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PM for higher FDI in infrastructure from UK
Hooda seeks Dutch help in food processing
BJP extends cautious support to SEZs
Corruption rife in global business: report
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ONGC tops list of Cos facing complaints
Plea against RPL refinery dismissed
Paradeep Phosphates’ ex-staff seek PM’s help
Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 b
RBI licence for UAE Exchange
Car sales register 22 pc growth
Re weakens
Rs 53.98-cr Kribhco dividend to govt
IndiGo to fly to 30 cities by 2010
Corporate Results
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PM for higher FDI in infrastructure from UK London, October 10 Addressing the UK-India Investment Summit here, Dr Manmohan Singh said, “I wish to assure investors here in the United Kingdom that India adheres to all international codes and regulations pertaining to safety and protection of investment and intellectual property. We also have in place a well-designed system of standards for data protection. Investment in India is both safe and profitable and we are always willing to learn from our friends about what more can be done in this regard”. He said that New Delhi would like to see a further liberalisation of trade in services, including financial and legal services. “I am aware that there is a great interest in Britain in our financial sector. I do believe we need to promote a widely held pension fund system. We need a much larger insurance sector with a higher capital base and more diverse products. It is these which will generate the necessary long-term funds for investing in a debt market and make available resources for the investment needs of our country particularly in the vital infrastructure sector,” he said. Dr Manmohan Singh further expressed the confidence that the two countries would, in the near future, be able to forge a “meaningful political consensus” and “take reforms of the financial sector forward”. Speaking about the opportunities in the manufacturing sector, he said that the country offers tremendous opportunities in this sector, particularly in automobile and auto-components, pharmaceuticals and bio-technology and food processing. Pointing out that many global corporations have made India their research base, the Prime Minister said that investment in R&D was rapidly increasing in the country. He went on to say that the educational and research institutions of United Kingdom have been significant suppliers of technology to Indian firms and institutions. “The recently launched UK-India Education and Research Initiative which owes a great deal to the forward push given by the Prime Minister himself, has the potential to vastly increase collaboration between the educational institutions of the two countries and to facilitate exchange of students. This would give a fillip once the issues of visas and work permits for students are further streamlined,” he added. Recalling the initiative of the countries taken way back in 1992, when the Indo-British Partnership Initiative (IBPI) was launched, to revive trade and investment relations between the two countries, he said, “I believe the IBPI was a useful initiative and there has been a quantum increase in trade and investment flows between Britain and India in the past decade.
—ANI
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Hooda seeks Dutch help in food processing
Chandigarh, October 10 Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on a 10-day tour of five nations, today met Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs Joop Wijn and discussed issues related to economic cooperation between the Netherlands and Haryana. Mr Hooda suggested cooperation in the field of food processing and agri-research. It was agreed that the two sides would work to promote cooperation in industry and science and technology, an official press note said. The Haryana Chief Minister also held an interactive session with The Hague Chamber of Commerce and Industry and extended an invitation to chamber members to assess Haryana for its potential for investment. A delegation representing the chamber would be visit Haryana next year. Mr Hooda and state government officials also visited the Skyper Cars plant. Mr Oedith Jaharia, Managing Director of the company, expressed interest in setting up a manufacturing unit in Haryana, the press note said.
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BJP extends cautious support to SEZs
New Delhi, October 10 After discussions with former Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, who initiated the SEZ process during the NDA regime, Mr Naidu said the panel was making a systematic study in all states. ‘’We want SEZs to boost exports but never on agricultural land or be located next to big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad or Bangalore but throughout the country,’’ he said. There have been concerns that SEZs were displacing land meant for agriculture at a time when food production was dipping, giving anxious moments to food security watchers. “We are concerned about unfair means adopted in the acquisition of land for SEZs and the BJP is not for misuse of the SEZ concept by the real estate mafia”, he said. The process should be fair and those who lose land should be adequately compensated and be made partners in development. They should receive a healthy package and a transparent tax structure must be evolved so that the governments did not lose revenue, he added. The SEZs should encourage the manufacturing sector and the entire produce should be for exports. If part of production was to be marketed within the country, it should attract higher taxes and receive no incentive from the exchequer. Similarly, the IT sector which already enjoyed concessions should not be housed in these zones. The panel would take the views of associations of industries, trade and commerce, trade unions and state governments, including those run by the BJP and its allies, before preparing the report.
