They expressed the determination to fully display the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude in the ongoing general onward march

They expressed the determination to fully display the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude in the ongoing general onward march

People in Komdok Area Move into New Houses

 

Under the far-reaching plan of the Party Central Committee to build the Komdok area into a mine city and a gorge city without an equal in the world, single-, low-, many- and multi-storied dwelling houses and terraced houses in good harmony with each other have been built in Kumgol-dong 1, 2 and 3, Taehung-dong 2, Paekgumsan-dong and Thamsa-dong of Tanchon City in a gorge. As a result, another fairyland has sprung up in the new era when the local areas are changing.

The ceremonies of moving into new houses built thanks to the affection of the Party took place in those areas on Dec. 30 and Dec 31, Juche 110 (2021).

Present at the ceremonies were Kim Myong Du, vice-chairman of the South Hamgyong Provincial People's Committee, officials of the General Bureau of the Tanchon Area Mining Industry, the Komdok Mining Complex, the Ryongyang Mine and the Taehung Youth Hero Mine and residents.

The speakers said that thousands of modern flats have been built in less than one year in the Komdok area associated with the undying leadership feats of our Party and that people in the area became to move into new houses, adding that it is the brilliant fruition of the noble affection of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un for the people.

They expressed the determination to fully display the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude in the ongoing general onward march for the implementation of the decisions of the 8th Party Congress, always remembering the great affection of our Party all their lives, and thus increase the production of minerals decisively and fulfill their duty reliably in the major sector of the national economy.

The residents were awarded house use licenses at the ceremonies.

Officials visited those who were excited to move to the new houses with all excellent living conditions provided to congratulate their owners.

 

 

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GLOBALink | Chinese company assists Indonesia's digital transformation

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-01-04 13:36:52

   

Indonesia is on fast track of digital transformation as new-tech start-ups are sprouting across the country. Meanwhile, local companies are working with their Chinese partners to help the island nation go digital.

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BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China will step up tax and fee cuts next year to stabilize economic growth and promote high-quality development, the country's taxation authority has said, pledging to provide stronger support to smaller firms.

The newly added tax and fee cuts in 2021 are expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about 157 billion U.S. dollars), Wang Jun, head of the State Taxation Administration said at an annual meeting, noting that the total tax and fee reduction topped 8.6 trillion yuan over the past six years.

China has deferred an estimated 200 billion yuan of tax payments for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector in 2021 to help them address difficulties and shore up the industrial economy, Wang said.

The government has vowed to scale up tax and fee cuts in 2022 and strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises, individually-run businesses and manufacturing.

The country will also take further steps to tighten oversight and regulation on taxes in 2022, and to impose severe punishments on all forms of tax evasion, the meeting said.  ■

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Yearender-Economic Watch: China's yuan gains wider global acceptance on country's booming trade, wider opening-up

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2021-12-31 20:43:42

   

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's currency Renminbi (RMB), or the yuan, has seen wider acceptance in international usage as the country's resilient economic growth bolstered global demands and opening-up measures facilitated foreign investment.

By the end of 2020, the RMB Internationalization Index (RII) reached 5.02, a sharp increase of 54.2 percent from a year ago, data compiled by the International Monetary Institute of Renminbi University of China showed.

The jump in RII was highly related to the augmentation of RMB as a means of denomination and settlement in international trade, and a remarkable step-up in the performance of RMB in terms of financial transactions.

The trend continues into 2021. The Standard Chartered Renminbi Globalization Index rose to a new high of 2,698 in August this year.

TRADE BOOSTS RMB SETTLEMENT

The world's second-largest economy took the lead to recover from the pandemic-induced slowdowns. As China's imports and exports surged in the past year, so did the global use of RMB expand in trade settlement.

Cross-border use of the RMB, including payments and receipts, soared 44.3 percent year on year to 28.39 trillion yuan (about 4.4 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2020, an all-time high, according to a report on the internationalization of RMB published by the People's Bank of China.

In the first six months of 2021, the use of RMB in cross-border trade grew to 17.57 trillion yuan, accounting for 48.2 percent of the total during the period.

