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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 8, 2015 0:39:17 GMT -5
End to Era of Western financial domination - China & other BRICS states take over.
IN THE NOW
Apr 7, 2015
The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is welcoming a new member - the UAE. The country will be among more than 30 other members of the newly-established institution. It was created to counterbalance the IMF and the World Bank. China along with other BRICS nations is also playing a giant role in setting up another reserve fund - the New development Bank. Plus the 5 emerging economies will have their own rating agency - rival of the Big three. Jim Rogers author and international investor is In the Now.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 12, 2015 3:45:47 GMT -5
Spain, S.Korea and Austria approved as founding members of China-led bank AIIB. RT.com April 11, 2015 15:06 Austria, Spain and South Korea have been approved as founding members of the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), the Chinese Finance Ministry announced Saturday. A founding member of the bank has the right to help write its rules and Saturday’s additions bring the number of prospective founders to 41. The exact number of founding members will be finalized on April 15. Any country that joined the AIIB after March 31 will only be allowed to be an ordinary member, which means they have voting rights but less say in making the rules. The AIIB was set up to provide finance for railways, roads, airports and other important infrastructure projects in Asia. The State Council of the People Republic of China has confirmed that Russia will also become a founding member of the bank. A number of leading European economies have also applied to becoming founding members, including Germany, France and the UK. Japan has decided not to apply, saying it would want the terms of joining to include establishing lending rules with due account for social consequences plus certain guarantees on transparency. Tokyo however said it may join in the future. Washington was first skeptical of the emerging bank, seeing it as a rival of the US-led World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is dominated by Japan and the US. In a subsequent shift of tone, though, Nathan Sheets, US Treasury Under-Secretary for International Affairs, said the US “welcomed new multilateral institutions that strengthen the international financial architecture.” The AIIB was established by China in 2014 and had an initial subscribed capital of $50 billion, which is planned to be increased to $100 billion. ------------- China-led Asian investment bank welcomes 5 new members. RT.com April 12, 2015 17:23 The founding states of the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have approved the applications of Brazil, Georgia, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands as founding members, the Chinese Finance Ministry announced Saturday. "With the consent of the existing founding members, the Netherlands, Brazil, Finland, Georgia and Denmark officially became founding countries of the AIIB on April 12," the ministry said in a statement on its website, adding that the total number of founders has now reached 46. The founding members have a priority over others, as they possess the right to establish the rules for the bank’s activities. Applications to join the bank with the rights of founding members were filed by 52 countries, including Russia. The final list of AIIB founding members will be announced April 15. The United States and Japan are the two big holdouts who have abstained from joining the AIIB. Earlier media reported that China had rejected the request of North Korea; however, the country’s Foreign Ministry hasn’t confirmed this information, saying that it "doesn’t possess any relevant information." Taiwan has applied for membership in the AIIB despite the animosity and lack of formal diplomatic relations between the island and continental China. Experts consider AIIB a potential competitor to such global financial institutions as the US-led IMF and World Bank. However, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said earlier in March that the IMF and the World Bank would be "delighted" to cooperate with the AIIB. Beijing has repeatedly said that AIIB will be a fine complement to the existing international financial institutions. In October 2014, 21 countries signed the agreement on establishing the AIIB, which is intended to finance infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific Region. The bank plans to rapidly increase its initial subscribed capital of $50 billion to $100 billion. ------------- Russia officially joins $50bn China-led infrastructure bank. RT.com April 14, 2015 11:24 On Tuesday Russia officially becomes a founder of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). It means Russian companies can take part in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region, and could attract foreign investment into Russia. Russia applied for membership as a founding member of the AIIB 2 weeks ago, along with another 52 countries. The founding members have the right to establish the rules guiding the bank’s activities. China reportedly had rejected requests from North Korea and Taiwan to join the AIIB. The final list of the bank’s founding members will be announced on April 15. "Russia as a country belonging to the target region of the bank's operations, and is meant to play an important role in investment decisions and also attract investment funds from the bank in the interest of improving the infrastructure of Siberia and the Russian Far East. We expect that the bank will become an effective tool for strengthening transcontinental links and will contribute