India Had Banned The Import Of Chinese Toys - March 3, 2009

On 2nd March 2009, India lifted ban on import of Chinese toys in return of providing confirmation of international safety norms by China. Earlier on 23rd January, India had banned the import of Chinese toys for six months on grounds of public health and safety.

As per a public notice by the Commerce Ministry, the import of toys from China will be allowed if they conform to the standards prescribed in "ASTM F963" or "ISO 8124 (parts I - III) or IS 9873 (parts I - III)". These regulations mainly deal with protection and health exposures.

The toys market in India is approximated at Rs 2,500 crore while the volume-driven, price-competitive Chinese toys are estimated to control 70 percent of the global toys market

Further the Indian government said that the imports from China will have to be accompanied by a obligatory certificate from laboratories ascribed to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.

IPO Activity In The Asia Pacific Region - Aug 11 , 2008

The IPO activity in the Asia Pacific region has nearly halved in the first half of this year, with two of the fastest growing economies - India and China - reporting a drop of nearly 18 billion dollar in mobilisation of such deals.The total capital gathered by India Inc through IPO in the first half of 2008 stood at $4.07 billion as compared to $7.68 billion in the same period in 2007, global accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton said.

Meanwhile, data by another deal tracking firm Dealogic said IPOs by Chinese issuers have raised $15.5 billion through 103 deals so far this year, nearly half of the amount raised in the corresponding period a year-ago ($29.5 billion)."This mirrors the wider Asia Pacific trend where issuance decreased 47 per cent to $28.2 billion by way of 330 deals," Dealogic added.

The slowdown of the IPO activity should be seen in the light of the fact that equity market across the world corrected sharply. While the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index plunged 47.82 per cent, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex lost as much as 29.23 per cent in the first half of this year.

Around 66 per cent of Chinese issuers have opted to list domestically via the Chinese A share market in 2008 so far this year as compared to 46 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.Interestingly Grant Thornton''s latest report also highlights the fact that the number of IPOs by corporate India during the half year ended June 2008 has also witnessed a decline, falling to 29 IPOs from 59 issues made during the first half of 2007.The top five IPOs of 2008, accounted for around 85 per cent of the total capital raised during the period between January to June this year.

The top five IPOs of this year include Reliance Power, which raised 2,565 million dollar, Rural Electrification Corporation that mopped up 409.82 million dollar, IPB Infrastructure developers raised 236.14 million dollar, Future Capital grossed 122.84 million dollar, while OnMobile Global raked in 119.91 million dollar.

Around 77 per cent of the total capital raised in India in the first six months of this year was from the power and energy sector, followed by real estate and nfrastructure management which accounted for 9 per cent of the total amount raised. While, in case of China, the initial public offering of China Railway Construction Corp was the largest IPO this year and the sixth largest on record. It priced its 5.7 billion dollar IPO in March via CITIC Group, Citi and Macquarie Group.

India Can Help Weather US Recession: Nath

The world may fret over a possible US recession but the strong economies of India and China can act as two engines of growth to counter its global effects, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said in Davos on Jan 23. Nath, who is in a power-packed Indian delegation of 80 at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, also coupled his comments with guarded optimism over the stalled Doha Round of trade talks. I am optimistic this Davos will create a greater momentum towards conclusion, Nath said, referring to process to restart talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that have made little headway due to charges of protectionism by rich and developing nations. I am also realistic that there is an election in the US. I am realistic that Europe is in a new phase of protectionism, he said, even as he sought to spell out the importance of India and China to the world economy today.

Focus On India, China At WEF

Amidst fears of a slowdown in US looming large in the backdrop, the 38th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum opened in Davos on Wednesday, with the world leaders saying that emerging economies India and China would play a key role in dealing with the global financial crisis.The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US diplomat Henry Kissinger expressed confidence that emerging economies like India and China would play a crucial role to deal with the crisis.The financial markets across the globe is faced with an uneasy situation following the sub-prime crisis in the US. It is important that we have good relations with India and China as centre of the political and economic gravity shifts, Tony Blair, who is a Member of the Foundation Board of the WEF said in his opening remarks while referring to the impact of possible US recession.

PM Asks India Inc To Look At China

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the domestic industry to look at China and to learn to both compete and cooperate even as India Inc sought his intervention for early removal of trade and non-trade barriers to reverse the adverse trade deficit which touched a record $8.6 billion last year.

Urging Indian business to think big, the Prime Minister asked the industry leaders to study China and to identify opportunities for business and greater engagement, stressing that their was enough space in the world for both countries to continue to grow. At a time when there are concerns about a global economic slowdown, China and India can sustain global growth through their own development, Singh said. Singh observed that a large part of the thinking in India about China is shaped by western views of China, and that there is need for greater investment in India in a better understanding of the processes of change in China. CII President Sunil Bharti Mittal said the industry leaders raised the issue of certain trade-related barriers faced by sectors like pharmaceutical industry on issues like generic product registration in China. The business leaders told Singh that they had overcome fears about Chinese imports but there were still areas of concern like very low-priced products from China which were creating problems for Indian industry. The Indian industry''s concerns come against the backdrop of the burgeoning trade surplus to the tune of $9 billion in China''s favour in the bilateral trade which has touched $38.6 billion in 2007, just short of the target of $40 billion by 2010.