Another academics argued in favor of a new economic alliance that was defend China from sanctions tit-for-tat. Ye Yan, an economist at China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Company, wrote in January that a coming” anti-sanction business system” that would enable member states to business discounted items hadContinue Reading
SEOUL: Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, stated on Thursday( Oct 19) that he wanted to establish a” forward-looking” relationship with Russia during his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to state media. The two-day visit by the seasoned envoy is anticipated to set the stage forContinue Reading
ABUJA: Following a Belt And Road Initiative forum in Beijing, President Xi Jinping of China announced on Thursday( Oct 19 ) that his nation would increase investments in Nigeria’s power generation sector and digital economy. According to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s office, contracts for new projects worth US$ 2 billionContinue Reading
BANGKOK: Since leaving his home in the heart of Ratchaburi territory about 16 times ago, Mr. Pradit Boonkate, 67, has been employed as a security guard in Bangkok, Thailand. He now receives six weeks of annual left and a monthly salary of 15,900 rmb( US$ 437 ). & nbsp,
His meagre pay explains why he was happyinitiallyto hear that he would be among some 56 million Thais to receive a digital cash handout worth 10,000-baht from the new government next February under an economic incentive devised by the ruling Pheu Thai Party as part of its political campaign.
The plan, which involves the funds being distributed online, may initially seem like a good idea to low-income earners like Mr. Pradit. & nbsp,
But when considering how the cash must be spent – in six months, on food, medicines and occupational tools at local businesses locatedwithin a 4km radius of their registered address – those who live and work far away from home could find it hard to enjoy the free money.
“For people who live in the countryside, there is a huge distance between the town and their homes. Their villages often have small grocery stores selling things like canned fish and eggswhich won’t accept the digital money,” Mr Pradit,whose registered address remains in his Ratchaburi hometown, told CNA.
Some people believe that the US$ 15 billion scheme will ultimately benefit the wealthy and their large businesses, which already have the capacity to deliver goods and the technology to provide transactions, even though the government intends to change the conditions for rural areas to ensure that digital cash may penetrate and advantage all parts of the country.
” How are there so many things that little shops is provide?” said Mr. Pradit. ” It’s nice to get the money, but who will benefit from it, the prosperous?”
The digital wallet programme is designed for Thai nationals,with only one qualifying condition: as long as they are aged 16 and above.
Its main goal is to boost the economy through income transmission in communities across the country while increasing the paying power of low-income earners.
But a group of reportedly 99academics, economists and former governors of the Bank of Thailand have recently issued a joint statement against its implementation.
They urged the government to end the program, claiming that doing so would increase short-term usage and ultimately harm Thailand’s financial security.
According to the statement,” Eventually, it will be the people who will have to pay it back, whether it be through higher taxes and / or higher prices of goods brought on by inflation as a result of economic injection.”
Dr. Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, the governor of the Bank of Thailand, even suggested last month that the policy only apply to a select group of people because not everyone requires for financial assistance and the market is recovering.
With 270 million residents, this developing nation’s economy will still be vital in the upcoming elections. & nbsp,
According to Mr. Kevin O’Rourke, an analyst with the Jakarta-based political risk consulting firm Reformasi Information Services,” the top three concerns of the voters will remain the same, which are( eradicating ) poverty, & nbsp, job opportunity, and inflation.”
The COVID – 19 pandemic severely affected Indonesia in 2020, causing its economy to contract by 2.07 % that year. & nbsp,
However, it increased by 3.69 percent in 2021, which was a rebound. Yet last year, it saw a growth of 5.31 percent, the highest in about ten years.
However, despite having 270 million individuals, Indonesia also has approximately 26 million poor people as of March of this year. This is comparable to a poverty rate of about 9 %. & nbsp,
The largest economy in Southeast Asia has recently seen an increase in the price of grain as a result of crop loss brought on by the latest protracted dry climate. & nbsp,
Jokowi, as Mr. Widoho is more commonly known, has been monitoring Indonesian markets to make sure there is enough grain available to keep prices low.