to Eurasian integration,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said, according to RIA Novosti. Allies & rivals Meanwhile, the United States and Japan have decided not to join the AIIB. Japan which is China’s main regional rival has been hesitating due to its relations with Washington and the AIIB's potential rivalry with the Asian Development Bank. Earlier this month, Washington reportedly questioned Japan following the rumors of its possible participation but Tokyo has denied everything. The AIIB is seen by many experts as an alternative to Western-led financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Washington has been pressuring its allies against joining the bank and raising concerns whether the China-led bank will “meet international standards of governance and transparency.” However, leading European economies, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland applied to join earlier last month. The application deadline for membership was March 31. Financial securities expert Francis Lun suggests that even though America is very close to its European allies, “the major European countries are really showing their independence.” “The response to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was overwhelming. It really showed the dissatisfaction of various countries to a dominating America,” Lun told RT. The IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in March that the IMF and the World Bank would be "delighted" to cooperate with the AIIB. Beijing has repeatedly said that AIIB will be a complement to the existing international financial institutions. The Asian Bank for infrastructure investment (AIIB) was established in 2014 by China. The bank will finance infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific Region; its headquarters will be in Beijing. The initial subscribed capital of AIIB will be $50 billion and is planned to be increased to $100 billion. ------------- $50bn Asian infrastructure bank approves 57 founding members. RT.com April 15, 2015 14:22 The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved 57 countries as founding members after including an extra seven, according to China’s Finance Ministry. Sweden, Israel, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Portugal and Poland were all included as founding members, according to a statement released by the ministry on Wednesday. The ministry added that although the March 31 deadline for founding membership application has passed, the bank will continue to accept new members. China has rejected requests from North Korea and Taiwan to join the investment bank. The AIIB is an “open and inclusive multilateral development bank,” China's Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency. The 57 founding members cover five continents, including Asia, Oceania, Europe, Latin America and Africa, according to Shi. The founding members will have priority over other countries which might sign up later, as they possess the right to establish the rules for the bank. Russia became a founder of the AIIB after applying for membership two weeks ago. Joining the bank means Russian companies will be able to take part in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region as well get access to foreign investment in Russia. The US and Japan are the two major countries that have abstained from joining the AIIB. While the US has been pressing its allies not to join the institution which is expected to challenge the Washington-based World Bank, Japan hesitated over its relations with Washington and the AIIB's potential rivalry with the Asian Development Bank. Earlier this month, Washington reportedly questioned Japan following the rumors of its possible participation but Tokyo has denied everything. The Asian Bank for infrastructure investment (AIIB) was established in 2014 by China. The bank will finance infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific Region; its headquarters will be in Beijing. The initial subscribed capital of AIIB will be $50 billion and is planned to be increased to $100 billion. The AIIB will provide financing for roads, railways, airports and other infrastructure projects in Asia. It is expected to be established by the end of this year. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 18, 2015 1:54:04 GMT -5
Radio, rt.com/business/250689-brics-aiib-imf-rival/BRICS Development Bank won’t rival China-led AIIB, but complement – CBR head. RT.com April 17, 2015 16:34 The BRICS New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), both seen as alternatives to US – led institutions, will not compete, but rather complement each other, said the head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina. Nabiullina made the statement Thursday in Washington where she is attending the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. "I don't think there's less energy (around the BRICS bank). We didn't feel that. To the contrary, all the representatives of all the countries ... were very motivated to reach speedy practical results," she said. Both development institutions have been gaining popularity and are seen as a counterbalance to the IMF and World Bank. President Obama has reacted insisting the US should make the rules for the global economy, and not China. The US and Japan have not applied for the membership in either of the new development banks. Also in Washington Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the BRICS New Development Bank will be launched before the BRICS summit in Ufa scheduled for July 9-10. “We discussed a legal framework for this bank, agreed that by that time [July BRICS summit – Ed.] all of the countries should ratify agreements to set up the Bank,” Siluanov said. The BRICS development bank will start with Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, and was first proposed in 2012. The Bank will be open to other members of the United Nations, the Russian Finance Ministry said in March. Each of the five-member countries is expected to allocate an equal share of the $50 billion startup capital, which will be expanded to $100 billion. Russia has agreed to provide $2 billion from the federal budget for the bank over the next seven years. The money will be used to finance development projects in emerging economies. India will serve as the first five-year rotating president, and the first Chairman of the Board will be Brazilian. The Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investment (AIIB), established in 2014 by China, will finance infrastructure projects like the construction of roads, railways, airports in the Asia-Pacific Region. Its headquarters will be in Beijing. The initial subscribed capital of AIIB will be $50 billion and is planned to be increased to $100 billion. --------------- Russian upper house ratifies BRICS $100bn currency pool. RT.com April 29, 2015 12:06 Russia’s upper house of Parliament, the Federation Council has ratified an agreement to establish the $100 billion foreign currency reserve pool for the BRICS group. It is intended to protect national currencies from volatility in global markets. The currency pool will primarily support the balance of payments of the BRICS member states, according to the deputy head of the Federal Council Committee for Budget and Financial Markets Sergey Ivanov. “Realization of the agreement will also contribute to the effective protection of the national currencies against the volatility in the world currency markets,” Ivanov said. “In perspective, the cooperation of the BRICS member states in reforming the international monetary and financial system will remain a priority which is aimed at creating a stable and predictable system of international currencies…,” he added. China will contribute $41 billion to the pool, Russia, Brazil and India $18 billion each, while South Africa’s investment will be $5 billion. The fund is expected to be maintained by a managing council, a permanent committee and a coordinator who will be from the country of the current president. BRICS members signed an agreement in Brazil earlier in July to forge ahead with the $100 billion New Development Bank (NDB), as well as a reserve currency pool worth of $100 billion. --------------- Putin ratifies BRICS $100bn currency pool deal. RT.com May 02, 2015 19:41 Russian President Vladimir Putin has ratified a deal to establish a $100 billion foreign currency reserve pool for the BRICS group. The pool’s purpose is to protect national currencies from volatility in global markets. The document was “to ratify the treaty on the establishment of a pool of foreign exchange reserves of the BRICS.” On Wednesday the deal was ratified by Russia’s upper house of Parliament, the Federation Council. According to the deputy head of the Federal Council Committee for Budget and Financial Markets, Sergey Ivanov, the currency pool will primarily support the balance of payments of the BRICS member states. “Realization of the agreement will also contribute to the effective protection of the national currencies against the volatility in the world currency markets,” Ivanov said. The goal of the pool is so that BRICS member states can urgently replenish their liquidity from it in different proportions to resolve problems with their balance of payments. China will make the biggest contribution to the pool - $41 billion. Russia, Brazil and India will donate $18 billion each, while South Africa’s investment will be $5 billion. The fund is expected to be maintained by a managing council, a permanent committee and a coordinator who will be from the country of the current president. In July Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa signed the document to a reserve currency pool worth over $100bn as well as $100bn BRICS Development Bank BRICS represents 42 percent of the world’s population and roughly 20 percent of the world’s economy based on GDP, and 30 percent of the world’s GDP based on PPP, a more accurate reading of the real economy. Total trade between the countries is $6.14 trillion, or nearly 17 percent of the world’s total. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 2, 2015 14:32:02 GMT -5
 Countries and international groups that have switched from US dollar to national currencies in trade. In early 2014, Justin Yifu Lin, the former World Bank Chief Economist, blamed the dominance of the US dollar for global economic crises and said it should be eliminated as the world's reserve currency. According to Lin, the solution would be to replace the national currency with a global currency. In the recent months, several countries, including Russia, China, India and Turkey, have decided to ditch the US dollar in their foreign trade, often paying for products in gold or other agreed on currencies. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 9, 2015 16:02:38 GMT -5
Russia: Victory Day parade definitive of South Africa's relationship with Russia - Zuma.
RuptlyTV
May 9, 2015
Being invited to attend the Victory Day parade was definitive of South Africa's relationship with Russia, Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa, told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Saturday.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (Russian): "It is a pleasure for me to see our friends here in Moscow. During the days of the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic [War]."
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (Russian): "The relations between Russia and South Africa has a special character, it [South Africa] is our main partner in the whole African continent."
