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Punjab, Haryana fail to cash in on ADB largesse
Reliance
moves SC on airport privatisation
Kingfisher, Airbus sign $1 billion deal
Gold loses lustre, sheds over Rs 100
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SBI mulls hike in home loan rates
Adlabs to hive off FM radio business
Reliance Cap net zooms 408 pc
Acquisitions galore on Monday
RPL fixes Rs 60 as issue price
India seeks more LNG from Qatar
Govt non-committal on review of oil prices
Corporate Results
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Punjab, Haryana fail to cash in on ADB largesse
New Delhi, April 24 The states, which have not come forward with “good financially viable projects, include Punjab, Haryana” as well, leading to lower disbursal rate of funds by the development bank. Addressing a press conference Finance Minister said government was committed to raise the rate of spending on projects funded by ADB from the current 16 per cent to 20 per cent in 2006. Announcing that Hyderabad would be hosting ADB’s 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Finance Minister said: “We must enhance our capacity to present large-scale viable projects and utilise funding more efficiently.” ADB would be having its annual meeting in Hyderabad from May 3 to 6 in the wake of foreign investors evincing keen interest in the country due to booming economy. On asking why states are not coming forward to avail off that credit, Mr Chidambaram said: “Perhaps state machinery has not been able to design better projects to get funds. Secondly, they also have limits on borrowing as per the Fiscal Responsibility Act.” Notably, in addition to enhancing assistance to upgrading state road networks in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in 2007 and 2008, ADB will undertake similar projects in Uttaranchal and the NE states this year. Even J&K, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka and Assam have applied for loans from the ADB, which offers loans for up to 20 years with a grace period of five years at an average rate of 6 per cent. The Finance Minister said that India is also committed to ramping up its borrowing from ADB, possibly reaching about $2 billion per year by 2009, from the current $1.2 billion. Cumulative disbursements under ADB public sector projects under December 12, 2005, were $7.5 billion of which the energy, transport and communications sectors account for more than 75 per cent. The Asian Development Bank is expected to lend India $7.3 billion in next three years. Mr Chidambaram said India would approach both ADB and World Bank for its ambitious $1 billion project to restore 20,000 water bodies in the country. He said India would also prepare viable big tourism projects that would attract multilateral funding. He cited development of Buddhism circuit, which has the potential to attract vast religious tourists from East Asian countries. The government has urged the bank, he said, to provide lending to private sector as well, especially for the infrastructure sector, but the government would not give any guarantee for the funds. Revival of the cooperative credit structure, as laid out by the Vaidyanathan Committee, is also very much a priority for our government. “We would be pleased to have ADB as one of the partners, along with the World Bank, to put in resource for this critical programme linked to the agriculture sector,” he said.
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Reliance
moves SC on airport privatisation
New Delhi, April 24 Sources said that a Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed
against the April 21 verdict of the high court holding that the
government’s action was in no way “discriminatory, illogical or
illegal”.
The high court at the request of the Reliance counsel has said the
two consortia would not claim any equity or implement the contract
during the next two weeks so as to enable the petitioner file an
appeal in the apex court.
While upholding the technical parameters adopted in awarding the
contracts, the high court had said the government and the AAI had
“absolute discretion to vary the tender requirements or amend the
term of RFP (Request for Proposal)” as per the requirements of the
project.
Reliance had challenged the award of the contracts to the
GMR-Fraport consortium and GVK Industries for the Delhi and Mumbai
airports on the ground that the government and the AAI had
deliberately amended the tender norms to favour the rival bidders.
