Page 90 - ICE BUSINESS TIMES February 2020

BRITISH STEEL

MARKS NEW CHAPTER

WITH CHINESE

TAKEOVER

That explains the huge interest in
Monday’s announcement of a buy-out
of British Steel by China’s Jingye,
A Chinese buy-out marks a new chapter in the tumultuous which made national headlines even
history of steelmaking in the United Kingdom, which has with an election campaign in full
been characterised by nationalisation, privatisations and swing. The takeover should be a
recurring crises. Despite having an economy dominated by breath of fresh air for some 4,000
the services sector, steelmaking retains a special place in British Steel employees, most of
British hearts, where it is an enduring symbol of a bygone whom work at the Scunthorpe site in
golden industrial age. northern England.

SAMSUNG THINKING OF
SETTING UP $500MILLION
DISPLAY FACTORY IN INDIA

South Korean flat screen maker Samsung Display plans
to set up a factory in India with a $500 million
investment as parent Samsung Electronics Co Ltd seeks
to expand smartphone production there, a regulatory
filing showed. The move would be a boon for India which
is vying with nearby rivals such as Vietnam to attract
global smartphone firms under the government’s “Make
in India” drive. capital New Delhi in 2018. Last year, it stopped production
Under the plan, Samsung Electronics will provide 35 in China where it had to contend with competition from
billion rupees ($492.31 million) in loans and transfer a domestic rivals. The new display factory will help
parcel of land in Noida for 920 million rupees to its Samsung Electronics secure local supplies of one of the
display unit, Samsung India Electronics Private Ltd said most expensive smartphone components at a time when
in a filing dated Jan. 3. Samsung Electronics started the South Korean firm is also struggling to fend off
making smartphones in Noida on the outskirts of the competition from Chinese rivals in India.

IMF FORECASTS According to the International Monetary Fund, improving
US-China trade tensions have eased uncertainty and the
IMPROVING
world economy may have hit bottom but a sharp slowdown
OUTLOOK WHILE in India is creating a drag worldwide. However, while the
risks to the global economy have lessened, the
TRIMMING GLOBAL Washington-based global lending institution cautioned that
outcomes depend to an important extent on avoiding further
GROWTH
escalation between Washington and Beijing. In the latest
ESTIMATES update to its World Economic Outlook, the IMF cut global
growth estimate for 2020 by one tenth compared to the prior
report released in October, dropping it to 3.3 percent. It also
lowered the 2021 forecast by a bit more to 3.4 percent. The
sharp drop for India accounts for the lion’s share of the
downward revisions.

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