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Admin · Guru

RE: Indian Business-Banking News

Admin · Guru

Costly funds: Promoters pledge more

100 In BSE-500 Saw Higher Pledges;Tata Frees Pawned Shares In Most Cos

M Allirajan TNN

Coimbatore: Promoters,many of them victims of the rising interest rates,pledged more shares in 100 out of the BSE-500 companies as liquidity tightened for crisis-hit sectors like infrastructure,real estate and aviation in the last financial year.As many as 60 companies saw their promoters pledging over 50% of their holdings,a clear reflection of the strain that India Inc is undergoing despite the sporadic market rally in January-March,according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
There is a big liquidity problem and so promoters are forced to sell their shares or pledge them, said Kishor P Ostwal,MD,CNI Research,an equities research provider.Several companies have seen a drop in promoter holdings and an increase in preferential allotments, he said.Any relief from the high interest rates is unlikely in the next 3-6 months.
Last fiscal,from virtually nothing,promoters in HDIL and SREI Infrastructure have pledged 96.2% and 36.5% of their stakes respectively in their companies.In all,promoters of 30 companies,which comprise largely infrastructure and realty firms,have over 70% of their holdings with creditors,CMIE data showed.
The climate is still quite tough for fund raising.Promoters are not getting (access to) funds, said Jagannadham Thunuguntla,head,research,SMC Global Securities.They have no choice but to pledge their shares, he said.
Promoters of the debt laden Kingfisher Airlines,who had pledged 50.5% of their stake at the end of the previous fiscal,have given their 90.1% of their holdings as security in FY12.The corresponding number in SpiceJet jumped from 18.4% at the end of FY11 to 47.6% at the end of FY12.Last fiscal,Indias aviation sector ran up a debt of $2.5 billion,hit by high jet fuel price and inability to raise fares in a competitive market.
Promoters of blue-chip companies,however,havemanaged to revoke pledges,said Ostwal.Tata Group managed to bring down the shares pledged considerably in most companies on the BSE-500 list.While the shares pledged in TCS dropped to 5.5% from 14% in the past year,the number fell to 8.4% from 23.5% in Tata Motors,and to 6.9% from 35.6% in Tata Power.Tata Coffee and Tata Chemicals also saw a sharp drop in the number of shares pledged by the promoters.
The market rally had come as a breather for promoters as they were not under pressure to borrow or pledge more to meet margin requirements that is triggered when shares dip below a certain level.But highly leveraged sectors such as aviation and real estate have found the going tough as poor outlook,low stock prices and uncertain conditions have shut most funding options.

Admin · Guru

Arbitration may turn tables on govt

A Recent Setback Ominous As Telcos,CIL Investor Seek Recourse In Treaties

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The finance ministry may be putting up a brave face on retrospective amendments and policy flip-flops,but officials are already fretting at the potential damages from arbitration proceedings initiated by companies on grounds of alleged violation of bilateral investment promotion agreements (BIPAs).
At least three telecom companies Vodafone,Telenor and Sistema have served arbitration notices on the government along with The Childrens Investment (TCI) Fund,a minority shareholder in Coal India.Between them,the three telecom companies have invested around Rs 80,000 crore in India.
As the government carries on with its tough talk,Indias recent defeat in an arbitration case is giving jitters to officials.India lost to Australias White Industries: its first setback in arbitration proceedings.Although the damage from the defeat was relatively modest,$13 million,officials are worried about the cost of possible reverses in the suits that the telecom companies and TCI have threatened to launch.
On Wednesday,a day after the Lok Sabha approved the Finance Bill,Vodafone stressed that it would take all steps required to protect its shareholders interests.Early on,the British telecom major had threatened to invoke the India-Netherlands BIPA in case the amendment was not dropped.
India had agreed to investment protection commitments in order to attract investments.The resolve of the aggrieved companies to take legal recourse has made officials grimly aware of the other part of the bargain: penalties and the tag of unfair treatment of foreign investors if the outcomes are not favourable.We needed it a few years ago as it gave comfort.But now we are suddenly seeing several companies invoke these treaties, a senior official dealing with BIPAs said.
It is recognized that the government has a challenge on its hand.Problems have occurred in the past as well.But what is happening now is that there is a lumping of several such notices,triggered by recent policy changes, said an expert with a research agency who did not wish to be identified.
The trepidation is strengthened by the assessment that the investment protection agreements might be tilting towards the foreign investors.Anxious to court them,India,experts said,agreed to give extra concessions under the BIPAs to woo investors.For instance,the definition of investment can be interpreted to include contracts under certain treaties.

80,000 CRORE AT STAKE

tThree telcos Vodafone,Telenor and Sistema have between them invested around Rs 80,000 crore in India tIndia recently lost an arbitration case to Australias White Industries tThis has stoked fears about the suits the telcos and TCI have threatened tThe finance ministry is pushing to amend the model BIPA,but the suits already filed will have to be decided in light of the existing agreements

Highest ever FDI at $8.1bn in March

With an eightfold rise,India attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) of $8.1 billion in March,the highest ever monthly inflows.Cumulative FDI inflows for the fiscal 2011-12 amounted to $36.50 billion,sources said.In March 2011,the country had received FDI worth $1.07 billion.The $7.2 billion RIL-BP deal,announced in February 2011 contributed significantly to the March 2012 inflows.AGENCIES

-- Edited by Admin on Thursday 10th of May 2012 07:31:05 AM

Admin · Guru

Drugs scam: Firms wrote letters signed by docs

Nexus To Get Approvals,Says Panel

Kounteya Sinha TNN

New Delhi: Some drug companies seem to have been writing scientific recommendations of their own products and submitting them to the Drug Controller General of India after getting them endorsed by top doctors,according to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on health and family welfare.
The panel found that in many cases,expert advise and letters of recommendation from different experts read the same and were submitted on the same day.
Scientific recommendations are usually submitted by experts to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization after they have studied a drugs content.
The committee,which placed its report in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday,said there was ample evidence to show that several recommendations to push a drug were written by invisible hands of drug companies themselves and experts merely obliged by putting their signatures.

REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE

Individual opinions from a professor of orthopaedics at AIIMS,a consultant at Dayanand Medical College,Ludhiana and a professor of orthopaedics from St Johns Medical College,Bangalore,on rivaroxaban (Bayer) a drug for prevention of

clotting are ditto copies of each other

Opinions from a professor of medicine of MGM Medical College,Indore and a consultant from Indraprastha Apollo Hospital,New Delhi,on doxofylline,an antiasthmatic,also

word-to-word identical

All 4 letters of recommendation for ademetionine from doctors of Lokmanya Tilak Medical College-Mumbai,Medical College (Thiruvananthapuram),IPGMER (Kolkata) and chief of hepatology of Ganga Ram Hospital,made

similar comments

Letters of approval for nimesulide from HoD of dept of medicine,Govt Medical College,Aurangabad,and senior consultant orthopaedic surgeon of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital

reached the same day and were recorded under entries 3537 and 3538

Admin · Guru

Docs drug letters read the same

New Delhi: Some of Indias top medical experts even heads of departments from the countrys most prestigious medical institutes like PGI Chandigarh,CMC Vellore,AIIMS Delhi and St Johns Medical College,Bangalore had signed recommendations for drug companies which may have been written by the companies itself.
Calling it a big scam,drug expert Dr C M Gulati said,This has unveiled how crucial testimonies,some as long as 500 pages,were written by drug companies themselves and signed by top doctors.The DCGI does not have doctors in his staff,and so tends to believe these testimonies before allowing a drug to hit the market.
In one case,letters written in March,April and May by three separate experts landed up in the DCGIs office together on the same day.Some letters read the same,word by word.These experts are supposed to give sound scientific evidence.Instead,they are working for these drug companies, he added.
According to the panels report,Actions by experts listed above are clearly unethical and may be in violation of the Code of Ethics of the Medical Council of India applicable to doctors.Hence,the matter should be referred to MCI for necessary action.In the case of government employed doctors,the matter must also be taken up with medical colleges/hospital authorities for suitable action.In the case involving a drug named Clevudine (Phamasset Inc),three professors of medicine from AIIMS,K B N Medical College,Gulbarga and R G Kar Medical College,Kolkata located at different places and thousands of miles apart from each other sent a word for word identical letters of recommendation.Besides,all of them went out of the way and gave unsolicited advice,in identical language,to the DCGI to give permission to the company to market the drug without conducting mandatory clinical trials in India.

Admin · Guru

Voda may get 20k cr tax demand

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A day after the Lok Sabha approved the Finance Bill,the government suggested that it would raise a tax demand of Rs 20,000 crore on Vodafone,even as the British company said that it was disappointed with the move and will take all possible steps to safeguard its shareholders interests.
We are studying the legislation as amended,and will take all possible steps to safeguard our shareholders interests.It would be grossly unjust if,on the basis of legislation passed five years after the event,Vodafone were to be charged tax on a gain made by someone else,especially where the Indian Supreme Court unambiguously ruled that no tax was payable in India according to the laws of India in force in 2007.Given this clarity,there was no legal basis for Vodafone to withhold tax, the telecom company said in a press release.
Vodafone had earlier served a notice on the government under the India-Netherlands investment protection agreement,threatening international arbitration if the validation clause inserted in the Finance Bill was not dropped.
The government,however,went ahead and got the Lok Sabha to endorse its proposal to amend the Income Tax Act from 1962 in a bid to tax overseas acquisitions involving interests or assets in India.
The statement came within hours of finance secretary R S Gujrals interview to a television channel where he said that the tax department will make a claim of over Rs 20,000 crore.The income tax department has maintained that it would have to pay Rs 7,900 crore as capital gains as an agent of Hutch,whose stake it had bought five years ago.In addition,Gujral said the company will have to pay another Rs 7,900 crore as penalty and interest,which at that time had been computed at Rs 4,300 crore.The telecom firm may have to pay an additional Rs 100 crore as accumulated interest for the period of April and May 2012 if the show-cause notice is served next month.
Vodafone said it was disappointed as despite very widespread concern in India and internationally,the government has not seen fit to propose amendments to address the uncertainty caused by retrospective tax legislation.The company,however,said that it remains committed to India and cited the Rs 50,000 crore it had invested since entering the market in 2007 and said it had paid over Rs 29,000 crore in taxes.To underline its commitment for the long term,it added,despite making considerable investments over the past five years,Vodafone was yet to take a single rupee out of the country.

