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Power
cuts to cost Rs 22,000 cr Indo-Pak
moves to boost textile trade Bush
may lift steel tariffs Aggressive
marketing must to attract FDI More
A-I flights to Frankfurt, Chicago J&K
to revive 25 sick units Bharti
looking for acquisitions Surya
Pharma IPO on December 18 |
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Power cuts to cost Rs 22,000 cr
Mumbai, December 4 This was revealed by a study jointly conducted by MAIT and Emerson Network Power (India). The study was carried out by Feedback Consulting during November, 2003, covering 302 Indian firms, and spread out over six cities and is the second such survey conducted to map the impact of downtime in the industrial sector. The downtime loss registered this year is significantly higher compared to last year’s loss of Rs 20,000 crore. Contingency planning is already a part of the Indian business psyche and over 85 per cent of the firms have a power source other than the grid supply, the study said. Scheduled power cuts due to infrastructure stress on power utilities were cited as one of the key reasons for downtime and 61 per cent of Indian industry is skeptical about improvements in the state power scenario, it said. The study pointed out that a limited impact was noticed among corporates towards power conditioning solutions, post blackouts in New York and Europe. New Delhi recorded the highest level of daily power disruption at 28 per cent of sample base followed by Bangalore (22 per cent). Firms in Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad experienced fewer power disruptions. In 80 per cent of the cases, power was restored within the hour and power restoration within 30 minutes was down to 56 per cent from 66 per cent last year indicating slower response times, the study found. Over 85 per cent of the firms in Mumbai and Kolkata feel that the authorities are taking the right measures to improve the power scenario and less than 50 per cent feel similarly in New Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. According to the study, on an average 61 per cent of Indian industry is skeptical about the improvements in the power scenario. Of this, 67 per cent firms in Kolkata and 37 per cent in Mumbai feel that the city already had a robust and reliable power infrastructure. Less than 16 per cent felt similarly across New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai. The study found that the major reasons for downtime were power cuts (scheduled and unscheduled) and the poor quality of power and the major impact of downtime was loss of work in progress (including employees’ distraction from scheduled activities) and employee productivity. Investment in uptime helped in smoother operations and good working environment and this helped in superior customer service and building a positive image as a reliable partner with clients, the study said. Commenting on the findings of the study, MAIT Executive Director Vinnie Mehta said, ''Contingency planning is part of India Inc. mindset, based on traditional experiences with infrastructure limitations. This trend will continue in the light of global power failures encountered in Western countries. Firms will need to pay more attention to maximising uptime if they are to remain competitive in a globally networked
economy’’. — UNI
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Indo-Pak moves to boost textile trade Ludhiana, December 4 According to D.L. Sharma, Executive Director of Vardhman Group of Mills, Pakistan requires about 120 lakh bales of cotton whereas it produces only 95 lakh bales. The cotton prices in Pakistan are quoted at Rs 3,500 per quintal. Pakistan is also competitor of India in the international market in the export of readymade cotton garments and other textile goods. Besides Pakistan, Bangladesh also gives good competition to India. In view of the good cotton production, the import this year will be less as compared to last year. Last year, about 16 lakh bales were imported and this year the number is expected to be five lakh. Meanwhile, the export of cotton has also started to various countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thaoland and China. Some stocks of Indian cotton are also being exported to Pakistan via Dubai. Cotton prices in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan continue to rule high despite good crop this year. The prices have stabilised at Rs 2500 to Rs 2550 per quintal against Rs 1900 to Rs 2000 per quintal last year. These quotations are for “narma” (American cotton). The daily arrivals in mandis of the three states are estimated at 20,000 bales. In Punjab, the Abohar mandi is receiving the highest quantity of cotton (1400 bales) followed by Mansa (1000 bales) and Malout and Fazilka (500 and 700 bales, respectively). Mandis in the three states have received more than 14 lakh bales of cotton so far, including Punjab (6 lakh bales), Haryana (5 lakh bales) and Rajasthan 2.5 lakh bales). The total production of cotton in these states is likely to touch 28 lakh bales, including 12 lakh in Punjab which produced 8.5 lakh bales last year. The average yield of cotton per hectare in Punjab is 14 lakh quintals and in certain cases it goes up to 30 quintals per hectare. |
