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| Bankers averse to return of capital to Government MUMBAI, Dec 14: Bankers are of the opinion that the Government should hold back its decision on seeking ‘return of.........more Sar
Silicon Ltd introduces Excelsior Correspondent NEW DELHI, Dec 14: SAR Silicon Systems Private Limited, India’s leading marketing and distribution company dealing......more Year of
lost opportunities KOCHI, Dec 14: Despite generating initial interest among potential investors in the state immediately after the Global....more Inflation
rises to NEW DELHI, Dec 14: A sharp five per cent fall in fruits and vegetables prices notwithstanding, the annual rate of inflation......more |
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Rupee seen ticking higher with RBI intervention checking gains MUMBAI, Dec 14: The rupee is seen ticking higher during the week on expectation of robust foreign fund inflows and....more Stock
markets to MUMBAI, Dec 14: Share prices are expected to surge further during the week on sustained foreign fund buying on the back......more Gold,
silver scale MUMBAI, Dec 14: Prices of gold, silver along with groundnut raw and palmolien oils prices....more New look
Rajdhani MUMBAI, Dec 14: The new rajdhani express with an international look will be flagged off tomorrow from western railway’s....more |
Bankers averse to return of capital to Government MUMBAI, Dec 14: Bankers are of the opinion that the Government should hold back its decision on seeking ‘return of capital’ from public sector banks because majority of the state-owned banks are low capitalised and would need more funds to meet the growing business requirements in future. During the interaction with a cross section of participants at the banks economists conference this weekend, bankers told UNI that the recapitalisation and consolidation of the Indian Banking Industry would be the most crucial agenda in the years to come. Integrating and strengthening of banks with cross-holding of capital and strategic alliances to optimise the utilisation of resources and infrastructure would be the order of the days in future, they said. "Two years down the line, banks will require fresh capital...At that time, the Government may choose to sell (its equity) at the market related prices", said Michael Bastian, CMD of Syndicate Bank. As the Basel-II accord would compel the banks to meet higher Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) in terms of credit risk, Indian Banks would find it a daunting task to enhance their capital formation, he observed. Further, in the given situation of higher level of Non-Performance Assets (NPAs), the current level of profitability and business expansion would not be achieved in future without the infusion of additonal capital. As the owner, the Government had provided capital mainly to weaker banks and return of such capital was never a consideration. So far, it infused a sum of Rs 22,516-crore into the state-owned banks through its capitalisation programme. Such capital infusion did not result in any cash flow into the receiver as the capital was reinvested in Government securities yielding low interest. "Receipt of capital was just a book entry with advantage of interest income from the securities", said R S Raghavan, Senior Manager of Vijaya Bank. He siad, "however, this infusion of capital had helped the PSBs to attain double digit capital adequacry ratio by March 2003 barring the Dena Bank". Though the banking sector became the major wealth creator in the bourses next to the Information Technology (IT) sector, such growth may not be sustainable if the banks continued to capitalise themselves on the low interest rate regime by selling high yielding investments. Rita Rai from Bank of Baroda said that while in the first stage of reforms, focus was on strengthening the balance sheets of individual banks, the stage is now set for consolidation among the state-owned banks in order to attain a critical mass. "This is a critical roadmap as the banking industry would face increased competiton in the post-2005 period when the service sector opens up under the WTO regime", she said. Dr Rai expected that the consolidation among the public sector banks would see the emergence of 4-5 larger banks with national presence which would be complemented by niche players mainly from new private banks and foreign banks. (UNI) |
