Page 2553 - Business Finance
Indian PSUs scouting for discovered oilfields in Russia: Pradhan
Oil PSUs are scouting for discovered oil and gas fields in Russia as India looks to bolster energy ties with the resource-rich nation, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Thursday. Indian PSUs have already invested USD 15 billion in picking up stakes in Russian oil and gas projects like Sakhalin-1, he said at a conference on 'India-Russia in 21st Century'. "Our oil and gas PSUs are continuing to explore their participation in more oil and gas projects in Russia. We are working with Russian oil and gas companies for acquisition of quality producing blocks," he said. ONGC Videsh Ltd in 2001 bought a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 project in Far East Russia. It further bought Imperial Energy a few years later and has recently invested in Vankorneft and TasYuryah along with Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Oil India Ltd and Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL). In return, Russian firm Rosneft has bought a majority stake in Essar Oil for USD 12.9 billion. "Today, Russia is our largest ...
After single-day halt, fuel prices continue to rise
Fuel prices in the country resumed their upward movement on Thursday with prices hitting fresh highs in three of the four metro cities.
Shareholders ask IL&FS to raise funds by selling assets, non-core biz
LIC, SBI and other key shareholders of debt-ridden IL&FS have asked it to raise funds by selling its assets or non-core businesses as a pre-condition for putting in additional money in the firm, sources said. The shareholders held a meeting Wednesday and it was decided that additional money would be given when Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) generates cash on its own by selling some of its assets, the sources said. IL&FS is seeking an immediate loan of around Rs 3,000 crore from key shareholders to help it tide over a cash crunch. State-run LIC is the largest shareholder owning a fourth of the firm's equity, while Orix Corporation of Japan owns 23.5 per cent. Other shareholders include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with 12.5 per cent stake, Central Bank of India with 7.67 per cent and SBI with 6.42 per cent. According to sources, the company will sell its corporate headquarters in Mumbai as part of its plan to raise funds to meet the payment ...
Gujarat's financial services centre GIFT City makes global cut
India's international financial services centre at the Gujarat International Finance Tech City (GIFT City) made its global mark by being named among the top three emerging business hubs in the world. Gujarat-based GIFT City, near Ahmedabad, is featured as one of the significant emerging international financial service centres (IFSCs) in the latest edition of 'Global Financial Centres Index 24 (GFCI)', released in London this week. GIFT is ranked third in the list of the GFCI report, which has highlighted 15 centres that are likely to become more significant in the next few years. "It is a great achievement for GIFT IFSC to join the GFCI so early in its development as a financial centre and is very encouraging that so many respondents see GIFT as becoming more significant in the future," said Mark Yeandle, Director of Z/Yen Partners and the author of the Global Financial Centres Index series. GIFT also made a new entry in the main index of the GFCI and ranked 77 in the list of 100 ...
Voltas to invest Rs 1,000 crore on its home appliance foray
Tata group firm Voltas and its Turkish JV partner Arcelik would invest Rs 1,000 crore in the next four-five years to set up a home appliances plant in Gujarat, and in marketing activities, a top company official said. The company is looking to corner around 10 per cent of the market share and to generate a revenue of Rs 10,000 crore in the next seven-eight years in the home appliances segment, which is quite competitive now. Voltas, which has formed a 50:50 JV -- Voltbek Home Appliances Pvt Ltd (Voltbek) -- with the Turkish firm, Thursday launched their home appliances brand 'Voltas Beko'. Voltas Beko has a range of home appliances, which include refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves, and dishwashers. Besides, the company plans to add over 100 SKUs over the next three months. "Over all we are investing more than Rs 1,000 crore in the next 4 to 5 years on manufacturing, sales and marketing of the products," Voltas Managing Director & CEO Pradeep Bakshi told PTI. "We have ...
