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FDI of around Rs 3,900 NAGPUR, Oct 11: Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of around Rs 3,900 .....more 50,000
tonnes of NEW DELHI, Oct 11: Government today released 50,000 tonnes of onion for export at Minimum Export Price (MEP). ....more ‘Re-introduce
3-year NEW DELHI, Oct 11: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today proposed......more Gems
give Afghan DESHITIQALA (AFGHANISTAN), Oct 11: How does Afghanistan’s ragtag opposition force fund its campaign against the ruling Taliban?...more |
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APEC gets chance
to shake off talking-shop tag SINGAPORE, Oct 11: Derided by detractors as standing for a perfect excuse to chat, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum has a golden opportunity in Shanghai next week to show it is more than a toothless talking shop......more ‘Re-introduce 3-year NEW DELHI, Oct 11: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) ......more India’s GDP rate may NEW DELHI, Oct 11: India’s GDP growth rate is predicted to fall from the expected five per cent to...more WB says attacks to cost WASHINGTON, Oct 11: The World Bank said Pakistan’s economy is likely to lose one billion dollars due to events that have followed the September 11 attacks on the United States and the figure could rise if military action in Afghanistan is prolonged......more |
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50,000 tonnes of onion released for export NEW DELHI, Oct 11: Government today released 50,000 tonnes of onion for export at Minimum Export Price (MEP). This quantity would be allocated to the eight canalising agencies with usual conditions of MEP and payment of refundable deposit, an official statement said here. The quantity would be allowed for export upto November 30, 2001. While National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd and Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board have been allocated 17,500 tonnes each for export, Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation Ltd (GAIC) would export 5,000 tonnes of onion. Ap state trading corporation and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) would export 2,500 tonnes each while Spices Trading Corporation Ltd and Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation would export 2,000 tonnes each. The remaining 1,000 tonnes of onion for exports have been allocated to north Karnataka Onion Growers Cooperative Society. Government has further decided to extend the shipment period of the unutilised balance quantity of onion, if any, out of the 100,000 tonnes released for export in June, upto October 15, 2001. It has also been decided that the Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation, Bangalore, would be notified as additional canalising agency for the export of Bangalore rose onion in addition to the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation. (PTI) |
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‘Re-introduce 3-year treasury bills for capital spending’ NEW DELHI, Oct 11: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today proposed re-introduction of concessional treasury bills for a period of three years to generate upto Rs 35,000 crore with a view to deploying the created currency for capital spending for completion of six to eight major core sector projects in three years. ASSOCHAM president Raghu Mody constituted an economists expert group under the chairmanship of Mr S S Bhandare while arguing for strategic deficit financing as a positive trigger for credit and capital demand in a situation of surplus production and surplus industrial capacities spelled out six plans on which the developmental financing strategies should be based. Mr Bhandari said the group has recommended a seven-point strategy for the purpose which include restoration of the system of treasury bill financing at the concessional rate of four to 4.5 per cent, treasury bills to remain in operation only for a period of three years and stand terminated automatically thereafter. Funding should be made available to promising institutions like national highways authority for road building, NTPC or NHPC for power projects, IDFC and ILFS for various infra-sector schemes under their respective portfolios and NABARD for rural infrastructure, Mr Bhandare added. Stating that it was critical to ensure the economic and financial viability of such projects, the chamber said with the dilution of the cost, funds will become more affordable and quite a few projects, which may otherwise languish, can get off the ground. A prudent limit could be prescribed and about Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crore can be earmarked for the purpose of starting off and completing at least six to eight major demonstrable projects every year for the next three years. While acknowledging that proposals like further reduction in interest rates, rationalisation and reduction of excises, measures to revive capital markets, effective application of user charges for utilities and elimination of cross subsidies are of vital importance for sustainable high growth, it has pointed out that having regard to the compulsions of the politcal economy, these reforms unfortunately have limitations of the time frame, Mr Bhandare said. The ASSOCHAM committee stated that in view of the supply side strengths of the macro economy - surpluses of foodgrains, adequacy of forex reserves, excesses of industrial capacities, there