India suspends jewellery imports from Thailand
India has suspended jewellery imports from Thailand on the apprehension that exporters of other countries were routing their exports from there to take the advantage of bilateral trade agreement between the two.
Country's premier revenue intelligence agency, the directorate of revenue intelligence, has already raised an alert about the India-Thai early harvest scheme being misused to bring gold jewellery at concessional duty of 1% as against 10% under the normal trade route.
India has raised import duty on gold to up to 10% to discourage high consumption that has resulted in record high current account deficit, but gold jewellery imports from Thailand are allowed at 1% duty under the bilateral trade treaty.
Gold jewellery imports from Thailand touched $92 million in the April-November period, versus $13 million in the entire 2011-12.Out of the $92 million, $72 million was only in October and November, confirming India's fears.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Deccan Herald, Reuters India, Business Standard)
Rubber drops on higher Thailand supply concern
Rubber futures tumbled to the lowest level in more than a month on speculation that shipments from Thailand, the world's largest producer, may increase as the nation is expected to end a price support program as planned.
The Thai government will review a programme to support prices by purchasing the commodity from farmers when it expires at the end of March, Deputy Farm Minister Yuttapong Charasathien said on Tuesday. Thailand agreed with Indonesia and Malaysia last year to cut exports by a combined 300,000 tonne in the six months through March to bolster prices.
Thai rubber free-on-board declined for a second day, falling 1.8% to 94.70 baht ($3.17) a kg on Wednesday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Hindu Business Line)
India Ratings has a stable outlook for gems and jewellery exporters
India Ratings has a stable outlook for gems & jewellery exporters and stable to negative outlook for domestic gem and jewellery retailers for 2013. Exporters are likely to report better revenue growth (median) in 2013 with margins comparable to the 2012 levels. Domestic retailers are likely to report lower revenue growth (with a possible volume decline) in 2013 along with slightly lower margins than in 2012. Retailers resorting to aggressive store additions may be worst affected.
India Ratings expects gem and jewellery exporters' revenue (in USD) to grow in the range of 4% to 9% y-o-y in 2013.
The outlook on domestic jewellery retailers could be revised to Negative if gold prices increase further, which could impact demand for both cosmetic and investment purposes. A stable outlook may result from a favourable policy environment and stability in gold prices and the consequent improvement in sales.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Business Standard, Times of India, Hindu Business Line)
FDI inflows dip 19 per cent at $1.1 billion in December 2012
Falling for the second straight month, India's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows declined nearly 19 % to $1.10 billion in December 2012 due to global economic uncertainties.
In December 2011, the country had attracted FDI worth $1.35 billion.
For the April-December period of 2012-13, the inflows have declined by about 42 % to $16.94 billion, according to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
According to experts, decline in inflows is largely due to uncertainties in the global economy.
India received maximum FDI from Mauritius ($7.45 billion), followed by Japan ($1.62 billion), Singapore ($1.63 billion), the Netherlands ($1.33 billion) and the UK ($622 million).
In November 2012, India attracted FDI worth $1.05 billion, which was a two-year low.
(Sources: Economic Times, the Hindu, Times of India, Hindu Business Line, Business Today)
E-payments added USD 1.5 bn to India's GDP during 2008-12: Visa
Rise in electronic payments such as credit and debit cards and other mode of paperless transactions have added around USD 1.5 billion to the country's GDP during 2008-12 period, according to a study.
On a global note, increased electronic payments added USD 983 billion to the GDP of 56 countries during this period, which is equivalent to creating 1.9 million jobs, said the Visa-Moody's Analytics study.
However, the findings point out that India lags behind other emerging nations like China, Brazil and Russia among others in e-payments as the third largest Asian economy is still cash-driven.
As per the study, while card usage added 0.8 % to the GDP of emerging markets, it added 0.3 % to Gross Domestic Product of developed markets.
(Sources: Financial Express, Indian Express, Zeenews, Times of India)
Exports to miss target; may touch $300 bn this fiscal: Anand Sharma
Exports in all probability will miss the target and settle at USD 300 billion in 2012-13 because of slowdown in demand in traditional markets, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here today.
The government has set an export target of USD 360 billion for the current financial year.
Notably, after eight months of contraction, outward shipments rose a tad in January at 0.82 % to USD 25.58 billion, but trade deficit continued to widen to around USD 20 billion, the second highest figure ever in a month, as imports rose 6.12 % to USD 45.5 billion in the month. However, during the April-January period, overseas shipments shrank by 4.86 % to USD 239.6 billion.
(Sources: Economic Times, Zeenews, Livemint, Firstpost, Indiatimes, Business Standard)
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