Too much caution affecting growth

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Too much caution on the part of banks and corporates is delaying the pick-up in economic growth in Asian countries, which is likely to remain muted across much of the region, according to a study.

"Banks are afraid to lend, companies are reluctant to borrow and the region’s monetary authorities have given little or no indication how they will solve this credit crunch," the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) say in their study.

The impact of this current reluctance to lend or borrow could have even more negative effect on the region’s economy and unless these banks resume lending they will continue to be trapped in a catch-22 situation, the study — Rejuvenating Bank Finance for Development in Asia and the Pacific — says.

"Until banks regain their ability and willingness to lend and become less risk averse, the pace of economic growth is likely to remain muted as many less creditworthy customers will be avoided by the banks," said Mr Kim Hak-Su, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP.

The problem of non-performing loans, which reached record numbers following the asian financial crisis of 1997, has undermined the solvency of the banking systems in many countries.

Still, the study reports that most countries are presently experiencing "ample liquidity with low and declining interest rates," but there exists a shortage of "creditworthy" corporate borrowers.

"Without a strong banking sector, growth can be adversely affected and public confidence, the lifeblood of all modern economies, gravely undermined," Mr Kim said at the opening of a round-table discussion on the Asian banking sector.

The report says that there was a lack of clarity across the region when it comes to tackling the problem. "The so-called ‘credit crunch’ has been much discussed over the last few years with little, or no, indication as to what monetary authorities might do to overcome it," it adds.

The report looks at domestic finance for development in five Asian countries: Bangladesh, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. It also studies banking sector reforms in India and China.

In addition, a strong case is made in the report for a renewed emphasis on micro-financing as an effective tool in assisting the poor, especially women. The study credits micro-financing as having triggered a process toward broadening and deepening of rural financial markets in Asian and Pacific countries. (UNI)

‘Adaptation’ crucial for India to deal with climate change:

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: ‘Adaptation’ is the most crucial issue for India and other developing countries with respect to climate change and a positive development at the ongoing United Nations conference on climate change here is the recognition being accorded to this, experts said today.

With the recognition of the issue, India can expect to get funds to the tune of several million rupees from international organisations for "adaptation measures," they said, adding that the actual amount was still to be worked out as negotiations and deliberations in this regard had just begun.

One of the most important aspects of addressing the issue of adaptation is the flow of funds from developing countries, these experts, who are the representatives of several international environment groups, told mediapersons today at the eighth conference of parties to United Nations framework convention on climate change (COP8).

They also issued a request to developed countries, particularly the OECD countries, that "they should put the funds in on a priority basis, start their disbursement immediately and ensure that the amount given is commensurate with the extent of the problem."

Most simply put, adaptation refers to adjusting to situation in the wake of climate change. Although even developed countries have to adapt to climate change, the issue is more crucial for developing countries because they would be the worst affected by it.

Most international efforts, including the Kyoto protocol, have focussed on ‘mitigation’, which refers to preventing the emissions of Green House Gases (GHGS) and other pollutants.

Although funds like the IDC (Least Developed Countries) fund, the climate change fund and the fund for adaptation had been created, not much money has been forthcoming as yet, they said and expressed the hope that the emphasis on adaptation in the ongoing conference changes the scenario.

India is according a lot of focus to the issue of adaptation and for the first time, the conference of parties to United Nations framework convention on climate change is giving it so much importance, Director of the climate change programme of the International Institute for Environment and Development, Dr Saleemul Haq, said.

In fact, Dr Haq quoted the scientific community as saying that we might already have started witnessing climate change.

The international funds would be coming in for both adaptation and mitigation works and the emphasis on adaptation should in no way de-emphasize mitigation work. It is not an either/or situation. Both works are needed to be done at much larger scales than what is being done at present, he said.

International Coordinator, climate change campaign, friends of the earth (a federation of autonomous environmental organizations from all over the world), Kate Hampton, said the scale of adaptation required by developing countries would depend on the extent of mitigation achieved.

She said it wasn’t true that international organizations had not been concerned with adaptation but mitigation was important as there are some impacts that you can’t really adapt to . However, she agreed that adaptation had not received the kind of attention that it should have.

Dr Kalipada Chatterjee of the Global Environment Group said in the Indian context, and also for other developing countries, adaptation should basically concentrate on two aspects : developing sustainable means of livelihood for the people and training people to cope with climate change.

It is important to remember that the coping capacity of any community or family improves with its economy, he added. (UNI)

Today’s trend tilts towards ‘designer jewellery’

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: In a break from the past, a recent study has indicated that people are generally shying away from traditional jewellery and lapping up the ‘designer’ variety when it comes to picking up ornamentware.