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao

Admin · Guru

Chinese goods losing ground in India

Namrata Singh TNN

Mumbai: The share of Made in China goods in Indias consumption economy has eased as the dragon struggles to keep its cost-competitive manufacturing story going.Chinas overwhelming grip over supplies of stationary products,fabrics,toys and lighting products started loosening over the past year.
Consider this: ITC sourced 100% of its stationery products like pencils,geometry boxes and scholastic products marketed under Classmate brand from China.But imports will fall below 10% this year as the Indian behemoth moves sourcing back to India in a big way.
Chinese products had over 70% share of the domestic toy market,which is falling to about 50%.Fabric sourcing from China by the local garment makers declined 10% in the last 12 months.Its share of the lighting sector where the market for CFL bulbs was mostly developed by Chinese imports a decade ago has dropped to 15% from over 50% in 2007.Indian manufacturers are sighting gains even as Chinas factory prowess weakens on the back of an appreciating yuan,rising inflation and soaring wages in the wake of labour reforms in recent past.
Indian companies are bringing production back home,or taking it to other competitive markets.Imports will now be restricted to select premium products.China used to cater to the worlds stationery requirement.Now,some of it will come to India.It is already moving into Vietnam, said Chand Das,chief executive of ITCs education and stationery products business.
Chinas discomforts present a significant opportunity for local manufacturers.Funskool,Indias leading toy company,has been approached by global biggies to source production from its Goa plant to offset rising costs in China.All the big players are looking at India, said John Baby,CEO,Funskool (India),a joint venture between MRF and Hasbro of USA.Two to three companies have approached us and are doing audits at our factory, said Baby.
The story is similar for the lighting industry where the Chinese glow is dimming fast.The 350-million-unit CFL bulb market in India has witnessed dwindling share of imports from the neighbouring giant.Chinese CFLs failed to create an impact because they couldnt meet Indian market conditions where power situation varies, said Arun Gupta,managing director,NTL Electronics India.Gupta also argued that electronics,driven by intellectual properties,has become the backbone of lighting industry,where China has lagged behind.
But Chinese supplies have made inroads into Indias infrastructure and capital goods industry.Anil Ambanis Reliance Group,for instance,has struck major equipment sourcing contracts in China for its power and telecom businesses in return for cheaper loans.Chinese equipment makers have also backed telcos like Bharti Airtel in their recent 4G roll-outs.

DRAGON LOSING FIRE

tChina commanded 70% of domestic toy market,that has fallen to 50% now tNeighbouring countrys share in lighting has dimmed to 15% from 50% in 2007 tAfter sourcing 100% stationery products,ITCs China imports will fall below 10% this year with sourcing moved back to India

Admin · Guru

WATERED-DOWN VERSION
Global cos go local in India

Cost-Conscious Consumers Make Firms Give Up Global Tag

Mumbai: At the opening ceremony for Daimler AGs $850-million India factory,chairman Dieter Zetsche stepped down from the cab of a gleaming yellow 25-tonne truck with scaled-down horsepower,a stripped-back gearbox and no sign of the iconic Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star on its grille.
Daimler has been assembling high-end trucks in India for years,but its recently launched cut-price Bharat-Benz line has joined a trend by global heavy equipment manufacturers to compete in Indias high-volume,high-growth but cost-conscious mass market.
The potential is huge.Truck sales alone grew 18% in the year to March 2012 to over 800,000 vehicles,and are expected to double to 1.6 million by 2017.This eclipses the US,where just over 300,000 commercial trucks were sold in 2011.
But its a market where being best isnt good enough.To target the low end of Indias engineering markets,which accounts for over 70% of sales,manufacturers need to offer the best value,and to do that they need to go local.
The BharatBenz 2523,a 25-tonne truck,will likely cost around Rs 17.5 lakh before tax.Thats less than half the price of a comparable Mercedes-Benz Axor 2529 that retails in Europe for 61,000 euros.
If customers can get gear manufactured by the global firms at lower or equal price points compared to the domestic manufacturers,then naturally there will be serious demand for international kit, says Bharti Momaya,chief manager at distributor firm,Ajisons,which sells locallymade switchgear in Mumbai.
Carmakers have been localising their products for years,sourcing materials and making cheap,India-tailored vehicles.India-made cars from companies such as Ford or South Koreas Hyundai which poured billions of dollars into India in the 1990s now command 75% of the market.
Daimler isn't alone.Engineering conglomerate Siemens is ramping up production of its low-cost SMART range in India.ABB,one of the world's biggest power and technology suppliers,has invested in local production plants and research and development centres.They are taking on entrenched local manufacturers,such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland in trucks,and Larsen & Toubro and Crompton Greaves in power gear.REUTERS

Admin · Guru

Bank manager held for loan fraud

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Coimbatore: A manager of Indian Banks Vadapalani branch was arrested in Coimbatore on Thursday by the city crime branch police on charges of fraud.Police said the bank officer and his accomplices appropriated around 3 crore from 71 people in the city and suburban areas.
Police said C Murali,57,was manager of the Puliyakulam branch of Indian Bank in Coimbatore during 2003-05.During this time,he acquainted himself with building contractors Tenston Raja,Venkatachalam,auditor Periyasamy and a woman Vasantha.They promised government employees housing loans in a short time and collected their salary slips and other documents in this regard and forged them.
The bank manager allegedlygranted housing loans within a day.He received 71 housing loan applications from 71 people,including 58 government employees,and promised them that they would construct new houses for them after getting the loan amount.Thirteen people,who were in non-government jobs,posed as the government employees and,the manager and his accomplices created fake documents for them and got the loans sanctioned.
Tenston Raja and Murali earned kickacks to the tune of 3 crore from the loans and gave pittance to the applicants.Later,Muralis colleagues in the bank unearthed the fraud and lodged a complaint against him in 2006.After six years,the police collected vital documents and arrested Murali,who was working at Vadapalani in Chennai.

Admin · Guru

Now,Hutchison on tax dept radar

Hong Kong Group To Get Notice For Not Paying Tax On Vodafone Deal

Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha TNN

New Delhi: After Vodafone,the tax department is focusing its attention on Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa,which sold its 67% stake in the Indian telecom venture to the British giant for $11.5 billion.
Sources said the department,which is almost ready to raise a demand for payment of Rs 13,000 crore tax and interest from Vodafone as soon as the Finance Bill gets presidential nod,will also serve a notice on Hutch,which does not have a presence in India after exiting the telecom venture.
While Vodafone is facing a demand for payment of capital gains as an agent of Hutch for its failure to deduct tax while making the payment to Hutch,the Hong Kong-based company will get a notice for not paying tax related to a transaction where the underlying assets were in India.
Sources said the notice would be served on Hutch at the earliest since the law provided for time barring of cases.Tax cases older than seven years cannot be reopened as assessment has to be completed by then to see if any tax demand exists.
Tax department officials,however,recognize that it may not be easy to collect tax from Hutch and are also preparing a strong legal basis.In any case,the government is also prepared for a longdrawn legal battle with Vodafone,which is expected to first question of the validity of the retrospective amendment brought about through the Finance Bill.
Revenue officials are upbeat following the strong support of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and other top officials.Mukherjee in his speech in Parliament backed the tax departments claim and said India would not be allowed to become a tax haven.He has also linked the Vodafone issue to the governments fight against black money.
This has come as a morale booster for the department,which was on the back-foot after the Supreme Court verdict on the issue.The governments tough stance on the Vodafone case has put the spotlight on similar cases.
In the past,Vodafone,which had launched a highdecibel campaign to get the government to reverse its proposal to amend the law retrospectively,has said that the tax was due from Hutch and it should not be made to cough up.
The revenue department has maintained that Vodafone should have paid tax especially after the company was alerted about the liability,something that the telecom giant has denied.

Retro tax change not to hit FDI: Basu

New Delhi: Chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu on Thursday said amending the Income Tax Act with retrospective effect will not impact foreign investments into India."This is being seen as a one off thing... There were certain aberrations,certain misunderstandings on the law that we have adjusted,"Basu said.AGENCIES

CASTING THE NET WIDER

tHong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa to get a notice for not paying tax related to a transaction on Indian assets tHutchison had sold its 67% stake in the telco to Vodafone for $11.5 billion tBut it may not be easy to recover any tax from Hutchison as it has no operations in India

Admin · Guru

SKS cuts jobs,shuts AP branches

Stock Has Dived 94% Since Its Sept 10 Peak

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad/Mumbai: Even as it packs bags to shift base to Mumbai,beleaguered microfinance player SKS Microfinance is wielding the hatchet.Indias only listed microfinance institution (MFI) on Thursday axed 1,200 jobs and shut 78 branches in Andhra Pradesh amid howls of employee protests.
The companys employee count in Andhra Pradesh dropped by more than onethird (from 3,400 to 2,200) after todays layoffs and the number of branches in state will shrink from 180 to 102.
SKS unveiled the move even as the Union cabinet on Thursday approved the long awaited Microfinance Bill,which brings MFIs under regulatory jurisdiction of RBI and overrides the existing state legislations,such as the one passed by Andhra Pradesh government in 2010.
The companys operations in Andhra a pioneering market for microfinance in India struggled after the state regulations stipulated stringent procedures in lending to the borrowers,mostly poor,in the semi-urban and rural pockets.The ordinance also made it mandatory for people to borrow from only one MFI.
The Andhra Pradesh legislation triggered a crisis in the sector as about a quarter of the total assets of the microfinance industry is concentrated in the state.SKS reported a loss of Rs 1,360 crore in FY12,mostly due to AP woes.
SKS has been has been slashing manpower ever since the Andhra crisis struck the sector 18 months ago,with its staff numbers coming down from 25,735 to just about 16,194 employees in march 2012.Its borrower base dwindled from around 7.8 million before the crisis to around 5.3 million borrowers as of March 2012.
SKS shares have lost 94% value after hitting a peak of Rs 1,491 in September 2010.

