Page 3456 - Business Finance
Want best of the hotels that value heritage to bid for Town Hall: NDMC
Seeking to fast-track the much-delayed redevelopment project of the historic Town Hall here, the NDMC has proposed to lease out the over 150-year-old heritage landmark to a private player to run a hotel-cum-museum in its premises. Top officials said the tendering process would be completed in a month once the proposal is approved by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation's standing committee this week. The cash-strapped corporation had decided to go for a public-private partnership (PPP) model, after its Centre-funded restoration plan got shelved. The redevelopment plan seeks a conservation of the Victorian-era mansion that will house a museum, retelling the history of Delhi, the centre-piece of the attractions that are to be built. A craft baazar, a dancing fountain, a maze, light and sound programmes, street food, children activity area, a boutique hotel, food court, courtyard and sculpture garden, digital library, lecture rooms, fine dining areas, are also planned to be developed ..
Number of online shoppers to surpass 120M in 2018
A recent study has revealed that over 120 million Indian consumers are expected to shop online this year.As per an ASSOCHAM-Resurgent joint study, online shopping is expected to clock annualised growth of 115 percent this year, aided by fast-increasing data consumption and improvement in logistics, along with a number of offers presented by e-commerce platforms.In the previous year, the study noted that as many as 108 million consumers did online shopping, with mobile phones becoming the preferred choice of device for e-commerce sales. The frequency of purchase was higher for categories like apparels & accessories (54 percent), beauty and personal care (43 percent) products, in comparison to electronics (33 percent), it added."Since the base is still quite low, there is a huge scope for growth year on year for quite some time. With an improvement in logistics and more and more delivery channels, the online shopping is bound to grow. No wonder, a huge amount of foreign investment ..
FPIs' bearish stance continues: Net outflow at Rs 14,500 cr in June so far
Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 14,500 crore from the Indian capital markets this month so far, primarily due to global trade war and hawkish commentary by the US Federal Reserve. The latest outflow has taken the total net withdrawal by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from the capital markets (equity and debt) to more than Rs 46,600 crore in this year so far, according to the latest data available with the depositories. FPIs withdrew a net sum of Rs 5,360 crore from equity markets, while they pulled out net amount of Rs 9,219 crore from the debt markets during June 1-22, resulting into a total outflow of Rs 14,579 crore. This comes following a net outflow of over Rs 45,000 crore from equity and debt together during last two months. Prior to that, FPIs had pumped in Rs 2,600 crore in March. "Investors were concerned as it was reported that US President Donald Trump approved tariffs on about USD 50 billion of Chinese goods," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager Equities .
Def PSU Midhani eyeing to cut dependency on Chinese imports
The Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani) Limited, a special grade metal maker, is looking at reducing dependency on China for the strategic metals used in defence products as it was facing issues over pricing and quality of imported materials, a top official of the PSU has said. "There are issues in terms of pricing by Chinese companies on imports of some of the special grade metals used in making defenceproducts. Apart from this, the quality of Chinese materials is also some times inferior," city-based Midhani Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh Kumar Likhi said. Midhani, a government of India enterprise under the Defence Ministry, produces special steel, super-alloys and is the sole manufacturer of titanium alloys in the country. Likhi said Midhani as a defence PSU was in the process of taking various steps to reduce the dependency on China for the strategic metals and make the country self-reliant in the sector. He also saidthe Detailed project Report for the proposedjoint .
Overseas FDI by Indian cos expected to rise: CII
Industry chamber CII today said overseas investments by Indian companies are likely to go up given the stable market conditions and the significant impact created by Indian companies on local economies. Indian companies have been working with the local communities while investing abroad, generating substantial employment and creating benefits for the host economies, CII said in a statement. Citing a World Investment Report of UNCTAD, the chamber said India's total cumulative stock of overseas foreign direct investment (OFDI) amounted to USD 155 billion in 2017. CII tracks overseas investments by Indian companies in major countries to provide insights about their scale and performance and the impact they have on these economies. These surveys have been conducted in the US, the UK, China, South Africa, and Germany. The major sectors of interest for Indian companies in these countries are information technology (IT), pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, automotive, financial services, and ...
Pakistani prisoner returns from India after 11 years
A Pakistani man who mistakenly crossed into India in 2007 and was caught by the Border Security Force (BSF) has returned home after 11 years in detention, a media report said on Sunday.
All grown up and nowhere to work: Berlin runs short of office space
BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly 30 years after the fall of the Wall, "cool" Berlin is booming, with some 40,000 people moving to the German capital every year to work not just at its vibrant tech start-ups but also increasingly at big multinational firms.