Cross-border RMB settlements closely related to China's real economy, such as current account and direct investment, saw faster growth, according to the report, with RMB usage in raw material trading and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations seeing outstanding growth.

In November, the RMB has maintained its spot as the fifth-largest most active currency for global payments by value, taking up a share of 2.14 percent, increasing by 18.89 percent compared to October 2021, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a global provider of financial messaging services.

The PBOC said a survey showed that around 78.8 percent of domestic and overseas industrial and business companies said they are considering using or elevating the share of RMB in their transactions.

EASED RESTRICTIONS INVITE CAPITAL

The influx of capital into the Chinese market is highly related to the country's efforts in carrying out reforms and widening opening up across the field. The country has joined regional and global trade pacts, shortened negative lists, reduced tariff levels and improved the business environment.

One noteworthy sector is the financial market.

Regulators have boosted two-way opening up by expanding offshore RMB markets, opened the interbank bond market to global financial institutions and sovereign funds, optimized RMB trading systems and institutions, and launched various schemes to facilitate foreign investment.

For example, China last year scrapped quotas on the dollar-denominated qualified foreign institutional investor scheme (QFII) and its yuan-denominated sibling, RQFII, further streamlining the procedures for foreign institutional investors.

RMB exchange rates also enjoy more flexibility and stayed relatively stable compared with other currencies during the pandemic, making it a safe-haven asset for global investors.

A recent jump in foreign investment in Chinese equities and bonds denominated in the currency clearly showed a global preference for RMB products.

By the end of October, bonds in China's interbank market held by overseas institutions totaled 3.85 trillion yuan, central bank data showed.

"Our customers have been investing in onshore Chinese bonds, and afterward, they found that the market was much more different from other emerging economies, as it has more liquidity, depth and width," said Becky Liu, head of China Macro Strategy of the Standard Chartered Bank.

RMB is also set to become a more significant part of the global financial system as more central banks add Chinese currency to their reserve asset.

Chinese yuan reserves held by global central banks expanded for 13 consecutive quarters to reach around 318.99 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of the year, maintaining the fifth place with a share of 2.66 percent of the total reserves, according to the International Monetary Fund. Enditem

 

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This Year Witnesses Vigorous Campaign for Bumper Harvest in Agricultural Sector

 

A vigorous campaign for high yield has been waged in the agricultural sector this year.

More than 160 farms across the country won the title of high-yielding farm and laid firm foundations for increasing the agricultural production.

Farms in eastern and western coastal areas and Pyongyang City carpeted their fields with lots of huminite, compost fermented by microorganisms and organic compound fertilizers. They also increased the grain production by managing the water control in a responsible way while putting the cultivation of crops on a scientific and technical basis.

They boosted the per-hectare yield by distributing different kinds of crops in a proper way and introducing different advanced farming methods and technologies.

Amid the brisk socialist emulation drive, more than 2 400 workteams and 9 900 sub-workteams of co-op farms across the country were honored with the titles of high-yield workteam and high-yield sub-workteam. They considerably raised the thousand-kernel weight of rice by pushing ahead with the work to enhance the fertility of soil and displaying the communist traits of helping and leading each other.

At least 68 000 agricultural workers across the country won the title of bumper cropper by devoting themselves to the farming in the fields throughout this year.

Rodong Sinmun

 


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Rivals at home, Turkish furniture giants join hands for exports

BY AYŞE BETÜL BAL

 ISTANBUL DEC 31, 2021 - 1:45 PM GMT+3


Representatives of companies that have joined forces to establish the f-tr Furniture Partners platform are seen during a meeting to announce the partnership in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 15, 2021. (Courtesy of f-tr Furniture Partners)

 

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In an unusual move, seven prominent Turkish furniture manufacturers have kept their domestic rivalry aside and have joined hands to establish a strategic platform, seeking to combine their experience and act toward a common goal in the international arena.

Adore, Çilek, Doğtaş-Kelebek, which recently rebranded itself as Doğanlar Mobilya Group, Gündoğdu, Işbir, Kilim and Nurus have come together under an umbrella organization, the f-tr Furniture Partners, with a joint 305-yearslong experience.

