Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Repower Systems AG, the German unit of India’s Suzlon Energy Ltd., expects wind-turbine orders to rise next year as climate-change talks in Copenhagen may increase demand for renewable energy.
“The industry was pretty low on order inflow in 2009 and we are seeing the first signs of that easing up a bit,” Repower Chief Executive Officer Per Hornung Pedersen said yesterday, declining to give a numerical forecast. “The signals from Copenhagen are very important.”
Negotiators from 192 nations at the Copenhagen talks that started yesterday may agree on a framework to curb emissions from power plants and factories blamed for global warming. An accord with strong global endorsement to fight climate change could potentially accelerate the wind-power industry, Denmark- based MAKE Consulting said in a Nov. 24 report.
Repower yesterday announced an order from the U.S. to supply 70 turbines capable of generating 143.5 megawatts of power, the second deal in less than two weeks for the Hamburg- based company.
Suzlon rose 4.7 percent to 83.05 rupees in Mumbai trading yesterday, the most since Nov. 30. Repower gained 0.3 percent to 115.05 euros in Frankfurt.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
India Car Sales Rise Most in 5 Years as Economy Grows
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- India’s passenger car sales rose the most in more than five years in November as cheaper loan rates and economic expansion lifted demand for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. hatchbacks and Tata Motors Ltd.’s Nano.
Sales totaled 133,687 units in November, 61 percent more than the 83,121 sold a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement in New Delhi today. That was the biggest surge since February 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
General Motors Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG have boosted investment in China and India as the world’s two most populous nations withstand a slump in global auto sales on government support and economic growth. China, due to report its November auto sales data today, is poised to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market this year.
“India and China are the two hottest auto markets in the world and no one can afford to ignore them,” said Deepesh Rathore, a New Delhi-based analyst at industry consultant IHS Global Insight Inc. “Anyone who isn’t strong in India will try to emerge a key player as the growth here is sustainable in the long term.”
China Demand
India’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in 1 1/2 years in the quarter ended September, helped by record-low interest rates and an economic stimulus. GM and Toyota Motor Corp. are among carmakers increasing bets on India, China and other emerging markets as sales in the U.S., Japan and Europe tumble.
Sales of trucks and buses jumped 98 percent in November from a year earlier to 40,847 while motorcycle and scooter sales gained 39 percent to 790,613, according to today’s statement.
Gross domestic product grew 7.9 percent in India in the last quarter, helped by the central bank holding its key reverse repurchase rate at a record-low 3.25 percent since April. Government spending and tax cuts took the value of stimulus measures to 12 percent of GDP.
China, Japan, and the U.S. are among countries that offered a mix of credits, tax breaks and subsidies to boost auto sales by getting consumers to trade-in old cars for newer, more fuel efficient models.
SAIC Motor Corp., China’s biggest automaker, said earlier today its November sales rose 91 percent to 252,190 units, according to a filing to Shanghai’s stock exchange. Sales for the first 11 months of the year rose 54 percent to 2.44 million units, according to the statement.
Middle Class
The automaker last week formed a venture with GM, with an investment of $650 million, to enter India.
India’s car sales are forecast to grow at least 10 percent in the year to March, the group of all vehicle makers in the country predicted in August. The 13 carmakers in India sold 1.22 million cars in the fiscal year ended March.
Sales may reach 3 million units annually by 2015, helped by new models such as the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, and higher incomes among a middle class of about 50 million people, according to a 2006 government forecast. The demand has prompted carmakers including Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to build factories and introduce new models in India, Asia’s fourth- biggest automotive market.
Sales totaled 133,687 units in November, 61 percent more than the 83,121 sold a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement in New Delhi today. That was the biggest surge since February 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
General Motors Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG have boosted investment in China and India as the world’s two most populous nations withstand a slump in global auto sales on government support and economic growth. China, due to report its November auto sales data today, is poised to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market this year.
“India and China are the two hottest auto markets in the world and no one can afford to ignore them,” said Deepesh Rathore, a New Delhi-based analyst at industry consultant IHS Global Insight Inc. “Anyone who isn’t strong in India will try to emerge a key player as the growth here is sustainable in the long term.”
China Demand
India’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in 1 1/2 years in the quarter ended September, helped by record-low interest rates and an economic stimulus. GM and Toyota Motor Corp. are among carmakers increasing bets on India, China and other emerging markets as sales in the U.S., Japan and Europe tumble.
Sales of trucks and buses jumped 98 percent in November from a year earlier to 40,847 while motorcycle and scooter sales gained 39 percent to 790,613, according to today’s statement.
