Latest news with #US-imposed
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Indian ad industry a different world, growing tremendously: Havas CEO
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in Services 1. Gaming co MPL accuses ASCI of 'tampering' with their ads The advertising industry in India is "growing tremendously" and "is a different world" compared to Europe, said Yannick Bollore , global chief executive and chairman of French advertising group Havas, which represents Reckitt Benckiser, Swiggy Tata Motors and Hindustan Unilever in India, across creative, media buying and outdoor advertising."When you look at Europe or the US compared to what's happening in India, it's a completely different world. We are happy with 2-3% organic growth in Europe; in India you have 10% plus growth year-on-year," he told ET at Havas Village, the Gurugram-based India office of the ₹2.7 billion listed French advertising and communications group. "India and China are two regions of the world where we see tremendous growth - they're two very large economies with very large populations." Large multinationals such as Coca-Cola, Reckitt Benckiser, Levi's and Unilever have identified India as a core growth bastion amid global headwinds, despite an ongoing urban chief of the world's fifth largest ad group, said he's advising global advertisers "to continue investing in India" despite recent geopolitical disturbances and US-imposed tariffs, which have disrupted business and investor sentiment."These (events) do create uncertainty.. investors and businesses don't like uncertainty. When clients make investments, they want to make sure they know the landscape or the rules for the coming three, four, five years. We're telling them to continue looking at the long term... that if you invest for the long term, you'll find growth," he India operates 25 agencies under creative, media and health verticals. Last December, the French network announced its listing on Euronext, Amsterdam, but retained a minority family ownership."I know in today's world, it's hard because we have so many moving pieces from a geopolitical or macroeconomic environment. But in terms of investment in advertising, we don't see any real impact.. people are continuing to deploy their plans," Bollore optimism about the Indian ad market, which estimates peg at '1.6 lakh crore, Bollore said, "Millions of people here are accessing the middle class with buying power. That's driving growth for cars, consumer products and spirits. Manufacturing and infrastructure are driving growth too.. so is talent and the level of education - this is a strong consumer facing country."However, the sector has been seeing intensified competition. The past months have seen mega global consolidation, such as New York's Omnicom Group's announcing a merger with Interpublic Group to create a global behemoth, with agencies such as McCann, Lowe Lintas, FCB and DDB Mudra in their fold. Publicis Groupe, too, has been in consolidation mode, with agencies under its network including Publicis, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and a query on how Havas would compete against the global giants, Bollore said, "To operate, I believe you need to have some scale.. If you want to operate globally, you need to have a network of agencies all over the world in multiple areas of expertise, creativity, media buying, e-commerce, social media, everything... At the same time, it's better not to be the biggest. Because when you're the biggest, you don't really have advantages, you are less agile. I think for Havas being the best challenger at scale is giving us a different type of edge."Bollore declined to comment on a potential acquisition of stake in Sam Balsara-owned Madison World, but said inorganic growth and strategic acquisitions were very much part of the group's growth plans.
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Business Standard
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Ex-Malaysia PM urges stronger Asean ties with China, India to replace US
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has urged Southeast Asian countries to strengthen trade relations with China and India to bypass steep US tariffs. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Mahathir said, 'Malaysia should have a bigger trade with China and India to replace the loss of trade against America.' Mahathir was speaking on the sidelines of the Future of Asia forum in Tokyo last week. Mahathir emphasised that trade with China significantly surpasses that with the United States, and noted that there is still potential to further expand trade with India. Asean reels from US tariffs The US, under President Donald Trump, imposed tariffs ranging from 10 per cent to 49 per cent, heavily impacting Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economies that rely on US exports. Six of the Asean bloc's 10 member states are among the worst affected, likely impacting the Asean's 4.7 per cent growth target for the year. Following Trump's announcement of a 90-day tariff pause last month, several Asean countries - including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam - initiated trade talks with Washington to mitigate the economic fallout. Malaysia calls for regional integration Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hassan also called for faster regional economic integration to buffer the effects of global trade disruptions. 'Asean nations are among those most heavily affected by the US-imposed tariffs,' Mohamad said. 'We must seize this moment to deepen regional economic integration; so that we can better shield our region from external shocks.' Asean has responded by intensifying ties with China and the Persian Gulf, including a landmark trilateral summit held in Kuala Lumpur last month. Trade between Asean, China, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reached over $900 billion last year — nearly double its $453 billion trade volume with the US, according to Aseanstats. Push for Asean-US dialogue As the current Asean chair, Malaysia has formally requested a special summit with the US to discuss trade issues. Mohamad expressed hope that the meeting would take place later this year. China will be 'No 1 country in the world': Mahathir Mahathir stated that China is on track to become the world's leading power, asserting that the United States lacks the capacity to halt its rise due to growing domestic preoccupations. 'China has been there much longer than the US. I don't think China is going to be easily defeated by the US,' he said. 'I don't think the US will recover and become No 1 again. China looks like it is going to be the No 1 country in the world.'