A rise in grain prices will lead to an increase in prices. The inflation rate was 5.51 percent the previous month. It was only 1.87 percent in 2021. & nbsp,
Inflation is anticipated to be around 3 % this year, but it could be higher if the rice price situation does not improve. & nbsp,
The price of corn and other cost of living will undoubtedly be people’s top concern when they go to the polls the following year. Rice is a well-liked staple food. In addition, & nbsp,
About 204.8 million Indonesians may be eligible to vote, making the upcoming elections the largest single-day election in the world, according to the election committee. & nbsp,
Fresh voters make up more than half of the available electorate. & nbsp,
Therefore, it’s possible that prospects will talk about addressing unemployment during their campaigns. & nbsp,
According to Mr. Aditya Perdana, a political scientist from the University of Indonesia, younger voters may undoubtedly inquire about their chances of finding employment or even finding work as freelancers. & nbsp,
Indonesia’s poverty rate last year was around 5.86 percent, and it is anticipated that it will be between 5 and 5.7 percent this year. Related numbers were foreseen by Jokowi for the following month. & nbsp,
On Thursday, October 19, Russia announced that it was working with China, a growing alliance that President Vladimir Putin visited this year, to coordinate its plan in the Middle East and North Africa. According to Russia, Zhai Jun, China’s specific minister for the Middle East, and Deputy Foreign Minister MikhailContinue Reading
In its annual report on Beijing’s military, which was released on Thursday( Oct 19 ), the Pentagon stated that China currently has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal and will likely have over 1, 000 by 2030. China also has a lot fewer nuclear weapons than RussiaContinue Reading
Following a vote this week by the city’s local assembly, former mayor Virginia Raggi announced on Thursday( Oct 19 ) that Julian Assange, the founder of Jailed WikiLeaks, will become an honorary citizen of Rome by early next year. Assange, 52, has been incarcerated in London’s high-security Belmarsh jail sinceContinue Reading
Another illustration of this was the southeastern Hambantota Port, which made the nation the poster child for the so-called Chinese debt trap story after a Taiwanese state-owned operator took command of the harbor after Sri Lanka defaulted on its money.
But, like Mr. Sabry, some researchers have also criticized the so-called debt trap diplomacy.
It’s never a debt trap that China created, Advocata Institute Murtaza Jafferjee, president of legislation think tank. However, we have debt problems because about 55 % of our total debt is private loan.
The remainder is external debt, he added, adding that it is thought that the public sector debt of the nation is among the highest in a middle-income nation at 128 percent of gross domestic product ( GDP ).
Sri Lanka has garnered significant attention not only from China but also from India and the United States due to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, though the jury is still out as to whether Chinese income is more of a gift or curse.
Mr. Sabry responded that Sri Lanka is in the center and does not take sides in response to the question of whether the nation appears to be caught up in a major power play.
” We don’t want any conflict with anybody.” Without a doubt, we won’t permit anyone to harm another nation or establish their military bases in our yard. But he added,” We have a strategic relationship with each of them.
KUALA LUMPUR: The local law firms that participated in the negotiations of two highly secretive multi-billion dollar settlement agreements related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd ( 1MDB ) scandal are now playing a bigger part in Malaysia’s campaign against US banking giant Goldman Sachs.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( MACC ) and Rosli Dahlan Sarvana Partnership ( RDS Partnership) are currently embroiled in a potentially contentious legal dispute over the surrender of records and banking account information related to the 1MDB case.
Two weeks ago, the MACC raided the law firms’ offices, but the company’s requests for documents pertaining to the lawsuit negotiations were denied on the grounds of the client being confidential. As a result, the MACC was compelled to take the case to court.
The Malaysian High Court will hear arguments from both sides somewhere in early November, according to attorneys involved in the legal difference.
The management of the settlement agreements by the prior administration, led by former top Muhyiddin Yassin, with US banks behemoth Goldman Sachs and the nation’s sixth-largest banking establishment AmBank Group, has now come under scrutiny as a result of disclosures in court filings made prior to the hearings reviewed by CNA next week.
The Muhyiddin administration’s decision to settle with Goldman Sachs more than two months prior to the US bank behemoth entering into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice in October 2020 after admitting to conspiring to break the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the 1MDB incident is the most notable of these. & nbsp,
Additionally, recently unrevealed information about the government’s agreement with AmBank, which was the main local financial institution in charge of all 1MDB-related counts, has been made public by the court papers.
While Chetan Jetwani and Company represented the US banks behemoth in the settlement agreement conversations, RDS Partnership had acted as the Indonesian government’s legal counsel during the Goldman Sachs and AmBank communities.
A letter by RDS Partnership that was filed in court noted that the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, hadcautioned Mr Muhyiddin, who served as premier for 17 months beginning March 2020, that publicly-listed AmBank should not be penalised more than RM600 million (US$125.9 million) “as anything more could cause the collapse of the banking system”.
The RDS Partnership text added that its top partner, attorney Rosli Dahlan, who served as the government’s top private-sector negotiator, had spoken directly with AmBank management and was able to secure the repayment of a RM2.8 billion fine for its involvement in the 1MDB scandal in February 2021.
Why AmBank consented to a significantly higher good was not stated in the letter.