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Duty on cotton imports goes
Taxing oil Cos not under petroleum ministry: Deora
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RCom, MTN extend negotiations till July 21
BSNL set to roll out wireless broadband
RIL tops list of pvt sector Fortune 500 firms in India
SC breather for Adani Group’s Gujarat SEZ
Irked, IATA agents to fight it out
Panel to examine financial crises of domestic airlines
Inflation in some nations getting out of control: IMF
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Duty on cotton imports goes
New Delhi, July 9 "The 10 per cent customs duty on cotton imports has been abolished along with 4 per cent special additional duty with effect from July 8. Besides, one per cent drawback benefits (refund of local taxes) on exports of raw cotton have also been withdrawn," joint secretary in the ministry of finance Vivek Johri said. A notification has also been issued in this regard by the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The abolition of customs duty is expected to result in revenue loss of Rs 100 crore in the remaining months of the current fiscal, though removal of export incentives would partly set off these losses. About 3,000 yarn mills had announced to go on a strike today pressing for their demand to abolish customs duty on cotton imports and regulation of exports. While welcoming the decision of the government, deputy chairman of Southern India Mills Association J Thulasidharan said, "Since the strike call had already been given, workers have not turned up." The textile ministry has been pressing for scrapping the customs duty saying that textile exports remained at about $20 billion against the target of $25 billion in 2007-08 mainly due to rise in input costs like a hike in cotton prices. According to industry estimates, the decision would not have any major impact on cotton producers, as the production has gone up to 35 million bales (One bale = 170 kg) as against 30 million bales in the previous year due to wide plantation of BT cotton. The cotton prices have gone up by more than 42 per cent since January this year, adding to cost of textile industry.
— PTI |
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Taxing oil Cos not under petroleum ministry: Deora
New Delhi, July 9 "The issue does not come under my ministry," he told reporters here. "Its for the finance ministry to decide." The Left parties and more recently the Samajwadi Party, that is now supporting the Manmohan Singh government after the Communists withdrew their support over the nuclear deal with US, have been demanding that companies like Reliance Industries, Essar and Cairn be taxed to tide over the crisis created by high oil prices. They have also demanded review of export-oriented status of the Jamnagar refinery of Reliance. "My dear, you would know that the law on EoUs is not in my jurisdictions. It is with the commerce ministry. How can I then say anything on that," he said when a reporter asked him if he was proposing review of Jamnagar's EoU status. Petroleum ministry officials said no ministry unilaterally can levy windfall tax as it may require Parliamentary approval. Besides, the private firms cannot be singled out for the tax and if all standalone refineries or units with no fuel retailing are to be charged of such tax, units such as ONGC's subsidiary Mangalore Refinery, Chennai refinery of IOC and Numaligarh refinery would also come under the ambit of the new tax. Deora said India needed the civilian nuclear deal with the US to help ease energy shortages. "After 60 years of independence, we still have shortage of electricity in India. I am supportive of the deal as it will give the people the much needed electricity and the nation energy security." In the same breath, he added that the government was open to any suggestions on the issue. "We are open to discuss with anyone suggestions they have in this regard." While state-run firms are faced with huge revenue loss as they capped domestic retail prices despite two-fold jump in international crude oil prices, Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery has seen net profits jump 28 per cent to Rs 15,261 crore in 2007-08.
