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Indo-Pak trade can touch NEW DELHI, Jan 4: Industry body ASSOCHAM estimates that trade between India and Pakistan can touch the.......more Exide
promoters KOLKATA, Jan 4: The stake of Raheja brothers in automotive and industrial battery ......more Mineral
production up NEW DELHI, Jan 4: The total value of mineral production covering metalliferrous and industrial minerals, but ....more Internet
users to continue CHENNAI, Jan 4: Internet users are likely to continue to face various forms of virus outbreaks in the year 2005, according to a forecast by an antivirus firm. ......more |
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Govt invites bidding for NEW DELHI, Jan 4: India today offered 20 oil and gas blocks for exploration and production for boosting domestic crude oil production by 50 per .......more ONGC eyes
petrochemicals KOLKATA, Jan 4: To ride the boom in the petrochemicals sector in the country, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas.......more NEW DELHI, Jan 4: Cipla Ltd has launched a new treatment for arthritis in technical collaboration with California-based.....more Tsunami
affects KOZHIKODE, Jan 4: Claiming that sale of fish in Kerala fell drastically after the Tsunami attack, various fishermen traders association and workers representatives today urged the Government to.......more |
Indo-Pak trade can touch 10 bn dollar mark by 2010: ASSOCHAM NEW DELHI, Jan 4: Industry body ASSOCHAM estimates that trade between India and Pakistan can touch the 10 billion dollar mark by 2010 from 345 million dollar in 2003-04, provided the execution of South Asian Free Trade Agreement is not thwarted and the trade basket is diversified. Trade between the two countries during April-July 2004 increased to 186 million dollar as against 64 million in the year-ago period, the study said, adding there was huge potential for the bilateral trade to grow. "India’s export to Pakistan in April-July 2004 has shown a record 328 per cent increase, having gone up to 167 million from 39 million in the year-ago period," ASSOCHAM president M K Sanghi said in a statement. "The study recommends extensive diversification of the existing trade basket of India and Pakistan to achieve the projected 10 billion mark by 2010," he added. In the last five years, the imports from Pakistan mainly constituted of fruits, spices, leather, textiles, yarn, wool, raw and made-up articles. ASSOCHAM also said India’s exports to Pakistan accounted for 8.3 per cent of its total exports to the SAARC region, while 24.1 per cent of its total imports from SAARC region were from Pakistan. In 2003-04, while Indo-Pak trade stood at 345 million dollar, India’s exports to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka alone were 1,650 million and 1,324 million dollar respectively. The industry body also suggested that Pakistan should grant MFN status to India and the "two countries should create an atmosphere of peace to boost trade." (PTI) |
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Exide promoters stake to slip below 50% post fresh issue KOLKATA, Jan 4: The stake of Raheja brothers in automotive and industrial battery major Exide Industries Ltd (EIL) will come down by 2.59 per cent following preferential issue of fresh equity shares to raise over Rs 57.82 crore. Rahejas, through Chloride Eastern Ltd, currently hold 51.45 per cent of the total capital of 71,220,676 equity shares of Rs 10 each in EIL and are planning to come out with preferential issue of additional shares for foreign institutional investors operating in India as well as MFs. According to the information submitted by the company in its notice for an extra-ordinary general meeting to seek approval of shareholders for the issue, Chloride Eastern Ltd’s holding will come down to 48.87 per cent of the increased capital of 7.50 crore equity shares of EIL after the issue. The company is planning to issue 3,779,324 equity shares at a price of Rs 153 each to increase the liquidity of the securities. It feels that a larger float would also benefit the existing shareholdeers as it would provide an opportunity for greater trading in the company’s shares at stock exchanges and help maximise value of the holding of the existing members. The notice says that the company would allot all the new shares to Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, which comprised 5.04 per cent of the total equity share capital after preferential issue. The shares to be issued would have a lock-in period of on year from the date of issue, it said. The company said that the proceeds of the issue, which in this case is slightly over Rs 57.82 crore, would be used in meeting the long term fund requirements. The EGM will be held on January six in Kolkata. After the issue the company’s total number of shares would increase to 7.50 crore equity shares from 71,220,676 shares at present. Even though there would not be any change in the number of holdings of each of the existing shareholders, including Cholride Eastern Ltd, their holding percentage after the issue will come down because of increase in number of shares. (PTI) |
