SEBI issued the following clarification on news reports relating to Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd.
"It has been widely reported in the media that SEBI has vide order dated December 19, 2008, directed Mr. P S Saminathan, the CMD of Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd. (PSTL), to make an open offer for acquisition of shares of the Target Company (PSTL) at a price of not less than Rs. 250/-. A copy of the letter purported to have been issued by SEBI was also flashed on some TV Channels today.
"It is hereby clarified that no order or letter has been issued by SEBI to Mr. P S Saminathan on 19.12.2008. It appears that the said letter is being circulated with ulterior motives.
"SEBI is separately investigating into the matter including the origin of the letter. SEBI is also separately inquiring into the dealing in the scrip following the press report including alleged violation of SEBI (SAST) Regulations, 1997.
Mumbai
December 23, 2008"
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Why the worst of times can also be the best of times
What are the learnings for the Indian economy and corporates from the pngoing global financial crisis? Here is an expert view by Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director & CEO, Reliance Money
The world has changed. After years of benign economic conditions, the four horsemen of financial apocalypse – credit crunch, recession, volatility and uncertainty – are blazing a trail across the horizon. Executives must now reassess their organisation’s agenda and communicate it clearly. If history is a guide, most will frame the current conditions as a threat and take action to protect what they have. Mitigating threats in tough markets is prudent, but companies that adopt a defensive position ignore a counter-intuitive truth: the worst of times for an economy as a whole can be the best of times for individual companies to create value.These are probably occasions when a company can create value significantly in excess of the cost of the resources required to seize an opportunity, whether by acquisition, innovative product launches, expanding in new markets or buying resources.
Golden opportunities do not come along every day, and most people think they are more likely to arise when the good times are rolling. In fact, the moment when you can transform your fortunes often emerges during the toughest times. Companies can also use difficult trading conditions to drive a hard bargain on tangible assets. Emirates purchased Airbus A380s on favourable terms one month after the September 11 attacks, at a time when many airlines were reluctant or unable to make large commitments.
A crisis marks a clean break with the past and creates an external rationale to make unpopular but necessary changes. In a downturn, investors and Boards are more forgiving of short-term earnings dips that might result from actions to improve the organisation in the long term. Kun-Hee Lee, Samsung’s chairman, for example, welcomed the currency crisis that roiled Asian markets in the late 1990s. A decade earlier, Mr Lee had initiated a set of changes to transform Samsung from a competent Korean player to a global leader. Mr Lee harnessed the energy unleashed by the external crisis to reinvigorate the internal changes.
Many companies alternate between growth binges and periods of sober cost cutting. The better approach is to maintain cost discipline throughout the economic cycle. When considering cost cuts, managers should ask themselves how the process will help to maintain cost discipline in the future. The worst of times can be the best of times to create value for leaders alert enough to spot opportunities and courageous enough to seize them
Friday, December 5, 2008
India invites Russian investment in energy
NEW DELHI:Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath has said that there is immense possibility for joint investments between INdia and Russia in areas like banking, information technology, telecommunications, high-technology sectors, power, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
Addressing the India-Russia CEOs Council Meeting here today,Mr Kamal Nath said that India and Russia have managed to sustain strong business vibes in recent years and added that the India-Russia Forum on Trade & Investment has underscored the need for investment cooperation in a large number of sectors.
“Indian companies are quickly establishing themselves in Russia and the cumulative Indian investments in the Russian economy amounted to US $ 744.1 million as of March 31, 2008”, he said. The meeting was also attended by Shri G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary Ajai Shankar, Secretary (IPP) apart from CEOs from both the countries. During the occasion, the Minister also launched the IBEF Website in Russian language.
Mr Nath said there is a strong case for Russian companies to invest in India, especially in power sector, as Russia is energy rich and India's energy requirements are going to increase manifold over the next 10-15 years.
The Minister emphasised that critical sectors of the economy, like agriculture, have started a process of revival by growing at a rate of close to 4%. This growth rate is a significant contribution to inclusiveness, which is vital for India as it helps sustain domestic consumption, which will sustain our growth story in the short, medium and long term, he added.
Bilateral trade between India and Russia during 2008-09 (April-July) was to the tune of US $ 1613.56 million. Major items of export are drugs, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, RMG cotton including accessories, tea, coffee, tobacco un-manufactured, processed minerals, plastic & linoleum products, machinery & instruments, transport equipments, electronic goods etc. Major items of import are iron & steel, non-ferrous metals, coal, coke, newsprint, silver, synthetic & reclaimed rubber etc.
Cumulative FDI inflows from Russia till August 2008 were US $ 144 million. The top sectors that attracted FDI inflows were medical & surgical appliances, hotel & tourism, food processing industries etc.
Addressing the India-Russia CEOs Council Meeting here today,Mr Kamal Nath said that India and Russia have managed to sustain strong business vibes in recent years and added that the India-Russia Forum on Trade & Investment has underscored the need for investment cooperation in a large number of sectors.
“Indian companies are quickly establishing themselves in Russia and the cumulative Indian investments in the Russian economy amounted to US $ 744.1 million as of March 31, 2008”, he said. The meeting was also attended by Shri G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary Ajai Shankar, Secretary (IPP) apart from CEOs from both the countries. During the occasion, the Minister also launched the IBEF Website in Russian language.
Mr Nath said there is a strong case for Russian companies to invest in India, especially in power sector, as Russia is energy rich and India's energy requirements are going to increase manifold over the next 10-15 years.
The Minister emphasised that critical sectors of the economy, like agriculture, have started a process of revival by growing at a rate of close to 4%. This growth rate is a significant contribution to inclusiveness, which is vital for India as it helps sustain domestic consumption, which will sustain our growth story in the short, medium and long term, he added.
Bilateral trade between India and Russia during 2008-09 (April-July) was to the tune of US $ 1613.56 million. Major items of export are drugs, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, RMG cotton including accessories, tea, coffee, tobacco un-manufactured, processed minerals, plastic & linoleum products, machinery & instruments, transport equipments, electronic goods etc. Major items of import are iron & steel, non-ferrous metals, coal, coke, newsprint, silver, synthetic & reclaimed rubber etc.
Cumulative FDI inflows from Russia till August 2008 were US $ 144 million. The top sectors that attracted FDI inflows were medical & surgical appliances, hotel & tourism, food processing industries etc.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Undue favours to new telecom players? DoT says No!
Are the new entrants to telecom field being unduly favoured by the telecom Ministry?
An adage which is much older than the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 says that you cannot compare an apple with an orange. Even in telecom, an Orange (pun unintended!) has to be compared with an orange. That is what level playing field is all about, says a top telecom ministry official.
Asked to comment on the widespread allegations that certain new telecom players like Swan and Unitech have been unduly favoured as they secured spectrum on the basis of fee pegged in 2001, the official explained that the price has not yet been changed ever since deliberately.
“One has to keep in mind the government’s overall objective of growth, affordability and even penetration of wireless service in small towns and rural areas,” he said and pointed out that even TRAI does not favour any change in the fee structure and auction for spectrum.
The unchanged license fee also serves as incentive to telecom players to extend their networks to relatively low-revenue semi urban and rural areas. Otherwise, the government would have to subsidise the rural network expansion, the official said.
Even when the Cabinet decided on pricing for the fourth operators in 2003, it was based on TRAI recommendation and the same principle was applied last year when the new entrants were given licenses.
The government fully respected the telecom industry’s argument for a level playing field for all players and hence did not impose any restrictions for its growth. “This has also immensely contributed to the country emerging as the world’s fastest growth telecom market, adding over 8 million subscribers every month,” the official explained.
The country wireless subscriber base is 300 million strong today and is expected to double to 600 million mark in the next four years.
Any increase in the fee or allowing spectrum to be auctioned would in effect mean injustice to new players as it could jeopardize the tariff structures. With the telecom market witnessing immense tariff war, the new players would have been put to disadvantage visa-vis the existing players and this would have gone against the principles of level playing field, the official said.
DoT has been maintaining that the new licenses have been issued as per TRAI policy guidelines.
An adage which is much older than the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 says that you cannot compare an apple with an orange. Even in telecom, an Orange (pun unintended!) has to be compared with an orange. That is what level playing field is all about, says a top telecom ministry official.
Asked to comment on the widespread allegations that certain new telecom players like Swan and Unitech have been unduly favoured as they secured spectrum on the basis of fee pegged in 2001, the official explained that the price has not yet been changed ever since deliberately.
“One has to keep in mind the government’s overall objective of growth, affordability and even penetration of wireless service in small towns and rural areas,” he said and pointed out that even TRAI does not favour any change in the fee structure and auction for spectrum.
The unchanged license fee also serves as incentive to telecom players to extend their networks to relatively low-revenue semi urban and rural areas. Otherwise, the government would have to subsidise the rural network expansion, the official said.
Even when the Cabinet decided on pricing for the fourth operators in 2003, it was based on TRAI recommendation and the same principle was applied last year when the new entrants were given licenses.
The government fully respected the telecom industry’s argument for a level playing field for all players and hence did not impose any restrictions for its growth. “This has also immensely contributed to the country emerging as the world’s fastest growth telecom market, adding over 8 million subscribers every month,” the official explained.
The country wireless subscriber base is 300 million strong today and is expected to double to 600 million mark in the next four years.
Any increase in the fee or allowing spectrum to be auctioned would in effect mean injustice to new players as it could jeopardize the tariff structures. With the telecom market witnessing immense tariff war, the new players would have been put to disadvantage visa-vis the existing players and this would have gone against the principles of level playing field, the official said.
DoT has been maintaining that the new licenses have been issued as per TRAI policy guidelines.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Inflation declines to 8.9%
Annual rate of inflation, year on year as conventionally measured, declined to 8.90 per cent for the week ending November 8, 2008 compared to a rate of 8.98 per cent reported in the previous week, the Finance Ministry has reported.
The Wholesale price index in the current week declined by 0.21 per cent, from 235.5 as on November 1, 2008 to 235.0 on November 8, 2008. For the second week in a row inflation continues to be in single digit, though the significant decline of 174 basis points witnessed last week has been moderated to 8 basis points. In the previous year, on November 10, 2007 inflation at 3.20 per cent was significantly lower.
In the ‘primary articles’ group, the annual point-to-point inflation increased to 11.66 per cent, as compared to 11.01 per cent reported last week. Out of a total of 98 articles, 14 articles have shown a decline in prices in the current week as compared to November 1, 2008. These included among others, jowar, maize, ragi, tea, brinjal, black pepper, linseed, coconut fresh, papaya, rape and mustard seed, raw cotton, banana, fire clay and gypsum. A total of 55 articles have shown no increase in prices.
In the commodity group ‘fuel and power’, the rate of inflation declined further to 8.21 per cent in the current week compared to an inflation of 9.22 per cent reported in the previous week. Prices of 4 commodities declined and, for other 14 commodities, it remained unchanged. Prices of bitumen, continues to increase by 1.24 per cent in the current week.
In the case of ‘manufactured products’, rate of inflation in the current week declined marginally to 8.02 per cent, as compared to 8.06 per cent in previous week. Out of 318 commodities, a large number, 287 in all, have shown no increase in prices over the last week. For 21 commodities, there has been a decline in prices. These commodities included among others, sugar, gur, bar and rods, imported edible oils, deoiled cake, rape and mustered cake, groundnut cake and oil, rice bran oil, synthetic yarn, texturised yarn, zinc ingots, bright bars, P.V.C. resins and benzene. Only 9 products, particularly fluorescent tubes, cotton yarn and cotton cloth, bicycles, GLS lamps and mustered oil witnessed an increase in prices.
Inflation of 30 essential commodities declined marginally to 7.60 per cent as of the week ending November 8, 2008 from 7.74 per cent reported in the earlier week. There was a however, an increase in the prices of primary essential commodities including pulses such as urad, moog, gram, arhar, masoor, and cereals like wheat, rice, and bajara . There was also an increase in the prices of onions. The prices of other essential commodities moderated or declined over previous week.
The monthly deseasonalised inflation rate has been negative during September and October, suggesting a continuing moderation in WPI inflation in the coming months. For the month of October 2008, the deseasonalised inflation for primary food showed some increase, though there was significant decline in inflation rate of manufactured food. The overall monthly deseasonalised inflation in manufactured products shows a continuing decline since September 2008.
The Wholesale price index in the current week declined by 0.21 per cent, from 235.5 as on November 1, 2008 to 235.0 on November 8, 2008. For the second week in a row inflation continues to be in single digit, though the significant decline of 174 basis points witnessed last week has been moderated to 8 basis points. In the previous year, on November 10, 2007 inflation at 3.20 per cent was significantly lower.
In the ‘primary articles’ group, the annual point-to-point inflation increased to 11.66 per cent, as compared to 11.01 per cent reported last week. Out of a total of 98 articles, 14 articles have shown a decline in prices in the current week as compared to November 1, 2008. These included among others, jowar, maize, ragi, tea, brinjal, black pepper, linseed, coconut fresh, papaya, rape and mustard seed, raw cotton, banana, fire clay and gypsum. A total of 55 articles have shown no increase in prices.
In the commodity group ‘fuel and power’, the rate of inflation declined further to 8.21 per cent in the current week compared to an inflation of 9.22 per cent reported in the previous week. Prices of 4 commodities declined and, for other 14 commodities, it remained unchanged. Prices of bitumen, continues to increase by 1.24 per cent in the current week.
In the case of ‘manufactured products’, rate of inflation in the current week declined marginally to 8.02 per cent, as compared to 8.06 per cent in previous week. Out of 318 commodities, a large number, 287 in all, have shown no increase in prices over the last week. For 21 commodities, there has been a decline in prices. These commodities included among others, sugar, gur, bar and rods, imported edible oils, deoiled cake, rape and mustered cake, groundnut cake and oil, rice bran oil, synthetic yarn, texturised yarn, zinc ingots, bright bars, P.V.C. resins and benzene. Only 9 products, particularly fluorescent tubes, cotton yarn and cotton cloth, bicycles, GLS lamps and mustered oil witnessed an increase in prices.
Inflation of 30 essential commodities declined marginally to 7.60 per cent as of the week ending November 8, 2008 from 7.74 per cent reported in the earlier week. There was a however, an increase in the prices of primary essential commodities including pulses such as urad, moog, gram, arhar, masoor, and cereals like wheat, rice, and bajara . There was also an increase in the prices of onions. The prices of other essential commodities moderated or declined over previous week.
The monthly deseasonalised inflation rate has been negative during September and October, suggesting a continuing moderation in WPI inflation in the coming months. For the month of October 2008, the deseasonalised inflation for primary food showed some increase, though there was significant decline in inflation rate of manufactured food. The overall monthly deseasonalised inflation in manufactured products shows a continuing decline since September 2008.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
India turns Global telecom playground
A Corporate Radar excluisive
Why is the Indian telecom market becoming such an active playground for foreign investors? What is the reason for such an inflow of FDI, despite the global financial crisis? Corporate Radar asked Mr. Bundeep Singh Rangar, Chairman of IndusView Advisors Ltd, for his views. IndusView advises multinational companies on business opportunities emanating from India’s fast growing economy. Mr Rangar’s response:
1. Post Etisalat etc., do you think more FDI will flow into Indian telecom?
Ans: The current dynamics of the Indian telecom market should be seen from two perspectives, which also explains the evolutionary cycle the sector has seen over the last two decades:
• A very basic realization among the masses about the need to remain connected – The first phase
• To remain connected and also harness the immense potential of the value added services and innovative applications – The second phase
While the first phase has seen the tele-density of the country jump from less than 1% in the '80s to about 30% now; the second phase is witnessing the numerous applications and value added services like music and movie clips downloads, innovative ring tones, among others.
But, that is not enough ... there is still a large population that needs to be offered the benefits of the basic communication services – that is how the target of achieving a tele-density of about 45% is set for the next five years by the government of India. The service providers – both the state owned and the private sector – would be aiming to surpass that target and garner the maximum possible chunk of that potential subscriber base.
The race among mobile telecommunication service providers translates in to a growing opportunity estimated at more than 700 million by 2012 from the current 300 million, at a CAGR of 21%.
Apart from the vanilla voice and sms services that the mobile services are widely associated with, the advent of next generation platforms like 3G and progressively 4G, will exponentially accelerate the possibilities of innovative applications that can be bundled on to the networks and delivered at the subscribers' finger tips in the hi-tech mobile handsets.
Such subscriber growth targets and evolving technology landscape calls for corresponding high capital investments which is pegged at about $73 billion over the next five years. And, a major chunk of the investment is expected to be realized through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), particularly in the area of mobile communication.