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Iran poised to dismiss US nuclear proposal
Iran is poised to reject a US proposal to end a decades-old nuclear dispute, an Iranian diplomat said on Monday, dismissing it as a "non-starter" that fails to address Tehran's interests or soften Washington's stance on uranium enrichment. "Iran is drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection of the US offer", the senior diplomat, who is close to Iran's negotiating team, told Reuters. The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who was on a short visit to Tehran and has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington. After five rounds of discussions between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, several obstacles remain. Among them are Iran's rejection of a US demand that it commit to scrapping uranium enrichment and its refusal to ship abroad its entire existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium -- possible raw material for nuclear bombs. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. "In this proposal, the US stance on enrichment on Iranian soil remains unchanged, and there is no clear explanation regarding the lifting of sanctions," said the diplomat, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Araqchi said Tehran would formally respond to the proposal soon. The US State Department declined to comment. Tehran demands the immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. But the US says nuclear-related sanctions should be removed in phases. Dozens of institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been blacklisted since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Trump's revival of "maximum pressure" against Tehran since his return to the White House in January has included tightening sanctions and threatening to bomb Iran if the negotiations yield no deal. During his first term in 2018, Trump ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Iran responded by escalating enrichment far beyond the pact's limits. Reuters
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Iran to reject US nuclear proposal, says Iranian diplomat
In this handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on February 2, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (C) visits a defence and space achievements exhibition in Tehran. PHOTO:AFP Listen to article Iran is poised to reject a US proposal to end a decades-old nuclear dispute, an Iranian diplomat said on Monday, dismissing it as a "non-starter" that fails to address Tehran's interests or soften Washington's stance on uranium enrichment. "Iran is drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection of the US offer," the senior diplomat, who is close to Iran's negotiating team, told Reuters. The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who was on a short visit to Tehran and has been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington. After five rounds of discussions between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, several obstacles remain. Among them are Iran's rejection of a US demand that it commit to scrapping uranium enrichment and its refusal to ship abroad its entire existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium - possible raw material for nuclear bombs. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. "In this proposal, the US stance on enrichment on Iranian soil remains unchanged, and there is no clear explanation regarding the lifting of sanctions," said the diplomat, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Araqchi said Tehran would formally respond to the proposal soon. The U.S. State Department declined to comment. Tehran demands the immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. But the U.S. says nuclear-related sanctions should be removed in phases. Dozens of institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been blacklisted since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Trump's revival of "maximum pressure" against Tehran since his return to the White House in January has included tightening sanctions and threatening to bomb Iran if the negotiations yield no deal. During his first term in 2018, Trump ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Iran responded by escalating enrichment far beyond the pact's limits. Under the deal, Iran had until 2018 curbed its sensitive nuclear work in return for relief from US, EU and UN economic sanctions. The diplomat said the assessment of "Iran's nuclear negotiations committee", under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was that the U.S. proposal was "completely one-sided" and could not serve Tehran's interests. Therefore, the diplomat said, Tehran considers this proposal a "non-starter" and believes it unilaterally attempts to impose a "bad deal" on Iran through excessive demands. Nuclear standoff raises Middle East tenstions The stakes are high for both sides. Trump wants to curtail Tehran's potential to produce a nuclear weapon that could trigger a regional nuclear arms race and perhaps threaten Israel. Iran's clerical establishment, for its part, wants to be rid of the devastating sanctions. Iran says it is ready to accept some limits on enrichment, but needs watertight guarantees that Washington would not renege on a future nuclear accord. Two Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Iran could pause uranium enrichment if the U.S. released frozen Iranian funds and recognised Tehran's right to refine uranium for civilian use under a "political deal" that could lead to a broader nuclear accord. Iran's arch-foe Israel, which sees Iran's nuclear programme as an existential threat, has repeatedly threatened to bomb the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Araqchi, in a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo, said: "I do not think Israel will commit such a mistake as to attack Iran." Tehran's regional influence has meanwhile been diminished by military setbacks suffered by its forces and those of its allies in the Shi'ite-dominated "Axis of Resistance", which include Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iraqi militias. In April, Saudi Arabia's defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian officials to take Trump's offer of a new deal seriously as a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel.
