 |
|
|
Accor plans 25 economy hotels in India
Trading in G-Secs to become more customer-friendly
Priyanka adds Spice to telecom sector
Sensex crosses 6,900 mark and stays there
Commodity trading potential untapped, says MCX CEO
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Growing ad revenues attract new TV channels
Edible oil traders welcome excise duty abolition
German firm comes with tips on housing
Markfed to buy cotton from mandis
UBICS to invest $ 1 m in India
|
|
Accor plans 25 economy hotels in India
New Delhi, March 8 The 60:40 JV between InterGlobe and Accor Asia Pacific, InterGlobe Hotels, will invest about Rs 850 crore over the next 10-12 years to develop about 25 hotels in the country. For management, however, the two would share a 70:30 partnership. “The money would be raised by a mixture of debt, equity and internal accruals, and Accor would invest about 40 per cent of the equity,” Accor MD for Asia Pacific Michael Issenberg told reporters here today. In the first phase, the company would invest about Rs 165 crore for developing hotels in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Pune and Jaipur, while Mumbai and Chennai would be looked at in the second phase. The company has already started work on the Bangalore and Gurgaon properties, with cumulative room strength of about 600, and both are likely to start operating by next year, Interglobe Hotels newly appointed CEO and President Uttam Dave said. Besides, the company was in the final stages of completing a deal in Pune and has already identified a property in Jaipur. The chain is looking at convenient downtown locations in metros and mini-metros. Doing away with costly extras and luxuries such as banquet halls, expansive lobbies and multiple restaurants, the hotels would be about 40 per cent cheaper than the luxury hotels. “The average room rates would be in the range of Rs 1,800-Rs 2,200 per night across all hotels, which is about 40 per cent cheaper than luxury hotels,” Mr Dave said. The hotels would also have just one restaurant each, serving all meals. Mr Dave said the Ibis hotels, offering “unbeatable value-for-money” would be ideal for mid-market business and leisure travellers. Meanwhile, hoping to revive its Novotel brand in the country, Accor is also actively negotiating the management of two purpose-built hotels in Gurgaon and Hyderabad. Discussions
are also on with one hotel each in Chennai, Mumbai and Pune for securing their management contracts. Though InterGlobe Hotels would not be responsible for Accor’s luxury brands such as Sofitel and Novotel in the country, the European company is likely to consider partnering it for these brands if the Ibis hotels venture becomes successful. The chain had launched Sofitel brand in the country during the 1982 Asiad Games and then tied up with the Oberoi Group for the Novotel brand. However, both ventures did not work out.
— UNI
|
|
Trading in G-Secs to become more customer-friendly
New Delhi, March 8 The new legislation will also enable individuals to use G-Secs as collateral for borrowing funds from banks and financial institutions. The Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, during the Winter Session, draws heavily from the recommendations of a specially constituted committee. The committee was formed to undertake a “thorough and comprehensive review of the entire gamut of government securities management with a view to simplifying and rationalising the rules and procedures” and made several recommendations requiring amendments to the Public Debt Act, 1944. The Bill is expected to be passed by Parliament in this session. The new legislation will enable creation of pledge, hypothecation or lien in respect of government securities, which means allowing individuals to use these as collateral for borrowing purposes. Under the existing norms, the law relating to government securities and their management by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is laid down in the Public Debt Act, 1944. “Over the years, a number of rigidities and deficiencies have been noticed in the Public Debt Act, 1944 and the rules framed thereunder and some of the provisions had ceased to be relevant in the present context”, sources said. The RBI, agency banks and treasuries were also handicapped in improving customer services, especially in the wake of very substantial volume of public debt. The Bill also seeks to repeal the Indian Securities Act, 1920. The committee has recommended that the issue of G-Secs in the form of government promissory notes may be dispensed with, except in respect of certain special schemes where this form is considered necessary. Generally, notifications relating to market loans of the governments (which constitute the bulk of the public debt) provide for the issue of securities in the form of stock and promissory notes only. Stock, which represents ‘book debt’, is held in two forms: physical certificates or in the form of an account called Subsidiary General Ledger (SGL) Account. The committee has noted that SGL Account is by far the best form of security both from the point of view of investors and the Public Debt Office. “The SGL Account facility may be extended to other investors such as provident funds, trusts, stock exchange brokers etc. and encouraged progressively”, it said. The Bill allows banks, which maintain a subsidiary general ledger (SGL) account with the Reserve Bank of India, to operate a constituent SGL on behalf an individual. While the bank would be deemed to be the holder of such account, the constituent would, however, be a beneficial owner, who “shall be entitled to claim from the holder all the benefits and be subjected to all the liabilities in respect of government securities held in the constituent SGL account.” The Bill also provides for summary procedure for recognising title for government securities up to Rs 1 lakh with enabling power to the Centre to enhance the same limit up to Rs 1 crore.
