South Asia

China and Pakistan are upgrading and reconstructing Pakistan's rail network, and developing its Gwadar Port, while Chinese firms can invest in offshore oil and gas development of the South Asian nation, reported the official Xinhua News Agency on Thursday. Asif Ali Zadari, the president of Pakistan, is visiting China between February 4-8. He will attend the Asian Winter Games opening ceremony. Since 2013, Chinese financial and investment support has been a boon to the struggling economy of Pakistan. Both countries share a long-standing distrust of India, their common neighbor, and want to protect themselves from U.S. influence in the region....

In India, foreign companies often face difficulties due to the high tax demands imposed on them by India. These include levies on large M&A deals or duty evasion. The following are the most important tax disputes that have occurred in the past and currently involving foreign companies. Kia, a South Korean car manufacturer, has been accused by officials of evading $155 million worth of taxes through misclassification. The company, however, is disputing this privately with the officials. Kia imports parts of a vehicle in separate shipments, assembling the vehicles in India. They pay a lower applicable tax, avoiding the higher...

The Pakistani Prime Minister's Office announced that the Pakistan signed an agreement on Monday with the Saudi Fund for Development, delaying by one year the payment of $1.2 billion on oil imports. The state-run Pakistani television broadcast the signing ceremony in real time before a delegation of the fund, led by its CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad, visited Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff. The office issued a press release in which Sharif expressed his appreciation for the signing of the Oil Import Financing Facility. The office said that Pakistan would receive oil with a one-year deferred payment. The Prime...

Indian shares fell on Monday, after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, causing concerns about a wider trade war. The Nifty 50 fell 0.52% to 23,361.05, and the BSE Sensex dropped 0.41% at 77,186.74. Stock markets in Asia and Europe fell as Trump's new tariffs caused fears that global growth would be affected. The domestically focused smallcaps and the midcaps both lost 0.9% and 2.1% respectively. The Indian rupee fell to 87 dollars per dollar for the very first time, as other regional currencies also declined. Anirudh Garg is the partner and fund manager of Invasset...

Reliance Retail launched an app to sell fashionwear in India from China's Shein, under a license deal. This comes almost five years after Shein's App was banned in India following a diplomatic dispute. Reliance is owned by Mukesh Ambani. A person who has direct knowledge of Reliance’s launch plans said that the app was launched on Saturday morning. The launch was not announced by the firm. Shein nor its parent company Reliance Industries did not respond to any requests for comments made outside of normal business hours. Shein India Fast Fashion is a departure from Reliance’s strategy to add brands...

The budget document released on Saturday revealed that India will spend $646.88 million to purchase oil for its Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs). Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd. (ISPRL), the company that manages federal oil stocks, operates three SPRs with a combined production capacity of approximately 5 million tons in southern India. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and other companies use a portion of this capacity for commercial operations. Budget proposals include allocations of about 1.8 billion rupies for the operation and maintenance SPRs, and approximately 3.35 billion rupies for land purchase and construction of caverns. India, which is the...

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) announced a loss for the third quarter on Friday as a buoyant fuel market failed to compensate the explorer against lower crude oil realisations. The profit of the state-owned company fell by 17% in October-December to 82.40 trillion rupees, or $952 million. This was far below the analysts' average estimate of 179.31 trillion rupees. Profits from joint ventures or operations outside of the country are not included in its standalone earnings. ONGC is responsible for around 71% domestic crude oil production. The company's operating revenue fell by 3% year-on-year, to 337.17 bn rupees....

Argent LNG, which is developing a 25 million metric tonnes per year (MTPA) LNG center in Louisiana, has signed a nonbinding agreement with the government of Bangladesh to buy up to 5 million metric lots of melted natural gas (LNG) annually, the business said in a statement on Friday. This is the first significant U.S. LNG supply deal because President Donald Trump took office on Monday, and according to the parties, reflects industry self-confidence in the new administration's pro-energy policies. Given that pertaining to power Trump has actually taken executive action to end the Department of Energy's time out on...