2. Why do you think Indian telecom market is becoming so attractive for foreign players?
Ans: As mentioned above, the incumbent mobile telecommunication service providers in India currently add more than nine million subscribers a month with a potential of taking the total tally of subscribers up to 700 million in the next five years. In terms of expected revenues that translates in to overall mobile services revenues likely to be more than $37 billion by 2012 growing at a CAGR of 18%. Such growth potential in the segment offers enough incentive to overseas service providers to vie for their share of the pie. And investor friendly regulations by the government, allowing up to 74% stake holding in a domestic entity by foreign player is an icing on the cake.
The potential of a profitable exit opportunity is another reason. For instance, the stake of 26% in Tata Teleservices by Japanese telecom services provider NTT DoCoMo at $2.7 bn (Rs 12,770 crore) values Tata Teleservices at Rs 50,270 crore. Even in the current market conditions the valuations are still moving north. In early 2006, Temasek picked up a 9.9% stake in Tata Teleservices for Rs 1,500 crore valuing the company at around Rs 15,000 crore. The NTT DoCoMo deal values Tata Teleservices at more than three times that in less than three years.
3. Given current global crisis, do you think the telecom market, particularly in india, will withstand the turmoil and witness the same pattern of growth as seen in the recent times?
Ans: The recent string of investments in Indian telecom companies, including, Tata Teleservices Ltd by NTT DoCoMo, Inc; Unitech Telecom, the telecom arm of India's second largest real estate developer Unitech Ltd by Norwegian telecom firm Telenor ASA, world's seventh largest telecom service provider at $1.36 billion; and Swan Telecom, a start-up GSM telecom service company of a Mumbai-based real estate developer Dynamix Balwas Group by Dubai-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) at $900 million; or, South Africa's largest telecom company MTN Group's attempts to enter the Indian market are examples of overseas companies that have exhibited confidence in the potential of the Indian market.
Communication is a necessity. The related costs of owning a handset and usage charges (tariffs) in India are among the lowest in the world. To add to that, the service providers are offering innovative tariff packages even while touching the lowest band and are willing to further lower the packages to bring new subscribers in to their fold.
Such customer friendly posture will go a long way in ensuring the market remains an active playground.
Why is the Indian telecom market becoming such an active playground for foreign investors? What is the reason for such an inflow of FDI, despite the global financial crisis? Corporate Radar asked Mr. Bundeep Singh Rangar, Chairman of IndusView Advisors Ltd, for his views. IndusView advises multinational companies on business opportunities emanating from India’s fast growing economy. Mr Rangar’s response:
1. Post Etisalat etc., do you think more FDI will flow into Indian telecom?
Ans: The current dynamics of the Indian telecom market should be seen from two perspectives, which also explains the evolutionary cycle the sector has seen over the last two decades:
• A very basic realization among the masses about the need to remain connected – The first phase
• To remain connected and also harness the immense potential of the value added services and innovative applications – The second phase
While the first phase has seen the tele-density of the country jump from less than 1% in the '80s to about 30% now; the second phase is witnessing the numerous applications and value added services like music and movie clips downloads, innovative ring tones, among others.
But, that is not enough ... there is still a large population that needs to be offered the benefits of the basic communication services – that is how the target of achieving a tele-density of about 45% is set for the next five years by the government of India. The service providers – both the state owned and the private sector – would be aiming to surpass that target and garner the maximum possible chunk of that potential subscriber base.
The race among mobile telecommunication service providers translates in to a growing opportunity estimated at more than 700 million by 2012 from the current 300 million, at a CAGR of 21%.
Apart from the vanilla voice and sms services that the mobile services are widely associated with, the advent of next generation platforms like 3G and progressively 4G, will exponentially accelerate the possibilities of innovative applications that can be bundled on to the networks and delivered at the subscribers' finger tips in the hi-tech mobile handsets.
Such subscriber growth targets and evolving technology landscape calls for corresponding high capital investments which is pegged at about $73 billion over the next five years. And, a major chunk of the investment is expected to be realized through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), particularly in the area of mobile communication.
2. Why do you think Indian telecom market is becoming so attractive for foreign players?
Ans: As mentioned above, the incumbent mobile telecommunication service providers in India currently add more than nine million subscribers a month with a potential of taking the total tally of subscribers up to 700 million in the next five years. In terms of expected revenues that translates in to overall mobile services revenues likely to be more than $37 billion by 2012 growing at a CAGR of 18%. Such growth potential in the segment offers enough incentive to overseas service providers to vie for their share of the pie. And investor friendly regulations by the government, allowing up to 74% stake holding in a domestic entity by foreign player is an icing on the cake.
The potential of a profitable exit opportunity is another reason. For instance, the stake of 26% in Tata Teleservices by Japanese telecom services provider NTT DoCoMo at $2.7 bn (Rs 12,770 crore) values Tata Teleservices at Rs 50,270 crore. Even in the current market conditions the valuations are still moving north. In early 2006, Temasek picked up a 9.9% stake in Tata Teleservices for Rs 1,500 crore valuing the company at around Rs 15,000 crore. The NTT DoCoMo deal values Tata Teleservices at more than three times that in less than three years.
3. Given current global crisis, do you think the telecom market, particularly in india, will withstand the turmoil and witness the same pattern of growth as seen in the recent times?
Ans: The recent string of investments in Indian telecom companies, including, Tata Teleservices Ltd by NTT DoCoMo, Inc; Unitech Telecom, the telecom arm of India's second largest real estate developer Unitech Ltd by Norwegian telecom firm Telenor ASA, world's seventh largest telecom service provider at $1.36 billion; and Swan Telecom, a start-up GSM telecom service company of a Mumbai-based real estate developer Dynamix Balwas Group by Dubai-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) at $900 million; or, South Africa's largest telecom company MTN Group's attempts to enter the Indian market are examples of overseas companies that have exhibited confidence in the potential of the Indian market.
Communication is a necessity. The related costs of owning a handset and usage charges (tariffs) in India are among the lowest in the world. To add to that, the service providers are offering innovative tariff packages even while touching the lowest band and are willing to further lower the packages to bring new subscribers in to their fold.
Such customer friendly posture will go a long way in ensuring the market remains an active playground.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Super power flexibility must for Doha round success: India
NEW DELHI:Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath has stated that the infrastructure development is a vital area for India’s economic growth.
During his interaction with Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Department of International Development, UK, here last evening, Nath emphasised that there is an excellent opportunity for UK expertise as well as investments In India. “We need to generate interests in the large number of PPP projects being explored in India”, he added. Both sides also discussed about the present global financial crisis and the impact on trade. The meeting was also attended by G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary apart from senior officials from both the countries.
Both sides discussed the possibilities for early conclusion of the Doha Round Negotiations of the WTO. Kamal Nath explained that India continues to believe strongly in a rule-based, transparent and fair multilateral trade regime. “One of the factors which will have an important bearing on the conclusion of the Round is whether the developed countries would be willing to show the necessary flexibility for finalizing a multilateral deal. However, India has been engaging constructively and actively with other fellow member countries of the WTO in the expectation that this would be forthcoming. A conclusion would of course depend on whether the WTO members are faithful to the mandate and the final outcome reflects a clear balance between market opening and the development needs of the majority of the membership”, he added.
Both sides agreed that there is a huge potential for bilateral trade and investment in view of shared interests and a long history of relations. It was felt that the potential area for growth in trade and investment are agri-business, healthcare, infrastructure, high-technology, legal services, accountancy services and financial services. Shri Kamal Nath informed the visiting Secretary of State that Indian healthcare industry is keen for tie-ups with the UK health insurance industry for offering healthcare facilities in India.
The cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the UK during 1991-2008 was to the tune of US $ 5.03 billion. The top sectors that attracted FDI from the UK were: telecommunications, fuels (power & oil refining), chemicals (other than fetillisers and services sector (financial & non-financial). The top investment areas by Indians in the UK are: software development services, pharmaceuticals, textiles and handicrafts.
The total bilateral trade between India and the UK during the year 2007-08 was US $ 12 billion (exports - $ 7 billion and imports - $ 5 billion). During 2006-07, the bilateral trade was US $ 9.8 billion (exports - $ 5.6 billion and imports - $ 4.2 billion). The main exports to UK were: readymade garments, petroleum, machinery & instruments, gems & jewellery, footwear etc. The main imports from the UK were: precious & semi-precious stones, electronic goods, silver, transport equipments, metalifers ores and metal scrap etc.
The present Indo-UK Joint Working Groups is in the sectors of hi-tech, IPR (intellectual property rights), accountancy, legal services, infrastructure, healthcare, financial services and company affairs. The 5th Meeting of the Indo-UK JETCO (Joint Economic and Trade Committee) is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on a date to be decided mutually.
During his interaction with Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Department of International Development, UK, here last evening, Nath emphasised that there is an excellent opportunity for UK expertise as well as investments In India. “We need to generate interests in the large number of PPP projects being explored in India”, he added. Both sides also discussed about the present global financial crisis and the impact on trade. The meeting was also attended by G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary apart from senior officials from both the countries.
Both sides discussed the possibilities for early conclusion of the Doha Round Negotiations of the WTO. Kamal Nath explained that India continues to believe strongly in a rule-based, transparent and fair multilateral trade regime. “One of the factors which will have an important bearing on the conclusion of the Round is whether the developed countries would be willing to show the necessary flexibility for finalizing a multilateral deal. However, India has been engaging constructively and actively with other fellow member countries of the WTO in the expectation that this would be forthcoming. A conclusion would of course depend on whether the WTO members are faithful to the mandate and the final outcome reflects a clear balance between market opening and the development needs of the majority of the membership”, he added.
Both sides agreed that there is a huge potential for bilateral trade and investment in view of shared interests and a long history of relations. It was felt that the potential area for growth in trade and investment are agri-business, healthcare, infrastructure, high-technology, legal services, accountancy services and financial services. Shri Kamal Nath informed the visiting Secretary of State that Indian healthcare industry is keen for tie-ups with the UK health insurance industry for offering healthcare facilities in India.
The cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the UK during 1991-2008 was to the tune of US $ 5.03 billion. The top sectors that attracted FDI from the UK were: telecommunications, fuels (power & oil refining), chemicals (other than fetillisers and services sector (financial & non-financial). The top investment areas by Indians in the UK are: software development services, pharmaceuticals, textiles and handicrafts.
The total bilateral trade between India and the UK during the year 2007-08 was US $ 12 billion (exports - $ 7 billion and imports - $ 5 billion). During 2006-07, the bilateral trade was US $ 9.8 billion (exports - $ 5.6 billion and imports - $ 4.2 billion). The main exports to UK were: readymade garments, petroleum, machinery & instruments, gems & jewellery, footwear etc. The main imports from the UK were: precious & semi-precious stones, electronic goods, silver, transport equipments, metalifers ores and metal scrap etc.
The present Indo-UK Joint Working Groups is in the sectors of hi-tech, IPR (intellectual property rights), accountancy, legal services, infrastructure, healthcare, financial services and company affairs. The 5th Meeting of the Indo-UK JETCO (Joint Economic and Trade Committee) is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on a date to be decided mutually.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Dont't run away from India, Kamal Nath tells investors
NEW DELHI: Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today said that world would benefit tremendously from a stable, large and growing consumer market provided by India and added that this is not the time for foreign investors to give up on India.
"Foreign investors who withdraw equity investments or shelve FDI plans in India will find themselves behind the curve as our economy picks up its 9-10% pace once again," he said addressing the Plenary Session on “Securing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth in India” at the India Economic Summit here.
Kamal Nath pointed out that India’s reform process has allowed millions of poor people to cross the poverty threshold and added that there is still a lot of room for further reforms in key areas such as public private partnerships, financial sector, and taxation, among others. He said that much action remains on the agenda table for integrating further with the global economy and becoming a vital link in the international supply chain of goods and services, funds and capital, and resources and talent.
The 3-day (16-18 November) Summit is being jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and World Economic Forum.
Kamal Nath emphasised that inclusive growth ultimately depends on the productivity of the overall workforce, which in turn is dependent on its education, skill development, technical and professional education, and talent resource levels. India’s workforce numbers around 500 million people and is expected to expand by about 20 million each year for the next ten years. “But 600 million people continue to depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. While agriculture has been expanding at close to 3% annually, there is need to move people off the land in order to enhance their productivity and increase their incomes”, he added.
Speaking about India’s engagement with the world, he said that India’s total exports in 2004-05 was at $ 83.5 billion, whereas in 2007-08, it exceeded the targets and achieved a doubling of trade to $163 billion and this year, for the period April to September export growth was 31% over the same period last year. At the same time, we continue to be a solid market for overseas goods, he underlined and added that India’s imports have gone up from $ 112 billion in 2004-05 to $ 251 billion in 2007-08 and non-oil imports increased at a rapid clip of 43%. “When we include export and import of services, our external engagement can be placed at over $ 525 billion for the past year, which adds up to more than half of GDP. This is unprecedented in India’s modern economic history”, he said
"Foreign investors who withdraw equity investments or shelve FDI plans in India will find themselves behind the curve as our economy picks up its 9-10% pace once again," he said addressing the Plenary Session on “Securing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth in India” at the India Economic Summit here.
Kamal Nath pointed out that India’s reform process has allowed millions of poor people to cross the poverty threshold and added that there is still a lot of room for further reforms in key areas such as public private partnerships, financial sector, and taxation, among others. He said that much action remains on the agenda table for integrating further with the global economy and becoming a vital link in the international supply chain of goods and services, funds and capital, and resources and talent.
The 3-day (16-18 November) Summit is being jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and World Economic Forum.
Kamal Nath emphasised that inclusive growth ultimately depends on the productivity of the overall workforce, which in turn is dependent on its education, skill development, technical and professional education, and talent resource levels. India’s workforce numbers around 500 million people and is expected to expand by about 20 million each year for the next ten years. “But 600 million people continue to depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. While agriculture has been expanding at close to 3% annually, there is need to move people off the land in order to enhance their productivity and increase their incomes”, he added.
Speaking about India’s engagement with the world, he said that India’s total exports in 2004-05 was at $ 83.5 billion, whereas in 2007-08, it exceeded the targets and achieved a doubling of trade to $163 billion and this year, for the period April to September export growth was 31% over the same period last year. At the same time, we continue to be a solid market for overseas goods, he underlined and added that India’s imports have gone up from $ 112 billion in 2004-05 to $ 251 billion in 2007-08 and non-oil imports increased at a rapid clip of 43%. “When we include export and import of services, our external engagement can be placed at over $ 525 billion for the past year, which adds up to more than half of GDP. This is unprecedented in India’s modern economic history”, he said
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Indian Railways to pump in $62 billion for development
by Harish Kunwar(Assistant Director, Press Information Bureau, New Delhi)
Over the decade, private sector participation in the railway sector has increased, though it remains limited. The public-private partnership (PPP) model is becoming increasingly popular in order to mobilize capital and improve operation and management skills. In the past, IR made several attempts to involve the private sector through works or management contracts in areas such as catering wagon ownership and leasing, and joint ventures (JVs) for rail infrastructure projects. As a result, several initiatives were taken up on a PPP basis. These included commercial utilization of railway land, private operation of container trains, catering services, warehouses and wagon procurement. A number of PPP projects are also on the anvil. These include construction of dedicated freight corridors, modernization of railway stations, manufacture of rolling stock, utilization of vacant railway land, development of railside warehouses, construction of passenger terminals and development of VSAT hubs.
It has been assessed that Indian Railways would need to spend around Rs. 2,51000 crore (US$62 billion) on various capacity enhancement measures over the next five year period. A major part of the investment would come from internally generated resources. Budgetary support to the extent feasible would also come forth. However, to meet the massive investment needed, these would need to be leveraged to mobilize adequate level extra budgetary resources. Around Rs. 1,00,000 crore is expected to come from extra budgetary resources including Public Private Partnership (PPP). PPP would, thus, play a crucial role in the attainment of the strategic goals outlined above.
Construction of DFC
It has been planned to construct a new Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), initially covering about 2700 route kms. equivalent to around 5000 track kilometers at an approximate cost of Rs. 28000 crore (US$6 billion) linking the ports of western India and the ports and mines of Eastern India to Delhi and Punjab. The construction of this corridor will be implemented through an SPV being created for the purpose through a mix of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and PPP methods. Ministry of Railways is in the process of selecting a global consultant to advise on the concession agreement, principles of track access charges and other financing and bidding issues. It is envisaged that innovative ideas on design, construction and maintenance of railway to achieve optimal life – cycle costs would be forthcoming through PPP especially as the work progresses on the initial two corridors and further corridors are taken up. The concessionaire could also tap additional ancillary revenue streams through commercial exploitation of and, construction of freight terminal/logistic park/ICDs etc.