Bush may lift steel tariffs Washington, December 4 The White House started contacting key lawmakers on Wednesday about the impending decision, which could cost Bush votes in next year's election. Administration sources said the White House would pledge to vigorously enforce US anti-dumping laws and keep a steel import licensing and monitoring system in place to help trade officials respond to unexpected surges. The President may change the way duties are assessed to allow the government to impose stiffer penalties against foreign violators. He could also appoint to the International Trade Commission, which approves anti-dumping cases, a more steel-friendly commissioner when Democrat Marcia Miller's term expired on December 16, trade lawyers said. Bush convened a private steel meeting late on Tuesday that included Vice-President Dick Cheney, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, key advisers on the politically sensitive issue. Sources said they agreed to move forward with an announcement, most likely on Thursday— just days before the European Union was set to make good on threats to retaliate on $2.2 billion worth of US exports. White House spokesman Scott McClellan insisted Bush had not made a final decision, but one source said: "He just has to sign the papers." In public, steel makers said they still held out hope the White House would maintain the tariffs. But privately they conceded the tariffs were all but certain to end 16 months ahead of schedule to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling. "We'll be disappointed, but not surprised if the decision is to terminate the tariffs," said Thomas Danjczek, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association. Steel industry sources said Bush could still suspend the tariffs —rather than terminate them outright — and then ask the International Trade Commission to see if the United States could change the safeguards to comply with the WTO. Lifting the controversial steel tariffs could spark a political backlash against Bush in the pivotal steel-producing states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. But top White House advisers concluded the tariffs were causing more harm than good and that lifting them would boost Bush's standing with small and medium-sized Midwestern manufacturers, another important political constituency. Administration officials argue the tariffs have already served much of their purpose — giving the US steel industry time to consolidate operations and become more competitive after a string of bankruptcies. McClellan said a recent report by the International Trade Commission "pointed out some of the restructuring and consolidation that has taken place," adding that, "I think you can talk to people in the steel industry as well." Eliminating the tariffs could also help allay financial market concerns that Bush was relying on protectionist measures to shore up the US job market before Election Day. The WTO's highest court ruled that the tariffs violated global trade laws and critics argued it would be inconsistent for Bush to flout the decision while pushing free trade negotiations around the world and chiding China to meet its WTO obligations.
— Reuters |
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Aggressive marketing must to attract FDI
New Delhi, December 4 A.T. Kearney, which has put India as the sixth most attractive destination for FDI, said there was a need to promote the “Brand India” image vigorously to highlight the competitive advantages of the country against other destinations. “India has a big domestic market, large pool of skilled and educated manpower and assured supply of young workforce which needs to be highlighted,” A.T. Kearney Inc Managing Director, US, Paul A. Laudicina told UNI in an interview recently. He said proper marketing was one of the most important factors to lure investors. “For example, Austria marketed itself as a tourist destination well but it proved to be counter-productive in attracting FDI as investors got the impression that the country was more of a tourist destination than investment destination.” After a dip for two straight years FDI flows worldwide were increasing. “Investor appetite is increasing. China will corner the biggest chunk of it but gradually other countries will pick up. “For the foreseeable future China will remain number one FDI destination because of the momentum it has gained and the brand it has established,” Mr Laudicina said. “China does well in production and labour price but lacks ample qualified labour. India’s greatest strength in ample qualified labour. In fact 96 per cent of potential investors who were interviewed by us said India has enough qualified labour force. No other country scores that high,” he said. “In China, because of tight control on birth rates, productive population between the 19-40 age group will decline while it will go up in India. This will also work in India’s favour in future,” Mr Laudicina said. “As the world economy moves form manufacturing to services this can be India’s greatest asset. But outsourcing does not always translate into FDI,” Mr Laudicina said. For India, manufacturing was still important for raising standard of living of its masses and for that higher FDI would complement domestic investments, he said. Higher standards of living achieved through manufacturing would create more demand in India which would further drive FDI, Mr Laudicina said adding that policy shift was needed to increase FDI in to India. “The Indian Government should address issues like labour, energy and harmonise policies between the Centre and states to create a conducive climate for FDI. Changes in bureaucratic mindset and increasing the pace of reforms are also essential,” he said. Mr Laudicina said India was ranked higher as an FDI destination by American and European businessmen than Asian businessmen, who have invested heavily in China and other Southeast countries.
