The Netherlands overtakes Switzerland in world competitiveness stakes

DutchNews, May 24, 2018

The Netherlands has overtaken Switzerland and moved into fourth place in the latest global competitiveness rankings published by IMD. 

The top five most competitive economies in the world remain the same as in the previous year, but their order changed in the 2018 rankings. The United States, third last year, returns to the top spot, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands and Switzerland. 

The Netherlands’ advance reflects a ‘balanced’ path to competitiveness, ranking in the top 10 in economic performance, government and business efficiency, IMD said. Switzerland declined mainly due to a slowdown in exports and, to a lesser extent, an increase in perceptions about threats of relocation of R&D facilities. 

The IMD World Competitiveness Center, a research group at IMD business school in Switzerland, has published the rankings every year since 1989. It compiles them using 258 indicators.

‘Hard’ data such as national employment and trade statistics are weighted twice as much as the ‘soft’ data from an executive opinion survey that measures the business perception of issues such as corruption, environmental concerns and quality of life. This year 63 countries were ranked. 

The Netherlands is also currently ranked 4th on the World Economic Forum‘s list of the 138 most competitive countries, behind Switzerland, the United States and Singapore.

IMF approves China's yuan as elite reserve currency

Yahoo – AFP, Veronica Smith, 30 Nov 2015

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, will join the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen 

and British pound in the basket of currencies the IMF uses as an international

reserve asset (AFP Photo/Philippe Lopez)

Washington (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund welcomed China's yuan into its elite reserve currency basket on Monday, recognizing the ascendance of the Asian power in the global economy.

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, will join the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen and British pound next year in the basket of currencies the IMF uses as an international reserve asset.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde called the decision "an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the global financial system."

"It is also a recognition of the progress that the Chinese authorities have made in the past years in reforming China's monetary and financial systems."

The move by the IMF executive board, representing the institution's 188 member nations, solidifies China's ambition to see the government-controlled yuan achieve global status as one of the world's top currencies alongside the United States, Europe and Japan.

China, the world's second-largest economy, asked last year for the yuan to be added to the Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket.

But until recently the currency was considered too tightly controlled to qualify. The yuan already had met the IMF criteria for being widely used.

The board approval had been widely expected after IMF staff experts earlier in November said that Chinese authorities had taken the steps necessary for the yuan to be called "freely usable", and Lagarde endorsed their recommendation.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, said on 

November 30, 2015 the yuan's inclusion in the elite reserve currency basket was

expected to help China open up further to the world economy (AFP Photo/
Mandel Ngan)

Lagarde said the yuan's inclusion in the basket was expected to help China open up further to the world economy.

"The continuation and deepening of these efforts will bring about a more robust international monetary and financial system, which in turn will support the growth and stability of China and the global economy," she said.

IMF members can use the Special Drawing Rights basket to obtain currencies to meet balance-of-payments needs. The Fund also issues its crisis loans -- crucial to struggling economies like Greece -- valued in SDRs.

The yuan's entry into the basket takes effect on October 1, 2016.

China's central bank has taken steps to free up the movement of the yuan. The unexpected devaluation of the yuan last August received good marks from the IMF as it expanded the currency's movements based on market forces.

In addition, Beijing last Wednesday announced that an initial group of foreign central banks has been allowed to enter the Chinese currency market, which likely will promote further internationalization of the yuan in global trading.

Chinese challenges

But China is expected to face challenges with the yuan included as an IMF reserve currency.

It puts the Bank of China under pressure to provide more transparency in line with its peers, such as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

Lagarde, speaking at a news conference, said the IMF had worked "very hard" in the last few months in the process of making the decision.

She emphasized that it is a work in progress, and that the IMF will continue to monitor all criteria and compliance from all five authorities whose currencies are represented in the basket.

The composition and weightings of the SDRs basket are reviewed every five years. The last time the currencies in the basket were changed was in 2000, when the euro replaced the German deutschemark and the French franc.

The inclusion of the yuan in the IMF basket came with the support of the United States, the IMF's largest shareholder.

Until recently Washington accused China of keeping the yuan artificially low to gain a trade advantage. But in October the US Treasury Department softened its tone, saying that after Beijing's moves to loosen controls, the yuan "remains below its appropriate medium-term valuation."