World Class Railway Stations
Railway stations at metropolitan cities and important tourist centres need to be modernized to provide world-class passenger amenities and services to the large multitude of passengers using these stations. Indian Railways is planning to do so by attracting private investments in the area by leveraging the land around and airspace above the stations. The concessionaire would be expected to construct and maintain the operational and passenger areas free of cost, share the revenue earned from the real-estate created and hand over the same after the concession period. Altogether 26 stations have been identified in the first stage. These are CST Mumbai (Carnac Bunder), Pune, Howrah (Kolkata), Lucknow, New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Bijwasan at Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Secunderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Mathura, Agra, Gaya, Bangalore, Jaipur, Nagpur, Tirupati, Bhopal, Kanpur and Guwahati. Pre-qualification process for bidders for the pilot project for New Delhi Station has been initiated. Redevelopment of Patna, Secunderabad and Mumbai will also be taken up during the current year. Development of other stations and green field passenger terminals would also be taken up subsequently.
Commercial Utilization of Land
Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land. These are mostly alongside track in longitudinal strips, around railway stations, and in railway colonies especially in metro and other important cities/towns with potential of being used commercially to generate revenue as well as capital for modernization and capacity addition. A new body, namely Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has been set up under the Railway (Amendment) Act 2005 to pursue, interalia, the main objectives of generating revenue and up grading railway assets. 110 sites have already been entrusted to RLDA.
SPV for manufacturing
With sustained economic growth and the resultant demand for rail transport the requirement of rolling stock has increased manifold. The requirement of coaches/Electrical Multiple Units is projected at 22689 vehicle unit for the XI Five Year Plan The gap between the requirement and the combined capacity of the two Production Units at Integral Coach Factory, Perambur and Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala (around 2500 per annum) is planned to be bridged by augmenting the existing capacity of these Production Units and setting up a new manufacturing unit through a JV under PPP.
Similarly, the requirement of Electric and Diesel Locomotives has been projected at 1800 each during the XI Five Year Plan i.e. 360 locos per year. The existing in – house capacity for the manufacture of these locomotives is presently 150 per annum for Electric and for Diesel. The gap between the requirement and capacity is also planned to be bridged by setting up two locomotive manufacturing units one each for diesel and electric locomotives through PPP. Possibility of PPP through long-term demand guarantee to prospective manufactures of modern wagons is also being explored.
High Speed Corridors
Pre-feasibility studies are being awarded for a few identified corridors to examine. Linking a few of our bustling metropolises with a high speed rail links to facilitate train travel over 600-1000 km within 2.5 to 4 hours. All options including PPP will be explored.
Operation of container trains and construction of Multi-modal Logistics Parks
Private operators have been allowed to manage rail-borne Container Services on Indian Railways. Concession agreement setting out the terms of such operation has been signed with 15 private operators. The scheme is also open for other operators to join. So far private operators have inducted 45 rakes and built three ICDs at Garihassru, Patli and Loni.
Policy framework to facilitate setting up of Multi-modal Logistics Parks (MLPs) in SEZs or private land with rail connectivity has been formulated. The policy also evisages utilization or surplus railway land available at suitable locations for development of MLPs and/or bulk or dedicated freight terminals.
Wagon investment Scheme
The Wagon Investment Scheme (WIS) with provisions for freight rebate and supply of guaranteed number of rakes over periods ranging from 7-15 years for various categories of wagons has been in operation for the past few years. The scheme is being replaced by a new scheme to broaden its appeal to investors providing high-capacity and special purpose wagons. A scheme to facilitate third-party leasing of wagons is also under finalization.
Port Connectivity works
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has been mandated to undertake capacity augmentation works and port connectivity projects by establishing Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) Some of the projects taken up or under consideration of RVNL include Palanpur-Gandhidham gauge conversion project (linking Kandla and Mundhra ports to North India), Haridaspur-Paradeep New Line (linking iron ore mines of Orissa and Jharkhand to Pradeep port), Anugul-Sukinda (linking iron-ore and coal-belts of Orissa), Obulavaripalli-Krishnapatnam – New Line Project linking the Krishnapatnam port of Andhra Pradesh, Bharuch-Dahej and Surt-Hazira projects in the State of Gujarat and Penn-Rewas Port link (Maharashtra)
Catering etc.,
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been mandated to develop catering services, budget hotels and food plazas at major stations through involvement of private entrepreneurs.
IRCTC is commissioning new Food Plazas in Railway premises with private participation. The license period for food plazas is of nine years with a provision of extension of three years. Already 53 such Food Plazas have been commissioned.
Indian Railways is also in the process of carrying out an examination of the scope of need-based ‘base kitchens’ and ‘launderettes’ with public private partnership to strengthen the infrastructure for on-board services. Call centers are also being planned under PPP by IRCTC to cater to the need for information dissemination to the railway customers.
Apart from the above projects, for which Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would act as a nodal agency, Indian Railway is also planning to launch new services for the luxury tourism segment on the pattern of ‘Palace on Wheel’ in partnership with interested State Governments. (PIB Features)
Over the decade, private sector participation in the railway sector has increased, though it remains limited. The public-private partnership (PPP) model is becoming increasingly popular in order to mobilize capital and improve operation and management skills. In the past, IR made several attempts to involve the private sector through works or management contracts in areas such as catering wagon ownership and leasing, and joint ventures (JVs) for rail infrastructure projects. As a result, several initiatives were taken up on a PPP basis. These included commercial utilization of railway land, private operation of container trains, catering services, warehouses and wagon procurement. A number of PPP projects are also on the anvil. These include construction of dedicated freight corridors, modernization of railway stations, manufacture of rolling stock, utilization of vacant railway land, development of railside warehouses, construction of passenger terminals and development of VSAT hubs.
It has been assessed that Indian Railways would need to spend around Rs. 2,51000 crore (US$62 billion) on various capacity enhancement measures over the next five year period. A major part of the investment would come from internally generated resources. Budgetary support to the extent feasible would also come forth. However, to meet the massive investment needed, these would need to be leveraged to mobilize adequate level extra budgetary resources. Around Rs. 1,00,000 crore is expected to come from extra budgetary resources including Public Private Partnership (PPP). PPP would, thus, play a crucial role in the attainment of the strategic goals outlined above.
Construction of DFC
It has been planned to construct a new Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), initially covering about 2700 route kms. equivalent to around 5000 track kilometers at an approximate cost of Rs. 28000 crore (US$6 billion) linking the ports of western India and the ports and mines of Eastern India to Delhi and Punjab. The construction of this corridor will be implemented through an SPV being created for the purpose through a mix of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and PPP methods. Ministry of Railways is in the process of selecting a global consultant to advise on the concession agreement, principles of track access charges and other financing and bidding issues. It is envisaged that innovative ideas on design, construction and maintenance of railway to achieve optimal life – cycle costs would be forthcoming through PPP especially as the work progresses on the initial two corridors and further corridors are taken up. The concessionaire could also tap additional ancillary revenue streams through commercial exploitation of and, construction of freight terminal/logistic park/ICDs etc.
World Class Railway Stations
Railway stations at metropolitan cities and important tourist centres need to be modernized to provide world-class passenger amenities and services to the large multitude of passengers using these stations. Indian Railways is planning to do so by attracting private investments in the area by leveraging the land around and airspace above the stations. The concessionaire would be expected to construct and maintain the operational and passenger areas free of cost, share the revenue earned from the real-estate created and hand over the same after the concession period. Altogether 26 stations have been identified in the first stage. These are CST Mumbai (Carnac Bunder), Pune, Howrah (Kolkata), Lucknow, New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Bijwasan at Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Secunderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Mathura, Agra, Gaya, Bangalore, Jaipur, Nagpur, Tirupati, Bhopal, Kanpur and Guwahati. Pre-qualification process for bidders for the pilot project for New Delhi Station has been initiated. Redevelopment of Patna, Secunderabad and Mumbai will also be taken up during the current year. Development of other stations and green field passenger terminals would also be taken up subsequently.
Commercial Utilization of Land
Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land. These are mostly alongside track in longitudinal strips, around railway stations, and in railway colonies especially in metro and other important cities/towns with potential of being used commercially to generate revenue as well as capital for modernization and capacity addition. A new body, namely Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has been set up under the Railway (Amendment) Act 2005 to pursue, interalia, the main objectives of generating revenue and up grading railway assets. 110 sites have already been entrusted to RLDA.
SPV for manufacturing
With sustained economic growth and the resultant demand for rail transport the requirement of rolling stock has increased manifold. The requirement of coaches/Electrical Multiple Units is projected at 22689 vehicle unit for the XI Five Year Plan The gap between the requirement and the combined capacity of the two Production Units at Integral Coach Factory, Perambur and Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala (around 2500 per annum) is planned to be bridged by augmenting the existing capacity of these Production Units and setting up a new manufacturing unit through a JV under PPP.
Similarly, the requirement of Electric and Diesel Locomotives has been projected at 1800 each during the XI Five Year Plan i.e. 360 locos per year. The existing in – house capacity for the manufacture of these locomotives is presently 150 per annum for Electric and for Diesel. The gap between the requirement and capacity is also planned to be bridged by setting up two locomotive manufacturing units one each for diesel and electric locomotives through PPP. Possibility of PPP through long-term demand guarantee to prospective manufactures of modern wagons is also being explored.
High Speed Corridors
Pre-feasibility studies are being awarded for a few identified corridors to examine. Linking a few of our bustling metropolises with a high speed rail links to facilitate train travel over 600-1000 km within 2.5 to 4 hours. All options including PPP will be explored.
Operation of container trains and construction of Multi-modal Logistics Parks
Private operators have been allowed to manage rail-borne Container Services on Indian Railways. Concession agreement setting out the terms of such operation has been signed with 15 private operators. The scheme is also open for other operators to join. So far private operators have inducted 45 rakes and built three ICDs at Garihassru, Patli and Loni.
Policy framework to facilitate setting up of Multi-modal Logistics Parks (MLPs) in SEZs or private land with rail connectivity has been formulated. The policy also evisages utilization or surplus railway land available at suitable locations for development of MLPs and/or bulk or dedicated freight terminals.
Wagon investment Scheme
The Wagon Investment Scheme (WIS) with provisions for freight rebate and supply of guaranteed number of rakes over periods ranging from 7-15 years for various categories of wagons has been in operation for the past few years. The scheme is being replaced by a new scheme to broaden its appeal to investors providing high-capacity and special purpose wagons. A scheme to facilitate third-party leasing of wagons is also under finalization.
Port Connectivity works
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has been mandated to undertake capacity augmentation works and port connectivity projects by establishing Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) Some of the projects taken up or under consideration of RVNL include Palanpur-Gandhidham gauge conversion project (linking Kandla and Mundhra ports to North India), Haridaspur-Paradeep New Line (linking iron ore mines of Orissa and Jharkhand to Pradeep port), Anugul-Sukinda (linking iron-ore and coal-belts of Orissa), Obulavaripalli-Krishnapatnam – New Line Project linking the Krishnapatnam port of Andhra Pradesh, Bharuch-Dahej and Surt-Hazira projects in the State of Gujarat and Penn-Rewas Port link (Maharashtra)
Catering etc.,
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been mandated to develop catering services, budget hotels and food plazas at major stations through involvement of private entrepreneurs.
IRCTC is commissioning new Food Plazas in Railway premises with private participation. The license period for food plazas is of nine years with a provision of extension of three years. Already 53 such Food Plazas have been commissioned.
Indian Railways is also in the process of carrying out an examination of the scope of need-based ‘base kitchens’ and ‘launderettes’ with public private partnership to strengthen the infrastructure for on-board services. Call centers are also being planned under PPP by IRCTC to cater to the need for information dissemination to the railway customers.
Apart from the above projects, for which Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would act as a nodal agency, Indian Railway is also planning to launch new services for the luxury tourism segment on the pattern of ‘Palace on Wheel’ in partnership with interested State Governments. (PIB Features)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Hi Manmohan, this is Obama calling....
NEW DELHI: President-elect of the United States Mr. Barack Obama called the Prime Minister this morning. The Prime Minister congratulated him warmly and said that his historic victory was a source of inspiration for oppressed people all over the world.
President-elect Obama praised the Prime Minister’s contribution to the progress of India both as Minister of Finance earlier and now as Prime Minister. He said that the US-India strategic relationship was a very important partnership and that the new administration wanted to work together with India on all important global issues.
The Prime Minister said that relations between India and the United States were very good but that we could not be satisfied with the status quo. The Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes for the success of the new administration in meeting the enormous challenges that face the world and invited the President-elect and Mrs. Obama to visit India . He said that a warm welcome awaited them. The President-elect said that he wished to make an early visit to India
President-elect Obama praised the Prime Minister’s contribution to the progress of India both as Minister of Finance earlier and now as Prime Minister. He said that the US-India strategic relationship was a very important partnership and that the new administration wanted to work together with India on all important global issues.
The Prime Minister said that relations between India and the United States were very good but that we could not be satisfied with the status quo. The Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes for the success of the new administration in meeting the enormous challenges that face the world and invited the President-elect and Mrs. Obama to visit India . He said that a warm welcome awaited them. The President-elect said that he wished to make an early visit to India
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Indian Economy can overcome global crisis
by S. Sethuraman**
India has taken an array of monetary and fiscal measures, in quick succession, to contain inflationary pressures - with the annual rate already moderating from around 13 per cent in August to 10.72 per cent by the end of October - and, more importantly, to make available adequate domestic resources to maintain growth in the face of an unprecedented international financial crisis and global economy drifting into recession.
The Reserve Bank had, within four weeks in October, lowered reserve ratios and reduced a key interest rate to provide some 250,000 crores of liquidity for banks to finance businesses and consumers. These measures, welcomed by the industry and other productive sectors, have helped to impart a sense of confidence about India‘s ability to weather the global storm.
Growth Momentum:Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh remains focussed on seeing that the Indian economy does not get unduly affected by the adverse developments abroad. He has appealed to the industry and the country in general to turn the crisis in the world economy into an opportunity to ensure that India comes out of the global crisis with its fundamentals unimpaired, protecting employment.
What gives confidence and strength to the Indian economy is its sound financial sector with its well-regulated and well-capitalised banking system, the sustained growth in deposit accretion and credit flows, and assured safety for depositors, the global competitiveness of its manufacturing and services, high savings and investment rates and a comfortable level of foreign exchange reserves which could be drawn to make up for any shortfalls in capital inflows.
The Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram has urged banks to lower interest rates, in the light of the steps taken by RBI both on liquidity and interest rate, and several public sector banks have already announced plans on reducing their prime lending rates. Banks have been asked to increase credit for productive purposes and ensure credit quality. RBI has also suggested to banks to restructure the dues of small and medium enterprises on merits.
There is general expectation that inflation would continue to moderate - especially now that global prices of oil (though still volatile) and commodities have sharply declined from their high levels in the first half of 2008 - and RBI projects that the annual rate of inflation would be down to 7 per cent by March 2009. India can well maintain growth at not less than 7 to 7.5 per cent, as the Prime Minister pointed out, despite some adverse impact on trade and capital flows which all countries have begun to experience in these uncertain times. Even at 7.5 per cent, India will remain the second fastest growing economy.
Given the unsettled conditions in global markets, the Prime Minister has set up an high-powered group chaired by him to closely monitor the evolving macro-economic situation so that growth momentum is sustained at reasonable rates. A committee of senior officials would keep a day-to-day track of trends.
Monetary & Fiscal Measures: The Reserve Bank of India had vigorously moved in October to bring down the cash reserve ratio from a peak of 9 per cent to 5.5 per cent, reduce the key policy interest rate (repo) from 9 to 7.5 per cent and also the statutory liquidity ratio by one percentage point to 24 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities. These were all designed to inject massive doses of liquidity to the banking system which in any case has been recording a higher credit growth in the current year. Nevertheless, when there was some liquidity constraint experienced by money markets and the foreign exchange market also coming under demand pressures, RBI had to intervene with remedial measures.
As part of measures to minimise the adverse impact of global crisis on domestic economy, the Finance Minister has reduced certain duties to give relief to some of the affected sectors like steel and aviation. On the budgetary side, higher allocations for social sectors and rural employment and other flagship programmes should generate consumption which contributes to economy’s growth. Most corporates including in the I T sector and banks have managed to maintain profitability, though somewhat lower than expected, in the second quarter (July-September), and the recent government measures on liquidity and interest rates should help to sustain business confidence.
Monetary policy has moved away from continued tightening, in the days of inflation climbing during 2008, to a significant easing of curbs with the steady moderation in the annual rate of inflation after peaking at 12.65 per cent in August. It had since been coming down over recent weeks and stood at 10.72 per cent in the week ended October 25. While the fall in inflation rate has been facilitated by the sharp drop in global prices of oil, food and other commodities as well as domestic supply management, the oil market remains volatile. Taking crop prospects and other domestic factors into account, RBI continues its monetary policy stance of maintaining growth with price stability as well as orderly conditions in financial markets.
