Saudi Arabia has pumped money into sport in recent years, and faces accusations of doing so in order to enhance its controversial reputation.
Newcastle United’s Dan Burn in action with West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said he “doesn’t care” if Saudi Arabia is accused of “sportswashing” – as long as it adds to the country’s GDP.
The country has set its Vision 2030 – a project to end its dependency on fossil fuels that has seen billions pumped into golf and football.
Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, was asked during an interview with Fox News about sportswashing – which relates to enhancing the reputation of a controversial country or an organisation by using sport sponsorship or event hosting.
“If it’s sportswashing and it improves my GDP by 1%, then I will continue doing sportswashing,” he said.
When asked if he was “OK with that term”, MBS replied: “I don’t care – I have 1% GDP growth from sports and I’m aiming for another 1.5%. Call it whatever you want – we’re going to get that other 1.5%.”
Saudi Arabia has pumped money into sport in recent years.
Its LIV Golf series sparked a player revolt before its merger with the PGA, while the domestic Saudi Pro League has spent nearly £1bn over the summer on a string of high-profile football stars.
Premier League players such as ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Manchester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez, as well as Brazilian star Neymar, have been lured to the peninsula with big-money moves.
Newcastle United was also bought by a consortium dominated by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
The oil-rich nation has faced criticism for human rights violations and ongoing concern about the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
With prices of raw materials softening, a range of user companies are expected to post better operating margins than they did in the December 2022 quarter.
The robust GST collections in FY23 with the March mop up coming in at Rs 1.6 trillion are a sign that India Inc is doing well even of some of this can be attributed to high inflation. (IE)
Corporate profits for the March quarter are expected to be modest with the year-on-year growth in high single digits. Earnings for the Nifty 50 set of companies are estimated to increase by 9% y-o-y and 8% quarter-on-quarter, according to an estimate by Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE).
With prices of raw materials softening, a range of user companies are expected to post better operating margins than they did in the December 2022 quarter.
Net profits for a sample of 3,311 companies, banks and financials had risen by just about 5% year-on-year in the December 2022 quarter even though revenues increased by a good 17.5% y-o-y since operating margins contracted 150 bps y-o-y.
Although consumer demand is understood to have faded somewhat post the festive season, the macro environment in Q4FY23 has been reasonably good. The robust GST collections in FY23 with the March mop up coming in at Rs 1.6 trillion are a sign that India Inc is doing well even of some of this can be attributed to high inflation. The PMI for both manufacturing and services has held up although the latter slowed in March. But the recovery is clearly picking up steam going by strong air traffic numbers, hotel occupancies and demand for power. Moreover, credit flows have risen by about 16-17% y-o-y suggesting demand from consumers for homes and from businesses for working capital is buoyant.
Profits of banks, which have registered strong loan growth and will continue to provide much smaller sums for loan losses, will be exceptionally good and lead the earnings growth in Q3. Pre-provisioning profits for front-line lenders could jump by more than 22% y-o-y. Sales of automobiles in the home market have been reasonably good in the March quarter especially of passenger vehicles though exports of 2-wheelers have been weak. Some of the demand in the commercial vehicles segment has been driven by pre-buying ahead of the transition to BSVI Phase II.
On the other hand, earnings of metals producers, whose realisations have been weaker, will drag down the aggregate numbers. With rural demand yet subdued, makers of consumer staples are tipped to report mediocre numbers, much of it driven by price hikes rather than volumes. Results from most manufacturers of consumer durables too are likely to be lacklustre amid muted demand and pricing pressure. KIE expects the net profits for the portfolio of companies that it tracks to increase by just 6.5% y-o-y and 17% q-o-q.
Gross goods and services tax (GST) collections, including the proceeds of the compensation cess, came in at Rs 1.61 trillion in March (February transactions), the second-highest monthly mop-up ever, taking the government’s total receipts from the indirect tax to Rs 18.1 trillion for the fiscal year 2022-23.
A recovery in economic activities, high inflation and rush among businesses to clear dues before the close of the financial year have helped boost the collections. (IE)
Gross goods and services tax (GST) collections, including the proceeds of the compensation cess, came in at Rs 1.61 trillion in March (February transactions), the second-highest monthly mop-up ever, taking the government’s total receipts from the indirect tax to Rs 18.1 trillion for the fiscal year 2022-23. The Centre is learnt to have garnered GST revenue, including cess of Rs 8.42 trillion, in the fiscal year, as against the revised estimate of Rs 8.54 trillion (Central GST of Rs 7.24 trillion and cess of Rs 1.3 trillion).
A recovery in economic activities, high inflation and rush among businesses to clear dues before the close of the financial year have helped boost the collections. The gross revenue in 2022-23 was 22% higher than that last year, the finance ministry said on Friday, adding that the average gross monthly collection for the full year was Rs 1.51 trillion as against Rs 1.23 trillion in FY22.