HCL Company inaugurated in Vijayawada
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday inaugurated HCL State Street Company at Medha Tech Park in Vijayawada, which will create jobs in IT sector in the state.The company, which is a joint venture between HCL Company of India, and State Street Company of USA, is expected to provide 1,000 high-end jobs in capital markets, fund administration and investment.In the inaugural ceremony, Lokesh said, "The Government is committed to economic development and providing more opportunities to the young workforce of the state. I am confident that the opening of this centre will help unlock the talent potential of the state and offer the great platform to local talent to pursue global opportunities."Recalling his meeting with Chairman of HCL Enterprise, Shiv Nadar, the minister said, "I had met with Shiv Nadar of HCL almost a year ago and invited to set up a branch in Andhra Pradesh. He accepted the invitation as he has a strong belief in our state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. ..
Patanjali enters cow milk business; eyes Rs 1,000 cr sales next fiscal
Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved Thursday announced its entry into the cow milk segment by launching cow milk and milk-based dairy products, targeting sales of around Rs 1,000 crore by FY2020. The Haridwar-based firm has also ventured into packaged drinking water, frozen vegetables, cattle feed without any urea, and solar panels in a major product offensive. Patanjali would supply cow milk in the markets of Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Pune areas of Maharashtra with a network of around 56,000 retailers, dispensing around four lakh litres milk on daily basis. "We are aiming to have a business of Rs 1,000 crore by next fiscal. This fiscal, we would have a business of Rs 500 crore," Baba Ramdev told reporters at the launch here. The company has a target to touch daily sales of around 10 lakh litres of cow milk by FY2019-20, he added. "We have set up a chain of our own collection centres and chilling centres in the last two years," Ramdev added. The company would directly procure milk .
State Street HCL services inaugurated
: Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister N Lokesh Thursday inaugurated the State Street HCL Services (SSHS) at Medha Tech Park near Vijayawada airport at Gannavaram in the state capital region. SSHS, a Joint Venture between HCL Technologies and U.S. based State Street Corporation, announced on the occasion that its new facility would create over 1000 'high-end' employment opportunities in capital markets middle and back offices for custody, fund administration, investment management and brokerage services. Graduates and post-graduates in commerce, accountancy and finance would be recruited for the jobs at the facility, that would cater to global clients of HCL, HCL Technologies corporate Vice-President Anoop Tiwari said in a press release. State Street chairman Michael Brager, SSHS operations head Ganesh Ramkumar and other officials of the JV were present.
Digital commerce to touch Rs 2.37 lakh cr by Dec 2018: IAMAI
Digital commerce in India is expected to reach Rs 2.37 lakh crore by December 2018, driven by strong growth in segments like travel, e-commerce and utility services, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) Thursday said. The industry body, in its report with IMRB Kantar, said the digital commerce market in India is estimated to have grown at a CAGR of 34 per cent between December 2011 and December 2017 to reach Rs 2.04 lakh crore by the end of December 2017. "It is estimated to reach Rs 2,37,124 crore by December 2018," the report added. As per the report, the online travel industry accounted for 54 per cent share (Rs 1.10 lakh crore) of the digital commerce market. Within the travel category, domestic air ticket and railways booking continued to be among top contributors, while bus/cab booking contributed about Rs 5,174 crore. In the non-travel segment, e-tail contributed Rs 73,845 crore, followed by utility services (Rs 10,201 crore), and matrimony and classifieds (Rs 3,689
Digital commerce to reach Rs 2.37 lakh cr by Dec 2018: Report
The digital commerce market in the country is likely to touch Rs 2,37,124 crore by December 2018, says a report. It grew at a CAGR of 34 per cent between December 2011 and December 2017 to reach Rs 2,04,384 crore by the end of December 2017. According to the Digital Commerce report 2017, online travel industry continues to grow strongly with 54 per cent share while share of online non-travel has improved over the previous year to reach 46 per cent. The report is published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB Kantar, a market research and consumer consulting organisation. The spend on online non-travel segment showed a higher year-on-year growth of 27 per cent between 2016 and 2017, as compared to 16 per cent y-o-y growth of online travel segment. Domestic air ticket booking was the highest contributor with 19 per cent y-o-y growth from Rs 38,160 crore to Rs 45,560 crore in 2017. "The e-travel market is expected to reach close to Rs 1,29,600 ...
