 |
|
Low petro prices to make oil PSUs go in the red
MoU signed with Romania
Lift visa curbs, say Pak traders
India hails US decision
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BSNL revenue may fall by Rs 6,500 cr
Dabhol deal near completion
Companies Bill in monsoon session
STCL declares 40 pc dividend
Dena Bank to cut NPAs to 2 pc
|
|
Low petro prices to make oil PSUs go in the red
New Delhi, July 5 The IOC may end the April-June quarter with a net loss of Rs 1800 crore unless upstream firms - Oil and Natural Gas Corp, GAIL India Ltd and Oil India Ltd - and private refiners — Reliance Industries and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd — share part of the Rs 9,500 crore under-realisation on sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene. BPCL would post a net loss of about Rs 1,300 crore while HPCL may report around Rs 1,050 crore loss in Q1. IBP may see Rs 400 crore loss, industry officials said. “Even if last year’s policy of ONGC, GAIL and OIL picking up one-third of the projected revenue loss on LPG and kerosene was continued and a similar policy applied for petrol and diesel, the public sector oil firms will still end up in the red,” the officials said. With petrol being under-priced by Rs 2.25 per litre and diesel sold at Rs 4.69 a litre loss, the retailers lost Rs 4,700 crore in revenues in April-June. Under-realisation on LPG and kerosene was Rs 4,800 crore. The officials said the situation might be salvaged if Reliance and MRPL are also asked to share the revenue loss. The newly appointed IOC Director (Finance) S.V. Narasimhan said profitability of the Fortune 500 company in Q1 was largely dependent on the subsidy sharing scheme the government would evolve. Last month, the government for the first time allowed state-owned oil firms to partially align
domestic petrol and diesel prices with cost but the three-day freeze on kerosene prices continued. LPG prices were last changed in August, 2004.
— PTI
|
|
MoU signed with Romania
New Delhi, July 5 The MoU signed yesterday by Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Mr Ioan Codrut Seres, Minister of Economy and Commerce, Romania, has identified research and development, design, engineering and construction, energy conservation and technical cooperation as the focus areas of cooperation. Under the MoU, Indian University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehra Dun, and the Romanian Petroleum and Gas University, Ploiesti, have also signed an agreement. Another MoU was signed between the K.D.Malaviya Institute of Petroleum Exploration, Dehra Dun, and the Romanian Petroleum and Gas University, Ploiesti, stated an official press note issued here today. The CII and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Prahova County, also signed an MoU for cooperation between the two countries. Petroleum Minister and his delegation visited Romania from July 1-4 at the invitation of Mr. Ioan Codrut Seres, Minister of Economy & Commerce. Romania played a significant role in the development of India’s hydrocarbon capabilities in the 1950s & 1960s when it had set up the Guwahati, Barauni and Haldia refineries. However, over the past 20 years, the bilateral relationship had become moribund. After the fall of the Ceaucescu regime in 1989, Romania has become a successful democracy while liberalising its economy and vigorously pursuing its accession to the European Union. The Indian minister invited Romanian companies to invest in India’s new refinery projects. He said Indian companies would explore to invest in Romanian refineries to generate new capacities for export of petroleum products to different parts of Europe.
|
|
Lift visa curbs, say Pak traders
Amritsar, July 5 Mr Iqbal said India would be the main beneficiary as it could export engineering goods to Pakistan. Pakistan did not have even big industry worth its name. Pakistan mainly produced dry dates, rock salt and clothes made from superior cotton. Mr Mehboob Ilahi, a businessman accompanying Mr Iqbal, said as Punjab had been declared a disturbed area there were
restrictions on the movement of Pakistan businessmen in Punjab. Pleading that there should not be any visa restrictions, he said businessmen of both countries should be allowed to visit places of business interest. Mr Mohammad Iqbal, who had come to India for purchasing spices which were in demand in Pakistan, said they should be allowed to travel freely by air or other modes of transport. Mr Rajesh Setia, Chairman, Amritsar Chamber of Commerce, said the Indian Government should seize this opportunity to improve bilateral ties with Pakistan. With the opening of the Wagah border, perishable goods could reach the other side of the border within hours through trucks, which normally took two to three days by train. Mr Setia said under the SAARC agreement, four nations, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Pakistan, had already decided to open trade and India should not lag behind in this respect.
|
|
India hails US decision
New Delhi, July 5 Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath today stated that this decision would further consolidate the strong ties between the two countries and give a fillip to bilateral trade and investments. The US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) provides preferential duty-free entry for more than 4,650 products from approximately 140 designated beneficiary countries and territories. The GSP programme was instituted on January 1, 1976 and is valid up to September 30, 2006 and can be further extended with a proclamation.
