Sunday, July 19, 1998
today's calendar
|
B U S I N E S S | Sunday, July 19, 1998 |
|
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
|
|
Concessional rate on exports dropped MUMBAI, July 18 — Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today dropped the new scheme of concessional interest rate on “incremental” exports on expression of operational difficulties by exporters... Banks asked to work out self-employment scheme NEW DELHI, July 18 — The Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today urged State Governments and banks to work together to find solution to problems in the area of self-employment programme... |
 |
Nabard sanctions Rs 23.78 cr for HP NEW DELHI, July 18 — Nabard has sanctioned a massive assistance of Rs 23.78 crore to Himachal Pradesh for seven road projects, a majority of them in the rural areas of the state... Govt to announce incentive package for exporters NEW DELHI, July 18 — Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today said the government would soon announce a package of incentives to boost... |
|
Sanyo among proposals approved by
FIPB NEW DELHI, July 18 — The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) today approved foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 506 crore (over $ 120 million), including the application by Sanyo Electric of Japan to set up a export-oriented software development centre in Bangalore... Credit of Japanese oil cos 'under pressure' NEW YORK, July 18 — The overall credit quality of Japan’s oil companies will continue to be under pressure from deregulation, low returns on assets, pricing pressure on gasoline and limited success in upstream activities... Market roundup Labour laws  |
|||||
Concessional rate on exports dropped |
| Nabard sanctions Rs 23.78 cr for
HP Tribune News Service NEW DELHI, July 18 — Nabard has sanctioned a massive assistance of Rs 23.78 crore to Himachal Pradesh for seven road projects, a majority of them in the rural areas of the state. The sanction came after the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, took up the loan issue with the Managing Director of Nabard, Mr P.U.A.Rama Rao. He urged Nabard to to sanction Rs 101 crore for road, irrigation and flood control projects in the State. Mr Dhumal said that the norms for hill states need a density of over 64 km of road length per hundred square kilometres whereas the existing density in the State was below 36 sq km, resulting in low level rural connectivity. The Chief Minister emphasised the need for liberal allocations for strengthening rural developmental infrastructure in the State, especially in the context of rural roads and irrigation sectors. Nabard authorities appreciated the need of the State Government and assured that irrigation and flood control projects would be considered sympathetically as and when detailed projects are sent to them for approval. |
| Labour
laws Abusive language by Praful R. Desai Q: Is dismissal on the ground of using abusive language, threatening and beating an officer, disproportionate to such misconduct? A: In Gupta M.C. v Labour Court, Meerut (1998-I-LLJ-1016) Allahabad H.C. held thus: It appears that the petitioner was an employee and he was charge-sheeted on various allegations such as abusing, threatening and beating the officer. After a domestic enquiry was held in which he was given opportunity of hearing, his services were terminated. Aggrieved he raised an industrial dispute but the Labour Court decided against the present employee. Hence the present petition before the HC. According to the HC, the findings against the petitioner are finding of fact and the HC cannot interfere with the same in a writ petition. The Labour Court in fact, has considered the evidence of the parties in great detail and recorded the findings. The petitioner was given full opportunity of the hearing and the allegation regarding the bias against the enquiry officer was not proved. The Labour Court has also held that there is no good reason to interfere with the findings of the enquiry officer that the petitioner — employee committed misconduct. The misconduct, in the opinion of the HC are of serious nature. Petitioner relied on Ram Krishna v Union of India (1996-I-LLJ-982) decided by the SC and contended that the punishment of dismissal was disproportionate to the offence. The HC observed that whether abusive language can be a good ground for dismissal or not will depend on the entire circumstances and the context in which such language was used. Therefore, the HC said that there cannot be an absolute proposition that abusive language can never be a ground for dismissal and it will all depend on the facts and circumstances of the case. The HC concluding said that in the present case, the misconduct found proved against the workman was very serious. The petitioner had abused and tried to cause physical injury to the Personal Officer and thereafter on the same day he caught hold of the officer and beat him with shoes. The HC held that the punishment of dismissal was called for, otherwise discipline cannot be maintained in the organisation. In that way, the HC dismissed the petition. |
| Banks asked to work out self-employment scheme Tribune News Service NEW DELHI, July 18 — The Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today urged State Governments and banks to work together to find solution to problems in the area of self-employment programme. Addressing a high level committee on credit here today, Mr Sinha stressed the need to ensure a proper market for rural development projects and create backward and forward linkages before starting rural development programme. Referring to his experience in South Korea, the minister pointed out that during his visit to that country he had noted that the development planning was done by bodies equivalent to the Panchayat and Gram Sabhas. The people themselves sat down and worked out priorities which their villages required. This was then put into a plan depending on the amount of money available for development. The minister said that the government was committed to eradication of poverty and was in favour of pruning the multifarious rural development programmes and merging them into self-employment and wage employment programme. He said he had already made an announcement to this effect in the Budget speech. The Finance Minister asked the Nabard to work out the micro banking system in great detail so that the Government could take it forward this financial year. He called upon the banks and the state governments to ensure recovery of loan which had been distributed under the Integrated Rural Development Programme. He said it was necessary to keep in mind the interests of the poorest of the poor. |