Still, the IMF decision risks angering some lawmakers in the US Congress amid fierce maneuvering for the 2016 presidential election.

Congress, for example, has repeatedly refused to ratify a 2010 IMF reform that would give greater weight to China and the four other emerging-market powers in the so-called BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

China welcomes IMF backing to make yuan world reserve currency

Yahoo – AFP, 14 Nov 2015

The yuan has rapidly grown in importance in recent years as China -- the world's

 top trading nation -- has used it to settle more of its commerce, and made it 

directly convertable with more currencies (AFP Photo)

China on Saturday welcomed backing from IMF experts that the yuan should be included in its reserve currencies, saying the move would strengthen the world's financial system.

Now the world's second-largest economy, China asked last year for the yuan to be added to the elite basket of SDR currencies, but until recently it was considered too tightly controlled to qualify.

It now looks likely the yuan will be formally admitted to the IMF's "special drawing rights" currency basket at the end of the month, which would mark a milestone in China's efforts to become a global economic power.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the fund now deemed the yuan "meets the requirements to be a 'freely usable' currency" -- a key hurdle to joining the yen, dollar, pound and euro as a leading unit in international trade.

The yuan hit headlines in August when China's central bank devalued the currency and said it would use a more market-oriented system to calculate the point around which the currency can trade each day.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde says the fund now deems

 the yuan "meets the requirements to be a 'freely usable' currency" -- a key hurdle 

to joining the yen, dollar, pound and euro as a leading unit in international trade 

(AFP Photo/Yasser al-Zayyat)

The move sent markets into a tailspin as investors took it as a sign of slowing growth in China, a key driver of the world economy, but the central bank on Saturday said such reforms had taken it closer to joining the SDR basket.

"China thinks that the inclusion of the RMB (yuan) into the SDR basket will strengthen the representativeness and the attraction of the SDR (and) that it will improve the existing international monetary system," the People's Bank of China (PBoC) added.

"It will have win-win benefits both for China and the world."

Yuan's rapid rise

The yuan has rapidly grown in importance in recent years as China -- the world's top trading nation -- has used it to settle more of its commerce, and made it directly convertable with more currencies.

Including the Chinese currency in the SDR would likely boost demand for yuan-denominated assets among central banks, and give it a sheen of respectability at a time when many investors are questioning Beijing's ability to manage the slowing economy.

Lagarde said IMF experts ruled Beijing had addressed "all remaining operational issues" required for SDR inclusion, which will be decided by the executive board at a November 30 meeting.

Now the world's second-largest economy, China asked last year for the yuan to 

be added to the elite basket of SDR currencies, but until recently it was considered 

too tightly controlled to qualify (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

"I support the staff's findings," she said, adding to expectations that the board will also back the yuan.

That would mark an about turn from the beginning of August -- before the yuan devaluation -- when the Fund said the currency was not freely usable enough to be included in the basket.

Despite the recent misgivings, there has been strong pressure for the IMF to act now as the SDR basket is only reviewed every five years.

If a decision to include the yuan is made this month, the actual inclusion could take place as late as September 30, 2016, giving Beijing more time to prepare.

The recommendation Friday was broadly backed by the United States, China's main rival for world economic supremacy.

"We intend to support the renminbi's inclusion in the Special Drawing Rights basket provided the currency meets the International Monetary Fund's existing criteria," the Treasury Department said, using another name for the yuan.

"We will review the IMF's paper in that light."

Indonesia’s Corruption Ranking Improves but ‘Radical’ Steps Needed

Jakarta Globe, Dec 03, 2014

Akil Mochtar, the former chief justice of the Constitutional Court, has had
his appeal against a life sentence for graft turned down. (AFP Photo)

Jakarta. Countries like Indonesia “need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favor of their people,” Transparency International warned in the latest edition of its Corruption Perceptions Index, which was released on Wednesday.

On a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean), Indonesia scores 34, which is slightly better than last year’s 32. The country is ranked 107th out of 175. In the 2013 version of the index, Indonesia ranked 114th.

However, the poor scores of countries like Indonesia “indicate a general weak or ineffective leadership to counter corruption, posing threats for both sustainability of their economies and somewhat fragile democracies [in the Asia-Pacific region],” Transparency International said in a statement on its website.

