The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	EU-IMF package lifts global stocks Sensex zooms by 561 points Mumbai, May 10 In sync with an upsurge in global stocks, the BSE benchmark Sensex today zoomed by 561 points, the biggest one-day gain in around 10 months, on frenetic buying by funds after an $1 trillion package was unveiled by EU-IMF to help tide over the debt crisis in eurozone. The sentiment turned bullish in the opening trade itself after a five-day losing streak. Marketmen said investors became aggressive buyers after the announcement of EU-IMF package, which prompted the FIIs to return to emerging economies, including India. The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex closed the day higher by 561.44 points or 3.35 per cent to settle at 17,330.55. In the five days of straight losses, the index had lost 789 points to trade below 17,000-level. The biggest one-day gain before today was on July 17 when the index rose 561 points. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shot up by 175.55 points to 5,193.60, as stocks in realty, metal and banking segment surged between four to six per cent. The bailout package was announced in Brussels before the opening of trade in Asia. Brokers said domestic markets rose in tandem with Asian bourses and got a further boost in mid-session after European shares opened sharply higher. The bailout package fuelled a rally in markets across the globe. Asian bourses ended with gain in the range of 0.39-2.5 per cent, while European markets zoomed up to 8 per cent in the mid-session. On the BSE, Reliance Industries surged 4.48 per cent to Rs 1,080.20. Among 30 constituents of the Sensex, 28 ended in green, while two scrips bucked the trend and closed in negative zone. Reliance Infra and Reliance Communications, the two Anil Ambani Group companies, saw heavy buying and rose 8.49 per cent and 1.21 per cent, respectively. Reliance Infra was the biggest gainer among the Sensex companies. ADAG shares were hammered on Friday after the Supreme Court verdict in RIL-RNRL gas dispute. Tata Steel, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries rose in the range of 6-8 per cent. Tata Motors, M&M and DLF jumped 6.72 per cent, 5.81 per cent and 6.68 per cent, respectively. ICICI Bank jumped 5.12 per cent, HDFC Bank by 4.68 per cent and SBI by 3.61 per cent. Cipla lost 6.42 per cent after it reported below than expected fourth quarter results. — PTI India safe haven, says Finance Secy New Delhi: Emboldened by India overcoming the global financial crisis faster than many others, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla on Monday allayed fears of Greece debt crisis impacting the Indian economy. "I think we are immune. We were immune when there was a much larger international financial crisis," Ashok Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham function. “As far as India is concerned, the impact will be minimal. In the short run, it might help India in terms of India being regarded as a relatively more safe haven," Chawla said.— PTI
	Eurozone okays $1 trillion aid for Greece London, May 10 Eurozone leaders have agreed on a bailout package of nearly $1 trillion (750 billion euro) for Greece, as part of their concentrated efforts to prevent the debt crisis contagion from spreading to other nations. In a marathon 11-hour-long session that lasted till early morning today, finance ministers from the 16 Eurozone countries, along with International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials, agreed on a three-year aid plan for Greece. Under the plan, the European Union Commission will make available 60 billion euros ($75 billion), while countries from the 16-nation Eurozone would provide bilateral backing through 440 billion euros ($570 billion). The IMF would contribute an additional sum of at least half of the EU's total contribution, or 250 billion euros ($325 billion). "The programme adopted by the Greek government is ambitious and realistic. It addresses grave fiscal imbalances, will make the economy more competitive, and lay the basis for job creation and stronger and more sustainable growth," the Eurozone leaders said. "We fully support the ECB in its efforts to ensure the stability of the Euro area," it added. The European Central Bank has announced that it would intervene in government bond markets and join the US Federal Reserve Bank and other central financial institutions in reactivating extra US dollar liquidity facilities. The package announcement also fuelled Asian oil prices, which rebounded to $77 a barrel after last week's decline. — PTI
	Vedanta buys Anglo American for $1.3 bn New Delhi, May 10 Beating rivals like China Metallurgical and Xstrata, Vedanta Resources today said it has finalised a deal with the London-based Anglo American's entire zinc business in Ireland and Africa for $1.34 billion. "Vedanta Resources and Anglo American have signed a definitive share purchase agreement under which Vedanta, through one of its controlled group companies (Hindustan Zinc), will acquire Anglo American Zinc for a total consideration of $1.34 billion," the company said. The buyout will be funded entirely through cash. As on March 31, 2010, Vedanta had cash, cash equivalents and liquid assets of $7.2 billion. The deal will be completed in next 12 months, making it the world's zinc and lead producer, the company said. "These assets complement our existing portfolio, creating the largest zinc and lead producer in the world," Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal said. The acquisition will increase the company's annual zinc and lead capacity by 37 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes, representing 11 per cent of the global zinc market, vice-chairman Naveen Agarwal said during an analyst conference call later in the day. At present, Vedanta has an annual zinc output of 1.06 million tonnes. — PTI
	RIL: $4.2 a unit not enough for small fields New Delhi, May 10 Reliance Industries has said that developing smaller gas fields in the KG-D6 block is economically unviable at the current price of $4.20 per mmBtu and it may seek a rate of at least $6 per mmBtu in 2014, when the fields are put into production. RIL has made 18 gas finds in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block, of which two, Dhirubhai-1 and 3, were put into production from April, 2009, at a cost of $8.836 billion. It is working on an integrated development plan for the rest, but wants a price higher than the $4.2 per million British thermal unit rate paid for gas from Dhirubhai-1 and 3. "It is absolutely not viable (to develop smaller fields adjoining Dhirubhai-1 and 3 fields in KG-D6 block) at current prices," RIL executive director PMS Prasad told PTI here. The smaller fields are proposed to be developed as a common pool, using existing facilities of the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 fields and RIL was in the process of preparing a multi-billion dollar integrated development plan, he said. RIL had in 2008 submitted plans to the government to invest $5.91 billion to develop nine satellite fields, but last year pruned the list to just four, as the current gas price of $4.2 per mmBtu did not justify such a huge investment. The amended $1.5 billion development plan for the four fields is being withdrawn and a new integrated plan will be submitted, he said. — PTI
	Car sales jump over 39 per cent in April Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 10 As the passenger car sales recorded its 11-year high, it pushed the total domestic vehicle sales by over 25 per cent last month. As the automobile industry continued to benefit from the overall economic growth and easy availability of loans, the total domestic vehicle sales recorded a 25.24 per cent jump over the same period last year. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic car sales stood at 1,43,976 units in April, against 1,03,227 units in the same month last year, up 39.48 per cent. “This is the highest growth achieved in the month of April after (April) 1999, during which car sales had grown by 50.29 per cent," newly appointed SIAM Director-General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here. Total vehicle sales across all segments during the last month grew by 25.24 per cent to 11,20,081 units, against 8,94,380 units in the same month of last year. Motorcycle sales in the country during the month was also up by 16.67 per cent to 6,56,119 units from 5,62,349 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheeler sales in April grew by 22.06 per cent to 8,55,670 units from 7,00,987 units in April 2009. Mathur attributed this to the overall economic growth that the country witnessed in the last few quarters. Sale of commercial vehicles jumped by 64.49 per cent to 49,086 units from 29,842 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said. According to SIAM, market leader Maruti Suzuki's domestic sales grew by 22.12 per cent to 68,668 units in April, while Hyundai Motor India also registered 28.15 per cent growth at 28,501 units. Tata Motors' sales rose by 76.41 per cent to 19,762 units during the month. In two-wheeler segment, the growth occurred despite market leader Hero Honda dropping sales by 2.71 per cent to 3,38,708 units in April 2010. Bajaj Auto, however, saw sales soaring by 76.49 per cent to 1,87,994 units, while Chennai-based TVS Motor Company posted 10.78 per cent growth at 49,008 units in April. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) saw its bike sales rise by 48.31 per cent to 58,041 units. In the scooter segment, the total sales in April jumped by 52.63 per cent to 1,48,247 units against 97,129 units in the year-ago period, SIAM added. HMSI's scooter sales were up by 32.91 per cent at 71,477 units, while TVS Motor's scooter sales also increased by 41.30 per cent in April at 25,159 units. Hero Honda's scooter sales also went up by 55.55 per cent, at 23,682 units, in April.
	Virgin Mobile targets the youth Rolls out GSM services in Punjab, Haryana Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 10 With an eye on youth, Virgin Mobile India is customising its tariff plans and value- added services (VAS) for this segment of the cell phone users. As the company, in partnership with Tata Teleservices, rolls out its GSM services, it is hoping to capture at least 10 per cent of the segment. Talking to TNS here today, MA Madhusudan, CEO, Virgin Mobile India, said the focus of the company was on urban youth. “We will be operating in 14 telecom circles. In all these circles, 50 per cent of the customers belong to the youth segment. We hope to garner 10 per cent of the market share in this segment with flexible tariffs and VAS in areas of music and social networking, besides providing a good network,” he said. Virgin Mobile India had initially started operating in the country as a CDMA player. It was in January this year that the company started operating in the GSM space and has launched its services in south India, Orissa, Mumbai and Maharashtra. The company today rolled out its services in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kolkata and Bihar circles. Madhusudan said though they were operating under the Tata Teleservices brand, their focus was on creating sale and service infrastructure only in urban areas. “The low tariff plans attract the youth and ensure the migration of this segment from one service provider to the other. Since over 90 per cent of cell phone users in India get pre-paid connections, the migration is easy. With dual SIM card phones now being available, a significant number of customers are using two service providers,” he said. As part of its youth-oriented strategy, the company is now launching “Get paid for incoming call”, wherein a customer will be paid Rs 0.10 per incoming call from any other service provider. It is also introducing STD at local call rates (at 20 paise without any pack or daily rental). Irrespective of the fact that a customer has a smart phone or not, Virgin Mobile now provides a service that helps its customers get connected to several chat rooms and social networking sites in one go.
	Re bounces back Mumbai, May 10 The rupee today surged by a whopping 64 paise against the US dollar, the biggest one-day gain in nearly 12 months, on heavy selling of the American currency amid its loss against euro. Euro climbed against the dollar after EU and IMF unveiled a combined $1 trillion rescue package to save the euro zone currency. Banks and exporters sold dollar heavily following weakness in the US currency overseas and expectations of more fall in the near term, dealers said. In fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the local unit closed at 44.84/85 a dollar, a gain of 1.41 per cent, or 64 paise. — PTI
	Railways’ earnings up over 9 pc Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 10 Indian Railways’ earnings grew by over nine per cent to Rs 7,292.25 crore in April compared to Rs 6,648.08 crore during the same period last year. Continuing the trajectory of growth over the past few months, the railways recorded a total increase of 9.69 per cent. The total goods earnings went up from Rs 4.516.18 crore during April 2009 to Rs 4,948.44 crore during April 2010, showing an increase of 9.57 per cent. The total earnings from passengers during April were Rs 2,066.08 crore compared to Rs 1,853.07 crore during the corresponding period last year, an increase of 11.49 per cent. There was also an increase in the number of passengers who preferred travelling by the railways in this period.