Brazil
(Source : Consulate General of India, Sao Paulo)
Significant trends in trade and investment
Trade in Goods - Brazil`s trade surplus widened to USD 6.6 billion in August of 2020 from USD 4.1 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year and almost in line with market expectations. When adjusted for the working day average, exports declined 5.5 percent from a year earlier to USD 17.7 billion, while imports fell 25.1 percent to USD 11.1 billion. Among major trading partners, exports dropped to the EU (-9.0 percent) and the US (-25.9 percent) while shipments to Asia jumped 8.7 percent. Imports plunged to Asia (-15.9 percent), the EU (-22.7 percent) and the US (-46.1 percent).
Analysis - Brazil obtained a record trade surplus of US$ 6,6 billion during the month of August, the highest for the month since 1989.
The cumulative export total for the first eight months of 2020 was USD 138.633 billion, a decrease of 6.6% in comparison with year-ago levels, while imports totalled USD 102.039 billion, down 25.1%.
Most of the surplus increase in August is explained by the fall in imports from the mining industry, which dropped 59.51% year-on-year, and from the manufacturing industry, whose purchases from abroad shrank 23.78%. On the export side, manufactured goods sales fell 14.2%, and for the mining industry fell 8.6%. In contrast, agricultural exports rose by 32.64%.
Agricultural highlights include soybeans, with sales of USD 443.3 million year-on-year and raw cotton with a USD 80.9 million increase. In the mining industry, exports of iron ore fell by USD 442 million compared to August last year, and crude petroleum oils suffered a decrease of USD 451.6 million. In both cases, the drop is due to the negative variation in international prices compared to 2019, because the volumes shipped were stable regarding iron ore and for oil increased 21%.
In the manufacturing industry, the largest declines were recorded in exports of non-electric engines and machines (-US$187 million), cellulose (-US$157.8 million), and petroleum fuel oils (-US$152.6 million). In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Argentine situation, the main destination for Brazilian industrial exports, contributed to the result.
Finally, according to the Focus bulletin, a weekly survey of financial institutions released by the Central Bank, market analysts predict a USD 55 billion surplus for this year.
Investment - Petrobras prepares to open the market
Petrobras is preparing to deal with competition of the sector. For this reason, the state-owned company created this year a board dedicated exclusively to the logistics and commercialization area and begins to outline plans for the post-2021 horizon, the year in which the oil company expects to complete the sale of eight of its refineries. In the end, the company will start to focus only on the Rio-São Paulo axis. The idea, however, is to continue to compete in other regions, via cabotage, pipeline and highway, for example. From a logistical point of view, the expectation is to make one-off investments, especially in the pipeline network in the Southeast. According to the director, Petrobras is still working on infrastructure planning for the new market opening context. He anticipates, however, that the company`s assets are, in general, sufficient to “adequately serve” the market.
Changes in the Brazilian Ports Law will bring more dynamism and competitiveness to the sector
Less bureaucracy and idle capacity in the port sector, accelerated investments and job creation. Thus, can be summarized the changes brought about by the conversion into law of Provisional Measure 945/2020, which was sanctioned on 8/25 by President Jair Bolsonaro. In order to provide greater efficiency and dynamism to the management of public ports in Brazil. The process was strongly supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure (with direct supervision by Minister Tarcísio de Freitas and the National Secretariat for Ports and Water Transport, Diogo Piloni) and by the Special Secretariat for the PPI / Ministry.
Malawi
(Source : High Commission of India, Lilongwe)
Pharmaceutical form the core imports from India to Malawi. Malawi as of 2018 imported 60.9% of its pharmaceuticals from India compared to the previous year’s 61%. Other products include printed books, articles of iron and steel, plastic and articles thereof and electrical machinery. Below is the list of top 10 imports from India to Malawi in 2019.
India Explores Local Investment Avenues
The government of India disclosed that it is exploring investment opportunities in the country’s agriculture, pharmaceuticals and health sectors to complement Malawi Government’s efforts to grow and enhance its economy.
