New Zealand Economy Falls Into Recession, First Since 2020

WELLINGTON, June 15: New Zealand's agriculture-driven economy has fallen into recession, according to official data released Thursday, with a damaging cyclone fuelling a widespread downturn just months before national elections.

Stats NZ signalled the economy had contracted 0.1 percent in the first quarter, after a fall of 0.7 percent at the end of 2022.

Four months before the general election, centre-left finance minister Grant Robertson admitted that entering recession was "not a surprise".

"We know 2023 is a challenging year as global growth slows, inflation has stayed higher for longer and the impacts of North Island weather events continue to disrupt households and businesses," he said.

January flooding in Auckland and destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in February both weighed on the economy.

The government estimates it will cost up to NZ$15 million (US$9 million) to mop up the damage caused by the extreme weather.

This is New Zealand's first recession since 2020, when the pandemic shuttered borders and choked exports.

With the economy shrinking, inflation hitting 6.7 percent and an October 14 election approaching, the centre-right opposition was quick to point blame at the government.

"Red lights are flashing for the New Zealand economy, which has shrunk even while inflation rages on," said opposition finance spokesperson Nicola Willis.

Agriculture, manufacturing, transport and services all saw declines.

India To Lose 6,500 Millionaires This Year

LONDON, June 14: India is expected to witness an exodus of millionaires and may lose 6,500 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in 2023, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023, which tracks wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.

China has been ranked first in terms of the outflow of millionaires from the country this year. It is predicted to lose 13,500 HNWIs, followed by India, which has secured second place. However, despite having the second biggest exit numbers in the report, India's position is likely to improve since last year when its outflow of millionaires was 7,500.

Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth points out, "these outflows are not particularly concerning as India produces far more new millionaires than it loses to migration."

According to Henley and Partners, millionaires or high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are people with investable wealth of $1 million or more.

Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, says that millionaire migration has grown steadily over the past decade with around 1,22,000 and 1,28,000 millionaires expected to migrate globally in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Why the migration from India?

According to Sunita Singh-Dalal, Partner, Private Wealth & Family Offices at Hourani, “prohibitive tax legislation coupled with convoluted, complex rules relating to outbound remittances that are open to misinterpretation and abuse, are but a few issues that have triggered the trend of investment migration from India”.

The latest report states that Henley and Partners has recorded the highest number of enquiries for investment migration schemes in the first quarter of this year with significant demands coming from Indians and Americans.

Where are the millionaires moving?

Dubai and Singapore remain preferred destinations for wealthy Indian families. The former, also known as the "5th City of India", is particularly attractive for its government-administered global investor "Golden Visa" program, favorable tax environment, robust business ecosystem, and safe, peaceful environment.

The report has predicted that Australia will witness the highest net inflow of millionaires in 2023 at 5,200. The UAE, which had a record-breaking influx of HNWIs in 2022, will welcome 4,500 new millionaires this year. Singapore's net inflow of HNWIs is expected to be 3,200 in 2023 while the US will add 2,100 people to its millionaire club. Other countries on the Top 10 list for net HNWI inflows are Switzerland, Canada, Greece, France, Portugal, and New Zealand.

Indian-American Ajay Banga Takes Over As World Bank President

WASHINGTON, June 3: Indian American Ajay Banga on Friday took over as the President of the World Bank, making him the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

On May 3, the Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Banga, 63, as the 14th President of the World Bank for a five-year term.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would nominate Banga to lead the World Bank.

“Join us in welcoming Ajay Banga as the new President of the World Bank Group. We are committed to creating a world free from poverty on a livable planet,” the World Bank said in a tweet with a picture of Banga entering the bank headquarters here on Friday.

“I wish Ajay Banga all the best as he takes up his new role as President of the World Bank today. I look forward to continuing the deep partnership between our institutions to do good and help those most in need,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said in a tweet.

Banga has become the first-ever Indian-American to head the World Bank. He replaces David Malpass, who announced his decision to step down in February.

Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization with nearly 24,000 employees.

Under his leadership, MasterCard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. He was the Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022.

He became an advisor to General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021. Banga served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations that works to advance economic opportunity across underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He was previously on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.

Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute and was Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York. He was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Business Council for International Understanding's Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.

On Thursday, Treasury Yellen met with Banga at the Treasury Department. During their engagement, Yellen warmly welcomed Banga's upcoming presidency and conveyed her strong desire for the Treasury to continue close collaboration with him in building on the strong progress made so far on evolving multilateral development banks (MDBs), a media release said.

That includes continuing implementation of the recommendations of the G20 Capital Adequacy Framework review to get the most out of the Bank's balance sheet, and improving and increasing the amount of private capital mobilised for our shared global development objectives and refining the operating model to increase the responsiveness and agility of the bank, it said.

Yellen also reiterated the importance of the World Bank working more closely with its sister development banks.

Yellen stressed the need to support the poorest of the Bank's member countries as they continue to face multiple crises, including continuing global macroeconomic headwinds exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Yellen underscored that she looks forward to having Banga's experienced leadership and proven management skills at the helm of this critical multilateral institution during a period of significant global challenge and opportunity, the statement said.

GST revenue collection for May up 12% YoY at Rs 1.57 lakh crore

NEW DELHI, June 1: India's gross GST revenue collection in the month of May stood at Rs 1,57,090 crore, registering a rise of 12 per cent on a year-on-year basis, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

India in April saw a record-high GST collection of Rs 1.87 lakh crore.

With this, the monthly GST revenue has come in at more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore for the 14th consecutive month. The gross revenue has crossed the 1.5 lakh crore mark for the fifth time since the inception of GST in the country.

Of the total gross GST revenue collected in May CGST is Rs 28,411 crore, SGST is Rs 35,828 crore, IGST is Rs 81,363 crore (including Rs 41,772 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,489 crore (including Rs 1,057 crore collected on import of goods).

UPI Hits Record 9 Billion Transactions Worth ₹ 14 Lakh Crore In May

NEW DELHI, June 1: The number of monthly UPI transactions rose over 58 per cent year-on-year in May, making it the highest volume and value ever recorded.

Data shows over nine billion transactions were made, amounting to over ₹ 14 lakh crore.

The monthly transaction value for the same period climbed by 43 per cent compared to last year.

India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is one of the globally accepted payment systems and has emerged as a trusted payment mode ever since its launch in 2016.

The data also shows that India's homegrown payment system has processed over 83 billion transactions in fiscal 2023, amounting to ₹ 139 lakh crore. This has grown from 38 billion transactions in financial year 2022, amounting to ₹ 84 lakh crore.

In February, the government gave visitors to India access to UPI to shop in the country. Only visitors from G-20 countries are allowed to make UPI payments to start with, and only those arriving at certain airports.

With India holding G-20 presidency till November, foreign delegates have been invited to multiple events in the country.

In the past six years, there has been a massive jump in UPI transactions.

Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in 10 countries can access UPI services for transactions without having to depend on their India phone number. The countries are Singapore, the US, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK.

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