The International Trade Centre will conduct a survey of Nepali exporters to document experiences with non-tariff measures imposed by trading partners. It will also develop export strategies for four sectors in Nepal: coffee, tea, large cardamom, and handmade paper. The survey and strategies are in response to a request from the Nepali Ministry of Commerce and will help identify recommendations to address trade barriers and enhance trade performance in key sectors.
Indonesian overseas-debt-relationship-for-economic-development-in-sharia-econ...Anno Tsanjay
1) The document analyzes the relationship between foreign debt and economic development in Indonesia from 2010-2019, as well as perspectives on foreign debt from Islamic economics.
2) It finds that foreign debt in Indonesia has a strong correlation with economic growth and development over the period studied.
3) From an Islamic economics perspective, government foreign debt is permissible if the form and mechanisms of cooperation adhere to Sharia principles and are for the benefit of the people.
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online
Country Report China: Navigating Through TransitionKyna Tsai
The document provides an overview of China's economy and political system. It discusses China transitioning from an investment-driven to a consumption-driven economy while maintaining high growth rates. The government implements expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate the economy while controlling inflation. China faces challenges of an aging population, urban-rural disparities, and transitioning its large workforce to higher value industries. The one-party political system is centered around the Communist Party and National People's Congress, with legal reforms promoting foreign investment.
The Nexus between Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth: Evidence from ...RSIS International
Panel Vector Auto Regression is used to examine the
impact of financial decentralization on economic growth in
seventeen sub-national governments (SNGs) in India taking data
from 2000-01 to 2014-15. We find the positive impact of
decentralization on the economic growth of SNGs with feedback
effect.
FR _2011__German TC Support to Dec in Indonesia _final 15-5-2011Rainer Rohdewohld
- German technical cooperation (TC) has supported decentralization reforms in Indonesia since 1992, going through periods of trial and error under Suharto, then having more influence during political turmoil in 1997-1998 when it could provide high-level policy advice.
- Indonesia underwent major decentralization reforms from 1998-2010, starting with the "Big Bang" decentralization that rapidly devolved power and resources to regional governments through new framework laws in 1999. Revisions to these laws occurred in 2004 to address emerging issues.
- While decentralization has transformed structures and processes of governance in Indonesia, the reforms remain a work in progress, with inconsistencies and issues still needing resolution regarding functions, fiscal imbalances, and the role of
Non-Performing Loans, Prospective Bailouts, and Japan’s SlowdownPeter Ho
This document discusses Japan's prolonged economic slowdown since the early 1990s and argues that the government's delay in bailing out financial institutions burdened with non-performing loans (bad loans) played a key role. The author constructs an economic model showing how bad loans combined with delayed bailout can lead to a persistent decline in economic activity by reducing bank lending. Quantitative analysis estimates the delayed bailout may have reduced Japan's annual GDP growth by up to 0.92 percentage points, accounting for much of its slow growth.
This document is a thesis submitted by Assefa Abebe Lemu to Kyung Hee University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree in Korean Economy. The thesis examines the role and effectiveness of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in economic development based on the experiences of South Korea and Ethiopia. It seeks to determine whether ODA helps or hinders economic development, how effective it is in solving economic and social problems, and what lessons can be drawn from the experiences of South Korea and Ethiopia. The thesis includes chapters on the theoretical overview of ODA, the role and effectiveness of ODA in South Korea's economic development, and the role and effectiveness of ODA in Ethiopia's
Première revue du programme appuyé par le mécanisme élargi de crédit. Mohsen Tiss
The IMF reviewed Tunisia's economic program supported by an Extended Fund Facility arrangement. Key points:
- Tunisia's economy has been fragile in a complex political environment, with growth stagnating in 2015-2016 and social discontent remaining high.
- Most quantitative targets and structural benchmarks for end-2016 were missed, though the new government has made progress in recovering ground since August 2016.
- The program aims to reduce the fiscal deficit, stabilize public debt, raise investment and social spending, maintain inflation below 4%, and accelerate reforms to improve governance and private sector growth.
- Staff recommends completing the review while supporting requests to rephase access and waive nonobservance of prior targets, given improved
Indonesian overseas-debt-relationship-for-economic-development-in-sharia-econ...Anno Tsanjay
1) The document analyzes the relationship between foreign debt and economic development in Indonesia from 2010-2019, as well as perspectives on foreign debt from Islamic economics.
2) It finds that foreign debt in Indonesia has a strong correlation with economic growth and development over the period studied.
3) From an Islamic economics perspective, government foreign debt is permissible if the form and mechanisms of cooperation adhere to Sharia principles and are for the benefit of the people.
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online
Country Report China: Navigating Through TransitionKyna Tsai
The document provides an overview of China's economy and political system. It discusses China transitioning from an investment-driven to a consumption-driven economy while maintaining high growth rates. The government implements expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate the economy while controlling inflation. China faces challenges of an aging population, urban-rural disparities, and transitioning its large workforce to higher value industries. The one-party political system is centered around the Communist Party and National People's Congress, with legal reforms promoting foreign investment.
The Nexus between Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth: Evidence from ...RSIS International
Panel Vector Auto Regression is used to examine the
impact of financial decentralization on economic growth in
seventeen sub-national governments (SNGs) in India taking data
from 2000-01 to 2014-15. We find the positive impact of
decentralization on the economic growth of SNGs with feedback
effect.
FR _2011__German TC Support to Dec in Indonesia _final 15-5-2011Rainer Rohdewohld
- German technical cooperation (TC) has supported decentralization reforms in Indonesia since 1992, going through periods of trial and error under Suharto, then having more influence during political turmoil in 1997-1998 when it could provide high-level policy advice.
- Indonesia underwent major decentralization reforms from 1998-2010, starting with the "Big Bang" decentralization that rapidly devolved power and resources to regional governments through new framework laws in 1999. Revisions to these laws occurred in 2004 to address emerging issues.
- While decentralization has transformed structures and processes of governance in Indonesia, the reforms remain a work in progress, with inconsistencies and issues still needing resolution regarding functions, fiscal imbalances, and the role of
Non-Performing Loans, Prospective Bailouts, and Japan’s SlowdownPeter Ho
This document discusses Japan's prolonged economic slowdown since the early 1990s and argues that the government's delay in bailing out financial institutions burdened with non-performing loans (bad loans) played a key role. The author constructs an economic model showing how bad loans combined with delayed bailout can lead to a persistent decline in economic activity by reducing bank lending. Quantitative analysis estimates the delayed bailout may have reduced Japan's annual GDP growth by up to 0.92 percentage points, accounting for much of its slow growth.
This document is a thesis submitted by Assefa Abebe Lemu to Kyung Hee University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree in Korean Economy. The thesis examines the role and effectiveness of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in economic development based on the experiences of South Korea and Ethiopia. It seeks to determine whether ODA helps or hinders economic development, how effective it is in solving economic and social problems, and what lessons can be drawn from the experiences of South Korea and Ethiopia. The thesis includes chapters on the theoretical overview of ODA, the role and effectiveness of ODA in South Korea's economic development, and the role and effectiveness of ODA in Ethiopia's
Première revue du programme appuyé par le mécanisme élargi de crédit. Mohsen Tiss
The IMF reviewed Tunisia's economic program supported by an Extended Fund Facility arrangement. Key points:
- Tunisia's economy has been fragile in a complex political environment, with growth stagnating in 2015-2016 and social discontent remaining high.
- Most quantitative targets and structural benchmarks for end-2016 were missed, though the new government has made progress in recovering ground since August 2016.
- The program aims to reduce the fiscal deficit, stabilize public debt, raise investment and social spending, maintain inflation below 4%, and accelerate reforms to improve governance and private sector growth.
- Staff recommends completing the review while supporting requests to rephase access and waive nonobservance of prior targets, given improved
Syz & co syz asset management - market outlook 27 february 2013SYZBank
After a start to the year buoyed by optimism, the last few weeks have been characterized by a kind of “reality check” which does not necessarily call into question the macro-economic outlook, but which reminds us that not everything can be wiped clean by floods of liquidity.
The document provides an assessment of India's fiscal situation for the base year 2012-13 if no corrective policy actions are taken. It estimates that the fiscal deficit would reach around 6.1% of GDP compared to the budget estimate of 5.1%, due to a likely tax revenue shortfall of Rs. 60,000 crore and higher than budgeted subsidy expenditures of Rs. 70,000 crore. Key risks are seen in oil and fertilizer subsidies due to rising international prices and a weakening rupee.
The document discusses financial education for elderly people in Japan. It outlines the FSA's three-pronged strategy: 1) an integrated approach that coordinates education between households, financial institutions, and the FSA. 2) A public-private coordination approach involving government, industry associations, and academics. 3) A community-based approach utilizing regional committees to address elderly people's concerns about money, health, and loneliness through local organizations and consultation desks. The strategy aims to improve financial literacy and prevent fraud against the elderly as the population ages rapidly in Japan.
A report on the 1st Economists Conference on Tanzania and the Global Economy, hosted by Tanzania Institutional Economic Development Foundation (TIEDF), 2017 at Sokoine University of Agriculture.
Official Development Assistance in a nutshelljasminderh
This artifact is directed toward people with a general awareness in financing for development; who have heard of Official Development Assistance (ODA) but may not know what it is. My artifact attempts to convey how ODA is one small part of the development finance landscape; and how its efforts should be used catalytically and with a focus on investments that benefit the poorest people. Emphasising that the role of ODA should be a catalytic one for the poorest people will remind people of the need to draw in all sources of financing in order to mobilise trillions.
The Indian financial sector has been dominated by public sector ownership for decades. While reforms have increased private participation, government involvement remains significant through ownership of intermediaries, resource mobilization, and credit directives. This extensive government role has weakened incentives and increased moral hazard, undermining financial intermediation quality. Recent economic growth declines and investment stagnation indicate the financial sector is not effectively fulfilling its role in allocating savings.
