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ONGC bags 8 oil and gas blocks, Reliance gets five
Chandigarh has highest per capita income
VSNL set to acquire Bermuda-based Teleglobe
DoT panel favours fee for 3G spectrum
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RBI may hike reverse repo rate
SBI keen on acquisitions abroad
Corporate Results
Haryana to have auto-testing centre
Nod to public-pvt funding in infrastructure
Nod to Rs 625 cr for textile parks
MSEB to be partner in Dabhol
Ford plans new car for India
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ONGC bags 8 oil and gas blocks, Reliance gets five
New Delhi, July 25 Launched in January, 2005, the government received 69 bids for 20 blocks from 26 foreign and 23 Indian companies, said a press statement of the Petroleum Ministry. Twenty blocks - 12 onland, 2 shallow water and six deepwater- were auctioned under NELP-V but the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today awarded only 18, referring the bids in the remaining two blocks to the Law Ministry. A minimum investment of Rs 1,653 crore (380 million dollars) has been committed in Phase-I of the exploration programme in the 18 blocks awarded today. All three phases of exploration and production would see an investment of Rs 3,771 crore). The Oil India-Hindustan Petroleum Corp combine won one onland block in Assam (AA-ONN-2003/3), while the consortium of Gujarat State Petroleum Corp-GAIL India-Jubilant Capital-Geo Global Resources got the Cambay basin onland block of CB-ONN-2003/2. The Rajasthan block went to Phoenix Overseas-Birckbeck Investment while GeoGlobal and Niko were left with one block each (DS-ONN-2003/1 and CY-ONN-2003/1 respectively). The ONGC won only two blocks - Andaman sea block of AN-DWN-2003/1 and Cambay basin shallow water block CB-OSN-2003/1 - on its own and the remaining in partnership with ENI of Italay and Cairn Energy of the UK. Reliance Industries, on its own, bagged two Kerala-Konkan deepsea blocks and one Cambay basin onland block - CB-ONN-2003/1. It partnered with Hardy Exploration and Production of UK to win the Krishna Godavari deepsea block of KG-DWN-2003/1 and teamed up with Niko Resources of Canada to bag Mahanada basin block MN-DWN-2003/1. The consortium of Jubilant Oil, Gujarat State Petroleum Corp and GAIL got two onland blocks in Assam basin while Oil India and Hinudstan Petroleum got the third in the basin. Reliance got the Ganga Valley and Cambay onland block. ONGC with Cairn bagged the Vindhya valley and Krishan Godavari basin onland block, while it got one Rajasthan block with ENI and Cairn. The other Rajasthan block went to Phoenix and Birckbeck Investment. ONGC won both the Andaman basin deepwater blocks - one on its own and the other in partnership with ENI of Italy and GAIL (India) Ltd.
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Chandigarh has highest per capita income
New Delhi, July 25 The state’s per capita income has lagged far behind its neighbour Haryana and Maharasthra, besides small states like Goa and Delhi. However, Chandigarh has emerged as the Singapore for India by attaining the highest per capita income (Rs 57,621) followed by national capital (Rs 51,664) per annum as against the all-India average of Rs 20,989. With the slowdown of growth in agriculture and failure of the successive governments to attract adequate investment in the manufacturing and service sector, Punjab is no more an attraction even for migrants from UP, Bihar. The state has lagged much behind its neighbour Haryana and coastal state Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Chandigarh has emerged as the number one in the country with highest per capita income (Rs 57,621) followed by national capital Delhi (Rs 51, 644). According to figures for 2004-05 from the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for 2003-04, an average Chandigarhian earns $ 1327 annually, almost equivalent to level of any medium-level developed country, as against $ 1,190 earned by Delhite and $ 641 per annum earned by a Punjabi. “The politicians, academicians and closed-mind bureaucracy may boast of attractive industrial policy, attracting liquor barons and real estate agents, but the fact is that Punjab has already lost the race,” says a senior economist at NCAER. He said large-scale corruption, loss-making public sector and populist policies of the state like free power were the main cause of the slowdown of state economy. Further, the state’s economy is still dominated by small-scale sector and low-quality services in the rural areas, he added. Significantly, the income level of a average Chandigarhian family of five members has crossed Rs 2.5 lakh per annum — a reason for attracting all multinational brands, media giants and FMCG players. Due to fast growth in the service sector, including telecommunication, insurance, retail, banks, hotels and IT, the UT has shown a growth of 12.2 per cent in comparison to 8.5 per cent growth in per capita income by Delhi. Interestingly, Haryana has done much better than Punjab. The per capita income of the state at current prices has reached Rs 29,963 per annum in 2003-04 as against Rs 26,974 in the previous year. The economist said the state has succeeded in attracting global investors in auto, pharma and IT sector leading to exports of over Rs 16,000 crore from the state leading to high income growth. On the other hand, Punjab Chief Minister, who came to power on the promise of making the state as number one state, has failed badly on the economic front. According to the latest state-wise data, Gujarat (Rs.26,979) is likely to soon overtake Punjab on the front of per capita income, as the state’s per capita income has shown a growth of 11.1 per cent as against much lower rate registered by Punjab. Some of the lowest per capita income was recorded in states like Bihar (Rs.6,213), Orissa (Rs.11,858) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs.14,011). The country’s per capita income rose by 10.7 per cent in 2004-05, touching Rs.23,241 ($534), despite the poor performance of the agricultural sector due to a less than average monsoon. The national income is estimated at Rs 25,356 billion in 2004-05, as compared to Rs 22,520 billion in 2003-04, showing a rise of 12.6 per cent.
