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Inflation breaches 12 pc mark
PM’s panel for monthly hike in fuel prices
ADB not to sell stake in Petronet LNG
iPhone launch to hit grey market
Mont Blanc to open five more stores
Nissan develops crash-free car
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Hit by coal shortage, NTPC seeks
R-Money eyes 4-fold surge in
Price of KG gas not negotiable: RIL
BSNL union says no to IPO
Bathinda refinery contract
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Inflation breaches 12 pc mark
New Delhi, August 7 Food prices continued to hurt the common man and kept defying the UPA government’s promise of keeping inflation under control. Meanwhile, finance minister P. Chidambaram said inflation would take a minimum six to nine months to moderate. Speaking at a closed-door orientation programme, Chidambaram expressed confidence that the monetary measures undertaken by the government would yield results, but it would take some time. The minister also said the nine per cent economic growth had positive as well as negative impacts on the common people. Where there was good governance, there were positive effects, he said. Sources said Chidambaram was at his best to convince the participants that the country's economy under the UPA government was doing much better. According to the sources, the minister put the blame of soaring prices on the states, accusing them of not taking action against hoarders. He accused the state governments of not invoking the Essential Commodities Act, and playing ball with traders. Chidambaram added that the central government had reduced duties and taxes even after the Budget was passed to control inflation. Post-budget tax cuts have resulted in a loss Rs 296.65 billion in revenue. Pointing out the huge profits steel giants like Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India Ltd made in the first quarter of this fiscal, Chidambaram said he favoured the current voluntary freeze on the steel price rise. However, contrary to the finance minister’s statement Prime Minister’s economic advisory council (EAC) chairman, C. Rangarajan, on Wednesday said the country’s economic growth may moderate to 7.5-8% in the current fiscal owing to domestic and external factors. The high inflation and an ever belt tightening monetary policy of the central bank is expected to hit the economy’s expansion in the next fiscal. Inflation, which stood at almost 12 per cent in mid-July, has more than doubled since late February.
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PM’s panel for monthly hike in fuel prices
New Delhi, August 7 The Committee, which submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this month, is believed to have suggested raising petrol and diesel prices by a small amount every month till they are at par with production cost, sources who had seen the report said. Besides freeing pricing of petrol and diesel from administrative control, it also favoured subsidising cooking fuels LPG and kerosene through a new tax on oil produced from fields awarded prior to the advent of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 1999. At present, only state-run producers like ONGC shell out a part of their revenues from high oil prices towards fuel subsidies. If recommendations are accepted, it would mean oil producers like Cairn (in Ravva field) and BG-Reliance (in Panna/Mukta fields would also have to pay for subsidies. Sources said the Chaturvedi Committee, that went into the financial health of oil PSUs, has also suggested pricing fuel at export-parity rates that a company may get if the fuel was to be exported. These rates would be 10-15 per cent lower than the trade parity pricing followed now, thereby bringing down the projected revenue losses. Domestic retail price is currently determined in a 80:20 mix of import-parity and export-parity prices. Besides, the panel has also recommended squeezing the marketing margins but has not favoured any tax on windfall gains some refiners particularly in the private sector have made in recent times.
