Mumbai, December 11
In wide-ranging reforms of insider trading norms, a SEBI-appointed panel today proposed bringing in public servants handling share price-sensitive information under its purview and put the onus on the insiders to prove they have not breached any law.

The new norms, which would also apply to mutual funds and trusts issuing securities or schemes that get listed on stock exchanges, would also require companies to seek entire holdings of all employees and third-party connected persons.

Besides, all trades by promoters, employees, directors and their immediate relatives (which would cover close relatives who are either financially dependent or consult the insider in connection with their trading) would be required to be disclosed to the company.

"Simply put, the proposed regulations entail a prohibition on trading by insiders in securities when in possession of UPSI (Unpublished Price Sensitive Information), thus obtaining an unfair advantage," the panel said in its report submitted to SEBI.

The new norms also "entail outlawing communication of UPSI by any insider except where such communication is legitimately necessary for performance of duties or discharge of legal obligations."

Among other proposals, whether an insider who has traded in securities is a connected person, the onus of establishing that he was not in breach of the prohibition will be on him.

Besides, the companies would be required to keep record of all holdings by all employees, while third-party connected persons, who are not employees, will also need to disclose their trading and holdings in securities of the company.

At the same time, the threshold beyond which public disclosure is mandated has been materially enhanced.

Currently, any trade of above a value of above Rs 5 lakh falls within public disclosure, while public disclosure is also mandatory regardless of value if the securities traded are more than 2,500 in number, or if the share represent more than 1% of the total share capital.

In view of "materiality and relevance", it has been recommended to rationalise the trades disclosure threshold at a value of Rs 10 lakh or more in a quarter.

The panel also said every company, listed or to be listed, should be required to frame a "code of fair disclosure", requiring disclosure of events and circumstances that would impact price discovery of its securities. — PTI

New Delhi, December 11
The infrastructure-sharing pact signed by Airtel and Reliance Jio is being described in the industry as the mother of all deals in the telecom sector, with both emerging in a win-win situation.

As part of the deal, the two would not only share their infrastructure, but it could be extended to roaming on 2G, 3G and 4G, and any other mutually benefiting areas relating to telecommunication.

The shares of Bharti Infratel, the telecom tower owning company floated by Airtel, and that of the telecom operator itself surged on the stock market today.

As part of this arrangement, Bharti and Reliance Jio have already announced an agreement under which Bharti has provided capacity on its i2i submarine cable to Reliance Jio.

The deal not only reflects the future of the telecom sector, which could see acquisitions and mergers in the near future with the government having already cleared the new norms, but it also reflects that only a few players would eventually remain as serious contenders and hold the sector.

Reliance Jio desperately needs infrastructure to provide services. It is not possible for it to lay the infrastructure for launching its services by March.

It has already tied up with RCom, owned by Anil Ambani. It is not sufficient for it to launch pan-India operations. Post this deal, Reliance Jio and Airtel will now have cellular networks across all the 22 circles in India. While Airtel subscribers will be able to access 4G services in all 22 circles, Reliance Jio users could access other network bands like 2G and 3G as well.

Solan, December 11
With the Baddi-based plant of Asian Paints (India) Limited, manufacturing powder coating, closing its operations due to decline in its processing volume, it appears to be the beginning of the exodus of renowned industrial groups from the state.

The plant, which has closed its operations since November 25, has led to retrenchment of at least 30 employees, though Labour Officer PC Thakur said all dues had been settled and the management had duly informed them about this move.

The plant had an annual capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes. It had come into operation in 2006. Asian Paints is the country’s largest paint company and third largest globally. Its other plants at Sarigam, Gujarat, will, however, continue its normal operations.

The closure of this plant at a time when new investment had declined and even expansion proposals had been reduced to a trickle would not portent well for the industry, opined officials. He said employment opportunities had already shrunk and the government should accord top priority to tackle the problems of the industry to ensure that the existing industries sustain in the present scenario when Central incentives had been stopped.

Industry sources said earlier the investors of pharmaceutical units had initiated a move to shift their high value and low- volume products to their sister concerns in other states and now closure of renowned groups did not augur well for the industrial growth. 

New Delhi, December 11
Gold and silver imports declined 80.55% to $1.05 billion in November after a slew of measures taken by the government to curb inbound shipments of the metal, aimed at narrowing the current account deficit.

Imports of gold and silver in November 2012 stood at $5.4 billion.

Total merchandise imports last month also declined, helping to narrow the trade deficit to $9.21 billion, the second-lowest level in this financial year. It was at $6.76 billion in September.

"Overall trade deficit from April-November 2013 has come down by almost about $30 billion," Commerce Secretary SR Rao said.

The trade deficit stood at $99.9 billion during the first eight months of this financial year compared with $129.2 billion in the same period last year.

The current account deficit (CAD) touched a historic high of 4.8% of GDP in 2012-13 and was mainly attributed to high imports of gold and petroleum products.

A high level of CAD puts pressure on the rupee, which has depreciated by about 15% since April 30.

During April-November 2013, gold and silver imports declined 23.78% to $25.5 billion from $33.5 billion in the same period last year. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Kris Gopalakrishnan to co-chair WEF annual meet
New Delhi: Infosys vice-chairman and CII president Kris Gopalakrishnan will co-chair the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meet next month. He would be among the seven co-chairs of the meet, according to WEF. The meet will start on January 21 at Davos, Switzerland. — PTI

Soon Kwon, managing director of LG India, at the launch of curved OLED TV and smartphone  'G Flex' in New Delhi on Wednesday. It has a screen size of 55 inch with 4.3mm thickness and is priced at Rs 9,99,000. The smartphone, priced between Rs 60,000 and Rs 65,000, will be available from February 2014. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

India Inc strikes deals worth $27 bn in Jan-Nov
New Delhi: India Inc announced mergers and acquisitions deals worth $1.31 billion in the month of November, taking the 11-month tally this year to $26.76 billion. According to advisory firm Grant Thornton, corporates announced 458 deals in the January-November period amounting to $26.76 billion. — PTI

BSE public offer size likely at Rs 400-1,000 crore
Kolkata: The public offer of country's premier bourse BSE Ltd could range between Rs 400 crore and Rs 1,000 crore. BSE CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said a clear picture on the issue would emerge only after it gets SEBI approval and discussions with merchant bankers. — PTI

RBI to infuse additional Rs 10,000 cr liquidity

Mumbai: The RBI on Wednesday said it will infuse an additional Rs 10,000 crore into the system on Friday to ease the tight liquidity situation, ahead of commencement of advance tax payments. RBI said it has been closely monitoring liquidity conditions so as to ensure that adequate liquidity is available to support flow of credit to productive sectors. — PTI

India likely to grow at 4.7% in 2013-14, says ADB
New Delhi: ADB said on Wednesday India is likely to record 4.7% growth in FY 14 which will improve to 5.7% next year. "After bottoming out in the first quarter, India's economy appears to have recovered on the back of a rebound in exports and higher industrial and agricultural outputs," it said. — PTI