Set up within the framework of a sustainable export strategy document, the platform aims to help boost industry exports and increase the share of the Turkish furniture sector in the global trade, Muzaffer Çilek, chairperson of the f-tr Furniture Partners board and head of Çilek, told Daily Sabah.

The founders of the joint venture have established the platform with a common aim in light of their positive and negative experiences.

“Strength arises from unity. There will, of course, be competition at home, but when it comes to exports, not a single company but one sector will provide serious advantages,” said Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) Ismail Gülle, addressing the event to announce the partnership in late October.

“We created a brand-new platform that aims to increase the share of the Turkish furniture industry in the world trade. In light of negative and positive experiences of the founders and managers of the joining brands, we have prepared a sustainable export strategy document with a common mind, and we carry out our activities within this framework,” Çilek said.

The local furniture industry has gained great momentum in the last 20 years and perception of “Turkish Furniture” in the international arena has gained strength beyond expectations, he suggested.

“Today, our industry, which has made a name for itself under this perception in dozens of countries with its quality, design and competitive prices, has become the eighth largest exporter in the world,” Çilek said, while the new growth target of the sector is to be in the top five.

“For this, we establish unconventional strategies. We learn and analyze what can be sold in target countries. Instead of trying to sell the products we produce, we plan to produce products that we can sell in particular markets. We believe in the importance of developing different and new business ideas and projects among our partners, especially in manufacturing products with high added value,” Çilek said.

Buoyant exports

The buoyant industry managed to maintain its strong export performance last year, overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions, which confined people to their homes.

The furniture exports totaled $3.5 billion in 2020, unchanged from the previous year, bucking the challenges of the outbreak, which also triggered major disruptions in the supply chains and global trade.

Last year’s figures made Turkey the eighth-largest furniture exporter in the world, close on the heels of the United States with $4.7 billion (TL 62.4 billion) and Canada at $3.7 billion.

Iraq, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Israel, France, Libya, the United Kingdom, Romania and the Netherlands constitute the list of the furniture industry’s main export markets.

This year marked a breakthrough as furniture exports had exceeded $3 billion in the first nine months of 2021 for the first time ever, before nearing $4 billion through the end of November.

Foreign sales surged nearly 25% year-over-year from January through November to $3.86 billion, according to Istanbul Furniture, Paper and Forestry Products Exporters’ Association.

Overall annual sales are expected to cross well into the $4 billion zone, compared to the global volume of around $200 billion.

Preparing themselves for the competition abroad, Çilek said they will also continue to work competitively in the domestic market.

“We established f-tr Furniture Partners as a profit-oriented joint-stock company with a capital of TL 10 million ($746,814). Our goal is to become a sustainable supplier for countries that are the world’s largest furniture importers and where we did not have a strong presence as Turkey before,” Çilek said.

The joint establishment brings together a production-warehouse area of 750,000 square meters (8,072,932 square feet). The total revenue of the seven brands stands at around $530 million, around 20% consists of export revenues. The companies together employ more than 6,400 people.

Speaking of the f-tr Furniture Partners’ export plans for the near future, Çilek said the main target is to be in countries that they have previously had difficulties in entering.

Described as large-scale furniture importers by Çilek, these include the U.S., Germany, the U.K. and France.

In addition to research and development (R&D) studies and market research, Çilek said, they will study the market to understand the cultures, preferences and consumer habits of these countries, while maintaining their consultancy, marketing and communication activities.

Once the target markets are selected, planning and manufacturing will be carried out, according to different preferences and needs.

The f-tr Furniture Partners will also engage in activities such as joint logistics and after-sales services. The platform is also planning to provide consultancy support to other Turkish companies as well.

“We believe that with the large-scale production capacity and synergy that f-tr Furniture Partners will create, we will reach big consumers that the local sector has not reached before, and we will contribute significantly to the furniture exports,” Çilek stressed, underlining that the furniture makers “aim to utilize all opportunities to stand out in the world competition.”

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