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Corruption rife in global business: report
London, October 10 The annual global corruption survey by international consultancy Control Risks and law firm Simmons & Simmons found yesterday that nearly half of the businesses contacted said they had lost a deal because a competitor had paid a bribe. The worst-affected country was Hong Kong, where 76 per cent of the companies said they had lost a deal for that reason in the past five years. One in three French companies said they had lost out through bribery in the past year alone. ‘’Our survey shows that corruption continues to be a huge international issue and honest companies are still losing out to dishonest competitors on a large scale,’’ Control Risks consultant John Bray said. And while laws were changing and companies were beginning to fight back, more of the 350 business leaders in seven countries that took part in the survey said they thought corruption would get worse rather than better for the rest of the decade. The worst-affected sectors were oil, gas and construction, where project values were often very high and where relatively minor officials on low pay and possibly susceptible to bribery were in positions of considerable power, the survey said. ‘’Companies across the globe are starting to fight back against corrupt practices,’’ Mr Bray said. ‘’But it is clear there is still a long way to go before corruption becomes a thing of the past.’’ — Reuters
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ONGC tops list of Cos facing complaints
Mumbai, October 10 It is facing 17 complaints pending against it for more than two months, which is highest for any company listed and trading on the National Stock Exchange. The exchange said in a statement that of the companies whose securities are traded on the NSE, the ONGC leads the tally with 17 complaints, followed by UTI and Sterlite Industries India Ltd, which are facing five complaints each. Other corporates with highest number of complaints pending include GAIL India, FMCG major Hindustan Lever (HLL), Nalwa Sons Investments Limited, Monnet Ispat, PSU telecom major Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Oswal Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd and Reliance Petroleum Limited, who have two complaints each pending against them. Vatsa Corporations Ltd leads the tally of corporates whose securities are suspended or withdrawn from trading on the NSE in terms of the number of complaints pending against them for more than two months as on September 30. Vatsa Corporations has 80 complaints pending against it, followed by Soundcraft Industries Ltd with 28 complaints. Pal Peugeot Ltd is facing 12 complaints, Enkay Texofood Industries Ltd has eight complaints and Arihant Industries Ltd has five complaints pending against it.—PTI
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Plea against RPL refinery dismissed
Ahmedabad, October 10 Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is setting up a 27 million tonne refinery adjacent to RIL’s existing 32 MT refinery in Jamnagar and needed to acquire 10,000 acres for the SEZ project in Kanalus, Padana and Navagam villages in Lalpur taluka of the district. The petitioners, Kanti Depar and 50 others, contended that the process of land acquisition entrusted to the District Collector was vitiated because the Collector had delegated his functions to the Deputy Collector for conducting inquiry into land to be acquired. The petitioners had also challenged the land acquisition on the ground that the exercise initiated by the government was not for public purpose. The High Court rejected their plea, while holding that the company had not erred in the Land Acquisition Act and that it was done as per the SEZ Act, 2005.— PTI |
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Paradeep Phosphates’ ex-staff seek PM’s help
New Delhi, October 10 “In the buy-out of the company, the employees have been handed out a raw deal. Even our basic sustenance needs have been taken away and the right to dignity has been completely relinquished. That is why we are seeking intervention of the Prime Minister and Mr Paswan,” the PPL Ex-employees Association said in a statement issued here. It alleged that the company had been sold for merely Rs 15 lakh though the government had invested over Rs 670 crore In the aftermath of the company’s sale, its Delhi office was closed and over 90 per cent of the employees were forced to accept VRS or arbitrary transfer to different parts of the country, it added. “Moreover, no medical benefits were included in the VRS and we were left with a meagre pension of Rs 500 to Rs 900,’’ the employees claimed while demanding re-opening of the Delhi office. Mr Paswan had earlier sought the Law Ministry’s opinion on whether the deal could be reversed. He had contended that the Zuari group was overstating the losses, and had failed to keep promises with the employees. Although the Finance Minister has not favoured revocation of the deal, Mr Paswan has approached the Law Ministry for its opinion. Terming the minister’s move as a positive step, the employees pointed out that “at the time of privatisation, it was brought to the knowledge of the then minister that the government was selling a goldmine.’’ They claimed that two more plants of PPL’s size could have been established on the huge land, which has been parted with for a meagre sum of money.
