Courtesy: Gateway House
A slowdown of the Chinese economy, and the shift, particularly by MNCs, from China to other more competitive locations has opened up business opportunities for latecomers to supply chains in the developing world. Evidence suggests that Southeast Asia and some South Asian countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, could be beneficiaries of the supply chain shift, particularly in labour-intensive segments.
Courtesy: East Asia Forum
Most multilateral and plurilateral institutions have lost their significance and ability to shape the trajectory of international relations today. The G7 is no exception. It is impacted by the shift of power from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and an intra-Atlantic rift. The G7 discussions reflected this. More positive were the sideline discussions on repairing the India-Canada bilateral.
Courtesy: News Arena India
Canadian Prime Minister Carney can use the upcoming G7 summit he is hosting to advance the North-South dialogue and cooperation and also to discuss the strained bilateral with India. India can articulate the viewpoint of the Global South, stressing its conviction that the G7 is better served by constructively working with developing and emerging economies.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The proposed IMEC corridor connecting India to Europe through the Gulf can be transformative, helping to reduce risks to the global movement of goods and data. It’s early days yet, and there are gaps to be filled in terms of missing infrastructure and overcoming a diplomatic rift.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Geopolitics is increasingly intertwined with the economic destiny of South Asia. Even before the U.S. tariffs were rolled out, growing polycrises had hit the global economy, which has been struggling since the pandemic. South Asia seems a relatively bright spark of regional trade and growth. This paper analyses South Asia’s trade architecture in the backdrop of a sluggish world economy in the 2020s, and makes recommendations for closer regional economic integration.
Courtesy: Investopedia
The Bank of England was in the news because of the ‘gold squeeze’- traders moving gold from London to New York to profit from the price arbitrage. An informal version of this is taking place between Bangladesh and India.
Courtesy: President of Russia-Events website
Europe has reduced its reliance on Russian gas following the war in Ukraine, and its chief supplier Russia is mired in western sanctions. What does it mean for Russia? It has certainly changed the fortunes for American gas to be sold to Europe: as of 2023, the US had become the world’s top exporter of gas.
Courtesy: Suresh Mehta and 'Fragrant Folios: The Palanpur Story' by Jitendra C. Mehta and Amrit Gangar.
In Antwerp's global diamond exchanges that trade in rough and polished stones, the Gujarati-speaking Palanpuri Jain merchants are known as intrepid businessmen with a reputation for keeping their word. These traits has enabled them to live and work amongst Hassidic Jewish diamantaires and cutters-polishers who dominated this market. They carved a niche for themselves in small diamonds. Bombay played a key role in their success.
Courtesy: Getty Images
Sanctions against Russian energy, high cost fuel, heat waves and droughts all at once have raised the price of daily energy use to unprecedented levels and plunged large parts of the world into darkness.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
Pakistan’s latest economic survey reveals the extent of the country’s indebtedness to China. High-interest Chinese loans, reckless multilateral borrowing, and ever-increasing defence budgets have deleteriously impacted Pakistan’s finances. Any lasting solution to these problems will have to involve China.