作者: bharat.cn

  • 印度政府为拯救经济,正试图以更多优惠奖励,吸纳想从中国迁离的外资企业到印度落脚,但似乎仍有许多难题待解

    印度经济在新冠肺炎疫情下遭受严重打击,印度政府为拯救经济,正试图以更多优惠奖励,吸纳想从中国迁离的外资企业到印度落脚,但似乎仍有许多难题待解。

    据中央社今天发自印度当地报道称,取代中国成制造基地,印度还有许多难题待解。印度拥有庞大年轻劳动力,且劳工成本较低,成为印度发展为世界工厂的利基,但政策不稳定与法令对外资不友善是问题,似乎仍有许多难题待解。

    印度为控制新冠肺炎病毒疫情从3月25日采取全国封锁措施后,经济停摆2个多月,加上经济改革不力,最近连向来对印度最为友善的穆迪信评(Moody’s Investors Service Inc.),1日把印度主权评级由原本的Baa2调降一个等级到Baa3,也就是俗称的“垃圾级”,前景展望维持“负面”,成为22年来首次。高盛(Goldman Sachs)也鉴于印度今年4到5月的经济比去年同期大幅衰退45%,远超过原先预期衰退20%,把印度这个财政年度的经济展望从原先的-0.4%,下修为-0.5%。

    为拯救经济,印度总理莫迪领导的内阁除不顾印度的确诊病例连日来持续飙升,按照解封三阶段执行解封,更推出规模20兆卢比的“印度自力更生”特别经济计画。这项计划除聚焦航太与飞机维修、国防工业、电力及煤矿等产业外,更大举向包括台商在内的电子业者招手,希望厂商如果考虑撤出中国,可到印度落脚,希望成为下一个全球电子制造中心,甚至成为下个世界工厂。

    根据报导,印度准备划出总面积约5000平方公里,相当于两个卢森堡的区域,提供给那些希望迁离中国的制造业落脚,更与1000家美国跨国公司积极接洽。一名印度资深官员5月中甚至向印度经济时报(Economic Times)透露,经过几次与苹果公司开会后,苹果考虑把近20%的产能从中国转移到印度来。此外,印度电子及资讯科技部2日启动一项价值66.5亿美元的计划,向全球5家智慧型手机制造商招手,鼓励他们兴建或扩大在印度的智慧型手机生产基地,希望打造印度成为全球最大的智慧型手机制造基地。

    据该报道,大概从5月以来,印度政府机构、工商团体,就不断邀请驻印度代表田中光、驻印度代表处经济组官员,或是台湾大企业的高阶主管参加视讯会议,介绍印度提供的优惠奖励投资政策和环境,不断鼓吹台商到印度落脚。

    印度商工部旗下招商机构“投资印度”(Invest India)更请经济部国际贸易局协助,委托外贸协会举办台印电子产业线上座谈会,由印度相关主管机关司长及各省政府主管官员向与会的120名台商说明投资优惠,“投资印度”执行长班格拉(Deepak Bangla)更打包票说,只要台商有需求,“投资印度”将致力满足。

    确实,如同印度官员所宣传,印度拥有13亿人口,35岁以下劳动力占人口的65%,且成本较低,加上有强大的软件人才,及邻近欧洲、中东的地理位置,和擅长硬件制造的台湾,确实可形成互补,台商也不应放弃这个中产阶级正在快速崛起的庞大市场。

    但印度政策的不稳定性,及许多对外国投资人不友善的法规,和官员效率及索贿等问题,都是外资对印度望而却步之处。

    虽然莫迪政府尝试松绑外国直接投资政策,推动经济改革,但穆迪最新报告批评,印度从2017年以来,经济改革执行力道薄弱,缓慢的改革趋势和政策的有限性,导致长期的经济成长缓慢。

    最让外资关切的问题之一就是印度政策的不稳定性。此外,印度各种繁复的税务法规,搭配外资聘请的印度财会顾问和律师,不时传出勾结印度税务官员,看准外资不懂本地税务法规而“制造”税务罚款向外资索贿,更让外资企业出现重大损失及营运困扰。

  • What explains India’s low uptake initially? India’s population structure probably. Other countries have a larger representation of the elderly than we have

    This is a question that has mutated right in front of our eyes, almost as if to mock us. It was in the air, minus the ‘not’, all of spring and early summer, tremulously asked, and perhaps frequently (and prematurely) presumed to have an answer in the affirmative. A sense that the virus was somehow less virulent here; that if there was a specific India story to Covid, purely epidemiologically speaking, it was that we were speaking of a more modest dystopia. Merely a stronger version of a passing flu. The data curve was such that it could help foster that impression.

    It was around three months ago, in March, that the COVID-19 season properly began in India. Soon, the dizzying spiral in Italy had gripped the world’s att­ention. Then, within days, that graph was replicating itself in the US. Naturally, the spectre of Covid effortlessly conquering new territories evoked fears.

    But even by April, India’s statistics were now­here near the worst-case scenario. The question naturally arose: was there something at work besides a stringent lockdown?

    Nearly every possibility was speculated upon—perhaps the virus was behaving differently here, maybe it was a milder ‘strain’. Maybe there were different ‘strains’ in India itself….one thing in Gujarat, ano­ther in Gurgaon. The questions were not surprising: we knew little of the novel coronavirus, except that it was beset by signs of seemingly inexplicable randomness. So how do we begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together? We put the question to various experts.

  • A 4-month-old baby recovered from Covid-19 after being on ventilator for as many as 18 days in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam

    A 4-month-old baby recovered from Covid-19 after being on ventilator for as many as 18 days in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam.

    The baby was discharged on Friday evening after a health check-up, media reports said.

    The toddler was tested positive for Covid-19 after her mother, a tribal woman from East Godavari, was infected with the virus in May.

    Thereafter, the toddler was shifted to Visakhapatnam VIMS Hospital on May 25.

    “She was put on ventilator for 18 days and was discharged from VIMS hospital on Friday after testing negative,” Vinay Chand, Visakhapatnam’s district collector said.

    Meanwhile, on Saturday, Andhra Pradesh reported 222 new Covid-19 cases, including 2 deaths.