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TRAI ensures parity in call charges
OVL bags another block in Vietnam
Computer snag cripples SBoP
EPF Board to discuss corpus’ |
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India to offer IT knowhow
Govt notifies FDI hike in telecom sector
SBI acquires bank in Indonesia
27.30-carat diamond found in MP
Karunanidhi's wife parts with stake in Sun TV
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TRAI ensures parity in call charges
New Delhi, November 7 TRAI said it intervened in the tariff schemes of Idea Cellular and Hutch, which involved differential rates for calls terminated in the networks of private GSM operators. Such differential rates created a situation where Idea & Hutch subscribers had to pay higher charges for
recalling the MTNL/BSNL mobile (GSM) subscribers. Idea and Hutch had classified subscribers who terminated calls on private GSM networks as a separate class of subscribers for the purpose of applying differential tariff. TRAI viewed such classification as arbitrary and inconsistent with the provisions of Telecommunication Tariff Orders. Clause 10 of the Telecommunication Tariff Orders (TTO), 1999, provides that no service provider shall, in any manner, discriminate between subscribers of the same class and such classification of the subscribers shall not be arbitrary, TRAI said. Following the intervention of the regulatory body, TRAI said both Idea and Hutch had withdrawn the differential tariffs and reported compliance to the authority.
Consultation paper on cable
TV
Meanwhile, TRAI has released a consultation paper on broadcast and cable TV services, proposing that all new channels should be provided as ‘’separate individual channels’’ and not as ‘’part of a new separate bouquet’’. Releasing the consultation paper on amendment to the October 1, 2004, Tariff Order relating to broadcast and cable TV services, TRAI said the existing provisions provided that new pay channels and free to air (FTA) converted to pay channels were to be offered on a ‘stand alone’ basis and not part of the bouquet existing as on December 26, 2003. The consultation paper has sought inputs on a variety of issues such as whether all new channels should be provided as separate individual channels and whether the prices charged by broadcasters to the multiservice operators (MSOs) for channels/bouquets launched after December 26, 2003, should be frozen at the levels at which they were introduced with an annual increase in inflation. The proposals also include the need to provide for benchmarks in the Tarrif Order for determining similarity in rates of similar channels as also the methods of arriving at these benchmarks the criteria for determining similarity of
channels. TRAI has also sought opinion whether prices charged by broadcasters to MSOs should be released for public information as and when they are changed.
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OVL bags another block in Vietnam
New Delhi, November 7 OVL was awarded the offshore exploration block by Petro Vietnam, the National Oil Company of Vietnam. Earlier, OVL was awarded Block 127 (in the same basin, just North of block 128), also with 100 per cent participating interest and operatorship. These awards came out of global competitive bidding for nine offshore exploration blocks in the Vietnam, 2004, Licensing Round. OVL has been awarded both blocks it had bid for. Block 128 is located in water depth of more than 400 meters, with 7,058 sq km area. Two prospects have been identified, with estimated in-place resource of around 190 million metric tonnes (MMTs). Welcoming the Petro Vietnam announcement, OVL Chairman Subir Raha said that with the award of Blocks 127 and 128 for offshore exploration in Vietnam, OVL is consolidating its existing presence with 45 per cent participating interest in the producing properties of Lan Do and Lan Tay offshore blocks. OVL has now operatorship in 4 offshore exploration blocks — Farsi in Iran, Najweet Najeem in Qatar and 127 and 128 in Vietnam. OVL is the operator for onshore exploration block 81-1 in Libya. ONGC opposes OVL hiving-off ONGC has opposed the possible hive-off by the government of its subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) saying it would have a damaging effect on investor confidence and a destabilising effect on OVL credibility. ONGC moved a Board resolution following reports that the Petroleum Ministry plans to take away OVL from the company and make it a flagship firm for overseas acquisition under direct government control, company sources said. The resolution stated that the move would increase volatility in ONGC share price and result in negative sentiments in foreign institutional investors, who have a considerable holding in ONGC. It would also dampen the attractiveness/competitiveness of OVL's global bids as the strength of OVL's bids lies in ONGC being its parent company and the guarantees it extends. Sources said OVL drew distinct advantage, which will not be available in case the existing structure is altered. "If this structure is altered then all provisions, including investment guidelines, become applicable and funding decisions will have to be approved in normal course as per the Companies Act, which also puts certain ceilings" leading to delays/hurdles that would put OVL to a great disadvantage, the resolution said. ONGC, which holds OVL's paid- up capital of Rs 300 crore, provides both financial and technical support. ONGC has not charged any fee in respect of the parent company guarantees extended.
