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April car sales growth slowest in 22 months
New Delhi, May 9
Car sales in India rose at its slowest pace in nearly two years, rising 13.2 per cent from a year earlier in April, as higher interest rates, fuel prices and vehicle costs crimped demand in the world’s second-fastest growing auto market.

HUL demerges FMCG exports business
For the quarter ended March 31, net profit was at Rs 569 crore, down 2 per cent
New Delhi, May 9
India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), has approved the demerger of FMCG exports business including specific exports related manufacturing units of the company into its wholly owned subsidiary, Unilever India Exports Ltd (UIEL).

HUL Chairman Harish Manwani
HUL Chairman Harish Manwani




EARLIER STORIES



Power tariff hike a huge shock: Punjab industry
Industrialists say that the farm sector is being cross- subsidised at their costChandigarh, May 9
Sustenance of industry has become almost impossible after the recent hike in power tariff for Punjab’s industrial sector. The charges were hiked 51 paise a unit to Rs Rs 5.79 per unit from April 1.
Industrialists say that for power intensive industries like iron and steel, the increase will translate into an increase in production (for steel) by Rs 510 per tonne.
Industrialists say that the farm sector is being cross- subsidised at their cost

SC asks Sahara Group firm to provide details on OFCD scheme 
New Delhi, May 9
The Supreme Court today directed Sahara India Real Estate to furnish the format of the application for an OFCD scheme and a list of accredited agents raising money on its behalf after the firm claimed it was not liable, if investors provided false address and other details.

RIL cuts gas supply to non-core users 
New Delhi, May 9
Falling in line with an Oil Ministry order, Reliance Industries today cut natural gas supplies to non-core users like refineries and steel plants so that full demand of fertiliser and power plants can be met.

IMF revises growth projection down to 8 per cent
Mumbai, May 9
The IMF today again revised downwards the country's growth outlook for 2011 to around 8 per cent on the back of high inflation and overall global economic outlook, clouded by rising commodity prices led by oil.

Apple overtakes Google as most valuable brand
iPhone and iPad maker’s brand is now worth $153 bn
London, May 9
Apple has overtaken Google as the world’s most valuable brand, ending a four-year reign by the Internet search leader, according to a new study by global brands agency Millward Brown. The iPhone and iPad maker’s brand is now worth $153 billion, almost half Apple’s market capitalisation, says the annual BrandZ study of the world’s top 100 brands. 

PFC’s follow-on-offer opens today
Chandigarh, May 9
State-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) plans to increase funding to private sector power projects in the country. The company’s Rs 4,460 crore Follow-on-Public (FPO) opens tomorrow.

Volkswagen to make takeover offer for MAN
Frankfurt, May 9
Volkswagen plans to make an offer to take over truck maker MAN, moving ahead in its plans to build up its truck business to better take on world market leader Daimler.

Vodafone concerned over review of interconnect charges
New Delhi, May 9
Vodafone Essar has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) opposing its move to review the interconnection regime. The company has said the review was a deviation from the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and Supreme Court’s directions.

Inflation targeting not feasible: RBI 
Mumbai, May 9 
Unable to deliver on inflation targets, the Reserve Bank of India today said it is "unrealistic" to expect its monetary policy to be effective as the present bout of price rise is because of supply shortages. 







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April car sales growth slowest in 22 months
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 9
Car sales in India rose at its slowest pace in nearly two years, rising 13.2 per cent from a year earlier in April, as higher interest rates, fuel prices and vehicle costs crimped demand in the world’s second-fastest growing auto market.

Automakers sold 162,825 cars in April, compared with 143,862 vehicles a year earlier, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) released on Monday showed.

SIAM senior director Sugato Sen said, “April 2011 sales growth rate was the slowest since June 2009, when the growth rate was 8.23 per cent. Consumer confidence is low as economic parameters are wobbly at the moment.”

Sales of trucks and buses, a key pointer to economic activity, rose 8.2 per cent from a year earlier to 53,202 units in April, the slowest rise since September 2009, SIAM added.

SIAM expects local auto sales growth to slacken to 12-15 per cent this fiscal year, after it grew a record 30 per cent in 2010-2011 to 1.98 million units driven by demand from a growing middle class in Asia’s third-largest economy, easier access to loans and a wider choice of models.

Total sales of vehicles across categories stood at 13,38,564 units in April as against 10,90,041 units in the same month last year, growing 22.80 per cent.

In the passenger car segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki's sales grew 7.63 per cent to 73,905 units.

