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Govt in action mode to hold falling Sensex
Brokers put on suicide watch
Decision on fuel price hike soon
Reliance ups diesel price by Rs 2
Select bluechip stocks defy crash
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Punjab ‘needs to’ rope in big players
Gold sheds Rs 260
Dabur Nepal resumes operations
SpiceJet offer
Ice cream cos in price war to woo buyers
Hi-tech centre for Gurgaon
Arcelor to ‘examine’
Mittal bid
CORPORATE RESULTS
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Govt in action mode to hold falling Sensex
New Delhi, May 22 The Finance Ministry, market regulator SEBI, RBI and the BSE authorities coordinated took fire-fighting measures to assure the investors following which the market recovered, closing at 10481.77, down by 4.18 per cent. Briefing reporters Finance Minister P. Chidambaram assured that the government would provide all assistance to overcome the liquidity problem. Meanwhile, trading remained suspended for about an hour from 11.56 AM to 12.56 PM. The Finance Ministry, market regulator SEBI, Reserve Bank and BSE authorities were virtually on the hotline to assess the situation and minimise the damage. “There was certain nervousness in the market. My message to retail investors is to stay invested. FIIs are here to stay. There is no reason to panic... banks will provide money to those who want to provide margin calls,” he told reporters “The system is in place and whatever has to be done has been done. My information is that brokers operating on proprietary accounts were under margin pressure, so they were selling,” he said. The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by NDA members warning the government that it could be a repeat of the previous market crash. Allaying fears, the Finance Minister asserted: “My information is that mutual funds and foreign institutional investors have made buying today. There is no problem of liquidity”. Later Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) recovered around 6 per cent when trading resumed after an hour-long suspension. The National Stock Exchange also suspended trading after its key index - the 50-share Nifty - tanked 10.8 per cent. This was the first time since May 17, 2004, that trading was suspended on Indian bourses. Mr Chidambaram said he had spoken to the RBI authorities who informed there was no problem of liquidity and said the fundamentals of the economy were strong to lend positive support to the market sentiment. Key officials of the Finance Ministry were also in touch with SEBI and keeping a watch on the developments even as watchdog chief M. Damodaran said there was no liquidity crisis. Sensex had closed Friday at 10,938.61 points to register a staggering loss of 1,346.50 points or nearly 11 per cent from its previous week’s close. The stocks of Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro, Gujarat Ambuja Cement and ITC were among those that led to the steep fall. Reacting to the market crash, the Secretary, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Mr Ashok Jha said, “the decline in global markets, metal prices, hardening of interest rates and the comparative attractiveness of other emerging stock markets have created the volatility in the Indian stock market since last Wednesday.” While there were some speculative reports about a draft circular put out by the CBDT, he said the circular made no reference to FIIs. FIIs are governed by separate provisions of the Income Tax Act and the relevant double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs). He asserted that with the GDP growth rate in 2005-06 estimated at 8.1 per cent, and $163 billion foreign exchange reserves, the Indian growth story was expected to continue this fiscal too. FM’s effigy burnt Ahmedabad, May 22 “We suspect that certain persons debarred earlier by Sebi are behind today’s crash and we want the Finance Minister to intervene and identify the culprits,” said council president Hemant Jhala. The members of the council, who staged a demonstration, shouting slogans against Mr Chidambaram also burnt his effigy at the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange here. According to Mr Jhala, the fall in markets has had a big financial and psychological impact on the people of Gujarat “who form a large chunk of those who invest in the markets”. — PTI
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Brokers put on suicide watch
Mumbai, May 22 Local police stations in Mumbai and Gujarat have been asked to keep an eye out for people trying to jump into lakes and canals. In Mumbai, the railway police have been asked to watch out for people trying to take their lives on the train tracks. According to the buzz, several small traders who had borrowed heavily to indulge in day trading have been financially wiped out. Mumbai alone has more than 15 lakh day traders. |
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Decision on fuel price hike soon
New Delhi, May 22 “We are giving a final shape to the decision. We will be meeting the Finance Minister, Left parties and our party next week,” he told reporters. The decision would depend on the outcome of these meetings, he said. Earlier this month, Mr Deora had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and the Left parties to discuss the matter, although no decision could be taken due to lack of consensus. The government has not raised retail fuel prices since September last year, despite the surge in crude oil prices to record $75 a barrel. According to estimates, state-owned oil retailing firms are losing Rs 9.34 per litre on selling petrol below the imported cost while the loss on diesel was Rs 10.43 a litre. Kerosene was being sold at a loss of Rs 16.78 per litre and LPG at Rs 220 per cylinder loss, according to officials. Meanwhile, ASSOCHAM today suggested an immediate upwardly revision in prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene to mitigate the impact of spiralling international crude prices on the oil marketing firms. In a note submitted to the government, it demanded abolition of minimum alternate tax (MAT) was immediately required as oil exploring and producing companies pay huge amount of revenues by way of indirect taxes on their productivity. Meanwhile, Oil regulator DGH today said the government was planning to set up Special Economics Zones for manufacturing drilling equipment and rigs in order to address the non-availability of equipment in the country. “There was a problem of availability of rigs and other equipment for drilling in the country. The government is thinking of setting up Special Economics Zones for manufacturing these equipments,” Director General of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) V.K. Sibal said. — Agencies
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Reliance ups diesel price by Rs 2
New Delhi, May 22 The net effect of the prices would vary between Rs 2.39 per litre to Rs 2.92 depending upon the region due to different taxation rates. About 10 days ago, the company had raised petrol prices by Rs 2.5 to Rs 2.92 a litre. Confirming the diesel price hike, RIL sources justified the decision, saying it (RIL) was getting neither concession on the crude nor oil bonds (that are given to PSU oil firms) to cut its losses. Public sector oil firms are losing about Rs 9.33 a litre on petrol, Rs 10.43 per litre on diesel, Rs 17.16 a litre in kerosene and Rs 114.45 per LPG cylinder, making operations unsustainable. The hike would help RIL cut losses on retail sales. The company claimed it had lost Rs 1,100 crore last fiscal on selling fuel below the cost price.