| Credit of Japanese oil cos under pressure: Moody’s NEW YORK, July 18 (PTI) — The overall credit quality of Japan’s oil companies will continue to be under pressure from deregulation, low returns on assets, pricing pressure on gasoline and limited success in upstream activities, Moody’s investors service says. In a recent report, Moody’s said the combination of a recessionary economic environment, gasoline price competition and general over capacity in the sector will continue to pressure cash flow and balance sheets of the rated oil companies. The Moody credit rating agency currently rates five oil companies in Japan and their rating outlooks all negative. The report says poor returns are likely to lead to significant reductions in the degree of debt-holder protection for weaker members. “There is a strong need for the industry to restructure and consolidate in order to allow the surviving companies to boost their returns on assets,” the report said. It is possible that the government, together with the industry and banks, may reach consensus over the next few years to restructure the upstream and downstream oil industries which have developed separately in Japan, Moody’s say |
| Market roundup Agenda to revive capital market by Ashok Kumar DID Sebi’s ban on short-selling serve the purpose it was supposed to? Perhaps, but it definitely served the purpose of permitting the FIIs and the trapped bull operators to exit the marked at higher price levels than would otherwise have been possible. As for the contention that Sebi’s belated move was aimed at protecting the small investor, the factual response would obviously be — what small investor? If at all there were any small investors left in the market, Harshad Mehta’s latest cameo has ensured that they have been well and truly buried, just like the primary segment of the Indian capital market. Is there any chance of the primary market, as also the struggling secondary market being resurrected? Well, the CII seems to have an idea or two to share in this regard. It recently drew up a 16-point strategy for the revival of the Indian capital market.CII’s recommendations to the government on the issue include allowing companies to buy back their shares and issue non-voting shares, the removal of restrictions on inter-corporate loans and investments as well on loans against securities, opening up of the insurance sector and modifications in tax benefits for mutual funds and capital gains. It has also urged that the restrictions on inter-corporate loans and investments, which currently stand at 30 per cent of paid-up capital and free reserves, individually, for both, should be done away with, and if this were not possible at this juncture, these two limits should be merged and a ceiling of 60 per cent must be imposed to give companies the flexibility to use these limits. Furthermore, it has appealed that the restrictions on bank loans against shares and debentures should be removed, including loans to promoters. As far as mutual funds (MFs) are concerned, the CII has opined that the benefit of Section 88 of the Income Tax Act must be extended to all MF schemes, and that dividend received from MFs should be exempted from income-tax in the same way as dividend payout from companies. The CII has also suggested that MFs be provided with greater sources for funds without delays, and that approved charitable trusts be allowed to invest in them automatically and furthermore that the FIIs, NRIs and OCBs, be allowed to freely invest after acquiring one-time general permission from the Reserve Bank of India. The CII has also appealed to place domestic companies on per with NRIs and FIIs as for as the 10 per cent capital gains tax is concerned. Another really worthwhile suggestion of the CII is that Section 54(E) of the I.T. Act be re-introduced in such a way that no capital gains tax is imposed if the entire sale proceeds is invested in initial public offers. The CII has also appealed to the government to revive the erstwhile Section 80 CC (deduction in respect of investment in certain new shares) of the I.T. Act with the exemption limit raised to 100 per cent of the invested amount subject to a ceiling of Rs 50,000. Significantly, it is of the view that investment in the shares of PSUs at the time of disinvestment by the Government should be eligible for rebate under Section 88 of the Income Tax Act. The other measures recommended by the CII to boost the capital market, including the extension of the exemption under Section 47 (VIIa) of the I.T. Act to foreign currency non-convertible bonds and other pure debt instruments, venture capital investments and permission for pension funds and insurance companies to contribute at least 5 to 10 per cent of their corpus to venture capital funds with proven track records. While the CII’s suggestions are indeed well thought out and presented, the fact remains that the ball lies in the Finance Ministers court. One important fact that successive Finance Ministers barring P. Chidambaram seem to have missed out is that, while it is fine to woo the NRIs — who repatriate invaluable foreign currency, the fortunes of the Indian economy are interlinked with that of its residents. Hence, this is the section that needs to be wooed And pampered more than any other, to activate an economic revival. |
