National
Indian footwear industry representatives trained in Italy
November 12th, 2008 - 9:37 pm ICT by IANS -
Chennai, Nov 12 (IANS) Eighteen representatives of India's footwear industry participated in a training programme held in Italy on footwear manufacturing techniques recently, a UN official said here.The interaction with the Italian footwear cluster industrial model would foster the expansion of the shoe component and accessory industry which was essential to sustain the growth of Indian footwear exports, said Bruno Valanzuolo, chief technical adviser of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
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Cluster ball set rolling
Jamshedpur, Nov. 11: Adityapur Auto Cluster Limited (AACL) has initiated the process to appoint a project management consultant for the ambitious project at Adityapur Industrial area.
Officials of AACL said they would invite expression of interest from prospective developers for the common effluent treatment plant and hazardous waste management facility that are part of the cluster. Besides, the project also aims at developing a hi-tech laboratory for the industrial units in Adityapur.
Director of the AACL S.N. Thakur said they would soon come out with an advertisement for finding a consultant, which is initial step towards starting the construction work.
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Govt includes footwear sector in interest subsidy scheme
November 10,
2008 (Indonesia) Government announced that the industry revitalization
program will be expanded to include footwear manufacturers
among the list of subsidy recipients. The Industry Ministry,
Director General Anshari Bukhari, revealed at the discussion
forum held in Bandung, West Java, that Government will facilitate
the disbursement of Rp55 billion in interest subsidies for
footwear manufacturers. "The funds are allocated on the Government's
2009 state budget and have been approved by the House of Representatives,"
Mr Anshari stated. More…
India has optimum opportunities
than other nations
NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding the global slowdown fast slipping into recession, India still has more opportunities largely because its growth rate is still very promising than other countries, global staffing services firm Manpower says.
"There are optimum opportunities in India since it is still in the growth mode. As compared to other countries, India's GDP growth is very promising," Manpower Inc Global CEO Mr Jeffry Jorres said.
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Ramesh opens two-day leather fair in Agra
Agra, November 9 The two-day leather, footwear components and technology fair kicked off on Sunday at the Kalakriti auditorium in Agra.
Inaugurating the second edition of "Meet at Agra", Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh, said: "The Agra leather industry has the potential to improve its performance. The Centre has various schemes to modernise the industry by establishing a leather park and develop the human resources."
He also responded to most of the demands of the Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber and promised to give all the required funds to help the industry prosper.
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20,000 knitwear workers to lose jobs
Tirupur: The economic recession sweeping the Western world has started taking its toll on the knitwear industry in Tirupur: about 20,000 workers are to lose their jobs.
Exports have plummeted steeply in the first half of this financial year and projections for the remaining half of the fiscal looking 'unenthusiastic.'
Speaking to The Hindu, A. Sakthivel, president, Tirupur Exporters Association, said about 20,000 workers employed in different segments of the manufacturing chain in the knitwear cluster would lose their jobs very soon owing to the market crunch.
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INTERNATIONAL
AGI
to develop SME agenda
"The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is to develop a policy document to promote the growth of Small and Medium-size Enterprises. To be known as the AGI SME Agenda 2008, the policy document will present practical policy recommendations to regional and national governments for an enhanced business environment in all regions. Besides, the Agenda will serve as a platform for further advocacy and monitoring activities as well as a plan of action for high priority reforms. More…
OCBC
LAUNCHES RM2 MILLION AD CAMPAIGN
Kuala Lumpur, 21 October 2008 - OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad is reaching out to business banking customers, especially SMEs, through a rare RM2 million institutional advertising campaign that centres on how the Bank innovates in order to makes life easier for businesses. According to OCBC Bank's Director and CEO Mr Jeffrey Chew, the campaign, which was launched on 8 October and runs through the first quarter of 2009, is part of the Bank's initiative to lend its support to businesses that might find the going tough during the current economic uncertainties, and also to boost their use of OCBC's convenient approach to business banking. More…
DEMAND DRIVEN STATISTICS CRUCIAL TO MSMES DEVELOPMENT
Tacloban City (October 4) -- The importance of statistics in the development efforts of the national and local governments can never be underrated. Local government units must realize the value of hard data and statistics in measuring the progress and effectiveness of their various programs. Good quality statistics are a necessary investment in local development. Decisions based on sound statistics will produce the best choices for program implementers of government. More…
Carbon
reduction: Government 'needs different approach for SMEs'
The UK Government must take a different approach to helping SMEs reduce their carbon footprints, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned. The BCC said that findings of its report into business and the environment highlighted "the continuing need for effective advice and assistance for SMEs". The organisation said that although The Carbon Reduction Commitment and the European Emissions Trading Scheme provide good incentives for larger businesses, such schemes do not work for smaller firms. More…
Singapore
government introduces business continuity incentives
The Singapore
government has announced details of a new three point scheme
to encourage local businesses to develop business continuity
management systems. The scheme's constituent parts are: (1)
In public-private sector contracts, government and public
agencies will consider the tenderer's level of 'BCM-readiness'
as an important factor in the procurement process. More…
FCCISL ties up with CBI Netherlands
to strengthen SME sector
The Federation of Chambers
of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) recently signed
a partnership agreement with the Center for the Promotion
of Exports from Developing Countries (CBI) in The Netherlands
to provide export support services to Sri Lankan businesses
involved in exports especially Small and Medium Enterprises
(SME). This agreement was signed by Samantha Abeywickrama,
Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer of FCCISL and
CBI's new Managing Director Hans Klunder in Rotterdam, The
Netherlands. This agreement is built on the common mission
of the two organizations to contribute to trade-led development
by strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs and promoting
their participation in international trade. More…
ARTICLES
Exotic currency derivatives
turn into losses for MSMEs
If
sub-prime crisis has devastated the financial sector in US,
the fallout of currency derivatives would result in death
knell of MSME segment unless this august body take immediate
steps to help the exporters in this hour of crisis. You may
recall that since 2006 the US dollar has been depreciating
against most global currencies. In April 2007 the rupee, keeping
in line with its global peers, too began to appreciate significantly
against the dollar.And
as the rupee appreciated, exporters began to lose both their
top-line and bottom-line.