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Iran insists it will not give up uranium enrichment
Iran will not give up its independent uranium enrichment program under any circumstances, even if a regional nuclear consortium is established, a foreign ministry spokesman says. "The crucial point is that a consortium is not an alternative and cannot replace uranium enrichment in the country," Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to the Tasnim news agency. He declined to comment on whether this demand was included in the latest proposal made by the United States to Iran. Unconfirmed reports suggest the US demanded a complete halt to Iranian uranium enrichment in a written proposal to Tehran. In return, Washington is said to have offered the country the civilian use of nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, within the framework of a regional consortium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Baghaei said Iran will give an appropriate response to the US proposal in due course. Until then, the country will insist on both its own uranium enrichment and the lifting of US sanctions in the next round of negotiations, he said. After five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the nuclear standoff, many issues remain unresolved. Among clashing red lines is Iran's rejection of a US demand that Tehran commit to scrapping uranium enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran demands the immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. But for the US, the removal of nuclear-related sanctions should be done in phases. Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Trump's revival of a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran since his return to the White House in January has included tightened sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current negotiations yield no deal. During his first term, Trump in 2018 ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. In return, Tehran has rapidly violated the 2015 nuclear pact's curbs on its nuclear program. The 2015 deal required Iran to take steps to restrict its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN economic sanctions. with DPA Iran will not give up its independent uranium enrichment program under any circumstances, even if a regional nuclear consortium is established, a foreign ministry spokesman says. "The crucial point is that a consortium is not an alternative and cannot replace uranium enrichment in the country," Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to the Tasnim news agency. He declined to comment on whether this demand was included in the latest proposal made by the United States to Iran. Unconfirmed reports suggest the US demanded a complete halt to Iranian uranium enrichment in a written proposal to Tehran. In return, Washington is said to have offered the country the civilian use of nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, within the framework of a regional consortium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Baghaei said Iran will give an appropriate response to the US proposal in due course. Until then, the country will insist on both its own uranium enrichment and the lifting of US sanctions in the next round of negotiations, he said. After five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the nuclear standoff, many issues remain unresolved. Among clashing red lines is Iran's rejection of a US demand that Tehran commit to scrapping uranium enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran demands the immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. But for the US, the removal of nuclear-related sanctions should be done in phases. Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Trump's revival of a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran since his return to the White House in January has included tightened sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current negotiations yield no deal. During his first term, Trump in 2018 ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. In return, Tehran has rapidly violated the 2015 nuclear pact's curbs on its nuclear program. The 2015 deal required Iran to take steps to restrict its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN economic sanctions. with DPA Iran will not give up its independent uranium enrichment program under any circumstances, even if a regional nuclear consortium is established, a foreign ministry spokesman says. "The crucial point is that a consortium is not an alternative and cannot replace uranium enrichment in the country," Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to the Tasnim news agency. He declined to comment on whether this demand was included in the latest proposal made by the United States to Iran. Unconfirmed reports suggest the US demanded a complete halt to Iranian uranium enrichment in a written proposal to Tehran. In return, Washington is said to have offered the country the civilian use of nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, within the framework of a regional consortium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Baghaei said Iran will give an appropriate response to the US proposal in due course. Until then, the country will insist on both its own uranium enrichment and the lifting of US sanctions in the next round of negotiations, he said. After five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the nuclear standoff, many issues remain unresolved. Among clashing red lines is Iran's rejection of a US demand that Tehran commit to scrapping uranium enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran demands the immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. But for the US, the removal of nuclear-related sanctions should be done in phases. Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Trump's revival of a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran since his return to the White House in January has included tightened sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current negotiations yield no deal. During his first term, Trump in 2018 ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. In return, Tehran has rapidly violated the 2015 nuclear pact's curbs on its nuclear program. The 2015 deal required Iran to take steps to restrict its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN economic sanctions. with DPA Iran will not give up its independent uranium enrichment program under any circumstances, even if a regional nuclear consortium is established, a foreign ministry spokesman says. "The crucial point is that a consortium is not an alternative and cannot replace uranium enrichment in the country," Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to the Tasnim news agency. He declined to comment on whether this demand was included in the latest proposal made by the United States to Iran. Unconfirmed reports suggest the US demanded a complete halt to Iranian uranium enrichment in a written proposal to Tehran. In return, Washington is said to have offered the country the civilian use of nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, within the framework of a regional consortium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Baghaei said Iran will give an appropriate response to the US proposal in due course. Until then, the country will insist on both its own uranium enrichment and the lifting of US sanctions in the next round of negotiations, he said. After five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the nuclear standoff, many issues remain unresolved. Among clashing red lines is Iran's rejection of a US demand that Tehran commit to scrapping uranium enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and has long denied accusations by Western powers that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran demands the immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy. But for the US, the removal of nuclear-related sanctions should be done in phases. Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to Iran's economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation". Trump's revival of a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran since his return to the White House in January has included tightened sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current negotiations yield no deal. During his first term, Trump in 2018 ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. In return, Tehran has rapidly violated the 2015 nuclear pact's curbs on its nuclear program. The 2015 deal required Iran to take steps to restrict its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN economic sanctions. with DPA
