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India 3rd
in investors’ confidence: Ficci India has surged ahead past the UK to take the third position among investors’ confidence in the world, according to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Jewellers
aim at $ 16 b export Targeting the gem and jewellery export worth $ 16 billion within the next three years, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council today said the industry was recording an average growth of 25 to 30 per cent. Investor
guidance
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IOC net profit down 31 pc
New Delhi, October 23 The company’s turnover stood at Rs 31,462.22 crore during the quarter ended September 30 this year, up 21.65 per cent against Rs 25,863.65 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. During the first half of this fiscal, the downstream company’s net profit went down marginally by 1.44 per cent at Rs 2,711.70 crore against Rs 2,751.44 crore in the previous H1. The company’s turnover stood at Rs 62,756.42 crore during H1, up 19.09 per cent over Rs 52,695.44 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. IOC CMD M.S. Ramachandran attributed the fall in net profit to a heavy amount of under recovery on retail prices of petrol and diesel. Despite an increase in international oil prices, domestic petroleum prices have not been changed since July. The country’s basket of petroleum products is ruling at $ 44-45 a barrel. The company’s gross margin stood at $ 7.15 a barrel in H1 against $ 3.63 during the first half of the previous fiscal. The earning per share of the company declined to Rs 10.61 during Q2 against Rs 15.47 during the previous Q2. EPS stood at Rs 23.22 during H1 against Rs 23.56 during the April-September period of the last fiscal. Zensar Tech
IT solutions company Zensar Technologies has posted a 208 per cent rise in its second quarter net profit at Rs 6.23 crore over same quarter in 2003-2004. Announcing the second quarter results here today, Zensar Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Ganesh Natarajan said the company’s revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 85.97 crore. The consolidated revenues of the company showed a robust growth of 34 percent at Rs 162.07 crore as compared to Rs 121.12 crore of the corresponding period during the last financial year.
Finolex Cables
Finolex Cables Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 5 crore for the quarter-ended September 30, 2004 as compared to Rs 9.23 crore for the quarter-ended September 30, 2003, a decline of 45.82 per cent. The company said its total income (net of excise) has increased from Rs 120.76 crore in the SQ-03 to Rs 160.6 crore in the quarter-ended September 30.
Dividend
UTI Mutual Fund’s UTI-Growth Sector Fund-Software (UTI-GSF-Software) scheme has declared a tax-free dividend of 12 per cent to the unit holders. The unit holders will get Rs 1.20 per unit on face value of Rs 10, a UTI Mutual Fund press note said here. The record date for the dividend would be November 5 this year.
— TNS, Agencies
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Shobhaa De grills tycoons in spicy show
Such little-known facets of Indian industrialists are about to be revealed to the public on a new TV show “Power Trip” by model-turned-columnist Shobhaa De. After her serial “Lipstick” for Zee TV, which did reasonably well, she is now back with the new weekly programme on Sahara One channel that will be aired every Sunday. “I knew one thing — that I did not want to come up with a soap for now though I have two programmes of mine soon on TV,” De told IANS. “For a long time I had this idea in mind to host a TV show and use my contacts of the most powerful Indian men and women that I have met over these years. Do it in a way that has never been done before.” The show promises to be vibrant, spicy and fun. The most powerful people in India relax on the show and let their hair down and have a frank and friendly conversation with De. For instance, she gets businessman Adi Godrej to confess: “I don’t like salwar kameezes!” And Harsh Neotia of Ambuja Cements says he owns “a single Titan watch”. He also admits to “breaking down” in his cabin soon after taking over the cement company. The discussions will range from business to competition, courtship, privacy and politics among other things. The show will be telecast every Sunday at 12 noon. Other celebrities on her show include Swati Piramal of the Nicholas Piramal group, who tells De that she loves cooking and has a fondness for “fairies and elves”. Yash Birla talks about reading Page 3 but also reading the pink papers. He reveals how he loves “walking barefoot in Vrindavan” and that his idea of a perfect holiday is the Himalayas. Vikram Mehta of Shell tells De that even liberal Indians aren’t very liberal when it comes to Hindu-Muslim marriages. This and more is what De promises in “Power Trip”. As for her TV serial “Lipstick”, she says: “We could not stretch it too much so it was in the best interest of all that we ended the serial. I think it is the right thing to do, considering something cannot be forced upon the audience.”
