Page 3347 - Business Finance
Singapore toughens curbs on housing market after strong price gains
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore on Thursday announced a five percentage point rise in stamp duty for some home buyers and tightened housing loans in a bid to cool the property market and keep price increases in line with economic fundamentals.
Investment in Zara JV financial, not long-term: Trent
Tata group firm Trent has said its joint venture with Spain's Inditex for Zara brand is not a "long term strategic investment " integral to its other retail operations but is only a financial investment. Inditex Trent Retail India Pvt Ltd is a 51:49 per cent joint venture (JV) between Inditex group and Trent with 51 per cent held by the Spanish partner and the Tata group company holding the rest. "...the company views its commitment to this JV primarily as a financial investment and consequently, it may be appropriate not to consider this as a long term strategic investment integral to other retail operations," Trent said in its annual report for 2017-18. Elaborating why Trent considered its investment in the Zara JV as a financial one and not long term strategic, the company said it was due to the nature of brand ownership, which is with Inditex, and the arrangements for merchandise supply. The majority partner entirely controls the core customer proposition with respect to the ...
Board of Muthoot Finance to acquire / invest in Muthoot Money
Board of Directors of MFIN has agreed in principle to acquire shares as well as subscribe to equity shares of MMPL which will result in the change of management / control of MMPL. This was with the intention of further diversifying its business activities.
China's ZTE Corp names c-suite executives in step towards U.S. ban lift
HONG KONG (Reuters) - ZTE Corp has appointed a new team of top executives including a CEO to comply with a deal it made with the United States to end a ban on U.S. firms supplying parts to China's second-biggest telecommunications equipment maker.
Reliance launches fibre broadband, after disrupting India's telecoms market
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries, which has upended India's telecoms sector with its cheap mobile data plans, launched its fibre broadband system on Thursday in a push to make deeper inroads into the country's wireless and fixed-line internet industry.
Vedanta delisting will not impact credit profile: Moody's
The proposed delisting of the Anil Aggarwal-led Vedanta Resources from the London Stock Exchange will have no immediate impact on its credit profile, although cash extraction risks remain from the announced complete takeover of the natural resources firm by its holding company, Volcan Investments Ltd., Moody's Investor Service said on Thursday.
Bank credit grows at 12.84%, deposits at 7.59%
Bank credit grew by 12.84 per cent to Rs 86,16,408 crore in the fortnight ended June 22, according to RBI data. In the year-ago fortnight, bank loans stood at Rs 76,35,689 crore. The growth in advances was slightly higher than the growth registered in the previous fortnight ended Jun 8. It had risen by 12.67 per cent to Rs 85,98,703 crore. During the fortnight ended June 22, bank deposits had risen by 7.59 per cent to Rs 113,53,525 crore, compared with Rs 105,51,910 crore in the period ended June 23, 2017, the RBI data showed. The growth in deposits was slower than the period ended June 8, when it had increased by 8.35 per cent to Rs 114,04,303 crore. In May, non-food bank credit increased by 11.1 per cent year-on-year, compared with an increase of 4.1 per cent in May last year. Loans to industry rose by 1.4 per cent in May 2018, against a contraction of 2.1 per cent in May 2017. Advances to agriculture and allied activities increased by 6.4 per cent in May 2018, ...
Gold prices turn soft on global cues
Gold prices slipped at the domestic bullion market here today, dampened by tepid demand from local jewellers amid bearish global cues. Silver too dropped by Rs 60 per kg, dragged down by industrial units and coin makers. Standard gold (99.5 purity) fell by Rs 25 to close at Rs 30,485 per 10 grams from Wednesday's closing level of Rs 30,510. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also moved down by a similar margin to end at Rs 30,635 per 10 grams as against Rs 30,660 previously. Silver (.999 fineness) dipped by Rs 60 to finish at Rs 39,220 per kg as against Rs 39,280 yesterday. Globally, gold drifted lower despite a weaker dollar as investors worried that US Federal Reserve minutes would highlight the prospect of further rate hikes. Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at USD 1,252.15 an ounce in early trade. Among other precious metals, silver shed 0.8 per cent to USD 15.92 an ounce.
Bangladesh eyes tie-up with China for high tech parks
Bangladesh wantsgreater cooperation with China to develop more economic zones and high tech parks in the country.
Online hiring for government jobs fell 20% in June: Report
Online recruitment actitivity for government services, including public sector enterprises and defence sector, declined by 20 per cent in June on a year-on-year basis, a monster.com report said here on Thursday.
Government working on strategy to boost exports: DGFT
The government was working on a comprehensive strategy to boost exports amid "challenging times", Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Alok Chaturvedi said today. The total exports including services from India touched USD 500 billion last year, registering a growth of 13.5 per cent, he said at a session organised by ICC here. "These are challenging times. There are uncertainties in international trade. The government is working on a comprehensive strategy to boost exports. We have taken inputs from entities like Exim Bank, FIEO and others," Chaturvedi said. He said that the increase in tariffs and volatility in currencies were adding to the woes of exporters, coupled with political tensions in Iran, Russia and the Middle East. Regarding the complaint filed by the US in the WTO against India providing subsidies to exporters, the DGFT said that the matter was being negotiated with America. He said that all taxes and duties should be refunded to exporters, including ...
