Page 2133 - Business Finance
Modi, Abe take express train to travel to Tokyo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe Sunday rode an express train to travel to Tokyo after spending eight hours together in the scenic Yamanashi prefecture where they held informal talks and visited a factory of industrial manufacturer. Modi, who arrived in Japan last evening to attend the 13th India-Japan annual summit, was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival and the first day of his visit was characterised by special gestures and warmth. "After spending 8 hours together in Yamanashi, PM Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe depart for Tokyo by Express Train Kaiji," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. The bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will run a total length of 508 kilometres, of which 21 kilometres will be covered in the tunnel under sea. The cost of the total train project is Rs 1.10 trillion, and Japan is giving a loan of Rs 88,000 crores for the same at a minimal interest of 0.1 per cent, which has to
MediaTek plans to collaborate with India firms to develop AI based applications
Taiwanese chipset firm MediaTek plans to collaborate with Indian software companies to develop artificial intelligence-based applications which would in high demand with the adoption of emerging 5G technologies, a senior company official said. Artificial intelligence (AI) based solutions are expected to be in demand when 5G services would start rolling our across the world. Next generation technologies like AI, machine learning etc help devices customise on their own as per the habit or usage pattern of customers. "So far, for AI applications, Mediatek's partners have been big international companies like Google and Facebook. But for the next step we want to collaborate with local start-ups who want to develop AI-based applications for Indian market," MediaTek's Wireless Communication General Manager T L Lee told PTI. "In 2018, we developed AI specific features function and application for global usage but as we move into 2019 we want to be part of the Indian community," Lee said. The
China's software industry registers 15 per cent growth in first three quarters
The revenue of China's software industry grew by 15 per cent to USD 647.4 billion in the first three quarters of this year, official data shows. Business revenue increased by 15 per cent year on year to reach 4.5 trillion yuan (USD 647.4 billion), faster than the growth during the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Profits of the industry climbed by 14.4 per cent to 568.9 billion yuan during the January-September period. In the third quarter (Q3), software industry profit jumped by 21.8 per cent, faster than 10.8 per cent and 10.2 per cent in Q1 and Q2, respectively, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Sales of software products reached 1.33 trillion yuan in the first three quarters while revenue of information technology services surged 18.5 per cent to 2.5 trillion yuan, according to the MIIT data.
Railways to spend Rs 20K cr towards rolling stock in 2019-20
The railways would spend an amount of Rs 20,000 crore towards augmenting rolling stock during 2019-20, an official said Sunday. Railway Board member (rolling stock) Rajesh Agrawal said the railways had done strategic planning for the financial outlay and there would be no problem for funds. "The annual rolling stock production volume is around 6000 to 8000 coaches per year. However, we need to prioritise the requirements of the various railway zones and try to meet their demands," Agrawal told reporters. He said the demands of Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and Kolkata Metro would be prioritised and new technologies would be introduced. Regarding Kolkata Metro, he said there was an urgent need to replace the 100-odd condemned coaches with new ones immediately. "Some new coaches have come and waiting for CRS (Commission of Railway Safety) permission. Hopefully, trials will start very shortly," he said.
Dr. Zeus in awe of growing food fest scene in India
Punjabi music sensation Dr. Zeus says it is good to see the growth of food festival market just like the music festival scenario in India.
UK's Hammond says has money buffer in case of Brexit shock
LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Sunday he remained prepared to use money he has kept aside to help the economy cope with the shock of leaving the European Union without a Brexit deal.
Urgent need to increase awareness about whistleblower policies at workplaces, say experts
There is an urgent need to increase awareness about whistleblower policies at workplaces with an aim to create a conducive environment for employees to speak out against any wrongdoing, say experts. It is significant to protect whistleblowers from any kind of harassment at the workplace, said Rahul Lalit, Partner, PwC. He urged the corporates "to create an awareness about how to report any wrongdoing and and demonstrate their commitment to the independence of the committee through actions". "Everything boils down to the ethos of the organisation", said Kanika Bhutani, Director, Forensic Integrity Services, EY. She supported the idea of appointing a senior person with impeccable track record and reputation as the chief ethical officer to win the trust and confidence of employees in the internal process of any enquiry related to whistleblowing. The experts also warned corporates against trying to crush or discredit the whistleblowers. They emphasised on the need to ensure a time-bound ..