— IANS
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Private airlines better placed than govt ones by K.R. Wadhwaney
The
Indian skies have become congested. The entry of no-frills carriers has made the competition intense. The razor-sharp rivalry in the civil aviation sector has given rise to unethical practices causing problems to the passengers, government and other connected agencies. What has become a critical situation is that some carriers, already in the red, are facing more financial difficulties. However, they wear bold faces. When the open-sky policy was initiated nearly 13 years ago, more than 10 carriers initiated operations. Quite a few folded up as they could not face the competition nor had enough financial resources. A few are surviving but all is not ‘honey’ as fuel prices continue to rise and overhead expenses cannot be reduced drastically. As a result, the flying venture has become a tough commercial operation. The skies may have opened up but there is a room only for those who have sustained cushion. Experienced officials are of the view that the situation will get murkier with the passage of time and some more carriers run the risk of bankruptcy. The race for lower fares started some time ago when some carriers, in an attempt to secure a larger share of passenger-load, initiated apex fares. One or two formed innovative schemes and offered facilities, particularly for regular flyers. Discounts were also offered to senior citizens, students and other groups. Different carriers gave different twists to their schemes. Some even resorted to practices which were ‘sharp’, if not illegal. As the race to woo passengers gathered momentum, up came the concept of no-frills airlines. Several facilities are offered to passengers by low-fare carriers. But the situation is not as simple as it appears to be because a majority of airlines are unable to break even. The scenario on international routes is even more complex. This is because two national carriers have not been able to augment their fleets owing to red-tapism and intense fight between the two leading manufacturers, Airbus Industries and Boeing. Overall, India’s fleet is meagre — much poorer than that of some small countries. Air-India just has a fleet of 33 aircraft, some of them aged and others over-utilised. One or two are constantly on ground, lying in readiness for the government ‘call’. Indian Airlines and its subsidiary, Alliance Air, have a combined fleet of 62 aircraft. Some of these have already reached the ‘retirement’ age. Jet Airways has a relatively new fleet numbering 41 aircraft, including eight of the ATR variety. Air Sahara has 19. Both these private airlines have had better ground level than national carriers for certain reasons, which cannot be considered ‘ethical’. They enjoy better political patronage than the national carriers. In this vexed situation, the Civil Aviation Ministry has granted additional concessions to foreign carriers to operate additional flights, even charter flights, to meet the demands of tourist traffic. The opening of the skies is a healthy development but such ‘openings’ should not cause embarrassment to the national carriers.
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India 3rd in investors’ confidence: Ficci
Bangalore, October 23 Participating in an interactive session with a visiting Singapore business delegation here, a Ficci spokesman said that Indian stocks remained attracting on price earning ratio, price to book value and dividend yield. Mr Mahesh Y. Reddy, Joint Director of Ficci, told the Singapore businessmen that Indian equity based on these parameters was not overvalued compared to China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Besides the IT and ITES sectors, the oil industry was also equally big. India’s petroleum giants were emerging as big multinationals with investments made in other countries expanding from Sudan to Sri Lanka. India was also emerging a premier location for healthcare and a host of internationally acclaimed technology institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology. Pointing out problems faced by India in the BPO segment, it was discussed at the session that the country faced marketing problems which need to be tackled effectively. China, for instance, was hiring American companies for marketing purposes. India should explore such possibilities. A Wipro representative at the meeting said Wipro had acquired some overseas companies recently to help in the marketing strategy in the USA and Europe. Political considerations were weighing against India and other countries on taking up offshoring business and the solution would be to take up nearshoring by companies which need to extend their markets in the USA and Europe. Nearshoring had already evoked a good interest in Canada to serve US customers and, similarly, some European countries had also met with success, he added.
— UNI
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Jewellers aim at $ 16 b export
Jaipur, October 23 "The Indian gem and jewellery industry has been growing leap and bounds and we believe we will achieve our vision of touching exports of $ 16 billion by the year 2007," said Bakul Mehta, Chairman of the GJEPC. The industry is recording an average growth of 25 to 30 per cent per annum with the country establishing itself as the world's largest manufacturing centre of cut and polished diamonds exports of which it had already reached $ 8.6 billion, he said at the Council's 31st annual award function here. India, he said, was contributing 60 per cent of the world's supply in terms of value, 85 per cent in terms of cartages and 92 per cent in terms of pieces. Eleven out of 12 stones set in jewellery worldwide go from India, making the country a preferred source of gem and jewellery, he said. Stressing the need for effective implementation of supportive state policies, he said, "We have fine policy framework on paper but it must be implemented on ground level fully and effectively so that India could achieve its full potential."
