 |
| Wednesday,
March 28, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
WTO talks on farm trade polarised
‘Exempt shawls from 16 pc duty’
Steel price hike hits SSI units Zee Tele shelves ADR issue
plan IOC pays 658 cr for refineries |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Indians own 40 pc of Sharjah
firms Punjab Milkfed declares
dividend Oswal enters garments
market ‘Ultra low sulphur diesel better than CNG’
Let down by
SEBI
India among top 10 in Asia Honda lowers profit target Ericsson to shut 2 British plants Pak gas field starts supply
|
|
WTO talks on farm trade polarised Geneva, March 27 With all proposals for reforms now in, it is clear that countries such as India want to see cuts to the European Union, US and others’ subsidies before they engage in talks. Nevertheless, negotiators are set to agree a new 2001/02 work programme for “phase two.” Many developing nations are resisting plans by the USA, the European Union and the Cairns Group of 18 liberal trade nations to further liberalise farm trade. Developing countries such as India and ASEAN members insist that talks should rebalance inequalities in the existing 1993 agriculture agreement with concessions from the USA and the European Union. The EU believes that its interests are converging with those of the USA and other developed countries against those developing governments that don’t want any liberalisation at all. “The problem is not between them (the USA, the Cairns Group) and us, but between us and developing countries, those that don’t want to liberalise,” said the EU’s chief negotiator, David Roberts. Many developing countries are now insisting that they should not open their markets further until the EU and the USA abolish export subsidies. India is calling for export subsidies to be cut by 50 per cent by the end of 2001, as “downpayment.” The USA, the EU, Japan and the Cairns Group of 18 liberal-trade nations (including Australia, Argentina and Brazil) are looking to continue the WTO’s mandate for the “ongoing process” of “progressive reductions in support and protection.” Compared to the 1993 Uruguay Round, an “unprecedented” number of WTO governments have made proposals for agriculture reforms over the past year, said Jorge Voto-Bernales, Chairman of the farm talks and Peru’s Ambassador. “The basic positions of participants are now on the table,” he said. David Spencer, Deputy Trade Secretary for Australia, said yesterday that he hoped the negotiations could be “put on the same footing in the WTO” as commercial services and manufactured goods. The group’s position calls for an eventual elimination of all export subsidies. A slowdown in the globe’s economies must not lead to increasing protectionism, said Spencer. “The fact that we have negotiations in preparation prohibits democratic governments from taking protectionist measures and acts as a constraint.” The Cairns Group is targeting the EU and the USA equally, said Spencer. “There is a Euro-centric perception that they’re always the villain. I’m not going to get caught into saying who’s the biggest (the USA or EU), they’re both villains.” However, the Cairns Group’s interests, said the EU’s Roberts, “can only be achieved if they are prepared to face up to, and resolve non-trade issues.” If the European Commission can secure agreement from its 15 member states overnight, and Japan gets the go-ahead in Tokyo, negotiators hope to agree the 2001/02 work agenda today. The draft programme sets out dates for meetings and subjects to be tackled before March 2002. Developing countries have insisted that the programme recognise that “special and differential treatment is an integral part of all elements of the negotiations.” The draft also specifies specific subjects for negotiation, including tariffs and their administration, export subsidies and credits as well as state trading enterprises and so-called non-trade concerns such as rural development and food safety. However, the programme also says that it is “without prejudice to decisions” at the WTO’s Qatar ministerial, scheduled for Nov. 9-13.