It had argued that as the originally highest financial bidder for
the Delhi airport and being the highest technical bidder for the
Mumbai airport, the company should have been awarded at least one of
the projects. — PTI
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Kingfisher, Airbus sign $1 billion deal
Hannover, April 24 The agreement for the purchase of five A-340-500 planes was signed between Mr Mallya and Airbus CEO and President Guster Humbert in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the India-German Business Summit at the Hannover Fair, which opened to the public today. “I am going to be the only one flying India-US non-stop flights on Airbus 340-500, delivery of which will take place in 2008,” Mr Mallya told reporters after signing the deal with Airbus. He said the financial package for the purchase of the aircraft has already been worked out and there was no question of offering discounted fares on the busy India-US route. “I am going to be the only one flying non-stop, so there is no question of discounts. I am going to charge premium fares,” the UB Group Chief said. The other Memoranda of Understanding signed in the presence of the Prime Minister and the German Chancellor included the one between the Indian Railways and Deutsche Bahn AG, letter of intent between Force Motors Ltd and Neoman Bus Gmbh and between the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres. Meanwhile, Rolls Royce said it had sold 20 engines to Kingfisher in a deal worth $500 million at list prices, including maintenance contracts.
— Reuters
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Gold loses lustre, sheds over Rs 100
Mumbai, April 24 After Saturday’s closing at Rs 9,440 and Rs 9,490 per 10 gm, standard mint gold (99.5 purity) and pure gold (99.9 purity) today opened weak at Rs 9,320 and Rs 9,370 per 10 gm, respectively. The yellow metal then got still weaker and closed at Rs 9,300 and Rs 9,350 per 10 gm, respectively, with a huge loss of Rs 140 each from their Saturday’s closings. There was lack of fresh demand by ornament-makers on sustained heavy selling pressure. Besides, silver .999 fineness variety opened downward at Rs 20,785 per kg and closed at Rs 21,180 per kg with a massive loss of Rs 400 from its last
closing. — UNI
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SBI mulls hike in home loan rates
New Delhi, April 24 “We are reviewing our home loan portfolio for both fixed and floating rates. It is difficult to give a time frame when the rates would be changed or the quantum of the increase”, SBI CMD A.K. Purwar told newspersons after a meeting of four public sector bank chiefs with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. “We are looking at the current market conditions. The increase could be 25 bps to 50 bps”, Mr Purwar said. The meeting was convened by the Finance Minister in the backdrop of the tight liquidity situation and also to discuss ways and means to increase lending to farmers at a rate of interest of 7 per cent announced in the Budget, 2006-07. The Finance Minister discussed in detail the prospects of enabling banks to extend loans to farmers for the coming kharif at a 7 per cent rate of interest. The government has decided to provide short- term credit to farmers at this rate of interest with an upper limit of Rs 3 lakh on the principal amount. Public sector banks will have to raise an additional capital of Rs 1,00,000 crore over the next five years for meeting their credit requirements the new adequacy norms under Basel II. The CMDs of Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank also attended the meeting. Meanwhile, a report from Shanghai said the SBI has become the first Indian bank to start commercial operations in China, confident of tapping and aiding the booming trade and commercial linkages between the two Asian giants. “We are now in a position to offer one-stop solutions to the Indian business community’s specific banking requirements and can offer tailor-made solutions,” Chief Executive Officer of SBI-Shanghai branch T.C.A. Ranganathan said.
— Agencies
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Adlabs to hive off FM radio business
New Delhi, April 24 The Board of Directors today decided a scheme envisaging the issue of pro-rata shares by the SPV to all shareholders of Adlabs Films Ltd in the ratio of 2 free shares of the SPV for every one share of Adlabs Films Ltd. The demerged company is proposed to be separately listed on the BSE and the NSE. Reliance Land Pvt Ltd (RLL), an affiliate of the company, will receive 4,12,00,000 shares of the SPV pursuant to the proposed demerger. The shares of the SPV received by RLL are proposed to be distributed free of charge pro-rata to all shareholders of the company in the ratio of one share of the SPV for every six shares held in the company. All shareholders of Reliance Capital Ventures Ltd (RCVL), presently under the process of merger with the Company, will also receive free shares as above of the SPV in line with their holdings. The proposal will unlock substantial value for all company shareholders and will enable them to directly participate in the FM radio business, one of the fastest growing segments in the media and entertainment industry. Adlabs Films recently won licences for operating FM radio stations in 45 cities across India, including all leading metros.
