Daily Excelsior...Business

Chinese cos are dumping, but we will match prices: BHEL

New telecom players to float lobby parallel to COAI

Trademark Act must be amended for quick registration: Official

Orthodox tea production to touch 130 mln kg: Tea Board

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 23: "Al Haram Tours Pvt Ltd", a renowned company of Hajj and Umrah tours today opened its office in the City.

The office was inaugurated by Miyan Mohd Bashir, a noted figure and social worker. Also present on the occasion were MLA Haveli Jahangir Mir, MLA Kangan Mian Altaf, former MP Mirza Rahid, SSP Vigilance Nissar Ahmed and other prominent citizens.

While speaking, Mohd Bashir said people wanted to have a reliable company to facilitate them in performing Hajj and Umrah and hoped that company will meet their needs.

Bombay Dyeing introduces ‘Blooms’

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 23: Nature’s inspiration runs deep in Bombay Dyeing’s latest Bed and Bath range called ‘Blooms’.

Affordably stylish for everyday use, Blooms promises to infuse Indian homes with pristine serenity through its earthly hues and delicate designs.

Available at all Bombay Dyeing stores and retail outlets, Blooms is targeted at mass market that hopes to infiltrate Indian homes and quality, value for money bedsheets, blankets, pillows and towels.

The array of nature-inspired colours such as pink, muted oranges, earthy browns and cool blues is predominant throughout the collection. A mix of floral and geometric patterns with interesting textures add an electric edge to this collection.

The company has slashed rates of its entire range to make it affordable for every common person.

We have advantage portfolio but Pepsi ahead in India: Coke CEO

NEW DELHI, Mar 23: US cola giant Coca Cola has said that rival Pepsi is slightly ahead but the Atlanta-based company is determined to push India among its top five markets on the strength of its "advantage portfolio" here.

"By the way, Pepsi is slightly ahead of us. But the issue is total business. Cola-to-cola, we are ahead. Every sub-category like lemon and orange, we are ahead. Four out of top five brands are ours," Novel Isdell, Chairman and CEO of Coca Cola, said.

Recalling the strategy adopted by the company way back in 1993 of buying Limca, Thumps Up and Maaza from Ramesh Chauhan, Isdell said "it’s a real mixture of three real champion local brands along with Coca Cola, Fanta and Sprite as global international brands has put us in a leadership position."

Asked whether an Indian heading the rival company (Indra Nooyi as CEO of Pepsi) gives advantage to Pepsi, Isdell stated "we do not have a formula that says we have to have this nationality in this country because only locals are able to manage the business."

"These things are situational... What is the skill that is needed and decision is taken," he said.

Isdell, who is in India on a personal-cum-educational trip, has in his agenda to meet and relate with all the employees to make them feel an integral part of the overall global team.

The company, which has seen six straight quarters of growth, is well positioned to make India among the top five market for Coke over the next few years, with Isdell announcing to pump in about Rs 1,000 crore (250 million dollars) to expand operations here. (PTI)

Inflation rises to 5.92%

NEW DELHI, Mar 23: The headline inflation rate for the week ended March 8 rose to 5.92 per cent, compared to its previous week’s level of 5.11 per cent, due to increase in prices of pulses, edible oil, metals and iron and steel foundries.

The annual inflation rate was 6.51 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year, an official statement said.

The wholesale price index for ‘All Commodities’ for the week ended March 8, rose by 0.8 per cent to 221.8 (Provisional) from 220.0 (Provisional) for the previous week.

The index for ‘Primary Articles’ rose by 0.3 per cent to 229.8 (Provisional) from 229.0 (Provisional) for the previous week.

The index for ‘Food Articles’ group rose by 0.3 per cent to 225.4 (Provisional) from 224.7 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of arhar, gram and moong (three per cent each), fish-marine, masur and urad (two per cent each) and maize, condiments and spices and fruits and vegetables (one per cent each).

However, the prices of bajra (one per cent) declined.