Steel Ministry mulls award to promote innovation in secondary steel sector
The Steel Ministry is looking to constitute a prestigious award like Khel Ratna for secondary steel players to promote innovation in the sector, Union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said Thursday. The award will be given to a player for research and development work and patent development for steel production. The ministry wants to bring domestic secondary players at par with the primary steel players, Singh said at the first edition of Secondary Steel Sector Awards, instituted to acknowledge the role of the secondary sector in the domestic steel industry here. "The secondary industry contributes 57 per cent to the total domestic steel output. It is claimed that when the capacity would be 300 million tonne (MT), their share would increase to 70 per cent. It is very important sector and are being awarded for the first time. "I have seen awards for integrated steel players like Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL and RINL... We also have plans of having Khel Ratna like award which is the ...
SpiceJet's Delhi-Kabul freighter service to start from October
Budget carrier SpiceJet Thursday announced the launch of its Delhi-Kabul freighter service from October 15 and signing of a pact with the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) for transporting fresh fruit, dry fruits, carpets and other commodities from Kabul to India. Under the pact, aimed at promoting trade for the war-ravaged country through the Indo-Afghan air corridor, SpiceJet plans to transport 1,500 tons of cargo every month, the airline said in a release. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by SpiceJet chief project officer Manjiv Singh and ACCI chief executive officer Atiqullah Nusrat along with senior adviser for banking and financial Affairs to the President of Afghanistan Ajmal Ahmady, the airline said. "In collaboration with ACCI and with the support of Afghan government, SpiceJet will transport fresh fruits and dry fruits, carpets and other commodities from Kabul to India at government-subsidised competitive prices," the ...
No govt nod required for public cos for managerial compensation: MCA
Public companies will no longer require government approval for paying salaries beyond a certain threshold to their managerial personnel, according to a communication. Easing the norms, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has amended provisions under Companies Act, 2013 in this regard. This will be applicable for public companies and not private companies. Under the Companies Act, 2013, there are public as well as private companies. Generally, those having more than 200 members are classified as public companies and they have to follow stricter corporate governance norms. There are more than 70,000 public companies, as per official data. The approval of the "central government shall no longer be required for the payment of remuneration to managerial personnel (in excess of 11 per cent of the net profit of a company)," the ministry said in a release Thursday. Now, such payments can be approved by a company's shareholders through a special resolution. In case a company has defaulted in ...
Vistara launches complimentary wireless IFE system
Passenger airline Vistara has launched a complimentary wireless in-flight entertainment system "Vistara World" across its entire network and fleet of 22 aircraft that operate over 120 flights a day.
Tata Motors launches SUV Nexon in Nepal
Tata Motors Thursday launched the automated manual transmission (AMT) version of its compact SUV Nexon in Nepal. The Nexon AMT will be available in 1.2 litre petrol and 1.5 litre diesel engine options priced at NPR 46.75 lakh and NPR 47.95 lakh respectively, the company said in a statement. The vehicle, launched in partnership with the company's distributor, Sipradi Trading Pvt Ltd, is available for sale in 19 authorised sales outlets across Nepal, it added. "In a constant endeavour to fill in white spaces, we are extremely happy to introduce the all-new Nexon AMT," Sujan Roy, Tata Motors Head International Business, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, said. The company is aiming to tap a larger market and increase market share in not only the compact SUV segment but also in AMT segment, he added. Sipradi Trading CEO Rajan Babu Shrestha said the Nexon has been accepted very well in Nepal, helping expand the company's business beyond hatchbacks and sedans. "With the capability to enhance
Sebi may consider proposal to allow foreign entities in commodity mkts
With an aim to deepen the commodity derivatives market, regulator Sebi is likely to consider a proposal to allow trading in this segment by foreign entities with exposure to the Indian physical commodity market. Besides, the regulator may deliberate on the issue of introducing a common application form for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to enter into the domestic capital market as part of the exercise to improve ease of doing business. Further, it is likely to discuss on the procedure of transmission of securities in physical mode, officials said. The board of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) may discuss these issues in its meeting scheduled next week, they added. With regard to the commodity derivatives markets, foreign entities may be allowed to hedge their exposures with derivatives trading in all commodities traded on Indian exchanges, barring the sensitive commodities Under the proposal, the foreign entities, having actual exposure to Indian physical commodity ...
