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  • Bangladesh backs China's OBOR; can't remain isolated in the name of sovereignty, says foreign secretary

    Which route is Bangladesh thinking of? Via Burma or BoB?
    Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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    • ANP slams centre for ‘ignoring Balochistan’
      Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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      • An older article that mentions loan rates to Sri Lanka

        Sri Lankan expert says interest rate of Chinese loan for port project appropriate | Xinhua | Jun 4 2015

        Sri Lankan expert says interest rate of Chinese loan for port project appropriate
        English.news.cn 2015-06-04 13:46:23 More
        COLOMBO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The interest rate of a Chinese loan to construct the Hambantota Port in southern Sri Lanka is appropriate and low, a leading financial expert said in respond to local media's questioning of the loan.

        The expert said the 15-year loan agreement of Hambantota Port Phase I was signed between the China EXIM Bank and Sri Lanka in October 2007. The total loan volume was 307 million U.S. dollars with a grace period of four years.

        "At first, the Sri Lankan team tried to seek loans from banks from other countries. However, those banks had no interest in providing loans to a country which was facing a civil war. Then, the Sri Lanka side turned to Chinese banks and companies," the expert said on condition of anonymity.

        The Sri Lankan team did try to seek a preferential loan from China, he added, but the quota of China's preferential loans then to Sri Lanka had been used for the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant and other projects.

        "Given the importance to construct the Hambantota Port Phase I, the Sri Lankan delegation decided to ask for commercial loans. In fact, to get commercial loans as large as 300 million U.S. dollars during the war was not easy," the expert said, referring to financial risks in the then civil war-stricken island nation.

        The China EXIM Bank had given two options to Sri Lanka, one was the fixed rate at 6.3 percent, the other was the floating rate with the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which was above 5 percent then with the trend to rise higher.

        "The delegation thought the fixed option was more beneficial for Sri Lanka and chose the fixed rates option. One should note that the interest rate of the Treasury bill was 12-14 percent in 2007. Considering all the factors, the fixed rate at 6.3 percent was the best choice then," the expert explained. "Anyone in that situation would make such a decision, and couldn't predict the sudden international financial crisis and dramatic drop of LIBOR in 2008. It is unfair to judge the then decision based on the situation afterwards."

        The China EXIM Bank, the largest loan provider to Sri Lanka, has provided over 6 billion U.S. dollars to Sri Lanka. Some 77 percent of the loans are preferential loans, of which the interest rate is 2 percent per year. The remaining fund gap has been covered by commercial loans. Both these two types of loans have contributed a lot to the development of Sri Lanka, the expert noted.

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        • ‘It’s all for China’s benefit’, why Pakistani traders fear the Friendship Highway runs one way

          Just who will the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor really benefit?

          WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU CROSS PAKISTAN’S GAME OF THRONES AND CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD?
          Last edited by Oracle; 29 Oct 17,, 11:26.
          Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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          • Local businesses lose big under CPEC

            Excerpts:
            But the dream of growing bigger remains unrealised as Mr Amjad’s Fast Cables, like other manufacturers, has yet to reap any benefit from the CPEC-related power projects. The Chinese firms working on power projects prefer to import equipment from China rather than source from Pakistan.

            “We could utilise only 40 per cent of our capacity last financial year because of lack of demand,” Mr Amjad said. “The government has also given the Chinese a big advantage instead of giving us a level playing field.

            “On the one hand, it has given them relaxation on their imports, but on the other, it has raised the cost of our raw materials by increasing taxes and placing regulatory duty on raw materials used by local producers. The total federal and provincial tax burden on our products has increased to 45pc in the last three years.”
            Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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            • Rising Chinese appetite - talks about why China is leasing farmlands worldwide and in Pak. Food security.

              Industries concerned about future in the wake of CPEC
              Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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              • A viral identity card proves Pakistan may be China's ally but Pakistanis are not
                Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                • LOSING OUR MARBLE
                  Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                  • 'RAW running $500 million cell to sabotage CPEC,' says Gen Zubair Hayat

                    Had the figure been $20 million, I'd have taken it with a truckload of salt. And when it comes to providing evidence to the world, they don't have any. Every week, they make statements that erode the already lost credibility on the world stage.
                    Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                    • Originally posted by Oracle View Post
                      'RAW running $500 million cell to sabotage CPEC,' says Gen Zubair Hayat

                      Had the figure been $20 million, I'd have taken it with a truckload of salt. And when it comes to providing evidence to the world, they don't have any. Every week, they make statements that erode the already lost credibility on the world stage.
                      Gives them some one to blame when anything goes wrong and justifies their use of terrorism. All good

                      Originally posted by Oracle View Post
                      Good article

                      While Pakistan has given an open hand to the Chinese companies (who also enjoy the largess of their own government), local investors receive no support from the Pakistani government, putting them at further disadvantage against the Chinese.

                      Any hopes of Pakistan exerting control over its marble deposits in the near future — or ever — would appear to be wishful thinking, thanks to CPEC.

                      “The local industry will suffer a lot,” insists Tariq. The main anxiety is that “CPEC will allow the Chinese to develop warehouses in Pakistan, which means that they won’t even have to technically ‘import’ since all the material would then be already there. They will penetrate even more; China will be on your head. What more could they want?” he continues.
                      This pattern will repeat itself across the economy in a diffuse way, there will be winners and losers

                      As the details about the specificities of CPEC remain out of public view, one has the right to demand the Pakistani government reveal the terms of agreements with Chinese businesses that are and will be set up under CPEC. If the example of the marble industry is anything to go by, there is a fog of opacity under the CPEC that must be waded through before any deals are inked on paper.
                      You get the feeling that China expects discretion from the Pak govt in exchange to continue investing. To what extent can the Pak govt go public with contract deals. This is a question for their ministers to answer

                      Pakistan's Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal had to give a statement to quell anti-Chinese sentiment on social media. He revealed that both the parents of the man shown in the identity card had naturalised as Pakistani citizens decades ago, and his citizenship had no link to the CPEC which had recently started.
                      lol, the social impacts of CPEC will be fun to watch
                      Last edited by Double Edge; 16 Nov 17,, 00:45.