The document discusses lessons from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and considerations for establishing goals after 2015. It argues that while the MDGs increased attention on development aid, they lacked a strong theoretical foundation and became dominated by donor priorities. A post-2015 framework should avoid these pitfalls by incorporating more voices from the global South and having an underlying development theory. It also must address critical issues like rising inequality, unemployment, and climate change that have emerged since 2000 but were not central to the MDGs. Overall, the document argues that the post-2015 agenda needs to be established through an open process and take the form of a globally agreed social contract, not just donor priorities.
Market Macroscope - March 21-202103061104162707729.pdfMiniswarKosana1
The document provides an overview of the equity, debt, and macroeconomic outlook for March 2021. Key points include:
- Global bond yields increased on large US fiscal stimulus but the Fed will likely keep rates low. India's budget focused on growth over tax increases.
- Indian equity markets rallied in February on the budget. Concerns over rising global bond yields caused a sell-off at the end of the month.
- The large size of planned Indian government borrowing poses challenges for managing bond yields. Inflation remains under control but crude oil is a risk.
- The economic recovery is showing green shoots but rates are unlikely to rise given fragility. Volatility in global bond yields will continue to
Re-Engineering the fiscal Budget of PakistanWaqas Siddiqui
The National Budgeting process of Pakistan fails to entertain and cater the national aspiration of the fiscal demands and people, hence severely disappoint year by year the people and the institutions of country every time. To fill this , this paper considers a number of Problem areas in Budgeting Policies, Processes, and Priorities along with concise yet clear indicative studies.
BANK INFORMATION CENTER ORGANIZATION MYANMAR
AMPLIFYING LOCAL VOICES TO DEMOCRATIZE DEVELOPMENT
https://burmese.voanews.com/a/4390306.html?ltflags=mailer
ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံမွာလာေရာက္ေထာက္ပံ့တဲ့ ႏုိင္ငံတကာဖံြၿဖိဳးေရးလုပ္ငန္းေတြ အေကာင္အထည္ေဖာ္ေရး ႏိုင္ငံတကာစံႏႈန္းေတြနဲ႔အညီ မွန္ကန္မႈရွိမရွိ ေစာင့္ၾကည့္ဖို႔ ဘယ္ေလာက္အေရးႀကီးပါသလဲ။ ေစာင့္ၾကည့္အရပ္ဖက္အဖြဲ႔အစည္း တခုျဖစ္တဲ့ BIC ျမန္မာတာဝန္ ကိုဝဏၰထြန္းကို ကိုၿငိမ္းခ်မ္း ေတြ႔ဆုံေမးျမန္းထားပါတယ္။
http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/regions/asia/burma/
After a 25 year-long absence, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) returned to Burma in 2012 in support of the country’s political and economic transitions.
http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Understanding-and-Influencing-IMF-Policy-Advice-In-Myanmar.pdf
http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Burma_Resource_Book.pdf
Burma_Resource_Book
Multilateral
Development Banks
and Burma
A Resource Book from the
Bank Information Center
This chapter tests for structural symmetry among SADC countries towards monetary integration using the Triples Test methodology. The results show that 7 out of 14 SADC countries fail to achieve structural symmetry based on their real GDP data from 1970 to 2010, implying divergence. These countries are Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and the DRC. The chapter also examines bilateral co-movement between SADC countries using relative intensity of co-movement measures, finding higher co-movement within SADC than with major trade partners. This provides mixed evidence regarding symmetry for monetary integration in SADC.
This document discusses the role of commercial banks in microfinance in Pakistan. It notes that while microfinance traditionally served those without access to formal financial services, involving commercial banks could help expand access to millions more. Commercial banks provide a widespread branch network and expertise in financial services that could better reach the microfinance market. While commercial bank rates may be higher, the costs of serving many small, rural customers justify this. The document also outlines the regulatory framework for microfinance in Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan's efforts to develop the industry.
The document summarizes the BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. It discusses how these four emerging markets were expected to eclipse the world's richest economies by 2050. However, India is now at risk of being the first "BRIC fallen angel" due to slowing GDP growth, policy paralysis within its government, and deteriorating business confidence. Key issues facing India include a widening fiscal deficit, high inflation, and the central leadership's divided support for economic reforms, which has hindered further liberalization of the economy. Addressing these political and economic challenges will determine whether India can return to its previous high growth rates.
External debt played both positive and negative roles in Pakistan's economic growth from 2000-2007. Pakistan faced a debt crisis in the late 1990s as external debt increased from $19.2 billion in 1990 to $33.6 billion in 1999. Musharraf's government took steps to reduce this debt burden through policies like the "debt limitation law" and debt was successfully managed after 2001 when Pakistan supported the US war on terror. While debt was reduced, continued management will be needed to encourage sectors like industry and agriculture and meet fiscal gaps.
This study seeks to evaluate the impact of public borrowing on economic growth in Nigeria using time series data from 1980 to 2018. Specifically, the study seeks to analyze the effect of domestic debt (proxy by Federal Government Bonds-FGB) and external debt (proxy by International Monetary Fund Loan-IMFL) on Nigerian’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To achieve this objective, secondary data was collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical bulleting and the Debt Management Office of Nigeria. A multiple regression model involving the dependent variable (GDP) and the independent variables (FGB and IMFL) was formulated and subjected to econometric analysis. These variables were adjusted with the Jarque-bera test of normality while the correlation result was used to check the possibility of multi-collinearity among the variables. The t-test was used to answer the research questions and test the formulated hypotheses at the 5percent statistical level. Results from the analysis show that a positive relationship exists between IMF Loan and Nigeria’s gross domestic product, while a negative relationship exists between FG Bonds and Nigeria’s gross domestic product, which violates the Keynesian theory of public debt. The study concludes that both domestic and external debt significantly affect economic growth in Nigeria. Therefore, it was recommended that public borrowing should be efficiently used and contracted solely for economic reasons and not for social or political reasons as this will help to avoid accumulation of debt stock over time.
The effect of external debt on economic growthSanjida Sarafat
This document provides background information on external debt and its impact on economic growth. It discusses how developing countries often take on external debt to supplement domestic savings and investment. While borrowing can increase output if investments yield returns higher than borrowing costs, high debt levels that countries struggle to service can undermine growth. The document specifically examines Nigeria's large external debt from the 1970s onward, how debt relief initiatives have aimed to address unsustainability, and studies showing links between debt indicators and slowed economic growth. It outlines the objectives, significance and research questions for a study on external debt's effects on Nigeria's economy between 1980-2013.
Bangladesh relies heavily on external assistance to finance development projects and address its balance of payments deficits. While its external debt levels have increased over time, most indicators of debt sustainability remain within thresholds. The ratio of external debt to GDP declined after 2002 to 22.3% in 2010/11 due to strong GDP growth. The ratio of external debt service to exports stabilized below 20% after 1998/99. The ratio of debt to exports declined due to export growth and was below 150% since 2004/05. The ratio of debt to revenue fell below 250% after 2007/08, indicating Bangladesh's ability to service its debt with government revenues. However, declining grants and rising debt service payments remain concerns for long-term debt sustainability without
This document appears to be a resume or CV for an individual named [NAME]. It includes sections on profile, education, experience, skills, and contact information. It also includes advertisements for project management certification and fundraising campaigns for charities. The document contains repetitive blocks of text advertising the certifications and campaigns.
The document promotes donating $0.67 per day or $20 total to a campaign to help a child named Nicholas wear Velcro shoes for 30 days and bring back Velcro shoes as the next big trend or fad. It encourages the reader to meet or beat another person's $20 donation to support the campaign and join the movement to make Velcro shoes popular again.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class is available at Walter’s Automotive, a trusted Mercedes-Benz dealer serving Corona. Schedule a test-drive in this thrilling roadster today.
Syz & co syz asset management - market outlook 27 february 2013SYZBank
After a start to the year buoyed by optimism, the last few weeks have been characterized by a kind of “reality check” which does not necessarily call into question the macro-economic outlook, but which reminds us that not everything can be wiped clean by floods of liquidity.
The document provides an assessment of India's fiscal situation for the base year 2012-13 if no corrective policy actions are taken. It estimates that the fiscal deficit would reach around 6.1% of GDP compared to the budget estimate of 5.1%, due to a likely tax revenue shortfall of Rs. 60,000 crore and higher than budgeted subsidy expenditures of Rs. 70,000 crore. Key risks are seen in oil and fertilizer subsidies due to rising international prices and a weakening rupee.
The document discusses financial education for elderly people in Japan. It outlines the FSA's three-pronged strategy: 1) an integrated approach that coordinates education between households, financial institutions, and the FSA. 2) A public-private coordination approach involving government, industry associations, and academics. 3) A community-based approach utilizing regional committees to address elderly people's concerns about money, health, and loneliness through local organizations and consultation desks. The strategy aims to improve financial literacy and prevent fraud against the elderly as the population ages rapidly in Japan.
A report on the 1st Economists Conference on Tanzania and the Global Economy, hosted by Tanzania Institutional Economic Development Foundation (TIEDF), 2017 at Sokoine University of Agriculture.
Official Development Assistance in a nutshelljasminderh
This artifact is directed toward people with a general awareness in financing for development; who have heard of Official Development Assistance (ODA) but may not know what it is. My artifact attempts to convey how ODA is one small part of the development finance landscape; and how its efforts should be used catalytically and with a focus on investments that benefit the poorest people. Emphasising that the role of ODA should be a catalytic one for the poorest people will remind people of the need to draw in all sources of financing in order to mobilise trillions.
The Indian financial sector has been dominated by public sector ownership for decades. While reforms have increased private participation, government involvement remains significant through ownership of intermediaries, resource mobilization, and credit directives. This extensive government role has weakened incentives and increased moral hazard, undermining financial intermediation quality. Recent economic growth declines and investment stagnation indicate the financial sector is not effectively fulfilling its role in allocating savings.
