Latest news with #DeputyPrimeMinister
Bloomberg
5 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Sugar Jumps From 4-Year Low on Pakistan's Plans to Import
Raw sugar futures rebounded from a four-year low in New York after Pakistan initiated plans to import the sweetener to tame high domestic prices. The most-active contract rose as much as 2.6% to 16.73 cents a pound. Pakistan's government will seek cabinet approval to import 250,000 tons of raw sugar, according to a statement issued by the deputy prime minister's office.
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Vietnam Q2 GDP growth estimated at 7.6% y/y, deputy PM says
HANOI, June 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam's gross domestic product is expected to have grown 7.6% in the second quarter from a year earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh told parliament on Friday. Binh said annual growth for the first half is estimated at 7.3%, adding it would be a "big challenge" to reach this year's growth target of 8%. He said Vietnam is seeking to maintain harmonious trade relations with the United States and China, its two largest trading partners. Vietnam has been holding negotiations with the U.S. to strike a deal that would allow Vietnamese goods to avoid a 46% tariff rate, imposed largely as a result of its big trade surplus with Washington. "Vietnam is doing its best to avoid the U.S.'s 46% reciprocal tariffs on its products," Binh said. "We don't assume that the tariff will take effect." To meet this year's GDP target, Vietnam has been seeking to "renew" its existing growth drivers, including exports, manufacturing, public investment and foreign direct investment, Binh said. He added that Vietnam is also seeking new growth drivers, including green investment as well as high-tech industries like semiconductors.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Asean considering conduct code for external energy partners, says Fadillah
Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof calls the Asean Power Grid the cornerstone for the cultivation of a resilient and sustainable energy future across the region. KUCHING : Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof says Asean is looking to develop a code of conduct or guiding principles for its external energy partners as cooperation deepens with dialogue partners, including the US and Russia. He said senior energy officials in the region are focused on harmonising rules and regulations as they work to finalise a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Asean Power Grid (APG) at the ongoing 43rd Asean Senior Officials' Meeting on Energy. The meeting, which began here on June 16 and runs until today, is hosted by the energy transition and water transformation ministry, which Fadillah leads. In an exclusive interview with FMT, the deputy prime minister said member states will first work to finalise the terms of the MoU. 'The next step will be for senior officials to look into all the nitty-gritty, as far as the rules, regulations and standards are concerned. '(The development of) a code of ethics or guidelines will be one of the areas that we need to focus on.' The APG is a regional initiative aimed at interconnecting the electricity grids of Southeast Asian nations to promote multilateral power trade and energy security. Its first phase, launched three years ago, enabled Laos to export up to 100 MW of hydropower to Singapore via existing interconnectors in Thailand and Malaysia. Dubbed the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, the project marked a significant milestone in Asean's cross-border electricity trade. Last year, the four countries unveiled phase two of their power integration plan, aiming to grow the electricity trade from 100 MW to a maximum of 200 MW. Speaking on Monday, Fadillah described the APG as the cornerstone for the cultivation of a resilient and sustainable energy future across the region. He said realising the APG would require stronger political will, deeper technical cooperation and smarter investment strategies. Fadillah said the terms of the MoU were 'more or less' agreed, and would be brought to the Asean energy ministers' 43rd meeting, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur this October. Asean's neutrality Asked how Asean can maintain inclusive diplomacy while engaging with both the US and China, Fadillah reaffirmed the bloc's neutral stance amid rising geopolitical tensions. ' Asean has always been a neutral bloc. That has been our strength. 'What is more important to us is, number one—whoever we're dealing with, be it with the United States, China or Russia—it has to be for the interest of Asean,' he said. Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated Malaysia's commitment as Asean chair to defending the bloc's centrality and its long-standing principle of active non-alignment. Meanwhile, Asean Business Advisory Council chairman Nazir Razak reaffirmed that Asean countries can engage in business ties with Russia, citing the bloc's adherence to neutrality under the Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (Zopfan) declaration adopted in 1971. Aside from senior officials, about 250 delegates are attending the meeting, including representatives from across Asean, the Asean Secretariat, the Asean Centre for Energy, and dialogue partners from China, Japan, Russia and the US. The meeting also aims to finalise the draft for a new Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (Apaec) and secure endorsement of the Asean Petroleum Security Agreement (Apsa). The Apaec is intended to serve as a regional blueprint for energy collaboration, focusing on renewable energy, grid integration and energy security. Meanwhile, Apsa aims to strengthen petroleum supply security across Asean, ensuring stability in times of shortages or disruptions.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Novak says oil prices 'not appropriate' for most producers