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Mineral production up by Rs 174 crore in Nov 04 NEW DELHI, Jan 4: The total value of mineral production covering metalliferrous and industrial minerals, but excluding fuel, atomic and minor minerals in November 2004, is estimated at Rs 810 crore compared to Rs 636 crore during the same month last year. Total value of these minerals produced during October, 2004 was estimated at Rs 707 crore, an official release here said. (UNI) |
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Internet users to continue to face virus attacks CHENNAI, Jan 4: Internet users are likely to continue to face various forms of virus outbreaks in the year 2005, according to a forecast by an antivirus firm. "Blended threats, which compromise and considerably drain network resources, will continue to hound internet users in 2005," said trend micro, which is also into internet content security software and services, in a forecast released here. The year 2004 bustled with serial virus attacks. It also saw an increase in ‘bot programmes’, ‘spam’ and ‘phishing’ incidence. There was also an increase in spyware and adware generation, indicating that the trouble-makers were trying to cash in on every popular internet application and device and every available security loophole, it said. In 2005, ‘spam’ and ‘phishing’ would continue to be a major concern, causing email glut and requiring better filtering services, it said. Spam volume had swelled to comprise 60 per cent of all email messages in 2004. Trend micro registered a total of 1,681,773 spam mails in 2004, 34.45 per cent of which were financial in nature, while 20 per cent fall under the health category, it said. "IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and P2P (Peer to Peer) communication will continue to be weak security links requiring moderation policies," trend micro said. (PTI) |
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Govt invites bidding for 20 oil and gas blocks NEW DELHI, Jan 4: India today offered 20 oil and gas blocks for exploration and production for boosting domestic crude oil production by 50 per cent to 50 million tonnes in next 15 years. Six deep sea blocks, two shallow water and 12 onland blocks, which are estimated to be attracted one billion dollar of investment, have been offered to public and private sector firms under the fifth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told a news conference here. Unlike previous four rounds when 90 blocks were awarded, in the latest round the Government is expected big multinationals may turnup by May 31, 2005 largely inspired by the over 14 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves struct by Reliance industries in Bay of Bengal and Cairn Energy of UK making a significant oil discovery in Barmer district of Rajasthan. "Domestic crude oil production is targetted to rise to 50 million tonnes by 2025 from the current pleatue of 33 million tonnes," Aiyar said. However, the over five per cent increase in petro product demand is likely to outpace the incremental production planned and India’s self-sufficiency ratio would fall to 15 per cent. "We import 70 per cent of our crude oil requirement currently. In 2025, this would rise to 85 per cent," he said. Over 2.53 billion dollar has already been invested in the blocks awarded in first four rounds of bidding, he said adding bidding conditions have been made more attractive to attract investors. Besides the 20 blocks, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will also offer stakes in five Deepsea blocks, three in Krishna Godavari basin, one in Kerala Konkan offshore and one in Gujarat Kutch offshore, at the roadshows being organised to promote NELP blocks. The Government had changed the policy of taking its share of natural gas in cash or kind every year to once in five years, Aiyar said. Profit gas is calculated after deducting all expenses incurred on producing that gas. The Government has a fixed percentage of profit gas which a company decides while bidding for a block. The Government has also relaxed the norm for giving bank guarantee towards minimum work programme. Hitherto only companies having a networth of one billion dollar were exempt from furnishing the bank guarantee, but from NELP-V this threshold value has been reduced to 500 million dollars, he said. Of the deep water blocks, two each are on the east and west coast and two in the prospective Anandman area. The shallow water blocks are on the west coast while the 12 on-land blocks are spread across eight basins — Assam, Arakan, Cambay, Rajasthan, Kaveri, Ganga Valley, Vindhya, deccan Syneclise and Krishna Godavari. Road shows to attract investors will be held in Delhi on January 18, London (January 20-21), Dubai (January 24-25), Houston (January 31 and February 1), Calgary (February 3-4), and possibly in Moscow (February 14), he said. Digital data rooms are being set up in Delhi, Houston, London, Calgary and Dubai. (PTI) |