— PTI |
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Select bluechip stocks defy crash
Mumbai, May 22 Reliance Energy, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Satyam Computer were the four Sensex scrips that closed the day on a positive note after the markets recovered some of its lost ground in the afternoon trade. The shares of Cipla closed at Rs 225.55, up 1.83 per cent, while Ranbaxy was trading at Rs 431.55, up 0.37 per cent on the BSE. Reliance Energy Limited closed the day at Rs 516.70, up 0.55 per cent and Satyam Computer was up 1.24 per cent at Rs 672.50 on the BSE. In the 50-stock Nifty, Satyam Computers, Cipla, Mahindra and Mahindra, Reliance Energy Limited were the four scrips that closed in the positive territory. Cilpa closed with a gain of 1.47 per cent while the other three scrips ended the day with a gain of less than one per cent and ICICI Bank, Ranbaxy recovered sharply. A total of 236 scrips advanced ahead against 2,109 scrips which closed in the red on the BSE. Wipro, Tata Motors, Grasim, L&T, Bharti Tele, Tata Steel, TCS, ONGC and Infosys were the biggest losers in the Sensex while SBI, HLL, ACC and HDFC Bank managed to stage a decent recovery from their lower levels. — PTI
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Punjab ‘needs to’ rope in big players
Ludhiana, May 22 “It is only the big player who can make a quantum change. As a state, we get too much caught into the details of it, we simply need to follow the pattern that would foster development.” Citing example of the Ludhiana’s auto components industry, Mr Singh, who is also the chairman of Fortis Healthcare, said this industry had a 10 per cent share in the country’s total production in this sector and an 18 per cent share in exports. “But most of the units belong to the third tier, which are small manufactures who have to depend on medium scale manufacturers for the supply of their products to large companies. The need is to rise to the first tier so that they can directly supply and multiply their gains as well”. The CII, he said, was closely working with the government on initiatives in sectors including agriculture, industry, services, power and social infrastructure like health and education. The confederation had formed separate panels for each of these sectors, he added. |
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New Delhi, May 22 Weakening overseas trend, where gold plunged from a record high of $735 dollar an ounce to $635 mainly attributed to the fall in precious metals. The gold prices, after reaching a highest level of Rs 10,750 per 10 gm on May 13, started rolling down to enter a four-digit level. Standard gold and ornaments lost Rs 260 each at Rs 9,650 and Rs 9,500 per 10 gm, respectively. Sovereign also lost Rs 150 at Rs 7850 per piece of 8 gm. Silver also lost further by Rs 600 at Rs 18,500 per kilo while weekly-based delivery moved down by Rs 5 at Rs 19,550 per kilo. Silver coins were down by Rs 500 at Rs 22,500 for buying and Rs 22,600 for selling of 100 pieces. — PTI
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Dabur Nepal resumes operations
Kathmandu, May 22 “Dabur Nepal has resumed its operation as the matter is being settled through a dialogue between representatives of the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) and the BCCI,” said Mr Kashi Nath, CEO of Dabur Nepal. “It will take 24 hours to fully resume all production units,” he said. Dabur Nepal closed down all its production units on Friday after the Maoists demanded Nepalese Rs. 3 crore (Rs 2 crore) and also issued threats against its managers. As many as 12 other industries in Birgunj, an industrial town of southern Nepal, have also started their operations after the rebel’s agreed to sit for dialogue. ANTUF’s Chairman Shalikram Jamarkattel was leading the negotiation team while Shushil Mittal, Vice-President of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCI), was leading the industrialists’ team during the talks.
