The Sony PlayStation today reached 15 years since its launch.
The original PlayStation was released in Europe on 29 September 29 1995. It was Sony’s big break into the gaming industry, taking on established giants such as Nintendo and Sega.
It was a phenomenal success, becoming the first-ever games console to sell more than 100 million units.
Some of the most iconic games to come from the console include Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII and Grand Theft Auto.
The PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation 3 followed Sony’s initial landmark console, both finding great success in the gaming market.
The PlayStation Hub
Meanwhile, the PlayStation Hub in Dublin has seen more than 2,000 gamers walk through its doors since its launch 10 days ago.
The state-of-the-art gaming hub is located at 50 South William Street in Dublin city centre and offers gamers the chance to play upcoming new games for the PS3, such as Gran Turismo 5 and Killzone 3, and lets them test out the PlayStation Move.
“We are delighted that the PlayStation Hub has proven so popular during the first two weeks of opening,” said Niall O’Hanrahan, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland.
"Gamers of all ages are enjoying the opportunity to game for free in Dublin city centre and we hope they continue to enjoy the experience over the coming weeks."
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Ayodhya case verdict today, nation on high alert
With the central and state governments having taken adequate security measures ahead of the verdict on the title suits in the Babri Masjid-Ram-janmabhoomi case in Lucknow on Thursday, Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed confidence there would be no trouble after the judgment. Chidambaram said he did not “foresee any problems” as almost all political parties, religious groups and those associated with the dispute, have said they would respect the verdict of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
"The India story is a much bigger story and young people recognise the bigger story should not be derailed over the dispute over a piece of land,” he said in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Notwithstanding the confidence that there would not be any problems after the judgment, Chidambaram said the government had taken the necessary measures and deployed adequate security forces all over the country.
Regarding the Uttar Pradesh government’s demand for more central forces, Chidambaram said he had convinced the state that the 1,90,000 police personnel at its disposal would be enough.
For other parts of the country, government officials said the Centre had placed paramilitary forces at 16 locations — half of them near Indian Air Force stations — to enable quick movement of forces if an emergency breaks out.
Chidambaram said the ban on bulk messaging would continue till further orders. It was imposed recently after reports of some elements spreading mischievous messages pertaining to the Ayodhya dispute.
Chidambaram said as a lawyer, he expected one or more parties would appeal to the Supreme Court on aspects of the judgment they did not find in their favour.
Among the security measures taken by state governments, Karnataka has ordered all educational institutions in the state to be closed on Thursday and Friday. The state government has also place d a ban on any kind of celebration of the Ayodhya verdict.
"The India story is a much bigger story and young people recognise the bigger story should not be derailed over the dispute over a piece of land,” he said in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Notwithstanding the confidence that there would not be any problems after the judgment, Chidambaram said the government had taken the necessary measures and deployed adequate security forces all over the country.
Regarding the Uttar Pradesh government’s demand for more central forces, Chidambaram said he had convinced the state that the 1,90,000 police personnel at its disposal would be enough.
For other parts of the country, government officials said the Centre had placed paramilitary forces at 16 locations — half of them near Indian Air Force stations — to enable quick movement of forces if an emergency breaks out.
Chidambaram said the ban on bulk messaging would continue till further orders. It was imposed recently after reports of some elements spreading mischievous messages pertaining to the Ayodhya dispute.
Chidambaram said as a lawyer, he expected one or more parties would appeal to the Supreme Court on aspects of the judgment they did not find in their favour.
Among the security measures taken by state governments, Karnataka has ordered all educational institutions in the state to be closed on Thursday and Friday. The state government has also place d a ban on any kind of celebration of the Ayodhya verdict.
Mahindra Satyam: Start of a new innings
There was a lot of excitement from analysts when Mahindra Satyam declared its audited FY09 and FY10 results after nearly two years. For the year ended March 2010, they reported a loss of Rs 124.60 crore on net sales of Rs 5,481 crore for. For year ended March 2009, the restated earnings showed a net loss at Rs 8,176.8 crore on net sales of Rs 8,812.6 crore.
On CNBC-TV18, three key people, Vineet Nayyar, Chairman, CP Gurnani, CEO and S Durgashankar, CFO of Mahindra Satyam took us through the numbers in detail and analysed this mix bag of numbers and what the road ahead was for Mahindra and Satyam.
Below is a verbatim transcript of their interview. Also watch the accompanying videos.
Q: Now that the FY09 and FY10 numbers are done with, can you specifically tell us how much longer would it take for the merger details and what are the loopholes that you need to figure out before the merger goes through?
Nayyar: Our intention was declared on April 13th the day we acquired or we were declared as winners of Mahindra Satyam. That intention is there but we cannot start the merger proceedings till our accounts are current and these will happen when we give up first and second quarter results which will be somewhere by November 15th.
Thereafter we will be in a position to initiate the merger proceedings which are long, which are elaborate, which requires going to the two high courts, which requires appointing of accountants for purposes of determining the swap ratio, then the swap ratios have to be proved by the board of the two respective companies and by their AGMs and then finally we will merge.
Q: Coming to clients – there has been a lot of traction, there have been exits but you have been adding clients. Tell us how strong the traction is looking in terms of the kind of contracts that are coming in right now. Are we seeing big bang contracts coming in or are they probably a smaller size of about USD 20-30 million deals?
Gurnani: The company was over the last 500 days in a revival phase and now it is in the recovery phase and in that revival phase a lot of effort was made to retain existing customers, to also build up on a roadmap for growth because if I go too early into the growth phase, the chances of Mahindra Satyam being successful but very limited.
The fundamental fact is that every CFO - when a company like a Coke or a state firm insurance or Caterpillar closes the doors on you when they say because you don’t have a statement of accounts and our risk officer considers it a risk because he has no other way of knowing whether the company is sustainable or not whether its stable or not. I think that phase is behind us.
To us this announcement of our results on September 29 is frankly a very big historic moment for us. Now we can go back aggressively and assertively into the market where we can start now talking about it. So big bang projects, till yesterday were not available to us. I do not expect them to happen overnight but fundamentally we believe that it is a sheer and a firm step to recovery.
Q: Give us a number as to the kind of deals that are coming in? A rough estimate of the kind of deals that we will see and across what verticals?
Gurnani: The fundamental fact is that our deal flow was relatively slower than others in the industry because we were also in a situation where we were differently placed. So it’s not fair for me to say what kind of a deal flow. That phase that we have just closed on September 29, was a phase in which the effort was more on revival, the effort was more on assurance and now is a phase on full recovery, full growth and for the next 18 months my full-time activity would be to focus on growth.
Q: In terms of the overall revenue contribution – geography wise, can you breakup as to what are the key geographies you are looking at. Obviously US, UK being very important but if you can give us numbers as to how the revenue contribution as per geography has been broken up so far?
Durgashankar: Our main contributors are US and Europe. It is around two-thirds from the US and around 15-20% from Europe.
Q: What are the other geographies that are leading to growth?
Durgashankar: You can see we have covered substantial part. There is Asia-Pacific, so by and large after that it will be smaller numbers.
Q: Coming to the employee count – by FY10 there is 27,000 employees. You did point out that you are going to campuses; you have been giving out hikes. Can you give us an estimate of the kind of projection intake that you would be looking at for FY11?
Nayyar: I presume we will be going to the campuses for about 3,000 more youngsters to join our company.
Q: Aside from that?
Nayyar: Aside from that there will be hiring at the experienced level also. We have not quite decided 3,000 maybe under estimate, we may have to go to a higher number but we are just working at the details.
Q: You pointed out that there has been through FY09 and FY10 voluntary as well as involuntary attrition, can you throw some more light on that?
Nayyar: You know what the numbers were when the fraud was under unraveled, you know what the numbers are now, and the difference is the attrition numbers. What was voluntary and what was not voluntary. I do believe we now have a right sized company that we are focused in reaching the competencies which we have started. The company has been reorganized in a fashion to make sure that they continue to remain the cutting edge of Satyam and that is what we are working at.
Q: Is there a number that you can give us as to how many were voluntary and involuntary for the two years?
Gurnani: I don’t think we are declaring that number because it is one of the most painful things that we went through as individuals since acquiring the company was the involuntary separations. The fundamental fact is that we have been used to growing the companies, we have been used to treating all our employees as our family members.
This separation was not an easy process. We tried easing it in a form and shape that it causes the least amount of separation pain because overall the economy wasn’t doing all that great at the time when we went through this. We decided as a management team that we will try and not talk about the involuntary part and we will also not talk about the numbers.
Q: Can you tell us in a nutshell, how was the right sizing exercise carried out?
Gurnani: If you recall, the alarm bells went out on December 16, 2008. Between December 16 and April 13, almost 190 accounts had walked out of the door or made it clear their intentions to walk out of the door. Having coming in that kind of an environment, right sizing was not only in terms of employees, it was in terms of trying to right size the operating metrics, it was the right sizing of infrastructure and it was the right sizing of communication networks. Many things that you develop and create over a period of time, to get that to an optimum level has been a fairly long and tedious journey.
Nayyar: And at times painful.
Q: Coming to your liabilities that are there right now, the Rs 1,230 crore figure that 37 creditors are asking including Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, what is the status with these creditors? You have already said that this is unattainable – can you throw some light as to there has been any kind of discussion with them?
Nayyar: There have been no discussions with them. We believe that these are unattainable claims. They are going to court and the matter has already been taken cognizance off and so is the matter is sub-judice, I cannot talk about it any further. We will meet them in court.
Q: In terms of the UPAID transaction amount that was paid, has it been added to the P&L as yet or if not then by when are we expecting?
Nayyar: As soon as the money is transferred, we will make the necessary – but the provision has been made.
Q: Also talking about the class action lawsuits, what is the exact damage? What is the status with them, have there been discussions with them or are you willing to wait?
Nayyar: A class action suit normally has a life of about four years. We are going through that process; it is only a year and a half. I suspect this game will continue till about two-three years more. I am not very worried about it.
Q: Are there any more accounts left to be restated, any other details that need to be restated till the merger?
Nayyar: We have restated everything which had to be done. It is done and over with.
Q: Give us a final view on by when are we expecting a revival roadmap for Satyam and approximately what are the key areas that you have pointed out, obviously we are looking at a turnaround by when are we looking at a complete turnaround?
Gurnani: I think a complete turnaround will be when my growth percentage, when my utilization and when my profit percentages start getting into line with the industry. Ultimately whatever I might give you as a roadmap; the results have to speak for themselves.
What I am stating in front of you is exactly a plan or a roadmap which was submitted to the board of Tech Mahindra, which had representatives from Mahindras and independent directors about how this company would go through the stages of revival, growth and how we will start optimizing it for profit.
Q: What is the capex charted out for the next because you said that you will be expanding in Hyderabad, Chennai and couple of other areas?
Nayyar: I think at the moment it is about Rs 150 crore or so.
On CNBC-TV18, three key people, Vineet Nayyar, Chairman, CP Gurnani, CEO and S Durgashankar, CFO of Mahindra Satyam took us through the numbers in detail and analysed this mix bag of numbers and what the road ahead was for Mahindra and Satyam.
Below is a verbatim transcript of their interview. Also watch the accompanying videos.
Q: Now that the FY09 and FY10 numbers are done with, can you specifically tell us how much longer would it take for the merger details and what are the loopholes that you need to figure out before the merger goes through?
Nayyar: Our intention was declared on April 13th the day we acquired or we were declared as winners of Mahindra Satyam. That intention is there but we cannot start the merger proceedings till our accounts are current and these will happen when we give up first and second quarter results which will be somewhere by November 15th.
Thereafter we will be in a position to initiate the merger proceedings which are long, which are elaborate, which requires going to the two high courts, which requires appointing of accountants for purposes of determining the swap ratio, then the swap ratios have to be proved by the board of the two respective companies and by their AGMs and then finally we will merge.
Q: Coming to clients – there has been a lot of traction, there have been exits but you have been adding clients. Tell us how strong the traction is looking in terms of the kind of contracts that are coming in right now. Are we seeing big bang contracts coming in or are they probably a smaller size of about USD 20-30 million deals?
Gurnani: The company was over the last 500 days in a revival phase and now it is in the recovery phase and in that revival phase a lot of effort was made to retain existing customers, to also build up on a roadmap for growth because if I go too early into the growth phase, the chances of Mahindra Satyam being successful but very limited.
The fundamental fact is that every CFO - when a company like a Coke or a state firm insurance or Caterpillar closes the doors on you when they say because you don’t have a statement of accounts and our risk officer considers it a risk because he has no other way of knowing whether the company is sustainable or not whether its stable or not. I think that phase is behind us.
To us this announcement of our results on September 29 is frankly a very big historic moment for us. Now we can go back aggressively and assertively into the market where we can start now talking about it. So big bang projects, till yesterday were not available to us. I do not expect them to happen overnight but fundamentally we believe that it is a sheer and a firm step to recovery.
Q: Give us a number as to the kind of deals that are coming in? A rough estimate of the kind of deals that we will see and across what verticals?
Gurnani: The fundamental fact is that our deal flow was relatively slower than others in the industry because we were also in a situation where we were differently placed. So it’s not fair for me to say what kind of a deal flow. That phase that we have just closed on September 29, was a phase in which the effort was more on revival, the effort was more on assurance and now is a phase on full recovery, full growth and for the next 18 months my full-time activity would be to focus on growth.
Q: In terms of the overall revenue contribution – geography wise, can you breakup as to what are the key geographies you are looking at. Obviously US, UK being very important but if you can give us numbers as to how the revenue contribution as per geography has been broken up so far?
Durgashankar: Our main contributors are US and Europe. It is around two-thirds from the US and around 15-20% from Europe.
Q: What are the other geographies that are leading to growth?
Durgashankar: You can see we have covered substantial part. There is Asia-Pacific, so by and large after that it will be smaller numbers.
Q: Coming to the employee count – by FY10 there is 27,000 employees. You did point out that you are going to campuses; you have been giving out hikes. Can you give us an estimate of the kind of projection intake that you would be looking at for FY11?
Nayyar: I presume we will be going to the campuses for about 3,000 more youngsters to join our company.
Q: Aside from that?
Nayyar: Aside from that there will be hiring at the experienced level also. We have not quite decided 3,000 maybe under estimate, we may have to go to a higher number but we are just working at the details.
Q: You pointed out that there has been through FY09 and FY10 voluntary as well as involuntary attrition, can you throw some more light on that?
Nayyar: You know what the numbers were when the fraud was under unraveled, you know what the numbers are now, and the difference is the attrition numbers. What was voluntary and what was not voluntary. I do believe we now have a right sized company that we are focused in reaching the competencies which we have started. The company has been reorganized in a fashion to make sure that they continue to remain the cutting edge of Satyam and that is what we are working at.
Q: Is there a number that you can give us as to how many were voluntary and involuntary for the two years?
Gurnani: I don’t think we are declaring that number because it is one of the most painful things that we went through as individuals since acquiring the company was the involuntary separations. The fundamental fact is that we have been used to growing the companies, we have been used to treating all our employees as our family members.
This separation was not an easy process. We tried easing it in a form and shape that it causes the least amount of separation pain because overall the economy wasn’t doing all that great at the time when we went through this. We decided as a management team that we will try and not talk about the involuntary part and we will also not talk about the numbers.
Q: Can you tell us in a nutshell, how was the right sizing exercise carried out?
Gurnani: If you recall, the alarm bells went out on December 16, 2008. Between December 16 and April 13, almost 190 accounts had walked out of the door or made it clear their intentions to walk out of the door. Having coming in that kind of an environment, right sizing was not only in terms of employees, it was in terms of trying to right size the operating metrics, it was the right sizing of infrastructure and it was the right sizing of communication networks. Many things that you develop and create over a period of time, to get that to an optimum level has been a fairly long and tedious journey.
Nayyar: And at times painful.
Q: Coming to your liabilities that are there right now, the Rs 1,230 crore figure that 37 creditors are asking including Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, what is the status with these creditors? You have already said that this is unattainable – can you throw some light as to there has been any kind of discussion with them?
Nayyar: There have been no discussions with them. We believe that these are unattainable claims. They are going to court and the matter has already been taken cognizance off and so is the matter is sub-judice, I cannot talk about it any further. We will meet them in court.