Euro zone not prepared enough to face new crisis: French FinMin
PARIS (Reuters) - There is no risk of contagion from Italy's budget crisis in the European Union but the euro zone is not prepared enough to face a new economic crisis, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told daily Le Parisien on Sunday.
Bangladesh, World Bank sign deal for cash transfer
The Bangladesh government and the World Bank on Sunday signed an agreement to improve the transparency and efficiency of its major cash transfer programmes.
Brexit deal needed for end to austerity in UK: Hammond
LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said an end to austerity depended on the country getting a Brexit deal which would allow for more public spending, but he might have to take a different approach if there is no deal.
Saudi's SABIC not affected by Khashoggi case: CEO
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world's fourth-biggest petrochemicals company, is not being affected by the fallout from the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, its chief executive said on Sunday.
Magicbricks' Q2 revenue up 74% at Rs 55 cr
Realty portal Magicbricks said Sunday its revenues increased by 74 per cent to Rs 55 crore in the July-September quarter on the back of high searches and launch of exclusive deals ahead of the festive season. "The performance in the second quarter of this fiscal comes on the backdrop of its reported growth in the first quarter when revenues had grown by 48 per cent," the company said. A substantial increase in traffic and searches, high-impact and exclusive digital marketing campaigns for select customers, and launch of exclusive deals boosted revenue growth in the second quarter, the company said in a statement. The company, however, did not reveal its profit numbers. It also claimed that the Magicbricks android app touched five million downloads. "Strong performance in consecutive quarters puts the company on a high growth trajectory in the current financial year and also signals early signs of the much awaited turnaround for the real estate industry that witnessed a slow-down in ..
Petrol, diesel price cut for 11th time
Petrol price was cut by 40 paise a litre and diesel by 33 paise a litre on Sunday, the 11th straight reduction in rates on softening international oil prices. Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 80.05 a litre and diesel is priced at Rs 74.05 per litre, according to a price notification issued by state-owned oil firms. In 11 straight cuts, petrol price has been reduced by Rs 2.78 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.64 a litre. The rates are off their record high of Rs 84 per litre for petrol and Rs 75.45 a litre for diesel touched on October 4. On that day, the government decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise by another Re 1 a litre by reducing their margins. Subsequent to this, the petrol price came down to Rs 81.50 per litre and diesel at Rs 72.95 a litre on October 5, the statement said. But as the international oil prices continued to rise, price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to Rs 82.83 per litre ...
Pepsi betting big on digitisation to drive growth
Food and beverages major PepsiCo India is betting on digitisation as a big growth opportunity and is looking at using technology in both backward and forward integration. The maker of Lay's, Kurkure and cola brands like Pepsi is meeting companies who are investing to digitally connect 10 million retailers along with 600 million consumers with the supplier. Ahmed El Sheikh, president and chief executive officer PepsiCo India, told PTI that the company has just finalised a project which is digitising the total supply chain within PepsiCo India, end-to-end. "We are working on another project to digitise our connection with farmers. We are talking about thousands of farmers where we want to be connected with the crops in the field, getting certain parameters measured and taking corrective action against it through digital solutions. "We are using digital in backward integration of supply chain network," he added. Sheikh said the company is making technology as the ...
Italian co to pick up stake in city ice-cream company
An Italian frozen dessert company will soon seal a deal to pick up 40 per cent stake in a West Bengal's home grown ice-cream maker. "We are in advanced talks with two Italian frozen dessert companies for technical and financial joint venture and we'll seal a deal with one of them in a month's time. Though the deal is not yet sealed, but we'll divest 40 per cent stake in the company having its product brand name Milkberry ," Rainbow Dairy Food Product Managing Partner Siddhartha Sankar Ghosh told PTI. The deal is advised by an Italian consulting company 'Bizdev' and an MoU was signed with it. Confirming the developments, Jean-Claude Morel, founder-managing partner, Bizdev, Italy, said "Italian companies are very impressed and excited over the positive developments taking place in West Bengal recently. "I personally attended Bengal chief minister's business meetings in Milan as part of the Italian business team and our interest in this part of India grew manifold. We are ..
