China deal 
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore said China offered huge possibilities to Ireland’s economic recovery
Ireland is expected to sign a number of “door-opening” agreements with China’s leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping this weekend to boost trade between the two countries.
Ahead of an official three-day visit from the Chinese vice-president, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore said China offered huge possibilities to Ireland’s economic recovery.
“There’s just enormous potential,” he said. “This is a significant visit politically, but also at this point in Ireland’s recovery path.”
Mr Xi, 58, will arrive at Shannon Airport on Saturday afternoon after a five-day trip to the US. He is also expected to travel to Turkey during his tour.
Asked why he was visiting Ireland rather than other countries, Mr Gilmore said: “All I can tell you is that we have been working through our own diplomatic efforts on the China beat for some time.”
The vice-president is widely expected to succeed China’s President Hu Jintao, who must retire as head of the Communist Party later this year and from the presidency in 2013.
Mr Gilmore, also Dublin’s foreign affairs minister, is preparing to sign a number of trade agreements with Mr Xi on Sunday to help Irish businesses sell into China and vice-versa.
The Government’s “Asia strategy” has highlighted lucrative opportunities to export food and drink to China, particularly for the country’s growing middle classes who have increasingly more money to spend.
Other industries being targeted are pharmaceuticals, IT, medical devices, tourism and education. There has also been suggestions of possible co-operation on alternative energy research.
Mr Gilmore said he will be selling Ireland to Mr Wi as a strategically located country within the European Union, which is part of the Eurozone but also as a “bridge” to Africa and the US.
Ireland wins an agreement with EU-IMF & gets the green light on job's creation
Dublin has won agreement from its international lenders to use some of the proceeds from the sale of state assets on Job creation projects. paving the way for the sale of energy companies, a stake in Aer Lingus and even its forests.
Pat Rabbitte, Ireland’s energy minister, said Dublin would finalise a list of state assets and companies within weeks that could be sold to meet commitments in its bail out programme with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
“The most significant breakthrough made was that whatever assets are sold a significant proportion would be allowed for reinvested in the Irish economy,” he told Irish radio on Wednesday.
The latest EU-IMF memorandum of understanding published on Tuesday says Dublin has agreed to an “ambitious programme of state asset disposals designed to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy, reduce sovereign financing needs, and provide additional resources for reinvestment in the economy”.
On winning election last year the Fine Gael/Labour government pledged to make tackling unemployment its number one priority. But despite several jobs initiatives launched over the past year, unemployment remains stubbornly high at 14.2 per cent.
Dublin has been negotiating for months with the troika of international lenders – the EU, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – to be allowed to use some of the proceeds of state sales for job creation. The deal, which was agreed during the latest EU-IMF monitoring mission to Dublin, says detailed analytical work on the sale or management of state assets should be completed before the end of March.
No definitive timeline or sum of money to be raised is set out in the EU-IMF memorandum but it is expected the government will aim to generate between €2bn and €5bn in asset sales and begin the sale process for some assets later this year.
The jewel in the crown of Irish state assets is ESB, the state electricity company, which could attract a valuation of more than €5bn. Last year the government said it would agree to sell a minority stake in ESB, but there is strong opposition to a sale from trade unions, making it politically difficult to agree any sale in the short term.
The state gas company Bord Gais could be worth up to €2bn and is considered the most likely state company to be sold off in the short to medium term.
Other assets being considered for disposal are: Dublin port, the government’s 25 per cent stake in Aer Lingus and Irish forests, although not the land.
Mr Rabbitte said there would be no “fire sale” of assets in the current market conditions.
Rents in Leitrim continue to fall & Sligo property rentals go up
Although a new report by Daft.ie showed that rents rose in the third quarter of the year, Sligo was the only county in the North west to see the jump. The average rent being paid by Co Leitrim residents each month is €487 according to the new report by property website Daft.ie this week. This figure is a decrease of 1.3% on the second quarter’s figures.
Sligo’s rent was the only county in the North West to see an increase, rent is approx €640 a month. Around the region Donegal reported €580, Roscommon €565, Cavan €526 and Longford €484.
The average rent nationwide now stands at €840 a month. It means that rents in October were just 2% lower than a year ago and 27% below their peak.
The stabilisation is being driven by urban areas, where rents have, in some places like South County Dublin, increased in each of the last three quarters. Outside the main cities however, rents fell by about 0.7%, a continuation of ongoing falls during the year.
Daft.ie’s economist Ronan Lyons said the signs that rents are levelling off reflects a better balance between supply on the market and demand. “The total number of properties sitting on the rental market around the country is down more than a quarter from a year ago. In the cities, the fall is closer to a half,” he stated.
No comments:
Post a Comment