Retail News CRM

Tag: asia

  • Alibaba’s Singles Day sales reach $17.8b

    Alibaba’s Singles Day sales reach $17.8b

    Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Singles’ Day shopping festival (now known as the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival) broke sales record this year with a reported 120.7 billion yuan ($17.79 billion) in gross merchandise volume in just 24 hours.

    The figure represents a 32% jump over last year’s 91.2 billion yuan ($14.3 billion) in transactions over Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms – B2C site Tmall.com and C2C site Taobao Marketplace.

    Alizila, the news portal of the Chinese e-commerce giant, also reported that the festival saw a number of other new records set, including 98.97 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) in GMV generated on mobile devices and 657 million delivery orders, compared with $9.8 billion and 467 million, respectively, in 2015.

    “There were also 1.04 billion payment transactions processed compared with 710 million last year,” the report noted.

    Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, was quoted as saying that this year’s 11.11 shopping festival is a preview of the future of retail.

    “11.11 showcased how online and offline retail will be reinvented to offer brand new shopping experiences to our hundreds of millions of mobile, digitally savvy active users,” he said.

    The shopping marathon started on November 11 at midnight China Standard Time (CST).

    An IMAX-sized data screen at the media center at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center in Shenzhen, China continuously flashed updates all throughout the day, complemented by live blogging reports from Alizila.

    The first report at 12:017 showed that total GMV blew up to 10 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) just six minutes and 58 seconds after the sale began. Total GMV exceeded $100 million in just 40 seconds.

    During the first hour of the sale, order volume also reached a record-breaking peak of 175,000 orders in one second, while 120,000 payments were settled per second at the peak.

  • Fujitsu Consulting India deploys SDN technology

    Fujitsu Consulting India deploys SDN technology

    Fujitsu Consulting India has deployed an end-to-end SDN infrastructure to support operations at its new 2,000-seat Global Delivery Center (GDC) in Pune and Bangalore.

    Fujitsu Consulting India selected Brocade’s SDN technology, partly due to the vendor’s open standard approach, which Fujitsu felt were critical to fully realizing the benefits of SDN.

    Brocade switches form the campus network core at the new Fujitsu GDC, offering 96 wire-speed 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports per switch and the capability to integrate up to a dozen switches into a high-performance stack.

    The stack can be managed as a single device delivering up to 5.76 Tbps of aggregated stacking bandwidth.

    “Being successful in outsourced development requires more than just great design and programming talent. It also needs a high-performance IT infrastructure capable of keeping development teams productive 24×7, with the flexibility to emulate clients’ environments, which are of an increasingly hybrid-cloud nature,” Fujitsu Consulting India group head of IT and CISO Mohammed Shahed Khan said.

    “In putting together the specifications for our new Bangalore GDC and upgrade of the Pune GDC, it was clear that we would need to go beyond traditional networking to deliver the capabilities we see as essential to a successful future.”

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  • GMR Hyderabad Duty Free launches its first ever ‘Duty Free Utsav’

    GMR Hyderabad Duty Free launches its first ever ‘Duty Free Utsav’

    Hyderabad Duty Free (HDF) has launched its first ever “Duty Free Utsav” as it joins the festive celebrations at Hyderabad Airport.  In continuation with the enthusiastic response from customers to its previous promotions, HDF has come up with its ‘Duty Free UTSAV’ celebrations, which is one of the biggest mega promotions done by Duty Free stores in the region.  The biggest attraction for the passengers during this offer season is the chance to win Nissan Terrano SUV on display at the arrivals store.

    During this Utsav, customers can avail discounts of up to 15% on various products, along with gifts and attractive offers on their purchases at Hyderabad Duty Free outlets. Further, Hyderabad Duty Free is also issuing special discount coupons that can be collected at the Departures store and redeemed at the Arrivals store to avail an additional discount of up to 15%.

    Another key feature of Hyderabad Duty Free Utsav is the surprise Dollar offs being given to the passengers of select flights on their arrival.  This surprise voucher can be redeemed with purchases above a certain threshold at Hyderabad Duty Free arrivals store.  

