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Reliance to Supply at Least 40% of India's Gas Needs (Update1) - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 11:09 am PepsiCo to invest $500 mln in India over next 3 yrs - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 11:01 am Designer Varun Bahl marries dynasties for symphony of extravagant silhouettesDesigner Varun Bahl rewrote history by marrying the Mughal and Rajput dynasties with the Elizabethan age to create an extravagant yet sober collection of silhouettes at the HDIL India Couture Week here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am PepsiCo to invest $500 mln in India over next 3 yrsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc will invest a further $500 million in India over the next three years, tripling its business in the country, its chief executive said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:53 am U.S. Congress examines $700 bln market bailout planWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration asked Congress on Saturday for $700 billion to bail out firms burdened with bad mortgage debt, seeking extraordinary authority as it tackles the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:40 am Expected soon, Indian editions of Time, NewsweekThe government's green signal to publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines has sparked enthusiasm among publishing majors, marketing managers and media experts.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:39 am No solution to Singur impasse in sightNineteen days have passed since Tata Motors suspended work at its Nano plant at Singur in West Bengal but no solution to the deadlock seems in sight.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:36 am Expected soon, Indian editions of Time, Newsweek and moreThings never looked so good for the booming Indian news bazaar. The government's green signal to publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines has sparked enthusiasm among publishing majors, marketing managers and media experts.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:33 am ArcelorMittal, Tata in race to bag Chhattisgarh mining rightsArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, and Tata Steel, India's largest private sector steel producer, are locked in a race to win excavation rights to about 100 million tonnes of iron ore reserves in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Raman Singh said Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:33 am PepsiCo to invest $500 mn in IndiaBeverage major PepsiCo will invest $500 million in India over the next three years, its chairman and chief executive officer Indra Nooyi said here Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:33 am Indian Oil Corp planning major refinery expansionState-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is awaiting the environment ministry's nod for a major capacity expansion project at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh, a senior official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:31 am India, Brazil, South Africa sign tourism cooperation pactIndia, Brazil and South Africa signed a draft tripartite tourism cooperation agreement Sunday at the fifth edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:30 am Reliance Industries starts production in Krishna-Godavari basinIndia's largest private oil major, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has started production of oil from the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin, its chairman Mukesh D. Ambani said Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:30 am India's exports to South Korea rise, but lag ChinaIndia's share in South Korea's imports has increased four-fold during 2002-07, but is still far behind that of China, according to an industry lobby report.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:30 am Morgan Stanley board meets to weigh options - sourcesPHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's board was scheduled to meet on Saturday to weigh strategic options for the investment bank, including a possible takeover by Wachovia Corp or selling a bigger stake to China Investment Corp, sources familiar with the situation said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Sep 2008 | 10:12 am Dormant accounts’ interest liability reaches Rs 13 crore - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:54 am RIL to step up oil outputPTI Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) would increase the crude production from the prolific KG-D6 block to 20,000 barrels a day by Diwali, even as its gas output has been delayed till the first quarter of 2009. “The first cargo of oil would go to Hindustan Petroleum’s Vizag refinery and the crude was benchmarked on Papis and Nigeria bonny light,” an RIL official said. At the rate of 20,000 barrels a day, the total crude output would amount to one million tonnes a year. The gas production would now start from the first quarter of 2009, instead of the second half of this year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:49 am Religare group emerges out of Ranbaxy shadowMumbai: Having sold their stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd to Japan’s Daaichi Sankyo Co. Ltd, the promoters of India’s largest drug company by sales are planning significant investments in their privately owned companies, which are into diagnostics, retail and aviation, and will rebrand them to Religare from Ranbaxy, say people familiar with the Singh family’s decision making. The promoters, led by Malvinder Mohan Singh, chief executive and managing director of Ranbaxy Laboratories, have already renamed three private firms: Fortis Healthworld Ltd, SRL Ranbaxy Ltd and Ran Air Services Ltd, which are engaged in drug retail, diagnostics and air travel respectively, under the Religare brand. As part of an aggressive growth plan, the Singh brothers will also look at a future initial public offering (IPO). “The group wanted to take all these entities to the next level of growth under the Religare brand, and they all would see substantial investments if the expansion demands so,” said one Religare executive who didn’t want to be identified. SRL Ranbaxy, which has been now renamed as Religare Super Labs Ltd, has been planning to tap the capital market for some time now, though an official announcement is yet to be made. Industry analysts, however, say the company may not command strong valuation as its operational scale and net asset base are not that