Bridge News
|
|
‘Exempt shawls from 16 pc duty’ Ludhiana, March 27 The industry representation to Mr Sinha, has pointed out: ‘‘The shawls have been wrongly clubbed with the clothing accessories and put under chapter 62 sub-heading 6202. The other items under this chapter including handkerchiefs, scarves, mufflers, mantillas, veils, ties, bow-ties, cravets and gloves are subject to tailoring process. Shawls do not need any tailoring process for its completion so they should be exempted from the excise duty.’’ A delegation of shawl manufacturers met Mr K.L. Verma, Member, the Central Board of Customs and Excise, in Amritsar on March 23. He assured it that the department would consider its views sympathetically. But industry insiders fear that the issue may not be properly highlighted in view of the impasse in Parliament. Ms Mridula Jain, Vice-Chairperson of the Shawl Club (India), said at least 3000 units would be badly hit with the implementation of the decision. She said,‘‘ Shawl manufacturing is mostly done by the traders after buying shawl cloth. They get it processed on job work basis from households engaged in embroidery and other processes. Moreover, it is a seasonal industry providing employment to about 5 lakh workers in the rural area.’’ She claimed that the Technical Committee constituted by the Ministry of Textiles has also said the 16 per cent excise duty is not applicable to shawls. The industry has urged the government that units using ‘woolmark’ trade mark do not fall under the category of branded garments as the ‘woolmark’ is just a certification trademark like ISO 9002 or ISI mark, provided by the international wool secretariat. So exemption should be provided to all shawl manufacturers.
|
|
Steel price hike hits SSI units Ludhiana, March 27 Enquires made by The Tribune show that production of steel has fallen in Punjab as the steel plants were facing power cuts ranging from five to eight hours daily for the past two weeks. Further there is a severe shortage of iron scrap and the prices of from scrap have also risen by Rs 1000 per tonne. The iron scrap supplies have been affected due to the earthquake and closure of Kandla port in the month of February. According to Mr Bhupinder Singh BT iron scrap prices were Rs 8500/- per tonne which had now been quoted at Rs 9500 per tonne in the local market. Besides, some scrap was also coming from Gujarat state which was not being received now. Further sponge iron which used to supplement the iron scrap shortage is also not available now. Gas based sponge iron units are exporting their production while the coal based sponge iron units are becoming sick and their production has fallen considerably. Mr P.D. Sharma, President, Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Punjab says that the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has also stopped supplying steel to Punjab state and 90 per cent demand of steel of the industries in Punjab was being met by the local steel plants. The prices of sponge steel have also witnessed a rise of Rs 1000 per tonne. The steep prices of Ms rounds were quoted at Rs 15000 plus in the local market today and steel ingot Rs. 13,000 per tonne. Punjab has more than 125 induction and are furnaces and employ’s about 20,000 workers. The PSEB has imposed severe power cut as all the steel plant have been closed for ten days which would further enhance the steel shortage and rise in prices. The Punjab Chief Minister has been requested to take up the issue of supply of SAIL steel to Punjab with the Steel Ministry and relief in power cut.
|
|
Zee Tele shelves ADR issue plan New Delhi, March 27 “I am very much in doubt about going in for the ADR issue, definitely not at this point in time,” a company official told PTI in a telephonic conversation from Mumbai. In April last year, the company had received shareholders’ nod for raising $1.5 billion through the ADR route, but had subsequently scaled this down to $200 million. The money raised through this issue was meant to fund Zee’s acquisitions within the media business as well as other related expansion plans. Sources also confirmed that the company had scaled down its plans to lay a Rs 2,400 crore Hybrid Fibre-optic Coaxial Cable Project, and will now lay this cable only over six cities, in a phased manner. Investment in this proposed project had been scaled down to around Rs 300-350 crore in the first phase. PTI Dr Reddy’s to offer ADS MUMBAI: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories today filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), USA, on form F-1 relating to a primary offer of American Depositary Shares (ADS). Merrill Lynch and Co is the managing underwriter for the offer. Dr Reddy’s began its business in 1984 as a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients. It now develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of pharmaceutical products in India and abroad. Dr Reddy’s will offer 11,500,000 American Depositary Shares representing 57,50,000 equity shares. Dr Reddy’s anticipates that the price to the public per ADS will be determined by reference to the prevailing market price of its equity shares, considered together with prevailing market conditions.