The document discusses lessons from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and considerations for establishing goals after 2015. It argues that while the MDGs increased attention on development aid, they lacked a strong theoretical foundation and became dominated by donor priorities. A post-2015 framework should avoid these pitfalls by incorporating more voices from the global South and having an underlying development theory. It also must address critical issues like rising inequality, unemployment, and climate change that have emerged since 2000 but were not central to the MDGs. Overall, the document argues that the post-2015 agenda needs to be established through an open process and take the form of a globally agreed social contract, not just donor priorities.
Market Macroscope - March 21-202103061104162707729.pdfMiniswarKosana1
The document provides an overview of the equity, debt, and macroeconomic outlook for March 2021. Key points include:
- Global bond yields increased on large US fiscal stimulus but the Fed will likely keep rates low. India's budget focused on growth over tax increases.
- Indian equity markets rallied in February on the budget. Concerns over rising global bond yields caused a sell-off at the end of the month.
- The large size of planned Indian government borrowing poses challenges for managing bond yields. Inflation remains under control but crude oil is a risk.
- The economic recovery is showing green shoots but rates are unlikely to rise given fragility. Volatility in global bond yields will continue to
Re-Engineering the fiscal Budget of PakistanWaqas Siddiqui
The National Budgeting process of Pakistan fails to entertain and cater the national aspiration of the fiscal demands and people, hence severely disappoint year by year the people and the institutions of country every time. To fill this , this paper considers a number of Problem areas in Budgeting Policies, Processes, and Priorities along with concise yet clear indicative studies.
BANK INFORMATION CENTER ORGANIZATION MYANMAR
AMPLIFYING LOCAL VOICES TO DEMOCRATIZE DEVELOPMENT
https://burmese.voanews.com/a/4390306.html?ltflags=mailer
ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံမွာလာေရာက္ေထာက္ပံ့တဲ့ ႏုိင္ငံတကာဖံြၿဖိဳးေရးလုပ္ငန္းေတြ အေကာင္အထည္ေဖာ္ေရး ႏိုင္ငံတကာစံႏႈန္းေတြနဲ႔အညီ မွန္ကန္မႈရွိမရွိ ေစာင့္ၾကည့္ဖို႔ ဘယ္ေလာက္အေရးႀကီးပါသလဲ။ ေစာင့္ၾကည့္အရပ္ဖက္အဖြဲ႔အစည္း တခုျဖစ္တဲ့ BIC ျမန္မာတာဝန္ ကိုဝဏၰထြန္းကို ကိုၿငိမ္းခ်မ္း ေတြ႔ဆုံေမးျမန္းထားပါတယ္။
http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/regions/asia/burma/
After a 25 year-long absence, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) returned to Burma in 2012 in support of the country’s political and economic transitions.
http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Understanding-and-Influencing-IMF-Policy-Advice-In-Myanmar.pdf
http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Burma_Resource_Book.pdf
Burma_Resource_Book
Multilateral
Development Banks
and Burma
A Resource Book from the
Bank Information Center
This chapter tests for structural symmetry among SADC countries towards monetary integration using the Triples Test methodology. The results show that 7 out of 14 SADC countries fail to achieve structural symmetry based on their real GDP data from 1970 to 2010, implying divergence. These countries are Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and the DRC. The chapter also examines bilateral co-movement between SADC countries using relative intensity of co-movement measures, finding higher co-movement within SADC than with major trade partners. This provides mixed evidence regarding symmetry for monetary integration in SADC.
This document discusses the role of commercial banks in microfinance in Pakistan. It notes that while microfinance traditionally served those without access to formal financial services, involving commercial banks could help expand access to millions more. Commercial banks provide a widespread branch network and expertise in financial services that could better reach the microfinance market. While commercial bank rates may be higher, the costs of serving many small, rural customers justify this. The document also outlines the regulatory framework for microfinance in Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan's efforts to develop the industry.
The document summarizes the BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. It discusses how these four emerging markets were expected to eclipse the world's richest economies by 2050. However, India is now at risk of being the first "BRIC fallen angel" due to slowing GDP growth, policy paralysis within its government, and deteriorating business confidence. Key issues facing India include a widening fiscal deficit, high inflation, and the central leadership's divided support for economic reforms, which has hindered further liberalization of the economy. Addressing these political and economic challenges will determine whether India can return to its previous high growth rates.
External debt played both positive and negative roles in Pakistan's economic growth from 2000-2007. Pakistan faced a debt crisis in the late 1990s as external debt increased from $19.2 billion in 1990 to $33.6 billion in 1999. Musharraf's government took steps to reduce this debt burden through policies like the "debt limitation law" and debt was successfully managed after 2001 when Pakistan supported the US war on terror. While debt was reduced, continued management will be needed to encourage sectors like industry and agriculture and meet fiscal gaps.
This study seeks to evaluate the impact of public borrowing on economic growth in Nigeria using time series data from 1980 to 2018. Specifically, the study seeks to analyze the effect of domestic debt (proxy by Federal Government Bonds-FGB) and external debt (proxy by International Monetary Fund Loan-IMFL) on Nigerian’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To achieve this objective, secondary data was collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical bulleting and the Debt Management Office of Nigeria. A multiple regression model involving the dependent variable (GDP) and the independent variables (FGB and IMFL) was formulated and subjected to econometric analysis. These variables were adjusted with the Jarque-bera test of normality while the correlation result was used to check the possibility of multi-collinearity among the variables. The t-test was used to answer the research questions and test the formulated hypotheses at the 5percent statistical level. Results from the analysis show that a positive relationship exists between IMF Loan and Nigeria’s gross domestic product, while a negative relationship exists between FG Bonds and Nigeria’s gross domestic product, which violates the Keynesian theory of public debt. The study concludes that both domestic and external debt significantly affect economic growth in Nigeria. Therefore, it was recommended that public borrowing should be efficiently used and contracted solely for economic reasons and not for social or political reasons as this will help to avoid accumulation of debt stock over time.
The effect of external debt on economic growthSanjida Sarafat
This document provides background information on external debt and its impact on economic growth. It discusses how developing countries often take on external debt to supplement domestic savings and investment. While borrowing can increase output if investments yield returns higher than borrowing costs, high debt levels that countries struggle to service can undermine growth. The document specifically examines Nigeria's large external debt from the 1970s onward, how debt relief initiatives have aimed to address unsustainability, and studies showing links between debt indicators and slowed economic growth. It outlines the objectives, significance and research questions for a study on external debt's effects on Nigeria's economy between 1980-2013.
Bangladesh relies heavily on external assistance to finance development projects and address its balance of payments deficits. While its external debt levels have increased over time, most indicators of debt sustainability remain within thresholds. The ratio of external debt to GDP declined after 2002 to 22.3% in 2010/11 due to strong GDP growth. The ratio of external debt service to exports stabilized below 20% after 1998/99. The ratio of debt to exports declined due to export growth and was below 150% since 2004/05. The ratio of debt to revenue fell below 250% after 2007/08, indicating Bangladesh's ability to service its debt with government revenues. However, declining grants and rising debt service payments remain concerns for long-term debt sustainability without
This document appears to be a resume or CV for an individual named [NAME]. It includes sections on profile, education, experience, skills, and contact information. It also includes advertisements for project management certification and fundraising campaigns for charities. The document contains repetitive blocks of text advertising the certifications and campaigns.
The document promotes donating $0.67 per day or $20 total to a campaign to help a child named Nicholas wear Velcro shoes for 30 days and bring back Velcro shoes as the next big trend or fad. It encourages the reader to meet or beat another person's $20 donation to support the campaign and join the movement to make Velcro shoes popular again.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class is available at Walter’s Automotive, a trusted Mercedes-Benz dealer serving Corona. Schedule a test-drive in this thrilling roadster today.
The document contains information about an individual including their name, job title, contact information, education history, work experience, and repeated mentions of Project Management Certification and fundraising campaigns by C.M.M.A.A.O.Pvt.Ltd. Project Management Institute for orphanages, NGOs and charitable trusts. It appears to be advertising materials for Project Management certification and fundraising services by the company.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against developing mental illness and improve symptoms for those who already have a condition.
The document appears to be promotional materials for Vishvas Yadav's company CODOCA MTVCOLA MARKETING ADVERTISING AND OUTSOURCING PRIVATE LIMITED, which offers Project Management certification and conducts fundraising campaigns for NGOs, orphanages, and charitable trusts. It provides details on Vishvas Yadav's role as Program Director, the company's fundraising efforts, and contact information to learn more about Project Management certification or contributing to the fundraising campaigns.
The document contains information about an individual including their name, job title, contact information, education history from 1998-2006, work experience from 2006-2011, and involvement with fundraising for various organizations. It also discusses selling research papers and white papers with proceeds going to charities. Multiple repetitions promote project management certification and fundraising campaigns.
The document appears to be a resume for an individual named Vishvas Yadav who works as a Program Director. It includes contact information, a profile, education history attending two schools between 1998-2006, work experience at two companies between 2006-2011, and mentions fundraising efforts for various nonprofit organizations. It also advertises project management certification courses.
Cover story: Building Partnerships for Sustained Growth The Partnership Summit celebrated the rise of India as a global growth engine, while outlining a roadmap of the nation's ‘global integration strategy’ in the new world economic order.
Our cover story showcases the mega-event which witnessed the active engagement and collaboration of India within, and with the rest of the world.
Spotlight: India@75 National Volunteering Week focus.
Showcasing Engineering and Technological Excellence
Mindspace: Union Budget 2017-18
Societal Interface: Towards Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities engaging with the world CII@DAVOS 2017 plus... Building Capacity portfolio for excellence REGIONAL REVIEW ... AND MORE
Virtual Reality for Business (VR Infographic by Opace)Opace Web Design
Opace infographic about what virtual reality can do for your business
Read this highly informative infographic from Opace, focusing on the hottest new piece of tech around; virtual reality. It looks at the history of virtual reality, which despite being widely popular now, dates back to the 1950s, as well as the main competitors in the virtual reality race, which includes all the big names from Google to Samsung. It has a handy price comparison chart, plenty of facts, figures and statistics regarding both the technology now and where it’s headed in the future.
