Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in July 2017

Is Pakistan heading towards the next IMF programme?

by Khaleeq Kiani in Dawn, July 31st, 2017 Amid political turmoil the country’s internal and external accounts appear to be entering uncertain territory. The fiscal account, after showing marked stabilisation over the past four years, has started a downhill journey as evident from the 2016-17 budget deficit that was higher than a year before as tax machinery was Rs250 billion behind target. The external account is on an even more precarious path as all of…

Departure of advanced manufacturers sends warning to Shenzhen and the nation

By Wang Jiamei in Global Times, July 30, 2017 at 18:23 hrs The author is a reporter with the Global Times. An investigation has found that Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, isn’t just losing low-end factories, it’s also losing advanced manufacturers, a warning of a hollowing out of the local industrial base. Higher costs for rent, labor and raw materials certainly explain some of the situation for advanced manufacturers, but another major factor is the…

Tightening debt could put overseas firms at risk

(Report in Global Times, July 30, 2017 at 17:33:39 The article was compiled based on a report by Beijing-based private strategic think tank Anbound) Chinese privately owned Landbridge Group has been in the headlines in Australia recently. In 2015, the Chinese company paid A$504 million ($402.52 million) for a large number of terminals, land and facilities at the Port of Darwin, including a 99-year lease on the port. According to media reports, Landbridge pledged to…

At remote northern outpost, China’s military marches where Genghis Khan once rode

by Viola Zhou in South China Morning Post, July 30, 2017 at 11:07pm A military parade overseen by President Xi Jinping ­on Sunday has put the spotlight on a remote spot in Inner Mongolia. Zhurihe – the name comes from the Mongolian term for “the heart” – houses Asia’s biggest military training ground. And with the exercise, China’s state media is hard at work linking the base to past martial triumphs and to Zhurihe’s current…

The Opposition Disappears in B’desh: edit in The NY Times, July 28, 2017

More than 320 people have been unlawfully detained or have disappeared in Bangladesh since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party took office eight years ago, according to Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights group. Plucked from their homes or off the streets by plainclothes members of Bangladesh’s rapid action battalion or the detective bureau of the Dhaka police, the victims increasingly include members of the political opposition, as well as suspected criminals and Islamist militants.…

‘Ozaki has no connection with New JMB’: report

by Amanur Rahman in the Dhaka Tribune, July 30, 2017 at 09:05 PM The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit of police believe that there is no connection between Bangladesh-born Japanese jihadist Muhammad Saifullah Ozaki and New JMB, the infamous faction of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) that is responsible for the recent terrorist activities in the country, according to the law enforcement agencies. “We do not have any evidence that proves…

Hostile border dispute with India could damage China’s global trade plan, experts warn

by Minnie Chan in South China Morning Post, July 31, 2017 Raised border tensions between the two Asian giants could also threaten Beijing’s ambitious trade and infrastructure outreach plan, the “Belt and Road Initiative”, experts have warned. Chinese and Indian troops have been locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball stand-off for over 40 days in a desolate region of the Himalayas that is also claimed by India’s ally Bhutan. Both sides blame each other for escalating the…

Worried lawmakers demand clarity on China’s local government debt woes

by Frank Tang in South China Morning Post, July 30, 2017 Chinese lawmakers are dissatisfied with a lack of clarity on the country’s local government debt troubles, according to minutes released earlier this week from a meeting where members of parliament questioned government officials over the country’s fiscal and debt situation. While the Chinese government has repeatedly assured the world that China’s local government debt risks are under control, some 50 Chinese lawmakers urged Zhang…

‘Rashed dropped at the last moment for Holey attackers’ group’

by Tarek Mahmud & Arifur Rahman Rabbi in Dhaka Tribune, July 30, 2017 It is well known that the gruesome Holey Artisan Bakery attack last July was carried out by five terrorists. After the arrest of suspected militant Aslam Hossain Rashed alias Rash, police said he was the sixth attacker who never made it to the cafe. Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit’s chief Monirul Islam made the claim on Saturday,…

“Former members of Islami Chhatra Shibir now lead neo-JMB”

Report in bdnews24.com, July 29, 2017 at 21.01 hrs Former members of the Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing now lead neo-JMB blamed for last year’s cafe attack, says the counterterrorism chief. The investigation into the nation’s worst terror attack is almost complete with the arrest of a key suspect, Deputy Inspector General Monirul Islam told reporters on Saturday. Early Friday, police arrested Aslam Hossain alias Rashedul Islam in the northerwestern district of Natore. Hossain, who also used…

China: Local govt debt risks controllable in 2017…?

By Xie Jun in Global Times, July 28, 2017 at 22:33:40 The risks of China’s government debts are under control in general, an official from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) told a press conference on Friday. According to Liu Wei, a deputy director of the MOF, local government debt in China totaled 15.86 trillion yuan ($2.35 trillion) by the end of June, below the ceiling of 18.82 trillion yuan set by the National People’s Congress,…