Page 1603 - Business Finance
India-Romania bilateral trade could touch $1 billion in FY19
Bilateral trade between India and Romania could touch USD 1 billion in the fiscal 2018-19, a top diplomat of that country said on Monday. The total bilateral trade currently stands at USD 810 million. "Trade in the first 10 months has grown in the high double digits. I think in the current fiscal, it will grow to touch USD 1 billion," Ambassador of Romania to India, Radu Octavian Dobre said at an interactive session with the Indian Chamber of Commerce. He said the European country was looking to boost ties with India on all fronts, including trade and culture. In November, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu was in India on a four-day visit to bolster relationship between the two countries. Dobre sought investment in agriculture, tourism and other sectors, and said Romania offers a conducive environment and low taxation without any capital repatriation restrictions. "There is a lot of scope in the hospitality sector for Indian investors... hotels are running at 95
Thailand-based airline NokScoot announces India entry
Thailand-based budget carrier NokScoot announced on Monday entry in the Indian market with non-stop flight services to New Delhi from Bangkok's Don Muang International Airport from December 19. NokScoot, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines-owned Scoot and Thailand's Nok Air, is also looking to launch another destination apart from New Delhi by the first half of the next year, it said in a release. The services on the new route will be operated by a 415-seater wide-body Boeing 777, with 24 seats in business and 391 in economy class, the airline said in a release. The carrier also announced a special promotional all inclusive one-way economy class fare starting from Rs 7,200, available from December 7 to December 31 for travel between December 19 and March 30, 2019, the release stated. NokScoot will be the fifth airline from Thailand to have operations in India after Thai Airways, Thai Smile Airways, Thai Lion Air and ThaiAirAsia. "We are proud to announce NokScoot's
Japan's top three telcos to exclude Huawei, ZTE network equipment: Kyodo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's big three telecom operators plan not to use current equipment and upcoming fifth-generation (5G) gear from China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, Kyodo News reported on Monday.
Thailand-based low-cost carrier NokScoot makes entry in Indian market
Thailand-based low-cost carrier (LCC) NokScoot it all set to make its entry in the Indian aviation market with the launch of its first non-stop flight between New Delhi and Bangkok from December 19, 2018.NokScoot is a joint venture LCC between Scoot, 100 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines, and Thailand's Nok Air. It announced a special promotional one-way Economy class fare starting from Rs 7,200 (USD 99), inclusive of taxes and surcharges, for its four weekly flights. The special promotional fares will be available from December 7-13, 2018 for travel between December 19, 2018 to March 30, 2019.The new services will be operated with Boeing 777-200 wide-bodied, twin-aisle jets. "Configured with a total of 415 seats, the Boeing 777 offers an unprecedented LCC level of comfort to its valued customers with 24 seats in ScootBiz Class and 391 seats in Economy," the airlines said in a statement.While there are already a few airlines operating on the Delhi-Bangkok route, NokScoot projects ..
UK economy struggles ahead of Brexit
Britain's Brexit-facing economy experienced sluggish growth in October as the car sector stalled, official data showed Monday. Gross domestic product grew by just 0.1 percent in October from September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. That represented a marginal rebound from zero growth in both August and September. "GDP growth slowed going into the autumn after a strong summer, with a softening in services sector growth mainly due to a fall in car sales," said Rob Kent-Smith, head of national accounts at the ONS. "This was offset by a strong showing from IT and accountancy." Analysts widely expect the economy to cool further ahead of Britain's departure from the European Union in March.
Indian Overseas Bank raises Rs 300 cr via Basel III compliant bonds
State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) Monday said it has raised Rs 300 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds. The bank's board had earlier approved a proposal to raise the amount by issuing Basel III compliant Tier II bonds in one or more tranches on private placement basis. "The bank has now successfully raised Rs 300 crore by issue of Basel III compliant Tier II bonds with coupon rate of 11.70 per cent per annum, tenor of 10 years and call option at the end of 5 years or on any coupon payment date thereafter," IOB said in a regulatory filing. Basel III is an international regulatory framework with a set of reforms to improve the regulation, supervision and risk management within the banking sector. To comply with global Basel III capital regulations, banks need to improve and strengthen their capital planning process. IOB scrip closed at Rs 14 on BSE, down 28 per cent.