are virtually no fears of extra inflationary pressures or depreciation of currency or distortions in the use of resources. To the extent, the created currency is more effectively deployed through the responsive institutional mechanism, it would, in fact, help in unlocking of credit and capital through production growth and catalysing fresh investments through Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 crore of deficit financing over the period of next three years. The chamber also noted that the proposition for deficit financing is primarly provoked by considerations of acutely depressing business environment, extreme difficulties of pushing through tough reforms, limits to further reductions in interest rates and urgency of averting a drop towards major industrial recession and shoring up domestic economy in the wake of global economic downturn. (UNI) |
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Gems give Afghan opposition licence to print money DESHITIQALA (AFGHANISTAN), Oct 11: How does Afghanistan’s ragtag opposition force fund its campaign against the ruling Taliban? By selling emeralds and printing money, it seems. General Baryalai, a senior commander in the Northern Alliance movement locked in civil conflict with the hardline Islamic Taliban, spoke with great pride this week about the quality of the Afghan gemstone. "Our emeralds are the best in the world," he said over a lunch — lavish by local standards — in his remote base in northern Afghanistan. "They are better than those in Colombia." The Urbane Officer explained that there were two main production centres controlled by the opposition — Safed Cher and Khench, both in the north of the Panjsher district. The alliance controls the very northeast of Afghanistan and the Panjsher Valley, which runs south towards the capital of Kabul. "In the north of the Panjsher, people just carry them around for sale. Rough emeralds can go for anything from 1,000 dollars to 2,000 dollars to millions," he boasted, enjoying the attention of a small group of journalists invited to lunch. "But a huge stone which goes for 3 million here can fetch 10 million dollars when polished and cut." He estimated that emerald sales raised 40 million dollars to 60 million dollars for the opposition campaign each year, mainly for arms from Russia and equipment from countries including China. The mathematics may not be 100 per cent accurate. Baryalai also said the Northern Alliance had 120,000 soldiers — including a large reserve force. This is several times bigger than most western intelligence estimates. The other main source of cash is money. The Afghani, the local currency, is printed in Russia and changed back into dollars, which are then used to buy military hardware. "We print money," he said, when asked how the opposition funded itself. He said the amount printed was strictly limited to avoid inflation. Not that there is much danger of that at the moment. In the nearby town of Khoja Bahawuddin, the dollar is now worth 65,000 Afghanis, compared with 130,000 two weeks ago. The sharp rise has been attributed to the positive news for the alliance of the US air strikes against the Taliban — and the influx of western journalists queuing up to change money. He played down reports of US and Russian support for the opposition, saying Russian tanks on display at a nearby training camp were bought on the market and were not gifts. But he did hint that they may have been subsidised. "The good thing is that we buy guns and ammunition at a cheap price," Baryalai said. (REUTERS) |
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APEC gets chance to shake off talking-shop tag SINGAPORE, Oct 11: Derided by detractors as standing for a perfect excuse to chat, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum has a golden opportunity in Shanghai next week to show it is more than a toothless talking shop. The annual summit of the 21-economy forum will be the most prominent international gathering since the September 11 attacks on the United States, giving APEC the chance to respond with both substance and symbolism to the damage done to the world economy. APEC does not pull any macro-economic levers, but a successful summit could help cushion the global downturn by shoring up fragile business and consumer confidence. "By rendering economic globalisation more efficient and more just, APEC’s leaders can help defeat those who would challenge the modern order with mediaeval terror," said Richard Feinberg, Director of the APEC Study Center at the University of California, San Diego. The centrepiece of the October 20-21 summit will be an agreement to counter terrorism through closer cooperation in areas such as money laundering, the security of air travel and shipping, and energy reserves, according to APEC officials. Such practical nitty-gritty work, worthy but often not newsworthy, plays to the strengths of APEC, a 12-year-old organisation with a mission to liberalise trade and investment. But, perhaps more importantly, Shanghai will provide a stage for leaders to reaffirm their commitment to globalisation at a time when some commentators see a risk of firms and Governments instinctively turning inward as a result of the attacks. "The appetite for forging new cross-border alliances may diminish in an increasingly unstable world. Risk aversion may take on ever-greater importance," wrote Stephen Roach, Chief Global Economist at US investment bank Morgan Stanley. To counter the risk of economic isolationism officials are expected to