The Indian High Commissioner to Malawi, Anurag Bhushan, said in a response to an emailed questionnaire that his government is keen to assist Malawi achieve her development agenda and enable her to join a group of developing countries with good education, health, agriculture and industry.
The High Commissioner noted that there is a lot of potential in the said sectors; hence, his government is taking thoughtful steps to actualize its dream by entering into Public and Private Partnerships (PPPs) with local companies and enterprises.
“There is a big potential of cooperation through public and private partners from India to explore possibilities in agriculture, including animal husbandry, pharmaceuticals and health sector.
He added that his government is also considering investing in the energy sector by partnering with local companies to achieve the goal.
Bhushan said an Indian public sector company, NTPC Ltd, has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) for cooperation in the field of power generation.
The envoy further disclosed that the Government of India is providing around 150 fully paid training courses for the Government of Malawi officials in prestigious institutions in India.
“On the other hand, we are providing around 20 fully paid scholarships for Malawian students to study in Indian universities for undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level studies and under India Africa Forum Summit around 60 training slots are provided to students from Malawi. I can assure that India will stand with Malawi in rendering necessary development cooperation assistance,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bhushan has expressed contentment with the progress SMEDI Business Incubation Centre (BIC) at Mponela and Salima Sugar Company are making towards improving the social and economic livelihoods of Malawians through provision of business skills and creation of job opportunities to the locals.
Saudi Arabia
(Source : Embassy of India, Riyadh)
Potential products of imports from India
Commodity - Vehicles with spark-ignition internal combustion reciprocating piston engine of cylindr capacity>1000cc bt nt>1500cc (HS Code: 870322).
Analysis - Value of Saudi import of the item from India during April to August 2020 marked US$ 74.50 Million showing a decline by-61.13 % as compared to the same period last year.
Commodity - Light oils and preparations.
Analysis - Value of Saudi import of the item from India during Apr. to August-2020 marked US$ 71.30 Million. (increase of 22.44% as compared to the same period last year).
Significant trends in trade and investment
Trade in Goods - India Saudi bilateral Trade during FY 2019-20 has marked US$ 33,094.22 million from US$ 34,040.90 million in FY 2018-19.
Analysis - The bilateral trade during FY 2018-19 was 34,040.90 Million. There is slight decline of -2.78 Percent in bilateral trade during 2019-20 (showing a decrease of -5.69% percent in our import, mainly due to the decline in petroleum oil prices. However, there is a significant growth (12.14%) in our export to Saudi Arabia during FY 2019-20.
Investment - Indian FDI in Saudi Arabia is US$ 1.4 billion up to Dec. 2017 (Source Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority).
Saudi FDI in India US$ 318.83 million from April 2000 to June 2020 (Source: DIPP).
Analysis - During the high level visit of HRH Crown Prince to India in February 2019 he declared that the Kingdom is looking to invest US $100 billion in India in the coming years in diversified sectors. The Invest India team visited KSA twice in April & July 2019 to interact with the Saudi govt entities and business firms, presenting the investment opportunities available in India. Saudi Aramco is in talks with Reliance to take 20% stake of worth US $15 billion at a cumulative value of US $75 billion.
Webinar on “INDIA-KSA&Oman Partnership in Pharmaceuticals":
Embassy of India in Riyadh in association with EoI, Oman and Pharmexcil organized a Webinar on “INDIA- KSA & Oman Partnership in Pharmaceuticals" on October 21, 2020. The participants discussed about the regulatory measures and ways to boost trade and investments between these countries. Ambassadors of India to Riyadh and Oman also deliberated about the lucrative opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector. The Saudi Indian Business Network (SIBN) President Mr. Abdullah Al Kassabi, Saudi Food & Drug Authority officials, representatives of prominent Saudi Pharma companies etc. were also spoke about the opportunities in this sector. Around 100 Indian companies and 30 prominent Saudi pharmaceutical business houses participated in the webinar. The event was followed by a B2B interaction.
