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| Despite recoveries PSB saddled with Rs 54,086 crore NPA NEW DELHI, Oct 5: The Public Sector Banks are still saddled with non-performing assets of Rs 54,086 crore, notwit......more Festive
season spells NEW DELHI, Oct 5: "Boom". The festive season has arrived and so have an entire range of lucrative discounts, bargains.......more Over 35
Indian COs to SINGAPORE, Oct 5: As many as 25 Indian companies will participate in a Mega exhibition, Expo OIC 2003, to be held in.....more India to
diversify BEIJING, Oct 5: With China emerging as a top export destination, India is looking at ways to provide more depth and.......more |
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Akhnoor branch of Citizens’ Bank holds function Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 5: The Citizens’ Cooperative Bank, Akhnoor branch, organized a . .....more Hero
Majestic Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 5: Hero Majestic Ltd today launched Hero Effy in Jammu. The bike will be available at Sukhmani ......more NEW DELHI, Oct 5: Increase in prices of fruits, vegetables and edible oil pushed up....more Sexual
harassment BANGALORE, Oct 5: Igate global solutions, employers of Mr Phaneesh Murthy, .....more |
| Despite recoveries PSB saddled with Rs
54,086 crore NPA NEW DELHI, Oct 5: The Public Sector Banks are still saddled with non-performing assets of Rs 54,086 crore, notwithstanding the impressive recoveries of Rs 18,127 crore by March 31, 2003 as a result of Government taking decisive steps which pushed banks to curtail their bad debts. The figure of aggregate NPAs is for March 31, 2003 and the key instrument used by PSU banks to liquidate there NPAs was the Securitisation Act. The recoveries include upgradation, compromises and write-offs. The recoveries made by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) increased from Rs 13,993 crore as on March 31,2002 to Rs 18,127 crore as on March 31, 2003. The gross NPA’s of PSBs were of the order of Rs 53,033 crore in 2000 and increased to Rs 54,672 crore in 2001 and further to Rs 56,477 crore. However, in 2003 they fell to Rs 54,086 crore. The net NPA’s, which were Rs 26,187 crore in 2000 (7.4 per cent net NPAs to net advances), rose to Rs 27,977 crore in 2001 (6.7 per cent) and fell slightly thereafter to Rs 27,674 crore in 2002 (5.76 per cent) and further declined to Rs 24,601 crore (4.48 per cent). The Government has taken a number of other major steps to reduce NPAs. These include effective action for rehabilitation, one time settlement and filing of suits taking recourse to lok adalats for recovery of NPAs for suits below four lakhs, setting up of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs), enforcement of security interest without the intervention of courts, setting up of central registry, developing credit information bureau and corporate debt restructuring. License has been granted by the RBI for setting up three ARCs and there is a proposal to hike the ceiling in the case of lok adalats to Rs ten lakhs, official sources say. In the case of foreign banks, the gross NPAs which were Rs 3106 crors (6.8 per cent to gross advances) by end March 2001, fell to Rs 2726 crore (5.4 per cent as a percentage of gross advances). In 2000, the gross NPAs of foreign banks were only Rs 2614 crores or seven per cent of gross advances. As regards financial institutions, the gross NPAs fell from Rs 27,156 crore by end March 2001 to Rs 22,555 crore by end March 2002. In the year 2000, the gross NPAs were of the order of Rs 24,285 crore for financial institutions, which includes the IDBI, ICICI, IFCI, IIBI, Exim Bank, SIDBI, IDFC and NEDFI. The net NPAs rose from Rs 16,952 crore in 2000 to Rs 16,526 crore in 2001 but fell to Rs 10,890 crore in 2002 in the case of these FIS. Under the Securitisation Act, notices have been issued in 32,093 cases and the amount involved is Rs 11,447 crores. Recovery was done in 8,676 cases and the amount recovered was Rs 435.68 crores. In the case of financial institutions, 160 notices were issued for an amount involved was Rs 6,937 crore. Recovery was done in 22 cases and the amount recovered was Rs 38.84 crore. In the case of old private sector banks, the gross NPAs were of the order of Rs 4346 crores by end-March 2001 and increased to Rs 4850 crore by end March 2002. The percentage of gross NPAs to gross advances increased from 10.9 per cent by end March 2001 to 11 per cent by end March 2002. In the year 2000, the old private sector banks had NPAs totalling Rs 3815 crore which is 10.8 per cent of gross advances. The net NPAs of old private sector banks rose from Rs 2393 crore (7.1 per cent net NPAs to net advnaces) to Rs 2771 crore (7.3 per cent) and further to Rs 3005 crore (7.1 per cent). As regards the new private sector banks gross NPAs increased from Rs 1617 crore by end March 2001 to Rs 6822 crore by end March 2002. As a percentage to gross advances the figure was 5.1 per cent in end March 2001 and increased to 8.9 per cent by end March 2002. In the year 2000 the gross NPAs were 946 crore and constituted 4.1 per cent of the gross advances. The net NPAs of new private sector banks rose from Rs 638 crore in 2000 (2.9 per cent net NPAs to net advances) to Rs 929 crore (3.1 per cent) and steeply to Rs 3663 crore (4.9 per cent). (UNI) |