UNI
|
|
IOC pays
658 cr for refineries New Delhi, March 27 Since Bharat Petroleum Corporation .(BPCL) has already acquired the government equity in Kochi Refineries, the restructuring of stand-alone refineries has been completed. The government has received a total payment of Rs 1317 crore. Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, after receiving the cheque, said the restructuring of four stand-alone refineries has now been completed within the scheduled time. This exercise will enable these refineries to face the challenges of competitive market following full deregulation of the oil sector in April, 2002. The present paid-up share capital of CPCL is Rs.149.13 crore, of which the government’s shareholding accounts for 51.81 per cent. The IOC had the marketing rights of the products of CPCL for the past three decades. It has also product evacuation facilities and marketing infrastructure at CPCL. The IOC does not have a refinery in the Southern region. The present paid-up capital of BRPL is Rs. 199.82 crore. The government holds 74.46 per cent equity in BRPL. The entire petroleum production of BRPL is being marketed by the IOC, which has product evacuation facilities and infrastructure at BRPL. The present refining capacity of CPCL is 7 metric million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and that of BRPL is 2.35 MMTPA. At present, the all-India annual sales volume of the IOC is about 48.5 million tonnes accounting for 54 per cent market share in the country, against which its own refining capacity is about 36 MMTPA accounting for about 40 per cent market share. In Southern region in particular, IOC has a current sales volume of about 11 MMT. The acquisition of CPCL and BRPL will enable the IOC to balance its sale and production of petroleum products in the country and improve its competitive position under deregulated market conditions, Mr Naik said. |
|
Indians own 40 pc of Sharjah
firms Chandigarh, March 27 He was addressing a partnership seminar organised by CII on business opportunities in the Emirate of Sharjah with particular reference to the SAIF zone here today . Inviting entrepreneurs from the Northern region to expand their business, Mr Taryam highlighted the advantages of the partnership between the two countries in terms of savings, profitability, simple procedures and excellent logistics. He said Sharjah is not only recognised as the cultural capital of the Arab world, but also offers a very attractive cost of living. The social infrastructure in terms of parks, green belts, and wide boulevards as well as healthcare and educational facilities are very good. The SAIF zone, the centrepiece of the Sharjah government's commitment to free trade, is an ideal hub for all types of businesses which require a fast, efficient and trouble-free working environment and offers access to over 1.6 billion consumers . He said the distance between any air port and seaport requires not more than 2-3 hours of trucking time. Indian companies which have bases in the zone include Infosys, Godrej, Ashok Leyland. In his presentation, Mr Raghu Menon, SAIF zone Senior Marketing Officer put forward the salient features of the world's first ISO certified Airport Free zone. These include 100 per cent foreign ownership and repatriation of funds sans restrictions, no corporate or personal taxes, no import or export duties, a choice of locations n ad plots in different size pre built warehouses and office space , abundant and inexpensive energy and single window operations. Mr IS Paul, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council, said the visit of SAIF team was an effort to strengthen industrial and economic co-operation with the UAE. CII has an MoU with the CII both in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and has been working closely with Dubai Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Jebel Ali Ports Authority and Jebel Air Free Trade Zone Authority.
|
|
Punjab Milkfed declares
dividend Chandigarh, March 27 The meeting also approved the annual accounts, distribution of profit and the fee of the Board of Directors. Mr Nakai stated that Milkfed has been paying dividends since 1993-94. The overall sales turnover of Milkfed, including its affiliated district milk unions, reached Rs 523 crore during the year and is expected to cross Rs 600 crore during the current financial year. Dr BM Mahajan, Managing Director, Milkfed, Punjab, said that the federation is making concerted efforts to restructure and strengthen its marketing network in the domestic as well as the international market. Export orders are being received which are at the executing stage. He said Milkfed is also in process of redesigning its packaging by engaging a professional agency so as to attract more customers.
|
|
New Delhi, March 27 The Nahar group, owners of the leading knitwear brands “Monte Carlo and ‘(Canterbury’, has plans to introduce and dominate the apparel market with a complete range of ready to wear products by March-end. OWM has set itself a target to capture 25 per cent of the cotton apparel market by the year-end. The Nahar group has significant experience in all segments of the textile and garment industry, including production of yearn, wool and cotton fabrics to manufacturing and marketing knitwear and thermals. This is a logical extension of our product portfolio and the company’s expansion plans,” said the company’s Chairman J.L. Oswal. “Monte Carlo, which stands for international quality and style, will become an all-seasons brand,” added the company’s Vice-President Kamal Oswal. Pre-shrunk and totally colour-fast, the offerings come in many designs with a price tag ranging from Rs 795-995 for T-shirts and from Rs 875-1525 for trousers.
