The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Indo-Pak trade potential at $10 bn n Current official trade at $2 bn n India wants MFN status n Pak says non-tariff barriers a irritant Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 24 The story of India-Pakistan trade can be captured by the fact that while trade through the official channels is just $2 billion, the unofficial figure which includes informal trade and via third country transit is $10 billion, five times larger. Industry body Ficci estimates that this volume indicates the tremendous potential for bilateral trade between the two countries. Sultan Ahmed Chawla, president, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) told The Tribune that the trade volumes are pathetic considering the population, proximity and the historical linkages between the two countries. “It is unbelievably low. The sub-continent has 17 per cent of the global population and not even a fraction of the trade,” he said. He said movement of people and investments should be liberalised. “Why import from across the seven seas when you can import from next door? Why should a textile factory in Punjab haul materials from Chennai when it can get it much closer from Faisalabad in Pakistan,?” he said. Chawla said political will is missing which can boost trade. Both the countries are finding excuses not to do something. The action plan that had been debated is yet to be implemented in which it had been agreed to open bank branches in both countries and a list of agencies that will verify exports. He called for removal of non tariff barriers (NTBs) by India and added that there was a need to increase the traffic frequency by road, rail and air, increase in customs check posts, allowing bank branches to be opened in both countries and trade facilitation. He said India should lower tariffs on goods of interest to Pakistan. In the long term, he said there would be need to cooperate on regular cross-border investment flows and encouragement to FDI in each other’s country. He said the states of Punjab on both sides of the border can increase their bilateral trade. “The dairy sector is one where research is happening on both sides and collaboration is possible.” Economies of both countries can complement each other. If there is an onion shortage, it can be imported from the other side, he said. Chawla added opportunities are huge and trade can be boosted 2-3 times, but there are imperceptible barriers. The sectors where trade can be increased include agriculture, textiles, chemicals, pharma, leather, cement, education and services, he said. Nirupama Rao, India’s Foreign Secretary has expressed the hope that the Pakistan government implements the recommendations of the panel of economists appointed by the Pakistani Planning Commission, to give Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India and shift from a positive list of imports to a negative list regime. Rao was inaugurating the Ficci Conference on India-Pakistan Economic Relations. The Foreign Secretary said, “India has maintained a ‘sensitive list’ of around 850 tariff lines for all the non-LDC Member of SAFTA, including Pakistan. Trade under these items is allowed under MFN basis. Over the years, our tariff rates have come down to the levels prevailing globally”. Rao said the India government was setting up a modern integrated check post at the India-Pakistan border at Attari for trade facilitation. This is expected to be ready by April 2011. Pakistan should permit all permissible items for trade via the Attari-Wagah route, Foreign Secretary said. India was open to looking at the existing bilateral visa agreement signed in 1974 to facilitate travel by businessmen from both countries. Regarding the oft-repeated complaint about non-tariff barriers imposed by India on exports from Pakistan, Rao clarified: “Most non-tariff issues raised by Pakistan are linked with phyto-sanitary measures, and other domestic regulations of consumer protection. There is no discrimination against Pakistani exports because the same standards are being applied for imports from any other country,” she added.
