The leaders of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation have warned against the negative impact of deglobalisation for the global economy, arguing instead for smart moves to diversify supply chains.
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, speaking after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said globalisation was facing its biggest challenge since the Second World War, with factors including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine.
“But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater,” she said on Tuesday.
“Don't pull the plug on trade that makes us all better.”
WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, speaking at the same news conference, echoed that view, noting a WTO estimate that breaking the global economy into two trading blocs would reduce global gross domestic product by 5 per cent in the longer term.
“Retreating from trade, being protectionist will make it harder — not easier — to solve the problems we have now,” Ms Okonjo-Iweala said. “Protectionism, decoupling, fragmentation is very disruptive and it will be very costly.”
Ms Okonjo-Iweala and Ms Georgieva said the impact of deglobalisation and fragmentation would hit developing countries and emerging markets hardest. The impact to gross domestic product in those countries would be in the double digits, the WTO chief said.
Ms Okonjo-Iweala called for moves to de-concentrate manufacturing in a smart way and warned against counting too heavily on “friend-shoring”.
“Who is a friend? A friend today might become very unfriendly tomorrow,” she said.
Ms Georgieva said growth was slowing in the US and China, the world's two largest economies. She said data pointed to even lower global growth next year than the 2.7 per cent rate the IMF had projected in mid-October.
“Business and consumer sentiment points to weakening of activities in the fourth quarter of this year and continuing in this same direction in 2023,” she said.
About one-third of the world economy — and about half of the EU — would slide in recession in 2023, she said, adding that inflation was now projected to persist longer, although it could gradually decline to around 6.5 per cent next year.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
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Running your losers
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Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
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Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
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Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prestigious peace prize, held its final meeting on Monday, the Nobel Institute said Thursday, a day ahead of the announcement of the 2025 laureate.
This means a decision was made about the laureate or laureates before the conclusion of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, which included a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
President Donald Trump pushed for the ceasefire as part of a 20-point plan to resolve the Gaza war.
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