confirm the bogor goals, a reference to an earlier summit in 1994 in that Indonesian city at which APEC agreed to aim for free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010 for developed countries and 2020 for developing nations. Leaders are also expected to paper over their differences and stress the need to launch a new global round of market-opening talks when trade ministers meet next month in Doha, Qatar. "The message will be: Let’s respond to this intelligently, let’s keep our markets open and not have a replay of the 1930s," said George Troup, a senior New Zealand official, referring to the passage of protectionist trade policies that deepened the great depression. While the road map for attaining the bogor goals will be updated, APEC Governments are not considering advancing the timetable for what is, in any case, a non-binding commitment, officials said. Still, some said the very fact the leaders were meeting in China on the eve of its long-heralded accession to the World Trade Organisation would give APEC’s free-trade message extra resonance. "China exercises enormous authority so anything that comes out of Shanghai will be potentially quite significant," said Joseph Caron, Canada’s Ambassador to Beijing. On a practical level, APEC will discuss how to help poorer countries meet their liberalisation pledges and reap the benefits of new technologies such as electronic commerce. Leaders will also endorse creating an integrated electronic customs network to better enforce laws while minimising effects on the flow of trade. But, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, such bread-and-butter issues will obviously take a back seat to the political repercussions of the war Washington has declared against terrorism. Feinberg, the UCLA Professor, said the international coalition against terrorism US President George W Bush has assembled would help generate the positive political climate lacking at recent APEC gatherings. "Security ties can now pull forward economic agreements," he said. "During the cold war, members of the anti-communist alliance were often able to reach economic understandings when their shared security interests trumped commercial squabbles. The same equation may now rule in the Asia Pacific." Melina Nathan of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore agreed that a common international purpose would help political leaders override narrow commercial interests in, for example, pushing for a new world trade round. "The attacks on the World Trade Center struck at a symbol of the economic might of America but also at globalisation in the same way, support at APEC for promoting an internationally open economy would also be an important symbol," she said. APEC comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The summit proper will be preceded by talks among APEC trade and Foreign Ministers on October 17-18. (REUTERS) |
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‘Re-introduce 3-year treasury bills for capital spending’ NEW DELHI, Oct 11: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today proposed re-introduction of concessional treasury bills for a period of three years to generate upto Rs 35,000 crore with a view to deploying the created currency for capital spending for completion of six to eight major core sector projects in three years. ASSOCHAM president Raghu Mody constituted an economists expert group under the chairmanship of Mr S S Bhandare while arguing for strategic deficit financing as a positive trigger for credit and capital demand in a situation of surplus production and surplus industrial capacities spelled out six plans on which the developmental financing strategies should be based. Mr Bhandari said the group has recommended a seven-point strategy for the purpose which include restoration of the system of treasury bill financing at the concessional rate of four to 4.5 per cent, treasury bills to remain in operation only for a period of three years and stand terminated automatically thereafter. Funding should be made available to promising institutions like national highways authority for road building, NTPC or NHPC for power projects, IDFC and ILFS for various infra-sector schemes under their respective portfolios and NABARD for rural infrastructure, Mr Bhandare added. Stating that it was critical to ensure the economic and financial viability of such projects, the chamber said with the dilution of the cost, funds will become more affordable and quite a few projects, which may otherwise languish, can get off the ground. A prudent limit could be prescribed and about Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crore can be earmarked for the purpose of starting off and completing at least six to eight major demonstrable projects every year for the next three years. While acknowledging that proposals like further reduction in interest rates, rationalisation and reduction of excises, measures to revive capital markets, effective application of user charges for utilities and elimination of cross subsidies are of vital importance for sustainable high growth, it has pointed out that having regard to the compulsions of the politcal economy, these reforms unfortunately have limitations of the time frame, Mr Bhandare said. The ASSOCHAM committee stated that in view of the supply side strengths of the macro economy - surpluses of foodgrains, adequacy of forex reserves, excesses of industrial capacities, there are virtually no fears of extra inflationary pressures or depreciation of currency or distortions in the use of resources. To the extent, the created currency is more effectively deployed through the responsive institutional mechanism, it would, in fact, help in unlocking of credit and capital through production growth and catalysing fresh investments through Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 crore of deficit financing over the period of next three years. The chamber also noted that the proposition for deficit financing is primarly provoked by considerations of acutely depressing business environment, extreme difficulties of pushing through tough reforms, limits to further reductions in interest rates and urgency of averting a drop towards major industrial recession and shoring up domestic economy in the wake of global economic downturn. (UNI) |