India's Adani Green stated it has actually appointed independent law firms to examine the U.S. indictment of creator Gautam Adani and top Adani Green executives for paying $265. million in bribes for power agreements. The consultation of the law firms was announced in a. 33-page revenues regulatory filing made by Adani Green late on. Thursday, where it did not reveal the names of the firms, but. stated it continued to assert the company's compliance of. suitable laws and policies. In November, U.S. authorities indicted Adani, his nephew and Executive Director Sagar Adani and. Managing Director Vneet S. Jaain, declaring that...

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson anticipates the United States to continue to be at the forefront of technology development under President Donald Trump, which the business is prepared to make the most of, its chief technology officer said. The market is now in full-execution stage of OpenRAN, CTO Erik Ekudden informed the Reuters Global Markets Online forum, including: Of. course we plan to continue to lead and drive that industry. development. OpenRAN permits operators to mix and match suppliers in their. radio networks. Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia. , dominate the global telecoms equipment market with. their proprietary technologies. The focus...

India's staterun refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp sees its Russian oil processing down to 20% in March from 31% this month as it awaits deals from traders, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told an analyst call on Thursday. The company and other state refiners such as Indian Oil Corp. , Hindustan Petroleum, and Mangalore Refinery. and Petrochemicals purchase Russian oil in the spot market. and the absence of clearness concerning its accessibility is requiring. them to look for alternatives. BPCL's Russian oil processing declined to 31% in December. quarter from about 35-40% in the previous month. The business,. together...

Tech billionaires, foreign diplomats and CEOs shadowed U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, with a number of participating in St. John's Church in Washington and seated prominently on the dais in the U.S. Capitol ahead of his speech. The church service, typically a littlenoticed part of Inauguration Day, quickly ended up being a who's who parade of some of the United States' and the world's wealthiest people, as participants got in the downtown church near the White House. Tech executives' welcome of Trump, consisting of billionaires such as Elon Musk in Trump's inner circle, has actually become a major style...

Three merchant bankers on Friday said that Vedanta, India's largest company, plans to raise $271 million through the sale bonds with maturities of two years or 30 months. They said that the company would pay a coupon rate of 9.40% or 9.50% on these bonds and had invited commitment bids on Tuesday. The company intends to raise 20 billion rupees via two-year bonds. These bonds will include a greenshoe feature that allows the company to retain up to an additional 5 billion. The aim is to raise 3.50 billion rupees via 30-month bonds with an option for a greenshoe of...

The demand for gold in India fell this week as prices reached a record-high, causing retailers to reduce their retail sales and force dealers to offer discounts. Meanwhile, the demand in China, the world's largest consumer, also declined after Lunar New Year. The consumer is not ready to pay prices that are unprecedented. "They need time to adjust to this price rally," Ashok Jain said, owner of Mumbai-based wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji. This week, the domestic gold price reached a new record of 86 360 rupees per 10 grams. The price of gold has risen by over 12% in 2025, after...

Gold prices were stable on Friday, and on track for a weekly gain of seven consecutive weeks as President Donald Trump's plan to impose reciprocal duties on all countries that tax U.S. imports fueled fears of a global economic war. As of 0303 GMT, spot gold remained at $2,929.05 an ounce. Bullion reached a record high of $2,942.70 per ounce on Tuesday. U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.4% to $2.957.40. Trump's economics team was tasked on Thursday with developing plans for reciprocal duties against every country that taxes U.S. imports. The targets included China, Japan and South Korea. Ajay Kedia of...

The stellar rise in global gold prices has cast a dark shadow over jewellery purchases during India's wedding season. Dealers in China have offered discounts to entice buyers. This week, benchmark gold prices reached a record of $2,942.70 per ounce as investors flocked to the safe haven due to fears about a possible global trade war sparked by new U.S. Tariffs. Customers are hesitant to purchase gold during the wedding season because of rising prices. "They keep calling us asking when prices will go down and when is the best time to buy", B Muthuvenkatram said, a jeweller in Coimbatore....

