China’s indebted property sector
China’s economy has become heavily dependent on property development over the last decade. High-rise apartments have mushroomed across hundreds of cities to house a growing white-collar workforce, while glass and steel office blocks are dominating city centres, mimicking Shanghai’s glittering skyline.
Valued at more than $50tn after 20 years of rapid growth, Chinese real estate is worth twice as much as the US property market and four times China’s annual income.
George Magnus, an associate at Oxford University’s China Centre, says this real estate market ranks as the most important single commercial sector in the world.
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Will India remain the world’s fastest growing economy in 2022?
Is India’s economy finally in a position to write-off that COVID-19 infested 2020 as a lost year and refocus all energies on a breakthrough 2022?
Sure, there are concerns about what the Omicron variant might do, but based on all available economy indicators, prospects are there for a decisive return to growth– and even be one of the fastest growing economies at that.
Whether it is in manufacturing, the tech industry, the startup space, or at malls and shops dotting the country, the sentiment is turning positive, and could yet turn into full-on bullishness. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE next month – his first foreign visit in 2022 – the impression is that corners have been turned and it will be a straighter line to the kind of growth performance the government has been expecting for some time.
Take manufacturing, for instance. “(India’s) exports grew by 250 percent to Rs46 billion in the first quarter of FY2021-22 (between April to end June) while imports dropped 800 percent from Rs3.2 billion to Rs600 million,” said Suresh Kumar, Chairman of the consultancy Tricolour Values Group as well as at the Indian Business & Professional Council (IBPC) Dubai.
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Demand for green economy opportunity for Indonesia
The global demand for green finance has created an opportunity for Indonesia’s economic sectors, senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), Destry Damayanti, said at an online discussion on Wednesday.
“The opportunity comes from Indonesia’s vast and diverse natural resources. Thus, we can achieve zero emissions earlier,” she added.
President Joko Widodo has said that Indonesia has a very large source of renewable energy from biothermal, tidal, and wind power plants, which are estimated to generate 418 thousand Megawatt (MW) of power, she noted.
“Hence, we have to take advantage of the potential and manage it well to make various breakthroughs, thus it can become our economic strength in the future,” she remarked.
The transition to a low-carbon economy can invite global investment into Indonesia, which can boost economic growth and foreign exchange reserves, she said.
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Blue economy and the opening of new horizons in Bangladesh
The sea is called the lungs of the earth. The land beneath the sea is a world full of diversity and abundance of life. Professor Gunter Pauli, an Australian citizen, gave the first idea of the huge economic potential. In 2010, at the invitation of the United Nations, the idea of formulating an environmentally friendly sustainable economic framework was expressed in his speech.
Blue economies are the water resources of the oceans, the resources of the oceans and the economies that surround the oceans. Blue Economy means the color of the sea is blue. That is why the sea-centric economy is called Blue Economy. The main components of Blue economy are mineral resources, water resources, transportation services, energy resources, tourism industry etc. The planned use and sustainable development of these will bring huge potential to the maritime economy. Like other countries in the world, Bangladesh will be able to use its marine resources for economic development.
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Vietnam’s economy estimated to lose $37 billion
Vietnam’s economy is estimated to lose some $37 billion due to the Covid-19 pandemic by the end of this year, according to a top official.
Nguyen Thanh Phong, deputy head of the Economic Commission under the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee, made the remarks at a forum discussing economic recovery measures held on Sunday in the capital Hanoi, reports Xinhua news agency.
If it was not for the raging pandemic, the country’s economy could have grown 7 percent per year in the past two years, Phong said.
However, in fact, it expanded 2.91 percent in 2020 and is expected to grow just 2.5 percent in 2021.
To weather the pandemic’s impact, it is necessary to have comprehensive recovery solutions with four growth drivers namely investment, export, domestic consumption and digital transformation, the official said.
Vietnam posted a modest gross domestic product growth of 1.42 percent in the first nine months of this year due to severe impacts of the pandemic, according to its General Statistics Office.
The country will strive to achieve an economic growth rate of between 6 and 6.5 percent in 2022 under a plan decided recently by its top legislature.
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Japan economy contracts 3.6pc in q3
Japan’s economy contracted at a 3.6 percent annual rate in July-September, according to a revised estimate released Wednesday.
The downgraded growth estimate for the last quarter, down from an earlier report of a 3.0 percent contraction, reflected weaker consumer spending and trade, the government said.
The world’s third-largest economy has been mired in recession and struggling to recover from the impact of waves of coronavirus infections.
The latest outbreak, in the late summer, has receded for now with a sharp drop in cases. But it hit during the usually busy summer travel season, with calls for restricted business activity and travel hurting restaurants, hotels and other service sector industries.