| Govt
to announce
incentive package for exporters NEW DELHI, July 18 (PTI) — Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today said the government would soon announce a package of incentives to boost exports after a meeting with Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde early next week. The package will, among other things, be aimed at meeting the competitive edge of east Asian economies whose drastic devaluation had given them an advantage against India in the export market, he said. The economies of East Asia have witnessed devaluation of their currencies ranging from 40 to 400 per cent due to the currency meltdown.Mr Sinha said since the Exim policy had been announced before the presentation of Budget this year, there was need to finetune export incentives which the new package would take care of.“Monitoring of export policy is a continuous process and we cannot be silent after unveiling one concrete policy for the purpose in the wake of the fierce competition in the international market and changing situations’’, he told PTI after addressing the meeting of high level committee on credit support for IRDP here. Mr Sinha justified the removal of withholding tax on external commercial borrowings (ECB) saying this was done in the wake of rise in interest rates which was acting as a dampner for raising resources abroad.“Since interest rates have gone up, we felt the removal of withholding tax on external commercial borrowing would encourage the industry to access ECBs,” he said.Asked why industrial recovery had not taken place despite the sops announced for the sector, Mr Sinha expressed confidence that the economy will end up with 8 to 10 per cent industrial growth this financial year. Mr Sinha asserted that the Rs 263 crore tax concessions announced yesterday would not have any bearing on the fiscal deficit.“What impact could Rs 263 crore have on revenue collection projections which run into several thousands of crore,” he asked. |
| Sanyo among proposals approved
by FIPB NEW DELHI, July 18 (UNI) — The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) today approved foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 506 crore (over $ 120 million), including the application by Sanyo Electric of Japan to set up a export-oriented software development centre in Bangalore. The proposals cleared also include two joint ventures between GE Capital Services and the State Bank of India for providing payment cards as well as services for issuance of these cards. Besides, six proposals by major foreign firms to set up auto ancillary units, eight applications for software centres and the proposal by Adidas India to bring in additional funds was also cleared. Powergen of Britain was also been given a go ahead to raise its capital by Rs 250 crore. At present, the company has an authorised capital of Rs 50 crore, which would now be raised to Rs 300 crore. The proposal of Bharti Telenet for financial restructuring and that of sterling cellular for getting in additional about Rs 8 crore as preferential capital for equity restructuring within the 49 per cent foreign equity cap has also been approved. |
| Biz
briefs Cadbury net up 61 pc MUMBAI, July 18 (PTI) — Cadbury India Ltd has shown an increase of 61 per cent in net profits at Rs 1000 lakh during the first six months of the current financial year as against Rs 618 lakh in the corresponding period last year. The company’s net sales rallied to Rs 17,590 lakh during January to June 1998 from Rs 15,312 lakh during 1997 and gross profit (after interest but before depreciation and taxation) stood sharply higher at Rs 2,275 lakh from the previous year’s mark of Rs 1456 lakh, a company release said. The remarkable rally in net profit was a result of steady growth in the core chocolate business, tighter cost control and reduced interest charges of Rs 296 lakh against Rs 375 lakh the previous year, the release said. Zespri ties up with Yupaa MUMBAI, July 18 (PTI) — New Zealand’s Zespri International Ltd has tied up with Yupaa International to develop the market for “Kiwifruit” in India with an objective to explore and produce world famous fruit from down under locally. “Zespri will work towards building the Indian Kiwifruit to exact personality and values possessed by the imported ones,” said T.V. Balasubramanian, Manager (new & developing markets) of the marketing arm of the grower owned cooperative. “New Zealand Kiwifruit growers incorporated”. Addressing a press conference called here today to announce signing of an MoU between Zespri and Yupaa to import, distribute and sell Kiwifruit, Balasubramanian said subject to Government of India’s approvals, a study will be conducted to assess the potential to develop international standards of Kiwifruit. Sun Pharma’s plea for exemption MUMBAI, July 18 (PTI) — The SEBI today rejected application of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd seeking exemption from the takeover code for acquisition of 32,07,500 equity shares of Gujarat Lyka Organics Ltd. Sun Pharmaceutical had proposed to acquire the shares representing 20.17 per cent of equity capital of Gujarat Lyka from Virtuous Finance Ltd, Jeevanrekha Investrade Pvt Ltd and Package Investrade Pvt Ltd, who had joined the acquirer in seeking exemption. The SEBI said it refused to grant exemption after taking into consideration recommendations of the panel and submissions made by the acquirer. The application stated the acquirer is in the business of manufacturing pharmaceutical products both in form of bulk drugs and formulations and that the target company had a bulk drug manufacturing plant at Ankleshwar, close to the acquirer’s plant at Panoli. |
 |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | | Jammu & Kashmir | Chandigarh | Editorial | Stocks | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
