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Govt finetunes norms to assess FBT
Tatas eye retail with multi-product outlets
Wockhardt buys Ireland Co for Rs 686 crore
Nicholas buys out Boots in JV
IOC-Petronas to invest Rs 400 cr
Indian Hotels to buy Ritz Carlton’s Boston unit for $170 m
i-flex buys Mantas for $122.6 m
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Premium Swiss watch launched
M&M to set up 4-wheeler plant in Uttaranchal
RCF-built coaches for Senegal
Tata Tea may exit Sri Lanka
Arcelor-Mittal may not get Laiwu stake
UWB on track as IDBI takes over
RITES turnover
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Govt finetunes norms to assess FBT
New Delhi, October 3 “With the professional assistance of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), we have devised an Annexure II inserted in Form 3CD to the tax audit report to assess FBT in an objective manner by the employers. It is applicable from August 10,” said Revenue Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, Ministry of Finance, while releasing the “ Guidance Note on Audit of Fringe Benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961’ here this evening. The introduced annexure has placed the responsibility of determining FBT in a correct manner on chartered accountants. Later speaking to reporters, Mr Chandrasekhar said:“ We have simplified the norms for assessing FBT in an objective manner, and hope that by next year employers will become fully familiar with it. The government is expecting substantial growth in FBT this year, estimated between Rs 4000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore, as against Rs 3000 crore collected the previous year.” The Revenue Secretary said as against the target of Rs 2,10,000 crore revenue collections, the government had collected Rs 81,000 crore direct taxes as on September 15 this year, thus achieving 39 per cent of the total target. Service tax collections had shown growth of over 40 per cent while excise duty collections were almost stagnant. After overhauling the income, corporate and customs Acts, he said, the government was considering to review the excise laws with assistance from the ICAI. “Efforts would be made to identify industries indulging in tax evasion and to plug the loopholes in the system.” Referring to the guidance note, the Revenue Secretary clarified that as per the ruling of the Supreme Court, the government will not have to pay FBT on behalf of its employees as the government was not expected to tax itself. However, the government corporations would be liable to pay FBT, he added.
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Tatas eye retail with multi-product outlets
Mumbai, October 3 The group, which already has presence in various retail verticals through brands such as Westside and Landmark, will launch the new outlets under the brand ‘Croma’ to be run by Infiniti Retail Ltd. “We have earmarked Rs 400 crore as initial investment and another Rs 400 crore through borrowing, taking the total resource availability to Rs 800 crore,” Infiniti Retail Ltd CEO Ajit Joshi said. The ‘Croma’ chain of stores would retail over 180 brands, both global and Indian, ranging from LG, Samsung, Lenovo, IBM, HP, Compaq, HCL. Besides, the new venture, which will be a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Sons, would offer more than 6,000 products across eight categories. “The move is to enhance Tatas’ presence in growing retail industry in the country. We have a technical alliance with Australian retail major, Woolworths, to source products for the venture,” Tata Sons Director R.K. Krishnakumar said here today. In the first 18 months, the company would open 30 stores. The Tatas would also look at investing in other retail formats, Mr Krishna Kumar said. It would also look at introducing private label brands at some point in the future, but not immediately, he added. When asked if the initial investment was very modest compared to what was announced by Reliance and Bharti for their retail ventures, Mr Joshi said: “Our ambition is to be among the top two players. The company plans to open 100 such stores by 2010. — PTI
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Wockhardt buys Ireland Co for Rs 686 crore
New Delhi, October 3 The acquisition will give the company an entry and leadership in the generic market of Ireland. As almost half of Pinewood’s sales are reported in the UK, the acquisition will reinforce Wockhardt’s position in the UK where it is already the largest generic company from India and the second largest player in hospital sales. “This acquisition gives us a larger footprint in Europe spread over the UK, Ireland and Germany. The European business will now exceed $200 million, accounting for almost half of Wockhardt’s total sales,’’ Chairman Habil Khorakiwala said. Pinewood reported sales of over $70 million for the year ended June, 2006. The takeover will also offer enormous opportunities to unlock value to the company’s enlarged customer base in the UK and Ireland by offering them a wider range of products, Mr Khorakiwala said. Pinewood is the company’s fourth European acquisition, after Wallis, CP Pharmaceuticals (both in UK) and Esparma in Germany. The UK and Germany are Europe’s leading generic markets.— UNI