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Sar Silicon Ltd introduces Instant LPG Geysers Excelsior Correspondent NEW DELHI, Dec 14: SAR Silicon Systems Private Limited, India’s leading marketing and distribution company dealing with invertors, UPS, voltage stabilizers, geysers and water purifiers, has introduced state of the art Tez Instant LPG Geysers. The marvel of the latest Italian technology - Tez Instant LPG Geyser, comes with unique ‘winter and summer knob option’ that results in the ultra-high efficiency and saves on effort to get water at the desired temperature. It also maintains a running cost of only 30 per cent of that of electric geysers. Manufactured in an ISO 9001 plant, the Tez Instant Geyser, is an ideal combination of safety, efficiency and economy. It is priced at Rs 5490 and comes in a single variant of 6 liters. The product comes with the safety features like temperature safety device, 2-in-1 pressure release and drain valve, flue restrictor and in-built over-heating safety features. These fully automatic LPG Geysers switch on with with turning the tap and come with in built 20 minute timer to switch off the geyser automatically. Further, the LPG Geyser comes with remarkable safety features and are designed to suit Indian need, claimed Mr Rakesh Malhotra, Managing Director of SAR Silicon Systems Private Limited. |
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Year of lost
opportunities as investors KOCHI, Dec 14: Despite generating initial interest among potential investors in the state immediately after the Global Investors Meet (GIM), 2003 was a year of missed opportunities for Kerala as political bickerrings within the ruling Congress took Centre stage and economic agenda was pushed to the background. The year began with much promise with the successful conduct of the first-ever GIM here in January which saw proposals worth nearly Rs 26,000 crore coming up, including Rs 10,000 crore announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the GIM. Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) worth Rs 16,000 crore were signed during the two-day meet on Jan 18 and 19, when 80 projects worth Rs 31,000 crore were showcased by the Government. It was Euphoria all round immediately after GIM as it was for the first time so much interst had been generated for the state, which is described as south India’s ‘Bihar’. However, the picture was rosy only for a few days as most of the MoUs signed remained only on paper and hardly a few took off. According to industry sources, the infighting in the Congress and the consequent damocles’ sword hanging over the A K Antony Government left its impact on the industrial scene. The Chief Minister’s clean image and the new investor-friendly destination Kerala was projecting for itself, would have reaped good dividends in the years to come. However, that was not to be. The Government announced a new industrial policy to attract a steady stream of investment in industry, infrastructure and core strength sectors by creating a congenial investment climate. New it, labour and tourism policies were also announced. However, all these initiatives appear not to have paid dividends with Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty himself admitting that 2003 was a ‘lost year’. According to S R Nair, president of the Kerala Management Association (KMA), the political bickerings in the ruling Congress saw the economy coming to a standstill since the past six to seven months and this played a major role in denting the state’s image as an investor-friendly destination. Nair said during the GIM, local industry and business were not involved as the organisers were looking at big investors. "Most of the projects were of very high magnitude needing very high investment" and investors would naturally be cautious, he said when asked why most of the mous remained only on paper. Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) sources here said GIM’s objective was to create a platform to showcase Kerala and to change the perception that it was not an investor-friendly destination. That has been successful to some extent but most of the MoUs remained only on paper, they said. Whether thorough homework was done before signing of MoUs and if follow-up measures were undertaken, needs to be looked into, the sources told PTI. (PTI) |
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Inflation rises to 5.25 per cent NEW DELHI, Dec 14: A sharp five per cent fall in fruits and vegetables prices notwithstanding, the annual rate of inflation rose marginally by 0.01 per cent to 5.25 per cent for the week ended November 29. It was significantly higher than 3.40 per cent during the same period last year. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based rate was 5.24 per cent during the previous week chiefly because of a steep one per cent decline in the prices of primary articles’ group and cheaper edible oils. Reserve Bank of India Governor Y V Reddy has said there was no concern on the inflation front and the bank was sticking to its November monetary policy review forecast of 4.0-4.5 per cent with a downward bias at the end of 2003-04. The WPI for all commodities declined by 0.2 per cent to 176.3 points from 176.7 during the previous week because of fall in indices of primary articles (1.0 per cent). The index for primary articles was down due to lower prices of fish-marine (10 per cent), fruits and vegetables (5 per cent), barley (4 per cent), urad (2 per cent) and arhar and gram (1 per cent each). However, the price of poultry chicken and jowar (2 per each) and eggs, masur, condiments and spices, wheat and fish-inland (1 per each) moved up. The index for non food articles registered 0.3 per cent decline to 182.7 from 183.2 due to lower prices of raw silk (6 per cent), gingelly seed and skins (raw) (3 per cent each), soyabean and raw rubber (2 per cent each). However, the index for the major group of fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged at the previous week’s level of 253.6 and the index of manufactured products remained the same at the previous week’s level of 157.1 per cent. Among the manufactured products, the index for food products group declined by 0.5 per cent to 163.9 from 164.8 due to lower prices of khandsari and rice barn oil (4 per cent each), oil cakes (3 per cent), solvent extracted groundnut oil, salt and coconut oil (2 per cent each). However, the prices of hydrogenated vanaspati and gingelly oil rose by one per cent each. The index for textiles group declined by 0.4 per cent to 135.2 from 135.7 due to lower prices of wollen yarn (7 per cent), tyre cord fabric (4 per cent) and cotton yarn-cones (3 per cent). However, the prices of texturised yarn (3 per cent) and yarn-hanks and synthetic yarn (1 per cent each) moved up. Chemicals and chemical products’ index increased by 0.3 per cent to 177.3 from 176.7 due to higher prices of epoxy resins (81 per cent), endosulfan (3 per cent) and monocrotophos (2 per cent). The index for non-metallic mineral products’ rose by 1.4 per cent to 149.2 from 147.2 per cent due to two per cent hike in prices of cement. The index for machinery and machine tools’ group fell by 0.3 per cent to 132.7 from 133.1 due to lower prices of excavator (18 per cent). (UNI) |
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Rupee seen ticking higher with
RBI intervention MUMBAI, Dec 14: The rupee is seen ticking higher during the week on expectation of robust foreign fund inflows and subdued import demand on the back of a weakening greenback overseas, even as the intervention by the state-run banks could restrict the domestic currency’s rally, dealers said. The vulnerability of the dollar in global markets, the unabated inflows from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) who have made a net investment of Rs 1,409.5-crore in equity market during the previous week and the quantum jump in forex reserve by whopping 1.449-billion to a new record high of 97.520-billion would boost the sentiment on the rupee, a treasury head at a private brokerage firm said. However, the extend of the intervention by the state-run banks, apparently acting on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would dictate the rupee’s range. "The overall sentiment continues to be bullish, with the dollar still showing weakness in overseas markets, strong foreign fund inflows despite the approaching year-end, the political stability and the improving Indo-Pak relations", he added. FIIs investment stood at a whopping Rs 32,021.6-crore since January 1 this year, nearly nine times higher than their net investment of Rs 3,677.7-crore in the whole year 2002. During the week-ended December 12, the rupee ended 5 paise stronger at 45.55 as compared to previous week’s close of 45.60, amid strong trade and capital inflows and steady intervention by the state-run banks. Though the inflows from foreign funds and exporters were much higher than the feeble import demand, absorbing major part of the dollar inflows by PSU banks and limiting the rupee’s gains, dealers said. The rupee which appreciated by 37 paise from November 25 and gained Rs 2.42 or 5.04 per cent since January 1 this year, is still reportedly undervalued over 1 per cent on trade-weighted basis following the sharper gains made by major global currencies like the euro, pound and yen against the battered dollar. Forward dollar premiums moved up during the week due to a rise in cash dollar supplies. The surplus dollars prompted banks to transact sell-buy swaps to hold higher yielding rupees, though near forwards traded with a nominal discount. The sixth month annualised premium closed higher at 0.14 per cent as compared to a marginal discount of 0.08 per cent in the previous weekend. In cross currency deals, the rupee fell sharply by 116 paise against the pound sterling at 79.66 (78.50), 69 paise down against the euro at 55.75 (55.06) and nine paise weaker against Japanese yen at 42.22 (42.13). At the international forex markets, the dollar continued its slippery trend against major currencies during the week on widening trade deficit. The euro touched a record high of 1.2276 on Tuesday, before ending the week at 1.2234. The dollar, already weak against the yen, lost ground further to 107.76 yen. Elsewhere, sterling climbed to a fresh 11-year high 1.7509, but eased back to 1.7459. In october the us trade deficit widened to 41.77-billion versus a slight upward revision to 41.34-billion in September. (UNI) |
