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FM to consider use of forex reserves for infrastructure Industrial corridor along Delhi-Mumbai route proposed Cabinet to vet revised FDI norms in telecom today LPG pipeline policy unveiled |
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HCL bags UK-based Skandia’s $200-m deal Arcelor Mittal buys Mexico’s Sicartsa for $1.44 billion Vodafone raises $3.5 b Dunlop submits Rs 600-cr revival package to BIFR
Withdraw tax sops for diesel cars: CSE Aperto plans unit in India Direct tax collections up by 42.5 per cent Maersk retail
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FM to consider use of forex reserves for infrastructure New Delhi, December 20 "I spoke to the RBI Governor. We don't expect any fallout (of Thailand's move) on India," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told newspersons on the sidelines of a CII function on infrastructure here. “We are keeping a close watch. However, we have to wait and watch to see what the Thai authorities do now,” he said. There was a major bear pressure on the Indian stock markets yesterday as the Central Bank of Thailand imposed currency controls on international investors. Sensex tumbled 349 points at the close yesterday and 511 points during intra-day trading. The Thai Government later partially lifted the controls, confining them to only bonds and debt papers and exempting equities markets from it. Earlier, speaking at the CII function on infrastructure, Mr Chidambaram indicated that the Finance Ministry could consider funding infrastructure projects through the country’s booming foreign exchange reserves as proposed by the Planning Commission. The forex reserves currently stand at about $170 billion. "I have asked the Finance Secretary to prepare a note on how to use foreign exchange reserves for funding the infrastructure projects," Mr Chidambaram said. According to Mid-Year Economic Review, prepared by the Finance Ministry, an investment of Rs 14,50,000 crore ($320 billion ) will be required in the infrastructure sector during the 11th Five-Year Plan. The Committee on Infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has estimated investment requirements of the Railways at Rs 3,00,000 crore, highways Rs 2,20,000 crore, ports Rs 50,000 crore and airports Rs 40,000 crore by 2012. The Planning Commission has been trying to impress upon the government for quite some time that the country's forex reserves should be used to improve the country's infrastructure. However, there was a lot of resistance from both Finance Ministry and the RBI to the idea.
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Industrial corridor along Delhi-Mumbai route proposed New Delhi, December 20 Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on infrastructure by the CII today, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the industrial corridor would be built along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai freight and road corridor. Earlier, referring to the CII presentation on infrastructure, he said the government would make efforts to attract around $77 billion in the infrastructure sector through a public-private partnership model in the next five years. Appreciating the Ministry of Power for successfully inviting bids for the ultra-mega power projects, he said: "The Sasan and Mundra power projects will provide benchmark for other projects. We have to repeat it in highways, ports and other sectors." Mr Chidambaram lamented that most states were currently spending 'political and economic capital' on small and tiny projects, which they would have to conceive and execute in big infrastructure projects for long-term benefits. — PTI
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Cabinet to vet revised FDI norms in telecom today New Delhi, December 20 DoT has proposed that Chief Officer In-charge of technical network operations, Chief Security Officer and the majority of Directors should be resident Indian citizens, according to sources. "The position of Chairman, Managing Director, CEO and Chief Financial Officer, if held by a foreign national, the same will be required to be vetted by the Ministry of Home Affairs," sources added. Communication and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran declined to comment, saying that the issue would be taken up at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow. The government had earlier this year allowed 74 per cent FDI in telecom but the policy could not be implemented due to differences among various ministries. With regard to appointment of Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, sources said: "In case something adverse is found during security vetting, the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be binding on the telecom company." Earlier, inaugurating the new building of MTNL “Mahanagar Doorsanchar Bhavan” here, the minister said the convergent billing system of MTNL would come into effect on March 31 next year.
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LPG pipeline policy unveiled New Delhi, December 20 The project of piped gas to households across the country would take off by January next year as the gas production in the country is expected to double in three years, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here. He said “no gas pipeline or local gas distribution network will be laid, built, operated or expanded without the authorisation of the sector regulator." The policy provides that pipelines will have at least 33 per cent capacity more than what is required by the operator. The extra capacity will be available for use on common carrier basis by any third party. The entity authorised to lay, build, operate or expand a city gas distribution network will get a five-year period of exclusivity, but will have to fulfil marketing service obligations. The policy paper said, “FDI upto 100 per cent is permitted in the laying of natural gas pipelines under the automatic route.” The policy to promote investment from public and private sector for natural gas pipelines would be ready in a month. As of now, the country has a very limited gas pipeline infrastructure and the policy envisages that in conjunction with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act (PNGRB), 2006, it would facilitate creation of necessary infrastructure, which would be available to all players through open access on a non-discriminatory basis. |
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HCL bags UK-based Skandia’s $200-m deal New Delhi, December 20 As part of the deal, Skandia will outsource application optimisation, including development, maintenance and support (across all platforms) and remote infrastructure management to the company. Skandia will retain all customer-facing activities. ''The deal is the latest in a series of large-scale wins for HCL. Like DSG international, Autodesk and Teradyne before it, this contract with Skandia demonstrates our premise of delivering significant value-added transformational deals,'' HCL President Vineet Nayar said. — UNI
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Arcelor Mittal buys Mexico’s Sicartsa for $1.44 billion Brussels, December20 Arcelor Mittal, whose own $33 billion merger is not complete, announced it had agreed an enterprise value of $1.439 billion with Group Villacero for Sicartsa, an integrated producer on the same site as Mittal Steel Lazaro Cardenas. The combined 6.7 million tonne operation should generate industrial synergies of $80 million and gains from commercial, sales and administration of $50 million, Arcelor Mittal said. Arcelor Mittal's Mexico transaction, which includes a mini-mill and two rolling mills in Mexico and a mini-mill in Texas, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007. Sicartsa is a fully integrated producer of long steel, with an annual production capacity of about 2.7 million tonnes from its facilities in Mexico and Texas. Mittal Steel Lazaro Cardenas is Mexico's largest steel producer and slab exporter, with a plant capacity of 4 million tonnes per year. Sicartsa has a wholly owned mine linked directly to the plant with estimated iron ore reserves of 160 million tonnes, providing 30 years of reserves at current production rates. Arcelor Mittal will also create a 50-50 distribution and trading joint venture with Grupo Villacero in Mexico and the southern United States, Arcelor Mittal said in a statement on Wednesday issued in Rotterdam and Luxembourg.