Macro-Economic Management: India has to summon all its abilities at macro-economic management because of the extraordinary global situation in which there is weakening of global demand and likely interruption in external capital flows. So far, there have been only ripple effects on the economy and exports in the first half of the fiscal year (April-September) have recorded a robust 35 per cent growth. But oil imports at higher prices have pushed up the import bill and trade deficit is widening. There was some ‘knock-on’ on financial markets but there is no longer any sign of liquidity tightening with the measures taken.
Many developing and leading emerging economies including China and Korea have come under strain and some of the poorer countries face risks of economic disruption because of fiscal and balance of payments difficulties. China’s growth, largely export-led hitherto, has also slowed down and it is reorienting its policies to promote greater domestic consumption with the weakening of external demand especially from USA and Europe due to recessionary conditions there. India’s exports can be maintained without loss of momentum in the latter half of the year with greater focus on products and growth markets, especially with the exchange rate which has depreciated in relation to the dollar.
While there has been an outflow of foreign portfolio investments of the order of 10 billion dollars, India continues to attract foreign direct investment which totalled an impressive 17.66 billion dollars in the first six months, April to September, compared to 7.25 billion in the corresponding period of last year. There has been some draw down on our reserves to meet imports and other payments. With its sound management and continued liberalisation, India continues to be an attractive investment destination, especially if investors have to seek avenues away from the recession-hit developed nations. (PIB Features)
*Freelance Journalist
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of PIB.
India has taken an array of monetary and fiscal measures, in quick succession, to contain inflationary pressures - with the annual rate already moderating from around 13 per cent in August to 10.72 per cent by the end of October - and, more importantly, to make available adequate domestic resources to maintain growth in the face of an unprecedented international financial crisis and global economy drifting into recession.
The Reserve Bank had, within four weeks in October, lowered reserve ratios and reduced a key interest rate to provide some 250,000 crores of liquidity for banks to finance businesses and consumers. These measures, welcomed by the industry and other productive sectors, have helped to impart a sense of confidence about India‘s ability to weather the global storm.
Growth Momentum:Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh remains focussed on seeing that the Indian economy does not get unduly affected by the adverse developments abroad. He has appealed to the industry and the country in general to turn the crisis in the world economy into an opportunity to ensure that India comes out of the global crisis with its fundamentals unimpaired, protecting employment.
What gives confidence and strength to the Indian economy is its sound financial sector with its well-regulated and well-capitalised banking system, the sustained growth in deposit accretion and credit flows, and assured safety for depositors, the global competitiveness of its manufacturing and services, high savings and investment rates and a comfortable level of foreign exchange reserves which could be drawn to make up for any shortfalls in capital inflows.
The Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram has urged banks to lower interest rates, in the light of the steps taken by RBI both on liquidity and interest rate, and several public sector banks have already announced plans on reducing their prime lending rates. Banks have been asked to increase credit for productive purposes and ensure credit quality. RBI has also suggested to banks to restructure the dues of small and medium enterprises on merits.
There is general expectation that inflation would continue to moderate - especially now that global prices of oil (though still volatile) and commodities have sharply declined from their high levels in the first half of 2008 - and RBI projects that the annual rate of inflation would be down to 7 per cent by March 2009. India can well maintain growth at not less than 7 to 7.5 per cent, as the Prime Minister pointed out, despite some adverse impact on trade and capital flows which all countries have begun to experience in these uncertain times. Even at 7.5 per cent, India will remain the second fastest growing economy.
Given the unsettled conditions in global markets, the Prime Minister has set up an high-powered group chaired by him to closely monitor the evolving macro-economic situation so that growth momentum is sustained at reasonable rates. A committee of senior officials would keep a day-to-day track of trends.
Monetary & Fiscal Measures: The Reserve Bank of India had vigorously moved in October to bring down the cash reserve ratio from a peak of 9 per cent to 5.5 per cent, reduce the key policy interest rate (repo) from 9 to 7.5 per cent and also the statutory liquidity ratio by one percentage point to 24 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities. These were all designed to inject massive doses of liquidity to the banking system which in any case has been recording a higher credit growth in the current year. Nevertheless, when there was some liquidity constraint experienced by money markets and the foreign exchange market also coming under demand pressures, RBI had to intervene with remedial measures.
As part of measures to minimise the adverse impact of global crisis on domestic economy, the Finance Minister has reduced certain duties to give relief to some of the affected sectors like steel and aviation. On the budgetary side, higher allocations for social sectors and rural employment and other flagship programmes should generate consumption which contributes to economy’s growth. Most corporates including in the I T sector and banks have managed to maintain profitability, though somewhat lower than expected, in the second quarter (July-September), and the recent government measures on liquidity and interest rates should help to sustain business confidence.
Monetary policy has moved away from continued tightening, in the days of inflation climbing during 2008, to a significant easing of curbs with the steady moderation in the annual rate of inflation after peaking at 12.65 per cent in August. It had since been coming down over recent weeks and stood at 10.72 per cent in the week ended October 25. While the fall in inflation rate has been facilitated by the sharp drop in global prices of oil, food and other commodities as well as domestic supply management, the oil market remains volatile. Taking crop prospects and other domestic factors into account, RBI continues its monetary policy stance of maintaining growth with price stability as well as orderly conditions in financial markets.
Macro-Economic Management: India has to summon all its abilities at macro-economic management because of the extraordinary global situation in which there is weakening of global demand and likely interruption in external capital flows. So far, there have been only ripple effects on the economy and exports in the first half of the fiscal year (April-September) have recorded a robust 35 per cent growth. But oil imports at higher prices have pushed up the import bill and trade deficit is widening. There was some ‘knock-on’ on financial markets but there is no longer any sign of liquidity tightening with the measures taken.
Many developing and leading emerging economies including China and Korea have come under strain and some of the poorer countries face risks of economic disruption because of fiscal and balance of payments difficulties. China’s growth, largely export-led hitherto, has also slowed down and it is reorienting its policies to promote greater domestic consumption with the weakening of external demand especially from USA and Europe due to recessionary conditions there. India’s exports can be maintained without loss of momentum in the latter half of the year with greater focus on products and growth markets, especially with the exchange rate which has depreciated in relation to the dollar.
While there has been an outflow of foreign portfolio investments of the order of 10 billion dollars, India continues to attract foreign direct investment which totalled an impressive 17.66 billion dollars in the first six months, April to September, compared to 7.25 billion in the corresponding period of last year. There has been some draw down on our reserves to meet imports and other payments. With its sound management and continued liberalisation, India continues to be an attractive investment destination, especially if investors have to seek avenues away from the recession-hit developed nations. (PIB Features)
*Freelance Journalist
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of PIB.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Rajnikant Patel joins Reliance Money
MUMBAI: Reliance Money, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has announced that Mr. Rajnikant Patel has joined the company as President – Exchange Business.
“We are very pleased with the induction of Mr. Patel in Reliance Money. We are sure that with his extensive experience of over 28 years in the financial market arena, Mr. Patel will play a critical role in our foray into the exchange space covering commodities and currencies. We are looking at both domestic and international opportunities at present,” said Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and CEO, Reliance Money.
Prior to joining Reliance Money, Mr. Patel was the Managing Director & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange, where he was responsible for the corporatization and demutualization of BSE, making it a billion dollar institution.
An accomplished banker, Mr. Patel has also had a long stint with the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India, besides being a part of MNC and PSU banks such as BNP Paribas, State Bank of Saurashtra and Bank of Maharashtra.
“I am very happy to be associated with Reliance Money, particularly for the vision, the scale and the speed of implementation. I believe there is a huge scope for an innovative, professional and committed approach in commodities, currency futures and related exchange space. I am very excited at the future possibility of value creation for all stakeholders in the financial system,” said Mr. Patel.
Mr. Patel was the longest serving Chairman of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE). He was also a member of the Working Committee of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). Mr. Patel has also been a part of various committees of SEBI, CII and others.
About Reliance Money
www.reliancemoney.com
Reliance Money, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is a comprehensive financial services and solution provider, providing customers with access to Equity, Equity and Commodity Derivatives, Portfolio Management Services, Wealth Management Services, Mutual Funds, IPOs, Life and General Insurance and Gold Coins. Customers can also avail Loans, Credit Card, Money Transfer and Money Changing services.
The largest broking house in India with 2.7 million customers and a wide network of over 10,000 outlets and 20,000 touch points in 5,000+ locations. Reliance Money endeavors to change the way investors transact in financial markets and avails financial services. The average daily volume on the stock exchanges is Rs. 4,000 crores, representing approximately 4% of the total stock exchange volume.
Reliance Capital is one of India's leading and fastest growing private sector financial services companies, and ranks among the top 3 private sector financial services and banking groups, in terms of net worth.
For details contact –
Mumbai Delhi
Tamanna Khanna Sanjiv Kumar
tamanna.khanna@relianceada.com sanjiv.k.sinha@relianceada.com
+91-9323609510 +91-9312456677
Concept Communications
B. N. Kumar
mailbnk@gmail.com
+91-9321048332
“We are very pleased with the induction of Mr. Patel in Reliance Money. We are sure that with his extensive experience of over 28 years in the financial market arena, Mr. Patel will play a critical role in our foray into the exchange space covering commodities and currencies. We are looking at both domestic and international opportunities at present,” said Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and CEO, Reliance Money.
Prior to joining Reliance Money, Mr. Patel was the Managing Director & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange, where he was responsible for the corporatization and demutualization of BSE, making it a billion dollar institution.
An accomplished banker, Mr. Patel has also had a long stint with the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India, besides being a part of MNC and PSU banks such as BNP Paribas, State Bank of Saurashtra and Bank of Maharashtra.
“I am very happy to be associated with Reliance Money, particularly for the vision, the scale and the speed of implementation. I believe there is a huge scope for an innovative, professional and committed approach in commodities, currency futures and related exchange space. I am very excited at the future possibility of value creation for all stakeholders in the financial system,” said Mr. Patel.
Mr. Patel was the longest serving Chairman of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE). He was also a member of the Working Committee of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). Mr. Patel has also been a part of various committees of SEBI, CII and others.
About Reliance Money
www.reliancemoney.com
Reliance Money, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is a comprehensive financial services and solution provider, providing customers with access to Equity, Equity and Commodity Derivatives, Portfolio Management Services, Wealth Management Services, Mutual Funds, IPOs, Life and General Insurance and Gold Coins. Customers can also avail Loans, Credit Card, Money Transfer and Money Changing services.
The largest broking house in India with 2.7 million customers and a wide network of over 10,000 outlets and 20,000 touch points in 5,000+ locations. Reliance Money endeavors to change the way investors transact in financial markets and avails financial services. The average daily volume on the stock exchanges is Rs. 4,000 crores, representing approximately 4% of the total stock exchange volume.
Reliance Capital is one of India's leading and fastest growing private sector financial services companies, and ranks among the top 3 private sector financial services and banking groups, in terms of net worth.
For details contact –
Mumbai Delhi
Tamanna Khanna Sanjiv Kumar
tamanna.khanna@relianceada.com sanjiv.k.sinha@relianceada.com
+91-9323609510 +91-9312456677
Concept Communications
B. N. Kumar
mailbnk@gmail.com
+91-9321048332
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Repo rate cut, RBI warns of global recession trends
MUMBAI: Announcing, further measures for Monetary and Liquidity Management, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today cut repo rate by 50 basis points. With this new repo rate stands at 7.5 per cent.
In its Mid-Term Review of the Annual Policy Statement for 2008-09, the Reserve Bank of India indicated that in the context of the uncertain and unsettled global situation and its indirect impact on our domestic economy and our financial markets, it would closely and continuously monitor the situation and respond swiftly and effectively to developments. In doing so, the Reserve Bank will employ both conventional and unconventional measures.
RBI noted that global financial conditions continue to remain uncertain and unsettled, and early signs of a global recession are becoming evident. These developments are being reflected in sharp declines in stock markets across the world and heightened volatility in currency movements. International money markets are yet to regain calm and confidence and return to normal functioning.
It was also indicated in the Mid-Term Review that the current challenge for the conduct of monetary policy is to strike an optimal balance between preserving financial stability, maintaining price stability and sustaining the growth momentum. Inflation, in terms of the wholesale price index (WPI), has been softening steadily since August 9, 2008 and has declined to 10.68 per cent for the week ended October 18, 2008.
Globally, pressures from commodity prices, including crude, appear to be abating. The moderation in key global commodity prices, if sustained, would further reduce inflationary pressures. On the growth front, it is important to ensure that credit requirements for productive purposes are adequately met so as to support the growth momentum of the economy, RBI said.
Domestic financial markets have been functioning normally. Prudent regulatory surveillance and effective supervision have ensured that our financial sector has been and continues to be robust. However, the global financial turmoil has had knock-on effects on our financial markets; this has reinforced the importance of focusing on preserving financial stability,
The Reserve Bank has reviewed the current and evolving macroeconomic situation and liquidity conditions in the global and domestic financial markets. Based on this review, it has decided to take the following further measures:
(i) On October 20, 2008, the Reserve Bank announced a reduction in the repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) by 100 basis points from 9.0 to 8.0 per cent. In view of the ebbing of upside inflation risks as also to address concerns relating to the moderation in the growth momentum, it has been decided to reduce the repo rate under the LAF by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent with effect from November 3, 2008.
(ii) The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks is reduced by 100 basis points from 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). This will be effected in two stages: by 50 basis points retrospectively with effect from the fortnight beginning October 25, and by a further 50 basis points prospectively with effect from the fortnight beginning November 8, 2008. This measure is expected to release around Rs.40,000 crore into the system.
(iii) On September 16, 2008, the Reserve Bank had announced, as a temporary and ad hoc measure, that scheduled banks could avail additional liquidity support under the LAF to the extent of up to one per cent of their NDTL and seek waiver of penal interest. It has now been decided to make this reduction permanent. Accordingly, the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) will stand reduced to 24 per cent of NDTL with effect from the fortnight beginning November 8, 2008.
(iv) In order to provide further comfort on liquidity and to impart flexibility in liquidity management to banks, it has been decided to introduce a special refinance facility under Section 17(3B) of the Reserve bank of India Act, 1934. Under this facility, all scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) will be provided refinance from the Reserve Bank equivalent to up to 1.0 per cent of each bank's NDTL as on October 24, 2008 at the LAF repo rate up to a maximum period of 90 days. During this period, refinance can be flexibly drawn and repaid.
(v) On October 15, 2008 the Reserve Bank announced, purely as a temporary measure, that banks may avail of additional liquidity support exclusively for the purpose of meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds (MFs) to the extent of up to 0.5 per cent of their NDTL. A similar facility of liquidity support for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) is also found to be necessary to enable them to manage their funding requirements. Accordingly, it has now been decided, on a purely temporary and ad hoc basis, subject to review, to extend this facility and allow banks to avail liquidity support under the LAF through relaxation in the maintenance of SLR to the extent of up to 1.5 per cent of their NDTL. This relaxation in SLR is to be used exclusively for the purpose of meeting the funding requirements of NBFCs and MFs. Banks can apportion the total accommodation allowed above between MFs and NBFCs flexibly as per their business needs.
(vi) As indicated in the Reserve Bank's press release of September 16, 2008, as on some previous occasions, the Reserve Bank will continue to sell foreign exchange (US dollar) through agent banks to augment supply in the domestic foreign exchange market or intervene directly to meet any demand-supply gaps. The Reserve Bank would either sell the foreign exchange directly or advise the bank concerned to buy it in the market. All the transactions by the Reserve Bank will be at the prevailing market rates and as per market practice. Entities with bulk forex requirements can approach the Reserve Bank through their banks for this purpose.
(vii) It has been decided, as a temporary measure, to permit Systemically Important Non-Deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs-ND-SI) to raise short- term foreign currency borrowings under the approval route, subject to their complying with the prudential norms on capital adequacy and exposure norms. Details in this regard have been notified separately and are available on the Reserve Bank's web site.
(viii) Under the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS), Government Securities (treasury bills and dated securities) have been issued to sterilise the expansionary effects of forex inflows. In the context of forex outflows in the recent period, it has been decided to conduct buy-back of MSS dated securities so as to provide another avenue for injecting liquidity of a more durable nature into the system. This will be calibrated with the market borrowing programme of the Government of India. The securities proposed to be bought back and the timing and modalities of these operations are being notified separately.
The Reserve Bank will continue to closely monitor the developments in the global and domestic financial markets and will take swift and effective action as appropriate, an official communiqué said.
In its Mid-Term Review of the Annual Policy Statement for 2008-09, the Reserve Bank of India indicated that in the context of the uncertain and unsettled global situation and its indirect impact on our domestic economy and our financial markets, it would closely and continuously monitor the situation and respond swiftly and effectively to developments. In doing so, the Reserve Bank will employ both conventional and unconventional measures.
