The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sensex tumbles 405 points on weak rupee, CAG report Mumbai, March 22 The BSE Sensex plunged to 2-week low of 17,196.47 today, down 405 points as investors sold stocks amid weakening rupee, official auditor CAG’s report that government caused huge losses to the exchequer in allocating coal blocks and shaky overseas markets. Of the 30 Sensex scrips, 28 tumbled. All 13 sectoral indices closed in losses, with realty, power, banking, capital goods, metal and refinery stocks being hit hard. Market heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped 4.15 per cent and Infosys by 1.39 per cent. The two carry 20 per cent weight on the Sensex. The rupee's sharp decline against the US dollar to Rs 51 level worried investors that it will inflate government's import bill, especially on account of oil, worsening fiscal deficit situation. Sensex moved in a narrow range till late afternoon, but last hour selling pulled it down sharply to 17,196.47, erasing 405.24 points or 2.30 per cent. In the past two days, it had risen 328.34 points or 1.90 per cent. Similarly, NSE 50-scrip index Nifty tumbled 136.50 points or 2.54 per cent to two-week low of 5,228.45. Globally, European markets were trading weak, adding to investor woes, he said. As per SEBI data, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 651.70 crore yesterday. Asian stocks were down in early trade after a survey showed China's manufacturing has shrunk. Key indices in China, Singapore and South Korea finished with marginal losses, although Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan ended with gains. European markets were trading sharply lower in the afternoon. CAC (France), DAX (Germany), FTSE (UK) were down by up to 1.52 per cent. The US index futures too were indicated weak opening today. Among the sectoral indices, the BSE-Realty fell 4.25 pc, Power - 3.62 pc, Bankex - 3.41 pc, Capital Goods - 3.37 pc, Metal - 3.29 pc, Consumer Durables - 3.15 pc, Oil&Gas - 2.74 pc, Auto - 1.89 pc and PSU - 1.48 pc. The total market breadth turned negative as 2,019 stocks finished with losses, while 879 stocks ended with gains. The total turnover declined to Rs 2,984.72 crore from Rs 3,302.43 crore yesterday. — PTI
	Row over auction Coal India had declared blocks non-viable: Industry Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 22 While there is a new controversy over the auction of all natural resources and coal blocks, industry sources are pointing out that the 155 blocks of coal were declared non-viable by the state agency Coal India and only then was it decided that these would be allowed to be developed by other companies. Sources say if the coal was not allocated to private companies then it would be a dead asset as per the government’s own agency. Coal was never offered as a stand-alone resource to the companies, there were strict conditions that it could not be traded, it was only offered as fuel security to power companies with the condition that the companies who get this block will have to set up power plants which will be sold to the states. If the coal was auctioned then it would directly impact the price of power. Sources say the so- called losses being talked about is in some ways not a loss but a subsidy in the form of cheap power to consumers. Sources say if the question is why not sell the coal at the highest price, the simple response is that the higher the price of coal the higher the price of power. The choice is between delivering a public good at an affordable price to those who cannot afford it versus maximising government revenues which has a very long-routed and sometimes unsure way of benefiting citizens. On the debate of auction of all natural resources, the industry sources are saying that India does not have any legislation which says every natural resource should be sold only through the auction route. The latest telecom judgement has started the debate but there is no stipulation that that is the only way to conduct a sale. If it goes in this manner, then all the divestment, where the management of a PSU decides on the valuation, will be open to question. The method of sale is determined by the context and the objectives of the government. On the issue of whether power companies made windfall profits, sources are saying that the calculation of price of power is done by an independent regulator which factors in the cost of coal and provides for a return. It is not that price of power is independent of the price of coal, which is when corporates could have made super normal profits. The power sector is in losses. It is one of the biggest NPAs for Indian banks already so it's clear that these power companies are not making money. The fact is today no bank wants to give loans to power companies so coal or no coal there is no question of having some gains at the expense of the exchequer. Also, when companies bid for the coal blocks, it was done through a transparent bidding process which examined the company's capabilities on ability to produce power and other competencies.
