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Pak says no to wheat export, sugar import
Government clears 17 FDI proposals
Inflation dips to 4.36 pc
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JP Group enters steel sector; acquires Malvika Steel
To invest Rs 4,000 crore
in cement units
GSM operators counter CDMA charge
Genpact soars 20 pc on NYSE debut
SBoP revises interest rates
India-S. Africa Business Conclave
Corporate
News
Decision on interest rate revision next week: SBI chief
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Pak says no to wheat export, sugar import
New Delhi, August 3 “Currently we have some surplus wheat and we are keeping it as a strategic reserve. We have no plans to start wheat exports,” Syed Asif Shah told reporters on the sidelines of a business meeting. Pakistan suspended wheat exports in May to control increase in domestic prices, five months after a ban was lifted. Syed said Pakistan had no plans to buy sugar overseas. The commerce secretary said cement export from Pakistan to New Delhi would begin by the end of August. “There were hurdles in cement exports from Pakistan to India but we have moved forward and the first tranche of cement will reach India by August-end,” he said at a business meeting organised by Ficci. He said Pakistan has an annual production capacity of 37-38 million tonnes, while it consumes 22-25 million tonnes, Shah said. He denied that there were any talks with India on allowing trade through the Line of Control (LoC). “We did not have any talks (with the Indian authorities) on having trade through the LoC. Trade through the Wagah route by trains is already happening, whether it would take place through roads or not has not yet been decided,” Shah said . Minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh was yesterday quoted as saying that Pakistan was in favour of duty-free movement of a limited number of goods through the LoC. Indian ships for Pak shores
Indian ships will now be allowed to touch the Pakistani ports for unloading the cargos after a shipping protocol was signed between the two countries, Pakistan commerce secretary Syed Asif Shah said today. “Now, the Indian ships will be allowed to touch the Pakistani shores. And the cargos can be unloaded at the ports itself,” Shah said. Investment promotion pact
With environment for bilateral trade improving, India wants to boost its economic ties with Pakistan and has proposed an agreement to facilitate investment flows between the two neighbours. “We have noted the request of the Indian authorities (on investment promotion agreement). We will take it back to our leadership and discuss it in detail,” Syed Asif Shah said at a business meeting with Ficci. |
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Government clears 17 FDI proposals
New Delhi, August 3 Finance minister P Chidambaram approved the proposals based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on July 27, an official statement said here. As per the proposal by MTV India Private Limited, TV 18 Group will invest $50.5 million (about Rs 202 crore), through its Mauritius-based wholly-owned arm B K Holdings Ltd, to pick up an equity in MTV Networks India. MTV India would make royalty payment to Viacom amounting to two per cent of net revenues for use of Viacom brands. The deal is part of the strategic alliance between Viacom and the TV 18 Group announced in May this year. Among other proposals cleared include M/s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited, Japan’s Rs 37.35-crore proposal, to set up a new JV company to undertake manufacture, import, market, sell, distribution and servicing of diesel engines and components. Rs 235-crore proposal of Human Value Developers Private Limited, Mumbai, has also been cleared. The government has also given nod to CR Seals India Pvt Ltd’s (now known as M/s SKF Sealing Solutions India Pvt Limited) Rs 88-crore proposal to bring additional investment within the approved percentage (i.e. 100 per cent) in the company for being engaged in designing, engineering, manufacturing, reconditioning and dealing of industrial bearings for sale in both Indian market and export outside India. FIBP also took note of direct and indirect foreign holding in Hutch-Essar Ltd.