RBI noted that global financial conditions continue to remain uncertain and unsettled, and early signs of a global recession are becoming evident. These developments are being reflected in sharp declines in stock markets across the world and heightened volatility in currency movements. International money markets are yet to regain calm and confidence and return to normal functioning.
It was also indicated in the Mid-Term Review that the current challenge for the conduct of monetary policy is to strike an optimal balance between preserving financial stability, maintaining price stability and sustaining the growth momentum. Inflation, in terms of the wholesale price index (WPI), has been softening steadily since August 9, 2008 and has declined to 10.68 per cent for the week ended October 18, 2008.
Globally, pressures from commodity prices, including crude, appear to be abating. The moderation in key global commodity prices, if sustained, would further reduce inflationary pressures. On the growth front, it is important to ensure that credit requirements for productive purposes are adequately met so as to support the growth momentum of the economy, RBI said.
Domestic financial markets have been functioning normally. Prudent regulatory surveillance and effective supervision have ensured that our financial sector has been and continues to be robust. However, the global financial turmoil has had knock-on effects on our financial markets; this has reinforced the importance of focusing on preserving financial stability,
The Reserve Bank has reviewed the current and evolving macroeconomic situation and liquidity conditions in the global and domestic financial markets. Based on this review, it has decided to take the following further measures:
(i) On October 20, 2008, the Reserve Bank announced a reduction in the repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) by 100 basis points from 9.0 to 8.0 per cent. In view of the ebbing of upside inflation risks as also to address concerns relating to the moderation in the growth momentum, it has been decided to reduce the repo rate under the LAF by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent with effect from November 3, 2008.
(ii) The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks is reduced by 100 basis points from 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). This will be effected in two stages: by 50 basis points retrospectively with effect from the fortnight beginning October 25, and by a further 50 basis points prospectively with effect from the fortnight beginning November 8, 2008. This measure is expected to release around Rs.40,000 crore into the system.
(iii) On September 16, 2008, the Reserve Bank had announced, as a temporary and ad hoc measure, that scheduled banks could avail additional liquidity support under the LAF to the extent of up to one per cent of their NDTL and seek waiver of penal interest. It has now been decided to make this reduction permanent. Accordingly, the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) will stand reduced to 24 per cent of NDTL with effect from the fortnight beginning November 8, 2008.
(iv) In order to provide further comfort on liquidity and to impart flexibility in liquidity management to banks, it has been decided to introduce a special refinance facility under Section 17(3B) of the Reserve bank of India Act, 1934. Under this facility, all scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) will be provided refinance from the Reserve Bank equivalent to up to 1.0 per cent of each bank's NDTL as on October 24, 2008 at the LAF repo rate up to a maximum period of 90 days. During this period, refinance can be flexibly drawn and repaid.
(v) On October 15, 2008 the Reserve Bank announced, purely as a temporary measure, that banks may avail of additional liquidity support exclusively for the purpose of meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds (MFs) to the extent of up to 0.5 per cent of their NDTL. A similar facility of liquidity support for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) is also found to be necessary to enable them to manage their funding requirements. Accordingly, it has now been decided, on a purely temporary and ad hoc basis, subject to review, to extend this facility and allow banks to avail liquidity support under the LAF through relaxation in the maintenance of SLR to the extent of up to 1.5 per cent of their NDTL. This relaxation in SLR is to be used exclusively for the purpose of meeting the funding requirements of NBFCs and MFs. Banks can apportion the total accommodation allowed above between MFs and NBFCs flexibly as per their business needs.
(vi) As indicated in the Reserve Bank's press release of September 16, 2008, as on some previous occasions, the Reserve Bank will continue to sell foreign exchange (US dollar) through agent banks to augment supply in the domestic foreign exchange market or intervene directly to meet any demand-supply gaps. The Reserve Bank would either sell the foreign exchange directly or advise the bank concerned to buy it in the market. All the transactions by the Reserve Bank will be at the prevailing market rates and as per market practice. Entities with bulk forex requirements can approach the Reserve Bank through their banks for this purpose.
(vii) It has been decided, as a temporary measure, to permit Systemically Important Non-Deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs-ND-SI) to raise short- term foreign currency borrowings under the approval route, subject to their complying with the prudential norms on capital adequacy and exposure norms. Details in this regard have been notified separately and are available on the Reserve Bank's web site.
(viii) Under the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS), Government Securities (treasury bills and dated securities) have been issued to sterilise the expansionary effects of forex inflows. In the context of forex outflows in the recent period, it has been decided to conduct buy-back of MSS dated securities so as to provide another avenue for injecting liquidity of a more durable nature into the system. This will be calibrated with the market borrowing programme of the Government of India. The securities proposed to be bought back and the timing and modalities of these operations are being notified separately.
The Reserve Bank will continue to closely monitor the developments in the global and domestic financial markets and will take swift and effective action as appropriate, an official communiqué said.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
R Money's Sudip on Wall Street Fin board
Mumbai: Wall Street Finance today announced its un-audited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. The performance highlights are:
• Operational Review for the Quarter ended September 30, 2008
• Total income of Rs. 929.45 lakhs, against Rs. 713.78 lakhs in the corresponding period, an increase of 30.22 per cent
• Net profit of Rs. 24.67 lakhs, against Rs. 9.73 lakhs in the corresponding period, an increase of 153.55 per cent
The Company also inducted Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director & CEO, Reliance Money,Mr. S. P. Talwar, Retired Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India and Mr. Rajnikant Patel,Ex-Executive Director & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange on its Board.
"We are very pleased with this strategic tie-up with Reliance Money Express. We strongly believe that this tie-up will help us build on synergies and propel our recently launched Investment Services further,” said Mr. Areef Patel, Vice Chairman, Wall Street Finance Ltd.
“I am pleased to join the Wall Street Finance Board. We are confident that this association will capitalise on the strength of both Reliance Money Express and Wall Street Finance, paving the way for a new chapter in the financial services sector in the country,” said Mr. Bandyopadhyay, newly inducted Director of Wall Street Finance.
About Wall Street Finance Ltd.
Wall Street Finance Ltd. (WSFL) was set-up in 1986 as a Public Limited Company and is today a leader in Foreign Exchange and Money Remittance services in the country. The Company has a market capitalisation of approximately Rs. 40 crore and a 3-year dividend track record. It is the only deposit-taking NBFC (D) that also has an Authorised Dealer-II licence. This prestigious licence has been issued to the Company based on its 15-year-old track record in the field of foreign exchange as well as strict compliance policies adopted by the Company. This has now opened a large market for the Company, in the field of foreign exchange, which was earlier restricted to banks. The Company is now able to offer Outward Remittance Services for a wide range of activities. To capitalise on the huge opportunity in both Inward and Outward Remittance, WSFL is expanding its network by opening more branches across the country.
The Company is one of the principal agents of Western Union Money Transfer and operates over 3500 locations for Money Transfer. It has now got into Investment Services as a distributor of various Wealth Management Products of Reliance ADAG.
• Operational Review for the Quarter ended September 30, 2008
• Total income of Rs. 929.45 lakhs, against Rs. 713.78 lakhs in the corresponding period, an increase of 30.22 per cent
• Net profit of Rs. 24.67 lakhs, against Rs. 9.73 lakhs in the corresponding period, an increase of 153.55 per cent
The Company also inducted Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director & CEO, Reliance Money,Mr. S. P. Talwar, Retired Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India and Mr. Rajnikant Patel,Ex-Executive Director & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange on its Board.
"We are very pleased with this strategic tie-up with Reliance Money Express. We strongly believe that this tie-up will help us build on synergies and propel our recently launched Investment Services further,” said Mr. Areef Patel, Vice Chairman, Wall Street Finance Ltd.
“I am pleased to join the Wall Street Finance Board. We are confident that this association will capitalise on the strength of both Reliance Money Express and Wall Street Finance, paving the way for a new chapter in the financial services sector in the country,” said Mr. Bandyopadhyay, newly inducted Director of Wall Street Finance.
About Wall Street Finance Ltd.
Wall Street Finance Ltd. (WSFL) was set-up in 1986 as a Public Limited Company and is today a leader in Foreign Exchange and Money Remittance services in the country. The Company has a market capitalisation of approximately Rs. 40 crore and a 3-year dividend track record. It is the only deposit-taking NBFC (D) that also has an Authorised Dealer-II licence. This prestigious licence has been issued to the Company based on its 15-year-old track record in the field of foreign exchange as well as strict compliance policies adopted by the Company. This has now opened a large market for the Company, in the field of foreign exchange, which was earlier restricted to banks. The Company is now able to offer Outward Remittance Services for a wide range of activities. To capitalise on the huge opportunity in both Inward and Outward Remittance, WSFL is expanding its network by opening more branches across the country.
The Company is one of the principal agents of Western Union Money Transfer and operates over 3500 locations for Money Transfer. It has now got into Investment Services as a distributor of various Wealth Management Products of Reliance ADAG.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
India gets set for Mumbai, Kolkata coastal floods
Climate change could result in Kolkata and Mumbai being amongst the top ten port cities of the world exposed to coastal flooding in 2070, with an exposure of estimated 2.54 crores of people and assets worth US$3.85 trillion. A coastline of about 7,500 kms will be at risk in the country due to coastal flooding that may occur as a result of climate change in 2070.
This has been stated in a global study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in 2007 on ‘Ranking Port Cities with High Exposure and Vulnerability to Climate Extremes’. The report notes that those cities with greatest population exposure to extreme sea levels also tend to be those with greatest exposure to wind damage from tropical and extra tropical cyclones. The report has attempted to estimate the exposure of the world’s large port cities to coastal flooding due to sea level rise and storm surge.
According to the projections made in the Report, The study also claims that the top ten port cities with highest exposure to wind damage are also among the top twenty port cities exposed to present-day extreme sea levels. As per the Report, the risk of impact from the exposure to coastal flooding can be reduced through a range of adaptation strategies including flood and wind protection measures, effective disaster management strategies, and land use practices
According an official release, the Indian Government, on its part, has decided to take concrete steps and measures to meet the challenge of climatic change. It has been implementing various adaptation related programmes in the process of planned economic development. Specific measures taken include coastal protection infrastructure and cyclone shelters, plantation of coastal forests and mangroves. Further, in coastal regions, restrictions have been imposed in the area between 200m and 500m of the high tide line while special restrictions have been imposed in the area up to 200 m to protect the sensitive coastal ecosystems and prevent their exploitation.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which was released on 30th June 2008 outlining the strategy to meet the challenge of Climate Change. The National Action Plan advocates a strategy that promotes, firstly, adaptation to Climate Change and secondly, further enhancement of the ecological sustainability of India’s development path. The Action Plan envisages, among many other actions, effective disaster management strategies, strengthening communication networks and disaster management facilities at all levels and protection of coastal areas through focusing on coastal protection and early warning systems.
This has been stated in a global study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in 2007 on ‘Ranking Port Cities with High Exposure and Vulnerability to Climate Extremes’. The report notes that those cities with greatest population exposure to extreme sea levels also tend to be those with greatest exposure to wind damage from tropical and extra tropical cyclones. The report has attempted to estimate the exposure of the world’s large port cities to coastal flooding due to sea level rise and storm surge.
According to the projections made in the Report, The study also claims that the top ten port cities with highest exposure to wind damage are also among the top twenty port cities exposed to present-day extreme sea levels. As per the Report, the risk of impact from the exposure to coastal flooding can be reduced through a range of adaptation strategies including flood and wind protection measures, effective disaster management strategies, and land use practices
According an official release, the Indian Government, on its part, has decided to take concrete steps and measures to meet the challenge of climatic change. It has been implementing various adaptation related programmes in the process of planned economic development. Specific measures taken include coastal protection infrastructure and cyclone shelters, plantation of coastal forests and mangroves. Further, in coastal regions, restrictions have been imposed in the area between 200m and 500m of the high tide line while special restrictions have been imposed in the area up to 200 m to protect the sensitive coastal ecosystems and prevent their exploitation.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which was released on 30th June 2008 outlining the strategy to meet the challenge of Climate Change. The National Action Plan advocates a strategy that promotes, firstly, adaptation to Climate Change and secondly, further enhancement of the ecological sustainability of India’s development path. The Action Plan envisages, among many other actions, effective disaster management strategies, strengthening communication networks and disaster management facilities at all levels and protection of coastal areas through focusing on coastal protection and early warning systems.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Indian economy at point of inflexion, RBI sounds alarm bells
There is increasing evidence that the US slowdown is spreading via the trade and financial channels.
MUMBAI:The reserve Bank of India today sounded alarm bells on the state of the country’s economy.
Starting that aggregate supply conditions in the Indian economy have shown resilience in the second quarter of 2008-09 in the face of a deteriorating global macroeconomic and financial environment, the Central Bank said: “There are, however, growing indications that the underlying economic cycle is turning in tune with global economic developments and that domestic economic activity is straddling a point of inflexion.”
The highlights of the overall assessment as presented in the mid-year review by RBI Governor D Subbarao are:
• Aggregate demand conditions continue to be mainly investment-driven, although some slackening which set in during the first quarter of 2008-09 appears to have become broad based.
• Reflecting the aggregate demand pressures, key monetary and banking aggregates – money supply, deposit and non-food credit growth – have been expanding during the year so far at rates that are significantly elevated relative to indicative trajectories given in the Annual Policy Statement of April 2008.
• The developments in monetary conditions resulted in a tightening of liquidity conditions in domestic financial markets through the second quarter of 2008-09.
• Signs of deterioration in the fiscal situation appear to be adding to aggregate demand pressures in the economy.
• Domestically, imported inflation pressures have been keeping headline inflation at elevated levels with considerable uncertainty as to where it will peak and when.
• Since the First Quarter Review of July 2008, global economic prospects have weakened further. The global economy is facing the deflationary effects of the financial crisis. There is increasing evidence that the US slowdown is spreading via the trade and financial channels.
• The outlook for the emerging economies remains positive, but uncertainties about their resilience to the global shocks have increased.
• The international financial system is gripped by extreme risk aversion in the wake of spectacular failures among the world's largest financial institutions, including several credited with history and tradition.
• Conditions in global financial markets have worsened with the freezing of inter-bank markets in US and Europe necessitating massive liquidity injection facilities from central banks in these economies, reduction of policy rates, recapitalisation of troubled private banks by governments, coordinated action by European governments to bail out weak banks and guaranteeing of all deposits in the banking system in many countries.
• In the overall assessment, global economic conditions have worsened and the future path of their evolution has turned highly uncertain. The broadening slowdown of economic activity in the advanced economies is beginning to impact the macroeconomic prospects of emerging economies, with those reliant on exports and on international financial markets for external financing needs likely to be the most vulnerable. Inflation remains elevated and a key risk to global economic prospects.
Details of the RBI review can be accessed at: http://rbi.org.in/scripts/Annualpolicy.aspx
MUMBAI:The reserve Bank of India today sounded alarm bells on the state of the country’s economy.
Starting that aggregate supply conditions in the Indian economy have shown resilience in the second quarter of 2008-09 in the face of a deteriorating global macroeconomic and financial environment, the Central Bank said: “There are, however, growing indications that the underlying economic cycle is turning in tune with global economic developments and that domestic economic activity is straddling a point of inflexion.”
The highlights of the overall assessment as presented in the mid-year review by RBI Governor D Subbarao are:
• Aggregate demand conditions continue to be mainly investment-driven, although some slackening which set in during the first quarter of 2008-09 appears to have become broad based.
• Reflecting the aggregate demand pressures, key monetary and banking aggregates – money supply, deposit and non-food credit growth – have been expanding during the year so far at rates that are significantly elevated relative to indicative trajectories given in the Annual Policy Statement of April 2008.
• The developments in monetary conditions resulted in a tightening of liquidity conditions in domestic financial markets through the second quarter of 2008-09.
• Signs of deterioration in the fiscal situation appear to be adding to aggregate demand pressures in the economy.
• Domestically, imported inflation pressures have been keeping headline inflation at elevated levels with considerable uncertainty as to where it will peak and when.
• Since the First Quarter Review of July 2008, global economic prospects have weakened further. The global economy is facing the deflationary effects of the financial crisis. There is increasing evidence that the US slowdown is spreading via the trade and financial channels.
• The outlook for the emerging economies remains positive, but uncertainties about their resilience to the global shocks have increased.
• The international financial system is gripped by extreme risk aversion in the wake of spectacular failures among the world's largest financial institutions, including several credited with history and tradition.
• Conditions in global financial markets have worsened with the freezing of inter-bank markets in US and Europe necessitating massive liquidity injection facilities from central banks in these economies, reduction of policy rates, recapitalisation of troubled private banks by governments, coordinated action by European governments to bail out weak banks and guaranteeing of all deposits in the banking system in many countries.