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Festive season spells boom time
for NEW DELHI, Oct 5: "Boom". The festive season has arrived and so have an entire range of lucrative discounts, bargains and attractive offers, enticing shoppers to glittery, decked-up markets across the country and sending shopkeepers into a tizzy. "Festive dhamaka", "Tyohaar Loot", "Rub Kar Kae Dekho contest", "scratch and win" — these are just some of the slogans in full-page newspaper advertisements and on hoardings, inviting shoppers’ to markets, promising not only attractive prices but also much, much more... These include chances to win trips abroad and prizes like cars, along with guaranteed gifts, for manufacturers and traders, this season is like no other, from the Navratras, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali to Christmas and New Year, when sales of all kinds of goods peak and help boost the annual figures. Thanks to a good monsoon season in most parts of the country and falling interest rates, consumers seem more willing than ever before to loosen their purse strings. But whether this will translate into higher sales than previous years, remains to be seen. However, the third consecutive year of drought in Karnataka could result in celebrations and shopping remaining confined to urban areas, especially the capital city Bangalore. The national capital has turned into a shoppers’ paradise with exhibitions of various types — "all under one roof" outlets —from clothes, bedsheets, home and kitchen appliances... The list goes on. While the halls at the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation are hosting a variety of shows like heimtextil India (India international fair for home and household textiles and accessories), watches and jewellery exhibition, similar fairs can be seen in other parts of the capital also. The markets clearly display the festive mood. Notwithstanding high security arrangements, people can be seen thronging the city’s popular markets and the air of festivity can hardly be missed with decorated shops offering some of the season’s best discounts on practically all items. UNI reports from major cities of the country said the mood was similar in most places, with people weighing the various discounts and freebies on offer. Knight Frank India has ranked the country as fifth in the list of 30 emerging retail markets globally, predicting 20 percent growth for the segment by 2010. It has predicted that an organised retail industry will take shape in the country, with 200 malls slated to come up in the next five years. Increasing disposable income and changing attitudes will aid growth and organised retail will grow exponentially in the next five years, the study said. Traders at the Bombay bullion market say the two major festivals, Dussera and Diwali, always fuel the consumer spending on gold. This time, the demand is for the 99.9 purity variety when compared to other gold standards, and the .999 fineness grade silver. "The response from customers this season has been good so far and we are expecting business to further increase during Diwali, too. The prices are also expected to pick up in the wake of availability of disposable income with customers," traders said. While gold and other precious metals seem to be the first choice of the traditional festive shoppers, a beeline has started building up at FMCG counters in Mumbai, too. According to the management of leading stores, Akbarallys, household items like crockery, electrical and kitchen appliances were moving faster this season than other items in the Dussera season. Managers of shopping malls said though it was too early to comment on the expected market volume rise from last year, Duseera 2003 looks definitely better than 2002. "This year’s Dussera is better than last year with a lot spending by consumers. We expect the same mood will be retained till the end of Diwali," they said. As banks compete with each other on interest rates for car loans, Mumbai and its suburbs are witnessing a host of ‘car melas’ this Dussera. But bankers were reluctant to give out any figures. "We are getting very good response from the market", said a car dealer. Offering up to Rs 50,000 as discount, ‘property melas’ are also conquering the Dussera shoppers. Builders have tied up with various banks for the purpose. "We are conducting the property mela till mid October and expect business worth about Rs 10 crore," officials of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry said. In Chennai, the festive mood has just begun and sales of consumer durables and jewellery are expected to peak closer to Diwali. Experts, however, expect this year to be much better than the last, which was marred by non-payment of bonus and other issues. Mr a Kodandarama setty, managing director of Viveks, a major retail player in south India, said the consumer durable industry is expected to witness a 20 per cent growth this festive season. "This would be possible as manufacturers have slashed prices. A flat television, that was priced at Rs 22,000 three years ago, is now available for just Rs 12,000," he pointed out. Manufacturers are offering hefty discounts and easy instalment schemes to attract buyers. "With no major lending happening to capital projects, retail finance is now viewed as the most secure lending. "A number