|
|
Priyanka adds Spice to telecom sector
Chandigarh, March 8 Priyanka is from Punjab. That’s one thing. Another is that she is youthful, vivacious, something which the youth associate with, hence we chose her to endorse our campaigns for the next three years, said Mr Navin Kaul, Chief Operating Officer, ( COO), Mr Navin Kaul. She too said, “I fit the brand and the brand fits me. That’s why I opted for it and would play a key role in the brand and product communication strategy for the company and enhance its brand image wherever she goes.” It is her first endorsement. Launched on the pre-paid platform, the limited edition pack offers its subscribers the most economical way to go mobile as a team, wherein they can enjoy exciting features, by forming a team consisting of 2-6 members, thereby ensuring savings up to 83 per cent. Valid for three months, the pack offers subscribers free night calling within the team and SMS at only 5 paise to any Spice mobile — a saving of up to 95 per cent along with the regular team pack features, said Mr Kaul. The synergy between Spice and Priyanka in terms of values and personality traits also saw the launch of a special ring tone called Priyanka’s ring, which can be downloaded from tomorrow. Talking about its expansion plans to meet the challenges posed by growing competition, Mr Umang Das, Managing Director of Spice Telecom, Punjab, said the company was in the growth mode and planned to spend Rs 75-80 crore by August 2005 on its expansion drive in the interiors of rural areas and highways, besides the quality of services offered to mobile users.
|
|
Sensex crosses 6,900 mark and stays there
Mumbai, March 8 The market has seen a dream-run since the Budget, gaining a massive 264 points in past five trading sessions. The Sensex also scaled new historic intra-trade peaks of 6,929.59, within striking distance of the crucial 7,000-mark. In an otherwise lack-lustre activity, the BSE benchmark 30-share index fluctuated in a narrow range of about 57 points before ending the day at 6,915.09 against yesterday’s close of 6,878.98, a net rise of 36.11 points or 0.52 per cent. Attributing a cautious approach by operators to negative political developments in Bihar, brokers said the market has become liquidity-driven with institutional investors making continuous investments following robust economic fundamentals. Foreign Institutional Investors have pumped in a hefty Rs 2,158.60 crore in the first four trading days of the month while domestic institutions made heavy net purchases of Rs 265.76 crore in the same period. Operators seemed to be booking profits at higher levels in select blue chip counters. The broad-based BSE-100 Index strengthened further by 23.64 points to 3,732.81 from previous close of 3,709.17. The volume of business was relatively low at Rs 2,785.67 crore from Rs 3,016.72 crore yesterday. RIL was the most active scrip with the highest turnover of Rs 177.81 crore followed by Satyam Computer (Rs 153.92 crore), PNB (Rs 102.52 crore), SBI (Rs 82.39 crore) and Bank of Rajasthan (Rs 72.65 crore).
