India on Monday wooed Qatar to look at investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector while seeking an entry into the cash-rich country’s financial centres and special economic zones (SEZs).

In an interview to the Qatar Tribune newspaper published here today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "In this period of global turmoil, I feel that the complementarities between our two economies provide an opportunity for counter-cyclical strategies for growth in both countries".

"We should exploit opportunities for investment in Qatari financial centres and special economic zones, including in the information technology and communications sectors. There is also great scope for Qatar to invest in the infrastructure in India," he said.

Prime Minister, who arrived here yesterday evening on the second and final leg of his visit to the Gulf states of Sultanate of Oman and Emirate of Qatar, pointed out that these sectors would provide the framework for a new thrust to an intensified economic and commercial bilateral relationship.

Prime Minister is accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, besides a high-level delegation comprising of union ministers and high ranking officials of various ministries. He was joined by petroleum minister Murli Deora this morning.

The Prime Minister said “India is a large emerging economy with an averaged nine per cent GDP growth rate over the past four years”. “We still have large investment requirements in almost all sectors of our economy. We have also well-regulated financial system with strong financial instutions”.

He added that emerging economies like India, with a strong and well functioning financial system, might hold the key to any global recovery process.

"A strategic partnership between Indian and Qatari economies assumes great importance during the global financial crisis."

This is first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to this Gulf state, which also has strong ties with India in the field of defence and security.

He said there was scope for investment of over $500 billion in India's infrastructure sector.

Coming to energy ties between the nations, the Prime Minister said there was great scope for harnessing the complementarities that exist between the two countries.

"Qatar is a valued and reliable supplier of a large part of our energy imports from the Gulf region," he said.

Qatar has been supplying India with 7.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in two phases annually since 1999. India and Qatar have a 25-year agreement in this sector.

Stating that Indian oil and gas companies have developed into top global players with high technical capability, the Prime Minister said: "I feel there is great scope to harness the complementarities that exist in the sector between the two countries and to transform our present energy relationship into a dynamic partnership."

Addressing members of the Indian community, the Prime Minister said his visit had confirmed his belief that Qatar was one of India’s closest friends in the Gulf region. 

Having signed agreements to enhance cooperation in the fields of defence and law enforcement, India on Monday failed to get commitment from Qatar to supply additional natural gas for its increasing energy needs.

Although petroleum minister Murli Deora held talks with deputy prime minister and minister of energy and industry Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah, an agreement on supplying additional liquified natural gas (LNG) by Qatar could not be signed.

However, the Defence agreement with Qatar “will lay out a structure for joint maritime security and training as well as exchange of visits”. The security and law enforcement matters will lay out the framework for sharing information and data on threats posed by extremists and check money laundering besides other security and legal matters.

Both these agreements were signed between India and Qatar during the delegation-level talks yesterday.

But, there was not much success on the energy front with Qatar pointing out that it already has commitments for gas supplies.

Briefing newsmen, secretary (east) in the ministry of external affairs, N. Ravi told newspersons accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his first-ever visit to this Gulf state, “There are expectations that in the near future, gas supplies might be increased”. Qatar presently supplies 7.5 million tones of gas every year through agreement with RasGas at very low rates.

On Monday, Dr Singh called on the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani and with talks between Deora and Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah not proving fruitful, increase in supply of natural gas to India was on top of his agenda.

India is seeking additional 2.5 million tones of LNG supply from Qatar every year. India is poised to receive the additional gas under a second contract, but needs a similar quantity for the import terminal at Dahej, which is being expanded to 10 million tonnes annually.

State-run gas utility GAIL India's proposal to set up a mega petrochemical plant in joint venture with Reliance Industries also figured during the discussion.

Ravi said that the Indian delegation also held talks in detail for cooperation in the education sector where India would be able to provide expertise in the field of IT, management and technology to Qatar while utilising its agreement with foreign institutions here.