MACRO PLUNGE

1997 |

Vikram Akula (right) sets up SKS (Swayam Krishi Sangam) as an NGO

2005 |

SKS transforms into a for-profit NBFC

2009 |

SKS emerges No.1 MFI in India

Aug 2010 |

Lists at Rs 1,089 per share,raising Rs 1,653cr

Oct 4 |

SKS MD & CEO Suresh Gurumani sacked over personality clashes with Akula

Oct 15 |

AP govt passes MFI Ordinance,now an Act,after suicides by borrowers

Mar 2011 |

SKS posts first loss of Rs 70 crore in Q4 of FY11

Nov 2011 |

Akula ousted as SKS chief on differences with mgmt

March 2012 |

SKS ends FY12 with Rs 1,360cr losses on AP write-offs

FALLING FORTUNES

tNetworth has eroded from from Rs 1,781cr at end of FY11 to Rs 435cr at the end of FY12 tBorrower base dwindles from around 7.8m across 19 states before the AP crisis to 5.3m by March 2012 tHeadcount slashed from 25,753 as of Dec 2010 to 16,194 as of March 2012 tBranches reduced from 2,379 in March 2011 to 1,461 as of March 2012

Admin · Guru

IFC to invest 290cr in SunEdison

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: Solar firm SunEdison secured investment of up to Rs 290 crore from IFC to expand solar footprint in emerging markets such as South Asia,Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.IFC,a member of the World Bank group,in turn picked up a 15% stake in SunEdisons Netherlands and Singapore subsidiaries.
Driven by economic growth and an emerging focus on energy security in these regions,countries in the region are assessing and supporting alternative energy sources, said Pashupathy Gopalan,managing director,South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa operations,SunEdison.
SunEdison will initially get Rs 75 crore,and will draw the remaining over a period of two years subject to accomplishment of certain conditions,which the company did not disclose.IFC has made similar funding tie-ups with Applied Solar Technologies,Azul Power and Mahindra Solar.
The company,a unit of USbased MEMC Electronics Materials,completed 52 megawatt (MW) of solar projects,which it also owns,in India.It is working on a 24MW under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission a goal to install 20,000MW of solar power in India by 2022 and a 2.5MW rooftop installation in Gujarat.
SunEdison stuck to its earlier stance that prices per kilowatt hour will further dip and solar will be an affordable source of alternative energy soon.Emerging markets have a lot to gain with dipping prices,and thus we believe would grow to much significance in the country, Gopalan said.
He said,at present,India is a 700MW to 1 gigawatt solar market

Admin · Guru

Bad loans hit Indian Bank net

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: Indian Banks net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2012 slipped 21% to touch Rs 345 crore.The dip was on account of reversal in interest income to the tune of Rs 171 crore on account of restructured assets.In addition,we have made provisions of Rs 190 crore, said T M Bhasin,chairman and managing director,Indian Bank.Of the total provisions,Rs 50 crore is set aside for possible defaults in education loans.
The board of directors recommended a dividend of Rs 7.5 per equity share.
For the fiscal 2012,the banks gross non performing assets (NPA) rose 2.5 times to touch Rs 1,850 crore.Net NPA (bad loans) during 2011-12 has substantially risen to Rs 1196.83 crore as against 397.03 crore during 2010-11.But the CMD was optimistic on the recovery.Most of the NPAs are soft in nature and are recoverable advances.We expect lot of upgradations during the first two quarters of the fiscal, Bhasin said.
Indian Banks net profit during 2011-12 marginally rose by 1.92% to Rs 1,747 crore.The above mentioned provisions and interest revisions resulted in the small rise in net profit, Bhasin said.
Total business of the bank during 2011-12 rose 16.8% to Rs 2,11,988 crore from Rs 1,81,530 crore during 2010-11.Deposits during the aforesaid period were up by 14.2% touch Rs 1,20,804 crore as against Rs 1,05,804 crore,while advances during the same period rose by 20.4% to touch Rs 91,184 crore compared to Rs 75,726 in 2010-11.Interest income improved by 30.6% to touch Rs 12,231 crore during the fiscal.
The capital adequacy ratio of the bank stood at 13.47% (including tier I capital adequacy of 11.13%) as on March 31 2011.

Admin · Guru

Its gross: Banks bad debt on a rise

PNBs Gross NPA Doubles;Infra,Metals,Telecom,Aviation Major Defaulters

Aparna Ramalingam TNN

Chennai: In a slowing economy,bloating bad debt is breaking the back and balance sheets of banks,with gross NPA (non-performing assets) rising by an average 32%,and in the case of Punjab National Bank,going up by 100% from March 2011.
Gross NPA is an advance considered irrecoverable,but for which bank has made provisions,and is still held in the banks books.
An analysis of the gross NPA (non performing asset) of 12 banks shows that bad debt at State Bank of India,Punjab National Bank,IDBI Bank and Union Bank of India has grown significantly during FY12 from FY11.
The gross NPA of State Bank of India,which declared its annual results on Friday,rose 56% from March 2011,that is rising from Rs 25,326.29 crore to Rs 39,676.46 crore as of March 2012 quarter.Sequentially,however,the bank marginally clawed back on its gross NPA which stood at Rs 40,098.43 crore as of December 2011 quarter.
Historically,loss rates in the banking industry have never been higher than 50%, said Vaibhav Agrawal,vice president,research,(Banking) at Angel Broking.
Agrawal blames the bad debts,which have been rising during the whole of last year,on corporate accounts across verticals such as infrastructure,metals,telecom and aviation.It is a symptom of the general weakness in the economy and there has been a slowdown especially in the manufacturing sector.
During 2011 (calendar year),total loan outstanding in the aviation sector amounted to Rs 39,000 crore and in the case of power companies,loan outstanding stood at Rs 1,21,000 crore.At the end of the third quarter of FY12,banks exposure to the telecom sector was around Rs 10,000 crore.Unlike other sectors,average loan sizes (whether term or working capital loan) in sectors like aviation and telecom is around Rs 100 crore, a senior banker said.
Punjab National Bank saw its gross non-performing assets doubling in a year to Rs 8,719.62 crore from Rs 4,379.39 crore as of March 2011,according to data complied by Centre for Monitoring Indan Economy (CMIE).
The bank restructured loans worth Rs 15,334 crore during the year,against just Rs 2,848 crore in the previous financial year.The restructuring included two airlines,three electricity distribution companies and a telecom tower company.The advances to troubled sectors such as infrastructure,metals and textiles still stand at about 23% of its total loan book.

Admin · Guru

Reebok alleges 8,700cr fraud by sacked MD,COO

Sanjay Yadav TNN

Gurgaon: Reebok India on Tuesday lodged a first information report with the Gurgaon police alleging that its former managing director Subhinder Singh Prem and chief operating officer Vishnu Bhagat had stolen products by setting up secret warehouses,fudged accounts and indulged in fictitious sales to cause a.8,700 crore dent to the company.
If the allegations are found correct,this would be the second biggest corporate scandal after Satyam,in which Ramalinga Raju was accused of orchestrating a.14,000 crore fraud.
In regulatory filings on May 1,Adidas,which owns the Reebok brand,had said commercial irregularities in India had forced it to take a.870 crore hit in addition to restructuring spend of.470 crore planned in 2012.Reebok Indias turnover is estimated at around.600 crore.
In the FIR filed with the Sector 40 police station in Gurgaon,Reebok said it carried out an internal investigation after certain fraudulent activities were noticed in January this year.When contacted,both Prem and Bhagat refused comment,saying they were unaware of the FIR.
Reebok India director (finance ) Shahin Padath has alleged in the FIR that Prem and Bhagat,whose services have since been terminated,had set up four secret warehouses in Delhi and generated fictitious sales over numerous financial years.
Prem and Bhagat were with the company for over 16 years.
Padath alleged that the sales were fictitiously diverted to these warehouses.At the end of December 2011,products worth.147 crore were allegedly invoiced but not delivered.The said products were thus stolen by accused 1 and 2 (Prem and Bhagat) and the secret warehouses mentioned above were used for storing some of such stolen products, the FIR said,while estimating the value of these goods at.63 crore.
The rent for these warehouses was allegedly paid by one Shivam Enterprises,which supply manpower to the complainants warehouse.