This year’s list is topped by Denmark, which scores 92, while North Korea and Somalia share last place, with a score of 8.

Despite moving up several notches, Indonesia still fares poorly compared to its neighbors. In the Asia-Pacific region, the country perceived to be least corrupt is New Zealand, with a score of 91 — good for second place worldwide. Singapore (7 worldwide), Australia (11), Japan (15) and Hong Kong (17) make up the rest of the Asia-Pacific top 5.

“Grand corruption in big economies not only blocks basic human rights for the poorest but also creates governance problems and instability. Fast-growing economies whose governments refuse to be transparent and tolerate corruption, create a culture of impunity in which corruption thrives,” Jose Ugaz, the chair of Transparency International, was quoted as saying in a statement on the organization’s website.

Apart from Singapore, the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations member state to score more than 50 points is Malaysia, which ranks 50th on the global index with a score of 52. The Philippines shares the 85th global spot with Thailand, with both scoring 38. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar all perform worse than Indonesia.

Transparency International says its yearly index is “based on expert opinions of public sector corruption.”

“Countries’ scores can be helped by open government where the public can hold leaders to account, while a poor score is a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs,” the organization says.

Related Article:

Corruption a "problem for all," latest global index shows

World Economic Forum Gives SBY Global Statesmanship Award

Jakarta Globe, May 23, 2014

Indonesia's outgoing president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been
honored by the World Economic Forum. (Reuters Photo/Toru Hanai)

Manila. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was awarded the Global Statesmanship Award on Friday at the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia for his achievements during his time in office.

He was the third recipient of the award since the WEF was established in 1971. The two other recipients were Felipe Calderon in 2012, when he was president of Mexico, and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2010, when he was president of Brazil.

“I stand before you now with a sense of pride for what Indonesia has become today,” said Yudhoyono, whose second five-year term ends in October. “In a world marked by political turbulence, economic uncertainty, and strategic tensions, Indonesia does have a good story to tell.

“We have achieved that critical point of no return in our democratic development. We have proved to ourselves and to the world that we do not have to choose between democracy and development, and that indeed we can have both political freedom and high economic growth at the same time.”

On Thursday, Yudhonoyo reiterated that the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could reach its development agenda to double the region’s combined gross domestic product to around $4.4 trillion by 2030. With millions of poor people across the region, Asean could also try to reduce the region’s poverty rate to 9.3 percent in the same time frame, he said. World Bank data show 43.3 percent of Indonesia’s population lived on less than $2 a day in 2011, compared to 52.7 percent in 2009.

“But as an optimist, I do see the glass as half full,” Yudhoyono said on Thursday. “I believe our generation is now endowed with the resources and knowhow to beat age-old problems of poverty, deprivation and conflict.”

Indonesia has embarked on a plan to support economic growth, aid the poor, promote jobs and protect the environment, he said.

“The overall purpose is to attain sustainable growth with equity,” Yudhoyono said on Thursday. “By pursuing this strategy over the past 10 years, we have been able to stimulate growth, reduce inequity and alleviate people from poverty.”

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was presented the award at a launch sponsored by the Lippo Group, which is the parent company of the Jakarta Globe.

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A Call for Peace as Asean Deals With Disputes

World Bank: Indonesia World’s 10th Largest Economy

Jakarta Globe, May 04, 2014

An employee of Bank Negara Indonesia moves a pack of 100,000 Rupiah
notes at the bank’s head office in Jakarta. (Reuters Photo/Supri)

Jakarta. Indonesia has the 10th largest economy in the world, according to a recent report by the World Bank, with the country contributing 2.3 percent of global economic output.

The report released the findings of the 2011 International Comparison Program (ICP), which assesses economies based on purchasing power parity (PPP) and noted that Indonesia moved up six places and leapfrogged more developed countries such as Spain, South Korea and Canada.

The ICP round gathered over 7 million prices from 199 economies in eight regions, with assistance from 15 regional and international partners.

In the top nine are the United States, China, India, Japan, Germany, Russia, Brazil, France and Britain.