The majority of the infographic focuses on the applications of virtual reality for business, especially for marketing, social media and e-commerce, and has plenty of examples and information on how you could look into incorporating virtual reality into your business’ digital strategy.
Alongside the infographic is a detailed article examining the applications for businesses in-depth, and makes for the perfect guide for anyone looking to take their digital marketing, social media and e-commerce strategies to the next level.
For more information, see:
https://www.opace.co.uk/blog/what-can-virtual-reality-do-for-your-business/
The document appears to be a resume for an individual named Vishvas Yadav who works as a Program Director. It includes contact information, a profile, education history attending two schools between 1998-2006, work experience at two companies between 2006-2011, and mentions fundraising efforts for various nonprofit organizations. It also advertises project management certification courses.
The document discusses the rise of emerging economies and shifting global economic realities. It notes that emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and others have contributed significantly to stabilizing global growth during recessions, while their share of global GDP, trade and investment is increasing. It argues that partnerships between advanced and emerging economies are needed to support shared and balanced global growth going forward. India is positioned to leverage new opportunities from these changes through economic reforms and improved competitiveness.
The document appears to be a resume for an individual named YOUR NAME. It includes contact information, a profile, education history from 1998-2006, work experience from 2006-2011, and mentions fundraising for charitable causes and selling research papers/white papers. It is written by or about an individual named Vishvas Yadav who works for a company called CODOCA MTVCOLA MARKETING ADVERTISING AND OUTSOURCING PRIVATE LIMITED and is involved in project management certification and fundraising.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines (ECCU)– Currency Forecast Reportvivekmsk29
St. Vincent & the Grenadines is a member of the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States and the eight of the nine member states of the OECC have adopted the East Caribbean Dollar as (XCD) as their common currency. Hence the currency of Grenadines & St. Vincent is also the East Caribbean Dollar (XCD). The XCD has been pegged to the United States Dollar (USD) since July 7, 1976 and the pegged exchange rate is 1 USD = 2.70 XCD.
I expect that 1 USD = 2.70 XCD peg will be maintained for the forecasted period up to 2015
This document outlines a marketing and advertising project to study Davivienda bank customers' perception of the "Ricardo Jorge" character. The project aims to understand customer views of the character and justify the study's importance. It will use a methodology involving surveys and interviews to gather data, which will be presented in a written report format.
This document provides an overview of the role of BRICS and the G20 in reforming the global financial architecture (GFA). It defines BRICS and the G20, describes the key components and issues with the current GFA, and outlines the roles and achievements of both the G20 and BRICS in addressing GFA reforms, including through initiatives like the New Development Bank established by BRICS. Challenges to GFA reforms led by the G20 are also discussed, such as differing priorities among members and slow implementation.
The growing importance of emerging economies, along with the increasing integration of the global economy and financial markets, underscore the importance of broadening the scope of international economic and financial co-operation.
The establishment of G20, comprising around 90 per cent of the global GDP, 80 per cent of the world trade and more than two-third of the world’s population, recognized considerable changes in the international economic landscape.
The G20 plays a vital role in supporting globalization, development of domestic financial markets, regional economic integration, demographics and resource security. Independent business associations from G20 countries formed a coalition named as Business 20 (B20). The coalition acts a bridge between government and business communities of the G20 countries.
The November 2014 edition of the Multilateral Newsletter highlights the key deliberations made at the G20 and B20 Summits. In addition, it covers key points of major happenings from the recently held ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
Read the Newsletter for more information with reference
India @ G20 : A Primer on Priorities
Economic growth, industrialization, infrastructure and access to energy provide the foundations of development
for any growing economy.
‘Building Resilience’ is the prime objective of the G20 and with this in mind this grouping has set itself the
task of increasing the stability and resilience of economies, and thus of the global economy as a whole. Global
economic growth had taken quite a blow in recent times and therefore become much weaker overall than it
did after previous economic downturns. As a result, public and private debt across various regions, Central
banks’ interest rates got negatively impacted in many G20 countries. Structural reforms in G20 countries, with
focus on fiscal and monetary policies are the key to stability and long-term sustainability.
The document discusses the G20's role in strengthening international economic institutions. It argues that effective multilateral institutions are essential for managing today's integrated global economy. The G20 should ensure these institutions adapt to changes and remain legitimate by having appropriate governance. Specifically, the G20 should focus on surveillance, quota reform at the IMF, regulatory impact assessments of financial regulations, international tax issues, strengthening the WTO, and improving global energy cooperation. Reform is needed to ensure the institutions are representative and can effectively support global economic cooperation.
India’s engagement at multilateral forums has significantly increased over the last one decade. It has been playing a constructive role in forums like G-20 (B-20) which has been deliberating on critical issues of global economic and trade governance post the financial crisis. Besides this, India has also joined the grouping like IBSA and BRICS, which again are playing an important role in current global scenario.
CII complements the Government of India’s enhanced engagement with East and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. In recent years, Indian industry too has started taking keen interest on these issues and is looking outward, slowly emerging as one of the significant sources of global investment. CII in association with its partner business associations has formed a Business 20 alliance to feed business inputs into the G-20 discussions on issues which are of direct interest to them.
Through this newsletter, CII hopes to provide an insight to all such multilateral and regional engagements of India and Indian industry.
ADBI Working Paper Series Financial Inclusion and Financial Stability: Curren...Dr Lendy Spires
This document discusses financial inclusion and financial stability. It argues that greater financial inclusion can enhance financial stability in several ways:
1) Financial inclusion poses risks at the institutional level but these are not systemic in nature, as evidence shows that low-income groups maintain solid financial behavior during crises.
2) The risk profile of inclusive institutions is characterized by many small clients and transactions, posing minimal risk to financial stability.
3) Risks at the institutional level can be managed with prudent tools and effective consumer protection. Potential costs of inclusion are outweighed by long-term benefits of a deeper, more diversified financial system.
This document discusses financial inclusion and financial stability. It argues that greater financial inclusion can enhance financial stability by cushioning the impact of financial crises at the local level. While financial inclusion poses some risks at the institutional level, these are not systemic in nature and can be managed with prudent regulation. The potential costs of inclusion are outweighed by long-term benefits of a deeper, more diversified financial system that is more resilient to shocks. Innovations to promote inclusion may strengthen financial systems rather than weakening them.
This document provides an executive summary of the 2014 G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP). It summarizes that the GPFI has made progress implementing the original 2010 FIAP and is now updating it. The updated FIAP sets out 10 action areas to advance financial inclusion over the next 5 years, focusing on SME finance, regulations, financial literacy, remittances, and technology. It maintains the GPFI's role as an inclusive platform and emphasizes innovation, women's empowerment, data, private sector cooperation, and outreach.
This document provides an executive summary of the 2014 G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP). It summarizes that the GPFI has made progress implementing the original 2010 FIAP but now needs to focus on innovation, engagement with the private sector, and addressing regulatory barriers. The updated 2014 FIAP outlines 10 action areas for the GPFI to focus on over the next 5 years to further advance financial inclusion, such as improving SME finance and financial consumer protection. It maintains the GPFI's role as an inclusive platform for G20 members and other stakeholders to coordinate efforts to promote universal access to financial services.
The G-20 summit held in March 2009 received positive press but may have done more harm than good. While countercyclical fiscal policy and additional IMF resources were discussed, most plans could have been implemented without a summit. Further, the summit's vague calls for fiscal stimulus may provide cover for countries to increase spending. However, the real fiscal responses have been small, with China doing the most but still having a small global impact. The summit also failed to significantly increase IMF resources despite indications more borrowers will need help. The regulatory agenda is also concerning as it mandates immediate tightening which could further slow credit during a recession.
The document provides an overview of the New Development Bank (NDB) established by the BRICS countries. It discusses how the NDB aims to address the need for infrastructure financing in developing countries by specializing in providing loans for economic infrastructure projects. While the NDB is similar to the World Bank in some functions, its specific focus on infrastructure distinguishes it. The NDB has an initial capitalization of $50 billion which could grow to $100 billion, giving it significant financing capacity though still smaller than the World Bank currently. The document examines how the NDB fits alongside and innovates relative to existing multilateral development banks like the World Bank.
This problem is a result of India's over-leveraged companies and bad loan-saddled public sector banks. As the years rolled by, the ‘Twin Balance Sheet problem’ morphed into a ‘four balance sheet challenge’. The Four Balance Sheet challenge includes the sectors infrastructure companies, banks, NBFCs and real estate companies. We delved into the solutions that can be taken to solve these balance sheet problems of intertwined sectors.
Monday September 17 2012 - Top 10 Risk Management NewsCompliance LLC
The document discusses international cooperation in financial regulation and monetary policy before and after the global financial crisis. It notes that while cooperation in financial regulation has increased significantly since the crisis, cooperation in monetary policy remains limited. Specifically, it argues that central banks need to take a more international perspective and recognize their collective influence given the high degree of financial integration globally. Flexible exchange rates do not fully insulate economies and bond markets are highly integrated, so monetary policies of major countries have spill over effects on global financial conditions.
China's annual "Two Sessions" legislative meetings outlined cautious policies for 2022 focused on economic stability and continuity amid domestic and global challenges. The government set a GDP growth target of around 5.5% and pledged support for businesses, employment, consumption, and financial risk prevention. Regarding foreign policy, China positioned itself as a supporter of multilateral solutions and free trade while opposing Western alliance-building and "third-party interference," and called for independent policies from countries like India and EU states.
This document provides an overview of a report on financial literacy among adults in G20 countries and two guest countries. Key findings from the report include:
- Average levels of financial literacy across G20 countries, as measured by knowledge, behavior, and attitudes, are low at 12.7 out of 21 possible points.
- Less than half of adults in G20 countries demonstrate minimum target levels of financial knowledge and over a third have faced difficulties making ends meet.
- Financial behaviors like budgeting and product comparison need more focus, as do closing gaps between men's and women's financial literacy.
- Financial inclusion, as measured by product ownership, varies widely between countries.