Q: In terms of the UPAID transaction amount that was paid, has it been added to the P&L as yet or if not then by when are we expecting?
Nayyar: As soon as the money is transferred, we will make the necessary – but the provision has been made.
Q: Also talking about the class action lawsuits, what is the exact damage? What is the status with them, have there been discussions with them or are you willing to wait?
Nayyar: A class action suit normally has a life of about four years. We are going through that process; it is only a year and a half. I suspect this game will continue till about two-three years more. I am not very worried about it.
Q: Are there any more accounts left to be restated, any other details that need to be restated till the merger?
Nayyar: We have restated everything which had to be done. It is done and over with.
Q: Give us a final view on by when are we expecting a revival roadmap for Satyam and approximately what are the key areas that you have pointed out, obviously we are looking at a turnaround by when are we looking at a complete turnaround?
Gurnani: I think a complete turnaround will be when my growth percentage, when my utilization and when my profit percentages start getting into line with the industry. Ultimately whatever I might give you as a roadmap; the results have to speak for themselves.
What I am stating in front of you is exactly a plan or a roadmap which was submitted to the board of Tech Mahindra, which had representatives from Mahindras and independent directors about how this company would go through the stages of revival, growth and how we will start optimizing it for profit.
Q: What is the capex charted out for the next because you said that you will be expanding in Hyderabad, Chennai and couple of other areas?
Nayyar: I think at the moment it is about Rs 150 crore or so.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
India court orders closure of Vedanta smelter
Vedanta, the London-listed company founded by billionaire Anil Agarwal, has suffered a fresh blow in India, where a court has ordered the immediate shutdown of its massive copper smelter in the south citing violation of environmental laws in a sensitive coastal area.
Tuesday’s ruling by the Madras High Court came a month after India’s environment ministry rejected Vedanta’s plans to mine bauxite in the eastern state of Orissa, and during a sensitive time as New Delhi is considering whether to allow Vedanta to take a $9.6bn controlling stake in Cairn India, a rival which operates lucrative and strategically important oilfields in the northern state of Rajasthan.
The copper smelter in question is the Tuticorin plant in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has been operating for more than 12 years and which Vedanta has been planning to expand.
Critics had argued that the Tuticorn smelter – which is owned by Vedanta’s subsidiary Sterlite Industries – had caused unacceptable levels of air and groundwater pollution less than 25km from the Gulf of Mannar national marine park, one of the most bio-diverse coastal regions in Asia.
In their verdict, judges said the smelter was emitting noxious air pollution, that the plant’s effluents were hazardous and caused high levels of heavy metals, arsenic, and fluorides in the groundwater, and that the entire plant site was now “severely polluted.”
The judges also ruled that the plant’s location, being so close to the marine park, violated the company’s operating permissions from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control board, which specified the smelter should be located at least 25 kms away from any ecologically sensitive area.
The judges were quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the “unabated pollution” caused by the company should be stopped, at least for now, to protect “Mother Nature”.
Established in 1996, the Tuticorn smelter has annual capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes, and the company has been aiming to double that by the middle of next year.
Sterlite’s copper business generated around $2.8bn in revenues last year, according to the annual report.
Company executives said they were awaiting a full text of the judgement before deciding how to proceed. “The Tuticorin smelter has been operating for more than 12 years and has been in compliance with necessary rules and regulations,” the company said in an emailed statement to local journalists.
India has been stepping up its efforts to more tightly enforce environmental regulation and laws, amid growing concern about the ecological cost of its current development drive.
Lafarge, the global cement giant, recently had its plan for an integrated $187m cement plant in the sensitive Himalayas blocked by an environmental watchdog.
Tuesday’s ruling by the Madras High Court came a month after India’s environment ministry rejected Vedanta’s plans to mine bauxite in the eastern state of Orissa, and during a sensitive time as New Delhi is considering whether to allow Vedanta to take a $9.6bn controlling stake in Cairn India, a rival which operates lucrative and strategically important oilfields in the northern state of Rajasthan.
The copper smelter in question is the Tuticorin plant in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has been operating for more than 12 years and which Vedanta has been planning to expand.
Critics had argued that the Tuticorn smelter – which is owned by Vedanta’s subsidiary Sterlite Industries – had caused unacceptable levels of air and groundwater pollution less than 25km from the Gulf of Mannar national marine park, one of the most bio-diverse coastal regions in Asia.
In their verdict, judges said the smelter was emitting noxious air pollution, that the plant’s effluents were hazardous and caused high levels of heavy metals, arsenic, and fluorides in the groundwater, and that the entire plant site was now “severely polluted.”
The judges also ruled that the plant’s location, being so close to the marine park, violated the company’s operating permissions from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control board, which specified the smelter should be located at least 25 kms away from any ecologically sensitive area.
The judges were quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the “unabated pollution” caused by the company should be stopped, at least for now, to protect “Mother Nature”.
Established in 1996, the Tuticorn smelter has annual capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes, and the company has been aiming to double that by the middle of next year.
Sterlite’s copper business generated around $2.8bn in revenues last year, according to the annual report.
Company executives said they were awaiting a full text of the judgement before deciding how to proceed. “The Tuticorin smelter has been operating for more than 12 years and has been in compliance with necessary rules and regulations,” the company said in an emailed statement to local journalists.
India has been stepping up its efforts to more tightly enforce environmental regulation and laws, amid growing concern about the ecological cost of its current development drive.
Lafarge, the global cement giant, recently had its plan for an integrated $187m cement plant in the sensitive Himalayas blocked by an environmental watchdog.
PM to launch Unique Identification Numbers today
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will launch the issue of Unique Identification Numbers (Aadhaar) nationally by distributing the first set of numbers among the villagers in Maharashtra's Nandurbar District on Wednesday.
The Unique ID Authority of India started working in August 2009. The Government had committed to issuing the first set of Unique ID numbers in 12 to 18 months.
In the ensuing period of last one year, the infrastructure for this complex project has been set up. With the launch date for the project scheduled for September 29, the Unique ID Mission has achieved its goal of on-time delivery.
The goal of the UID Mission is to deliver Unique Identification Numbers (Aadhaar) to every resident in the country. In addition, it aims to establish a cost-effective, ubiquitous authentication infrastructure to easily verify these identities online and in real-time.
Today there are a large number of residents, especially the poorest and the most marginalized, who face challenges in accessing various public benefit programs due to the lack of possessing a clear identity proof.
The Aadhaar number will ease these difficulties in identification, by providing a nationally valid and verifiable single source of identity proof.
The UIDAI will ensure the uniqueness of the Aadhaar numbers through the use of biometric attributes (Finger Prints and Iris), which will be linked to the number. This will help agencies and service providers across India clean out duplicates and fakes from their databases.
The elimination of duplicate, ghost and fake identities across various schemes is expected to substantially improve the efficiency of the delivery systems by ensuring that the leakages are reduced and the benefits reach the right people.
The Aadhaar number will also enable the delivery of various services at the grass root level in a cost effective and efficient way. An example of such an Aadhaar-enabled service is in banking for the poor.
With the Aadhaar number, residents will be able to easily fulfill the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements of banks. They will be able to verify their identity through the Aadhaar number to banks both in person or remotely, using a mobile device.
As a result, banks will be able to provide branchless banking services to hard-to-reach rural regions, and the use of electronic transactions will further bring down costs. Similarly, electronic transfers of benefits and entitlements can be enabled through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
India will be the first country to implement a biometric-based unique ID system for its residents on a national scale.
The national launch of Aadhaar will herald a new chapter in the efforts of the Government in enabling inclusive growth and bringing in greater efficiency and transparency in governance.
Aadhaar has the potential to fundamentally transform the service delivery and governance in the country.
The Unique ID Authority of India started working in August 2009. The Government had committed to issuing the first set of Unique ID numbers in 12 to 18 months.
In the ensuing period of last one year, the infrastructure for this complex project has been set up. With the launch date for the project scheduled for September 29, the Unique ID Mission has achieved its goal of on-time delivery.
The goal of the UID Mission is to deliver Unique Identification Numbers (Aadhaar) to every resident in the country. In addition, it aims to establish a cost-effective, ubiquitous authentication infrastructure to easily verify these identities online and in real-time.
Today there are a large number of residents, especially the poorest and the most marginalized, who face challenges in accessing various public benefit programs due to the lack of possessing a clear identity proof.
The Aadhaar number will ease these difficulties in identification, by providing a nationally valid and verifiable single source of identity proof.
The UIDAI will ensure the uniqueness of the Aadhaar numbers through the use of biometric attributes (Finger Prints and Iris), which will be linked to the number. This will help agencies and service providers across India clean out duplicates and fakes from their databases.
The elimination of duplicate, ghost and fake identities across various schemes is expected to substantially improve the efficiency of the delivery systems by ensuring that the leakages are reduced and the benefits reach the right people.
The Aadhaar number will also enable the delivery of various services at the grass root level in a cost effective and efficient way. An example of such an Aadhaar-enabled service is in banking for the poor.
With the Aadhaar number, residents will be able to easily fulfill the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements of banks. They will be able to verify their identity through the Aadhaar number to banks both in person or remotely, using a mobile device.
As a result, banks will be able to provide branchless banking services to hard-to-reach rural regions, and the use of electronic transactions will further bring down costs. Similarly, electronic transfers of benefits and entitlements can be enabled through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
India will be the first country to implement a biometric-based unique ID system for its residents on a national scale.
The national launch of Aadhaar will herald a new chapter in the efforts of the Government in enabling inclusive growth and bringing in greater efficiency and transparency in governance.
Aadhaar has the potential to fundamentally transform the service delivery and governance in the country.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Roller Coaster Ride for Satyam Stock
It’s been a roller coaster ride for the shares of Satyam Computer Services, now known as Mahindra Satyam, over the past month ahead of the company’s release of its first financial statements in two years.
The stock of the beleaguered-but-recovering software company has traded in a band between 79 rupees ($1.75) and 113.80 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the month since Aug. 27 and has surged 17.2% in last month. In comparison, the 30-stock benchmark Sensex advanced 10.2% in the same period.
The company couldn’t declare results for the past two fiscal years after its founder, B. Ramalinga Raju, confessed in January 2009 that the firm’s balance sheets were a sham, and that he had been overstating the profits of the Bombay and New York-listed firm for years to the tune of more than $1 billion.
On Wednesday, the company will disclose results for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2010. The company is also in the process of restating its accounts for the past six to seven years, providing the first accurate look at the firm’s performance in years.
The firm’s American depository receipts took a pummeling on Friday, ending 24% down, after the Hyderabad-based company—once India’s fourth largest software exporter—said last week that it plans to de-list from the New York Stock Exchange as it expects to miss the Oct. 15 deadline to file financial statements with U.S. regulators.
On Monday Satyam closed down 3.7% at 96.45 rupees ($2.14) on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex ended 0.4% higher.
“Generally the market should be a bit wary as not too much is known about the performance,” said a Mumbai-based analyst, who asked not to be named.
Citigroup expects Satyam to post net profit of 6.18 billion rupees ($136.9 million), or 5.30 rupees ($0.12) a share, on revenue of 52.14 billion rupees for the 2010 fiscal year ended March 31, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortization, or Ebitda, margins at 13%.
The bank expects this fiscal year net profit at 9.15 billion rupees or 7.80 rupees a share, on revenue of 59.11 billion rupees, with Ebitda margins not more than 19%.
Market players expect stock to be range bound till the results are declared.
The recent run-up in the shares of the company is due to “over optimism” and expectations of a double-digit margin performance, said another analyst.
“I don’t see any fundamental trigger for the stock to go up from these levels,” he added.
The company will also report results for this year’s April-June and July-September quarters on or before Nov. 15.
The stock of the beleaguered-but-recovering software company has traded in a band between 79 rupees ($1.75) and 113.80 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the month since Aug. 27 and has surged 17.2% in last month. In comparison, the 30-stock benchmark Sensex advanced 10.2% in the same period.
The company couldn’t declare results for the past two fiscal years after its founder, B. Ramalinga Raju, confessed in January 2009 that the firm’s balance sheets were a sham, and that he had been overstating the profits of the Bombay and New York-listed firm for years to the tune of more than $1 billion.
On Wednesday, the company will disclose results for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2010. The company is also in the process of restating its accounts for the past six to seven years, providing the first accurate look at the firm’s performance in years.
The firm’s American depository receipts took a pummeling on Friday, ending 24% down, after the Hyderabad-based company—once India’s fourth largest software exporter—said last week that it plans to de-list from the New York Stock Exchange as it expects to miss the Oct. 15 deadline to file financial statements with U.S. regulators.
On Monday Satyam closed down 3.7% at 96.45 rupees ($2.14) on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex ended 0.4% higher.
“Generally the market should be a bit wary as not too much is known about the performance,” said a Mumbai-based analyst, who asked not to be named.
Citigroup expects Satyam to post net profit of 6.18 billion rupees ($136.9 million), or 5.30 rupees ($0.12) a share, on revenue of 52.14 billion rupees for the 2010 fiscal year ended March 31, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortization, or Ebitda, margins at 13%.
The bank expects this fiscal year net profit at 9.15 billion rupees or 7.80 rupees a share, on revenue of 59.11 billion rupees, with Ebitda margins not more than 19%.
Market players expect stock to be range bound till the results are declared.
The recent run-up in the shares of the company is due to “over optimism” and expectations of a double-digit margin performance, said another analyst.
“I don’t see any fundamental trigger for the stock to go up from these levels,” he added.
The company will also report results for this year’s April-June and July-September quarters on or before Nov. 15.
Michael Douglas’ ‘Wall Street 2′ tops weekend box-office with $19m
Washington, Sep 27 (ANI): Michael Douglas’ return as the formerly “greed is good”-hyping Gekko in ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ topped the weekend box office with an estimated 19 million dollars.
And the film is the cancer-stricken actor’s first No. 1 opener since 2001’s ‘Don’t Say a Word.
However, the film is co-star Shia LaBeouf’s sixth No. 1 movie since just 2007.
However, the 100 million dollar, 3-D-priced ‘Legend of the Guardians’ got off to a non-flying second-place start, with 16.3 million dollars.
Ben Affleck’s ‘The Town’- last weekend’s No. 1-got bumped to third with 16 million dollars, reports E! Online.
Rounding up the top five were ‘Easy A’ and ‘You Again’ with 10.7 million and 8.3 million dollars respectively.
Here’s a complete look at the weekend’s top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, 19 million dollars
2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, 16.3 million dollars
3. The Town, 16 million dollars
4. Easy A, 10.7 million dollars
5. You Again, 8.3 million dollars
6. Devil, 6.5 million dollars
7. Resident Evil: Afterlife, 4.9 million dollars
8. Alpha and Omega, 4.7 million dollars
9. Takers, 1.7 million dollars
10. Inception, 1.2 million dollars (ANI)
And the film is the cancer-stricken actor’s first No. 1 opener since 2001’s ‘Don’t Say a Word.
However, the film is co-star Shia LaBeouf’s sixth No. 1 movie since just 2007.
However, the 100 million dollar, 3-D-priced ‘Legend of the Guardians’ got off to a non-flying second-place start, with 16.3 million dollars.
Ben Affleck’s ‘The Town’- last weekend’s No. 1-got bumped to third with 16 million dollars, reports E! Online.
Rounding up the top five were ‘Easy A’ and ‘You Again’ with 10.7 million and 8.3 million dollars respectively.
Here’s a complete look at the weekend’s top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, 19 million dollars
2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, 16.3 million dollars
3. The Town, 16 million dollars
4. Easy A, 10.7 million dollars
5. You Again, 8.3 million dollars
6. Devil, 6.5 million dollars
7. Resident Evil: Afterlife, 4.9 million dollars
8. Alpha and Omega, 4.7 million dollars
9. Takers, 1.7 million dollars
10. Inception, 1.2 million dollars (ANI)
Google Doodle: 12th birthday cake for search engine
Google has marked its 12th anniversary with a 'doodle' painting of a cake by 89-year-old Los Angeles artist Wayne Thiebaud.
Users visiting the search engine's home page are greeted with a picture of a cake whose candle represents the 'L' in the Google logo.