Kalyan Jewellers to invest Rs1,000cr to open 20 stores in FY19
Kalyan Jewellers is planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore to add 20 stores in the country and also enter the US market in this financial year, a senior company executive said. "We will first invest Rs 500 crore to open 10 new stores in the next three weeks - one each in Indore, Kanpur, Ranchi, Raipur, Siliguri, Guwahati and Nagpur, and three in Delhi-NCR," Kalyan Jewellers chairman and managing director TS Kalyanaraman told PTI here. The company is also planning to open another 10 stores with an investment of Rs 500 crore in the last two quarters of FY19, and also enter the US market, he added. The funds for this expansion will be raised through internal accruals, Kalyanaraman said, adding that all the stores are company-owned. "The investment for expansion is being funded through internal accruals. There will not be any additional bank borrowings or capital dilution," he added. Kalyan Jewellers at present has 122 company-owned stores, of which 90 are in India and 32 are in .
Hike in fuel prices won't be a burden: Siddaramaiah
After Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy proposed a hike in fuel price while presenting the state budget, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it would not be a burden on the people.He said, "For mobilization of resources a small increase has been made in sales tax of diesel and petrol in the Budget. It will not be a burden."The Chief Minister has proposed to increase the rate of tax on petrol from the present 30% to 32% and diesel from 19% to 21%.He said, "I propose to increase the rate of tax on petrol from the present 30% to 32% and diesel from 19% to 21%, so petrol price will be increased by Rs.1.14/litre and diesel by Rs 1.12/ litre."This comes after fuel prices were hiked in Delhi for the first time in more than a month.Earlier, the Opposition attacked the Centre when fuel prices shot up and reached four-year highs.
U.S. tells German car bosses it could abandon tariff threat - source
BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Germany told German car bosses that President Donald Trump could abandon threats to impose tariffs on cars imported from the European Union in exchange for concessions, an industry source said on Thursday.
Boeing taking over Embraer's commmercial jets in joint venture deal
Boeing is taking over the commercial jet business of Brazil's Embraer valued at USD 4.75 billion in a move that will allow it to compete more effectively in the medium-range aircraft market. It follows a similar strategic partnership by arch-rival Airbus with Canada's Bombardier last October. Under the terms of the deal, Boeing will hold an 80 per cent stake valued at USD 3.8 billion, the companies said in a release Thursday, while Embraer will hold the remaining 20 per cent. The proposed partnership is expected to be accretive to Boeing's earnings per share beginning in 2020 and to generate estimated annual pre-tax cost synergies of approximately USD 150 million by the third year. "By forging this strategic partnership, we will be ideally positioned to generate significant value for both companies' customers, employees and shareholders -- and for Brazil and the United States," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chairman, president and CEO. Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, Embraer's CEO ...
Rs 1,164 cr budgetary fund for Bengaluru infra projects
An estimated amount of Rs 1,164 crore has been allocated for various Bengaluru infrastructure development projects, including revival of lakes and construction of flyovers, in Karnataka budget for fiscal 2018-19.
IIFL Finance raises Rs 325 cr via masala bonds from UK's CDC Group
IIFL Holdings subsidiary IIFL Finance has got Rs 325 crore funding from UK government's development finance institution CDC Group Plc by way of masala bonds. CDC has a minority stake in IIFL Finance (India Infoline Finance Ltd). IIFL Holdings said it is the maiden masala bonds(Rupee Denominated Bonds) issue by the group. This debt facility -- CDC's first investment in masala bonds -- will help IIFL Finance to grow its loan book and reach more customers in under-served sectors and regions of India, said CDC Managing Director and Head of South Asia Srini Nagarajan. He said the company also expects that this investment will help IIFL Finance mobilise additional capital from other long-term investors. IIFL Finance gives small ticket home loans, of which Swaraj loans is one of the fastest growing segment with average ticket-size of Rs 13 lakh. Besides, it provides SME loans of up to Rs 7 lakh to fulfil the financing needs of small retailers, traders and other businesses. Company's loan ...
Global Markets: Full-throttle car rally drives back trade gloom
LONDON (Reuters) - European shares headed for a third day of gains on Thursday as reassuring economic data from Germany and a report that its big carmakers could be spared from U.S. tariffs offset another gloomy session for Asia.
Djibouti launches 'Africa's biggest free trade zone'
Djibouti today launched the first phase of Africa's biggest free-trade zone, seeking to capitalise on its strategic position on one of the world's busiest trade routes. At ceremonies in the capital, President Ismael Omar Guelleh hailed the scheme as the culmination of infrastructure projects "boosting Djibouti's place in international trade and commerce". The Horn of Africa nation, located at the mouth of the Red Sea and Suez Canal, in 2017 unveiled three new ports and a railway linking it to landlocked Ethiopia, as part of its bid to become a global trade and logistics hub. Somalia's president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, hailed the free-trade zone as a "victory for East Africa", in comments echoed at the ceremony by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. The zone, which is connected to Djibouti's main ports, aims at diversifying the economy, creating new jobs and luring foreign investment through tax-free incentives and ..