• In the overall assessment, global economic conditions have worsened and the future path of their evolution has turned highly uncertain. The broadening slowdown of economic activity in the advanced economies is beginning to impact the macroeconomic prospects of emerging economies, with those reliant on exports and on international financial markets for external financing needs likely to be the most vulnerable. Inflation remains elevated and a key risk to global economic prospects.
Details of the RBI review can be accessed at: http://rbi.org.in/scripts/Annualpolicy.aspx
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Smooth landing for airlines
Praful meets Deora, gets EMI breather on fuel bills
NEW DELHI:In view of the financial crisis being faced by the Indian airlines industry, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel today met the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Murli Deora. Senior officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the oil PSUs and representatives of the airlines industry were also present.
It was decided at the meeting that:
• A 90 days credit period will be given by the oil companies to the airline companies up to 31 March, 2009 following which the situation will be reviewed to pay their credit.
• The airlines industry can pay their present cumulative outstanding credit in 6 monthly installments by 31 March, 2009.
• The ATF prices will be revised every 15 days to be at par with the world market prices. This is in view of the fluctuation prices of crude oil in the international market.
In view of the support extended to the airline industry by the Government and the oil PSUs, the airlines were asked to refrain from any retrenchment of staff. At the meeting it was also clarified that the national carrier Air India was not laying of any employee. The CMD, NACIL assured that the company had no plan of retrenchment of any of their employees.
The Indian airline industry representatives have expressed their satisfaction to the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Civil Aviation for their initiative in providing relief to the sector.
Smooth landing for airlines
Praful meets Deora, gets EMI breather on fuel bills
NEW DELHI:In view of the financial crisis being faced by the Indian airlines industry, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel recently met the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Murli Deora. Senior officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the oil PSUs and representatives of the airlines industry were also present.
It was decided at the meeting that:
• A 90 days credit period will be given by the oil companies to the airline companies up to 31 March, 2009 following which the situation will be reviewed to pay their credit.
• The airlines industry can pay their present cumulative outstanding credit in 6 monthly installments by 31 March, 2009.
• The ATF prices will be revised every 15 days to be at par with the world market prices. This is in view of the fluctuation prices of crude oil in the international market.
In view of the support extended to the airline industry by the Government and the oil PSUs, the airlines were asked to refrain from any retrenchment of staff. At the meeting it was also clarified that the national carrier Air India was not laying of any employee. The CMD, NACIL assured that the company had no plan of retrenchment of any of their employees.
The Indian airline industry representatives have expressed their satisfaction to the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Civil Aviation for their initiative in providing relief to the sector.
NEW DELHI:In view of the financial crisis being faced by the Indian airlines industry, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel recently met the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Murli Deora. Senior officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the oil PSUs and representatives of the airlines industry were also present.
It was decided at the meeting that:
• A 90 days credit period will be given by the oil companies to the airline companies up to 31 March, 2009 following which the situation will be reviewed to pay their credit.
• The airlines industry can pay their present cumulative outstanding credit in 6 monthly installments by 31 March, 2009.
• The ATF prices will be revised every 15 days to be at par with the world market prices. This is in view of the fluctuation prices of crude oil in the international market.
In view of the support extended to the airline industry by the Government and the oil PSUs, the airlines were asked to refrain from any retrenchment of staff. At the meeting it was also clarified that the national carrier Air India was not laying of any employee. The CMD, NACIL assured that the company had no plan of retrenchment of any of their employees.
The Indian airline industry representatives have expressed their satisfaction to the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Civil Aviation for their initiative in providing relief to the sector.
Indian economy resilient, says PM
TOKYO: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that India would emerge stronger from the current “great turbulence in the world economy”.
“The short-term outlook is somewhat cloudy but I am confident that the Indian economy has the resilience to sustain its growth momentum in the medium run. We hope to build on India’s many inherent strengths as an emerging market economy that is now ready for rapid and sustained growth,” he said addressing the Business Luncheon hosted by Nippon Keidanren in Tokyo today.
“Over the past four years, we have averaged 9% GDP growth per year. It looks like slowing down in the current year because of conditions in the global economy. But, once normalcy returns, we can and we are determined to regain the 9% growth trajectory. We have a tradition of a high rate of domestic savings averaging 35% of our GDP. This is like most Asian countries, and we also have a strong and a dynamic private sector,” he said.
Speaking on "India-Japan Economic Relations in the 21st Century", the Prime Minister said: “We meet at a time of great turbulence in the world economy. The international financial crisis, which still continues, has revealed the extra-ordinary vulnerability of the global financial system even in the industrialized world. The crisis has choked credit flows and predictably spilled over to the stock market. We have to prevent the liquidity crisis from becoming a crisis of confidence in the international monetary and financial system.”
He pointed out that the Governments and central banks of the major economies have taken strong and even innovative steps to deal with the crisis. The global nature of the crisis calls for a coordinated global response. Developing countries like India are also affected by the crisis and have to be part of the solution. “We cannot afford to risk the gains we have made in the last few years. Nor do we wish to remain vulnerable to infirmities in international surveillance, supervision and regulatory mechanisms in the future,” he said.
The government has taken several measures in India in the last few weeks to ensure adequate liquidity and confidence in our financial system. The fundamentals of Indian economy have been and continue to be strong. The country’s banking system is well capitalized. “But, we have experienced a shrinking of liquidity and we are responding by injecting additional liquidity to ensure that the rhythm of economic activity is not disrupted. The Reserve Bank of India stands ready to respond quickly to address the emerging needs of our economy,” Dr Singh said.
“The short-term outlook is somewhat cloudy but I am confident that the Indian economy has the resilience to sustain its growth momentum in the medium run. We hope to build on India’s many inherent strengths as an emerging market economy that is now ready for rapid and sustained growth,” he said addressing the Business Luncheon hosted by Nippon Keidanren in Tokyo today.
“Over the past four years, we have averaged 9% GDP growth per year. It looks like slowing down in the current year because of conditions in the global economy. But, once normalcy returns, we can and we are determined to regain the 9% growth trajectory. We have a tradition of a high rate of domestic savings averaging 35% of our GDP. This is like most Asian countries, and we also have a strong and a dynamic private sector,” he said.
Speaking on "India-Japan Economic Relations in the 21st Century", the Prime Minister said: “We meet at a time of great turbulence in the world economy. The international financial crisis, which still continues, has revealed the extra-ordinary vulnerability of the global financial system even in the industrialized world. The crisis has choked credit flows and predictably spilled over to the stock market. We have to prevent the liquidity crisis from becoming a crisis of confidence in the international monetary and financial system.”
He pointed out that the Governments and central banks of the major economies have taken strong and even innovative steps to deal with the crisis. The global nature of the crisis calls for a coordinated global response. Developing countries like India are also affected by the crisis and have to be part of the solution. “We cannot afford to risk the gains we have made in the last few years. Nor do we wish to remain vulnerable to infirmities in international surveillance, supervision and regulatory mechanisms in the future,” he said.
The government has taken several measures in India in the last few weeks to ensure adequate liquidity and confidence in our financial system. The fundamentals of Indian economy have been and continue to be strong. The country’s banking system is well capitalized. “But, we have experienced a shrinking of liquidity and we are responding by injecting additional liquidity to ensure that the rhythm of economic activity is not disrupted. The Reserve Bank of India stands ready to respond quickly to address the emerging needs of our economy,” Dr Singh said.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Anything for infra, says Indian Govt
To invest whopping Rs 20,00,000 crores in current plan period
CHENNAI: Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways,T.R. Baalu has said that the Union Government is committed to improve the infrastructure of the country to meet the growing needs of the economy.
Presiding over the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ennore Port Ltd and Nissan Motor (India) Pvt Ltd for export of Cars through Ennore Port in Chennai today, Mr Baalu said that the country’s economy is poised to take a great leap and to give the economy a big boost, Government has planned to give an impetus to infrastructure development.
He said that over Rs. 20,00,000 crore (20 lakh crore) would be invested during the five years of 11th five year plan for the infrastructure development out of a total investment of over Rs. 36,00,000 crore (36 lakh crore) which is 56.4% of the total investment.
Thiru Baalu said that the Department of Shipping has launched the National Maritime Development Policy (NMDP), which has put the port sector in India in an overdrive mode during the past 4 years. He said that the capacity of major ports stood at 384.5 million tonnes in March 2004 and it has leaped forward to 532 million tonnes as on March 2008, representing a 36% growth in capacity in the last four years. Likewise, the traffic through the major ports went up from 344.79 million tonnes in 2003-04 to 519.23 million tonnes in 2007-08, registering an impressive growth of 51%, the Minister added.
He informed that the NMDP comprises of 387 projects involving a total investment of Rs.1,00,339 crores (approximately US $ 21 billion). Out of this, Rs.55,804 crores (approximately US $ 12 billion) is for the Port sector and the balance Rs.44,535 crores (approximately US $ 9 billion) is for the Shipping and Inland Waterway Transport sectors with the target of completion by 2011-12. Thiru Baalu said that Tamil Nadu’s Gross State Domestic Product (GDP) for 2007 is estimated at Rs.2,75,000 crore which comes to 9.50% per year and which is in line with the national growth of 9.08%. He said that keeping in view the pace of development in the State in last few years, as also the glorious maritime history, a total of Rs.13,284 crores has been allocated by the Department of Shipping, Government of India to Tamil Nadu for the development of the three major ports, namely, Ennore, Chennai and Tuticorin. This translates to around 23.80% of the total NMDP investments. Of this, Ennore Port’s share at Rs.6,466 crores alone is nearly half of that for Tamil Nadu at 11.59% of the NMPD allocation for the 12 Major Ports.
Commending the performance of the Ennore Port, which is the first corporate port of the country, the Minister said that though youngest, the Port has embarked on the ambitious programme under Phase-I of the NMDP to develop various projects at an estimated cost of Rs.2,700 crore. The total investment by private partners through the BOT projects is around Rs.1100 crore and apart from this, the Ennore Port is investing Rs.300 crore in connectivity and harbour deepening projects, the Minister informed.
He also commended the Ennore Port for taking up the major initiative to facilitate export of Cars in pursuit of which, the EPL and Nissan Motor (India) have signed an MOU today. He hoped that the project would be completed on time and the export of cars would commence immediately after commissioning of the Nissan’s upcoming Car Plant at Oragadam, near Chennai.
Thiru Baalu added that Ennore Port along with Chennai Port would be a catalyst in making Chennai the Detroit of Asia by facilitating seamless exports and imports, and it would be the Engine of industrial and economic development of not only Tamil Nadu but also its hinterland in the other Southern States. (PIB)
CHENNAI: Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways,T.R. Baalu has said that the Union Government is committed to improve the infrastructure of the country to meet the growing needs of the economy.
Presiding over the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ennore Port Ltd and Nissan Motor (India) Pvt Ltd for export of Cars through Ennore Port in Chennai today, Mr Baalu said that the country’s economy is poised to take a great leap and to give the economy a big boost, Government has planned to give an impetus to infrastructure development.
He said that over Rs. 20,00,000 crore (20 lakh crore) would be invested during the five years of 11th five year plan for the infrastructure development out of a total investment of over Rs. 36,00,000 crore (36 lakh crore) which is 56.4% of the total investment.
Thiru Baalu said that the Department of Shipping has launched the National Maritime Development Policy (NMDP), which has put the port sector in India in an overdrive mode during the past 4 years. He said that the capacity of major ports stood at 384.5 million tonnes in March 2004 and it has leaped forward to 532 million tonnes as on March 2008, representing a 36% growth in capacity in the last four years. Likewise, the traffic through the major ports went up from 344.79 million tonnes in 2003-04 to 519.23 million tonnes in 2007-08, registering an impressive growth of 51%, the Minister added.
He informed that the NMDP comprises of 387 projects involving a total investment of Rs.1,00,339 crores (approximately US $ 21 billion). Out of this, Rs.55,804 crores (approximately US $ 12 billion) is for the Port sector and the balance Rs.44,535 crores (approximately US $ 9 billion) is for the Shipping and Inland Waterway Transport sectors with the target of completion by 2011-12. Thiru Baalu said that Tamil Nadu’s Gross State Domestic Product (GDP) for 2007 is estimated at Rs.2,75,000 crore which comes to 9.50% per year and which is in line with the national growth of 9.08%. He said that keeping in view the pace of development in the State in last few years, as also the glorious maritime history, a total of Rs.13,284 crores has been allocated by the Department of Shipping, Government of India to Tamil Nadu for the development of the three major ports, namely, Ennore, Chennai and Tuticorin. This translates to around 23.80% of the total NMDP investments. Of this, Ennore Port’s share at Rs.6,466 crores alone is nearly half of that for Tamil Nadu at 11.59% of the NMPD allocation for the 12 Major Ports.
Commending the performance of the Ennore Port, which is the first corporate port of the country, the Minister said that though youngest, the Port has embarked on the ambitious programme under Phase-I of the NMDP to develop various projects at an estimated cost of Rs.2,700 crore. The total investment by private partners through the BOT projects is around Rs.1100 crore and apart from this, the Ennore Port is investing Rs.300 crore in connectivity and harbour deepening projects, the Minister informed.
He also commended the Ennore Port for taking up the major initiative to facilitate export of Cars in pursuit of which, the EPL and Nissan Motor (India) have signed an MOU today. He hoped that the project would be completed on time and the export of cars would commence immediately after commissioning of the Nissan’s upcoming Car Plant at Oragadam, near Chennai.
Thiru Baalu added that Ennore Port along with Chennai Port would be a catalyst in making Chennai the Detroit of Asia by facilitating seamless exports and imports, and it would be the Engine of industrial and economic development of not only Tamil Nadu but also its hinterland in the other Southern States. (PIB)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Golden Era: Indian post offices to sell gold coins
NEW DELHI:Indian Post Offices have started selling 24 carat gold coins from today.
The sale will be available in over 100 India Post outlets in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat in the pilot phase. The gold coins are in the popular denomination of half gram, one gram, 5 grams and 8 grams. The prices of these coins will be competitive based on the prevailing prices of gold.
Launching the service in Delhi, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja directed the Department of Post to take the gold coins to rural post offices so that the benefit goes to the common man. He announced that the sale will gradually extend based on public response. He said, during Phase-II of the project, Post Offices will be selling gold coins with India Post logo.
India Post has launched this pioneering venture in association with World Gold Council and Reliance Money. World Gold Council will help market the Swiss Medallions supplied by Reliance Money, making it available to Indian consumers through Post offices in a convenient and cost effective manner. The gold coins will be packed in a sealed cover with the certification from Valcambi, Switzerland. It has the benefits like internationally recognized certification, low risk of duplication, quality packaging, product standardization, numbering and assayer certificate.
Mr Raja observed that the Post office, known for its trust and reliability, will serve as an ideal location for the people to buy quality gold coins. He said, India Post will continue to maximize the network, by making the post office a one stop shop for communication, distribution and retail solutions. Mr. Raja said, the time has come for India Post to boldly venture into new services that will make the Post office as the hub for various businesses.
Gold is the latest addition to a range of retail activity that India Post has already taken up. India Post has been selling various products under Retail Post category and there is sustained growth in the revenue from these activities. Post Office sells UPSC applications and university applications, it retails Darjeeling Tea in West Bengal, it markets Aloe Vera products in Gujarat and it takes orders for distribution of Prasadams of various temples in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Apart from enhancing the revenue of the Department, this will enable India Post to usher in a new image of India Post as a modern and relevant organization to the public in all areas of life.
The Minister of State for Communications & IT, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, who was the guest of honour at the launch ceremony, declared that this pilot project on the sale of gold coins would be a beginning of many more such retail services that India Post will undertake. He said, the venture reinforces India Post’s dedicated service to the ordinary Indian.
Speaking on World Gold Council’s association with India Post, Mr. Ajay Mitra, Managing Director of the Council, said, “Retailing gold through India Post is a ground-breaking initiative in the Indian investment sector and one of its kind in the world”. Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and CEO, Reliance Money, said, “We want to take the culture of structured investments in gold to the masses through India Post and provide gold at impeccable quality, quantity and price points”.
The sale will be available in over 100 India Post outlets in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat in the pilot phase. The gold coins are in the popular denomination of half gram, one gram, 5 grams and 8 grams. The prices of these coins will be competitive based on the prevailing prices of gold.
Launching the service in Delhi, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja directed the Department of Post to take the gold coins to rural post offices so that the benefit goes to the common man. He announced that the sale will gradually extend based on public response. He said, during Phase-II of the project, Post Offices will be selling gold coins with India Post logo.
India Post has launched this pioneering venture in association with World Gold Council and Reliance Money. World Gold Council will help market the Swiss Medallions supplied by Reliance Money, making it available to Indian consumers through Post offices in a convenient and cost effective manner. The gold coins will be packed in a sealed cover with the certification from Valcambi, Switzerland. It has the benefits like internationally recognized certification, low risk of duplication, quality packaging, product standardization, numbering and assayer certificate.
