Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Economy

  • Modi launches bank for small firms

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a bank with a corpus of Rs.20,000 crore to extend credit of up to Rs.10 lakh to small businesses and regulate micro-finance institutions, to promote their growth, add to the country’s output and create jobs. The move is aimed at benefiting some 58 million small businesses in the country, who…

  • RBI leaves policy rates unchanged

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      India’s central bank  kept its key policy rates and the reserve ratios unchanged in line with the predictions, while awaiting more robust data on inflation and action from commercial banks to soften their cost of credit to alter its stance. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, who conducted the first bi-monthly review of…

  • Morgan Stanley sees ‘Achhe Din’ for India

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    With the rural wage growth coming down to a nine-year low at 5.5 percent this January and inflation seemingly stabilizing, India is bracing for a long period of higher sustainable growth and lower prices, financial services firm Morgan Stanley said. “We are more constructive on inflation outlook and we expect the retail price index to…

  • India must lead fight on climate: Modi

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    Seeking to scotch “lies” being floated about the land acquisition bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that it synergized India’s growth imperative with the need for environment protection, while calling for the country to demonstrate leadership in tackling the global threat of climate change. Inaugurating the state environment and forest ministers’ conference here, Modi said…

  • Modi’s visit to Canada to boost trade

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    By Mohammed Shafeeq   Canada expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in April to help accelerate finalization of trade and investment agreements between the two countries, a Canadian diplomat has said. Sidney Frank, Canada’s Consul General in Bengaluru, said that the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will have…

  • Islamic Banking to cross US$263 bn in 2019

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    The UAE is en route to achieve US$263 billion of Sharia-compliant assets by 2019, according to EY’s World Islamic Banking Competitiveness, WIBC, report. The industry was estimated to be worth US$127 billion in 2014, thus making it the third largest Islamic banking market by value, after the Saudi Arabian and Malaysian markets. Ashar Nazim, Global…

  • India plans big for Africa

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    By Ranjana Narayan   As India plans big for the India Africa Forum Summit in October, inviting all the 54 countries for the first time to its soil, it has reached out in many small but important ways to several of the countries for capacity building, not the least being helping Rwanda make optimal use of…

  • Saudi influence on oil price to decline

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      With Saudi Arabia moving beyond its long-held role as a simple exporter of crude oil and reshaping itself as a supplier of refined petroleum products, the kingdom will be less able to influence prices and balance global oil markets, a study says. The paper, published in the journal Energy Policy, examined the growth of…

  • Jaguar Land Rover to invest £600 million in UK

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    Jaguar Land Rover has today reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the West Midlands, with confirmation of a £600m investment in the region to support product creation and advanced vehicle manufacturing. The largest single investment has been made at the company’s Castle Bromwich plant, where over £400m has been spent in new and upgraded facilities to…

  • India needs to be energy independent : Modi

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    Stressing on energy security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will have to be independent in this area and seek new avenues to replenish existing sources in a bid to serve the growing appetite of the people. “We need to be independent when it comes to providing our people with energy,” Modi said,…

  • Qatar ink six agreements with India

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    India and Qatar inked six agreements, including one on transfer of sentenced prisoners, as visiting Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here . The Emir, who is here on a two-day visit, was in the morning accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.…

  • Resurgent India driving Asian growth

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    By Arun Kumar With India-US relations stronger than ever since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two countries have become drivers of growth across the region and around the world, according to a senior US official “If there is one overarching positive trend that is driving the energy and optimism across South Asia,…

  • India’s African opportunity

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    By Francis Kokutse  A recent upsurge in infrastructural developments across Africa might well turn out to be a boon for Indian companies. A new report by the international accounting firm, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) has confirmed that infrastructure spending in sub-Saharan Africa will exceed $180 billion by 2025, and this seems to fit into the Exim…

  • E-commerce growing in India

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    The technology driven e-commerce market in India has come of age and is growing rapidly to cross Rs.1 lakh crore by the year-end, an industry report said. “Growing at 33 percent, the digital commerce market is set to cross Rs.1 lakh crore by December 2015 from Rs.81,525 crore in December 2014, with 53 percent growth,”…

  • Osborne Unveils Election Budget

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    Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the budget aiming to retain power on may 7 general elections. The latest opinion polls show the Conservatives and the opposition Labour are on neck-and-neck. The chancellor told MPs “Britain is walking tall again” after five years of coalition government. Growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016 were revised up but the…

  • UK unemployment falls

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    UK unemployment has fallen by 102,000 to 1.86 million in the three months to January, official figures show. The unemployment rate remains at 5.7% but the number of people in work is at an all-time high, the office for national statistics said. The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance also fell to 791,200, its lowest…

  • Osborne to unveil pre-election Budget

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    In his last one before elections,George Osborne is to set out his tax and spending plans in the Budget later. The chancellor has pledged “no giveaways” or “gimmicks” in his speech, which will be delivered at 12:30 GMT. Reports suggest the UK’s finances may be boosted by a £6bn windfall as a result of low…

  • US Fed to raise interest rates?