significant. Mint had reported in August that SRL Ranbaxy was looking at integrating itself with Religare Wellness to increase the valuation ahead of a planned IPO. Ran Air, renamed as Religare Voyages Ltd, is currently a non-scheduled airline operator with its own fleet of jets, helicopters and turboprops. Non-scheduled operators are the carriers that cannot publish time tables of flights and operate mostly as a charter services. “Ran Air has significant presence in the non-scheduled operations in India by catering to various corporate travel. It is also considering to start a fractional ownership company,” said one person familiar with the development. “Ran Air has plans to acquire more private jets to its fleet. Following the augmentation of fleet, it will consider about fractional ownership.” Earlier this year, Club One Air, until then India’s sole fractional ownership firm, saw new competition emerge from the Tata group, which announced its entry into the emerging business jets market through a stake in Singapore-based BJets Pte Ltd. Fractional aircraft ownership allows multiple people to “own” a single aircraft and share flying time without having to deal with maintenance and related issues. In addition to owning a piece of the aircraft, customers can also buy flying time, much like international calling cards. A Religare spokesman, however, said the company hasn’t seriously considered the fractional ownership business in the proposed expansion plans for the aviation company. Other companies in the Religare fold currently include Religare Enterprises Ltd, the financial services company, and Religare Technova Ltd, an information technology company. ch.unni@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:39 am Nalco plans Rs40,000 cr expansionPTI Bhubaneswar: National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) has drawn ambitious growth plans worth over Rs40,000 crore for the next five years, involving projects abroad and within the country. “In order to emerge as a company of global repute, we have drawn ambitious growth plans worth over Rs 40,000 crore for the next five years. These include smelter and power projects in Indonesia and Iran,” Nalco Chairman R C Pradhan told reporters. “In addition, the company is planning brownfield and greenfield projects within the country,” he said. The company achieved 104.48% capacity utilisation in its smelter at Angul in 2007-08 with a production of 360,457 tonnes of aluminium cast metal, against 358,734 tonnes in previous year. “Similarly, alumina refinery at Damanjodi recorded 100.04 per cent capacity utilisation with a production of 15,75,500 tonnes, against 14,75,200 tonnes in previous year,” he said. “However, its 960 MW captive power plant near the smelter unit recorded a lower power generation of 5,609 million units against 5,968 million units in the previous year, mainly due to coal shortage,” the company chairman noted. On foreign projects, Pradhan said Nalco has signed an MoU with Indonesia to set up a five lakh tonne smelter and a 1,250 MW captive power plant and the company plans to invest around Rs14,000 crore in the greenfield project. Similarly, a 3.30-lakh tonne smelter has been planned in two phases in Iran, as a joint venture, at a cost of about Rs8,000 crore, he said adding that both the projects are likely to take off soon. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:25 am Country’s first e-law library inauguratedBy PTI Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat inaugurated the country’s first e-law library here aimed at facilitating legal practitioners. “Justice has to reach the common man and if this concept succeeds in giving justice, only then we can say it is working”, Kamat said during the inaugural of the library at the Bombay High Court yesterday adding that it would serve as a model for other bar councils. The Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, which is the biggest among bar councils in the country, has been responsible for the setting up of the online library. The e-library would make available judgments at the click of the button. Lawyers would get a printout of any judgment they needed for ready reference, Council vice chairman Jayant Jaibhave said. The Bar Council of India has decided to make computer education mandatory in all law colleges across the nation, additional solicitor general of India, Rajendra Raghuwanshi, said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:22 am 3G spectrum auction may not fetch Rs40,000 crPTI New Delhi: Finance Ministry’s hopes of garnering about Rs40,000 crore from the sale of spectrum for 3G mobile services may be dashed as most of the operators are unlikely to bid beyond the reserve price of Rs2,200 crore. According to assessments within the Department of Telecom (DoT), maximum 5-7 operators would bid for 3G spectrum and the amount would remain within Rs2,200-2,500 crore. Going by this, the government is likely to get a maximum of Rs17,500 crore in stead of an earlier estimate to raise Rs 40,000 crore from the auction leaving a gap of over Rs20,000 crore. Sources said any pan-India bid beyond Rs2,500 crore would make the operations financially unviable and services costlier to the subscribers. Although the DoT had earlier earmarked 60 MHz spectrum for 3G mobile services to accommodate 10-12 service providers, but sources said maximum seven operators are likely to put in bids, including two international players. In fact, keeping this in mind the Finance Ministry had earlier asked DoT to consider increasing the reserve price to Rs2,500 crore from Rs2,200 crore but the proposal was turned down by DoT saying ascendingorder of auctioning process would automatically give market determined price. Source in department said all five leading cellular operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices are likely to put their bids while the scenario among the international players is not yet clear. US-based AT&T is a potential candidate to bid for 3G spectrum but would have to form a joint venture with an Indian entity before rolling out the services as permitted by the FDI guidelines. “The government has already started the process to appoint e-auction agency to conduct auctioning and hopes to end the process by end of November this year,” senior DoT officials said. Asked how many licences are likely to be issued, officials declined to comment saying Communication and IT Minister A Raja had announced 10-12 players and the DoT still maintains it. Officials said enough spectrum would be available with the DoT