The index for ‘Non-Food Articles’ group rose by 0.5 per cent to 224.9 (Provisional) from 224.7 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of castor seed (four per cent), raw jute (two per cent) and raw cotton, rape and mustard seed, copra and groundnut seed (one per cent each).

However, the prices of fodder (three per cent) declined.

The index for ‘Minerals’ group declined by 0.8 per cent to 430.5 (Provisional) from 433.8 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of lime stone (12 per cent) and feldspar (six per cent).

The prices of barytes (four per cent) and phosphorite and fire clay (two per cent) moved up.

The index for ‘Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants’ group rose by 0.1 per cent to 337.5 (Provisional) from 337.1 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of furnace oil (two per cent).

The index for ‘Manufactured Products’ group rose by 1.3 per cent to 193.2 (Provisional) from 190.7 (Provisional) for the previous week.

The index for ‘Food Products’ group rose by 0.6 per cent to 199.2 (Provisional) from 198.0 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of cotton seed oil (10 per cent), gingelly oil (five per cent), imported edible oil (four per cent), coconut oil and rape and mustard oil (three per cent each), rice bran oil (two per cent) and groundnut oil (one per cent).

The index for ‘Textiles’ group declined by 0.1 per cent to 128.2 (Provisional) from 128.3 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of hessian and sacking bags and hessian cloth (one per cent each).

The index for ‘Paper and Paper Products’ group rose by 0.1 per cent to 195.3 (Provisional) from 195.1 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of newsprint (one per cent).

The index for ‘Chemicals and Chemical Products’ group rose by 0.1 per cent to 209.0 (Provisional) from 208.7 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of p v c resins and benzene (six per cent each) and purified terephthalic acid (pta) (five per cent).

The index for ‘Basic Metals Alloys and Metal Products’ group rose by 6.7 per cent to 267.5 (Provisional) from 250.7 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of blooms and billets and slabs (30 per cent each), wire (all kinds) (25 per cent), skelps (23 per cent), oromild steel and tensile plates (20 per cent), cr coils (19 per cent), angles, channels and sections and cr sheets (13 per cent each) and bars and rods (three per cent).

The index for ‘Machinery and Machine Tools’ group declined by 0.1 per cent to 168.1 (Provisional) from 168.2 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of power driven pumps (three per cent).

The index for ‘Transport Equipment and Parts’ group rose by 0.2 per cent to 171.3 (Provisional) from 171.0 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of other automobile spare parts (four per cent) and motorcycles (one per cent). (UNI)

Markets to remain volatile this week: Analysts

MUMBAI, Mar 23: Dalal Street is unlikely to get a respite from volatility this week as the global markets continue to wobble in uncertainty, analysts say.

"Given the high weight of foreign flows, global events will continue to impact near-term performance. The share prices of firms with high leverage, significant forex exposure and those that require commodity inputs remain vulnerable," brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said in a research note.

In the three-trading days last week, the BSE Sensex settled at 14,994.83 points on Friday with a gain of over 161 points, while S&P CNX Nifty closed at 4573.95 points, down 0.90 per cent.

The stock market has been suffering losses for three weeks in a row as selling pressure continued following global sell-off besides budget blues and lack of buying.

"Markets would be volatile, there will, however, be a bounce back in the indices but the broader trend is down. Some amount of stability could be witnessed but there would not be a run up. Because the under current is quite weak, the repeated rate cut by the Federal Reserve shows that there is a credit crunch and the global growth rate is slowing down," Asika Stock Brokers’ Research Head Paras Bodhra said.

Analysts also believe that the volatility would also continue in the market ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts on March 27 this week and the next trigger for the markets could be expected from the fourth quarter and full year corporate earnings due in April.

Robust corporate advance tax payments in fourth quarter of 2007-08 hinted that corporate profit growth would be strong in that quarter. (PTI)

SRO guidelines likely to be out in 3 months

NEW DELHI, Mar 23: Market regulator SEBI is likely to come out with the final guidelines on the Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO), the first level regulator for the capital market, within the next three months.