The middle-income economies of Indonesia, China, India, Russia, Brazil and Mexico now account for 32.3 percent of world gross domestic product. That compares with the 32.9 percent contributed by the six largest high-income economies, United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Italy. The report also showed that the United States was about to lose its status as the world’s biggest economy, as China is likely to surpass it by the end of this year, faster than widely anticipated.

The United States has been the biggest economy in the world since overtaking the United Kingdom in 1872.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has predicted that China will overtake the United States by 2016 while China itself is hoping to become number one by 2019. According to the report China’s GDP was nearly 87 percent of the US GDP in 2011, while India had moved up from being in 10th position in 2005 to the third-largest economy, overtaking Japan.

However, some say the PPP is just one measure to judge the performance of the world’s economies and that developing nations like India and China still have a lot of catching up to do.

“When, for example, we measure international purchasing power expressed in dollars, which matters in international trade, the United States, Europe and Japan continue to be the dominant economies in the world,” Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asia economic research at HSBC in Hong Kong said as reported by International Business Time, which quoted CNBC.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was quick to respond. “This morning I received a report that Indonesia has become the world’s 10th largest economy. Thank God, it is all of our efforts and hard work,” he said through his twitter account.

He said the nation continues working to reach higher levels of prosperity.

“This is of course a good start. But we still have a long way to go as we are facing many challenges. However, God willing, we can overcome those challenges,” he told a gathering in Jakarta later in the day.

Finance Minister Chatib Basri said the achievement was an endorsement of the government’s economic policy. “That means Indonesia’s economy is on the right track and we have made significant progress because a couple years ago we were in 16th position,” Chatib said, as quoted by Detik on Sunday.

But many other reports pointed out that while the rise of Indonesia should be praised, it has an uneven growth rate, with a widening gap between rich and poor.

Citing a forthcoming report by the World Bank, the Economist warned that real consumption grew by about 4 percent a year on average from 2003 to 2010. But for the poorest 40 percent of households it grew by only 1.3 percent. In contrast, consumption by the richest 20 percent grew by 5.9 percent.

Based on this data, the magazine concluded that the rich are getting richer much more rapidly than the poor.

The growing inequality between low-income groups and high-income groups has also been indicated by the country’s worsening Gini coefficient — which represents income disbursement — from 0.29 in 2000 to 0.38 in 2011, a drop of almost a third in equality.

The Economist also points to the fact that the informal sector accounts for 70 percent of the country’s GDP, meaning that the vast majority of Indonesia’s working population has no guarantee of minimum wage and protection from the government.

People are forced to go informal because manufacturing in Indonesia is hamstrung by decrepit infrastructure, rigid labor laws and protectionist policies that make it difficult for its factories to be competitive, according to the magazine.

Indonesia has increased its social spending, the magazine reported, adding that the government has bold plans to introduce universal health care by 2019.

However, government spending is still skewed towards the rich, with about 20 percent of the central government’s budget, or 282 trillion rupiah ($24.5 billion) this year, going on energy subsidies. Cheap gasoline benefits the rich, who are its biggest consumers.

President Mahama To Lead Process Towards ECOWAS Currency

SpyGhana, Ghana News,  

President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to lead the process towards the attainment of a common monetary convergence in Ghana and other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by 2015.

President John Dramani Mahama

He has also promised to support efforts at achieving a common currency in the sub- region by 2020.

The President made the pledge when Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, Chairman of ECOWAS and other Commissioners of the ECOWAS Commission, called on him at the Flagstaff House, Kanda.

Also present at the meeting were Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, the Chief of Staff, Prosper Douglas Bani, Seth Terkper, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, and Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State at its last Extraordinary Session in Dakar, Senegal, in October, 2013, selected President Mahama and the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, to monitor and supervise the implementation of the monetary corporation project towards the attainment of the monetary convergence by 2015, and a common currency by 2020.

The four criteria for the attainment of the monetary convergence are the reduction in the rate of inflation, achieving minimal budget deficit, a significant financing of the economy by the Central Bank, and a Foreign Exchange Reserve of up to six months.

President Mahama said the attainment of a common currency in West Africa would facilitate business transactions among the people of the various countries in the sub-region, while the monetary convergence would enable the sub-region to negotiate with other continental groupings as a bloc, instead of being separate countries.