Macroeconomic Condition of Bangladesh: An Overview of the Year 1996-2015Mohammad Istiaq Hasan
This an integrated analysis on the macroeconomic aspects of Bangladesh with a focus on GDP, unemployment, inflation. The analysis conducted with the historical data of the year 1996 to 2015 collected from World Development Indicator of the World Bank.
The IMF report provides an interim review of Greece's economic developments and policy implementation under the IMF emergency funding program. It finds that the Greek economy is contracting as expected, with GDP declining 2.5% in Q1 due to cuts in government spending. Inflation is higher than anticipated at 5.3%. The government budget is on track and structural reforms are progressing, though risks remain from hospitals, social funds, and state-owned enterprises. Banks face liquidity pressures but capital levels remain above minimum requirements. The program appears to be broadly on track but more work is needed to build confidence in its full implementation.
The IMF report provides an interim review of Greece's economic developments and policy implementation under the IMF emergency funding program. It finds that:
1) The Greek economy is contracting as expected, with GDP declining 2.5% in Q1 driven by cuts to government spending. Unemployment is rising while inflation is higher than anticipated.
2) The state budget is on track with good expenditure control, though hospitals, social funds, and public enterprises present risks. The pension reform aims to significantly cut costs but a full assessment will take more time.
3) Banks face liquidity pressures but the ECB is providing assistance; non-performing loans are rising but capital levels remain above minimums.
This report provides an overview of the landscape of financial inclusion data sources. It discusses progress made in developing demand-side and supply-side survey tools to measure financial inclusion. The report also shares perspectives from policymakers and experts on the importance of data for advancing financial inclusion and the continued work needed to improve data collection.
This document analyzes the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on Sri Lanka's economic growth from 2005 to 2008. It aims to determine the amount of FDI contributed by different countries during this period and identify which sectors received more FDI. It also examines the key issues facing FDI in Sri Lanka and provides recommendations to enhance FDI. The analysis is based on published FDI data from Sri Lanka's Board of Investment. While Sri Lanka has generally benefited from FDI, the government and Board of Investment should consider sector-specific factors to create a sound environment for attracting more foreign investment.
Similar to Multilateral Newsletter - March 2016 (20)
The May edition of the Multilateral Newsletter highlights the key deliberations from the Forum and provides the key recommendations made by the OECD stakeholders. In addition, the edition covers major happenings at the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), B20 and International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The document discusses empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India. It outlines some key policies and initiatives that have impacted MSMEs recently, both positively and negatively. These include banning letter of undertakings to check banking irregularities, addressing issues from demonetization, and the impacts of implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Overall, the MSME sector contributes significantly to the Indian economy but still faces challenges around access to finance, regulations and compliance that need to be addressed for it to reach its full potential.
It’s a matter of concern that 600 million people in India face high to extreme water stress in the country. About three-fourths of the households in the country do not have drinking water at their premise. With nearly 70% of water being contaminated, India is placed at 120th amongst 122 countries in the water quality index. It’s a fact that water is a State subject and its optimal utilization and management lies predominantly within the domain of the States. This index is an attempt to budge States and UTs towards
efficient and optimal utilization of water and recycling thereof with a sense of urgency.
GST has been implemented in India for one year. A survey found that most respondents believe GST was the right decision and are satisfied with its overall implementation. Specifically:
- 83% believe GST was the right step. Nearly two-thirds are satisfied with the overall implementation.
- GST has had a positive impact on employment and demand for goods and services.
- Respondents were satisfied with many aspects of GST like registration, invoices, record keeping. However, some were less satisfied with penalties, interest rates and certain refund processes.
Cyberspace is rapidly transforming our lives – how we live, interact, govern and create value. With the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile) trinity, India is at the forefront of global digital transformation. “Digital India” is being hailed as the world's largest technology led programme of its kind.
While internet, smartphones and modern information and
communication devices have been great force multipliers, endless connectivity and proliferation of IoT devices is giving rise to vulnerabilities, risks and concerns. Cyber security is today ranked among top threats by governments and corporates. Heightened concerns about data security and privacy have resulted in a spate of regulations in India and across the world. India is in the process of discussing and enacting its own comprehensive data security and privacy regulation, as well as vertical specific ones. Cyber security is an ecosystem where laws, organisations, skills, cooperation and
technical implementation would need to be in harmony to be
effective.
Overall, a robust regulatory framework based on global and
country-specific regulations, development of a holistic cyber
security eco-system (academia and industry as well as
entrepreneurial) and a coordinated global approach through
proactive cyber diplomacy would help to secure cyber space and promote confidence and trust of key stakeholders including
citizens, businesses, political and security leaders.
CII has been actively working in the cyber security space. The CII Task Force on Public Private Partnership for Security of the Cyber Space has been set up to bring about improvements in the legal framework to strengthen and maintain a safe cyberspace ecosystem by capacity building through education and training programmes. We would facilitate collaboration and cooperation between Government and Industry in the area of cyber security in general and protection of critical information infrastructure in particular, covering cyber threats, vulnerabilities, breaches, potential protective measures, and adoption of best practices.
Delhi, the capital of India, has emerged as a major commercial capital and industrial hub of India. It is home to a wide range of industries including textiles, electrical and electronics, IT &ITeS services, hotel and tourism, which have contributed immensely to the economic and industrial growth of the country. Nearly 88% of the SMEs in Delhi revealed that this cluster is as an attractive destination for conducting business. Delhi has become an attractive business and tourist destination. This is driven by its improved infrastructure, good connectivity with other Asian and western regions, ease of access to market and availability of skilled labor among others. Consequently, it has emerged as
one of the most preferred investment and business destinations.
The state government of Maharashtra has been at the forefront in creating a conducive business environment that fosters globally competitive firms. Business reforms introduced both by the Central as well as the state government have played a critical role in India’s 30 spots improvement in the Doing Business ranking for 2018.
The State, under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2016, has implemented over 90 per cent reforms in 7 out of 10 parameters, including labour registration, utility connections, single window system, environment registration, among others. These policy reforms have significantly helped in the reduction in time and cost of doing business for the industry, thereby
establishing Maharashtra as one of the top investment destinations in the country.
This report provides the key highlights of the select initiatives on ease of doing reforms in Maharashtra. With a view to provide on-ground impact of these initiatives, the Report also captures industry views on various aspects of business reforms.
The March-April edition of the Multilateral Newsletter gives insights on the key happenings at the various multilateral institutions and highlights the key discussions and deliberations at the informal WTO Ministerial Meeting held in New Delhi.
WTO plays a vital role by bringing stability and predictability to the multilateral trading system. It is a collective responsibility of WTO members to address the challenges faced by the system and putting the economies back on steady and meaningful way forward.
Several proposals and initiatives on investment facilitation were tabled at the WTO in the run-up to the 11th Ministerial Conference. The proponents advocated discussions on Investment Facilitation within the WTO framework. However, there was no consensus on initiating negotiations, or even establishing a Work Programme, on Investment Facilitation. A clear need of more work to look at all aspects of a potential multilateral rules on Investment, particularly on its impact on domestic policy space was stated.
In order to deepen the understanding between the member it is important that an open, transparent and inclusive approach of decision making for the various interventions. The informal WTO Ministerial gathering in New Delhi saw convergence of around 53 members representing a broad spectrum of the WTO membership.
CII, as an Industry Institution is cognizant of the need for India to engage constructively in some of the new issues being discussed under the WTO framework.
Businesses are gradually recognizing that ethics means good business. It is believed that well-run and trustworthy
companies are more likely to attract greater investment opportunities, which enables them to innovate and expand, and
generate wealth and jobs. Good corporate governance practices are regarded as providing an 'extra' edge to companies
to enhance their image and stay ahead in an intensely competitive business environment. This would help them imbibe
universally accepted values of ethics and good governance—accountability, transparency, responsibility and
responsiveness to stake holders. Besides, it would also mean looking beyond achieving mere economic sustainability to
include social and environmental sustainability as well. Many corporates are adhering to sustainable business practices
and many more are likely to follow suit in the time to come.
On the domestic front, CII expects economic growth to bounce back to 7.3-7.7 per cent in FY19 from the estimated 6.6
per cent in FY18. The prognosis of improved rural consumption and a recovery in private investment will support
growth, even as the debilitating effects of demonetisation and GSTimplementation will fade away
The Commuique May 2018 edition discusses the cover story
on 'Resolving Insolvency in India'
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016, is one of
the biggest regulatory reforms corporate India has witnessed
in recent times.
It also features 'UK-India CEO Forum Meeting ', 'CII CEOs Delegation to 11th Commonwealth Business Forum 2018', 'Four Transformations of the Global Energy Market', Economy pieces on 'The Innovation Paradox' & 'Can the Lion Conquer the Forest?' along with a piece on 'India-Africa Economic Partnership'.
The government of India has, in the past few years, accorded an utmost priority to the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB). The accent is on simplification of regulations and use of technology to make the compliance more efficient for businesses. Apart from the Centre, the States are also being encouraged to implement business reforms in the spirit of competitive federalism, to foster reforms at the sub-national level. The measures are aimed at creating a conducive business environment, which is a key to facilitating growth and creating jobs. Thanks to these measures, India’s EoDB ranking, captured by the World Bank, has improved by 42 spots since 2014 to touch the 100th position now. The Prime Minister envisions India among the top 50 nations in the next couple of years.
While business reforms are being undertaken at a rapid pace and large scale, cutting across Central as well as state levels, it is imperative that awareness about these developments is created among stakeholders and regular feedback is generated to address the gaps in the implementation of reforms. Identification of pending issues and suggesting possible solutions are equally vital. It is also important to identify the best practices within and outside the country, which are considered for implementation by the needy states.
The report reflects on the role of broadband connectivity and the multiplier effect it has on the larger ecosystem. India is ripe for a Digital rethink, with both government and industry aligning their efforts toward a broadband powered Digital India. Broadband has the power to enable the gigabit society that is always connected. Broadband connectivity has changed the way people
communicate, socialise, create, sell, shop and work. India’s digital consumption patterns highlights the evolution. On an average Indians spend 200 minutes on mobile every day, with the second highest app downloads globally. Almost 79% of the web traffic in India is on mobile.
