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Tuesday,
December 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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NHPC to increase power generation capacity
Over 50 firms eye LSE listing European currency to have immense benefits
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IFCI sets up NPA task force
Govt clears 58 FDI proposals
Withdraw tax exemption, says textile body
Govt to give support to UTI
VSNL’s privatisation to be taken up on Dec 26
Exide approves buy-back at Rs 70
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NHPC to increase power generation capacity New Delhi, December 24 Addressing newspersons here today, NHPC Chairman and Managing Director Yogendra Prasad said while during the 10 th plan period the company had targeted to add 5,310 MW, the corresponding figures in the 11th and 12 th plans would be 11,500 MW and 13,500 MW. The corporation would invest over Rs 1,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh under two joint venture projects of 1,000 MW Indirasagar and 520 MW Omkareshwar projects and another Rs 800 crore for a 900 MW joint venture project in West Bengal. The NHPC has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with the West Bengal
Government for the execution of 900 MW the Purulia Pumped Storage scheme. Mr Prasad said during the first six months of the current financial year, the corporation has earned a net profit of Rs 238.38 crore as against Rs 205.03 crore for the same period in the previous year indicating an increase of 16 per cent. The sales figure for six months up to September this year was Rs 825 crore. During the first nine months of 2001-02, the corporation has discharged medium term loan of Rs 60 crore and redeemed bonds of Rs 385.80 crore. The corporation has also raised medium term loan to the tune of Rs 410 crore in the current financial year up to December, 2001. In the fiscal year up to November 30, the corporation has realised Rs 1,932.37 crore which includes Rs 1,117.30 crore of bonds as against Rs 853.71 crore for the corresponding period last year. The cash collection includes Rs 94 crore received as interest on bonds. In addition to these for December so far, an amount of Rs 52 crore has been realised from beneficiary states. The total outstanding dues at the end of November this year was to the tune of Rs 2,151 crore as against Rs 2,620 crore as on March 31, this year. |
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Over 50 firms eye LSE listing New Delhi, December 24 “We are in talks with over 50 Indian companies from wide range of industries,” LSE head of global business development Caroline Goodman told PTI in an e-mail from London today She declined to name the companies or the timing of the listings, saying “listing internationally is an important step for any company and there are many considerations that the companies have with regard to the timing of this.” Currently, the companies which are listed in LSE through the global depository receipt (GDR) floats are the SBI, MTNL, HFCL, SSI Technology, Aptech, GAIL, BSES, CESC, SAIL, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, SIEL, JK Corp, Crompton Greeves, TATA Tea, EID Parry, Indian Hotels, East India Hotels and Raymonds. MTNL, ICICI and VSNL have, partly or fully, converted their GDRs to ADRs and shifted to New York Stock Exchange. LSE expects many more Indian technology and pharma companies to get listed in LSE’s specialised markets like ‘techMARK’ rather than on volatile tech-heavy Nasdaq. Considering the bar on retail investors to participate in GDR issues of Indian companies, LSE invited Indian companies to go for RDRs recently.
PTI |
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European currency to have immense benefits New Delhi, December 24 Seen as a major step towards economic integration of Europe affecting 300 million people in the continent, more than 14 billion Euro bank notes and 50 billion Euro coins will replace almost as many national currency banknotes and coins. European Union is the largest trading partner to India and exporters main benefit would be the reduction in transaction cost associated with converting one currency to another besides cross border transfers by companies. Of the 14.25 billion banknotes, representing a value of 642 billion Euro, to be produced before January 1, 2002 simultaneously by the 12 sovereign nations, 10 billion will enter into circulation and the rest will be held as reserve stock. Foreign exchange dealers in India will cease to issue currencies like deutsche mark, Lira and French franc against the Indian rupee from January 1. But to have smooth transition there will be an overlapping period of one month till January 31. The twelve countries that have introduced Euro in place of their national currency are: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. The EU member countries that have not joined Euro are Britain, Denmark and Sweden. The Reserve Bank of India has already instructed authorised dealers and money changers to display euro exchange rates for travellers’ cheques immediately and for currency notes from January 1. "The shift to Euro may reduce the exchange risk for dealers. We will have to worry only about the exchange risk of the rupee," Executive Director of Thomas Cook (India), Madhavan K. Menon was quoted as saying. He however, did not see the changeover to have any major impact on their business. Leading Indian Chamber of commerce and industry FICCI saw the launch of Euro as an opportunity for India. "The most unexpected results of launching of Euro is that it produced even before the currency’s physical existence, a large new financial market." "The rapid increase in the flow of investments across the Atlantic to India is a clear proof of this new reality. The evolution of this market of huge size is expected to open up many new commercial activities for business. This would also mean Indian corporates wuld have larger opportunities to be proactive and competitive," FICCI said in a study on Impact of Euro. Apart from reducing foreign exchange risk and transaction costs, Euro will transform the current nationally based bond markets into a single market with common conversions besides creation of higher yield corporate debt market. This would increase the possibilities of trade and investment. Though nearly half of the world exports are still denominated in dollars, Euro is perhaps the first fully fledged rival to the dollar in more than half a century. Nearly three years through the conversion time table leading to the full use of Euro currency notes and coins, corporate treasurers in European countries are finding the balance tilting in favour of the new currency, FICCI feels. There are fears that national identity would go with the launch of physical Euro. To overcome this problem, the eight Euro coins of 1,2,5,10,20 and 50 cent and one and two Euro while having identical one common side, the other side is country-specific and have different designs from each of the 12 countries of the Euro area. From India point of view, the FICCI study says 39 per cent of the respondents to its study feel that elimination of foreign exchange rate risk is the most important benefit and 62 per cent ranked the volatility of Euro vis-a-vis dollar as the most important problem. The sectors that are likely to be benefited most are the manufacturing and industrial sectors, FICCI says adding the Indian it companies can also look forward to Europe as an alternate market to the us for software exports. New areas for FDI to India from Europe could be in infrastructure, telecommunications and food processing, it says.