Mr Raja observed that the Post office, known for its trust and reliability, will serve as an ideal location for the people to buy quality gold coins. He said, India Post will continue to maximize the network, by making the post office a one stop shop for communication, distribution and retail solutions. Mr. Raja said, the time has come for India Post to boldly venture into new services that will make the Post office as the hub for various businesses.
Gold is the latest addition to a range of retail activity that India Post has already taken up. India Post has been selling various products under Retail Post category and there is sustained growth in the revenue from these activities. Post Office sells UPSC applications and university applications, it retails Darjeeling Tea in West Bengal, it markets Aloe Vera products in Gujarat and it takes orders for distribution of Prasadams of various temples in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Apart from enhancing the revenue of the Department, this will enable India Post to usher in a new image of India Post as a modern and relevant organization to the public in all areas of life.
The Minister of State for Communications & IT, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, who was the guest of honour at the launch ceremony, declared that this pilot project on the sale of gold coins would be a beginning of many more such retail services that India Post will undertake. He said, the venture reinforces India Post’s dedicated service to the ordinary Indian.
Speaking on World Gold Council’s association with India Post, Mr. Ajay Mitra, Managing Director of the Council, said, “Retailing gold through India Post is a ground-breaking initiative in the Indian investment sector and one of its kind in the world”. Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and CEO, Reliance Money, said, “We want to take the culture of structured investments in gold to the masses through India Post and provide gold at impeccable quality, quantity and price points”.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Anil Ambani's Reliance Money buys stake in HK exchange
First Indian firm to acquire a stake in an international exchange
Becomes the second largest shareholder in HKMEx
Reliance Money to get a seat on the HKMEx board
Mumbai, October 14, 2008: Reliance Money, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has acquired a 15 per cent stake in Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx). With this holding, Reliance Money becomes the second-largest shareholder in the commodity exchange and will have a board membership. Reliance Money is the first Indian firm to acquire a stake in an international exchange.
"Even as Asia has emerged as a key market for global commodities, the region does not have a strong commodity exchange. We believe that our deal with HKMEx will help us capitalise on the growing demand for commodities in this region," said Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director and CEO, Reliance Money.
Reliance Money has recently received approval from the FMC and Ministry of Consumer Affairs for acquiring 10 per cent stake in domestic National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India. It plans to up this stake to 26 per cent.
"We plan to build synergies between both the exchanges thereby leveraging on the growth potential of commodity trading in India, China and the rest of Asia," added Mr. Bandyopadhyay.
HKMEx proposes to start trading in the first quarter of 2009 and will kick-start its operations by offering dollar-denominated oil contracts. It would also diversify into other commodities going forward.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Banish Fear, says Indian FM
NEW DELHI, October 13, 2008: Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today declared that “we must banish fear”.
Making a statement on the ongoing crisis in the financial markets, Mr Chidambaram said: We must remain confident and respond to the situation in a cool and mature manner. We must banish fear. Especially, depositors have nothing to fear because their deposits in banks are safe.”
He said: “Investors must take informed decisions. Before you sell, you must remember that for every seller there is a buyer. You must ask yourself why the buyer is buying in these times of perceived uncertainty and, therefore, ask yourself the further question whether there is a need to act in haste or in panic. In my view, there is no reason at all to act in haste or to give room for panic.”
“If all the players in the economy remain confident and take informed decisions, I have no doubt that the Indian economy will weather the current storm and emerge stronger.,” he said.
Pointing out that “this is a time of uncertainty,” he said: “Yet, even in a time of uncertainty there are some facts that cannot be – and ought not to be – ignored.”
The Indian economy continues to grow at a satisfactory rate. As recently as last week, the IMF’s research department (Mr. Oliver Blanchard) noted that “the Indian economy would continue to do well despite the impact of the global liquidity crunch.” As per projections made by the IMF, India is expected to post a GDP growth of 7.9 per cent during the current fiscal year.
The stock market indices are important indicators, but they are not the only indicators of the health of the Indian economy. The ratio of investment to GDP remains high at over 35 per cent at the end of the first quarter of 2008-09. The monsoon has been normal; the Kharif crop (especially rice and cotton) has been good; farmers are sowing their fields; and the prospects for the Rabi crop are bright. Factories continue to produce goods and the services sector is growing at a brisk rate, he said.
“Crude oil and commodity prices have declined sharply. This is expected to have a beneficial effect on inflation.
“The root cause of the present uncertainty is liquidity and not any dramatic change in the fundamentals of the economy. According to RBI figures, as on 26th September, 2008, non-food credit increased, year-on-year, by 24.8 per cent. Between April and 26th September, non-food credit grew by 7.8 per cent. Time and demand deposits with banks grew, year-on-year, by 18.8 per cent and, between April and 26th September by 7.2 per cent. I am happy that depositors continue to repose their confidence in the health of our banking system.
“Nevertheless, liquidity was found to be inadequate and, consequently, lenders were unwilling to take risks. Some lenders and investors faced redemption pressures leading to a sale of assets, especially stocks. The markets that are bearing the brunt of the problem are the capital market and the money market and, to an extent, the foreign exchange market. These problems can be overcome if adequate liquidity is infused into the system.
“Accordingly, RBI has taken measures that have infused an additional Rs.60,000 crore into the financial system. The LAF also provides liquidity and, as on 10th October, 2008, Rs.91,500 crore had been accessed by banks through the LAF window. We believe that these steps should ease the liquidity situation and the flow of credit should become smoother, relieving the pressures that had built up in the last two weeks.
“Government, RBI and SEBI have been in close consultation with each other during the weekend. I have spoken to the Governor, RBI and Chairman, SEBI several times in the last two days. We are coordinating our actions. We are watching the situation carefully and we will respond swiftly according to the needs of the situation. We are working on more measures that will infuse liquidity, make credit intermediation smoother, and increase the confidence of depositors and investors. We hope to be able to announce them shortly.
“Our banks are ready and willing to provide credit. Suitable advisories are being issued to the banks.
Over the weekend, the US, UK, Euro zone and Australian authorities have announced a number of measures to stabilize the financial system. The Australian capital market and three of the East Asian capital markets have opened on a bright note this morning. I expect that our capital market will also take its cue from these positive developments.”
Making a statement on the ongoing crisis in the financial markets, Mr Chidambaram said: We must remain confident and respond to the situation in a cool and mature manner. We must banish fear. Especially, depositors have nothing to fear because their deposits in banks are safe.”
He said: “Investors must take informed decisions. Before you sell, you must remember that for every seller there is a buyer. You must ask yourself why the buyer is buying in these times of perceived uncertainty and, therefore, ask yourself the further question whether there is a need to act in haste or in panic. In my view, there is no reason at all to act in haste or to give room for panic.”
“If all the players in the economy remain confident and take informed decisions, I have no doubt that the Indian economy will weather the current storm and emerge stronger.,” he said.
Pointing out that “this is a time of uncertainty,” he said: “Yet, even in a time of uncertainty there are some facts that cannot be – and ought not to be – ignored.”
The Indian economy continues to grow at a satisfactory rate. As recently as last week, the IMF’s research department (Mr. Oliver Blanchard) noted that “the Indian economy would continue to do well despite the impact of the global liquidity crunch.” As per projections made by the IMF, India is expected to post a GDP growth of 7.9 per cent during the current fiscal year.
The stock market indices are important indicators, but they are not the only indicators of the health of the Indian economy. The ratio of investment to GDP remains high at over 35 per cent at the end of the first quarter of 2008-09. The monsoon has been normal; the Kharif crop (especially rice and cotton) has been good; farmers are sowing their fields; and the prospects for the Rabi crop are bright. Factories continue to produce goods and the services sector is growing at a brisk rate, he said.
“Crude oil and commodity prices have declined sharply. This is expected to have a beneficial effect on inflation.
“The root cause of the present uncertainty is liquidity and not any dramatic change in the fundamentals of the economy. According to RBI figures, as on 26th September, 2008, non-food credit increased, year-on-year, by 24.8 per cent. Between April and 26th September, non-food credit grew by 7.8 per cent. Time and demand deposits with banks grew, year-on-year, by 18.8 per cent and, between April and 26th September by 7.2 per cent. I am happy that depositors continue to repose their confidence in the health of our banking system.
“Nevertheless, liquidity was found to be inadequate and, consequently, lenders were unwilling to take risks. Some lenders and investors faced redemption pressures leading to a sale of assets, especially stocks. The markets that are bearing the brunt of the problem are the capital market and the money market and, to an extent, the foreign exchange market. These problems can be overcome if adequate liquidity is infused into the system.
“Accordingly, RBI has taken measures that have infused an additional Rs.60,000 crore into the financial system. The LAF also provides liquidity and, as on 10th October, 2008, Rs.91,500 crore had been accessed by banks through the LAF window. We believe that these steps should ease the liquidity situation and the flow of credit should become smoother, relieving the pressures that had built up in the last two weeks.
“Government, RBI and SEBI have been in close consultation with each other during the weekend. I have spoken to the Governor, RBI and Chairman, SEBI several times in the last two days. We are coordinating our actions. We are watching the situation carefully and we will respond swiftly according to the needs of the situation. We are working on more measures that will infuse liquidity, make credit intermediation smoother, and increase the confidence of depositors and investors. We hope to be able to announce them shortly.
“Our banks are ready and willing to provide credit. Suitable advisories are being issued to the banks.
Over the weekend, the US, UK, Euro zone and Australian authorities have announced a number of measures to stabilize the financial system. The Australian capital market and three of the East Asian capital markets have opened on a bright note this morning. I expect that our capital market will also take its cue from these positive developments.”
Saturday, October 11, 2008
India continues to be tourist destination
Tourism sector in India continues to witness encouraging trends despite the fears of global economic slow down. The foreign tourist arrivals to India have touched 3.87 millions by September 2008, which is an increase of 10.4% over corresponding period of previous year. While the percentage increase in foreign tourist arrivals of 2007 over 2006 for the month of September was only 1.3%, the increase in 2008 has been as high of 9.6%, according to data available with the Press Information Bureau (PIB)
The foreign exchange earnings to India in tourism sector in rupee terms has touched 36,464 crores by September, which is a 17.8% increase over previous year for the corresponding period while the increase in 2007 over 2006 for the same period was 13.7%. Interestingly in September 2007, there was a negative growth of foreign exchange earnings over 2006. However, the trend has been reversed and there has been 21.2% increase in FE earnings in September 2008 as compared to 2007.
India continues to be a long duration and high spending destination for foreign travelers. This is quite evident from the statistics received through the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, which indicate that the foreign exchange earnings per foreign traveler coming to India has been US $ 2112 in the year 2007, which is more than twice the foreign exchange earned per foreign traveler worldwide (which is US $ 948) as well as Asia Pacific (which is US$ 1027). In fact, most of the major Asian countries like China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand much less foreign exchange earned per foreign traveler as compared to India.
The resilience of Indian tourism sector is also evident from the fact that while the growth rate of foreign tourist arrivals worldwide has been 5% in 2008 and the average growth rate of Asia Pacific has been 6.9%, the foreign tourist arrivals to India have grown at a rate well above 10%.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from Tourism in India during September 2008 and comparative figures of 2006 and 2007
Can India survive the global financial crisis? Yes, says World Bank
Finance Minister P Chidambaram sought to draw the attention of the business community to the fact that Mr. Robert Zoellick, President, World Bank, has said that “India is in a position to weather the global financial turmoil.”
The Minster, in a statement in New Delhi on Friday, also said: “I also wish to draw attention to the statement of Mr. H. Kuroda, President, ADB that the impact on the financial sector in Asia is limited this time.
Credit is the lifeline of trade, commerce and business and, hence, it is important that credit continues to flow to all sectors of the economy. In consultation with RBI and other regulatory authorities, Government will address the liquidity and other concerns about the economy, he said..
“It is also important to maintain our confidence in the Indian economy. As the Cabinet noted on Wednesday, the fundamentals of our economy are strong and there are many indicators which affirm the sound fundamentals,” Mr Chidambaram added.
The Minster, in a statement in New Delhi on Friday, also said: “I also wish to draw attention to the statement of Mr. H. Kuroda, President, ADB that the impact on the financial sector in Asia is limited this time.
Credit is the lifeline of trade, commerce and business and, hence, it is important that credit continues to flow to all sectors of the economy. In consultation with RBI and other regulatory authorities, Government will address the liquidity and other concerns about the economy, he said..
“It is also important to maintain our confidence in the Indian economy. As the Cabinet noted on Wednesday, the fundamentals of our economy are strong and there are many indicators which affirm the sound fundamentals,” Mr Chidambaram added.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Newlook NMCE gets brand new corporate identity
The new identity was unveiled by Shri. B. C. Khatua, IAS, Chairman, Forward Markets Commission
Mumbai, October 8, 2008: National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (NMCE), the country's first online demutualised, multi-commodity exchange, unveiled its new identity today. The new identity was unveiled by Shri. B. C. Khatua, IAS, Chairman, Forward Markets Commission
Mr. Kailash Gupta, Managing Director, NMCE and Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director, NMCE were also present on this occasion.
The unveiling of the new identity, comes at the back of NMCE receiving approval from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for Reliance Money’s proposed acquisition of stake in the exchange.
Mr. B.C. Khatua, while unveiling the new identity wished NMCE all the very best and stated, “The new corporate identity is not a mere change in the logo but a reflection of the inner change in approach and mindset to take upon new challenges to be a vibrant and leading Commodity Exchange of the future.”
“It was important for us to review what our members and clients think of the exchange. The objective has been to make it contemporary, forward looking and relevant. In addition to launching a new identity, we have also moved our Corporate Office to Mumbai, and are looking at recruitments at various levels to further strengthen our management,” said Mr. Kailash Gupta, Managing Director, NMCE.
The exchange’s current logo is being replaced with a new and bold looking ‘NMCE’ written in red with three red and blue arrows on its top right hand side, signifying continuous forward movement.
“With a renewed focus on growth, NMCE is aggressively looking at not only revamping the entire working of the exchange but also changing the way the exchange is looked at. We not only plan to expand our membership network and commodity base offered, but also plan to reach out to the huge investor base in the commodity space through various new schemes and tie-ups,” said Mr. Sudip Bandopadhyay, Director, NMCE.
The exchange through its new identity is defining itself as one which has a bold outlook towards the future. The colour ‘Red’ in the logo depicts dynamism and an innovative approach to continuously be on the look-out for newer opportunities in today’s ever changing business environment; while the colour ‘Blue’ which stands for depth, denotes the trust and faith of its members, clients and all other stakeholders.
NMCE is the country's first online de-mutualised, multi-commodity exchange with a nationwide reach. It not only revived futures trade electronically in the commodities in India after a gap of 41 years but also integrated the centuries old commodity market with the latest technology. NMCE has 300 members with more than 30,000 clients and is present across 14 states in India.
The launch of the new corporate identity comes at a time when the exchange is preparing to announce a series of exciting business initiatives, such as starting an agri-spot exchange and launching of currency futures amongst others. The new identity is sure to kick-off a fresh chapter not only for NMCE but also the Indian commodities markets.
About National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India
www.nmce.com
The National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE) was launched on November 26, 2002 as the country's first online demutualised, multi-commodity exchange with nationwide reach. It is promoted by the country's largest warehousing corporation CWC along with NAFED - the country's apex body of marketing cooperatives, Punjab National Bank, the second largest public sector bank and the Government of Gujarat. NMCE not only revived futures trade electronically in commodities in India after a gap of 41 years, but also integrated the centuries old commodity market with the latest technology.
NMCE offers an electronic platform for futures trading in plantation, spices, food grains, non-ferrous metals, oilseeds and their derivatives and is backed by compulsory delivery based settlement to ensure transparent and fair trade practices. It is the first to introduce efficient clearing and settlement system backed by adequately capitalised corporate brokerage houses in commodities with sound and reliable transferable warehouse receipt system, using appropriate communication channels.
For further details –
Poonam Gupta NMCE +91-9825017610
B. N. Kumar Concept Communication +91-9321048332mailbnk@gmail.com
Mumbai, October 8, 2008: National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (NMCE), the country's first online demutualised, multi-commodity exchange, unveiled its new identity today. The new identity was unveiled by Shri. B. C. Khatua, IAS, Chairman, Forward Markets Commission
Mr. Kailash Gupta, Managing Director, NMCE and Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Director, NMCE were also present on this occasion.
The unveiling of the new identity, comes at the back of NMCE receiving approval from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for Reliance Money’s proposed acquisition of stake in the exchange.
Mr. B.C. Khatua, while unveiling the new identity wished NMCE all the very best and stated, “The new corporate identity is not a mere change in the logo but a reflection of the inner change in approach and mindset to take upon new challenges to be a vibrant and leading Commodity Exchange of the future.”
