Thursday, September 30, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Thursday, September 30, 1999 |
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Gold spurts by Rs 475 on
global trends |
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India will
‘need’ 214 aircraft by 2018
Maruti to despatch 2 new
Zen variants Rs 3 lakh relief for cotton crop
loss Tips on leadership & team
building ICI plans to have jv with Orica
Ltd |
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Gold
spurts by Rs 475 on global trends NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (PTI) — Nervousness gripped the bullion market today as gold prices skyrocketed in line with the spectacular rise in its prices in the international market and scored a hefty gain of Rs 475 at Rs 5000 per 10 gram. Marketmen said a dramatic rise in gold prices in the international markets mainly influenced the trading sentiment here. Gold in Asian markets closed at 309 US dollar an ounce but spurted in London market to 321.50 US dollar at the open. They said a sudden rise in gold prices in late evening trading brought neverousness among jewellers who had committed prices at lower levels to customers. They would have to bear heavy losses. A bullish trend developed this week after the 15 European Central banks putting a ceiling on the gold sale for five years and in last three days the gold prices soared by Rs 575. Traders said most of the purchases were of speculative kind and some of the syndicates indulged in booking heavy profits in overseas markets which influenced the prices here. A leading Delhi-based bullion merchant said the market was much confused with the hefty rise in the gold prices in the international markets whereas no local customers were seen. Chand Mehra said the speedy rise in the gold value during the day surprised the genuine customers who come to purchase at the previous day’s published prices. Another jewellery dealer Surinder Jain said it was an upward march in gold prices and might zoom further in next few days. He said there was hardly any physical demand for gold and most of the hike in value were on global advices where the prices going unbelievably higher on heavy trading of speculative nature. Jain said European Central banks’ decision coupled with the IMF change mode of gold sale by offering to Central banks of member countries uplift the trading sentiment. Standard gold and ornaments hit more than a year high at Rs 4800 and Rs 4650 per 10 gram, respectively. Sovereign also scaled to recent high of Rs 3950 per piece of eight gram. Silver .999 (ready) gained another Rs 95 at Rs 8,225 per kilo and weekly delivery by Rs 115 at Rs 8,225 per kilo. Silver coins also followed suit and rose further by Rs 100 at Rs 11,200/11,300 per 100 pieces. The following were
today’s quotations: silver .999 (ready) 8225 and
delivery 8225. Silver coins buyer 11,200 and seller
11,300. Standard gold 4800, ornaments 4650 and sovereign
3950. |
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CHENNAI, Sept 29 (PTI) — An eminent economist, Dr Raja Chelliah, today warned that the present levels of economic growth could not be sustained unless the government closed down loss-making public sector undertakings (PSUs) and privatised the power sector. “Expenditure on loss-making central and state PSUs is now over Rs 10,000 crore annually. Closing down these will reduce the revenue deficit, Chelliah told the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) here. “Though we now have a neo-Hindu growth rate of between 5.2 and 5.5 per cent over the last six to seven years compared to 3.5 per cent (Hindu growth rate) in the 1960s and 1970s, even this will not suffice to abolish poverty and make up long years of neglect,” he said. But to achieve a higher growth rate will be difficult as the obstacles to growth are continuously gaining in importance, he said. Issues like disinvestment and full float of the rupee can be kept in abeyance, but the new Government must take steps on closure of loss-making PSUs and reforms in the power sector, he said. Referring to the burgeoning fiscal deficit, he said the level of 8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) was not acceptable when compared with the level of 3 per cent set by the European Union for its member-States. Since more than half of this was accounted by the revenue deficit, the government must take steps to distance itself from a variety of production activities, especially power generation, he said. It would be worthwhile to emulate the experiments of States like Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa that split up power generation and distribution companies, he said. Annual plan exercise: The Government must abolish the annual State plan fixation exercise and should take steps to reform the Planning Commission to mirror the liberalised economic regime. “The entire annual
