Business
Record 4,108 firms flock to China trade expo | The Express Tribune
BEIJING:
This year’s China International Import Expo (CIIE) opens today and runs until November 10, 2025. It is the first major economic event hosted by Beijing following the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The expo highlights China’s continued commitment to promoting high-standard openness and fostering shared global development.
In recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), adopted during the plenary session in late October, China reiterated its dedication to expanding institutional-level opening up. The recommendations stated: “We should harness the power of opening up to drive reform and development, share opportunities with the world, and promote common growth.”
Now in its eighth year, the CIIE has become a key platform for foreign companies seeking new opportunities in China. This year’s expo features the largest exhibition space in its history. Some 4,108 companies from 138 countries and regions are participating, setting a new record. US companies have consistently ranked first in exhibition space for seven years. This reflects the international community’s enduring confidence in China’s economy.
This year, 461 new products, technologies, and services will be showcased. These cover sectors such as humanoid robots, digital consumption, the silver economy, and the low-altitude economy. The expo presents abundant opportunities for sharing innovations and tapping into China’s expanding consumer market.
Fiona Irving,South East environment correspondentand
Craig Buchan,South East
BBCThe boss of South East Water has said the company is too dependant on individual facilities after a six-day supply failure affected thousands of people in Kent.
About 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells had no or low pressure tap water from 29 November until supplies returned to most on 4 December. For the next nine days, residents were told to boil the restored tap water before consumption.
A disinfection problem at Pembury Water Treatment Works had caused the failure but there was no evidence supply became infected, said South East Water.
The water company’s chief executive, David Hinton, said the firm was “just too reliant in some areas on one asset”.
Mr Hinton was speaking to the BBC earlier in the week and said the company wants to “do more” at a separate works at Bewl Water reservoir, near Wadhurst in East Sussex, and spend £30m on expanding output capacity.
The proposal would give the company the ability to “rapidly fill the area of Tunbridge Wells, for example, as soon as we see any issue”, said Mr Hinton.
He said this would allow “extra resilience should any other challenges hit any other treatment works” without further draining the reservoir.
“It’s not only for Tunbridge Wells, it’s for the wider parts of Kent as well,” added the chief executive, who has faced calls to resign over the supply issues.
South East Water was one of five companies to contest regulator Ofwat’s latest price controls, which already allowed it to increase an average annual bill from £232 to £274 by 2030.
The firms argued the 36% average price increase for customers in England over the next five years was not enough to deliver better infrastructure.
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally agreed that South East Water can increase bills by an extra 4%, pending a final decision in 2026.
Mr Hinton said the Bewl Water proposal was a reason why the company was asking the competition regulator to allow it to raise more money from customers.
South East Water suspects “something to do with the level” of water at its Pembury reservoir contributed to the supply failure but the firm wants to “do a full investigation”, he said.
The company introduced hosepipe restrictions in July for Kent and Sussex customers after dry weather earlier in 2025.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate said it was investigating the Tunbridge Wells loss of supply incident.
Business
GST notice: UltraTech Cement gets Rs 782 crore notice; company says it will contest – The Times of India
UltraTech Cement on Saturday said it has received a demand notice of Rs 782.2 crore from GST authorities and plans to challenge the order before the appropriate forum, according to PTI.In a regulatory filing, the Aditya Birla Group company said it is reviewing the order and considering all legal options. “The Company is reviewing the Order, considering all legal options, and accordingly would be contesting the demand,” UltraTech Cement said, PTI quoted.The demand pertains to the period 2018-19 to 2022-23 and has been raised on account of alleged short payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST), improper utilisation of Input Tax Credit (ITC) and related matters, the company said.UltraTech added that the order was passed “without due consideration of the Company’s submissions”.According to the filing, the order upholds a tax liability of Rs 3,90,95,58,194, along with applicable interest on the tax demand, additional interest of Rs 27,68,289, and a penalty of Rs 3,90,95,58,194.The company said the order was issued by the Joint Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax and Central Excise, Patna, on Friday.UltraTech Cement is India’s largest cement manufacturer, with a production capacity nearing 200 million tonnes per annum.
Last Updated:
The value of the gold reserves increased by $758 million to $107.741 billion during the week ended December 12, as per the RBI’s latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ data.
India’s Latest Forex Reserves.
India’s forex reserves (forex) jumped $1.689 billion to $688.949 billion during the week ended December 12, according to the latest RBI data. The value of the gold reserves increased by $758 million to $107.741 billion during the week.
In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $1.033 billion to $687.26 billion.
For the week ended December 12, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $906 million to $557.787 billion, according to the data.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) surged by $14 million to $18.745 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ data.
India’s reserve position with the IMF rose $11 million to $4.686 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.
The price of the safe-haven asset gold has been on a sharp uptrend over recent months, perhaps amid heightened global uncertainties and robust investment demand.
After the latest monetary policy review meeting, the RBI had said that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were sufficient to cover more than 11 months of merchandise imports. Overall, India’s external sector remains resilient, and the RBI is confident it can comfortably meet external financing requirements.
In 2023, India added around $58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves, contrasting with a cumulative decline of $71 billion in 2022. In 2024, reserves rose by just over $20 billion. So far in 2025, the forex kitty has increased by about $47-48 billion, according to data.
Foreign exchange reserves, or FX reserves, are assets held by a nation’s central bank or monetary authority, primarily in reserve currencies such as the US dollar, with smaller portions in the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.
The RBI often intervenes by managing liquidity, including selling dollars, to prevent a steep depreciation of the rupee. The RBI strategically buys dollars when the Rupee is strong and sells when it weakens.
The Indian rupee has been under pressure for a host of reasons. It has already weakened by nearly 6 per cent this year on a cumulative basis.
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December 20, 2025, 08:16 IST
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