New Delhi, August 29
Capital market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday amended its rules to allow promots to use rights and bonus issue of shares for dilution of their stake to meet minimum public holding norms, and said it would consider any further relaxation in this matter on case by case basis.

The promoters will have to forego their entitlement to shares being issued in such rights and bonus issues, SEBI said in a circular.

These two additional avenues for sale of shares by promoters to meet minimum public holding (25% for private sector companies and 10% for PSU entities) norms were approved by SEBI's board on August 16.

As per the board approval, SEBI has now amended its relevant regulations, the market regulator said. It already allows promoters to dilute their holdings through newly introduced methods like IPP (Institutional Placement Programme) and Offer for Sale (OFS), as also traditional routes like Follow-on Public Offer (FPO).

The regulator further said that listed entities "desirous of achieving the minimum public shareholding requirement through other means may approach SEBI with appropriate details.

SEBI said such requests would be considered by it on merit and the regulator would seek to communicate its decision within 30 days from the date of receipt of such requests.

In rights and bonus issues, the promoters are also entitled for issuance of shares, as a result of which they might not be able to dilute their stake.

Therefore, SEBI has decided that the promoters can forego their entitlement of shares in such issues to dilute their stake to meet the minimum public holding norms.

As a result, the shares would be allotted to only public shareholders under such rights and bonus issues. Normally, all existing shareholders have a right to apply for shares, in accordance with their existing holding, in a rights issue.

In case of bonus issue, the companies issue additional shares to all existing shareholders in a pre-decided ratio as per their current holding.

SEBI has asked the promoters of all private sector firms to dilute their stake to the extent that the company has a minimum public holding of 25% by June, 2013. For the public sector companies, the promoters have been asked to pare their holding to an extent that such entities have a minimum public holding of 10% by August, 2013.

The two additional routes of rights and bonus issues for meeting minimum public shareholding norms follow SEBI's decision in January, 2012 to allow four methods to comply with these regulations. — PTI

New York, August 29
Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao has said the battle against inflation has not ended yet and high prices were mostly hurting the poor people, who do not have a mechanism to get their voice heard.

Inflation continues to remain high and needs to be brought down to "more acceptable" levels of 5% or less, Subbarao said here, while noting that the challenge was to calibrate interest rates to control inflation and support economic growth at the same time.

"People are hurt by inflation, largely the poor people. They don't have the mechanism to get their voice heard," he said while delivering a lecture at Cornell University on 'India in a Globalizing World: Some Policy Dilemmas'.

Inflation as measured by the Wholesale Price Index stood at 6.87% in July, down from 7.25% in June. It is still much above RBI's comfort level of 5-6%.

Subbarao has maintained that inflation needs to remain the top priority for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

"To control inflation we need to keep interest rates high, but to support growth we need to keep interest rates low," he said. "The challenge is how you will calibrate interest rates," he added.

The RBI had cut its main interest rate in April by 50 basis points to 8%, but the central bank did not reduce the benchmark interest rates in its first quarter credit policy review in July despite pressure from the industry, which wants reduction in interest rates to spur growth.

The Reserve Bank is scheduled to review its monetary policy on September 17. India's economic growth slipped to 9-year low of 6.5% in 2011-12. PM's economic advisory panel has pegged GDP growth for the current fiscal at 6.7%.

Noting that India's economic growth has fuelled inflation in the price of food, Subbarao said, "Structural inflation is a problem of India's success story, specifically the growing income of the poorest sections." A synopsis of Subbarao's address provided by Cornell University said there is a reversal of momentum in India's growth, which stood at 9% in the pre-economic crisis period of 2003-08.

Highlighting the need for fiscal consolidation, he has said the central bank's tight monetary stance is directed towards offsetting fiscal slackness.