— PTI |
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Sensex up 615 points
Mumbai, July 9 The 30-share BSE barometer surged by 614.61 points at 13,964.26 with heavyweight stocks, particularly realty and power scrips, attracting brisk buying. As buying trend picked up momentum, the bellwether index almost touched the crucial 14k level at 13,998.48 points. It also witnessed day's low of 13,581.41 points. The 50-stock National Stock Exchange index Nifty also gained 168.55 points at 4,157.10, after touching the day's high of 4,169.40 and a low of 3,990.90 points. — PTI |
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RCom, MTN extend negotiations till July 21
New Delhi, July 9 "RCom and MTN have agreed to continue their negotiations in relation to such potential business combination, and have extended the period of exclusivity until July 21," RCom said in a statement. The statement put to an end the speculation even on whether or not the talks would be extended in the view of the threat of litigation from RIL. There has been speculation even over MTN pulling out of the talks due to litigation threats and that RCom would now be looking at raising finance through investment bankers to buy out 51 per cent shares in the South African telecom giant. RIL, incidentally, is determined to press for a resolution of the issue through arbitration as provided in the non-compete agreement, which however, is not acceptable to RCom. RIL had on Monday said that "in view of the refusal of RCom to participate in conciliation process as envisaged in the agreement, RIL is left with no alternative but to adopt appropriate proceedings against RCom as advised". RCom on the other hand said it would like to hold talks with RIL in week of July 14 to clarify any doubts that the latter would have on its right to refusal. As regards the talks with MTN, RCom today said, "It is to be noted that there is no certainty either on completion, or the timing of the said proposal," the statement added. The extension of talks gives a fresh lease of life to Ambani's aim of emerging as a major global telecom player. Meanwhile, both RCom and MTN have asked their shareholders to exercise caution in their dealings in the companies' securities dealings until a further announcement is made, the two firms said in separate regulatory filings. |
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BSNL set to roll out wireless broadband
Chandigarh, July 9 Top officials in BSNL informed TNS that they were now in the process of floating tenders for making available WiMax in Punjab. “We already have the infrastructure in terms of towers for mobile, and only the interface equipment is required. The pilot project, without mobility, has already been carried out at several places in Punjab,” said the official. BSNL will be the first to roll out wireless broadband on the 2.5-Ghz band. While private telecom companies have to bid for spectrum in this band, BSNL will get automatic allocation. Broadband services on WiMax technology promise high-speed Internet access on laptops and mobile handsets. BSNL authorities here say that considering the huge success of broadband services in the region, they foresee a huge potential for the WiMax technology. “We already have the largest number of broadband connections in this region (1.01 lakh customers). At certain places like Ludhiana and Patiala, we have already exhausted our port capacity and are re-allocating ports from nearby areas. Besides this, we also have 1.75 lakh dial-up connections. With this region having the highest teledensity, we already have these customers who are likely to adopt the WiMax technology,” said the official. BSNL Punjab telecom circle is also in the process of rolling out broadband services in 1,087 rural locations. “Within a year, we will be providing broadband services through all our telephone exchanges in Punjab. Braodband services are already being provided through 150 rural exchanges,” he said. |
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Kamla Dials spins off retail venture
New Delhi, July 9 The newly formed Kamla Retail, a subsidiary of the KDDL, would control all retail ventures of the company, including the Ethos Swiss Watch Studios, the luxury multi-brand retail for Swiss watches in India. "The company is going on an expansion drive, which will see the number of Ethos (prestige segment) and Summit (luxury segment) shops going up to 23 by the end of this fiscal, from the existing 17," Ethos Swiss Watch Studios CEO Yashovardhan Saboo said. Ethos is also venturing into travel retail and has just opened its first multi-brand duty-free store at the new international airport near Bangalore. "We will have such stores in major international airports, including Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad very soon. The travel retail sector is growing at 10 per cent annually in India and we want to tap the market," Saboo said. He said Kamla Retail would help in streamlining sales and marketing of 35 Swiss watch brands being sold from the firm's exclusively owned stores and boutiques. The company retails brands such as Swatch, Tagheuer, Cartier, Omega and Longines amongst others. "We are looking at growing by 70-80 per cent every year and increasing our annual turover to Rs 250 crore by 2010-11, up from Rs 35 crore last fiscal. For this we are investing Rs 70 crore in increasing the total number of our stores during this period," Saboo said.
— PTI |
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RIL tops list of pvt sector Fortune 500 firms in India
New York, July 9 The list, released by the US business magazine Fortune today, includes two private (RIL and Tata Steel) and five public sector companies from India, topped by Indian Oil Corp (IOC), and including BPCL, HPCL, ONGC and SBI. IOC is the top-ranked Indian company among both private and public sectors at 116th position in the worldwide list, topped by US retail giant Wal-Mart. Besides making its debut at 315th position, Ratan Tata-led Tata Steel has also been named as the company with highest revenue growth of over 353 per cent over the past year. Tata Steel recorded 17th fastest growth in profit among all the companies globally, Fortune said. RIL, which has been ranked at 30th in terms of revenue growth, has jumped 63 places to grab the 206th rank. SBI has been ranked at 21st place in terms of revenue growth. RIL is ranked second after IOC among all Indian companies and is followed by Bharat Petroleum (287), Hindustan Petroleum (290), ONGC (335) and State Bank of India (380). SBI is the seventh biggest climber among all global companies, while RIL and BPCL have been ranked at 23rd and 50th in terms of gains from the previous year rankings.