to give 5MHz spectrum each to all successful candidates for 3G services. Going by the schedule prepared by the DoT, 3G services should start in the first quarter of next financial year by the private players while the PSUs BSNL and MTNL have already announced their plans to start services from December this year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:18 am DoT not to raise 5Mhz spectrum limit for 3G services - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:01 am Technologies to secure WiFi network already available: expertsBy PTI New Delhi: As security agencies scramble to shield WiFi networks in the country, experts say that securing such connections is very simple and such technologies -- both-built security functionality by default which can be activated at no extra cost. By ensuring some simple steps, you can minimize the risk of your WiFi being misused or hacked", Niraj Kaushik, country manager for India and SAARC, Trend Micro, an internet security software manufacturer said. A WiFi router generally comes with a default pre-configured password generally starting with the manufacturer’s name and you must change this password to one specific to your choice. One should also remove the broadcast functionality from the router, so that the network remains invisible to casual unwanted users, Kaushik adds. WiFi equipment manufactures admit to there being security gaps in wireless networks but assure of being well placed in terms of technology to curb the misuse. As wireless security remains a leading concern for enterprises, “we have acquired a leading Wireless LAN (WLAN) security provider for greater security to wireless LAN networks,” Kathy Paladino, president Motorola Enterprise Mobility business said. “Industry compliance requirements and heightended security awareness have fuelled the need for comprehensive compliance, enforcement forensics and reporting, which is offered by us,” Motorola Enterprise WLAN division VP and GM Sujai Hajela said. Describing the features of a secure WiFi network, Hajela said, “with built-in forensic support the wireless IPS provides powerful tools for standards compliance.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 9:00 am TN Industries agree to share genset operating costsBy PTI Coimbatore: Industry associations in Tamil Nadu have unanimously agreed to bear 25% share of the additional cost incurred for operating diesel gensets to meet the acute power shortage being faced by the state. The decision was taken at a meeting held on 18September after Power Minister Arcot N Veerasamy announced that the idle capacity of furnace oil and high speed diesel oil captive generators would be partially utilised for captive consumption to meet the power shortage. Industries have proposed to share the additional net cost of captive power generation and consumption in the ratio 75:25 between the government and industries. The 25% share would be borne equally by high tension and extra tension consumers and commercial establishments, he said. As many as 55 industrial units and associations, including Southern India Mills’ Association participated in the meeting, SIMA chairman, Dr K V Srinivasan said here. The textile industry alone accounts for over 50% of the HT power consumption in the state, he added. Industries in Tamil Nadu have invested over Rs50,000 crore in the last five yeas with the textile industry alone investing around Rs35,000 crore, Veerasamy said. If the present power crisis continued, all investments would soon become Non-performing Assets, he added. Hailing the government’s move, textile body Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) appeal to quicken the implementation of the proposal submitted by the industries. The total additional cost for operating gensets for the current diesel rate would work out to Rs6.41 per unit of power excluding vat, SIMA chairman K V Srinivasan said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 8:50 am Indians are 10th most intense internet searchers in Asia PacificBy PTI New Delhi: An Indian netizen is hitting the search button on an average 51 times during a month, but this puts them only at the last position among the top 10 countries of Asia-Pacific in terms of intensity of online search. According to the latest ranking of top internet search figures for Asia-Pacific released by internet traffic tracking firm comScore, Koreans have topped in terms of online search intensity with an average of 102.8 searches per searcher during the month of July. “Searchers in Korea exhibited the heaviest search intensity with an average of 102.8 searches per searcher during the month, followed by Australia (102 searches per searcher) and Japan (100.8 searches per searcher),” comScore said. India has ranked after Korea, Australia, Japan, Singapore (91.2), New Zealand (87.2), Hong Kong (81), China (76.6), Taiwan (74.8) and Malaysia (64.2) on search intensity ranking. India’s score of 51 searches per searcher is even lower than the overall average of 80.7 for the Asia-Pacific region. However, the figures might increase after taking into account traffic from the public computers. The comScore data has been compiled by taking into account all unique internet users aged 15 and above from their home and work computers and it excludes searches from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs. However, India fares much better in terms of the number of people searching something on internet as well as in terms of the number of such searches. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 8:44 am Sage to go regional, publish in regional languagesBy PTI New Delhi: Sage India, publishers of books for professionals, academics and students in English will now be bringing out translated works using a co-publishing model with regional language publishers. “This will address the paucity of content in regional languages,” said Vivek Mehra, managing director and CEO of Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd. At some point in the future Sage will look at original works too. He explained that in Marathi they already have a co-publishing arrangement with Diamond Publications of Pune. They released the first set, under the programme on 19September. Stephen Barr, managing director of Sage Ltd and president of Sage International, said that the house is stressing on selling out programmes in regional languages. Making a deliberate attempt not to get into fiction, he sais that they would remain with academic books, high-level non fiction and textbooks. According to Mehra, Sage entered into co-publishing arrangements in Tamil (with Vikatan Media Services Pvt Ltd., Chennai), Malayalam (DC Books, Kottayam), Hindi (Rawat Publications, Jaipur and Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi). Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 8:04 am US crisis may delay capital market reforms in AsiaBy P. Parameswaran / AFP Washington: The American financial crisis is expected to delay capital market reforms in China and other developing Asian economies stunned by the colossal damage unleashed by complex financial contracts on the United States, experts say. Flush with cash reserves, many developing Asian nations have been prodded by Western financial institutions to deepen their capital markets by introducing sophisticated financial derivatives to hedge against various risks. But as derivatives tied to housing mortgages-backed securities were blamed for the American turmoil whose losses could reach one trillion dollars, Asian economies would tread more cautiously in adopting complex financial trading contracts, the experts said. “I think that is going to be the takeaway by the bank regulator in China, for example,” Asian expert Nicholas Lardy of the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics told AFP. “I think they are going to say to themselves, ‘We were right to resist the opening up of our financial system to Western financial institutions that wanted to add in supposedly more sophisticated products into our market,´” he said. China has not introduced any of the risk-carrying exotic derivative products, such as the unregulated credit default swap contracts, which are at the center of the current American financial chaos. These private contracts allow companies to trade bets on whether a borrower will default. Debt ridden mortgage giants A top new player in the swaps game was troubled American insurance giant AIG, bailed out last week by the central bank following a similar rescue of two debt ridden mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Top investment house Lehman Brothers however filed for bankruptcy in the biggest corporate debt default in history, sending global markets reeling. “The sudden downfall of several prominent global institutions has authorities concerned about ripple effects and is prompting a reassessment of the pace of China’s financial sector reforms,” Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at J.P. Morgan, wrote in a report last week, according to the Washington Post. The reforms were meant to give market forces more sway. Asian economies were alerted to the risks of derivative trading way back in 1995 when a British trader’s wrong bets in Japanese stock futures in Singapore led to the high-profile collapse of British bank Barings. Two years later, the region plunged into a severe financial crisis resulting from a currency meltdown blamed by some on hedge funds. Systemic missteps The US crisis has exposed systemic missteps by banking overseers, securities regulators, the US Congress and corporate executives — all of whom underestimated the risks of leveraging and now are paying the price, the Washington Post quoted securities officials as saying. “What is unique is that during that time, there was a sense that a well regulated financial system, like the US, would never experience a kind of trouble that Asia experienced in the 1990s and unfortunately that has proven to be the case,” Brad Setser, a former US Treasury official, told AFP. “Maybe the US system wasn’t as well regulated as many thought and certainly it has taken on an enormous amount of risk and sees enough in ways that have uncomfortable parallels to the Asian crisis,” said Setser, now with the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank. The Asian crisis roiled banks which took enormous risks by financing high level of investments often using foreign currency denominated loans. It forced governments to take over the institutions by injecting public money to keep the banking system from completely collapsing. “Rather than venturing into complicated financial products with hidden risks, Asian nations should give priority to adopting key financial reforms vital to fueling their rapidly growing economies,” experts said. In China, for example, financial reforms such as interest rate liberalization, a more market determined exchange rate and a more developed “plain vanilla” domestic bond market are critical, Lardy said. “I think the main lesson for everybody is leverage is risky. People had forgotten that, especially with the low cost of money in the last few years,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:45 am Indian realty prices may return to 'real' levels - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:34 am Onam's journey from harvest festival to shopping carnivalThere is a morning-after air in Kerala as the state recovers from the hectic annual Onam festivities.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:30 am Godrej to make Ezee a Rs100-cr brand in 2-3 yearsBy PTI Mumbai: Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), is aiming to transform its ‘Ezee’ daily-wash brand into a Rs100 crore brand in the next 2-3 years. “Presently Ezee’s turnover stands at Rs50 crore. We are confident of doubling it to Rs 100 crore in the next two-three years,” GCPL vice president, marketing, V Suresh told PTI here. The growth will primarily be fuelled by its newly-launched Ezee Bright & Soft daily-wash liquid detergent through which the company has entered the high-potential premium detergents segment. GCPL, an Adi Godrej-spearheaded enterprise, has the distribution network in place with 11 lakh outlets pan-India selling Ezee, Suresh said. Ezee Bright & Soft is being promoted as a liquid detergent for daily-wash unlike in the past when liquid detergents were mainly used for wool-wear (winter clothes). “We have entered the premium detergent powders whereas Ezee Bright & Soft is a liquid,” he said. The new product is an extension of the 25-year-old Ezee brand. Launched last month in the north, east and west, the initial response has been encouraging. “After stabilising sales here, we will enter the southern market in the next 3-6-months,” Suresh said. The premium detergents market is estimated at around Rs900 crore and growing at 12-15% per annum, he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:16 am Weekly Wrap: Sensex recovers after a series of setbacks - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:13 am Govt may relax ECB norms soonPTI Mumbai: Indian corporates facing liquidity