Bids for Russian Co
Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported on Wednesday that Arcelor Mittal had offered to buy a controlling stake in Russian steelmaker MMK , which has a market capitalisation of $9 billion, according to Reuters data.Arcelor Mittal declined to comment. —
Reuters
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Vodafone raises $3.5 b London, December 20 Vodafone, which already has 10 per cent stake worth about $2 billion in India's largest telecom firm Bharti, is understood to be in touch with corporate giant Essar, the Indian partner in Hutch-Essar. However, there was no official confirmation to the talks between Essar and Vodafone, with spokespersons of the two firms saying they would not like to comment on speculation. Incidentally, Essar Vice-Chairman Ravi Ruia, Essar Teleholdings CEO Vikas Saraf and some other top group officials are here. But it was not clear whether their visit was in connection with Hutch-Essar or for some other purpose. —
PTI |
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Dunlop submits Rs 600-cr revival package to BIFR Kolkata, December 20 The company submitted the revival package to BIFR a month ago, Dunlop India Chairman P.K. Ruia told reporters after the annual general meeting here. Detailing the components of the revival package, Mr Ruia said Rs 200 crore would be working capital, Rs 200 crore for capex and refurbishment and Rs 150 crore for repayment of creditors. The Rs 600 crore would be part of Rs 170 crore, which had already been spent by the company. The SBI was the operating agency and the company was expecting approval of the package shortly."We aim to clean up the balance sheet by March 2007. To achieve this either we will go for a comprehensive restructuring of capital or combination with the BIFR package," Mr Ruia said. "We plan to infuse some Rs 20-25 crore as promoters’ contribution and then we may write off capital against the accumulated loss. A rights issue is also not been ruled out," he said. Promoters would announce the open offer for Dunlop India and Falcon Tyres in mid-January. The open offer price for Dunlop India would be Rs 10 and Rs 148 for Falcon Tyres. Dunlop's present equity base is Rs 45 crore and the accumulated loss is Rs 410 crore. Write-off against the capital was done by group company Jessop and Co. — PTI
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Withdraw tax sops for diesel cars: CSE New Delhi, December 20 Pollution and energy impact of promotion of these cars would be severe in polluted cities of the country, it said. The CSE said its latest estimates showed that current fuel tax policies, which were encouraging diesel cars, would force the government to absorb colossal revenue losses on account of the 'luxury' consumption of diesel. With diesel cars expected to be nearly 50 per cent of the new car sales by 2010, the government was in danger of losing revenue due to tax difference on diesel and petrol. |
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Aperto plans unit in India
Bangalore, December 20 Aperto has shortlisted firms for the venture and it's expected to sign the agreement early next year. The proposed facility is likely to be based either at Chennai or Bangalore, they said. "Our intention is to manufacture for the local market," Company's President and CEO Michael K. Pratt said at a news conference. Initially WiMax modems would be manufactured in India, followed by base stations in the latter part of next year. The company would finalise its tier-I manufacturing partner in India soon. —
PTI |
Direct tax collections up by 42.5 per cent New Delhi, December 20 The corporate taxes were up by 51.2 per cent at Rs 83,614 crore while income tax (including FBT) was up by 26.6 per cent at Rs 46,114 crore. Securities Transaction Tax (STT) and Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) also grew by 96.8 per cent and 92.4 per cent and stood at Rs 3,381 crore and Rs 352 crore, respectively. As on December 18, corporate advance tax stood at Rs 59,393 crore, up by 38.51 per cent over previous year’s collection of Rs 42,881 crore. Corporate advance tax in the month of December 2006 (up to 18.12.2006), however, went up by 46.4 per cent compared to December 2005, indicating continued and stronger performance by the industry. Advance income taxes have also shown healthy growth, increasing by 26.3 per cent up to December 2006 and by 38.47 per cent during the month of December 2006 compared to corresponding periods last year.
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Four Soft buys Denmark Co Gitanjali Gems Bank of M’rashtra |
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