Of the many slogans coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, ‘Make in India’ is the most important. It promises to make India an important investment destination. However, like most other slogans, it is important be clear about what has to be achieved — and how — before assessing whether or not the flowery words may come true.
Even for mining companies that are used to rapid change in the business environment, the past 12 years have been nothing short of extraordinary. A long period of low commodity prices made executives wary of expansion to meet demand.
India, the world’s third largest economy measured in purchasing-power parity terms, became a middle-income country in 2007. It has one of the world’s youngest populations, with some 260 million people below the age of 25, and its economy is once again growing fast, at 7 percent growth one of the world’s fastest-growing economies as of August 2015. However, will it grow rich before it grows old?
Singapore’s 2015 general elections will be the most widely contested since independence. Eight opposition parties and a handful of independents will vie for 89 parliamentary seats. A tactical question hangs over many of the 2.46 million eligible voters as they go to the polls on 11 September: do they reward the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) for its recent implementation of several redistributive policies or credit the Workers’ Party (WP), the main opposition party, for making the government more responsive to the public?
In a familiar refrain, EM assets start the week on a soft note, with markets picking up where the left off on Friday. With China markets reopening after a two-day holiday, the Shanghai dropped -2.5% and has fed into wider EM equity losses. MSCI EM is down two straight days and five of the past six. The strong US jobs report Friday also brings the Fed lift-off back into focus. Many EM currencies are either making new multi-year lows (IDR, MYR) or making new all-time lows (BRL, TRY). We see more and more currencies following suit in the coming weeks.
1) Reports suggest the PBOC will impose a 20% reserve requirement on financial institutions trading FX forwards, 2) The HKMA had to intervene this week at the strong side (7.75) of the HKD peg, 3) Swiss authorities are getting involved in the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia, 4) Brazil’s government will submit budget proposal for 2016 that projects a primary deficit, 5) Brazil’s COPOM kept rates steady at 14.25% this month, as expected, 6) Press reports suggest Obama now has the votes to push the Iran deal through Congress, 7) Israel is injecting some fiscal stimulus to boost the econom
As South-East Asian countries gear up for their ASEAN Economic Community, coming into effect by the end of this year, Indonesia should look into setting up special economic zones together with bordering countries.
These special zones are in line with the ASEAN Economic Community’s blueprint to support local businesses and allow people and goods to move freely between states. Having countries jointly set up economic hubs in border areas can minimise territorial disputes, reduce cross-border crimes, and improve the lives of people living in remote outposts.
Back in 2001, former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill coined the acronym BRIC to highlight the immense economic potential of the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China in the decades to come. They would be the economic engines of tomorrow, he wrote.
On 25 August 2015, Singapore’s President Tony Tan officially dissolved the parliament, triggering early parliamentary elections. While these elections, by law, could have waited until January 2017, 2015 is particularly advantageous for the incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP).
Indian growth stood at 7.0 percent year-on-year in the first financial quarter of 2016, a drawback from the 7.5-percent growth seen from the previous cycle, notes AFP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rightist cabinet is responsible for numerous reforms, but outside pressure grows for his administration to do more. Modi aims to take India into double-digit growth territory, and officials expect an 8.1-percent surplus for the year, but experts believe such an assessment may be overly optimistic.
