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RIL eyes diesel exports to Pak
LSE chairman to continue
J&K turmoil costs its industry Rs 1,500 cr
Reliance Infratel IPO scrapped
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Maruti rides on old cars to push sales
State Bank of Saurashtra is SBI now
Indirect tax collection up 13.5 pc
Pvt PFs can invest 15 pc funds in stocks
Aviation industry needs help: Panel
India Post starts selling products of SHGs in N-E
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RIL eyes diesel exports to Pak
New Delhi, August 15 In July, Pakistan announced expanding bilateral trade with India by allowing more imports, including diesel and fuel oil. Reliance is likely to commission its 29 million tons a year export-oriented unit by October and Pakistan will be one of the destinations besides the US and Europe of the high value fuel it will produce, industry sources said. The company has been trying to get an entry into Pakistan for the past four years, which imports 7-8 million tons of diesel a year to meet its domestic needs and it is only now that the neighbouring country has allowed import of fuel from India. Its existing 33 million tons a year Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat and the upcoming unit adjacent to it offer the cheapest option for Pakistan but the Islamic nation has been getting fuel from countries like Kuwait at a heavy discount and Reliance has to better that price. Importing diesel from India will be cheaper for Pakistan due to the difference in transportation cost but Islamabad has traditionally relied on the Gulf nations for its oil needs. Sources said Jamnagar is less than a day from the Karachi port against over three days distance from Kuwait. But the discounts and easier payment terms like Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's 180-day credit line make importing fuel from the Gulf nations more attractive. Besides Jamnagar, only Essar's Vadinar refinery can offer a similar freight advantage. Also, Indian Oil Corporation's Panipat refinery can export to Pakistan via rail but the state-run refinery has no surplus diesel to export after meeting a galloping domestic demand. Besides discounts from Gulf nations, the only other roadblock for Reliance is the fact that Pakistan has not graduated to using high specimen clean fuels (Euro-III and IV grade), the kind Jamnagar will produce, sources said. While Reliance's first refinery already produces mainly for export, the second will be devoted entirely to foreign customers. High-value fuels are exclusively for export to the West, primarily to Europe and the United States. It will soak up excess heavy Middle East crude supplies and export high-quality gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to markets around the world. —
PTI |
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LSE chairman to continue
Ludhiana, August 15 The directors took the decision at a board meeting held here on the directions of the Company Law Board (CLB). Observer from CLB, V.N. Sharma, was also present at the meeting. Troubles at stock exchange started at the beginning of this year itself and two factions emerged. A group of members, on July 10, had moved a notice under Section 284 of the Companies Act seeking ousting of S.P. Sharma, chairman, and T.S. Thapar, a director. The members had scheduled a meeting on August 23 aiming to pass a resolution regarding the same. Following that, Sharma approached the CLB urging it to stall the meeting. He also pointed out "irregularities" at the stock exchange by some members in his complaint to the law board. While the CLB had cancelled the general body meeting that was to be held on August 23, it asked the directors to hold a meeting on the issue on August 14. Hearing on the complaint will be held on August 19. |
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J&K turmoil costs its industry Rs 1,500 cr
New Delhi, August 15 The worst hit industrial sectors include tourism, fruits, hosiery, carpets, handicrafts, dry fruits, tourism, forest-based products and herbs and herbal products. In the last one and half months, the exports from the region have failed to meet its national and international commitments. According to Assocham, the exports from the Jammu region suffered by minimum 30 per cent in view of ongoing agitation on account of which movement of goods, particularly fruit and other items have come to virtual halt. The silk industry, handicraft industry, leather products, fruit juice concentration and processed food have also suffered enormously. The Assocham survey further predicts that if the violence continues, the economy of the state will suffer major jolts as the investors that have committed over Rs 5,000 crore worth of investment for fiscal 2008-09 would depart to other destinations The state of J&K has been offering boundless investment opportunities to prospective investors as its rich resources of water, agro forest, herbal and minerals etc. were