The California-based company was first incorporated as a privately held corporation on 27 September 1998.
Thiebaud's work, reproduced by permission of VAGA, Visual Artists and Galleries Association, includes many cakes, most painted in the 1950s and 1960s.
He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his work is earlier than the likes of Andy Warhol.
It is a more straightforward 'doodle' than the recent ball game animation that distracted millions of internet users.
Before that, Google marked the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the "buckyball", a spherical dome of exotic molecules of carbon, with a special moving design.
The animated logo replaced the logo's middle O letter with an orange ball. It then formed into the "buckyball", which is a form of carbon composed of 60 atoms.
By scrolling their mouse across the logo, users could twist and turn the ball, which has replaced the search engine's usual logo on its home page.
The new interactive doodles follow one produced in May to celebrate the 30th birthday of Pac-Man.
That design, which went public on Friday, May 21, 2010, was the first doodle to be fully interactive. The Pac-Man character could be moved by using the arrow keys on the user's keyboard.
Google Doodles have become newsworthy in their own right after the technology firm started using the customised versions of its logo to mark what it considered significant occasions.
The first of them was used in August 1998 when Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the firm's founders, designed one for the Burning Man Festival.
In October 1999, it produced a Halloween doodle: the first after the firm switched to a new logo.
The first "Christmas card" doodle was presented in 1999, on Christmas Day, featuring a snowman and flakes drifting onto the name.
Mother's and Father's Day doodles appeared in May and June 2000 respectively before the firm started noting more esoteric and, let's face it, interesting occasions.
On October 7, 2009, it did "Google" as a bar code to recognise the anniversary of its invention in 1948 by Bernard Silver, which some saw as a significant shift away from human language and towards machine language.
On Saturday, June 5, 2010, a hologram replaced the logo to honour Dennis Gabor, the inventor of holograms.
Most recently the firm marked the 71st anniversary of the Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz with a doodle of Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow walking down the Yellow Brick Road towards a landscape with "Google" on it. Perhaps it's a metaphor.
Mary Shelley, the British author of Frankenstein, had the 213th anniversary of her birth celebrated by a spooky Google Doodle late last month.
Users visiting the search engine's home page are greeted with a picture of a cake whose candle represents the 'L' in the Google logo.
The California-based company was first incorporated as a privately held corporation on 27 September 1998.
Thiebaud's work, reproduced by permission of VAGA, Visual Artists and Galleries Association, includes many cakes, most painted in the 1950s and 1960s.
He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his work is earlier than the likes of Andy Warhol.
It is a more straightforward 'doodle' than the recent ball game animation that distracted millions of internet users.
Before that, Google marked the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the "buckyball", a spherical dome of exotic molecules of carbon, with a special moving design.
The animated logo replaced the logo's middle O letter with an orange ball. It then formed into the "buckyball", which is a form of carbon composed of 60 atoms.
By scrolling their mouse across the logo, users could twist and turn the ball, which has replaced the search engine's usual logo on its home page.
The new interactive doodles follow one produced in May to celebrate the 30th birthday of Pac-Man.
That design, which went public on Friday, May 21, 2010, was the first doodle to be fully interactive. The Pac-Man character could be moved by using the arrow keys on the user's keyboard.
Google Doodles have become newsworthy in their own right after the technology firm started using the customised versions of its logo to mark what it considered significant occasions.
The first of them was used in August 1998 when Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the firm's founders, designed one for the Burning Man Festival.
In October 1999, it produced a Halloween doodle: the first after the firm switched to a new logo.
The first "Christmas card" doodle was presented in 1999, on Christmas Day, featuring a snowman and flakes drifting onto the name.
Mother's and Father's Day doodles appeared in May and June 2000 respectively before the firm started noting more esoteric and, let's face it, interesting occasions.
On October 7, 2009, it did "Google" as a bar code to recognise the anniversary of its invention in 1948 by Bernard Silver, which some saw as a significant shift away from human language and towards machine language.
On Saturday, June 5, 2010, a hologram replaced the logo to honour Dennis Gabor, the inventor of holograms.
Most recently the firm marked the 71st anniversary of the Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz with a doodle of Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow walking down the Yellow Brick Road towards a landscape with "Google" on it. Perhaps it's a metaphor.
Mary Shelley, the British author of Frankenstein, had the 213th anniversary of her birth celebrated by a spooky Google Doodle late last month.
Tata Steel, JSW May Raise Prices 4% on Increasing Farm Demand, RBS Says
Tata Steel Ltd., Steel Authority of India Ltd. and JSW Steel ltd., the nation’s top producers, may raise prices by as much as 4 percent next month because of lower imports from China and a surge in rural demand, RBS Equities (India) Ltd. said.
Prices, which rose an average 4 percent in September, are likely to gain for the second consecutive month, said Rahul Jain, an analyst at RBS in Mumbai. The bulk of demand may come from farmers who are expected to spend more during the festival season after a robust monsoon, said Nikhil Agarwal, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities India Ltd. in New Delhi.
An above-average monsoon, the main source of irrigation for the nation’s 235 million farmers, is expected to produce a record crop this year, boosting agricultural incomes and sales of homes, tractors and motorcycles. China’s move to restrict power supplies to mills will likely diminish exports to India, lifting demand for Indian-made steel.
“Indian steelmakers lost out to imports in the first five months of this fiscal year,” said Jain, who has a “buy” rating on shares of Tata Steel and Steel Authority and a “hold” rating for JSW. “In China, there are efforts to lower output, which may lead to a drop in shipments to India.”
Tata Steel shares rose 1 percent to 629.95 rupees on Sept. 24, while Steel Authority gained 0.8 percent to 205.95 rupees. JSW Steel advanced 1.5 percent to 1,275.80 rupees.
Diwali Demand
India’s steel demand, which grew 7.6 percent last fiscal year, is forecast to grow 10 percent in the year ending March 31, helped by demand for automobiles and spending on roads and ports, G.K. Basak, executive secretary of steel ministry’s joint plant committee, said on Sept. 6. Sales of cars, motorcycles and houses start increasing from September and peak on the day of Diwali, the festival of lights, usually in November.
“Higher international prices and estimated demand in India leaves room for some price increase in October,” JSW Marketing Director Jayant Acharya said on Sept. 23.
Benchmark world hot rolled coil prices rose 3.6 percent this month, according to Steel Business Briefing.
The monsoon this month in India has been 122 percent of the 50-year average as of Sept. 14, in contrast with last year when rains were the least since 1972. The nation may have a record corn crop in excess of 20 million metric tons in the year through June 2011, according to Adani Enterprises Ltd., the country’s biggest non-state trader of farm goods. The wheat harvest may be a record 82 million tons.
Construction companies, which stopped work in northern and western India due to excessive rains, will restart, adding to the demand, Kim Eng’s Agarwal said. India’s passenger-car sales jumped 33 percent from a year ago to a record in August.
The rise in demand since September has led to a drop in inventory levels of steelmakers, RBS’s Jain said.
Steel Authority’s inventory fell 11.3 percent to 496,127 tons as of Sept. 22 from 559,061 tons on Aug. 15, while deliveries rose 66.2 percent. JSW also expects a 100,000-ton drop in inventory by Sept. 30 from the June 30 level, Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Pai said on Sept. 23.
Prices, which rose an average 4 percent in September, are likely to gain for the second consecutive month, said Rahul Jain, an analyst at RBS in Mumbai. The bulk of demand may come from farmers who are expected to spend more during the festival season after a robust monsoon, said Nikhil Agarwal, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities India Ltd. in New Delhi.
An above-average monsoon, the main source of irrigation for the nation’s 235 million farmers, is expected to produce a record crop this year, boosting agricultural incomes and sales of homes, tractors and motorcycles. China’s move to restrict power supplies to mills will likely diminish exports to India, lifting demand for Indian-made steel.
“Indian steelmakers lost out to imports in the first five months of this fiscal year,” said Jain, who has a “buy” rating on shares of Tata Steel and Steel Authority and a “hold” rating for JSW. “In China, there are efforts to lower output, which may lead to a drop in shipments to India.”
Tata Steel shares rose 1 percent to 629.95 rupees on Sept. 24, while Steel Authority gained 0.8 percent to 205.95 rupees. JSW Steel advanced 1.5 percent to 1,275.80 rupees.
Diwali Demand
India’s steel demand, which grew 7.6 percent last fiscal year, is forecast to grow 10 percent in the year ending March 31, helped by demand for automobiles and spending on roads and ports, G.K. Basak, executive secretary of steel ministry’s joint plant committee, said on Sept. 6. Sales of cars, motorcycles and houses start increasing from September and peak on the day of Diwali, the festival of lights, usually in November.
“Higher international prices and estimated demand in India leaves room for some price increase in October,” JSW Marketing Director Jayant Acharya said on Sept. 23.
Benchmark world hot rolled coil prices rose 3.6 percent this month, according to Steel Business Briefing.
The monsoon this month in India has been 122 percent of the 50-year average as of Sept. 14, in contrast with last year when rains were the least since 1972. The nation may have a record corn crop in excess of 20 million metric tons in the year through June 2011, according to Adani Enterprises Ltd., the country’s biggest non-state trader of farm goods. The wheat harvest may be a record 82 million tons.
Construction companies, which stopped work in northern and western India due to excessive rains, will restart, adding to the demand, Kim Eng’s Agarwal said. India’s passenger-car sales jumped 33 percent from a year ago to a record in August.
The rise in demand since September has led to a drop in inventory levels of steelmakers, RBS’s Jain said.
Steel Authority’s inventory fell 11.3 percent to 496,127 tons as of Sept. 22 from 559,061 tons on Aug. 15, while deliveries rose 66.2 percent. JSW also expects a 100,000-ton drop in inventory by Sept. 30 from the June 30 level, Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Pai said on Sept. 23.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Satyam to delist ADRs from NYSE
MUMBAI: IT firm Mahindra Satyam said on Friday it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange in mid-October due to non-compliance, adding that it would likely miss its deadline to report financial results for fiscal year 2009.
Satyam shocked investors in January 2009 when the firm's former chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju said its profits had been overstated and assets falsified in a fraud allegedly worth over $1.5 billion.
The company on Tuesday said its board will review its audited financial results for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 on Sept. 29, which analysts say will take it closer to a merger with parent Tech Mahindra. Tech Mahindra, which bought Satyam in April 2009 and is operating it as an independent company, has said it can only merge the firm into the parent after the restated results for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 are announced.
Satyam's auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers had said all Satyam audit reports from 2000 through 2008 should no longer be relied upon, after the revelation of the fraud. Analysts do not expect the company to restate numbers earlier than the 2008/09 fiscal year (April-March). Satyam, which once ranked as India's No. 4 outsourcing firm, has not reported results beyond the September quarter in 2008.
Satyam faces class action lawsuits from shareholders in the United States, which were filed after a sharp plunge in its New York-listed shares following the revelation of the fraud. The company has also received legal notices claiming a refund of 12.3 billion rupees ($265 million) by 37 companies, which Mahindra Satyam has said are "legally untenable".
Last December, Satyam agreed to pay $70 million to Britain's Upaid Systems Ltd to settle a patent suit and in August won a New York court ruling to withhold taxes on the payment.
Satyam shocked investors in January 2009 when the firm's former chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju said its profits had been overstated and assets falsified in a fraud allegedly worth over $1.5 billion.
The company on Tuesday said its board will review its audited financial results for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 on Sept. 29, which analysts say will take it closer to a merger with parent Tech Mahindra. Tech Mahindra, which bought Satyam in April 2009 and is operating it as an independent company, has said it can only merge the firm into the parent after the restated results for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 are announced.
Satyam's auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers had said all Satyam audit reports from 2000 through 2008 should no longer be relied upon, after the revelation of the fraud. Analysts do not expect the company to restate numbers earlier than the 2008/09 fiscal year (April-March). Satyam, which once ranked as India's No. 4 outsourcing firm, has not reported results beyond the September quarter in 2008.
Satyam faces class action lawsuits from shareholders in the United States, which were filed after a sharp plunge in its New York-listed shares following the revelation of the fraud. The company has also received legal notices claiming a refund of 12.3 billion rupees ($265 million) by 37 companies, which Mahindra Satyam has said are "legally untenable".
Last December, Satyam agreed to pay $70 million to Britain's Upaid Systems Ltd to settle a patent suit and in August won a New York court ruling to withhold taxes on the payment.
‘Peepli Live’ makes it to the Oscars!
Mumbai: Well, Aamir Khan has done it again. ‘Peepli Live’ has been selected as India’s official entry at the 83rd Academy Awards to be held in US next year in 2011.
Speaking to a news daily Supran Sen, secretary general of the Film Federation of India said, “Peepli Live has been selected as India`s official entry for the Oscars out of 27 films.”
The film produced and promoted by Aamir Khan has gone on to become India’s calling card from world’s most prestigious film awards – the Oscars! Peepli Live has been short listed in the Best Foreign Film category.
Holding the megaphone for the first time, the director of ‘Peepli Live’ Anusha Rizvi is no less than a revelation for the evolving Indian cinema. The movie is satirical take on farmer suicides in India and how media and politicians tackle the issue.
Reportedly, the film even earned appreciation from the Prime Minister of India as it was screened for him and his family members and some close friends.
This is third time lucky for Aamir Khan Production as the actor`s previous films ‘Lagaan’ (2001) and ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007) were also selected to represent India at the Academy awards.
‘Laagan’, which saw Aamir playing a farmer in British Raj, was shortlisted in a category of five but lost to Bosnian war film ‘No Man`s Land’.
The story of ‘Peepli Live’ follows two poor farmers who face losing their land over an unpaid debt after poor monsoon rains. A local politician suggests they commit suicide so their families get compensation.
A journalist overhears one of the farmers apparently urging the other to end his own life, triggering a media frenzy about whether he will go through with it, lampooning India`s sensationalist television news channels.
The film is a black comedy and in fact a brave attempt to expose India’s underbelly.
Speaking to a news daily Supran Sen, secretary general of the Film Federation of India said, “Peepli Live has been selected as India`s official entry for the Oscars out of 27 films.”
The film produced and promoted by Aamir Khan has gone on to become India’s calling card from world’s most prestigious film awards – the Oscars! Peepli Live has been short listed in the Best Foreign Film category.
Holding the megaphone for the first time, the director of ‘Peepli Live’ Anusha Rizvi is no less than a revelation for the evolving Indian cinema. The movie is satirical take on farmer suicides in India and how media and politicians tackle the issue.
Reportedly, the film even earned appreciation from the Prime Minister of India as it was screened for him and his family members and some close friends.
This is third time lucky for Aamir Khan Production as the actor`s previous films ‘Lagaan’ (2001) and ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007) were also selected to represent India at the Academy awards.
‘Laagan’, which saw Aamir playing a farmer in British Raj, was shortlisted in a category of five but lost to Bosnian war film ‘No Man`s Land’.
The story of ‘Peepli Live’ follows two poor farmers who face losing their land over an unpaid debt after poor monsoon rains. A local politician suggests they commit suicide so their families get compensation.
A journalist overhears one of the farmers apparently urging the other to end his own life, triggering a media frenzy about whether he will go through with it, lampooning India`s sensationalist television news channels.
The film is a black comedy and in fact a brave attempt to expose India’s underbelly.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Finalising Mining Bill as per GoM's suggestions: Mines Secy
NEW DELHI: Amid a furore over 26 per cent profit-sharing with locals under the proposed new mining law and demands for watering down the provision for PSUs, the Mines Ministry today said its final draft will go with the recommendations of the Group of Ministers.
"Based on the discussion of the Group of Ministers (GoM), the final draft of the new mining bill is being prepared by the Mines Ministry and will be placed before the GoM. After that it is to be sent to the Cabinet," Mines Secretary S Vijay Kumar told PTI.
Last week, the 10-member ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived at a consensus on the Mining Bill, which, among other things, makes it mandatory for companies to share 26 per cent of the profits from mining with project-affected people.
The GoM will meet soon to clear the final draft of the Bill.
Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is a part of the GoM, has sought a "special consideration" for PSUs like SAIL and NMDC, a proposal termed by industrialist-turned politician Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel and Power as discriminatory. The firm has also termed the proposed 26 per profit-sharing regime to be too high.
