The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	WEF meet kicks off; India to hardsell retail, IT sectors Davos, Switzerland, January 23 Indian leaders are all set to showcase the country as an attractive investment destination, especially for retail and IT, at the World Economic Forum meet that began today at the snow-laden Swiss town amid uncertain global economic environment. This year's edition of the WEF meet on the theme 'Resilient Dynamism' will see participation of high-profile leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The meet is expected to mostly deliberate on ways to contain fiscal woes and boost global growth. Urban Development & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath accompanied by Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel and Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will hardsell India’s investment story to a global audience. Indian corporate honchos including Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal, Anand Mahindra, Rahul Bajaj, Sunil Mittal, Azim Premji and banker Chanda Kochhar are also expected to attend. With the Indian government moving ahead with reforms, retail sector is expected to be the eye candy from the Indian side. “India is a land of billion opportunities with 260% retail business growth by 2020”, read a banner on city buses. The banner, put out by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) also reflects optimism over FDI in retail, mainly after the government on Monday approved Swedish major IKEA's Rs. 10,000 crore investment proposal. At the same time, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Mahindra Satyam, among others, will present India's potential in the growing IT sector. Ambani, Mahindra and other businessmen will assert the growth potential offered for investors in various other sectors. Among the galaxy of global leaders like British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, heads of the World Bank, the IMF and CEOs of many bluechip firms will be in attendance. After approving Swedish major IKEA's Rs 10,000 crore investment proposal, Anand Sharma had said on Monday the decision would "resonate not only in Davos but in the all major countries of the world". The Indian delegation, comprising about 100 business and political leaders, is headed by Nath, who emerged as one of the key strategists in the passage of the contentious retail FDI bill in Parliament. Representatives of the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, are also present at the WEF meet. Apart from exchanging views on continuing financial turmoil in the United States and euro zone as well as recent developments in the African continent, the WEF meet would deliberate on finding avenues to revive global growth and create more jobs. This edition of the WEF meet is expected to host over 1,500 top leaders and thousands of others including spouses of rich and powerful, journalists and support staff. The streets of Davos are brimming with huge banners put out by various nations including India and Russia, all of them pushing themselves as attractive investment destinations. Meanwhile, anti-WEF protesters have also pitched their tents in the snowy ambience. Providing room for optimism, a WEF survey yesterday had said that sentiments about global economy improved in the first quarter of 2013, primarily due to positive signs debt-laden eurozone and hopes that the worst fears about the debt turmoil in the US would be allayed. — PTI
	Spectrum auction norms issued New Delhi, January 23 The government has spelt out guidelines for the second round of 2G cellular spectrum auction which is expected to fetch around Rs 45,000 crore to the exchequer. The guidelines, announced by the department of telecom, said auction for the 1800 and 900 Mhz bands, currently being used for GSM services, will be conducted simultaneously. The auction for the 800 Mhz band used for CDMA services in 21 out of 22 service areas will be conducted separately. In the 1800 Mhz, band, the government will auction 12 blocks of 1.25 Mhz each for the unsold spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai at a 30% lesser price compared to the amount fixed for the November auction. The government recently slashed the base price of CDMA spectrum by 50%. The DoT guidelines, however, did not mention the timeline for starting the auction and related dates. The base price for each block in Delhi and Mumbai has been fixed at Rs 485.15 crore and 474.92 crore, respectively. Eight blocks will be put on the block for Rs 231.08 crore and 46.96 crore in Karnataka and Rajasthan, respectively. There will also be a provision to provide 3 blocks of additional spectrum in case the demand arises. The government will auction 12 blocks each of 900 Mhz spectrum band in Delhi and Mumbai and 10 blocks of spectrum in Kolkata. The guidelines clarified that telecom operators winning spectrum in the auction will be allowed to use airwaves for any technology within scope of their licences, which has been the demand for the operators. The cabinet had last week approved a liberalized regime for spectrum use, which will telecom operators to offer other services besides CDMA connectivity on this frequency.
