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Tariffs set to fall
Budget: 2 days to go
Rel Power IPO
REL mulls buyback
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RIL finds gas in Mahanadi basin
Tatas set to sign JLR deal
Tata Comm to expand Wi-Max network
Bharti consortium to set up undersea cable
Sarkozy wants SocGen boss to quit
CDIL bags $15.7-m contract
DSP Merrill Lynch to expand India operations
United Spirits high on growth
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Tariffs set to fall
New Delhi, February 26 According to senior officials, the minister has signed the file and DoT would soon start issuing Unified Access Service (UAS) licence to new players, including Unitech Developers, Datacom in which Videocon has stake, Idea and Shyam Telelink, among others. This is bound to increase competition in the GSM mobile segment and tariffs are set to fall in the coming months. DoT has worked out that entry of 5-6 new players would result in fall in tariffs by at least 50 per cent from the current level. In fact, officials said, Raja has a vision to bring local tariffs on mobile phones down to 25 paise a minute and domestic STD call to 50 paise. This will be possible only by increasing competition. Asked by when the players would be alloted spectrum to start services, the officials did not give any time frame, but said DoT was considering allocating the radio frequency simultaneously depending upon the quantum of air waves available with the government. Meanwhile, DoT is also continuing deliberations with the defence authorities to get about 25 MHz of spectrum vacated for reallocation among mobile service providers.
— PTI |
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Budget: 2 days to go
Chandigarh, February 26 As the Budget 2008 is being given final touches by the finance ministry, a clear division has emerged in the pharma sector. While the industry located in the non-exempt states is demanding parity in tax structure, manufacturers located in tax-exempt states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim are praying that they are not brought under the ambit of taxes. Amidst talk of 8 per cent excise duty being imposed on the industry located in these tax exempt states and withdrawal of tax holiday on the units who are manufacturing drugs on contractual basis, the pharma industry that migrated to these tax free states are keeping their fingers crossed. Talking to The Tribune here today, Dinesh Dua, CEO, Nectar Life Sciences, says it is only because of the fillip given to the pharma companies in the tax-exempt states that has allowed the sector to grow at a steady 13 per cent. “Tax free zones are a reality in today’s business environment. Exemptions have been granted to us like those to industries located in SEZs, which cannot be withdrawn. The Budget should also focus on creating a free market economy rather than bringing more drugs in the price control order,” he added. However, Jagdeep Singh, president, Punjab Drug Manufacturers Association, says the Budget should focus on a level playing field for all manufacturers, irrespective of their location. “Various studies have been conducted which prove that the prices of medicines manufactured in the tax-exempt states have shot up by over 300 per cent as these drug manufacturers are not under the ambit of MRP-based tax regime. With 80 per cent of the industry now located in these tax-exempt states, the government, too, is not getting any revenue from them. It should either reduce the excise duty from 16 per cent to 8 per cent on industry located outside these tax free zones or impose 8 per cent excise on these units,” he says. Supporting his views, Vishal Vaid, managing director, Kurukshetra-based Vishal Pharma, demands that the government should impose excise duty on those units in these states, who are manufacturing drugs for large pharmaceutical companies on contract basis. “For the 5,000 odd units located in the non-tax exempt states, the central excise exemption limit should be increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore,” he adds. While demanding that the MRP-based excise regime in the pharmaceutical sector in non tax-exempt states should be done away with, Dr G. Munjal, chairman, Ind Swift Laboratories, says the focus should be on abolishing duty on essential and life saving drugs. “The taxation structure should be overhauled and instead of levying different taxes, a single tax like GST should be levied on the industry. The fringe benefit tax on drug sample distribution, too, should be reduced,” he says. |
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Rel Power IPO
New Delhi, February 26 "No evidence of rigging by promoters or merchant bankers has come to the notice of the government," finance minister P Chidambaram said in a written reply to a query whether there was any rigging by promoters and merchant bankers in the IPO of Reliance Power, whose shares closed at a 17 per cent discount to the issue price on listing day on February 11. To another related query, he said in view of the pricing regime in vogue, market regulator "SEBI is not investigating the alleged nexus in the matter." Replying to another question, minister of state for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government has not made any assessment on the impact of recent stock market crash on the Indian economy or the investors. Further, responding to a question on reasons behind the volatility in stock markets, Chidambaram said that the government does not try to manage or control volatility. "The government's endeavour is to build systems and practices and deepen and broaden markets which can withstand volatility. The government has put in place systems and practices to promote a safe, transparent and efficient market and to protect market integrity," Chidambaram said in a written reply. He also added that recent volatility is attributed among others to sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US, change in monetary stance of developed countries, the expected recession in US, policy measures on Offshore Derivative Instruments by SEBI and impact of primary market issues.