MOSCOW, June 17 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday said oil prices are "not appropriate" for most producers, and that oil prices will rise as market shocks are absorbed, Russian state news agency RIA reported. Speaking on possible changes to OPEC+ output policy, RIA cited Novak as saying the world needs increased supply and that OPEC+ is ready to be flexible.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reeves can't afford to ignore the cost of government waste
The Government has let public sector waste, incompetence and inefficiency run out of control. No wonder Rachel Reeves is having to tell the Home Secretary there's not enough cash for the police and Border Force when the public wants an end to illegal migration and anti social behaviour, and no surprise the Deputy Prime Minister is railing against the shortage of cash for councils and housing when she needs billions extra to help all the new arrivals to the UK find subsidised accommodation and the public services to go with the homes. But we are not in an entirely hopeless situation. There is plenty of money to be better spent, budgets to be switched and losses to be stopped. Fraud takes large sums from the welfare budget. Too many people claim benefits on a sickness note for life when they could work, some desperately manoeuvre for a false (but helpful) diagnosis. We need a fairer system which is generous to those who are seriously disabled without threatening them with cuts, but does much more to help all the others into work. If you can work, and a job is available, you should not stay on benefits. There are the continuing over the top losses on bonds by the Bank of England which taxpayers have to pay for. No other Central bank sells bonds at big losses in the market as ours does, to add to taxpayer woes. Total losses from mid 2022 to the full wind up of their bond portfolio next decade are estimated by the OBR to stand at a stunning £250 billion. Tell the bank to cut these losses, as the European Central Bank has done with its badly bought bonds. Then there in the inexcusable waste that comes from big subsidies for the nationalised industries. Some of this waste is a direct response to prior poor policy. There is no statement from the Government of how it will control the likely big cost of its steel intervention, necessitated by an energy policy that sells industry unaffordable power. The Budget gave a large pay award to well paid train drivers without asking for smarter working to boost productivity. This blank cheque system is utterly unsustainable: tell the management they will only get bonuses and high pay in future if losses are reduced and fare revenue is boosted from more travel. The civil service expanded greatly to tackle vaccinations and lockdowns over Covid. It has grown more as we recover from the pandemic. It is unreasonable that when Ministers ask for some restoration of lost productivity, they are told they need to spend to save. Those holding out hope for an AI moonshot may see some gains in due course, but we literally cannot afford to delay an enforced return to 2019 levels of productivity (hardly impressive at the time) any longer. That need not await a study of how to buy better computers. There should be a ban on all external recruitment to the public sector, exempting key NHS personnel, uniformed staff and teachers. Ministers could authorise other special cases. Natural wastage in the civil service could save 7 per cent per cent a year on staff bills as we seek to get back to 2016 manning levels. This high rate of industry churn means more opportunities for bright and energetic public officials, as there will be more internal opportunities as staffing is rearranged and focused on main tasks. Such individuals must be empowered to take real ownership over bureaucratic structures. Perhaps the greatest cost – certainly in electoral terms – is the growing number of illegal migrants. The Government made changes to inherited policy which made a bad situation far worse. Numbers have shot up and the hotels are full. Again, a ruthless dedication to getting value for money already being spent would help, and we are certainly not getting value for the big money we give to France to police their coast. How come the French can safely intercept a UK fishing boat and take it to France for a court action over its paperwork, but they cannot stop a single people trafficking vessel at sea and do not prosecute the boat drivers? The country will not accept paying more for less every year. If the Labour Government is able to get this reckless waste under control, the Chancellor's future Budgets will only condemn the party to electoral oblivion. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
