 |
|
|
Short-selling norms within 2-3 months: SEBI
SEZ rehabilitation policy referred to GoM
WB ready to fund IPI project
Suzuki SX4 sedan coming
Corus to buy back bonds worth euro 800 m
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rupee rally makes tyre import cheap
RIL to hire rigs for $600 m
Switch-off time for Amritsar fan industry
|
|
Short-selling norms within 2-3 months: SEBI
New Delhi, May 2 "The guidelines for short-selling would be coming in 2-3 months," SEBI chairman M Damodaran said. The market watchdog at its board meeting held on March 22 had allowed short-selling by institutional investors, both domestic and foreign. However, the relevant guidelines or notification is yet to come. The decision on short-selling followed the announcement by finance minister P Chidambaram in the budget on February 28 on the issue. The SEBI-appointed secondary market advisory committee, had also recommended short-selling by institutional investors in October 2005. Currently, short-selling is only available to retail investors and institutional investors are not allowed. It is believed that initially short-selling would be permitted only in those stocks in which derivative products are available. Besides, naked short sales might not be permitted, which means investors would be required to honour their obligation of delivering the securities at the time of settlement. The introduction of short-selling is likely to benefit the market in more ways than one. Apart from improving efficiency and liquidity, it will also help increase participation in a falling market since institutions will try to take advantage of such a market by going short, thus improving the market depth. According to the present guidelines, institutional investors — FIIs, mutual funds, banks, insurance companies — are mandatorily required to settle on the basis of deliveries of securities owned and held by them. The issue of allowing institutional investors to short-sell is linked to stock lending and borrowing. It will lead to the setting up of a vibrant stock lending and borrowing mechanism and could also lead to actual delivery against futures and options in the future. — PTI
|
|
SEZ rehabilitation policy referred to GoM
New Delhi, May 2 The R&R policy has been drafted by the union rural development ministry in the backdrop of protests in Nandigram, Singur and Raigad. Reservations were expressed on partial role of the government in land acquisition, allowing it a maximum of 10 per cent while the private players can acquire up to 90 per cent. Critics and industry lobby groups maintained that minimal role of government in land acquisition would place the corporates at the mercy of landowners. After protests, an empowered GoM on SEZs headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee put an end to compulsory land acquisition for these zones and fixed a limit of 5,000 hectares on their size. The GoM is expected to look into several aspects of the issue like having an independent arrangement for out of court settlement of small issues involved in land acquisition or having an independent tribunal to deal with such cases. It will also look into the proportion of land that the government can acquire for setting up industrial projects. The decision, to refer the proposed policy to the GoM, came after the law ministry had completed final draft of the rehabilitation package, in close consultation with the rural development ministry. The draft comprises of an amended Land Acquisition Act, a rehabilitation policy, and rehabilitation law.
|
|
WB ready to fund IPI project
Islamabad, May 2 Evincing interest in financing the project, World Bank's vice- president Praful Patel told reporters here that the bank has not been approached by Pakistan to this effect formally or informally but the bank was ready to fund it if approached. Top US officials have time and again expressed strong objections over the project. He said if the IPI project materialised Pakistan would also get the transit fee annually from India, which would play a pivotal role in strengthening its
economy. — PTI |
|
Suzuki SX4 sedan coming
New Delhi, May 2 The SMC officials, who were here specially for a select preview of SX4 sedan said it would be launched in India in the first week of May while it will enter the European market in autumn this year. In Suzuki’s own country Japan, the sedan will be launched later in the year. The earlier launch of SX4 in India has also become important, keeping in mind the fact that MUL has already phased out Baleno sedan and at present has no model to offer in this segment. SX4 sedan would also be Suzuki’s second world to be launched in India post Swift. Made on a global new platform, the SX4 sedan is fitted with technologically advanced, next generation,
M series engine. Incidentally, this would be the first time that Suzuki would be offering its customers in India the same engine in SX4, which it would be putting on offer in the European market. Talking about the features of the sedan, the company officials claimed that they would be offering features like integrated music system, auto climate control, audio control on the wheels, glass antenna, adjustable steering to name a few. |
|
Corus to buy back bonds worth euro 800 m
London, May 2 According to British law, any company which undergoes a change of control is obliged to offer each bondholder the right to sell their holdings either partly or fully back to the firm, a statement said. Corus would repurchase all or any of the 7.5 per cent bonds maturing in October 2011 on June 7 (settlement date) at 1,023.75 euro each, Corus said. The repurchase amount is equal to 101 per cent of the aggregate principal sum of the bonds being bought, the company added.