Hyundai Motor India's sales increased 10.89 per cent to 31,604 units. Tata Motors' passenger car sales were down 1.10 per cent at 19,544 units.

Total two-wheeler sales last month increased 26.44 per cent to 10,43,970 units from 8,25,632 units in April, 2010. Motorcycle sales in the country grew 23.39 per cent during the month to 8,09,565 units from 6,56,096 units in the same month last year. 

* Higher interest rates, fuel prices crimped demand

* Automakers sold 162,825 cars in April, compared with 143,862 last year

* Sales of trucks and buses rose 8.2 per cent to 53,202 units 

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HUL demerges FMCG exports business
For the quarter ended March 31, net profit was at Rs 569 crore, down 2 per cent
Sanjeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 9
India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), has approved the demerger of FMCG exports business including specific exports related manufacturing units of the company into its wholly owned subsidiary, Unilever India Exports Ltd (UIEL).

Apart from the demerger, the company’s board also announced the financial results for the quarter and full year. For the quarter ended March 31, 2011, net profit was at Rs 569 crore, lower by 2 per cent, due to extraordinary income in the previous year. Total income has increased from Rs 4,408.6 crore from the previous year to Rs 5,022.5 crore.

During the quarter, domestic consumer and FMCG business grew 14 per cent with strong performance across home and personal care (HPC) and foods segments. Home and personal care business grew by 13.6 per cent while soaps and detergents grew at 11.4 per cent. Foods business grew by 15.4 per cent across categories.

HUL’s brands include Surf, Rin, Wheel, Dove, Pears, Liril, Lifebuoy, Ponds, Lakme, Bru, Kissan, Knorr among others. The company said input cost inflation continued to remain high and volatile driven by crude and palm oil.

Harish Manwani, chairman, HUL, said, “Our performance has been strong and consistent through the year, driven by our strategy of growing the core and leading market development of the segments and categories of the future. Input costs remain high with the added challenge of volatility, while the competitive environment has further intensified. In this context, we will continue to focus on the best value for our consumers through innovations and strong cost-efficiency programmes.”

As per the audited results for the year ended March 31, 2011, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 2,305.9 crore as compared to Rs 2,202 crore the previous year. Total income has increased from Rs 17,873 crore to Rs 19,987 crore.

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Power tariff hike a huge shock: Punjab industry
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9
Sustenance of industry has become almost impossible after the recent hike in power tariff for Punjab’s industrial sector.

The charges were hiked 51 paise a unit to Rs Rs 5.79 per unit from April 1.

Industrialists say that for power intensive industries like iron and steel, the increase will translate into an increase in production (for steel) by Rs 510 per tonne.

Amarjit Goyal, an industrialist, said: “The cost of production for textiles, iron and steel and chemical industries would go up 10- 20 per cent. Punjab is a land-locked state, at a considerable distance from the port and raw material belts. Already, the logistic costs for getting raw material, and sending finished goods is very high. The Punjab government is already struggling to get more industrial investment. The step is a retrograde one,” he said.

Industrialists say that they are being forced to pay high tariffs for power, the farm sector is being cross subsidised at their cost.

They have expressed their resentment over the fact that the farm sector alone would get a subsidy of Rs 3,879.95 crore (of a total power subsidy of Rs 4,188.92 crore).

RS Sachdeva, co-chairman of Punjab committee of PHD Chamber, said that it had now become impossible for power intensive industry to survive in the current scenario in Punjab, and they will be forced to shift base to other states with lower power tariffs and other incentives.

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SC asks Sahara Group firm to provide details on OFCD scheme 

New Delhi, May 9
The Supreme Court today directed Sahara India Real Estate to furnish the format of the application for an OFCD scheme and a list of accredited agents raising money on its behalf after the firm claimed it was not liable, if investors provided false address and other details.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia directed the Sahara Group firm to submit the format of the investment scheme and the list of its agents by Thursday.

“The petitioner is directed to furnish a format of its investor form on which they are supposed to apply for OFCDs (Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures). They would also give a list of accredited agents,” the Bench said.

The issue pertains to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI’s) demand that Sahara India Real Estate Corporation share details of the investors in the OFCD scheme. Sahara Group had opposed this demand. The apex court's direction came after Senior Advocate Soli Sorabjee appearing for Sahara Group, informed the Court that the investors have given wrong details regarding their residential address and other necessary information and the company cannot be liable for that.

