BRICS Business

Temer’s party has been beset by corruption accusation, potentially derailing his efforts to spearhead a revitalization of Brazil’s economy in 2017? [Xinhua]
Brazil’s currency, the real, which had been making gains against the US dollar over the past year plummeted by more than six per cent on Thursday on media reports that the country’s president was embroiled in yet another alleged corruption scandal.
The severe plunge of the currency also caused a domino effect in the Bovespa stock market which lost 10 per cent of its value within an hour of its morning open.

China’s Finance Minister Xiao Jie (R) shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso during the sixth China-Japan bilateral finance dialogue in Yokohama, Japan, May 6, 2017 [Xinhua]The finance ministers of China and Japan exchanged views on deepening cooperation at the Sixth China-Japan Finance Dialogue in Yokohama. Japan’s Finance Minister said the two neighbours agreed to launch joint research on issues of mutual interest.
China is Japan’s largest trading partner.

The introduction of GST will unify the country into one market and enhance production, thereby making the economy more efficient in the medium to long term [Xinhua]
India is on track to become the world’s fourth largest economy in 2022, the International Monetary Fund said, with the economy overcoming any hiccups caused by last year’s demonetization campaign.

China’s economy has grown at a rate of 6.7 per cent so far this year, falling within government forecasts of GDP growth in the 6.5 to 7 per cent range. But some fear that a cooling of the economy could dent automotive sales growth in 2017 [Xinhua]
China is looking to significantly boost its auto manufacturing output by 2025, the government said Tuesday, reaching as much as 35 million vehicles annually.
Emphasis will be on new energy vehicles or NEVs, which include electric and hybrid electric cars and commercial buses and trucks.

China is moving from an export-based economy to one that is driven by domestic products and services [Xinhua]
Chinese authorities are looking for ways to fast-track economic reform, moving focus from an economy that is based on manufacturing and industry toward consumer-driven services.
On Monday, they began to examine ways to amend the Standardization Law of 1989 which governed all aspects of social and economic development in the country.
At the time, the law was a main driver for industrial, technical and construction output; it has not been amended since.

International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde (L) talks to US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen (R) at a breakfast meeting at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC on 22 April, 2017 [Image: IMF]Days after US President Donald Trump signed a “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, member countries of the International Monetary Fund have pledged to “avoid inward-looking policies” to keep the growth momentum.

Abe and Putin during a bilateral summit in Nagato, Japan on 15 December 2016 [Image: PPIO]Ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Moscow trip, media reports say Japan and Russia are developing 20 joint projects in several sectors, including energy and medicine.
Under a new deal, Japan’s Mitsui will buy 10-20 per cent of shares of Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm. The Japanese firm plans to supply Japanese drugs to Russia and expand cooperation in the production field, according to a report in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

Brazil’s Central Bank is expected to continue monetary easing policy into 2018 [Xinhua]
Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles has hailed recent economic activity data as a sign that the country is solidly moving out of recession.
The Central Bank’s IBC-Br index rose 1.31 per cent in February, the bank said Monday.
It also revised January economic activity up 0.62 per cent.
Meirelles says the latest data indicates the Brazilian economy will show
“meaningful growth rate” by the end of 2017.

Lavrov, hosted Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Moscow on 15 April 2017 [Image: MFA, Russia]The foreign ministers of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, and Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met on Saturday in Moscow for talks on Syria and bilateral trade ties.
Russia hopes for further growth of trade turnover with Qatar and for development of bilateral cooperation in the investment and energy sectors, Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov said.

China and Egypt have long enjoyed strong close ties; in September, President Sisi was one of a handful of leaders invited to the G20 Summit in China [Xinhua]
China and Egypt have issued a statement endorsing the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
Sun Chunlan, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday and discussed the long-lasting strength of ties between the two countries.