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Mumbai, October 3 It acquired the 51 per cent stake from Alliance Boots' subsidiary The Boots Company Plc, NPIL informed the BSE. Following Reckitt Benckiser's global acquisition of Alliance Boots' OTC business, the latter decided to exit its venture in lndia and as part of the arrangement have paid NPIL a one-time sum of Rs 17.8 crore. Boots Piramal Healthcare was a 49:51 joint venture company and marketed the OTC brands of both companies in India. After the acquisition, the company's name would be changed by removing the word 'Boots' and henceforth the former Boots OTC brands will now be marketed by Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Plc, UK. NPIL will continue to market and distribute its own OTC brands — Saridon, Polycrol and Lacto Calamine — and will also own the marketing team. NPIL would continue to invest heavily and grow its OTC brands, the release added.— PTI
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IOC-Petronas to invest Rs 400 cr
New Delhi, October 3 IndianOil Petronas, the joint venture company floated by IOC and Petronas, will build a 600,000 tonnes a year LPG import terminal at Ennore, company sources said. The joint venture, which currently operates a similar terminal at Haldia in West Bengal, would build two cryogenic storage tanks of 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes to store LPG at - 42 degrees centigrade. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) has tied-up with Total of France and would be spending Rs 300 crore to set up an LPG import terminal and an underground storage facility at Visakhapatnam. IOC to double refining capacity
Indian Oil Corp plans to almost double its crude oil refining capacity to 80 million tonnes by 2011-12, the year by when it is targeting to scale $60 billion in turnover. IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria while presenting a dividend cheque of Rs 1197.60 crore for 2005-06 to Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, informed that, "IOC aspired to grow from a $41 billion turnover company today to $60 billion by the year 2011-12 with well-coordinated strategic plans, including clear blueprints for investments to the tune of $12 billion or Rs 50,000 crore mainly in integration and diversification projects, refinery expansions, product quality upgradation and retail operations." |
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Indian Hotels to buy Ritz Carlton’s Boston
Mumbai, October 3 IHCL will acquire the 400-room Boston facility of the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company for around $170 million, a senior official said. “We are in the process of conducting the due diligence to acquire the Boston unit of Ritz Carlton,” Tata Sons Director R.K. Krishna Kumar said here today. IHCL, which acquired Australia’s W-Sydney Hotel for $36 million last year, is buying the Ritz Carlton division as part of its long-term strategy to establish international presence. The largest hospitality chain in the country, IHCL has 59 hotels at 40 locations across India. The company has 17 international hotels in the Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, UK, US, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa, West Asia and Australia.— PTI
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i-flex buys Mantas for $122.6 m
New Delhi, October 3 ''The convergence of governance, risk and compliance, presents Mantas and Reveleus with a unique market opportunity to leverage our complimentary strengths,'' Mr S Ramakrishnan, CEO, Revelues, i-flex Business Analytics division, said. Mr Ramakrishnan would take up an additional charge of the Chief Executive Officer of Mantas. Mr Simon Moss, ex-CEO of Mantas, will take on the role of Strategic Adviser to i-flex, focusing on key projects and providing guidance and support for a smooth transition. As a result of the acquisition, Reveleus and Mantas will bring together two industry leading solutions into a single unified platform for governance, risk and compliance.
— UNI |
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Premium Swiss watch launched
Chandigarh, October 3 "The Indian market is small in Asia but it is one of the most dynamic markets and I mean in terms of value," said CEO of Maurice Lacroix, Mr Philippe C Merk. Known for its mechanical watches, the brand is one of luxury names in the world that make their own movements which puts them in the august company of 'luminaries' like Patek Philippe and Rolex (though not in the same price range). "Someone who will buy a Maurice Lacroix is not a first time buyer. It is a typically Swiss and an expensive timepiece which has a strong value proposition," explained Mr Merk. Travelling a less-taken path, the brand is distinguished by its Masterpiece Le Chronographe, limited to 250 pieces and available in pink gold, which is recognised for its retrograde movement, moon phase displays and chronographs and is "considered to be one of the most complicated complications" which took over three years to develop.