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. SGK Kishore, Chairman-Hyderabad Duty Free Retail said, “The brand ‘Hyderabad Duty Free’ is growing stronger by the day and we owe this to the patronage to our valued customers. The thought process behind coming-up with the ‘Duty Free Utsav’ is to reach out to our customers and strengthen our position as one of the best travel retail destinations. Towards this, we have also undertaken several new initiatives such as coming out with customized offerings, tie-up with Telugu NRI Associations, improve our price competitiveness, Store upgradation etc.  I am happy to see our customers are shopping with us more and making the most of these unique benefits”

    With its range of product offerings at highly competitive prices along with the improved store ambience, Hyderabad Duty Free is now providing a whole new shopping experience and fast emerging as a preferred shopping destination for duty free shoppers in the region. 

  • Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia up 20 percent

    Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia up 20 percent

    The Indonesian Tourism Ministry and the China National Tourism Administration have agreed to check certain tourism operators who are unprofessional and harm tourists interests.

    “We are ready to blacklist such operators since tourism is a service-based business. Managing the tourism business ecosystem with a sense of commitment and professionalism is crucial. What is at stake is to keep the tourism business sustainable,” Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said at a meeting with the Chief of the China National Tourism Administration, Lin Jinzao, on the sidelines of the China International Travel Market (CITM) held in Shanghai from November 11 to 13.

    Travel operators and agents who violate commitment made to their customers must be dealt with sternly, he stated, adding that unprofessional tourism operators will have a detrimental impact on the future of the tourism sector.

    The China National Tourism Administration has taken several steps to control such unprofessional elements, including travel agents, as part of the efforts to make tourists feel comfortable while on vacation in China, he noted.

    “First of all, we express our gratitude to China as more and more Chinese tourists visit Indonesia,” he underlined.

    China is now the biggest source of tourist arrivals in Indonesia, overtaking Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

    “We have set ourselves the target of attracting 20 million tourists in 2019 and nearly 50 percent of them will come from China,” he disclosed.

    In this regard, he underscored the importance of stepping up tourism cooperation with China to achieve the target.

    In addition, he pointed out that his ministry will also focus on promoting the “Great China” branding which covers China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    He also invited Chinese investors to invest in the Indonesian tourism industry.

    “We invite Chinese investors engaged in the tourism sector to invest in Indonesia which offers natural and cultural attractions. Now is the time to make long-term investments in the tourism sector,” he observed.

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  • Indonesia antsy over WTO’s expected tobacco ruling in 2017

    Indonesia antsy over WTO’s expected tobacco ruling in 2017

    The Indonesian government and tobacco farmers are waiting anxiously for the result of a dispute settlement against Australia’s plain tobacco packaging policy that they expect will come out in 2017, more than three years after the government submitted a request for consultations with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

    The Trade Ministry’s director general for foreign trade negotiations, Iman Pambagyo, said he hoped that the settlement result would be in favor of tobacco-producing countries.

    “We expect WTO panelists to announce the result in the first quarter of 2017. We still think that the policy violates the trade rules,” he said.

    He added that while Indonesia fully supported the objectives of improving public health and protecting the environment, it was the country’s right to defend its economy against regulations that violated international trade rules, disciplines and obligations.

    According to the WTO, on Sept. 20, 2013, Indonesia requested consultations with Australia concerning certain Australian laws and regulations that impose restrictions on trademarks, geographical indications and other plain packaging requirements on tobacco products and packaging.

    The move came nearly a year after Australia became the first country that obliges all cigarettes sold in its jurisdiction to be wrapped in dark brown packaging in December 2012.

    The Australian government found that it was the least attractive color, particularly for young people.

    The policy went into force along with a tax increase to realize the country’s plan to bring down smoking rates from 16.6 percent in 2007 to less than 10 percent in 2018.

    The Australian Bureau of Statistics claims that smoking rates decreased to 12.8 percent a year after the policy took effect, compared to 15.1 percent in 2010.

    Australia’s move has been copied by the UK and France, which regulate that all cigarette packages manufactured for those countries must be in plain form.

    Singapore considered a similar provision last year as well, but dropped the idea after encountering some technical difficulties.

    After Indonesia submitted its consultation request to the WTO, several other countries and blocs requested to join the consultations, namely Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the European Union.

    The Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI) told The Jakarta Post that although Australia was not the main buyer of Indonesian tobacco, more countries would apply similar policies.

