Page 1014 - Business Finance
IIMC records 100% placement for flagship PGP
IIM Calcutta has recorded 100 per cent placement for its flagship Post Graduate Program (PGP) that had 441 students, the institute said Sunday. An IIMC statement said 123 firms from diverse sectors participated in the placement process making a total of 501 offers, which translated to 15 per cent of the batch, receiving more than one offer. Fifty per cent of the batch accepted offers in consulting (29 per cent) and finance (21 per cent) sectors. Reputed consulting firms such as AT Kearney, Bain and Co., Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Co made offers in double digits. Top names among finance recruiters included Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), Citi, JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. New-age firms in e-commerce, operations and product management also attracted a large chunk (16 per cent) of the class of 2019 with 68 offers being accepted. Amazon, Uber, Udaan, Media.Net, Flipkart, Microsoft were some of the top names among recruiters in the ...
IMF warns of global economic "storm" as growth undershoots
The International Monetary Fund on Sunday warned governments to gear up for a possible economic storm as growth undershoots expectations. "The bottom-line -- we see an economy that is growing more slowly than we had anticipated," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told the World Government Summit in Dubai. Last month, the IMF lowered its global economic growth forecast for this year from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent. Lagarde cited what she called "four clouds" as the main factors undermining the global economy and warned that a "storm" might strike. The risks include "trade tensions and tariff escalations, financial tightening, uncertainty related to (the) Brexit outcome and spillover impact and an accelerated slowdown of the Chinese economy", she said. Lagarde said trade tensions -- mainly in the shape of a tariff spat between the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies -- are already having a global impact. "We have no idea how it is going to pan out and what
Modi launches hospital, metro rail, airport, oil projects in TN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a host of new as well as completed projects in Tamil Nadu from here as he kicked off his 2019 election campaign in the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Karbonn starts operation at Tirupati mobile factory
Home-grown handset maker Karbonn Mobiles Sunday commenced operation at its Tirupati manufacturing unit, set up with an investment of Rs 200 crore. "The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) is glad to declare the set up of 269th manufacturing factory by Karbonn Mobiles at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh," a company statement said. The facility is set up at Sri Venkateshwara Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Hub under the aegis of Andhra Pradesh government," ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said in the statement. The total investment is Rs 200 crore, while the production capacity of the facility stands at 1 million cell phones per month, the statement said. "The facility will be set up phase wise and will be spread in a zone of 1 lakh square ft. The facility will be rewarding work to more than 1,000 employees," Karbonn Mobiles Chairman and ICEA Southern Zone Chairman Sudhir Hasija said. The facility was inaugurated by Mohindroo. The government policies and specific interventions .
Round III oil & gas auction begins, may fetch $700 million
The government on Sunday launched the third round of oil and gas auction under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), which is expected to generate $600-700 million exploration work commitment.
CredRight to lend Rs 200 crore to MSMEs in 3 yrs
Hyderabad-based fintech startup CredRight Sunday announced a loan of Rs 200 crore to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the next three years. CredRight, the data-driven lending platform partners with chit funds and uses a reverse auction to distribute pooled funds across India to acquire customers and to underwrite loan for a customer, the company said in a release. In 2019-20 fiscal, the company plans to further invest in technology and disburse Rs 50 crores to MSMEs by December 2019, it said. "We are looking to provide loans of above Rs 5 lakh to retailers/small businesses and above Rs 10 lakh to SMEs. In the last year, the loan band ranged from Rs 1 lakh to maximum of Rs 35 lakh with an average of Rs 9.5 lakh," Co-founder & CEO of CredRight, Neeraj Bansal noted. "There are around 50 million registered and unregistered MSME businesses in India that face a nearly USD 300 billion credit gap. The lack of adequate finance due to shortage of organised ...
End of road for Honda Brio in India
Japanese carmaker Honda has stopped production of its entry-level hatchback Brio in India, cutting short the vehicle's over 7-year long stint in the country. Honda Cars India, the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, plans to maximise sales and visibility of its compact sedan Amaze which would now be its entry-level offering in the Indian market. "Our entry car is now Amaze. We have stopped production of Brio and as of now we do not intend to bring next generation Brio into India," Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and Director (Sales and Marketing) Rajesh Goel told PTI. Customer preference has started to shift towards comparatively bigger models, a trend similar to other global markets. "A sedan was the top seller in India last year. It is a typical motorisation cycle followed in every country and it's just that in India the upgradation pace is much slower than other countries," Goyal said. Theoretically, this change should have happened 6-7 years earlier, he added. When asked if .