He mentioned that the on-going public financial management reforms in Ghana would position Ghana to consolidate the inflation target that it has achieved, and move the country ahead to achieve the other targets on reducing budget deficit, a significant financing of the economy the Central Bank and Foreign Exchange Reserve of up to six months by 2015.

According to him, by 2011, Ghana had achieved almost all of the four targets, but slacked in the process due mainly to some economic pressures, and indicated that the on-going reforms would prevent the reversal.

Vice-President Amissah-Arthur stressed the need for all member countries to demonstrate political will towards the attainment of the monetary convergence and the common currency.

Mr Ouedraogo expressed confidence in the ability of President Mahama to use his diplomatic skills to lead the monetary co-operation project towards the attainment of the monetary convergence and the common currency among ECOWAS by 2020.

He said the ECOWAS Commission had prepared a memorandum and wanted President Mahama to review it and offer his advice on the way forward for the realization of the single monetary zone by 2020.

Mr Ouedraogo explained that the first step was for the member-countries to achieve monetary convergence by 2015 to prepare the way for the attainment of the common currency by 2020.

Source: citifmonline

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"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“…. Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept.  …”

Africa - "The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

"..  Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit. …." 

China, EU agree to US$57bn currency swap

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-10-11

China has signed a 350 billion yuan (US$57 billion) currency swap agreement with the European Union, marking a major step in internationalizing its currency.

The deal, signed between the People's Bank of China and the European Central Bank on Wednesday, aims to support bilateral trade and protect financial stability, according to a statement on the PBOC website.

The agreement lasts three years and can be extended if both parties agree, it said.

"The new arrangement will provide more liquidity to the renminbi market in the euro area, promote overseas use of the yuan, and help facilitate trade and investment," the statement added.

So far China has signed currency swap deals totaling 2.2 trillion yuan (US$358 billion) with 22 countries and regions to push the international use of its yuan.

On Oct. 1, China signed a 100 billion yuan (US$16.3 billion) currency swap agreement with Indonesia and signed similar agreements with Hungary and Albania in September, bringing China closer to making its currency fully convertible.

The agreement with the EU indicates that China has signed currency swap deals with developed nations instead of neighboring and developing countries.

"The deal with the world's second-largest currency regulator means the increasing international recognition of the Chinese yuan," said Zong Liang, deputy chief of the Strategic Planning Research Institute under the Bank of China.

In September, the yuan jumped to ninth in the latest survey by Bank for International Settlements on foreign-exchange turnover, with its daily trading more than tripling to US$120 billion from US$34 billion three years ago, when it was ranked 17th.

"The global increasing need for renminbi transactions is a natural choice as the Chinese renminbi has a stable exchange rate and is more risk-proof," according to Guo Tianyong, a financial studies professor with the Central University of Finance and Economics.

Meanwhile, the deal will expand renminbi-based settlement, reducing reliance on the US dollar, which can hedge against the risk of US possible debt default, Guo added.

Renminbi coins and banknote. (Photo/CFP)

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"The U in Kundalini"- Oct 18, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Kundalini, Unification, EU, Nobel Peace Prize 2012, Middle East, South America, Only 5 Currencies on Earth, Old Souls, Duality will dismiss, 3D Humanity will melt with Multi dimensional higher self, Global Unity… etc.)

Yudhoyono Against Attack on Syria

Jakarta Globe, Primus Dorimulu, September 9, 2013

G20 leaders (left to right, front row) US President Barack Obama, Germany’s
 Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, (left to right, back row) British Prime Minister
 David Cameron, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, United Nations (UN) Secretary
 General Ban Ki-moon, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Australia's
 Foreign Minister Bob Carr, pose for the family picture during the G20 summit in Saint
 Petersburg on Sep. 6, 2013. World leaders at the G20 summit on Friday failed to bridge
 their bitter divisions over US plans for military action against the Syrian regime, with
 Washington signalling that it has given up on securing Russia's support at the UN
on the crisis. (AFP Photo/Kirill Kudryavtsev)

St. Petersburg, Russia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has written letters to US President Barack Obama and four other leaders of the UN Security Council in an attempt to persuade them not to attack Syria.

In addition, the president has also written a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

“There are peaceful ways of addressing this conflict if the UN Security Council announces a cease fire,” Yudhoyono told journalists before leaving Russia late on Saturday. He arrived in Jakarta on Sunday after a three-country visit, culminating in Russia for the Group of 20 summit.

