Rupee’s not doing too well in the neighbourhood either

The Indian rupee has continued its downward slide of the past few days and hit an all-time low against the dollar in early trade on Wednesday. The Indian currency fell to 55.82 rupees against the US dollar, down from 55.39, Indian media reported. The slide comes amid concerns that slowing growth and a high rate of inflation may hurt India’s economy. Analysts said worries about a global economic slowdown had fanned those fears further. The Indian rupee has been dropping against the US dollar since August last year, falling by almost 26% against the US currency since then. Various reports have suggested that India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, could intervene by selling dollars via state-run banks to arrest any further falls. Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that the government was taking a number of steps to arrest the volatility in the foreign exchange market and boost the rupee. Earlier this month, the central bank asked exporters to convert 50% of their foreign exchange holdings into Indian rupees in an attempt to prop up the currency. It also said that exporters would only be allowed to buy foreign currency after using up all of the foreign exchange holdings in their accounts. However, these attempts have so far not been able to stem the rupee’s fall.

China approves loan for
Neelum-Jhelum project

BEIJING
ONLINE

The Export-Import Bank of China has approved a US$448M loan to fund construction of the 969MW Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan. According to newswire reports, the loan will help ensure the project is completed to schedule in 2016, after fears there may be a delay in construction if funding was not approved. Back in 2008, project developer the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) awarded a consultancy contract for the project to a joint venture led by MWH and including local firms Nespak, ACE and NDC together with Norplan of Norway. The project involves construction of a concrete gravity diversion dam, headrace tunnel, surge chamber and underground powerhouse with four generating units. TBM’s are being put to use on the build.