Thailand
(Source : Embassy of India, Bangkok)
India urged to return to Asia-Pacific free trade talks
Bangkok Post 14.10.2020
Ministers from 15 Asia-Pacific countries negotiating a sprawling free trade agreement urged India on Wednesday to return to the talks as they are aiming to sign a deal by the end of the year, a Japanese official said. India, seeking safeguards amid concerns that opening up its market would raise its trade deficit with China, has skipped all negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership framework this year. From Japan, Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, took part in the ministerial video conference, the third this year and the first since August. This time, the ministers did not issue a joint statement. Ministers from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, China, New Zealand and South Korea also took part in the RCEP talks, which have a record of missed deadlines.
India to be EV car Hub
Thansettakij 20.10.2020
India has planned to come up with more EV cars to solve the bad pollution crisis within the country. It will launch around 100,000 electrical transportation vehicles, starting in New Delhi. NITI Aayog from India and Rocky Mountain Institute expects India to reduce 33-35 percent carbon dioxide if the country use vehicles with clean energy within 2030.
Tunisia
(Source : Embassy of India, Tunis)
Potential products of imports from India
Commodity - Electrical & Mechanicals Industries
Rationale - The total import of Tunisia of Electrical and Mechanicals Industries are 5460.1 $ million in September 2020.
Commodity – Manufacturing Industries
Rationale - The total import of Tunisia of Manufacturing Industries are 2703.24 $ million in September 2020.
Significant trends in trade and investment
Investment - At the end of 2019, the flow of foreign investment reached in Tunisia, 2,648.2 million dinars (MDT) (around 939.07 $ US million) against 2,866.3 MDT (around $ US million 1016.41) in 2018, a decrease of -7.6%, according to the Promotion Agency foreign investment (Fipa Tunisia).
This amount is divided between foreign direct investment (FDI) of 2,479.1 MTD (around 879.11 $ US million) (a decrease of 9.6%) and 169.1 MTD (around 59.69 $ US million) in the portfolio with an increase of 36.2%.In addition, foreign investment in the energy sector decreased by -0.1% compared to 2018 to reach 909.4 MTD (around 322.84 $ US million), a rather stable situation. The services sector, also dropped by 51.8% compared to 2018 while the agricultural sector only received 18.6 MD (around 6.59 $ US million) of total investments in 2019.
Analysis - FDI currently represents 10% of productive investments, generates one-third of exports and over 15% of the total number of jobs. Tunisian Government provides many incentives to promote foreign investment in Tunisia. About 3353 foreign companies operate in Tunisia in diverse sectors. The Government has primarily encouraged export-oriented FDI in key industrial sectors, such as call centers, electronics, aerospace and aeronautics, automotive parts, and textile/apparel manufacturing. Foreign participation is allowed in the privatization program of state-owned or state-controlled enterprises. This has attracted a significant share of Tunisia’s FDI in recent years. The privatization programme has taken place mainly in telecommunications, banking, insurance, manufacturing, and fuel distribution.
The total foreign investment in Tunisia during 2018 was recorded $ US 983.5 m and 939.07 $ USD million on 2019. The main investment sectors are textile, computer science, corporate services, energy and tourism. The sectoral distribution today shows a definite orientation towards industrialization.
Promising Sectors, Agribusiness, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic, Aerospace Industry, Plastics, Textile & Apparel, Leather & Footwear.
Opportunities for investments
Cement Plant - DISPOSAL OF A MAJORITY BLOCK (58.2%) OF THE CAPITAL OF THE COMPANY CARTHAGE CEMENT S.A
Object of the call for Expression of Interest:
The Tunisian Government, Al Karama Holding (the "Transferors”), majority shareholders of Carthage Cement S.A (the "Company" or "Carthage Cement"), have decidedto proceed with the sale of a block of shares representing at least 58.2% and up to 78% of the share capital of Carthage Cement S.A (the "Share Block") by Call for Tenders to a strategic and / or financial investor who will have the ability to manage and develop the Company.
The deadline for submitting the offer is 04 December 2020.
Contact details - info@alkaramaholding.com