Business

India & Myanmar Increase Trade and Investment Relations

June 13 – India and Myanmar formally committed to strengthening their bilateral trade and infrastructure investment relations during last week’s World Economic Forum on East Asia.

The forum, which was held in Myanmar’s capital of Nay Pyi Taw, was the first international gathering hosted in Myanmar since the country implemented economic and political reforms in 2011. The theme was “Courageous Transformation for Inclusion and Integration.”

During the forum, India’s Union Minister of Commerce, Industry & Textiles Anand Sharma met with Myanmar’s Chairperson of the National League for Democracy Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss trade between the two countries. Their meetings were positive, and the two agreed on greater cooperation and cross-border investment efforts. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Featured, Foreign Trade | Tagged Foreign Relations, India, Myanmar, Trade | Leave a comment

Why India is Winning the Entrepreneurial Battle with China

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Jun. 10 – As China and India continue to show some of the world’s fastest GDP growth rates, both are also undergoing huge demographic changes. In some ways, there are similarities between the two, yet in others, completely opposite positions exist. Understanding these subtleties is key to working out where future innovation, talent and growth will come from.

In terms of similarities, it is interesting to note that 20 years ago, the average age of a worker in China was 23. That is now the age of the average worker in India today, while the average age of a worker in China has risen to 37. So India’s current young, dynamic, and maybe somewhat undisciplined, workforce is at the same age and in similar numbers to China’s 20 years ago; the very same demographics that propelled China from 11th position in global GDP rankings 20 years ago, to 2nd position today behind only the United States. Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged China, Entrepreneurship, India | 1 Comment

Germany Pledges Support for China in European Trade Dispute

By Nick Ottens

Jun. 4 – German chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday promised to intervene on China’s behalf in its dispute with the European Union over the import of solar panels, deepening an economic relationship that already accounts for nearly $200 billion in global trade.

“Germany will do what it can so that there are no permanent import duties and we’ll try to clear things up as quickly as possible,” Merkel told reporters after meeting her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang in Berlin. “We don’t believe that this will help us so we want to use the next six months intensively.”

The European Union accuses China of pricing its solar panels too cheaply at the expense of European competitors, even if they are usually heavily subsidized by their national governments as well. It is considering whether to impose punitive duties after the United States did so last year. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Foreign Trade | Tagged China, Germany | Leave a comment

India-China Relations Strengthened Through Investment Agreements

May 22 – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has recently met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, the first trip abroad for Premier Li in an official capacity. The two world leaders discussed India-China relations, as well as penned several agreements designed to foster investment and trade between the two nations.

“The purpose of my current visit to India is three-fold; to increase mutual trust, to intensify cooperation and to face the future,” said Premier Li.

Indian officials welcomed Premier Li on his first trip oversees since taking office in March, acknowledging the importance of his visit.

“We think very highly of this gesture because it is our view that high-level political exchanges between our two countries are an important aspect and vehicle for our expanded cooperation,” said Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman. Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged China, India, Trade | Leave a comment

China’s Provincial GDP Figures in 2012

Three-fourths of China’s provinces reported GDP figures over RMB1 trillion (US$163 billion) in 2012

By Yao Lu

May 21 – According to preliminary data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s economy expanded 7.8 percent in 2012 amid the sluggish global economy, reaching RMB51.9 trillion (US$8.45 trillion). The growth rate, although the slowest since 1999, still beats the government’s 7.5 percent growth target. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the country’s economic growth reached 7.9 percent, putting an end to seven consecutive quarters of slowdown, up from 7.4 percent in the third quarter and 7.6 percent in the second. Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged China, Growth | Leave a comment

Development Zones in India

By Gunjan Sinha, Dezan Shira & Associates, Delhi Office

IB-2011-4issue-cover-art May 17 – India was one of the first countries in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the export processing zone model in promoting exports, establishing Asia’s first processing zone in Kandla in 1965. More recently, the Indian government moved to increase India’s attractiveness as a foreign direct investment destination by announcing its Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy in April 2000, and then followed that up with the SEZ Act 2005 and SEZ Rules, which jointly came into effect on February 10, 2006.

The new rules further simplified and streamlined the utilization of SEZs, paving the way for the popularity these zones now enjoy. Today, the SEZ is the predominant development zone type throughout India, and its goals include:

Generating additional economic activity;
Promoting exports of goods and services;
Promoting investment from domestic and foreign sources;
Creating employment opportunities; and
Developing infrastructure facilities. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Featured | Tagged Development Zones, India Investment | Leave a comment

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