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Voda says disappointed over
no change in retro tax plan
PNB Q4 net jumps 18.6%
Greece may exit eurozone; EU in a bind
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Punjab urged to end power subsidy
Ranbaxy Q1 profit jumps on generic Lipitor
Mukesh Ambani forgoes
Rs 23.8 cr from annual pay
India gets highest-ever FDI of $8.1 bn in March
Urban consumer confidence edges up
Govt to auction 54 coal blocks
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Voda says disappointed over
no change in retro tax plan
New Delhi, May 9 Reasserting he had said in his budget speech, Mukherjee made it clear that India was no tax haven and there would be no rethink on the proposal to allow authorities to tax older corporate deals. “There cannot be a situation where somebody will make money on an asset located in India and won’t pay tax either in India or in the country of its origin,” he said in his reply during the Finance Bill debate in the Lok Sabha today. The government is looking to get a tax of over Rs.11,000 crore (US $2.2 billion) from Vodafone on acquiring the stake of Hong Kong-based Hutchison held in an Indian telecom firm, then called Hutchison-Essar. In a statement issued here Vodafone said: “We are naturally disappointed that, despite very widespread concern in India and internationally, the government has not seen fit to propose amendments to address the uncertainty caused by retrospective tax legislation”. “We are studying the legislation as amended, and will take all possible steps to safeguard our shareholders' interests. It would be grossly unjust if, on the basis of legislation passed five years after the event, Vodafone were to be charged tax on a gain made by someone else, especially where the Indian Supreme Court unambiguously ruled that no tax was payable in India according to the laws of India in force in 2007,” Vodafone said while adding: “Given this clarity, there was no legal basis for Vodafone to withhold tax”. Vodafone had in January won a Rs 11,200 crore tax battle after the Supreme Court ruled the company was not liable to pay any taxes under prevailing laws. The finance ministry then proposed in the budget to impose a retrospective provision for tax on some types of international mergers. The government expects to collect an estimated Rs 35,000-40,000 crore by taxing older corporate deals. |
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PNB Q4 net jumps 18.6%
New Delhi, May 9 Total income rose to Rs 10,955.73 crore in the January-March quarter from Rs 8,585.65 crore in the same period last fiscal. The board of directors of the bank has recommended an annual dividend of Rs 22 per equity share for fiscal 2011-12, subject to declaration in the ensuing annual general meeting.
— PTI |
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Greece may exit eurozone; EU in a bind
Athens, May 9 "If we say no to everything, we leave the eurozone," said Gikas Hardouvelis, economic advisor to outgoing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. Voters roundly rejected austerity measures in Sunday's elections, booting out a coalition by the two mainstream parties and leaving the radical left-wing Syriza party charged with forming a government. Its leader Alexis Tsipras was planning to write Wednesday to the highly indebted nation's international lenders telling them that the country would renege on its austerity commitments. Hardouvelis said on Skai Radio that Greece "has room for renegotiation" of austerity measures that it had agreed to take by 2015 under the bailout deal, "but we should not oversell it and think that suddenly something has changed in Europe because the people here have shouted no". "We have seen the reactions of European leaders... The only thing they are saying is that Greece is heading towards the exit of the euro," said the former banker, adding that it was up to Greeks see their partners' logic "because it is them who are giving the money". — AFP
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Punjab urged to end power subsidy
Chandigarh, May 9 Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat told reporters on Wednesday that the apex chamber was against subsidies as they would not help farmers come out of their present situation. Answering a query on the huge power subsidy (estimated at Rs 6,000 crore this year) being given by the Punjab government to the agricultural sector, Rawat, while demanding that the government do away with it, said Assocham was unhappy with the crosssubsidization in the energy sector. Releasing the agenda for the SAD-BJP led Punjab government, the chamber proposed the state government should promote agro processing units to leverage upon the production of several farm commodities in order to boost economy. Assocham also stressed that Punjab should rejuvenate agriculture, create manufacturing hubs and accelerate growth in the services sector. “The agenda of the new state government should be to prioritize building social and physical infrastructure and define role of all stakeholders and cover short and long term goals to ensure speedy development,” said Rawat. Assocham added special economic zones could be created with organic farms for herbal and medicinal plantation. A delegation of the chamber led by Punjab Development Council chairman Ravi Wig also met Chief Minister Prakash S. Badal here today.