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Stock markets to march ahead
sensex seen MUMBAI, Dec 14: Share prices are expected to surge further during the week on sustained foreign fund buying on the back of strong economic fundamentals, brokers said. "The sentiment continues to be bullish on the back of the weekend gains in the US markets and the unabated foreign fund inflows despite the year-end", Summit Lala and Vipul Mehta, analysts at the Asit C Mehta intermediaries said. "The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensex which ended the previous week at a 44-month high of 5,315.85 points, would march ahead to 5,400 points level in a couple of session, before showing some minor correction on profit booking", they added. Despite being the last month of the year, FIIs have pumped in Rs 3,249.7 crore so far in December, taking their total investment to a whopping Rs 32,021.6 since January one this year, nearly nine times higher than their net investment of Rs 3,677.7 in the whole year 2002. During the week ended December 12, the market extended its winning streak, as buying continued almost unabated in frontline and second-line stocks. The 30-share bse sensitive index (sensex) gained 184.09 points, or 3.59 per cent to end at 5,315.81, a new 44-month high, while the nse S p CNX Nifty index gained 52.50 points or 3.19 per cent to 1,698.30. Besides the strong macro-economic factors that spurted foreign fund inflows, political stability and the rising hope of peace at the India-Pakistan border, also kept up the tempo. Gains continued almost across the board, even as occasional profit booking in certain sectors, slowed down the rally. Old economy stocks continued to rise on expectations of solid growth in earnings in the current quarter. Most of the cement scrips posted smart gains on reports that cement makers have resorted to a production cut to boost cement prices, while software stocks were boosted by solid gains in Indian tech ADRs and the US markets in general during he week. ITC shares shrugged off rumours of a possible ban on tobacco advertisements and ended the week 6.26 per cent higher at Rs 965.05. ONGC jumped over 12 per cent to Rs 690.45 during the week on reports that Sudan will award the company contracts worth 750-million next month. The State Bank of India shares moved up 3.22 per cent at Rs 474.45 after the bank’s Chairman reportedly said that the bank expects its non-food credit to rise by 15 per cent in the current financial year. Other banking sector stocks also moved up expectation that credit offtake will pick up in the coming months on the back of an economic recovery. ICICI bank rose 7.56 per centto Rs 279.50 and HDFC bank 9.89 per cent up at Rs 360.45. Cement majors Gujarat Ambuja shot up by 7.78 per cent to Rs 304.10, ACC up 2.46 per cent at Rs 227 and Grasim 5.72 per cent up at Rs 916.10 amid talks that a hike in cement prices may be forthcoming next week. Among the tech majors wipro surged 6.67 per cent to Rs 1,607.20, Infosys tech 2.42 per cent up at Rs 5,030.75 and Satyam Computer 4.05 per cent up at Rs 343.20. PSU major HPCL rose 4.91 per cent to Rs 407.75 and IOC gained 6.39 per cent to Rs 406.15 after the companies announced that they would consider interim dividend for FY 2003-04. (UNI) |
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Gold, silver scale new heights, edible oils rise, sugar dips MUMBAI, Dec 14: Prices of gold, silver along with groundnut raw and palmolien oils prices witnessed firm trends on sustained good seasonal demand from local dealers and firm advice from global and upcountry markets during the last week, ending December 13, traders of the local wholesale markets said here. But sugar prices drifted lower during the week on poor demand from bulk consumers in the face of increased stocks supply by mills, traders informed. Gold and silver touched a new peak this year on firm global advice. Both gold and silver prices gradually moved up during the week and finally both prices touched a new peak mainly on strong advice from London, New York, Kolkata, Delhi and other markets, a bullion merchant said. Prices of spot gold 99.9 purity grade and standard mint 99.5 purity varieties continued to climb northwards. It closed at an all-time high of Rs 6,140 and Rs 6,100 per ten GM respectively with gains of Rs 50 each during the week. While silver price crossed Rs 9,000 mark during the mid-week and closed on a new high at Rs 9,040 per Kg with a handsome gains of Rs 200 during the week. Bullish advice from the overseas market and some seasonal demand were said to be the main reasons for the steep climb, traders at the Bombay bullion markets here said. Traders attribute the bullish trend mainly to the firm advice from international markets, particularly London. Demand had also increased due to