STARTLING CHARGES

Ex-MD Prem & COO Bhagat set up 4 secret warehouses in Delhi and diverted goods.Not reported in company books On Dec 31,2001,goods worth 147 crore were in these warehouses,whose rent was paid by one Shivam Enterprises Duo ran unauthorized franchisee programme and collected 114 crore from investors Kept forged parallel books of account.Official receivable 476 crore,as against 1,007 crore in unofficial accounts

Admin · Guru

Former executives collected money on the side: Reebok

Reebok has also alleged thatitstwoformer executives ran an unauthorized franchise referral programme and money was collected on the pretext of opening stores.This was done despite instructions from Adidas headquarters to not expandthestorebasefurther,the company said.
Almost no franchise stores were opened under the scheme despite collection of about Rs 114 crore from various investors, the FIR said.It added that Prem and Bhagat forged and fabricated cash receipts and also maintained parallel books of accounts,known as regional outstanding reports (ROR).
In order to hide the fraud,the accused malafidely (sic) passed on extra margin to the customers on the invoice which were treated as credit note reduction as issuing a credit notewouldhave madeit obvious that the balance reported in the books (were ) not correct, it added.
The company has also accused the two former executives of raising invoices of Rs 86 croreon customersfor products already invoiced and delivered in 2010-11,which is againstthe norm.Reeboksaid that this was done to claim bonus andincentives.
Reebok has suggested that the police conduct a thorough investigation and custodial investigation of the two former executives.

Admin · Guru

அரசிடம் ரூ.13 லட்சம் கோடி கேட்கிறது திவாலான ஸ்பெயின் வங்கி !

ஐரோப்பிய யூனியன் நாடுகளில் ஒன்றான ஸ்பெயினில் 4-வது மிகப்பெரிய வங்கியான பேங்கியா திவாலாகிவிட்டது.இந்நிலையில் அரசிடம் இருந்து சுமார் ரூ.13 லட்சத்து 30 ஆயிரம் கோடி (19 மில்லியன் யூரோ) நிதியுதவியைக் கேட்டுள்ளது அந்த வங்கி. முன்னதாக வங்கி கடனில் மூழ்கி வருவதை அறிந்த ஸ்பெயின் அரசு இரு வாரங்களுக்கு முன்பு சுமார் ரூ.3 லட்சத்து 35 ஆயிரம் கோடி நிதியுதவி அளித்து, வங்கியை பகுதியாக தேசியமயமாக்கப்பட்ட

வங்கி என அறிவித்தது. இந்நிலையில் அந்த வங்கி அரசிடம் மீண்டும் உதவிக்கரம் நீட்டியுள்ளது.

இந்நிலையில் ஸ்பெயின் அரசுக்கு மேலும் ஒரு நெருக்கடி ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. தனது கடன்களைத் திருப்பி அளிக்க நிதியுதவி வேண்டுமென்று கட்லோனியா மாகாண அரசும் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளது.முன்னதாக ஐரோப்பிய நாடுகளில் ஒன்றான கிரீஸில் கடும் நிதிநெருக்கடி ஏற்பட்டது. பட்ஜெட் பற்றாக்குறை, பொதுக் கடனால் அந்த நாட்டு அரசு திணறி வருகிறது.

இந்நிலையில் மற்றொரு ஐரோப்பிய நாடான ஸ்பெயினில் வங்கித்துறை மூலம் பிரச்னை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. வீடு, கட்டுமானத் துறைக்கு அதிக அளவில் கடன் அளித்ததன் மூலம் வங்கி திவாலாகிவிட்டது. வங்கியை மீட்க எந்த விலையும் கொடுக்கத் தயாராக இருப்பதாக ஸ்பெயின் அரசு தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

அதே நேரத்தில் அந்நாட்டு பங்குச் சந்தையில் இருந்தும் பேங்கியா வங்கி தாற்காலிகமாக நீக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஸ்பெயினில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள இப்பிரச்னை தொடர் நிகழ்வாக ஐரோப்பிய யூனியன் நாடுகள் மேலும் சிலவற்றிலும் பொருளாதாரச் சிக்கல் ஏற்படும் என்று கருதப்படுகிறது.

Admin · Guru

Banks told to recast 35k cr textile debt

Govt Move To Benefit 2,000 Cotton Mills

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday asked banks to restructure loans worth Rs 35,000 crore for the textile sector,bringing relief to the sector,which is reeling under the impact of volatile yarn prices and slowdown in major markets.Banks have an exposure of Rs 1.56 lakh crore to the sector,which means just under a quarter of the loans will be restructured in one of the biggest loan recast programmes.
The long-pending demand of the industry will benefit around 2,000 cotton textiles mills,a majority of which are in Tamil Nadu,and the man-made fibre segment in Gujarat,where assembly elections are due later this year.Of the overall package,nearly Rs 27,000 crore is expected to be pocketed by the cotton mills,while Rs 3,600 crore will flow to the man-made segment.Before assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh,the government had announced a package for weavers,which included softer loan terms.
The latest lifeline to the largest employer in the manufacturing sector comes at a time when industrial growth and exports have slowed and there is an allround demand to boost economic activity.A healthier financial position of Indian textile companies also augurs well for their export competitiveness.The package,finalized after a meeting between finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and commerce,industry and textiles minister Anand Sharma,will include a two-year interest moratorium and conversion of eroded working capital into longer-term loans with three to five year term.
To encourage banks to implement the package,the government will seek a special dispensation from RBI so that lenders dont have to classify this debt as non-performing asset and set aside more funds in what in trade parlance is referred to as provisioning for bad and doubtful debt.Sharma said there was agreement with the finance ministry that the debt restructuring package would be considered on a case to case basis by individual banks.An inter-ministerial committee of senior officials will be set up to coordinate with industry and banks for fast-tracking the restructuring process.

FINANCIAL LIFELINE

tBanks have Rs 1.56 lakh-cr exposure to textiles sector,so latest move will restructure over 20% of all loans tPackage includes two-year interest moratorium and conversion of eroded working capital into longer-term loans tA majority of the beneficiary mills are located in Tamil Nadu,while some are manmade fibre units in Gujarat where assembly polls are due tOverall,nearly Rs 27,000cr will go to cotton mills,while Rs 3,600cr will go to man-mades

Industry cheers debt rejig package

Coimbatore: The textile industry in Tamil Nadu,beset with a host of problems liek power shortage and fluctuation in cotton prices,cheered the Centres approval to restructure its loans.
The textile industry has incurred losses to the tune of over Rs 11,000 crore due to the volatility in cotton and yarn prices,according to the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA).
The recommendations have come as a great relief for the ailing textile industry and would give a new lease of life to it,particularly for the textile mills in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,which have incurred huge cash losses during the last year, SIMA chairman S Dinakaran said.
A Sakthivel,president,Tirupur Exporters Association,said,The debt restructuring at this juncture will be a major relief to all and will certainly lift the sagging morale of the textile industry.
The unprecedented huge price fluctuation of all fibres from October 2010 and fall in demand for all textile products from January 2011 in the global and domestic markets have seriously affected the entire textile value chain driving units into huge losses,SIMA said.TNN

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PACKING UP
US sees biggest law firm collapse

100-Yr-Old Dewey & LeBoeuf Files For Bankrupcy

Partners Flee,Debt Surges

Dewey & LeBoeuf,the law firm crippled by financial miscues and partner defections,filed for bankruptcy on Monday night,punctuating the largest law firm collapse in United States history.
The filing,made in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan,is the final chapter in a turbulent period for Dewey,which came apart after disappointing profits and prodigious debt forced it to slash partners salaries.The partners,already owed millions from previous years,grew concerned over the firms finances and their ability to get paid.A partner exodus destroyed the firm.
Dewey announced Monday that the firm planned to liquidate.It said it would ask about 90 employees to remain on staff to assist in the winddown of its business.The firm has $315 million in liabilities,of which $225 million is owed to its banks,according to the court filings.Other creditors include the firms landlords and former partners owed money.
This is a very sad day for the legal profession, said Richard Holwell,a former federal judge.Dewey is a fabled firm with great lawyers and a demise of this magnitude is unprecedented.
With historical roots stretching back a century,Dewey the product of a 2007 merger between Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf,Lamb,Greene & MacRae employed at its peak more than 2,500 people,including roughly 1,400 lawyers in 26 offices across the globe.
Many observers say the root causes of Deweys fall are not unique.
Several of the largest firms have adopted business strategies that Dewey embraced : unfettered growth,often through mergers;the aggressive poaching of lawyers from rivals by offering outsize pay packages;and a widening spread between the salaries of the firms top partners and its most junior ones.
These trends,they say,have destroyed the fabric of a law firm partnership,where a shared sense of purpose once created willingness to weather difficult times.Many large firms have discarded the traditional notions of partnership loyalty,collegiality,a sense of equality and instead transformed themselves into bottom-line,profit-maximizing businesses.
Because the partnership lacks any shared cultural values or history,money becomes the core value holding the firm together, said William Henderson,a law professor at Indiana University who studies law firms.Money is weak glue. NYT SERVICE

Admin · Guru

ONE-ON-ONE

Need to get social licence to operate

Coca-Cola Exec Says Govt Nod Not Enough

Namrata Singh TNN

Istanbul: When The Coca-Cola Company announced its vision 2020 to double revenues by the end of the decade,a critical p planet was made part of the vision statement along with people,portfolio,partners,profit and productivity.Sustainability got a boost when the post of a chief sustainability officer was created by the organization last year.The objective was to inject sustainability into the bloodstream of the organization across regions.And India was no exception to this rule.
India,which contributes 15-20 % to the Eurasia and Africa regions,is one of the high growth potential markets for Coca-Cola.Even while it is making an investment of $2 billion in India over the next five years,Coca-Cola is keen that growth be generated by minimizing the impact on the environment.In an exclusive interview with TOI,Ahmet C Bozer,president (Eurasia & Africa Group),Coca-Cola,said he expects a lot of innovations to emerge out of India on the sustainability front.At a recent Eurasia and Africa Group Presidents sustainability awards,more than 100 bottling plants across the region were assessed in six categories,of which two Indian bottlers bagged an award of $70,000 (about Rs 40 lakh) each on quality and water efficiency.As Coca-Cola India accelerates its drive on sustainability,Bozer believes it would not be too long for India to become one of the top five markets for Coca-Cola globally.Excerpts:

Globally,investors are more interested in companies that have best practices in sustainability.Where does Coca-Cola rank

We want to make sustainability a part of everything we do.That starts with some public commitments we have made and are delivering on the same.We now have a chief sustainability officer which is almost like a different department,but that department is needed to put sustainability into the veins of the organization.We have come to the realization that thats the right thing to do,not because investors are more interested in it,but for our own business to live for the long term.

