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ONGC to hunt for oil with Rs 14,354 crore
LG eyes Haryana for next venture
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New pharma policy in January
Hyundai plans second plant in Chennai
Cut in petrol, diesel prices ruled out
Amritsar SEZ not to be bifurcated, says CM
Fine slapped on mobile operators
ATF prices slashed
China keen on Indian textile sector
Bill Gates coming
Cathay Pacific to buy 36 Boeing planes
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ONGC to hunt for oil with Rs 14,354 crore
New Delhi, December 1 “We have stepped up our investment in (oil and gas) exploration and production activities. Our exploration investment has more than tripled and reached optimal level,” ONGC Chairman Subir Raha told reporters here. Mr Raha’s remarks assume significance as Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had criticised ONGC for “diverting riches reaped from high oil prices” into non-core business, like petrochemicals and power, thereby affecting the domestic production and India’s energy security. ONGC, which invested Rs 4,041 crore in domestic exploration and production (E&P) in 2001-02 is investing Rs 12,251 crore in oil and gas hunt in the current fiscal. Its diversification plan will take up only Rs 485 crore in 2005-06. In 2006-07, ONGC will make a capital expenditure of Rs 13,580 crore in E&P business and only Rs 774 crore into related business. Of the Rs 12,251 crore being invested in E&P in 2005-06, one-third is going into exploration and the remaining two-thirds into production — putting new fields on production and increasing production from the existing ones, he said. No to OVL hiveoff
The government today ruled out hiving off ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, from the parent company. When asked whether the government was planning to take away OVL from ONGC, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar replied in the negative. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Mr Aiyar also said: “However, the government is considering various measures to strengthen public sector oil companies, including OVL, in their overseas activities in respect of their human, financial, technological and knowledge-base capabilities.” Replying to another query, Mr Aiyar said OVL has bagged an E&P block in Libya.
Interim dividend
ONGC has been asked by the government to pay interim dividend for the 2005-06 fiscal, a request its Board may consider next week. “We have an advisory for payment of interim dividend. Our Board will meet soon to decide on the issue,” Mr Raha told reporters here. The government, being 74 per cent owner of ONGC, benefits the most out of dividend payout. ONGC is among the country’s top most dividend payer (more than 30 per cent of its net profit every year is paid as dividend to the company’s shareholders). Mr Raha said the government had earlier advised it to pay a special dividend. However, since there was no provision of special dividend in company law and owing to company’s requirement of funds for overseas acquisitions and cash-outflow due to accident at an oil facility in its prime Mumbai High fields, the request was turned down by the Board. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had on July 12, 2005, sought a special dividend from ONGC. Asked if the government had asked ONGC to go for a stock split, he said: “We have no advise for stock split.” Mr Raha admitted that it had received a notice from the tax authorities for payment out about Rs 1,000 crore in income tax. The income tax authorities have asked the public sector firm to pay its tax on the price realised for sale of its crude before offering discount.
— Agencies
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LG eyes Haryana for next venture
Seoul, December 1 The decision of LG Electronics to visit Haryana at the earliest possible followed the deliberations between Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and LG Vice- President Bae Jae Hoon and senior executives of the company here last evening. Welcoming the Chief Minister and his delegation, the LG Electronics Vice- President said the company was in the process of selecting a suitable place for their next venture in India. But after hearing about the locational advantages of Haryana from the Chief Minister, they would definitely visit Haryana at the earliest possible. The Haryana Chief Minister informed the LG management about the potentials of the state in the area of electronics, IT and IT-enabled services, including nanotechnology.’’ He said Haryana had implemented the walk-to-work concept in its technology parks. To begin with, the Haryana Government was developing two technology parks. One of these parks was being developed in IMT, Manesar, in close vicinity of Delhi and the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The second was being developed on the periphery of Chandigarh in Panchkula at a distance of about 8 km from the domestic airport of Chandigarh. Listing various achievements of the state in the manufacturing sector, he said Haryana was the third largest exporter in the IT sector in the country. — UNI
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New pharma policy in January
Hyderabad, December 1 Delivering the keynote address at the India- Africa, Asean and GCC Pharma and Health conference jointly organised by FICCI and Pharmexcil, she said under the policy, the central government would introduce a health insurance scheme for the poor. This step would provide accessibility to medicines to 26 per cent of India’s population living below the poverty line. Ms Reddy said that another proposal under the policy was to make the maximum retail price (MRP) of drugs inclusive of all taxes, as in the case of other packaged goods. India had the highest number of pharma plants approved by the USFDA outside the USA, and the country had become an important destination for sourcing generic pharmaceutical products, drug research and contract manufacturing, she added.