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (Russian): "And I am glad for the opportunity to use these meetings to clear our bilateral questions."
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa (English): "When it comes to the commemoration today it has been one of the overwhelming good day and a big day for the country, but I think, for many of us."
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa (English): "And our relations is now, and when we are looking forward, to develop our relations bilateral[ly]."
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa (English): "I think this has been of the days that defines the friends and relationships and everything, I think today it was more clear than in other day."
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 16, 2015 8:40:51 GMT -5
KV Kamath appointed BRICS bank president | CVR News.
CVR NEWS
May 11, 2015
CICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath has been appointed as the president of the $50 billion New Development Bank being set up by BRICS.
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‘I look forward to service BRICS nations’ – New Development Bank’s Indian first head.
RT.com
May 15, 2015 15:41
Veteran Indian banker KV Kamath has thanked Narendra Modi’s government for the opportunity to head the newly established BRICS New Development Bank. He will take over the presidency in the next 10 days after he leaves various board positions.
"I look forward to the establishment of the bank and commencement of its operations in the service of the BRICS nations," the banker said in a statement on Friday.
KV Kamath said he was “honored and humbled” to be nominated by the government of India as the first president of the New Development Bank, thanking the government for placing confidence in him.
While the bank is headquartered in Shanghai, the Indian government had the right to nominate its candidate. Kamath will take over the new position in the next 10 days after he retires as non-executive Chairman of ICICI Bank and leaves other various board positions he holds, India’s Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told reporters in New Delhi.
Kamath is well-recognized in India for being named 'Businessman of the Year' by Forbes Asia, 'Business Leader of the Year' by The Economic Times, India, in 2007, and CNBC's 'Asian Business Leader of the Year' in 2001, and The Asian Banker Journal of Singapore’s ‘Most e-savvy CEO amongst Asian Banks’.
India couldn’t have made a more perfect choice, said investment banker Hemendra Kothari, chairman of DSP BlackRock.
Prior to KV Kamath’s appointment other heavyweight economic figures in India declined the role. Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan showed no interest in the post.
Experts connect the unwillingness of leading Indian bankers to take the post with the fact that with an Indian is head; the bank roller is clearly China.
Beijing welcomes and "fully supports" the appointment, said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Tuesday.
The $100 billion BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is a lending institution expected to challenge the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Bank is to start functioning by the end of 2015, with its headquarters in Shanghai.
Earlier this week Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak invited Greece to become the bank’s sixth member. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confirmed the offer and told Storchak Greece was interested.
The BRICS nations account for nearly $16 trillion in GDP and 40 per cent of the world's population.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 21, 2015 13:12:39 GMT -5
BRICS members aim to introduce business travel card.
RT.com
May 20, 2015 17:04
India and South Africa have confirmed they want to introduce a special business travel card for BRICS countries which will ease visa procedures and business between members.
“Areas for consideration would include the extension of multiple entry business visas for longer periods and the exploration of the proposal to introduce a BRICS Business Travel Card,” said a joint communiqué of the 9th India-South Africa Ministerial conference in Durban, South Africa, on Tuesday.
South Africa is already providing business people from BRICS easier access to the country.
“I have approved the issuance of port of entry visas to BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) business executives for up to 10 years, with each visit not to exceed 30 days,” said the Republic of South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba in February.
The BRICS Business Travel Card’s goal is to simplify different kinds of visas as it proposes five-year validity with multiple entries to all BRICS countries.
The idea of the card was introduced in 2013 at the end of the 5th BRICS Summit in Durban.
India and South Africa acknowledged the significance of the role played by BRICS in achieving “more representative and equitable global governance,” and agreed to continue to work together to augment trade, investment and financial cooperation between BRICS nations.
The two agreed to strengthen the BRICS mechanism, aiming to improve global political and economic governance and to make voices of emerging markets and developing countries heard in international affairs.
During the most recent 6th BRICS summit in July 2014, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa established the $100 billion New Development Bank (NDB). The NDB is expected to rival Western dominance in financing development and become a key lending institution.
The 7th BRICS summit will be held in the Russian city of Ufa in Bashkortostan this year.