Sebi considering changes in regulatory framework for debenture trustees
Sebi is considering steps to strengthen the framework for debenture trustees, including raising minimum net worth requirement for registration of such entities and introducing e-voting provision to obtain consent of the unitholders. The proposal is likely to be discussed at Sebi's board meeting this week. In order to secure the interests of debenture holders and to enable debenture trustees (DTs) to perform their duties effectively and promptly in the interests of investors, Sebi had floated a public consultation paper on the proposed changes in October. The board of Sebi may make new framework for debenture trustees based on the public comments received on the consultation paper. The proposed changes include raising minimum net worth requirement for registration of debenture trustees to Rs 10 crore from the current Rs 2 crore. Further, a three-year time would be given for attaining this networth requirement. The new criteria will help in restricting registration of debenture ...
Quick Wrap: Nifty Realty Index falls 3.04%, NIFTY Crashes 1.92%
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Jet Airways tumbles 7% on Icra rating downgrade
Shares of Jet Airways Monday cracked over 7 per cent after the credit rating agency Icra downgraded the airline's long-term ratings. The scrip, on BSE, fell 6.77 per cent to settle at Rs 257.5. Intra-day, it lost 7.67 per cent to Rs 255, its lowest during the day. Following the downtrend, the stock tumbled 7.15 per cent to close at Rs 256.5 on NSE. It had touched an intra-day low of Rs 255.1, a decline of 7.65 per cent. On the equity volume front, over 19.5 lakh shares were traded on BSE while over 84 lakh scrips changed hands on NSE. Jet Airways, in a regulatory filing Friday, said that credit rating agency Icra had downgraded the cash strapped air-carrier's long-term ratings from 'B' to 'C'. This has been the second such action by the agency since October. Instruments with 'C' rating are considered to have very high risk of default regarding timely servicing of financial obligations, as per the agency. The rating downgrade considers delays in the implementation of the proposed ...
Ratan Tata conferred steel industry's lifetime achievement award
Eminent industrialist Ratan N. Tata was conferred the Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI) Lifetime Achievement Award for his association and contribution to the industry, an official said here on Monday.
Connaught Place sixth most-expensive office location in Apac: JLL
Connaught Place has emerged as the sixth most-expensive office location in Asia Pacific region, slipping three positions since last year, according to property consultant JLL India. The financial hub, Mumbai, is ranked 14th on JLL's list of 20 major markets in the Asia Pacific region. In 2017, Delhi and Mumbai were ranked third and 11th, respectively, JLL India said in a statement. "Connaught Place in New Delhi has the sixth most-expensive rentals for premium offices among 20 major markets in Asia Pacific region," JLL said. The average occupancy costs including rent, taxes and service charges in Connaught Place are at USD 142 per sq ft, which is higher than Pudong in Shanghai, Shinjuku in Tokyo and even Singapore. Mumbai is ranked 14th with occupancy costs at USD 96 per sq ft. The rankings are based on the fourth edition of JLL's Premium Office Rent Tracker (PORT) for 2018, that calculates data on the achievable rent in the highest quality building in the premier office districts of
James McCready to lead Adobe operations in Japan, APAC
Software major Adobe on Monday said James McCready who heads the company's Japan business is expanding his role to lead the Asia Pacific (APAC) operations as well.
Skoda to increase vehicle prices by up to 2 pc from January
Skoda Auto India Monday said it will increase prices of all its models by up to 2 per cent from January 1, 2019. The company considered a price hike after reviewing its input and freight costs on both domestic and import fronts, it said. "There has been a surge in the cost of our inputs for production due to significant volatility in the global commodity prices and foreign exchange rates in recent times," Skoda Auto India Director - Sales, Service, and Marketing Zac Hollis said. It has been absorbing these incremental costs all this while but is now considering a price hike of up to 2 per cent with effect from next month across its model range, he added. At present, Skoda sells a range of vehicles starting from mid-sized sedan Rapid to the premium SUV Kodiaq, priced between Rs 7.99-35.99 lakh. Last week, Maruti Suzuki India and utility vehicle maker Isuzu Motors announced price hike with effect from January to offset increasing input and distribution costs. In November, Toyota ...
Walmart India appoints Sameer Aggarwal as Chief Business Officer
Walmart India on Monday announced the appointment of Sameer Aggarwal as its Chief Business Officer with immediate effect.
