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No joint communique as Ukraine casts shadow on G20 finance talks

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G20 chair Indonesia says there was consensus on most of the document but two paragraphs would focus on members’ differences regarding the impacts of the Ukraine crisis.

A two-day meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies has ended in Indonesia without a joint communique after Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine divided the global forum.

In place of a formal communique, there would be a 14-paragraph statement issued by Indonesia, the G20 chair’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in closing remarks on Saturday.

She said there was consensus on most of the document but two paragraphs would focus on members’ differences regarding the impacts of the Ukraine crisis and how to respond.

During talks on the Indonesian resort island Bali, the finance chiefs looked for solutions to food and energy crises, while accusing Russian technocrats of exacerbating the problems.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland blamed on Friday the assault on Ukraine for sending a shockwave through the global economy.

READ MORE:Western powers, Russia face off over Ukraine at G20 meeting

‘Internal divisions’

At the beginning of the second day of talks on Saturday, Indonesian central bank governor Perry Warjiyo called on leaders to concentrate on recovery in a world economy reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting took place after the International Monetary Fund slashed its global growth forecast, with another downgrade expected this month as US inflation stokes fears of a recession.

But the talks have been overshadowed by the Ukraine conflict after it roiled global markets, caused rising food prices and added to breakneck inflation. But Moscow blames retaliatory Western sanctions for blocking food shipments and rising energy prices.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko participated virtually in the meeting.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov attended the talks in person a week after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walked out of a G20 meeting over Western criticism of the Ukraine operation.

Maksimov was in the room as Western officials expressed their condemnation, according to a source present. Marchenko called for “more severe targeted sanctions” against Moscow.

Indonesia has refrained from uninviting Russia from G20 meetings, including a leaders’ summit in November, even as Western nations repeated their calls for Moscow to be frozen out of the group.

Observers said the failure to agree on a joint communique would hinder coordinated efforts to solve rising inflation and food shortages.

“Internal divisions hinder the G20’s ability to act decisively and leaves the world in uncharted waters,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, an NGO that lobbies for developing nation debt relief.

READ MORE: Ukraine crisis extends to G20 summit as Russia meets rivals in Indonesia

Source: TRTWorld

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Asia remains attractive destination for global investment

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BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) — Asia remains a dynamic and attractive destination for global investment, said attendees at a sideline forum of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which convenes its 2024 annual conference in Boao, a resort town in southern China’s Hainan Province.

According to the forum’s Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress flagship report, Asian economies demonstrated strong resilience in investment activities in 2022. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Asia-Pacific economies amounted to 809.4 billion U.S. dollars, growing by 6.76 percent over the previous year and accounting for 62 percent of international FDI inflows.

Asia has been a significant beneficiary of FDI, said Shamshad Akhtar, Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs of Pakistan, while noting the role of FDI in Asia’s development at the sub-forum with a theme of “Investing the Future of Asia.”

It is important to recognize that Asia, particularly emerging markets, is now on its own development momentum. Asia have become the world’s manufacturing and trade hub supported by foreign capital and investments, she noted.

In 2022, Asian economies attracted a total of 8.8 trillion U.S. dollars in portfolio investment, and China’s stock of portfolio investment surpassed 1 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time, said the report.

Speaking at the forum, Charles Dallara, a member of the Board of Directors of Partners Group, said foreign investments are supporting the global market developments and Asia is really a dynamic and attractive location for investments, especially FDI.

Among Asian economies, China is a very attractive destination for FDI, he said, adding that at the same time, a large amount of capital from China has flowed to other countries and many Chinese businesses and enterprises are investing in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Officials and experts also voiced opinions on how to boost investor confidence, improve the investment environment, and enhance investment destinations’ attractiveness in Asia.

Geopolitical influence, rule of law, market potential, industrial system, labor forces, market players, and policy support are factors that affect the inflow of FDI, said Xu Zhibin, deputy administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Governments also play an important role in attracting global capital, said Shimizu Tokiko, assistant governor of the Bank of Japan, adding that Asian countries have resilient economy and governments should have consistent policy arrangements and provide a clear map on its own development for investors.

According to the report, the Asian economy is expected to grow by around 4.5 percent in 2024, surpassing that of 2023, and continue to be the largest contributor to global economic growth.

With a founding purpose to promote economic integration in Asia, the mission of the BFA is to pool positive energy for the development of Asia and the world. The BFA annual conference 2024 runs from March 26 to 29.

