The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Core sector growth at 4-mth high of 3.1% in July New Delhi, September 2 Reflecting a moderate growth, the eight core infrastructure industries grew by 3.1 per cent in July, the highest in the last four months, a development which experts say cannot be dubbed as a turnaround. The core industries grew moderately mainly due to declining output of crude oil and natural gas. The infrastructure sectors had seen a dismal growth rate of just 0.1 per cent in June, while in April and May the expansion rate was 2.3 per cent. The growth rate in July this year, however, is lower than 4.5 per cent in the same month last year. Crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 2.3 per cent and 16.1 per cent respectively in July, according to the official data released today. The eight infrastructure industries have a weight of about 38 per cent in the overall industrial production. Experts said though the growth rate in July is higher than the previous month, the sectors are still not recovering. "No this is not a sign of revival. If the similar trend will continue for another 2-3 months then we can say ... the figures are fluctuating," Crisil Principal Economist DK Joshi said. Petroleum refinery production expanded by 5.1 per cent in the month against 26 per cent in July 2012. Steel production grew by 7 per cent, while cement output was up by 0.8 per cent in July this year. Coal and electricity production slowed down by 1.2 per cent and 5.2 per cent as against 2 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, in July 2012. Fertiliser output grew by 0.4 per cent in July. During April-July period, the growth of eight infrastructure industries slowed to 1.9 per cent from 6.3 per cent in the same period last year. The growth was 3.9 per cent in 2012-13 as against 5 per cent in the previous financial year. — PTI
	Nomura cuts India’s FY’14 GDP forecast to 4.2% New Delhi, September 2 Global financial services firm Nomura has lowered India's GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 4.2 per cent from 5.5 per cent earlier and kept a ‘negative’ view on the country's macro-economic outlook for the next three to six months. According to Nomura, downside risks to the growth outlook have materialised with financial conditions tightening much more than anticipated. "We are cutting our real GDP growth estimates to 4.2 per cent y-o-y in FY'14 from 5 per cent earlier. We will publish more details in a separate note. We retain our negative view on India's macroeconomic outlook for the next three to six months," Nomura India’s Sonal Varma said in a research note. According to official figures, the country's economic growth in the April-June quarter slid to 4.4 per cent, the lowest in past several years, pulled down by drop in mining and manufacturing output. This prompted the industry to demand coordinated action by the government and the RBI to boost the economy. "Looking ahead, good monsoons and a gradual recovery in global demand are positives, but the question is whether they will be able to offset the drag from the ongoing balance of payment (BoP) stress," Nomura said. According to Nomura, the BoP pressures are likely to continue over the next three to six months, which would have an adverse impact on the economy through multiple channels like cost-push inflation, higher short-term funding costs, asset price volatility and falling confidence, among others. Moreover, with fiscal pressures building, the government will likely be unable to continue its current pace of spending without risking substantial fiscal slippage, implying spending will have to be sliced in the second half of FY 2014. "Hence, the risk of a pro-cyclical fiscal and monetary policy tightening is rising and the downside risks to our growth outlook have materialised with financial conditions tightening much more than anticipated," the report said. Meanwhile, the pressure on the growth momentum is likely to pose greater challenges for policy makers as they try to stabilise the falling currency, which had touched an all-time intra-day low of 68.85 to a dollar on August 28 and is currently hovering around the 66/USD mark in highly volatile trade. — PTI
	Taiwan to hold business expo in Chennai on Sept 5 Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 2 The Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in India has announced that the 7th EMMA Expo will be held in Chennai from September 5 to 7. Duh Tyzz Jiun, vice-minister of Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taiwan, will lead the delegation along with 70 Taiwanese companies to India for the exhibition. The purpose is to facilitate and enhance trade relations. The Taiwanese government adopts the concept “I Bringing Taiwan to India” via the EMMA Expo India. This upcoming exhibition is a platform to subsequently build up business connections between India and Taiwan. It will also pave new ways to spur fruitful economic, trade and investment cooperation and to achieve unparalleled progress for both the countries. The exhibition will showcase Taiwanese products and spur economic relations between the two countries. To help facilitate purchasing from Taiwan, instead of asking Indian businessmen travel to Taiwan, the concept “I Bring Taiwan to India” will be conveyed via the Ema Expo India. Taiwan aims to not only assist its companies link with their Indian counterparts, but also enable Indian entrepreneurs to view a host of Taiwan’s products in electronics, machineries and moulds, auto and motorcycle related parts, and accessories under one roof. The 2012 Expo had generated business of over Rs 95.7 crore on the site.