AI's Delhi-Tel Aviv flight registers over 80pc occupancy, to become daily service
State-run carrier Air India's thrice a week Delhi-Tel Aviv non-stop flight will become a daily service shortly, with the airline giving its seal of approval to the proposal, encouraged by 80 per cent and above occupancy rate on the route, sources in the airline said. "The success of the service is a testament to the strengthening of diplomatic ties between India and Israel and growing people to people contact between the two countries. We are working on the last minute details before announcing the increase in frequency to all days from thrice a week," they said. The move is part of Air India's ongoing efforts to reevaluate its route network, increase services to economically viable routes and cut down frequency and withdraw services from some sectors. The airline could soon withdraw flights from a few European destinations with low occupancy and engage its fleet to far east and neighbouring countries that have seen a steady rise in demand, a source said. Private carriers such as Jet .
FabHotels plans to enter 15 more cities; add 1,000 hotels this fiscal
Budget hotels chain FabHotels plans to enter more than 15 additional cities and is looking to add 1,000 hotels under the franchise model in its inventory by end of this fiscal, a top company official has said. The company currently has over 400 hotels under its inventory in around 40 cities. "We continue to expand rapidly and are aiming to add 1,000 more properties across the emerging business cities in India by the end of FY19," FabHotels Founder & CEO Vaibhav Aggarwal told PTI. The company plans to enter more than 15 additional cities this fiscal year. The locations include Kanpur, Ludhiana, Allahabad, Rajkot, Surat, Aurangabad, Ajmer, Ranchi, Raipur and Jamshedpur, among others, he added. "We have a very high demand from hotels to partner with us, reinstating the faith in our business model and the shift which the industry is experiencing at present," Aggarwal said. The company operates on the franchise model which is asset light, he added. When asked how the company plans to ..
Air India Delhi-Tel Aviv flight register over 80 per cent occupancy; to become a daily service
State-run carrier Air India's Delhi-Tel Aviv non-stop will become a daily flight shortly, with the airline giving its seal of approval to the proposal, encouraged by the 80 per cent and above occupancy rate, sources in the airline said. "The success of the service is a testament to the strengthening of diplomatic ties between India and Israel and growing people to people contact between the two countries. We are working on the last minute details before announcing the increase in frequency to all days from thrice a week," they said. The move is part of Air India's ongoing efforts to reevaluate its route network, increase services to economically viable routes and cut down frequency and withdraw services from some sectors. The airline could soon withdraw flights from a few European destinations with low occupancy and engage its fleet to far east and neighbouring countries that have seen a steady rise in demand, said a source. Private carriers such as Jet Airways and IndiGo are already .
Global factors, monsoon's progress to drive equity indices (Market Outlook)
Global factors such as concerns over trade wars and further developments on tariffs, along with the decision of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to marginally increase oil production, would drive the domestic equity market in the week ahead.
India produces minerals worth Rs 1.13 lakh cr in FY18
The country has produced minerals worth Rs 1.13 lakh crore in FY18, registering an increase of 13 per cent over the previous fiscal. India produced minerals worth Rs 1 lakh crore (provisional) in 2016-17, according to the Annual Report 2017-18 of Ministry of Mines. "The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic and fuel minerals) during 2017-18 has been estimated at Rs 1,13,541 crore, which shows an increase of about 13 per cent over that of the previous year," the report said. The estimated value for metallic minerals is Rs 53,029 crore and that of non-metallic minerals, including minor minerals, is Rs 60,512 crore, it said. In 2016-17 the value of metallic minerals like iron ore, manganese ore, zinc, bauxite, copper, gold, chromite and lead conc was Rs 40,017.29 crore, it added. The value of non-metallic minerals like diamond, garnet (abrasive), limeshell, limestone, magnesite, phosphorite, sillimanite and wollastonite stood at Rs 7,414.53 crore, the annual report ...
SAIL hopeful of meeting Railways' enhanced demand for rails, to supply 12 lakh tonnes in FY19
After failing to keep up with Indian Railways' requirement last fiscal, state-owned SAIL is now optimistic that it will be able meet the enhanced demand of rails from the national transporter this year and will supply 12 lakh tonnes of tracks, a top official said. This assumes significance as the government had last year pulled up the country's largest steel producer Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) for not meeting the requirement of Indian Railways and had asked the company to increase output from its new rail mill in Bhilai. "From the past so many years, we have been supplying at the level of 6-7 lakh tonnes per annum of rails as per their (railways) requirement... In 2016-17, there was a little increase in their demand. As per requirement, we have gone to the level of 6.6 lakh tonnes... in 2017-18, it had gone to the level of 8.8 lakh tonnes per annum. But demand was 9 (lakh tonnes) in the last financial year," Bhilai Steel Plant CEO M Ravi told PTI in an interview. SAIL's ...