— Agencies
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Computer snag cripples SBoP
Ludhiana, November 7 The problem, which started in the morning as the bank opened, continued for about three hours. Work could be restarted only around 12.30 pm. Bank officials attributed the snag to an electrical fault. Large crowds of customers could be seen at various branches of SBoP to get their transactions completed. The rush was heavier than on other days as visitors to the bank included pensioners, too, it being the beginning of the month. “It was only in the morning when we switched on our computers that we realised there was no connectivity,” said a bank official here. However, customers were highly irritated. “I have come from a nearby village to take my monthly pension. Since morning we have been waiting and all we have got are assurances that the problem would soon end. I am forced to keep waiting as going back would mean more inconvenience and wastage of time”, said Ms Mohinder Kaur. Several customers alleged such problems had become frequent ever since the bank got fully computerised. “For us, it has become routine to suffer due to such snags. In today’s competitive era, instead of taking care of its customers, the bank is only making them suffer”, said Mr Satyanarayan
Maloo, who has been the bank’s customer for over 25 years. As a result of the snag, all kinds of transactions linked to deposits, withdrawals, transfers to drafts and foreign exchange could not carried out. “The entire bank data is in computers in Mumbai. The failure of connectivity means transactions cannot be recorded”, an official explained. The bank, which started its computerisation programme in 2003, covered all its branches under what it calls core banking solutions (CBS) in August this year “Since we covered all branches under CBS this August only, such a snag is not unusual. It is only with experience that one learns. The problem was with the converter that converts the current from AC to DC. Now we would keep a backup for such a problem”, said an officer in the Technical Department of the bank’s head office in Patiala when contacted on the phone.
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EPF Board to discuss corpus’ investment pattern
New Delhi, November 7 The Board, which had withdrawn from the Special Reserve Fund to pay 9.5 per cent interest to its subscribers, would be looking for other means to pay the interest to the only social security net for its subscribers. The Board had appointed global consultant Mercer for advising on more lucrative investment strategies, including parking funds in equities and postal deposits. The Board, which manages about Rs 1,28,000 crore corpus of workers savings, at present, faces an additional
burden of around Rs 927 crore due to a reduced interest rate in
SDS. EPFO’s total corpus of about Rs 1,28,000 crore includes Rs 71,000 crore of the EPF, Rs 52,000 crore of the Employees Pension Scheme and Rs 4,000 crore Employees Deposit-linked insurance. The EPFO is allowed to invest in fixed income securities, which have to be held till maturity. Of the total Rs 135, 379,08 crore, it has invested Rs 19,327 crore in central government securities, Rs 14,071 crore in state government/govt guaranteed securities, Rs 53,449 crore in
SDS, Rs 21,961 crore in public financial institutions and Rs 26559 crore in public account. In 2003-04 it has garnered Rs 5,947 crore from EPF, Rs 2810 crore from pension fund and Rs 77 crore EDLI fund compared to Rs 5859 core from EPF, Rs 2419 crore from pension fund and Rs 64 crore from EDLI fund in 2002-03. The Board will also discuss the valuation reports of the Employees Pension Scheme. According to the 7th annual valuation report, there is a valuation deficit of Rs 19,000 crore. More than half of the projected valuation deficit is because of the increase in wage ceiling from Rs 5000/- to Rs 6500/-. The report said the deficit was not a cash deficit but only a projected valuation deficit and there was no cash flow problem for the next 30 years. The CBT will also consider the consolidated annual accounts of EPFO for the financial year 2004-05. The Board in May had decided to pay 9.5 per cent interest to nearly four crore EPF subscribers by withdrawing Rs 716 crore from the Special Reserve Fund to bridge the deficit. The special reserves are funds forfeited and parked in the banks over decades and have earned over Rs 600 crore in interest. The Special Reserve Fund still has a balance of Rs 225 crore.
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India to offer IT knowhow to Africa
New Delhi, November 7 Mr Natwar Singh said this proposed network was part of President APJ Abdul Kalam’s vision to ‘’use state-of-the art technology for addressing grassroots development needs of our countries’’. India would meet the entire hardware and software cost of setting up a prototype of this network for the next five years. Pointing out to the strong economic growth in many countries around the African continent, Mr Natwar Singh said the expanding economies of India and Africa provided an ideal platform to come together for development projects. Urging the African countries to take up their rightful place in the United Nations, Mr Natwar Singh said a stable polity was a pre-requisite for economic progress. “Several countries in Africa carry the scars of conflicts even as the African Union works with determination to make these a thing of the past and to prevent new ones from erupting,’’ he stated. Pointing out India’s continued support to African countries in their fight for
freedom, the Foreign Minister stated that India would be in a much better position to help them if it had a permanent place in the UNSC for which most of the African states had given their support.