	TCS market value crosses Rs 4 trillion Mumbai, September 2 Tata group’s IT firm TCS today attained a market valuation of Rs 4 lakh crore - becoming the second company in Indian markets after Reliance Industries to cross this milestone. At present, TCS is the only company with a market value of over Rs 4 lakh crore as Reliance Industries had slipped below this level. At the end of today's trade, the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) surged to Rs 4,00,868.22 crore, the highest for the company since its listing in 2004. TCS is already the country's most-valued company, a position once held by RIL, which also had seen its market cap cross the Rs 4 trillion mark in October 2007. However, RIL's share price performance has lagged in the past couple of months and the company's market cap currently stands at over Rs 2.85 lakh crore - giving TCS a lead by more than Rs 1 lakh crore. TCS shares rose by 1.24 per cent to close at Rs 2,048.15 at the BSE today. In intra-day trade, the scrip touched its all-time high of Rs 2,065.45. In US dollar terms, TCS's market cap has risen to over $60 billion. — PTI
	Mfg sector output shrinks for first time in over 4 years New Delhi, September 2 India's manufacturing sector activity contracted for the first time in over four and a half years in August as both output and business orders witnessed a significant decline, an HSBC survey said today. The HSBC/Markit purchasing managers index for the manufacturing industry stood at 48.5 in August, lower from 50.1 in July, indicating an overall contraction. The latest index reading was the lowest in over four and a half years and the first sub-50 reading since March 2009. The latest PMI reading comes close on the heels of the bleak official figure on Friday that showed that the country's economic growth in the April-June quarter has slid to 4.4 per cent, the lowest in past several years. "Manufacturing activity contracted in August for the first time since March 2009. This was led by a decline in new orders, especially export orders," HSBC chief economist for India and ASEAN Leif Eskesen said. Since May, the index was barely managing to remain above the crucial 50 mark that divides growth from contraction. But business conditions in the manufacturing sector deteriorated during August for the first time in over four years, with both output and new orders falling. According to HSBC, amid reports of fragile economic conditions and subdued client demand, new orders placed at Indian manufacturers fell in August. — PTI
	10 firms under lens for IPO fund diversion New Delhi, September 2 At least 10 companies and their promoters are being probed by market watchdog SEBI for suspected diversion of funds collected from their respective IPOs, allegedly to shell companies created for personal gains. Some merchant bankers are also under the scanner of the SEBI for possible collusion with promoters of these companies, which came out with initial public offers (IPOs) in the past three years, sources said. While the promoters and bankers may face strong penal action, they will also be asked to ensure the diverted money is returned to the company to safeguard the interests of minority shareholders, sources added. Most of these IPOs came out in 2011, while a few were made later, they said, without disclosing names. Companies raised over Rs 6,000 crore through as many as 37 IPOs in 2011. SEBI had initially launched a probe into various IPOs of 2011 for suspected rigging of listing day share prices and later expanded the scope of investigation to deployment of funds to check for possible deviation from IPO objectives. The funds were raised with stated objectives such as business expansion, payments to service providers and product suppliers, debt reduction and 'general corporate purposes.' SEBI started its probe into the deployment of IPO proceeds after it suspected that money was being fraudulently diverted to 'shell' companies created for cornering of money by promoters and their associates for personal gains. Subsequently, SEBI decided to consult the balance sheets and other regulatory filings of those companies, as also of entities to which payments were made, with the Registrar of Companies, stock exchanges and other agencies. Besides, SEBI reviewed their income tax returns and bank statements and conducted on-site visits to check the veracity of the entities to which funds were transferred. In many cases, it was found that the companies receiving payments did not have basic infrastructure and required manpower, giving rise to suspicion that 'shell' companies were created to corner money raised from the public. A portion of the IPO money was also deployed for inter-corporate deposits (ICD), which were later diverted to some entities that were asked to fund the purchase of shares on listing day so as to keep the stock price higher. Most of these IPOs had got low ratings, showing weak fundamentals of their businesses, but they still got full or over subscription. It is suspected that a portion of IPO money could have been diverted to the entities that were used to inflate the bidding pattern during book-building exercise. — PTI Modus Operandi These companies raised over Rs 6,000 crore through as many as 37 IPOs in 2011 Some merchant bankers are also under the scanner for possible collusion with promoters of these companies In many cases, it was found that the companies receiving payments did not have basic infrastructure and required manpower A portion of the IPO money was also deployed for inter-corporate deposits
	Sahara blames SEBI in SC for impasse in paying investors New Delhi, September 2 The Sahara group today blamed SEBI for acting in haste against it on the issue of refunding Rs 24,000 crore to investors and asked the Supreme Court to pass an order to help it get out of the imbroglio. Two firms of the group submitted there was no wilful disobedience on their part in complying with the apex court's order on refunding the money to investors through SEBI and questioned the market regulator's conduct against them. Appearing before a Bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar, Sahara's counsel Ram Jethmalani and Rajeev Dhavan submitted SEBI refused to accept the documents, which were provided by them on time giving details of investors, and instead filed a contempt petition against them. "It is a wilful disobedience on the part of SEBI and it is because of it that there is such a situation," they submitted while saying the apex court should pass order to help it get out of the ‘imbroglio’. "This case is going to stagnate if no consequential order is passed by the court. There was no intent to interfere with the course of justice," senior advocate Dhawan said. The court was hearing three contempt petitions filed by SEBI against Sahara chief Subrata Roy, the two firms Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHIC) and their directors. The apex court had on August 31 last year directed the two firms to refund the amount by November. The deadline was further extended and companies were directed to deposit Rs 5,120 crore immediately and Rs 10,000 crore in first week of January and remaining amount in first week of February. — PTI