the forthcoming Chirstmas festival season and also the due to the onset of the marriage season. Sellers were hoarding stocks in view of some speculative demand from local operators. Traders said that the domestic market saw an upward trend due to positive movements in the London market, the yellow metal was quoted higher at around 408.15/409.50 per troy ounce from its earlier week ended rates of 403/404 per troy ounce. At the London market, white metal was quoted higher at around 5.60/5.62 per troy ounce from its previous week-end’s finish, traders added. Prices of sesameseed grades, groundnut, rapeseed refined mowra oils flared up on lesser stocks. In oils segments (per 10kgs), groundnut raw gradually moved up during the week and finally rose by Rs 13 to Rs 480 while sunflower refined and sunflower solvent refined grades prices gained by around Rs 5 during the week and were quoted high at Rs 450 and Rs 500 respectively on sustained good demand from retailers along with firm advice from producing areas, particularly Gujarat. Similarly, sesame expeller, rice bran and castor commercial grades also hiked by around Rs 15-20 and touched Rs 510, Rs 400 and Rs 375 respectively in line with edible oil prices. While mowra and karanji oils prices gained by around Rs 10 each to Rs 360 and Rs 320 respectively on improved demand by dealers and lesser stocks supply from producing centres. In seeds group (per quintal), sesame whitish and sesame 95/5 grades shot up by Rs 375 and Rs 275 respectively during the week and quoted at Rs 3,950 and Rs 3,700 respectively on heavy demand from millers and lesser stocks. Similarly, kardi, and castorseed prices hiked sharply by Rs 70 each to Rs 2,100 and Rs 1,725 respectively in line with sesame prices. While groundnut kernel and javas prices also jumped up by Rs 115, and Rs 25 during the week to Rs 2,450 and Rs 2,775 respectively on sustained brisk demand from millers and lesser stocks arrivals from producing areas particularly Gujarat. But groundnut bold price crashed by Rs 85 during the week and touched a low at Rs 2,515 due to increased stocks supply from producing areas and poor demand from millers. Sugar prices eased during the week on increased stocks supply from mills. Prices of small and medium grades drifted lower by Rs 15 and Rs 10 respectively during the week and were quoted low at Rs 1,290/1,329 and Rs 1.320/1,380 per quintal respectively on sustained heavy offering by stockists induced by larger release of stocks around 25,000 bags (per 100Kgs) by Maharashtra State Co-operative Mills, traders said. The main reason was the thin demand from bulk consumer and retailers on the face of higher stocks arrivals from the mills. The market sentiment continued to remain cautious and the total volume traded was quite restricted, sources added. During the week the co-operative sugar factories in Maharashtra accepted tenders from wholesale dealers at lower rates from Rs 1,220/1,245 for small grade and for medium grade at Rs 1,260/1,290, traders added. (UNI) |
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New look Rajdhani to be flagged off from mumbai today MUMBAI, Dec 14: The new rajdhani express with an international look will be flagged off tomorrow from western railway’s Mumbai central station here. Western Railway General Manager R M Agarwal will flag-off the train at 1655 Hrs in the presence of senior railway officials, Wr Chief spokesperson Shailendra Kumar said. The train will have indigenously developed coaches from the rail coach factory, Kapurthala, it is built with technology transfer package from Alstom Linka Hoffman Busch (LHB) of Germany. According to railway officials, passenger safety had been given paramount importance in developing these coaches. Anti-corrosive stainless steel has been used to prevent the bogies from rusting during the rainy season. The joints attaching two coaches have also been improved. Essentially the coach being inducted is longer, but lighter, maintenance friendly and aesthetic in appearance. The seats have been designed for more comfort and the windows are bigger. The sources said passengers will notice a marked reduction in the noise due to the anti-drumming feature and sound insulation. (UNI) |
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First national conference of
telecom employees’ MYSORE, Dec 14: The first three-day All India Conference of the National Federation of Telecom Employees’ of the BSNL will be held here from January 2. General Secretary and Chairman of the Organising Committee D V Venkatiah told newspersons here today that over 6,000 delegates from across the country were expected to participate in the conference which would discuss several issues including employee problems, pension scheme and service protection. (UNI) |