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Inflation dips to 4.36 pc
New Delhi, August 3 The latest inflation rate is within the RBI’s medium term target of 4 to 4.5 per cent as spelt out in the quarterly monetary policy on July 31. The wholesale price index, on which inflation data is based, rose by 0.1 per cent to stand at 213.1 points for the week under review. The index for primary food articles rose by 0.1 per cent to 220.7 (provisional) due to lower prices of eggs (6 per cent), mutton (4 per cent), fish-marine (3 per cent) and gram, maize, condiments and spices and moong (1 per cent each). However, prices of fruits, vegetables, coffee and port moved up by 1 per cent each. The 4.85 per cent provisional inflation figure for the week, ended May 26, was revised to 5.15 per cent as the wholesale price index has been revised to 212.3 points. |
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JP Group enters steel sector; acquires Malvika Steel
New Delhi, August 3 “We will put in Rs 1,800 crore over next 26-28 months to make it one million tonne integrated steel plant,” Jaiprakash Associates executive chairman Manoj Gaur said here. The company acquired Malvika Steel, earlier promoted by Usha Group, in an open auction made by the Debt Recovery Tribunal. The steel firm was taken over by some financial institutions after it failed to meet its interest obligations. Jaiprakash would pump in Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore in two phases. The amount would be funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals, Gaur said. The group would also leverage a part of $ 400 million raised recently through an offshore convertible bonds issue. Malvika Steel is a brownfield project. Jaiprakash Group seeks to produce long steel products used mainly in the construction sector. “The company already has interests in power, engineering, construction and cement and a foray into the steel segment was a natural diversification for us,” Gaur added. He said acquiring the company was a strategic investment since setting up a greenfield unit and making it operational would have taken a minimum of five years. “With this steel plant, we have the basic infrastructure in place and the plant can be made operational in the next 24 months,” he said, adding that the company would leverage the tremendous growth opportunity in the sector in northern region, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
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GSM operators counter CDMA charge
New Delhi, August 3 “GSM operators are paying an extremely high charge for the additional spectrum that is allotted to them,” it said in a letter to telecom minister A Raja. As per the existing regime, the GSM industry, over next three years alone, will pay over Rs 10,000 crore as spectrum usage charges to the government, of which almost Rs 6,000 crore would be on account on the high incremental charges being applied by the government over and above the initial 2 per cent charges. Spectrum is not being given away free to the GSM operators and in fact a very heavy price is being imposed on the operators as charges for GSM spectrum use, T V Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director general Ramachandran said in the letter to Raja. The lobby claimed that the government is likely to recover 10 times the entry fee over licence period from spectrum usage charges. As per the current formula, GSM operators with 10 MHz of frequency are paying charges of 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue and this would increase to 6 per cent for allocation of 15 MHz, Ramachandran said. — PTI
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Genpact soars 20 pc on NYSE debut
New York, August 3 The scrip settled at $ 16.75, up 19.64 per cent over its issue price of $ 14 a share, after touching an intra-day high of 17.10 at the NYSE yesterday. Global consultancy Dealogic has termed the initial public offering of Genpact, a spin-off of General Electric Company, as the 11th biggest IPO in the US so far in 2007. Genpact’s market capitalisation stood around $ 3.6 billion at end of its debut trade while a total of 18.5 million shares of the company had changed hands at the exchange. Genpact raised $ 494 million (about Rs 2,000 crore), through its IPO, which was priced at $ 14 per share, below the proposed price band of $16-18 dollars for the issue of 35.3 million shares. — PTI |
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SBoP revises interest rates
Patiala, August 3 |
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India-S. Africa Business Conclave
Chandigarh, August 3 In his address, Kumar underlined the crucial role that India and South Africa would play in defining the new global order as they addressed the challenges of economic growth and social justice within the context of heterogeneous societies and pluralistic, multiparty democracies. Highlighting the giant strides made by the Indian economy in recent years, Dr Kumar said the economic policies initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have set an example of a democratic nation striving to achieve the twin goals of economic growth and social justice. The ‘India Calling 2007 - India-South Africa Business Conclave’ earlier got off to an impressive start at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The conference was also addressed by Madame Phumzile MlamboNgcuka, Deputy President of the Republic South Africa, Mandisi Mpahlwa, minister of trade and industry and by other senior government
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Corporate News
New Delhi, August 3 “Tata Steel and Riversdale Mining Ltd have entered into an MoU for strategic investment in Riversdale’s Mozambique coal project by acquiring 35 per cent stake in it for a sum of $100 million,” a Tata Steel spokesperson said. Fibcom plans
Telecom equipment maker Fibcom India today said it expects a two-fold increase in turnover to Rs 120 crore this fiscal and is negotiating deals with firms like RCom and Tata Teleservices. The company is also negotiating with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Eicher sales up
Eicher Motors today reported a 12 per cent increase in its total sales (including exports) during July at 2,234 units. The company had sold 2,363 units during the same month last year, Eicher said. The July sales figures include 129 units sold in the overseas market, it informed. — Agencies |
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Decision on interest rate revision next week: SBI chief
Mumbai, August 3 “Interest rates have peaked and there is no possibility of them going higher but will they remain stable or come down, we will have to take a decision at our ALCO meet,” SBI chairman O P Bhatt told reporters here. On the Reserve Bank’s raising the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 0.5 per cent during its July 31 monetary review, Bhatt said the hike would result in a total outgo of Rs 2,400- 2,500 crore from the bank. Its margins would also be impacted by 0.05 per cent, Bhatt said. “The CRR hike will not have much of an impact. We will try to cut our expenses or increase our income to offset this,” the SBI chairman said. The bank will create a holding company for its mutual funds and life insurance businesses in the next 3-4 months, he said, adding, “It is an internal restructuring.” “We will dilute 5-10 per cent to strategic investors for price discovery purposes,” he said. On plans for a follow-on public offer (FPO), Bhatt said no decision has been taken on fund-raising. “We expect to finalise our plans within this month,” he said. — PTI
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CBoP plans Pidilite Inds Xerox India Dabur Odomos
Kotak Mahindra HPCL-Airtel |
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