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Tuesday,
January 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Gold at 6-year high on war fear
Pak to include India in gas project
Coop credit institutions discriminated
Announcement of new industrial policy delayed |
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‘Govt must retain 26 pc in HPCL’
Yahoo! services for Airtel subscribers
FIIs’ net investments fall 72.33 pc
Jackie Shroff is IBP ambassador
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Gold at 6-year high on war fear
London, January 6 Spot gold roared to $353.75 an ounce in Asian trading, its firmest level since March, 1997 and up from Friday’s New York closing level of $350.90/351.50. Bullion is 27 per cent higher than this time last year, making it one of the best performing financial assets during a prolonged stock market downturn, a fragile dollar and a host of geopolitical tensions. “With the market looking well supported around the $342 level both from a technical and fundamental basis, it will appear as though the price will look to make fresh gains in the week ahead,’’ Standard Bank London said in a report. Prospects of another Gulf War and fear over further attacks like the September 11, 2001 assaults on US landmarks underpinned the metal. The USA has steadily increased its military presence in the Gulf as tensions with Iraq grow. British media on Sunday reported that Britain would begin deploying its troops in the region on January 15. Higher prices of oil, which like gold is branded by some traders as a “war commodity’’, also supported bullion. “It doesn’t look like it is going to calm down just yet,’’ Simon Klimt, head of commodities at Westpac Banking Corp in Sydney, said. By 0921 GMT, spot bullion was trading at $352.25/353.00 an ounce. Settles at 5730
MUMBAI: Gold prices spurted by a whopping Rs 80 per 10 grams to scale a new all-time peak of Rs 5730 at the close of trade on the bullion marker today following hectic stockists’ buying influenced by a flare-up in global prices to over six-year high owing to war fears. The gold prices soared, breached key resistance levels and surpassed the earlier life-time highs of Rs 5,713 struck on February 13, 1996, as traders built up large gold stocks due to global, political and economic tensions. The main reason behind the steep rise in the yellow metal was attributed to apprehensions of a potential U S led attack on Iraq, as speculators reinforced gold’s status of a safe-haven investment in times of a war-like crisis, a dealer said, adding that “North Korea’s resumption of its nuclear programme and the latest suicide bombing in Tel Aviv further ignited trouble spots in the West Asia”. A sharp rise in the global crude oil prices to over $ 31 a barrel, a lingering weak US dollar and the equity markets also had a firm bearing on the gold prices, dealers said.
PTI
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Pak to include India in gas project
Islamabad, January 6 “We have agreed to include Indians in the feasibility study but they will not be allowed to go to the prohibited and sensitive areas,” the official told IANS. There is a proposal to extend the second phase of the pipeline to India. Experts feel India will benefit hugely from the project because Turkmenistan has large reserves of natural gas that can cater to the needs of the region for 100 years. Leaders from Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan last month signed an agreement for the construction of the pipeline that will run from the Daultana gas fields in Turkmenistan to Pakistan’s central city of Multan through Afghanistan. According to the official, if India joins the project and the pipeline is extended to Indian cities, Pakistan will get $500 million in royalty per year. Moreover, Afghanistan is expected to earn $300 million per annum in the shape of a transit fee and see the generation of around 12,000 jobs, said the official. Under the terms of the framework agreement for the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline Project, Pakistan can only levy tax on the gas used by consumers in the country. The official said at a meeting of officials of the ADB, Pakistan and Turkmenistan in Islamabad last month, Pakistan had asked that it should be allowed to levy tax on the gas carried through the pipeline.
IANS
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Coop credit institutions discriminated Chandigarh, January 6 At the cost of tax payers’, the Centre has doled out approximately Rs 20,000 crore to the commercial banks. These banks had suffered huge losses because of non-re-payment of loans and equities availed of by business houses having nexus with bureaucrats and politicians. This nexus has robbed the banks and the common man. The Centre, however, is dragging its feet when it comes to co-operative credit institutions. The argument given is that commercial banks are nationalised and owned by the government, whereas, co-operative credit institutions do not belong to the government, hence, it was not possible to help them, say sources. Nevertheless, the Centre had appointed a committee headed by a former Union Minister of State of Finance, Mr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, to study the demand of the co-operative credit institutions. The following two main recommendations of the committee are not acceptable to the states — 1. Issue of bonds by the Centre and states with interest on these being paid by the Centre/states out of budgetary allocation, each year. The amount of bonds is to be so fixed that at the predetermined rate of interest, the institutions receive 10 per cent of the amount of revitalization assistance, each year. This assistance of the amount identified shall become available to the co-operative institutions in 10 years. 2. The amount of revitalisation assistance to be provided should be shared by the Centre and the states in 60:40 ratio. The states have demanded that instead of 60:40 sharing, the Centre should pay for 100 per cent revitalisation package have also rejected the bond system to insist that fiannciaassistance be given in one installment. In Punjab, says the Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, the total non-performing assets of the co-operative credit institutions are Rs 300 crore. As per the Patil committee, the Centre’s share comes to Rs 180 crore. Due to scary financial situation, Punjab has expressed its inability to contribute its share of Rs 120 crore. The Centre should pay up the entire sum of Rs 300 crore. The co-operative credit institutions in Punjab can be broadly classified as the Punjab State Co-operative Bank, its 19 central district branches and 4,000-odd primary agriculture credit societies and Punjab state co-operative agriculture and rural development bank and its 87-odd branches. In Punjab the co-operative credit system is doing well, despite reports of ‘’suicide’’ by farmers due to burden of debt. Capt. Amarinder Singh told TNS the state has identified about 85,000 families, involving a debt burden of Rs 285 crore. It has now introduced ‘one-time settlement’ scheme through the institution of Lok Adalat with active support of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Two Adalts are functional at Patiala and Jalandhar. The state hopes that this mechanism would provide relief to the families under debt to the tune of Rs 60 crore. The Punjab state co-operative bank Managing Director, Mr D S Grewal, told TNS today that each crop season, Rabi/Kharif, the bank through its net-work disbursed Rs 1,250 crore. In Punjab 7.5 lakh ‘’kisan credit cards’’ have been issued. Even as Punjab awaits the Centre’s rehabilitation package, Punjab self-supporting Co-operative Societies Bill, 2002, is likely to be introduced in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha. It is aimed at providing complete ‘’freedom’’ to such co-operative credit institutions in running their affairs, which do not take any financial aid from the government and also to unshackle these from the stranglehold of bureaucracy.