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VSNL set to acquire Bermuda-based Teleglobe
Mumbai, July 25 Announcing this, the company said the acquisition would be carried out through the amalgamation of Teleglobe with the company’s subsidiary in Bermuda. The acquisition valued $ 239 million, comprises assumption of debt and payment of $ 4.50 per share to Teleglobe shareholders. The acquisition, however, subject to Teleglobe shareholder approval and government consents in various countries, would give VSNL an access to extensive global network that reaches more than 240 countries and territories with advanced voice, data and signalling capabilities and ownership interests or capacity in more than 80 sub-sea and terrestrial cables. The company would also access more than 200 direct and bilateral agreements with leading voice carriers, many of which are the incumbent carriers within their countries or large international wireless service providers. Headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda with a large operating centre in Montreal, Canada, Teleglobe also has more than 1,400 wholesale customers and carries over 13 billion minutes of voice traffic globally. “VSNL vision is to become a leading global player in wholesale voice and bandwidth and enterprise data services,” said Mr N. Srinath, Director on the Board of the company. “This agreement, coupled with the TGN acquisition and recently announced plans to expand into new markets, will move us closer to the size and network breadth needed to achieve this goal.” Earlier this month, VSNL announced the completion of the TGN acquisition, a state-of-the-art undersea cable network that spans 60,000 km (37,280 miles) and the continents of North America, Europe and Asia. TGN was previously owned and operated by Tyco. Standard Chartered Bank acted as exclusive financial advisor to the company, in connection with the transaction. Kelley Drye and Warren served as counsel.
— UNI
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DoT panel favours fee for 3G spectrum
New Delhi, July 25 But 3G services, which promise users value-added services like video streaming, high speed Internet and faster downloads, require that operators be allocated certain exclusive band of spectrum to launch it. Sources said spectrum, be it for simple voice or 3G service, should be priced. Something that is scarce in quantity has to be priced. Only the mechanism has to be agreed upon. The DoT has to find a right balance to see that spectrum is not sub-optimally used or hoarded and at the same time should not be priced absurdly which, they said, could hinder the service. The panel would submit its report to the Telecom Commission shortly.
— PTI
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RBI may hike reverse repo rate
Kolkata/New Delhi, July 25 “Reverse repo rate is expected to be hiked by 25-basis points,” State Bank of India Managing Director P.S. Bhattacharya said in Kolkata. Even if there was a possibility of reverse repo rate hike, he said it might not trigger a hike in lending rates by banks like the SBI. “Till last week, we were not expecting any hike in reverse repo rate. But now the situation is fluid. We can’t say anything,” a senior PNB official said. The Chairman of Delhi-based Oriental Bank of Commerce, K N Prithviraj, also expects no major change in the RBI stance. “I don’t think so (hike in reverse repo rate). The current position may continue for some more time.” A bond-dealer said there was widespread speculation in the market that reverse repo rate may be hiked considering the recent movements in the yields of government securities.
— PTI
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SBI keen on acquisitions abroad
Kolkata, July 25 “We are evaluating four international banks currently and I cannot divulge any further information on this,” SBI Managing Director
T.S. Bhattacharya said here today on the sidelines of the banking conclave organised by
FICCI. These are mid-sized banks with low manpower. The SBI expects to complete the due diligence over the next three months and thereafter the negotiations would commence. The bank had already taken over two overseas banks in Indonesia and Mauritius, Mr Bhattacharya informed. And, further consolidation was planned by the bank to grow at a faster rate, which was not possible only through the organic route. The bank had set a target to double its global assets in the next two years. “We want to double the global assets of $ 13 billion within the next two years,” Mr Bhattacharya said.
— PTI
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Swift makes Maruti’s profit zoom
New Delhi, July 25 The rise in profits comes even as the country’s biggest carmaker saw a 1.4 per cent decline in overall sales in the April-June ‘05 quarter. Pulled down by fall in export numbers and slackening demand for M800 model, Maruti’s sales in the period stood at 1,21,866 units against 1,23,624 units in the first quarter of last fiscal. Net profit for the company in the first quarter of last fiscal was Rs 170.92 crore. The company’s total income rose by 6.11 per cent at Rs 2,725.37 crore during the April-June ‘05 quarter compared to Rs 2,568.22 crore in the same period last year. Sales for the company in the A2 segment, where it sells high-value models like ‘Alto’, ‘Zen’, ‘Wagon R’ and ‘Swift’, saw a healthy 31.6 per cent rise, translating into higher profits. Reliance Capital Q1 net up by 40.71 pc
Reliance Capital Ltd today reported a 40.71 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 29.62 crore for the quarter ended June 30 from Rs 21.05 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year. The total income, however, decreased by 15.26 per cent to Rs 65.59 crore for the quarter ended June 30, from Rs 75.60 crore in the year-ago period, Reliance Capital said.