The survey, conducted in the two metros of Delhi and Mumbai, has revealed that brides are opting for ‘designer jewellery’ over traditional jewellery while shopping for ‘marriage ornaments’.

Conducted among 2,000 people of various age groups regarding their liking for jewellery designs, the survey points out that this trend was gradually catching up with other age groups as well and not just among brides-to-be.

According to the report, about 60 per cent opted for ‘less heavier jewellery’ while just 30 per cent chose to the traditional ‘heavy weight jewellery’.

Seven per cent were in favour of the traditional designs while three per cent chose to remain neutral.

A surprising aspect of the finding was that despite heavy gold jewellery being no longer the only choice in the market, these are still preferred for marriage purposes in the country.

Also, ‘detatchable jewelleries’ were catching up in the market, as they could be used as ‘separate pieces’ for ‘different occasions’. Generally women preferred ‘sober and stylish’ pieces over the gaudy, heavy choices of the past.

The survey also dwelt into the ‘people’s knowledge’ of purchasing gold jewellery.

Gems are also rapidly emerging as ‘conscious pick-ups’ during wedding shoppings and of these ruby, sapphire and emerald have come as hot favourites among brides for ‘weddings and engagement rings’.

Head of the survey team and managing director of sponsors Lalsons Jewellers Ltd, Rajiv Verma said "the survey was to get to the bottom of prevailing trends, likings and the choices of the new generation."

"Along with this, we also wanted to know what changes are taking place in the minds of the people towards their preferences while picking up ornaments at the most important event of their life -marriage," he added.

He was of the opinion that nowadays women are looking for matching accessories with their outfit and prefer sober and stylish pieces. "Modern gold jewellery designs are no way similar to what it was decades ago with the application of creativity, innovation and fashion trends."

On the risks consumers face while buying jewellery, Mr Verma said customers must evaluate the discounts and various schemes offered before going for them. It is better to go for hallmarked jewellery or to bis certified stores to avoid unnecessary risks.

Suggesting extra care for storing jewellery he said the sets should not bend as they could break. Also, moisture was very harmful for ‘Kundan’ jewellery and perfumes should be worn before wearing jewellery as they could harm them. Besides, each piece of jewellery should be kept in individual boxes as tangling and rubbing could spoil its polish. (UNI)

BSNL launches its mobile phone services in Shimla

SHIMLA, Oct 24: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched its mobile telephone services in Shimla today.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal inaugurated the services at a function here by making a call to Dr Shandil, MP, who was a guest of honour on the occasion.

The BSNL has planned a mobile switch of capacity 34,000 which will cover all the district headquarters, towns of industrial and tourist importance and important highways in the entire State.

The whole project costing about Rs 50 crores will be completed in two phases by March 31,2002. In the first phase 12,000 mobile connections will be released in all the district headquarters, including important towns like Manali, Dalhousie and Rohru, except Chamba, Kalpa and Keylong. Mobile coverage will also be extended at all national highways and major State highways.

The let out district headquarters of Chamba, Kalpa and Keylong will be covered by mobile services within next six months. Both the pre paid and the post paid services will be made available to the users of Shimla very shortly. Gradually more towns will be added in a phased manner.

By end of November mobile services will be available in other important towns viz Solan, Nahan, Paonta, Dharamshala, Palampur, Dalhousie, Mandi, Kullu Manali, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Una etc.

At all the major stations customer care nodes have been planned. These nodes will provide online help to the customers for any query, activation of mobile number, issue of duplicate bill, provision of value addd services etc.

The Main Switching Centre (MSC) is located at Shimla and 65 Base Transceiver Stations (BST) have been set up at different locations across the State.

The BSNL Mobile Service has been christened as "cellone" and prepaid service has been named as "excel’’. Various tariff schemes have been announced in both the pre paid and post paid catgories to suit the needs of individual subscribers. Roaming facility is available throughout the country.

In almost all the schemes roaming and CLI (Caller Line Identification) facility will be provided free of cost. Air time charges in all the schemes have been kept economical so that mobile services can be availed by common masses. (UNI)

Union Bank ready with insurance products

MUMBAI, Oct 24: The Union Bank of India, whose net profit for the first half year ended September 2002 posted a growth of over 102 per cent, is ready to enter the insurance sector and will lay extensive focus on the retail sector.

The bank will distribute life insurance products in association with HDFC standard life and in the non-life category in association with New India Assurance, bank’s chairman and managing director V Leeladhar said today.

Mr Leeladhar told a news conference here that 106 officers of the bank had undergone requisite training from the insurance institute of India for marketing insurance products and the bank was all set to sell insurance products.