of institutions have come out with attractive loans. In most cases, the manufacturers themselves attach lender to the product, thus making purchase easy and attractive. The lending procedures have also been simplified, making things easier," Mr Settty explained. According to him, the increasing use of credit cards was also helping. "currently, over 30 per cent sales happen through the use of credit cards," Mr Setty said. Televisions, music systems and refrigerators sell the most during the festive season, he said. Jewellery sales are also expected to be high this year. "The last ten days are the most exciting period for sale. New designs are of great attraction during this season," Mr G R Ananadapadmanabhan, proprietor, a jeweller said. However, non-payment of bonus to State Government employees and transport workers as well as the sacking of 6,072 Government employees for participating in the strike would have an adverse impact on the sales, he felt. In Gujarat, it was fun and revelry during the just-concluded Navaratri festival and the buoyant mood is visible in almost all walks of life. Popular choice for customers varies from dresses and footwear, gems and jewellery to popular consumer durables like TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, mobile phones and even automobiles. "Both consumers as well as traders are in an upbeat mood this season, at least in Gujarat, particularly after two bad years of earthquake in 2001 and communal violence in 2002," long-timers in the trade said. A wholesale diamond merchant in Ahmedabad said sales were 10-15 per cent higher than the last two years. A retail jeweller said there should be no comparison with the last two years, which were exceptionally bad. "This year, it is down by 8-10 per cent as compared to the last normal year (2000)," he said. Low interest rates on deposits has driven many away from saving, just as low interest rates on advances prompted people to spend on consumer goods. In Kolkata, with the festival season setting in, the already booming retail sector is raking in the Moolah, pepped up by spontaneous buying. The Puja season, the only time of the year when the people go in for purchases driven by "instinct", has acted as a fuel to the to the already flourishing retail industry in the region. With Durga Puja, the Laxmi Puja and the "Diwali’ coming in quick succession, the crowded streets with shoppers are a common sight. Kolkata has witnessed a major growth in shopping malls in recent years, with giants like shoppers stop, landmark promoted by the emami group, pantaloons, the big bazaar, westside and metro plaza setting up shop and the presence of department stores like "Dakshinapan" and the city’s own "new market".. Readymade shirts and trousers are the most in demand, followed by consumer durables. Gold and steel utensils were not much in demand with many people moving towards diamond jewellery. Gold shop owners are hoping demand will pick up closer to Diwali. Shopkeepers in Kolkata also felt spending had gone up because of easy credit and the growing popularity of plastic money. In Karnataka, it is a case of urban festival spending contrasting with rural gloom. The third consecutive year of drought in the state has meant that celebrations and shopping are confined to urban areas, especially the capital city Bangalore. On the whole, however, traders are hopeful and expect spending in urban areas to make up for the shortfall in rural expenditure. While drought is cited is as the most prominent downer, the pick-up in the it sector, plentiful loans on easy terms and attractive promotion schemes have lifted the mood among the trading community. "Since it is the consumers from urban areas who are expected to splurge this time, we see sales of consumer durables and other high-end items to dominate," according to Bangalore Trades Association (BTA) secretary B P Srinath. "The easing of interest rates and competition among banks to step up retail lending has definitely helped our cause," he observed. Mr Srinath declined to hazard a guess about the volume of sales expected, but cited the example of car sales to depict the general festival mood here. On October 1, 200 cars were sold in Bangalore compared to about 40 vehicles sold on a normal day. This year, BTA’s promotional scheme has offered prizes worth Rs 10 lakhs, including a bumper prize of a car. Jayanagar Traders Association president Prakash Mundoth said the 200 traders in his area — one of the busiest shopping areas in Bangalore — expected to post a turnover of Rs 100 crores between October and December. The JTA’s promotional schemes will give away cars, bikes and mopeds. Mysore, which is now in the midst of Dussara celebrations, has been seeing a heavy inflow of tourists—local and foreign —contributing to consumer spending. Traders there have reported an average 30 per cent increase in their business and occupancy in hotels has been in the 85-90 per cent range. In Rajasthan, farmers have begun harvesting a good kharif crop this year, ending the sluggish mood of the past four years of drought and injecting a sense of bouyancy to the business environment. Market analysts say unlike the last four years, people will tend to spend this year. An indication of the tight control people had over spending during drought years comes from the fact that despite mounting