Terming fiscal deficit as structural issue, he added "we have fiscal deficit in the face of current budget (revenue) deficit, implying borrowing is being used for consumption expenditure". — PTI

Seoul, August 29
Samsung Electronics Co unveiled the second generation of its popular Galaxy Note phone-cum-tablet at Europe's biggest electronics show in Berlin on Wednesday, as the South Korean firm came under pressure to innovate after losing a US patent battle with Apple Inc.

A US federal jury last week found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages. Apple is now seeking speedy bans on the sale of eight Samsung phones, moving swiftly to turn legal victory into tangible business gain.

The Galaxy Note phablet, Samsung's second most popular smartphone after its flagship Galaxy S, is not included in the list of the potential US sales ban, and Samsung hopes the phablet upgrade will lift any post-Apple gloom at the South Korean group.

"There won't be huge innovative changes in design, but the Note 2 will feature quite a few improvements and enable Samsung to carry on its strong sales momentum in the category," said Lee Sun-tae, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities. "With the launch, Samsung will also be trying to turn around downbeat sentiment after the US legal defeat."

The new version of the Note is expected to feature a thinner and slightly bigger 5.5-inch screen, powerful quad-core processor, the latest version of Google's Android operating system called Jellybean, and improved stylus function.

It's the latest product to illustrate Samsung's attempts to make bold design changes as it comes increasingly under pressure to differentiate its line-up from the iPhone, whose simple and large touchscreen-based design revolutionised the mobile industry and is still considered the gold standard of design. — Reuters

Mumbai, August 29
Gold is likely to hit a record high of over Rs 32,000 per 10 grams during Diwali due to rising tensions in West Asia, Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) said.

"Prices of gold may hit new highs around Diwali as rising tensions in West Asia may increase demand for the metal as a safe haven investment. Civil war in Syria and geopolitical tensions in Iran are major factors pushing up gold prices despite the fall in physical retail demand for the metal in India, China and many other countries," BBA president and Riddisiddhi Bullions managing director rithviraj Kothari said on Wednesday.

Strong possibility of the US announcing a third round of quantitative easing to boost the economy may also drive overseas gold prices up to $1,800 an ounce, Kothari added.

Gold prices have been consolidating since the beginning of the year as the market is waiting for theUS Federal Reserve to undertake a third round of quantitative easing.

Indian investors expect RBI to announce stimulus measures at its meeting in September to boost the fragile economic recovery. "In such a scenario, we expect gold to cross over Rs 32,000 by Diwali," he said.

The reduced disposable surplus income of the middle clas has hit demand for gold, which could drag down the country's imports to around 700 tonnes, Kothari said. — PTI

Mumbai, August 29
Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) on Wednesday launched a systematic investment plan (SIP) in mutual funds through SMS under its 'Invest Easy' initiative.

As per the initiative, investors will be able to start a SIP by sending an SMS through their registered mobile numbers.

"SIP through SMS is the latest service offering from RCAM. This feature will make it cost efficient and convenient for over 900 million mobile users across the country to participate and make investments in mutual funds," Reliance Capital Asset Management chief executive Sundeep Sikka said in a statement.

This new feature has been launched under the company's 'Invest Easy' initiative, which aims to use technology for making it convenient for customers to invest in mutual funds.

"We already have over 2.5 lakh customers under the 'Invest Easy' initiative that allows investors to transact online on the net, on their

mobiles, through call centres and now using SMS. A large number of our customers are already migrating to the online platform and we see this number growing exponentially through this facility," Sikka said.

He said the company would strengthen its reach among small-ticket investors through this initiative. — PTI

New Delhi, August 29
State- run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and French company Thales on Wednesday announced the formation of a joint venture company for producing radars. The company will design, develop, export and market radars for defence and civilian use.

The JV is subject to statutory approvals of the Central government and the French government. In accordance with Indian regulations, Thales will hold 26 % equity, the maximum allowed holding by foreign companies in the defence sector.

Thales is a global technology leader in defence and aerospace markets. In 2011, the company generated revenues of $18.2 bn. — TNS