APR News

On 5 March 2018, Li Keqiang summarized the results of the previous five years and announced the goals for 2018. Premier stated that within the period of report Chinese GDP rocketed from 54 trillion yuan to 82.7 trillion, average annual growth rate was 7.1%. Besides, Li Keqiang claimed that personal income outpaces economic growth rates. As a result, currently China is the country with the world largest middle-income group. A number of poor citizens decreased by 68 million.

The Mongolian Gold Producers’ Association and Mongolian Mining Exchange make final preparations for Mongolia Gold 2018 conference and exhibition. The event will be held in Ulaanbaatar at Corporate Convention Center on March 15-16, 2018. The aim of the conference is drawing attention of prospective foreign investors to Mongolian gold industry, rising awareness about the opportunities, bringing advanced technologies and investments into gold extraction.

A free trade agreement between the Republic of Korea and five Central American countries, namely Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama was signed on 21 February 2018. The negotiations started in June 2015, and it took two years and eight months to come to an agreement. The signing ceremony took place in Seoul, at the Lotte Hotel, where Kim Hyun-chong, Minister for Trade of South Korea, met his colleagues from the five states. The Republic of Korea is going to settle legal formalities and launch the free trade zone in the first half of 2018.

The emerging market of Vietnam poses interest to overseas retailers. Owing to the population of 95 million, large share of younger generations and growing standards of living, the retail market is considered as profitable. The market was opened for foreign investors in 2017, when Vietnam joined the WTO.
Xiaomi Group, Chinese hi-tech company, opened its first Mi Store in Vietnam in early 2018. By the end of the year the shop network will cover 15 cities in the country. GS25 Retail, a company from the Republic of Korea, has launched a joint enterprise with Son Kim Group to open 2500 stores in Vietnam by 2028. Thai investors are eager to enter Vietnamese market too: Berli Jucker purchased Metro Viet Nam, Central Group is the new owner of Big C Viet Nam. Vingroup acquired Maximark, Ocean Mart and Vinatexmart.

In 2017 China alleviated control over foreign shareholders of financial entities. In late February 2018 the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) released the new rules for foreign banks. According to the policies, overseas financial institutions can invest in Chinese banks and launch branches on the same basis, as domestic banks do. Furthermore, there is no more need to obtain approval for such items, as overseas wealth management products and portfolio investment funds. Foreign banks only need to report the services provided.
Since now on Chinese enterprises will have easy access to foreign lenders. The measures will boost positive effect of competition and have positive impact on Chinese economy. Moreover, the new policies are expected to strengthen ties between China and the economies with developed financial sector.

According to the National ranking of Russian regions` investment climate 2017, the Republic of Tatarstan, as last year, took the leader position. The Chuvash Republic, Moscow, Tula and Kaluga Oblast formed the top-5.
Voronezh, Ivanovo, Leningrad, Kostroma and Moscow Oblast demonstrated the best dynamics in the top-20 by overall performance.

In 2018 Russia assumed the chairmanship of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) bodies. Russia’s chairmanship of the Union will be based on the priorities set forth by the Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address to the EAEU heads of state on January 17, 2018.
In addition to ordinary work on developing supranational regulations and eliminating some exemptions from the common market, Russia proposed to the partners a number of new initiatives and projects in the fields of nuclear energy, renewable energy sources, the environment, medicine, space exploration, tourism and sports. The formation of a common digital space of the Union will be a priority.

Those of us who witnessed the founding of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in August 1967 could not have imagined how much was achieved in the last 50 years. ASEAN was born literally out of the ashes of colonialism and the Viet Nam War. It started as a security pact, but gradually evolved into an economic and financial community that is not yet a cultural common, mainly because of its celebrated diversity.
Today, ASEAN comprises 10 countries, covering a land area of 4.4 million square kilometres, 3 percent of global total, with over 630 million population or just under 9 percent of the world population. Its combined nominal GDP is already over US$2.55 trillion and if counted as a single entity, it would rank 6th in the world, behind the USA, China, Japan, India and Germany.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) envisioned a deeply integrated and highly cohesive regional economy, which involves strengthening the overall competitiveness of ASEAN by means of fostering regional inclusive growth and development. Part of the integration process is to recognise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a key driver of ASEAN’s economic and social transformation.
To survive the global competition, ASEAN needs to promote digital economy in the region. This goal is supported by the current ASEAN ICT Masterplan (AIM) 2020, which focuses on the adoption of sustainable and environmentally friendly ICT. However, promoting digital innovation in ASEAN requires policy approaches that are designed to reap the benefits and address the challenges of digital economy in the region.

Vladimir Putin sent a message to the heads of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states on the occasion of Russia assuming the rotating chairmanship of the EAEU bodies, namely, the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
In his message Vladimir Putin emphasized that Russia regards the EAEU as a major regional integration organisation that is promoting the economic alignment of the five member states and their sustainable development towards the increased prosperity of the citizens.