PTI |
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IFCI sets up NPA task force New Delhi, December 24 “The internal task force is meant to improve our performance,” IFCI Chairman V.P. Singh said, adding four more task forces for risk management, cost reduction, foray into new business area and reorganising the delegation of powers within the company, has been formed. Mr Singh, who also faces the uphill task of reducing NPA of about 21 per cent of advances till March, declined to give any target on NPA reduction this fiscal. IFCI is believed to have set a target of bringing down NPA by at least 2 per cent this fiscal despite the addition of fresh NPAs in the wake of the ongoing industrial slowdown. Mr Singh said IFCI was on the legal procedures to recover sticky assets. IFCI had already filed suit against 100 odd companies while given “recovery certificates” to specialised agents to recover NPAs. IFCI is also believed to be considering options of taking over management control of some large loan defaulters, although Singh said it would not be a direct approach. “It’s not that we are taking over management control but we are certainly trying to induct professionals in those erring companies and bring down the promoter directors’ role. Professionalisation of management is our objective,” he said. Mr Singh did not give names of the companies where IFCI is planning to take extreme steps. The other task forces on risk management and cost reduction would look into various financial aspects of the company and try to improve balance sheet position and its credit rating. The task forces would give their final recommendations to the chairman by December 2001. The FI was is troubled waters mainly on account of the high incidence of NPAs.
PTI |
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Govt clears 58 FDI proposals New Delhi, December 24 Brentwood’s investment will be used for “infusion of additional funds through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) and increase in (Bharti’s) paid-up capital”, an official release said here. The FDI proposals were approved by the Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran based on recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), it said. Other proposals cleared include a Rs 110.40 crore proposal of New Zealand-based Fonterra Cooperative Group for acquiring 49 per cent equity stake in Dairy major Britannia Industries. Another Dutch major, Koninklijke Phillips Electronics, has been allowed to bring in a total of Rs 105.50 crore to convert two of its companies in
India into wholly owned subsidiaries. The approval involves enhancing equity in the consumer appliances arm and the lighting company from 74 per cent and 76.4 per cent to 100 per cent respectively. Global advertising major WPP’s Mauritius arm has been allowed to increase its equity stake in India’s top agency Hindustan Thomson Associates to 74 per cent from 60 per cent with Rs 57.60 crore investment.
PTI |
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Withdraw tax exemption, says textile body New Delhi, December 24 In a statement, ICMF Chairman Rajaram Jaipuria welcomed Yashwant Sinha’s statement terming tax exemptions as the bane of
economy saying that it was particularly true in the case of excise duty exemptions granted to certain segments in the textile sector which had abetted large scale tax evasion. “Textile scenario, world over, is undergoing radical changes with the progressive integration of world textiles trade into the WTO framework and the phasing out of the quota system. To compete successfully in the emerging market, there had to be definite stride towards achieving price and quality advantage which could be possible in a dispensation that laid emphasis on technological upgradation and economies of scale. In the given situation where proliferation of small textile units was encouraged through tax exemptions, modernisation and technological excellence would take a back seat”, Dr Jaipuria said. The ICMF Chairman said an independent study, undertaken by Crisil, has estimated that the withdrawal of excise exemptions would help mopping up an additional excise revenue of Rs 881 crore even at a lower excise rate, say 50 per cent of the existing rates. |
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Govt to give support to UTI
New Delhi, December 24 The US-64 would go net asset value based from January 1, as announced earlier, and "we will have to meet the difference between NAV and administered price of units," Economic Affairs Secretary
C.M Vasudev told reporters. Besides banks have been asked to extend line of credit of Rs 3,000 crore as part of the bailout package, he indicated. The administered price of US-64 unit would be 10.60 in January. It would increase by 10 paise every month from July when it was freezed after the UTI fiasco.
PTI |
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VSNL’s privatisation to be taken up on Dec 26 New Delhi, December 24 “We would not transfer the remaining reserves of about Rs 2000 crore, and they would be left at the disposal of the corporation for meeting contingency needs,” official sources said. Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment is likely to approve on December 26 the draft transaction documents to invite price bids, possibly next month, for sale of 25 per cent equity in VSNL to a strategic partner. Earlier this year, while approving the privatisation of VSNL, CCD had allowed the corporation to foray into new areas.
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Markets closed Campbell Intl SBP branch Metalman Auto Canara Bank |
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