	FDI inflows hit 2-yr low in Nov 2012 New Delhi, January 23 India's foreign direct investment inflows declined to a nearly two-year low of US $1.05 billion in November 2012, mainly due to global economic uncertainties. In November 2011, the country had attracted FDI worth $2.53 billion. For the April-November period 2012-13, the inflows have declined by about 31 per cent to $15.84 billion, from $22.83 billion in the year-ago period, a senior department of industrial policy & promotion official said. According to experts, problems in the global economic situation is the main reason for decline in the inflows. "The global economic slowdown and lack of political consensus on FDI related matters are the reasons for decline," said Krishan Malhotra, head of tax and expert on FDI with corporate law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas. Sectors that received large FDI inflows during the eight months of the current fiscal include services ($3.63 billion), hotels & tourism ($3.13 billion), metallurgical ($1.26 billion), construction ($1.01 bn) and automobiles ($760 million), the official added. India received the maximum FDI from Mauritius ($7.2 billion), Japan ($1.56 billion), Singapore ($1.5 billion) the Netherlands ($1.09 billion) and the UK ($615 million). — PTI
	Industry outlines pre-budget MSME priorities Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 23 The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has submitted its pre-budget memorandum for small and medium enterprises to the government. It has sought a comprehensive package for micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) to unshackle their growth potential. In a statement, CII came out strongly in favour of streamlining policies and procedures for listing on SME exchanges, synergizing the relationship between small, medium and large units and implementation of the public procurement policy, besides promoting FDI by nonresident Indians in MSMEs. Recommending that large industry be entitled to tax benefits subject to the transaction having been completed (including timely payment to the SME supplier, as per the payment terms and conditions, agreed upon between the buyer and supplier), CII has also called for the extension of the applicability of the provisions of the public procurement policy to state government ministries, departments and PSUs and its strict implementation at the central government level also. According to the CII agenda for MSMEs, creation of different kinds of funds is needed to promote their different aspects. These include a branding and export marketing fund and an environment friendly technology fund that could be set up to enhance self-reliance on energy and also be responsible towards the environment. According to Deep Kapuria, chairman of CII’s National MSME Council, the MSME segment, which employs more than 59 million people and contributes approximately 40% to manufacturing output and exports, can truly emerge as a growth driver for the economy if these issues are addressed.
	Gold buying evaporates due to import duty hike Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, January 23 The government's move to hike import duty on processed gold to 6% from 4% has already begun to impact demand for the yellow metal though fears abound that smuggling could go up substantially. (India's gold imports slowed to a trickle this week after the government raised import tariffs at the same time that global prices strengthened, and these higher prices also deterred purchases from elsewhere in Asia, traders said on Wednesday, adds Reuters). "Importers who were anticipating the duty hike have been stocking gold. There are no fresh purchases as traders are offloading their inventory," said Prithviraj Kothari, former president, Bombay Bullion Association. Global gold prices have risen from US $1,630 to $1,690 an ounce. According to analysts, importers who tanked up on the precious metal earlier this month stand to make as much as an extra Rs 800 per ten grams of gold following the duty hike. The duty hike has also predictably given rise to fears that gold smuggling which was prevalent till the 1980s could get a major leg-up due to the price differential in the Indian and world markets. "Gold prices are higher by more than Rs 2.10 lakh per kilogram in India as compared to the Dubai market," says Hasitbhai Jhaveri, a jeweller at Zaveri Bazaar, the hub of Mumbai's gold trade. There will be a big growth in the grey market for gold which was so far absent in India," says Haresh Soni, president, All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF). He warned customers who buy gold from the grey market could end up getting cheated even as the government stood to lose revenue. Jewellers believe the demand for gold in India will continue unabated despite the government's efforts since people see this as a buffer against inflation. "The value of gold always appreciates to there will always be demand for it," said Jhaveri. Meanwhile, gold jewellers are urging the government to curb the sale of gold biscuits and coins by banks as one measure to lower demand for the yellow metal. However bankers have for long resisted such curbs on the grounds that the gold coins they sell carry an assurance of purity not associated with the jewellery trade. The duty hike has also resulted in the customs department girding up for a rise in gold smuggling.
	SEBI tightens norms for investment advisors Tribune News Service Mumbai, January 23 The Securities and Exchange Board of India has come out with stringent norms under which investment advisors will have to register themselves with the market regulator and make adequate disclosures to their customers. According to SEBI, the new norms will cover banks, nonbanking financial companies, corporates and individuals. To be an investment advisor, corporate bodies need to have a minimum worth of Rs 25 lakh while the threshold level would be Rs 1 lakh for individuals. “Investment advisor means any person, who for consideration, is engaged in the business of providing investment advice to clients or other persons or group of persons and includes any person who holds out himself as an investment advisor,” SEBI said. The new rules will make it tough for advisors who trade in their own account. An investment advisor has been barred from entering into transactions on his own account contrary to the advice given to clients for at least 15 days from the day of such advice. The advisors have been asked to disclose the fees they charge, their holdings in products on which they are advising and conflict of interests, if any.