The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sensex nosedives 454 points Tribune News Service & PTI Mumbai, December 9 Stock markets fell sharply for the third-straight session today amid a string of concerns related to scams, liquidity crunch and inflation, with the benchmark Sensex plunging 454 points, dragged by banking majors like SBI and ICICI Bank as well as corporate heavyweight RIL. Heavy sell-off by the FIIs and jittery retail investors pulled down the Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index by 454.12 points or 2.31 per cent to 19,242.36. Sensex registered the biggest 15-day intra-day fall of 536 points, witnessing heavy selling in the last hour. The National Stock Exchange's wide-based Nifty too witnessed a steep decline of 137.20 points or 2.32 per cent to finish at 5,766.50. One of the biggest losers in the Sensex bashing today was Reliance Industries, which enjoys the highest weightage in the Sensex. The stock closed at Rs 984.35, down 3.41 per cent. Other big losers included the Anil Ambani pack like Reliance Energy, Reliance Communications, SBI, Hindalco, etc, which fell between 4-6 per cent. The BSE mid-cap and small cap fell even sharper, down 4.48 per cent and 5.92 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, the consumer durables index fell the most closing 6.29 per cent lower. Realty index was close behind, down 4.76 per cent followed by the metal index, which fell 3.67 per cent. The buzz among the brokerage community is that the sell-off for the third day in sucession was sparked by fears of the 2G scam and the arrest of senior executives of LIC Housing Finance. "There are also rumours that the Securities Exchange Board of India is investigating a number of brokers and company managements for rigging stock prices," said Amit Shah, a sub-broker active in the Mumbai markets. Brokers say FIIs are exiting mid-cap stocks to book profits during the year-end. There are also reports that margin calls have been triggered against some brokers who have overextended themselves. The Sensex saw heavy selling, as financial sector stocks were hit hard on continuing concerns of liquidity, fears of interest rate hike due to high inflation and overall weak market sentiments amid various scams. "Overall, the undertone is pretty weak amid the barrage of bad news hitting the market all of a sudden. Be it the various scams, concerns on bank's profitability, sudden selling by the FIIs, the liquidity crunch, or the number of stories on stock price manipulation, nothing seems to be going in favour of the market," IIFL said. Banking and financial stocks were among the biggest losers, which traders attributed to no respite provided by RBI as was expected from its board meeting in Kolkata today.
	Rollout Delays Notices to telcos soon Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 9 The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to send notices to errant telecom firms by the end of this week. The move comes within days of the new telecommunications minister admitting that there had been 119 instances of rollout delays by the telecom firms in the country and that notices would be sent. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry function, Sibal said telcos would be sent notices by the end of the week. He also said notices would be sent to five companies that were given 85 telecom licences in 2008, asking why their licences should not be cancelled after the government auditor found that the firms were not eligible for them. Sibal also promised a level-playing field for all telecom operators, saying he wanted growth in the sector and not politics. “We will ensure a level-playing field for all telecom operators,” Sibal said. His response came to questions on the opposition demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the alleged 2G spectrum scam. “They (Bharatiya Janata Party) are looking at the (general) elections (in 2014). They are not concerned about the telecom sector,” Sibal added. He also termed as ‘unfortunate’ the war of words between operators and cautioned that such practices were not healthy for the growth of the sector. "What I find today is very unfortunate, some operators are at war with others. This is because at any given point of time they felt that they had been discriminated against," he said. When asked about Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata accusing BJP-led NDA regime for policy flip-flops in telecom sector Sibal said: "I guess he (Ratan Tata) must be making that statement with some kind of knowledge and information. I cannot comment on that.”
	PSB to raise Rs.475 cr through 18% divestment Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 9 Punjab and Sind Bank plans to raise Rs 475 crore through issue of fresh equity of 4 crore shares, priced at Rs 113-120 per share. The Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the bank is set to open on December 13. The bank will offer 5 per cent discount on the issue price to retail investors and employees. With this IPO, the government’s holding in the bank will fall from 100 per cent to 82 per cent. The bank, which was saddled with bad loans of 8.11% of its loan assets and ran up losses of close to Rs 100 crore in 2005, was under RBI vigilance and restricted from opening new branches due to poor performance. After a steady turnaround, the bank has now reported a net profit of Rs 501 crore and has seen its NPA dip to 0.36% for March 2010. PSB has seen phenomenal growth in its deposits growth at 28.24 per cent and 36.24 per cent in advances. Total deposits stand at Rs 52,945 crore and advances at Rs 35,896 crore. The bank expects its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to increase to over 15 per cent after raising Rs 475 crore through its IPO. The main object of the bank's public issue is to augment its capital base to meet its capital adequacy norms for future capital requirements. Its CAR stood at 13.04 per cent comprising 7.98 per cent (Tier-I) and 5.06 per cent (Tier-II) as on September 30 this year.
