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☆ At least a 100 Rohingya stranded in boat off India's coast, many dead, activists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - At least 100 ethnic Rohingya are stranded in a boat off India's Andaman Islands and as many as 16-20 may have have died of thirst, hunger or drowned, said two Myanmar Rohingya activist groups. Each year many Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority, risk their lives boarding rickety vessels to escape violence in Myanmar and squalor in Bangladesh refugee camps. A spokesperson for the Indian Navy said he did not have any details to share. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group said the group had been adrift for more than two weeks. "We hope that the Indian Navy or Coastguard will manage to rescue and disembark the boat as soon as possible.

☆ Sri Lanka's national consumer price inflation eases to 65% in Nov
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) (LKNCPI=ECI) eased year-on-year to 65% in November after a 70.6% jump in October, the statistics department said on Wednesday. Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe predicted that if the current trend of monetary policy was followed, inflation could drop to 4%-5% by the end of next year. read moreThe NCPI captures broad retail price inflation across the island nation and is released with a lag of 21 days every month. The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) (LKCCPI=ECI), released at the end of each month, is more closely monitored. It acts as a lead indicator for broader national prices and shows how inflation is evolving in the biggest city of Colombo.

☆ WTO chief rebukes countries over stalled fishing negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization chided countries for failing to make headway on negotiations covering fishing and agriculture because of infighting over who should lead them. Delegates told Reuters that a proposal was floated for Turkey and Norway's ambassadors to lead the agricultural and fisheries negotiations but these choices were rejected by India, delegates said. "Six months of not negotiating is not acceptable," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told countries in a closed-door meeting of its General Council, according to remarks relayed by the body's spokesperson late on Monday. "While WTO members are not doing the job, fish stocks continue to decline at an alarming rate," said Remi Parmentier, director of the Varda Group, a think-tank focused on biodiversity. WTO spokesperson Dan Pruzin told journalists it was "never easy" to choose chairs of negotiations but said this case was proving "particularly difficult", without elaborating.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

☆ China agreed to form global sovereign debt 'roundtable' -IMF chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chinese officials have agreed to form a global sovereign debt "roundtable" that would include a wide variety of stakeholders, including private sector creditors, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. China has argued that private creditors and multilateral development banks should be required to accept debt "haircuts" to make the process fair. "We agreed that we should form a global sovereign debt roundtable at the highest level - the key creditors, some of the borrowers, the private sector - with the World Bank, the IMF and the G20 presidency being the co-conveners," she said. The proposed roundtable offered a structure to help improve the debt treatment process and avoid a systemic debt crisis, she said. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in China's Anhui province last week with officials from the People's Bank of China, China's finance ministry and its EXIM Bank and China Development Bank.

Dec 16 (Reuters) - India's rupee trade settlement mechanism, a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions, is attracting interest from more countries. The four countries have shown interest in opening special rupee accounts, called vostro accounts, but partner banks in India have not yet provided those facilities, documents showed. Mauritius and Sri Lanka have also shown interest, and have seen their special vostro accounts approved by the RBI, documents showed. Details of potential rupee-dirham trade mechanism are being firmed up by the central banks of India and UAE, a second government official said, requesting anonymity. Talks with Saudi Arabia on a rupee-riyal trade mechanism also continue, the government official added.

☆ Sri Lanka's economy shrinks 11.8% in second-worst quarterly performance
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's economy shrank 11.8% in the July-September quarter from a year ago, government data showed on Thursday, the second-worst quarterly contraction ever for the country going through a severe financial crisis. Economic mismanagement and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have left Sri Lanka short of dollars for essential imports including food, fuel, fertilisers and medicine. "This is the second-worst contraction Sri Lanka has experienced in a quarter after a 16.4% contraction in the second quarter of 2020," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital. Sri Lanka's central bank estimates the economy will contract by about 8% in 2022. The economy had contracted 8.4% year-on-year in the second quarter, one of the worst performances in the island of 22 million people.

☆ Exclusive: Sri Lanka expects up to $8 bln more in loans, asset restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office, in Colombo, Sri Lanka December 14, 2022. Sabry said Sri Lanka was still waiting for "letters of assurance" for debt restructuring from its largest bilateral creditor China, as well as India. The two countries have backed the restructuring efforts and Sri Lanka has shared documents and data with them, he said. Overall, Sri Lanka's economy has improved with essential imports such as fuel and food becoming regular, Sabry said. "So that should start in the next quarter of next year with the IMF loan coming in, other multilateral agencies coming in.

