India is mulling offering incentives to attract companies moving out of China amid the trade dispute with the US, a person familiar with the development said.
Financial incentives such as preferential tax rates and the tax holiday provided by Vietnam to lure companies are among measures being considered, the person said, asking not to be identified as the discussion is private.
Industries identified for incentives include electronic components, consumer appliances, electric vehicles, footwear and toys, according to a Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry document seen by Bloomberg.
Economies, including Vietnam and Malaysia, have benefited from businesses trying to sidestep US tariffs, while India has largely missed out on any investment gains.
The ministry’s effort is part of a larger plan to cut reliance on imports while boosting exports, and it needs Indian Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman’s approval.
Other measures include setting up affordable industrial zones across India’s coastline and giving preference to local manufacturers in government procurement as an incentive to win over companies looking for an alternative production base, according to the document circulated to stakeholders.
The plan would help grow India’s manufacturing base and aid Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship “Make in India” initiative, which aims to boost manufacturing to 25 percent of the economy by next year.
Doing that would help India narrow its huge trade deficit with China, its largest commercial partner.
A sector-wise analysis by the industry department, which oversees foreign direct investment policy, shows investments by Chinese companies could flow into smartphones and components manufacturing, consumer appliances, electric vehicles and parts, and daily use items such as bed linen and kitchenware, 95 percent of which are currently imported from China.
There is also an effort to step up exports in sectors vacated by the US due to the trade dispute.
The government has identified more than 150 items where it feels exporters can increase their business with China. Some of these are prepared or preserved potatoes, synthetic staple fibers for polyesters and T-shirts, hydraulic power engines and superchargers for motors.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
Two scoops of pistachio, one of corruption. For years holidaymakers have guzzled Sicilian gelato at famous parlors in Palermo, unaware that the booming businesses were controlled by organized crime. The fraud was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, but even with three mobster classics — a suspicious bankruptcy, a front man and a scheming “Godfather” — it took years for investigators to shut the operation down. The Brioscia brand, made up of two ice cream parlors, was thriving at the end of the 2010s, attracting locals and foreign visitors alike with its glittering gold stars on travel