RMB’s global payment share up in March

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The Chinese currency renminbi (RMB), or the yuan, saw its share in global payments rise in March, a report has said.

The RMB’s global share was up from 2.19 percent in February to 2.26 percent last month, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a global provider of financial messaging services. The currency remained the fifth most active currency.

In March, the RMB payments value gained 25.04 percent from a month ago, higher than the 21.46 percent increase in that of all payments currencies.

In terms of international payments excluding the Eurozone, the RMB ranked 7th with a share of 1.67 percent.

Iran eyes US$1b annual trade volume with Saudi Arabia: finance minister

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The Iranian minister of economic affairs and finance said Tuesday that Tehran aims to raise annual trade volume with Riyadh to US$1 billion in the first step of resuming economic ties.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Ehsan Khandouzi said the target was set by the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) of Iran and is based on the two countries’ capacities, Iran’s IRIB news agency reported.

The minister said over the past few days, the TPO has been preparing a roadmap for developing economic relations with Saudi Arabia, adding that it will be finalized soon.

Khandouzi said given that Iran and Saudi Arabia are both seriously determined to resume bilateral interaction and cooperation, the launch of the joint chamber of commerce is on the agenda, Iranian official news agency IRNA reported.

He stressed that during the past years, the two countries have held a total of seven meetings of the joint economic commission and exchanged 20 trade and cooperation documents with each other.

The Iranian minister said the two countries have had no bilateral trade in some years, but last Iranian year, amid the two countries’ efforts to ease tensions, the value of Iranian exports to the kingdom reached US$15 million.

Khandouzi also noted that he will take a trip to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.

China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran announced on March 10 that the latter two had reached a deal that includes the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.

In a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed a joint statement, announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.

 

China, India to account for half of global economic growth in 2023: IMF chief

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Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said the world economy is expected to grow less than 3 percent this year, with India and China projected to account for half of global growth in 2023.

“Growth remains weak by historical comparison, both in the near and medium term,” Georgieva said in a speech in Washington, D.C., ahead of the IMF-World Bank spring meetings next week.

The IMF chief said some momentum comes from emerging economies, with Asia a bright spot.

“India and China are expected to account for half of global growth in 2023. But others face a steeper climb,” she said.

The IMF sees economic activity in the United States and the Euro Area slowing, where higher interest rates weigh on demand.

About 90 percent of advanced economies are projected to see a decline in their growth rate this year, Georgieva said.

“With rising geopolitical tensions and still-high inflation, a robust recovery remains elusive,” she warned.

The IMF projects global growth to remain around 3 percent over the next five years, the lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990 and well below the average of 3.8 percent from the past two decades.

“This makes it even harder to reduce poverty, heal the economic scars of the COVID crisis and provide new and better opportunities for all,” Georgieva said.

The IMF will release more details about its growth outlook when it publishes its updated World Economic Outlook next week.