— PTI |
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ADB not to sell stake in Petronet LNG
Hong Kong, August 7 ''We aren't
selling our stake. At this point ADB has decided not to divest its
shares,'' said Shantanu Chakraborty, senior investment specialist at
ADB's Private Sector Operations Department. He rejected as
''unfounded'' media reports that ADB's own rules precluded holding debt
and equity in one company, which would force it to sell after it lent
$169 million to Petronet LNG last year. State firms ONGC, Indian Oil
Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Gas Authority of India Ltd each have
12.5 per cent stake in Petronet, while France's GDF Suez has 10 per
cent. Media reports had named ArcelorMittal and Chevron as potential
buyers of ADB's stake. — Reuters |
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iPhone launch to hit grey market
Mumbai, August 7 According to media releases issued by Bharti and Vodafone, they will launch the Indian edition of iPhone on August 22. Reports say both companies may price the Indian iPhone at around Rs 20,000 with price points of Rs 12-15,000 also being bandied about though there is no official confirmation yet from either Bharti or Vodafone. Such a pricing, vendors here say, would kill the grey market for the iPhone where each device is priced at Rs 50,000 upwards. Monthly tariffs levied by the two companies are expected to be higher than that for normal phones since they are expected to share subscription revenues with Apple. "More and more people are coming to see iPhones, but there are no buyers ever since it was announced that Indian companies would launch them," says Asfaque Mohammad who sells iPhones out of a store at the Heera Panna shopping centre in downtown Mumbai. The Mumbai shopping centre along with Delhi's Khan market are said to be the main hot spots for 'unlocked' iPhones sold across the country. At present, iPhones are purchased in India mainly for their snob value since 3G services essential to make full use of their features are yet to be launched here. However, the devices are said to enhance the plain vanilla mobile Internet services available with local mobile services as well. Globally, Apple ‘locks’ iPhone with specific mobile phone networks for a share of the monthly subscription fee and keeps the price of the device low. However, a big chunk of these devices were purchased and 'unlocked' by hackers Though the 'unlocked' phones would not have all features enabled, they became popular in countries where the official iPhones were not available. Apple has now decided to expand the iPhone market by launching the official version in 70 countries by tying up with local mobile phone networks.
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Mont Blanc to open five more stores
Ludhiana, August 7 Dalip Doshi, chairman and managing director of Entrack India, which is the sole distributor of the brand in the country, gave this information to The Tribune today. In a telephonic conversation, Doshi said the company was keen on entering all major and upcoming cities. The new outlet would be opened within a week at a local five-star hotel here. The new outlet would offer all products available at the Mont Blanc boutiques across the globe. The products of the brand are available at over 260 boutiques and 9,000 outlets in 70 countries. "It would be our 12th store in India. The rate of growth in India has been quite encouraging and we would have four-five stores in the coming eight months or so." The product profile would range from writing instruments, watches and leather products for men and women. "Owning a Mont Blanc is not a status symbol, its a pleasure for the owner and we have products to suit varied categories of customers. Perceived as a brand for men, our boutiques now have separate sections for products for women," he added. On the entry in Punjab, Doshi said most customers from this state had to travel to other places to procure a Mont Blanc product. "Exclusive stores enable us to give a complete product experience to the customer. People in Punjab can now buy our products easily."
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Nissan develops crash-free car
Tokyo, August 7 It has also developed a test model packed with additional sensor technology to make vehicles crash-free. The features unveiled this week by Nissan Motor Co are the latest among recent efforts by the world's automakers to vamp up their images. Nissan's collision-free prototype has sensors at its back and side that turn on alarms and brakes to help avoid collisions. The system also helps the vehicle maintain a safe distance with the car in front, as well as preventing it from veering off its lane, Nissan said today. Nissan has said it hopes to halve the number of traffic accidents or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles in Japan by 2015 compared to 1995 levels. Nissan's "ECO Pedal" system — promoted as being both green and safe — makes the gas pedal press upward when it senses motorists are speeding up too quickly. Nissan said in a press release yesterday the system, which will be available next year, can help drivers improve fuel efficiency 5 to 10 per cent. The system calculates the most efficient rate of acceleration in a vehicle based on how fast fuel is being burnt and other factors and causes the gas pedal to push back to alert overzealous drivers. A special meter on the dashboard flashes and changes colors to help drive the Nissan says the system is designed to help drivers become more fuel efficient behind the wheel. Part of the company's strategy for reducing carbon dioxide emissions is modifying driving behavior.
Drivers can also opt to switch the system off.
— AP
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Hit by coal shortage, NTPC seeks govt’s intervention
New Delhi, August 7 This
may lead to a power crisis in the country. At an average, NTPC is facing a shortfall of 10-12 million tons of coal a year. "The situation is grim and unless fast track measures are undertaken by ministry of coal and coal companies, the affected power plants face serious threat of taking units out of bar, which may lead to power crisis in the country," NTPC CMD R.S. Sharma said in a letter to power secretary Anil Razdan. The company plans to import eight million tons of coal in the current fiscal to bridge the shortfall in the total requirement of 125 million tons, NTPC said.