crunch due to global financial turmoil and advance tax payments may get relief with the easing of external commercial borrowings (ECB) norms, expected shortly. Banking industry sources said the government and the Reserve Bank are actively considering ECB relaxation within a fortnight. “The government and the RBI are holding discussions on further relaxation of ECB norms. A decision in this regard is expected very soon. This would certainly contribute to ease the prevailing tight liquidity conditions,” a top official with a public sector bank told PTI. Further liberalisation in ECB norms is expected to help corporates access cheap funds abroad for financing their projects in productive sectors, primarily in infrastructure. “The policy makers are widely expected to raise the cap for rupee expenditure in the infrastructure sector through the ECB route,” the official said. At present, ECB borrowings up to $100-million (nearly Rs400 crore) could be sent back to the domestic market for spending in the infrastructure sector. In other sectors, this cap is $50 million. The government had relaxed ECB norms in May this year. Prior to that, Indian companies opting for ECB route to raise funds were allowed to bring up to $20 million to the domestic market, after getting the RBI permission. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:08 am Indian realty prices may easePTI New Delhi: Indian property prices, which had taken off like jet planes, appear to be losing altitude after bad debts owing their origin to real estate brought down the US financial market to its knees. Marketmen see prices cooling and projects being held up for want of cheap funds, but don’t expect the market to crash. Raising funds from American and Western European investors, who accounted for a bulk of overseas money coming to India, will be difficult. “Developers will have to look at new avenues like middle-east and Korea,” said Global realty consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj country head Anuj Puri. The first to be hit would be commercial property prices, although a correction in residential segment too is expected. Rates had almost doubled in the three years leading to 2007, when interest rates started hardening. “Negative sentiments from events like these (collapse of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and others) will have a bearing on the banking and financial services’ real estate requirement in India,” Puri said. Failed investment banker Lehman and Merrill Lynch, which was taken over by Bank of America, occupied commercial space in India spanning 2.5 lakh sq ft, which itself is not adequate to bring down prices crashing, but the sentiment is. “It is not a big exposure considering 50 million sq ft of office spaces transacted every year in India,” Puri said, adding that there would not be much of a direct impact because of the two firms going down under. Prime locations “Prices of properties in a good location would not be affected much,” said Amit Sarin, Executive Director of Anant Raj Industries, in which Lehman held 1.8% stake. However, those in less prime areas could feel the pinch, said Sarin, whose company is predominantly into building IT space. “The credit crunch would affect the investment from the private equity players mainly based in the US,” experts said. “The current environment is “challenging” for Indian real estate market,” Puri noted. Asked about the overall impact on the market, he said there could be some decline in prices due to the negative sentiment. Globally, banks have written of over $500 billion in bad debts, exactly half the total losses forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to loose lending by American banks to people with poor creditworthiness or the infamous ‘subprime´ lending. The slowdown is also because of high interest rate regime and the prices, particularly in the housing segment, have softened in the last one year. Private equity firm Red Fort Capital’s Director Kuldip Chawlla said: “Flow of funds from the US will definitely come down, at least in the short term. Funds to both private and public equities of developers are likely to fall.” Funding issues “Real estate developers, who were thinking of raising money through an IPO in the near future, would now hesitate to go to the capital market,” he added. Sarin of Anant Raj said the companies which have strong internal accruals would sail through, but those dependent on debts and private equity would feel the pressure. A top executive of a leading real estate firm said fund raising by developers through private equity will come to an end. He noted that developers are already facing difficulty in getting debts from Indian banking and financial institutions. Lehman Brothers had picked up 50% stake in Unitech’s Mumbai project for Rs740 crore. It had also invested $200 million in DLF Assets Ltd, which is formed by DLF promoters. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 7:02 am Emami, Ambuja among bidders for DVC’s tourism planPTI Kolkata: FMCG major Emami and Ambuja groups are among the six bidders shortlisted for the Rs400-crore public- private partnership tourism project to be implemented by power major DVC Ltd and ILandFS. “Besides the two firms, two other international players from Australia and Malaysia and two companies from Hyderabad have also been shortlisted for the tourism project at Maithon and Panchet,” IL&FS Vice-President Sudip Datta told PTI. The project is being implemented by Damodar Valley Tourism Co Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture company between Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corp, the infrastructure development arm of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS). Datta said, at present interactions are being held with each bidder for discussing the structure which would be finalised in the next one month and then the financial bid process is likely to begin. “Earlier we had thought about one bidder but then got feelers that two or three other companies would like to be involved in the entire first phase of the project which entailed developing 200 acres of land for an investment of around Rs400 crore,” he said. Other areas where DVC would develop similar tourism infrastructure ventures include Tilaya in Jharkhand and Hazaribagh, which would be taken up after Maithon and Panchet. At present, most of the tourism activities would be concentrated in Maithon, dotted by 19 small islands. However, there are a slew of proposals to develop four - five places, which include setting