Petronet turns
profitable
Petronet LNG Ltd, India’s largest liquefied natural gas importer, reported a turnaround with a net profit at Rs 39.13 crore in the quarter ended June 30, with projections for the full fiscal being put at Rs 200 crore. Petronet posted a net profit at Rs 39.13 crore in April- June as opposed to a net loss of Rs 19.56 crore. The turnover more than doubled to Rs 921.23 crore as against Rs 388.36 crore in April-June 2004-05. For the full year 2004-05, Petronet had posted a net loss at Rs 28.44 crore on a sales turnover of Rs 1945.26 crore. Petronet LNG Managing Director and CEO Suresh C Mathur said in Delhi that the company, would seek equity in city gas distribution projects, which supply CNG to automobiles and piped gas for domestic use in households in Delhi. Petronet Director (Finance) P Dasgupta said the company would complete doubling of Dahej terminal capacity to 10 million tonnes by 2008 and construct a new 2.5 million tonnes import terminal at Kochi by 2009.
Nectar Lifesciences profit increases
Nectar Lifesciences Ltd today reported a 22 per cent increase in its profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended June as against the corresponding period last fiscal. The PAT stood at Rs 7.16 crore for the quarter ended June as against Rs 5.86 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, a company press note said. Sales for the quarter ended June, however, were down at Rs 54.36 crore as compared to Rs 57.75 crore in same quarter last year, it
added. — Agencies, TNS
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Haryana to have auto-testing centre
New Delhi, July 25 “The project would be completed in two phases over the next six years,” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA), which approved the National Automotive Testing and Research and Development Infrastructure Project (Natrip). Under the project two full-fledged testing and homologation centres would be set up in Manesar in Haryana and another near Chennai, he said. Sources said Kumbakonam might be the probable location for the centre in South. “Apart from two new centres, the existing facilities at Automotive Research Association of India in Pune and at Vehicle Research and Development Establishment in Ahmednagar would be upgraded,” Mr Chidambaram said. A National Centre for Testing of Tractors and Off-road Vehicles along with national facility for accident data analysis and specialised driving training would come up at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, he said. Under the plan, a National Specialised Hill Area Driving Training Centre and Regional In-Use Vehicle Management would be set up at Silchar in Assam.
— PTI
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Nod to public-pvt funding in infrastructure
New Delhi, July 25 The scheme will be administered by the Ministry of Finance and suitable budgetary provisions will be made in the annual plans on a year-to-year basis. In order to be eligible for funding under this scheme, the PPP project must be implemented for the project term by an entity with at least 51 per cent private equity. The eligible sectors would include transportation, urban development, infrastructure projects in special economic zones (SEZs), international convention centres and other tourism projects. The total viability gap funding under this scheme shall not exceed 20 per cent of the total project cost. However, the government, or the statutory entity that owns the project may, if it so decides, provide additional grants out of its budget, but not exceeding a further 20 per cent of the total project cost. Viability gap funding up to Rs 100 crores for each project may be sanctioned by the empowered institution subject to the budgetary ceilings indicated by the Finance
Ministry. Proposals up to Rs 200 crore may be sanctioned by the Empowered Committee, and amounts exceeding Rs 200 crore may be sanctioned by the Committee subject to approval of the Finance Minister. In their projections to the Planning Commission, the infrastructure ministries and the working groups concerned projected an investment of Rs 4000 billion, excluding requirements for urban infrastructure, during the 10th Plan period.
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Nod to Rs 625 cr for textile parks
New Delhi, July 25 The ministry has proposed to set up integrated parks covering the sectors of weaving, knitting, processing and garment. This would include parks at Ludhiana, Panipat, Kanpur and Tirupur. The scheme has been proposed to give a push to the high-value textile exports. The scheme will create textile parks of international infrastructure to house an estimated 1,250 state-of-the-art textile units for increasing textile exports, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told mediapersons after the CCEA meeting here. The scheme is expected to facilitate private investment of Rs 18,500 crore in the sector and would help creating 5 lakh new jobs. Each park would provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for locating at least 50 textile units. Location of the projects would be identified after a demand and potentiality study by a professional agency, he
added.
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MSEB to be partner in Dabhol
New Delhi, July 25 According to sources, the MSEB would park its equity at zero coupon rate for five years in the new company called Ratnagiri Gas and Power Limited, a between the NTPC and GAIL, and after that they would start getting returns. Of the total asset base of Rs 10,036 crore of the Dabhol Power Corporation, three entities — NTPC, GAIL and FIs — would be contributing Rs 500 crore each as equity while the rest Rs 8,536 crore would be the loan component.
— PTI
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Ford plans new car for India
New Delhi, July 25 The company will introduce its Duratec (petrol) and Duratorq (diesel) engines with the new model.
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