However, this was opposed by the counsel representing Sebi, submitting that Sahara still has not given the required information regarding the investors that have invested in its schemes. —PTI

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RIL cuts gas supply to non-core users 

New Delhi, May 9
Falling in line with an Oil Ministry order, Reliance Industries today cut natural gas supplies to non-core users like refineries and steel plants so that full demand of fertiliser and power plants can be met.

Reliance from 0600 am today started implementing the ministry's priority allocation order which had asked it to first supply natural gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to priority sector like urea-making units and power plants.

Supplies to non-core refineries, petrochemical units and sponge iron plants will be made only if there are any volumes left after supplies to priority sector.

"Reliance this morning curtailed gas supplies to non-core users, including its own refineries and petrochemical plant," an industry official said.

The oil ministry directive followed a sharp drop in output at KG-D6 fields. Production fell from 61.5 million standard cubic meters per day achieved in March, 2010 to under 50 mmscmd currently, instead of rising to about 69 mmscmd as was projected previously. — PTI

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IMF revises growth projection down to 8 per cent

Mumbai, May 9
The IMF today again revised downwards the country's growth outlook for 2011 to around 8 per cent on the back of high inflation and overall global economic outlook, clouded by rising commodity prices led by oil.

"As new downside risks have emerged across the globe, and particularly in Asia-Pacific economies with many of them overheating, we revise downwards our growth for the region and also for India, where we see the growth momentum decelerating this fiscal to around 8 per cent," said IMF director, Asia Pacific department, Anoop Singh.

The multilateral agency had earlier also moderated the country growth projection to 8.2 per cent from the 8.4 per cent.

"In 2011, the pace and composition of growth will continue to show notable differences across Asia. China and India are expected to lead the rest of the region with China growing by 9.5 per cent and India by around 8 per cent," Singh said.

He was talking to the media after presenting its latest report on the Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific: Managing the Next Phase of Growth to the Reserve Bank officials here.

Earlier, international financial lender ADB had also revised its growth projection for India to 8.2 per cent for this calender year from earlier estimate of 8.7 per cent, on account of high prices.— PTI

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Apple overtakes Google as most valuable brand
iPhone and iPad maker’s brand is now worth $153 bn

London, May 9
Apple has overtaken Google as the world’s most valuable brand, ending a four-year reign by the Internet search leader, according to a new study by global brands agency Millward Brown.

The iPhone and iPad maker’s brand is now worth $153 billion, almost half Apple’s market capitalisation, says the annual BrandZ study of the world’s top 100 brands. Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, says Apple’s meticulous attention to detail, along with an increasing presence of its gadgets in corporate environments, have allowed it to behave differently from other consumer-electronics makers

“Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model,” he told Reuters by telephone. “It’s doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire.” “Obviously, it has to be allied to great products and a great experience.”

Of the top 10 brands, six were technology and telecom companies: Google at number two, IBM at number three, Microsoft at number five, AT&T at number seven and China Mobile at number nine. McDonald’s rose two places to number four, as fast food became the fastest-growing category, Coca-Cola slipped one place to number six, Marlboro was also down one to number 8, and General Electric was number 10. — Reuters

Top 10

1. Apple

2. Google

3. IBM

4. McDonald

5. Microsoft

6. Cocacola

7. AT&T

8. Marlboro

9. China Mobile

10. General Electric

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PFC’s follow-on-offer opens today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9
State-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) plans to increase funding to private sector power projects in the country. The company’s Rs 4,460 crore Follow-on-Public (FPO) opens tomorrow.

Executive director (finance) PFC, Nalini Vanjani, said: “We are planning to diversify our portfolio and with more participation by private players in the power sector, we will look at financing more such private power projects. Currently, 65 per cent of our outstanding sanction is to power projects being set up in the government sector, and 7 per cent to private power projects,” she said.

The FPO is expected to raise Rs 4,700 crore at the upper end of the band and Rs 4,400 crore at the lower end of the price band. The price band is fixed between Rs 193 and Rs 203 per equity share and closes May 13.

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Volkswagen to make takeover offer for MAN

Frankfurt, May 9
Volkswagen plans to make an offer to take over truck maker MAN, moving ahead in its plans to build up its truck business to better take on world market leader Daimler.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, said on Monday it raised its stake in MAN above 30 per cent, prompting a mandatory takeover bid under German regulation.

It plans to offer MAN shareholders 95 euros per ordinary share, and about 60 euros per preference share.