— PTI
|
|
|
Commodity trading potential untapped, says MCX CEO
Ludhiana, March 8 Mr Sinha, who was here to conduct an investor awareness workshop on commodity trading at the Ludhiana Stock Exchange (LSE), told The Tribune that MCX, which has recently given membership to the LSE, would focus on penetrating to a larger number of customers. “We currently have 800 members across the country and the focus is to educate these members so that they would further appoint sub-brokers and reach out to a wider customer case,” he said. He revealed that the per day commodity trading volumes at MCX were over Rs 1,500 crore. Of this, the region’s share was a meagre Rs 50 crore. “People in the region have not had many opportunities but as trading is gaining momentum with the entry of more players, commodity trading is likely to increase stupendously,” he said. While the potential is immense, it is important that trading in commodities market is knowledge-based, Mr Sinha emphasised. “Speculative trading should not be encouraged. Knowledge-based trading helps in effective decisions and people don’t tend to lose money in that case.” Talking about the Indian commodity market scenario, Mr Sinha said on the technology front, it was better than the international commodity markets but when it came to infrastructural development, we lagged behind. “Technologically, we have softwares that are superior to the largest international commodity markets. However, in infrastructure like regulatory clearances and permission to foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to enter Indian markets, we are lagging behind,” he contended. He said currently, 48 commodities were being traded in the Indian market and with an increase in their number, more people were getting involved in this trading. “Every commodity attracts a new set of people to this market,” he said, adding, “the government was opening up in a phased manner and our markets will have investment from international players soon.” Earlier, at the awareness workshop, Mr Sinha explained various aspects of commodity trading. He also dwelt on risk management system, clearing and settlement of commodities futures trading. He said MCX had conducted 750 such workshops last year and planned to conduct more awareness programmes.
|
|
Growing ad revenues attract new TV channels
New Delhi, March 8 After the successful launch of Zee Business, CNBC TV 18’s Awaaj and NDTV Profit channels, the Jagran Group will put its Channel 7 on air by month-end. Two other news channels — one from The Times of India, and the other from Sabe TV — are likely to go on air by next month. “There is enough space for 70-80 news channels in the Indian market. As long as one can cater to the niche market and provide better content, there is enough scope for the newcomers,” says Mr Siddhartha Gupta, Director, Channel 7, Jagran TV Pvt Ltd. “Our strong position in the Hindi newspaper industry, vast marketing and distribution has encouraged us to venture into TV news. We will launch a free-to-air Hindi language news channel by month-end. Unlike other channels, it will be available in 20 million households from day one as we have tied up with the major cable companies across the country and the Zee group and DD for the DTH launch.” According to industry estimates, the new channels are eyeing growing advertising revenue that currently accrues to Hindi language news channels in the range of Rs 400-500 crore. Aaj Tak, NDTV, Zee, Star News and DD News are the major stakeholders in this market. Industry experts said, “the newspaper groups are entering into TV news channels considering that advertisers are tilting their budgets from print to electronic media. Further, with the relaxation of FDI norms, the days are not far when foreign channels would be launched from here.” With the growing cable network, the TV channels are targeting small towns as well besides the metros — the traditional cable strongholds. TV viewership in the UP market has surpassed the Delhi market and the Punjab market is now as big as the national capital market. With the Reliance plan to launch integrated video, net and telephony services on its vast optical fibre network, some other channels may be launched sooner than later. The ongoing cricket series between India and Pakistan, elections in the state have also strengthened the penetration of cable networks. Reduction in customs and excise duties and new technologies have led to a substantial fall in the cost of setting up a new channel up to Rs 50- 75 crore. Says Mr Gupta, “a study commissioned by Jagran TV Pvt Ltd, has revealed that the TV viewers are now demanding “ more than news” from the channels. So our channel will emphasise on innovative programme based on career, lifestyle, business, and indepth programmes on politics and society.” The company has also plans to come up with an IPO by next year to expand the network, and launch of new subscription-based cliché channels, he adds.