To realise the Digital India dream, there is a need to strengthen the broadband backbone, which forms a key pillar of this transformation. This report highlights the need for future ready and robust broadband infrastructure and the requisite efforts for expediting its reach.
South Africa and India share a rich past and bright future. India has transitioned from being South Africa’s political ally to being a vibrant economic partner. Despite challenges, the opportunity for increasing the value of bilateral trade between the two countries is growing exponentially each year.
South Africa and India have nurtured a bilateral relationship since the 1860s, when the first Indians arrived in South Africa. India was one of the first countries that rallied at the United Nations in support of the anti apartheid movement in South Africa. The strong bond established between the two countries during the struggle for democracy in South Africa became further entrenched in post-apartheid South Africa.
Most global businesses recognise South Africa as the most favourable destination in Africa for making long-term investments. The country offers a stable political and economic environment with established institutions. Policies and procedures are well articulated and consistent, and it offers a free and competitive environment with open-minded consumers. South Africa provides the most stable and technologically viable environment for Indian companies wishing to establish a base from which to expand across the continent. As a gateway to Africa, it is renowned for its infrastructure, skills pool and expertise.
The document discusses India's progress and potential in innovation and adoption of new technologies. It makes the following key points:
1) While India has the human capital and resources to leverage new technologies like AI, machine learning, and IoT, its spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP is still low compared to other countries. The industry sector in particular needs to increase its investment in technology and innovation.
2) CII has been promoting technology adoption in Indian industry through various programs and platforms. It is also partnering with the government on initiatives to facilitate industry-academia collaboration and international joint R&D projects.
3) For India to fully capitalize on new technologies, both industry and start
This is the fifth edition of the Grant Thornton India meets Britain Tracker, developed in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry. The India Tracker identifies the fastest-growing Indian companies in the UK, as well as the top Indian employers. It provides insight into the evolving scale, business activities, locations and performance of the Indian-owned companies who are making the biggest impact in the UK.
This year, our research identified approximately 800 Indian companies operating in the UK, with combined revenues of £46.4 billion (£47.5 billion in 2017). Together, they paid £360 million in corporation tax (£275.7 million in 2017) and employed 104,932 people (105,268 in 2017). This shows the continued importance of the contribution that Indian companies make to the UK economy.
The Make in India initiative of the government which lays emphasis on domestic manufacturing, indigenization and import substitution, is expected to pave the way for making the Indian defence sector self-sufficient.Encouragingly, the Indian industry is now actively engagedand is partnering with the government in building a modern and best-in-class defence systems, equipment and components which should strengthen our forces and make the country more self-reliant. The formation of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) as an apex body of the Indian defence industry is critical in this regard. SIDM is expected to play a proactive role as an advocate, catalyst and facilitator for building the growth and capability of the defence industry in India. Given the rising importance of buttressing the Make in India programme for expanding the capacity of the Indian defence sector, in this issue of Economy Matters, a few SIDM office bearers and defence experts present their insights into this crucial topic.
As India integrates deeper into the global economy, it is becoming increasingly clear that the country needs to focus both on meeting international competition and its own developmental challenges.
The Government launched several initiatives last year, such as Make in India, Skill India, and Digital India, among others, towards make the vision of integrated inclusive development a reality.
For industry, grappling with the challenges of disruptive technologies, restrictive trade laws, environmental responsibilities and more demanding and discerning customers, the imperative is for sharper focus on producing excellent goods and services, along with building skills, generating jobs, and mainstreaming the marginalized.
The document recommends actions to reform public transport and shared mobility in Delhi to reduce air pollution. It finds that private vehicles have significantly increased while public transport options like buses have declined. It recommends identifying gaps in public transport accessibility, increasing bus fleets by involving private players through liberalized permit systems, leveraging existing cluster bus models, and liberalizing taxi permits for aggregators. Coordinated action is needed between central and state governments to ensure bus aggregators and state transport undertakings coexist synergistically. Expanding public transport options can help shift travelers from private vehicles to more sustainable modes.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) takes immense pleasure in presenting the third edition of Annual CSR Tracker 2017. Similar to the last two editions, this is the most comprehensive analysis of CSR disclosures of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE-listed) companies obligated to practice CSR as per the Companies Act, 2013.
The Annual CSR Tracker 2017 is based on disclosures of 1,522 companies as compared to 1,270 companies in 2016 and 1,181 in 2015. Disclosures are broken into approximately, 41 indicators spread across six aspects of CSR legislation: governance, policy, financials, spends as per Schedule VII, spend channels, and spend locations. Also included is beneficiary data that companies voluntarily disclose in their annual reports.
At CII Indian Women Network, we are driven by the imperative that Indian women become a core critical mass of the workforce to bring about the transformational change in attitude and behavior. We have also recognized the importance of some amazing women role models who can inspire the future generation into believing that there are no limits to what a woman can achieve. One critical aspect is our own self-belief and innermost conviction that will ultimately help us triumph in our relentless struggle for gender equality. It is a pleasure to share this comprehensive report with you that captures the universe of several variables that will impact our future progress.
Acolyte Episodes review (TV series) The Acolyte. Learn about the influence of the program on the Star Wars world, as well as new characters and story twists.
Here is Gabe Whitley's response to my defamation lawsuit for him calling me a rapist and perjurer in court documents.
You have to read it to believe it, but after you read it, you won't believe it. And I included eight examples of defamatory statements/
Youngest c m in India- Pema Khandu BiographyVoterMood
Pema Khandu, born on August 21, 1979, is an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu. Pema Khandu assumed office as the Chief Minister in July 2016, making him one of the youngest Chief Ministers in India at that time.
Essential Tools for Modern PR Business .pptxPragencyuk
Discover the essential tools and strategies for modern PR business success. Learn how to craft compelling news releases, leverage press release sites and news wires, stay updated with PR news, and integrate effective PR practices to enhance your brand's visibility and credibility. Elevate your PR efforts with our comprehensive guide.
Your Go-To Press Release Newswire for Maximum Visibility and Impact.pdfPressReleasePower4
This downloadable guide explains why press releases are still important for businesses today and the challenges you might face with traditional distribution methods. Learn how [Your Website Name] offers a comprehensive solution for crafting compelling press releases, targeting the right media outlets, and maximizing visibility.
The Biggest Threat to Western Civilization _ Andy Blumenthal _ The Blogs.pdfAndy (Avraham) Blumenthal
Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: China and Russia are commonly considered the biggest military threats to Western civilization, but I believe that is incorrect. The biggest strategic threat is a terrorist Jihadi Caliphate.
El Puerto de Algeciras continúa un año más como el más eficiente del continente europeo y vuelve a situarse en el “top ten” mundial, según el informe The Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CPPI), elaborado por el Banco Mundial y la consultora S&P Global.
El informe CPPI utiliza dos enfoques metodológicos diferentes para calcular la clasificación del índice: uno administrativo o técnico y otro estadístico, basado en análisis factorial (FA). Según los autores, esta dualidad pretende asegurar una clasificación que refleje con precisión el rendimiento real del puerto, a la vez que sea estadísticamente sólida. En esta edición del informe CPPI 2023, se han empleado los mismos enfoques metodológicos y se ha aplicado un método de agregación de clasificaciones para combinar los resultados de ambos enfoques y obtener una clasificación agregada.
Howard Fineman, Veteran Political Journalist and TV Pundit, Dies at 75
Multilateral Newsletter - March 2016
1. 1Multilateral Newsletter
this IssueInside
Focus Story
IMF Spring Meeting..............................................................2
Phase of Structural Changes Underway: Finance Minister
at CII – Asia Society Event in New York..............................4
ADB
Continued Reforms to Keep India on
Rapid Growth Track..............................................................5
ADB, USAID to Collaborate on Developing Clean Energy
Infrastructure in India...........................................................6
INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE
ITC to survey non-tariff measures in Nepal and develop
sector export strategies�������������������������������������������������������� 7
AfDB
6 months into office, President Adesina shares his vision
for the Bank and for Africa�������������������������������������������������� 8
March 2016, Volume 3, Issue 8
Message from Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII
Amid the slowdown in China and emerging economies and the looming spectre of the
U.K.’s departure from the European Union, the IMF has cut global growth forecast from
3.4% to 3.2% for 2016. A sharp focus is laid on issues such as pandemics, climate change
and displacement.
During the recently concluded International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
Group Spring Meeting which was held recently in Washington DC, the IMF’s Managing
Director declared that the fund is on alert, not on alarm, and believes that the global economy can recover
and become more inclusive with the right policies. They urged for structural reforms in emerging markets,
insisting that these are very diverse and that investors should be looking at the fundamentals over the
medium to long term.
The recovery is projected to strengthen in 2017 and beyond, driven primarily by emerging market and
developing economies, as conditions in stressed economies start gradually to normalize. But uncertainty has
increased, and risks of weaker growth scenarios are becoming more tangible. The fragile conjuncture increases
the urgency of a broad-based policy response to raise growth and manage vulnerabilities.
This edition of the Newsletter focuses on presenting a brief synopsis of the issues discussed during the Spring
Meeting which will help shape the direction that the global economy will take.
Chandrajit Banerjee
Multilateral
APEC
Bridges Key to Prosperity in Transitioning Asia‑Pacific����������������9
Trade Raises Living Standards in APEC Region: Report������������10
IFC
Helping India reach its Energy Goals���������������������������������������11
ILO
Water drives job creation and economic growth,
says new UN report�����������������������������������������������������������������12
G20 / B20
G20 Sherpa meets B20 representatives������������������������������������13
B20 Special Workshop at Boao������������������������������������������������13
NEWSLETTER
2. 2 Multilateral Newsletter
The overarching theme of this year’s spring meetings was doom and gloom over the global economy, coupled
with concern over how to resolve the refugee crisis. The IMF’s traditional role of monitoring and safeguarding the
global economy looks set to be back in the frame more prominently. It is now deemed to be the key institution
at the “apex” of the world’s Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN), a new buzzword meaning the patchwork of
partial and emerging regional financial mechanisms intended to act in crisis. Given the only one to have ever
dispersed money is the European Stability Mechanism for the Eurozone, and that this has not exactly always
gone swimmingly, it sounds more like a fancy term for reiterating that the IMF remains the ultimate backstop
but others also need to step up.