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ONGC eyes petrochemicals sector, plans two plants KOLKATA, Jan 4: To ride the boom in the petrochemicals sector in the country, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has planned to set up two petrochemicals complexes in Dahej and Mangalore. ONGC sources told PTI that petrochemicals industry was witnessing an annual growth rate of 15 per cent. Sources said that the company would utilise the naphtha available from its mrpl refinery for its proposed petrochemicals plant in Mangalore. Besides, ONGC had also obtained the necessary approvals for getting lng at Dahej terminal in addition to the petronet supply of 2.5 million tonnes per annum. Sources said that the Dahej plant would be housed in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which was being promoted by the corporation. Asked about the capacity, sources said that it was being worked out at the moment, adding it would have to be such that economies of scale were obtained. According to industry norms, the minimum capacity for getting economies of scale was four or five million tonnes per annum. Asked about the cost estimates, sources said that it would depend upon the capacity which ONGC plans to set up. According to sources, ONGC would extract all the hydrocarbon derivatives from LNG which would be then used at its petrochemicals plant. To a question, sources said that although the petroleum ministry earlier was of the view that ONGC should stick to its core activity in exploration and production, the Government had modified its stand and had given approval for its proposed gas-based power plant in Tripura. ONGC would spend almost Rs 3500 crore for its Tripura plant, which would be set up in collaboration with the State Government. The company had also entered into an agreement with power trading corporation for evacuation of power from Tripura. On other initiatives, sources said that although the corporation was keen to enter the LPG retailing sector, as it was selling bulk to Gas Authority India Limited (GAIL) at the moment, the Government was yet to firm up its views in this regard. If ONGC was allowed to enter LPG retailing, then it would reap huge benefits, sources said. (PTI) |
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NEW DELHI, Jan 4: Cipla Ltd has launched a new treatment for arthritis in technical collaboration with California-based Cymbiotics inc. The Mumbai-based drugmaker will market Mobix capsules and Mobix topical cream for treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. "The medical profession desires safe and effective treatments for chronic diseases such as arthritis. Recently, the withdrawal of some cox-2 inhibitors from the pharmaceutical marketplace has created a real need for products that will safely relieve the pain and debilitating effects of arthritis. Mobix is filling this need," Cipla managing director Amar Lulla said in a statement. (UNI) |
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Tsunami affects fish sale in Kerala KOZHIKODE, Jan 4: Claiming that sale of fish in Kerala fell drastically after the Tsunami attack, various fishermen traders association and workers representatives today urged the Government to inform public that there was no danger in eating fish. "The sales, on an average, have come down from Rs.50 lakh to Rs.Five lakh daily and all those associated with the industry are facing a severe crisis following the mispropaganda against consumption of fish", fishermen unions convenor, M P Abdul Latheef told reporters here. Alleging that chicken farm owners based in neighbouring states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were mainly engaged in spreading the misinformation in the state to promote the sales of chicken, he said it was unfortunate that "the people had been carried away by the false propaganda". While the prices of fish had come down drastically, the cost of chicken had gone up by about rs.15 per kilo throughout the state during the last week, Latheef said, adding if the present trend continued, the unions would go on a statewide protest. "The Government should immediately set up an agency to ascertain the quality of fish products offered on sale by conducting a detailed test in all the coastal areas in the state", he said. Exports of fine varieties like prawns had also been affected following the Tsunami, he added. (PTI) |
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SBI pegs credit growth for Fy’05 to about 19 pc MUMBAI, Jan 4: State Bank of India is likely to show a credit growth of about 19 per cent for the current fiscal ending March 2005 on the back of buoyant economy. The year-on-year growth in credit till date has been over 25 per cent and this fiscal would see a growth of 19 per cent, SBI Chairman A K Purwar told reporters after launching SBI life’s unit linked insurance plan here today. However, this fast pace (over 25 per cent) was not sustainable and it would moderate in the future. But this would mean slowdown in the economy as growth would be on the back of a large base, he added. On the bank’s plans to grow through inorganic route (acquisitions) in the country and abroad, Purwar said "we are actively looking at acquiring bank in Asia and Africa". The acquisition of bank in the country was a statement of intent that SBI was open to acquire a regional bank. Referring to interest rates, he said they would remain stable in the short term. He, however did not elaborate on trends in the medium and long term. (PTI) |
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Indo-Pak bilateral trade to