	India 2nd best for rapid growth among emerging nations: Survey The top 3 1. China 2. India 3. Brazil New Delhi, March 22 India has emerged as the second most promising market after China in terms of maximum opportunity for rapid growth among emerging market economies, says a survey. According to a survey by Tata Communications in association with research company Vanson Bourne, more than half of the respondents believe China offers the maximum opportunity for rapid growth opportunities, followed by India at 46 per cent and Brazil at 26 per cent. Russia comes a distant eighth with just 11 per cent of emerging market business leaders feeling it offers rapid business growth, according to the survey covering 1,600 business leaders from 10 emerging and developed markets. Going ahead, 39 per cent of all global respondents stated that their organisation is looking at expanding into India, making it the second most favoured market for global expansion after China at 51 per cent. As many as 33 per cent identified Brazil as a likely target market and 19 per cent selected Russia. Furthermore, China led the pack of FTSE Emerging Market Index countries considered to be most progressive, as 42 per cent of respondents from China, India, South Africa and the West Asia selected China. This compares with 27 per cent who selected India and just 1 per cent who indicated that they believed Russia to be most progressive. Signalling the growing influence of developing markets in the global economy, as many as 85 per cent of business leaders in India look to other emerging markets for growth and plan to increase their investments there in the near future. Notwithstanding the political uncertainty, 87 per cent of business leaders from both developed and developing markets (China, India, South Africa, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, the USA and the UK) are actively engaging in emerging markets, the study said. As many as 61 per cent of Indian companies are currently looking at operating in emerging markets, while 55 per cent of Singaporean respondents, 45 per cent of Middle Eastern and 40 per cent of South African businesses have already set up operations in emerging markets. "For companies to capitalise on that potential we need to see greater levels of investment in the infrastructure that is essential to support it. That will inevitably require more focus on developing talent and innovative thinking in markets that can have less educational investment in those areas," Tata Communications MD and CEO Vinod Kumar said. — PTI
	Nippon Life inks pact to buy 26% stake in Reliance Cap New Delhi, March 22 Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Co today signed the final agreement to acquire a 26 per cent stake in the Anil Ambani Group firm's fund management unit, Reliance Capital Asset Management Company for Rs 1,450 crore. The deal, first announced in January this year, is the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deal in any Indian asset management company till date. Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh said, "We are delighted to sign the final agreements with Nippon and look forward to having them as our strategic partners in the mutual fund business. We will be filing application with the regulators for approval and hope to conclude this transaction soon." The transaction pegs the valuation of Reliance Capital Asset Management at around Rs 5,600 crore. "I am pleased that we have entered into the final agreements about investment in Reliance Capital Asset Management. I believe this partnership in the field of asset management will strengthen our relationship with Reliance Group," Nippon Life president Yoshinobu Tsutsui said. — PTI
	Hyundai rolls out new Sonata at Rs 18.53 lakh New Delhi, March 22 Hyundai Motor India today launched a new version of its premium sedan Sonata, priced between Rs 18.53 lakh and Rs 20.61 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). "The all new Sonata powered by our GDi engine offers best-in-class features. Competitively priced, the Sonata offers a stylish new choice to the premium customer," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Managing Director and CEO BS Seo said. The company had showcased the sixth generation version of the Sonata at the 11th Auto Expo here in January. While the manual transmission version of the Sonata is priced at Rs 18,53 lakh, the automatic transmission version is available at Rs 20.61 lakh. — PTI
	RIL’s KG-D6 satellite field plan okayed New Delhi, March 22 The government has approved Reliance Industries’ $1.529 billion plan to produce over 10 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from four satellite fields in the flagging KG-D6 block. RIL and its partners, BP Plc of UK and Niko Resources of Canada, are likely to start producing natural gas from the four fields around mid-2016, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas RPN Singh said today. The investment plan, which will help boost falling output in the Krishna-Godavari Basin KG-D6 block, has been pending with the authorities for two years. The KG-D6 block oversight committee, which includes officials from the Oil Ministry and its technical arm, the DGH, on January 3 approved the investment plan. — PTI
	JLR to invest over Rs 2,800 cr in China JV New Delhi, March 22 Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will invest 3.5 billion yuan (over Rs 2,800 crore) in its joint venture with Chery Automobile in China to commence local assembly in the Asian country. The two auto makers, which announced the equal joint venture yesterday, had signed the agreement in December last year and have joined hands for 30 years. "We have committed to invest CNY 3.5 billion of equity capital in the JV company, representing 50 per cent of the share capital and voting rights of the JV company. The term of the joint venture is 30 years (unless terminated or extended)," Jaguar Land Rover told investors of Tata Motors. The firm will develop, manufacture and sell some Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) models and at least one JV-branded vehicle in China. — PTI
	Nokia cuts 1,000 jobs Helsinki, March 22 Nokia finished on Thursday job cut talks with the staff at its plant in Salo, Finland, resulting in planned lay-offs of up to 1,000 people. The jobs at the last large cellphone manufacturing plant in Western Europe will be cut gradually through 2012, with most cuts happening by the end of June, the company said. The remaining staff at the plant will focus on tailoring models for European operators. Nokia is in the midst of a massive revamp of operations under its new CEO Stephen Elop since last year. — Reuters
	Rupee loses 50 paise Mumbai, March 22 The rupee today plunged by 50 paise to close at sub-51 level after more than two months against the dollar amid a steep fall in stocks. The domestic unit opened lower at 50.75/76 a dollar from overnight close of 50.67/68 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. It touched a low of 51.27 before concluding at 51.17/18, lowest closing since January 16. — PTI