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Ranbaxy Q1 profit jumps on generic Lipitor
Mumbai, May 9 The
drugmaker, majority owned by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co, said net profit rose to Rs 12.47 billion in January-March from 3.04 billion rupees a year earlier. It earned Rs 3.45 billion in foreign exchange gains. Sales in the north American market more than doubled to Rs 20.93 billion in the period, the first full quarter of sales of its copycat version of blockbuster
Lipitor. Ranbaxy Laboratorieslaunched the generic in December 2011 in the United States followed by European markets.
— Reuters |
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Mukesh Ambani forgoes Rs 23.8 cr from annual pay
New Delhi, May 9 However, RIL's total outgo towards remuneration to its all top management personnel, as also the sitting fees and commissions for its nonexecutive directors, increased during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012. Ambani's salary has remained unchanged at Rs 15 crore since the fiscal 2008-09. In its latest annual report for the year 2011-12, RIL said that Ambani's total pay package stood at Rs 15 crore, as against his eligibility of Rs 38.82 crore as per the shareholders' approval. Detailing his pay package, RIL said that Ambani's "compensation has been set at Rs 15 crore as against Rs 38.82 crore that he is eligible as per the shareholders' approval, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels". In fiscal 2010-11 also, Ambani was eligible for a pay package of Rs 38.75 crore, but he took home only Rs 15 crore. The company's total remuneration for top management personnel and commission paid to non-executive directors had declined during 2010-11, but rose again in 2011-12. The decision to cap Ambani's salary at Rs 15 crore was taken way back in October 2009, amid a raging debate on rightsizing of CEO salaries. — PTI
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India gets highest-ever FDI of $8.1 bn in March
New Delhi, May 9 Cumulative FDI inflows for the fiscal 2011-12 amounted to $36.50 billion, authoritative sources said. In March 2011, the country received FDI worth $1.07 billion. The $ 7.2 billion Reliance Industries-British Petroleum deal, announced in February 2011 contributed significantly to the inflows, even though funds from the UK oil major would have come in phases, they said. BP had picked up a 30% stake in Reliance Industries' 21 oilfields. Earlier, the highest FDI of $5.65 billion was received in June last year. Though the March data has been compiled by the department of industrial policy & promotion, it has yet to be released officially. FDI inflows had aggregated to $19.42 billion in 2010-11, down from $25.83 billion in 2009-10. — PTI
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Urban consumer confidence edges up
New Delhi, May 9 The BluFin Consumer Confidence Index rose to 41.1 in April 2012, from 39.9 in March. The index recorded its lowest score of 35.8 in December 2011. The index reflects pessimism below 50 and optimism above that, BluFin said. The report comes after the RBI last month slashed interest rates for the first time in three years to boost the sagging economy. However, the survey said the rate cut failed to significantly revive consumer sentiment. "The current positive trend will need to be validated by improvements in the coming months," said Rashid Bilimoria, CEO of financial information provider BluFin. A sub-index rating future expectations was 39, suggesting urban consumers were still worried about the economy's prospects. — Reuters
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Govt to auction 54 coal blocks
New Delhi, May 9 "Yes, 54 coal blocks with total geological reserves of about 18.22 billion tonnes have been identified for allocation," minister of state for coal P.P. Patil said in the Lok Sabha to a question on whether the government proposed to auction some coal blocks in near future. The introduction of auctioning would help the government. – PTI |
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Having got a signal from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that it there would be no relief for it, UK-based telecom giant Vodafone on Wednesday expressed its disappointment that the government has chosen not address its concerns over the payment of income tax due to it as a result of capital gains made on Indian assets.
New Delhi, May 9