being found of great use. The state which was returned to normalcy with law and order situation well within the control of its administration had witnessed 10 times increase in investment proposals from around $200 million in 2001 to more than $2,300 million in 2007. As per forecast made by chamber, this investment would multiply many times but agitation of this nature discourages investors and therefore, peace and tranquility must prevail in the entire J&K region to ensure that its industrial prospects are not derailed. According to a recent study, Jammu & Kashmir otherwise was poised to attract fresh investments volume of Rs 28,000 crore with export potential of around Rs 13,000 crore by 2012 and create employment opportunities for 25 lakh as also re-emerge as the best tourist destination. But, the continuation of ongoing agitation seems to have marred the projections. |
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Reliance Infratel IPO scrapped
New Delhi, August 15 Reliance Infratel, the tower business arm of the group's telecom entity Reliance Communications, has allowed the regulatory approval to lapse without coming out with an IPO and is unlikely to revive the process soon. A company spokesperson did not take queries on lapse of the approval period and on whether the company was looking to revive the process by filing a fresh draft IPO prospectus with market regulator SEBI. On the secondary market, Reliance Infrastructure, formerly Reliance Energy, has logged the biggest loss among the top 30 blue-chip companies in the country in the seven-month downslide at the bourses and the group as whole has lost market value worth over Rs 2,00,000 crore in the same period. The public offer, which was planned, had got a regulatory go-ahead with SEBI's issuance of observations on the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on May 12. As per the norms, it was required to close the IPO within 90 days of issuance of SEBI's observation — the period that ended on August 11. The group had announced the IPO for telecom tower firm Reliance Infratel, which was estimated to raise close to Rs 6,000 crore in February after a stupendous response to Reliance Power initial offer, which raised over Rs 10,000 crore and was the the group's first ever public issue. —
PTI |
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Maruti rides on old cars to push sales
New Delhi, August 15 The company has tied up with scrap dealers across India to dispose of old cars exchanged for new cars and is welcoming customers to come with old cars of any make for exchange. "We have tied up with 15-20 people dealing in scraps in each of the cities that we are present," Maruti Suzuki India chief general manager (sales support) Ravi Bhatia told PTI. The company has started giving offers to customers worth up to Rs 40,000 while purchasing a new car through exchange, while inviting bids from scrap dealers at the same time for the old cars. — PTI |
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State Bank of Saurashtra is SBI now
Mumbai, August 15 RBI in a release here said customers, including depositors, of State Bank of Saurashtra would be able to operate their accounts as customers of SBI. The Government of India has issued the Acquisition of State Bank of Saurashtra Order 2008. Accordingly, the notification dated August 13, 2008 issued by Government of India was published in the Gazette of India under Extraordinary Part II -- Section three sub section (l), sanctioning the Acquisition of State Bank of Saurashtra (transferor bank) by State Bank of India (transferee bank) in terms of section 35(2) of the State Bank of India Act, 1955, the RBI said in a release adding that the Order of Acquisition shall be effective on and from August 13. — UNI |
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Indirect tax collection up 13.5 pc
New Delhi, August 15 While the central excise collection during July soared by 8.9 per cent, realisation from custom duties increased by 18.7 per cent in the month over the corresponding period last year, said an official release. Total indirect tax collection during
the month worked out to be Rs 20,019 crore, up from Rs 17,639 crore recorded
in July 2007. The indirect tax collection during April-July period increased by 12 per cent to Rs 74,359 crore. During the four-month period of the current fiscal, customs realisation increased by 20.3 per cent, while excise revenues were up by 4.4 per cent only. As regards service tax, the release said, collection during June increased by 21 per cent to Rs 5,064 crore. During the first quarter (April-June), the service tax collection surged by 29 per cent to Rs 14,838 crore. — PTI |
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Pvt PFs can invest 15 pc funds in stocks
New Delhi, August 15 Besides, norms regarding investment in securities have also been relaxed. Under the revised investment pattern, these can invest up to 15 per cent of investable funds in shares of companies on which derivatives are available in the Bombay Stock Exchange or National Stock Exchange, said a finance ministry notification. Guidelines, which would be applicable with effect from April 1, 2009, have been issued following public feedback on draft proposals released last year. A senior finance ministry official had earlier said that government would impress upon the Employees Provident Fund, which has a corpus of over Rs 2,40,000 crore, to follow these investment guidelines. Earlier on July 30, the government allowed private players HSBC, Reliance Capital and ICICI Prudential to manage the incremental funds of EPFO, subscribed by over four crore employees, thus ending the monopoly of state-run State Bank of India. The government has also allowed private funds to invest up to 55 per cent of their money in central and state government securities and gilt mutual funds. Private funds operated to provide social security to employees can now invest in term deposit receipts of not less than one year duration issued by scheduled commercial banks subject to specified financial criteria. A new category of instruments such as rupee bonds of multilateral funding agencies, money market instruments have been provided under the revised investment pattern. Besides, funds have been provided a flexible ceiling for various category of instruments instead of fixed investment ceiling at present. —
PTI |
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Aviation industry needs help: Panel
New Delhi, August 15 The panel headed by cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, in its first meeting to examine problems faced by the industry, felt that the sector was in crying need for help. It suggested that the concerned ministries, including petroleum, finance and civil aviation, should work together and come up with a bailout package to save the ailing sector from further slipping into the financial red. The panel was set up on July 9 after a delegation of Indian aviation industry leaders and civil aviation minister Praful Patel met the Prime Minister to discuss various aspects of the crisis. The panel includes HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and IIM professor G Raghuram as members besides secretaries from the ministries of civil aviation,finance, revenue, petroleum and natural gas and the Planning Commission. The members will meet again in three week’s time and in the meantime will work on individual relief measures to help the industry. The package could include temporary reduction in airport charges, review of route dispersal guidelines and tax relief on aviation turbine fuel (ATF). So far, the finance ministry has not considered the civil aviation ministry's demand of notifying ATF as ‘declared goods’, but now there is a possibility that the demand could be accepted. |
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India Post starts selling products of SHGs in N-E
Guwahati, August 15 A new retail counter was opened recently at Meghdoot Bhawan, the General Post Office (GPO) in Guwahati as well as Post’s headquarters in Assam circle, where different products of SHGs have been put on display for sale, thanks to initiative of Nabard that has played the role of facilitator for the SHGs. “Since we have been supporting rural people in diversifying their economic activities to increase their income, it is also our responsibility to provide them the vital marketing link,” said Ibrahim Padbidri, assistant general manager at the Nabard regional office here. The Nabard initiative with India Post in Assam has already roped in six self-help groups and some other rural farmers groups. “We are opening a sale counter at Kaziranga National Park post office soon so that some of the village products from the area can attract thousands of tourists visiting the rhino abode every year,” added Pallab Hazarika, senior manager in the business development cell of India Post here. Earlier, India Post’s venture to sell Assam Tea through its counters across the country met with success, especially in states of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Mahendra Das, a bee-keeper from Dimoriya, a village just about 35 km east of the city, said the post office was emerging as the new avenue to sell products for him and hundreds of others from his village. Over 250 bee-keepers under Dimoriya Grameen Vikash Samiti, who have produced about 2.5 tons of raw honey this season, will sell their produce through the newest retail counter at the post office. “ Another SHG called Dhriti has put up plates and bowls made of betel-nut leaves which provide a green alternative to plastic items, in the post office counter. The products of the NGO have already found good market in Guwahati and Kolkata. Organic tamarind powder, pickles, khadi shoulder bags and shawls produced by tribal villagers in Karbi Anglong Hill district have also found a place of pride in the marketing outlet in the Guwahati GPO. |
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