Page 5 - Asean

China's exports grow 7.6% in May despite trade tensions with US, Europe

China's exports in May grew at their fastest pace in more than a year despite trade tensions, though imports fell short of analyst expectations, according to customs data released on Friday. Exports jumped 7.6 per cent in May from the same month last year to USD 302.35 billion, rising at the fastest pace since April 2023. Imports rose by 1.8 per cent to USD 219.73 billion, missing estimates of about 4 per cent growth. The uptick in exports is also partly due to a lower base in the same period last year, when exports declined 7.5 per cent. In comparison, exports grew by 1.5 per cent in April compared with the same period last year, while April imports rose by 8.4 per cent. The strong exports caused China's trade surplus to widen to USD 82.62 billion, up from April's USD 72.35 billion. The growth in exports comes as China faces escalated trade tensions with the US and Europe. The US is ramping up tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars while Europe is considering levying similar ...

Next round of talks for India-Asean trade agreement review in July

Senior officials of India and the 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian nations - ASEAN - will hold the next round of talks in July to review the existing free trade agreement in Jakarta, Indonesia, an official statement said on Sunday. The last round of the three-day negotiations concluded on May 9 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The discussions for review of AITIGA (Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement) started in May 2023 to make it more trade-facilitative and beneficial for businesses across the region, the commerce ministry said. A joint committee, which is undertaking the review work, has so far met four times. It has finalised its terms of reference and the negotiating structure for the review in its first two meetings and initiated talks for the review from its third meeting, which was held on February 18-19 here. "The fourth Joint Committee meeting for the review of AITIGA was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia from 7-9 May," the statement said. The committee was co-chaired by Rajesh Agraw

Amazon to spend $9 bn over next 4 yrs to expand cloud infra in Singapore

AWS also announced a collaboration with the Singapore Government, public sector organisations, and enterprises to help accelerate the adoption of AI

'Asean can play imp role in emerging regional architecture of Indo-Pacific'

India believes that a strong and unifiedEAN can play a constructive role in the emerging regional architecture of the Indo-Pacific, External Affair Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday while underlining that a "multipolar Asia" and a "multipolar world" are increasingly self-evident today. In his virtual address at the 1stEAN Future Forum, he also said "we believe that Quad compliments theEAN and theEAN-led mechanisms" in their effort to make the region prosperous through delivery of people-centric benefits. Jaishankar asserted thatEAN is "at the heart of our Act East Policy" and is a "crucial pillar in India's wider Indo-Pacific vision". "We supportEAN unity, centrality and theEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific," he said. Jaishankar said India andEAN are neighbours sharing "millennia-old cultural and civilisational linkages". TheEAN-India relationship which has entered its fourth decade and has matured into a "comprehensive strategic partnership" is based on shared values and common ...

India reviews Asean trade pact to address domestic manufacturing anomalies

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has asked for input from the industry to pinpoint products suffering from an inverted duty structure that puts local manufacturers at a disadvantage

Citroën becomes the first multinational carmaker to export EVs from India

Citroën despatched 500 units of the Made-in-India ë-C3 to Indonesia from the Kamarajar Port

Asean finance leaders points challenges from geopolitics, volatile prices

Southeast Asian economies are gaining ground as tourism and exports recover from the shocks of the pandemic, but geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices still pose serious risks, regional financial leaders said on Friday. Laos' Finance Minister Santiphab Phomvihane read out a joint statement following meetings among finance ministers at a hotel in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO heritage site, but he made no other remarks and took no questions. Estimates for economic growth in members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations vary but are generally near a robust 5 per cent for 2024. Nevertheless, there are still challenges due to adverse financial spillovers from geopolitical tensions, volatility in global commodity prices, Phomvihane said, also pointing to climate change, aging populations and rapid development of digitalization as key factors for the region. He did not elaborate, but the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and tensions betwee

ICG ship makes port call in Vietnam on overseas deployment to Asean nations

Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Paheredar, a specialised Pollution Control Vessel, on Tuesday made a port call at Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam as part of its ongoing overseas deployment to theEAN countries, officials said. This deployment is a testimony to the ICG's commitment to "bolster bilateral relationships" and "enhance international cooperation" with friendly countries, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. "The deployment of Samudra Paheredar to theEAN region reflects India's shared concern and resolve towards marine pollution, promoting safety and security through maritime cooperation. Prior to Ho Chi Minh, the vessel had visited Manila, Philippines, to demonstrate a seamless continuation of diplomatic maritime engagements in theEAN region," it said. The ship is equipped with specialised marine pollution control equipment and a Chetak Helicopter in pollution response configuration, designed to contain and recover spilled oil and augment the operation. The ICG ship is on an .