plan fixation system is an exercise in futility and makes
for good publicity and achieves little. So, the States
must be allowed to decide on their priorities and the
Commission must have an advisory role,” Chelliah
said. |
Insurance Bill to get top priority: Sinha WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (PTI) — The BJP-led coalition, if re-elected to power, will accord top priority to early passage of the Insurance Regulatory Bill as part of the second phase of reforms, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has said. The first priority of the new Government would be to secure passage of the Insurance Regulatory Bill, Sinha said, hoping that this could be done within three days after (if) the new Government assumed office. The Government would emphasise on pushing India’s economic growth rate during the next five years to an average of 8 to 9 per cent, Sinha told a meeting organised by US-India Business Council and the Confederation of Indian Industry. “This is an absolutely essential part of the poverty reduction programme,’’ and it would require raising the country’s savings rate and more foreign capital, he said. Sinha said priority would also be given to strong agricultural performance that lifted India’s growth rate during 1998-99 to 6 per cent. “If industry is to grow faster, that too will depend on the rural sector,” he stressed. “It is our intention to move towards automaticity. It is our intention to define policies for various sectors as transparently as possible. And this applies also to foreign investment. Government approval will be necessary only if somebody wants to go beyond the framework,’’ Sinha said. He pointed out that a Foreign Investment Implementation Authority had been set up to coordinate between the Centre and States and local authorities so that what the Centre approved will not remain on paper. The next stage of reforms would lay the basis for a modern India in the next millennium, he told an audience of top American and NRIs adding, “It will be an India based on information and other technologies as modern as in any other country in the world, an India in which poverty and deprivation will be things of the past.’’ The financial institutions would be made more autonomous, Sinha pointed out and said he had personally talked about reducing government equity in the banks to less than 50 per cent “so that we will move in the direction of privatisation. Sinha emphasised the
consensus aspect of reforms in India not only between the
political parties but between the employers and the
unions. |
Maruti to despatch 2 new Zen variants NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (UNI) — Maruti Udyog Limited is all set to despatch two new variants of its popular Zen — VXI (with power steering) and MPI (Euro-II compliant) — by the weekend. Both models will initially be rolled out in limited numbers and will be despatched to selected cities to start with, company sources told UNI here today. “Later the models would be made available nationally,’’ the sources added. This would mark the launch of first Euro-II emission norm compliant vehicle from Maruti stables. This comes close on the heels of the launch of the vintage looking Zen Classic. The final price tags of these vehicles are also being worked out. The VXI is an upgradation of the existing Zen VX model. To be priced slightly above the existing VX model, the car would feature a power steering, rear wind-shield demister, side mouldings as additions on the existing Zen VX features. The MPI Zen, powered by
a multi-point fuel injection two-valve engine, would also
zip the streets almost simultaneously. The car would be
Euro-II emission norms compliant and would be produced in
limited numbers initially for technology demonstration. |
Rs 3 lakh
relief for cotton crop loss SIRSA, Sept 29 — The District Consumer Forum, Sirsa, in a landmark judgement has penalised Shaw Wallace & Company, Vinay Gupta & Brothers along with Agro Chemical Industries Ltd for selling spurious and misbranded starthene to farmers of the district. A farmer of Panihari village in this district, Shamsher Gupta, along with other farmers had lodged a complaint with the Forum last year regarding the supply of spurious and misbranded pesticide resulting in the loss of crop and the imported spray pump nozzle. After a year of hearing the Forum found the complaint genuine on the basis of the test report submitted by the complainants establishing the substandard quality of the pesticide as per the I.S. specification. The Forum also passed
adverse remarks against the Dy Director Agriculture,
Sirsa, and the Quality Control Inspector, Sirsa, for
their irresponsibility resulting in the sale of