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Reliance Cap net zooms 408 pc
New Delhi, April 24 The company registered a net profit of Rs 538 crore for the year ended March 2006, as against Rs 106 crore in the previous fiscal, Reliance Capital said in a press note here. The total income during the year also rose 121 per cent to Rs 652 crore, as against Rs 295 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, it added. The company said its cash profit for the year ended March 2006 stood at Rs 561 crore as against Rs 134 crore in the year-ago period, up by 319 per cent. For the quarter ended March 31, 2006, the net profit stood at Rs 286 crore as against Rs 35 crore a year ago, an increase of 709 per cent, it said. During the quarter, the total income stood at Rs 322 crore as against Rs 84 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, up 284 per cent. The cash profit for the quarter was at Rs 290 crore as compared to Rs 42 crore a year ago, up by 590 per cent, it added. The Board of Director has recommended a dividend of 32 per cent that is, Rs 3.20 on equity share of Rs 10 each for the year ended March 31, 2006.
— PTI
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Acquisitions galore on Monday
New Delhi, April 24 All regulatory approvals in India and South Africa along side the transfer of shares have already been completed. Dunlop South Africa will now become a part of the Apollo Tyres Group, the company said in a statement. Apollo’s Board of Directors had approved this acquisition on January 31, 2006, at a meeting in Mumbai. “Dunlop marks the first of Apollo’s global footprint, expanding the reach of our exports and enlarging our customer base. This is our springboard into the global arena,” Apollo Tyres Chairman and Managing Director Onkar S. Kanwar said. He said the company would use the Dunlop distribution channels for exports and to take the Apollo brand into Africa, and would also bring in brands made by Dunlop to India. Through the
acquisition, Apollo’s base of manufacturing units enlarges to include facilities in Durban and Ladysmith in South Africa and in Bulawayo and Harare in Zimbabwe, it said. Dunlop South Africa is headquartered in Durban, having subsidiaries in Zimbabwe and the UK.
CSS snaps up eBramha
US-based IT services group CSS today announced the acquisition of e-Brahma Technologies, a Coimbatore-headquartered IT services firm specialising in the business software implementation, in an all-cash deal. “The acquisition gives us a foothold in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) space for small and medium enterprises,” co-founder of CSS Group Shiva Ramani said. The acquisition will contribute 5 per cent of the revenues of CSS group in the next 12 months. “With the acquisition of eBramha we are hoping to add 5 to 7 new customers in the next one year,” he said. eBramha will be part of Cybernet Software Systems.
Heritage bags Indiana Dairy
Heritage Foods India Ltd has acquired a unit of Hyderabad-based Indiana Dairy Specialities Ltd. The company acquired Indiana Dairy’s assets, including 2.69 acres land, buildings and plant and machinery, Heritage Foods informed the Bombay Stock Exchange today. The value of the deal was not disclosed. The company plans to revive the dairy unit with an installed capacity of one-lakh litres per day and also use the vacant land for warehousing facilities.
Adobe takes French firm
US-headquartered Adobe Systems Incorporated has acquired Trade and Technologies France, makers of computer-aided design data interoperability software. The acquisition of the privately-held firm, headquartered near Lyon in France, will help build on the existing 3D visualisation and collaboration capabilities of Adobe software and solutions for the manufacturing industry and other markets, Adobe said in a statement here today. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
— PTI
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RPL fixes Rs 60 as issue price
Mumbai, April 24 The IPO, which closed on April 20, had received an order book of Rs 1,43,000 crore, which was double the previous record held by the ONGC. The company, which had fixed the price band at Rs 57-62, had planned to raise Rs 2,565 crore and Rs 2,790 crore at the lower and upper ends of the band, respectively. The IPO was subscribed 51.47 times the size of the
issue. — PTI
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India seeks more LNG from Qatar
Dubai, April 24 The plan to buy more LNG was discussed at a meeting between India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Qatar’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah. Qatar (RasGas) was already supplying five million tonnes of LNG annually to India (Petronet LNG) and it had made an additional commitment for 2.5 million tonnes. “India, however, wants 2.5 million tonnes LNG more in future,” Abdullah bin Hamad said.
