AsiaOne – August 2018

WRLDSPAN

ASIA STOCKS SLIDE DOWN AS TRUMP

RAISES STAKES IN CHINA TRADE WAR

PRIME MINISTER MODI’S VISIT TO

INDONESIA

R

eported in June 2018,

a sell-off of Chinese

stocks due to the trade

war between the two biggest

economies of the world has

resulted in lowering Asian

equities to a 4-month low.

United States President Donald

Trump has further threatened

new tariffs on Chinese goods. A

10 per cent imposition on $

Billion worth goods is expected

as a comeback to China’s

decision of raising tariffs on $

Billion U.S goods.

China has warned

Washington that it will take

substantial measures if any

more additional list of tariffs

on its products were published.

Asian Economies like Taiwan,

South Korea and Southeast

Asia are among the largest

exporters of “intermediate

goods” to China, which is the

assembler of those pieces into

finished products and ships

them to destinations such as

U.S. Hence, these economies

become the most susceptible

to the trade-off and likely to get

badly affected if the tensions

between the two countries heat

up any further.

Furthermore, trade frictions

are evident by the blows on

the financial market, and have

created an increasingly nerve-

racking situation for investors

and businesses that fear a full-

fledged trade-off could derail

global growth.

Morgan Stanley Capital

International’s broadest index

of Asia-Pacific shares outside

Japan lost 1.2 per cent to its

lowest, dragged by a fall in

Chinese shares.

P

rime Minister Narendra

Modi visited Indonesia

as a part of his Three-

Nation tour to East Asia.

His visit is a realization of

his “Act East” Policy to create

stronger bonds with the

Association of South East Asian

Nations (ASEAN) countries. Its

main objective was bilateral

cooperation between the 2

nations in maritime, trade and

investment.

The two leaders signed

15 agreements on areas

including cooperation in

defense, exploration, use

of outer space, science and

technology, capacity building

of public officials, dialogue

and interaction between

governments, think tanks as

well as in health and railways.

Aviation strategies were

also discussed to improve and

strengthen the air route. Direct

flights by Garuda Indonesia

between Bali and Mumbai are

being welcomed as well as

flights by Batik Air and Air Asia

Indonesia serving Indian and

Indonesian cities.

INDIA IS THE SIXTH WEALTHIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

I

ndia is now the 6th wealthiest

country in the world with fortunes

raised massively from the year 2016

to an astounding $8,230 Billion in 2017.

It has been rated as the best performing

market globally.

New World Wealth is a global wealth

intelligence and market company that

specializes in ratings, surveys, country

reports and wealth statistics. It uses the

total wealth of a country as an indicator

to assess the economic patterns and

determine the wealthiest of nations,

and refers to the fortunes owned by all

individuals living in each state, city or

constituency. It includes cash, property

stocks, and business interests and

excludes government funds.

According to their recent report,

during the review period 2006-2016,

India’s volume of High Net Worth

Individuals (HNWIs) increased by a

whopping 290% and is the 9th largest

in the world. The acquisition of this

wealth is mainly attributed to the

following Industries – Manufacturing

(18%) followed by Basic Materials (15%),

Technology (10%) and Financial and

Professional services (10%).

Statistics as of 2017 show that

330,400 HNWIs reside in India, which

is one of the highest in the world. There

are also at least 119 billionaires living

in the country, and the number is again

much higher in contrast to Germany,

Canada, France, Australia China and

Russia.

The report stated that with India’s

massive entrepreneurial population, a

good educational system and an English

speaking population, private wealth

will grow by 200% over the next ten

years with growth in financial services,

Information Technology, Business

Process Outsourcing, Real Estate,

Healthcare and Media Industries.

THE TOP 10 (IN $ BN)

US

China

Japan

UK

Germany

India

Australia

Canada

France

Italy

62. 
    

24,

19,

9,

9,

8,

6,

6,

6,

4,

16 | ASIA ONE | JULY-AUGUST 2018