ASEAN meet: leaders to raise concerns about China

1.    ASEAN meet: leaders to raise concerns about China

i. South East Asian leaders will express concerns about Chinese aggression in the South China Sea at their regional summit Sunday, Indonesia’s foreign minister said.

ii. An agreement to include a statement on China’s use of water cannon on Vietnamese vessels was reached at a pre-summit meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Naypyitaw on Saturday. 

iii. The meetings, held twice a year, end with declarations on regional issues such as economic integration and common security concerns.

iv. The Philippines and Vietnam are lobbying this year for a strong statement from ASEAN against aggression in the South China Sea.

v. ASEAN has been pushing for a regional agreement with Beijing that includes a commitment to a peaceful solution to their territorial disputes, respect for international law and signing a Code of Conduct in the disputed areas.

2.    Indian companies will not be permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings: RBI

i. The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has decided that Indian companies will not be permitted to raise External Commercial Borrowings from overseas branches or subsidiaries of Indian banks for refinance or repayment of the Rupee loans raised from domestic banking system.

ii. In a notification, the RBI said that the restrictions are applicable in case of take-out financing, infrastructure financing and spectrum allocation and other repayments. The changes in the ECB policy come into force with immediate effect.
iii. External Commercial Borrowing loans are much cheaper than domestic loans and it is believed that some companies use the arbitrage available to their advantage.