Washington, June 29
India has invited US investors for $1 trillion dollar opportunities in infrastructure financing as both countries set a "robust agenda" to deepen their economic ties.There is new opportunity for US investors "for work in this area", Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a joint new conference here Tuesday as fast-developing India is planning to raise $1 trillion in infrastructure financing by 2017, half of it from the private sector.

Calling the discussions with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at the just concluded second meeting of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership ‘fruitful’, Mukherjee said the level of interaction between the US and Indian officials has "increased substantially" since the last round of talks.

"The single most important takeaway is the commitment of both governments to work very hard to expand and deepen this relationship and make sure that Indian companies and American companies are benefiting even more than they already are from these tremendous opportunities ahead," said Geithner.

He added: "American companies still face barriers in India in sectors such as banking, insurance, manufacturing, multi-brand retail and infrastructure."

"Easing those barriers, which are limiting economic growth and job creation in both our countries, would be an important step toward integrating our economies," Geithner added.

A joint statement issued at the end of talks said India and the US had agreed to work together to expand trade and investment links.

They would also "work together in the G-20 on an effective mutual assessment process.

The statement added that the two countries must "leverage their combined knowledge, experience, and shared interests, the two agreed to a robust agenda" for the coming year that includes deeper engagement in three key areas: macroeconomic challenges, financial sector reforms, and infrastructure finance.— IANS 

Mumbai, June 29
Private equity fund Apollo Global Management LLC will invest about $500 million in steel pipe manufacturer Welspun group, marking the second biggest private equity investment in India this year as firms take advantage of the rapid growth in Asia's third largest economy.

Private equity deals are rapidly growing in India, with firms such as 3i Group Plc and Blackstone Group scouting for new investment opportunities, and many others selling their holdings as valuations improve.

India saw 61 private equity buyouts worth $3.3 billion in the first half of 2011, up 21.6 per cent from the same period last year. And private equity-backed M&A in the first six months of 2011 was the highest for the first half of any year so far.

Earlier this year, Bain Capital and GIC invested about $850 million in Hero Honda in the largest PE deal in India this year.

The private equity firm is scouting for more opportunities in chemicals, metals and industrials, Sanjay Patel, senior partner at Apollo , said at a press conference.

Welspun plans to use the funds to expand its presence in steel and infrastructure and raise its stake in group entities, Chairman BK Goenka told reporters on Wednesday.

"We have the vision of becoming iron ore to steel pipes business. This step is in that direction," Goenka said. "Apollo will not only bring the cash on table but will also provide expertise in metals."

Apollo will invest Rs 1,305 crore ($289.7 million) in the group's listed entity Welspun Corp through a preferential allotment of convertible debentures and global depository receipts (GDR), Welspun said in a statement.

It will convert the debentures in 18 months at 225 rupees each and subscribe to the GDRs at the same price, taking its total stake in the pipemaker to about 20 percent, a move aimed at boosting its capabilities in the global oil and gas sector.

The price reflects a premium of 33 per cent to Welspun's Tuesday closing price.

Shares of Welspun Corp, which supplies steel pipes to top oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and BP Plc and is valued at $768.5 million, rose more than 5 per cent following the news. — Reuters

New Delhi, June 29
India and Japan are scheduled to implement a comprehensive free trade agreement from August 1 to boost bilateral trade between the countries to $25 billion by 2015.

Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was signed in February, the two major Asian economies will eliminate import duties on 94 per cent of their trade items in ten years.

"CEPA is going to come into force from August 1. Japanese Parliament -- Diet -- has approved the agreement," Japanese Ambassador to India Akitaka Saiki said here at a function of the 'Observer Research Foundation'.

He said India will remove duties on products like diesel engines, steel products and electronic items like DVD players and video cameras.

"Japan will be liberalising duty on fruits, sweet corn, strawberries and peaches in the next 7-10 years," Saiki said.

The pact will also provide access to Indian professionals like accountants, researchers, yoga and English teachers and management consultants to the Japanese market, which is grappling with an ageing population.

Through this agreement, both sides aim to double bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2015 from $12.35 billion at present.— PTI

New Delhi, June 29
The government today barred 178 firms from exporting cotton for failing to ship the allocated quantity or not meeting various requirements.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has published the list of the firms which have been barred from future allocation for export of cotton.

The government had allocated 19 lakh cotton bales (of 170 kg each) for exports to 928 applicants. Each exporter can ship only the quota allocated to it.

"The firms whose name appear (in the list)...are hereby debarred from future allocation for export of cotton," the DGFT said.