	Import Duty Rubber manufacturers seek revision Amaninder Pal Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 24 Citing the excessively high import duty, forwards trading, rubber growers’ welfare cess, and undue scrutiny of imported rubber at ports as the reason behind the unprecedented hike in its prices in the country, the rubber goods manufacturers have demanded the government to revise the years’ old policies with regard to all these factors. Rubber goods manufacturers allege that to give indirect benefit to the rubber growers’ lobby of south India, the government was continuing with ‘anti-manufacturer’ import policies. Talking to The Tribune, RK Jain, chairman of the All India Rubber Industrialists Association (Northern Region), said although the import duty on other general items was around 7.5 per cent, the government had imposed a 20 per cent duty on natural rubber, which is unbelievable high. It is pertinent to mention here that rubber good manufacturers, both in organised and unorganised sector, are bearing the brunt of hike in price of natural rubber, which has gone above Rs 200 per kg these days. Terming the 20 per cent import duty as a move to discourage the rubber imports in India, he said the government was reluctant to revise the duty, as it would contradict the interests of the rich rubber producer’s lobby, which hold sway in the political corridors”, said Jain. He also added that undue quality scrutiny of imported rubber at ports by the authorities of the Rubber Board was also part of this discouragement exercise. Demanding the exclusion of the natural rubber from the commodity exchange market, BB Jyoti, president of the Rubber Goods Manufacturers’Association, Jalandhar, said the government should impose ban on the forwards trading of the natural rubber, as it add up an element of speculation in the rubber prices. “Even the unauthorised brokers, who are not even issued licence by the Rubber Board, are doing forwards trading, which is entirely an illegal practice”, added Jyoti. He said the industrialists also seek the discontinuation of the rubber growers’ welfare cess, charged at the rate of Rs 1.5 per kg from consumer by the Rubber Board of India for the past over three decades. “The cess was introduced for the welfare of growers. However, now the growers roll in money and there is no rationale to continue the cess,” said Jyoti.
	Nasscom welcomes UK’S new visa policy Tribune News Service Bangalore, November 24 Nasscom today welcomed UK’s visa policy announced yesterday and said the guidelines on salary requirement of Indian professionals visiting UK on a long-term basis would only “marginally” enhance the expenses of Indian service providers and their UK-based customers. “The coalition government in UK had earlier announced a plan to restrict the number of skilled non-EU workers to enter Britain to ensure they can remain competitive in international jobs market. The policy announced on Tuesday after a due consultative process reflects a pragmatic approach to limit immigration while promoting trade and business. NASSCOM welcomed the approach taken and reiterated its commitment to enhance trade linkages with UK,” the Indian IT-BPO industry’s representative body said in a statement. Nasscom said the Indian IT industry normally uses Intra Company Transfers (ICTs) under Tier-II for project execution and related assignments in the UK. As per the policy announced yesterday, short term visas (less than 12 months) and intra-company transfers are exempt from the cap. Beyond 12 months, there is no cap on the visas, but a stipulation has been introduced that the minimum salary level of the visiting Indian professional must be 40,000 pounds. “We are assessing the impact of the salary requirement on longer term visas; however, we feel that there may be a marginal cost impact both for the providers of these services and the customers. We will continue to work with the industry and the UK Government to ensure that the rollout of the new system is smooth and with minimal impact,” the statement quoted Ameet Nivsarkar, VP, Global Trade Development, NASSCOM, as having said.
	Sebi bars 2 Sahara Group firms Mumbai, November 24 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked two entities of Sahara Group not to mobilise funds from equity markets or from issuance of any security to the public while restraining group supremo Subrata Roy from approaching public for raising money. Hearing a case related to issuance of securities, SEBI also issued show cause notices to Sahara India Reals Estate Corporation (SIRECA) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation as to why action should not be initiated, including directions to refund the money raised by them through a debenture instrument OFCD. No comments could be obtained immediately from the Sahara Group. Perusing the balance sheets of group entities, the regulator observed Sahara India had a balance of up to Rs 7,000 crore for five years ending 2009 under the head "Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures" and under "unsecured loans". Prima facie, these Sahara Group companies were raising massive sums in the form OFCD that was characterised by lack of transparency, SEBI said. “Considering the