Among G20 countries in the second quarter of this year, Turkey saw its imports shrink the most according to the latest report on foreign trade from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The report indicates that Turkey’s imports were down by 9.4% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Imports stood at $64.3 billion in the first quarter,but declined to $58.3 billion in the second quarter.

In the same period, Turkey’s exports decreased by 0.9% from $40.07 to $40.3 billion.

G20 international trade contracted in the second quarter of this year, following eight consecutive quarters of growth, the OECD said. G20 exports declined by 0.6% and imports by 0.9%, it noted.

It indicated that Saudi Arabia saw the highest increase in exports in the second quarter with 9.7%, followed by India (5.7%), the U.S. (4.4%), Canada (4.4%), Russia (1.2% and Australia (1.2%). China’s exports were $645.2 billion in the first quarter before declining to $627.2 billion in the second quarter.

“Imports contracted in most G20 economies, most significantly in Turkey (9.4%) and Brazil (6.5%). Imports only increased in India (2.9%), Canada (1.4%), Mexico (1.4 percent), Japan (1.2%) and Indonesia (1.2%)”, the OECD said in the report.

The organization also said the widespread contraction in international trade can be partly explained by the significant depreciation of a number of currencies against the U.S. dollar in the second quarter, notably the Argentine peso (down 18%), the Turkish lira (down 15%) and the Brazilian real (down 11%).”These effects were partially offset by rising oil prices: benchmark Dubai Crude increased to $71.6 per barrel in the second quarter compared to $64.0 in the previous quarter,” it added.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign trade balance ran a $5.98 billion deficit in July, marking a year-on-year fall of 32.6 % the national statistical body announced Wednesday.

Last month, the country’s exports amounted to $14.07 billion, an 11.6% annual hike, while imports totaled $20.05 billion, a 6.7% decrease, compared to July 2017, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

TurkStat noted that from January to July this year, exports were $96.27 billion – up 7% on a yearly basis – and imports were some $143 billion, an annual hike of 10.2&.According to official figures, the seven-month trade balance showed a deficit of $46.75 billion, up 10.2% over the same period last year.

Official data showed that the ratio of manufacturing industries products in total exports was 94.9% in July, amounting to $13.36 billion.

In 2014, Turkey’s exports hit an all-time high of $157.6 billion, while the figure was nearly $157 billion last year.

Fonte: Daily Sabah Economy

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

According to data from the Albanian Institute of Statistics, 12,606 foreign citizens hold a residence permit in 2017. An increase of 3.1% compared to 2016. The economic magazine Monitor reports. During the period analysed, the number of applications for residence permits was 9.027 and concerns people coming mainly from Iran (22%), from Italy (20%), from Kosovo (11%), from Turkey (10%), followed by Greece (3.2%), the United States (3.1%), China (2.8%), Syria (2.5%), Macedonia (1.8%) and the United Kingdom (1.6%). Arrivals for work reasons increased (6,334 compared to 6,263 in 2016, + 1%), as well as family reunification (2,982 compared to the 2,783 of the previous year, + 7%) and study (656 compared to 652 in 2016, +0.6%).

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

At the church of Sarria in Floriana, in the presence of the President of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and the Minister of Culture Owen Bonnici, a ceremony was held to enhance the loan from Malta to the Sicily Region of the opera by Mattia Preti.

The loan was facilitated following the official visit to Sicily by the President of the Republic last June. The work of Mattia Preti will be exhibited at the “Santa Rosalia e la peste” exhibition starting September 3, 2018 at the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. The Cultural Councilor of the Maltese President,  Rosette Fenech, will be present at the inaugurating ceremony.

The President wanted to underline the high symbolic value of the donation which confirms the historic friendship between the Italian and Maltese peoples.

During the ceremony, one of the restorers of the Opera, Giuseppe Mantella, illustrated to the audience the intense restoration work carried out at the church of Sarria made possible by the contributions of private individuals facilitated by the work of the Maltese NGO Din l-Art Helwa.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

From 21 to 24 November 2018 will be held in Malta the first Business Forum Italy Malta (MIBF) dedicated to all lawyers, accountants and notaries regularly enrolled in an Italian and Maltese professional register. The event is organized by the Italian-Maltese Chamber of Commerce (MICC), with the encouragement of Mario Sammartino, Italian ambassador to Malta, and is the first forum of its kind in Malta.

Italy is the first country for trade relations with over one billion euros of products exported to Malta. The investments on the Maltese territory by the Italian entrepreneurs are evident. There are over 8000 companies that have an Italian shareholder, including restaurants, bars, commercial activities of various kinds, gaming, trading and financial companies. 

