HU AND THE DOWNWARD PRESSURE

HU SAYS CHINA GROWTH IS FACING ‘NOTABLE DOWNWARD PRESSURE’

Bloomberg News

Bloomberg, September 8, 2012

Chinese President Hu Jintao said a slowdown in exports is putting downward pressure on the world’s second-biggest economy, and he pledged to boost domestic demand and promote more balanced growth.

“Economic growth is facing notable downward pressure, some small and medium enterprises are facing a hard time and exporters are facing more difficulties,” Hu said today at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in Vladivostok,Russia.

“We have an arduous task of creating jobs for new entrants to the labor force.”

The slowdown is increasing pressure on Hu as China tries to ensure a smooth transition of power to a new generation of leaders at a once-in-a-decade Communist Party Congress this year. Europe’s debt crisis and anemic U.S. growth may hinder a rebound in exports while at home a slump in earnings is deterring companies from spending and banks face rising debts.

Asia’s biggest economy expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace in three years, after the government moved to counter inflation and surging property prices after its 2009 stimulus. Exports in July rose 1 percent from a year earlier and shipments in the first seven months rose 7.8 percent, compared with a 23.4 percent rise in the same period in 2011.

UBS AG and ING Groep NV yesterday cut their full-year forecasts for economic expansion to 7.5 percent, which would be the slowest pace in 22 years.

[artículo aquí]

ASIAN SYNERGIES

‘ASIAN ECONOMIES REQUIRE SYNERGY’

Deccan Chronicle, May 27, 2012

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has stressed on the need for the Asian economies to collectively think on channels of engagement with each other that create synergies directed at addressing common challenges.

Mr Mukherjee was addressing two-day national seminar on “21st Century as the Asian Century: Role of India and China” organised by Manipal Centre for Asian Studies on Saturday.

“Even in existing multilateral for a including the G-20 and IMF we should aim to coordinate more in areas where there is significant collective gain to be achieved, he said.

“A crisis of the magnitude that we are witnessing compels us to take notice of our deficiencies, suitably reorient policies and redefine priorities. While economic challenges faced by each Asian country are unique and there is no one-size-fits-all future trajectory of economic development, there is worldwide recognition of the fact that most Asian economies, including India are poised to attain sustained long-term growth, notwithstanding some short-term policy challenges,” he said.

(...) [artículo aquí]

INDIA AND THE G20

INDIA READY TO SUPPORT FALTERING EUROPE UNDER IMF UMBRELLA

The Economic Times, November 3, 2011

CANNES: The big emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), are likely to meet ahead of the G20 summit beginning Thursday to chalk out a joint strategy as the leaders of the world's biggest economies confront two surprise developments.

Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called a referendum to approve the October 27 bailout package hammered out by European leaders even before the realisation of its inadequacy had sunk in.

The other development emanated outside Europe, when Japan intervened earlier this week to stem the rise of yen, effectively saying it had no faith in the G20 to offer a co-ordinated solution.

The referendum, a call on Greece's continuance in the Euro zone, and the simmering currency issue has completely altered the agenda of the G20, leaving it with the difficult task of assuring the global financial markets that it has the firepower to prevent the world from slipping into another recession. “We are not sure of the outcome because the nature of the crisis has changed,” said a government official.

The official is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his visit to the French resort to attend the meeting of heads of countries that together command over 85% of the world's GDP.

Global equities gave up a chunk of their October gains, crude retreated, euro dropped and Italian bond yields firmed as financial markets came to grips with the fact that the $130-billion third bailout package for Greece may not help contain the European debt crisis. &quotWe don't know whether the G20 will be able to deliver," said the Indian official, indicating the summit declaration could well be a general statement of intent that would be short on ways to address specific issues.

(...) [artículo aquí]