H.D. Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that India could implement a temporary import tax of 15-25% in six months due to the "serious threat" to local producers from low-cost imports. Kumaraswamy stated. In an interview given late Tuesday, Kumaraswamy said that "rising Chinese steel imports are a major challenge for Indian manufacturers." "The government remains resolute to protect the Indian steel industry", Kumaraswamy said. New Delhi started an investigation in December to determine whether it should impose a temporary duty known locally as a "safeguard duty" to reduce steel imports. It could be in place for up to two years...

ArcelorMittal, the second largest steelmaker in the world, said that it is looking at a possible shift of some European business support to India as the steel sector of the region faces increasing pressure due to high costs and increased imports. However, the company said that no steel production would be transferred from Europe to India. The steel industry in Europe has struggled against the oversupply of steel from China. Now, like all other exporters, they face 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum that President Donald Trump announced on Monday "without any exceptions or exclusions". Officials from the...

A government spokesperson announced that Karnataka, a state in southern India, had received investment proposals totaling nearly 10 trillion rupees (115.31 billion dollars) as the country attempts to boost its manufacturing sector and create jobs in an economy slowing down. At the Invest Karnataka event held on Tuesday, a spokesperson stated that the proposed investments would be focused on renewable energy, automobiles, steel, semiconductors, and other areas. Not all of the proposals have been approved and the government does not provide a timetable for these investments. New Indian Express reported last week that the state government plans to implement 70%...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has taken the world by storm. He has issued ultimatums and demanded that allies and enemies heed his demands. His threats, from sweeping trade tariffs to outright resource grabs, are part of an approach to diplomacy that is often accompanied with explicit demands. Many of his target countries have made concessions. Some of the concessions were real, such as pledges to purchase more American products or invest in U.S.-based activities. Other times, they were a repackaging or a move that had already been made. This article will go into some detail about the responses that...

Industry officials reported that gold leasing rates in India had doubled to a new record within a single month, after the rates on the overseas market jumped because of a shortage as banks from around the world diverted the precious metals to the United States. The second largest gold consumer in the world, Kalyan, is experiencing higher jewellery production costs. This could affect jewellers like Titan, Kalyan, and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri. Shekhar Bhahandari, President and Business Head of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said that gold leasing rates have doubled over the past month. They could continue to rise, he added. He...

Indian shares fell Tuesday, following other Asian peers as investor sentiment continued to be sapped by concerns about U.S. Trade Policy and low domestic earnings. As of 10:33 a.m. IST the Nifty 50 index was down 0.47% to 23,271, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.44%, to 76,975.9. The 13 major sectors all declined while the smaller smallcaps and middlecaps both lost 2.5% and 2.0%, respectively. The MSCI Asia ex Japan fell 0.3% as a result of concerns over President Donald Trump's trade policies. Trump raised tariffs for steel and aluminum imports by 25% on Monday, "without any exceptions or exclusions"....

India's National Aluminium Company reported a third-quarter profit that was above analyst estimates on Monday. The strong commodity price environment helped to boost the company's profits. The LSEG data shows that the state-owned firm's consolidated profits grew by over three times to 15,66 billion rupees (about $179 million) during the quarter of October-December, exceeding the estimated 13.92 billion rupees. Data from four brokerages shows that global aluminium prices were around $2,600 on average in the third quarter, an increase of 17% compared to last year. The London Metal Exchange benchmark price was also in line. Metals tend to sell for...

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two day visit to the United States starting Wednesday. He will be expected to suggest tariff reductions and increased imports of energy and defence during a meeting between President Donald Trump. Modi wants to avoid a trade war by boosting trade relations after Trump threatened reciprocal duties on many countries. This included a 25% duty on all imports of steel and aluminum. The following are the key issues that will be discussed at the bilateral meeting. Imports of Energy India intends to increase energy product imports from the United States by...