    “The policy’s provision will decrease our tobacco exports as antitobacco movements have emerged in other countries,” APTI head Wisnu Brata said.

    Djarum, Sampoerna and Gudang Garam are among the companies whose cigarette brands are available in Australia.

    Data from the Industry Ministry show that some 6 million people are involved in tobacco farms and businesses across the country. Many of them are export-oriented, such as in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Java and Central Java.

    The value of tobacco exports reached US$981 billion in 2015 and $1.02 trillion in 2014.

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  • Muji Hotel Beijing to be launched

    Muji Hotel Beijing to be launched

    Japanese retailer Muji is moving into hospitality in China, with the Muji Hotel Beijing to open in the second half of next year.

    Muji has signed a brand co-operation agreement with Tokyo-based architectural company UDS for the hotel project. It is a major global business move for Muji, and all products in the hotel’s 41 guest rooms and public areas will from the Muji brand.

    The first floor of the hotel will have a cafe, hotel store, bookstore and lounge, while the fourth floor has a restaurant and bar overlooking Tiananmen Square. There will be a Muji store in the basement.

    UDS, which has its Claska pioneer design hotel in Japan, plans, designs and manages hotels internationally.

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  • Sales nosedive at Indonesia Motorcycle Show

    Sales nosedive at Indonesia Motorcycle Show

    Despite attracting more visitors than the last event, this years’ edition of the Indonesia Motorcycle Show (IMOS) failed to record higher transactions following the event’s closing on Sunday.

    According to data released by IMOS organizers, the biennial event, which ran from Nov. 2 to 6, attracted 90,186 visitors, a slight increase of 0.48 percent compared to the 89.751 visitors that attended the event in 2014. This year, only 751 motorcycle units were sold during the event, with a transaction value of Rp 19.39 billion (US$1.48 million), down by almost half compared to the Rp 35.7 billion booked in 2014 from the sales of some 1,500 motorcycle units.

    Responding to the decline, Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI) chairman Gunadi Sindhuwinata said the market was not in the best condition this year. He, however, said industry players were optimistic motorcycle sales would bounce back with the improvement of the economy.

    “In the next 10 to 20 years, the [motorcycle] sales can still see growth because the public still needs affordable transportation options,” he said on Monday.

    He added that the performance indicator of the show was not measured only by the number of transactions but also the ability of the show to inform the public of the latest technology.

    In general, the motorcycle market is getting smaller. AISI data show that during January to September, sales dropped by 9.74 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 4,351,397 units. This year, the association set a sales target of 6.5 million motorcycles, a minor increase from the 6.4 million sold last year.

    Agus Nurudin, the managing director of the Indonesian unit of global marketing research firm Nielsen, said based on the company’s latest consumer confidence poll, Indonesian customers had become more rational and had slashed their spending on tertiary goods, including gadgets and vehicles, amid the weak economy.

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  • EU wants more access to Indonesian F&B market

    EU wants more access to Indonesian F&B market

    The EU demands Indonesia to ease trade barriers in the food and beverage (F&B) sector to give European producers more access to  Southeast Asia’s largest market, an official representing the world’s largest trading bloc has said.

    EU Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said many European producers had expressed their interest to enter the Indonesian market. However, both tariff and non-tariff measures, such as import quotas and local content requirements, held them back from doing so.

    “Many businesses are interested in Indonesia but they are waiting for improvement in market access,” Hogan said during the 6th EU-Indonesia Business Dialogue in Jakarta on Tuesday.

    He also mentioned the requirement to provide halal certificate as an obstacle for European F&B companies that wanted to explore opportunities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. Some European producers, Hogan said, had experiences in producing halal products, but some others did not.

    “We respect religion, but it [halal certification] prevent exports to Indonesia,” he said.

    He suggested that halal certification should be an option instead of being obligatory. Then producers that had not yet obtained certification could still export their products to Indonesia.

    Indonesia and the EU are currently in talks for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The anticipated agreement, expected to be concluded by 2019, will remove various trade barriers between both parties.

  • Matheson Flight Extenders has signed an agreement with Cathay Pacific

    Matheson Flight Extenders has signed an agreement with Cathay Pacific

    Matheson Flight Extenders, Inc. has signed an agreement with Cathay Pacific to act as a freight consolidation agent to provide export and import services at Portland International Airport.

    Matheson Flight Extenders, Inc., a subsidiary of Matheson Trucking Inc., recently added eight employees to support Cathay’s new twice-weekly Boeing 747-8F flight to Hong Kong via Anchorage which was launched on November 3.

    “This is an exciting opportunity for Matheson to once again expand into the international freight arena,” said Charles Mellor, chief operating officer for Matheson. “We handled similar services for Asiana Airlines and are proud to be a key facilitator in the partnership between the Port of Portland and Cathay Pacific. Providing consolidation for import/export goods benefits the economy of Portland and businesses in the region.”

    According to Mellor, Cathay first contacted Matheson about providing consolidation services at Portland.

    “We quickly presented a bid and began negotiations,” he said. “The referral was a result of our previous partnership with Asiana. We have the ramp space to park a 747 close to our hangar, making it more convenient to load and unload the aircraft.”

    Cathay expects the flight to carry 40 to 60 tonnes of cargo from Portland every month, including semi-finished footwear and apparel, electronics and perishables such as blueberries, cherries, Dungeness crabs and oysters.

    The Portland flight operates every Thursday and Saturday and is routed via Anchorage and Los Angeles from Hong Kong, and via Anchorage on the way back.

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  • Volvo recalls vehicles in US, Canada for seat belt problem

    Volvo recalls vehicles in US, Canada for seat belt problem

    Volvo is recalling about 79,000 cars and SUVs in the US and Canada because the front passenger seat belt may not hold people in a crash.

    The recall covers certain S60, S90, V60, XC60 and XC90 vehicles from the 2016 and 2017 model years.

    Volvo says in government documents that a buckle stud can come loose, allowing the buckle to separate from a bracket. If that happens, the belt may not hold the front passenger in a crash. The company said Wednesday it has no reports of injuries. It does not expect to find any loose studs but says it’s recalling the vehicles as a precaution.

    Dealers will replace the buckle if needed at no cost to owners starting December 12.

    Volvo began investigating the problem after getting reports of buckle failures starting in August. It traced the trouble to cars made from February 16, 2015, to August 22, 2016

  • Lane Crawford selects Orange Services’ Cloud to improve digital shopping experience

    Lane Crawford selects Orange Services’ Cloud to improve digital shopping experience

    Orange Business Services has been selected by Lane Crawford, a multi-brand designer label luxury retailer, to provide a cloud-based platform to extend, secure and manage its IT resources in Hong Kong and China. This deployment will enable Lane Crawford to marry offline strengths with digital advantages and offer its customers a more connected retail experience.

    Founded in 1850, Hong Kong-based Lane Crawford is widely recognized as a leading retailer of specialty and luxury goods in Hong Kong and China. Through Orange Business Services’ cloud platform, Lane Crawford will have higher flexibility and scalability to accommodate changes in demand due to seasonal shopping, sales and promotional activities, and ad-hoc use. By adopting a cloud-based platform, Lane Crawford can appropriately align its business with the rapid growth of online shopping in China and meet the needs of new and existing customers.  In addition to meeting Lane Crawford’s needs for its digital transformation, Orange Business Services’ solution delivers an enhanced level of security infrastructure and business continuity plans.

     “Lane Crawford has a long history of delivering high quality products and excellent experiences to its customers,” said Jack Zhang, General Manager, Orange Business Services China.  “We are very pleased to have been selected as a partner in their digital transformation journey and to support them based on our deep understanding of the retail business and Lane Crawford’s existing infrastructure environment.”

    Lane Crawford selected Orange Business Services’ cloud platform for its ability to easily scale to meet rapid changes in consumer demand and its one-stop solution for all the needs it had for connectivity, flexibility and security.  Orange Business Services’ platform is fully compatible with other business critical applications being used by Lane Crawford.

     “Our former infrastructure did not provide adequate flexibility for scalability or future business growth,” said Raymond Liu, Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure, Lane Crawford.  “Orange Business Services’ cloud-based solution gives us cost-efficient performance, enhanced security and protection, and support of on-line transaction applications.  For Lane Crawford, this is a critical step forward in our digital transformation.”

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  • Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair Opens

    Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair Opens

    The ninth HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair opened today and continues through 12 November at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). This morning’s opening ceremony was officiated by Gregory So, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and Philip Yung, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry and Tourism) of the HKSAR Government.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony, Benjamin Chau, Acting Executive Director, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), highlighted the diverse characteristics of the International Wine & Spirits Fair. “Featuring more than 1,060 exhibitors from 37 countries and regions, the Wine & Spirits Fair is an effective international promotion platform. The success of the fair is due to a variety of factors: Zero duties on Hong Kong wine imports since 2008, a large international exhibitor presence, international buyers especially wine importers from Asia, high value-added business opportunities and networking activities including grand tasting sessions, master classes, wine tastings, cocktail demonstrations as well as seminars,” Mr Chau said.

    Strong international flavour at the fair

    Since the HKSAR Government scrapped import duties on wine in 2008, the wine industry has recorded tremendous growth, attracting industry players to start or expand their business in Hong Kong. The value of Hong Kong’s wine imports rose from HK$1.6 billion in 2007 to HK$10.8 billion in 2015, a more than six-fold increase. Being a well-known wine trading and distributing hub, wine exporting countries are seeking to tap into the Asian market through Hong Kong. Besides Croatia, Finland and the Philippines exhibiting at the fair for the first time, wine producing regions, wine associations and trade commissions from around the world have formed 30 pavilions to promote their products. Among them, first-time group pavilion organisers include the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation, Bulgarian Wine Export Association, Economic and Information Technology Commission of Guizhou Province from the Chinese mainland, Fukushima Prefectural Government and Kyushu Shochu Culture & Tourism from Japan, FENADEGAS from Portugal, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia.

    Located in South Central Europe, Slovenia is a wine producing country less familiar to consumers in Hong Kong and Asia. Slovenia’s viniculture is characterised by the country’s diverse geography and microclimates; its latitude aligns with many renowned and prolific wine-producing regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy and Northern Rhone. Around 70 per cent of Slovenian wines qualify as premium wine. Aiming to capture the attention of Asia’s developing markets through Hong Kong, Dejan Zidan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia, hosted today’s presentation under the theme of “Discover Excellent Wines From Slovenia – Taste the Slovenian Identity”.

    While Slovenia has a particularly high profile at the fair this year, a world of exquisite wines from around the world are also on show including:

    – Wine from Israel, a country with 5,000 years of wine-making history. Produced by Hevron Heights, Armagedon (Booth no.: 3E-D11) is brewed using traditional methods. Using grapes grown on the Judean Mountains at high altitude (950m) and aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, Armagedon is regarded as kosher wine, produced in accordance with Judaism’s religious laws.

    – Bulgarian orange wine from Wine Cellar Villa Melnik Ltd (Booth no.: 3D-B26). Orange wine, in spite of its name, is not made from oranges. Its darker colour results from extended contact of white grape juice with grape skins over a longer period of time. Orange wine is intense with a dry, tannic taste and nuttiness derived from oxidation, and can be paired with a wide variety of dishes ranging from beef to fish.

    – Crown Royal’s Northern Harvest Rye from Canada (Booth no.: 3CON-064). Crown Royal’s Northern Harvest Rye stunned the whisky world as the first Canadian whisky to earn a title in the authoritative Jim Murray’s Annual Whisky Bible with almost full marks and was named World Whisky of the Year 2016.

    In addition to zones such as Wine & Liquor Products, Whisky and Spirits and Friends of Wine, where the perfect food pairings are showcased, there are also dedicated zones promoting the industry’s all-round developments, such as Wine Investment, Wine Education and Wine Storage & Logistics zones.

    Promoting industry interaction

    During the Wine & Spirits Fair, more than 70 special events are arranged to provide a comprehensive platform for trading and exchange. These include the Wine Industry Conference, gala dinner, tasting sessions, master classes and thematic seminars. Close to 50 wine tasting sessions are organised to spotlight wines from Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Guizhou (Chinese mainland), Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the US.

    Today’s Wine Industry Conference is titled “Uncover the Opportunities of the New Cool Climate Wine Trend”. Meanwhile, the eighth edition of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition Award Presentation Ceremony will be held tonight. Following the cocktail reception, the Gala Dinner titled “I FEEL SLOVENIA” will feature a menu prepared by Janez Bratovz, head chef of celebrated Slovenian restaurant JB RESTAVRACIJA. The seminar “How to Reach the Right Customers in China” and the buyer forum “Uncovering Business Opportunities in Booming Markets of Wine and Spirits” will be held tomorrow afternoon for the industry to discuss hot topics.

