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Inflation below 4 pc, gloats FM
RBI eases overseas investment norm
Jet to name Sahara arm after
GoAir links Srinagar
Luxembourg drops bid law change
Austrian firm pledges money in Himachal
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WTO chief tries to woo
farmers Whirlpool to invest $15 m
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Inflation below 4 pc, gloats FM
Bangalore, April 6 Talking to newspersons after the inaugural function of the Information and Communication Technology Conference here, the Finance Minister said inflation rate was at 3.96 per cent presently. When asked if any benchmark had been evolved to calculate the percentage at which it was under control, he said it was the responsibility of the Reserve Bank of India to target inflation. “I think anything under 4 per cent is inflation under control and I think you will also agree with this”. Questioned whether he had given any input regarding CRR cuts during his meeting with RBI Governor Y V Reddy yesterday, he said issues related to the forthcoming monetary policy and issues of liquidity were discussed during the meeting. He, however, declined to elaborate and to answer whether liquidity was a cause of concern presently. He said the issue of higher interest rates in the short-term was also in the province of the RBI. The Finance Minister also disclosed that he had an exchange of views with World Trade Organisation Director General Pascal Lamy in New Delhi yesterday. He said views were exchanged on India’s economy and how the country would respond to WTO issues relating to tariffs on non-agricultural goods and services. Mr Chidambaram also appealed to the SBI employees to call off their strike. He said after the assurance given by the bank management to consider their demands, there was no justification for the ongoing strike. He said the unions had presented a modified version of their demands and the management had asked for some time to consider it. He said he was told that a discussion will go on and “a solution will be found”. The Finance Minister today said that the Tarapore Committee looking into the issue of capital account convertibility would submit its report in July. Talking to newspersons, he said the question of allowing rupee trade in the South-Asian region was not in the agenda of the government. Replying to another question on utilising foreign exchange reserves for infrastructure purposes, he said that currently there was no constraint on any imports including capital goods. On reduction of customs duty he said the duty which was as high as over 100 per cent a few years ago had now been brought down to 12.5 per cent.
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RBI eases overseas investment norm
Mumbai, April 6 Presently, authorised banks have been delegated authority to allow remittances, without any monetary limit, for ESOPs provided that the foreign company offering ESOPs holds not less than a 51 per cent stake in the Indian company either directly or indirectly (through a special purpose vehicle -(SPV) or stepdown subsidiary). The modified regulations permit authorised banks to allow remittance for acquiring shares under the schemes, irrespective of the method of the operationalisation of the scheme. It would, therefore, be in order for authorised dealer banks to allow remittance for acquiring ESOP shares under the scheme offered directly by the issuing company or indirectly through a trust / SPV / stepdown subsidiary, provided the company issuing the shares effectively, directly or indirectly, holds in the Indian company, whose employees / directors are being offered shares, not less than 51per cent of its equity.
— UNI
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Jet to name Sahara arm after government nod
New Delhi, April 6 Reports here suggested that the Jet Airways would operate the new airlines as a 100 per cent subsidiary. But the new name would be announced only after it was approved by the regulatory authorities, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Jet Airways is also apparently awaiting security clearances from the Home Ministry for at least 10 of its officials to enable them become members of the new Air Sahara Board. Once this clearance comes, the reconstituted Board would meet to adopt a resolution to enable Jet operate Air Sahara as its wholly-owned subsidiary, reports suggested. The 10 top Jet officials have already started working with their Air Sahara counterparts to help them streamline sales, ticketing and several managerial issues. Jet Airways had acquired Air Sahara for an enterprise value of $500 million (about Rs 2,300 crore) in January and had paid an advance of Rs 500 crore in March end as part of the buyout package. On Jet Airways seeking formal approval of the Civil Aviation Ministry for the merger, reports said it would be sought only after the new guidelines for mergers and acquisitions in the aviation sector are notified.
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GoAir links Srinagar
Srinagar, April 6 GoAir chairman Jeh Wadia, who along with Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Baig, travelled on the inaugural flight from Mumbai to Srinagar, said the service would cut travel time between the two cities by nearly three times. The airline, which would initially operate two weekly flights between Mumbai and Srinagar, would increase the frequency depending on the demand, Mr Wadia said. GoAir is also expected to launch a Delhi-Srinagar service after it acquires eight more aircraft.