Besides Jindal, the Tatas have also criticised the proposed levy and asked the government not to charge it as a separate tax, saying that social obligation is part of the operating cost of the company.
The new Bill has proposed that companies share 26 per cent of the profits from mining with the locals who lose land. For such profit-sharing, the GoM has proposed creation of a District Mineral Foundation, for disbursement of benefits to the locals.
It also proposes that in case a mine is non-functional, or running in losses, the firms should compensate the people affected by land acquisition by paying them an amount equal to the royalty given to state governments.
The royalty paid by mining companies to state governments runs into hundreds of crores of rupees.
The new Bill seeks to expedite the grant of mineral concessions in a transparent manner and attract big-ticket investments in the sector.
Mines Minister B K Handique had earlier said the ministry plans to introduce the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament to replace the existing Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957.
The new legislation is being framed at a time when UPA Chief Sonia Gandhi has voiced concerns over land acquisition norms. Gandhi had said she favours the Haryana model, where farmers are provided lucrative compensation in addition to annuity for 33 years.
"Based on the discussion of the Group of Ministers (GoM), the final draft of the new mining bill is being prepared by the Mines Ministry and will be placed before the GoM. After that it is to be sent to the Cabinet," Mines Secretary S Vijay Kumar told PTI.
Last week, the 10-member ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived at a consensus on the Mining Bill, which, among other things, makes it mandatory for companies to share 26 per cent of the profits from mining with project-affected people.
The GoM will meet soon to clear the final draft of the Bill.
Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is a part of the GoM, has sought a "special consideration" for PSUs like SAIL and NMDC, a proposal termed by industrialist-turned politician Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel and Power as discriminatory. The firm has also termed the proposed 26 per profit-sharing regime to be too high.
Besides Jindal, the Tatas have also criticised the proposed levy and asked the government not to charge it as a separate tax, saying that social obligation is part of the operating cost of the company.
The new Bill has proposed that companies share 26 per cent of the profits from mining with the locals who lose land. For such profit-sharing, the GoM has proposed creation of a District Mineral Foundation, for disbursement of benefits to the locals.
It also proposes that in case a mine is non-functional, or running in losses, the firms should compensate the people affected by land acquisition by paying them an amount equal to the royalty given to state governments.
The royalty paid by mining companies to state governments runs into hundreds of crores of rupees.
The new Bill seeks to expedite the grant of mineral concessions in a transparent manner and attract big-ticket investments in the sector.
Mines Minister B K Handique had earlier said the ministry plans to introduce the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament to replace the existing Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957.
The new legislation is being framed at a time when UPA Chief Sonia Gandhi has voiced concerns over land acquisition norms. Gandhi had said she favours the Haryana model, where farmers are provided lucrative compensation in addition to annuity for 33 years.
Mahindra Satyam scrip scales 8-month peak, soars 15 pc on BSE
MUMBAI: IT firm Mahindra Satyam scrip on Wednesday rallied by 14.90 per cent to hit an eight-month high of Rs 109.45 at the Bombay Stock Exchange, as investors anticipated strong financial performance by the company for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Mahindra Satyam, formerly known as Satyam Computers, will be announcing its results on September 29. It had not published its financial results since its founder B Ramalinga Raju in January 2009 admitted to fudging the company's accounts for years.
Following the revelation, the company's administration was taken over by a government-nominated Company Law Board (CLB), which subsequently cleared sale of the company to Mahindra Group.
The CLB on a request from Mahindras had allowed the company to submit the audited re-stated accounts for the last two fiscal years by September 30, after the latter failed to meet the June 30 deadline.
"The fundamentals of the company are very strong with the management of Mahindra Group, and the market is expecting excellent results from the company next week, which is triggering the upmove in the stock," Geojit BNP Paribas Assistant Vice President Gaurang Shah said.
The rise of 14.90 percent in the company scrip price was significant as the broader market turned weak during the afternoon session, before finally ending in the negative zone.
The 30-share benchmark gauge Sensex that crossed the magical 20,000-mark yesterday after 32 months, today lost momentum and closed 59.83 points lower at 19,941.72. Mahindra Satyam was trading at Rs 107.65 at the BSE, a rise of 13.02 per cent since yesterday's close.
Exactly an year ago on Sep 22, 2009, shares of Mahindra Satyam had hit a one-year high of Rs 123 on BSE.
The scrip was doing well at the National Stock Exchange too, where it ended 13.13 per cent higher at Rs 107.70 at the day's close. In terms of volume, over 16 crore shares were traded on both the bourses.
Apart from Mahindra Satyam, most of the IT stocks underperformed, in line with the weaker broad market.
IT giant Infosys Technologies, which carries the maximum weight on Sensex after RIL, remained under pressure and ended at Rs 3.011.60, down 1.53 per cent from the previous close.
Similarly, TCS also finished the day on a weak note at Rs 936.25, down 1.73 per cent from previous close.
Satyam Computers will come out with its financials for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10 on September 29, for the first time since its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to falsifying the company's accounts.
Mahindra Satyam, formerly known as Satyam Computers, will be announcing its results on September 29. It had not published its financial results since its founder B Ramalinga Raju in January 2009 admitted to fudging the company's accounts for years.
Following the revelation, the company's administration was taken over by a government-nominated Company Law Board (CLB), which subsequently cleared sale of the company to Mahindra Group.
The CLB on a request from Mahindras had allowed the company to submit the audited re-stated accounts for the last two fiscal years by September 30, after the latter failed to meet the June 30 deadline.
"The fundamentals of the company are very strong with the management of Mahindra Group, and the market is expecting excellent results from the company next week, which is triggering the upmove in the stock," Geojit BNP Paribas Assistant Vice President Gaurang Shah said.
The rise of 14.90 percent in the company scrip price was significant as the broader market turned weak during the afternoon session, before finally ending in the negative zone.
The 30-share benchmark gauge Sensex that crossed the magical 20,000-mark yesterday after 32 months, today lost momentum and closed 59.83 points lower at 19,941.72. Mahindra Satyam was trading at Rs 107.65 at the BSE, a rise of 13.02 per cent since yesterday's close.
Exactly an year ago on Sep 22, 2009, shares of Mahindra Satyam had hit a one-year high of Rs 123 on BSE.
The scrip was doing well at the National Stock Exchange too, where it ended 13.13 per cent higher at Rs 107.70 at the day's close. In terms of volume, over 16 crore shares were traded on both the bourses.
Apart from Mahindra Satyam, most of the IT stocks underperformed, in line with the weaker broad market.
IT giant Infosys Technologies, which carries the maximum weight on Sensex after RIL, remained under pressure and ended at Rs 3.011.60, down 1.53 per cent from the previous close.
Similarly, TCS also finished the day on a weak note at Rs 936.25, down 1.73 per cent from previous close.
Satyam Computers will come out with its financials for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10 on September 29, for the first time since its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to falsifying the company's accounts.
U.S. Loses No. 1 to Brazil-China-India Market in Investor Poll
Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has fallen behind emerging markets in Brazil, China and India as the preferred place to invest, a Bloomberg survey shows, though the world’s largest economy still ranks highest of all major developed countries.
The U.S. ranked first three months ago in the last quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. Along with the slipping perceptions of the U.S. markets in the most recent survey, conducted Sept. 16-17, poll respondents say the Federal Reserve is likely to take further steps to try to bolster the economy.
In the September poll of 1,408 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers, respondents rate the U.S. fourth for potential returns over the next year, behind Brazil and China, tied for first, and India, in third place.
The U.S. economic situation “is obviously unsustainable, and the concerted attempt to suspend disbelief is playing increasingly poorly abroad,” says poll respondent Eric Kraus, chief strategist for Otkritie Brokerage House in Moscow. “One can delay, but no one can forestall the unwind of a multidecade credit bubble.”
Economic reports released since the June poll show U.S. GDP growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the second quarter from 3.7 percent in the first quarter. In the final quarter of last year, GDP grew at a 5.0 percent annual rate.
Expectations for U.S. GDP growth next year have dropped to a median forecast of 2.5 percent in September from 2.9 percent in June, according to Bloomberg’s monthly survey of economists.
S&P Rise
Since the June survey, U.S. stock markets have been on the rise. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 3.62 percent since the last investor poll was completed June 3. That’s not as much as Brazil’s Bovespa Index, which is up 10.56 percent and India’s Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, which is up 10.44 percent. The U.S. stocks still did better than China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which has risen 1.41 percent since June 3.
“I think the U.S. will get back on track, but not in the next 6-12 months,” says poll respondent Thomas Knudsen, a senior trader with OW Supply & Trading in Copenhagen.
Two-thirds of investors say they believe Federal Reserve policy makers, who meet today, will ease monetary policy through bond purchases by the end of the year. A similar 65 percent majority say the Fed bond purchases won’t boost U.S. economic growth.
Overall, investors give the central bank favorable marks, with a 57 percent majority believing its monetary policy is “about right.” More say it has been too aggressive, the view of 26 percent, than say it has been too timid, a view held by 14 percent.
Popular Bernanke
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is viewed favorably by 71 percent of respondents, up from 67 percent in June. He ranks highest in a list of eight global leaders and policy makers that includes President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
Only 1 out of 6 investors believes the U.S. economy is currently improving, though a 45 percent plurality considers the U.S. “stable.” Another 37 percent believe the U.S. is deteriorating.
The poll also shows that confidence in the dollar has slipped since June, when 63 percent of investors believed the U.S. currency would rise against the euro during the following three months. Forecasts are now evenly divided: 34 percent now expect a stronger dollar in three months; 32 percent expect little change; and 30 percent a weaker dollar.
The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Co., of Des Moines, Iowa, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
No ‘Lost Decade’
Investors are confident the U.S. will avoid some of the worst outcomes. Seven out of 10 investors say they believe there is little or no risk of a U.S. double-dip recession. Six out of 10 investors see little or no risk the U.S. will endure a Japan- like “Lost Decade” of minimal or no growth.
“There is a black cloud overhead, but the worst is not yet to come,” says J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co.
Still, investors are wary of the record U.S. budget deficits. A 53 percent majority sees a big or moderate risk the budget deficit will provoke a crisis of confidence within two years that will spur “a dramatic rise” in long-term interest rates.
Poll respondent Dieter Buchholz, head of equities at Falcon Private Bank in Zurich, said market sentiment could turn against U.S. debt if the bipartisan debt commission appointed by Obama fails to spur a credible reduction in long-term deficits or Congress bucks the White House to expand the deficit by extending Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.
‘Confidence Crisis’
“When the non-Americans see that efforts by the administration to balance the budget are fruitless, then I think you will get a confidence crisis,” Buchholz said.
In July, the White House budget office forecast the federal deficit would be a record $1.47 trillion for 2010 and $1.42 trillion for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Poll respondents were evenly split on whether the current U.S. Treasury bond market is a bubble. In six months, 49 percent expect yields on the 10-year Treasury note to be higher versus 26 percent who expect yields to be lower.
Their view of the U.S. stock market is bullish: 49 percent expect the S&P 500 to be higher in six months, while 28 percent say it will be lower.
Poll respondents in the U.S. are more optimistic about their nation as a place for investment; 35 percent of U.S. investors name it as a top market, just behind Brazil. Outside the U.S., that number drops to 17 percent.
The U.S. ranked first three months ago in the last quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. Along with the slipping perceptions of the U.S. markets in the most recent survey, conducted Sept. 16-17, poll respondents say the Federal Reserve is likely to take further steps to try to bolster the economy.
In the September poll of 1,408 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers, respondents rate the U.S. fourth for potential returns over the next year, behind Brazil and China, tied for first, and India, in third place.
The U.S. economic situation “is obviously unsustainable, and the concerted attempt to suspend disbelief is playing increasingly poorly abroad,” says poll respondent Eric Kraus, chief strategist for Otkritie Brokerage House in Moscow. “One can delay, but no one can forestall the unwind of a multidecade credit bubble.”
Economic reports released since the June poll show U.S. GDP growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the second quarter from 3.7 percent in the first quarter. In the final quarter of last year, GDP grew at a 5.0 percent annual rate.
Expectations for U.S. GDP growth next year have dropped to a median forecast of 2.5 percent in September from 2.9 percent in June, according to Bloomberg’s monthly survey of economists.
S&P Rise
Since the June survey, U.S. stock markets have been on the rise. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 3.62 percent since the last investor poll was completed June 3. That’s not as much as Brazil’s Bovespa Index, which is up 10.56 percent and India’s Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, which is up 10.44 percent. The U.S. stocks still did better than China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which has risen 1.41 percent since June 3.
“I think the U.S. will get back on track, but not in the next 6-12 months,” says poll respondent Thomas Knudsen, a senior trader with OW Supply & Trading in Copenhagen.
Two-thirds of investors say they believe Federal Reserve policy makers, who meet today, will ease monetary policy through bond purchases by the end of the year. A similar 65 percent majority say the Fed bond purchases won’t boost U.S. economic growth.
Overall, investors give the central bank favorable marks, with a 57 percent majority believing its monetary policy is “about right.” More say it has been too aggressive, the view of 26 percent, than say it has been too timid, a view held by 14 percent.
Popular Bernanke
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is viewed favorably by 71 percent of respondents, up from 67 percent in June. He ranks highest in a list of eight global leaders and policy makers that includes President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
Only 1 out of 6 investors believes the U.S. economy is currently improving, though a 45 percent plurality considers the U.S. “stable.” Another 37 percent believe the U.S. is deteriorating.
The poll also shows that confidence in the dollar has slipped since June, when 63 percent of investors believed the U.S. currency would rise against the euro during the following three months. Forecasts are now evenly divided: 34 percent now expect a stronger dollar in three months; 32 percent expect little change; and 30 percent a weaker dollar.
The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Co., of Des Moines, Iowa, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
No ‘Lost Decade’
Investors are confident the U.S. will avoid some of the worst outcomes. Seven out of 10 investors say they believe there is little or no risk of a U.S. double-dip recession. Six out of 10 investors see little or no risk the U.S. will endure a Japan- like “Lost Decade” of minimal or no growth.
“There is a black cloud overhead, but the worst is not yet to come,” says J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co.
Still, investors are wary of the record U.S. budget deficits. A 53 percent majority sees a big or moderate risk the budget deficit will provoke a crisis of confidence within two years that will spur “a dramatic rise” in long-term interest rates.
Poll respondent Dieter Buchholz, head of equities at Falcon Private Bank in Zurich, said market sentiment could turn against U.S. debt if the bipartisan debt commission appointed by Obama fails to spur a credible reduction in long-term deficits or Congress bucks the White House to expand the deficit by extending Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.
‘Confidence Crisis’
“When the non-Americans see that efforts by the administration to balance the budget are fruitless, then I think you will get a confidence crisis,” Buchholz said.
In July, the White House budget office forecast the federal deficit would be a record $1.47 trillion for 2010 and $1.42 trillion for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Poll respondents were evenly split on whether the current U.S. Treasury bond market is a bubble. In six months, 49 percent expect yields on the 10-year Treasury note to be higher versus 26 percent who expect yields to be lower.
Their view of the U.S. stock market is bullish: 49 percent expect the S&P 500 to be higher in six months, while 28 percent say it will be lower.
Poll respondents in the U.S. are more optimistic about their nation as a place for investment; 35 percent of U.S. investors name it as a top market, just behind Brazil. Outside the U.S., that number drops to 17 percent.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Piramal starts phase-II clinical trials of diabetes drug
Piramal Life Sciences today said it has started phase-II clinical trials of a molecule, aimed at treating diabetes, in Europe and India.
The company today initiated the phase-II study of 'P1736-05', an insulin sensitising compound, which is being developed for the treatment of type-2 diabetes, in India and Europe, Piramal Life Sciences said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
"The commencement of phase-II trial of P1736-05 in India and Europe speaks of our efforts to build a diversified and strong pipeline of products to address unmet medical needs," Piramal Life Sciences Managing Director Somesh Sharma said.
He further added: "P1736-05 is likely to provide a safe and effective therapeutic option to type-2 diabetic patients."