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    By Arun Kumar    The US central bank kicked off a policy meeting that ends  amid speculation about when the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates – a move that would impact both advanced and emerging markets like India. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the Fed “is about to inject uncertainty back into financial…

  • India poised for fast growth: Lagarde

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      Internation Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde  said India was on its path to becoming the world’s fastest growing economy, as she bagan her two-day visit to the country. “Wondeful to be back in vibrant India – poised to become world’s fastest growing large economy,” Lagarde tweeted, as the multilateral funding institution predicted…

  • India for inclusive economic growth: Richard Verma

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    Hailing India’s emergence as a leader in inclusive economic growth, US ambassador Richard Verma said  that it can play a leadership role in bolstering connectivity in South Asia. “It’s worth noting that India is emerging as a regional leader in creating policies to encourage inclusive economic growth. During his recent visit here, President (Barack) Obama…

  • What influenced Rajan’s rate cuts?

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    By Biswajit Choudhury  The second unscheduled cut  – within two months – in the repo rate at which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lends to commercial banks was not as unexpected as the first in January. Indeed, it could even be called expected after the weekend’s historic announcement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in…

  • Victory for UK and Single Market

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    An historic verdict by the General Court of the European Court of Justice powerfully reaffirmed the principle that Single Market rules prevent any discrimination against countries outside the Eurozone and that legislation agreed by all 28 member states trumps policy by the European Central bank . The Court found in favour of the first of…

  • RBI cuts keys rates

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    In a surprise development that sent stock markets soaring, India’s central bank cut its key lending rates by 25 basis points, expecting inflation to soften in the coming fiscal even as it expressed concern over the postponement of fiscal consolidation by a year. Getting some positive cues from the national budget tabled last week, and…

  • Crucial spectrum telecom auction to begin

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    The finance ministry is expected to closely watch the e-auction of radio frequency spectrum, our airwaves, for telecom operators that commences, seen as crucial for the government to be able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP. A mock auction was conducted Tuesday. “It went off smoothly. We are all set…

  • UKIBC pins hopes on budget

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    Richard Heald, Chief Executive of the UK-India Business Council, comments on India’s budget I never really understand the hoopla which accompanies the Union Budget 2015. Of course, this Budget is the first chance for Minister Jaitley and the NDA Coalition to articulate their vison of the direction of travel for India. But even that does…

  • Mood mixed at Moody’s

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      Global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on  said India’s budget for 2015-16 is credit positive for corporates and a mixed bag for the banks. The increase in service tax, however, is credit negative as it would increase the production cost for Indian corporates, the agency said. “Measures designed to reduce and rationalise taxes,…

  • BJP buries ‘big bang’ reforms

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    Jaitley’s budget aims to end an era of “scam, scandal and corruption” ….writes Arvind Padmanabhan Falling just short of big bang reforms called for by his own economic survey, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented a Rs.17.78 lakh crore (nearly £200 billion) national budget for the next fiscal that seeks to put more money in the hands…

  • Jaitley avoids a ‘big bang’ budget

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    By Arvind Padmanabhan    Falling just short of big bang reforms called for by his own economic survey, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday presented a Rs.17.78 lakh crore (nearly $300 billion) national budget for the next fiscal that seeks to put more money in the hands of the average citizen, tackle the menace of black money…

  • India’s growth pegged at over 8%

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      India’s economic survey pegged growth at more than 8 percent for the next fiscal and said inflation was now declining, while also setting the agenda for reforms needed to further drive the expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote productive investment. Tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and authored by a team led…

  • Obama committed to boosting trade with India

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    By Arun Kumar  Asserting that President Barack Obama was committed to boosting India-US trade ties, the US has suggested that they work together in a way that benefits the economies and job creation in both countries. “There is an opportunity for us to try to advance the interests of both our countries by working together…

  • Which way will Rajan go?

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    By Biswajit Choudhury  With economic data before the union budget on Feb 28 showing inflation at a five-year low, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan can perhaps indulge in a belated celebration of his birthday that fell Feb 3 when he maintained the RBI repo rate at which it lends to commercial banks at…

  • RBI lifts gold coin ban

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    The World Gold Council (WGC)  said the RBI’s decision to lift a ban on import of gold coins and medallions by banks and allowing them to import gold on a consignment basis was a right move. “These are important clarifications in the right direction, following removal of 80:20 import restriction and definitely positive for the…

  • India seeks global investment in aerospace

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    By Fakir Balaji  Taking up the Narendra Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign avidly, the defence ministry is pulling all stops to ensure global firms invest in the fledgling aerospace industry so it can reduce imports and achieve self-reliance. “In line with the government’s policy to promote greater indigenisation in the defence sector, the thrust…