BRICS nations account for nearly $16 trillion in GDP and 40 percent of the world's population.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 22, 2015 15:39:30 GMT -5
BRICS bank to complement Washington-based development institutions – Presidential aide.
RT.com
May 22, 2015 16:40
The BRICS New Development Bank is not an alternative to the IMF and the World Bank but rather a complement, said Presidential aide Sergey Glazyev. It will address the challenges that Western institutions currently ignore.
The purpose of the BRICS development institution is to help develop its member countries while Washington-led financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank are no longer doing this, the Russian President’s advisor said Friday during the VII BRICS Academic Forum in Moscow.
The IMF is promoting the interests of financial speculators, requiring the dismantling of barriers for the movement of speculative capital from all the countries, Glazyev added.
“The volume of speculative capital has more than tripled over the last 5 years due to the increase of volume emissions of global currencies, but that printing press of the dollar, euro, pound and yen reaches the BRICS countries only in the form of speculative waves,” the advisor said. This destabilizes the economy rather than helps it sustainable development, according to him.
The Russian official says BRICS countries need their own institutions, independent from Washington, not to replace them but to solve the problem of the accumulation of financial resources for development.
The world is “currently undergoing a deep structural crisis which is financial, economic, and technological at once,” according to Glazyev who claims BRICS countries need to combine financial institutions to implement long-term development programs
“Neither the IMF nor the World Bank are doing this today, but for us such financial institutions are extremely important, as we live in a common economic space, which should combine their competitive advantage,” he said, adding “that is the main task of the BRICS new development institution.”
The VII BRICS Academic Forum is preceding the upcoming BRICS 2015 Summit which is to be held in the Russian city Ufa on 8-9 July.
The BRICS countries decided to establish the BRICS Bank, along with a $100 billion reserve currency pool last year. The bank’s key role is to serve as a pool of funding for infrastructure projects within a group of the BRICS five countries.
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying the BRICS Bank.
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BRICS to establish new multi-currency financial order – experts to RT.
RT.com
May 22, 2015 19:53
The new BRICS initiatives break the monopoly of existing western institutions over the financial order – a very important symbolic change, as it’s the first time a global financial institution is led by developing countries, said experts to RT.
“If the new development bank experiment succeeds, it will show the world that the emerging countries can do and manage a multilateral economic institution by themselves,” Akshay Mathur, geo-economic fellow head of research at the Indian Council on Global Relations, told RT at the BRICS academic forum.
While talking about the bank’s challenge to western-dominated financial system, he said that one of its goals is to stimulate lending to countries in local currencies for the new projects in that region.
“Right now the bank has clauses in its charter to encourage lending in local currencies. It can do it for lending in the new projects in the East, for Russian projects in the ruble,” he said.
BRICS has already employed tools to move away from US dollar dominance, believes H.H.S. Viswanathan, Distinguished Fellow at India’s Observer Research Foundation.
“A lot of trade between China and Russia is already taking place in local currencies. As far as India is concerned, it’s not that advanced, but in some areas – yes, we are using local currencies,” he said adding that the main advantage of the banks’ moving away from the dollar is that trading in local currencies reduces the operational cost.
Risk of China’s domination
Akshay Mathur also pointed out the potential risks the bank may face, cautioning that China, the largest of the five BRICS economies, could end up dominating the new financial institution.
China has already shown notable success in internationalizing yuan. It is issuing foreign loans in its national currency and has currency swaps with 21 countries.
“China is lending now more than the World Bank and the IMF combined in Africa and Latin America. So, what I mean about the risk of Chinese financial architecture is that we want to move to a more multilateral multi-currency equitable architecture, because now we have been moving from the risks of one currency [the US dollar – Ed.] to the risks of another,” he said.
The fact that the BRICS countries are setting up new institutions doesn’t mean that they are abandoning all of the existing ones, said Oliver Stuenkel, Professor of International Relations at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo.
“I don’t think the BRICS countries are fully betting on new institutions which may have dominance by China, but I think BRICS institutions will have more capacity to engage both institutions reducing the risk that one country dominates all of others,” he said.