GST collection in March 2023 was 13% higher than Rs 1.42 trillion in March 2022. On a sequential basis, the mop-up was a little over 7% higher than Rs 1.5 trillion collected in February 2023.
“It is for the fourth time in the current financial year that the gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.5 trillion,” it further said. Prior to this, the highest ever GST collection was in April 2022 at Rs 1.67 trillion. March also witnessed the highest ever collection of integrated GST (IGST) which is applied on imports and inter-state transactions, as well as the highest number of return filing, indicating further improvement in compliance.
According to the data, of the gross GST revenue collected in March, central GST (CGST) was Rs 29,546 crore, state GST (SGST) was Rs 37,314 crore, IGST was Rs 82,907 crore (including Rs 42,503 crore collected on import of goods) and cess was Rs 10,355 crore (including Rs 960 crore collected on import of goods).
The government has settled Rs 33,408 crore to CGST and Rs 28,187 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue of the Centre and the states in March 2023 after IGST settlement was Rs 62,954 crore for CGST and Rs 65,501 crore for SGST.
“During the month, revenue from import of goods was 8% higher and the revenue from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 14% higher than the revenue from these sources during the same month last year,” the ministry said.
As much as 93.2% of statement of invoices (in GSTR-1) and 91.4% of returns (in GSTR-3B) of February were filed till March 2023 as compared to 83.1% and 84.7%, respectively, same month last year.
“Various government initiatives on the technology front to improve GST compliance appears to show the actual effect in the form of GST collection rising each month. While various parts of the world are hit by recession, India has managed to see growth as indicated by overall tax collection,” noted Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner, EY.
4% DA hike: Union Minister Anurag Thakur said the centre will spend ₹ 12,815 crore to fund the hike in dearness allowance, or DA.
The central government has raised dearness allowance for its over one crore employees and pensioners by 4 per cent, taking the total to 42 per cent from 38 per cent. Union Minister Anurag Thakur said the centre will spend ₹ 12,815 crore to fund the hike in dearness allowance, or DA.
The government gives DA to its employees and dearness relief to pensioners to compensate them for rising prices. It is calculated based on the latest consumer price index for industrial workers, or CPI-IW.
The DA hike has been applied retrospectively from January 1, 2023, the government said.
“… This will benefit about 47.58 lakh central government employees and 69.76 lakh pensioners. This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission,” the government said in a statement.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta speaks during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, which voted to hold an urgent debate about Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine at Kyiv’s request, amid widespread international condemnation of Moscow’s attack, in Geneva, Switzerland February 28, 2022. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Saturday she had expressed concerns over the South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait during talks with her Chinese counterpart at the end of a visit to Beijing.
Mahuta also said in a statement she “noted New Zealand’s deep concerns regarding the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong”, during her meeting with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang.
“Nanaia Mahuta expressed concerns over developments in the South China Sea and increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” the foreign minister’s statement said.
Mahuta said she reiterated New Zealand’s condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China is a key ally of Russia and both have criticised the U.S. and NATO for undermining global stability.
Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for the four-day trip, the first by a New Zealand minister since 2019, and also met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi as well as business and women leaders.
Wang told Mahuta that China and New Zealand had always respected and trusted each other, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.
New Zealand has long been seen as the moderate voice on China in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance also involving the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada. But New Zealand’s tone on security and China’s growing presence in the South Pacific toughened in the past year after China and the Solomon Islands struck a security pact.
New Zealand has consistently expressed concerns about the potential militarisation of the Pacific, amid China’s military buildup in the South China Sea.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the option of using force to take the island under its control, and claims a large part of the South China Sea.
Mr Macron, whose opponents have long-accused him of being a president of the rich, was being interviewed as violent protests and strikes take place across France.
Emmanuel Macron took his watch off during an interview. Pic: LCI
French President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised after removing his expensive watch during a television interview about pension changes.
Violent protests and strikes are taking place across France after Mr Macron pushed through a law raising the retirement age by two years to 64 without a vote in parliament.
The clip of Mr Macron taking off his watch during the interview, which was broadcast on French news channels, has gone viral with political opponents suggesting it shows he is out of touch.
In the clip, the French leader uses his hands to express himself while talking before he puts them both under the table.
When he brings his hands back on to the table the watch is missing.
The French leader’s representatives have reportedly claimed he took the watch off because it was “clinking on the table”.
Clemence Guette, an MP for the opposition left-wing La France Insoumise party, tweeted that while Mr Macron was claiming minimum wage earners had unprecedented purchasing power, “the final image” was him “removing his pretty luxury watch”.
Farida Amrani, also an MP for La France Insoumise, said: “The president of the rich has never worn his name so well.”
Social media users had claimed the watch was worth up to €80,000 (£70,500) but the Elysee Palace has told French media this is incorrect.
Macron while asking for sacrifices from the French people realizes he is wearing a € 80,000 watch and like a magician makes it disappear under the table. Unworthy. pic.twitter.com/zRiQWFAR1M