    Public Day

    On Saturday (12 November), the fair will be open to members of the public aged 18 or above, with tickets priced at HK$200*. Public visitors with full-priced tickets on that day will receive a Lucaris crystal wine glass valued at HK$110 on a first-come first-served basis while stocks last.

    Two master classes will be held on the public day including “Understanding Quality in Wines Currently Trending around the World with Jeannie Cho Lee MW” and “Sensory Experience of Wine by Debra Meiburg MW”. The public are also welcome to join wine tasting sessions, cocktail, whisky and spirit demonstrations and seminars. These include “Gifu Sake and Pottery Appreciation”, “Enjoy Shochu from Kyushu with Kumamon”, “Choosing from a Wine List – Tips and Tricks” and “Hong Kong Inter-University Wine Challenge 2016”.

    This year’s fair once again headlines the Hong Kong Wine Journey citywide promotion, which encompasses a series of wine tastings, wine and food menu pairing, seminars, themed tours and Lan Kwai Fong carnival. More than 160 restaurants will feature promotions such as “Birthday Wine” and “Wine and Food Pairing Menu”. For more details, please refer to the Hong Kong Wine Journey map or the website.

    Wine business keeps flowing through Hong Kong

    In the first nine months of 2016, Hong Kong’s wine imports reached HK$9.1 billion, a 22 per cent year-on-year increase. As for the city’s exports, they totalled HK$4.1 billion, up 25 per cent over the same period last year.

    *Tickets:

    Members of the public can purchase Public Day admission tickets on site priced at HK$200. Tickets for Public Day master classes are priced at HK$350 (including admission) and are available on a first-come first-served basis.

    Fair Website:www.hktdc.com/hkwinefair

  • Eastern Indonesia’s economy propelled by commodities pickup

    Eastern Indonesia’s economy propelled by commodities pickup

    Provinces in the eastern part of Indonesia are seeing robust economic growth in the third quarter thanks to higher commodity prices, but without diversification away from commodities the regions may not sustain such rapid growth, economists say.

    While the nation’s overall economic growth was 5.02 percent in the July to September period yearon-year (yoy), provinces in eastern Indonesia saw higher growth, namely Maluku and Papua with 13.72 percent, Sulawesi with 6.67 percent and Bali and Nusa Tenggara, both with 5.04 percent, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

    President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he wants to spread economic contributions from the eastern part of Indonesia to the whole archipelago and pledged to boost infrastructure development in the regions.

    However, economists said the government’s efforts to build infrastructure on the outskirts of the country had yet to bear fruit as they required more time before affecting the local economies. Instead, the rising prices of mining commodities have become the main reason for the spike in growth in eastern parts.

    “Improvements in commodity prices, such as gold in Papua, caused the jumping growth,” University of Indonesia (UI) economist Lana Soelistianingsih said on Monday following the data release.

    The BPS data also showed that the overall growth of the nation’s mining sector reversed its minus 0.72 percent yoy contraction in the second quarter to become a 0.13 percent gain in the third quarter, thanks to the higher production of some mining commodities like gold, BPS head Suhariyanto said.

    The eastern part of Indonesia still relies heavily on the mining sector so that most provinces, such as Papua, Maluku, Central Sulawesi and several areas in Kalimantan, see their economic growth spike when prices and production increase, said Center for Reform in Economics (CORE) research director Mohammad Faisal.

    “Other areas, like South Sulawesi, recorded growth because of their diversified economies,” he said. “Bali, on the other hand, is supported by its tourism sector so that when the overall economy slows down, it is still able to post growth.”

    With the projected stable increase in commodity prices going forward, economists expressed optimism that economic growth in the area can be improved, although concerns over its sustainability remain.

    “The growth will be sustainable if those provinces can transform and diversify their economies. If they’re still commodity dependent, the growth won’t sustain,” Faisal said.

    Apart from the mining sector’s reversal of fortune, the top three sectors that booked the highest growth in the third quarter include information and communications, financial services and transportation and warehousing, according to BPS data.