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Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 b
San Francisco, October 10 The deal, the first to value one of the new crop of user-participation websites at more than $1 billion, combines two of the most popular Internet brands: Google, synonymous with web search and rapid innovation, and YouTube, a Silicon Valley upstart that has spearheaded the video-sharing craze. The acquisition of YouTube would thrust the web search leader quickly into the emerging market for video advertising, where it has only a tiny foothold compared with Yahoo Inc and various web start-ups, analysts said. — Reuters
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Mumbai, October 10
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Car sales register 22 pc growth
New Delhi, October 10 According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), sales of commercial vehicles in September 2006 were 42,400 units against 31,749 units, a growth of 33.54 per cent. Motor cycle sales stood at 6,72,570 units, growing by 24.80 per cent over 5,38,889 units in September 2005. Total two-wheeler sales, including scooters and mopeds, were at 7,78,865 units against 6,55,210 units, growing by 18.87 per cent. Bike sales in the April-September period have grown by 18.5 per cent at 32,05,497 units against 27,04,466 units in the same period in 2005, SIAM said. Interestingly, the growth rate of bikes is less than that of cars where demand has grown by 22.8 per cent so far this fiscal. Overall two wheeler sales, comprising bikes, scooters and mopeds, grew 18.8 per cent in September at 7,78,865 units.
— PTI |
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Re weakens
Mumbai, October 10 |
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Rs 53.98-cr Kribhco dividend to govt
New Delhi, October 10 Mr B.D. Sinha, Managing Director, Kribhco, later presented a cheque for Rs 53.98 crore as a dividend to Union Chemicals and Fertisliers Minister Ramvilas Paswan. |
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IndiGo to fly to 30 cities by 2010
Bangalore, October 10 Nine aircraft would be added in 2007 and by December 2007, IndiGo’s fleet would comprise 15 aircraft. He said IndiGo would expand its route network in South India, where it operated twice-daily flights on the Delhi-Bangalore sector, with one non-stop flight and one same-aircraft service with a stopover in Pune. From September 30, IndiGo also began twice-daily services from Delhi to Hyderabad with a same-aircraft continuation to Chennai and back. IndiGo was flying these routes with its third new Airbus A320 aircraft. Mr Ashby said: “As we continue to add brand new A320 aircraft to our fleet each month this year, we will keep improving connectivity between the cities.”—PTI |
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Corporate Results
Ahemdabad, October 10 Net sales of the company grew 49 per cent to Rs 266.7 crore for the second quarter from Rs 178.4 crore in the year-ago period, a company release said. For the half year ended September 30, the company reported a net PAT increase of 72 per cent to Rs 52.9 crore from Rs 30.8 crore in the year ago period. Net sales of the company for the six months grew by 53 per cent to Rs 498.3 crore from Rs 325.1 crore a year ago. Shree Cement
Shree Cement today reported 108 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 77.80 crore against Rs 37.36 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of previous year. Net sales doubled to Rs 315.96 crore against Rs 155.38 crore. Operating profit increased from Rs 52.94 crore to Rs 146.99 crore with operating margin going up from 34.1 per cent in Q2 of last year to 46.5 per cent in the current quarter. The operating margin improved by 111 basis points during the current quarter compared to quarter ended June 2006, the company said in a statement here. — Agencies |
Dr Reddy’s Labs settles dispute Award for UBI |
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