Do you think manufacturers have a choice on environmental issues as it is widely believed that society will not give them the licence to operate if they continue to operate the way they did in the past

This is the reason why we are saying we need to do this.The consumer is a lot more empowered today than he or she was may be 20 years ago.People have a lot of expectations.It is important that these commitments are delivered because they influence their purchase decisions.Its not just important to get the formal licence from the government to operate in a country,youve got to get the social licence to operate.

But very few companies have come out with firm commitments on the carbon front

We have commitments in the area of water and in terms of growing the business,but not on carbon.We have commitments in empowering women as well.So thats an important part of our journey.While people talk about it,the difficulty here is in actually doing it.The most important proof point is that we can not just talk about our results,but also institutionalize it in terms of bringing a chief sustainability officer for our group.The department is not going to be successful unless similar processes are established all the way into the field,and thats happening.

Markets like India are still developing.But with the kind of investments you are planning to make in these markets,there is bound to be an impact on the environment.How do you propose to minimize that

When we started the water harvesting project four years ago,India was not so big.We have a 2020 target,most of which would come from emerging markets.But we also say that we have to grow in these markets in a sustainable way.While we are building these capacities,we are also looking at the environment footprint on how to minimize it.If we say we are going to grow first and then look at what we want to do on sustainability,then weve failed.

You mentioned that India could be one of the top 5 markets globally.What rate of growth do you expect India to clock every year so that it can achieve this goal

India has been growing some years at the rate of 30%,some years at the rate of 20%,while in some others,at the midteen levels.We believe the opportunity in India is such that if India could sustain those rates of growth,then definitely it wont be too long before we see them claiming that spot in the worldwide rankings.

What kind of innovations do you expect out of India

Solar coolers came from India.We are also innovating with a lot on juice products.Maaza milk shake came from India and we are hoping to make that travel to other parts of the world.Given Indias entrepreneurship abilities and the innovative thinking,India would probably produce more innovations going forward.

(The writer was in Istanbul on an invitation from Coca-Cola India)

Ahmet C Bozer PRESIDENT (EURASIA & AFRICA GROUP),THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Admin · Guru

CURBING ARBITRAGE
LIC hikes rates on policy loans

Mayur Shetty TNN

Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation has increased interest rates on loan against policies thereby shutting an arbitrage opportunity for policyholders.The corporation has also increased interest rates on delayed payments.
Until recently the corporation charged 9% on loans against policies.This provided policyholders an opportunity to earn a spread by borrowing from LIC and parking funds in fixed deposits of triple A rate companies such as HDFC,which offers returns of 9.5% on 15 month deposits.To avoid this,the corporation has raised interest rates to 10%.
Explaining the reason why LIC had not revised rates for several years a senior official said that interest rates have been largely steady in recent years.However,recently volatility has compelled LIC to realign rates with the market.The policy condition states that interest rates on the loan would be revised from time to time, the official said.
Unlike the EPFO which allows employees to tap retirement savings only for specific events,LIC grants loans to policyholders for up to 90% of the surrender value of the policy including cash value of bonus.The only requirement is that the policy should be assigned in favour of the corporation.
In the private sector,Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has already been charging interest at the rate of 10% on loans against policies.According to Rituraj Bhattacharjee,head,market management,Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance,this is cheaper than other personal loans.Life insurance policies can be used as a collateral security for raising loans for some emergency funding that can be leveraged without losing the life cover.It is observed that self employed people prefer this mode for their working capital needs, he said.
Some other private life insurers charge higher rates which goes up to 12.5%.Private life insurers promoted by banks,direct their policyholders to their parent banks for loans against policies.Similarly in the case of interest of delayed payments,LIC has hiked interest charges to 10%.Earlier the corporation was charging 8% interest.

Admin · Guru

SBI to cut SME lending rates

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: State Bank of India chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said on Tuesday that the bank would ask rating agency Moodys to rerate the lender soon.Last October,Moodys downgraded State Bank of Indias financial strength rating to D+ from C-. The downgrade was on account of the banks capital situation and deteriorating asset quality.
We are in the process of auditing our balance sheet which should be completed this week.We are well capitalized at the moment.Our internal surplus stands at Rs 11,700 crore and after payment of dividend,this would come down to Rs 9,000 crore, Chaudhuri said.The banks capital adequacy ratio in March 2012 stood at 13.86% (tier I: 9.79%) as against 11.98% (tier I: 7.77%) in March 2011.
On the possibility of a rate cut,Chaudhuri said the most painless method is a cut in CRR (cash reserve ratio) for a moderation in interest rates.The bank is expected to announce rate cuts for loans to SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) by 2-3 % in the first week of June.Many Indian industries are becoming uncompetitive because of the high interest rate environment, Chaudhuri said.The bank proposes to bring down its SME lending rates to 10.5%- 15.5% from the current 12%- 17%.
SME advances of SBI registered a 16.29% growth last fiscal at Rs 1,39,175 crore compared with Rs 1,19,676 crore during 2010-11.SBI is also planning to come out with a bond issue to the tune of $1 billion by August this year.
NPA (non performing asset ) management would continue to be a major focus area for the bank this fiscal.We want to bring down our net NPA from 1.82% to 1.6% during this fiscal, Chaudhuri said.The bank had constituted a separate vertical christened SAMG (stress asset management group) across nine offices in the country last year.We have done cash recovery of over Rs 1,000 crore through such offices last year, Chaudhuri said.

Admin · Guru

Pain in Spain drags Re to new low of 56.23

Currency Loses Over Re 1 In 2 Sessions

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:The rupee breached the 56-level once again to end the day at 56.23 its lowest close and near its all-time intraday low of 56.38 seen last week.The rupee weakened against the dollar which gained in the international market after trouble in Spains banks pulled the euro down to atwo-year low.
Intervention by the Reserve Bank of India prevented the rupee from sinking to a new low against the dollar.Although the domestic currency had come close to its previous low,which is seen as a resistance level,there was no major supply and import demand persisted, said a dealer with a private bank.The rupee,which closed at 55.68 on Tuesday,opened weaker and quickly slipped past the 56-mark to trade around 56.20.Dollar sales by the central bank helped pull back the currency to 56.14 levels,however,fresh bad news from Europe dragged the rupee down to close at its low of 56.23.
Following Wednesdays decline,the rupee has lost more than one rupee in the last two trading sessions and continues to be the worst performing Asian currency although the Indonesian Rupiah and the Malaysian Ringitt also weakened against the dollar.
This week saw some positive developments in Greece where surveys showed that elections may throw up a probailout party.owever,Spain is now turning out to be a bigger worry than Greece.On Wednesday,the Spanish government said that it would infuse 19 billion euros into distressed real estate lender Bankia SA whose troubles had led to a run on Spanish institutions.Also the Bank of Spain warned that the country may sink deeper into a recession.Dealers are worried about Spain because it is a much larger economy and may prove more difficult to bail out by the larger economies of northern Europe.
According to David Joy,chief market strategist,Ameriprise Financial,the present global situation reflects the triumph of fear over valuation.In Brazil,the Bovespaindex is trading at 9.4x expected 2012 earnings.The S&P 500 is trading at 12.7x.In Europe,the Euro Stoxx 50 index is trading at a 8.9x P/E ratio.Each of these represents a meaningful discount to their long-term averages,but these are not average times.Three full years into the economic recovery,investors first reaction remains to flee,not to fight, he said in a note.

BROKEN BY BANKIA

tIndian currency weakened due to the euro plunging to a two-year low on bank trouble in Spain,which is turning out to be a bigger worry than Greece tSpanish govt will infuse 19bn euros into distressed Bankia tDealers are worried as Spain is a much larger economy and difficult to bail out tIn the domestic forex market,RBI intervened with dollar sales that prevented the rupee from sinking to another intra-day low tThe slide has ensured rupees status as the worst performing Asian currency

Admin · Guru

Anand Mahindra to take over as Keshub retires

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Keshub Mahindra will retire as chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and will be succeeded by his nephew Anand Mahindra,who will take over from August 8 after the companys Annual General Body Meeting concludes.
Keshub,who informed the M&M Board about his intention to retire,will become chairman emeritus of the company.The Board reluctantly acceded to the chairmans desire but requested him to accept the position of chairman emeritus, M&M said.
Anand,who is currently vice-chairman and MD of M&M,said he has been a role model for business leaders and a true statesman.Keshub had joined the M&M board in 1948 and was elected chairman in 1963.
During the 48 years of his chairmanship,the Mahindra Group expanded from being an automobile manufacturer to other business segments like IT,real estate,financial services and hospitality.
On Wednesday,M&M reported a 44% rise in fourth quarter net profit on higher sales of tractors and utility vehicles and a one-time exceptional gain.Profit for the company in the January-March 12 period stood at Rs 874 crore against Rs 606 crore in the same period of the previous year.
The growth in the profit of the company,despite the relentless increase in material costs,is due to a good volume performance by both vehicles and tractors and tight control on expenses, the company said.The quarterly profit got a leg-up from an exceptional gain of Rs 108 crore on a tax saving in the quarter.
Income from operations for the Mumbai-based company rose 39% to Rs 9,241 crore against Rs 6,634 crore in March 2011 quarter.For 2011-12,the net profit stood at Rs 2,879 crore against Rs 2,662 crore in the previous year,a growth of 8%.
A shift of the passenger vehicle market towards diesel has benefited the company,which has a negligible share of petrol vehicles in overall sales.In the passenger utility vehicle segment,M&M sold over two lakh vehicles,registering a growth of 19% in 2011-12.
The maker of Xylo and Scorpio has seen its XUV500 sport-utility vehicle,introduced last year,receive a good response.On Monday,the company said it has raised capacity of the XUV500 to 4,000 units a month,and would begin taking orders from across the country from June 8.M&M said tractor sales grew 10% at 2.4 lakh units against 2.1 lakh in 2010-11,making the company the single-largest tractor company in the world for the third consecutive year.M&Ms board recommended a dividend of Rs 12.5 (250%) per share of face value Rs 5.The company said with global risks escalating and continued weakness in the domestic macro environment,the near-term outlook for the economy is quite challenging.