Revenue from e-commerce in India to touch USD 52 bn by 2022: Report
The revenue from e-commerce amounted to USD 25 billion in India in 2017, and is likely to grow by 20.2 per cent per year to hit USD 52 billion by 2022, says a report. According to a report by Admitad, in 2017, 37 per cent of the population comprised of internet users, 14 per cent of whom made online purchases regularly. This population's share of internet users is expected to grow to 45 per cent by 2021. The number of online buyers is expected to grow to 90 per cent. Most purchases (56 per cent) are made via desktop. Smartphones account for 30 per cent of purchases, said the digital and affiliate marketing company's report. However, with mobile penetration expected to reach 54 per cent of the population by 2020, m-commerce has a high potential in India, and will likely be responsible for 70 per cent of e-commerce revenue. The report noted that about 57 per cent of Indians prefer to pay on delivery, while 15 per cent prefer to pay with debit cards, and 11 per cent credit ...
Indian equity market likely to be an outperformer: Morgan Stanley
The Indian equity market is likely to be an "outperformer" even as absolute returns are likely to be capped by a tepid global equity market outlook, a Morgan Stanley research report said. According to the global financial services major, while improving growth and reasonable large cap valuations are expected to boost markets, in an election year, rising oil prices and higher yields are expected to drag. Morgan Stanley pegged BSE Sensex earnings growth at 5 per cent, 23 per cent and 24 per cent for financial year 2018, fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020, respectively. In the base case (50 per cent probability) Morgan Stanley expects BSE Sensex to be around 36,000 by June 2019. In the bull case (30 per cent probability), Sensex may be at 44,000. And in the bear case (20 per cent probability), Sensex may be around 26,500. The Sensex is currently hovering around 35,600 points. "While global market performance remains a key to the absolute performance of Indian stocks in the near term, India's ...
West Bengal's IIP jumps 259% in 7 years, exports out of sync
West Bengal's index of industrial production (IIP) has jumped 259 per cent in the last seven years to 7.9 per cent in 2017-18, as against 2.2 per cent in 2011-12, the government has claimed. However, the growth in exports from the state failed to keep pace with industrial production expansion. The government has released a report 7 years' chronicles of Bengal's progress to highlight the achievements of the state under the Trinamool Congress, which came to power in May, 2011. However, it did not spell out details of absolute industrial production numbers. The report also said that the annual export value from Bengal grew from USD 7.11 billion to USD 8.25 billion in FY'17, registering a 16 per cent growth. Nonetheless, state Finance Minister Amit Mitra recently said that a strategy roadmap has been drawn to double the exports over the next three years. The state is also working on improving the infrastructure for exporters at the district level. Mitra had said the West ...
Farmers protest after banker seeks sexual favour in exchange for crop loan
The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana staged a protest in front of the Datala branch of Central Bank of India on Saturday after the bank manager and his peon allegedly demanded sexual favours from the wife of a farmer, who had applied for a crop loan.While the bank was closed, the protestors broke the bank's board and painted its wall black. Later on, police arrested few workers of the party.The Maharashtra Police booked a case against the bank manager and the peon, who were later reportedly arrested from Amravati district.Rajesh Hivase, an official in the Datala branch, and the peon, Manoj Chavan, have been booked under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.According to the police, when the crop loan proposal was submitted, the bank manager asked the farmer his contact number so as to clear doubts, if any, during scrutiny. The farmer gave his wife's contact number. The bank manager, who made .
Ask banks to expedite process of distributing crop loans: Fadnavis to Centre
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote a letter to the Centre demanding that all banks in the state be directed to expedite the process of distributing crop loans to farmers.Fadnavis in the letter stated that it's the need of the hour as it's the peak time for Khareef crops and slow distribution of loans is harming farmers."All ministers have been instructed to keep a watch on the process of distribution of crop loans. However, the response from nationalised and private banks is not as expected. Banks are distributing loans at a slow pace despite the arrival of rains," Fadnavis stated in the letter."The state government has implemented the historic loan waiver scheme, due to which, a large number of farmers have become eligible for fresh loans," he added.Fadnavis letter comes weeks after farmers across India called for a 10-day nationwide strike, which later ended abruptly.The protesting farmers demanded waiver of loans, right price for their crops and implementation of ...
OPEC, non-OPEC oil producers to jointly boost oil output
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers on Saturday agreed to jointly increase oil production.
Infosys starts talks on selling Panaya
Global software major Infosys initiated the process to sell its Panaya subsidiary, a top company official said on Saturday.