— PTI |
|
Rupee rally makes tyre import cheap
New Delhi, May 2 “The 6 to 7 per cent appreciation in rupee against dollar has come as a shot in the arm to the domestic tyre market as tyre imports have become cheaper by 4-5 per cent during this period”, said S.P. Singh, convener, All-India Tyre Dealers’ Federation (AITDF). The 5 per cent reduction in peak custom duty in the union budget has helped the tyre import to the tune of 2 to 3 per cent cut in price of imported tyres. Appreciation in rupee has reduced the import bill on tyres and has brought down the prices of a pair of radial truck/bus tyres by Rs 400 to Rs 500 and the budget cut in the custom duty impacted a reduction in price by Rs 250 to Rs 300. Now, a pair of truck/bus tyre is being sold at Rs 20,700 in comparison to its price of Rs 21,500 in February. The data of the monthly import of radial truck/bus tyres during March - April’06, was meagre 15,000 only and this year in the same period the import has gone up to 45,000 tyres per month. The domestic manufacturers are selling almost 15,000 truck/bus radials in a month and therefore, the imported truck radials enjoy 75 per cent of the Indian market as against 25 per cent share enjoyed by the domestic tyre makers.
|
|
New Delhi, May 2 Reliance had hired US firm Tranocean’s Deepwater Frontier rig at a day rate of $3,20,000 for two years beginning August 2006. Deepwater Frontier is being currently drilled in Bay of Bengal, industry sources said. The company will again bring Transocean’s Discoverer 534, the rig that made the discovery in KG-D6 block, to India in August on a 30-month contract at a day rate of $2,50,000 while a third rig, Deepwater Expedition, has been hired at $3,75,000 a day for two years from March 2008. The company will spend $5.2 billion in bringing into production Dhirubhai-1 and Dhirubhai-3 fields in block KG-D6 in Krishna Godavari basin by June 2008. It will invest another $4 billion in laying a 1,386-km pipeline from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat to transport the fuel. — PTI
|
|
Switch-off time for Amritsar fan industry
Amritsar, May 2 It’s the classic case of "modernisation" edging out a traditional, small-scale industry. But today, the fan industry has been relegated to the dustbin of history. The city, with more than 2,500 units, produced a large range of ceiling fans, table fans, exhaust fans and pedestal fans for more than 40 years. Now, the production has reached a point of low return, with prices of raw materials shooting up during the past few years. This has forced manufacturers to close down their units, rendering thousands jobless. The district-level general managers of industries and sales tax officials also played "dubious role" that forced closure of the fan industries in Amritsar. They failed to organise proper seminars to enable the fan manufacturers to adopt new techniques in wake of the era of competitiveness. The former president of Amritsar Fan Manufacturing Association, Satnam Singh Kanda, had to close down his about four-decade-old "Indo Berkley Engineering Works", near Golden Temple . He has converted his industry into a small hotel. Similarly, at least five other fan manufacturers have also converted their industrial units to hotels. Describing the plight of a former fan manufacturer, Kanda said Arjun Dev Sharma, once a big trader of fans, is now running a small roadside tea stall near bus stand here. Though only five units of fans were set up by local entrepreneurs in 1970s, many units mushroomed in the following years. The locally manufactured fans competed with the established brand names like Usha, Orient and Crompton for many years. The steep rise in the steel and wire prices dealt a blow to the industry and they could not face the mounting losses. Now, only five to six units survive. Unable to withstand huge financial losses, most of the manufacturers decided to stop production. Many unit owners sold off their factories and several of these factories were converted into marriage palaces and commercial shopping complexes. Besides fan manufacturing and assembling units, which made the city proud in 1980s and 1990s, and a number of ancillary units producing various parts, including stamping, enameled wire, fan body turning, motor winding plastic parts, also suffered the ignominy of closure. The majority of these units had diversified into producing other industrial parts. The Punjab Fan Manufacturers Association feels that the opening of trade between India and Pakistan could usher in a new era of prosperity for the fan industry. |
Philips unveils water purifier Religare portal IBP-IOC merger |
|||||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Seeing the growing importance of India and its emerging purchasing power, Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC), the parent company of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL), has decided to launch its latest offering, the S4 sedan in the country.