☆ Whales can have an important but overlooked role in tackling the climate crisis, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Much like the ocean, soil and forests, whales can help save humanity from the accelerating climate crisis by sequestering and storing planet-heating carbon emissions, researchers say. In a paper published Thursday in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, climate researchers suggest that whales are important, but often overlooked, carbon sinks. As the need grows for nature-based solutions such as tree planting to help solve the climate crisis, Pearson said it is important to understand the ability of whales to trap carbon. “You can think of protecting whales as a low risk and low regret strategy, because there’s really no downside,” Pearson told CNN. But there remain big gaps in knowledge to fully determine how whale carbon should be used in climate mitigation policies.

☆ Asia's year in review: Who had it good — and who had it bad — in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Curtis Chin | Jose Collazo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

As the new year approaches, we turn again to our annual look at Asia's winners and losers. Government and business leaders in every major economy — China now included — may well hope 2023 is the year when draconian pandemic-related lockdowns become a matter of history. Underscoring the Taiwanese tech industry's critical role, a Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)/Boston Consulting Group 2021 study found that 92% of the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity is located in Taiwan. With numbers like those, Taiwan's semiconductor industry ends the year on the move, still building ties and winning growing support from business and government in the United States and elsewhere. Mixed Year: Asia's 'love' for cryptoAs in much of the world, investors in Asia — once bedazzled if not bewitched by the crypto industry — end the year in a mixed mood.

REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/File PhotoDec 13 (Reuters) - For the energy industry, 2022 will be remembered as the year Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerated a global energy crisis. The world's top energy companies beat a hasty retreat from Russia and wrote off tens of billions of dollars in assets. WHY IT MATTERSRussia's invasion of Ukraine caused European countries to re-evaluate their relationship with that nation, long the continent's primary supplier of natural gas. "We are seeing nothing less than the termination of a successful 50-year partnership on gas between Russia and Europe," said Michael Stoppard, special adviser and global gas analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights. As the year comes to a close, costs for natural gas and heating fuel have ebbed as economic activity declines.

☆ 34-year-old spent $17,000 on a tiny home in Idaho—now it brings in $49,000 a year on Airbnb: It's 'almost completely passive'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ivan Ellis Nanney listed his personalized tiny home on Airbnb in 2019. While on the tour, Nanney met a fellow Boisean named Kristie Wolfe, who turned the original six-ton potato into an Airbnb property. The friendship inspired Nanney, who dedicates six months of the year for travel, to set up his own Airbnb property. Ivan Ellis NanneyHe listed it on Airbnb in June 2019, with a plan to live there himself for six months per year. Ivan Ellis Nanney

☆ China Props Up Belt-and-Road Borrowers Via Unusual Channel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jason Douglas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hungry for foreign currency to shore up their dwindling reserves, some troubled countries have in recent years turned to an unusual source of funds: The People’s Bank of China. China’s central bank has funneled billions over the past decade to around 20 countries, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Laos, via swap lines that allow overseas central banks to exchange their domestic currencies for Chinese yuan.

☆ At least four killed as Cyclone Mandous hits southern Indian state
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A cyclonic storm killed at least four people in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Saturday, the top state official said, as heavy rain and strong winds buffeted several districts damaging property and causing power outages. Cyclone Mandous, which made landfall late Friday night, damaged 185 houses and huts, Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, MK Stalin, told reporters. The storm uprooted 400 trees in the state capital Chennai, a hub for auto makers and technology firms. Nearly 25,000 people, including disaster relief personnel, were involved in the relief work, and more than 9,000 people were moved to safety in 201 relief camps, Stalin said. “We are still assessing damages”, he told reporters, as he visited some of the affected areas.

☆ IMF chief Georgieva cites 'fruitful exchange' with China on debt issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Kristlina Georgieva said she had a "fruitful exchange" with her Chinese counterparts this week on her repeated calls for accelerating debt treatments for countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in person in China's Anhui province this week with officials from the People's Bank of China, China's finance ministry and its EXIM Bank and China Development Bank. Georgieva said the discussions touched on the common framework for debt treatment set up in late 2020 by China, the United State and other Group of 20 major economies, as well as some specific cases of countries seeking debt relief. Implementation of the common framework process has been halting, with only one country, Chad, having completed the debt treatment process, and its agreement not resulting in any actual reductions of the country's debt. Georgieva said she saw "space for a platform for more systematic engagement on debt issues, where China can play an active role," but gave no further details.

☆ Southeast Asia's 5G outlook remains 'bleak' in short term despite tech giant partnership, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Tech Mahindra-Axiata Group Berhad partnership may help accelerate 5G in Southeast Asia but the short-term outlook for the industry is "bleak," Fitch Solutions said in a country risk and industry research report. Last week, Indian IT and consulting giant Tech Mahindra and Malaysian telco conglomerate Axiata Group Berhad inked an agreement to jointly develop and commercialize 5G enterprise solutions in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia. "We believe that this is a promising partnership as it combines the capabilities of Tech Mahindra's 5G enterprise solutions with Axiata's expertise in mobile connectivity, network infrastructure and product services," said Fitch Solutions. While 5G has many benefits, the report said it is still in a nascent stage for many Southeast Asian countries. 5G is the fifth generation of cellular networks and is up to 100 times faster than 4G.

