Page 20 - Global Economy

Temasek Holdings Pte posts worst return in 7 years as markets slump

Temasek's Chief Executive Officer Dilhan Pillay highlighted risks ranging from economic decoupling to protectionism and costs tied to energy security and transition

India registers poverty reduction with 415 mn coming out in 15 years: UN

A total of 415 million people moved out of poverty in India within just 15 years from 2005/2006 to 2019/2021, the UN said on Tuesday, highlighting the remarkable achievement by the world's most populous nation. The latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford. It said that 25 countries, including India, successfully halved their global MPI values within 15 years, showing that rapid progress is attainable. These countries include Cambodia, China, Congo, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia, and Vietnam. In April, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, according to UN data. "Notably, India saw a remarkable reduction in poverty, with 415 million people exiting poverty within a span of just 15 years (2005/619/21)," the report said. The report demonstrate

As business bankruptcies surge around the world, next wave could be bigger

Large defaults add to the risk of a vicious cycle of suppliers not being paid, workers losing their jobs, banks further tightening lending criteria and then more companies going bust

PE inflows plunge 61% to $6.1 bn in January-Jun, lowest since 2020

Continuing global macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical headwinds, along with tight credit markets, pulled down private equity investments into the country by 61 per cent in the first half of 2023 to USD 6.1 billion, according to a report. The value is the lowest in the January-June period since 2020, shows data collated by Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group subsidiary and one of the world's largest financial markets data and insights providers. Despite the funding winter in the space, startups continued to attract the largest share of private equity capital, which in absolute terms was a steep 69 per cent decline year-on-year. However, in volume terms, PE deals jumped 53 per cent on a sequential basis to 300 transactions and rose 0.8 per cent in value terms on a quarter-on-quarter basis to USD 2.6 billion. Given the record amount of USD 13.7 billion raised by India-based PE funds in 2022, there is substantial capital waiting to be deployed. Internet-specific companie

No question of taking money out of mkt: Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC MD & CEO

"Any rebalancing must not be done entirely out of the equity market but through a mix of exposure to equity and debt. It is prudent to look at it from the prism of an asset class mix"

Yellen's visit to Beijing aims to heal rifts in China-US relationship

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is visiting Beijing as part of efforts to revive US-Chinese relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security and other irritants. Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in November and agreed to improve relations between the world's biggest economies and major trading partners. But neither government has shown willingness to make major policy changes. We hope the United States takes concrete actions to create a favourable environment for the healthy development of economic and trade relations, the Chinese finance ministry said in a statement on Friday. It expressed hope for the realisation of mutual benefit and win-win results but did not suggest possible Chinese concessions. Yellen's visit follows one by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with Xi last month in Beijing in an encounter that lasted just 30 minutes. Here's a look at some areas of contention. POLITICAL RELATIONS US-Chinese relation

Hong Kong's reopening brings scant gains for financial hub despite push

Hong Kong, led by former policeman and now Chief Executive John Lee, has been pushing hard to revive the city's reputation with high-level events

Cash-strapped Pakistan explores external financing options after IMF deal

With the IMF now on board, the cash-strapped Pakistan government is now considering meeting most of its external financing needs in the medium term through 10-15 years of international bonds and concessional multilateral loans, according to a media report on Monday. It also plans to diversify local debt instruments to inflation-based bonds, list government papers on the stock exchange, and issue short-term Islamic and conventional floating rate products, the Dawn newspaper reported. The Pakistan government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week reached a long-awaited staff-level agreement to inject USD 3 billion into the ailing economy after months-long negotiations that pushed the country to the brink of default. This is part of the new Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy, released by the Ministry of Finance on the weekend, for the fiscal years 2023 -2026, the report said. Availing maximum concessional external financing from bilateral and multilateral development ..

Yen tentative, dollar soft as traders weigh US Fed rate hike path

The yen weakened 0.03% to 144.38 per dollar in early Asian hours to kick start the second half of the year having dropped 9% against the dollar in the first six months of the year

How Singapore leaped ahead of competitors after the Covid-19 pandemic

The other cities in the study according to rank are New York in fourth, followed by London, Tokyo, Sydney, Johannesburg, Paris and San Francisco

Strong growth outlook to offset foreign mkt slowdown for India Inc: Fitch

India's resilient growth outlook will offset a slowdown in overseas markets for the country's corporates and easing input cost pressure will help widen their profit margins, Fitch Ratings said on Friday. Earlier this month, Fitch had raised India's economic growth forecast to 6.3 per cent for the current fiscal year 2023-24 from the 6 per cent it had predicted previously. The sustained economic growth will drive cement and petroleum product demand, with high-frequency data trending above pre-pandemic levels so far this year. India's rising infrastructure spending will also boost steel demand, Fitch added. "India's resilient growth outlook will offset a slowdown in overseas markets for the country's corporates and easing input cost pressure will widen profit margins by around 220bp in the financial year ending March 2024," Fitch said in a statement. Slowing demand in the US and the eurozone will moderate sales growth for the IT service sector. However, a corresponding easing of wage

US weekly jobless claims decline, first-quarter GDP revised higher

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended June 25, the Labor Department said

Programmers using AI tools to boost global GDP by over $1.5 trn: Study

Artificial intelligence will help global economy and create demand for software developers, says GitHub

Need to raise MSMEs contribution for India to be 3rd largest economy: Rane

There is a need to increase the contribution of India's micro, small and medium enterprises to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030, Union Minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday said. The MSME minister also said that a survey should be conducted to ascertain the number of micro-enterprises that have been shut in the country. According to the Udyam Registration Portal, 97 per cent of the MSMEs registered are micro units. "Even if we make efforts to increase the productivity of micro-enterprises we can become the third largest economy in the world by 2030," Rane said. The minister said at present, Japan (USD 4.3 trillion) and Germany (USD 4.03 trillion) are third and fourth largest economies, while India has a GDP of USD 3.46 trillion. He asked officials to make more efforts for entrepreneurs' transition to small from the micro category. Rane also said the latest technology needs to be adopted and related information must be disseminated among entrepreneurs. Various ...

Pakistan hikes policy rate to 22% to secure IMF deal in a last-ditch effort

"The MPC views this action as necessary to keep real interest rate firmly in positive territory on a forward-looking basis," the central bank said in a statement

Pakistan's parliament approves revised 2023-24 budget to clinch IMF deal

The IMF in mid-June expressed dissatisfaction with the country's initial budget, saying it was a missed opportunity to broaden the tax base in a more progressive way

India to remove retaliatory customs duties on eight US-origin products

The duties on these eight US-origin products would revert to the current applied most-favoured-nation (MFN) rate after India notifies the rescinding of additional duties

Bank of England hikes rates to 5% to tackle inflation, highest since 2008

MPC members Silvana Tenreyro and Swati Dhingra opposed the rate rise - as they have all others this year - saying that much of the impact of past tightening had yet to be felt

Export growth still depends on demand in Europe, North America

The government is pinning its hopes on increased investment that its Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme may attract

Markets are pricing in some risks to growth: Julius Baer India's Kulkarni

India has emerged as a favourite destination for investors amid global developments, and the growth prospects here are catching the attention of many, says Unmesh Kulkarni, MD, Julius Baer India