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White sugar to be imported if price hike continues
Ambanis agree on legal split, says TV channel
Sensex in downward spiral, dips 91 points
Tsunami fund
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After 3 years, trading restarts today at LSE
Ludhiana, January 6 Three years after trading at the Ludhiana Stock Exchange came to a halt, the exchange will witness a revival as trading on the Indonext exchange begins tomorrow. This brings cheer, particularly for investors holding shares of small and midcap companies that were listed with the LSE and had stopped trading.
Maruti Euro III cars come with higher price tags
Multiplex is buzzword for fun
India embraces .in domain
SOS to Manmohan on brick-kilns
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White sugar to be imported if price hike continues
New Delhi, January 6 There are concerns that the increase in sugar prices would have a spiralling effect on other commodities, where it is used as a major ingredient and could also spur up inflation. “The government would not hesitate to import white sugar if supplies did not improve and prices did not come down,” the Union Food and Civil Supplies and Public Distribution Minister Sharad Pawar told reporter here. Earlier in the day, Pawar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the situation. “The government is closely watching the situation as there has been an unusual rise in prices of sugar in the country in the past few days”, Pawar said. Asserting there was no shortage of sugar in the country, he said there could be some speculative forces behind the price rise. However, the Indian Sugar Mills Association said the forecast of the world sugar balance for the period from October 2004 to September 2005 shows that world production will be three million tonnes lower than world consumption. Pawar said some sugar mills are delaying the release of the commodity. He said a decision had been taken to automatically convert unsold free-sale quota sugar by the mills at the end of the month to cheap levy sugar supplied to ration shops. It has also been decided to increase the period of fulfilment of export obligation from the current 24 months to 36 months to accelerate the import of raw sugar under Advance Licence Scheme. For additional supplies, the government has decided to release an additional 4 lakh metric tonnes of sugar in the market in the current quarter of 2005. Out of this, two-lakh mt would be released in the current month and one each in February and March, 2005. With this additional supply, the total stocks to be released during the first three months of 2005 would be 44.5 lakh tonnes, which is one of the highest in the recent years for this period, he said. “I am confident there will be improvement in the market”, Pawar said adding sugar prices have already started coming down in the wholesale market in some states since yesterday after the government took some measures in this regard. Meanwhile, senior officials in the ministry were of the view that the advanced licence policy for import of raw sugar seems to have backfired. The policy has not only failed to check a steep rise in sugar prices, but also added to the firming up of international prices sending signals that India is facing severe shortage of sweetner. They said the government is concerned over the runaway rise in prices and is debating whether profiteers are misusing the duty-free imports. The government had allowed duty free import of raw sugar hoping the move would help check prices. While imports through this route have risen sharply, prices have also increased, contrary to expectations. Sugar prices have shot up by 45 per cent from Rs 1300 crore per quintal to Rs 1900 per quintal. Prices have gone up by 22 per cent in the last six months itself.
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Ambanis agree on legal split, says TV channel New Delhi, January 6 Aaj Tak reported that the Ambani family — mother Kokilaben, Mukesh, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, younger brother Anil, Vice-Chairman of the company, and two sisters Deepti and Neena had agreed on December 28 on a settlement under which 34 per cent of the RIL equity held by the family and the private companies in business empire would be divided among the four siblings. However, an RIL spokesperson told PTI “we know nothing about it.” There was no word from the camp of Anil Ambani who spent the day in the national Capital holding important meetings with the PM and Finance Minister among others. The spokesperson of Anil Ambani could not be contacted despite several attempts. An Aaj Tak release said ICICI Bank Chairman K.V. Kamath would work out the details of the separation and would function as the arbitrator. Kamath would be doing this in his personal capacity and as a family friend, it added. Under the pact, the ownership will be aligned with management. RIL would not be divided but restructured, the release said. The December 28 meeting, where the decision of the brothers to part ways, was held on the birth anniversary of Reliance founder Dhirubhai Ambani, father of Mukesh and Anil, at the Amabni residence Seawind in Mumbai and was attended by Kokilaben, the two brothers and two sisters along with their husbands. — PTI
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Sensex in downward spiral, dips 91 points
Mumbai, January 6 The Sensex slipped below the 6,400 level to close at 6,367. The Nifty too ended lower at 1,994, down nearly 2 per cent or 38 points. The Sensex had crashed 192 points yesterday. However today was slightly better at the bourses with oil and gas companies rallying smartly at close. Essar Oil was up over 3 per cent while BPCL, MPCL and IBP were gainers today. However, Gail closed in the red. Riding on the back of higher prices, scrips of cement companies were major gainers today. While Birla Corp was up 7 per cent, ACC was up by 1 per cent. Gujarat Ambuja gained marginally. However, Grasim and Madras Cements were losers today. The fall in international metal prices continued to take its toll on Indian companies. Jindal Stainless Ltd was down 5 per cent while Essar and Jindal Steel and Power were down by 2 per cent and Ispat Industries fell by nearly 1 per cent.