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Hyundai plans second plant in Chennai
Gulbarga, November 30 A company press note here said the plant, to be set up adjacent to the existing one, would be able to produce 1,50,000 units per annum, raising the total production capacity to 4 lakh per annum by 2007. The company had registered 43 per cent growth in sales last year by selling 2,15,630 units. It recorded a staggering growth of 149 per cent in exports over the years, the note added. Cedia, Montero launch next year
Mitsubishi Motors said today it planned to launch its sedan Cedia and sports utility vehicle (SUV) Montero by the first quarter of the next year in partnership with Hindustan Motors. “We plan to launch the sedan Cedia in January, 2006, which will be assembled in India,” Hindustan Motors CBU Business Assistant General Manager Sumit Seth said here. The company would launch Montero in the first quarter of the next year through the completely built unit route. Mitsubishi, which had recently launched a new variant of its existing model ‘Pajero’, was also looking forward to a better performance in 2006. “We are looking at better volumes in the years to come and expect the next year to be buoyant in terms of sales”, Mr Sumit said. The company is looking
to augment its present position in the market, he added. — Agencies
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Cut in petrol, diesel prices ruled out
New Delhi, December 1 The “current domestic prices still continue to be below the international prices,” said Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar in the Lok Sabha. At the time of the last price
rise, only 13 per cent of the total hike was passed on to the consumer while the oil- marketing companies and the government shouldered 51 per cent and 36 per cent of the burden, respectively. The crude prices have fallen from $59.74 per barrel in September to $56.28 a barrel in October and further to $53.56 dollar in November (up to 25th), he said, adding On the issue of dual pricing policy for the petroleum products, Mr Aiyar said the government had constituted an inter-ministerial committee under the chairmanship of Mr C.Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister to formulate a long-term pricing policy in this connection. He said although past experiences of dual pricing were not very encouraging, the final decision would be taken only after the Rangarajan committee report. The committee, which was constituted in October, had been asked to give its recommendations in six months. Mr Aiyar said that under-recoveries of the oil-marketing companies like Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum
Corporation and IBP continued to be rising in the current fiscal and were estimated at Rs 26,726 crore compared to Rs 20,146 crore in the past financial year.
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Amritsar SEZ not to be bifurcated, says CM
Wagah (Amritsar), December 1 This was disclosed by Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister, after returning from his sojourn to Pakistan, here yesterday. Replying a question, Chief Minister said that the assembly elections would be held as per schedule in Punjab. In yet another significant statement, Capt Amrinder Singh said that the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), announced for Amritsar by the Prime Minister on the occasion of 400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib won’t be bifurcated. He, however, said that separate SEZs would be planned for other cities like Ludhiana and Jalandhar etc. Capt Amrinder Singh said that 50 per cent work of the six-lane motorway from Wagah to Lahore had been completed. He would take up this with Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, four lanning from Amritsar to Wagah too. To a query, Capt Amarinder Singh said that he was not authorised to make any commitment for opening a visa centre in Amritsar but he would take up the matter with Prime Minister. He admitted that such a gesture would help in strengthening people-to-people contact between both the countries. He said that the golden palanquin presented by Delhi Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has been entrusted to Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee at Nankana Sahib. He was enthralled by the maintenance of the holy Sikh shrines in Pakistan. He said opening up of trade opportunities between India and Pakistan via Punjab is a win - win situation for both Punjabs. People from Indian Punjab can get access to markets of Middle East via Pakistan and while those from Pakistan Punjab to explore the markets of South- East Asia. After seeing plight of quake-hit areas of Pakistan, he promised to send some more relief material to Pakistan. He also disclosed that Punjab Games, which were postponed earlier, would now be held in Pakistan in February, 2006. Ch. Zahirudin, Communication and Works Minister, Pakistani Punjab, who would be the guest of honour at the Indo-Pak trade exhibition to be inaugurated on December 1, 2005 accompanied the Chief Minister.