Deliberations on this are in the last stage and the final guidelines are expected to be out within the next three months, official sources told PTI.

SRO is a Non-Governmental Body having statutory responsibility to regulate its own members for fair and efficient practices.

Three suggestions, including the World Bank study, have been received, while a committee of all regulators constituted by the Finance Ministry is deliberating on the model to be followed in India.

The committee has seized up with the issue whether there should be multi-SROs or single SRO for across the market, they said.

Currently, a single SRO model exists in USA. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the largest Non- Governmental Regulator for all securities firms doing business in US.

FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business, from registering and educating industry participants to examining securities firms; writing rules; enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public.

The Finance Ministry set up committee includes members of SEBI, Reserve Bank, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and Finance Ministry officials.

Sources said the panel is at final stage of discussions and the report is likely to be submitted in the next 15-20 days.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister P Chidamabaram had said SEBI was in the process of recasting SRO regulations in order to incentivise the formation of more SROs.

The market regulator is also in dialogue with various capital market organisations and make the SRO regulations more "market-friendly," he had said.

Chidambaram had said the market regulator is considering various models of self-regulation for intermediaries and would be promoting SROs by way of creating new regulations.

In his last Budget speech, he had said he was open to the idea of "incentivising" the setting up of SRO.

In the Budget for 2007-08, Chidambaram had proposed to take the idea of SROs for different market participants forward under regulations to be made by SEBI. If necessary, an enabling law could also be framed for the purpose.

Many market intermediaries bodies like Association of National Exchange Members of India, Financial Planning Standards Board have staked claim to become SRO.

According to analysts, till the final guidelines come and the model is known, these claims have no meaning. (PTI)

India may transform global business landscape by 2018: Study

NEW DELHI, Mar 23: India, along with emerging market peers China, Brazil and Russia, is expected to transform the global business landscape and will have a greater influence on the markets across the world by 2018, a study says.

The study by UK-based Chartered Management Institute looking ahead to 2018, predicted what the world of work and management would look like and examined how organisations can prepare for it.

"In the probable future, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) nations will have a greater influence on business markets and transform the business landscape," the study said in its description of the the most probable picture of the world of work and management in 2018.

The study also revealed that the business markets would be noticeably influenced by new players from India, Brazil, Russia, China, Eastern Europe and other developing countries as well as global businesses.

As new business models are introduced to respond to these changes, there would arise the need for greater emphasis on new skills such as understanding diversity and foreign cultures.

The study titled ‘Management Futures-The World in 2018’ forecast that in the next 10 years the business models and structures would changes in nature and there would be a polarisation from global corporates to virtual community-based enterprises.

To succeed, organisations would need technology that is able to capture and analyse implicit and tacit knowledge and allow the sharing of knowledge with customers and partners, it said. (PTI)

Chinese cos are dumping, but we will match prices: BHEL

NEW DELHI, Mar 23: Market leader BHEL has accused the Chinese companies of grabbing the equipment supply contract for mega power projects by resorting to dumping, but the state-owned undertaking declined to move government on this.

"Chinese currency yuan is under-valued. There is a case of dumping," BHEL CMD K Ravi Kumar told PTI when asked as to why his corporation lost out on contracts for the two Ultra Mega Power Projects to Chinese companies.

He, however, said that "I dont want to take up (the issue) in a very aggressive way. I will consider... We need not go and fight with the Chinese. We don't want 100 per cent of the market share. With 60 per cent of the share and having enough profits, it should be okay with us."

At the same time, he said, in terms of performance, BHEL equipment were much better than the competitors and referred to independent studies to establish that the plant load factor of its projects was 90 per cent, while it was 60 per cent in the case of Chinese equipment.

Claiming that BHEL was fully geared up for any competition from the neighbouring country, Ravi Kumar said there was a price difference of up to 20 per cent and the Chiense valuation was also not as per international competition.

