Asia

Talks on an economic and trade cooperation agreement between India and Sri Lanka move further.
21Feb mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Asia, World

Talks on an economic and trade cooperation agreement between India and Sri Lanka move further.

New Delhi, Feb 21 (KNN) India and Sri Lanka are poised to advance discussions on the Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), with upcoming bilateral talks set for later this month and in March. This development marks significant progress for both nations, as previous attempts to finalise the pact faced obstacles, including opposition from certain worker unions and nationalist politicians in Sri Lanka. The ETCA negotiations, which were initiated during the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, saw 11 rounds of discussions between 2016 and 2019 but failed to reach fruition due to protests in Sri Lanka. However, under President Wickremesinghe's leadership, discussions resumed last year, signalling a renewed commitment to bolstering economic ties between ...
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India-Bangla trade ties
18Feb mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, World

India-Bangla trade ties

Connectivity, industrial development and trade were the key themes in discussions over economic cooperation between Bangladesh and India. The Planning Commissions of both countries were at the forefront of negotiations to envision a new economic and industrial future. After 1971, Bangladesh set up a newly minted planning commission with economists trained from Cambridge and Harvard. The new commission sought to adapt best practices from both India and Pakistan. The Indian model was a research-centric commission, whereas the Pakistani model was a centralized commission overseen by the head of state. Diversifying exports The trade deficit with India was one of the areas identified by the Bangladesh Planning Commission for redressal. Professor Rehman Sobhan, who served in the first ...
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9Feb mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

Tracker for Central Bank Currency Swaps

Since the financial crisis of 2007, central banks around the world have entered into a multitude of bilateral currency swap agreements with one another. These agreements allow a central bank in one country to exchange currency, usually its domestic currency, for a certain amount of foreign currency. The recipient central bank can then lend this foreign currency on to its domestic banks, on its own terms and at its own risk. Swaps involving the U.S. Federal Reserve were the most important of all the cross-border policy responses to the financial crisis, helping to alleviate potentially devastating dollar funding problems among non-U.S. banks. Fed swaps again helped to prevent global dollar shortages in early 2020, when the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the world into deep recessi...
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Sri Lanka is mired in unstable political and economic conditions.
9Feb mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
Asia, World

Sri Lanka is mired in unstable political and economic conditions.

In 2023, Sri Lanka faced a complex interplay of economic and political challenges. Although fuel and food queues have disappeared, the dire impact of the economic crisis was inescapable. Sri Lanka’s economic outlook was initially grim, with a 3.1 per cent GDP contraction in the second quarter of 2023 and a projected 2 per cent shrinkage for the year. The first quarter saw an alarming 11.5 per cent contraction, highlighting the severity of the crisis. Despite a peak inflation rate of 70 per cent in September, it dropped to 3.4 per cent in November due to subdued demand, offering temporary relief for poorer households The World Bank later revised its forecasts, noting Sri Lanka’s progress in reducing inflation and benefits accruing from tourism revenue and currency appreciation. The B...
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Pakistan’s crucial textile continues to suffer losses
4Feb mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
Asia

Pakistan’s crucial textile continues to suffer losses

The textile sector which is an important pillar of Pakistan's economy saw continued losses in 2023 and the future too does not seem promising thanks to the decline in cotton production this year. Unprecedented inflation, power crisis, and political and economic instability have led to the downturn. This is going to add to the problem of distressed livelihoods and hurt the country's overall economy as the textile sector provides critical income to rural households and contributes to over 60 percent of export receipts.[1][2]  The unprecedented floods of 2022 still have had negative impacts on the cotton output this year as well. The domestic demand for cotton lint is around 15 million bales but the production is not going to be over 9.5 million.[3][4] The shortage of cotton has led ...
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To boost its economy, Sri Lanka and Thailand negotiate a free trade agreement.
3Feb mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Asia, World

To boost its economy, Sri Lanka and Thailand negotiate a free trade agreement.

Thailand and Sri Lanka have signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a move Sri Lanka hopes will help it emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades. “This move aims to enhance market opportunities, with negotiations covering various aspects such as Trade in Goods, Investment, Customs Procedure, and Intellectual Property Rights,” read a statement published on Saturday by the Sri Lankan president’s media department. The island nation has been renewing a focus on trade deals to foster economic growth and help its battered economy, which is estimated by the World Bank to have contracted 3.8 percent last year after a severe foreign exchange crunch plunged it into a wider financial crisis. A delegation headed by Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin arrived in Colombo on Saturday to ...
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1Feb mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Asia, World

Leading organizations confirm that the Indian economy will rise rapidly in FY24.

The RBI's Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) is aligning with the positive trend, upgrading India's real GDP growth from 6.4 per to 7.0 per cent. India is poised to remain the fastest-growing major economy in the world in FY24, according to a poll of economists conducted by news agency Reuters. The economists polled by the news agency also suggested that inflation may not surge again. It may be noted that the Indian economy has performed better than expected in the first two quarters of the ongoing financial year, backed by strong spending by the government as it prepares for the all-important Lok Sabha polls later this year. While infrastructure continues to be a key area of focus for the government heading into the Interim Budget 2024 on February 1, some issues in the bac...
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<strong>Falling remittances in crisis-ridden Pakistan amidst remittance boom in South Asia</strong>
31Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

Falling remittances in crisis-ridden Pakistan amidst remittance boom in South Asia

Since January 2022, Pakistan’s economy has been struggling with a significant dip in its remittances, further aggravating its already distressed economic conditions. Given the developmental needs of the country and current inflationary pressure, a further 10 percent decrease in remittance flow in FY23, as per the World Bank’s report[1], is a severe blow to the nation’s economic health. Between 2022 and 2023, the remittances have plummeted by almost 16 percent[2]. To put it into absolute numbers, in FY23, remittances were reduced by $4.25 billion year-on-year. The situation in Pakistan becomes even more concerning when we contrast it with the rising remittance flow in the South Asian region. As per the World Bank[3], in 2022, South Asia received remittances worth $176 billion, which ove...
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<strong>Deep in economic woes, China finds EU’s de-risking strategy too painful to bear</strong>
29Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Deep in economic woes, China finds EU’s de-risking strategy too painful to bear

After the 27-member European Union on January 24 unveiled a series of steps to de-risk itself from China, in an attempt to protect key sectors and emerging technologies from any possible security threat, Beijing, upset with the move of the 27-member bloc, has voiced its concern that it will have “profound implications for a wide range of areas, including investment, trade and technological cooperation.” But while in the expression of its frustration towards the EU’s de-risking strategy, China’s Foreign Ministry appears to be relatively restrained with spokesperson Wang Wenbin terming it as “protectionist and unilateral” move, Global Times which is mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, has been indisputably harsh in its comment against the 27- member bloc’s stand. “The EU’s pla...
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<strong>Tough life in China – youth are rushing to buy leftover food</strong>
23Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

Tough life in China – youth are rushing to buy leftover food

China’s economy is worsening leading to a growing trend among its youth to consume leftover food, recently several businesses have begun to package unsold daily food items into leftover food blind boxes, inside these boxes are bread, milk tea, dumplings and light meals offered at a third of their original price creating a buying frenzy among many young people. Jean Chen a pseudonym in an interview with Beijing youth daily described these boxes as a lifesaver during his early financially challenging days in Beijing fresh out of college and new to the workforce, he had to live frugally, he shared how for just 20 yuan about 2.81 US $ he could get food that would normally cost 100 Yuan about 14.5 US$ making him a frequent purchaser. Initially a western concept for environmental conservation l...
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