substandard and spurious pesticide in the district. |
India will
‘need’ 214 aircraft by 2018 NEW DELHI, Sep 29 — India has emerged as one of the hot spots for aircraft sellers with a latest market forecast estimating that the country will need 214 passenger aircraft worth $ 16 billion in the next 20 years. The forecast, one of the most respected in the airlines business, made by European Consortium Airbus Industry, is based on growth projections for airlines serving India. It predicts an average growth of 5.3 per cent a year in traffic carried by the major airlines based in India, which is more than the average worldwide growth forecast of 5 per cent a year. Announcing details of the forecast, Airbus Industry Vice President, Forecasting and Strategy, Mr Adam Brown, told newspersons here today that both Indian Airlines and Air-India alone would have to replace 95 aircraft in the years to come. In addition another 119 aircraft of various capacities would be needed to cater to the growing traffic. According to the forecast, India would need about 12 100-seater category aircraft, 111 aircraft with 125-170 seats, 52 in the 210-250 seat capacity, 26 in 300 to 400 capacity and around 13 in the 400-plus category. The total seating capacity of all the airlines in India, which is around 19,000 seats, would have to be increased to 48,000 seats in the next 20 years, Mr Brown said. Mr Brown pointed out that on an average an Indian flies much less than his counterpart in the USA or Iceland. In the USA, a person flies on an average twice a year, while in Iceland, a person takes around four trips a year. Compared to this, an Indian flies only one per cent of what an American flies in a year. The $ 13.3 billion company accounts for 60 per cent of the fleets of Air-India and Indian Airlines and the company is pitching for more orders from the country. The company’s President for India, Bangalore-born Dr Kiran Rao, said Airbus Industry had also tied up with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the manufacture of 600 aircraft sets of the doors for the A-320 aircraft. The work represents more than $ 50 million worth of business to HAL. The company is also in
the process of having a tie-up for $ 50 million worth of
software with various Indian companies. |
Tips on
leadership & team building CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — A successful and articulate manager creates a healthy environment at the workplace to inspire his subordinates to give their best. A successful management generates a sense of mission, sense of action and sense of loyalty among the staff. Stating this at a workshop conducted by AIMT at Ambala on “Leadership and team building in the new millennium,” Prof Sharu Sangnaker, an eminent management consultant, said the boss is a supreme figure in an organisation who is responsible for influencing the behaviour of the subordinates. Prof Mukesh Sehgal said the world is witnessing a rapid transition where everybody in the race is trying to equip better to face the challenges of the new millennium. Mr Kuldip Jain, President, welcomed the delegates and Mr Kamlapat Jain, Secretary, highlighted the steps taken. The workshop was
presided over by Mr Bharat Bhushan Jain, Managing
Director of PEE PEE Agro Ind Ltd. |
ICI plans to have jv with Orica Ltd NEW DELHI: ICI India today announced transferring of its explosives business to a new joint venture company set up along with Orica Ltd — Indian Explosives Ltd. ICI India will also transfer its 70 per cent holding in Initiating Explosives Systems India Ltd to the new company, an ICI India statement said here. RPL signs pacts MUMBAI: Reliance Petroleum Limited has concluded marketing arrangements to sell its entire output of controlled products from its 27 million tonne Jamnagar refinery to the three Government-controlled marketing companies. RPL has signed the arrangements with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for sale of motor spirit, diesel, Kerosene, aviation turbine fuel and LPG from its refinery in Gujarat, according to oil industry sources here today. Escorts to up stake in jv NEW DELHI:
Escorts Ltd will increase its stake in US joint venture,
Long Manufacturing Ind, to 49 per cent taking its total
investment in the venture to $9 million (about Rs 39
crore). |
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| Puncom CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 (TNS) — Puncom organised its 3rd annual suppliers’ conference today at SAS Nagar to discuss ways and means for the procurement of quality components, reduce delays and achieve lower cost of material procurement. Mr A.S. Gill, MD, said Puncom ensured total transparency and fair play in its purchase policy. PNB meet SBP branch LSE team |
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