Despite holding the pre-eminent position in the West’s economy, the World Bank is also in the process of adapting to the rise in influence of other less developed countries. BRICS group will actively encourage this trend by seeking to reform existing institutions, while at the same time creating new ones, he added.
Non-BRICS participants
Apart from the BRICS, there are other countries showing interest in entering the new development bank, said H.H.S. Viswanathan.
“Already some European countries, particularly Scandinavian countries, Finland, have shown interest, although it’s North. There will be countries who will be interested. Because they think that it’s going to be a success,” he said, adding that the bank itself is interested in inviting new members.
The subscribed capital of the New Development bank is $50 billion, which means the BRICS countries allocated $10 billion each. The authorized capital is $100 billion, which means another $50 billion is expected from other interested parties, which may be countries or even other banks.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa established the New Development Bank, along with a reserve currency pool worth over $100 billion, during the 6th BRICS summit in July 2014. The bank will finance infrastructure projects in the BRICS and other developing countries, and is expected to begin operations by the end of 2015, with its headquarters in Shanghai.
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Russia: BRICS will create "more democratic system" - Deputy FM Sergei Ryabkov.
RuptlyTV
May 22, 2015
The BRICS member states plan on continuing work on the establishment of a more "modern" and "democratic" financial system, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov said in Moscow on Friday.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 26, 2015 15:26:20 GMT -5
West pulled out $3.5trn from BRICS to thwart group – Russian Security Council.
RT.com
May 26, 2015 10:55
Western countries have withdrawn from BRICS countries more than $3.5 trillion over the last 10 years to suppress the group, said Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, adding that nearly half of the sum was pulled out in the last 3 years.
“West is using International financial institutions as leverage more and more often. Our countries will be primarily deterred by informational impact, not military, by artificial exacerbation of national, religious and cultural conflicts," Patrushev said on Tuesday at the fifth meeting of BRICS high representatives for security issues.
BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) expected to be launched in 2015-2016 is a countermeasure to the Western financial pressure as the bank will provide economic resilience, he said.
Secretary of the Russian Security Council said it was necessary for BRICS nations to increase cooperation in areas such as joint struggle against terrorism, extremism, separatism and cross-border crime.
Among other topics, Patrushev said BRICS was becoming more influential at world’s political stage.
Russia’s and China’s firm stance, supported by other BRICS nations, prevented foreign military intervention in Syria, encouraged the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, preventing them from falling into terrorists hands, he said.
The NDB was established at most recent 6th BRICS summit in July 2014 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. A $100 billion worth bank is expected to become a key lending institution, rivaling Western dominance in the financial sector.
The seventh BRICS summit is scheduled for early July and will be held in the Russian city of Ufa, Bashkortostan, this year. Russia was chosen to assume the BRICS rotating leadership in April 2015.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 27, 2015 13:28:11 GMT -5
Russia: Venezuelan foreign minister hails the BRICS as the "hope of humanity"
RuptlyTV
May 27, 2015
Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Delcy Rodriguez said that the BRICS organisation represents, at the present time, the "hope of humanity" during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Wednesday.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 28, 2015 15:35:25 GMT -5
BRICS summit in Russia to launch New Development Bank & currency pool - Putin.
RT.com
May 28, 2015 16:19
Russia expects to launch the $100-billion BRICS New Development Bank along with a currency reserve pool worth another $100 billion at the July summit in Ufa, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We expect to reach agreement in Ufa on the launch of practical operations of the BRICS Bank and a pool of currency reserves," Putin said on Thursday at a ceremony to receive the credentials of ambassadors of foreign states, TASS reports.
Putin recalled that the BRICS was created in 2006 under Russia’s initiative, and that the group "has already become an influential factor in world policy and economy."
"Russia is interested in further intensifying cooperation between the BRICS countries and developing new interaction mechanisms, including in the financial and economic sphere," he said.
An additional impulse would be given in the next days "to the development of inter-parliamentary relations, humanitarian and information cooperation, the intensification of contacts between trade unions and non-governmental organizations," he added.
The agreement on the establishment of the New Development bank was signed by the BRICS countries in July 2014. The bank seen as rival to the existing US-led institutions, the IMF and World Bank, will finance infrastructure projects and ensure the sustainable development of the group and other developing countries.
