India’s central bank has announced a US$24 billion windfall for the cash-strapped Indian government, giving a much-needed boost to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he seeks to kick-start growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy.
However, the payout will likely stoke fresh concerns about the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) independence following a standoff that has seen top officials quit amid accusations of government interference.
Modi has come under increasing pressure to fire the economy, which has slowed in each of the past three quarters — losing its status as the world’s fastest growing — with unemployment hitting its highest level since the 1970s.
The auto sector has been particularly badly hit, with car sales plunging last month for the ninth month running, while weak consumer spending has hit demand for everything from biscuits to hair oil.
The RBI said it had approved a transfer of 1.76 trillion rupees (US$24.4 billion) to government coffers, including a dividend of 1.23 trillion rupees and 526 billion rupees in excess reserves following the adoption of a new methodology for assessing market risk.
Monday’s announcement came days after Indian Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to help the economy, including bringing forward a US$10 billion liquidity lifeline for credit-shy banks and rolling back an extra levy on equity sales that had spooked foreign investors.
The latest announcement is a “positive move” for the economy and for public finances, Anand Rathi Securities Ltd economist Sujan Hajra said.
“As the RBI said, despite this fund transfer India will still have one of the best capitalizations of the central banks globally and it does not reflect poorly on either the government or the central bank,” Hajra told reporters.
Ashutosh Datar, an independent economist from Mumbai, agreed: “The amount looks huge, but it is not and there is no raid on RBI reserves.”
However, the bank’s independence has already been called into question after it cut interest rates four times this year to a nine-year low, reportedly under government pressure.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
RSS