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India’s GDP rate may fall in coming fiscal NEW DELHI, Oct 11: India’s GDP growth rate is predicted to fall from the expected five per cent to 4.5 per cent in the fiscal year 2001-02 as a consequence of the war in Afghanistan. The preliminary results of an Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) exercise show that if a short war takes place and confined to only Afghanistan, then there may not be a big impact on the domestic economy in the long run. The only exception is that there would be some short term impact on foreign capital inflows. However, if the war prolongs then the exchange rate would fall to 52 rupee to a dollar by the end of March 2002 and the domestic interest rates might be hardened. The world oil prices might cross 30 dollars per barrel. But it is unlikely to remain high given the recessionary trend in the global economy. There will be a substantial decline in the foreign exchange reserves depending upon the RBI intervention to protect the rupee fall. Foreign capital inflow, both FBI and FII, would show a negative trend. The expected depreciation in the rupee might help exports to grow, the IEG says. But the recessionary trend in the industrial sector might dampen the high growth in exports. The increase in world oil prices might increase the oil pool deficit and might force the Government to increase the administered price oil prices. This might increase the general price level. The IEG notes that the fiscal deficit for the period April to August 2001 has already reached 48 per cent of the target that was presented in the general budget 2001-02. The expected increase in oil pool deficit, following increase in the world oil prices, decline in the tax revenue due to recessionary trend in the industrial sector, would increase the fiscal deficit for the year 2001-02 more than the targetted figure. Given that there is no recovery sign in the industrial performance upto next year, the tax collection would further reduce for the current year. Added to this, the slowing down of disinvestment process, would also increase the fiscal deficit. Overall it is expected that fiscal deficit of the centre may exceed seven per cent for the year 2001-02 against the targetted 5.6 per cent. The IEG predicts that there will be decline in the foreign capital flows in the coming months. The IEG analysis shows if the exchange rate increases to above 50 figure and if the decline in the stock market continues, given the recessionary trend in the industrial production, there will be a negative trend in FII inflow in the coming months. (UNI) |
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WB says attacks to cost Pak one billion dollars WASHINGTON, Oct 11: The World Bank said Pakistan’s economy is likely to lose one billion dollars due to events that have followed the September 11 attacks on the United States and the figure could rise if military action in Afghanistan is prolonged. World Bank President James Wolfensohn, in a statement that outlined the estimate, said yesterday his institution stands ready to help the country, which shares a border with Afghanistan, keep its economic reform program on track. "Events following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, DC., have dealt Pakistan a sharp economic blow, estimated to cost the country at least one billion dollars," the statement said. "This figure could rise if the situation in afghanistan is not resolved in the short term." Refugees have been pouring over the border into Pakistan from Afghanistan, the site of US military strikes. The bank issued the statement following a meeting between Wolfensohn and Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on the country’s economic reform program. "We have been immensely impressed by Pakistan’s reform program, which started two years ago," Wolfensohn said. "Of course, right now, as the country faces a particularly challenging period, we will be there to help it keep that reform program on track." Aziz assured Wolfensohn of his country’s commitment to stick to the reform program and of his intention to accelerate its implementation, the World Bank statement said. The bank lent Pakistan 374 million dollars in fiscal 2001, which ended September 30, and is expected to increase aid during the current fiscal year. While in Washington, Aziz is also set to meet officials from the International Monetary Fund. He is hoping to make progress on a new IMF loan designed to reduce poverty. Pakistan is widely expected to be looked upon favorably by international lenders because of its cooperation with the United States in the wake of the September 11 attacks. (REUTERS) |
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