Gross domestic product grew 7.9 percent in India in the last quarter, helped by the central bank holding its key reverse repurchase rate at a record-low 3.25 percent since April. Government spending and tax cuts took the value of stimulus measures to 12 percent of GDP.
China, Japan, and the U.S. are among countries that offered a mix of credits, tax breaks and subsidies to boost auto sales by getting consumers to trade-in old cars for newer, more fuel efficient models.
SAIC Motor Corp., China’s biggest automaker, said earlier today its November sales rose 91 percent to 252,190 units, according to a filing to Shanghai’s stock exchange. Sales for the first 11 months of the year rose 54 percent to 2.44 million units, according to the statement.
Middle Class
The automaker last week formed a venture with GM, with an investment of $650 million, to enter India.
India’s car sales are forecast to grow at least 10 percent in the year to March, the group of all vehicle makers in the country predicted in August. The 13 carmakers in India sold 1.22 million cars in the fiscal year ended March.
Sales may reach 3 million units annually by 2015, helped by new models such as the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, and higher incomes among a middle class of about 50 million people, according to a 2006 government forecast. The demand has prompted carmakers including Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to build factories and introduce new models in India, Asia’s fourth- biggest automotive market.
Japan Releases Stimulus Package as Recovery Weakens
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The Japanese government unveiled a 7.2 trillion yen ($81 billion) economic stimulus package amid signs the recovery and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s popularity are waning.
Hatoyama’s first stimulus plan includes 3.5 trillion yen to help regions, 600 billion yen for employment and 800 billion yen on environmental initiatives, the Cabinet said today in a statement in Tokyo. The measures had been delayed because of haggling within the coalition government.
The Democratic Party of Japan, which took office in September pledging to support households battered by two decades of economic stagnation, is grappling with a slide in prices and a surging yen. The government will say third-quarter economic growth was slower than initially reported in revised figures tomorrow, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
“It’s a necessary step,” said Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo. “Without another stimulus package, it’s very likely that the economy will fall back into recession. The government simply can’t risk this right now.”
The yen has weakened since climbing to a 14-year high of 84.83 against the dollar on Nov. 27. The Japanese currency traded at 89.07 at 11:41 a.m. in Tokyo from 88.99 before the announcement. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.5 percent.
Deflation Risk
“Risk factors include a deterioration in employment conditions, sluggish demand because of deflationary pressure, a rise in long-term interest rates and movements in the currency markets,” the statement said.
“Excessive and disorderly movements in foreign-exchange rates can inflict considerable adverse impact on the economic recovery and the government will watch movements sternly.”
Japanese policy makers are adding stimulus measures just their counterparts around the world consider how to withdraw them as the global economy recovers.
The Bank of Japan released a 10 trillion yen credit program last week, satisfying government calls for it to do more to fight declining prices. Under the program, the central bank will offer three-month loans to commercial banks at 0.1 percent interest. In a meeting with central bank Governor Masaaki Shirakawa last week, Hatoyama applauded the move and refrained from pushing for further monetary easing.
Kamei’s Call
The People’s New Party, a junior coalition member headed by Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei, blocked the stimulus plan last week, calling for a larger package to defeat deflation.
Coalition parties agreed to boost the size of the measures by 100 billion yen to accommodate those requests. That increase will need to be funded with so-called construction bonds, Motohisa Furukawa, a vice minister at the Cabinet Office, told reporters late yesterday.
The government said some of the package will be paid for with funds frozen from the previous administration’s extra budget. It wants to avoid selling new bonds “as much as possible,” the statement said.
Japan has the world’s largest public debt, with liabilities that are approaching twice the size of the economy.
Bond Sales
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said bond sales for the current fiscal year will exceed tax revenue for the first time in the postwar period. The government will sell 53.5 trillion yen in bonds, more than the 44 trillion yen budgeted in April, he said. Tax revenue will slump to 36.9 trillion yen, less than the 46 trillion yen projected.
Today’s package includes 3 trillion yen in tax grants to local governments to make up for a revenue shortfall.
Heizo Takenaka, who was economy minister under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, yesterday attacked the government for lacking policy direction. “There’s no control tower in the policy-making system,” he said in an interview in Seoul.
The premier’s sliding popularity may hurt his party’s momentum ahead of upper house elections in July 2010. His approval rating fell below 60 percent for the first time, declining to 59 percent from last month’s 63 percent, the Yomiuri newspaper reported yesterday.
Exports Improve
Japan’s exports fell at the slowest pace in a year in October as worldwide government spending spurred demand for the nation’s products, a Finance Ministry report showed today. That helped the trade surplus expand 42.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.4 trillion yen.