“It was important for us to review what our members and clients think of the exchange. The objective has been to make it contemporary, forward looking and relevant. In addition to launching a new identity, we have also moved our Corporate Office to Mumbai, and are looking at recruitments at various levels to further strengthen our management,” said Mr. Kailash Gupta, Managing Director, NMCE.
The exchange’s current logo is being replaced with a new and bold looking ‘NMCE’ written in red with three red and blue arrows on its top right hand side, signifying continuous forward movement.
“With a renewed focus on growth, NMCE is aggressively looking at not only revamping the entire working of the exchange but also changing the way the exchange is looked at. We not only plan to expand our membership network and commodity base offered, but also plan to reach out to the huge investor base in the commodity space through various new schemes and tie-ups,” said Mr. Sudip Bandopadhyay, Director, NMCE.
The exchange through its new identity is defining itself as one which has a bold outlook towards the future. The colour ‘Red’ in the logo depicts dynamism and an innovative approach to continuously be on the look-out for newer opportunities in today’s ever changing business environment; while the colour ‘Blue’ which stands for depth, denotes the trust and faith of its members, clients and all other stakeholders.
NMCE is the country's first online de-mutualised, multi-commodity exchange with a nationwide reach. It not only revived futures trade electronically in the commodities in India after a gap of 41 years but also integrated the centuries old commodity market with the latest technology. NMCE has 300 members with more than 30,000 clients and is present across 14 states in India.
The launch of the new corporate identity comes at a time when the exchange is preparing to announce a series of exciting business initiatives, such as starting an agri-spot exchange and launching of currency futures amongst others. The new identity is sure to kick-off a fresh chapter not only for NMCE but also the Indian commodities markets.
About National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India
www.nmce.com
The National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE) was launched on November 26, 2002 as the country's first online demutualised, multi-commodity exchange with nationwide reach. It is promoted by the country's largest warehousing corporation CWC along with NAFED - the country's apex body of marketing cooperatives, Punjab National Bank, the second largest public sector bank and the Government of Gujarat. NMCE not only revived futures trade electronically in commodities in India after a gap of 41 years, but also integrated the centuries old commodity market with the latest technology.
NMCE offers an electronic platform for futures trading in plantation, spices, food grains, non-ferrous metals, oilseeds and their derivatives and is backed by compulsory delivery based settlement to ensure transparent and fair trade practices. It is the first to introduce efficient clearing and settlement system backed by adequately capitalised corporate brokerage houses in commodities with sound and reliable transferable warehouse receipt system, using appropriate communication channels.
For further details –
Poonam Gupta NMCE +91-9825017610
B. N. Kumar Concept Communication +91-9321048332mailbnk@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Big demand for Hindalco Rights renunciations: Trading worth Rs 450 cr
• Hindalco Rights record: Rs 450 cr worth Renuniciations traded.
• Issue closes on Friday
• In every rights issue, share holders have two options - either accept the rights offer or renunciate.
• Each renunciation shows that there is a buyer.
• In case of Hindalco, the transactions show that the volume of renunciation is almost 48 million shares. This means that there is a strong demand for as many shares. Yesterday was the last day for renunciations.
• Obviously, these are the buyers who have faith in the company.
• This points also reiterates that the Hindalco Rights issue - the largest rights issue in the country - is garnering good support.
• The GDR segment is already subscribed to the extent of 99.3 per cent.
• Merchant bankers have already underwritten 40% and promoters have announced they will buy 50% of the rights issue.
• Issue closes on Friday
• In every rights issue, share holders have two options - either accept the rights offer or renunciate.
• Each renunciation shows that there is a buyer.
• In case of Hindalco, the transactions show that the volume of renunciation is almost 48 million shares. This means that there is a strong demand for as many shares. Yesterday was the last day for renunciations.
• Obviously, these are the buyers who have faith in the company.
• This points also reiterates that the Hindalco Rights issue - the largest rights issue in the country - is garnering good support.
• The GDR segment is already subscribed to the extent of 99.3 per cent.
• Merchant bankers have already underwritten 40% and promoters have announced they will buy 50% of the rights issue.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Hindalco rights gets overwhelming GDR response
MUMBAI, September 30, 2008:The right offer to the company's GDR holders is subscribed to the extent of 99.30%.
The GDR entitlement was to the tune of 56.42 million shares, against which the subscriptions came in for 56.03 million shares.
• India's largest rights issue by Kumar Mangalam Birla promoted Hindalco is all set to sail through with the merchant bankers and FIs committing to subscribe.
• Market sources say the merchant bankers have committed to pick up 40% while FIs – LIC and GIC – agreed to pick up 15%. The promoters have already decided to buy 50% of the rights issue shares.
• Hindalco has come out with 525,802,403 equity hares with a face value of Re 1 each at a premium of Rs 95 per equity share.
• The issue size works out to Rs 5047.7 crores.
• Issue opened on September 22 and will close on October 10.
• The lead managers to the issue are: ABM AMRO Securities (India) Private Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Ltd, Deutsche Equities India Private Ltd, DSP Merrill Lynch, and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
• Heavy demand of the Renunciation of the Rights – volume in excess of 14 million as of yesterday
The GDR entitlement was to the tune of 56.42 million shares, against which the subscriptions came in for 56.03 million shares.
• India's largest rights issue by Kumar Mangalam Birla promoted Hindalco is all set to sail through with the merchant bankers and FIs committing to subscribe.
• Market sources say the merchant bankers have committed to pick up 40% while FIs – LIC and GIC – agreed to pick up 15%. The promoters have already decided to buy 50% of the rights issue shares.
• Hindalco has come out with 525,802,403 equity hares with a face value of Re 1 each at a premium of Rs 95 per equity share.
• The issue size works out to Rs 5047.7 crores.
• Issue opened on September 22 and will close on October 10.
• The lead managers to the issue are: ABM AMRO Securities (India) Private Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Ltd, Deutsche Equities India Private Ltd, DSP Merrill Lynch, and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
• Heavy demand of the Renunciation of the Rights – volume in excess of 14 million as of yesterday
Friday, September 12, 2008
Sahara clears confusion about NBFC
Statement of Mr. Abhijet Sarckar, Head - Corporate Communications, Sahara India Pariwar -
"Sahara India Investment Corporation Limited (A NON DEPOSIT TAKING Non Banking Finance Company) has voluntarily surrendered the license to act as a NBFC. The Management has decided to carry out real estate business in the said Company.
The above Company is distinct from Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited, which is a Residuary Non Banking Company involved in the business of Para Banking that is deposit mobilisation.
This statement is issued for the reason that some news channels out of confusion have wrongly and baselessly circulated a news about our Parabanking activity. "
"Sahara India Investment Corporation Limited (A NON DEPOSIT TAKING Non Banking Finance Company) has voluntarily surrendered the license to act as a NBFC. The Management has decided to carry out real estate business in the said Company.
The above Company is distinct from Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited, which is a Residuary Non Banking Company involved in the business of Para Banking that is deposit mobilisation.
This statement is issued for the reason that some news channels out of confusion have wrongly and baselessly circulated a news about our Parabanking activity. "
Thursday, September 11, 2008
IDBI Fortis launches branches in Udaipur & Jaipur
Presents a suite of investment options with guaranteed returns
National footprint to cover 100 branches with 29 in Northern India
Jaipur, September 11, 2008: IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd, which has embarked on an aggressive drive to open 100 branches across the country during this fiscal, has formally launched their branches in Udaipur & Jaipur.
The company plans to set up 4 more branches in the Rajasthan, apart from the Udaipur branch launched yesterday and Jaipur today.
“With the changing lifestyles, more and more people want to invest their money for long term wealth building. We hope to target this segment with our unique wealth-building products that will help their money grow by protecting it from unforeseen circumstances” said Ms Mallika Vyas, Head – HR, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd.
The Jaipur branch is located at Bhagwan Dass Road, while the one at Udaipur is at Old Station Road.
IDBI Fortis Life Insurance is a recently launched joint-venture of IDBI, India’s premier development and commercial bank, Federal Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks and Fortis, Europe’s banking and insurance giant.
The company launched operations in March this year, leading with their innovative concept ‘Wealthsurance’. WealthsuranceTM is a first of its kind combination of comprehensive investment choices, protected by powerful insurance options, all presented with a reasonable charge structure, making it a one stop solution to a customer’s wealth building plans. WealthsuranceTM offers investment choices such as Guaranteed Return Fund, Capital Guaranteed Fund, Monthly Interest Account, Equity Funds, Debt Funds etc. ensuring that the customer would find all his investment requirements satisfied with this one powerful product. The powerful insurance benefits of WealthsuranceTM ensure that a customer’s wealth plan is not affected by unforeseen events that may strike them.
“Rajasthan is popular not only for its rich cultural heritage and unique customs but as a business state with flourishing tourism and handicrafts industries. We at IDBI Fortis see a major opportunity in Rajasthan not only to expand our business but to harness the state’s inherent entrepreneurship skills. IDBI Fortis, one of the fastest growing insurance companies in the country, also offers employment as well as self-employment opportunities,” said Mr Murali Iyer, National Head – Agency & Alliances, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd.
About IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd
IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd, is a joint venture between three leading financial conglomerates – India’s premier development and commercial bank, IDBI, one of India’s leading private sector banks, Federal Bank and Europe’s banking and insurance giant, Fortis, each of which enjoys a significant status in their respective business segments. In this venture, IDBI owns 48% equity while Federal Bank and Fortis own 26% equity each. IDBI Fortis launched its first set of products across India in March 2008, after receiving the requisite approvals from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). The company offers its services through a vast nationwide network across the branches of IDBI Bank and Federal Bank in addition to a sizeable network of advisors and partners. At IDBI Fortis, we endeavor to deliver products that provide value and convenience to the customer. Through a continuous process of innovation in product and service delivery we intend to deliver world-class wealth management, protection and retirement solutions to Indian customers. Do visit www.idbifortis.com to know more.
National footprint to cover 100 branches with 29 in Northern India
Jaipur, September 11, 2008: IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd, which has embarked on an aggressive drive to open 100 branches across the country during this fiscal, has formally launched their branches in Udaipur & Jaipur.
The company plans to set up 4 more branches in the Rajasthan, apart from the Udaipur branch launched yesterday and Jaipur today.
“With the changing lifestyles, more and more people want to invest their money for long term wealth building. We hope to target this segment with our unique wealth-building products that will help their money grow by protecting it from unforeseen circumstances” said Ms Mallika Vyas, Head – HR, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd.
The Jaipur branch is located at Bhagwan Dass Road, while the one at Udaipur is at Old Station Road.
IDBI Fortis Life Insurance is a recently launched joint-venture of IDBI, India’s premier development and commercial bank, Federal Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks and Fortis, Europe’s banking and insurance giant.
The company launched operations in March this year, leading with their innovative concept ‘Wealthsurance’. WealthsuranceTM is a first of its kind combination of comprehensive investment choices, protected by powerful insurance options, all presented with a reasonable charge structure, making it a one stop solution to a customer’s wealth building plans. WealthsuranceTM offers investment choices such as Guaranteed Return Fund, Capital Guaranteed Fund, Monthly Interest Account, Equity Funds, Debt Funds etc. ensuring that the customer would find all his investment requirements satisfied with this one powerful product. The powerful insurance benefits of WealthsuranceTM ensure that a customer’s wealth plan is not affected by unforeseen events that may strike them.
“Rajasthan is popular not only for its rich cultural heritage and unique customs but as a business state with flourishing tourism and handicrafts industries. We at IDBI Fortis see a major opportunity in Rajasthan not only to expand our business but to harness the state’s inherent entrepreneurship skills. IDBI Fortis, one of the fastest growing insurance companies in the country, also offers employment as well as self-employment opportunities,” said Mr Murali Iyer, National Head – Agency & Alliances, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd.
About IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd
IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd, is a joint venture between three leading financial conglomerates – India’s premier development and commercial bank, IDBI, one of India’s leading private sector banks, Federal Bank and Europe’s banking and insurance giant, Fortis, each of which enjoys a significant status in their respective business segments. In this venture, IDBI owns 48% equity while Federal Bank and Fortis own 26% equity each. IDBI Fortis launched its first set of products across India in March 2008, after receiving the requisite approvals from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). The company offers its services through a vast nationwide network across the branches of IDBI Bank and Federal Bank in addition to a sizeable network of advisors and partners. At IDBI Fortis, we endeavor to deliver products that provide value and convenience to the customer. Through a continuous process of innovation in product and service delivery we intend to deliver world-class wealth management, protection and retirement solutions to Indian customers. Do visit www.idbifortis.com to know more.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Sea water turns sweet in Mumbai!
Sea water turns sweet! Though irrational, this news about sweet water in the sea spread faster than forest fire and engulfed the entire city of Mumbai.
'Lord Ganesha is drinking milk!' went the frenzied rumour. In less than a couple of hours, long queues materialized at milk shops and temples across the country. It took a whole day of scientific explanation to convince spell-bound devotees that there was nothing even remotely 'divine' about this phenomenon. Yet, they stubbornly refused to see the truth..........For a complete story, Pl chk with Concept PR: http://www.conceptpr.com/
'Lord Ganesha is drinking milk!' went the frenzied rumour. In less than a couple of hours, long queues materialized at milk shops and temples across the country. It took a whole day of scientific explanation to convince spell-bound devotees that there was nothing even remotely 'divine' about this phenomenon. Yet, they stubbornly refused to see the truth..........For a complete story, Pl chk with Concept PR: http://www.conceptpr.com/
Saturday, August 30, 2008
JP Morgan ropes in Morparia as India CEO from ICICI
HONG KONG: J.P.Morgan Asia Pacific has announced the appointment of
Kalpana Morparia as Chief Executive Officer of the firm's Indian operations.
Ms Morparia joins J.P.Morgan from the senior management of the ICICI Group,
India's largest private sector financial services company.
Ms Morparia is vice chairman of the ICICI Group's insurance,
asset management and securities companies, and Chief Strategy and
Communications Officer. She joined the board of ICICI Bank in 2001 and held
the position of Joint Managing Director until last year, before assuming her
current role with the group.
During her 33 year career with ICICI, Ms Morparia played an
influential role in the firm's expansion. Her term at ICICI Group placed her
at the forefront of the transformational changes which have reshaped the
country's banking industry.
Mr Gaby Abdelnour, the Chairman and Chief Executive of
J.P.Morgan, Asia Pacific said he warmly welcomed the experience and knowledge
which Ms Morparia will bring to the role of CEO.
"Ms Morparia offers J.P.Morgan a tremendous opportunity to
accelerate the progress we've made in building our Indian franchise. Her
appointment is also further evidence of the importance which J.P. Morgan
places on India as a priority within the firm's global growth strategy, " he
said.
Ms Morparia said she was delighted to join J.P.Morgan, and to
have the opportunity to lead the firm's expansion in India.
"J.P. Morgan has established a strong and highly respected
franchise in India which will support plans to expand all three lines of
business-- Investment Banking, Asset Wealth
Management and Treasury and Securities Services." she said.
Ms Morparia's role will include membership of J.P.Morgan's
Asia Pacific Executive Committee and involvement in the development of
several global initiatives being led out of the firm's New York office.
Kalpana Morparia as Chief Executive Officer of the firm's Indian operations.
Ms Morparia joins J.P.Morgan from the senior management of the ICICI Group,
India's largest private sector financial services company.
Ms Morparia is vice chairman of the ICICI Group's insurance,
asset management and securities companies, and Chief Strategy and
Communications Officer. She joined the board of ICICI Bank in 2001 and held
the position of Joint Managing Director until last year, before assuming her
current role with the group.
During her 33 year career with ICICI, Ms Morparia played an
influential role in the firm's expansion. Her term at ICICI Group placed her
at the forefront of the transformational changes which have reshaped the
country's banking industry.
Mr Gaby Abdelnour, the Chairman and Chief Executive of
J.P.Morgan, Asia Pacific said he warmly welcomed the experience and knowledge
which Ms Morparia will bring to the role of CEO.
"Ms Morparia offers J.P.Morgan a tremendous opportunity to
accelerate the progress we've made in building our Indian franchise. Her
appointment is also further evidence of the importance which J.P. Morgan
places on India as a priority within the firm's global growth strategy, " he
said.
Ms Morparia said she was delighted to join J.P.Morgan, and to
have the opportunity to lead the firm's expansion in India.
"J.P. Morgan has established a strong and highly respected
franchise in India which will support plans to expand all three lines of
business-- Investment Banking, Asset Wealth
Management and Treasury and Securities Services." she said.
Ms Morparia's role will include membership of J.P.Morgan's
Asia Pacific Executive Committee and involvement in the development of
several global initiatives being led out of the firm's New York office.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
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