— PTI
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Luxembourg drops bid law change Luxembourg, April 6 A committee in Luxembourg’s Parliament on Thursday scrapped the controversial proposed amendment to the country’s takeover laws, finance committee head Laurent The amendment, proposed by the committee last month, would have prevented companies resubmitting an offer for 12 months after the failure or withdrawal of a previous bid. That would have meant that Mittal could not change the terms of its offer for 12 months, contrary to the practice in many countries. But on Tuesday Luxembourg’s state council — the country’s highest administrative review body—came out against the change and the government had earlier voiced some unease. The parliament plans to have its final vote on the takeover law during a plenary session on May 4, Mr Mosar said. The small state wedged between Belgium, German and France is the largest single shareholder in Arcelor, with 5.6 per cent, and the group has its headquarters in a palatial building just outside the old city centre. But Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, a steelworker’s son and outspoken critic of the Mittal bid, has been careful to avoid any international political fall-out or legal challenge to the Grand Duchy’s actions. The formal ruler of Luxembourg, Prince Guillaume, sits on the Arcelor supervisory board. In the meantime, Arcelor has beefed up its own legal defences with recourse to Dutch law. Mittal Steel’s Finance Director Aditya Mittal said in an interview published on Thursday that the Dutch-registered steel group had no plans to raise or withdraw its bid and noted Arcelor’s cash promise was tying its own hands for the future. “Arcelor has put itself in a position that strengthens the interest of our offer, because contrary to Arcelor we can guarantee growth to the shareholders,” he told Les Echos. Mittal said Arcelor’s defence was not strategic but purely financial and legal. Mr Aditya Mittal said the group was not raising its bid.
— Reuters
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Austrian firm pledges money in Himachal
New Delhi, April 6 The company today announced to invest $5 million through a joint venture with Yodeva Plastics Ltd to set up its first packaging unit in Baddi with a capacity of producing 5 lakh bottles per day. “The Alpla Group will have a majority stake of 74 per cent in the venture, which is hopeful of doubling the capacity within a year. This is the first FDI in Himachal Pradesh in the plastic sector and is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for around 600 persons,” said Mr Guenther Lehner, Chief Executive Officer of the Alpla Group. The company would also explore opportunities in other parts of the country to set up plastic packaging units to serve FMCG, food processing, healthcare and other fast growing sectors. Mr Hans-Jerg Hoertnagl, Trade Commissioner at the Austrian Embassy, said: “Austrian companies are looking for opportunities here in energy, packaging, leather and automobile sector.” A company from Austria would shortly announce a major project in alternative energy in the Chandigarh Technology Park. Mr Vagish Dixit, Managing Director, Alpla India Pvt Ltd, said:” The Baddi plant would cater to nearby industrial units and the company plans to set up three or four such units in other parts of the country in near future.” Mr Lehner said the company would consider India as a strong contender for setting up a technical centre for the Asian market.
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WTO chief tries to woo farmers
New Delhi, April 6
“If your problem is to try and get fairer trade in agriculture, less biased trade in agriculture, then you need the rules to be changed. You need subsidies to be slashed and there is no way you can get it outside the WTO,” Mr Lamy said during his interaction with the representatives of Indian farmers. Addressing a press conference along with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, the WTO chief said India has both offensive and defensive interest in agriculture. The Doha Round negotiations are racing against time and the most important and active players like the EU, US, and the members of the G-20 would like the Round to conclude by December 31, 2006. Posing a question as to who would be the main losers from a failure of the Doha Round, Mr. Lamy said: “First would be the developing world, as the opportunity to redress the existing imbalances in multilateral trade relations will diminish.” The WTO chief made no bones about it when asked whether it was fair for 149 countries to be dictated by the US imposed deadline. “It is a matter of reality,” he said. Mr Lamy said while other areas of negotiations like services or anti-dumping were not in the limelight for the moment, they were, however, making good progress in Geneva. He said that the developing countries like India have the flexibility of special and differential treatment in the NAMA negotiations. However, there is a need to mix defensive interests with offensive interests if the Doha Round of the WTO has to benefit India. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath, however, stressed that protection of the interests of millions of farmers was cardinal for India.
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Whirlpool to invest $15 m
Chandigarh, April 6 This was stated by the Managing Director of Whirlpool, Mr Arvind Uppal, here today. He was here to launch the new range of refrigerators, microwaves and washing machines. He said the investment of $15 million would be made across the three facilities of the company so that a 20 per cent increase in volumes can be made. Mr Shantanu Das Gupta, Vice-President, Marketing, said the company was looking at a 25 per cent year-on-year growth in the refrigerator segment. Mr Uppal also said that the company would introduce a range of cooking products for the Indian market within a year These products would be chosen from the 16 products in this segment, manufactured by Whirlpool Corporation, such as dish-washers, dehumidifiers and compactors.
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