In this situation,
banks (mostly private and foreign, but also some nationalised
ones) took advantage of the situation to sell exotic derivative
products. Innocent exporters, mostly MSMEs, whose dealings
with banks hitherto were based only on trust, believed the
words of the banks and signed several derivative contracts
without realizing the potential risk and unaware of the fact
that those contracts are only speculative in nature. More…
That boost to SMEs is still missing
The importance and contribution
of the SME sector to growth and prosperity are well established.
Their role in terms of employment creation, upholding the
entrepreneurial spirit and innovation has been crucial in
fostering competitiveness in the economy. Towards meeting
the national developmental objective of a growth rate of over
8% on a sustained basis, it is imperative for the industrial
sector to grow at a faster pace supported by a vibrant SME
sector. Towards this, the government's policy initiatives
like the enactment of the new Micro Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Act, 2006, pruning of the reserved SSI list, advising
financial institutions to increase their flow of credit to
the SME sector, are all initiatives towards boosting entrepreneurship,
investment and growth. More…
MSMEs for separate stock exchange
With a view to aiding and
supporting the small and medium entrepreneurs the Ministry
of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Government
of India, has come forward with the proposal for establishing
a separate stock exchange for MSMEs and is seeking comments
from various industry association regarding the same. "A separate
stock exchange will help the entrepreneurs to deal with major
issue like raising funds from capital market. This will strengthen
their market position and increase their competitiveness,"
Dinesh Rai, secretary, Ministry of MSME, said. The secretary
shared the information at an interactive session on 'promotion
and development of MSME', organised by the Indian Industries
Association (IIA), Lucknow. More…
How CRM is transforming the Indian SME sector
A big challenge most small
and medium enterprises face today is the stiff competition
while marketing their products and services. Not only do they
have to work their way up to establish credibility, they also
need to retain customers by offering prompt after-sales service
of the highest order. It is in this context that several SMEs
are beginning to seriously look at Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) as a tool to push sales and build brand equity. There
has been a significant spurt in demand given the accelerated
growth and competitive scenario emerging on the business landscape.
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Fallout of Currency derivatives to result in death knell of
MSMEs: FIEO
If sub-prime crisis has devastated
the financial sector in US, the fallout of currency derivatives
would result in death knell of MSME segment unless this august
body take immediate steps to help the exporters in this hour
of crisis. This was observed by Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President,
FIEO during a discussion with the media. "Since 2006 the US
dollar has been depreciating against most global currencies.
In April 2007 the rupee, keeping in line with its global peers,
too began to appreciate significantly against the dollar.
And as the rupee appreciated, exporters began to lose both
their top-line and bottom-line.
In this situation, banks (mostly
private and foreign, but also some nationalised ones) took
advantage of the situation to sell exotic derivative products.
Innocent exporters, mostly MSMEs, whose dealings with banks
hitherto were based only on trust, believed the words of the
banks and signed several derivative contracts without realizing
the potential risk and unaware of the fact that those contracts
are only speculative in nature," Ganesh said. More…
Powerful clusters: Main drivers of Europe's competitiveness
Competitive clusters are powerful
engines of economic development and drivers for innovation
in the European Union. They provide a fertile business environment
for companies, especially Small and Medium sized Enterprises
(SMEs), to collaborate with research institutions, suppliers,
customers and competitors located in the same geographical
area. A Commission communication published today, calls for
more efforts for facilitating the emergence of world-class
clusters in the European Union. More…
More funds for SME development
Ghanaian Banks have been told
to develop interest in accessing the US$180 million Business
Development Services fund for on-lending to the Micro Small
Scale Enterprises in the country to help develop and expand
the sector. At a stockholder's seminar organized by the Ministry
of Trade, Industry, PSI and PSD, in partnership with development
partners for local banks, the coordinator of the MSME project,
F.O Kusi, disclosed that though two years had already been
spent from the five year project, only US$700,000 had been
outsourced from the US $ 180 million fund.
He noted that as part of the
structural plan, the IFC of the World Bank, provided US $45million,
IDA, US $40 million , IFC, US$40million and government of
Ghana, US$32million. Mr. Kusi indicated that it was an opportunity
for Ghanaian banks to access the funds which had been sitting
idle in the country for the paste two years in this era of
global financial difficulties. Information gathered indicates
that The Business Development Services Fund was developed
by the International Development Agency, the International
Financial Corporation and the Government of Ghana. More…
EVENTS
Techmart India 2008
Date : Nov 14th to
27th Nov, 2008
Venue: Hall
14th, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
Event : Techmart India 2008
- 16th International Technology Fair the platform for those
associated with the small sector and interested in keeping
abreast with the latest technological developments in the
Micro, Small and Medium enterprises. The show covers the entire
range of engineering, manufacturing & allied industries. It
is a perfect vehicle to Network / Establish new business contacts/renew
old contacts to discover new market opportunities and enhance
market access in India & abroad.
Organizer : India Trade Promotion
Organization
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