touch 10 b NEW DELHI, Jan 4: Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan is projected to reach the 10 billion dollar mark by 2010, from 345 million dollars in 2003-04 provided South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) execution is not thwarted by the two countries, according to ASSOCHAM. The two countries will also have to diversify the trade basket to achieve the 10 billion dollar mark, the chamber’s study on ‘India-Pakistan bilateral trade relations - potential for a breakthrough’, said. In the past five years, Pakistan’s exports to India concentrated largely on fruits and nuts, spices, leather, textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and raw wool, which accounted for 71.2 per cent of India’s total imports from Pakistan. Similarly, India’s exports to Pakistan during the period had maximum concentration on products like oil meals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, dyes/intermediates, coaster chemicals, rubber manufactured products except footwear, paints/enamel/varnishes, plastic and linoleum products and inorganic/organic, agro-chemicals which constituted 53.7 per cent of India’s total exports to Pakistan, ASSOCHAM president M K Sanghi said. He said India’s exports to Pakistan between April to July 2004 had grown a record 328 per cent increase to 167 million dollars from 39 million dollars in the year-ago period. Imports from Pakistan during the period were estimated at 19 million dollars as against 25 million dollars last year. Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan during April-July 2004 increased to 186 million dollars as against 64 million dollars during the corresponding period a year ago. Pakistan has its annual import bill of around 12 billion dollars, but it imports goods worth around 600 million dollars only come from the SAARC member countries, including 185 million dollars from India. Likewise, India has an annual import bill of around 70 billion dollars, but it imports from SAARC countries are around 600 million dollars including 67 million dollars from Pakistan. In 2003-04, trade between India and Pakistan was only of the order of 345 million dollars, whereas India’s exports to Bangaldesh and Sri Lanka were 1.65 billion dollars and 1.32 billion dollars respectively. Indirect trade between India and Pakistan (via Dubai and Singapore) was estimated at over 2 billion dollars, the study said, adding that free trade between India the two countries would induce a shift of illegal trade flows to the legal trade channel. The chamber said to enhace bilateral trade, Pakistan should grant MFN status to India. India had granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996. The volume of informal trade is larger than formal trade. The official trade between the two nations can further flourish provided efforts are made to legalise the unofficial trade by improving trade infrastructure, it added. It also called for easing visa restrictions in both countries for faciltating movement of goods, services and people - a pre-requisite for promotion of trade. (UNI) |
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Rupee rallies against USD in early trade MUMBAI, Jan 4: The rupee rallied against the US currency early today on steady trade and foreign fund inflows, despite a resurgent dollar overseas in mostly quiet and cautious trade at the interbank foreign exchange market. The domestic unit was quoted at Rs 43.43/44 per dollar in late morning deals, highest from the overnight finish of Rs 43.46/47. The rupee opened weak at Rs 43.47/49 per dollar due to the US currency’s extended rally against major global rivals, mainly the euro. Healthy trade and foreign funds inflows continued to drive the rupee to new highs even as the dollar rallied overseas. Cooling global oil prices was also a plus factor for the rupee, a forex dealer said. Oil prices slipped to USD 42.25 a barrel before settling at 42.33 in early Asian trade on expectation of more mild weather in the US. Turning to cross currency trade, the euro was quoted at Rs 58.61/63, pound sterling at Rs 82.91/93 and Japanese yen (100) Rs 42.33/35. (PTI) Samsung develops world’s largest organic led panel SEOUL, Jan 4: South Korea’s Samsung electronics said today it had developed the world’s largest Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel for high-definition televisions. The 21-inch (53.34-centimeter) oled panel outperforms existing Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) in brightness, slimness and power efficincy, the firm said. Organic led screens generate their own light, eliminating the need for back lighting and allowing equipment makers to develop slimmer and more power efficient monitors. Samsung said its new portable display would be used for televisions and computer monitors. Samsung, one of the world’s largest LCD makers, said its new Oled display panel, an upgrade on its own 15-inch product, uses technology that can be easily mass-produced on the company’s existing LCD production lines. "With the development of the world’s largest oled, samsung has achieved a technological advantage and is positioned well to be a leader in the market for large-sized Oleds for TVs," said Jun-Hyung Souk, senior vice president of the LCD research and development center. Samsung said the Oled display features resolution of 6.22 million pixels and uses Active Matrix-based (AM) technology for low power consumption and high-resolution. The global market for organic leds is forecast to grow to 830 million dollars this year from 330 million dollars last year. (AFP) |
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