Financial Stability Board must identify new threats, refine existing rules: chair
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Financial Stability Board needs to commit more resources to identifying new threats while reviewing existing reforms for refinement, its chair said Sunday.
Qatar seeks inclusion of natural gas in GST
India's largest LNG supplier Qatar Sunday urged the central government to include natural gas in GST to help create demand for the environment friendly fuel and raise its share in the country's energy basket. Speaking at Petrotech conference here, Qatar Gas CEO Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani said India is very important market for Qatar. "If there is change in demand worldwide we will see it in India especially in fossile fuel," he said. Qatar supplies 8.5 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas to India. It is the country's single largest source of imported gas, supplying about 40 per cent of all overseas shipments reaching India. He said the country needs to build infrastructure so that clean fuel can reach all corners. "LNG should be considered to get full benefits of GST," he said. "We would be working closely with the government". Qatar is the second big foreign investor to seek GST on petroleum products. In October last year, Russian oil firm Rosneft, the biggest foreign ...
India asks firms to expedite efforts to establish shale oil & gas potential
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is looking to expedite discovery efforts to establish the country's shale oil and gas potential and has asked companies to submit a plan, two industry sources said on Sunday.
India launches third round of oil and gas blocks for exploration
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India on Sunday launched the third bidding round under its open acreage licensing policy (OALP), according to a government statement.
Dhaka trade fair receives Tk 2 bn in export orders
Bangladeshi traders have received export orders worth 2 billion Taka (Rs169.79 crore) at the recently concluded 24th Dhaka International Trade Fair, a media report said on Sunday. The orders received was nearly USD 4 million (Rs28 crore) higher compared to the previous year, the bdnews24.com reported. "This year's fair has seen greater sales and customer engagement than before. A large number of export orders were received at the fair this year. Sales have also been higher compared to previous years," Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said at the closing ceremony of the country's largest trade show on Saturday. Stating that exports must be increased to ensure progress of he nation, Munshi said : "The garment industry currently makes up 85 per cent of the country's exports. But we cannot be reliant on the garments alone to boost exports. We must diversify our products. The trade fair this year had around 412 stalls, including 110 pavilions and 83 mini-pavilions. "Around 52 ...
Govt seeks Rs 1600 crore to pay EVM suppliers
The government has sought over Rs 1,637 crore in the current fiscal to allow the law ministry make payments to two suppliers of EVMs and paper trail machines ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The government, in the third batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19, has sought Parliament's approval for Rs 1,637.14 crore to allow the Law Ministry pay Electronics Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd for electronic voting machines and paper trail machines, according to the document. The third batch of supplementary demands for grants will be passed by February 13 when the Budget session concludes. The two public sector undertakings tasked with manufacturing the latest M3 type EVMs to be used in Lok Sabha elections due this summer have delivered the lot comprising nearly 22.3 lakh ballot units and 16.3 lakh control units to theElection Commission. Around 22.3 lakh ballot units, 16.3 lakh control units and nearly 17.3 lakh VVPATs or paper trail machines will be used
Thermal power projects with Rs 2.5 lakh crore under stress, says ASSOCHAM-Grant Thornton study
Investments worth over Rs 2.5 lakh crore in thermal sector projects, based on domestic coal, imported coal, and gas, are facing stress and immediate remedial measures need to be undertaken to ensure that they are revived in a time-bound manner, according to a recent ASSOCHAM-Grant Thornton joint study.The power sector has been under stress with loans worth Rs 1 lakh crore having turned bad or been recast."As per the recent estimates, about 66,000 MW capacity is facing various degrees of financial stress including 54,800 MW of coal-based power, 6,830 MW of gas-based power and 4,570 MW of hydropower with lenders having an exposure of Rs 3 lakh crore to these assets," said the study. "Non-availability of regular fuel supply arrangements, lack of power purchase agreements, inability of promoters to invest equity and working capital, and regulatory and contractual issues are some of the major challenges faced by thermal power projects." The report cited that there is no universal solution
Significant beneficial owners in companies to face strict action for wrong disclosures
