OCTOBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8NEWSROOMINDIA CONTINUES ITS STREAK OF RECORD BREAKING OIL IMPORTS FROM RUSSIAMinister Ni Hong announced that China will enlarge the list of housing projects approved for financing and boost bank loans up to 4 trillion yuan. Ni announced at a press conference that monetisation measures will be implemented for urbanisation projects, with a million villages being part of these plans.The promises to provide additional funding for struggling developers and city projects are included in a set of actions unveiled recently to help stabilize the sector, which experienced a crisis in 2021 that had a negative impact on overall growth in the second-largest global economy."It can be said that the bottoming out of the property market has begun," Ni told sources.In January, China introduced a scheme for a "white list" of projects eligible for funding to guarantee that developers could finish construction and hand over homes to purchasers. By the close of the third quarter, banks had given the green light to 5,392 projects, with funding totaling almost 1.4 trillion yuan.Xiao Yuanqi, deputy director of the State Financial Regulatory Administration, reported at the press conference that the amount of approved loans for projects on the "white list" had increased to 2.23 trillion yuan by Oct 16.Officials from the finance ministry additionally revealed steps to support the real estate industry, permitting local governments to utilize special bond funds to purchase unsold properties and unused land. India's crude oil imports from Russia surged by 11.7 percent in September to approximately 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd), representing about 40 percent of the country's total crude imports for the month, according to tanker data from industry sources. In total, India's refiners imported 4.7 million bpd of crude oil in September, reflecting a slight increase compared to August and about 8.5 percent higher than the same month a year prior.Indian refiners have invested significantly in plant upgrades, enabling them to process a wider range of crude grades, thereby reducing costs. As the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, India has become the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne oil after Western nations halted purchases following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Crude imports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, accounted for 43 percent of India's total imports in September, up from 38.5 percent in August. In the first six months of the fiscal year (April-September), India's imports of Russian oil rose by 9.1 percent to 1.91 million bpd.In September, Russia remained India's top oil supplier, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Russian oil imports were more than double Iraq's 867,600 bpd. Additionally, India resumed Venezuelan oil imports in September after a two-month pause, with Reliance Industries Ltd receiving a shipment. CHINA EXPANDS HOUSING PROJECT FINANCING WITH $562 BILLION BANK LENDING
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