Of the 178 banned, 100 are registered with Mumbai DGFT, 34 with Chennai and rest are with Delhi and Kolkata.

As per the mandatory conditions, exporters were to submit the required documents and export the allocated quantity within the stipulated period.

There is a provision of penal action under Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 for failure to export the allocated quantity within stipulated time, the DGFT said.

The government monitors the export of cotton to ensure adequate availability for domestic cotton industry.— PTI

Mumbai, June 23
Credit offtake from banks grew by 20.9 per cent to over Rs 41 lakh crore during the one-year period ended June 17, 2011, indicating an upswing in industrial activity.

According to the RBI data, credit offtake during the period stood at Rs 41.23 lakh crore against Rs 34.10 lakh crore in the same period of the previous year.

Meanwhile, deposits went up to over Rs 54.94 lakh crore till mid-June this year against Rs 46.64 lakh crore as on June 18, 2010. This is a rise of over 17.7 per cent on an annual basis.

In the annual monetary policy 2011-12 announced last month, the RBI had said that credit is likely to rise at a faster pace because of the economy’s growth momentum.

“Sustained growth momentum could ... continue to exert pressure on interest rates through high demand for credit,” it had said.

The RBI had projected credit growth to be 19 per cent this fiscal, while deposit growth has been pegged at 17 per cent.

During 2010-11, bank credit had increased by 21.5 per cent, while deposits grew by only 15.5 per cent.

In December last year, the apex bank had expressed concern over the widening ratio between the credit and deposit rates of banks. Toward the end of the last fiscal, however, the gap in the credit-deposit ratio
stood reduced.

Mumbai, June 29
Apparel exports grew by 49 per cent in May to Rs 5,714 crore compared to the corresponding month last fiscal mainly due to increase in demand in countries like the US, European Union and Canada, a top industry body today said.

Exports stood at Rs 3,839 crore in May 2010, according to data given by Apparel Export Promotion Council.

Apparel imports of the US showed a healthy growth in the first three months of this year.

Imports from India grew by 12.7 per cent to $1,313 million January-April this year against USD 1,165 million in January-April last year, AEPC said in a release issued here.

India is one of the top six apparel suppliers in the US, it said.— PTI

Boston, June 29
Taking on Facebook, Internet search giant Google today unveiled its version of a social networking service called “Google Plus” as a part of efforts to garner a share in the lucrative social networking space that has so far been dominated by the Mark Zuckerberg-led popular site.

Promising to bring “real-world interactions” and “real-life sharing” online, Google Plus lets users post photos, messages, comments and other content from selected groups of friends.

“Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools,” Vic Gundotra, Google's Senior vice-president for Engineering, said in a blog post. It said its new service aims to “fix” the “broken” and “awkward” way people interact online.

Through Circles, Google targets Facebook's features in which a user's information is shared by default with a large number of his or her friends, including their work colleagues and acquaintances, rather than only their close personal friends. Google said people want to connect with only certain people at certain times, while online, we hear from everyone all time.”

Google's new service will also let users video chat with numerous friends simultaneously. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Canara Bank raises base rate, BPLR
Mumbai: State-run Canara Bank said on Wednesday it has raised base and benchmark prime lending rates by 25 basis points each to 10.25 percent and 14.5 percent respectively, effective July 1. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates for the tenth time since March 2010, keeping up its fight against inflation. — Reuters

10 JW Marriott hotels in India by 2015
Chandigarh: Hotel chain Marriott today said 10 hotels under luxury JW Marriott brand would come up at various locations across the country by 2015. "Hotels under JW Marriott brand are coming up at various locations like Bangalore, Delhi Airport, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai etc..we will have hotels at 10 locations by year 2015 in India," Marriott International, Vice-President, Rajeev Monon said. — PTI

Infosys to announce Q1 results on July 12
Bangalore: Infosys Limited would announce results for its first quarter ending June 30, 2011 on July 12, the Bangalore-headquartered, NASDAQ-listed IT major said in a statement. — PTI

Hyundai to increase Verna production
New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) has decided to increase the production of its model of Verna. Director for marketing and sales Arvind Saxena said, “We are trying to increase the production to help us reduce the waiting period and clear the backlog of bookings at the earliest". The new variant was launched in Mayat prices between Rs 699,000-Rs 1,074,500 (ex-showroom, New Delhi).— TNS

Bata India appoints Uday Khanna Chairman
New Delhi: Footwear retail chain Bata India on Tuesday announced the appointment of Uday Khanna as the Chairman of the company. — PTI