— PTI |
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SC breather for Adani Group’s Gujarat SEZ
New Delhi, July 9 Earlier on July 1, the apex court had stayed work on Adani project on a plea by fishermen that the project would affect their livelihood and flora and fauna in the region. A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, while dismissing the petition of fishermen as withdrawn, asked the Adani Group not to fill the creeks. It also gave liberty to the petitioners to approach the High Court for redressal of their grievances. The apex court on July 1 had directed the parties to maintain status quo on all activities taking place in the area. The effect of the order was that all activities, including construction, was stalled at the multi-product SEZ in Gujarat. While seeking vacation of the status quo order, Adani had stated that all allegations against its SEZ were baseless and were aimed at pressurising it for illegal gains. Refuting the claims, the company said it had not indulged in land grabbing but had acquired it strictly in accordance with law after giving a public hearing and paying compensation and premium for
rehabilitation. — PTI |
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Irked, IATA agents to fight it out
Chandigarh, July 9 Air India has announced that 5 per cent agency commission given to IATA agents on sale of tickets shall stand withdrawn from October 1 this year. Two other major air carriers of the country, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, too, have made a similar announcement. “It is not only foreign airlines, but also the national air carrier, Air India, that has been threatening our survival by announcing to withdraw the agency commission of 5 per cent given to IATA agents on sale of air tickets from October 1 this year,” says Kamaljeet Cheema, North Indian representative of the five associations. “Agency commission is the only source of income for travel agents who provide services to air passengers on behalf of national and international air carriers,” adds Umesh Kapur of the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India. The major industry associations — Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, IATA Agents Association of India, Indian Association of Tour Operators, Travel Agents Association of India and Travel Agents Federation of India — held a joint meeting in Mumbai on Monday, where it was decided to resist the move of the airlines in all possible ways, including by holding negotiations, resorting to confrontation or even by taking to legal recourse. They decided to stay united, speak in one voice and fight a common battle. One of the industry associations has already filed a case against the national air carrier in Kerala High Court two days ago, maintaining that this arbitrary decision of Air India would not kill tour and travel industry in the country but also render thousands of families jobless. It may be pertinent to mention here that a couple of years ago, some of the foreign air carriers, including Lufthansa, had threatened to cut the agency commission of travel agents. At that time, the management of Air India had signed an agreement that the present system of 5 per cent commission could continue unchanged till 2009. It was also agreed that an all-representative committee of airlines and travel agents would discuss new arrangement. “But no committee was set up and Air India arbitrarily decided to withdraw the agency commission from October 1. “This decision will have grievous consequences besides affecting thousands of self-employed people in the tour and travel trade,” adds Cheema. |
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Panel to examine financial crises of domestic airlines
New Delhi, July 9 The Prime Minister had recently reviewed developments of the aviation sector and the civil aviation ministry had mooted the committee to examine issues relating to financial crisis being faced by domestic airlines. The terms of reference of the committee include examination and assessment of financial difficulties faced by airline operators in the country and international scenario and practices followed by other countries and airlines in this regard. The panel will make short-term and long-term recommendations for sustained growth and health of the aviation industry. While no timeframe has been set, officials said, the committee “has been asked to submit its recommendations at the earliest possible”. The necessary action for setting up the committee will be taken by ministry of civil aviation and the report of the committee will be sent to the PMO after finalisation. Cabinet secretary, finance secretary, secretary, ministry of civil aviation, secretary, Department of Revenue, secretary, ministry of petroleum & natural gas, secretary, Planning Commission, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and IIM Ahmedabad professor Raghuram will be on the panel. Welcoming the decision, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said, "The civil aviation ministry looks forward to the advice of this committee which has been formed pursuant to our meeting with the Prime Minister on one of the most important issues currently affecting the aviation sector that has led to a slowdown in the growth sector and losses for the domestic airlines." All airlines have been reporting losses running into crores of rupees and aviation experts say that past four to five hikes in ATF prices have made fuel account for more than half of airlines operating cost. |
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Inflation in some nations getting out of control: IMF
Toyako, July 9 "What is sure is that the consequences for the real (economy) sector of the financial crisis are still in front of us," Strauss-Kahn, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, said in an interview. With sky-high food and oil prices adding to the economic pain caused by financial strains, Strauss-Kahn said the IMF was fairly pessimistic about global growth prospects this year and, especially, in 2009. But he told a news conference later that softening growth was less of a threat than inflation, which he said was rampant in some countries. "In developed countries, central banks have taken it into account and have the correct monetary policy stance. In emerging countries and some low-income countries, in some of them at least, inflation is out of control. That means monetary policy probably has to be tightened in coming weeks or coming months." He said the lesson from the 1970s and 1980s was that inflation can last for years, or even decades, if central banks and governments choose the wrong policy settings.
— Reuters |
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