Sebi soothes
Market regulator Sebi said today there was no cause for worry over yesterday’s stock market slip. “Any unusual movement is a matter of concern for us. But the market is doing very well today and there is no cause for worry,” Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman G N Bajpai said when asked about the movement of the stock market yesterday. After a bull run over the New Year weekend, the BSE-30 Index lost nearly 200 points yesterday. Asked if sharp movement in Sensex is a heathly trend, he said the regulator does not have a view on the market trend and that depends on the fundamentals of the economy.
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Tsunami fund
Paris, January 6 With pledges pouring in, aid agencies said they were overwhelmed by the offers of help from the corporate sector. “This is the biggest movement of corporate generosity we have ever had for an emergency call, at least in France, in terms of the amounts given,” says Pascal Freneaux, in charge of collecting private funds for Medecins Sans Frontieres in France. Crisis coordinator David Nabarro at the Geneva-based World Health Organisation said corporate aid to disaster victims was unprecedented for the U.N.’s top disease-fighting body. “As many as 1,50,000 deaths is the equivalent of 500 jumbo jets crashing and killing all occupants. If somewhere in the world, 500 jumbo jets crashed at the same time, there would be a pretty large level of concern,” he added. Few corporations were able to match the € 10-million ($13.23 million) donation from Germany’s Deutsche Bank. Other big donors so far include Standard Chartered Bank, which makes about two-thirds of its profits in Asia and has pledged at least $5 million, Dutch bank ABN Amro with a gift of $3 million and French tyre-maker Michelin, which has earmarked € 2 million.
IMF offers $ 1 b
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to offer up to $ 1 billion in financial assistance to countries hit by the Asian tsunami disaster, its director general Rodrigo Rato said in a statement today. “The IMF stands ready to provide financial assistance to affected countries, in the first instance through our Emergency Natural Disaster Assistance facility. “This financing, which could be on the order of $ 1 billion for the most affected countries, could be made available quickly and without an IMF program,” Mr Rato said ahead of a tsunami aid summit tomorrow in Indonesia, the worst-hit country from the huge earthquake on December 26 which said tsunami waves across the Indian Ocean. Earlier today, both Australia and Germany announced huge increases in their aid to $ 764 million (€ 561 million) and $ 661 million (€ 500 million), respectively.
SBI loan
The SBI will offer a loan of Rs 9,500 to tsunami-hit poor fishermen at four per cent interest rate for purchase of boats the bank would provide loan of Rs 50,000 at seven per cent rate of interest, Chief General Manager of the bank (Chennai circle) Pradeep Chowdhry told reporters yesterday after handing over Rs 10 lakh to the Chief Minister relief fund that the state bank had contributed Rs 10 crore towards the prime ministers relief fund and Rs 40 lakh to the Tamil Nadu CM Relief Fund
General Motors
General Motors today announced that the GM Foundation will donate $1 million in cash to the International Response Fund of the American Red Cross to support relief efforts on behalf of victims of the tidal wave disaster. GM, through its foundation, also will match up to $1 million in contributions made by GM employees to the International Response Fund of the American Red Cross, Unicef and Care. GM employees can make direct contributions to these organisations by using the company’s Global Aid Disaster Relief Website. In addition, General Motors will provide vehicles to assist in the movement of medical equipment and supplies in areas affected by the storms.
Samsung
Samsung has increased its initial contribution of $ 1 million to $ 3 million in financial support. The group has also formed an emergency rescue corps consisting of local employees in South Asia and medical personnel from Korea, who began onsite operations on January 5. Employees at Samsung’s local subsidiaries in the affected region collected money and material goods to support the five countries the most devastated — Thailand, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
— Agencies
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After 3 years, trading restarts today at LSE
Ludhiana, January 6 The Indonext exchange would provide a consolidated trading platform to Regional Stock Exchanges (RSEs) where companies having a capital of less than Rs 20 crore would trade. It will be inaugurated in Mumbai tomorrow. While nearly 150 companies with the LSE would become eligible, the exchange has sent names of 28 companies, to begin with, to the BSE for trading on the
Indonext. “Capital worth over Rs 5,000 crore would now be circulated,” said executive director of LSE
H.S. Sidhu. The 28 companies recommended by the LSE include Sharman Woollen Mills Ltd and Sab Industries Ltd, which were listed only with the LSE. There are other names like Agro Dutch Industries Ltd, Bhatinda Chemicals Ltd, Garg Furnace Ltd and Mahaan Foods Ltd, which are listed with the BSE and NSE as well. Gradually, more companies would be added. Initially, trading would begin on 60 terminals at the LSE. “These would be the sub-brokers with the
BSE. Gradually, terminals will be provided to other brokers,” Mr Sidhu said. Indonext would also provide trading opportunities to small companies that are not able to trade on the National Stock Exchange. While the BSE will provide its own VSAT connectivity, the existing infrastructure of the regional exchanges would be used for trading. Companies suspended from the Ludhiana Stock Exchange for operations, however, would first have to clear the issues on the basis of which they were suspended. The establishment of Indonext would usher in systematic improvements in the Indian capital market — of enhancing the quality of the stock market and improving the liquidity of scrips listed on the stock exchange, said Mr
Sidhu.