He said that the union bank’s net profit at Rs 207.27 crore for the half year ended September 2002 was more than double the net profit for the half year ended September 2001 at Rs 102.53 crore —reflecting a growth of 102.16 per cent. Mr Leeladhar said that the operating profits stood at Rs 500.50 crore for the half year ended September 2002 as compared to Rs 294.98 crore over the same period last year, registering a growth of around 70 per cent.

He said the bank’s retail focus, both on the liability side and asset side, had shown good results during half year.

Saving banks’ portfolio had grown by an average of 15 per cent amounting to Rs 1,300 crore on a year-to-year basis between September 2001 and 2002 and 12 per cent in the last quarter.

Disbursement under retail loans for the half year amounted to Rs 700 crore and the total retail portfolio crossed Rs 5,000 crore mark at Rs 5,105 crore.

Home loans saw fresh disbursement of Rs 410 crore for the half year and the portfolio now stands at Rs 1,760 crore, the CMD informed while declaring the bank’s half-yearly results after the initial public pffer.

He also informed that the bank had taken up effective monitoring and recovery steps to tackle NPAs.

"Action under securities enforcement ordinance has been initiated against 712 defaulters with an outstanding of Rs 373 crore," he said and added that 30 per cent of the defaulters had now agreed to sit at the negotiating table. He said that during the half year EPs works out to be Rs 6.24 on a higher capital base of Rs 460.12 crore as against Rs 3.03 for the corresponding period last year which was on a capital base of Rs 338 crore.

The bank’s business continues to grow at an impressive rate with the total business mix going up by Rs 3,200 crore from Rs 62,300 crore to Rs 65,500 crore in the current year.

Total income stood at Rs 2,365 crore, up from the Rs 2,170 crore for the corresponding period last year, recording a growth of nine per cent.

The total expenditure at Rs 1,865 crore was lower than the corresponding period of last year when it was Rs 1,875 crore.

Mr Leeladhar pointed out that the interest income was up 9 per cent at Rs 2,144 crore as against Rs 1,967 crore.

On the expenditure side, interest expense for the half year had gone up a mere Rs 10 crore from Rs 1,367 crore to Rs 1,377 crore, supporting a growth of Rs 4,200 crore in the deposit base.

The spread had gone upto rs 767 crore for the current half year as against rs 600 crore in the first of the previous year, recording a 28 per cent increase in spread.

Employee productivity has also gone up by Rs 30 lakh during the current half year ended Sept 2002 from Rs 2.24 crore to Rs 2.54 crore.

"Extensive emphasis has been laid to computerisation so that we can serve our customers better," he added. (UNI)

Kerala to revive PSUs schemes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 24: Kerala Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty today said a Rs 250-crore scheme for the revival of public sector undertakings in the state was under consideration.

Inaugurating the sale of rutile grade pigment at the Travancore Titanium Products Limited here, he said the Government would not unilaterally implement the report of the enterprises reforms committee headed by R C Chaudhary.

He said the Government would take the employees into confidence before going ahead with the restructuring of the PSUs. However, employees should understand the reality of the situation at a time when the PSUs were facing challeges to their existence. (UNI)

BEL pays Rs 30 crore dividend to Government

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) presented a dividend cheque for more than Rs 30 crore to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today.

The cheque for 30,34,48,000 was presented to the Prime Minister by Chairman and Managing Director of the company V K Koshy.

BEL clocked net profit of Rs 200 crore on a turnover of Rs 1,942 crore in 2001-02.

It paid 50 per cent dividend to shareholders last fiscal. (UNI)

Kerala expects fresh investment of Rs 5000 cr

PATHANAMTHITTA, Oct 24: With the creation of a positive labour atmosphere, the UDF Government in Kerala is expecting a fresh investment totalling Rs 5,000 crore in different sectors of the economy, PCC president K Muraleedharan said today.

The global investors meet, scheduled to be held at Kochi in February, would give a major break to the state’s industry, he told newspersons here.

Mr Muraleedharan, who was here in connection with the district-level political assessment meeting of the ruling United Democratic Front, said the Government was also planning a major market intervention programmme to assist the farmers.

Streamlining the structure of higher and professional education was another of the major achievements of the 16-month-old Antony Government, he added.

Mr Muraleedharan averred that no public utility undertaking, including the KEEB, Water Authority and the Road Transport Corporation, would be privatised while going in for ADB loans. "Unlike in other states, the ADB loan would be utilised with due weight to agriculture development," he pointed out.

On CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister owning up the "failure" of the UDF in delivering tangible results, the PCC chief ruled out any change in the leadership, saying that the UDF would rectify the flaws, if any, and refurbish the image of the Government.

He also pointed out that the working of different departments would be scrutinised for the betterment of performance. (UNI)

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