President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce Sergey Katyrin took over the chairmanship of a business council of BRICS, an economic association made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on April 1.
The reserve currencies pool worth $100 billion is intended to protect national currencies from volatility in global markets and will allow the five BRICS member states to depend less on fluctuations in the world economy, bypass market volatility and other negative factors.
The upcoming BRICS Summit is to be held in the Russian city of Ufa on 8-9 July. The countries are expected to discuss the IMF reform that should give a louder voice to developing countries in decision-making, and the possibility of creating an independent BRICS rating agency. Russia was chosen to assume the BRICS rotating leadership in April 2015.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 8, 2015 14:13:23 GMT -5
G7 represent 20th century, I mean, countries like Italy but not China in it?..  GDP of BRICS could surpass G7 in 2-3 years - senior Duma MP. RT.com June 08, 2015 15:36 The GDP of the BRICS countries may surpass that of the G7 within two or three years, as it has already hit $32.5 trillion and rising, claims State Duma Foreign Relations chief Aleksey Pushkov. "In 2014, the total gross domestic product of BRICS countries reached 30 percent [of the world’s GDP – Ed.]. This is less than that of the G7, but the difference is seven or eight percent. The combined GDP of the BRICS countries, according to the International Monetary Fund is $32.5 trillion [by purchasing power parity - Ed.]; the G7’s is $34.7 trillion. Given that the BRICS members mostly show much higher growth rates than the G7, we can assume that in the next two or three years the aggregate GDP of the BRICS countries will exceed the G7’s,” said the head of the State Duma Foreign Relations Committee, Aleksey Pushkov, speaking to reporters at the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Moscow. He went on to say that BRICS should make this Forum regular, preferably annual, and when that happens, it would help to make the world more equitable and multipolar, based not on the superiority of one country over the other, but on the balance of interests. The economic center of the world is changing, the developed West will have to share its influence and authority in the global arena with players like BRICS, said Pushkov. Speaking about Western counter-efforts to consolidate and integrate, he mentioned the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US that aims at tariff reductions and the elimination of regulatory barriers to business. If signed, it would turn Europe into the branch of the US economy, said Pushkov. Pushkov’s comments were made as G7 leaders were meeting in Kruen in the Bavarian Alps. Russia was expelled from the group last year over reunification with Crimea. BRICS skyrocketing Since being established in 2006, the BRICS group has proposed many projects aimed at enhancing business relations between the members. In July 2014, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed a $100 billion BRICS New Development Bank intended to rival the IMF and World Bank and sponsor business projects of the group. Russia expects to launch the bank as well as a currency reserve pool worth another $100 billion at the July BRICS summit in Ufa, said Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among other projects is a special business travel card which will simplify visa procedures and boost business between members. BRICS account for more than 40 percent of the world's population and about 30 percent of the world’s GDP.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 28, 2015 15:33:47 GMT -5
BRICS Bank panel hosted by RT and SPIEF. RT Jun 28, 2015 RT and SPIEF have jointly held a panel discussion titled ‘THE NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK: A STRONGER ROLE FOR BRICS IN THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE’. The BRICS economies have established a USD 100 billion development bank to be based in Shanghai. What does this new institution mean for global economic management? What are some of the key areas of focus over the medium term? RT presenter Peter Lavelle was joined by a set of very distinguished guests - representatives of banks, ministries, think tanks: Pedro Alba, Amar Bhattacharya, Vladimir Dmitriev, Kundapur Vaman Kamath, Philippe Le Houerou, Sergey Storchak, and Shaolin Yang. Front-row guests: Ben Aris, Yaroslav Lissovolik, and Jim Rogers. Watch the full version of the panel discussion here: www.forumspb.com/en/2015/sections/50/materials/260/sessions/1092 |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jul 2, 2015 13:59:02 GMT -5
China ratifies the creation of BRICS bank.
RT.com
July 01, 2015 04:40
The Chinese Parliament has ratified the creation of the BRICS Development Bank. The New Development Bank was conceived as a counterbalance to such Western-led financial institutions as the World Bank and the IMF.