— PTI |
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SpiceJet offer
New Delhi, May 22 |
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Ice cream cos in price war to woo buyers
Chandigarh, May 22 The market leaders in ice cream segment in Punjab — Amul and Verka, and the still fledgling brand in the region — Mother Dairy, are vying with each other by engaging in a price war. Almost all major players have come up with twin packs of various flavours for the price of one. Kwality Walls, Vadilal and Cream Bell — prominent players in the frozen-dessert segment, too, have introduced this scheme. As a result, two bricks of any of these ice creams is now available for Rs 50- Rs 110 per brick. The catch, however, lies in the fact that the companies have introduced 750 ml packs (instead of the usual 1 litre pack) under this scheme. "The prices in the impulse category (ice cream cone and bar), too, have been kept low to entice customers. For example, a 40 ml to 150 ml of ice cream in this category is priced between Rs 8 to Rs 18," said Mr Surinder Sharma, in charge of Amul operations in Chandigarh circle and Himachal Pradesh. Cream Bell, which made its entry into the region two years ago, has set up its facility at a cost of Rs 25 crore at Baddi. The company claims a market share of 15 per cent in Punjab within two years of its launch, and with our plant in Baddi now operational, we hope to capture at least 20 per cent of the market in Himachal," said Mr M.S. Parikh, Director, Cream Bell. Kwality Walls and Amul are the leading players in the Himachal market, controlling almost 80 per cent of the market. With a view to retain their market share, the two companies are now focusing on increasing their dealership network, especially in the Shimla, Solan and Mandi belt.
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Chandigarh, May 22 The proposed centre would have world-class facilities, a spokesman for the Haryana Electronics and Information Technology department said here today. He said the government had recently announced its policy for the development of technology parks and IT corridors. The policy aimed at promoting frontier technologies like nano technology, bio-technology, mobile computing and robotics. Gurgaon had already been developed as a preferred investment destination for IT, ITES and BPO companies, he said. — TNS
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Arcelor to ‘examine’ Mittal bid
London, May 22 “The board will examine the contents of Mittal Steel’s revised offer to assess the industrial merits as well as the value of the Mittal Steel’s shares offered in exchange,” Arcelor’s Chairman Joseph Kinsch said after a board meeting in Luxembourg.
— PTI |
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Panacea Q4 net up by 56 pc
Declares 100 per cent dividend
New Delhi, May 22 The Board of Directors has announced 100 per cent dividend. “Currently, talks are on with three companies in Brazil for a marketing and distribution tie-up for cyclosporin,” Panacea Biotec Chief Financial Officer K Srivastava said here. The company expected to get approval from the Brazilian regulatory authority for the product sometime in July-August. The Brazilian market for cyclosporin is about $80 million. Director, Operations and Projects,Sumit Jain said over $6 million dollars had been spent on setting up a pharmaceutical formulation facility at Baddi. The company has reported a 56 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, at Rs 11 crore as against Rs 7 crore in the year -ago period. Its turnover increased by 57 per cent at Rs 137 crore against Rs 87 crore for the same period. Jain said Panacea Biotec’s growth was largely due to the polio vaccines supplied to the WHO, UNICEF immunisation programme within the country. The company was also strengthening its research and development facilities by adding new centres. “Three centres, one each in Mohali, Delhi and Mumbai, are being set up with an investment of over Rs 60 crore,” Mr Srivastava said. The facility in Mohali would focus on new drug discovery while the units in Delhi and Mumbai would strengthen capacity in biopharmaceuticals and advanced drug discoveries. The company, whose spending on R and D increased by 100 per cent during FY06, plans to increase it further, he said, adding: “during 2005-06 we spent about 5 per cent of the gross turnover on R & D which stood at Rs 28 crore.” Adani exports
Adani Exports has posted a net profit of Rs 65.35 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, as compared to Rs 51.54 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005. Announcing the results, the company said its total revenue had decreased from Rs 4033.14 crore in Q4 FY 04-05 to Rs 3256.0 crore for Q4 FY 05-06. It has posted a net profit of Rs 118.34 crore for the year ended March 31, 2006 (FY 05-06) as compared to Rs 108.29 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005 (FY 04-05). Total revenue had decreased from Rs 13518.87 crore in FY 04-05 to Rs 9339.26 crore for FY 05-06. As per the consolidated results, the group has posted a net profit of Rs 134.63 crore for the year ended March 31, 2006 (FY 05-06) as compared to Rs 121.58 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005 (FY 04-05).
— Agencies |
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BoI office
R. Systems
TIL forms JV
Order for PSL
Star Cement
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