5th India Maize Summit 2018

ON MARCH 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

March 23rd , 2018 – FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi

I take pleasure in informing you that FICCI is organizing the 5th  edition of India Maize Summit  on March 23rd , 2018  (Friday) at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi. FICCI has been organizing India Maize Summit since 2013 and after the success of last four editions, FICCI has now declared this as an Annual event. The 5th  edition of India Maize Summit aims at providing a common platform to all stakeholders to outline the opportunities in maize and deliberate on actions that are required at the policy and operational level to unleash the potential of Maize.

The Summit will deliberate upon:

(a) Enhancing productivity– to be in global race.

(b) Encouraging alternate uses of maize– maximizing value by diversification.

(c) Mechanization and Post-harvest management– imperative to raise farmers’ income.

(d) Assured markets and price risk minimization– win –win game.

(e) Maize for starch and feed industry– matching the market demand.

In view of the significance of the subject, I am writing to request  you to kindly join us for  the 5th India Maize Summit 2018 (Friday)  and make it a success. In case you are pre occupied, you may like to depute a senior representative to participate in the summit. Please find attached the Summit brochure and Registration form for your reference.Request you to kindly send us the filled in registration form at apoorva.mishra@ficci.c om .

I look forward to your participation in making this event a huge success.

Japan’s banks face a quiet crisis

ON MARCH 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Shrinking to survive: Japan’s banks face a quiet crisis

Thousands of positions at risk as online upstarts threaten bloated megabanks

MITSURU OBE, Nikkei staff writer

New college recruits gather for an orientation session at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking’s Tokyo headquarters in 2016. (Photo by Yuichiro Takagi)

TOKYO — “Welcome to our bank!” chime the three uniformed clerks as customers enter Mizuho Bank’s branch in Tokyo’s Tanashi neighborhood.

The friendly, highly experienced clerks stand ready to help customers fill in the various forms required to open an account, make a large withdrawal, transfer funds or take out a loan. Even in the digital age, such tasks can require plenty of time-consuming paperwork. To confirm their identity, customers are also required to present a hanko, or personal seal.

Once the forms are filled out, the customers take a paper ticket and wait for their number to be called by one of the handful of tellers sitting behind the counter, who handle simple requests on the spot. More complicated jobs are handed over for processing by a dozen or so other clerks sitting behind them.

These days, however, most customers walk straight past the three clerks at the entrance and toward the bank of eight ATMs or three machines for updating passbook records. Many customers never make it into the branch at all, choosing instead to do their banking online.

But despite the popularity of internet banking, the retail bank experience in Japan appears little changed from a decade or two ago. Personal attention to the customer and a thick, sturdy passbook are still regarded as hallmarks of quality in Japan’s banks, even if there is less demand for such service.

Branches of Japan’s megabanks are a ubiquitous sight in Tokyo. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

There are signs this is beginning to change, however. The country’s three biggest banks have announced plans to close branches, eliminate thousands of positions and introduce more automation — radical steps in an industry where employees expect to have jobs for life. But critics warn they are still not moving quickly enough to prepare for the next wave of digital disruption heading their way. One senior executive says Japan’s banks are experiencing a “quiet crisis.”

Raymond Spencer, senior vice president at Moody’s Investors Service in Japan, says retail banks need to be run more like convenience stores. “Banking is not a complex business, particularly for retail. So there is a lot of competition and it has become a commodity,” he said.

The banks’ short business hours, typically from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, are an anachronism in the digital age, he says. “Why are branches open when nobody can visit them?”

At Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, the nation’s largest bank, the number of customers who visit its brick-and-mortar branches has dropped 40% in the past decade, while the number of internet banking users has risen 40% in the last five years.

The mismatch is becoming difficult to overlook for an industry bearing the twin burdens of low growth and low interest rates. With a shrinking population, the fall in customer numbers is only expected to accelerate. Yet the number of bank branches in Japan has changed little in the past 10 years, at around 13,500. With each branch typically staffed by about 30 clerks, shrinking or eliminating them will mean cutting a lot of positions.

asia.nikkei.com

 REQUEST FOR PARTICIPATION – India-Viet Nam Business Forum

ON MARCH 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

To
– Managing Committee Members
– Patron Members
– Promoter Chambers
– Corporate Associates
– Associated Chambers
– Ordinary Members

REQUEST FOR PARTICIPATION
 India-Viet Nam Business Forum
In Honour of 
H.E. Tran Dai Quang
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Saturday, 3 March, 2018

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are happy to inform you that, in association with Ministry of External Affairs ASSOCHAM  is Co-Organizing a Business Summit on the visit of  His Excellency Tran Dai Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam .This high powered business delegation comprises of 100 officials and Business delegates from Vietnam.

The Programme details are as follows:
Day/Date:   Saturday, 3 March, 2018
Time:       1:30 PM (Registration) (Followed by Hi-Tea)
Venue:     Durbar Hall, Taj Diplomatic Enclave, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi.

India-Vietnam relations have been exceptionally friendly and cordial since their foundations. Bilateral trade between India and Vietnam has seen continuous growth over the past many years. India is now among the top ten trading partners of Vietnam, total trade between the two countries during April–Nov of fiscal year 2016-2017 was US$ 6244.92 million. The two sides agreed to set the target of bilateral trade at USD 15 billion by 2020.

The upcoming event is expected to further expand the cordial and cooperative relationship between India & Vietnam and build on the strong ties of friendship and trust between the two.

In view of the importance of this visit, we request you to kindly consider participate in the event. 

Please send us your confirmation for participation to:

Mr. Abhishek Kumar
Executive- International Affairs, ASSOCHAM
E: abhishek.kumar@assocham.com
T: 011-46550555,Ext-632  M: +91-7011074028 

Since the time is short, we look forward to your confirmation latest by 28th February, 2018

Please Note:

• Invitation Card is non-transferable.
• Please bring the Invitation Card and Envelope with you.
• Guest identification liable to be cross checked even after passing through metal detection.
• Please do not bring any weapon, briefcase, handbag, attache, camera, radio, transistor, tape recorder, remote car keys, binocular etc, or any other electronic item with you. These will not be permitted inside the venue. Organizers and the venue staff will not be responsible for any such belongings.
• Eatables and water will not be allowed inside the venue.
• Please be seated before 2.30 P.M.
• Please carry original photo ID issued by the Government (Driving License / Pan Card / Voter Card / Passport). No other photo ID card shall be entertained.

In case you are also requested to sponsor the event, please free feel to let us know.

With Kind Regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Deepti Pant
DIRECTOR
HEAD – International Affairs
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
“The Knowledge Chamber: Serving the Nation since 1920”
5, Sardar Patel Marg, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi-110021
T: +91-11-46550550 F: 23017008/9
W: www.assocham.com
E: international@assocham.com