— UNI |
| More A-I flights to Frankfurt, Chicago New Delhi, December 4 The new services will operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The national flagship carrier will now operate to Frankfurt and Chicago six times a week through a code-share agreement with Lufthansa. So far, it was operating three flight a week on the Mumbai-Delhi-Frankfurt sector and three flights to Chicago from Mumbai via London. From December 11, A-I plans bi-weekly connections to Shanghai, the financial hub of China. A-I has significantly enhanced its presence in Europe and the USA in the past one year. The capacity deployment has gone up from 10 flights a week in 2002 to 20 this month, marking a 100 per cent increase. Now, A-I will operate a daily service to New York via London, a daily service to Newark via Paris, six times a week to Chicago — three via London and three via Frankfurt. Additionally, it operates three terminator services to Frankfurt on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. This has made the $ 120-million US market the biggest playground for A-I after the Gulf, which attracts close to a third of the airline’s services. “We are on road to progress and expansion,” says A-I’s chairman and K. Roy Paul who is also Secretary at the Civil Aviation Ministry.
— UNI  |
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J&K to revive 25 sick units
Jammu, December 4 At a high-level meeting here yesterday, the state-level committee took several decisions for reviving 25 sick units in the state. Presided over by Commerce and Industries Principal Secretary A
Sahasranaman, the meeting decided to set up a sub-committee at the provincial level under the Joint Director Industries with representatives from industry and financial institutions concerned to discuss and finalise recommendations for consideration of the committee. The meeting also decided that the current operational status of each sick unit should be presented to the committee and a list of all pending revival cases supplied to the Reserve Bank of India and the banks concerned to enable them to review each case and accordingly inform the Director Industries as to which case could be considered for revival. It was decided that the designated officer of SIDCO would regularly monitor the utilisation of soft loans and submit monthly report, while a committee comprising the Director Industries, the Managing Director, SIDCO and representatives from the financial institutions would review these cases once in a quarter. The committee decided to hold its next meeting on December 18 to consider the status of pending cases and thereafter meet once in three months to clear all 389 cases before the end of 2004.
— UNI |
Bharti looking for acquisitions New Delhi, December 4 “A lot of bankers have spoken to us and by March you will see some action on acquisitions”, Bharti Chairman Sunil Mittal told newspersons on the sidelines of a seminar here. Mr Mittal, however, refused to divulge any further details and said it could either be a stock or a cash deal. The company would invest about Rs 600 crore in the new six new circles. Addressing a seminar on GSM Spectrum Mr Mittal said the momentum growth that the cellular industry had witnessed in the last couple of years, made a clear case for more spectrum allocation. Mr Mittal also pointed out that there was a case for a downward revision in the spectrum fee which currently stands at 4 per cent for the highest slab. Mr Mittal said there was still some room for the industry to lower local call tariffs by another 10 to 20 paise a minute, from the present charges of about Re 1 a minute for a local call. |
Surya Pharma IPO on December 18 Mumbai, December 4 The shares of face value of Rs 10 would be offered at a premium of Rs 35 per share, a company press not stated here today. The IPO would open on December 18 and the proceeds would be used to meet working capital requirements and put in place infrastructure and machinery for continued research and development, it added. The shares would be listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. The company, incorporated in 1992, presently focuses on production of semi-synthetic penicillin, cephlosporins (first generation), anti-histamines (non-sedative), drug intermediates and drug formulations, it added.
— PTI |
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Washington, December 4