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400 small, tiny foundry units to go on indefinite strike COIMBATORE, Dec 14: About 400 small and tiny foundry units in this district of Tamil Nadu are all set to go on an indefinite strike from tomorrow to protest the frequent hike in the prices of raw material. Informing this to newspersons here yesterday, Mr Shivasanmughakumar, Joint Secretary, Coimbatore Tiny and Small Foundry Owners’ Association (COSMAFAN), said the units would suffer a loss of Rs two lakh per day due to the agitation. "Each individual foundry owner will suffer a loss of Rs 5,000 per day," he claimed. The total production capacity of the 400 small and tiny foundry units, members of the COSMAFAN, is about 20,000 tonnes of castings per month. Over the past six months, there had been a 50 to 60 per cent rise in prices of essential raw materials like pig iron, scrap and coke. In January 2003, the price of pig iron per tonne was Rs 9,500 which had risen to Rs 16,000 now, he added. Even for scrap and coke, the rise had been from Rs 7,500 to Rs 12,500 and Rs 8,400 to Rs 14,600 per tonne respectively over a six-month period. COSMAFAN secretary R Udayakumar said such fluctuating prices of raw materials had put the foundry owners in a spot, especially as they were unable to fix the prices of end products. Prices remained constant when the raw material needs catered to public sector undertakings like SAIL, he pointed out. Private steel manufacturers with the help of middlemen and brokers could create an artificial demand, they feared and sought Government intervention for supply of raw materials at reduced prices. (UNI) |
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Indo Asian sees spurt in CFI sales after BIS norms NEW DELHI, Dec 14: Country’s second largest Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) manufacturer Indo Asian group expects a jump in its sales after mandatory BIS quality certification norms are implemented from June next year which would clear the market of poor quality domestic and imported CFLs. Currently, a whopping 60 per cent of the market is cornered by cheap sub-standard chinese products, which are expected to be completely wiped out once the BIS quality norms are in place, Indo Asian group Chairman V P Mahendru told UNI here. Indo Asian accounts for 30 per cent of the remaining indigenous CFL market with 40 per cent serviced by Osram. Though the market would initially decline by 50 per cent, it would surge again due to ready availability of good quality products and awareness generation campaign for using CFLs against energy guzzling ordinary bulbs, Mr Mahindroo said. Above all economy of scale for the Indian manufacturers will enable them go for cost cutting, bringing down prices of high quality bis mandatory products. Chinese sub-standard, low cost CFLs would practically be wiped out as they will have to upgrade their product quality for implementation of the BIS quality norms in which case they would have to improve quality and will not be able to sell the products at the existing cheap rates. (UNI) IOC’s Gujarat refinery bags Greentech Platinum award KHAJURAHO, Dec 14: The Gujarat refinery of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) has won the Greentech 2003 Platinum award for excellent performance in environment management and pollution control in the petroleum sector. Greentech — a non-profit organisation for promoting industrial safety, environment management and pollution control — gave away the awards in various categories after a two-day conference, which began here here on Friday. Public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s Mumbai refinery, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s Mumbai Refinery and ONGC Ltd, Ankleshwar, bagged the gold award. National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd’s Faridabad plant won the gold in the gas sector while Bharat Heavy Engineering Ltd, Bangalore, bagged the gold in the engineering category. "The awards have encouraged healthy competition among industries to excel in the critical field of environment management," Greentech Foundation president Kamaleshwar Sharan said. "They also allow comparative analysis of initiatives of public and private sector companies in pollution control and management," he added. Environment engineers and experts presented technical papers during the seminar. Ministry of Environment and Forests Joint Director R K Suri stressed on the need for making environmental reporting mandatory for manufacturing companies, besides opting for life cycle analysis and environmental design. He delineated step for banking and finance companies, retailers — considered non-polluters — and business and industry associations to ensure cleaner environment. Presentations were also made on emerging issues and technologies including the environment-friendly oilivorous technology for oily sludge disposal, use of polyethylene geo-membrane for pollution control and use of plastics for environment protection. (UNI) |
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