|
|
BSNL revenue may fall by Rs 6,500 cr
New Delhi, July 5 The fall in revenue is despite the constant monitoring of the ministry in the mega PSU that came into existence after the Department of Telecom was converted into a corporation in 2000. So much so that ministry is constantly interacting with the PSU even on issues like what kind of promotional campaigns were needed or where the hoardings should be put up, highly placed sources said. The average revenue per user (ARPU) has come down to Rs 530 down from Rs 580 last year. "If the same trend continues, the ARPU may fall to as low as Rs 450 and this will translate into revenue loss of Rs 6,500 crore in 2005-06," sources said. One of the factors for the declining revenue is considered to be its inability to take timely and market- friendly decision which a commercial organisation should take, sources in BSNL said. Despite all such hurdles and fierce competition from the private and big telecom operators, BSNL has performed very good and was still surviving. BSNL is the only telecom operator which has met virtually all targets for connecting the villages. BSNL is planning to invest Rs 80,000 crore in the next three years to add seven crore telephone
lines. — PTI
|
|
Dabhol deal near completion
Mumbai, July 5 With General Electric reaching an agreement with the Indian Government, efforts are on to persuade Bechtel from going in for arbitration, sources said. As per the deal signed between the Indian Government and General Electric last week, GE would be paid Rs 630 crore for its share in the project. Its shares would be taken over by Maharashtra Power Development Company Limited (MPDCL), a special purpose vehicle which holds Maharashtra State Electricity Board’s 15 per cent stake in the project. MPDCL has already paid most of GE’s dues from funds raised through ICICI Bank and Power Finance Corporation. GE was a major stock-holder with 42.5 per cent stake in the DPC. In a statement released by GE President and CEO Scott Bayman yesterday, the company said it was working closely with NTPC and BHEL to complete the project. Talks are also on with the other major shareholder Bechtel to sort out the issues, they added.
|
|
Companies Bill in monsoon session
New Delhi, July 5 Speaking at a national conference on new company law organised by the CII here today, he said the ministry had undertaken steps to comprehensively revise the Companies Act of 1956. The new law would address the changes taking place in the national and global economic
scenario, said Mr Gupta. The minister said by August, the ministry was expected to complete its basic homework on the Dr J J Irani Committee’s
recommendations. On the issue of Clause 49, he clarified there was no difference of opinion between the ministry and SEBI on the number of independent
directors. He said:“the industry should decide what it wants and I am sure we will resolve the issue.
|
STCL declares 40 pc dividend
Bangalore, July 5 The shareholders of the company declared a dividend of 40 per cent against 30 per cent paid in 2003-04 at recent Annual General Meeting, K C Ponnana, Managing Director of STCL Limited said in a statement. The earning per share increased from Rs 167 in 2003-04 to Rs 239 in 2004-05, while net worth increased from Rs 10 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 13 crore, an increase of 29.30 per cent, the statement said.
Suryalata Spinning Mills
Suryalata Spinning Mills Ltd has proposed to increase the spindle capacity by setting up two new units, one at Ramtek in Maharashtra and other in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 80 crore, the company said in Mumbai today. Each new plant would have a capacity of 25,000 spindles and will manufacture cotton yarn, the company said. Currently, it manufactures synthetic blended yarns. The installed capacity at the company's existing units at Kalwakurthy and Ramtek is 57,168 spindles. After the ongoing expansion programme at Ramtek unit, the capacity will go up to 64,368 spindles. After setting up new plants, the installed capacity will increase to 1,15,000 spindles.
Eicher net up by 75 pc
Eicher Motors Ltd today said net profit for the fiscal ending March 31, 2005 jumped 75 per cent to Rs 58.85 crore and declared a 40 per cent dividend. Gross sales for the company were up 41 per cent to Rs 2,211.5 crore against Rs 1,564.7 crore in the previous year. The company sold 23,004 commercial vehicles during the year, representing a growth of 45 per cent, while sales of tractors saw a 13 per cent increase at 19,003 units. Automotive component business of the company saw a 31 per cent rise and gross sales crossed Rs 100 crore, the company said.
Surya Pharma
Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd will raise $ 25 million by way of international offering of global depository receipts besides increasing the authorised share capital to Rs 20 crore. The Board of Directors took a decision to this effect at the meeting held today in New Delhi, the company said. The board approved to issue up to $ 25 million by way of international offering of global depository receipts/American depository receipts or foreign currency convertible bonds, it added. The board also resolved to increase the authorised share capital of the company from Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore.
IDFC issue
The Union Government will raise a minimum of Rs 257 crore through the initial public offering (IPO) of Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) to reduce its stake from 34.91 per cent to 23.29 per cent. The IPO, which will open on July 15, will see the Centre diluting its stake by 8.86 crore shares. The price band of the IDFC IPO is set at Rs 29 to Rs 34 per
share. — Agencies
|
bb
Punjab to set up Rs 427-cr farm project
SBI accepts central excise online Airtel power roaming coupon Volkswagen freezes plans for India John Mack back at Morgan Stanley Sanyo to cut jobs Satyam stake Prakash Mallya |
| 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 | |
