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Work on Cairn pipeline halted
US likely to record zero growth in Q2, says OECD
Setback to Ranbaxy in lipitor case
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India to collaborate with Ethiopia in leather sector
Lifeline group to set up hospital in Zambia
Severstal to buy ArcelorMittal’s mill for $810 million
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New Delhi, March 21 Though Rajasthan is not opposed to crude oil being taken to refineries outside the state for processing, it fears loss of sales tax, in the form of VAT revenues, if the delivery point of the output from Cairn’s Barmer fields is shifted. The state government has stopped work on giving right of user (RoU) for the pipeline being built to transport the oil to Gujarat coast, sources said. Cairn has sought shifting of the delivery point so that the 585-km pipeline needed for transporting the crude to Gujarat coast can be included in the cost for developing the oil field and recovered from the sale of oil. However, the legal opinion on the matter contradicts the Rajasthan government stand, saying any crude oil sale outside the state would be considered inter-state sale irrespective of the delivery point and attract 3 per cent central sales tax. Sources said according to the legal opinion obtained from PwC, any sale that involved the movement of goods from one state to another was an inter-state transaction. Thus, even if the delivery/sale was made in state of origin, but the goods were transported outside the state of origin, the central sales tax (CST) was payable. The situs of sale was immaterial. Therefore, irrespective of the delivery point being in Rajasthan or Gujarat, VAT did not apply as the crude oil had to be transported outside Rajasthan for refining. CST would be payable and the current rate is 3 per cent. CST is collected from the buyer and has to be deposited with government treasury in Rajasthan, the PwC legal opinion stated. Cairn plans to start producing oil from the Rajasthan fields by mid-2009 with peak output now estimated at 175,000 barrels per day, one-fourth of the nation’s crude oil production. Oil from Rajasthan fields will help cut the country’s import dependence, which in case of crude oil currently is 79 per cent. CST is expected to be phased out in 2010 and replaced by goods and service tax (GST). GST is likely to be based on destination, irrespective of the delivery point being in Rajasthan or outside. — PTI
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US likely to record zero growth in Q2, says OECD
New Delhi, March 21 "It may be premature to declare a recession, but with the pace of activity so far below potential, economic slack is widening rapidly," the OECD said pointing out that economic growth rate was likely to slip from 0.1 per cent in Q1 to zero in the second quarter. Giving growth projections for the G7 nations (US, Japan, Euro Area, Germany, France, Italy, UK and Canada), the OECD report said Japan and Europe were also likely to witness slowdown in growth. Japan, it added, is expected to grow at 0.3 per cent in the first quarter and 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, it added. In addition to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the OECD attributed the slowdown in the US economy to factors like soaring energy and food prices. "The effects (of the crisis) on demand are likely to be significant but are hard to gauge", the report added.
— PTI |
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Setback to Ranbaxy in lipitor case
New Delhi, March 21 The appellate court issued an order prohibiting regulatory approval of Ranbaxy's product in Canada until Pfizer's enantiomer (calcium salt) patent Canadian Patent No. 2,021,546 expires in July 2010, it added. "This decision sends a strong signal about the importance of protecting intellectual property in Canada, which provides the incentive for research-driven pharmaceutical companies to make the significant high-risk investments necessary to develop new life-saving medicines," Pfizer senior vice- president and associate general counsel Peter Richardson said. The court's ruling is not only an important one for Pfizer, but also for patients, he added. When contacted a Ranbaxy spokesperson said: "We are evaluating our options and cannot offer any further comment at present." The Gurgaon-based company has been challenging Pfizer's atorvastatin (lipitor) patents in around 20 countries. Some of the key countries include USA, UK, Canada, Norway, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Australia etc. In many parts of Europe, the company has been able to successfully invalidate Pfizers patents, including the major markets such as USA and UK. — PTI
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India to collaborate with Ethiopia in leather sector
New Delhi, March 21 The event is seen as a win-win situation for both India and Ethiopia and will go a long way to help their respective leather sector in order to increase share of global presence in terms of export earnings and volume of leather products. For India, leather is a strategic sector and has greater scope for employment generation, as it is a labour-intensive sector. Approximately 2.4 million people are presently engaged in the leather sector. The MoU was signed during the 4th CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa project partnership 2008 here. It holds great importance for Indian private manufacturers and associations to actively participate in leather business in Ethiopia. Under the MoU, Ethiopia will allow the Indian leather industry access to the country’s rich leather resources. Ethiopia also has favourable environment for foreign investors as it is providing duty-free incentives to foreign investors, tax holidays of 2 to 8 years depending on the area of interest and volume of export. Yizzaw Assefa, chairperson, Ethiopian leather industry, also emphasised the area where India and Ethiopia can have trade partnership. Leather is the top priority area for export earning. Ethiopia supplies 16 million skins per annum. Ethiopia now is looking for producing finished leather products rather to remain a raw leather exporting country only. He asked the Indian counterparts to join in this particular segment. He also invited Indian companies to participate actively in the coming second “All African Leather Fair 2009”. Shyamal Gupta, chairman, CII, also a member of national committee on leather and leather products, said it was time for Indian leather industry to take a giant move, not only in domestic market but also in the global market.
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Lifeline group to set up hospital in Zambia
Chennai, March 21 Lifeline will invest $2.5 million with an equal contribution from a local business house while the rest will be in form of bank loans. Lifeline group of hospitals chairman Dr Rajkumar said, “Identifying the requirement to have a better medical facility, we have taken this initiative to provide all surgical expertise and build a modernised hospital in Zambia. We will also cater to the neighbouring countries like Congo, Angola, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi and Namibia.” According to the MoU, the Zambian government will provide the land and building for the medical facility and Lifeline will equip it with 100 beds and equipment as a commercial entity. Dr Rajkumar said the Lifeline medical facility in Zambia would have a team of 300 medical personnel, 80 percent of which would be from India. |
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Severstal to buy ArcelorMittal’s mill for $810 million
New Delhi, March 21 "The transaction reflects a significant strategic opportunity to add complementary assets and scale to Severstal's existing US business," the company said in a statement. Sparrows Point, a fully-integrated steel mill based in Baltimore, Maryland of the US, has a capacity of 3.6 million metric tons of crude steel and shipped 2.3 million metric tons of finished steel products in 2007. It is the only integrated producer of flat rolled steel on the US East Coast and is a major North American supplier of tin mill products. Severstal expects to realise significant business improvements and synergies at Sparrows Point in conjunction with a five-year investment program at the plant, it said. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008-09, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the United States Department of Justice. India's Essar Steel was earlier reported to be in the race to buy the plant, which the US Department of Justice ordered ArcelorMittal to divest as part of anti-trust concerns related to tinplate production in the eastern United States. Evraz Group SA and OJSC Novolipetsk Steel were also considered to be in the fray. "With Sparrows Point, Severstal brings into its US portfolio an asset with significant existing value as well as unlocked growth potential," Severstal CEO Alexei Mordashov said. — PTI
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Gold recovers by Rs 300 Exim, Afreximbank in pact ICICI Bank in Leeds BHEL pays 298-cr dividend GSHL mining contract GAIL awarded Winery acquisition |
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