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Federal Bank drops plan to buy out Lord Krishna Bank
Mumbai, November 7 Federal Bank today confirmed its scrapped acquisition bid that helped its shares rise 2.75 per cent to Rs 166 in a firm Mumbai market. The stock had fallen 17 per cent since the takeover plan was announced, while the main index shed only 7.5 per cent during that time. The proposal to buy out Lord Krishna Bank, approved by Federal Bank’s board last month, was seen as adverse by the market due to Lord Krishna’s high net-bad loans ratio of 4.1 per cent, compared with Federal’s 1.6 per cent. “The valuations were not favourable,” a source familiar with the situation said. While Federal Bank has estimated the valuation of LKB at Rs 275 crore, the stakeholders of LKB insisted on a sum of Rs 350 crore, sources said. Lord Krishna Bank’s top customer is the trust for the Guruvayoor temple, where the presiding deity is Lord Krishna and the bank posted a loss of Rs 34 crore last year due to the effect of rising interest rates on its treasury operations. The calling off of the deal puts a question mark over market hopes that many small private sector banks in need of capital to grow will increasingly sell out to bigger ones. The sector includes 100 private and state-run banks and a few hundred co-operative and regional rural banks. Federal Bank, with about 400 branches concentrated in Kerala, aimed at boosting its national presence by buying out Lord Krishna Bank, which has 55 of its 112 branches in the West and the North. Federal Bank, which posted Rs 90.10 crore in net profit last year, announced in August plans to raise Rs 450 crore through global depositary receipts.
— UNI
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Govt notifies FDI hike in telecom sector
New Delhi, November 7 The enhanced FDI limit in the telecom sector would include basic, cellular, unified access services, national/international long distance, V-Sat, public mobile radio trunked services (PMRTS), global mobile personal communications services (GMPCS). “The total composite foreign holding, including investments by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs), non-resident Indians (NRIs), foreign currency convertible bonds, American depository receipts, Global depository receipts and convertible preference shares would not exceed 74 per cent,” stated a press statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry here today. ''Thus, 74 per cent foreign investment can be made directly or indirectly in the operating company or through a holding company,'' the government note said. The Union Cabinet has already cleared raising the FDI limit in the telecom sector. It said the majority directors on the board of the telecom companies, including chairman, managing director and CEO shall be resident Indian citizens, enforced through licence agreement. FDI up to 49 per cent will continue to be on the automatic
route. The permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) shall be required in the licensee company/Indian promoters/investment companies, including their holding companies if it has a bearing on the overall ceiling of 74 per cent. ''While approving the investment proposals, FIPB shall take note that investment is not coming from unfriendly countries,'' the government said. It has put certain restrictions disallowing transfer of certain information to any person and place outside India. The restrictions apply to any accounting information relating to subscriber; user information; details/network diagram except to telecom equipment supplier; and no traffic from subscribers within India to subscribers within the country shall be hauled to any place outside India.
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SBI acquires bank in Indonesia
Mumbai, November 7 PT Bank IndoMonex is a closely held entity. The bank has seven offices located in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. SBI Chairman A.K. Purwar said the acquisition was made to gain an entry into Indonesia. “East Asia has had historical links with India and has been viewed with interest by the SBI. With the proposed acquisition, the SBI would increase its foothold in the ASEAN region where we are already present in Singapore,” Mr Purwar said. The SBI has developed strong skills in various aspects of banking which would be of relevance to the Indonesian market. This will be SBI’s third overseas acquisition this year after Indian Ocean International Bank, Mauritius, and Giro Commercial Bank Ltd., Kenya.
— UNI
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27.30-carat diamond found in MP
Satna (MP), November 7 The precious stone was found on November 5. The discovery might lead to the project emerging from a resource crunch. In December 2003, a 30.34-carat diamond was mined and that was the largest precious stone extracted so far from Majhgawan. It was purchased for Rs 95 lakh by a Banda district-resident, a sand extraction contractor during an
auction. — UNI
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Karunanidhi's wife parts with stake in Sun TV
Chennai, November 7 Disclosing this, Karunanidhi told reporters here that she had divided the proceeds for relinguishing and had given him a sum of Rs 10 crore by cheque. The division was made after allocating sufficient amount for income tax, he said. Dayalu had 20 per cent stake in the Sun TV and Sumangali publications.
— PTI
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