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M&M to set up 4-wheeler plant in Uttaranchal
Dehra Dun, October 3 While interacting with Uttaranchal Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari M&M Chairman and Managing Director Keshav Mahindra said setting up of the unit would open employment opportunity for about 2,000 persons. He said the suitable spot for the unit was being selected at Hardwar, Roorkee and Pantnagar. Expressing his content on Mr Mahindra's planning, Mr Tiwari said the iundustrial development rate in the state had grown from 1 per cent to 18.
— UNI |
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RCF-built coaches for Senegal
Kapurthala, October 3 Sources in the RCF said engineers from Senegal were being trained at the coach factory here to enable them maintain the rake. The rake on its way to Senegal will help RCF generate a revenue of Rs 34 crore. Another order has been procured through RITES recently for 50 coaches for inter-linked train between Senegal and Mali. Mr Pratap Srivastava, Additional Member, Production Units, Railway Board and RCF General Manager, said, "Our factory is open to receiving overseas orders for coaches." Mr Srivastava said Corten steel had been used in preference to stainless steel as it was corrosion resistant and stronger. Besides, fire retardant material had been used in these coaches. The use of fire retardant material is a common feature in all RCF coaches in keeping with the safety plan of Indian Railways. RCF, which began with a capacity to manufacture 1,000 coaches every year, is now manufacturing 1,250 coaches. For the next fiscal the target is 1,400 coaches. Till date, RCF claims to have manufactured 15,000 coaches of 51 types. These include five Rajdhani rakes of LHB Asltom design coaches, now running between Mumbai and New Delhi.
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Tata Tea may exit Sri Lanka
Colombo, October 3 Yesterday, Watawala’s controlling shareholders signed an agreement with a Sri Lankan buyer, to begin work on a due diligence study. Watawala’s CEO/Director Vish Govindasamy said today that “there is no time frame as to when the due diligence study will be finished. But Tata has announced plans sometime back to gradually get out of plantation management,”. Mr Govindasamy didn’t say, but tea industry players are speculating that the buyer could be either Richard Pieris and Company, or James Finlays. Conglomerate Richard Pieris has recently emerged as the biggest plantation owner. Last year, Tata sold out of its Indian plantations by transferring tea estates to an employee-owned private company.
— PTI |
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Arcelor-Mittal may not get Laiwu stake
Buenos Aires, October 3 Mittal Steel's takeover of Arcelor meant some Chinese officials were against allowing the merged company to buy a 38 per cent stake in the Shandong province-based company, Laiwu's Vice General Manager Zhang Shengsheng said. China, the world's biggest steel user, is increasing scrutiny of overseas investment, announcing a plan in August to ban the sale of assets that "threaten China's economic safety.'' Non-Chinese companies are already blocked from controlling majority stakes in domestic steel-makers. "The Chinese government has always been pretty protective about its industries,'' Geoffrey Cheng, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research, said in Hong Kong. Overseas companies "taking major stake seems to be out of question.''
— Bloomberg |
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UWB on track as IDBI takes over
Satara, October 3 Around 230 UWB branches began functioning under the IDBI and its banner, taking the bank to the number sixth position with 430 branches countrywide. The RBI had recently issued a moratorium restraining the bank from doing business due to mounting NPA’s and losses, paving the way for the takeover. IDBI Chairman V.P. Shetty told reporters that the bank would focus on priority sectors like corporate finance, self-employment and agriculture. The Chairman added all shares of the UWB would not be merged with the IDBI. “The employees who desire retirement will be relieved within a month. This does not come under the voluntary retirement scheme. We are opening branches in Bahrain and Singapore shortly,’’ he said.—
UNI |
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RITES turnover
New Delhi, October 3 Addressing the 32nd AGM, Mr P.K. Rao, RITES Chairman and Member (Mechanical), Railway Board, said the company had secured challenging and prestigious contracts worth Rs 559 crore.
— TNS |
Rupee gains 18 paise Amritsar-Dubai flight begins Infosys bags Saudi contract Uttam Galva Steel prices up Pantaloon JV Rs 180-cr order for Jyoti Structures |
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