non-performing assets, 23 of the 26 central cooperative banks in Rajasthan made a profit of more than 33.3 crore in 2002-03. Bajra, a major kharif crop, has started arriving at Mandis while pulses, groundnut, maize and the other kharif crops will start arriving shortly. Business is expected to boom this Diwali season. Already, the mood is upbeat in city markets where hectic holiday shopping is being witnessed. The start of the wedding season is fuelling the feel good factor. The Government too is expected to announce da and bonus for its employees before Diwali. Big crowds can be seen at shopping carnivals in different parts of the state capital. "people from nearby villages and townships too are coming here," said Kiran Gupta, organising committee president of the "royal shopping fun" at the Jayanti market here. Various market associations and businessmen are wooing customers with banners and advertisement announcing "bumper draws" every day. Even luxury cars are being offered in prizes. Business is good in almost every item. "people are buying even such items that will be of use next summer," Ms Gupta said. A good number of customers can also be seen at shops selling TVs, refrigerators, clothes, jewellery and utensils. Vehicle sales are leading the show. There is a rush for vehicle registration at the regional transport office. As many as 635 two-wheelers and 86 four-wheelers were registered at the transport office on Wednesday and Thursday alone. The vehicle registration window remained open throughout the week. Heavy rush of buyers can be seen at the shopping carnivals at Jayanti market, Amroodon Ka Bagh, Chougan stadium and Raja park, among other places. In Shimla, despite the influx of tourists in the festive season, there have been no significant gains for the shopkeepers. Tourists, particularly from West Bengal, have thronged the town and other resorts like Kullu and Manali but they are as usual focussing on sight-seeing rather than shopping. Many of them throng the eating joints on the Mall road but shun buying household or other items as they say that these are cheaper back home. "We are here for the Durga Puja festival and are visiting the numerous shrines in the state," Aditya Banerjee, a resident of hooghly who is here alongwith his family, said. However, local handicrafts, like decorative candles and wollden artifacts and Himachali caps are making a good sale as souvenirs. Even the discounts offered on clothes, television sets and other items have not attracted customers, though there has been an increase in the buying of winterwear by locals. (UNI) |
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Over 35 Indian COs to participate in Expo OIC SINGAPORE, Oct 5: As many as 25 Indian companies will participate in a Mega exhibition, Expo OIC 2003, to be held in conjunction with the 10th session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Kuala Lumpur Oct 14-19. Over 800 companies from 60 organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries and non-OIC countries will take part in the exhibition, said event organizeres F R exhibition and conference Sdn bhd. The Expo OIC 2003 has received tremendous response not only from OIC member countries but also from non-members including China, France, South Korea and Taiwan, F R Executive Director Mr Rosle Jaamat said. "This is set to be the biggest exhibition in this region, comprising a large number of countries with 90 companies from Qatar, 60 from Pakistan, 35 from India," he said. The trade exhibition, to be officiated by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on October 14, would be the first ever to be held during an OIC summit. "We have taken the initiative to realise Dr Mahathir’s vision for an exhibition to be held in conjunction with OIC summit, to gather Islamic businesses, which has not been done before by any other OIC country," Bernama news agency quoted rosle as saying. The expo would act as a platform to help create opportunities for both Malaysian and Islamic countries’ businessmen to tap each others’ markets, he said. He said the exhibition was also supported by Government ministries and agencies as well as the Islamic development bank which has agreed to sponsor companies from 12 countries to participate in the exhibition. He also expressed the hope that networking and partnership between companies from Islamic countries could be formed following the exhibition. (UNI) |
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India to diversify exports to China BEIJING, Oct 5: With China emerging as a top export destination, India is looking at ways to provide more depth and variety to the bilateral trade basket by encouraging auto components, Information Technology, Health Care, Textiles and Tourism sectors to tap the booming Chinese market. As China’s economy gallops at over eight per cent and imports surging by 40.6 per cent during the first eight months of the year to 256.9 billion US dollars, and India-China bilateral trade growing at over 60 per cent, it is high time for Indian exporters to tap the huge Chinese market, industry sources said. "The time is ripe for a decisive move by the Indian businesses," senior director and head of east Asia representative office of the confederation of Indian industry, Piyush Bahl told PTI here. According to latest Chinese customs