07/08/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | AUG 7, 2025

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Vietnam reports strong January-July trade data

India’s central bank holds rates amid Trump threats MUMBAI: India’s central bank maintained its key interest rate at 5.50% yesterday, as US President Donald Trump ramped up threats to raise tariffs on New Delhi because of Russian oil purchases. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept steady the repurchase rate, the level at which it lends to commercial banks, after a unanimous vote by a six-member panel. A majority of analysts had forecast a pause following a surprise 50-basis-point reduction in June. Bank governor Sanjay Malhotra said global trade challenges remained but that the “Indian economy holds bright prospects in the changing world order”. “We have taken decisive and forward looking measures to support growth,” he said in a statement. The RBI cut rates for the first time in nearly five years in February and followed up with two other reductions in April and June. The Indian government has forecast above-average monsoon rains, which observers say should help growth, as higher agricultural output will aid the rural economy and keep vegetable prices stable. But Trump’s announcement on Tuesday to “substantially” hike tariffs on Indian imports because of New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil has added pressure on India. Before that threat was made, the existing 10% US tariff on Indian products was already due to rise to 25% today. Malhotra acknowledged that “the uncertainties of tariffs are still evolving” even though “growth is robust”. Trump’s pressure on India comes after he signalled fresh sanctions on Russia if it did not make progress by tomorrow towards a peace deal with Ukraine. India, the world’s most populous country, is not an export powerhouse, but the United States is its largest trading partner. – AFP

widened to US$74.6 billion in the period from US$58 billion a year earlier. Both the NSO and the customs data showed China was Vietnam’s largest source of imports in the first seven months of this year, with a value of US$101.5 billion, up from US$79.8 billion a year earlier. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and a key source of materials and equipment for the country’s manufacturing industries. The NSO report showed Vietnam’s overall exports in July rose 16% from a year earlier to US$42.27 billion, while industrial production increased by 8.5% from a year earlier. Imports in July rose 17.8% to US$40 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$2.27 billion for the month. The government said on Monday that imports and exports both increased sharply because firms were ramping up production to meet new orders. Consumer prices in July rose 3.19% from a year earlier, the NSO said, adding that retail sales in July were up 9.2%. – Reuters The government adopted policies to reduce rice farming in favour of other crops in 1971 after changes in the Japanese diet saw falling demand. Under that push, the amount of land used for rice paddies – not including for livestock feed – plunged below 1.4 million hectares in 2024, from a peak of 3.3 million hectares in 1960. While the policy was officially abolished in 2018, incentives continued to steer farmers towards other commodities, like soybeans. – AFP

put a 20% tariff on many Vietnamese exports and that Vietnam could import US products with zero tariff. Vietnam took several measures to facilitate its trade negotiations with Trump, including announcing in March that it would cut its tariffs on several American products, including LNG, automobiles, ethanol and farm produce. As a result, imports from the US in the January-July period rose 22.7% from a year earlier to US$10.54 billion, the government’s Customs Department said in a separate report yesterday. Vietnam’s exports to the US in the first seven months of 2025 also rose sharply from a year earlier as exporters from Vietnam were reportedly rushing to deliver their products before the tariff took effect. Shipments from Vietnam to the US in the January-July period rose 27.8% to US$85.12 billion, the Customs Department report said. Vietnam’s trade surplus with the US

o Imports from US rise 22.7% after tariff cuts

HANOI: Vietnam reported robust trade activity in the first seven months of this year, with imports of goods from the United States rising by nearly 25% after its March tariff cuts on several American products, government data showed yesterday. Exports in the January-July period rose 14.8% over the same period of 2024 to US$262.44 billion (RM1.1 trillion), while imports were up 17.9% to US$252.26 billion, translating into a trade surplus of US$10.18 billion, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said in a report. Vietnam, a regional manufacturing powerhouse, said it has been seeking to clinch a trade deal with the United States, its largest export market, although a month ago Donald Trump announced that he would

Japan to boost rice production after price surge TOKYO: The Japanese government wants farmers to grow more rice, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on Tuesday, departing from decades of trying to diversify crops after the grain’s prices doubled this year. technology, according to public broadcaster NHK. Shortages of the grain caused by a supply chain snarl-up saw prices almost double in a year. To help ease the pain for consumers and restaurants, the government started tapping emergency stockpiles in March, having only previously done so during disasters.

“In revising the rice field policy for the 2027 fiscal year, rather than saying ‘Don’t grow rice,‘ we will shift to supporting farmers ... to take a positive approach to increasing production,” Ishiba told a ministerial meeting. The government will support more large-scale rice farming and help farmers access new

Ishiba’s ratings have plummeted in part over anger at the soaring rice prices, and voters deprived his Liberal Democratic Party of both upper and lower house majorities in recent elections.

South Korea to offer visa-free entry to China tourists SEOUL: South Korea will offer visa-free entry to tourist groups from China, for a temporary period from Sept 29 through June 2026, to boost foreign tourism ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit, the government said yesterday.

The visa-free offer was first announced in March after China’s decision last November to offer a visa exemption to South Koreans and foreign visitors from other countries. It also comes amid expectations that ties between the two countries will improve under the new South Korean administration of liberal President Lee Jae Myung. The decision to introduce the measure ahead of a Chinese holiday period in early October will help boost the domestic economy amid a recovery in foreign visits, the Tourism Ministry said, after a meeting to discuss measures to revitalise tourism ahead of the Asia-Pacific summit. South Korea will host a summit of leaders from 21 economies for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum from Oct 31 to Nov 1 in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, a gathering where Chinese leader Xi Jinping and American President Donald Trump might hold separate talks. Shares of South Korean department stores, casinos, hotels and beauty product makers rallied on hopes of a boost from Chinese demand. Hyundai Department Store shares jumped 7.1%, Hotel Shilla rose 4.8%, casino operator Paradise climbed 2.9% and Hankook Cosmetics surged 9.9%. – Reuters

Tourists taking selfies at Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul. – REUTERSPIC