  • US to support reforms in India

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      US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew expressed his country’s commitment to support growth and reforms in India and encourage greater opening of the Indian economy to US firms. “I hope we can work together to deepen capital markets to unlock domestic resources and welcome foreign investment into India, strengthen financial regulatory reform, improve our…

  • India keeps key interest rates unchanged

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    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep key interest rates unchanged in its sixth bi-monthly policy review. “We have maintained the status quo (on interest rates). We have taken action on other fronts,” Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said at the press conference to announce the policy for the sixth bi-monthly meeting. Rajan…

  • FDI liberalisation sought in e-commerce

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    By Arun Kumar   Ahead of President Barack Obama’s trip to India, two US lawmakers have asked him to request Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to liberalise foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions on e-commerce sector. “Such a move would benefit the economies of both India and the United States,” wrote senators Mark R. Warner and John…

  • India’s growth potential is above 9%: Jaitley

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    Asserting that India’s economic growth will be significantly better next year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  said the real economic growth potential of the country was over 9 percent. “We have a roadmap to bring down fiscal deficit below three percent in a few years. Elimination of subsidies in India is not desirable. We need to…

  • US looking forward to Obama visit

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    US corporate honchos are looking forward to President Barack Obama’s visit to India to understand market accessibility after the BJP-led government came to power, an Assocham CEOs’ survey in India and the US, released here, said. The industry chamber said the survey was done between Jan 6 and Jan 16 among major Indian corporates and…

  • India to grow at 6.5% in 2016: IMF

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    By Arun Kumar   Broadly keeping its growth forecast for India unchanged, International Monetary Fund (IMF)  projected that rising from 5.8 percent in 2014, the Asian economy will grow at 6.3 percent in 2015 and 6.5 percent in 2016. Slower growth in China will impact growth in much of emerging Asia except India where weaker external…

  • RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points

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    With the inflation rate coming down to below eight percent by January 2015 as targeted and likely to be below six percent by January 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points, said bank Governor Raghuram G. Rajan. The much awaited reduction in key interest rates by…

  • Indian economy to grow by 7% in 2016: WB

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    By Arul Louis   Helped along by falling oil prices and by lower interest rates in developed countries, India’s economy is expected to grow by seven percent next year and these two factors can be a game-changer if the nation were to seize the opportunity to implement fiscal and structural reforms, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik…

  • UK inflation rate falls to 0.5%

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    The UK inflation rate fell sharply to 0.5% in December, the joint lowest on record, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. The consumer Prices Index measure is now at its lowest since May 2000, helped by cheaper petrol prices reports BBC. The fall below 1% will trigger a letter of explanation from Bank of…

  • India and Britain, making great things together

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    Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and David Cameron jointly welcome the launch of the GREAT Collaborations campaign between the UK & India. In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the world to Make in India, the UK is launching a campaign to celebrate and inspire GREAT Collaborations between the UK and India. The campaign…

  • Kerry to focus on economic issues in India

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      As Secretary of State John Kerry headed to India ahead of President Barack Obama’s historic visit on India’s Republic Day, officials said economic relationship will be a big focus of his discussions. Kerry will travel to Ahmedabad after a stop in Munich Jan 10 to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit inaugurated by…

  • ‘Make in India’ see good response

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    The central government announced that “Make in India” has become its largest and fastest growing digital initiative with 2.1 billion impressions on social media. In the process, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion initiative has “left behind every other government department like the MEA (ministry of external affairs), home ministry or the ministry of…

  • Banking sector need reforms: Jaitley

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      India needs to conceive several reforms in the banking sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here. “There is a need to get the best talent into the system. There is a need for far greater autonomy being given to them (public sector banks),” Jaitley told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day banking retreat.…

  • Manmohan Singh predicts 8% growth

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      Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said India can achieve a growth rate of 8-9 percent given a ‘national consensus’ on methods to take advantage of a globalised world. “I think that even though many other emerging economies are not doing too well, India has an opportunity to move towards a growth rate of 6-7…

  • 2015 will see more growth in Indian economy: UN

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    By Arul Louis  While the global economy is expected to grow marginally by 3.1 percent next year, India’s is likely to grow by 5.9 percent, recording the second highest increase among the world’s larger economies, according to a UN report. For 2016, the report projects a growth of 6.3 percent for India’s gross domestic product…

  • Modi to visit Hannover trade fair

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Germany in April to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and to jointly open the Hannover trade fair where India is the official partner country. The Hannover Messe 2015, the world’s largest industrial trade fair, is to showcase the ‘Make in India’ concept. The Hannover Fair, which will run from…

  • Chinese train reaches Madrid

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      Madrid was the final destination for a train which has set the record for the longest train journey in history: 13,052 kms between the Chinese city of Yiwu and the Spanish capital. The train which arrived in Madrid at 11 a.m., departed from Yiwu Nov 18 with 40 wagons, carrying 1,400 tonnes of cargo,…