Other reports show the expansion may be weakening. Industrial production advanced at the slowest pace in eight months in October, wages slid for a 17th month, and consumer prices fell a near-record 2.2 percent.
Gross domestic product rose at an annual 2.8 percent rate in the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of tomorrow’s revised figures. That would be slower than the 4.8 percent the Cabinet Office initially reported, reflecting figures last week that showed companies cut capital spending at a record pace in the period.
The world’s second-largest economy will probably shrink 5.4 percent this year, more than a 4.2 percent contraction in the euro area and a 2.7 percent drop in the U.S., the International Monetary Fund forecast in October.
Hatoyama’s first stimulus plan includes 3.5 trillion yen to help regions, 600 billion yen for employment and 800 billion yen on environmental initiatives, the Cabinet said today in a statement in Tokyo. The measures had been delayed because of haggling within the coalition government.
The Democratic Party of Japan, which took office in September pledging to support households battered by two decades of economic stagnation, is grappling with a slide in prices and a surging yen. The government will say third-quarter economic growth was slower than initially reported in revised figures tomorrow, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
“It’s a necessary step,” said Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo. “Without another stimulus package, it’s very likely that the economy will fall back into recession. The government simply can’t risk this right now.”
The yen has weakened since climbing to a 14-year high of 84.83 against the dollar on Nov. 27. The Japanese currency traded at 89.07 at 11:41 a.m. in Tokyo from 88.99 before the announcement. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.5 percent.
Deflation Risk
“Risk factors include a deterioration in employment conditions, sluggish demand because of deflationary pressure, a rise in long-term interest rates and movements in the currency markets,” the statement said.
“Excessive and disorderly movements in foreign-exchange rates can inflict considerable adverse impact on the economic recovery and the government will watch movements sternly.”
Japanese policy makers are adding stimulus measures just their counterparts around the world consider how to withdraw them as the global economy recovers.
The Bank of Japan released a 10 trillion yen credit program last week, satisfying government calls for it to do more to fight declining prices. Under the program, the central bank will offer three-month loans to commercial banks at 0.1 percent interest. In a meeting with central bank Governor Masaaki Shirakawa last week, Hatoyama applauded the move and refrained from pushing for further monetary easing.
Kamei’s Call
The People’s New Party, a junior coalition member headed by Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei, blocked the stimulus plan last week, calling for a larger package to defeat deflation.
Coalition parties agreed to boost the size of the measures by 100 billion yen to accommodate those requests. That increase will need to be funded with so-called construction bonds, Motohisa Furukawa, a vice minister at the Cabinet Office, told reporters late yesterday.
The government said some of the package will be paid for with funds frozen from the previous administration’s extra budget. It wants to avoid selling new bonds “as much as possible,” the statement said.
Japan has the world’s largest public debt, with liabilities that are approaching twice the size of the economy.
Bond Sales
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said bond sales for the current fiscal year will exceed tax revenue for the first time in the postwar period. The government will sell 53.5 trillion yen in bonds, more than the 44 trillion yen budgeted in April, he said. Tax revenue will slump to 36.9 trillion yen, less than the 46 trillion yen projected.
Today’s package includes 3 trillion yen in tax grants to local governments to make up for a revenue shortfall.
Heizo Takenaka, who was economy minister under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, yesterday attacked the government for lacking policy direction. “There’s no control tower in the policy-making system,” he said in an interview in Seoul.
The premier’s sliding popularity may hurt his party’s momentum ahead of upper house elections in July 2010. His approval rating fell below 60 percent for the first time, declining to 59 percent from last month’s 63 percent, the Yomiuri newspaper reported yesterday.
Exports Improve
Japan’s exports fell at the slowest pace in a year in October as worldwide government spending spurred demand for the nation’s products, a Finance Ministry report showed today. That helped the trade surplus expand 42.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.4 trillion yen.
Other reports show the expansion may be weakening. Industrial production advanced at the slowest pace in eight months in October, wages slid for a 17th month, and consumer prices fell a near-record 2.2 percent.
Gross domestic product rose at an annual 2.8 percent rate in the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of tomorrow’s revised figures. That would be slower than the 4.8 percent the Cabinet Office initially reported, reflecting figures last week that showed companies cut capital spending at a record pace in the period.
The world’s second-largest economy will probably shrink 5.4 percent this year, more than a 4.2 percent contraction in the euro area and a 2.7 percent drop in the U.S., the International Monetary Fund forecast in October.
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