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IBP at Rs 620; CMC to go for 475
Knight Frank’s expansion plans for N. India
Develop infrastructure, CII tells HP Disinvest, PHDCCI tells Punjab
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HDFC Bank launches ‘InstaAlerts’ Chandigarh, February 21 HDFC Bank today launched “InstaAlerts” for all its savings and current account holders. This free service will enable the bank’s customers to get information about events that occur on their bank accounts either via SMS on their mobile phones or e-mail or both.
Accept pilots’ version: experts
Dividend declared by court taxable
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IBP at Rs 620; CMC to go for 475 New Delhi, , February 21 Retail investors will get a discount of 5 per cent. “We have decided to follow the same principle as in the case of IPCL,” Disinvestment Secretary Dhirendra Singh said here. However, unlike the IPCL offer, where the strategic partners Reliance was offered an additional 5 per cent equity, in both IBP and CMC, the strategic partners (Indian Oil Corporation and Tatas, respectively) have not been offered any additional equity. Through the IPOs, the government will offload its residual equity in both the companies. While in the case of CMC it will divest the remaining 26.2 per cent stake, in the case of IBP, the Centre’s residual equity is 26 per cent. The bids for IBP will close on March 1, while that of CMC will close on February 28. The bids are being offered through the book-building route and up to 50 per cent of the offer shall be allocated on discretionary basis to qualified institutional buyers. While not less than 25 per cent will be offered to non-institutional bidders a same proportion will be offered to retail bidders. The IOC had acquired 33.6 per cent stake in the IBP involving a price of Rs 1551 per share. The floor price fixed today by the government is much lower at Rs 620 per share. As regards the CMC, the floor price is significantly higher than the price of Rs 197 per share paid by Tata Sons when it acquired strategic control of the company in 2002.
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Knight Frank’s expansion plans for N. India New Delhi, February 21 “We have specialised in retail segment, be it leasing or sale of mall space to big brands or be it facilities management of the same. We plan to expand our retail operations to other parts of north including Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur and Lucknow in the next 12 to 18 months”, Executive Director of the company Mr Suvir Ahuja said in an interview. In the northern region, Knight Frank India has focussed mainly on facilities management activity for the last couple of years and has started focussing on agency and advisory business since last one year. “The results have been excellent and expansions plans to growth the business in north are very large”, he said. “We have recently opened office in Bangalore besides being operational in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. We plan to extend the operations to other cities in the country”, Mr Ahuja said. Cashing in on the trend among American companies to outsource from India, many multi-national real estate companies have to started to troop to the country. Mr Ahuja said that the real estate market in the past 10 to 12 years has undergone a major change. “Ever since 1991-92, when the liberalisation started happening in the country, doors were opened to foreign direct investment (FDI) in various sectors, India has emerged on the top for MNCs to outsource their activities, especially in IT areas. This resulted in real estate MNCs opening their offices in India and many of us have been present in the country for seven to 10 years”, he said. He said that the real estate market is definitely on the rise since the middle of 2003 after a dull period of couple of years. MNCs have started leasing large spaces for call centres, BPO and other IT enabled services. “Hence for the next two to three years, we expect the market to be favourable and on the rise with good demand”, Mr Ahuja said. Apart from offering advisory, brokerage and corporate services, most real estate consulting companies are also diversifying into facility and property management. Mr Ahuja said that Knight Frank pioneered the concept of Facilities Management in malls with the inception of Ansal Plaza “nearly five to six years ago”. “In the facilities management business we are one of the biggest in the country. We have also recently opened up the property management cell in Mumbai and are in the process of starting the same in Delhi”, he said. There are also a number of unorganised players in this segment who claim to offer similar services at lower prices, but there is a big question mark on the quality of services they offer. “In any given market there are all kinds of customers. Some are quality conscious and want good branding in services and there are other customers who only think of price and compromise on quality”, he said. With the more and more multinational brands coming into the market in a big way in the field of
consumables such as electricity, automobiles, telecom, restaurant chains etc, the concept of quality in facilities management is setting in very aggressively and as a result demand for good facilities management agencies are on the rise. The asset services sector, which is well organised in the West, is gradually picking up in India, especially in the commercial and retail segments. In the residential segment, it is only the high-end residential complexes such as ITC’s Labranum in Gurgaon and the Seawood Estate in Mumbai, which opt for professional property and facility management services. Mr Ahuja said that concept of facilities management both in residential and commercial segment is a new phenomena and the demand is on the increase. The commercial segment is adapting this much faster and all the major properties (especially A grade) in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore etc., are being managed by facilities management service providers. For the residential segment it is mainly in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune where societies have gone in for facilities management service providers, he said. “Any change in the lifestyles takes time to adopt and as a result services associated with it also take a while. I do not see any problem in facilities management services being used in Delhi and other locations of North for residential purposes. The growth opportunity in this area is tremendous and with economy doing well this will happen must faster now”, he said.
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Develop infrastructure, CII tells HP Chandigarh, February 21 The memorandum said that diversification of crops and contract farming should be encouraged and crop insurance programmes should be implemented, so as to safeguard the interests of the farmers.
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Disinvest, PHDCCI tells Punjab
The PHDCCI yesterday asked the Punjab Government to spell out the success of fiscal reforms programme and the action plan to achieve better fiscal stability so that fiscal stress was arrested and did not adversely affect the economic growth of the state. In a pre-Budget memorandum submitted to Punjab Finance Minister Lal Singh, the PHDCCI pointed out that the state should work to reverse the low growth rate of 4.7 per cent per annum in the post-economic reforms period of 1990s which was lower than the national economic growth rate of 5.8 per cent. The PHDCCI suggested that the emphasis and focus of the Budget for 2004-05 should be to accelerate the pace of economic growth in tune with the 10th Plan target of 8 per cent growth. The memorandum stated that the decision to disinvest in the favour of private sector should be taken because the state could not afford to divert scarce public funds to finance losses. The Chamber also suggested reduction in stamp duty from 6 per cent to 5 per cent.