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Fine slapped on mobile operators
Paris, December 1 France Telecom’s Orange unit is to pay 256 millions euros, Vivendi’s SFR division 220 million, and Bouygues Telecom, the smallest of the three, 58 million, the authority said. The money is to feed state coffers, but a director of the consumer group, Mr UFC-Que Choisir, said on Tuesday it might also pursue the three operators in court for civil damages on behalf of their customers. In a 90-page ruling, the Competition Council found that the operators had between 1997 and 2003 exchanged confidential information regarding the number of new customers and cancellations. Between 2000 and 2002 they had fixed their respective shares of the market. The collusion provided Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom with “relative medium term stability” and led to higher prices for consumers, the council said. Freed from serious competition among themselves, all three operators focused on offers that required a 24-month commitment, rather than on pre-paid cards that have developed rapidly elsewhere in Europe. — AFP
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New Delhi, December 1 ATF prices in Delhi for domestic airlines will be now Rs 31,750.50 per kl as against Rs 35,761.14 per kl, showing a cut of Rs 4,010. In Kolkata, ATF will cost Rs 35,988.32 kl, in Mumbai Rs 32,564.27 kl and in Chennai Rs 34,664.10 kl. International prices of ATF were also reduced and now it will be available between $521.63 and $554.94 per kl. — UNI
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Aviation scene
New Delhi, December 1 “We welcome the reduction in ATF prices. We will continue to follow a transparent policy to transfer such benefits to the customers,” SpiceJet CEO Siddharth Sharma said here. Following the slide in ATF prices, the airline decided to cut the fuel surcharge by 50 per cent, he said. Mr Sharma announced that SpiceJet would “soon bring more exciting news for the customers”. The oil companies today slashed ATF prices by Rs 4,000 per kilolitre. Virgin flights
Virgin Atlantic Airways today launched daily flights on the Mumbai-London-Mumbai route. The British airline will now fly seven flights a week providing a daily connectivity on the route. The daily flight will depart every day from Mumbai at 2.55 p.m. arriving in London Heathrow at 7.35 p.m. To commemorate the launch of daily flights from Mumbai, the airline has announced a special return economy fare of Rs 17,777. With the launch of these additional flights, Virgin has increased the total number of flights to 14 on India-Britain route up from the current 10. Virgin Atlantic will fly Airbus A340-300 on the Mumbai-London-Mumbai route. With the daily flights out of Mumbai, Virgin Atlantic will now offer non-connectivity to both leisure and corporate travellers on the route. Currently, Virgin Atlantic flies three weekly flights on Mumbai-London-Mumbai route and daily flights on Delhi-London-Delhi sector.
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways will increase the number of flights to India by 50 per cent, offering more services to major destinations in the country such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The increased capacity is effective until either January 31 or March 25 depending on the destination.
— Agencies
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China keen on Indian textile sector
New Delhi, December 1 Addressing the Asian Textile Conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), Mr Wenying said: “China is possessed with advance machinery building while India is plentiful in natural and chemical fibre production. With these strong points combined, we can seek cooperation along the cotton-yarn-weaving -garment value chains in the process of economic globalisation.” Mr Wenying said that by the end of 2002, the total investments from China in the textile sector were $509.52 million. Most of these investments were in countries like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Madgascar, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mexico. In his inaugural address Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, Union Minister for Textiles, underscored the need for Asian countries to come together to enhance their competitiveness in the textile segments. The factor endowments like strong raw material base, an expanding man-made fibre industry and a large pool of technical and managerial manpower with infusion of new funds could bring back buoyancy.
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Bill Gates coming
New Delhi/Bangalore, December 1 During his four-day
visit, Mr Bill Gates is scheduled to interact with senior government and business leaders from across Asia. He will address a Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in here followed by a CEO Forum and a Developers Forum in Bangalore on December 9. Mr Gates is visiting Bangalore despite an announcement made by IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran during a visit to the Microsoft facility here stating Bill Gates would give Bangalore the miss and visit Chennai during the coming visit. Chennai, it seems, may still have to wait for Gates. Meanwhile, Intel’s Craig Barrett is also slated to visit the country on Monday. Intel has witnessed a change in the chairmanship with Mr Barrett taking over in May this year. This will be Mr Barrett’s first visit to India after taking over.
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Cathay Pacific to buy 36 Boeing planes
Hong Kong, December 1 Cathay Pacific said it had made commitments to buy 16 of the Boeing planes and taken options on another 20. It added that it would also buy three A330-300s from Boeing’s great European aerospace rival, Airbus. Cathay Pacific said in a statement B777’s would be acquired through a combination of 12 direct purchases from Boeing and four operating leases from the International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC). The three new A330-300s would also be acquired via operating leases from ILFC. The statement gave no value for the orders but said the 16 Boeings were planned for delivery between September 2007 and July 2010 while the three Airbus A330-300s would be delivered in 2008.
— AFP
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