“The aim of the MIFB is to promote a proper culture of corporate internationalisation and all the opportunities for foreign investment offered by Italy and Malta-says Victor Camilleri, president of the Italian Maltese Chamber of Commerce- We want to provide Italian professionals who have customers interested in starting an international business in Malta, a precise training to have all the elements of knowledge useful to identify what is the most suitable form of investment.

All professionals participating in the Forum who will pass the final test, will be given the opportunity to become a member of the Italo Maltese Chamber of Commerce. “Becoming a Representative of MICC will give the opportunity to become part of an international network of high-profile professionals who can guide customers in the process of internationalization both in Italy and in Malta-says Denis Borg, General Secretary- the Representative members, in collaboration and agreement with the MICC, will have the possibility to organise country presentation, information and training events, entrepreneurial missions in their own areas of work, in order to disseminate Italian and foreign entrepreneurs investment opportunities in Italy, Malta and the Mediterranean”.

Not only that, for the first time in Malta all the opportunities for investment in Italy put in place by the Italian government with the plan “Invest in Italy” will be promoted. Ronaldo is an important example of foreign investor who will benefit, for all his income not generated in Italy, of the flat tax to 100,000 euros. In Malta there are hundreds of law firms that work globally for the management of the assets of important international investors who, at the moment, see the island of the Knights as a gateway to the Mediterranean and Europe. During the MIBF, the opportunities for attracting investments that Italy has reserved to them in the plan “Invest in Italy” Will be explained by expert.

Another key element is blockchain, Malta was called the island of the cryptocurrencies and blockchain. On November 24 within the MIBF there will be the first blockchain Summit Italy Malta. 

“The Government of Malta was the first at European level to regulate the ICO and blockchain- president Camilleri continues -there are many Italians active in this field. The Italo Maltese Chamber of Commerce, through the best law firms in Malta, has decided to create a specific summit for the Italians. The aim is to give entrepreneurs active in this area the opportunity to understand how to set up an ICO in Malta, to quote their fintech to the Malta Stock Exchange and to understand all the consequences from a legal and fiscal point of view if residing in Italy”.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

 

Source: medNews

Globes, one of the main Israeli economic daily newspapers reports the news that, according to a survey published in mid-August by the Central Bureau of Statistics at the initiative of the Ministry of construction and housing, the purchases of new homes in second quarter of 2018, amounted to 5,329, down 17%, compared to 6,430 in the second quarter of 2017. As of May 2016, the demand for new homes has fallen by an average of 1.5% per month, from 4,220 homes in May 2016 to 2,890 to June 2018.

Nearly 26% of new homes sold in the second quarter were in the northern district, 17.5% in the district of Tel Aviv, 12% in that of Haifa and 9% in the district of Jerusalem.

8,500 housing units were purchased in Israel only in June 2018, of which 530 as part of the subsidized price plan. The figure was 10% lower than that of June 2017.

A survey of the real estate market published by the Chief Economist of the Ministry of Finance stated that while the volume of business had increased in May, it went down in June to one of the lowest levels for this month in the last decade. The aggregate number of new homes sold between January and June was 9% lower, but this decline was partially offset by the number of apartments sold as part of the revised price plan, which was twice that of the corresponding period last year. Investors bought only 1,100 housing units throughout Israel and in Tel Aviv, only one in four buyers was an investor. A historical minimum, according to the Ministry of Finance, for investors, who in recent years have represented 40% of buyers in the most important economic center of the country.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

The Government of Malta would like to clarify the hereunder in reply to the Italian Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini who was quoted accusing Malta of not fulfilling its commitments to a previous redistribution mechanism established by the Italian authorities. “The Maltese authorities have already been in contact with the Italian authorities to fulfill their pledged commitments as soon as possible. Nevertheless, the Italian authorities have not provided any tangible procedure for Malta to follow – the Government of Malta writes in a statement -. On the other hand, unfortunately, Italy has not yet fulfilled its commitments on the redistribution mechanism which was initiated by Malta with respect to the immigrants disembarked in Malta on board of the MV Lifeline on the 27th of June, despite the efforts of the Maltese authorities to complete this process with the Italian authorities. Malta always participated in solidarity mechanisms and was the first European Union member state to fulfill its committments with regard to the European Commission’s solidarity mechanism with respect to Italy and Greece. Furthermore, Malta always adheres to international laws and applicable conventions”.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