statistics, India-China bilateral trade zoomed to 4.087 billion during the first seven months of this year, registering an impressive growth of 62 per cent over the same period of last year. India’s exports to China during January-July amounted to 2.331 billion US dollars, up 101 per cent while importing goods worth 1.756 billion US dollars from China, registering a growth of 29 per cent. "Based on the current trade figures, one can safely assume that the two-way trade would cross seven billion US dollars by December 2004," Bahl said while expressing confidence that the targeted 10 billion US dollars in bilateral trade was also "attainable." The CII, which has opened its east Asia office in east "what is, however, disturbing is the quality of our export basket. If we were to leave out iron and steel, the bilateral trade figures would look very different," Bahl said. Further, he cautioned that there is no way that China will keep importing steel from India in big quantities beyond 2008. "Thus, the need of the hour is to broaden the India-China bilateral trade basket and promote more investments," Bahl said. The focus needs to shift from trading of basic raw materials to value added products and services, he said. China’s city of Shanghai, is encouraging more Indian companies to venture into China. "The results are encouraging," he said while noting that on an average, at least three Indian companies are coming to China every month to start operations in the country. "This is good news and will go a long way in further enhancing sino-Indian cooperation in spheres beyond trade and investment," he said. The CII, he said is targeting one billion US dollar Indian investments into China per annum from 2008. Meanwhile, as a major follow-up of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to China in June this year, the CII in partnership with the embassy of India, Beijing and consulate general of India, Shanghai, is organising the first ever India week China from October 13 to 19 in Shanghai and Beijing. (PTI) |
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Akhnoor branch of Citizens’ Bank holds function Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 5: The Citizens’ Cooperative Bank, Akhnoor branch, organized a function to celebrate completion of 25 years of successful services of the Bank to the people of Jammu. Inaugural function was presided over by Chairman of the Bank Onkar Seth, alongwith vice Chairman Deepak Gupta and Directors D S Manhas and Surjeet Singh Manhas. Mr Onkar Seth announced the facility of 1 percent more interest rate on deposits to the fresh depositors for a fortnight upto October 18. Mr Deepak Gupta thanked the participants for extending cooperation for celebration of the occasion and assured that bank will achieve all its goals. Mr B S Manhas and Mr Surjeet Singh Manhas, Directors also spoke. Managing Director Anil Mehta spoke about steps being taken to extend need based services to the clients. He also presented vote of thanks. |
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Hero Majestic launches Hero Effy Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 5: Hero Majestic Ltd today launched Hero Effy in Jammu. The bike will be available at Sukhmani Motors—company’s authorised dealer for Jammu and Kashmir. The latest bike of Hero Majestic is most fuel efficient and launched during the mechanic meet wherein mechanics from Billawar, Phinter, Hiranagar, Gagwal, Samba, Chadwal, Gangyal, Kunjwani, Digiana, Channi and Vijaypur participated. Area Manager of Hero Majestic Ltd Mr Tejinder Singh, Service Engineer Mr Swamu, Head Mechanic Mr Darshan Singh represented the company in the meet. |
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NEW DELHI, Oct 5: Increase in prices of fruits, vegetables and edible oil pushed up the annual rate of inflation for the fourth consecutive week by 0.37 per cent to 4.72 per cent during the period ended September 20. The point-to-point wholesale price index-based rate of inflation was 4.35 per cent during the previous week while it stood at 3.34 per cent during the year-ago period. Reserve Bank of India Governor Y V Reddy had said he expected "benign inflationary conditions". This would give the Central Bank more room to pursue its three-year soft rate policy. The rate of inflation is also in tune with RBI’s latest annual report which said inflation would remain benign for the rest of the fiscal, possibly ending the year below five percent, the lower end of the range projected in its April monetary policy. The WPI during the period rose by 0.1 per cent to 175.1 points even as the indices for the fuels group and manufactured products remained unchanged. The inflation rate for the week ended July 26 last was revised upwards to 4.27 per cent as against the provisional 4.09 per cent. The final WPI was 173.2 as against the provisional 172.9 points. The index for primary articles rose by 0.2 per cent to 181.1 points due to higher prices of fruits and vegetables (3 per cent), gram by two per cent and eggs, fish-inland and masur by a per cent each. However, the prices of bajra declined by 6 per cent, poultry chicken by 2 per cent and pork, urad and moong by one per cent each. Lower prices of sunflower (7 per cent), raw jute (2 per cent), and gingelly seed, groundnut see, linseed, mustard seed, raw cotton by one per cent