up a resort and a budget hotel, developing picnic spot, rejuvenating a yacht club owned by DVC and providing water sport facilities. In Panchet, where DVC has about 100 acres of contiguous land, an amusement park would come up on the side of the dam along with a few budget hotels. “We hope to commence atleast some activity before the next festive season”, Datta said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 6:54 am States ask Centre to bear share of sixth pay revisionPTI New Delhi: Not keen on again bearing a financial stress that fell on them after implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission, state governments want the Centre to share half the burden of pay revision of their employees, in case they go for the next salary hike. “The states would never forget the effect of the Centre’s decision on recommendations of the Fifth Central Pay Commission regarding pay revision on states’ finances through consequences of pay revision at the states levels. This had resulted in a financial crisis for the states,” VAT panel said in its presentation to the 13th Finance Commission. The Empowered Committee of state finance ministers on VAT said that during that time, the Centre had agreed to bear half of the burden of the states but did not actually provide the assistance. The VAT panel said the Sixth Pay Commission will “consequently cause the states to take certain decisions for the pay structure of their employees and others with serious financial implications”. When the Centre announcing the pay revision, it is a general practice for states to go for pay revision of its employees. Due to the Sixth Pay revision, the Centre will bear an additional burden of Rs15,700 crore on the central budget and Rs6,400 crore on the railway budget. Justifying their demand of sharing of the burden, the VAT panel said although the Centre has asked the 13th Finance Commission to provide for expenditure on civil administration, defence, inter reference has been made for similar expenditure for states. In this context, the government of India should bear at least 50% of the additional consequential but Already few states, including Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Haryana, have decided to go for pay revision for their employees. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 6:37 am Tata-AIG Life announces expansion plan amidst turmoil - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 6:35 am Govt unlikely to notify CTT this yearPTI New Delhi: Amidst opposition from traders that Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT) may encourage illegal trading, the government appears unlikely to notify the leource said, adding that consumer affairs ministry has persuaded the finance ministry not to go ahead with CTT. Parliament has already passed the 2008-09 Budget, where one of the proposals is to levy a commodity transaction tax of 0.017%. However, a notification is yet to be issued. According to sources, CTT does not exist anywhere in the world, except Taiwan. “Even in Taiwan, commodity futures trading is being conducted through the stock exchange, where commodities contribute only 0.03 per cent in the turnover of the exchange,” the source pointed out. “When the 99.9% of the world markets do not have CTT, India does not need such a tax,” the source said. Experts pointed out that in India, taxes on commodities are the highest compared to other goods. In fact, after income tax, bulk of revenue comes from taxes on commodities. Customs duty, sales tax, excise duty, octroi and many other local levies are imposed on commodities in the country, which add on to the cost of the product that consumers pay. Further, CTT cannot be compared with securities transaction tax (STT). Commodities are not shares, they said, adding that any tax on commodities would be a bearing on their prices. If CTT is imposed, arbitragers will run away from the marketarnings would go towards tax payment, the experts said. Arbitrage trading literally means ‘risk free profit´ which is the bread-butter of commodity traders. A study conducted by industry body CII has also made a similar observation. “Within seven days of the imposition of CTT, trading volumes on the three national exchanges and 19 regional exchanges will dip by up to 59%,” the study noted. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 6:25 am Tata-AIG Life announces expansion plan amidst turmoilPTI New Delhi: Tata Group’s life insurance arm, in which American International Group (AIG) — which last week got a new lease of life — has 26% stake, plans to its expand network. “Our branch distribution network expanded from only 80 offices to nearly 400 offices during the past 18 months and the next 12 months will see the count cross 500,” Tata AIG Life said in a public advertisement. On the financial strength the company said: “It is well capitalised and is subject to stringent regulatory and capital requirement. The solvency margin stood over 300% compared to the regulatory minimum of 150% at August-end . Following the liquidity crisis in AIG Inc earlier this week, its Indian venture was under shadows. In order to safeguard the interest of policy holders of Tata AIG, insurance sector regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) summoned reports from both the partners. “The recent developments in the global financial markets have been truly extraordinary. As the US financial crisis goes through some challenging times, we want to assure you that this does not have any immediate material impact on Tata AIG Life,” announcement added. Recently, AIG was extended a $85 billion lifeline by the US Fed to help the troubled company meets its liquidity requirement. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 6:18 am Exports push tea auction prices up by 16%By PTI New Delhi: Auction prices of tea shot up by 16% in the first seven months of 2008 on the back of rise in exports, though the volume of tea available for auctioning witnessed a fall in northern India and increased in the south. According to the Tea Board, prices of tea at auctions have increased to Rs76.40 per kg till July, from Rs65.80 per kg in the year-ago period. Similarly, auction prices in northern India have posted a 20% rise to Rs86.55 up in July while, in the southern part, prices have shot up by 14% to Rs59.23 against the same period last year. However, tea volume at auctions in the northern region fell to 1.56 lakh kg till July from 1.64 lakh kg in the same period last year, while it rose to 92,426 kg in the southern part from 75,305 kg. The rise in auction prices can be attributed to a 19% surge in exports that have put pressure on domestic prices. Also, shortfall in tea production in Kenya and better export prospects with Iraq have boosted India’s exports and, thereby, moved up auction prices, according to an industry expert. Tea Board chairman Basudev Banerjee had said India is expected to export around 20 million kg of tea to Iraq this year. Kenya is also likely to witness a decline of around 40 million kg in its tea production this year, he added. In value terms, the shipments between January and July rose to Rs1,096 crore, against Rs910.27 crore in the year-ago period. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2008 | 6:18 am For Bihar's flood victims, houses from AssamAs over three million flood victims of Bihar struggle to get back a roof over their head, a group of experts from the Guwahati-based Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) has designed an innovative home for them.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2008 | 5:30 am ICICI Bank Extremely Healthy, Says Kamath - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 5:13 am Hindalco to expand - SteelGuru
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 3:53 am BlackBerry handsets to be produced in India? - TechShout!
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 1:47 am Rs 1,902 cr sanctioned for expansion of SAIL plant!Salem Steel a unit of state-run Steel Authority of India Limited has received Rs 1,902 for expansion, Union Minister of Chemicals, Fertiliser and Steel Ram Vilas Paswan said on Saturday.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am PM-appointed group suggests new manufacturing policy !A high-powered group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the government to formulate a new manufacturing policy to reverse deceleration in growth in the sector.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am PM for `appropriate` energy prices!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday chaired a meeting of the Planning Commission to discuss a draft on integrated energy policy. During the meeting, Dr Singh cautioned that the country`s demand for energy is likely to increase manifolds and that `appropriate` pricing is a must for investment to augment supplies.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am Alitalia may be grounded !Italy`s civil aviation authority could order troubled national airline Alitalia grounded within 10 days after a consortium withdrew its rescue plan, a source close to the regulator told a news agency on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am `ADAG, Spielberg deal complete`!Anil Ambani group`s Reliance Entertainment and DreamWorks SKG of acclaimed director Steven Spielberg have completed the much-talked about deal for jointly making Hollywood films.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am China Construction Bank puts Lehman exposure at $191 mn!China Construction Bank, one of the country`s four largest banks, revealed it has 191.4 million dollars` exposure to Lehman Brothers and said it was not expected to have a "significant impact".Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am US Cong urged for $700 bn for bailout !The Bush administration is asking Congress to let the government buy USD 700 billion in bad mortgages as part of the largest financial bailout since the Great Depression.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am Essar Steel Holdings to invest over $4 bn in N America!Ruias-promoted Essar Steel Holdings (ESH) on Saturday said it would invest in excess of USD 4 billion in North America, including USD 1.6 billion in a mine-based steel plant in the US state of Minnesota.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am First `Google phone` to debut Sept 23 !A mobile telephone tailored to run on Google`s Android software is to debut next week in New York City.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am Centre to make North East hub of South East Asia!The North East has something to cheer about. If things work out as planned by the Central government, then it might find itself at the hub of South East Asia, where some of the most dynamic economies of the world are situated.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:11 am Govt open to selective 49% FDI in defenceNew Delhi, Sept 20 The Centre on Saturday said it could consider the industry’s demand for allowing up to 49 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector “on a case-to-case basis”. “We will stick to theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Weekly News Round-upLehman Brothers Holdings Inc has filed for bankruptcy protection, making it the largest casualty of the global credit crisis, and given its assets at the time of filing, Lehman surpassed WorldCom as the biggest US Bankruptcy filing.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Select equity funds double asset base on inflowsBL Research Bureau The BSE Sensex is down nearly 14 per cent over one year and the average equity fund has lost 18 per cent of its Net Asset Value. But mutual fund investors have actually been discerning enough to invest in the better performingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Reliance ADAG in pact with DreamWorksMumbai, Sept. 20 The Reliance ADAG group has signed a deal with Steven Spielberg-led DreamWorks SKG for a $1.2 billion-film production company, the Wall Street Journal said on Saturday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am B-schools begin fire-fighting to minimise impactIt appears that the global economic slowdown has finally touched employment prospects of management graduates in India, if the perception of premier management schools is anySource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Weakening Re brightens export prospects of auto makersMumbai, Sept. 20 A weakening rupee has set Indian automobile companies revising their export targets, reviewing future outlooks and exploring new markets to push overseas sales.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Essar Steel to invest $1.6 b in Minnesota unitMumbai, Sept. 20 Essar Steel Holdings Ltd, part of Essar Global Ltd, will invest $1.6 billion to establish a mine-based steel plant in Minnesota’s IronSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Lehman's loss is LPO's gain in IndiaWith Lehman Brothers going bankrupt, following the collapse of a series of other leading institutions, the financial sector is in crisis with jobs lost and markets in turmoil.