Ordinary shares of MAN turned positive after Volkswagen's announcement, trading 1.2 per cent higher at 97.74 euros. Volkswagen's blue-chip preference shares narrowed losses to trade 1.3 per cent lower at 128.70 euros. — Reuters

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Vodafone concerned over review of interconnect charges
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 9
Vodafone Essar has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) opposing its move to review the interconnection regime. The company has said the review was a deviation from the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and Supreme Court’s directions.

There are fears the review might lead to a cancellation of mobile termination charges, which is a levy paid by an operator to another on whose network the call ends. Doing away with the charge may bring down mobile tariffs.

IUC are wholesale charges payable by one telecom service provider to another for use of the latter’s network for originating, terminating or transiting or carrying a call. It is an essential requirement to allow subscribers of one service provider to communicate with a subscriber of another operator in multi-operator environment. It determines not only the revenue accruals to the service providers, but also how this revenue is to be distributed among various service providers. 

Vodafone has said that without specifying the methodology to be adopted, the stakeholders ability to provide useful data and comment is necessarily constrained, and stakeholders do not know whether their efforts in gathering and providing data are useful or irrelevant. 

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Inflation targeting not feasible: RBI 

Mumbai, May 9 
Unable to deliver on inflation targets, the Reserve Bank of India today said it is "unrealistic" to expect its monetary policy to be effective as the present bout of price rise is because of supply shortages. 

“Monetary policy, as is well known, is an ineffective instrument for reining in inflation emanating from supply pressures,” RBI Governor D Subbarao said at a meeting of the Central Bank Governance Group in Basel, Switzerland.

Overall inflation was 8.98 per cent in March, while food inflation was 8.53 per cent for the week ended April 23.

“It is unrealistic, under these circumstances, to expect the Central Bank to deliver on an inflation target in the short term," he said. —PTI

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BRIEFLY

Panel says big carbon growth cut possible
New Delhi:
India could reduce the growth of carbon emissions by up to 35 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels - if it gets international finance and technology, a government panel for low-carbon strategy said on Monday. Asia's third-largest economy set a goal for slowing the growth of its emissions in 2009, saying it will try to rein in its "carbon intensity" - the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output- by between 20 -25 per cent by 2020, from 2005 levels. — Reuters

SKS Microfinance extends losses
Mumbai:
Shares of SKS Microfinance fell sharply by nearly 19 per cent on the NSE on Monday to hit a record low, after the company reported a net loss of Rs 70 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2011. The stock ended the day with a loss of 18.91 per cent at Rs 269.05 a piece on the NSE. On the BSE, SKS settled at Rs 270.80, down 18.26 per cent from the previous close. — PTI

Loan against gold units
New Delhi:
Reliance Commercial Finance, an ADAG company, on Monday forayed into the business of providing loans against gold units - a first-in-industry offering where gold in paper form can be used as collateral. The company will provide loans up to Rs 1 crore under this programme. — PTI

Mundra Port net up 36 pc
Mumbai:
Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone on Monday reported a growth of 35.82 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 918.14 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011. Net sales of the company during the year rose by 33.74 per cent to Rs 2,000.11 crore vis-a-vis Rs 1,495.52 crore in FY10. — PTI

Mukesh caps salary at Rs15 crore: RIL chief Mukesh Ambani has decided to forego Rs 23.75 crore for the last fiscal from his annual compensation as chief of Reliance Industries while keeping his salary capped at Rs 15 crore for third year in a row. At the same time, the company's total remuneration for top management personnel, as also commission paid to non-executive directors, declined during fiscal 2010-11. In its annual report for the fiscal, the company said: "The CMD’s compensation has been set at Rs 15 crore as against Rs 38.75 crore that he is elgible as per the shareholders' approval..." RIL said the decision was taken to reflect "his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels."

Cuts headcount by 704: The company has cut its headcount for third year in a row and is mulling a salary model where pay is based on accountability and responsibility of its staff. The company's staff strength fell by 704 workers during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, and stood at 22,661 employees. RIL has disclosed its latest headcount in its 2010-11 annual report, where it also disclosed a new compensation model being mulled over at the company. Mukesh forgoes Rs 23.75 cr from salary

Petrochem, telecom to drive growth:The company is looking at petrochemicals, consumer retail and telecommunications business as drivers for growth, CMD Mukesh Ambani said. "We will augment our commitment to Indian markets by investing in new petrochemical capacity, organised retailing and digital services," Ambani said in the covering letter of his company's latest annual report. 

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