pulled down the index for non food articles by 0.6 per cent. However, the prices of niger seed were up by 11 per cent, copra (5 per cent), castor seed (3 per cent) and coir fibre, cotton seed, tobacco, and safflower seed (2 per cent each). A 3 per cent rise in price of rice bran oil and one per cent increase in prices of imported edible oil, coconut oil and gur was countered by lower prices of groundnut oil (2 per cent) and solvent-extracted groundnut oil and gingelly oil by a per cent each. As a result, the index for food products group declined by 0.1 per cent to 166.1 points. While the index for textiles declined by 0.1 per cent and leather and leather products by 0.9 per cent, the index for chemicals and chemical products group rose by 0.1 per cent. The index for non-metallic mineral products group declined by 0.2 per cent, while that for basic metals alloys and metal products rose by 0.2 per cent. The index for other categories remained unchanged during the period. (UNI) |
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Sexual harassment case: Igate
says it BANGALORE, Oct 5: Igate global solutions, employers of Mr Phaneesh Murthy, today said that they believe the latest allegation of sexual harassment against the former Infosys executive was "without foundation." "Phaneesh had made us aware of the possibility of this development and we have done our due diligence and believe the allegations to be without foundation. We have complete confidence in Phaneesh," an Igate release said here quoting company chairman Suresh Wadhwani. It major Infosys technologies had disclosed in a statement yesterday that Jeniffer Griffith, a former employee, had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in a court in the US State of California against Mr Phaneesh Murthy and Infosys. "The lawsuit has not been served on the company and Infosys is still reviewing the complainant’s allegations. Based on its present knowledge of the facts, the lawsuit will not, in the opinion of the management, have a material effect on the results of operations or the financial position of the company," Infosys had said. The Igate statement said that the lawsuit had not yet been served on Mr Murthy. "The lawsuit has not yet been served on Mr Murthy. However, it is his opinion and belief that the allegations are baseless and it is the most blatant example of taking advantage of the public news of a prior settlement," Igate said. Earlier, a case alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination of employment was filed in 2002 against Mr Phaneesh Murthy and Infosys by former US-based employee Reka Maximovitch. Infosys had reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Maximovitch for US dollar three million in May this year. The previous case was also filed in a Court in California. Mr Phaneesh Murthy had quit Infosys following the allegations by Ms Maximovitch and is now the Chief Executive Officer of Igate, a business process outsourcing firm. (UNI) |
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Alternate Iraqi oil export routes seen months away BAGHDAD, Oct 5: Exports of Iraqi oil from the northern Kirkuk field via alternative routes to the battered pipeline running to Turkey would not be operational for 6-12 months, a senior Iraqi oil ministry source said on Sunday. The source said other routes, including the possible use of lines through Syria and Saudi Arabia, would be just as vulnerable to sabotage, which has largely choked off the northern route since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April. "The security problems are exactly the same as with the Turkish route if not worse," the source, who asked not to be identified, told . The northern pipeline, which carries crude oil from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, was closed by sabotage in mid-August just days after it began shipping crude to world markets. Repairs should be completed by mid-October, and first exports after the latest damage could come by early November, other officials have said. A senior official at the US-led provisional coalition authority said last week that Iraq was looking at alternative routes to export Kirkuk crude that would allow resumption of sales. No detailed feasibility studies had been conducted yet on which routes Iraq could use if the Turkish pipeline now under repair were attacked again and crippled, the source said. The three possible routes for oil exports from Iraq’s oldest field include the use of a reversible strategic pipeline to divert Kirkuk crude to export terminals in the south, the Iraqi source said. The strategic pipeline could also send oil to an Iraqi pipeline through Saudi Arabia that has been taken over by the kingdom. The third alternative would be to send Kirkuk to a pipeline running through Syria, the source said. The 1.4 million Barrels Per Day (BPD) "strategic pipeline" is configured to carry crude either from the south of Iraq to Turkey or in the reverse direction from the Kirkuk fields to Iraq’s Gulf coast. "Even with temporary arrangements we are talking about a year and a lot of money to get this done....To Syria it may take less —may be six months," the source said. Iraq’s pipeline to Syria was carrying 200,000 BPD before the war but has been closed since March. The slow recovery of Iraq’s post-war oil production has tightened supply on international markets and kept oil prices strong. The US military says the saboteurs are guerrillas loyal to Saddam who are trying to undermine Iraq’s US-led administration by urtailing oil revenues. (AGENCIES) |