Civil society has long called for the UN to have primacy in coordinating the needed discussions over tax reform,
decrying the fact that the OECD ‘rich countries’ club’ would consult but not involve developing countries in
designing new tax rules. Ostensibly this appears an opening towards the involvement of developing countries in
writing tax rules, rather than just implementing them. However the smart money suggests the real winner may
be the Fund, who’s Fiscal Affairs Department has been vying to usurp the OECD’s central role for some time.
This rather brings into question the focus – or more precisely lack of it – on the Financing for Development
(FfD) follow-up process kicking off in New York at the UN the day immediately following the spring meetings.
Last spring’s big story, the Bank’s mess over resettlement, was still bubbling on the side-lines, including via
behind the scenes follow up conversations between CSOs and Bank management, where CSOs gave the Bank
a sharp warning: that it get to the bottom of the problem rather than engaging in another PR exercise. On the
more official side the Bank’s accountability mechanism, the Inspection Panel, made its mark with the launch
of the first report in a new series on “emerging lessons”, precisely on involuntary resettlement. Let’s hope the
Bank pays attention, not least because the Bank in collaboration with other MDBs continues their big push for
big infrastructure, which will no doubt lead to involuntary resettlement in many cases.
Linked to this is another major theme of this year, the cooperation of the MDBs. This year it was not only the
Bank and the Fund holding court in Washington DC – all the major MDBs were there, including the ‘new kids
on the block’, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa) New Development Bank (NDB). The NDB met on the side-lines to sign off its first four projects and
the AIIB signed a MoU with the Bank to cooperate on projects. And finally, all the leaders lined up in matching
grey suits for the inaugural Global Infrastructure Forum, and were joined by the chairs of the G24, G20 and the
UN’s general secretary. It all seemed very cordial, but let’s see whether the friendships remain as in particular
the AIIB is expected to sharpen its teeth in the next few years.
For the past few years, the annual and spring meetings have been dominated by discussion about the World
Bank’s environmental and social safeguards review, and while the public consultation period is now officially
over, CSOs remain concerned and there are a fair few issues to resolve at Bank board level, too.
Climate change also featured on the sidelines. Despite the new Bank climate change action plan being launched
only the week before the meetings, little was made of it on the official or CSO agenda, perhaps because the
Bank seem certain that it will play a key role in implementing the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. But CSOs were
wondering what will happen with climate finance – will the bulk of the money go through the UN’s Green
Climate Fund (as the G20 seemed to indicate) or the MDB-led Climate Investment Funds (CIFs – which the G24
Focus Story
IMF Spring Meeting
3. 3Multilateral Newsletter
seemed to indicate)? And what happened with the CIFs’ so called ‘sunset clause’, which is supposed to kick in
just about now – well, no one seems to know. Meanwhile, yet another report outlining the Bank’s continued
investment in fossil fuels was released.
The IMF’s recent expansion into uncharted territory, through publication of research and inclusion of issues
such as income inequality, gender, and climate finance in its surveillance pilots gained a growing amount of
interest at the spring meetings. A high-level seminar including David Lipton, first deputy managing director of
the IMF, titled ‘Getting down to business: Women, work and the economy’, made the macro-critical case for
gender equality and came to the consensus that we have to “move faster and push the envelope” on gender
equality, including at the IMF. Whether that means the surveillance pilots will graduate to lending facilities and
technical assistance and approach gender equality in a more coherent way remains to be seen. CSOs are certainly
interested in the answer, as was evident from questions asked of the IMF during the civil society forum event
‘IFIs and gender equality; missing the bigger picture?’
The World Bank on the other hand arranged yet another opportunity for Caren Grown, senior director of the
Bank’s gender department, to present the outlines of its gender strategy 2016-2023, launched in December. We
heard the now familiar mantra on how the private sector is a key partner for implementation and why gender
mainstreaming does not work. When pushed on how implementation plans are going to be systematic, accountable
and transparent, Grown explained that her department is not the Bank’s ‘gender police’ and that management
is accountable for its implementation, raising questions about the degree to which the gender department and
its strategy will be able to influence the behaviour of an institution focused on being a competitive lender.
Click here for more information
Focus Story
4. 4 Multilateral Newsletter
Focus Story
Phase of Structural Changes Underway:
Finance Minister at CII – Asia Society Event in
New York
Compared to the situation two years back and in the current global context, India is doing a lot better on all fronts,
especially on the key economic parameters, however, there is scope to do better, said Mr Arun Jaitley, Minister
of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information Broadcasting, Government of India, speaking at the Conference
on “Make in India: The New Deal” in New York, organized by CII and the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Referring to the spate of reforms happening in India, the Finance Minister said that structural changes are
underway in India, which would place the economy and the country in a stronger footing as one of the leading
economies of the world. India has moved from being the state of policy paralysis to the economic bright spot
of the world, Mr Jaitley said.
He referred in particular to key reforms including opening up FDI in multiple sectors; reduction in the corporate
tax rate, movement on GST, lowering of interest rates as well as process reforms with an emphasis on ease of
doing business that can help decrease transaction costs. Huge resource allocation in infrastructure development
particularly for national highways, roads, railway stations, airports and seaports will also help unleash economic
activity in these capital intensive sectors. In addition, the renewed emphasis on infrastructure development in
rural areas, rationalization of government support subsidies, and so forth will further help reduce stresses in
the economic fundamentals in the country.
Ultimately, all these initiatives are geared towards helping the Indian economy focus on value added manufacturing
which is at the heart of ‘Make in India’.
Mr Jaitley also pointed out that for the first time, the discourse about reforms is changing in India with a larger
constituency being in support rather than against. In addition, factors such as constructive competition amongst
states is a very positive factor that is fueling interest from both domestic and private enterprises.
Speaking earlier in the session, Mr Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance pointed
out that India was becoming more competitive – not owing to labour cost arbitrage but owing to lower costs
of capital, lower taxes, lower logistics costs, etc.
Mr Arun Kumar Singh, Indian Ambassador to the US, spoke about the fact that economic security and strategic
partnership have become integral part of the bilateral relationship between India and the US. He also highlighted
the US investments have been to the tune of USD 28 billion and likewise Indian companies have invested USD
15 billion in the US and created over a hundred thousand jobs.
The event was co-chaired by Mr Kevin Rudd, President, Asia Society Policy Institute and Dr Naushad Forbes,
President, CII.
5. 5Multilateral Newsletter
Continued Reforms to Keep India on Rapid
Growth Track
ADB
India’s economy will see a slight dip in growth in FY2016 (fiscal year to 31 March 2017) following FY2015’s
growth expansion. The economy will again accelerate in FY2017 as the benefits of banking sector reforms and
an expected pickup in private investment begin to flow, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
In its latest Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2016, ADB
projects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 7.4% in
FY2016, slightly below the FY2015 estimate of 7.6%. In FY2017
growth is forecast to reach 7.8%. ADO is ADB’s flagship annual
economic publication.
In FY2015, a pickup in manufacturing, private consumption,
and capital expenditure by the government helped offset a
double-digit decline in exports. Imports contracted largely
due to a sharply lower oil bill, while inflation remained
broadly subdued on the back of lower global commodity
prices, although there was a pickup in food prices in the second half. Measures to encourage more foreign
direct investment resulted in a dramatic surge in investment. Ongoing efforts to curb spending and increased
tax revenues saw the government achieve its budget deficit reduction target.
For FY2016, the still weak global economy will continue to weigh on exports, particularly India’s refined petroleum
products, offsetting a further pickup in domestic consumption, due in part to an impending salary hike for
government employees. Public investment, though, will remain strong as the government taps savings from
lower oil costs to boost spending. In FY2017, strengthened public banks and corporate deleveraging will result
in an uptick in bank credit and boost private spending, including on infrastructure.
After 2 years of decline, consumer inflation is likely to accelerate, fueled by the salary hike for civil servants and
a mild pickup in global oil prices, with inflation expected to average 5.4% in FY2016, rising to 5.8% in FY2017.
The government is expected to maintain its ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts, with the deficit cut to 3.5% of
GDP in FY2016, supported by tax revenue growth and asset sales. At the same time, given stresses on the rural
economy following two consecutive weak monsoons, the government will step up social sector spending in its
FY2016 budget and increase allocations for road, power, and rail infrastructure.
Click here for more information
6. 6 Multilateral Newsletter
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on supporting India’s ambitious expansion plans for
clean energy infrastructure.
ADB is currently financing the development of power evacuation infrastructure for solar parks in Gujarat and
Rajasthan in India. The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, has requested
ADB to provide financing up to $500 million each to support rooftop solar, and expansion of the transmission
network to connect solar parks in multiple states under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
solar park program. Under the terms of the MoU, USAID will align components of their technical assistance
with ADB’s current and planned investments in renewable energy.
USAID, through its Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment (PACE-D) Program, will work with ADB to
assist MNRE and select states in the design and development of public private partnership (PPP) investment
models for solar parks. Future technical assistance will focus on bringing innovation to the grid integration of
power from areas of concentrated renewable energy generation, such as at solar parks. The specific frameworks
for technical assistance are being established in coordination with MNRE.
Click here for more information
ADB, USAID to Collaborate on Developing Clean
Energy Infrastructure in India
ADB
7. 7Multilateral Newsletter
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is to carry out a large-scale business survey to document experiences of Nepali
exporters facing non-tariff measures (NTMs). ITC is also to develop four national-level sector export strategies
(SES) for the Government of Nepal. The two initiatives are being implemented following an official request from
the Ministry of Commerce and the recent review of the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2015.
The two initiatives were launched on 17 March at a stakeholder meeting at the Ministry of Commerce, which
included representatives from several ministries and government agencies, trade support institutions, the private
sector and development partners.
