quality productive forces,” one of Xi J...
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23Jul By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

India–China relations under the Modi 3.0 government

On 4 June, Narendra Modi was re-elected as prime minister of India for a third consecutive term – unprecedented in 62 years. By reappointing his foreign minister and national security advisor, Modi has signalled his desire for continuity in India’s statecraft. However, among India’s key bilateral ties, those with China will merit significant attention and possibly adaptation. As the relationship between Asia’s largest nuclear-armed militaries and economies by 2025 appears increasingly distant and tense, where is it headed?  Mutually exclusive prosperity and security  India–China ties are troubled by an unsettled border, an unequal trade relationship, China’s strategic ties to Pakistan, and a broadening political-strategic disagreement ove...
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