The new bank will provide money for infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries, that is Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Each nation will have an equal say in the bank’s management, regardless of GDP size.
Each BRICS member is expected to contribute an equal share in establishing a startup capital of $50 billion, with a goal of reaching $100 billion in capitalization. The BRICS bank will be headquartered in Shanghai, with India presiding as president during the first year, and Russia serving as the chairman of the representatives.
China has pledged to contribute a total of $41 billion to the NDB bank, which will give it the largest voting rights, at 39.5 percent, Reuters reports.
The agreement has already been ratified in India and Russia.
In China, the creation of the NDB bank, also known as the BRICS Bank, has been approved by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress at its meeting that runs until July 1.
It has been agreed that an African regional center of the NDB bank will be established in South Africa.
The launch of the BRICS bank is seen as a first step in breaking the dominance of the US dollar in global trade, as well as dollar-backed institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, both US-based institutions that BRICS countries have little influence within.
However, top policymakers in China and Russia, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly stressed the Bank isn’t a replacement for the established Western institutions, but is complementary.
South Africa is expected to present ratification documents in July during a meeting of BRICS countries in the Russian city of Ufa.
BRICS represents 42 percent of the world’s population and roughly 20 percent of the world’s economy based on GDP, and 30 percent of the world’s GDP based on PPP, a more accurate measure of real economic performance. Total trade between the countries amounts to $6.14 trillion, or nearly 17 percent of the world’s total.
The other bank being promoted by Beijng as an alternative to existing development institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank, is the new Asian development bank, known as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, created in October 2014. Britain and Germany are listed among its 57 member states.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jul 7, 2015 11:39:54 GMT -5
BRICS could sign economic cooperation in 5yrs - minister.
RT.com
July 06, 2015 13:38
The BRICS countries may sign an agreement on economic integration in the next 5 years, says Russia’s Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev. Russia will offer a ‘road map’ at the BRICS summit in Ufa this week, he said.
Although the group of 5 BRICS countries was initially designed as a “group of allies,” it has started to look like an economic block, Likhachev told TASS Monday.
"Of course, it is premature to talk about a BRICS economic agreement. But if the approach and the crystallization of our association as an international group takes place at the same pace as now, then an economic agreement within a few years will be quite timely and inevitable. I think it can happen within five years," he said.
There’s no rush for a free trade zone agreement because the countries are not yet ready for it psychologically, according to Likhachev. The terms of an agreement are already being discussed, he added.
There’s already a joint research team to develop a preferential trade regime between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the minister said. Russia is ready to discuss the issue of a free trade zone with South Africa as the counties’ economies do not compete in key areas but rather complement each other, according to Likhachev. As for Brazil, there could be some difficulties as the country’s economy competes with Russia. When it comes to a preferential regime with Brazil, Russia rather needs it than not, Likhachev said. He added that Russian companies have expressed an interest in the Brazilian market, and it could lead a way to Latin America as a whole.
The BRICS economic agreement will develop in several stages, Likhachev claimed. At first it will be a declarative document, guiding countries to more active cooperation. Then it could be non-preferential agreements that optimize regulatory systems, simplify customs and investment procedures and create the so-called "green corridors" for goods. The third, preferential regime phase will consist of concessions that BRICS countries will make in terms of commodity trading.
He also assumed that the idea of a preferential trade agreement could be discussed at the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia’s Ufa.
Russia will offer BRICS partners a "road map", closely linked with the strategy of economic cooperation project, according to Likhachev. This will help finance projects from the New Development Bank (NDB), established by the group of emerging economies last July.
The strategy of economic cooperation has been discussed by Russia and its BRICS partners since 2013. It covers areas such as power, manufacturing, mining, agribusiness, and innovative technologies. These areas develop in the "road map" in a form of multilateral projects of major companies like Rosneft or Inter RAO, along with medium-sized companies, according to Likhachev. Scores of Russian companies’ projects currently participate in it as well, he said.
"We believe that the strategy will be adopted this week in Ufa as a medium-term program of action.”
Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan will host the 7th BRICS summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the capital Ufa on July 8-10. 10,000 visitors are expected during the two summits.
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