— PTI
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NRI can repatriate sale proceeds of property by A.N. Shanbhag Q: I have sold a piece of land given as a gift 24 years ago by my mother. Do I need to deposit the proceeds in a separate or new account opened for capital gain purposes. Alternatively can I deposit the proceeds in my existing NRO account? What are my options for tax savings, if I cannot put it in PPF or NSC being an NRI. Can I repatriate the proceeds? If yes, How? — L Lakshmanan, Salem, Illinois A : India has taken a giant step in the direction of full convertibility, through circular 67/2003-RB dt.13.1.03 supplemented by RBI master circular 4/2004-05 dt. 1.7.04. Earlier, it was possible to repatriate forex on current account and also some specified small amounts on capital account. Now, it has become possible for an NRI or a PIO to repatriate as much as $ 1 million per calendar year for bona fide purposes out of the sale proceeds of assets held in NRO accounts. He should have acquired the assets in question, out of rupee resources when he was in India or by way of legacy/inheritance from a person who was a resident in India. The following funds/ assets are eligible for repatriation: a) Sale proceeds of immovable property. b) Assets acquired by way of inheritance/legacy. c) Deposit with a bank or a firm or a company. d) Provident fund balance or superannuation benefits. e) Amount of claim or maturity proceeds of insurance policy. f) Sale proceeds of shares and securities. g) Any other asset held in India, in accordance with the FEMA. In case of immovable property acquired out of rupee funds, repatriation of sale proceeds is available subject to the condition that the property should have been held for a minimum period of 10 years. If such a property acquired out of rupee funds is sold after being held for less than 10 years, remittance can be made, if the sale proceeds have been held by the NRI/PIO for the balance period in NRO Account (savings or term deposits) or in any other eligible security, provided such investment is traced to the sale proceeds of the immovable property. The repatriation of Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) is subject to payment of taxes payable thereof. You may invest the capital gains in infrastructure bonds of Nabard, NHAI, NHB, REC or Sidbi to claim exemption from LTCG tax. There is 3 year lock-in period for these bonds and the interest earned is fully taxable. AIR Q : I want some clarification about the Annual Information Return (AIR) As regards the AIR to be filed with the next year income tax return, how can we maintain our daily expenses? Do we have to maintain all the records of our expenses, even if it is paltry as low as Rs 10 on something or it has to be on consolidated basis for daily or weekly or monthly? Is there any minimum amount over which all the transactions are to be recorded? — Sunil Kumar Pahwa, Surat, A: Sec. 285BA has been replaced by FA04. The requirement to furnish AIR is in respect of ‘specified financial transaction’, which includes a transaction for — a) Purchase, sale or exchange of goods or property or tight or interest in a property. b) Rendering a prescribed service. c) Under a works contract. d) An investment made or an expenditure e) Taking or accepting any loan or deposit. Where the value of such transactions during a FY exceeds Rs 50,000. The provision has been extended to an office of government or other authorities who are responsible for registering a record under any law. A new Sec. 271FA penalises a person for failure to furnish AIR within the prescribed time. The penalty is Rs 100 per day. CA’s
services Q : I would like
to recollect that in the near past, there was inspector raj all over the
country which meant too much interference from the officials of the
government departments. It was said that the industry or the factory has
to reply to 40 departments of the government but the number of working
days in a month is only 25. Similarly, it appears that now this
inspector raj is being replaced by the Chartered Accountant's raj. In
every field a person has to take the services of a chartered accountant
on payment of fees. This should be reduced by the government to the
minimum possible. — V.K. Shah A :
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Gold zooms to Rs 6,375/10 gm
New Delhi, October 23 Trading volumes picked up amid marriage and festival buying as stockists purchased to enlarge their position, fearing the prices might go higher at overseas markets. Crude oil hitting a new high of $ 55.50 a barrel mainly influenced the dollar as investors shifted their interest toward bullion, considering silver and gold a safe haven during such crisis. The yellow metal, which had set a record at Rs 6,350 per 10 gm on January 6 this year, crossed this level on October 9 before setting a fresh record today.
— PTI
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Two-wheeler sales up
New Delhi, October 23 A total of 28.7 lakh two-wheelers were sold during April-September 2004 compared to 25.4 lakh units sold during the year ago period, data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. Motor cycle and step-thru sales, which constituted about 78 per cent of the total two-wheeler sales in India, the second-biggest market after China, rose 14.3 per cent at 22.4 lakh units. Scooter and scooterettee sales rebounded by posting an impressive 10.4 per cent jump at 4.74 lakh units while its sibling moped sales grew 6.53 per cent at 1.60 lakh units.
— PTI
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WTO ministerial meeting New Delhi, October 23 The last meeting was held in Cancun, Mexico, where no headway could be made in the wake of major differences among developing and developed countries, particularly over subsidies in agriculture. The next meeting in Hong Kong is expected to take forward the Framework Agreement agreed upon by the member nations in Geneva this year.
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Forex reserve IT returns Mahanagar Gas Ispat Industries Leelaventure Canara Bank Vijay Kelkar |
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Mumbai, October 23