India, Asean review: PSRs, greater market access likely on the table

The bloc seeks liberal product-specific rules in electronics and chemicals

Imports of paper, paperboards rise 37% in Apr-Dec FY23, says IPMA

Imports of paper and paperboards have increased by 37 per cent to around 1.47 million tonnes in April-December this fiscal, which have hit the local paper mills, an industry body said on Sunday. Paper and paperboard imports were around 1.07 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) said while citing DGCI&S data. The import of the commodity had seen a 25 per cent jump to 1.44 million tonnes in FY23 in volume terms and April-December figures have crossed that also, IPMA said in a statement. Imports of paper and paperboard in huge volumes and worth Rs 10,000 crore in nine months are impacting the Make-in-India drive as well as depriving employment to 5 lakh committed farmers who are aligned with the domestic Paper Industry through agro, farm forestry, IPMA President Pawan Agarwal said. There is more than adequate domestic capacity in India to manufacture almost all grades of paper and such indiscriminate ...

8 sub-committees reviewing free trade agreement between India, Asean

Eight sub-committees have been constituted under the India-Asean free trade agreement joint committee for undertaking negotiations on different areas related to the review of the pact, an official statement said on Monday. India hosted the third meeting of the committee for undertaking the review here from February 16-19. The AITIGA (Asean-India trade in goods agreement) was signed in 2009. In September 2022, both sides tasked the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake the review to make the agreement more trade facilitative and mutually beneficial. "A total of eight sub-committees have been constituted under the AITIGA Joint Committee for undertaking negotiations on different policy areas related to the agreement," the commerce ministry said. The first two meetings of the joint committee were held in May and August last year. In the meeting, the ministry said, the sub-committees reported the progress and outcome of their discussions related to market access, rules of origin and ...

Hope to work on untapped areas of cooperation: Asean SG during India visit

Maritime cooperation was one of the key focus areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) that was adopted in June 2019

Indonesia election: Unofficial vote count points to first round Prabowo win

Prabowo had about 59 per cent of votes according to three pollsters, based on ballots counted in a sample of voting stations nationwide

Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn arrives in India on five-day visit

This is Kao Kim Hourn's first official visit to India since assuming office in January 2023, spanning from February 11 to 15

The importance of Asean for India

The evolving regional trade context should be the primary guiding factor for the AITIGA review

Classic Legends charts revival plan; to focus more on Asean markets

The company revealed that they are now targeting the Asean markets, starting with the Philippines

India-Asean FTA review: Talks for 'modern' pact scheduled for Feb

For a long time, India has been worried about the routing of goods from third countries through non-Asean countries by taking the duty advantages of the agreement

Japan, ASEAN bolster ties at summit focused on security amid China tensions

Leaders from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, marking their 50th anniversary of friendship, were meeting at a special summit on Sunday and expected to adopt a joint vision that emphasises security cooperation amid growing tensions with China in regional seas. Ties between Japan and ASEAN used to be largely based on Japanese assistance to the developing economies, in part due to lingering bitterness over Japan's wartime actions. But in recent years the ties have focused more on security amid China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, while Japan's postwar pacifist stance and trust-building efforts have fostered friendlier relations. Based on our strong relationship of trust, it is our hope that Japan and ASEAN will bring together their strengths and find solutions in an era of compound crises that are difficult for any one country to solve, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a speech on Saturday night at the State Guest House in Tokyo. As we co-creat

Ahead of India-Asean FTA review: Industry flags spike in import of 38 items

Import of as many as 38 items from Asean members sees a sharp surge in H1FY24

India-Singapore FTA , as a part of Asean needs to be studied together: GTRI

Think-tank GTRI on Sunday suggested that the government study the bilateral free trade agreement with Singapore and as part of the Asean bloc together while reviewing its trade pact with the 10-nation grouping. Singapore is a member of 10-nation Asean bloc with which India has a free trade agreement in goods since 2010. Separately, India also implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore in 2005. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also suggested a similar exercise with Thailand, another member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). India signed a limited free trade pact with Thailand in 2006. These suggestions assume significance as India and Asean have agreed to review their trade pact and are aiming to conclude the exercise by 2025. Asean members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Out of these, five countries - Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand