The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Govt flexible on 25 pc public holding

New Delhi, June 9
The government today said it might consider changes in recently announced norms for the minimum 25 per cent public holding in listed companies, if need arises. "The Ministry of Finance and the Department of Disinvestment are receiving different points of view from public sector enterprises and other stakeholders. So, if there is any need for modification or correction or amendment, that will be done," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of a CII seminar here.

The Finance Ministry had recently come out with a notification asking all the listed companies to reduce promoters holding to at least 75 per cent.

The listed companies will have to increase public holding by at least 5 per cent each year to comply with the norms.

Certain firms have expressed difficulty in complying with the norms.

SEBI executive director Usha Narayanan said, "We are getting feedback from the markets." In fact, Disinvestment Secretary Sumit Bose said sell-off in IndianOil, in which public holding is less than 25 per cent, is not on the cards.

He also said the government was on track to mop up Rs 40,000 crore estimated through disinvestment this fiscal.

When asked what if the companies did not comply with the norms, Chawla said delisting was the biggest penalty for the erring companies.

"There is delisting as the biggest penalty. Not automatically, but there is a possibility," he added. To a query whether 25 per cent public holding will prompt the government to increase the target of mopping up Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment this fiscal, Chawla said the sell-off target was intact.

"The two issues (disinvestment target and 25 per cent public holding norms) are different. Disinvestment target given in the Budget speech, those number remains. So, it is not a direct or indirect devise to increase the divestment target for the current year," he said. — PTI

FM: Revised DTC draft for public comments soon

New Delhi, June 9
With the draft direct taxes code being criticised for its proposal to tax long-term savings among others, the Finance Ministry today said a revised draft would be put for public comments within a month for addressing the concerns of all stakeholders.

"The revised draft on the direct taxes code (DTC) will be put in the public domain shortly...I am confident that it will take care of all concerns expressed by various stakeholders," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the annual conference of chief commissioners and directors general of income tax here.

Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman SSN Moorthy later told newsmen the revised draft would be out within a month.

The Finance Ministry had sought public comments on the first DTC draft which will replace the archaic Income Tax Act. However, the first draft drew criticism from certain quarters for its proposals to tax long-term savings at the time of withdrawal, imposing minimum alternate tax (MAT) on the basis of gross assets as against profits at present and its silence on offering tax rebates for home loans.

"A new DTC draft is under revision taking into consideration the areas of concern expressed by various stakeholders," Mukherjee said, adding the DTC Bill would be introduced in the monsoon session. "It will indeed be a legislation for the 21st century that will witness the emergence of an economically strong and vibrant India," Mukherjee said.

Anticipating that the DTC would usher in major changes in the direct taxes regime, he asked the I-T department to draw a road map for administratively meeting the challenges and the changes that would be introduced in the new legislation.

Reiterating that the economy would grow by 8.5 per cent this fiscal, he asked the department to monitor fast-growing sectors to check tax evasion. He also directed it to look at smaller towns and cities that have emerged as centres of growth due to the inclusive growth agenda of the government, to widen the tax base.

Mukherjee further asked IT officials to try hard to give the exchequer little extra than the targeted Rs 4.30 lakh crore this fiscal. — PTI

Rs 1 crore fine on Adlabs ex-chief

Mumbai, June 9
Sebi today imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Manmohan Shetty, former chairman of media company Adlabs Films, for allegedly violating insider trading norms.

Shetty was accused of selling shares of the company within 24 hours of making public the information on demerger of the FM Radio Business from Adlabs, an action against insider trading norms.

According to Sebi's charges, information on Adlabs board's decision on demerger of FM Radio business was sent by the company to the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange on April 24, 2006.

However, Shetty, it alleged, sold 10 lakh shares of Adlabs Films the same day through a bulk deal.

"I hereby impose a monetary penalty of Rs 1,00,00,000 on Manmohan Shetty," Sebi adjudicating officer P K Bindlish said in an order.

The former Adlabs chairman contested Sebi's arguments, saying the sale of shares on April 24, 2006, was well after information had been widely disseminated and the market had enough time to absorb the news and its impact.

In a written submission, Shetty said the company had communicated the decision on the de-merger on April 23 itself.

However, Sebi refuted the claims of Shetty and imposed the fine. — PTI

SBI base rate to be between 7.5 & 8.5 pc

New Delhi, June 9
The State Bank today hinted that the base rate that would replace the existing prime lending rate (PLR) would be between 7.5 and 8.5 per cent "We are working out the number...It could be between 7.5 and 8.5 per cent," SBI chairman OP Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of seminar organised by the CII here today. The bank would announce the base rate by June 15, he added.

What is base rate?
The base rate is the lowest rate that the bank can charge from a customer

The base rate is the lowest rate that the bank can charge from a customer and is intended to bring about more transparency in the lending operations of banks. The Reserve Bank has proposed to replace PLR with base rates from July. PLR of the SBI is currently is 11.75 per cent.

On the liquidity condition in the system, Bhatt said it was "fairly tight" and likely to continue so in June because there was going to be large outgo on the account of advance tax payment and payment towards broadband wireless access (BWA).

"Now with liquidity already tight at this point of time and these two major events takes place in June. So, in June it will continue to be tight," he said, adding that, "July onwards may be some of these money gets recycled and also you have monetary policy of the Reserve Bank then we will see what is the response of the system."

Without giving clear indication on whether banks could increase rates post-July, he said, "There is already an upward bias on the interest rate. If liquidity is tight, there will obviously be an upward bias on interest rates." He also said liquidity was tight and other economic activity was picking up. So, the credit demand was also going to pick up. "So the (upward) bias is definitely there," he added.

Rights issue this fiscal

The SBI today said it was planning to mop up Rs 20,000 crore from rights issue by this fiscal-end.

"We are expecting to raise Rs 20,000 crore from rights issue," SBI chairman O P Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of a CII event in New Delhi.

He said the issue may come by this fiscal-end since the bank is currently talking to the government about it.

"It is still at the conversation stage (with the government). That is why, if at all it comes up, may be it would be coming up towards the end of this fiscal," Bhatt said. — PTI

Chennai Metro
BHEL, Alstom join hands

New Delhi, June 9
BHEL and France's Alstom have joined hands to jointly bid for the Rs 14,000 crore Chennai Metro Rail Project.

"We have signed an in-principle agreement with Alstom for the Chennai metro project," BHEL CMD B P Rao told reporters here. He, however, said equity participation by both the firms was yet to be finalised. "The agreement has been signed between us, but the equity portion is yet to be decided," Rao said.

The Chennai Metro Rail Project, which got the Cabinet approval in January, 2009, will cover a total length of over 45 km, connecting Washermanpet and Chennai Airport and Chennai Fort and St Thomas Mount, with both corridors partially running underground.

Chennai Metro Rail Corporation, a special-purpose vehicle owned jointly by the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government on a 50:50 basis, is executing the project.

BHEL, along with Alstom, will bid to provide the necessary machinery for the project.

Meanwhile, BHEL is engaged in manufacturing equipment for power projects, defence and the auto sector as well. It currently manufactures equipment that can generate 15,000 MW of electricity, which the company plans to scale up to 20,000 MW by the end of the 2012 fiscal.

"Right now, our capacity is 15,000 MW and it would be 20,000 MW by March, 2012," Rao added. — PTI

Fortis to raise Rs 2,750 crore

New Delhi, June 9
Caught in the takeover battle for Singapore-based hospital chain Parkway, Fortis Healthcare today said it would raise up to Rs 2,750 crore through the securities market.

The Fortis board also endorsed a proposal to increase the company's borrowing limit to Rs 6,000 crore, but did not give any explanation as to why the funds were being raised.

Announcing the decision taken at a meeting of the board of directors, the company said in a statement that it “approved the company's plan to raise up to Rs 2,750 through issue of fresh securities." Fortis has around 25 per cent stake in Parkway Holdings and intends to build up a controlling stake in the company.

"The specific instrument, size and timing of the issue of securities will be decided by the board based on the advice of merchant and investment bankers, book-runners and lead manager," the statement said.

The company’s tussle for control over Parkway began with the announcement of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah launching a partial cash offer worth $ 835 million to increase its stake in the Singapore-based firm to 51 per cent from the current 23 per cent. — PTI

HC approves Fem Care, Dabur merger

Mumbai, June 9
Dabur India today said the Bombay High Court has approved the merger of cosmetics maker Fem Care Pharma with it. Last month, the Delhi High Court, along with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, equity shareholders and secured and unsecured creditors of Dabur, had approved the merger.

"This approval will accelerate our (Dabur) growth in the core FMCG business. It will also give us a strong foothold in the high-growth skin care market with an established brand (Fem) and offers us a platform to enter newer product categories and markets," Dabur Group director P D Narang said in a statement here.

The Fem Care acquisition would help Dabur leverage substantial synergies in markets such as Yemen, Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, the UAE and Oman, he added. The scheme of amalgamation was approved under the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956, with the appointed date for the merger being April 1, 2009. — PTI

S&P lowers Airtel’s rating

New Delhi, June 9
Standard & Poor's today lowered Bharti Airtel's credit rating in view of its large debts to fund the $10.7-billion deal to buy Kuwait-based Zain's Africa business.

"We lowered Bharti's rating to reflect our expectation that the company's leverage and cash-flow protection measures will deteriorate significantly, following its largely debt-funded acquisition of Zain Africa, based on an enterprise value of $10.7 billion," S&P said.

It added, the Zain Africa acquisition also presents Bharti with a higher country, political and convertibility risks.

S&P lowered Bharti's long-term corporate credit rating to 'BB+' from 'BBB-' but said the outlook is stable. A shift to BB rating category indicates that a company has been moved from investment grade to speculative grade.

BB is several notches below AAA, S&P's highest credit rating, which signifies "extremely strong capacity" to meet financial commitments. — PTI