Keshub Mahindra and his nephew Anand Mahindra

Admin · Guru

EU puts Spain on critical list,seeks bank guarantees

Brussels: The European Commission called for big changes throughout the Eurozone on Wednesday as it placed Spain at the head of a critical list of 12 economies ordered to carry out major reforms this year.
The European Union executive said Eurozone-wide bank deposit guarantees were now essential as investor concern homed in on wayward Spanish public finances,locked in a spiral of recession and massive unemployment.As the Commission issued its annual report card on EU economies,Spains debt risk premium smashed euro-era recordshiking to almost 7%after the central bank chief quit early and Madrid scrambled to finance a major banking rescue.If EU leaders endorse the report card at a June 28-29 summit,Spain might be given an extra year,until 2014,to meet its deficit commitments,sources said.Spain was to bring its public deficit to within 3.0% of gross domestic product by 2013,from 8.9% in 2011.
Issued for the first time since the adoption of new laws dictating cross-border parameters for EU economic governance,the report allows the Commission to threaten Eurozone countries with huge fines if they do not comply.Model economy Germany,however,along with Bulgaria,was taken off the Commissions deficit blacklist,joining Estonia,Finland,Luxembourg and Sweden in the good books.
In detailed economic analysis assembled over months,Brussels also unfroze grants due to Hungary that were blocked earlier this year with the Commission unhappy at the state of Budapest's public accounts.As economists increasingly tip a Spanish cry for financial help from its currency partners,Brussels issued policy demands,or recommendations,on all 27 EU states,as well as the 17-member Eurozone taken together.The aim is to try and police how individual governments act in an effort to re-boot growth.
With foreign investors running for the exit from Spain,hitting the country's banks and leading government borrowings to soar,the Commission said crossborder steps were required to prevent the Eurozone imploding.
The Commission said the main steps towards full economic and monetary union,including a banking union would involve euro area financial supervision and euro-area wide deposit guarantees. This is something that hard-pressed Mediterranean states pushed for at talks among EU leaders earlier this month,but that Germany rejected.REUTERS

MAINTAINING UNITY

Admin · Guru

PEs eye wallet power of Indian consumers

Report Says Even In Slowdown Food,Health,Grooming Remain Attractive

Mini Joseph Tejaswi TNN

Bangalore: Private equity (PE) players,known as deep-pocket investors,are now looking at cashing in on the wallet power of Indian consumers by investing across a whole new area of small and medium retail business.
Small retail stores,boutique hospitality ventures,food and beverage shops,healthcare/diagnostics outfits,fashion/ grooming chains,hair and skin saloons,logistics,etc,will now receive PE money.
Interestingly,PEs who are normally associated with big-ticket investments starting from $20-50 million are very keen in fast-growing,end userdriver retail business segments.
The argument is that India is a booming retail market and,even in a severe recession scenario,sectors like food,healthcare,grooming,etc,will not see much of a shrinkage.
Therefore,it makes sense for PE players to be in spaces that give direct access to customers wallets,indicates a report on PE Fueling Indias Growth,jointly released by Deloitte and Assocham.
Despite global conditions,domestic political instability or unfavourable policy decisions,the Indian domestic consumption market coupled with a growing entrepreneurial cadre still holds an allure for PE investors.
A direct impact of the booming domestic market and emergence of these first-generation entrepreneurs was the increase in focus on the domestic e-commerce industry.In 2011,the click-and-mortar model received a number of investments from PE players.Flipkarts $150-million,4th-round funding in 2012 kicked off an overall positive sentiment in funds investing in this space.
Now PEs interest in offline retailing could only be seen as a logical extension of their existing interest in the online retail/consumer space.Kalpana Jain,senior director,Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India,told TOI,Our discussions with investors indicate an appetite for directing monies into companies that would benefit from the strength of domestic consumption in India,with potential beneficiary segments being small retail format stores,hospitality and food and beverage (cooked food or branded food),healthcare (diagnostics chains),education,etc.PEs are looking at high volume and reasonable value businesses that are looking at a mass play.
Private equity can not only help companies grow,hire more workers and raise productivity but at the same time it can also be a powerful driver of change (social/economic): Raising standards,fostering growth,promoting new opportunities for businesses and individuals,helping to overcome poverty and bringing hope,says the report.In fact,its is a clear indication of the PE industrys eagerness to be an integral part of the great growth story unfolding in mega metros to tiny hamlets across the country.
The year 2011 saw a shift in the investments within real estate and infrastructure sectors from commercial and residential to large infrastructure projects such as airports,ports and roads,according to the report.

WHEN SMALL IS BIG BIZ

t

India was the fastest-growing PE market in Asia in 2011 with 531 deals 40% more than the previous year,with the click-and-mortar model receiving a number of investments

t

PEs are eager to be part of growth story unfolding in metros to hamlets

t

PEs are investing in boutiques,food & beverage shops,diagnostics outfits,fashion chains,saloons,etc

t

Apart from helping firms grow,a report says PEs can also be a driver of socio-economic change

Admin · Guru

Family feud may disrupt Samsung succession

Seoul: A family feud at Samsung Group,parent of the worlds largest electronics company by revenue,could upset the smooth handover of control of a smartphones-to-ships conglomerate whose $234 billion annual sales are bigger than the economy of Singapore.
Lee Kun-hee,South Koreas richest man and chairman of Samsung Electronics,on Wednesday defends three lawsuits from his elder brother,Lee Maeng-hee,a sister and another relative,who claim $1 billion of assets mainly shares in Samsung Life,an insurance company at the heart of a web of Samsung Group cross-shareholdings.Lee Kun-hee is unlikely to attend the case at the Seoul Central District Court.
There's little chance of Lee losing control of Samsung,but the legal wrangling over a small part of the Samsung fortune a day after the enthusiastic launch of Samsung's latest Galaxy S3 smartphone may dent plans to eventually hand over the reins to his only son,Jay Lee.The hearing may also shed more light on how the Lee family maintains its grip on a sprawling group,some details of which emerged in a 2008 lawsuit when Kun-hee was found guilty of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion that eventually led to the current suit.
Its generally not in ones favour to bet against the House of Samsung and the chairman for domestic legal issues where such influence often transcends economic borders into legal ones, said Jasper Kim,a professor of international business law and finance at Ewha Universitys graduate school.
In an unusually public spat at the top of one of the countrys famed chaebol the family-owned industrial groups that wield huge economic and political clout Maeng-hee,who is in his 80s,has called his younger septuagenarian brother greedy and childish.Kun-hee retorts that Maeng-hee was turfed out of the family and not judged fit to lead Samsung by their father Lee Byung-chull,who founded the group in 1938.

Ever Everland

The Samsung Group is effectively controlled by Samsung Everland,a small zoo and theme park company with equity capital of just $10.7 million.
If Kun-hees stake in Samsung Life falls below Everlands,under South Korean law Everland would be considered a financial holding company,requiring it and companies under its control to sell stakes in non-financial companies,including Samsung Electronics.
Maeng-hee,the eldest son of Samsungs founder,and his sister are seeking aquarter of Kun-hees stake in Samsung Life.Kun-hee is the biggest shareholder of Samsung Life,with a 20.76% stake,followed by Everland with 19.34%.As part of the web of cross-holdings,Samsung Life owns 7.21% of Samsung Electronics,which owns 35.29% of Samsung Card,which holds 8.64% of Everland.
Lee (Kun-hee ) would prefer to settle in cash because losing some of his stake in Samsung Life could spark a bigger ownership restructuring in key Samsung companies, said Jun Yong-ki,an analyst at Hyundai Securities.REUTERS

Heir Jay Lee,43,has yet to make any significant mark on the business,beyond a failed e-commerce venture during the dotcom bubble

Admin · Guru

Economy gasps as Q4 growth sputters to 5.3%

Worst Quarterly Show In 9 Years

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Indias economic growth dropped to a nine-year low of 5.3% in the January-March quarter of this year,showing up in bolder relief than ever before the signs of severe stress in the economy,and prompting calls for urgent action to reverse the trend.
Data released by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday showed growth in 2011-12 stood at 6.5%,much lower than 8.4% in the previous year.It was below the governments previous estimate of 6.9% and way off estimates handed out periodically by top government policymakers.
Growth in the manufacturing sector fell 0.3% in the March quarter compared to expansion of 7.3% in the same period of the previous year.

