Modi chairs meeting on Cryptocurrency, raises concerns about money laundering and terror financing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a meeting and discussed cryptocurrency, with government sources. It was strongly believed at the meet that cryptocurrency can mislead the youth by over-promising and non-transparent advertising.

Highlights

• Prime M...

JAPAN’S CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS ROSE TO $12 BILLION IN APRIL

Highlights –

• Japan’s current account surplus rose to $12 billion in April.
• April saw a larger rise in exports than in imports in terms of value.
• Imports jumped 11.3 percent to 6.54 trillion yen.
• Primary income, gained...

JAPAN’S EXPORTS SAW LARGEST INCREASE BY 38% IN APRIL

Highlights –

• Japan’s exports saw largest increase by 38% in April.
• Exports of goods in April soared to 7.18 trillion yen.
• Imports rose 12.8 percent in April to 6.93 trillion yen.
• Exports to China grew 33.9 percent fro...

S. KOREA’S DOMESTIC DEMAND SHOWS IMPROVEMENT IN APRIL

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s domestic demand shows improvement in April.
• The country’s exports saw an increase of 41.1% on-year in April.
• In April, sales at department stores rose 26.8 percent on-year.
• The county rep...

JAPAN’S TRAVEL BALANCE FELL BY 89.2% IN FY 2020

Highlights –

• Japan’s travel balance fell by 89.2% in FY 2020.
• Japan’s travel surplus in 2020 fell 3.8% to 18.20 trillion yen from a year earlier.
• The service trade deficit stood at 3.73 trillion yen.
• Japan poste...

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC INCREASES JAPAN GOVT.’S DEBT TO $940 BILLION IN 2020

Highlights –

• Coronavirus pandemic increases Japan govt.’s debt to $940 billion in 2020.
• As of March 31, the outstanding balance meaning the debt per capita stood at 9.70 million yen.
• The nation's debt reportedly consisted of...

S. KOREA’S SOVEREIGN DEBT FALLS TO THE LOWEST LEVELTHIS WEEK

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s sovereign debt falls to the lowest level this week.
• The spread on credit default swaps (CDSs) for South Korea came in at 19 basis points.
• In 2020 the country's CDS premium rose to 57 basis points in l...

JAPAN SAW A BRISK INCREASE IN EXPORTS IN MARCH BY 16.1 PERCENT

Highlights –

• Japan saw a brisk increase in exports in March by 16.1 percent.
•  The recovery in exports has been attributed to rising in material shipments to China.
• Japan’s exports stood at 7.38 trillion yen ($68 billion).

INDIAN FINANCE MINISTRY SHOWS CONFIDENCE IN PREPARATION AGAINST SECOND COVID-19 WAVE

HIGHLIGHTS

• The report from Finance Ministry says that India is well prepared to combat the second wave of COVID-19.
• The ministry believes that the AtmaNirbharBharat Mission can overcome the second wave of COVID-19.

The report from Fi...

FINANCE MINISTRY OF S. KOREA TO REMOVE TARIFF ON FEW IMPORTED GRAINS

Highlights –

• Finance Ministry of S. Korea to remove tariff on few imported grains.
• S. Korea will import edible corm and some grains without tariff until the end of the year.
• The country currently levies a 3 percent tariff duty on impo...

S. KOREA’S CONSUMER PRICES GREW IN MARCH BY 1.5 PERCENT

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s consumer prices grew in March by 1.5 percent.
• The country’s core inflation rose 0.6 percent on-year in March.
• Prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products advanced 13.7 percent in March....

S. KOREA’S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT INCREASED 2.1 PERCENT IN FEBRUARY

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s industrial output increased 2.1 percent in February.
• The index gauging industrial production came to 111.6 last month.
• Retail sales however fell 0.8 percent from a month earlier.
• The Bank of Ko...

JAPAN GOVT. OUTSTANDING LONG-TERM DEBT TO REACH $9.12 TRILLION

Highlights –

• Japan govt. outstanding long-term debt to reach $9.12 trillion.
• The debt is said to be the worst among developed countries.
• The Japan parliament passed the budget for fiscal 2021, with a record 106.61 trillion yen.
...

EXPORT OF GOODS IN JAPAN FALLS IN FEB. BY 4.5 PERCENT

Highlights –

• Export of goods in Japan falls in Feb by 4.5 percent.
• The decline has been due to sluggish demand by the U.S for items such as cars.
• The country’s auto exports fell to 12.9 percent.
• Exports of semiconduct...

S. KOREA’S JOB LOSSES REACHED 26.3 MILLION IN FEBRUARY

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s job losses reached 26.3 million in February.
• The country has reported job losses every month since March 2020.
• The country expects a slight improvement in the job market in March.
• In February t...

JAPAN’S CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS DROPS IN JANUARY 2021

Highlights –

• Japan’s current account surplus drops in January 2021.
• The services trade balance logged a deficit of 480.9 billion yen.
• The travel balance logged a 25.0 billion yen surplus in January.
• The country's ...

JAPAN GOVT. POSTED OCT-DEC CORPORATE PROFITS TO BOUNCE BACK

Highlights –

• Japan govt. posted Oct-Dec corporate profits to bounce back.
• Pretax profits of domestic companies were down just 0.7 percent from a year earlier.
• The pace of decline slowed down significantly compared to a 28.4 percent tu...

S. KOREA TO PROPOSE EXTRA BUDGET OF $13.3 BILLION AS RELIEF FUND

Highlights –

• S. Korea to propose extra budget of $13.3 billion as relief fund.
• The latest budget is said to be the 3rd largest ever to help ease the economy hurt by the pandemic.
• The government plans to sell 9.9 trillion won in state ...

STATE-OWNED FACILITIES WILL BE USED AS COVID-19 VACCINATION SITES IN JAPAN

Highlights –

• State-owned facilities will be used as COVID-19 vaccination sites in Japan.
• The central govt. is said to offer its buildings for free for workers and other facilities.
• Country’s retail giant Aeon Co. will make its s...

JAPAN GOVT. REPORTS AN INCREASE IN EXPORTS IN JANUARY 2021

Highlights –

• Japan Govt. reports an increase in exports in January 2021.
• Exports posted the sharpest growth due to demands in China and other Asian countries.
• The data was compiled on a customs-cleared basis.
• Exports in Jan...