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                      • Has scrapped US$2.5 billion Nepal hydro dam deal with Chinese state firm hurt Beijing’s Himalayan ambitions?

                        Pak rejects Chinese help for dam project in PoK over 'tough conditions'

                        Interesting.
                        Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                        • Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                          lol, the social impacts of CPEC will be fun to watch
                          Have you seen some Pak companys' biryani ad cooked by a Chinese lady? It's like asking common Indians to eat Sushi.

                          Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                          This pattern will repeat itself across the economy in a diffuse way, there will be winners and losers
                          Who will be the winner?

                          Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                          You get the feeling that China expects discretion from the Pak govt in exchange to continue investing. To what extent can the Pak govt go public with contract deals. This is a question for their ministers to answer
                          Secrecy not discretion.
                          Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                          • Originally posted by Oracle View Post
                            Have you seen some Pak companys' biryani ad cooked by a Chinese lady? It's like asking common Indians to eat Sushi.
                            If it works then good.

                            Who will be the winner?
                            Those that can adapt to the change. I don't see it so starkly in black white as China wins and Paks lose. There's going to have to be give and take if this project is to continue. Right now the Paks have a weak hand if all they have is China, but they've been known to play a weak hand well

                            Secrecy not discretion.
                            Am waiting for this to be confirmed.

                            Right, now there are insinuations and allegations all wrapped up in domestic politics and what not. Same story in Sri Lanka.

                            But the Paks are not in as dire straits as Raja Paksha was, that is at least not yet. Mismanagement could land them in the soup, there are risks just like with any business venture

                            Learnt that Raja Paksha never offered Hambantota to India even though he says he did. It was Chandrika in the 90s, informally but we couldn't see the economic benefits then which was right considering the state of affairs there now so never got involved
                            Last edited by Double Edge; 16 Nov 17,, 02:23.

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                            • Don’t masquerade Global Jihad as PoK Issue

                              From the horse's mouth.

                              PoK premier lambasts Pakistan for ill-treating Kashmiris
                              Last edited by Oracle; 16 Nov 17,, 07:54.
                              Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                              • Trying to convince India on CPEC utility: China

                                BEIJING - China says it is trying to convince India on the regional benefits of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a transportation project connecting southern China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.

                                “New Delhi is unhappy with CPEC but we are trying to convince it that this project has no political motives,” a Chinese official told a delegation of Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE).

                                “We have told India that the sole purpose of CPEC is to bring prosperity to the region and ameliorate the environment for durable peace,” said Chen Feng, Foreign Affairs counselor and Asia Division director.

                                He said the project’s basic aim was to enhance mutual interactions and transportation, so, this plan must be kept out of regional conflicts. Feng said China wanted more countries of the region to join this project.

                                To a question about Gwadar, the spokesperson said the final deadline for its completion could not be given. He said special zones will be set up while China was already making efforts to raise the living standard of the locals.

                                Talking about shortage of water in Gwadar, he said China had set up a small plant to fulfil the needs of its labour but it was insufficient to meet the local population’s needs.

                                About security and law and order situation, he said Chinese workers and companies were working in Pakistan, so, naturally their security was a matter of concern for Beijing.

                                But, Feng added, China was satisfied with the security situation in Pakistan, though there always remains room for improvement and in this context his country was in constant touch with Pakistan government and army.

                                To a query about Chinese veto to an Indian resolution against Jesh-e-Muhammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, the Chinese official said the move was not in contradiction with Chinese policy in the context of BRICS declaration against terrorism.

                                He said BRICS countries had no such agreement as could bar them from following independent foreign policy.

                                He said China had time and again made it clear to India that Beijing was not pursuing an expansionist policy in the region. China wanted to make the CPEC a source for establishing brotherly ties with other countries on equality basis in a peaceful atmosphere.

                                Responding to different questions, the spokesman said Beijing was trying to resolve its border conflicts with New Delhi through dialogue and bilateral talks in a peaceful manner.

                                About Indian interference in its neighbours’ internal matters, Feng said China was using every possible avenue to convince India to give up that attitude.

                                He said China was not a party to Kashmir conflict and New Delhi’s allegation that Beijing was occupying a part of Kashmir was baseless. China has also been refuting these claims in the past, he added.

                                The spokesman said Kashmir was a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India and an early resolution of the problem would usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.

                                Answering questions about Dalai Lama, Feng said, they had raised their concerns with New Delhi over Dalai Lama’s activities in India .

                                But Delhi has assured Beijing that Dalai Lama has just taken refuge there and he and his followers would not be allowed to use Indian soil against China , he added.

                                About Afghan peace talks, the spokesperson said Beijing was in constant and close contact with Pakistan over the matter. However, at the moment, the atmosphere was not congenial for talks to achieve a peaceful settlement. A proper strategy will have to be chalked out in this regard, he added.

                                Feng said the US needed Pakistan help to fight terrorism. He said China was satisfied with Pakistan’s cooperation and its role in the fight against terrorism in East Turkmenistan.
                                And, Centre hides long-term CPEC plan from provinces
                                Last edited by Oracle; 16 Nov 17,, 08:06.
                                Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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