SLUGGISH ELEPHANT

March quarter GDP growth at 5.3%,against 9.2% in Q4 of 2010-11

Manufacturing scrapes the bottom with 0.3% decline,

agriculture grows just 1.7%,services slow down to 7.9% from 10.6%

Overall 2011-12 growth at 6.5%,

lower than estimates of 6.9% Economists are scaling down growth projection for 2012-13 Industry in gloom.Says govt should pull out all stops to stem the slide

COME AGAIN

There are several reasons that growth is almost universally predicted to be sustained at a high rate of 8-9 % per annum and more,over the next few decades...

PRANAB MUKHERJEE ON AUG 6,2011

Admin · Guru

Mfg growth slips to 2.5%

New Delhi: Agriculture posted a growth of 1.7% in Q4 of 2011-12,sharply lower than the 7.5% growth in the March quarter of 2010-11.For the full year,the manufacturing sector grew 2.5% in 2011-12 compared with 7.6% in 2010-11.The Indian economy,once the star among emerging market economies,has steadily slowed since the January-March quarter of 2010-11,and on Thursday,after digesting the January-March growth figure of 5.3%,some economists cut their growth estimates for 2012-13.
The sluggishness in the services sector,which accounts for nearly 60% of GDP,emerged as a worry for policymakers already burdened by the slowing economy and stubborn inflation.Data showed services sector growth slowed to 7.9% in the March quarter compared with a 10.6 % expansion in the same-year-ago period.The domestic demand driven economy has been hit hard by high inflation,interest rates,rising global commodity prices,lack of reforms and delay in implementation of projects.This,in turn,has hit business confidence,forcing domestic players to explore investment options overseas.
Analysts say the disappointing growth numbers could spoil the mood further and heighten the anxiety.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee termed the March quarter data as disappointing but said the figures should be seen in the light of overall global developments.He attributed the slowdown to tight monetary policy leading to a significant rise in interest costs and weak global sentiment affecting growth in domestic private investment.TNN

Admin · Guru

IRDA proposes health cover till you are 65

New Delhi: Health insurers must provide policy cover to people up to 65 years and settle all claims within a month,the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has proposed in its draft guidelines for insurance companies.
The IRDA said insurers would have to provide cashless facility to policy holders undergoing treatment in a particular hospital even after it is removed from the list of preferred service providers.
The provisions form part of IRDAs exposure draft on IRDA (Health Insurance) Regulations 2012.The draft also talks about portability,under which a policy holder can migrate to another health insurance providing company without losing any benefit and special provisions for senior citizens whose need for healthcare is pressing.
Under the proposed norms,the insurer will have to provide customers all relevant information in simple language on a single page.Reasons for denial of claims should also be provided.
As per the draft norms,insurers must ensure that empanelled hospitals where cashless facilities are offered to policy holders are spread across different cities of the country and not confined only to metro cities.AGENCIES

Admin · Guru

IRDA: Empanelled hosps must be spread across different cities

New Delhi: Health insurers must provide policy cover to people up to 65 years and settle all claims within a month,the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has proposed in its draft guidelines for insurance companies.
As per the draft norms,insurers must ensure that empanelled hospitals where cashless facilities are offered to policy holders are spread across different cities of the country and not confined only to metro cities.
Also,if the policyholder is already undergoing such treatment at a hospital,and such hospital is proposed to be removed from the list of network providers,then insurers shall provide the benefits of cashless facility for such policy holder as if such hospital continues to be on the network provider list.
IRDA has also suggested that insurers keep policy holders informed at all times on the nearest hospital where cashless facility is available.The insurers should also display the updated list of network providers on their websites.
It has also provided for issuance of travel insurance policies by companies on standalone basis.AGENCIES

Admin · Guru

SUCCOUR FOR SENIORS

Insurers in fix over pricing health cover for 85-yr-olds

Mayur Shetty TNN

Mumbai: Insurance companies are in a dilemma over pricing health insurance policies for people over 85 years of age considering that there is no claims history for this group.
The need to introduce covers for this age has arisen because of new regulations that bar companies from having a maximum age for those who have been continuously buying insurance.There is also the likelihood that with the incidence of hospitalization rising with age,part of the burden may be passed on to younger buyers.
The regulator has also brought personal accident and critical illness covers under health insurance.But these are benefit policies which provide a lump sum amount to make good a loss in earning.These covers may not be suited for older people for whom there is no income loss, said Shreeraj Deshpande,head of health insurance at Future Generali India.
According to T A Ramalingam,head of underwriting at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance,pricing policies for older people will be difficult since there is no data on the claims history.We are asking our actuaries to start working on pricing policies for people up to 110 years of age since in future there will not be any exit age.While the number of people requiring hospitalization in that age group would be high,usually no major surgeries are performed on those above 85 years, he said.
While there may not be many high value claims,the frequency of hospitalization is expected to be very high in this age group which will push up the premium.But if even with high premium the claims ratio (the ratio of claims paid to premium) is more than 100% than other insurance buyers would end up subsidizing this group.
If the higher cost is passed on to younger buyers,there could be a negative spiral with fewer young people buying insurance thereby pressurizing companies to raise rates further, said Deshpande.
Unlike life insurance where it is possible for insurers to sell long-term policies with level premium (paying the same amount over the years),non-life companies cannot sell level premium policies.
One reason is that health covers do not provide fixed benefits;rather they make good the loss suffered by the insured in spending for treatment.
Health insurers say it is impossible to predict what will be the cost of health care after a few years.
There are too many variables.Medical inflation itself is rising at 10-15 % every year, said Ramalingam.
He added that companies also had to take a call on the extent to which they could increase premium for someone who claims consistently.In the new draft guidelines the regulator has said that if there is a claim insurance companies should reduce the cumulative bonus at the same rate at which it has accrued.Insurance companies can also continue with the bonus by charging a higher premium.

Admin · Guru

Finance Ministry forgets Rs 32,000-crore scam

Yatish Yadav

Last Updated : 03 Jun 2012 08:05:44 AM IST

NEW DELHI: In UPA’s summer of discontent, it continues to rain scams. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unearthed a huge forex derivatives scam, pegged at Rs 32,000 crore, which was brushed under the carpet by the government for three years. On January 4, 2012, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had sent a reminder to the Ministry of Finance, seeking an explanation on an alleged scam in selling forex derivatives to Indian companies. The ministry has failed to respond so far. In a letter dated September 29, 2011, the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, while forwarding the views of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks Association, had responded to a PAC question on action taken to recover the huge losses by saying: “The specific action does not come under the purview of the RBI.” Sources say the PAC, which admitted a private complaint in the public interest to investigate the massive scam, was not satisfied with the response and asked Ministry of Finance to file an action taken report.

The story begins in 2008, when 19 Banks violated RBI and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines and sold ‘engineered’ forex derivatives to Indian corporates, which resulted in huge losses to Indian investors and alleged gains to foreign-based banks. After almost three years, the RBI imposed a meagre total penalty of `1.9 crore on the 19 banks. Documents accessed by The Sunday Standard reveal a deliberate delay by the government in launching a probe into this scam. A forex derivative is a financial instrument that insures and seals a future foreign exchange rate.

The investigating agencies allege that RBI officials, working in tandem with unknown foreign entities and Indian banks, made intentional projections that indicated that the rupee would strengthen against the dollar. The agencies claim banks trapped gullible investors, exporters and importers using these projections, and sold especially engineered forex derivatives to fritter away precious foreign exchange out of the country.

The matter came to light after economist Pravanjan Patra filed a writ petition in the Odisha High Court on May 19, 2009, and the court asked the CBI to investigate the scam. “Violations of the guidelines were committed by banks and exporters, who, in many cases, entered into derivative contract for excess of their genuine underlying exposure and also tried to use hedging tools as profit making tools. In the end it was their greed that proved to be their undoing and not the policy guidelines of RBI or the government of India,” the CBI investigation report dated November 4, 2009 stated.

The CBI had recommended that both the RBI and the Enforcement Directorate should investigate the matter further but they demurred. The CBI investigation report said: “The derivative contracts entered into by various banks may be examined by Reserve Bank of India and Enforcement Directorate on bank-to-bank basis with the object to identify and pinpoint the violation of FEMA and take appropriate action.”

Admin · Guru

Solving the black money puzzle, declare actual owners of FDI - Baba Ramdev on fight to the finish to bring back black money

By PTI
03 Jun 2012 12:40:18 PM IST

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare with yoga guru Baba Ramdev during their day long fast in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI

Source for video links: http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/264004/fighting-together-for-corruptionfree-nation-anna-hazare.html

See also: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/video/yoga-guru-baba-ramdev-prime-minister-manmohan-singh-clean-cabinet/1/198866.html

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/264004/fighting-together-for-corruptionfree-nation-anna-hazare.html

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/263981/anna-ramdev-meet-at-rajghat-ahead-of-fast.html

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/263953/anna-ramdev-join-hands-in-antigraft-battle.html

PM is honest, should clean up cabinet: Ramdev

NEW DELHI: Terming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh an "honest person", yoga guru Ramdev today asked him to make his cabinet "corruption free."

He threatened the government with a "fight to the finish" by August for bringing back black money stashed away abroad as also against corruption.

"The Prime Minister was forced to give statement on illegal mining. We all know that Manmohan Singh is an honest person and we all respect him. But people expect him to make his Cabinet corruption free...Please fulfil your democratic duties," Ramdev said at Jantar Mantar here at the joint one-day fast with Anna Hazare.

Recalling Singh's statement that hunger and malnutirtion are a 'national shame', he said mere statements will not solve the problem.

Referring to the issue of black money, he alleged that Rs 400 lakh crore of Indian money was stashed abroad and if the amount was brought back to the country, the nation would become "far superior" to China and the United States.

"We need to bring back black money. I appeal to the people of the country to join this fight. We are intensifying this fight. From today, we are intensifying our protest to bring back black money stashed abroad and want all of the countrymen to be part of the fight to finish by August," he said before the start of the fast.