ANI
|
|
‘Ultra low sulphur diesel better than CNG’ New Delhi, March 27 “A fairer comparison of CNG will be with Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel which is hundred times cleaner than the diesel normally available and is better suited among the clean fuels for the bus fleet,” TERI Director Dr R.K. Pachauri told reporters today. A TERI document on Delhi Transport will be released on March 29. He said, “CNG will be suited for small commercial vehicles like taxis and autorickshaws and for heavy-duty vehicles as buses, ULSD will be a better and more feasible choice.” Expressing concern over the manner in which the recommendations were framed in favour of CNG (by Bhure Lal Committee), Dr Pachauri said, “There should have been more transparency and much more research and trials before arriving at a single approach.” While extending the deadline for conversion to CNG by six months till September 30 with some conditions, the Supreme Court yesterday asked the Bhure Lal Committee to examine the question of ULSD and submit a report within a month. The diesel commonly available now consists 0.5 per cent sulphur, while in ULSD it is only 0.005 per cent. “Though ULSD is not currently produced in India, we can do so once the demand picks up. Till now, for a city like Delhi, it can be imported,’’ the TERI Director said. “At Rs 2.88 per km ULSD will be economically more viable than CNG at Rs 4.40 per km,” he added. Refusing to comment on the Supreme Court order, Dr Pachauri said it would be a stupendous task to implement it. “Nowhere in the world has any agency responsible for meeting travel needs on a large scale opted to convert its entire fleet to CNG ... Congestion, overloading, poor maintenance, adulterated fuel, poor roads — realities cannot be wished away.” Citing trials conducted by London Transport Board on the comparative emission from CNG and ULSD, Dr Pachauri said it was found that clean diesel (ULSD) emitted less of every pollutant except nitrogen oxides. On the scare of a substantial reduction in the number of buses on the Delhi roads from April 1, he said the number of vehicles was as important as the fuel to reduce pollution. He stressed on an appropriate transport mix in the public transit system to reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads. “If 50-odd bus passengers were to switch to two-wheelers, the impact on pollution will be 36 times worse and with cars it will be 23 times worse... If while pursuing the dream of a whole fleet of CNG-powered buses, we overlook the crucial significance of ensuring enough number of buses, Delhi will continue to be one of the most polluted cities,” Dr Pachauri said.
UNI |
cr
India among top 10 in Asia Hong Kong, March 27 The poll found a transparent and reliable legal system was the most important factor influencing people’s choice of countries to do business with. Singapore was ranked number one by 59 per cent, followed by Japan at 37 per cent. Hong Kong’s laissez faire approach saw it ranked as an easy place to do business by 53 per cent, followed by Singapore at 50 per cent.
AFP Honda lowers profit target Tokyo, March 27 Honda said it expects an operating loss of some 50 billion yen (about $ 406.5 million ) in its Europe operations for the year ending Saturday due to the weakening of the euro against the yen and the British pound, and are likely to remain difficult in the foreseeable future. Vice-President Koichi Amemiya said at a Tokyo press conference that it would be difficult for the company to turn around its European business in the next fiscal year from April.
DPA Ericsson to shut 2 British plants London, March 27 Further job losses worldwide are likely to be announced when further details of the cost-cutting programme are given on April 20. Ericsson said in January it would outsource its worldwide mobile phone production to US company Flextronics. Other plants affected by the decision include Ericsson’s facility in Linkoping in Sweden, where there will be 600 redundancies. Ericsson said the group was actively seeking trade buyers for both the Carlton and Scunthorpe plants as ongoing manufacturing concerns.
DPA Pak gas field starts supply London, March 27 “It is our first commercial production in Pakistan,’’ said Philip Aitken, President of field operator and 47.5 per cent stakeholder BHP Petroleum. “It represents an important milestone in our strategy of commercialising gas resources and we look forward to building on this position.’
Reuters |
bb
HDFC Bank Hewlett-Packard Lacoste outlet R. P. Singhania Sugar Federation VRS for AI men IA-AE card |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
