Trade

  • The Ministry of Finance of India: Raised the export tariff of its iron ore on May 22, among which the export tariff of iron ore of different iron grades and varieties was raised to 45%-50%; the import tax rate of coking coal and coke was increased from 2.5% % and 5% to 0 tariffs; the export tariffs on hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated coils with a width of more than 600 mm will be increased from 0% to 15%.
  • Indonesia: Plan to lift palm oil export ban on May 23.
  • Thailand: Continue to ease foreign exchange controls. In order to promote the establishment of a new foreign exchange ecosystem and ensure long-term stability of the exchange rate. The next step in the reform of Thailand’s foreign exchange system will cover a wide range of services and digital platforms. It is expected to be launched by the end of the year and completed in 2024.
  • Pakistan has announced a ban on imports of non-essential luxury goods, including imported vehicles, and said the current focus is on exports. At the same time, according to the government’s economic plan, employment opportunities will increase. The economic impact of the multiple measures is about $6 billion.
  • U.S. port imports will total 13.5 million boxes. Data from the National Retail Federation showed that container throughput at U.S. ports reached 2.34 million TEUs in March, up 3.2 percent year-on-year, setting a new monthly record for imports. And it is expected that in the first half of this year, the import volume of ports in the United States will reach 13.5 million TEUs, an increase of 5.1% over the same period last year.

Industry

  • Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture: In 2022, coffee bean production is expected to decrease by 15.3% compared to 2020. From January to April, 14.1 million bags of coffee beans were exported, a year-on-year decrease of 10.8%; the country’s coffee bean output is expected to reach 53.4 million bags this year, a year-on-year increase of 5.7 million bags.
  • Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association: In the first quarter, China’s car sales were 6 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. Among them, the sales of Korean cars were only 94,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 39.3%. Sales of Korean cars in China were not well, but the European and American markets performed well, and the European market share ranked third for the first time.
  • QuestMobile: In 2021, short video, social and information feed advertising will be the key forms of advertising. In 2022, the scale of China’s Internet advertising market is expected to increase by 10.5% year-on-year to 671.8 billion yuan, accounting for 60.7% of the scale of China’s advertising market. Among them, the proportion of e-commerce advertising will increase to 47.8%, reaching 321.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%; followed by social platform advertising, short video advertising and search engine advertising, accounting for 17.3%, 12.9% and 9.8% respectively .
  • Global smartphone shipments fell 11% year over year. Canalys announced that global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2022 fell by 11% year-on-year. Samsung leads the market with a 24% market share, followed by Apple and Xiaomi in second and third place. In addition, China’s domestic data shows that in March, the domestic market shipped 21.46 million mobile phones, down 40.5% year-on-year.

China

  • Ministry of Finance: Recently, the central government issued a fund of 10 billion yuan to once again issue a one-time agricultural subsidy to the actual grain farmers to support summer harvest and autumn sowing production, alleviate the impact of increased expenditure on grain production caused by the price increase of agricultural materials, and further mobilize farmers, further mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers to grow grain.
  • Consumption voucher issuance activities have been carried out in many places in China. From May 21, Changchun City will issue 50 million yuan of auto consumption subsidies; from May 21 to June 15, Taiyuan will invest 420 million yuan to issue consumer coupons; Guizhou will start issuing 140 million yuan on May 30 Retail style and food and beverage coupons. From January to April, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places have successively issued consumer coupons totaling more than 3.4 billion yuan, and industries such as automobiles, home appliances, and catering have become the focus of boosting consumption.

Company

  • ZIM(以星航运) reported a 190% jump in first-quarter net profit. ZIM Shipping announced its results for the first quarter of 2022: total revenue was US$3.716 billion, a year-on-year increase of 113%; net profit was US$1.711 billion, a year-on-year increase of 190%. The freight volume was 859,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 5%; the average freight rate was US$3,848/TEU, a year-on-year increase of 100%.
  • Shopee’s order volume has soared, and the download volume ranks first in the world. Recently, Shopee announced that its performance in the first quarter of 2022 continued to grow, with the total number of orders increasing by 71.3% year-on-year. In addition, the platform ranks first in total downloads among shopping apps in the world; it also ranks first in total user usage time among global shopping apps in the Google Play Store.
  • Burberry announced its financial report, with revenue soaring year-on-year. Burberry recently announced its financial report for the 2021/2022 fiscal year ended April 2, 2022: revenue of 2.83 billion pounds, an increase of 23% year-on-year; pre-tax profit of 510 million pounds, adjusted operating profit of 520 million pounds, an increase of 38% year-on-year %.

World

  • WHO: More monkeypox cases are expected globally as surveillance expands. But epidemiologists believe that the European monkeypox outbreak is unlikely to develop into a global epidemic. SMVP(smallpox vaccine) is 85% effective against monkeypox virus.
  • India: The Indian government is said to be considering an additional INR2 trillion spending in fiscal 2022/23 to cushion the impact of rising prices on consumers. Indian officials said that the previously announced gasoline and diesel tax cuts will reduce the Indian government’s revenue by 1 trillion rupees. If oil prices continue to rise, further reductions in gasoline and diesel consumption taxes may be required. Additional borrowing may take place in January-March 2023.
  • Germany: If the UK government does not take steps to lower energy prices, around 40% of UK households will live in fuel starvation, the UK CEO of energy company E.ON said. Annual household energy bills in the UK could hit £3,000 by this autumn.
  • Lithuania: The Ministry of Energy’s decision to cut power with Russia, which took effect on May 22. In 2021, electricity imports from Russia will account for 17% of Lithuania’s domestic electricity demand. After cutting, Lithuania will rely on domestic energy companies and grid connections to countries such as Latvia, Poland and Sweden to meet domestic demand.
  • United Nations: Downgrades global economic growth forecast to 3.1%.
  • Hungary: 28 small solar power plants will be built.
  • Philippines: Require government agencies to adopt digital payment systems.
  • Vietnam: Rice planting area has dropped sharply in some southern provinces. According to Vietnamese media reports on May 19, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Thap Province, Vietnam, said that the province’s rice planting area this year is only nearly 375,300 hectares, a decrease of 8,305 hectares year-on-year. The An Giang Provincial Plant Protection Bureau said that the province’s rice planting area this summer was about 209,200 hectares, a decrease of 600 hectares year-on-year.
  • Canada’s April price index rose 6.8% year-on-year.