Economy

China's Xi swears in Macao's new leader, urges economic diversification

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the casino hub of Macao to diversify its economy as he swore in the former Portuguese colony's new government on Friday at an event marking the 25th anniversary of its handover to China. New Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai Macao's first leader born in mainland China vowed to address the territory's unbalanced and uncoordinated economic development. Since its 1999 handover, the city of 687,000 has transformed from a monopoly-driven gambling enclave into the world's largest gaming hub, drawing hordes of tourists from mainland China. The casino boom has improved living standards, but authorities are concerned that the semi-autonomous city's economy is unhealthily dependent on the industry. Some young people say the tourism-dominated economy has limited their career options and the city's diversified development. Critics say years of easy money from tourists have discouraged local businesses from innovating and improving, with many residents rely on ...

‘India supported us immensely during economic crisis,’ says Sri Lankan President Dissanayake

Pakistan's central bank cuts key policy rate by 200 basis points to 13%

Pakistan's central bank on Monday further reduced the key policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 per cent from 15 per cent amid improvement in inflation. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 200 bps to 13 per cent, effective from December 17, 2024. It said that the decision was helped by the continued decline in food inflation as well as the phasing out of the impact of the hike in gas tariffs in November 2023. However, it added that core inflation, which stood at 9.7 per cent, was proving to be sticky, whereas inflation expectations of consumers and businesses remain volatile. The MPC also noted that the current account had remained in surplus for the third consecutive month in October 2024, which, amidst weak financial inflows and substantial official debt repayments, helped increase the foreign exchange of the central bank to around $12 billion. The committee also said global prices had remaine

Economy ends 2024 strong as business growth reaches 4-month high, shows PMI

Asia's third-largest economy grew a softer 5.4 per cent last quarter, but easing inflation is expected to spur demand among private sector firms

UK economy shrinks in Oct, suffers first back-to-back declines since 2020

Gross domestic product shrank 0.1 per cent month-on-month in October, as it did in September, the Office for National Statistics said

India's economic growth by end of this fiscal will be back on track: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday expressed confidence that India's economic growth by end of this fiscal will be back on track despite global uncertainties. He said that this year also India will be the world's fastest growing economy. "We had an election in the first quarter and during the election, obviously policy making and decisions on next steps of growth or infrastructure spending does slow down and there is a lag effect. "But from what the initial numbers for this quarter, the third quarter show, the festive spending, the rebound in rural growth, the way banks are now seeing traction back again, the way infrastructure spending has come back on track, I think by the time we close the year in March, we will be back on track," Goyal said at Times Network's India Economic Conclave here. The minister was replying to a question whether the 5.4 per cent GDP growth in the July-September quarter of this fiscal worries him. The latest government data showed ..

India needs $2.2 trn investment to be $7 trn economy by 2030: Knight Frank

India will require an investment of USD 2.2 trillion for infrastructure development to become USD 7 trillion economy by 2030, Knight Frank India said on Thursday, while stressing on the need of radical measures to encourage private participation in this area. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India released a report, 'India Infrastructure: Reviving Private Investments', which mentioned that "an estimated investment of USD 2.2 trillion into infrastructure development is imperative to support India's GDP size to expand to USD 7 trillion by 2030." To achieve an economic size of USD 7 trillion by 2030, India's economy is required to grow at a CAGR of 10.1 per cent between 2024-2030, it added. Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said, "Strong impetus on infrastructural development and increased budgetary allocation by government has led to India's ranking in the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) improve from 54 in 2014 to 38 in 2023." In the last few years, he said, there has been .

Reducing debt burden priority for next decade, says FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman said that intergenerational debt is mounting on countries, and it is important for the government and industry to work together to manage debt at the national and sub-national levels

E-commerce: A sunrise sector, purveyor of India's economic growth

In a recent report, Deloitte projected India's e-commerce CAGR to be 21 per cent, expected to reach $325 billion by 2030

Google identified Andhra Pradesh as key partner: CM Chandrababu Naidu

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said global tech giant Google has identified Andhra Pradesh as a key partner as part of its ambitious plans and operations in India. After meeting a Google delegation at the secretariat here, the Chief Minister said he discussed various potential areas for collaboration. He exuded confidence that collaborations with global technology leaders such as Google will empower the southern state. I met a Google delegation led by VP (vice president), Bikash Koley in Amaravati today. The delegation offered me an overview of their operations and shared their ambitious plans in India. I am proud that Andhra Pradesh has been identified as a key partner, said Naidu in a post on X. According to the CM, Andhra Pradesh's progressive industrial policies have created a business-friendly ecosystem, attracting investors and paving the way for employment opportunities. Recalling that the state recently signed an agreement with the US-headquartered company

Myanmar's economy likely to shrink as floods compound crisis: World Bank

In June, the bank had projected Myanmar's economy would grow 1 per cent during the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025, but warned of increasing poverty and escalating violence

Fall of govt leaves France without clear path to cutting deficit: S&P

Michel Barnier was set to hand in his resignation and become the shortest serving prime minister in modern France after far-right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple his government

Sustainability measures in trade adding to economic uncertainties: Govt

FTAs need to take a holistic view of the commercial significance they hold for the country and emphasise the importance of looking at goods, services, and investment together

Govt mulls change in base year to 2022-23 from 2011-12 for GDP computation

The government is considering changing the base year for computation of the GDP to 2022-23 in February 2026 to reflect an accurate picture of the economy, a top government official said. This will be the first revision in over a decade. It was last done in 2011-12. Addressing an event here, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Secretary Saurabh Garg further said the ministry will come up with monthly estimates of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) from January next year. "...next base year (GDP) will be 2022-23...will be implemented from February 2026," Garg said. The 26-member Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS), which was constituted under the Chairmanship of Biswanath Goldar, is expected to complete the exercise by early 2026. Regularly updating the base year is essential to ensure that indices accurately reflect changes in the economy's structure, such as shift in consumption pattern, sector weight and the incorporation of new ...

BS Samriddhi 2024: UP's priority sectors need Rs 5.73 trn lending in FY25

The growth marks 50% increase in credit flow year-on-year

Russia's labour shortage spreads as defence sector cuts down staff

Heavy recruitment by the armed forces and defence industries has drawn workers away from civilian enterprises, as has emigration, pushing unemployment to a record low of 2.3 per cent

Sluggish demand likely weighed on India's GDP growth in Sept quarter: Poll

Passenger vehicle sales recorded their first decline in 10 quarters and sales of two-wheelers experienced a sharp slowdown

India, UK to relaunch FTA talks in 2025, 'address remaining issues'

Announcement follows first meeting between Prime Minister Modi and his British counterpart during G-20 summit in Brazil

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says no need to hurry rate cuts with strong economy

US central bankers began lowering borrowing costs in September with an aggressive half-percentage-point cut, and then lowered the policy rate again by a quarter point last week

Pak faces IMF scrutiny as bailout programme review may shift to quarterly

A quarterly review would allow for continuous oversight of the approximately 40 conditions outlined in the $7 billion agreement