Phase-II clinical trials are tests conducted on a small select sample of human patients after passing the Phase-I, which is done on a smaller sample.
While, the company has been granted an approval by Indian regulatory authorities, in Europe various EU regulatory authorities like CCMO of Netherlands and NIP of Hungary have granted an approval for conducting the trials, it added.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Type-2 Diabetes Melitus is an emerging worldwide health crisis with an incidence rate of 300 million by 2025.
Type-2 Diabetes Melitus or non-insulin dependent diabetes accounts for about 95 per cent of the diabetic population.
Shares of Piramal Life Sciences were trading at Rs 191.40 in late afternoon trade on the BSE, up 4.99 per cent from its previous close.
The company today initiated the phase-II study of 'P1736-05', an insulin sensitising compound, which is being developed for the treatment of type-2 diabetes, in India and Europe, Piramal Life Sciences said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
"The commencement of phase-II trial of P1736-05 in India and Europe speaks of our efforts to build a diversified and strong pipeline of products to address unmet medical needs," Piramal Life Sciences Managing Director Somesh Sharma said.
He further added: "P1736-05 is likely to provide a safe and effective therapeutic option to type-2 diabetic patients."
Phase-II clinical trials are tests conducted on a small select sample of human patients after passing the Phase-I, which is done on a smaller sample.
While, the company has been granted an approval by Indian regulatory authorities, in Europe various EU regulatory authorities like CCMO of Netherlands and NIP of Hungary have granted an approval for conducting the trials, it added.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Type-2 Diabetes Melitus is an emerging worldwide health crisis with an incidence rate of 300 million by 2025.
Type-2 Diabetes Melitus or non-insulin dependent diabetes accounts for about 95 per cent of the diabetic population.
Shares of Piramal Life Sciences were trading at Rs 191.40 in late afternoon trade on the BSE, up 4.99 per cent from its previous close.
IOC hikes petrol prices by 27 paise per litre from Monday night
The public sector Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) today announced a marginal hike of 27 paise per litre in the price of its non-branded petrol in Delhi from midnight tonight in an effort to bring the prices to market parity.
In Delhi, the new price will be Rs 51.83 a litre against Rs 51.56 earlier. The price will go up from Rs 55.40 to Rs 55.69 in Kolkata, Rs 55.97 to Rs 56.25 in Mumbai and Rs 56.02 to Rs 56.31 in Chennai, IOC said.
Sources said the other state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) -- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited -- were also likely to follow suit in the next two or three days.
An IOC official said the hike had become necessary because of the rise in the prices of crude oil.
The Centre had in June freed the prices of petrol from government control and this is the first time since then that the OMCs have hiked prices.
The different OMCs are said to have decided to announce hikes on different days in order to avoid charges of acting as a cartel.
In Delhi, the new price will be Rs 51.83 a litre against Rs 51.56 earlier. The price will go up from Rs 55.40 to Rs 55.69 in Kolkata, Rs 55.97 to Rs 56.25 in Mumbai and Rs 56.02 to Rs 56.31 in Chennai, IOC said.
Sources said the other state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) -- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited -- were also likely to follow suit in the next two or three days.
An IOC official said the hike had become necessary because of the rise in the prices of crude oil.
The Centre had in June freed the prices of petrol from government control and this is the first time since then that the OMCs have hiked prices.
The different OMCs are said to have decided to announce hikes on different days in order to avoid charges of acting as a cartel.
Cotton to Extend Rally Amid Tight Supply, Trader Says
Cotton, trading at more than $1 per pound in New York for the first time since 1995, may extend its rally as supplies fail to keep pace with demand, according to trader Gill & Co.
Prices may climb by a further 10 cents to 15 cents in the next 15 days to a month, Chairman and Managing Director Kantilal V. Shah said in a phone interview. Cotton jumped as much as 3.8 percent to $1.0198 today, the highest since June 1995.
“You’ve never seen such a hectic rise,” said Shah, whose Mumbai-based company has been trading cotton for more than a century. “It has broken the rules.”
Cotton has surged 62 percent in the past year on slumping inventories and as excess rain in China and floods in Pakistan damaged crops. The global stockpiles-to-usage ratio is forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to decline to the lowest since 1994.
“Everybody is looking out for cotton because everybody is short,” said Shah, referring to mills that don’t have enough of the raw material. “Supplies all over the world are tight.”
The commodity is the best performer over the past year on the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Index. The most-active contract, for delivery in December, added 3 percent to $1.0118 on ICE Futures U.S. at 2:32 p.m. Mumbai time.
Futures may surge to $1.25 by January as supplies dwindle, O.A. Cleveland, a professor emeritus in agricultural economics at Mississippi State University, said Sept. 14. Prices may reach as much as $1.05 within six weeks, John Flanagan, president of Flanagan Trading Corp., said Sept. 15.
Trade Curbs
Adverse weather in China, the biggest grower and user, and export curbs in India are bolstering prices, Flanagan said.
India, the second-biggest producer and exporter, will limit shipments to 5.5 million bales in the season starting Oct. 1 and will impose “prohibitive” duties on exports above that level, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said earlier this month. A bale weighs 170 kilograms (375 pounds) in India.
Global cotton stockpiles will decline 3.3 percent to 45.4 million bales at the end of the marketing year on July 31, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. That’s equal to 38 percent of demand, the lowest ratio since 1994. A U.S. bale weighs about 480 pounds (218 kilograms).
Prices may climb by a further 10 cents to 15 cents in the next 15 days to a month, Chairman and Managing Director Kantilal V. Shah said in a phone interview. Cotton jumped as much as 3.8 percent to $1.0198 today, the highest since June 1995.
“You’ve never seen such a hectic rise,” said Shah, whose Mumbai-based company has been trading cotton for more than a century. “It has broken the rules.”
Cotton has surged 62 percent in the past year on slumping inventories and as excess rain in China and floods in Pakistan damaged crops. The global stockpiles-to-usage ratio is forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to decline to the lowest since 1994.
“Everybody is looking out for cotton because everybody is short,” said Shah, referring to mills that don’t have enough of the raw material. “Supplies all over the world are tight.”
The commodity is the best performer over the past year on the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Index. The most-active contract, for delivery in December, added 3 percent to $1.0118 on ICE Futures U.S. at 2:32 p.m. Mumbai time.
Futures may surge to $1.25 by January as supplies dwindle, O.A. Cleveland, a professor emeritus in agricultural economics at Mississippi State University, said Sept. 14. Prices may reach as much as $1.05 within six weeks, John Flanagan, president of Flanagan Trading Corp., said Sept. 15.
Trade Curbs
Adverse weather in China, the biggest grower and user, and export curbs in India are bolstering prices, Flanagan said.
India, the second-biggest producer and exporter, will limit shipments to 5.5 million bales in the season starting Oct. 1 and will impose “prohibitive” duties on exports above that level, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said earlier this month. A bale weighs 170 kilograms (375 pounds) in India.
Global cotton stockpiles will decline 3.3 percent to 45.4 million bales at the end of the marketing year on July 31, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. That’s equal to 38 percent of demand, the lowest ratio since 1994. A U.S. bale weighs about 480 pounds (218 kilograms).
James Bond Producers Said to Join Sahara Bid for MGM Studio
The Broccoli family, producers of the James Bond movies and co-owners of the franchise with Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., are involved in Sahara India Pariwar’s $2 billion bid to buy the debt-laden studio, said a person with knowledge of the offer.
Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael G. Wilson are part of the Sahara India offer and would receive an undisclosed equity stake in MGM if it succeeds, said the person, who sought anonymity because the discussions are private.
It wasn’t clear whether Broccoli and Wilson would have a management role in the Los Angeles-based studio, the person said. Sahara India, based in Lucknow, offered $2 billion for MGM’s more than $3.7 billion in debt, the Associated Press reported on Sept. 17.
The overture comes as MGM’s creditors are scheduled to vote this week on a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan to restructure the company’s debt by converting it to equity in a merger with Hollywood producer Spyglass Entertainment. Sahara India has interests in finance, infrastructure and housing, media, consumer products, manufacturing and services, according to its website. Its entertainment operations include cable-television channels, film production and cinema chains.
The talks involve Sahara India’s “mutual interest” with MGM, Abhijit Sarkar, head of corporate communications at Sahara India Pariwar, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. He declined to add to the statement today, saying “it’s too early to comment on the issue.”
Susie Arons, an outside spokeswoman for MGM, declined to comment, as did Stephanie Wenborn, a spokeswoman for the Broccolis’ London-based EON Productions.
Creditor Vote
Under MGM’s pre-packaged bankruptcy plan that creditors will vote on, Spyglass Entertainment co-chairmen Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, who produced “The Sixth Sense” and “Seabiscuit”, would operate the studio and swap the rights to their film library for a 5 percent stake in the new company.
On April 19, EON Productions, the James Bond production company controlled by Broccoli and Wilson, said they would suspend development on the next instalment in the 007 series, which was previously scheduled for release in late 2011.
“Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on Bond 23 indefinitely,” EON said then in a statement.
EON has produced 22 Bond films since 1962. Broccoli and Wilson have run the studio since 1995, when they took over from the late Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who initially controlled the franchise rights. The family owns a 50 percent stake in the franchise, with MGM’s United Artists studios owning the other 50 percent. EON controls the merchandise rights while the studio handles film-related distribution.
Broccoli and Wilson asked Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. film unit to stay involved in the MGM bidding, people with knowledge of the situation said in May. A $1.5 billion bid by Time Warner was rejected as too low, people with knowledge of the matter said in March.
Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael G. Wilson are part of the Sahara India offer and would receive an undisclosed equity stake in MGM if it succeeds, said the person, who sought anonymity because the discussions are private.
It wasn’t clear whether Broccoli and Wilson would have a management role in the Los Angeles-based studio, the person said. Sahara India, based in Lucknow, offered $2 billion for MGM’s more than $3.7 billion in debt, the Associated Press reported on Sept. 17.
The overture comes as MGM’s creditors are scheduled to vote this week on a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan to restructure the company’s debt by converting it to equity in a merger with Hollywood producer Spyglass Entertainment. Sahara India has interests in finance, infrastructure and housing, media, consumer products, manufacturing and services, according to its website. Its entertainment operations include cable-television channels, film production and cinema chains.
The talks involve Sahara India’s “mutual interest” with MGM, Abhijit Sarkar, head of corporate communications at Sahara India Pariwar, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. He declined to add to the statement today, saying “it’s too early to comment on the issue.”
Susie Arons, an outside spokeswoman for MGM, declined to comment, as did Stephanie Wenborn, a spokeswoman for the Broccolis’ London-based EON Productions.
Creditor Vote
Under MGM’s pre-packaged bankruptcy plan that creditors will vote on, Spyglass Entertainment co-chairmen Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, who produced “The Sixth Sense” and “Seabiscuit”, would operate the studio and swap the rights to their film library for a 5 percent stake in the new company.
On April 19, EON Productions, the James Bond production company controlled by Broccoli and Wilson, said they would suspend development on the next instalment in the 007 series, which was previously scheduled for release in late 2011.
“Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on Bond 23 indefinitely,” EON said then in a statement.
EON has produced 22 Bond films since 1962. Broccoli and Wilson have run the studio since 1995, when they took over from the late Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who initially controlled the franchise rights. The family owns a 50 percent stake in the franchise, with MGM’s United Artists studios owning the other 50 percent. EON controls the merchandise rights while the studio handles film-related distribution.
Broccoli and Wilson asked Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. film unit to stay involved in the MGM bidding, people with knowledge of the situation said in May. A $1.5 billion bid by Time Warner was rejected as too low, people with knowledge of the matter said in March.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Silver surges by Rs 350 to record high, gold rebounds by Rs 90
NEW DELHI: Maintaining its upward journey, silver surged by Rs 350 to a new peak of Rs 32,800 per kg in the national capital today on hectic buying by stockists, driven by a bullish trend in global markets.
In line with the general firming trend, gold rebounded by Rs 90 to Rs 19,440 per 10 grams on fresh buying by jewellers for the festive and marriage season amid firm global cues.
Silver, which has been on a record-setting spree over the past one week, added Rs 350 to Rs 32,800 per kg on hectic buying by industrial units and coin manufacturers.
The trading sentiment was extremely buoyant after gold surged to a record high in global markets as dollar weakness spurred demand for the precious metal as an investment haven.
In global markets, which normally set the price trend on the domestic front, silver touched a fresh 30-month high of USD 20.95 an ounce, its highest level since May, 2008.
Similarly, gold advanced by 0.4 per cent to a record high of USD 1,280.80 per 10 grams.
Silver ready remained in demand and surged further by Rs 350 to Rs 32,800 per kg, a level never seen before. Silver weekly-based delivery jumped up by Rs 410 to an all-time high of Rs 32,435 per kg. Silver coins also gained Rs 200 to Rs 35,200 for buying and Rs 35,300 for selling of 100 pieces.
Gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity rebounded by Rs 90 each to Rs 19,440 and Rs 19,340 per 10 grams, respectively. The precious metal had lost Rs 150 in the previous trading session.
However, sovereigns remained flat at Rs 15,200 per piece of eight grams in restricted trade.
In line with the general firming trend, gold rebounded by Rs 90 to Rs 19,440 per 10 grams on fresh buying by jewellers for the festive and marriage season amid firm global cues.
Silver, which has been on a record-setting spree over the past one week, added Rs 350 to Rs 32,800 per kg on hectic buying by industrial units and coin manufacturers.
The trading sentiment was extremely buoyant after gold surged to a record high in global markets as dollar weakness spurred demand for the precious metal as an investment haven.
In global markets, which normally set the price trend on the domestic front, silver touched a fresh 30-month high of USD 20.95 an ounce, its highest level since May, 2008.
Similarly, gold advanced by 0.4 per cent to a record high of USD 1,280.80 per 10 grams.
Silver ready remained in demand and surged further by Rs 350 to Rs 32,800 per kg, a level never seen before. Silver weekly-based delivery jumped up by Rs 410 to an all-time high of Rs 32,435 per kg. Silver coins also gained Rs 200 to Rs 35,200 for buying and Rs 35,300 for selling of 100 pieces.
Gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity rebounded by Rs 90 each to Rs 19,440 and Rs 19,340 per 10 grams, respectively. The precious metal had lost Rs 150 in the previous trading session.
However, sovereigns remained flat at Rs 15,200 per piece of eight grams in restricted trade.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Govt raises DA to 45%; to cost exchequer Rs 9,303 cr per annum
New Delhi: Ahead of the festive season, the central government today raised Dearness Allowance by 10 percentage points to 45 per cent of basic pay, benefiting about 88 lakh employees and pensioners.
The decision to provide higher DA to employees will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 9,303.2 crore per annum, an official spokesperson said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, where it was decided to raise the allowance.
The new DA will be paid to central government employees and pensioners with effect from July 1, 2010, and the burden during the current fiscal has been estimated at Rs 6,202.1 crore.
"Increase in DA is in accordance with the formula based on the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission," the spokesperson added.
The existing rate of DA, which is paid as percentage of basic pay to compensate employees for the rising cost of living, is 35 per cent.
Inflation stood at 8.5 per cent in August, while food inflation is hovering above 15 per cent, according to the new WPI indices.
The increase in DA comes ahead of the Dussehra and Diwali festivals in October and November, respectively. The decision will benefit about 50 lakh central government employees and about 38 lakh pensioners.
The decision to provide higher DA to employees will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 9,303.2 crore per annum, an official spokesperson said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, where it was decided to raise the allowance.
The new DA will be paid to central government employees and pensioners with effect from July 1, 2010, and the burden during the current fiscal has been estimated at Rs 6,202.1 crore.
"Increase in DA is in accordance with the formula based on the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission," the spokesperson added.
The existing rate of DA, which is paid as percentage of basic pay to compensate employees for the rising cost of living, is 35 per cent.
Inflation stood at 8.5 per cent in August, while food inflation is hovering above 15 per cent, according to the new WPI indices.
The increase in DA comes ahead of the Dussehra and Diwali festivals in October and November, respectively. The decision will benefit about 50 lakh central government employees and about 38 lakh pensioners.
.DLF May Start Apartment Sales at Its First Mumbai Project Before December
DLF Ltd., India’s biggest developer, may start selling residential apartments at its first project in Mumbai by December, said Saurabh Chawla, executive director for finance.