quantum of money solicited by them, it is only to presume that prima faice violations have taken place with the connivance of promoter", adding that it also appears that such huge funds were raised by circumventing the applicable laws. SEBI also prohibited the promoters-- mentioned in the prospects of these two companies — Subrata Roy, Vandana Bhargava, Ravishankar Dubey and Ahsok Roy Choudury, from issuing prospectus or advertisement soliciting money in any manner from the public till further directions. In its 34-page order, SEBI referred draft prospectus filed by Sahara Prime City in September 2009 for its proposed initial public offer. The regulator passed the order on a complaint from Professional Group for Investor Protection alleging that no disclosure was made about one of the housing companies of the group, SIRECA, raising money by issuing convertible bonds for many months. — Agencies
	Sugar mills at Rohtak, Shahabad upgraded Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 24 The Haryana State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd (Sugarfed) has upgraded at least two of their 10 cooperative sugar mills in the state at Rs 273 crore. Sugarfed officials said that crushing capacity of two sugar mills has been upgraded, besides starting with power co-generation at these two plants. The sugar mill at Rohtak is being relocated and is a greenfield project and costs Rs 178 crore. The sugar mill at Shahabad has been technologically upgraded by changing its old machinery at a cost of Rs 95 crore. By starting power co-generation through the bagasse produced here, these plants will become self sufficient, and will also sell exportable power to Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN). The state government has plans to start power co-generation in all 10 cooperative sugar mills, and plans to have 100 MW of exportable power from these plants. The sugar mills at Shahabad and Rohtak alone will be able to export 27 MW of power from this year onwards. Talking to TNS, Vimal Chandra, MD, Sugarfed, said that the upgrade of the two mills was done through internal accruals and by availing loans. “In Shahabad, we have increased the crushing capacity of the mill from 3,500 tonnes a day to 5,000 tonnes a day. This plant was already into power co-generation, though it was producing just 8 MW of power. Since the turbines and boilers at this plant were old, we have replaced them with new boilers and high pressure turbines. This will help the plant to have a power co-generation capacity of 24 MW. We have already started producing 20 MW of power here,” he said. Chandra also said that the new sugar mill at Rohtak will have a crushing capacity of 3,500 tonnes per day, as compared to its earlier capacity of 1750 MW. “We are hoping to produce 16 MW of power through this plant, of which 5 MW will be consumed by the mill,” he said, adding that with a good sugar cane production this year, they will be able to produce optimum power at the two sugar mills.
	JSW buys Canadian coal firm for $422 m Toronto, November 24 India Inc. made yet another foray into the resource-rich Canadian market with JSW Energy buying the Canadian coal company CIC Energy for $422 million, thereby giving it a significant foothold in the lucrative coal sector in southern Africa. JSW joins Aditya Birla Group, Vedanta and the Tata Group in entering Canada in the past two to three years. The deal at $7.42 a share has been given the green signal by the board of CIC Energy, which is listed in both Toronto and Botswana in southern Africa. In Botswana, CIC Energy operates the Mmamabula coal and power station project. The deal is JSW's second acquisition in the coal sector in southern Africa within a year. Earlier, it had acquired a stake in South African Coal Mining Holdings. — PTI
	International Trade Exhibition to start in Amritsar from Dec 8 Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar , November 24 About 100 international exhibitors form Asia, Africa and Europe, and over 300 exhibitors form India are expected to receive business inquiries over Rs 200 crore in the five-day Fifth edition of the PHD Punjab International Trade Expo, PITEX- 10, to be held here from December 8. Traders and industrialists from at least 15 countries, including Lebanon, Thailand, Egypt, China, Poland, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Ethopia, Ujbekistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, Central Asia and ASEAN countries have confirmed their participation. The PHD Chamber would organise the event for the third consecutive year in the holy city, which exports shawls, chess, basmati, blanket, suiting-shirting, engineering goods and others. Deputy Commissioner, KS Pannu, also Chairman, steering Committee of the Organising Committee, said all arrangements have been completed for the event. Local exporters and importers anticipated that the international exhibition would prove to be a catalyst for the growth of trade and industry in the region, said Chairman, Shawl Club of India, P L Seth. He added that maiden entry of China would serve to expand its horizon. The last edition of the PITEX had generated trade inquiries worth Rs 200 crore while in the PITEX-2009 the figure was Rs 100 crore.