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Maruti Euro III cars come with higher price tags
New Delhi, January 6 The new Zen and WagonR variants would cost Rs 10,000 more while the price of the new Baleno would go up by Rs 15,000, Maruti Udyog Ltd. Managing Director Jagdish Khattar told reporters on the sidelines of a function. “Domestic steel offers us competitive edge as prices are low compared to price of steel produced by overseas companies. Next fiscal, a number of contracts for steel procurement will be renewed and there will be preference for Indian players,” he said. At present, Maruti uses 30-35 per cent of steel produced in India and plans to increase it to 50 per cent next fiscal. Maruti, which is 54.2 per cent owned by Suzuki Motor Corp. of Japan, will launch more Euro III-compliant variants of 11 cars in a phased manner over the next few months. He said the company would shortly announce price increase on Euro II and yet-to-be launched Euro III versions of entry-level car, Maruti 800. Asked whether the price increase, which is partly on account of new emission norms, would affect customer demand, Mr Khattar said carmakers were in no position to control prices. The launch of new models by Maruti is in line with the stipulated deadline of making Euro-III norms mandatory in 11 big cities from April 1, 2005. Yesterday, Maruti raised prices on all models except Maruti 800, citing rise in input costs. The price increase was on all existing Euro II models.
— PTI
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Multiplex is buzzword for fun
Chandigarh, January 6 He was in the city today to announce the foray of the company into the distribution of international films in India through its extended arm — E-City Films. “The business of English films is growing at 25 per cent annually and thanks to these multiplexes, box office collections are also growing,” said Mr Gupta while talking to TNS. Recent surveys have also brought out that the Indian consumer’s preference to view a good English film has also gone up. The entertainment industry will witness a 30 per cent growth in the coming years. To target the niche market and variable audiences with different tastes, the company is all set to bring 8-12 quality films every year to India, besides other countries in the subcontinent, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. These movies would be distributed through independent producers, sales agent in UK and USA. The first movie to be distributed by the company is Oliver Stone’s $ 160 million magnum opus ‘Alexander’. This will also provide the producers to reach the Indian audiences. ‘Alexander’ has already done 70 per cent business in terms on net collections in the first week of release across the country and 95 per cent in Chandigarh alone The company is the promoter of the multiplex chain ‘Fun Republic’.
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India embraces .in domain
New Delhi, January 6 Bidding bye to the .com domain names, the Tata Group is now online at tata.in, Tata Consultancy Services can be accessed at tcs.in while Bharti group’s Airtel has a new Website at airtel.in. Among those who received registration certificates from the Minister were Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata, The Hindu Editor-in-Chief N Ram, Bharti group Chairman Sunil Mittal, Mr Aroon Purie of the India Today group, HCL Infosystems Chief Ajai Chaudhary and BSNL CMD A K Sinha. “Currently, five lakh Indian companies are registered online and out of them, only 7,000 are with .in domain name. We are getting around 7,000 applications per day since January 1, when registration started,” Mr Maran told reporters at the launch of the services by the National Internet Exchange of India (Nixi) here. “This is sunrise period to select addresses in their names, from which Indian companies can benefit till January 21. After this, during the silent period, we’ll go through the application forms. After February 16, it’ll be free for all and the companies will have to choose from the leftover names,” he added. The registration process for the official Internet domain of the country commenced from January 1, 2005. .in Registry has been created by Nixi, promoted by the Department of Information Technology as a “not-for-profit” company in association with the Internet Service Providers Association of India. The registry has formulated new policies for the registration and administration of .in domain names. Registrations at the third level in the globally popular zones of domain registration like ‘.co.in’ and ‘.org.in’ are also available. The entire process of registration will be online and is expected to be completed in less than 24 hours from the receipt of the request from a registrant.
— UNI
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SOS to Manmohan on brick-kilns
New Delhi, January 6 “Mixing fly ash by hand is a hazardous job and its chemical reaction on the human body is fatal. Besides, it causes respiratory problems and lakhs of workers are suffering from this,” said the Chairman of a parliamentary committee, Mr Hannan Mollah, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On the basis of a SC order, it was mandatory for the brick kiln industry to use fly ash for making bricks.
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