Discussions were also held on channeling Qatar's surplus funds for the Indian infrastructure sector and Doha's willingness to encourage entry to Indian financial institutions (FIs).

Bilateral trade also came up for discussion. India is Qatar’s third largest export partner after Japan and Singapore.

Qatar’s exports to India stand at $2.6 billion while India’s share is $700 million. India’s exports to Qatar mainly comprise of consumer items, foodstuff and industrial equipment.

Apart from his parleys with the Qatari leadership, Dr Singh also met representatives of the large Indian community later in the evening. 

New Delhi, November 10
Country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, which has been struggling to keep its sales momentum is banking on the company's to-be-launched compact car A-Star to beat the year-end blues.

The car industry, which witnessed a decline of 6.59 per cent in October, struggles to sell car in the year-end as most customers postpone purchases for a new model year. MSI is hoping that the novelty factor associated with its 5th global model will help in overcoming the challenge.

"November and December are usually tough months for carmakers. Knowing that very well we will be launching the A-Star so that it can bring excitement to the market," MSI executive officer marketing and sales Mayank Pareek said.

"There have also been instances of customers coming to see new models and ending up purchasing existing models. A-Star might as well be that bait," he added.

The A-Star will be the latest in a series of global models that Suzuki, MSI's Japanese parent, has launched over the past few years and will be manufactured solely in India.

The company is aiming to sell about 50,000 units in the Indian market and a one lakh units to be exported. It will be manufactured at its Manesar plant.

MSI claims that according to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), the A-Star delivers a mileage of 19.59 km per litre. It is powered by the company's new KB10 998 cc petrol engine and will be rolled out in three variants.

While the company has not announced the price of the new car, it is expected to be priced around Rs 4 lakh. — PTI 

Chandigarh, November 10
The slowdown in growth in Information Technology (IT) sector is an opportunity for IT companies to look at alternate segments and alternate markets. This is an opportunity for IT sector to consolidate itself.

These views were expressed by the chairman of Nasscom, Dr Ganesh Natarajan, while talking to TNS on the sidelines of Nasscom-TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) CEO forum here this evening. “Though the IT sector will still grow by 21-24 per cent this year, the growth targets have been brought down as the IT- BPO industry faces the global uncertainity in wake of structural recession in the developed world,” he said.

“But this is an opportunity to move into the utility (animation and gaming), financial sector (banking), healthcare and infrastructure segments in IT. Besides new verticals, the companies have to shift focus from the US and UK markets, to hitherto unexplored markets like Brazil, Ireland, Scandinavian countries, Poland, Japan and Korea,” he added.

Natarajan, who is also the CEO of Zensar Technologies, said when the rupee started falling against the dollar earlier this year, most IT companies sat up in anticipation of the volatility in currency and started taking corrective measures. The focus is now on cost and productivity. “Since then, the focus has been on improving utilisation, which means the hiring process will slow down. Though there are no lay-offs in the IT sector, however, companies have attained a four per cent improvement in capacity utilisation, which will lead to 50,000 job cuts,” he said.

The Nasscom chief also said that because of the recessionary trend, the average salary increase in the IT sector was just nine per cent, as against 13 per cent last year. “The Indian companies are now adopting a cautious approach on physical expansion,” he added.

Natarajan also said that Nasscom was actively involved in policy advocacy with the new government headed by Barack Obama in the US. “It is a misnomer that the new regime in the USA is against outsourcing. Rather in times of recession, when profit margins have been squeezed, no economist can afford to ban outsourcing,” he said. 

New Delhi, November 10
Concerned over huge erosion in profits of the textile sector, industry body Ficci today warned that mills would be forced to lay off workers in large scale unless the government comes out with a bailout package for them.

"The profitability of the textile industry fell by over 99 per cent in June 2008 quarter and investment in the current year (April-July) has been less than one-thirds of that of the same period last year," Ficci said.

"Unless steps are taken swiftly to bail out the textile industry, there is a risk of large scale lay-offs," it said. The industry's growth has come down from 8 per cent in 2005-06 to only 0.8 per cent in April-August 2008-09. Looking at the Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEMs) filed, the investment has come down drastically in the current year, it said.

Ficci, which has conducted a study on the sector, said a moratorium for one year on term-loans, increased drawback rates, export credit at international rates and extension of sunset clause for export-oriented units (EoUs) for five years should be part of the special package for the industry.

Last year, 174 IEMs were filed during April to July representing an investment of Rs 9,477 crore. However, this year only 108 IEMs have been filed for April-July with an amount of Rs 3,000 crore only, Ficci study pointed out. Diminishing investment in the textile sector could have significant impact on the employment front, the study added.

Under the special package, the government should provide a moratorium of one-year for repayment of principal amount of term loans taken by textile industry. — PTI 

New Delhi, November 10
The first aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India would come up at Hosur near Bangalore, with its promoter Air Works receiving the approval of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Announcing that it had recently received DGCA approval, Air Works CEO Fredrik Groth said the company, which already has one hangar at Hosur airport that can house two turboprop ATR-72 size aircraft, would construct two more larger hangars by 2009.

"We have plans to pump in $40 million into the project", he said, adding that the funds would be put in to set up the additional hangars, the aircraft painting operations as well as for future engine and components facilities.

The company, which claims to be the largest general aviation and MRO firm in India, would provide services like line and base maintenance, aircraft painting, structural repairs, cabin and avionic upgrades. It would also offer component repairs and spare parts sourcing.

The company would start operations with the existing hangar and soon build two more "no later than 2009 end" at the Hosur airport, which has a 7,000 feet runway capable of accepting all types of commercial aircraft. — PTI

Kuala Lumpur/Mumbai, November 10
India's engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Malaysian firm Scomi Engineering have jointly bagged country's first monorail project to come up in the financial city of Mumbai at a contract of Rs 2,460 crore ($523 million).

The 19.54 km project to link Bombay's westside of the city to its northeast is expected to ease congestion in the highly crowded Jacob Circle, Wadala and Chembur areas.

The Mumbai monorail project is likely to be followed by similar transportation systems in other major Indian cities like New Delhi and Bangalore.

The joint contract was awarded to Scomi-L&T by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Monorail system. The Malaysian-Indian company beat the Reliance-Hitachi consortium's bid.

L&T in association with Malaysia-based Scomi Engineering would construct the monorail in 30 months, while the Malaysian firm Scomi will hold a 45 per cent stake in the project while, the majority 55 per cent would be with L&T.

The CEO of the Malaysian firm Shah Hakim Zain said his company had also submitted bids for monorail projects in Bangalore, Pune, New Delhi and Patna.

Monorail is an urban transport system where the cars move on a single beam in an elevated corridor.

The project would be executed on a "fast-track" basis as it requires a small foot print and minimal demolition of buildings, L&T said. — PTI

Mumbai, November 10
Scores of shopping outlets across the country that deal in imported goods would be stocking consignments of contaminated Chinese chocolates endangering the lives of people, including children, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials here warn.

All through September, milk chocolates and dairy products of Chinese origin have been entering the Indian markets via the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the Mumbai Port Trust, according to officials here.

"The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification banning the import of Chinese dairy products and chocolates on September 26. But consignments imported prior to that date have been circulating across the country," a senior Maharashtra FDA official told The Tribune.

Many importers have stocked up on Chinese chocolates ahead of Diwali and the gift packs and loose packets containing the chocolates have been dispatched to retailers all over the country.

Imports of Chinese chocolates have been banned all over the world after the presence of melamine was detected. Melamine could cause kidney problems and long-term exposure could cause cancer, experts say.

FDA officials were hampered by the fact that they did not have the chemical formula for melamine. Inspectors from the organization had to take assistance from private pharma companies and the Indian Institute of Technology, officials admitted.

Meanwhile, retailers who had stocked up on Chinese chocolates were happily peddling the contaminated consignments during the Diwali week.

"We have conducted raids in warehouses and shopping malls and seized chocolates worth nearly Rs 75 lakh," FDA commissioner Dhanraj Khamatkar said. Late last month, consignments worth more than Rs 4 crore were seized. He added that the samples from the seizures, done more than a week ago, indicated the presence of melamine. More than 60 samples have so far tested positive.

Officials here say, Chinese chocolates with brand names like Ginnon Frisky, Ginnou Chocher and Tasty Choco have been stocked by retailers for years. So far a number of godowns belonging to importers dealing in chocolates have been sealed by officials.

Shimla, November 10
The future of the state-owned steel company's first steel plant in north India, in Himachal Pradesh, is clouded by uncertainty.

The proposed plant, to be set up by Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), involves an investment of Rs 1.06 billion. But, the Himachal Pradesh government says the Rs 456-billion steel behemoth can't seem to be making up its mind where it wants the facility to come up.

"SAIL authorities first identified a plot (at Kandrori village in Kangra district, some 300 km from Shimla), but now it is saying Nahan (in Sirmaur district) would be the ideal location," a senior official of state industry department told IANS. "We (the government) have already completed the process to transfer the land in Kangra district to SAIL," the official said.

Using thermo-mechanical treatment technology, the proposed plant is scheduled to produce 1,20,000 tonnes of steel rods, wire drawings and corrugated sheets annually.

According to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, the state government would cooperate with the central government in establishing the steel plant, wherever it wanted. "Though Sirmaur district is facing acute power shortage, it is up to SAIL to decide where it wants to set up the plant," he said in Nahan on Saturday.

"We have no information regarding the SAIL's decision to establish the plant now in Sirmaur district. If they (SAIL) want to set up two plants in the hill state, it's a welcome step. We have cleared all decks for the transfer of land to SAIL in Kangra district," industries director Manoj Kumar said.

Kumar said the government had cleared 18 investment proposals worth Rs 166.6 billion in February, which included SAIL's plant and the expansion of the Gujarat Ambuja Cements unit at Darlaghat in Solan district.— IANS

BRIEFLY

Oil rises
London: Oil prices rose by more than $2 on Monday after China's announcement at the weekend of a massive local economic stimulus package was set to increase demand for crude, analysts said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for delivery in December jumped $2.38 to $63.42 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for December was up $2.09 at $59.44 a barrel on London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE).— AFP

Satyam buyout
Kuala Lumpur: India's Satyam Computer Services Ltd on Monday said it will absorb 128 employees of Motorola's Software Development Center here, which has been acquired by the IT services provider. The centre is part of Motorola's Home and Networks Mobility business and focuses on network management system development. The deal is to be completed by December 31, 2008.— PTI

Andhra Bank cuts BPLR
Hyderabad: State-run Andhra Bank on Monday reduced its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 0.75 per cent to 13.25 per cent with immediate effect. The rate-cut will benefit all PLR-related portfolios, including home, education and vehicle loans, the bank said in a statement.— PTI

Reliance Infra buyback
Mumbai: Reliance Infrastructure Ltd has bought back 16,00,000 equity shares of the company in less than two weeks, a statement said here. The company, a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), was earlier known as Reliance Energy Ltd. Since the commencement of the buyback on March 25, Reliance Infrastructure has so far bought back 72,60,000 equity shares aggregating Rs 711 crore.— PTI

India sees decline in exports
New Delhi: India's exports declined in October for the first time in five years due to the global slowdown, a senior commerce ministry official said on Monday. The exports declined by over 15 per cent in dollar terms, Director General of Foreign Trade R.S. Gujral said at a function here. Barring the export of petroleum products, there has been a decline of over 20 per cent, he said. — TNS

PFC to raise Rs 400 cr
New Delhi: Power Finance Corporation on Monday said it would raise up to Rs 400 crore through issue of bonds this week. This was disclosed by PFC chairman Satnam Singh on the sidelines of the launch of Power Exchange India Ltd.— PTI