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Stocks ride high on BJP’s victory in Assembly polls
Nissan goes online to sell cars in India
FIPB defers decision on Vodafone’s buyout move
PepsiCo appoints D Shivakumar as India head
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Biz talk
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Stocks ride high on BJP’s victory in Assembly polls
New Delhi, December 9
Foreign brokerage, Macquarie Securities said there are two things being priced into current valuations —anticipation around General Elections and hope on revival in earnings growth. “General Elections in 2014 will play a key role in deciding the direction of market sentiment. Much like in 2009, there are high hopes around a new government taking charge and changing the course of the economy. We believe a strong government with a decisive mandate would be the ideal outcome for markets to re-rate”, it said. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, BJP handed a severe 4-0 drubbing to Congress and snatched Rajasthan while retaining Madhya Pradesh with landslide wins, holding on to power in Chhattisgarh and good show in Delhi. Reflecting the movement in stock markets, the rupee also strengthened and rose to almost 4-month high of 60.84 during intra-day. Rajat Rajgarhia, Managing Director — Institutional Equities, Motilal Oswal Securities said while markets are at new high, valuations are still below average. As growth expectations start turning positive, earnings recovery will drive re-rating. Kotak Securities said the market may have widely divergent views on various logical outcomes of the 2014 national elections and may view a party or alliance as more favourable for reforms. Sustained capital inflows and a firming trend in the global markets also helped markets cement gains.
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Nissan goes online to sell cars in India
New Delhi, December 9 Customers will be able to book their cars by making payments through an online gateway by credit card. The car will then be delivered to the customer by their nearest Nissan dealership when ready. Nitish Tipnis, Director-Marketing, Hover Automotive India (Nissan’s national sales company) said, "Today most car buyers go online before making a decision so using the Internet is a logical extension of the purchase cycle. At Nissan, we are putting in place suitable payment gateways with the help of specific car portals to ensure timely delivery and service at the time of purchase. The objective is to simplify the purchase cycle and delight the customer by making the entire sales journey quicker and more efficient with no compromise on service.” Most of the major car makers in India, including Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, do not sell cars through Internet but use the online medium to convert queries into offline sales through dealerships. In India, Nissan sells Micra, Sunny, Evalia, SUVs Terrano and X-Trail.
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FIPB defers decision on Vodafone’s buyout move
New Delhi, December 9 "Decision on Vodafone deferred pending Ministry of Home Affairs comments," sources in the Finance Ministry said after a meeting of the FIPB, which is headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram. Sources said the British telecom major's investment application is now likely to considered again at the next meeting, the date for which will be announced later. Earlier, during the November 13 meeting, the FIPB did not take up the proposal as several government departments had not given their comments. CGP India Investments Ltd, an indirect Mauritian subsidiary of Vodafone International Holdings BV, had sought FIPB approval to buy the stake held by minority shareholders in Vodafone India Ltd. Vodafone holds 64.38% stake in the Indian unit. Vodafone also requires the approval of the CCEA because the planned investment exceeds Rs 1,200 crore. The government relaxed rules in August to allow foreign telecom companies to own 100% of their businesses in India. Earlier, the FDI cap in the sector was 74%. — PTI
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PepsiCo appoints D Shivakumar as India head
New Delhi, December 9 The company also elevated Gautham Mukkavilli, current General Manager for PepsiCo India Beverages, as senior VP, business transformation (Asia, Middle-East and Africa), effective March 1, 2014. He would also be responsible for the NourishCo joint venture with Tata Global Beverages and franchise businesses in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, it added. "He will be responsible for strategically deploying the Rs 33,000 crore investment in India that PepsiCo announced last month," it said. — PTI
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Biz talk
Q. What is the thrust of the turnaround plan for the economy suggested by the council?
A: The plan outlined by our Council indicates that the government must opt for greater pragmatism in order to revive the economy in the shortest possible time. The solutions perceived by our policy makers to many of the present day concerns need enactment of statutory legislations, Parliament approvals etc. While we pursue these statutory legislation processes, it is worthwhile to pay attention to the issues that can be addressed within the given policy framework. The government can actually address issues like implementation of infrastructure projects without tweaking the existing policy stance. We have put together a list of sectoral issues and the government interventions needed to address them. Q. What is the rationale on cutting avoidable imports? A: Growth of manufacturing sector is essential for realising the objective of economic security. The National Manufacturing Policy aims at increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25% by 2020 and creating additional 100 million jobs. In view of these policy priorities, we need to not only create domestic manufacturing capacities but also make the sector internationally competitive. In line with this, India needs to put greater focus on manufacturing of quality goods in India rather than importing them. However, there exist a number of cases of inverted duties that encourage import of finished goods. While import of essential raw materials can be allowed, the same can't be said in the case of import of finished products. It will also cause stress on the country's balance of payments. The government needs to ensure a level-playing field to the domestic manufacturers vis-à-vis their foreign competitors. Q. How can the investment cycle be revived? A: For reviving the investment cycle, our policy makers need to work towards creating an investor-friendly environment. The government needs to reassure the investors about its commitment to the sanctity of its policies and regulations. It is necessary to make policies simple, transparent and predictable and shun retrospective acts like GAAR. In the immediate term, for reviving investment cycle, interest rates need to be cut and more rationalised incentives for investments need to be announced. Q: What can be the strategy to revive the infrastructure sector? A: Reviving the infrastructure sector primarily requires setting up of cross-functional teams of the Centre and state governments with clear mandates and timelines. It also needs that government honours the concessional agreements. Availability of long-term finance is a major hurdle for infrastructure development. Some of the measures we have suggested include exempting the profits earned by infra projects from the levy of MAT. On the social infrastructure front, education and health infrastructure deserves immediate attention. Q: What is the growth prognosis for the economy? A: We are optimistic about the prospects of growth picking up in the near term. The second half of 2013-14 fiscal itself is expected to register higher growth. Good monsoons and the prospects of higher farm sector growth, higher export demand, better performance of strategic business services like IT and ITES, and 2014 election expenditure would push GDP growth into the range of 5.2 to 5.5%. |
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Phaneesh Murthy drags iGate to court HSBC sees fiscal deficit breaching 5% mark in FY14 'India most desired for setting up back offices by banks' Govt asks ministries to opt for BSNL, MTNL services
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Sushma Berlia,
The Sensex ended at 21,326 points, gaining 329 points or 1.57% while the Nifty closed at 6,363 points, a hefty rise of 104 points or 1.66%. Across markets, five out of every 10 stocks rose and investor wealth soared by about Rs 75,000 crore. 
