India's central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Wednesday announced it has kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 percent. Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks in the event of a shortfall of funds. In a statement, RBI said that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility unchanged at 5.25 percent after a detailed assessment of the evolving macroeconomic and financial developments and the outlook. The statement added that the standing deposit facility rate remains at 5.00 percent and the marginal standing facility rate and the Bank Rate remain at 5.50 percent, consequently. According to the RBI, the MPC also decided to continue with the neutral stance. The Indian economy has remained resilient amidst persisting global headwinds, said the RBI.
India's central bank keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.25 pct
Offshore duty-free sales in south China's Hainan Province totaled 21.6 billion yuan (about 3.20 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of this year, registering year-on-year growth of 17.9 percent.
During the period, a total of 3.111 million shoppers purchased 17.653 million items duty free, up 11.9 percent and 6.9 percent year on year, respectively.
In June 2020, China unveiled a master plan to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. The initiative reached a major milestone in December 2025 with the launch of island-wide special customs operations, which marked the completion of the first key step toward that goal.
The move has turned the island into a special customs supervision zone, allowing freer trade between Hainan and areas outside China's customs borders, while enforcing standard customs controls for goods moving from Hainan to the mainland.
Hainan's offshore duty-free sales exceed 21 bln yuan in Jan-July
