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EU to relax anti-dumping norms against Indian goods
Stock markets slip again
Mukesh meets Kamath, Anil has word with PC
Esteem Standard vies for official car slot
Petrotech-2005 begins today
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Tax holiday extended for DTA units
Mittal Steel acquires stake in Chinese co
Buzz over spurt in biz channels
Integrated food law on anvil
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EU to relax anti-dumping norms against Indian goods
New Delhi, January 14 This was indicated during the bilateral discussions that Mr Peter Mandelson, Trade Commission, European Commission, had with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath here this morning. The European Union has also agreed to review anti-dumping measures against products from India and decided that Indian goods not meeting sanitary standards would not be destroyed, Mr Nath said. “They (European Union) have agreed to review anti-dumping measures against products from India,” Mr Nath said after the two-hour long meeting with Mr Mandelson. “They have also agreed not to destroy consignments which do not meet phytosanitary standards,” he said. Later, in his address on “India-EU Strategic Partnership: Steps Ahead”, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) here, Mr Nath said: “The development dimension should remain at the heart of the WTO negotiations”. Mr Nath expressed the hope that the Doha Work Programme would now get the necessary impetus and reach early fruition, leading to substantial market access for developing countries in agriculture, non-agricultural products as well as the key areas of services. Earlier, during his meeting with Mr Mandelson, Mr Nath raised the issue of serious non-trade barriers faced by Indian exporters in the EU arising out of cumbersome rules, regulations and procedures, ever-increasing stringency of standards and frequent use of trade defence instruments. “India seems to have borne the brunt of the EU’s Trade Defence Actions which affect 3.5 per cent of Indian exports to the EU, as against the average global incidence in the EU of 0.5 per cent only. It is rather odd that a developing country like India should be facing nine out of the 20 Anti-Subsidy actions in force in EU. We would earnestly request Mr. Mandelson to see that the Article 15 of the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 27 of the WTO’s Anti-Subsidy and Countervailing Duties Agreement are fully operationalised and not left as mere “best endeavour” clauses, with least endeavour to implement them”, Mr Nath said. Mr. Mandelson informed that the EC would soon announce its decision not to destroy contaminated consignments but to return them to the exporting country, thereby resolving a long-standing issue which India had been raising with the EU. He also urged Mr. Mandelson to ensure that India’s textile exports were not adversely affected due to arbitrary fixation of graduation criterion in the EU’s new GSP (generalized system of preferences) scheme. He further pointed out that India suffered in the last 2 to 3 years due to arbitrary administration of the GSP scheme, wherein zero duty concession on 2500 tariff lines was extended to India’s competitors. During the meeting it was also agreed that India and the EU would have a bilateral investment agreement. Mr. Mandelson underscored the need to institute early warning system to identify and solve the irritants between India and the EU. “There should be a mechanism to know each other and to foster trade partnership”, he said.
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Stock markets slip again
Mumbai, January 14 The free fall continued even as inflation dipped to under six percent for the first time in 30 weeks. Among the biggest losers were the Reliance group. While Reliance Energy was down 3 per cent, Reliance Capital and Reliance Industries fell a per cent each. IPCL was down 3 per cent. Other players in the sector like BPCL, Essar Oil and GAIL lost too fell 3 per cent each. Moreover Bongaigaon Refinery, HPCL, IOC, MRPL and Kochi Refineries slipped 2 per cent each. In the tech sector NIIT, Pentasoft and Polaris shed lost 3 per cent each, while Satyam and Visualsoft were down about 1 per cent. Wipro too fell slightly. However, the big players like TCS and Infosys gained 1 per cent each.
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Mukesh meets Kamath, Anil has word with PC
Mumbai, January 14 However, RIL officials declined to comment, saying, “We do not comment on family matters.” But sources maintained that the meeting was part of the negotiations Mr Kamath has been holding with the two brothers to work out a negotiated settlement with them for control of the Rs 90,000-crore Reliance empire. Anil Ambani had met Mr Kamath on January 9. Sources said discussions between Mukesh and Kamath were related to the valuation of various Reliance group companies. Mr Kamath had been asked to do so by
Kokilaben, widow of Reliance founder-Chairman Dhirubhai Ambani, during the family meeting at their ‘Seawind’ residence here on December
28—Dhirubhai’s birth anniversary. Meanwhile, Anil Ambani today spent the day in New Delhi holding numerous meetings, including one with Finance Minister P
Chidambaram. According to sources, Anil also met senior Finance Ministry officials. The details of the discussions Anil had with Chidamabarm and officials are not known.
— PTI, UNI
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Esteem Standard vies for official car slot
New Delhi, January 14 The new Esteem Standard would be launched exclusively for Director-General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) through which Union ministries and departments would buy the car, company sources said. The approval of Esteem Standard as staff car for purchases by the government departments opens new opportunities for Maruti in a domian hitherto dominated by CK Birla Group company Hindustan Motors’ old workhorse, ‘Ambassador’. In an official memorandum, Maruti Suzuki Esteem has been approved as the ‘official’ car in the non-AC category and the purchases will be made through DGS&D. Maruti, India’s biggest carmaker, will now have institutional buyers from defence forces, paramilitary forces, police, various ministries and their departments, state government departments, public sector undertakings and nationalised banks. The AC variant of ‘Esteem’ was earlier approved for the use of senior functionaries. The ex-factory price of Esteem Standard will be the lowest in the category, industry observers said. Maruti, which is 54.2 per cent owned by Suzuki Motor Corp. of India, had launched a new-look Esteem in July last year by slashing its price by Rs 40,000. The new ‘Esteem’, which has 1300-cc MPI engine, had been developed in India by the engineers of Suzuki.