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:57 pm Court clears Lehman saleLehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the US investment bank that filed the largest bankruptcy in history, won federal court approval to sell its North American business to London-based Barclays Plc for $1.75Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 7:01 pm Market price for power on anvilThe Planning Commission today approved the draft integrated energy policy, which seeks to implement market-based pricing and bring about better coordination among ministries.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 7:00 pm Reliance Entertainment, DreamWorks sign dealReliance Entertainment has finally struck a deal with Steven Spielbergs DreamWorks to jointly make Hollywood films, according to foreign media reports.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 6:57 pm Subprime relief may be added to Paulson plan$800-bn plan to help people with high-cost mortgages stay in their homes??US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is sending a financial-rescue plan worth about $800 billion to Congress as DemocratsSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 6:56 pm Will Nano drive to Dharwad?As the Tata\'s get a green signal from the Karnataka Chief Minister Y S Yediyurappa to set up the Nano plant in Dharwad, the question arises how feasible is it for the Tata\'s to actually make the shift?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 5:41 pm UK's Brown wants Lehman cash back to help workersMANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday he was pushing the United States to help get $8 billion from the failed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers to its staff in Britain.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 4:52 pm PM panel asks govt to formulate new manufacturing policyNew Delhi: A high-powered group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the government to formulate a new manufacturing policy to reverse deceleration in growth in the sector. “Manufacturing policy would ensure focussed attention by the government to various aspects that would enable it to achieve the goals of manufacturing and employment generation,” an official release said. The group was formed by the Prime Minister in January under the chairmanship of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council chief V. Krishnamurthy for suggesting policy measures and immediate steps to reverse deceleration in growth of manufacturing. Krishnamurthy submitted the final report to the Prime Minister on Saturday recommending suggestions on a number of issues such as policies on macroeconomics, tax, trade, technology and FDI. The recommendations were in respect of specific sectors that require focussed action by the government. These have been classified into two sets of industry verticals employment intensive and strategically important industries. It has also called for creating a mechanism suitably empowered to monitor developments in the sector on a regular basis and to suggest necessary action to the government in line with the manufacturing policy. Manufacturing growth has been hovering around 7-7.5% for the past 20 years, while the sector itself has stagnated at 17% of the GDP during the same time. For the economy to grow at an average of 9-10% in the medium to long term, the manufacturing sector needs to grow at about 12-14%. “Such growth is also required from the point of view of absorbing the surplus work force now dependent on rural sector,” it said. Industrial growth declined to 5.7% in the first four months of this fiscal, against 9.7% a year ago. Manufacturing, which contributes about 80% to Index of Industrial Production, grew by 7.5% in July, slower than 8.8% a year ago. The terms of reference for the group included suggestions on both short-term and long-term issues relating to the growth of the sector. The group in January-February this year submitted four interim reports-- in time for formulation of Budget 2008-09 and to assist in framing the Foreign Trade Policy -- on the measures required for an immediate arrest in the decline of the sector’s growth. These interim reports form Part-II of the final report submitted, while Part-I deals with measures required for the long-term growth of the manufacturing sector. The report took into account experience gained by the country in respect of the manufacturing sector during the past two decades as well as in the implementation of the National Strategy for Manufacturing (NSM 2006) prepared by NMCC during the past three years. It has also considered policies adopted by various developing countries like Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China, which have posted high growth rates of manufacturing for a prolonged period. Secretaries in the Ministries of Finance, Commerce, Textiles, Revenue and Industrial Policy and Promotion as well as the Member Secretary of NMCC were part of the group. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2008 | 3:37 pm Is ONGC making heavy losses in its gas biz?ONGC lost Rs 700 cr in gas business in FY08. This is primarily because ONGC sells 95% gas under APM at $2.02 mmbtu. It is waiting for an upward revision.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 1:21 pm Bengal's economy will suffer if Tatas leave: Amartya SenNobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has said West Bengal's economy will suffer a big jolt if the auto major decides to shift its small car plant out of the state.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:50 pm U.S. readies massive toxic-debt planNEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government is preparing to mop up hundreds of billions of dollars in bad mortgage debt, after curbing short-selling and guaranteeing mutual funds in an effort to stabilise financial markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:49 pm Air India gets $548.6 mn Ex-Im Bank loanThe Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the US has given India's national carrier Air India $548.6 million in loan guarantees to support the purchase of Boeing aircraft.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:48 am Mukta Arts acquires 51% stake in Coruscant TecIndian film producing company Mukta Arts has acquired 51 percent stake in the Chennai-based Coruscant Tec Pvt Ltd, a leader in the mobile value-added services sector.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:47 am
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