Significant beneficial owners in Indian corporates might face strict action for inadequate or wrong disclosures about their ownership and companies too can seek action against entities in case they fail to provide satisfactory responses, according to rules. With the corporate affairs ministry amending the rules for significant beneficial owners under the Companies Act, 2013, corporates are required to take necessary steps to identify such owners and obtain a declaration from them. Apart from providing more clearer definitions for determining whether an individual or an entity has significant beneficial ownership, corporates would be required to provide the details in a more elaborate manner to the ministry. Significant beneficial owners, who fail to make a declaration regarding their ownership, could face fine, imprisonment or both under the Companies Act. In instances, where such entities have willfully provided incorrect information, then such acts would be considered as fraud under
EIL wins consultancy contract for Mangolia refinery
?Engineers India Ltd has won a project management consultancy contract from Mangolia for a new 1.5 million tonnes refinery that the country is setting up. Engineers India Ltd and the Mongolian government through Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Sunday on the sidelines of the Petrotech conference here in the outskirts of Delhi. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India had extended a USD 1 billion line of credit to Mangolia during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. The refinery project is being built using that line of credit, he said. "The marks embracing new height in bilateral relations," Pradhan added. The MoU is for Project Management Consultancy services for construction of an oil refinery plant in Mongolia by EIL. The Mongolian government is in process to set-up 1.5 million tonnes per annum greenfield crude oil refinery in Sainshand province, under Line of Credit (LoC) extended by India. The EIL has carried out Detailed .
PM Modi inaugurates Chennai Metro Rail's final leg
: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday inaugurated the last leg of the Chennai metro rail's blueline and declared six underground metro stations through video-conferencing. In the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minsiter O Panneerselvam and Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Modi flagged off Chennai Metro's passenger services. The Prime Minister also laid a foundation stone for modernisation of Chennai International Airport, (Phase-II), a new integrated terminal building at Tiruchirappalli airport, and a 100-bedded ESI hospital here. Modi also dedicated BPCL Ennore Coastal installation-- state-of-the-art and fully automated oil storage and distribution facilities, with a project cost of Rs 393 crore and a crude oil pipline from Chennai Port to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limted's Manali refinery.
Sebi norms on secretarial audit to improve corp governance, transparency, says ICSI
The latest norms of markets regulator Sebi on secretarial audit will help improve transparency in corporate governance practices as well as empower company secretaries to report "everything" related to compliances, according to company secretaries' apex body ICSI. Every listed entity and its material unlisted subsidiaries have to undertake secretarial audit and also submit a secretarial audit report along with its annual report with effect from the year ending March 31, 2019. The secretarial audit and the report has to be done by a practising company secretary, as per the Sebi. Regarding the circular, the regulator said that would help improve governance and transparency. "One of the most important component of (corporate) governance is transparency. You should be transparent and fair to your stakeholders. Transparency will improve as far as compliance and governance are concerned," ICSI President Ranjeet Pandey told PTI. While secretarial audit is still done at companies, the report .
Kerala set to woo industry, investors through ASCEND 2019
: The Kerala government is set to welcome industry leaders and investors as ASCEND 2019 gets underway here on Monday to showcase industry-friendly initiatives. The initiatives would make the state a top investment destination and empower entrepreneurs to launch their enterprises in a speedy and hassle-free manner. Billed as a premier business event, the day-long meet would display landmark administrative and policy reforms that have considerably improved ease of doing business in Kerala and raised its profile among industry leaders and young entrepreneurs for setting up shop, an official pressrelease said here Sunday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would kickstart the proceedings by releasing the 'Invest Kerala Guide,' a compendium of administrative and policy reforms. It would be a ready reckoner on the immense business opportunities and simplified procedures and protocol in making investments, the release said. Union Minister of Commerce and Industries and Civil ...
Russia's Gazprombank says Venezuela's PDVSA has not opened new accounts
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprombank said on Sunday that Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA opened accounts with the bank several years ago and has not opened any accounts recently.