"Today, we have matched almost the Chienese price... We are very competitive with the competition," he said, adding that BHEL had an advantage of giving a complete solution for any project as against the product leaders like Siemens and GE and cost leaders like Chienese companies. (PTI)

New telecom players to float lobby parallel to COAI

NEW DELHI, Mar 23: New entrants to the telecom sector and those which have got GSM licences under the dual-technology policy of the Government will form an association parallel to the existing lobby, COAI, to fight for their rights and bring fair competition in the sector.

Seven companies including Videocon-promoted Data Com, Shyam Telelink, Swan Telecom and S Tel have been issued licences in January this year and have deposited the required spectrum fee with the government, but are yet to be allocated radio frequency.

CDMA operators Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices were given permit to provide GSM services across the country under the cross-over technology policy of the government.

One of the new operators has accused the existing GSM players of cartelisation and adopting tactics to delay the allocation of spectrum to the new players so that they could not start mobile services at the earliest.

The COAI has three major telecom operators namely Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar and Idea Cellular and two regional operators -- Spice and Aircel -- as its members.

Differences in the existing association had came to fore during the recent controversy over spectrum allocation and issuance of new telecom licences.

"We want to work for fair and free competition in the telecom sector for the unhindered growth of this sector and million of subscribers. We will ensure that anti-competitive practices are not allowed in this fast growing telecom sector," one of the new players said on the condition of anonymity.

Asked whether charter of new parallel association has been prepared and who would be heading it, the players said that in the coming week all these decision would be announced. (PTI)

Trademark Act must be amended for quick registration: Official

MUMBAI, Mar 23: India will have to amend its Trade Marks Act to get access to the Madrid Protocol that would help companies to speed-up registration of trade marks globally, a senior government official has said.

Administered by Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Madrid Protocol offers a trade mark owner the possibility to have his trade mark protected in several countries by filing a single application with the local registration office.

"The Act should be amended for the accession (to the Madrid Protocol). Once India becomes a member, any company can apply for the registration internationally," Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications, V Ravi, told a CII-Seminar.

"Even if the application is pending in the Indian Trade Mark Registry Office, global protection under the Madrid system can be availed of by Indian companies with the country becoming a member of the Madrid Protocol," Ravi said.

The Trade Mark Amendment Bill, which is currently with Parliament, also has a proposal to effect an 18-month deadline for trade mark applications submitted by domestic companies, Ravi said.

"After the amendment, an 18-month deadline will be applicable for Indian companies applying for trade marks," Ravi said. At present, there is no such deadline for registering the trade marks of Indian companies, he said.

Besides, the entry into the internationally recognised Madrid Protocol system will also allow Indian companies to apply for the registration in multiple destinations from their local office, WIPO's Senior Counsellor, Alan Datri, said. (PTI)

Orthodox tea production to touch 130 mln kg: Tea Board

KOLKATA, Mar 23: Orthodox tea production during the next five years is expected to touch 130 million kilograms, for which the government would provide a subsidy of Rs 100 crore.

Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee told PTI that the present production level of orthodox variety was 80 million kg.

He said countries like Russia, which was once a market for CTC, were gradually shifting to the orthodox variety due to rising level of incomes in that country.

Other countries like the UK, Egypt and Pakistan are also shifting to the orthodox variety, Banerjee said, adding that it was imperative to increase orthodox tea production.

During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, financial assistance to Tea Board had been increased to Rs 800 crore, as compared to Rs 350 crore in the Tenth Five Year Plan.

Banerjee said the government had also sanctioned an amount of Rs 130 crore for machinery upgrade.

Regarding exports, Banerjee said that the Iraq market was important and the board was looking at exploring it during the current calendar year. "We hope to regain the Iraq market this year", he said.

He said that exports to Pakistan during 2007 was just over nine million kg.

India was expected to raise exports to Pakistan, where the Kenyan tea has been the major competitor.

During the current year, Kenyan tea production was expected to take a hit due to drought and political reasons and the prices would remain firm due to short supply. (PTI)