Bharti AXA General logs maiden net profit in H1 at Rs 3.3 cr
Private general insurer, Bharti AXA General Insurance, Monday reported a maiden profit of Rs 3.3 crore in the first-half of current financial year. Its gross written premium (GWP) grew 38 per cent to Rs 1,087 crore in the first half compared to Rs 788 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a release. "Our efforts towards superior risk selection, improved operating efficiencies and focus on automation and digitisation have resulted in posting maiden profits for the company in H1 of FY19, and will help drive the growth momentum," the company's managing director and CEO, Sanjeev Srinivasan, said. Its combined ratio, a measure of profitability that takes into account claims and expenses as a proportion of premiums, improved by over 15 percentage points to 116.5 per cent in the first half from 131.6 per cent in the same period of 2017-18. Loss ratio reduced to 77.8 per cent in the first half from 85.7 per cent in the same period a year ago, while expense ratio ...
Icra assigns negative outlook to domestic airline industry
Rating agency Icra Monday assigned a negative outlook to the domestic airline industry even as it expects the passenger traffic growth to remain healthy at about 15-16 per cent in the medium-term. While all the three listed local carriers - Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet - are in the red, the domestic air passenger traffic has consistently seen a double-digit growth for the 50th consecutive month in October. This high growth was initially propelled by low jet fuel prices and later due to the excess capacity in the market, which have forced the airlines to keep fares low and deal with competition. "Icra has a negative outlook on the airline industry. The strong passenger demand is offset by capacity additions leading to intense competition and continued pressure on yields," it said. However, the domestic passenger traffic growth is expected to remain healthy at around 15-16 per cent over the medium term, supported by low penetration levels, favourable macro ...
HCL Tech signs pact for digital transformation of Aegon
Indian IT services company HCL Technologies Monday said it has inked a new five-year contract with asset management firm Aegon for its digital transformation. "The application services deal will see HCL continue as Aegon's digital transformation partner, helping to accelerate innovation by establishing and managing a new multi-vendor ecosystem," HCL Tech said in a regulatory filing. The statement, however, did not divulge the size of the contract. "HCL will also help implement an agile delivery model to reduce Aegon's time to market and introduce greater efficiencies through improved application life cycle management and automation," the statement added. HCL has been a strategic IT services partner to Aegon Netherlands since 2004. During that time, it delivered application services and partnered in transforming Aegon's data and analytics capabilities. The Hague-based company, which serves about 29 million customers and employs over 28,000 people worldwide, wants digital scale up to ...
Silver weakens in futures trade, down Rs 210
Silver futures dipped sharply by 0.55 per cent to Rs 37,762 per kg Monday as traders tighthened their positions following a muted trend in the overseas market. Silver for delivery in March 2019 was trading lower by Rs 210, or 0.55 per cent, to Rs 37,762 per kg in a business turnover of 20,237 lots at the Multi Commodity Exchange. In a similar manner, the white metal to be delivered in far-month May, too, remained muted by Rs 148, or 0.39 per cent, to Rs 37,824 per kg in 20,275 lots. Analysts said tightening of positions by traders in sync with a sluggish trend at global markets for precious metals, influenced silver prices at futures trade here. In the international market, silver traded higher at USD 14.55 an ounce in Singapore Monday.
Gold prices rise Rs 145; silver falls Rs 350
Gold prices rose by Rs 145 Monday to close at Rs 32,495 per 10 grams at the bullion market here on uptick in spot demand. Silver prices, however, declined by Rs 350 to Rs 38,150 per kg on subdued demand from industrial units and coin makers. Traders said, firm trend overseas and weakening rupee against the US dollar boosted the prices of the yellow metal. In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purities rose Rs 145 each to close at Rs 32,495 and Rs 32,345 per 10 grams, respectively. Sovereign gold, however, held steady at Rs 25,000 per piece of 8 grams. Globally, gold surged to USD 1,249.34 an ounce in New York and silver held steady to USD 14.59 an ounce. Silver ready tumbled by Rs 350 to Rs 38,150 per kg, while weekly-based delivery declined Rs 410 to Rs 37,890 per kg. However, silver coins stood steady to Rs 74,000 for buying and Rs 75,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
HCL wins application services deal from Netherlands' Aegon
Indian software major HCL Technologies on Monday said it has got a five-year contract from multinational life insurance, pensions and asset management company Aegon.