— PTI
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Govt non-committal on review of oil prices
New Delhi, April 24 “The high global oil prices are a matter of concern and the government would tackle the issue at an appropriate time,” said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today when asked whether the financial institutions such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB) have expressed concern over the rising oil subsidy bill of the country. “Of course, this issue is likely to be raised at the annual meeting of the ADB scheduled to be held from May 3-6 at Hyderabad but we will take a decision at an appropriate time,” he said. Oil companies have warned the government “they may become bankrupt if the government does not allow them to pass on the hike in oil prices to consumers.” The IOC, which controls 50 pc share in the domestic market, has said it is incurring a financial loss of about Rs 100 crore everyday. Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who was expected to meet the Finance Minister last week on this issue, is on a foreign visit to Qatar. The Prime Minister has also left for Germany without deciding. Companies want a hike of Rs 199 per cylinder on LPG, Rs 14 per litre on kerosene, Rs 5.40 per litre on diesel and Rs 4 per litre on petrol. Though the crude prices have risen by more than 10 per cent this year, domestic fuel prices have remained constant due to government controls, but officials say local refiners may be allowed to increase the prices later this year.
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Corporate Results
Mumbai, April 24 “The initial investment will be about Rs 3.5 billion ($78 million),” said the source. “Parry will have the management control and hold the majority 51 per cent stake,” the source said. “Since Cargill is one of the leading commodity traders, Parry has chosen them.” The proposed unit is likely to be set up near a port city in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the source said. Company officials were not immediately available for comment. Meanwhile, Eid Parry has declared a dividend of Rs 4.50 on a share of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2005-06, following impressive financial performance. The Board, in its meeting held today, recommended a dividend of 225 per cent, the company informed the National Stock Exchange. The dividend includes a one-time dividend of 90 per cent at Rs 1.80 per equity share, it added. Indiabulls dividend
Financial services company Indiabulls, in which steel tycoon L.N. Mittal has picked 8.2 per cent stake, today posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 80.38 crore for the quarter ended March 2006, up 236 per cent over the year-ago period. The consolidated total income during the period rose by 179 per cent at Rs 195.5 crore, a company release said. Meanwhile, the consolidated net profit for 2005-06 registered a year-on-year growth of 347 per cent at Rs 253.36 crore while the total income grew by 264 per cent to reach Rs 613.15 crore. The earning per share for the fourth quarter increased to Rs 4.63 from Rs 2.02 in the corresponding quarter in the previous year. EPS for 2005-06 stood at Rs 15.61 compared to Rs 5.10 a year-ago. In the year gone by, the company saw steel magnate Mittal picking up 8.2 per cent stake for Rs 89.16 crore in its credit services business and total customers going up to over 236,000 customers. The Board of Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd also declared a final dividend of 15 per cent for 2005-06. It recommended a final dividend of Re 0.30 per share for the financial year 2005-06 subject to shareholders approval.
Canara Bank net up
Canara Bank today posted a five-fold increase in net profit at Rs 493.52 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31 as compared to Rs 102.30 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year. Total income of the company increased 12.50 per cent to Rs 2,805.12 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, from Rs 2,493.25 crore in the year ago period. The Board of Directors has also declared a dividend of 66 per cent for the year ended March 31, Canara Bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. For the year ended March 31, the bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,343.22 crore as compared to Rs 1,109.51 crore for the year same period on an year-on-year basis. The total income of the company increased to Rs 10,089.03 crore for FY 05-06 from Rs 9115.80 crore in the corresponding period last year.
HCL net at Rs 84.4 cr
HCL Infosystems today reported 29.5 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit in the third quarter ending March to Rs 84.4 crore. The consolidated revenue of the company during the quarter was up 60 per cent to Rs 3211.2 crore, HCL said. The Board of Directors has declared a second quarterly dividend of 100 per cent on every share of face value of Rs 2.
Reliance Ind payout
The Board of Directors of Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL), in its meeting held on April 22, has recommended a dividend of Rs 3.50 per equity share on the paid-up capital of Rs 15 crore, the company informed the BSE today.
Helios & Matheson
IT company Helios & Matheson today reported a 89 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 11.29 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 as compared to Rs 5.98 crore in corresponding period last year.
— Agencies
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