Source(s): Xinhua

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Global business leaders: China will continue to be a key contributor to global economic growth

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Global business leaders praised China’s decision to pursue high-quality development and expressed confidence in China’s economic potential, saying China will continue to be a key contributor to global economic growth.

They made the remarks at the China Development Forum 2024 in Beijing on Sunday, during which international scholars, entrepreneurs, government officials and representatives from international organizations discussed key issues concerning the development of China and the world.

In her speech, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that China is transforming its economy from high rates to high quality of growth and that high-quality development ultimately depends on reforms.

She projects over 3 percent growth for 2024 and the following year for the global economy and urged deep structural reforms for all countries to enhance the conditions for entrepreneurship, innovation and economic performance as the world is facing low productivity, high debt levels and geopolitical tensions.

The IMF head called for China to implement “a comprehensive package of pro-market reforms,” saying China could grow considerably faster with reforms starting with sound macroeconomic fundamentals, and the additional growth would add $3.5 trillion to the Chinese economy.

World Bank President Ajay Banga also mentioned the global challenges, saying they intensified global inequality. He noted that developing countries faced an “unimaginable” gap with 1.1 billion young people expected to enter the workforce in the next decade while the expected jobs being created would only be 325 million. However, he also cautioned that it’s just a prediction, not an actual destiny, adding that China’s “remarkable journey” in the past five decades was a testament to what is possible.

Like Georgieva, Banga also emphasized the importance of reforms. He said that since China’s reform and opening up in 1978, it has lifted 770 million rural residents out of poverty, and due to reform, China fundamentally changed its development trajectory, with more than 8 million jobs created every year for over three decades, sharply reducing global poverty from 44 percent to 9 percent. Once a major World Bank borrower, China is now one of the bank’s biggest donors, Banga added.

The IMF head presented opportunities to boost productivity and improve living standards citing digital and green transformations. She acknowledged China’s leading position in artificial intelligence, saying China’s well-developed digital infrastructure provides a head start.

In terms of advancing the green economy, she described China as a global leader in deploying renewable energy with enormous potential, adding that China was making rapid progress in green mobility.

She also highlighted China’s contributions to assist the IMF in providing affordable long-term financing to low-income countries and states undertaking reforms to reduce risks to prospective balance of payments stability, including those related to climate change and pandemic preparedness, and capacity-development initiatives.

“China’s remarkable development success has delivered tremendous benefits to hundreds of millions of people,” she said and expressed her confidence that China and the world can tackle the current challenges and create a more prosperous future for all through cooperation.

Apple’s Tim Cook also attended Sunday’s forum. The CEO of the U.S.’ largest smartphone empire was in Shanghai to open a new Apple store this week, and he met with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Friday.

“I think China is really opening up, and I’m so happy to be here,” Cook told a reporter from CGTN at the forum on Sunday.

He also told the China Media Group that Apple would keep increasing its investment in research and development in China, adding that Apple’s flagship mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, would hit shelves in China by the end of this year.

Source(s): CGTN

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BOC announces sale of Drift Thelu Veliga

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Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has announced the sale of leasehold rights of Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat.

According to the bank, the Civil Court has extended BOC the right and permission to sell the Head Lease rights of the property, as per the court’s case number 2096-CVC-2023 on March 14th, 2024.

The resort is owned by Theluveliga Retreat Private Limited, a private limited liability company, which has been mortgaged as a security at the bank to recover the dues of the Term Loan Facility obtained by Castaway Maldives Private Limited.

The bank earlier on March 21st announced that the Head Lease rights of the 5-star property is South Ari Atoll is now available for interested buyers.

BOC further added that the current Headlease period expires on April 2064, which can be extended by the successful bidder for another 49 years according to the Maldives Tourism Act.

According to the bank, the bid reserve price is fixed at MVR 21.14 million.

Interested bidders are invited to submit their proposals to acquire the leasehold rights of the property by furnishing a non-refundable deposit of USD 2,000 to obtain the tender applications and documents from BOC.

To participate in the bid, bidders are required to deposit USD 25,000 at the time of bid application submission. BOC demands the money be deposited by cash, transfer, or DD.

The bank further said that in the event of more than one successful bidder with the same prices, BOC will request the bidders for spot bids which is subjected to a minimum increment of USD 50,000.

The final hour for bid application submission to acquire the leasehold rights is 14:00hrs on April 23rd, 2024.

The 30-villa holiday retreat debuted in October 2015.

Source(s): sun.mv

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