The New Delhi-based company plans to develop 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters) of homes on former textile mill land in Lower Parel in central Mumbai, and may start offering the apartments this year, Chawla said.
“We are waiting for all our approvals and will launch the project only when we receive all the sanctions,” Chawla said in an interview in New Delhi yesterday. “It should happen sometime by the end of the third quarter” of this financial year ending March 31.
Lower Parel has emerged as an office district after defunct textile mill land was sold for commercial development. High-end residential projects such as Lodha Developers Ltd.’s World One, which claims to be India’s tallest residential tower, are being built in the area.
DLF may earn as much as $2 billion from the project by selling apartments for more than 20,000 rupees ($431) a square foot, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets estimated in a note to clients dated Aug. 25.
The rush of developers to the area signals there may be an oversupply, analysts Suhas Harinarayanan, Suman Memani and Arun Aggarwal at Religare Capital Markets Ltd., said in a June note.
“Lower Parel is likely to see a supply of over 10 million square feet in the next 3 to 4 years, making it an over-supply zone ” the analysts said.
DLF, whose main developments are in Gurgaon near New Delhi, expects to reduce its net debt levels by 40 billion rupees to 145 billion rupees in the year ending March 31, Chawla said. DLF will earn annuity and rental income of about 18 billion rupees in the period, he said.
The developer also is seeking to sell a stake in the luxury Aman Resorts chain to a strategic partner and expects to complete the transaction this financial year, Chawla said.
The New Delhi-based company plans to develop 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters) of homes on former textile mill land in Lower Parel in central Mumbai, and may start offering the apartments this year, Chawla said.
“We are waiting for all our approvals and will launch the project only when we receive all the sanctions,” Chawla said in an interview in New Delhi yesterday. “It should happen sometime by the end of the third quarter” of this financial year ending March 31.
Lower Parel has emerged as an office district after defunct textile mill land was sold for commercial development. High-end residential projects such as Lodha Developers Ltd.’s World One, which claims to be India’s tallest residential tower, are being built in the area.
DLF may earn as much as $2 billion from the project by selling apartments for more than 20,000 rupees ($431) a square foot, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets estimated in a note to clients dated Aug. 25.
The rush of developers to the area signals there may be an oversupply, analysts Suhas Harinarayanan, Suman Memani and Arun Aggarwal at Religare Capital Markets Ltd., said in a June note.
“Lower Parel is likely to see a supply of over 10 million square feet in the next 3 to 4 years, making it an over-supply zone ” the analysts said.
DLF, whose main developments are in Gurgaon near New Delhi, expects to reduce its net debt levels by 40 billion rupees to 145 billion rupees in the year ending March 31, Chawla said. DLF will earn annuity and rental income of about 18 billion rupees in the period, he said.
The developer also is seeking to sell a stake in the luxury Aman Resorts chain to a strategic partner and expects to complete the transaction this financial year, Chawla said.
RBI raises policy rates, loans may get costlier
The Reserve Bank of India raised its main lending rate by 0.25 percentage point on Thursday and its borrowing rate by a larger-than-expected 0.50 percentage point, as it continues with the monetary tightening measures to cool inflation.
These hikes would be effective with immediate effect. Bankers said that there is possibility of a hike in lending rates and deposit rates.
An NDTV poll suggested that the RBI could increase repo and reverse repo rates by 25 basis points.
The Reserve Bank of India's repurchase rate (repo), or its overnight lending rate, now stands at 6 per cent, while the reverse repurchase rate, or borrowing rate, is at 5 per cent.
This is the first mid-quarter review of the central bank since it announced in July that the rate-setting meeting would be held at six-week intervals, instead of every quarter. This will help the Reserve Bank of India avoid making surprise moves between meetings.
Recent inflation and indusial growth numbers suggested that the central bank may continue with its monetary tightening measures. The strong economic growth has also given the central bank some headroom for tightening rates.
Despite a slight easing trend in inflation, it still remained at uncomfortable levels. The headline inflation for August remained elevated at 9.5 per cent, according to the old index.
Food prices, the main driver of Indian inflation, have again shown an upward trend after a brief period of moderation in July and first half of August. Food inflation accelerated to above 15 per cent in the first week of September. And food prices are not expected to ease significantly until the summer-sown crops boost supplies.
Industrial output growth for July was at a better-than-expected 13.8 per cent, making a case for further monetary tightening. India's GDP grew by 8.8 per cent in the first quarter, against 6 per cent in the April-June period last fiscal.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, commenting on the August inflation numbers, said, "There is no room for complacency... we must continue to be vigilant and be prepared with the instruments of fiscal and monetary policy to use them as and when the need arises."
These hikes would be effective with immediate effect. Bankers said that there is possibility of a hike in lending rates and deposit rates.
An NDTV poll suggested that the RBI could increase repo and reverse repo rates by 25 basis points.
The Reserve Bank of India's repurchase rate (repo), or its overnight lending rate, now stands at 6 per cent, while the reverse repurchase rate, or borrowing rate, is at 5 per cent.
This is the first mid-quarter review of the central bank since it announced in July that the rate-setting meeting would be held at six-week intervals, instead of every quarter. This will help the Reserve Bank of India avoid making surprise moves between meetings.
Recent inflation and indusial growth numbers suggested that the central bank may continue with its monetary tightening measures. The strong economic growth has also given the central bank some headroom for tightening rates.
Despite a slight easing trend in inflation, it still remained at uncomfortable levels. The headline inflation for August remained elevated at 9.5 per cent, according to the old index.
Food prices, the main driver of Indian inflation, have again shown an upward trend after a brief period of moderation in July and first half of August. Food inflation accelerated to above 15 per cent in the first week of September. And food prices are not expected to ease significantly until the summer-sown crops boost supplies.
Industrial output growth for July was at a better-than-expected 13.8 per cent, making a case for further monetary tightening. India's GDP grew by 8.8 per cent in the first quarter, against 6 per cent in the April-June period last fiscal.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, commenting on the August inflation numbers, said, "There is no room for complacency... we must continue to be vigilant and be prepared with the instruments of fiscal and monetary policy to use them as and when the need arises."
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Exports in Aug up 22.5%; trade gap a concern
Exports grew by an annual 22.5 per cent to $ 16.64 billion in August on improved global demand for Indian merchandise, giving policy makers confidence about achieving the $ 200 billion target for the fiscal.
Imports jumped at a higher pace of 32.2 per cent to $ 29.7 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of $ 13.06 billion, which is a cause for worry.
"Things are going so far according to our plan and we should be able to reach over exports target of $ 200 billion," Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said.
Expressing optimism, exporters body FIEO said that with this growth rate, exports would even surpass the $ 200 billion target and reach $ 210 billion.
Meanwhile, industry reported a 13.8 per cent growth in July, beating by a wide margin the market estimates of a single digit growth.
However, the rate of "heady growth" witnessed in the first quarter of the year has clearly decelerated, Khullar said.
He said while there is a marked improvement in exports during 2010-11 over the previous year "you are well below the $ 17.8 billion which was achieved in August 2008-09".
With imports rising on the back of 8.8 per cent economic growth in the first quarter of the fiscal, ballooning gap between exports and imports (trade deficit) remains the main area of concern for the government.
For the April-August period, the trade deficit aggregated $ 56.62 billion with a monthly average of $
11.2 billion.
The year may end with a trade gap of $ 135 billion. "The gap will be very very large, even compared to $ 118 billion, that we had two years ago."
During April-August this fiscal, exports posted a growth of 28.6 per cent to $ 85.27 billion on a year-on-year basis. Imports during the period grew by 33.1 per cent to $141.89 billion.
The sectors, which registered a healthy rate of exports growth during the first four months of the current financial include cotton yarn and fabric (41 per cent), gems and jewellery (28 per cent), iron ore (84 per cent), chemicals (23 per cent), engineering (40 per cent) and petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) (50 per cent).
However, segments like readymade garments, handicrafts, handlooms and carpets are still in a bad shape, he said.
During April-August 2010-11, segments that witnessed a good growth rate include POL, which was up 31.7 per cent, fertilisers (79 per cent), vegetable oil (67 per cent), coal (43 per cent), iron and steel (64 per cent), gold (27.7 per cent) and machinery (20 per cent).
Imports jumped at a higher pace of 32.2 per cent to $ 29.7 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of $ 13.06 billion, which is a cause for worry.
"Things are going so far according to our plan and we should be able to reach over exports target of $ 200 billion," Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said.
Expressing optimism, exporters body FIEO said that with this growth rate, exports would even surpass the $ 200 billion target and reach $ 210 billion.
Meanwhile, industry reported a 13.8 per cent growth in July, beating by a wide margin the market estimates of a single digit growth.
However, the rate of "heady growth" witnessed in the first quarter of the year has clearly decelerated, Khullar said.
He said while there is a marked improvement in exports during 2010-11 over the previous year "you are well below the $ 17.8 billion which was achieved in August 2008-09".
With imports rising on the back of 8.8 per cent economic growth in the first quarter of the fiscal, ballooning gap between exports and imports (trade deficit) remains the main area of concern for the government.
For the April-August period, the trade deficit aggregated $ 56.62 billion with a monthly average of $
11.2 billion.
The year may end with a trade gap of $ 135 billion. "The gap will be very very large, even compared to $ 118 billion, that we had two years ago."
During April-August this fiscal, exports posted a growth of 28.6 per cent to $ 85.27 billion on a year-on-year basis. Imports during the period grew by 33.1 per cent to $141.89 billion.
The sectors, which registered a healthy rate of exports growth during the first four months of the current financial include cotton yarn and fabric (41 per cent), gems and jewellery (28 per cent), iron ore (84 per cent), chemicals (23 per cent), engineering (40 per cent) and petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) (50 per cent).
However, segments like readymade garments, handicrafts, handlooms and carpets are still in a bad shape, he said.
During April-August 2010-11, segments that witnessed a good growth rate include POL, which was up 31.7 per cent, fertilisers (79 per cent), vegetable oil (67 per cent), coal (43 per cent), iron and steel (64 per cent), gold (27.7 per cent) and machinery (20 per cent).
Advance tax numbers indicate good show by finance, auto cos
MUMBAI: Advance tax collections for the second quarter, July-September, 2010-11 indicated on Wednesday that while sectors like banking, finance and auto have done well, cement and pharma were down as compared to last year's numbers.
As for individual corporate, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro paid Rs 1,306 crore and Rs 280 crore respectively, higher than Q2 FY10.
RIL had paid Rs 1,157 crore in the year-ago period, indicating that it is steaming ahead. L&T's had paid Rs 210 crore in Q2 FY 10.
Similarly, Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Hindalco's tax outgo doubled to Rs 140 crore.
However, it was a mixed bag from the Tata Group as Tata Power Rs 60 crore and Tata Motors Rs 95-crore paid less to the exchequer vis-a-vis last year.
Country's financial capital Mumbai, which contributes a major chunk of direct tax collection, clocked over 13 per cent growth, which a top Income Tax official said was below expectations.
"Our expectations were more...some companies in sectors like cement are not showing good numbers," Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Mumbai, P P Srivastava, told PTI here, after the advance tax collections for September quarter ended on Wednesday.
The Mumbai region of Income Tax Department has been assigned a direct tax collection target of Rs 1,50,480-crore for the current financial year, which is 35 per cent of the all India collection target of Rs 4,30,000-crore.
Asked if the target (Mumbai circle) would be met, Srivastava said that "we are hopeful. However, we will have to take extra measures to achieve it."
IT-major Tata Consultancy Services paid Rs 260 crore in advance tax as compared to the previous year's Rs 220 crore, while the payment by Tata Chemicals remained unchanged at Rs 60 crore.
Driven by high growth, advance tax payments in the auto sector were good.
Bajaj Auto paid Rs 243 crore in Q2 FY11, as against last year period's Rs 170 crore, while Mahindra & Mahindra paid Rs 158 crore, up from Rs 112 crore, the source said.
Barring some names, the banking and financial sector witnessed high tax payouts, led by State Bank of India (Rs 1,924 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 600 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 600 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 206 crore), Union Bank of India (Rs 308 crore) and Yes Bank (Rs 105 crore).
Home-loans lender HDFC shelled out Rs 400-crore this quarter, as against Rs 320 crore in the year ago period.
Life Insurance Corporation's payout increased by Rs 128 crore to Rs 1,067-crore, while in the case of General Insurance Corporation, it almost doubled to Rs 92-crore.
The sector which appears to have suffered the most in Q2 FY11 since last year is cement, as payouts by a majority of companies in this segment have fallen sharply.
From last fiscal's Q2 of Rs 150 crore, Ambuja Cement's advance tax payment fell to Rs 90 crore, while UltraTech's payout more than halved to Rs 60 crore.
Cement major Lafarge's advance tax payment declined from Rs 67 crore to Rs 40 crore. In the case of ACC, its advance tax payment plummeted to Rs 60 crore from last fiscal's Q2 of Rs 150 crore.
Consumer electronics major, Videocon, saw its advance tax outgo increase to Rs 35 crore, from last year's Rs 30 crore while state-owned fertiliser company RCF showed a decline to Rs 19 crore from Rs 33 crore in Q2 last fiscal.
Biscuit maker Parle saw its advance tax outgo increase by Rs 3 crore to Rs 12 crore this quarter and Johnson and Johnson paid Rs 22 crore, up from last year's Rs 18 crore.
Two pharma majors -- Lupin and Cipla -- have registered lower payouts at Rs 45 crore and Rs 65 crore respectively as compared to Rs 50 crore and Rs 75 crore, respectively, in the year-ago period.
In the media and entertainment space, Zee Entertainment's payout almost doubled to Rs 60 crore from Rs 32 crore in the year-ago period.
As for individual corporate, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro paid Rs 1,306 crore and Rs 280 crore respectively, higher than Q2 FY10.
RIL had paid Rs 1,157 crore in the year-ago period, indicating that it is steaming ahead. L&T's had paid Rs 210 crore in Q2 FY 10.
Similarly, Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Hindalco's tax outgo doubled to Rs 140 crore.
However, it was a mixed bag from the Tata Group as Tata Power Rs 60 crore and Tata Motors Rs 95-crore paid less to the exchequer vis-a-vis last year.
Country's financial capital Mumbai, which contributes a major chunk of direct tax collection, clocked over 13 per cent growth, which a top Income Tax official said was below expectations.
"Our expectations were more...some companies in sectors like cement are not showing good numbers," Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Mumbai, P P Srivastava, told PTI here, after the advance tax collections for September quarter ended on Wednesday.
The Mumbai region of Income Tax Department has been assigned a direct tax collection target of Rs 1,50,480-crore for the current financial year, which is 35 per cent of the all India collection target of Rs 4,30,000-crore.
Asked if the target (Mumbai circle) would be met, Srivastava said that "we are hopeful. However, we will have to take extra measures to achieve it."
IT-major Tata Consultancy Services paid Rs 260 crore in advance tax as compared to the previous year's Rs 220 crore, while the payment by Tata Chemicals remained unchanged at Rs 60 crore.
Driven by high growth, advance tax payments in the auto sector were good.
Bajaj Auto paid Rs 243 crore in Q2 FY11, as against last year period's Rs 170 crore, while Mahindra & Mahindra paid Rs 158 crore, up from Rs 112 crore, the source said.
Barring some names, the banking and financial sector witnessed high tax payouts, led by State Bank of India (Rs 1,924 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 600 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 600 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 206 crore), Union Bank of India (Rs 308 crore) and Yes Bank (Rs 105 crore).
Home-loans lender HDFC shelled out Rs 400-crore this quarter, as against Rs 320 crore in the year ago period.
Life Insurance Corporation's payout increased by Rs 128 crore to Rs 1,067-crore, while in the case of General Insurance Corporation, it almost doubled to Rs 92-crore.
The sector which appears to have suffered the most in Q2 FY11 since last year is cement, as payouts by a majority of companies in this segment have fallen sharply.
From last fiscal's Q2 of Rs 150 crore, Ambuja Cement's advance tax payment fell to Rs 90 crore, while UltraTech's payout more than halved to Rs 60 crore.
