The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Anil Ambani eyes bank licence; mulls strategic sale in group cos

TRYING TO TAKE A NEW PATH
Talks are in advanced stages with several consortia for sale of Reliance Infratel, the telecom tower business unit, through a possibly biggest-ever private equity transaction
Ambani said that the company would strive to maintain a conservative debt profile and use the proceeds from sale of 26 per cent stake in Reliance Life for reducing debt.
Demands for issue of bonus shares and a special dividend would be taken to the Board of financial services arm Reliance Capital.

Mumbai, September 27
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani today announced that the group will explore its banking foray with ‘the Reliance Bank’, sell stake in mutual fund, general insurance and telecom tower businesses, and strive to keep a conservative debt profile.

Ambani also promised the shareholders that promoters would consider raising their stake in the group’s telecom unit RCom.

Ambani announced a slew of announcements at the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of as many as four group companies — Reliance Capital, Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure.

He further said the demands for issue of bonus shares and a special dividend would be taken to the board of financial services arm Reliance Capital.

He disclosed talks were in advanced stages for sale of stake in asset management and mutual fund businesses to Japan's Nippon Life.

He also said that potential investors have shown interest in buying stake in Reliance General Life, while talks were in advanced stages with several consortia for sale of Reliance Infratel, the telecom tower business unit, through a possibly biggest-ever private equity transaction in the country.

About Reliance Power, Ambani said the company is on track to achieve 5,000 megawatt operating capacity by 2012 and $17 billion of funds have been tied-up for this business.

He also announced that R-Power was poised to become the country’s largest private sector power generation and coal mining company in the next five years and its captive coal resources in India and Indonesia would insulate it from fuel supply risks.

Addressing the shareholders at RCOM’s AGM, Ambani said the company’s promoters plan to raise their stake in the company to 75 per cent from the current 67.9 per cent.

The company hopes to maintain its debt at substantially lower levels, Ambani said.

At the Reliance Capital AGM also, the first of the day, Ambani said that the company would strive to maintain a conservative debt profile and use the proceeds from sale of 26 per cent stake in Reliance Life for reducing the debt. Earlier this year, Reliance Capital agreed to sell 26 per cent stake in Reliance Life to Japan’s Nippon for over Rs 3,000 crore.

Ambani said that Reliance Capital had invested about Rs 3,000 crore in the life insurance business and has got back this money with the stake sale while continuing to hold a 74 per cent stake.

He said that Reliance Cap would seek to emulate this deal in other businesses like general insurance also.— PTI

End to pesky calls, MEssages
TRAI for levy on commercial SMSes
Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

REDIALING THE ROUTE TO PEACE
The consumer can register on the National Consumer Preference Register, NCPR by simply dialing 1909 or sending an “Start 0” SMS to this number.
There is also the partially blocked category whereby one can opt to receive SMS on specific topics like healthcare, real estate, banking and automobiles.
Even seven days after registering, if a consumer receives any unwanted commercial communication, he can file a complaint either by messaging or dialing the toll free number 1909.

New Delhi, September 27
Telecom users today got much-awaited relief from unsolicited commercial calls and SMSes as a new law to regulate such types of marketing came into force.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) also said it planned to impose five paise termination charge per SMS from October 15 on service providers on whose network commercial SMSes originate.

The regulator has also recommended that SMSes be limited to 100 SMSes per day per SIM. However, ceratin categories are exempt.

“We have issued a direction exempting certain categories from limitation of 100 SMSes per day. If genuine cases come to us, we will accept their request and exempt from some clauses. People need to inform us,” TRAI Chairman JS Sarma said.

The limit will not also be applicable on ‘blackout days’ (festive occasions), when the customer would be allowed to send as many messages he wants.

It will also exempt e-ticketing agencies for responding to e-ticketing request made by its customers. The DoT has made it mandatory for all telemarketing companies to use number series starting with ‘140’. — With Agency Inputs

Rice millers upgrade to get certification for export to US
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 27
With the US insistent on tough sanitation conditions at rice shelling units in India, these units across North India, are gearing up to upgrade their conditions. This will ensure that rice meant for exports is free from infestation.

Hundreds of rice-shelling and exporting units are getting themselves registered with NPPO (National Plant Protection Organisation). The NPPO will check the quality of rice meant for exports to the US and issue a certificate of worthiness. With this certificate, basmati as well as non-basmati rice can be exported to the US.

Following the detection of khapra beetle (a rice weevil) in a consignment of basmati rice, the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) in the US has been skeptical about rice imports from India, Pakistan, Thailand and Dubai.

Consequently, a team of FDA came calling. The team reportedly did not find any infestation in the Indian basmati varieties, or the rice exporting units.

Following talks with government officials, it was agreed upon that rice which carries a certificate of worthiness and of being infestation free from NPPO, would be allowed into the US.

Vijay Setia, president of All India Rice Exporters Association, said: “Though only a handful of export units (11) have registered with the NPPO, we are telling the others to complete all formalities or else they will be held back from exporting basmati as well as non-basmati rice to the US.”

Honda launches Brio; to compete with WagonR, i10
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 27
Making its maiden entry into the “volumes car” market Japanese automobile major Honda today launched Brio priced between Rs 3.95 lakh and Rs 5.1 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi ).