— PTI |
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R-Money eyes 4-fold surge in currency exports
Kolkata, August 7 Reliance Money, the brokerage and financial products distribution unit of ADAG's financial services arm Reliance Capital, is looking for a significant growth in its He said the company exported currencies worth Rs 2,500 crore in the last fiscal and is targeting Rs 10,000 crore in current financial year. The size of the Indian export currency market was around Rs 40,000-50,000 crore and was growing further due to increased tourist inflows and trade activity, he said. When Indian rupee became fully convertible, then currency movements would increase and the market would grow exponentially, he added. On money transfer, he said, Reliance Money was the largest partner of
the Meanwhile, Reliance Money had floated a company in the Gulf, Riyada Reliance Money, with a view to sell global products to foreign clients. He said the company would seek membership of Saudi Arabia's Takaful stock exchange to conduct business there. Bandyopadhyay added that the Riyadh-based firm would make an issue to raise Rs 240 crore by way of off-loading 74 per cent stake to institutional investors on private placement basis. To further expand its international presence, the company is also eyeing to acquire an entity in the Middle East, the Reliance Money CEO said. — PTI
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Price of KG gas not negotiable: RIL
Mumbai, August 7 Anil Ambani's RNRL is locked in a legal dispute over the terms of Gas Supply Master Agreement with RIL, controlled by elder Ambani sibling Mukesh. As per the disputed GSMA, RIL agrees to supply gas to RNRL for the latter's power-generation projects. "These things (price, scale of production) are not negotiable... We are not going to subsidise you (Reliance Natural Resources Ltd)," Harish Salve, RIL's counsel said. Price is one of the contentious issues in the present GSMA. Reliance Industries' stand is that price determined by the two parties must be subject to government's approval, while RNRL's stand is that government has nothing to do with price at which RNRL is due to get the gas from RIL. Salve also said though RNRL's power plant in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, was yet to come up, RIL was not ready to halt the gas production from KG basin, which will start by next month. Since RNRL finds GSMA is "not bankable", it moved HC last year. RNRL says GSMA does not guarantee certainty of price, tenure of supply and even the quantity. But Salve said in his concluding argument today said "these were just 3 or 4 weak points...there is no need to tinker with the GSMA." As per the Reliance demerger scheme, Anil and Mukesh groups were to work out a suitable agreement for gas supply by RIL to RNRL. — PTI
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BSNL union says no to IPO
New Delhi, August 7 The representatives of the BSNL employees union led by their general secretary V.N. Namboodiri emerged from the meeting with the minister to say, “We are not interested in the ESOPs given by the Board. We don't want any IPO in BSNL. We are not convinced with their argument that the IPO is beneficial for BSNL's growth". The government had sought BSNL workers' consent for diluting 10 per cent stake through an IPO to fund expansion plans. The employees were also offered stock options during the talks, but the proposal did not find favour with the union. BSNL has been rooting for a public listing to raise money to fund expansion plans. The company, which has 70 million subscribers, is valued at $100 billion and a 10 per cent dilution of stake could fetch $10 billion (nearly Rs 40,000 crore). After the meeting the minister said, "This is the first time I am talking to the BSNL union on the issue of listing after its board took a decision on the same last week. We have explained to the union on how the IPO will benefit the company". BSNL chairman Kuldeep Goyal said there was no timeframe on the IPO happening. "There is no immediate need for it but we are preparing the ground work... (and claimed) we are seeing some positive reaction from the union on the issue."
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Mumbai, August 7 The company has received an order for heater works in HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd's Guru Gobind Singh Refinery Project at Bathinda in Punjab, Petron said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares of Petron Engineering today surged 16.04 per cent from yesterday's close to touch an intra-day high of Rs 279.90 on the BSE. Last year India-born billionaire Lakshmi N Mittal had picked up 49 per cent stake in HPCL’s Bathinda refinery for an investment of Rs 3,200 crore. — PTI
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CBaySystems buyout ONGC order Music portal ArcelorMittal Plan Jet’s daily flight to Dubai Airnetz to raise $ 100 mn Sun Direct TV pan-India plan
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