	RIL, Anil Ambani pack scrips lead Sensex fall Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, December 9 A benchmark index of Indian equities tumbled 2.25 percent Thursday on last-hour panic selling. The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened in the positive at 19,746.15 points, ended 2.25 percent or 454 points down at 19,242points. One of the biggest losers in the Sensex bashing today was Reliance Industries, which enjoys the highest weightage in the Sensex. The stock closed at Rs 984.35, down 3.41 per cent. Other big losers included the Anil Ambani pack like Reliance Energy, Reliance Communications, SBI, Hindalco, etc, which fell between 4-6 per cent. The BSE mid-cap and small cap fell even sharper, down 4.48 per cent and 5.92 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, the consumer durables index fell the most closing 6.29 per cent lower. Realty index was close behind, down 4.76 per cent followed by the metal index, which fell 3.67 per cent. The buzz among the brokerage community is that the sell-off for the third day in sucession was sparked by fears of the 2G scam and the arrest of senior executives of LIC Housing Finance. "There are also rumours that the Securities Exchange Board of India is investigating a number of brokers and company managements for rigging stock prices," said Amit Shah, a sub-broker active in the Mumbai markets. Brokers say FIIs are exiting mid-cap stocks to book profits during the year-end. There are also reports that margin calls have been triggered against some brokers who have overextended themselves.
	Tatas offer 4-year warranty on Nano Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 9 Facing its worst ever sales record last month for the world’s cheapest car Nano on the backdrop of unavailability of loans and increasing concerns over safety of the car, its manufacturer Tata Motors today announced a host of benefits on the car as an initiative to expand open sales of the model across the country. Nano will now come with a 4-year/60,000-km (whichever is earlier) manufacturer’s warranty, at no extra cost. Besides being applicable on new deliveries, the warranty is also being extended to all existing owners of the car. In addition, all new buyers will have an option to avail of a comprehensive maintenance contract at only Rs 99 per month. Nano sales touched an all-time low of just 509 cars in the month of November, a fall of 85 per cent over the October sales mark. It put Tata Motors in an embarrassing situation despite having “open” sales in at least 12 states. Punjab is the latest state where Tata Motors has made arrangements for off the shelf sale of Nano. Beginning July 2009 when despatches to those who had booked the car started, the company has delivered over 71,000 Nanos. Besides its already existing showrooms, the company is setting up Special Nano Access Points for customers in the hinterlands to experience, test-drive or test-ride the car. The sales plummeted from the 8,000 levels a few months ago to 3,000 levels in October before it stooped to the three digit figure. The company reported low sales for Nano when it is ramping up the 2,50,000-capacity dedicated Nano plant at Sanand. The production is yet to stabilise in the new plant.
	ONGC bids for stake in Exxon’s block New Delhi, December 9 ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has bid for US energy major Exxon Mobil's 25 per cent stake in a deep-sea oil block in Angola. "OVL has submitted a binding bid for an offer made by Exxon Mobil to participate in the sale process of its 25 per cent stake in Block 31 in Angola," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada told Lok Sabha today. British energy firm BP Plc is the operator of the ultradeep sea block with 26.7 per cent stake. "In case the bid submitted by OVL is successful, it would entitle OVL to a share of production, as per its stake, from the production of oil expected to commence during 2012," he said without giving details of the bid. Block 31 is expected to produce 1,50,000 barrels of crude oil per day (7.5 million tons a year). In all, 19 oil discoveries have so far been made in the block. French oil major Total SA's subsidiary TEPA holds 5 per cent interest in the block. OVL had in 2004-05 lost out on acquiring 45 per cent stake in the giant Akpo oilfield in Angola. The government had rejected OVL proposal due to Akpo's ownership issues. After Indian government disallowed OVL to pursue the Akpo opportunity, China's CNOOC acquired the 45 per cent stake for #$2.268 billion. BP Exploration (Angola) Ltd as operator holds 26.67 per cent. Prasada neither provided valuation of the deal nor the timeframe within which Exxon Mobil will decide on OVL's bid. — PTI
	Lahore Chamber of Commerce denied visa for trade expo Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 9 The Lahore Chamber of Commerce, one of the influential business conglomerates in Pakistan, boycotted the 5th edition of the Punjab International Trade Expo-2010, apparently due to visa restrictions. Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce, Tariq Sadiq, said 32 members of the delegation did not take part in the gathering because of the rejection of visas applications of 318 applicants. In all, 62 members from the Islamabad, Gujarat and Rawalpindi Chambers of Commerce are participating from Pakistan. They have set up 50 stalls for exhibiting merchandise ranging from eatables, marbles, cloth, cosmetics and many more. Tariq said such a move had held back bilateral trade. He blamed unseen political tensions between the two countries behind the rejection of visas. He said these bottlenecks were not allowing bilateral trade to reach new heights. He claimed that Indian goods worth Rs 100 crore were smuggled into Pakistan via gulf countries and Afghanistan. He anticipated that once these bottlenecks were removed this trade could touch Rs 500 crore. Mian Shaukat Masud, member, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the floods had destroyed cotton crop in his country leading to jacking up of its prices in Pakistani rupee from 4,000 to 10,000 per bale. He added Pakistan required about 20 million bales which could be exported either from India and Australia. Co-Chairman Punjab and Member Managing Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Rupinder Singh Sachdeva demanded that the government must acknowledge the recommendations of the organising body in sanctioning visas.
	Sugarcane crushing operations start KS Chawla Ludhiana, December 9 Sugarcane crushing operations in Punjab have begun. There are nine cooperative and eight private sugar mills in the state engaged in this operation. MP Singh, General Manager (Headquarters), said co-operative sugar mills will crush 127 lakh quintals of sugarcane this year, over 37,743 hectares. The area under the cooperative mills last year was 24,000 hectares. MS Sandhu, Cane Commissioner, Punjab said the total area under sugarcane in the state has increased to 84,000 hectares this year from 60,000 hectares last year. The state government has fixed three types of State Agreed Price (SAP) of sugarcane this year — for early-sown sugarcane variety — Rs 200 per quintal, mid-varieties Rs 195 a quintal and late sown variety Rs 190 a quintal, respectively. Trench sowing and single-bed technique are being used for sugarcane sowing, said Sandhu. Intercropping was also done in the sugarcane fields, he added. The cane commissioner claimed that there were no arrears of farmers were pending now and arrears worth Rs 100 crore had been cleared now. Sandhu also said area under sugarcane cultivation was increasing. Private sugar mills in the state engaged in the cane crushing are located at Dhuri, Dasuya, Mukerian, Phagwara, Butter Village in Amritsar district. A new sugar mill has also come in the private sector in Gurdaspur district. There are six cooperative sugar mills in the state, which have been lying closed for the past many years. The state government had engaged a consultant agency to run these mills and the consultant agency had suggested the running of the same on BOOT basis with private public participation. The case of these mills is now pending with the disinvestment department of the state government.
	Jaquar to foray into ceramic sanitary ware Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 9 Bath fittings manufacturer Jaquar will soon be entering into ceramic sanitary ware segment. The company will launch a range of sanitary ware in the next two months. The company, having a 60 per cent market share in the Rs 1,500 crore bath fittings industry, is also looking at increasing its export turnover by adding new markets in Asia and Africa. Dev Malhotra, group advisor, sales and marketing, Jaquar and Company, informed TNS that the company had already tied up with various ceramic sanitary ware manufacturers across the country and Europe. “We have designed all ceramic sanitary ware products, which will be manufactured by these vendors in Europe and India. Since quality is of key concern, we have tied up with top manufacturers in Europe and 25 - 30 per cent of the total sanitary ware will be prepared by these vendors in Europe,” he said, adding that the products would be retailed across the country by the end of next month. The new range will include wash basins, sinks, faucets and WCs. Malhotra said, “We cater to high-end, low-end as well as niche customers. Sanitary ware was the only segment where we did not have a presence. Hence, this initiative was taken to ensure that as market leaders we are complete bath solutions providers”. He added that the company was looking at expanding its exports to Zambia, South Africa, Swaziland and Kuwait. “At present, exports contribute almost 10 per cent to our turnover of Rs 784 crore. By adding new markets and new products in our portfolio, we hope to achieve a growth of 35 per cent this year,” he said.
	SpiceJet to buy 15 Bombardier aircraft New Delhi, Dec 9 No-frill carrier SpiceJet has placed firm orders with Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier to buy 15 turboprop aircraft worth USD 446 million and placed 15 more on option. Based on the list price, the firm order is valued at approximately USD 446 million and could increase to about USD 915 million if all 15 options are converted to firm order, a Bombardier Aerospace statement said. It said that SpiceJet has placed a firm order for 15 Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners and has taken options on an 15 additional planes. SpiceJet Chairman Kalanithi Maran said, "We are focused on catering to these markets which require an aircraft that can increase the reach to over 60 airports which cannot be served by the larger jets." — PTI