    In quarter-on-quarter, transportation and warehousing, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as the construction sector, were at the top of the list.

    In West Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, the regions that posted the most growth in the third quarter, the marine industry is enjoying growth, especially in the shrimp and seaweed aquaculture industries, according to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). Bengkulu, Lampung and Java are also seeing growth in the same sector.

  • China Leads the Global Market for Eggs and Eggs Products

    China Leads the Global Market for Eggs and Eggs Products

    Eggs, an integral part of the banal breakfast menu, are a rich source of protein. Easy and hassle free to make, their demand has seen a phenomenal spike in the past couple of years on account of a burgeoning world population and their rising disposable income. Even the avian flu, which resulted in culling of millions of livestock worldwide, couldn’t hamper the market growth. Today, a wide variety of eggs are found on supermarket shelves. Not just that, discerning palates of demanding consumers have also spawned another market – that of egg products. Made from different components and blends of eggs, they are edible products ready for consumption.

    Cage-free Eggs are All the Rage These Days
    Reports reveal that around 2 billion eggs are produced in the world in a year. The method of production is, however, set to change.  With growing awareness about the appalling living conditions of the captive egg-laying hens, particularly in developed countries, an outcry has ensued. This has led to a ban on conventional egg farming methods. Fast food giant McDonald, which is one of the biggest egg buyers in the world, pioneered efforts in this direction by announcing in 2015 that it would only use cage-free eggs in all of its US and Canadian restaurants. Other major fast food chains and a handful of multinational food companies followed suit too. This has generated an opportunity for egg producers in Asia and America to fulfill the demand-supply gap created on account of EU nations being unable to carry out the overhaul in logistics and processes involved swift enough.

    China the Largest Producer-cum-Consumer of Eggs and Egg Products
    China, which had pretty much been powering the global growth up until a while back, has been a leader in the global eggs and egg products market as well. Studies show that it produces around 36% of the 70% eggs produced together by Mexico, Japan, China, U.S., India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and France. China also consumes around 40% of the global eggs. This is because eggs form a vital part of the average Chinese meal. The eggs are also used as additives and ingredients, nationwide.

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  • Hong Kong’s economic growth to ease in third-quarter on China slowdown

    Hong Kong’s economic growth to ease in third-quarter on China slowdown

    Hong Kong’s economic growth is expected to slow in the third quarter from the second, with weak exports, sluggish retail sales and falling tourist arrivals, continuing to take a toll on the Asian financial centre.

    The once vibrant city is also grappling with a slowdown in China, while its outlook has been hurt by rising tensions with Beijing that could threaten stability and impede policymaking.

    The economy was expected to grow 0.3 percent for the third quarter from the second, according to the median estimate of economists in a Reuters poll. From a year earlier, growth was forecast at 1.6 percent.

    The government is due to release gross domestic product data on Friday at 0830 GMT.

    Gross domestic product grew a seasonally-adjusted 1.6 percent in the second quarter from the first, and 1.7 percent from a year earlier, the government said in August.

    Hong Kong’s retail sales fell for the 19th straight month in September as China’s economic slowdown and a strong local currency crimped business activity and tourism.

    “We think retail sales and tourism have not yet recovered. There are still downside risks,” said Young Sun Kwon, a Hong Kong-based economist at Nomura.

    Another potential risk is the impact of cooling measures imposed by the government this month to rein in property prices, which are among the most expensive in the world.

    The government said it would raise stamp duties on home purchases to 15 percent, across the board, effective Nov. 5.

    Economists said it was still too early to tell how effective the measures would be as there were other factors involved, such as the U.S. presidential election and China’s economic performance.

    Hong Kong, once the busiest port in the world, is also heavily dependent on trade, and its exports and imports are predominantly re-exports to and from mainland China.

    The Trade Development Council has cut its forecast for the city’s exports this year from flat to a 4 percent decline.

    Slower economic growth could pile further pressure on Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying ahead of an election next year and amid rising tensions with the central government in China over concerns of increased meddling by Beijing in the city’s affairs.

    The former British colony’s economy is now more vulnerable as it struggles with weaker retail sales and a slump in cash-rich mainland Chinese streaming across the border on shopping sprees.