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MRPL to spend Rs 750 cr on
upgradation MANGALORE, Oct 5: The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will spend Rs 750 crore this fiscal on its modernisation programme, envisaging upgradation of motor gasoline and diesel to meet emerging specifications of Bharat II and Euro III in the country, its chairman Subir Raha has said. Mr Raha said the upgradation include extracting xylenes which will fetch better value, other than taking up de-bottleneck processes to produce higher quantities of LPG and for putting up a dedicated dispatch terminal for products by rail and road without going through existing PSUs. Its request for recognising full template capacity of 9.69 MMT(Million Metric Tonnes) for the purpose of domestic sale of products under the Industry Logistic Plan(ILP) is awaiting Government approval. In this context, MRPL chairman said hitherto the capacity was arbitrarily restricted to 6.0 MMT, hence it has taken up the issue with the Government for necessary action. At a cost of around Rs 75 crore a standalone marketing terminal with new rail/road loading facilities is under implementation. This evacuation facility, combined with already established coastal pull out and road loading facilities for block oil, naphtha and biotument will make MRPL directly capable of servicing oil companies and direct customers in the deregulated market, Mr Raha said. Replying to a question, Mr Raha said the company would have its first retail outlet of its own in Mangalore during the current fiscal. Retail marketing foray, he said, will pick up momentum in 2004-05 with plans to expand gradually and steadily. Replying to another question, Mr Raha said the growth plans of MRPL will integrate with that of ONGC through value addition and forward intergation to retail marketing, substantially benefitting both the companies. To a query on MRPL’s working capital requirement, Mr Raha said this amounted to Rs 450 crore a year, "not all of it is required at a time." As such, he said ONGC board has approved to give a letter of comfort to MRPL to the extent of sum required so that the latter can make use of the working capital as and when it requires. There has been remarkable increase in domestic sales as well as export sales, yet the financial performance continued to be impaired due to high interest and depreciation costs, low refining margin and low capacity utilisation due to limited domestic sales of products, poor export realisations and relatively high pricing of crude entirely sourced through imports, Mr Raha pointed out. Still, he singled out, that interest component has been steadily on the decline to Rs 277.5 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 201 crore in 2002-03 and during this year, it is expected to be around Rs 188 crore. "With two quarters still left, it might even come down further," he added. During the first half of the current year (April-Sept 2003), MRPL’s turnover is estimated at Rs 5,178 crore, up 33 from Rs 3,897 crore in the same period last fiscal and throughput is estimated at 4.53 MMT (up 25 per cent from 3.62 MMT). MRPL processed 867 MMT crude during August 2003 achieving a capacity utilisation of 107 per cent(10.4MMT on annualised basis), highest ever by the company, while the export realisation during the first 6 months was 1,529 crore (up 121 per cent from Rs 693 crore) at premium pricing, Mr Raha noted. He said the economic supply envelope of MRPL has expanded substantially with the commissioning of Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore pipeline project . Furthermore, MRPL chairman said to improve profitability, long-term contracts for crude imports from Iran and Saudi Arabia are in hand and spot buying has been practically stopped, while the proportion of sweet crude processing has been trebled to the level of 30 per cent. Currently, he said, Mumbai High Crude as well as Nile Blend Crude are being supplied by the parent ONGC. In effect, he said, "MRPL is now enjoying the pricing advantage available to other Indian refineries sourcing crude from ONGC." Also, he said, it has taken up two capex programme of Rs 10 crore and Rs 3 crore — one for variable speed drives for energy saving and another for implemenation of advanced process control. (UNI) |
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ASEAN plans show need for more economic integration BALI, INDONESIA, Oct 5: New economic plans by southeast Asian nations signal stronger awareness by their leaders of the need to further integrate economies amid competition from China, business executives said on Sunday. But they said even more aggressive steps are needed. At its annual summit in Bali this week, the 10-member association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to adopt programmes to cut the cost of doing business and raise competitiveness in a region with 500 million people and 700 billion in total gross domestic product. The initiatives, first floated by Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong last year and immediately taken up by current ASEAN chair Indonesia, come as