Arvind's Newsletter

1.Tesla to scout sites in India for $2bn-$3bn electric car plant, reported Financial Times

The step towards making vehicles in India comes after New Delhi last month lowered tariffs on higher-priced imported EVs for companies that commit to making them in the country within three years. The tariff cut was a concession Tesla had been pushing for as a precondition for investing.

The people with knowledge of Tesla’s plans said it would send a team from the US by late April to study sites for the plant, focusing on states with existing automotive hubs, including Maharashtra and Gujarat in the west and Tamil Nadu in the south.

Some automakers have plants in Haryana state, neighbouring New Delhi, and one of the people said they thought Tesla might also scout potential sites around the capital. However, the second person said the focus of Elon Musk’s company would be on the other three states because they had ports, making it easier to export cars.

2.Blackstone to invest $2 billion every year in India, has invested $50 billion so far: COO Jonathan D. Gray

Global private equity major Blackstone Group expressed confidence on Wednesday in the company's ability to invest $2 billion annually in India.

Jonathan D. Gray, the Chief Operating Officer, advocated for a series of measures aimed at enhancing the ease of conducting business in India for firms like Blackstone. These measures include expediting approvals for mergers and acquisitions, streamlining the privatization process of listed companies, and enhancing dispute resolution mechanisms in commercial affairs.

Having operated in India for nearly two decades, the New York-based firm highlighted that its investments in the Indian private equity sector have yielded the highest returns globally. Additionally, its significant investments in real estate have positioned it as the largest landlord in the country, contributing to its overall success.

3.What's behind the surge in gold prices? Shishir Asthana, MoneyControl

Gold futures have surged significantly from their February low of $2018.4 to a new high of over $2300 per ounce. In March alone, gold prices saw a notable increase of 9.3 percent, marking the largest monthly surge since July 2020.

Various factors contribute to the bullish case for gold, with central bank purchases being a significant driver. In 2023, central banks globally bought 1,037 tonnes of gold, nearing the record high set in 2022. Experts like Peter Schiff interpret this trend as a move towards a return to the gold standard, as central banks anticipate the decline of the US dollar as the primary reserve currency.

A 2023 World Gold Council survey says that 62 percent of central bankers say gold will have a greater share of total reserves. Gold's liquidity, store of value, and diversification are among the characteristics leading central banks to hold gold in their reserves.

With various geopolitical and economic uncertainties, including elections in the US and India, ongoing conflicts, and fluctuating interest rates, gold is expected to remain an attractive asset. However, the absence of ETFs and retail consumers in the market means that central bank and speculative buying are currently the primary drivers of gold prices.

However, India's import of gold in March is expected to drop by 90 percent as prices shoot up

4.Taiwan earthquake tests readiness of world’s chip-making hub

The world’s most important semiconductor-manufacturing hub is also one of the world’s biggest earthquake hot spots, and it was put to the test Wednesday after a powerful quake.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing—which makes chips for customers such as Apple and occupies a critical place in the global electronics supply chain—has prepared for years for a quake, drawing on lessons from a 2011 disaster in Japan among others.

TSMC briefly evacuated some of its locations Wednesday and suspended work at some plants after an estimated 7.4-magnitude quake struck eastern Taiwan. It said initial inspections found safety systems were operating normally and no one was hurt.

TSMC was fortunate in this instance because its main facilities are located near the capital of Taipei in the north and in other areas in the middle and southern parts of Taiwan that are relatively distant from the epicenter on the eastern side of the island.

The quake destroyed buildings in the east of the island and triggered tsunami warnings in nearby countries. Taiwan is the world’s largest producer of semiconductors, the manufacture of which relies on precise conditions and is extremely vulnerable to even tiny vibrations.

Employees have begun to return to work, although the incident highlights the risks of building one of the world’s most vital products on a geological fault: California and Japan, two other tech industry hubs, are also seismically active regions. The 1999 quake, which released about four times as much energy, destroyed 50,000 buildings and killed 2,400 people.

5.Norway could become the world’s first country to have more electric than petrol cars on its roads, as soon as the end of this year. 

Nine out of 10 cars sold in Norway at the start of the year have been EVs, Reuters reported. The country’s oil and gas wealth has helped fund incentives to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025. “This time next year there will be more BEVs on the road than pure-petrol cars, and probably before the end of this year,” one climate researcher said.

6.Nato plans $100bn ‘Trump-proof’ fund for Ukraine

The plan set to be discussed Wednesday could allow the alliance to manage the supply of lethal military aid to Ukraine, according to the Financial Times. 

The so-called Mission for Ukraine proposal, which will be discussed by Nato foreign ministers on Wednesday, is being put forward by the secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg.

According to five alliance diplomats briefed on the plan, it would co-ordinate an estimated $100bn in support committed by the 32 members of the military alliance. Stoltenberg has pitched the proposal as a means to shield the mechanism against “ the winds of political change” according to people briefed on his remarks.

While Trump is unlikely to pull out of NATO, regardless of “whatever threats he makes,” Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer wrote, Europe should be worried about his will to defend allies under attack.

7.Japan starts issuing eVisas for Indian tourists

Japan has started issuing eVisas for Indian tourists from April 1, doing away with the need to get physical stickers on the passports. Indians who want to visit Japan may now apply for the visas online via VFS Global's Japan Visa Application Centre.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, eVisa will be a single-entry short-term stay (up to 90 days) visa for the purpose of tourism.

For other purposes, the travellers would still have to apply for visa on-paper at Japanese embassies and consulates.

The ministry also said that if given an electronic visa, the passenger will not have a visa sticker in their passport.

"When checking in at the airport, you will be asked to display a 'visa issuance notice' on your device (e.g. smartphone, tablet) to prove that you have a valid eVISA," it said.