Massimo Sarti, the new director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Valletta, has settled in Malta. The new director – officially appointed on July 23rd was born in Florence where he graduated from the University in 1987 with a thesis in contemporary Italian literature. From 1989 to 1998, he was a professor of literature and history in state high schools in Tuscany and Lombardy. From 1998 to 2001 he worked as Lector of Italian sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Ritsumeikan University of Kyoto and Jagelloniska of Krakow.
Since 2001 he has joined the Cultural Promotion Area of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. During periods of service at the Farnesina, from 2001 to 2004 and in 2015, he worked in particular on the promotion of Italian cinema, scholarships and the internationalization of the university system.
Before taking up the management of the Italian Institute of Culture in Valletta, Sarti served in Israel from 2016 to 2018 as Director of the IIC in Tel Aviv. Previously, he was Assistant and Interim Director of the IICs of Tokyo (from 2005 to 2008) and of Los Angeles (from 2008 to 2014). He is married to Gloria Novi and has two children, Piero (17 year old) and Margherita Yuki (12).
One of the main objectives that the new director aims at this initial phase of his establishment is “to establish contacts with institutions, bodies and personalities of the Maltese cultural and scientific world to foster an ever greater knowledge of Italian culture and science in the Republic of Malta”.
For this reason, the Italian Cultural Institute “will continue to plan and organize cultural initiatives in collaboration with the Maltese institutions, to be held both in the prestigious location of Piazza San Giorgio in Valletta, and in local academic, museum and performance spaces”.
“Particular attention – ensures Sarti – will be aimed at promoting the image of contemporary Italy, along with the more consolidated tradition, with programmatic choices in line with the priorities identified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consistent with the cultural strategy of Embassy of Italy. An important part will be dedicated to the promotion of the Italian language in close contact with the institutions and the local school and university system “. The Institute, concludes Sarti, “will obviously continue to be a reference point in providing information on Italian cultural life and in contributing to the orientation of Maltese interested in studying in Italy. It will also provide collaboration to Italian scholars and students in their research and study activities in Malta”.

 

Source: medNews

 World Bank is not too alarmed about the Lebanese economy despite its delicate situation and the World Bank official is in Lebanon to assess the economic situation with Lebanese officials.

The World Bank has provided Lebanon with grants to develop the country’s infrastructure, through the  CEDRE conference, held in Paris in April, and that aimed to support Lebanon’s economy and encourage investment. The international community and organizations such as the World Bank have been pressing the Lebanese government to implement badly needed reforms as a prior condition to benefit from billions of dollars of grants and loans.

It resulted in an $11 billion aid package on behalf of Lebanon while Lebanon committed to a series of reforms. The government had already enacted critical political reforms, such as updating the electoral law, which will be accompanied by economic reforms, including initiatives aimed at activating the productive sector. Another step that Lebanon has taken is the passage of two state budgets in less than a year, after 12 years went by without a state budget.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

The new business incubator in Aqaba called iPark, has completed its first bootcamp and business plan, for the formation of 19 start-ups. The subjects dealt with were market penetration, innovation for financial planning and attracting investments. 

The training course was funded by the European Union as part of the “Jordanian Action for the Development of Enterprises” (JADE) project. The activity was born with the efforts of JADE in collaboration with iPark and other important Jordanian incubators to provide further support to companies in Jordan to improve their market links, capacity building and increase their growth and export capabilities.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The World Bank has recently issued a list of the main African economies, which sees Morocco receding a position compared to the previous year. In fact, the leadership at the continental level is in Nigeria (with a GDP of 375.7 billion dollars in 2017), followed by: South Africa ($ 349.4 billion), Egypt ($ 235.3 billion), Algeria ($ 170.3 billion), Angola ($ 124.2 billion) and Sudan ($ 117.4 billion). Morocco is ranked seventh among the major economies in Africa, with GDP estimated at $ 109.1 billion in 2017. The High Commissioner for the Plan – Moroccan institution responsible for statistical elaborations and economic planning – has announced that the 2018 will see a slowdown in the economic growth of the North African Kingdom. Ahmed Lahlimi Alami, head of HCP, has in fact declared that GDP should increase this year by + 3.1%, registering a decrease of one percentage point compared to 2017 (+ 4.1%). During a press conference, the High Commissioner also stated that inflation estimates for 2018 (+ 1.7%) are appreciably higher than the consumer price dynamics recorded last year (+ 0, 8%). The trade deficit (from 17.9% in 2017 to 18.5% of GDP in 2018) and the government deficit (from 3.4% in 2017 to 3.9% in 2018) are also expected to deteriorate slightly. The total debt ratio will increase slightly (from 82% in 2017 to 82.6% in 2018), while the public debt (of the Treasury) will be about 65.7% of GDP in 2018. According to Ahmed Lahlimi Alami, the slowdown in Moroccan economic growth will lead to a slight worsening in the unemployment rate, which would rise from 10.2% in 2017 to 10.4% this year.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews