NEW DELHI: The strong will and action of the Government under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shri Amit Shah to scrap Article 370 has paved a new era of growth both for the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh region said FIEO President, Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf. Scrapping Article 370 will not only bring in huge trade and business opportunities for both the regions but will also help get the troubled region to stand on its feet added Mr Saraf. FIEO Chief said that this bold step taken by the Government at the Centre would allow flow of investments into the state in sectors like tourism, real estate, carpets, handicrafts, sports goods, horticulture and food processing and will also help in promoting trade and commerce specially exports of these products and services from the region. Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh region are an area of strong potential for development as it enjoys a range of natural resources and immense talent. Strong and dedicated efforts from the Government, trade and industry including handholding of local businesses is the need of the hour today to further help to push its growth rate and create new jobs and livelihoods in the region said Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf. This multiplier effect would increase the employment opportunities and contribute to India's overall prosperity and growth & development of the country. FIEO President further adds that opportunities, which exists in the other key sectors also includes pharmaceuticals, IT/ITeS, electronics and leather. Shortcomings with regard to post-harvest food processing of apples, saffron, almond, walnut and other fruits and dry fruits, as well as the acute lack of health care and educational facilities in the state mainly due to lack of private sector participation will soon be overcome by this bold step taken by the Government. With this FIEO also plans to provide handholding to cater to the needs of the exporting community of both the region of J&K and Ladakh. Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf further says that now with both Article 370 and 35A gone, J&K will be governed by the same rules as the rest of the Country, which means any Indian citizen can buy property in the State, take up a job and most importantly, invest in industry and trade initiatives in the State. Truly a historic decision as it opens the gateway for development and peace in Jammu and Kashmir, said a FIEO release.

WASHINGTON: As a result of their ongoing trade, China is no longer the top trading partner of the United States and has been replaced by America's neighbours Mexico and Canada, according to a media report.
In the first half of the year, Mexico was the top trading partner of the United States followed by Canada, the latest official data reveals, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As a result of the ongoing trade war between the US and China, imports from China to the US dropped by 12 per cent and America's export to China fell by 19 per cent, the daily said.
After coming to power, Trump has imposed 25 per cent import tariff on Chinese products worth USD 250 billion. Another 10 per cent tarrif on products worth USD 300 billion will come into effect on September 1. Trump has so far maintained that China has been unfair to the US.
China has also taken several retaliatory steps. According to a Commerce Department report, the total value of bilateral goods exchanged with China fell 14 per cent in the first half of the year to USD 271.04 billion, The Wall Street Journal said.
"After holding the top spot among US trading partners from 2015 to 2018, China now sits at No. 3 and now smaller than Mexico for the first time since 2005," it said.
 

Gateway of opportunities opens up for Trade and Investment in J&K and Ladakh post revoking of Article 370: FIEO President

NEW DELHI: The strong will and action of the Government under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shri Amit Shah to scrap Article 370 has paved a new era of growth both for the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh region said FIEO President, Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf. Scrapping Article 370 will not only bring in huge trade and business opportunities for both the regions but will also help get the troubled region  to stand on its feet added Mr Saraf.
FIEO Chief said that this bold step taken by the Government at the Centre would allow flow of investments into the state in sectors like tourism, real estate, carpets, handicrafts, sports goods, horticulture and food processing and will also help in promoting trade and commerce specially exports of these products and services from the region. Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh region are an area of strong potential for development as it enjoys a range of natural resources and immense talent. Strong and dedicated efforts from the Government, trade and industry including handholding of local businesses is the need of the hour today to further help to push its growth rate and create new jobs and livelihoods in the region said Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf. This multiplier effect would increase the employment opportunities and contribute to India's overall prosperity and growth & development of the country.
FIEO President further adds that opportunities, which exists in the other key sectors also includes pharmaceuticals, IT/ITeS, electronics and leather. Shortcomings with regard to post-harvest food processing of apples, saffron, almond, walnut and other fruits and dry fruits, as well as the acute lack of health care and educational facilities in the state mainly due to lack of private sector participation will soon be overcome by this bold step taken by the Government.
With this FIEO also plans to provide handholding to cater to the needs of the exporting community of both the region of J&K and Ladakh.
Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf further says that now with both Article 370 and 35A gone, J&K will be governed by the same rules as the rest of the Country, which means any Indian citizen can buy property in the State, take up a job and most importantly, invest in industry and trade initiatives in the State. Truly a historic decision as it opens the gateway for development and peace in Jammu and Kashmir, said a FIEO release.

APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) financial performance for the quarter ended June 30, 2019

MUMBAI: APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) announced the financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.
The company reported a net profit of INR 564 million for Q1FY20 as against INR 471 million in Q1FY19. Revenue from operations for the quarter under consideration stood at INR 1,776 million as against INR 1,760 million in Q1FY19.
EBIDTA for the quarter was at INR 1,024 million as against INR 914 million during the same quarter last year. EBIDTA margin stood at 58% in Q1FY20 as against 52% in Q1FY19.
The container cargo business for the quarter stood at appx. 221K TEUs, Bulk business was
at 0.51 MMT and Liquid business was at appx. 0.2 MMT. RoRo business handled appx. 15K cars for the quarter under review.
Business highlights and developments at APM Terminals Pipavav for the quarter:
•             Trade meets were organized in Mumbai and Delhi
•             CMA CGM started weekly scheduled block train from Port Pipavav.

Shipping Ministry floats new plan to settle past surplus of PPP Cargo Terminals

NEW DELHI: The Shipping Ministry has floated a proposal to sort out the past surplus, worth over 2,500 crore, earned by some of the earliest private cargo handling terminals at Major Port Trusts whose mandatory rate revisions of every three years have been delayed by more than seven years. This was due to court cases filed against tariff cuts ordered by the port regulator.
The move comes after the Ministry issued new rate setting guidelines in March this year for terminals governed by the 2005 rate norms, rectifying many of the contentious issues that were at the centre of a confrontation between them, the Ministry and the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP).
The new rules, though, would be applied for future rate revisions of 14 older terminals such as the Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), Gateway Terminals India (GTI), Chennai International Terminals (CITPL), Chennai Container Terminal (CCTL), among others.
The new rate norms say that the surplus/ deficit over and above the admissible costs and permissible return, if any, arising during the period of litigation will be subject to the orders of the respective courts. “Alternatively, the Shipping Ministry, Major Port Trusts and BOT operators concerned and TAMP may decide on the treatment of past period surplus arising during the period of litigation,” it said.
The surplus, according to the Ministry’s proposal, will be worked out by scrutinising the audited accounts of the individual terminals since 2012, considering parameters such as actual revenue earned, less the operating expenditure, admissible royalty to be paid to the Government-owned port authority and 16 per cent return on capital employed (ROCE) on the net block of assets.
 

Industry 4.0: Making India smart and intelligent manufacturing hub : EEPC India

NEW DELHI: India has to move from manufacturing outfits of Industry 1.0 and 2.0 to Industry 4.0 and beyond. EEPC India in association of Department of Heavy industries (DHI) is raising awareness on the 4th Industrial Revolution to drive the Indian manufacturing to a ‘Smart and intelligent Manufacturing’ Hub said Mr Ravi Sehgal at a Industry 4.0 session.
Smart Advanced Manufacturing and Rapid Transformation Hub (SAMARTH) - Udyog Bharat 4.0 is an Industry 4.0 initiative of Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India under its scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in Indian Capital Goods Sector. The initiative aims to raise awareness about Industry 4.0 among the Indian manufacturing industry through demonstration centres. Currently there are four centres which include Center for Industry 4.0 (C4i4) Lab Pune; IITD-AIA Foundation for Smart Manufacturing; I4.0 India at IISc Factory R & D Platform; Smart Manufacturing Demo & Development Cell at CMTI.
Indian Engineering Exports have been growing at a rate of 10% with variation, but the Engineering Exports as a percentage of ASEAN and World Exports is stagnating at 0.8-1 % over the last 10-15 years. This is because majority of engineering goods originated from low or middle level products. Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry has given to this apex engineering body a mandate to incarnate a Technology Centre to enable MSMEs to benefit from various new technologies. India also needs to close a quality gap faced with the best in class, and leapfrogging to newer technologies, will enable quality export products, hence EEPC India Technology Centre gains ground.
EEPC India Technology Centre in Bengaluru and also the one would be opened shortly in Kolkata , with a view to develop export product by providing a forum for Industry and Academia discussion and learning'' Mr Sehgal said at the seminar. It was a day long productive session where eminent speakers from DHI, IIT Kharagpur, ISI-Kolkata; CMERI- Durgapur; CMTI, C4i4 Pune motivated the stakeholders on the theme.

UNCTAD: Consolidation in Container Shipping May Lead to Oligopoly

Increased consolidation among carriers driven by a continued oversupply of vessels could bring some order to the market, however, the recent mergers and mega alliances may lead to oligopolistic structures, UNCTAD warned in its latest report on maritime transport.
“A slower demand than earlier projected, coupled with a large influx of vessels, has led to a continued oversupply of shipping capacity,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi.
The consolidation and pooling of cargo could improve economies of scale and reduce operating costs, UNCTAD said, stressing that the transition is posing certain risks.
Namely, shipping lines may exert market power, limit supply and raise prices in the long run and once the industry reaches stability. Furthermore, the growing concentration of the market has increased the risk that fair competition may become distorted which might impact freight rates and shippers.
“The risk is that growing market concentration in container shipping may lead to oligopolistic structures,” says Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the UNCTAD Division on Technology and Logistics. “In many developing countries’ markets, there are now only three or even fewer suppliers left. Regulators will need to monitor developments in container shipping mergers and alliances to ensure there is competition in the market.”
It has been pointed out that, as a result, revisiting the rules governing consortiums and alliances may be necessary to determine whether these require new regulations to prevent market power abuse and to balance the interests of shippers, ports and carriers.
The report further indicates that world container ports face mounting pressure from ever-larger ships. In addition, they must cope with the cascade of vessels from main trade routes to secondary routes, as well as growing cybersecurity threats.
“Although investment is key for ports to improve, the amount needed to accommodate ever larger ships may not be worth the extra cost, unless the bigger vessels guarantee more cargo. Otherwise, ports will have invested in larger yards and additional equipment to handle the same total volume,” the report adds.
Between 2000 and 2016, a total of USD 68.8 billion in private investment was committed across 292 port projects aimed at improving port infrastructure and superstructures.
What is more, the Review of Maritime Transport 2017 says that, on average, transport and insurance costs account for about 15% of the value of imports, but that this is much higher for smaller and more vulnerable economies; on average 22% for small island developing states, 21% for the least developed countries and 19% for landlocked developing countries.
The persistent transport cost burden on many developing countries stems from lower efficiency in ports, inadequate infrastructure, limited economies of scale and less competitive transport markets, UNCTAD noted.
“Helping developing countries improve the factors behind high transport costs is therefore key for economic development. This can be done through soft measures, such as providing training and facilitating reforms, or hard measures, such as upgrading infrastructure and improving equipment,” the report concludes.

Samudera Shipping Sells Supramax Duo

Singapore-based Samudera Shipping has reached an agreement to sell two of its loss-making bulk carriers.
Namely, the company’s subsidiary Foremost Maritime Pte sold the Supramax bulkers Sinar Kutai and Sinar Kapuas to two separate buyers.
The 2011-built 57,334 dwt sister vessels were disposed for a total ofUSD 20.2 million and are scheduled for delivery to their new owners in September 2019.
Samudera Shipping explained that Sinar Kutai and Sinar Kapuas “have contributed losses to the group for the past few years and do not fit into the planned future operations of the group.”
The company added that the transaction would enable it to redeploy its capital “for more suitable ships and other commercial activities.”
The proceeds from the sale would be used to fund a potential investment in an Indonesian company which provides shipping services for a domestic route, and for working capital and business expansion.