|
|
Edible oil traders welcome excise duty abolition
Chandigarh, March 8 The proposal is positive for the vegetable oil industry and a big relief. “Abolition of excise duty will help create a level-playing field for all refineries and vanaspati makers irrespective of their location, Mr A.R Sharma, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, said. The existing units in the land locked areas like Punjab will be able to compete with the newly set up huge capacity units in the coastal areas of Gujarat. A large number of units had come up in this region to take advantage of the tax break as excise duty was waived off as a part of the earthquake relief package, he added. In a short period, 10,000 tonnes per day vegetable oil refining and vanaspati capacity had come up in these areas, which is capable of meeting 40 per cent of the total demand for refined edible oil and vanaspati in the country. Small and medium refineries outside the exempted areas in the North that suffered due to the excise duty and income tax benefits enjoyed by their counterparts in Gujarat now have reason to be happy. Many were forced to evade taxes in order to survive and compete with large units in exempted areas, said Mr Sanjeev Nagpal, another vegetable oil producer. But as excise duty has been abolished for the entire country, the advantage hitherto enjoyed by the units in the exempted areas has been lost. The exemption will also help in crop diversification as it will encourage farmers to undertake cultivation of oilseeds, which has a readymade market for its products within the country, he added. The state government has also been encouraging the cultivation of oilseeds through contract farming. The price relief to consumers, following excise duty abolition, would be marginal at Re 1 per kg.
|
|
German firm comes with tips on housing
Chandigarh, March 8 “The construction technologies and building material available in India are almost 50 years behind as compared to Germany and other countries,” he stated during an interview. “India has to realise that there is need to use technology in a way that energy consumption in houses is reduced,” he added. Suggesting that insulating houses by double-glazing was a better way of investment compared to frequent use of airconditioners since it reduces electricity consumption, he maintained that substituting red bricks with fly ash bricks or aerated concrete could also seal in the cool air. Adding that flexible steel can be used to strengthen the ceiling, Mr Heinisch remarked that time on construction can be cut down if the labour can make its own framework of steel rods instead of entwining each one separately. “Passive housing, a concept popularised by the British in India, could offer valuable tips to present day housing. High quality recyclable plastic called uPVC is available for framework while shafts from 3m deep in the earth can be drawn out to cool the house naturally. And, it’s not very expensive, costing 20 to 50 per cent more depending on the kind of house a client is looking for,” Mr Heinisch explained.
|
|
Markfed to buy cotton from mandis
Chandigarh, March 8 The government has declared the minimum support price of raw cotton (narma) at Rs 1815 per quintal and Bangladeshi variety at the rate of Rs1310 per quintal, Mr S.S. Channy, Managing Director, Markfed, said today. Farmers will get the minimum support price at the regulated mandis and have been advised not to make any distress sale, Mr Channy said. Markfed has been appointed as an Agency of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (Nafed) to implement the price support scheme in Punjab. Cotton is one of the major commercial crops grown in the southern districts of Punjab. During the current season, a bumper cotton crop is expected in Punjab due to which the prices have come down drastically.
|
|
UBICS to invest $ 1 m in India
Mumbai, March 8 The company, promoted by UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya, has decided to invest $ 1 million primarily on R&D during the first year of its operation beginning from April. The Pune facility will be operational by May this year once 200 personnel were recruited. UBICS, listed in the US, is engaged in providing a broad spectrum of IT products, solutions and services and has a client list, which includes Nortel, Motorola, Rockwell and Oracle. The development centres in India would serve as a R&D hub for UBIC’s global operations including offering of products such as “Ventive” and “SteelFirst” that help organisations to deploy video in employee communication, remote training and education. Dr Mallya, in a statement, said he was expecting a growth rate of over 150 per cent annually over the next four years in his IT venture. This would translate into a turnover of $ 75 million.
— PTI
|
|
Infosys arm donates Rs 3 cr to cancer institute
Chennai, March 8
|
bb
Fisheries Renault sells stake Aptech pact FabIndia Rahul Bajaj Pets on mobile
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, March 8