Snapchat to run out of steam as user growth stalls: Report
With just $1.4 billion in its kitty at the end of third quarter results, the already struggling multimedia messaging platform Snapchat could even lose $1.5 billion in 2019, analysts have predicted.
Western Australia eyes 20 pc more desis this fiscal; to open
Western Australia is tapping the well-travelled Indians who are looking for the authentic Aussie experience and is expecting above 20 per cent growth in footfalls this financial year that began in July. The Australian state government is also opening a representative office in the city and had lined up a AUD 0.3 million marketing budget to achieve the target. Indians footfall rose 38 per cent to 27,600 in fiscal 2018 over the previous 12 months ending June 2017 when the state welcomed 20,000 Indian guests, according to official data. "We had received nearly 27,600 Indians during the July 2017-June 2018 period, who are mostly visiting friends and relatives. "We are expect over 20 per cent growth in footfalls from India that will elevate the country to be among our top five source markets," Western Australia tourism minister Paul Papalia told PTI here. Currently, India is ranked 10th as the tourism source market for Western Australia. Britain leads the list of source ...
Samar Lifestyle eyes Rs 350 Cr turnover from Florsheim biz
Samar Lifestyle, which will sell the Florsheim brand of shoes in India, is eyeing a Rs 350 crore turnover by 2022 through multi brand outlets and Exclusive Brand Outlets, a top company official said. The agreement between the company, part of the Sara Futura Group and Weyco Group to sell the brand, was formalised between Sara Group Managing Director Kayum Dhanani and Weyco Group CEO Tom Florsheim Jr in January 2018. "Our idea is the licensing and retailing business.We want to sell around half a million pair of shoes in the next four years. That is our Florsheim target", Sara Group President Mridumesh Kumar Rai told PTI. He said per capita consumption of footwear in India was set to increase to 4.8 pairs by 2020 from the present 1.8 pairs. To a query, he said Florsheim's strategy would be led by its distribution network. "Our channel strategy is that business will be coming from multi-brand footwear. We plan to have around 25 EBOs (Exclusive Brand Outlets)", he said. The .
HSIL eyes revenue of over Rs 500 cr from consumer biz in FY20
Leading sanitaryware firm HSIL is aiming to achieve revenue of over Rs 500 crore from its consumer products business in the next financial year as it mulls expansion of this vertical going forward. The consumer products division had posted revenue of Rs 208 crore in 2017-18 and is expecting to clock revenue of around Rs 375 crore for the current fiscal. "We are aiming to cross revenue of Rs 500 crore for the fiscal year 2019-20 as we expand our reach," HSIL Consumer Business President and Evok Retail CEO Rakesh Kaul told PTI. The company's consumer products division has been growing at 70 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since it was established in 2015 and currently has seven product categories, he added. The seven categories under consumer business are water purifiers, air purifiers, water heaters, air coolers, kitchen appliances, kitchen sinks and vents. Out of the seven product categories, "water purification will be the largest category going forward in the entire ...
Bengal to seek Centre's intervention in HSCL
The West Bengal government will seek Centr's intervention in some recent actions regarding the city-based PSU Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd (HSCL) by its parent NBCC India. "I am in the process of sending a letter to the union housing and urban affairs minister seeking his intervention in protecting this company from getting virtually shifted and preventing job losses of the 478 contractual employees," state Power Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay told PTI. Chattopadhyay, who is also an INTTUC leader, alleged that the HSCL was not implementing the agreements signed with the union recently and was now engaged in unproductive expenses worth Rs 43 crore in buying unnecessary property that would hurt the company's financials. HSCL Managing Director Neelesh Shah dismissed the allegations and said the company had acquired the property to expand operations as it required better infrastructure in Delhi for liasoning with its parent NBCC and clients. HSCL Contractual ...