the group is also scheduled to move toward free trade areas with China, Japan and India. "If you talked of ASEAN 10 years ago, would ASEAN have collaboration like what we are doing today? i don’t think so. Looking at what’s happening today it is very, very significant," said Malaysian businessman Dato Nasarudin Abdul Jalil. Jalil is chairman and founder of Jakarta-based Pt Agritani Indonesia, which provides information services to agricultural business in the ASEAN region. But executives attending a business summit being held in parallel with the leaders’ meeting said for the region to stay competitive, ASEAN should integrate further. "We have a lot of smart people in ASEAN (who should be) able to create a large volume of shared services centres and consolidated platforms to raise the service level to lower costs and so make us more competitive," said David Forden, solutions manager of information company Oracle southeast Asia. Economic moves already planned by the group include sharply reducing trade barriers by 2005, incentives for intra-ASEAN investments, focus on further integration of certain sectors such as agriculture, allowing firms to do more outsourcing from within the region and a stronger settlement dispute mechanism. While welcoming those moves, business executives said they should have come sooner to help avoid the region’s overall weak economic performance in recent years, when it posted average economic growth much lower than China. The executives said the economic road map should aim at improving the competitiveness of the region before implementation of free trade agreements with China and India, the frameworks for which could be signed this week. Such moves have become more significant for the region following the failure of global trade talks in Mexico, due largely to unresolved differences in agricultural trade policies between developed and poor countries. (AGENCIES) India, Hungary CEO forum to be launched NEW DELHI, Oct 5: Following the recent visit of a CII business delegation to Budapest, India and Hungary have agreed on a number of initiatives to revive trade and investment ties, including the launch of a India-Hungary CEO’s forum. The forum will be launched during the visit of the Prime Minister of Hungary to India next month. The decision to launch the forum came at the conclusion of the 11th Indo-Hungarian Joint Commission meeting held on October 1, 2003, in Budapest. The Joint Commission meeting was chaired by Mr Arun Jaitley, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Law and Justice, and Dr Csaba Laszlo, Minister of Finance of Hungary. The Confederation of Indian Industry and the Confederation of Hungari and employer and industrialists will be the two organizations to operationalise the CEO’s forum. Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, vice president, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hero Corporate Services Ltd led the 12 member industry team to Budapest. The team included Mr Hardeep Garewal, Chief Executive Officer, ITC Infotech Ltd - UK Mr P R Dhariwal, Executive Director, Essar Group Mr S A Hasan, Managing Director, Tata Limited - UK Mr S V Mani, Regional Manager, Tata Consultancy Services, and Mr N Raghavan, vice president, Larsen Toubro Ltd (EEC division). It was also agreed at the Joint Commission that Hungary, ahead of it’s imminent membership to the EU, needs to be projected as a strategic base for Indian investments in the CEE region. In this direction, CII and the Hungarian Investment and Trade Development Agency (ITD Hungary) will organise a series of seminars in India to promote investments into Hungary. The Joint Commission also accepted the CII proposal to launch a business website to facilitate increased business ties between India and Hungary. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Munjal announced the decision to re-open the CII office in Hungary. The Joint Commission meeting, held after a gap of six years in Budapest, gave a unique opportunity for both industry and government representatives to interact with their counterparts in Hungary. The CII business mission acquired significant importance in view of the Joint Commission offering to re-assess present bilateral trade and investment relations, and developing the way forward to reinforce business partnerships. During the discussions, apart from making presentations on Indian economy and sectors, business issues such as delays in issuing business visas, transparency in tendering process in Hungary and the interest of industry to acquire companies in Hungary were also raised. Bilateral trade between India and Hungary stood at around 100 million dollars. Hungary’s primary imports from India comprise cotton and silk garments, cotton yarns and fabrics, auto components, dyes intermediates, leather goods, finished leather, drugs, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals whilst its major exports towards India consist of medical instruments and products, machine tools, electric machinery, spare parts and weaving machines. According to the Joint Commission, there exists immense potential to augment trade in the fields of electronics, pharmaceuticals and bulk drugs, power, petrochemicals industry, biotechnology, agriculture, food processing and transportation. (UNI) |
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