Cement major Lafarge's advance tax payment declined from Rs 67 crore to Rs 40 crore. In the case of ACC, its advance tax payment plummeted to Rs 60 crore from last fiscal's Q2 of Rs 150 crore.
Consumer electronics major, Videocon, saw its advance tax outgo increase to Rs 35 crore, from last year's Rs 30 crore while state-owned fertiliser company RCF showed a decline to Rs 19 crore from Rs 33 crore in Q2 last fiscal.
Biscuit maker Parle saw its advance tax outgo increase by Rs 3 crore to Rs 12 crore this quarter and Johnson and Johnson paid Rs 22 crore, up from last year's Rs 18 crore.
Two pharma majors -- Lupin and Cipla -- have registered lower payouts at Rs 45 crore and Rs 65 crore respectively as compared to Rs 50 crore and Rs 75 crore, respectively, in the year-ago period.
In the media and entertainment space, Zee Entertainment's payout almost doubled to Rs 60 crore from Rs 32 crore in the year-ago period.
RIL regains Rs 1,000-mark; soars 2.25 pc on BSE
MUMBAI: Market leader Reliance Industries today rose over 2 per cent and regained the Rs 1,000-level mark after more than a month, helping the BSE benchmark Sensex extend its winning streak to the seventh day in a row.
Reliance Industries ended the session at Rs 1,010.45, a gain of 2.3 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It touched the intra- -day high of Rs 1,016.
The last time it had closed above Rs 1,000-level was on August 6, when it ended at Rs 1,000.30.
With today's jump in its share value, the company's market valuation surged to Rs 3,30,524 crore.
Marketmen said RIL, which enjoys the maximum weight in the Sensex, attracting good buying support also helped the broader market to extend its gains for the seventh day in succession.
They said reports of RIL was seeking a hike in gas price helped the stock rise. They further said today's rise is significant as RIL had not participated in the recent market rally. Yesterday, the company had lost 0.45 per cent.
Reports of company paying higher advance tax for the second quarter, too, fulled the rally.
Other oil and gas counters, however, ended mixed after a volatile session.
Shares of ONGC gained 1.14 per cent to hit its lifetime high at Rs 1,451.90, while HPCL ended 0.58 per cent lower, after hitting a new high of Rs 555.45.
IOC too erased early gains to finish 0.19 per cent down after touching a lifetime high of Rs 448.55.
BPCL settled down by 0.46 per cent, while Essar Oil ended 0.54 per cent higher.
The BSE oil and gas index settled the day with a gain of 193.26 points at 10,655.13.
Carrying forward the gaining momentum, the BSE benchmark Sensex Sensex finished the day higher by 155.15 points at 19,502.11.
Reliance Industries ended the session at Rs 1,010.45, a gain of 2.3 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It touched the intra- -day high of Rs 1,016.
The last time it had closed above Rs 1,000-level was on August 6, when it ended at Rs 1,000.30.
With today's jump in its share value, the company's market valuation surged to Rs 3,30,524 crore.
Marketmen said RIL, which enjoys the maximum weight in the Sensex, attracting good buying support also helped the broader market to extend its gains for the seventh day in succession.
They said reports of RIL was seeking a hike in gas price helped the stock rise. They further said today's rise is significant as RIL had not participated in the recent market rally. Yesterday, the company had lost 0.45 per cent.
Reports of company paying higher advance tax for the second quarter, too, fulled the rally.
Other oil and gas counters, however, ended mixed after a volatile session.
Shares of ONGC gained 1.14 per cent to hit its lifetime high at Rs 1,451.90, while HPCL ended 0.58 per cent lower, after hitting a new high of Rs 555.45.
IOC too erased early gains to finish 0.19 per cent down after touching a lifetime high of Rs 448.55.
BPCL settled down by 0.46 per cent, while Essar Oil ended 0.54 per cent higher.
The BSE oil and gas index settled the day with a gain of 193.26 points at 10,655.13.
Carrying forward the gaining momentum, the BSE benchmark Sensex Sensex finished the day higher by 155.15 points at 19,502.11.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
India moves into mobile phone shares trading
Millions of Indian investors will be able to trade shares using their mobile phones after the South Asian nation approved the move and the Bombay Stock Exchange unveiled plans for the service.
Trading on mobile phones is catching on globally, especially in Asia, where mobile phone penetration is growing rapidly.
Interactive Brokers, one of the largest US-based brokers, launched trading on mobile devices in 2002, including in the US and Britain.
But the phenomenon’s arrival in India is a sign that Asia is taking the lead in opening up the capital markets to the masses.
Mobile phone trading has made inroads in Japan and South Korea, where the local stock exchange says it accounts for 3 per cent of trading volume.
Madhu Kannan, chief executive of the Bombay exchange, said on Friday it had received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the market regulator, for internet-based trading via mobile handset.
“We’ll be launching very soon,” he told the Financial Times. “This is something very core to our technology focused strategy. We’re trying to bring more people close to the market.
“It has the ability to significantly advance the concept of financial inclusion and the penetration of capital markets throughout the entire country,” Mr Kannan said.
Vinay Agrawal, executive director at Angel Broking, said that Sebi’s approval of mobile trading would have a significant impact on his business “because mobile penetration around the country is very high.”
India is the world’s fastest growing large mobile market by user numbers and the upcoming introduction of third-generation cellular services could make it easier for investors to access the markets.
The country’s subscriber base was 652.4m users as of the end of July, with 17m users added that month alone, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The National Stock Exchange, India’s biggest exchange, is also expected to receive Sebi’s approval for mobile phone trading and has lined up about 800 brokerage houses to launch its wireless facility.
In South Korea mobile phone share trading is growing as more people use smartphones to trade stocks. But the portion is still small as smartphones were introduced in Korea relatively late with the adoption of the iPhone late last year.
Mobile phone trading amounted to Won5,619bn as of March, according to Korea Exchange. The industry predicts that the current 3 per cent share of all trading done by mobile phone could rise to around 10 per cent in a couple of years.
Most retail, or individual, investors still prefer trading at home on their personal computers.
Gerald Perez, London-based managing director at Interactive Brokers, said his company planned to offer mobile phone trading India shortly. In September last year it launched iPhone and Blackberry apps to allow customers to log into their account and non-customers to view free stock, option, futures and forex quotes around the world. “I think growth is pretty good especially in Asia, everyone has mobile phones and everyone is on the go,” he said.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Trading on mobile phones is catching on globally, especially in Asia, where mobile phone penetration is growing rapidly.
Interactive Brokers, one of the largest US-based brokers, launched trading on mobile devices in 2002, including in the US and Britain.
But the phenomenon’s arrival in India is a sign that Asia is taking the lead in opening up the capital markets to the masses.
Mobile phone trading has made inroads in Japan and South Korea, where the local stock exchange says it accounts for 3 per cent of trading volume.
Madhu Kannan, chief executive of the Bombay exchange, said on Friday it had received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the market regulator, for internet-based trading via mobile handset.
“We’ll be launching very soon,” he told the Financial Times. “This is something very core to our technology focused strategy. We’re trying to bring more people close to the market.
“It has the ability to significantly advance the concept of financial inclusion and the penetration of capital markets throughout the entire country,” Mr Kannan said.
Vinay Agrawal, executive director at Angel Broking, said that Sebi’s approval of mobile trading would have a significant impact on his business “because mobile penetration around the country is very high.”
India is the world’s fastest growing large mobile market by user numbers and the upcoming introduction of third-generation cellular services could make it easier for investors to access the markets.
The country’s subscriber base was 652.4m users as of the end of July, with 17m users added that month alone, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The National Stock Exchange, India’s biggest exchange, is also expected to receive Sebi’s approval for mobile phone trading and has lined up about 800 brokerage houses to launch its wireless facility.
In South Korea mobile phone share trading is growing as more people use smartphones to trade stocks. But the portion is still small as smartphones were introduced in Korea relatively late with the adoption of the iPhone late last year.
Mobile phone trading amounted to Won5,619bn as of March, according to Korea Exchange. The industry predicts that the current 3 per cent share of all trading done by mobile phone could rise to around 10 per cent in a couple of years.
Most retail, or individual, investors still prefer trading at home on their personal computers.
Gerald Perez, London-based managing director at Interactive Brokers, said his company planned to offer mobile phone trading India shortly. In September last year it launched iPhone and Blackberry apps to allow customers to log into their account and non-customers to view free stock, option, futures and forex quotes around the world. “I think growth is pretty good especially in Asia, everyone has mobile phones and everyone is on the go,” he said.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Suzlon turns to emerging markets growth
Suzlon Energy, the world’s third-largest turbine supplier, is embarking on a significant push for new business in emerging markets as it battles a depressed market in the developed world, where it built its reputation.
The group, with headquarters in Pune in India’s Maharashtra state, plans to refocus its business more sharply on the fast-growing emerging markets of its own country, China, South Africa and Brazil, amid a dismal outlook for wind turbines in the US and Europe.
A senior executive said on Monday the lossmaking company might position Repower Systems, Suzlon’s German subsidiary, to supply more developed markets such as the US, Europe and Australia, with an emphasis on offshore wind farms. The parent company would pursue high-growth opportunities in Asia, Africa and Latin America to build its order book quickly.
“We are aiming to break even by the end of the financial year,” said Nicholas Archer, global head of public relations. “If we can get some of the orders in then our fortunes should change pretty quickly.”
The tilt towards emerging markets comes as analysts predict slower than expected growth in wind power, particularly in the US and Europe, over the next two years. The short-term future for solar power, by comparison, is far rosier.
Last week, Barclays Capital, the UK-based investment group, cut its forecast for global wind power demand by 4 per cent for this year.
HSBC is also pessimistic. “Weak electricity demand resulting from energy efficiency measures and recessionary forces have made national wind installation targets easier to achieve ... This is bad news for wind turbine demand,” the bank said in a report.
Of particular concern is the US market, where proposed renewable energy laws have laid the ground for flat wind power growth over the next decade.
Suzlon, which has annual revenues of $5.5bn and commands 10 per cent of the global wind turbine market, plans to integrate Repower by raising its 91 per cent stake in the German engineering company to at least 95 per cent in the coming months.
The integration is expected to give management an opportunity to reinvigorate brands and streamline the corporate structure from almost 60 subsidiaries at present.
The company, headed by Tulsi Tanti, was at the forefront of India’s global acquisition rush in 2006-07. But its highly leveraged expansion at a time of high asset values came under severe strain in the financial crisis and led to a refinancing of $2.5bn debt last year.
Suzlon views Brazil, where a new government may embrace a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, as having strong growth potential.
“We are really quite excited about the Brazilian market,” confirmed Mr Archer.
The group, with headquarters in Pune in India’s Maharashtra state, plans to refocus its business more sharply on the fast-growing emerging markets of its own country, China, South Africa and Brazil, amid a dismal outlook for wind turbines in the US and Europe.
A senior executive said on Monday the lossmaking company might position Repower Systems, Suzlon’s German subsidiary, to supply more developed markets such as the US, Europe and Australia, with an emphasis on offshore wind farms. The parent company would pursue high-growth opportunities in Asia, Africa and Latin America to build its order book quickly.
“We are aiming to break even by the end of the financial year,” said Nicholas Archer, global head of public relations. “If we can get some of the orders in then our fortunes should change pretty quickly.”
The tilt towards emerging markets comes as analysts predict slower than expected growth in wind power, particularly in the US and Europe, over the next two years. The short-term future for solar power, by comparison, is far rosier.
Last week, Barclays Capital, the UK-based investment group, cut its forecast for global wind power demand by 4 per cent for this year.
HSBC is also pessimistic. “Weak electricity demand resulting from energy efficiency measures and recessionary forces have made national wind installation targets easier to achieve ... This is bad news for wind turbine demand,” the bank said in a report.
Of particular concern is the US market, where proposed renewable energy laws have laid the ground for flat wind power growth over the next decade.
Suzlon, which has annual revenues of $5.5bn and commands 10 per cent of the global wind turbine market, plans to integrate Repower by raising its 91 per cent stake in the German engineering company to at least 95 per cent in the coming months.
The integration is expected to give management an opportunity to reinvigorate brands and streamline the corporate structure from almost 60 subsidiaries at present.
The company, headed by Tulsi Tanti, was at the forefront of India’s global acquisition rush in 2006-07. But its highly leveraged expansion at a time of high asset values came under severe strain in the financial crisis and led to a refinancing of $2.5bn debt last year.
Suzlon views Brazil, where a new government may embrace a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, as having strong growth potential.
“We are really quite excited about the Brazilian market,” confirmed Mr Archer.
India growth story poses dilemma for investors
Few of the world’s stock markets have offered a haven from fears of a double-dip recession and Europe’s debt crisis. India, though, is one. Investors have sought sanctuary in its growth prospects and capital inflows have surged. The question now is whether Indian equities are overpriced.
Those who bet on a strong performance from India’s stock market this year have been rewarded. Indian equities have outperformed all their main rivals. The Sensex, India’s benchmark index, which hit a 31-month high on Monday at 18,560.05, has risen 6.27 per cent since January 1. The Shanghai Composite in China, by contrast, has dropped 17.7 per cent and Brazil’s Bovespa index has fallen 4.81 per cent.
Asia’s third-largest economy has offered an attractive combination of economic stability and almost double-digit growth for fund managers anxious about US and European fragility. Net total foreign investments in Indian equities to August 31 were Rs594bn ($12.7bn), up from Rs403bn during the same period in 2009, according to the country’s market regulator.
Foreign investors also bought a net Rs389bn of bonds from the start of the year to July 30, compared with a year earlier when investors sold a net Rs37.2bn in bonds in the same period – a sign that investors’ confidence in the government’s ability to rein in its ballooning public debt has increased. Many analysts expect foreign capital inflows in the equity market to overtake the record Rs17bn in 2007.
KN Sivasubramanian, head of Franklin Templeton’s India Equity portfolio management, says: “India is a largely domestic-driven economy and recent economic and earnings data has been encouraging. Overall, we are seeing both domestic and global investors recognise the [Indian] growth potential.”
Cameron Brandt, senior global markets analyst at EPFR, says: “There was a fair amount of attention being paid to the deterioration of India’s public finances and the risk that, when combined with food and energy-driven inflationary pressures, the central bank would be forced to tighten aggressively. That hasn’t really happened.
“Meanwhile, the nervousness about the strength of the recovery in the US, Europe and Japan has cast a favourable light on the strong domestic component of India’s story.”
But for investors the problem is that a lot of the good news is now in the price. Indian equities trade at more than 17 times forecast earnings for 2010, compared with a five year average of 16.2 times earnings. By comparison, emerging market equities in general trade on an average of 12 times 2010 earnings, while Russia trades at just 6.7 times forecast earnings. That is a hefty premium.
Philip Poole, global head of macro and investment strategy at HSBC global asset management says that, while there is a lot of momentum in the Indian market, he has India as an underweight mostly due to valuations. “Relative to past trading history, the Indian equity market looks fully priced. Within an emerging markets context it looks toppish.”
While India has potential, it also has risks. Indeed, inflation is running at the highest level in any leading emerging market – with nearly 11 per cent forecast for 2010, compared with about 3 per cent for China, 4.9 per cent for Brazil and 7 per cent for Latin America.
Indian economic policymakers have made big strides in recent years in developing consistency. But they have yet to establish the same long-term sustainable growth records as their counterparts in some other emerging markets, notably China and Brazil. “Indian growth is very strong, but that leads to inflation pressures. The authorities will need to act to slow the economy,” says Mr Poole.
“Inflation is a real concern and we expect yields for the [benchmark] 10-year bonds to come under pressure, as the Reserve Bank of India tightens the monetary policy,” says A Prasanna at ICICI Securities.
“India is certainly a longer-term story. Promised reforms and the efforts to boost rural incomes and productivity are not going to happen overnight,” says Mr Brandt. “There are more attractive destinations for ‘hot’ money at the moment.”
Duvvuri Subbarao, the governor of the RBI, told the Financial Times in July that growing risk aversion among foreign investors could have a negative impact on capital flows to India. “Such a slowdown in capital inflows will constrain domestic investment, which is critical to achieving and sustaining high growth rates,” he said.