The cedi has lost more than 50% of its value this year , pushing up the cost of Ghana's external debt. Interest payments alone absorb between 70 and 100% of the government's revenuesHOW BIG IS GHANA'S DEBT? Ghana's public debt was 467.4 billion cedis ($37.4 billion) in September, of which 42% was domestic debt, according to the most recent central bank figures released last month. Ghana's debt-to-GDPWHO OWNS GHANA'S DEBT? The fund is yet to comment on Ghana's debt sustainability or domestic bond exchange plans.

☆ 'The worst is yet to come': the curse of high inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

While wealthier consumers can rely on savings built up during pandemic lockdowns, others struggle to make ends meet and a growing number rely on food banks. Workers have taken strike action in sectors from healthcare to aviation to demand that wages keep pace with inflation. But if things are tough in industrialised economies, rocketing food prices are worsening poverty and suffering in poorer countries, from Haiti to Sudan and Lebanon to Sri Lanka. The world's central banks have embarked on steep interest rate hikes to cool demand and tame inflation. From U.S. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell to the European Central Bank's Christine Lagarde, there is growing talk that rate-hike medicine may taste bitter.

☆ Inflation in 2023: experts predict ‘worst is yet to come’ as recession looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Police officers stand guard near the barricades during a protest rally by the supporters of the proposed Vizhinjam port project in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 30, 2022. An Adani Group official who declined to be identified said construction would restart on Thursday. The port has strategic importance for both India and Adani, an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man. The Adani Group says the port complies with all laws and has cited studies that show it is not linked to shoreline erosion, which the Kerala government says is due to natural causes. Adani has previously faced protests in Australia, where environmental activists protested against his Carmichael coal mine project in the northeastern state of Queensland.

☆ World Bank approves Sri Lanka's concessional funding request
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COLOMBO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The World Bank has approved crisis-hit Sri Lanka's request to access concessional financing from the International Development Association so as to help stabilise its economy, the lender said on Tuesday. Soaring inflation, a weakening currency and low foreign exchange reserves have left the island nation of 22 million struggling to pay for imports of essentials such as food, fuel and medicine. Through the IDA, Sri Lanka will receive concessional financing, technical assistance, and policy advice from the World Bank to implement reforms towards economic recovery. Access to IDA's concessional financing would also alleviate debt service pressures as it offers more favourable terms, the World Bank said in a statement. Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian state will proceed 'no matter what' with protest-hit Adani port-minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Munsif Vengattil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police officers stand guard near the barricades during a protest rally by the supporters of the proposed Vizhinjam port project in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 30, 2022. The local fishing community, led by Catholic priests, has blocked construction of Vizhinjam port by Adani Group for almost four months, erecting a makeshift shelter at the port's entrance. The protesters say the huge project causes coastal erosion that has undermined their livelihoods, calling for a complete halt on the construction. "We want to complete the port project no matter what. "The possibilities being opened up by Vizhinjam port are unmatched by any other in India," Devarkovil said.

☆ Analysis: Ghana overhaul a test for $1 billion World Bank-backed debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A girl walks past a flag of Ghana outside the Cape Coast Castle, in Ghana, July 28, 2019. "If Ghana decides to use the guarantee, it has to pay back immediately to the World Bank," Mitu Gulati, a law professor at the University of Virginia and debt restructuring expert, said. "This is a highly protected instrument that was issued with the logic that Ghana would never default on the World Bank," Gulati said. Ghana 2030 bondIN OR OUT? Ghana has not yet said whether the 2030 issue will be part of its debt restructuring.

☆ Emerging market policymakers dare to hope for brighter 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Roberto Samora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

He also said a reopening of China could propel the South Korean economy in 2023. "Actually if China loosens zero-COVID policy and reopens their borders and economy that will be a tremendous stimulus for us. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman forecast a "very good" economy ahead of 2024 national elections, fuelled by capital spending. State finance minister Shehan Semasinghe also said the nation was intent on meeting a December deadline to present plans to help unlock an International Monetary Fund bail-out. Zambia, which defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020, aims to complete its restructuring of nearly $15 billion of external debt in the first quarter of 2023, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said.

China is Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditor and, with India and Japan, part of official creditor talks to restructure the country's debt. "China will have to play a major role in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring process," CARI researchers Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala wrote in the report. The island nation's total external debt is $37.6 billion, according to the report. Adding central bank foreign currency debt, including a $1.6 billion currency swap with China, public external debt rises to $40.6 billion, of which 22% is from Chinese creditors. The loan agreements have clauses that "submit the loans to Chinese governing law and arbitration before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission".

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