— PTI |
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REL mulls buyback
Mumbai, February 26 "A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on March 5 to consider buy back of equity shares of the company," Reliance Energy said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company, however, did not reveal how many shares it proposes to buy back or at what price. When contacted, an ADAG spokesperson declined to reveal the purpose of the buy back. Shares of Reliance Energy were trading at Rs 1,682, up 3.65 per cent from yesterday's close of Rs 1,622.70. The scrip, which had closed at Rs 1,963.25 on February 8, has taken a beating since the listing of Reliance Power on February 11. "The significance (of the buyback) is that promoters are sending a message to investors that they are bullish about the business and they don't see the rate of shares going down below that level," Globe Capital Market Ltd managing director Ashok Aggarwal said. "The market cap of Reliance Energy, at present, hovers around Rs 36,000 crore. The group is willing to defend the market cap at Rs 40,000-45,000 crore. This is a pre-emptive move. If anybody is pegging the price below the offered price the company wants to ensure that the shareholders will be secured." A buyback is usually done when the company has excess cash and is not in a position to deploy it in its line of
business. — PTI |
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RIL finds gas in Mahanadi basin
New Delhi, February 26 The discovery has been named 'Dhirubhai40' and "notified to Government of India and DGH. RIL is currently evaluating the potential commercial interest of the discovery through additional data collection and analysis," it said. Reliance had earlier struck six consecutive commercial discoveries in this block, for which the development plan has been submitted to the DGH for approval.
— PTI |
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Tatas set to sign JLR deal
Mumbai, February 26 The company’s top brass chose to remain tight-lipped about developments on grounds of “strict confidentiality”, according to an official spokesman. It is likely that Tata Motors will sign a three-way heads of agreement (HoA) with Ford and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) labour unions. The HoA is likely to be inked within next few days, which will pave the way for Tata Motors to take over the brands by early March. The main union of workers, Unite, last Friday said it had held "constructive talks" with Tata over its planned acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford had named Tata Motors as the frontrunner to buy its luxury brands and said it would proceed with "focused negotiations at a more detailed level." According to sources, Tata Motors was also negotiating 15 to 20 long-term pacts with Ford, which supplies engines, key components and technology for the European brands. The deal is expected to cost Tata Motors $2 billion. Ford, which bought Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion, and Land Rover in 2000 for $2.73 billion, is selling off the two iconic British luxury brands to recoup losses made in its American operations. Ford had announced earlier that it had picked Tata as the preferred bidder for its British units. Tata was one of three bidders left in the race, the other two being fellow Indian carmaker Mahindra and Mahindra and buyout specialists One Equity, which is headed by former Ford chief executive Jacque Nasser.
— IANS |
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Tata Comm to expand Wi-Max network
Kolkata, February 26 The company would invest in wireless broadband to provide high-speed connectivity to enterprise business, Tata Communications senior vice-president Srinivasa Addepalli told reporters here today. At present, the company has the facility only at
Bangalore. "We will roll out to other metros also," he said. Tata Communications would also invest a similar amount to strengthen the submarine cable network. The company would lay two cables connecting India, Middle East, Africa and Europe, and the other from India's east to Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. The objective is to build multiple cables to prevent disruption in traffic in case of cable damage, he
said. Tata Communications has earmarked an overall investment of $2 billion over the next three years.
— PTI |
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Bharti consortium to set up undersea cable
New Delhi, February 26 Besides Bharti, the consortium includes the US’s Internet search company Google, Japan’s telecom company KDDI Corp, Malaysia’s Global Transit Ltd, Singapore’s Pancet and Singtel. The construction would begin immediately and would be ready for commercial use in the first quarter of 2010. Bharti already has two international landing stations in Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems- i2i to Singapore and SEA-ME-WE to Singapore and Europe. “This investment is in line with our strategy to extend our international footprint across the globe to provide seamless connectivity to our customers through partnerships with leading global companies. The Unity cable would address the demand for increased bandwidth between Asia and the US as more and more services migrate to an online environment," Airtel Enterprise (services) president David Nishball said. This partnership would also provide alternate routes to meet the demands of our customers for increased levels of network resiliency and redundancy, he added.