Nevertheless, the fundamentals behind India’s growth story – abundant liquidity and strong domestic demand – are unlikely to disappear anytime soon, according to Rohit Kapur, at KPMG. “There is a lot of money on the sidelines ready to be invested in India ... people are here to stay and get what they can’t elsewhere: high returns.”
V Jayasankar, executive director at Kotak Investment Banking, says the private equity sector is likely to be a big player driving more money into the markets. “There are various estimates that show that about $25bn to $30bn are waiting to be invested in India by global private equity funds.”
As one veteran investor puts it: “Some bad news would be good news so that we can start getting back into the game.”
Those who bet on a strong performance from India’s stock market this year have been rewarded. Indian equities have outperformed all their main rivals. The Sensex, India’s benchmark index, which hit a 31-month high on Monday at 18,560.05, has risen 6.27 per cent since January 1. The Shanghai Composite in China, by contrast, has dropped 17.7 per cent and Brazil’s Bovespa index has fallen 4.81 per cent.
Asia’s third-largest economy has offered an attractive combination of economic stability and almost double-digit growth for fund managers anxious about US and European fragility. Net total foreign investments in Indian equities to August 31 were Rs594bn ($12.7bn), up from Rs403bn during the same period in 2009, according to the country’s market regulator.
Foreign investors also bought a net Rs389bn of bonds from the start of the year to July 30, compared with a year earlier when investors sold a net Rs37.2bn in bonds in the same period – a sign that investors’ confidence in the government’s ability to rein in its ballooning public debt has increased. Many analysts expect foreign capital inflows in the equity market to overtake the record Rs17bn in 2007.
KN Sivasubramanian, head of Franklin Templeton’s India Equity portfolio management, says: “India is a largely domestic-driven economy and recent economic and earnings data has been encouraging. Overall, we are seeing both domestic and global investors recognise the [Indian] growth potential.”
Cameron Brandt, senior global markets analyst at EPFR, says: “There was a fair amount of attention being paid to the deterioration of India’s public finances and the risk that, when combined with food and energy-driven inflationary pressures, the central bank would be forced to tighten aggressively. That hasn’t really happened.
“Meanwhile, the nervousness about the strength of the recovery in the US, Europe and Japan has cast a favourable light on the strong domestic component of India’s story.”
But for investors the problem is that a lot of the good news is now in the price. Indian equities trade at more than 17 times forecast earnings for 2010, compared with a five year average of 16.2 times earnings. By comparison, emerging market equities in general trade on an average of 12 times 2010 earnings, while Russia trades at just 6.7 times forecast earnings. That is a hefty premium.
Philip Poole, global head of macro and investment strategy at HSBC global asset management says that, while there is a lot of momentum in the Indian market, he has India as an underweight mostly due to valuations. “Relative to past trading history, the Indian equity market looks fully priced. Within an emerging markets context it looks toppish.”
While India has potential, it also has risks. Indeed, inflation is running at the highest level in any leading emerging market – with nearly 11 per cent forecast for 2010, compared with about 3 per cent for China, 4.9 per cent for Brazil and 7 per cent for Latin America.
Indian economic policymakers have made big strides in recent years in developing consistency. But they have yet to establish the same long-term sustainable growth records as their counterparts in some other emerging markets, notably China and Brazil. “Indian growth is very strong, but that leads to inflation pressures. The authorities will need to act to slow the economy,” says Mr Poole.
“Inflation is a real concern and we expect yields for the [benchmark] 10-year bonds to come under pressure, as the Reserve Bank of India tightens the monetary policy,” says A Prasanna at ICICI Securities.
“India is certainly a longer-term story. Promised reforms and the efforts to boost rural incomes and productivity are not going to happen overnight,” says Mr Brandt. “There are more attractive destinations for ‘hot’ money at the moment.”
Duvvuri Subbarao, the governor of the RBI, told the Financial Times in July that growing risk aversion among foreign investors could have a negative impact on capital flows to India. “Such a slowdown in capital inflows will constrain domestic investment, which is critical to achieving and sustaining high growth rates,” he said.
Nevertheless, the fundamentals behind India’s growth story – abundant liquidity and strong domestic demand – are unlikely to disappear anytime soon, according to Rohit Kapur, at KPMG. “There is a lot of money on the sidelines ready to be invested in India ... people are here to stay and get what they can’t elsewhere: high returns.”
V Jayasankar, executive director at Kotak Investment Banking, says the private equity sector is likely to be a big player driving more money into the markets. “There are various estimates that show that about $25bn to $30bn are waiting to be invested in India by global private equity funds.”
As one veteran investor puts it: “Some bad news would be good news so that we can start getting back into the game.”
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Basmati rice exports to jump 9%
NEW DELHI: The country’s basmati rice exports are likely to rise nine per cent to 3.5 million tonnes in the 2010—11 season starting October, as crop damage in flood—hit Pakistan may boost demand for Indian aromatic rice, a trade body said on Wednesday.
“India is estimated to export 3.2 million tonnes in current marketing year ending this month and shipments in 2010—11 are expected to rise to 3.5 million tonnes,” All India Rice Exporters Association President, Mr Vijay Sethia, told PTI.
Export of basmati rice would definitely be higher than last year because demand is expected to increase following floods in the neighbouring country, where basmati rice crop has been damaged badly, he said.
Less basmati rice production in the neighbouring country could enhance demand for Indian rice, he added.
Also, domestic supplies are expected to be higher as production of aromatic rice is seen to exceed last year’s output of 4.5 million tonnes on the back of 15—20 per cent jump in the acreage, Mr Sethia noted.
Indian exporters are shipping basmati rice at the minimum export price of USD 900 per tonne. According to estimates, approximately seven lakh hectares of Pakistan’s rice crop is partially or completely submerged under water.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised downwards Pakistan’s rice production in 2010—11 to 4.4 million tonnes from its earlier projection of 6.5 million tonnes due to destruction caused by floods.
Similarly, rice exports from neighbouring country is estimated to decline by nearly 40 per cent in 2010—11 to 2.3 million tonnes, it said. - PTI
“India is estimated to export 3.2 million tonnes in current marketing year ending this month and shipments in 2010—11 are expected to rise to 3.5 million tonnes,” All India Rice Exporters Association President, Mr Vijay Sethia, told PTI.
Export of basmati rice would definitely be higher than last year because demand is expected to increase following floods in the neighbouring country, where basmati rice crop has been damaged badly, he said.
Less basmati rice production in the neighbouring country could enhance demand for Indian rice, he added.
Also, domestic supplies are expected to be higher as production of aromatic rice is seen to exceed last year’s output of 4.5 million tonnes on the back of 15—20 per cent jump in the acreage, Mr Sethia noted.
Indian exporters are shipping basmati rice at the minimum export price of USD 900 per tonne. According to estimates, approximately seven lakh hectares of Pakistan’s rice crop is partially or completely submerged under water.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised downwards Pakistan’s rice production in 2010—11 to 4.4 million tonnes from its earlier projection of 6.5 million tonnes due to destruction caused by floods.
Similarly, rice exports from neighbouring country is estimated to decline by nearly 40 per cent in 2010—11 to 2.3 million tonnes, it said. - PTI
Monday, September 06, 2010
Sensex rises to 31 month high
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday jumped by 338 points to close at a 31-month high on heavy buying in metal, refinery and IT stocks backed by a firming global trend.
The 30-share index settled 338.62 points higher at 18,560.05 points, a level never seen after February 2008.
Trading sentiment turned bullish after a stunning growth in the U.S. employment and manufacturing eased concern that the global economy might falter and boosted the outlook for domestic companies, which in turn lift shares of software exporting companies.
The Sensex touched the day’s high of 18,600.30 as market heaviest Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and Tata Steel recorded handsome gains.
Reliance Industries shot up by Rs. 27.60 to Rs. 953.20 and second heavy-weight Infosys Technologies by Rs. 59.85 to Rs. 2,831.50. Tata Steel rose by Rs. 35.65 to Rs. 575.60 and ICICI Bank by Rs. 38.05 to Rs. 1,037.70.
All the four stocks carry nearly 32 per cent weightage on the benchmark. In the 30-BSE index components, 26 stocks closed with gains and four ended in the negative zone.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 97.55 points to 5,576.95.
Companies in the U.S. added more jobs than forecast in August and the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index unexpectedly increased, reports showed on Saturday.
The Asian stock market gained followed by a higher closing in the U.S. markets and a firm opening in the European region continued to support the market throughout the session.
The metal sector index gained the most by rising 3.47 per cent to 15,878.80 as Tata Steel, the biggest producer of alloy climbed its highest close since May 13 after product prices have been raised by nearly four per cent.
Hindalco Industries, the biggest aluminum producer that gets most of its sales in North America and Europe, rose by Rs. 8.15 to Rs. 178.55 on report the company plans to spend Rs. 100 billion on projects this year.
The banking sector index added 2.06 per cent to close at 12,728.73 points. The realty sector index rose by 1.98 per cent to 3,557.08 followed by oil and gas index by 1.97 per cent to 10,178.23.
The IT index, which represents software companies, gained 1.88 per cent to 5,563.32. The country’s nearly 40 per cent software business comes from the U.S. and European markets.
With the buying activity spilling over a wide-front, the smallcap index rose by 1.83 per cent to 10,094.52 and midcap index by 1.31 per cent to 7,961.81.
The 30-share index settled 338.62 points higher at 18,560.05 points, a level never seen after February 2008.
Trading sentiment turned bullish after a stunning growth in the U.S. employment and manufacturing eased concern that the global economy might falter and boosted the outlook for domestic companies, which in turn lift shares of software exporting companies.
The Sensex touched the day’s high of 18,600.30 as market heaviest Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and Tata Steel recorded handsome gains.
Reliance Industries shot up by Rs. 27.60 to Rs. 953.20 and second heavy-weight Infosys Technologies by Rs. 59.85 to Rs. 2,831.50. Tata Steel rose by Rs. 35.65 to Rs. 575.60 and ICICI Bank by Rs. 38.05 to Rs. 1,037.70.
All the four stocks carry nearly 32 per cent weightage on the benchmark. In the 30-BSE index components, 26 stocks closed with gains and four ended in the negative zone.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 97.55 points to 5,576.95.
Companies in the U.S. added more jobs than forecast in August and the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index unexpectedly increased, reports showed on Saturday.
The Asian stock market gained followed by a higher closing in the U.S. markets and a firm opening in the European region continued to support the market throughout the session.
The metal sector index gained the most by rising 3.47 per cent to 15,878.80 as Tata Steel, the biggest producer of alloy climbed its highest close since May 13 after product prices have been raised by nearly four per cent.
Hindalco Industries, the biggest aluminum producer that gets most of its sales in North America and Europe, rose by Rs. 8.15 to Rs. 178.55 on report the company plans to spend Rs. 100 billion on projects this year.
The banking sector index added 2.06 per cent to close at 12,728.73 points. The realty sector index rose by 1.98 per cent to 3,557.08 followed by oil and gas index by 1.97 per cent to 10,178.23.
The IT index, which represents software companies, gained 1.88 per cent to 5,563.32. The country’s nearly 40 per cent software business comes from the U.S. and European markets.
With the buying activity spilling over a wide-front, the smallcap index rose by 1.83 per cent to 10,094.52 and midcap index by 1.31 per cent to 7,961.81.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
India’s Stocks Rise to Highest in Week; Jaiprakash Advances
Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- India’s benchmark stock index climbed to its highest in a week after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said taxes paid by companies increased, fueling speculation earnings may rise.
Jaiprakash Associates Ltd., a construction company that also makes cement, gained the most in more than three months after August sales increased. India’s corporate tax collections grew 21 percent in the April-July period from a year earlier, Mukherjee said yesterday. Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the nation’s biggest copper and zinc producer, advanced for a second day as metal prices rose.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 32.44, or 0.2 percent, to 18,238.31. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.3 percent to 5,486.15. The BSE 200 Index increased 0.3 percent to 2,342.89.
“All the data points show India’s economy is gaining in strength,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, a fund manager at Ambit Capital Ltd. in Mumbai who doesn’t disclose the value of the assets he oversees. “On the global side, the latest numbers from the U.S. and China have somewhat reduced the volatility.” Sanghavi said he’s adding shares of retailers, education, media and consumer companies to his holdings, without naming any.
Jaiprakash Sales
Jaiprakash advanced 4.3 percent to 114.65 rupees, its biggest one day gain since May 26, after August sales climbed 51 percent. Bajaj Auto Ltd., second-largest motorcycle maker, climbed 1.2 percent to 2,783.35 rupees after reporting record sales in August.
Apollo Tyres Ltd., the biggest tiremaker by market value, jumped 12 percent to 82.35 rupees, the highest in at least 19 years. The stock was rated “outperform” in new coverage by Govindarajan Chellappa and Rajasa K, analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG, saying the Indian tire industry is “in the midst of a very favorable supply-demand scenario.”
Sterlite added 2.7 percent to 160.65 rupees, extending its 3.6 percent advance yesterday. Copper in London traded near a four-month high, extending yesterday’s advance, after better- than-expected economic data in U.S. and China, the two biggest consumers, boosted the outlook for demand.
Foreign fund inflows to India’s stocks have increased 56 percent this year, making the Sensex the most expensive benchmark index in Asia and among BRIC markets that also include Brazil, Russia and China. The Sensex trades at 17.4 times estimated profit after last year’s biggest rally in 18 years.
Overseas funds bought a net 5.38 billion rupees ($114.4 million) of Indian equities on Aug. 31, raising total investments in the stocks this year to 599.2 billion rupees, according to the nation’s market regulator.
Inflows from overseas reached a record 834.2 billion rupees in 2009, exceeding the high set two years ago in local currency terms, as the biggest advance in 18 years lured foreign funds. They sold a record 529.9 billion rupees of shares in 2008, triggering a record annual decline.
Jaiprakash Associates Ltd., a construction company that also makes cement, gained the most in more than three months after August sales increased. India’s corporate tax collections grew 21 percent in the April-July period from a year earlier, Mukherjee said yesterday. Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the nation’s biggest copper and zinc producer, advanced for a second day as metal prices rose.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 32.44, or 0.2 percent, to 18,238.31. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.3 percent to 5,486.15. The BSE 200 Index increased 0.3 percent to 2,342.89.
“All the data points show India’s economy is gaining in strength,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, a fund manager at Ambit Capital Ltd. in Mumbai who doesn’t disclose the value of the assets he oversees. “On the global side, the latest numbers from the U.S. and China have somewhat reduced the volatility.” Sanghavi said he’s adding shares of retailers, education, media and consumer companies to his holdings, without naming any.
Jaiprakash Sales
Jaiprakash advanced 4.3 percent to 114.65 rupees, its biggest one day gain since May 26, after August sales climbed 51 percent. Bajaj Auto Ltd., second-largest motorcycle maker, climbed 1.2 percent to 2,783.35 rupees after reporting record sales in August.
Apollo Tyres Ltd., the biggest tiremaker by market value, jumped 12 percent to 82.35 rupees, the highest in at least 19 years. The stock was rated “outperform” in new coverage by Govindarajan Chellappa and Rajasa K, analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG, saying the Indian tire industry is “in the midst of a very favorable supply-demand scenario.”
Sterlite added 2.7 percent to 160.65 rupees, extending its 3.6 percent advance yesterday. Copper in London traded near a four-month high, extending yesterday’s advance, after better- than-expected economic data in U.S. and China, the two biggest consumers, boosted the outlook for demand.
Foreign fund inflows to India’s stocks have increased 56 percent this year, making the Sensex the most expensive benchmark index in Asia and among BRIC markets that also include Brazil, Russia and China. The Sensex trades at 17.4 times estimated profit after last year’s biggest rally in 18 years.
Overseas funds bought a net 5.38 billion rupees ($114.4 million) of Indian equities on Aug. 31, raising total investments in the stocks this year to 599.2 billion rupees, according to the nation’s market regulator.
Inflows from overseas reached a record 834.2 billion rupees in 2009, exceeding the high set two years ago in local currency terms, as the biggest advance in 18 years lured foreign funds. They sold a record 529.9 billion rupees of shares in 2008, triggering a record annual decline.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)