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Announcement of new industrial policy delayed Chandigarh, January 6 According to information available, in view of the tax holiday to industry in J&K and Himachal announced by the respective states and Centre Government, these MLAs and Ministers have been lobbying to announce a special package to the border area industries, but the proposed industry policy has so far recommended just subsidised credit to the border area units. Mr Ashwani Sekhri, Minister of State for Industry, leading the campaign, has been demanding to refund the payment of excise duty and income tax holiday to the border area units. He said, to solve the problem of unemployment and to check the migration of industries to Himachal and J&K, the new policy would have to provide competitive package to them. Consequently, the meeting of the Council of Ministers regarding approval of industrial policy was cancelled and the draft industrial policy, prepared by the Department of Industries was referred to a cabinet Sub-Committee. Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson to the Punjab Government said that the draft industrial policy was discussed by the Chief Secretary Punjab with the Chief Minister, Punjab. He said the Cabinet Sub-Committee, comprising Industries Minister, Mr Avtar Henry, as Chairman, Finance Minister, Mr Lal Singh, Excise and Taxation Minister, Mr Sardul Singh and Minister of State for Industries Mr Ashwani Sekhri would submit its recommendations for consideration by the council of ministers within 15 days. According to official sources, the Sub-committee would have to build up a consensus over the incentive package, as the CII and other industrial organisations in the Central Punjab, especially of Ludhiana and Jalandhar have raised objections over the government’s plan to give preferential treatment to border area industry. Officials in Excise and Taxation department are also reportedly opposing the government’s move to continue sales tax exemptions worth over Rs 600 crore annually to industry.
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‘Govt must retain 26 pc in HPCL’
New Delhi, January 6 In its comments on Disinvestment Ministry’s proposal to sell 34 per cent stake to a strategic investor, Petroleum Ministry has opined that a minimum of 26 per cent shareholding was necessary for the government to have its say in crucial decisions impacting the consumers, highly placed sources said. “Suppose the strategic investor wants to close down (HPCL’s) refinery and start importing products from surplus refineries in the South Eastern region, then the government will need 26 per cent equity to block such a move,” sources said. They said the Ministry did not agree with the proposal to retain 15 per cent after offloading another 2 per cent to employees. “A 15 per cent stake would not give the government nominee directors enough strength to block resolutions which are against national and consumer interest,” sources said. The Ministry also wanted a clause in the shareholders agreement making it mandatory on strategic investor to complete the 9 million tonnes Bathinda refinery.
PTI
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Yahoo! services for Airtel subscribers Chandigarh, January 6 According to Mr Anil Nayar, President Mobility, Bharti Tele-Ventures, “This tie-up with Yahoo! will bring a variety of contents to our customers, which so far could have been accessed only through their personal computers. Yahoo! India offers Yahoo! messenger, group SMS, mail, logos, ring tones, cricket, astrology, photo SMS, jokes, blink and flash SMS, world timing etc. to mobile users. To avail these services Airtel user will need a Yahoo! ID. To log in, the user needs to type “IN_Yahoo!ID_Yahoo! password” on his mobile phone, and send it as an SMS to 8242 and he will then be logged in. The user will immediately gets an SMS with the list of his friends that are online at that time. The service is available to all prepaid and postpaid Airtel users.
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FIIs’ net investments fall 72.33 pc
Mumbai, January 6 The FIIs netted purchases of Rs 3,609.7 crore ( $ 746.7 mn) in equities while netting inflows to the tune of Rs 196.1 crore ($ 35.8 mn) in debt market during the period under review, according to the data available with SEBI for calendar year 2002. MFs were net sellers only in the month of March at Rs 151.86 crore.
PTI
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Pre-Budget meeting Package Seminar held Marketing meet SBP IOC plan Uco Bank |
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