— PTI |
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Sarkozy wants SocGen boss to quit
Paris, February 26 ''I just don't understand the Societe Generale situation. When the chairman of a company experiences a disaster of this magnitude and he does not assume the consequences of this, that is not normal,'' Sarkozy said in a newspaper interview. It was his bluntest criticism of SocGen executive chairman Daniel Bouton since France's second-biggest listed bank revealed a record 4.9 billion euros ($7.3 billion) of rogue trading losses on January 24. ''For someone to make 7 million euros a year does not shock me. But on one condition, that he assumes his responsibilities. That's what the problem is with Daniel Bouton,'' Sarkozy told Le Parisien newspaper. ''I've got nothing against him. But you can't say 'I'm going to be paid 7 million euros a year' and then, when there's a problem, say 'It's not me'. That, I cannot accept.'' A SocGen spokeswoman said the bank had no comment to make on Sarkozy's comments. Bouton initially offered to resign over the scandal but the board asked him to stay on amid reports that the bank could become a takeover target, and 57-year-old Bouton told a newspaper this week that his offer to quit was off the table. Bouton said last week SocGen did not bow to political pressure as the bank posted a record fourth quarter loss of 3.35 billion euros due mainly to the trading losses which it blames on a single trader, 31-year-old Jerome Kerviel. Lagarde backs board Sarkozy's own finance minister Christine Lagarde has also appeared at odds with him over his criticism of the bank and reiterated in a separate interview on Tuesday that it was up to SocGen's board to decide the fate of its senior managers. ''It is up to the board to take decisions in terms of management,'' she told Les Echos newspaper. Kerviel has been placed under formal investigation for breach of trust, computer abuse and falsification over the losses. He is in detention pending the investigation.
— Reuters |
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CDIL bags $15.7-m contract
Chandigarh, February 26 Talking to The Tribune here today, Suresh Kumar, chairman, CDIL, said the contract has been signed by a subsidiary of the group, MediaOne Ventures. MediaOne has been incorporated in the UK and is largely structured to produce live action and animation films for international audiences. The movie will have no war sequences, but will focus on the love story of Emperor Jahangir and Queen Mumtaz Mahal. A team from the Hollywood-based studio, which has outsourced the production to CDIL, will visit the studios of the company next month to initiate the production work. “We are also in talks with another Hollywood production house to co-produce a live action movie on World War II,” he said, adding that CDIL is now the leading animation film-outsourcing firm in South-East Asia. Kumar said with this contract, the company’s turnover would surpass Rs 100 crore this fiscal. “Last year, the company’s turnover was Rs 50 crore, which is expected to reach Rs 103 crore,” he added. |
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DSP Merrill Lynch to expand India operations
New Delhi, February 26 Watts would continue to hold the position of vice-chairman of Merrill Lynch and would be based in Mumbai. "Business has increased exponentially in the last two years, but still there are other products we want to expand like in the bond market, fixed income and derivative incomes. Watts will play a crucial role to provide further impetus to the firm's momentum in India," DSPML chairman Hemendra Kothari told PTI. DSPML is one of the world's leading wealth management, investment banking and advisory companies. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes, and serves as a strategic adviser to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals
worldwide. — PTI |
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United Spirits high on growth
Chandigarh, February 26 High growth in demand for the prestige segment among Indian consumers will see the company grow in sale volumes, said Dalip Garg, divisional vice-president (sales). He said the consumer entry point into spirits market is mainly through the prestige segment, thus the overall market grew by 33 per cent in 2006-07 over the previous year and by 64 per cent cumulatively over last four to five years. Dwelling upon the size of the market, he said the IMFL market in India is pegged at 115 million cases during 2007, which exclude defence consumption, and out of which 20 per cent is contributed by prestige segment. In town to announce the new look of its brand ‘McDowell’s No 1’, United Spirits business head Matthew Xaviers said the company sold 9.1 million cases in the country with a growth rate of 43 per cent. |
ADB may exit Petronet BHEL bags 1,075-cr order Godrej foray AIG Short-Term Fund Lending rate cut StanChart nets $690 m |
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