Ola launches fleet service in Kolkata
Cab hailing service Ola Thursday launched its fleet service here in which vehicles would be given on lease to driver-partners. West Bengal Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that at the Bengal Global Business Summit held in the city in January, the government had signed an MoU with Ola to create 5,000 jobs in the city. The launch of fleet services on Thursday is a step in that direction. "The launch of Ola Fleet is a result of the MoU with 50 cars being given initially to the driver-partners. The company will invest Rs 350 crore and the number will be scaled up in future," he said. Transport secretary B P Gopalika said that the cab aggregators, both Uber and Ola, should ensure that prices do not surge more than what had been allowed by the government. The government has allowed a maximum surge of 45 per cent over base fare for app-cab operators in the city. Any complaint about abnormal surge would be dealt with strongly, he said.
'Gen Z to be dominant diamond jewellery consumer after 2025'
The Gen Z generation, aged currently up to 20 years, is going to be the biggest diamond jewellery consumers after 2025, the De Beers Group has said. Gen Z is a larger consumer generation, representing 35 per cent of the world's population and will come of age as diamond consumers over the coming decades, according to data published Thursday by De Beers Group in its Diamond Insight Report. "We expect the Gen Z to represent the biggest share in diamond jewellery consumption after 2025," De Beers Group Head of Strategy Esther Oberbeck told PTI. The Gen Z are bigger than the millennial generation and represent 2.6 billion or 35 per cent of the world's population. Of this, 20 per cent live in India and 13 per cent in China, but nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) are outside of the top four diamond-consuming nations. India is the youngest major diamond-consuming country, where millennials and Gen Z account for 70 per cent of the population. Despite being a long way from financial
Falling Re 'music to exporters': PHDCCI prez-elect Rajeev Talwar
PHDCCI president-designate Rajeev Talwar Thursday expressed hope the rupee will stablise with pick up in the economic growth though the depreciating currency is "music to exporters" at present. Talwar, who is the CEO of realty major DLF, would be assuming the post of president of industry body PHDCCI next month, replacing Anil Khaitan. "The falling rupee is music to the exporter and something to watch out for the importer. Global factors will impact the rupee and hopefully when the GDP growth picks up the rupee would stabilise," said Talwar in an interview to PTI. He further said the good part is that India's internal market is so large that "you can depend on that market for GDP growth push". There is certainly going to be an impact of the depreciation of the rupee, global factors do play a part but India is somewhat insulated because of its internal demand. The rupee has depreciated around 13 per cent to breach the historic low of 72 level this year so far due to a host of factors ..
Tata Motors launches AMT version of Nexon in Nepal
Tata Motors has launched the automated manual transmission (AMT) version of its compact SUV Nexon in Nepal at an introductory price of NPR 46.75 lakh with petrol engine and NPR 47.95 lakh with diesel engine, the company said Thursday. The vehicle was launched Wednesday during the 13th edition of the ongoing six-day long NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) Auto Show in Nepalese capital Kathmandu, it said. The Nexon has been made available for sale across 19 authorised sales outlets of Tata Motors in the Nepalese capital, it added. Sipradi Trading Pvt Ltd is the sole distributor of Tata Motors in the Himalayan country. "We are happy to introduce the all-new Nexon AMT into the Nepal market. With the introduction of the SUV, we aim to tap a larger market and increase our market share in not only the compact SUV segment but also the AMT segment," said Sujan Roy, head of international business for passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors. Rajan Babu Shrestha, ..