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Asian Economy: Overview, Growth & Development

Asian Economy: Overview, Growth & Development
Bangladesh, Kenya explore cooperation in blue economy

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has proposed that both Bangladesh and Kenya can establish cooperation in the blue economy.

Both sides agreed to establish cooperation in tourism, IT and agriculture sectors in addition to developing the existing trade and commerce.

Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya Ababu Namwamda met Dr Momen at State Guest House Padma on Thursday and discussed the issues.

He congratulated the Bangladesh government on the occasion of celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of Bangladesh and termed the events as a very special moment for Bangladesh.

The Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya was accompanied by the diplomatic officer of Kenyan High Commission in India.

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Property, covid-19 challenges to remain with China’s economic slowdown to continue in 2022

China’s economic growth is likely to deteriorate further next year as rising risks of a fallout from the property market and Beijing’s zero tolerance approach to the coronavirus could weigh on conditions in the coming months, analysts said.

Recent outbreaks of the Delta variant have prompted travel restrictions and lockdowns in some cities in China, damping economic activities, while Beijing’s tough stance to deleverage the property sector, which contributes 14 percent to China’s gross domestic product (GDP), will further slow growth in the coming months, according to Andrew Fennell, a senior director at Fitch Ratings.

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The true challenge to Indonesia’s large informal economy

In a burst of self-confidence, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, boasted to leaders of G20 countries at the recent summit in Rome that his country’s economy had remained resilient in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic ­? thanks, he said, to 65 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Generating 61 percent of Indonesia’s economic output in 2020, Jokowi told his audience that nearly two-thirds of these MSMEs were run by women. And he had a plan to empower them through greater access to financial services and business loans.

Jokowi’s presentation, with its dash of microeconomics and promise of women’s empowerment, was evidently meant to create good optics for Indonesia in an international forum. But examined up close, just how accurate was this portrayal of Indonesia’s MSMEs?

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India’s economy to rebound as pandemic prompts reforms

India’s economy is poised for a rebound after enduring a second wave of COVID-19 infections this year that further constrained activity and took a heavy toll on its people.

“What happens in India has a big impact, both in the region and in the world,” Luis Breuer, IMF’s senior resident representative to India, said in a recent IMF podcast. “You’re talking about a large slice of humanity and the global economy.”

India’s broad range of fiscal, monetary and health responses to the crisis supported its recovery and, along with economic reforms, are helping to mitigate a longer-lasting adverse impact of the crisis, according to the latest annual review by IMF staff.

Though policy steps helped mitigate the pandemic, it’s still likely to result in greater poverty and inequality. And the path of recovery will follow the path of the virus.

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Global energy crisis: another concern for Vietnam’s economy

Over the past two months, energy shortages have spread across China’s steel, aluminum and cement manufacturing hubs. Coal prices have skyrocketed and may increase further as winter approaches. Coal is an important fuel, contributing to the production of nearly two-thirds of the electricity of the world’s second largest economy.

Power shortages this winter could be the worst since 2010 and will increase the risk of inflation, recession and growth pressure on the Chinese economy. The world’s largest energy consumer has to tackle power shortages and limit skyrocketing price hikes in energy prices, while keeping climate goals on track.

To get out of this crisis, China may even have to import coal from Australia and the US amid relations with these two countries that have not changed positively. China is also ignoring climate targets to revive old and dirty mines, to keep electricity prices under control for industrial zones.

Some forecasts show that the gap between supply and demand of coal in China this year will be around 350-400 million tons.

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Japan unveils huge $490b stimulus injection into pandemic economy

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a record $490 billion stimulus for the world’s third-largest economy Friday as he looks to shore up the country’s patchy pandemic recovery.

The 56 trillion-yen injection, the third since the COVID-19 crisis struck last year, “is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people,” Kishida said.

The vast spending plans are expected to be approved by Cabinet later in the day and reportedly include cash and coupon handouts to families with children under 18 who meet an income cap, as well as pay rises for nurses and care workers.

It comes after Japan’s economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter as leaders struggled to overcome virus surges by imposing containment measures in Tokyo and other cities.

Former Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga and Shinzo Abe poured 40 trillion yen and 38 trillion yen, respectively into the economy in 2020, although some analysts have raised doubts over how effective that stimulus has been.

“We have been able to build economic measures that will lead to a new society after the pandemic,” Kishida said at policy talks between Cabinet and ruling coalition.

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Malaysia’s GDP likely contracted in q3 on renewed covid-19 curbs

Malaysia’s battered economy likely slipped back into contraction in the third quarter as coronavirus-induced restrictions brought economic activity to a near-standstill, a Reuters poll found.

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