The company has manufactured Brio especially for India. “With Brio, we will be entering a new segment for the first time in India . It has been designed and developed specially to meet the needs of customers here,” HSCI President and CEO Takashi Nagai told reporters.

It is the first small car which Honda has launched anywhere in the world. The Brio will be available in four variants. — PTI

EU’s tax on aviation emissions misguided, says industry body
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

Research into sustainable biofuels
With a potential of reducing industry’s carbon footprint by up to 80 per cent, research into sustainable biofuels for aviation is fast evolving. Six airlines have carried commercial passengers on flights powered by biofuels. The industry has agreed on a strategy to achieve emissions reductions.These include investments in technology, more efficient infrastructure, more efficient operations etc. Hurdles remain, like bringing big oil companies on board and getting policy framework to encourage commercialisation, says IATA.

New Delhi, September 27
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has termed European Union’s proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) a challenge to “national sovereignty” of individual nations. This has lent support to India’s global campaign against Europe’s plan to impose carbon emissions tax on airlines flying in its skies from January 2012.

India has already taken up the matter with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and has called a meeting of representatives of supporting nations, including the US, where a joint declaration will be formulated against the planned green tax.

IATA too urged Europe to drop its “misguided ETS plans. The international body representing airlines maintained that it supported the concept as a possible mechanism for environment strategy but Europe’s “unilateral and regional approach to ETS could not be more misguided”.

Under the ETS, airlines using EU airspace will have to pay a fee for carbon emissions that exceed a set cap. There are fears are that Indian carriers flying to Europe may end up paying millions of dollars annually.

Tyler added: “China, India and the US are among the states formally opposing the EU ETS. The US is even processing a bill that will prohibit its carriers from participating. The EU sees its actions as supporting a positive environmental agenda, the rest of the world sees it as an attack on sovereignty,” he said.

IATA said the tax would distort markets as connections via hubs closer to Europe would have an competitive advantage.

Sugar prices may rise as Maharashtra likely to increase farmers’ MSP
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 27
Sugar prices are likely to increase during the forthcoming festival season as the Maharashtra government seems poised to pay higher prices to farmers. “The state government is likely to fix higher prices for sugarcane farmers this year following increase in labour and other input costs,” a senior state government official told this reporter.

Senior government officials including the sugar commissioner and four of his joint directors were held hostage in their offices for more than six hours in their offices in Pune last week over the issue.

The agitation is seen as enjoying the support of the Nationalist Congress Party, which is a coalition partner in the Maharashtra government. Maharashtra’s Co-operative Minister Harshvardhan Patil of the NCP is also said to be backing the cane farmers.

Pending the formal announcement of higher support prices, sugarcane farmers in the state are all set to launch an agitation from October 1.

Cane farmers say they will not send their produce to the mills for crushing. Such a move could affect sugar output in the entire country as Maharashtra which produces 80 lakh tonnes of the sweetener is India's largest producer.

Various unions of farmers are demanding that the government pay Rs 2,350 per tonne of sugarcane as against Rs 1,375 per tonne set for the forthcoming crushing season by the central government.

US to invest in Indian infra, defence and education

New Delhi, September 27
US companies are looking at investing in sectors like energy, education, communications and infrastructure in India, thererby further deepening economic ties between the two countries.

“We are looking for markets (in India), partners so that we can have a win-win kind of relationship between India and US,” an adviser to US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said here.

Chad Kreikemeier, who is leading a 13-member trade mission to India, said the two nations "have got to widen their range from energy, education, infrastructure to defence market". The delegation comprises eight firms and educational institutions, including representatives from the Dartmouth College from New Hampshire.— PTI

BRIEFLY

Connect Broadband services in Punjab
Chandigarh: Connect has rolled out its wireless broadband service in Punjab. Connect is offering various plans with speeds ranging from 512 Kbps to 2 Mbps. The acquisition costs will be Rs 500. Monthly subscription plans will range between Rs 447 to Rs 1497. Prem Ojha, business head, Connect Wireline and Broadband, said that the company would cover over 10,000 households between Oct and Dec.— TNS

Markfed in tie-up with E I DuPont India
Chandigarh: Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd (Markfed) has signed an signed an MoU with agro chemicals maker E I DuPont India, for supplying insecticides, fungicides and herbicides to farmers in Punjab. Agro-chemicals of DuPont will be available through cooperative channels to farmers.— TNS

Ricela bags highest production award
Chandigarh: Dhuri-based Ricela Health Foods Ltd, producers of “Ricela” brand refined rice bran cooking oil, has bagged the BK Goenka Award for being the highest producer of refined rice bran oil in 2010-11. It has bagged the award for the 10th consecutive year. AR Sharma, CMD, received the award from KV Thomas, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, in Mumbai. — PTI

Ind Swift Labs gets nod from Australia
Chandigarh: Ind-Swift Laboratories Ltd, a pharma company, has got Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval from Australia for seven of its APIs - Donepezil HCI, Clarithromycin, Letrozole, Pioglitazone HCI, Ropinirole, Acamprosate and Aripiprazole to be manufactured at its Derabassi plant. —TNS