Manufacturers in the ASEAN region witnessed a strong increase in output midway through the third quarter (Q3), marking the sharpest rise since June 2024. The ASEAN Manufacturing PMI, which stood at 50.1 in July signalling stabilisation, climbed to 51 in August, reflecting the sector’s most robust improvement in six months, according to S&P Global. The growth was driven by a rebound in new orders, the first in five months.

Strengthening demand and higher production needs boosted business confidence, which surged to its highest since March after hitting a five-year low earlier.

ASEAN manufacturers saw their sharpest output rise since June 2024 in August, with the PMI climbing from 50.1 in July to 51, as per S&P Global.
Growth was fuelled by renewed new orders and stronger demand, while business confidence rebounded to a five-month high after July’s 5-year low.
Despite modest job shedding and price pressures, output growth accelerated, signalling sustained recovery momentum.

The rise in the headline index was supported by a solid and stronger increase in production, as well as a renewed, albeit a modest uptick in new orders. Output has now risen for a second consecutive month, with the rate of growth in August the fastest since mid-2024. Additionally, the fresh uptick in new orders effectively ended the previous four-month sequence of decrease, S&P Global said in a press release.

Job shedding was recorded for the fifth consecutive month in August, indicating that firms remained hesitant to take on staff. However, the respective seasonally adjusted index rose further since June, reaching a five-month high, indicating only a slight decline in employment—the weakest in five months.

On the price front, while input prices rose at a weaker pace than seen in July, charges were raised modestly but at the strongest pace in eight months.

After hitting a five-year low in July, confidence rose in August across ASEAN manufacturers. Firms on balance were more positive about output growth in the year ahead. While below the long-run average, the respective index posted a five-month high, added the release.

“The August PMI data signalled building momentum across the ASEAN manufacturing sector following the recovery experienced in July. Demand conditions strengthened, as reflected by a fresh increase in new orders. Additionally, output growth accelerated,” said Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“The enhanced performance of the sector led to an increase in business sentiment regarding production prospects over the next 12 months. Confidence levels reached a five-month high in August, rebounding from a five-year low recorded in July, suggesting that the region could sustain and even build upon the growth observed during the latest survey period,” added Baluch.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)

The State Bank of India’s (SBI) research unit recently estimated that in fiscal 2025-26 (FY26), states will remain net gainers from goods and services tax (GST) collections even under the proposed rate rationalisation due to the unique revenue-sharing architecture of the tax.

First, GST is shared equally between the central government and the states, with each receiving half of the collections. Second, under the mechanism of tax devolution, 41 per cent of the central government’s share flows back to the states, SBI Research said in a report on GST.

The proposed goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation is likely to result in stronger revenue collections validated by historical trends due to the unique revenue-sharing architecture of the tax, according to SBI Research.
FY26 projections indicate that states are expected to receive at least ₹10 trillion in state GST plus ₹4.1 trillion through devolution, thereby making them net gainers.

Taken together, this means that out of every ₹100 of GST collected, states ultimately accrue nearly ₹70.5.

SBI Research’s FY26 projections indicate that states are expected to receive at least ₹10 trillion in state GST plus ₹4.1 trillion through devolution, thereby making them net gainers.

The gains accrue even when the researchers did not take the additional consumption boost due to rate rationalisation.

“Evidence from earlier rounds of GST rate changes, such as those in July 2018 and October 2019, suggests that rationalization does not necessarily weaken revenue collections. Instead, the evidence points to a temporary adjustment phase followed by stronger inflows,” the SBI Research report noted.

“While an immediate reduction in rates can cause a short-term dip of around 3-4 per cent month on month (roughly ₹5,000 crore, or an annualized ₹60,000 crore), revenues typically rebound with sustained growth of 5-6 per cent per month,” it added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

Asian discount clothing giant Shein has been fined a massive 150 million euros in France for failing to comply with legislation on cookies, the French privacy watchdog Cnil announced on Wednesday.

The Cnil, which has also imposed a record fine of 325 million euros on Google for similar grievances, denounces the fact that these computer trackers had been deposited on the devices of Internet users who had visited the Shein site without their consent, or without respecting their choice or informing them correctly.

These are the two biggest penalties ever imposed by the Cnil, with the exception of a 150 million euro fine imposed on Google in 2022, also on the subject of cookies.

The French data protection watchdog justified the exceptional nature of the fine imposed on Shein by the fact that the legislation on which this decision is based is already in force, in particular the French Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés), which the company could not ignore.

“Since 2020,” Cnil’s restricted committee “has on numerous occasions sanctioned organizations for similar breaches, making its decisions public,” stressed the institution in a press release.

This is a colossal sanction, given the very high number of users potentially affected – an average of 12 million French people every month – argued the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (Cnil).

Shein complied “during the course of the procedure,” the Cnil pointed out.

The company “firmly contests” this decision “and will lodge an appeal with the Council of State and the Court of Justice of the European Union,” it told AFP.

“We consider the fine to be totally disproportionate, given the nature of the alleged grievances, our current compliance, and the proactive corrective measures we have put in place,” said Shein.

“The severity of the penalty appears to be motivated by political considerations rather than by a fair and balanced application of the regulations,” the company judges. Recalling that it has “fully cooperated with the Cnil” since August 2023, Shein says it regrets that “no warning was ever issued” prior to the “formal notice.”

The brand, which stands out for its extremely low prices, profusion of SKUs and aggressive marketing, has been booming in France and Europe in recent years.

However, it has attracted the wrath of human rights and environmental associations, trade players and the authorities. Accused in turn of environmental pollution, deceptive business practices, unfair competition, and undignified labor, Shein symbolizes, according to its detractors, all the ills of “ultra fast fashion.”

The company with sales of $23 billion (by 2022) is the target of a proposed French law aimed at regulating ephemeral fashion, notably through an advertising ban, financial penalties, and an obligation to make consumers aware of the environmental impact of their clothing.

At the beginning of July, the platform was fined 40 million euros for misleading commercial practices by France’s Repression des Fraudes, for, among other things, marking up certain prices before applying a discount.

Paris, Sept 3, 2025 (AFP)