The business survey on NTMs will capture procedural and regulatory barriers to trade that exporters experience
in partner countries, in transit or in Nepal. It will be implemented in partnership with the Federation of Nepalese
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and will be based on the established ITC methodology for NTM
Surveys that has been applied in more than 60 developing and developed countries. More than 600 interviews
will be carried out between March and June by a team of 15 interviewers from the Kathmandu University School
of Management (KUSOM). All the interviewers have received extensive training by ITC.
Interviews will target companies in all export sectors across the different districts in Nepal, with a special focus
on the products covered by the SES and priority products identified in the NTIS. The collected data will allow for
a detailed analysis by product and partner country, as well as of private-sector concerns with trade regulations.
The survey results will serve as a basis for stakeholder consultations, which will identify recommendations for
specific interventions in affected sectors and will feed into the SES development process.
The SES will be developed in parallel to and be aligned with the NTM Survey. A specific focus of the SES will
be on the coffee, tea, large cardamom and handmade paper sectors. The SES design process will produce a
set of four endorsed, coherent and comprehensive documents that will serve as action-oriented blueprints for
enhancing trade performance in each sector.
The design phase will follow ITC’s recognized strategy design process and methodology, which includes a thorough
and participative diagnostic of each sector’s performance, main markets and competitors over the past five years
as well as highlight opportunities and strategic implications for the coming five years.
The two initiatives are based on full country ownership and involve in-depth consultations with partners in
identifying challenges and developing solutions. This includes identifying supply-side constraints and opportunities
for value addition, diversification and investment specific to each sector. Each SES will also link trade-specific
issues to broader developmental dimensions, such as each sector's potential impact on poverty reduction,
employment generation and sustainable development.
Click here for more information
ITC to survey non-tariff measures in Nepal
and develop sector export strategies
International Trade Centre
New initiatives aim to help businesses overcome barriers to spur
economic growth and sustainable development
8. 8 Multilateral Newsletter
Six months into office, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina looks back on his accomplishments
and shares his vision for the Bank and for Africa over the next decade.
In a 10-minute video, the President describes his vision for a better integrated Africa, with a wider market where
people can travel everywhere without restriction, with better infrastructure linking the countries, in terms of air
travel, rail and water navigation facilities to be able to link our markets. “I see in 10 years an Africa that would
be able to feed itself, that is able to take advantage of all the resources it has. A more competitive Africa on
the global the market. In 10 years, I expect to see an Africa that is totally lit up, that has universal access to
electricity, an Africa that is not in darkness.
“That is what 10 years would look like for me,” he said.
During his first six months in office, the Bank has been engaged in trying to form global alliances around these
five development priorities, Adesina said. The AfDB played a key role at the UN climate talks in Paris (COP21) in
December, bringing together African leaders and supporting the African Group of Negotiators, who pushed for
a climate agreement that was in the interest of Africa. At COP21, the AfDB and partners launched the African
Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), which aims to provide 300 gigawatts of electricity across Africa by 2030.
At the Bank’s High-Level Conference on Agriculture in Dakar in October, the Bank invited Ministers of Finance and
development partners to look at agriculture as a business, a viable source of employment for youth, particularly
in rural areas, and a path to food security. The conference also announced a range of initiatives aimed at raising
agricultural productivity across the continent.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos 2016, the AfDB launched a Transformative Partnership on Energy for
Africa with the participation of global CEOs, and partners, including the United States Government’s Power Africa
initiative, UK Government and the United Nations, to mobilize public- and private-sector financing.
Click here for more information
6 months into office, President Adesina shares
his vision for the Bank and for Africa
AfDB
9. 9Multilateral Newsletter
Bridges Key to Prosperity in Transitioning
Asia‑Pacific
APEC
Seismic shifts in economic and social conditions in the Asia-Pacific compounded by uncertainty in the world economy
are contributing to unease about the future and raising scrutiny of globalization. But greater interconnectivity
of people and markets, not less, is needed to mitigate emerging challenges to regional growth and human
development, according to APEC Secretariat Executive Director Dr Alan Bollard.
The outlook for transitioning Asia-Pacific economies and their policy regimes was the focus of keynote remarks
by Dr Bollard during a regional business forum that just concluded in Bangkok. He noted that sustained efforts
in APEC to foster more open, integrated member economies could help to boost their ebbing trade while
positioning them to tackle mounting structural impediments to productivity and social well-being.
The 21 APEC economies are forecast to grow 3.4 per cent in 2016, the same as world GDP growth, the APEC
Policy Support Unit reports. This is up from 3.1 per cent growth in APEC in 2015, which was undermined by a
contraction in regional trade. Keeping trade and investment barriers in check and taking next steps to enable
more people and businesses to take advantage will be an important determinant of future prosperity.
APEC economies are pursuing new targets to improve the ease of doing business in the region, with focus
on reducing the time it takes to start a business, obtaining financing and permits, and trading across borders.
They are also deepening policy collaboration to cut red tape at immigration and customs checkpoints as well as
harmonize their industry regulations and standards. The aim is to make them simpler for businesses to navigate
and incorporate best practices for ensuring food safety, clean and efficient energy use, and personal data privacy,
among other sustainability goals.
At the same time, APEC economies are ramping up information sharing and technical assistance to facilitate
trade agreements that go beyond the reduction of tariffs alone to address emerging issues such as hurdles to
innovation and digital development. Parallel emphasis is on opening cross-border education and career development
opportunities in coordination with the private sector. They include new scholarships and internships, skills training
and certification programs to build compatible labor forces and improve living standards in the region.
Click here for more information
10. 10 Multilateral Newsletter
APEC
Living standards have improved across the 21 APEC member economies on the back of trade-driven economic
and social development, according to a new report. But further progress in the world’s most populous region
will hinge on efforts to compensate for ebbing trade growth.
The APEC Policy Support Unit report points to gains in health, education and economic opportunities in APEC
economies over the last quarter century, facilitated by their market integration and lowering of barriers to cross-
border movement of people, trade and investment.
The report provides an analysis of the UNDP’s Human Development Index which measures people’s health and
lifespans, knowledge levels, and standards of living in economies globally. It reveals improvements in all APEC
economies which account for 3 billion people or 40 per cent of the world’s population.
APEC economies attained an average score of 0.80 in the latest Human Development Index, released in 2015,
out of a maximum of 1 and minimum of 0. This is up from 0.69 in 1990—the year after they came together to
form APEC to boost regional growth and prosperity via greater interconnectivity. By contrast, the average score
for the world was 0.60 in 1990 and 0.71 in the Human Development Index unveiled last year.
However, the region’s multi-year contraction in trade, undermined by continued uncertainty in the global economy,
presents risks to continued progress in improving living standards.
New measures will be taken forward when Trade Ministers from APEC economies convene on 17-18 May in
Arequipa, Peru. They will consider policy implementation work advanced there during preceding meetings of
APEC Senior Officials and technical working groups from 5-15 May.
Click here for more information
Trade Raises Living Standards in APEC
Region: Report
11. 11Multilateral Newsletter
Helping India reach its Energy Goals
The Indian government has set an ambitious target: to provide electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
for the entire country in the next few years. Today, some 300 million people, or about 25 percent of the
population, have no power.
To achieve this goal, India will need to substantially increase its energy generation from a diversity of sources,
including renewable energy—solar and wind projects are particularly attractive as they have short construction
periods and can provide an electricity boost relatively quickly.
The country expects to expand its clean energy capacity from about 37 gigawatts currently to 175 GW by 2022,
including through major increases in solar and wind generation. This will entail an estimated $200 billion in
investment.
Getting to that figure will require significant input from private sector developers and investors—which is where
IFC comes in.
IFC was one of the earliest international financiers of wind and solar projects in India, starting in 2009, when
the country had minimal renewable energy capacity. Our main goal at the time was to show that clean energy
projects were viable and could be scaled up.
Less than a decade later, IFC’s portfolio in Indian wind and solar power exceeds $700 million and includes 3 GW
of solar and wind—about 10 percent of the country’s installed renewable energy capacity.
Renewable energy represents an increasingly large share of IFC’s power investments. Over the past five years,
we have invested in more than 200 renewable energy projects around the world, supporting about 8 GW of
hydropower, 4 GW of wind power, and 2 GW of solar power for emerging markets.
IFC is well placed to help India mobilize funding for renewables energy, based on our presence and knowledge
of the market and relationships with both government stakeholders and foreign investors. IFC offers long-term,
fixed-rate rupee debt instruments and, in August, IFC Treasury issued a five-year green Masala bond on the
London Stock Exchange, the first green bond issued in the offshore rupee markets.
Click here for more information
IFC
12. 12 Multilateral Newsletter
An estimated three out of four jobs that make up the global workforce are either heavily or moderately
dependent on water. This means that water shortages and problems of access to water and sanitation could
limit economic growth and job creation in the coming decades, according to a UN report. The 2016 edition
of the United Nations World Water Development Report, Water and Jobs, also notes that half of the world's
workers - 1.5 billion people - are employed in eight water and natural resource - dependent industries.
“Water and jobs are inextricably linked on various levels, whether we look at them from an economic,
environmental or social perspective. This edition of the World Water Development Report breaks new ground
by addressing the pervasive relationship between water and jobs to an extent not yet seen in any other report”,
said the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.
Launched on World Water Day, and in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the report
demonstrates the key role water will play in the transition to a green economy.
“This analysis highlights the fact that water is work – it requires workers for its safe management and at the
same time it can create work and improve conditions. If the 2030 Agenda is to be a success and we are to build
together a sustainable future, we must ensure that work in water is decent and that the water we all rely on
is safe,” said Director-General of the ILO and Chair of UN-Water, Guy Ryder.
Click here for more information
Water drives job creation and economic growth,
says new UN report
ILO
An estimated three out of four jobs that make up the global workforce
are either heavily or moderately dependent on water. This means
that water shortages and problems of access to water and sanitation
could limit economic growth and job creation in the coming decades,
according to a UN report.