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HDFC Bank launches ‘InstaAlerts’
Chandigarh, February 21 |
Accept pilots’ version: experts
The in-depth investigation reveals that Punjab Government’s two pilots, Surinder Kapur and C.P. Singh (co-pilot), were caught in the most difficult situation around Safdurjung Airport between 5.8 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. on Monday, February 9, 2004. There were only two alternatives-land, as scheduled, and face the possibility of the two-engine 10-seater King Air aircraft sucking birds or make a detour into ‘no fly zone’ to save men and machinery. It was a testing time for Capt Kapur. In a spur of moment, he took a calculated decision and chose to enter the forbidden air space. In doing so, he did violate safety norm but subsequently landed safely as, by this time, birds of different sizes and shapes and also flying at varying levels had flown away from the flight path. Had Capt Kapur landed without making a detour, the result could have been disastrous. A few years, Punjab Governor and his family had perished in a plane crash around Himachal Pradesh. Similar could have been the fate of this aircraft which, among others, was carrying Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. The ‘sucking power’ of the aircraft in full throttle is immense. A few years ago at the
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), a Boeing aircraft for repairs was standing at the parking bay. Engines were running in full throttle. The Indian Airlines official indiscreetly walked in line of the aircraft. He was sucked in. It was one of the gravest tragedies in the history of Indian aviation. Since then leaving engines in full throttle has been banned. According to aviation experts, the pilots version should have been accepted instead of grounding them and suspending their licences. Capt Kapur is said to have virtual unblemished flying record while other pilot is a retired personnel from Air Force. The aviation pandits say that Capt Kapur should have lauded for saving the lives and aircraft instead of punishing him and his colleague. The inquiry by DGCA’s two-member team of Subhash Chandra (Deputy Director, Air Safety) and Capt R.D. Datta, (Flight Inspector) is in progress. Capt Kapur and Capt Singh have maintained what they had said in their preliminary examination. The probe committee should also ascertain as to what role was played by airport’s tower in this incident. Late last month, there was panic at Delhi airport as a small plane went missing from radar screens. The aircraft took off from the Hindon Air Base and was scheduled to land at the IGIA at 5.45 p.m. But the air force pilots lost their way. They caused a lot of anxiety before finally landing at 6.15 p.m. Air Force authorities immediately began their probe.
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Dividend declared by court taxable
Q: I had made some investments in Fair Growth Financial Services back in 1992 under its Portfolio Management Scheme. These investments were taken over by the Special Court after the securities scam broke. The court has declared a “dividend” of 50 per cent this year on these investments. Now, dividends are exempt from tax in AY 2004-2005. Is the dividend declared by the Special Court also exempt? I’m confused because the investment was under PMS and not in a specific company or mutual fund. Your view would help. Appreciate your time. — N.V.Rao A: PMS are of two types, where the manager, 1. Creates a common pool of assets, earns income and declares a dividend. This dividend is taxable. 2. Acts as an agent on your behalf, buys and sells shares for you and charges his fees. This dividend is tax-free in your hands. In the instant case, the court has declared a dividend. The court is neither a company incorporated in India nor is a mutual fund. In any case, it does not fall under the type-2 mentioned above. This dividend is taxable in your hands. Q: I need some clarifications regarding rebate for Rs. 24,000 of tuition fees of children. If the family has only one child or if only one of the 2 children is studying, will the benefit of Rs. 24,000 be available? The schools and colleges charge fees, other than tuition fees, viz. examination fees, magazine fees, computer fees, development fees etc. Can these fees be considered as part of Rs. 24,000 allowed? Will if any certificate from the school/college be necessary a proof? Will the rebate u/s 88 be available to the father if the child is in KG? Will it be allowed for children in medical, engineering or professional courses? — V. P. Sinha, Kilash Puri, Buland City. A:
1. If there is one child, the rebate is available up to fees of Rs. 12,000 and for 2 children, it is up to Rs. 24,000 within the overall limit of Rs. 70,000 u/s 88. 2. Only tuition fees, by whatever name called, are eligible. It has to be for full-time education. 3. Some proof of any kind is necessary and will be sufficient. 4. The rebate will be available to that parent who pays the fees. If both the parents pay the fees, the rebate will be available to the extent of the payment with the applicable ceiling of Rs. 12,000 per child (up to 2 children only). The child can get the deduction u/s 80E independently against repayment of loan and interest taken for pursuing higher studies. Q:
I student studying in United States. I came US this July 2003. I want to open an NRO account in ICICI Bank. so that I and my brother (say) can both save our earning together in one account. I am not worried if the money in this account is not repatriable. I wish to know can I avoid TDS on NRO account. — Rahul Gupta A: It is presumed that your brother is a Resident. The NRE and FCNR accounts of an NRI allows repatriability but does not allow a joint holding with a Resident. The NRO allows joint holding with a Resident and is a good solution if your brother (say) also uses it to park his savings. Kindly note that the interest on this account is not only fully taxable but also TDS is required to be applied @30 per cent plus surcharge if any, even if the interest is below the tax threshold of Rs 50,000. Yes, you have an escape route. You may file Form 15G with the bank to avoid TDS if your income in India is less than Rs 50,000.
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Powered by the retail boom and the prevailing buoyancy in the real estate market in India, global property consultancy major Knight Frank India has drawn out major expansion plans in the northern region, especially in the retail segment.
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