Yudhoyono said a vote by the UN Security Council would have a major impact on the situation, especially if it called for a ceasefire. “That’s why I wrote the letters,” Yudhoyono said. “President Obama and the US government can reconsider their decision There are other ways of dealing with this conflict besides war,” he added.

US officials have said that it had enough evidence Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered a chemical-weapon attack last month that killed more than 1,400 of his people.

Obama subsequently said he had decided the United States should take punitive action but wanted support from Congress, which may vote on the issue soon. With the exception of France, no other country has supported the US plan for a military strike.

During the G-20 summit many countries, including the European Union, affirmed they would await the UN Security Council vote before deciding on their course of action.

Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto powers, have voiced rejection and may block any attack on behalf of the UN. Yudhoyono said Indonesia would never agree on the use of force against Syria without a UN mandate.

While Indonesia was far from the Middle East and seemed to have nothing to do with the issue, he said, “We have a moral and constitutional obligation to prevent wars. On behalf of humanity and good intention, we must be active in resolving the issue peacefully.”

He dismissed suggestions that Indonesia could significantly influence US policy decisions with regard to the conflict.

Other world leaders have reacted to the issue in recent days. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was convinced the US would be able to build a coalition for action although Britain will not take part in the military action following last week’s vote in parliament. Russian President Vladimir stated recently he will not exclude supporting a UN resolution if it is proved that the Syrian regime used poison gas.

Related Article:

International community shuns US action against Syria

Renminbi becomes world's ninth most traded currency

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-09-08

Counting RMB banknotes at a bank in Suining, Sichuan province. (Photo/Xinhua)

After the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements on Spet. 5 announced that the renminbi is now the world's ninth most-traded international currency, economic observers told the state-run China News Service that more challenges are ahead for China's government.

Surveying 24 currencies in 53 countries and regions in its report, the Bank for International Settlements said the renminbi has risen to ninth place because of significant expansion in offshore trading in the currency, according to the Associated Press.

Guo Tianyong, director of the Banking Research Center at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing said the rise of China's political and economic clout is the key reason the country's currency is becoming increasingly favored. However, Guo said this also means a greater burden on the renminbi to stabilize the global economy in the future.

Zhou Jingtong from the Institute of International Finance of the Bank of China said the government must pay more attention to global economic interests instead of focusing on China alone when it sets policy as the country's reputation as a new economic power depends upon it.

References:

Guo Tianyong　　郭田勇

Zhou Jingtong　　周景彤

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RMB on way to becoming global reserve currency: IMF official

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China joins anti-tax evasion convention

Want China Times, Kuo Chi-yun and Staff Reporter 2013-08-31

Wang Jun of the State Administration of Taxation of China, shakes hands
 with OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria after signing the Multilateral Tax
Convention in Paris on Aug. 27. (Photo/Xinhua)

In demonstrating its determination to crack down on tax evasion, China has partnered with the European Commission and OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) in signing the the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters this week, becoming its 56th signatory.

China's participation in the convention may have considerable influence on Taiwanese-invested companies in China, especially those who often conceal their profits offshore, a practice which will be liable to huge fines under the rules of the convention, said Tuan Shih-liang, a certified public accountant at PwC Taiwan.

Crackdowns on cross-border tax evasion have been a major global issue since the last financial crisis in 2008, with many multinationals such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Starbucks having been criticized for committing paying low amounts in taxes despite their huge profits. The signing of the convention is meant to underscore the Chinese government's determination in dealing with problems of tax-base erosion and profit transference.

Insiders noted that many Taiwanese businesses have invested in mainland China via tax havens such as the Cayman Islands. Tuan noted that the agreement allows taxation authorities of signatory nations to provide specific income information about taxpayers to other signatories, greatly boosting the risk of tax investigations about Taiwanese businesses.

China is the last G20 member nation to sign the convention, underscoring the consensus among developed and emerging nations on cracking down on cross-border tax evasion.

China started tightening its regulations in 2011. The effort generated 34.6 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion) of extra tax revenue in 2012, 27.9 times the amount in 2008, according to the State Administration of Taxation.

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