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Petrotech-2005 begins today
New Delhi, January 14 Delegates from Russia, Senegal, Israel, Serbia, Poland, Norway and France will also participate in the biggest show of the industry. Bringing together all those who matter in the oil and gas business — industrialists, bureaucrats, academicians, media, the five-day bi-annual event is slated to provide a perfect opportunity for knowledge networking and thus promote global cooperation for achieving sustainable energy supplies. Petrotech came into being a decade ago, in 1995, as a response to a compelling demand for a closer global dialogue between the petroleum producing and consuming nations. Apart from the traditional subjects of hydrocarbon exploration and production, the conference will also witness active discussions on deep-water exploration and production, non-conventional gas resources, cutting-edge frontier technologies, business strategies and the challenge in retail. The conclave is being organised by the ONGC.
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Tax holiday extended for DTA units
New Delhi, January 14 The unit should be deriving profit from export of the articles or things or computer software, manufactured or produced by it. However, the deduction will be available only from the year in which it has got the approval as 100 per cent EOU and shall be available only for the remaining period of 10 consecutive assessment years beginning from the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the undertaking begins to manufacture or produce articles as a DTA unit. Further, in the year of approval, the deduction shall be restricted to the profits derived from exports from and after the date of approval of DTA unit as a 100 per cent EOU. The benefits under Section 10 B will not be available after the assessment year 2009-10, which is the sunset Clause for such benefits to sink in.
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Mittal Steel acquires stake in Chinese co
New Delhi, January 14 The Hunan Valin tube unit which is listed subsidiary of the Chinese giant Valin Group, holds most of production assets of state-run parent Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group Co Ltd. Under the terms of the share purchase agreement, Mittal Steel will acquire 65,62,50,000 legal person shares from Valin Group for a total consideration of $ 314 million, Mittal Steel said in a statement here today. The agreement is subject to the approval of relevant regulatory authorities in China. Mittal Steel has also applied to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for waiver from making a general offer to all shareholders of the company and the transaction is conditional on Mittal Steel receiving such a waiver, the statement added. After the transaction is over, Mittal Steel and Valin Group will have an equal shareholding of 37.17 per cent each in Hunan Valin Steel Tube and Wire Co Ltd.
— UNI
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Buzz over spurt in biz channels
New Delhi, January 14 NDTV and the Times of India group have also announced the launch of English business channels soon. NDTV’s business channel is slated to be launched on January 17, and will be headed by Virkram Chandra. Mr Sanjay Pugalia heads Awaaz. The Jagran Group, SI TV are also scheduled to launch new general news channels. Media analysts say that the demand for business news, especially about the nitty-gritty of the financial markets, personal finance, insurance policies and consumer products, is growing even in smaller towns and the rich segment in rural India. The new business channels have the potential to reach over 30 million households in the country. They point out the success of the CNBC’s business channel and increase in the circulation of business dailies and magazines have encouraged media groups to test waters in this market. While the Videocon Group’s plan to launch a Hindi language business channel is pending, CNBC and Zee have taken the lead by launching their business channels. The Star group is also contemplating to launch its independent business channel this year. Says Harish Chawla, CEO of CNBC TV, “Focussing on markets, Awaaz will cover a variety of markets that are relevant to urban and semi-urban India, from commodity markets to savings markets, bonds, derivatives and more, giving consumers reportage and analysis in simple, jargon-free Hindi, while educating the consumers.” “Awaaz will be the first channel to host interactive programming for consumers, with consumer-focused news, issues and perspectives. We will focus on over 50 per cent of the Indian consumers who understand Hindi and not English. There is big market for nearly 250 million consumers—financially independent, involved in decision-making and active spenders.” A recent study of the CII notes that with a 250 per cent growth in the retail industry, a 30 per cent growth in the real estate market, a 95 per cent increase in credit card transactions and a 13 per cent growth in the automotive industry, the Indian consumers are spending like never before. Stock markets are at an all-time high and active investor accounts are multiplying by over 60,000 per month. The new business channels will have to meet to their expectations to succeed. With growing incomes, the large section of people in towns in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and other states, they say, the advertisers hope that business channels will help them penetrate the market. The annual budget of the advertising is likely to cross Rs 12,000 crore and is growing at an annual rate around 18-20 per cent. Since the advertisers are spending more budget on the electronic media in comparison to print media, the new business channel hope to make a killing.
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Integrated food law on anvil
New Delhi, January 14 The proposed legislation aims at ensuring a proper management of the food safety system, ministry officials said. It intends to set up a single line of command from the present multi-level and multi-departmental control. There will be a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, regulations and enforcements. Food business operators would have to ensure that imported and processed food reaching the consumers conforms to the domestic food laws.
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Mumbai, January 14
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