He claimed that FDI in India worth Rs 20 lakh crore holds the "key" to people involved in stashing black money abroad.

"If the government names the actual owners of the FDI, the puzzle to black money will be solved," he said.

http://expressbuzz.com/nation/pm-is-honest-should-clean-up-cabinet-ramdev/397843.html

Admin · Guru

Unemployment rising due to cuts in public expenditure

Doubts over the Eurozones future,along with Asian governments efforts to cool their markets and deter speculative investment,have taken their toll and house prices were static in the first three months of 2012, says the report.
Apart from the Eurozone malaise,the weakening sentiment is due to lower GDP forecasts and a concern that the global economic recovery may struggle to gain any real traction,the report says.The uncertainty surrounding the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the political paralysis in Greece are influencing trade decisions and consumer confidence worldwide, it explains.
There are few signs to boost the confidence of European householders.Unemployment is rising due to cuts in public spending,causing wages and disposable incomes to be depleted,thereby weakening housing demand.On average house prices in Europe remained flat in the year to March 2012.

Admin · Guru

எல்லா பண முதலைகளும் சி.பி.ஐ.,வாய்க்குள் ; தமிழகத்தை சேர்ந்த சீனிவாசனுக்கும் சம்மன்

ஐதராபாத்: சமீப 3 ஆண்டுகளில் பெரும், பெரும் பணக்காரப்புள்ளிகள் எல்லாம் சி.பி.ஐ.,வலையில் சிக்கி சிறையில் கம்பி எண்ணி வருகின்றனர். அந்த வரிசையில் தமிழகத்தை சேர்ந்த புகழ்பெற்ற இந்தியா சிமென்ட்ஸ் நிறுவன மானேஜிங் டைரக்டரும் சிக்கியுள்ளார். இவரை சி.பி.ஐ., முன்பு ஆஜராகும்படி நோட்டீஸ் அனுப்பப்பட்டுள்ளது.
விசாரணைக்கு பின்னர் இவர் மீதான நடவடிக்கை எந்த நிலையில் இருக்கும் என்பது தெரிய வரும்.

ஆந்திர மாநில முதல்வர் ராஜசேகரரெட்டியின் மகன் ஜெகன்மோகன் ரெட்டி அளவுக்கு அதிகமாக சொத்து சேர்த்த வழக்கில் சி.பி.ஐ.,யினரால் கைது செய்யப்பட்டு சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பபட்டுள்ளார். இவர் மீது சுரங்க மோசடி வழக்கும் நிலுவையில் இருக்கிறது.

இவரது தந்தை ராஜசேகரரெட்டி ஆட்சி காலத்தில் அதிகாரத்தை பயன்படுத்தி பல்வேறு வர்த்தக நிறுவனங்களுக்கு தாராள சலுகையினை பெற்று கொடுத்துள்ளார். இதனால் பயன் அடைந்த பெரும் வர்த்தக நிறுவனங்கள் ஜெகன் நடத்தி வந்த கம்பெனிகளில் கோடி, கோடியாக முதலீடு செய்தன. இதனால் தமது சொத்து எல்லை விரிந்து கொண்டே போனது. இவரது சொத்துக்கள் 600 கோடிக்கும் மேலாக இருப்பது தெரிய வந்துள்ளது.

காங்கிரசை எதிர்த்து அரசியல் துவக்கிய இவருக்கு தொடர்ந்து சிக்கல்கள் வரத்துவங்கின. தற்போது சி.பி.ஐ., கையில் சிக்கி சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார். மக்கள் பணத்தை சுரண்டி கொள்ளை அடித்துள்ளனர் என கோர்ட்டில் சி.பி.ஐ., தனது வாதத்தின்போது வைத்தது. ஜெகன் சொத்து தொடர்பாக பலக்கட்ட விசாரணை பலக்குழுக்களாக பிரிந்து அதிகாரிகள் நடத்தி வருகின்றனர்.

இந்த விசாரணையில் இந்தியா சிமென்ட்ஸ் நிர்வாக இயக்குனர் சீனிவாசன் சிக்கியிருக்கிறார். இவர் இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் வாரிய தலைவராகவும் உள்ளார். ஐ.பி.எல்., சென்னை சூப்பர்கிங்ஸ் அணியின் உரிமையாளரும் ஆவார். இவர் ஜெகன் மோகன் நிறுவனங்களில் பல கோடிக்களை இந்தியா சிமென்ட்ஸ் பெயரில் முதலீடு செய்திருக்கிறார். ஏன் முதலீடு செய்தார் என்பது சி.பி.ஐ.,அதிகாரிகளின் கேள்வி.

என்னதான் சலுகை பெற்றார் ? ரகசிய விசாரணையில் சீனிவாசன் ஆந்திராவில் இருந்து தமது நிறுவனங்களுக்கு தேவையான மூலப்பொருட்களை சலுகை விலையில் பெற்றுள்ளார். பெரும் அளவிலான தண்ணீர் ஒதுக்கீடும் நடந்திருக்கிறது. இதற்கு அப்போதைய முதல்வர் ராஜசேகரரெட்டி ( விமான விபத்தில் உயிரிழந்தவர்) கரிசணம் காட்டியுள்ளார்.

எனவே இந்த முதலீடு தொடர்பாக விளக்கம் அளிக்கும்படி சி.பி.ஐ., சம்மன் அனுப்பியுள்ளது. வரும் 15 ம் தேதிக்கு மேல் ஒரு நாள் சி.பி.ஐ., முன்பு ஆஜராகி விளக்கம் அளிக்க வேண்டும் என்றும் கேட்டு கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது. விசாரணையின் அடிப்படையில் சி.பி.ஐ.,யின் அடுத்தக்கட்ட நடவடிக்கை இருக்கும். பல்வேறு சிமென்ட்ஸ் நிர்வாகிகளுக்கும் பல வர்த்தக நிறுவன அதிபர்களுக்கும் நோட்டீஸ் அனுப்பி வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

ஸ்பெக்ட்ரம் ஊழல் வழக்கில் நாட்டின் முக்கிய வர்த்தக நிறுவன இயக்குனர்கள் , உயர் பொறுப்பில் இருந்தவர்கள் சிறைக்குள் தள்ளப்பட்டனர் என்பது நினைவிருக்கலாம்.

Admin · Guru

Bank changes credit card terms without users nod,fined

New Delhi: Taking a stern view of the practice of imposing new terms for credit card usage without the customers consent,a trial court has directed an international private bank to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 to a woman.
The complainants name was put on the defaulters list after a credit card dispute due to which she was unable to secure a loan and suffered loss of face.Additional district judge Ina Malhotra also directed the RBI to initiate action against the bank.Copy of this order be sent to RBI for initiating action against the bank for violation of its regulations and perverse banking procedures adopted in respect of issuance of credit cards.When the terms and conditions differ from the original grant of a facility,it should be mandatory to take fresh consent from every user, the court said.
The woman alleged that the bank had imposed annual charges on her card without her consent.She was told that for the first year,there were no annual charges.
However,the bank imposed new terms in the second year.Though she got her card cancelled,the bank kept on compounding the charge and demanded that she pays the dues.When she refused,her name was put on the defaulters list,which caused her humiliation in the eyes of the public .TNN

Admin · Guru

All cash abroad not black money: FM

Khargram (WB): Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday that all the money kept by Indians abroad is not black money and noted that India has signed treaties with 37 countries to know the details of such illegal wealth.
Not all money kept abroad is black money.It might have been deposited by businessmen or business houses.The process will take time to know the exact amount, he said.His comments come amidst demands by yoga guru Ramdev asking the government to take steps to bring back black money stashed abroad.
The government last month had proposed a multi-faceted strategy to unearth black money through fast-track courts and deterrent punishment but had ruled out any tax any immunity schemes.
The white paper on black money tabled by Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha favoured a strategic mix of four pillars that will include incentives for voluntary compliance,reforms in vulnerable sectors of economy,creating effective credible deterrence and supportive measures.AGENCIES

Admin · Guru

S&P threat to junk India spooks investors

Sensex Loses 225 Points From Days High,Re Weakens 27P To 1-Week Low

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: An unexpected warning by global ratings major S&P on the possibility of India losing its investment grade sovereign rating spooked investor sentiments on Monday,a day that started on a strong note for markets globally after the European leaders agreed to a $125-billion bailout for the Spanish banking system.The S&P warning also led the rupee to weaken against the dollar by 27 paise to 55.73,while the sensex reversed its five-session winning run to end 51 points in the red at 16,668.The slide in the stock market left investors poorer by Rs 21,000 crore with BSEs market capitalization now at Rs 58.9 lakh crore.
The warning that India may be relegated to a junk bond status jolted Dalal Street investors and led to a 225-point fall in the sensex from its intra-day high.However,institutional players who deal with FIIs,the most influential of the investor groups on the Street,feel the warning could turn out to be positive for the market and the country.This is a warning to the government to pursue its economic agenda which will lead to faster GDP growth, said Dharmesh Mehta,MD (institutional equity ),Enam Securities.After reading the logic behind S&Ps warning,I see this as a positive development for the economy and the market.This would push the government to move faster on reforms,with RBI helping through rate cuts, Mehta said.
Several other top broking house officials and dealers echoed the same view and said for the current week and the next,there are two things that matter the most.For one,it is the Greek elections on Sunday,which is being equated to a referendum to see if its people are willing to be in the Euro currency union.And the other one is the monetary policy decision by RBI on Monday.Expectations are that Greece would leave the currency block,which could be disastrous for India as its throws the market into uncharted territory,while back home,given low inflation and lower crude oil prices,RBI would cut rates further,a positive for the market.