Page 639 - Business Finance
China factory activity up after four-month slide
China's manufacturing sector ended its four-month downward trend in March, official data showed Sunday, but exports continued their long slide in the wake of the Washington-Beijing trade war. The official Purchasing Managers' Index, a measure of factory activity, rose to 50.5 in March from the previous month's contraction and three-year low of 49.2. The growth was likely driven by seasonal factors as factories ramped up production after February's Lunar New Year holidays. Some steel mills and coal power plants also increased output as winter smog restrictions end. Factory output also grew at its fastest pace in six months in March, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported, but export orders shrank for the 10th straight month amid slowing global growth and as collateral damage in the trade spat the United States. Over the last eight months, Washington and Beijing have slapped tariffs on more than USD360 billion in two-way goods trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both
Epson aims to cross Rs 2,000 cr revenue mark in 2019-20
IT peripheral firm Epson is expecting its revenue to cross Rs 2,000 crore mark in 2019-20, mainly on the back of growth across all its product segments, according to a top company official. "We are making a lot of operational improvements and changes to cope up with the evolving market. In the current year, we estimate our growth to be around 14-15 per cent and we aspire to achieve 15-20 per cent growth in the next fiscal year. We are expecting this growth to come from all our product lines," Epson India President Samba Moorthy told PTI. The company registered a revenue of Rs 1,664 crore in 2017-18 and expects to close 2018-19 with revenue of Rs 1,890 crore. With 15-20 per cent growth, Epson's total revenue for 2019-20 will be in range of Rs 2,173-Rs 2268 crore. As per IDC's hard copy peripherals (HCP) quarterly market report, Epson sold 201,565 inkjet printers in the second quarter of 2018 and led the market with 47.7 per cent market share in volume terms. The company is designing ...
Mitsubishi eyes 20% market share in elevator space
Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi is aiming at around 20 per cent market share in elevator segment in next 3-4 years, said a top company official. Mitsubishi Elevator India, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, is targeting the opportunities emerging from premium building space like IT offices, luxury hotels and residential segment, among others. "Our target is to achieve more than 20 per cent of the market share in our target segment in the next 3 to 4 years," Mitsubishi Elevator India Deputy Managing Director Pravin Rao told PTI. In FY 2018, the demand for elevators in India was over 50,000 units and the segment is having a year-on-year growth of around 5 to 6 per cent, he added. The company did not disclose the present market share in India. The major companies operating in the space are Otis, Schindler, Kone, Thyssenkrupp from Europe and US, and Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitec from Japan. Besides, the company also expects that non-metro tier II & III cities
GST officers prodding businesses to deposit taxes by March 31 to meet fiscal target
Racing against time to meet the GST collection target for 2018-19, tax officers have been prodding businesses to pay taxes by Sunday so that the amount gets reflected in the GST revenue collection data for March to be released on April 1 (Monday), a government official said. Since taxes collected by non-EDI (electronic data exchange) ports takes about four-five days to get reflected in the system, the government is planning to come out with a reconciled data for full fiscal by April 10, the official further added. "The tax officers are putting to use their goodwill with the assessees and nudging them to pay the taxes by March end, the last month of the fiscal, to make up for the collection target for 2018-19,"' the official told PTI. The official said officers were also prodding some importers to front-load their integrated GST (IGST) payments in March for those inward shipments for which orders have already paid and are due to delivered in next couple of months. This practice of ...
Despite challenges, Indian equity market amongst best performers in FY19
Despite several challenges including the NBFCs-triggered liquidity crisis as well as global trade tensions and high crude oil prices, the Indian equities market emerged as one of the best performers globally in 2018-19.
Green Certificates sales down 22 pc in 2018-19
Sales of renewable energy certificates declined over 22 per cent to 1.25 crore units this fiscal on IEX and PXIL as compered to 1.61 crore in 2017-18, mainly due to lower inventory (supply), according to official data. In March, sales of RECs or green certificates declined by over 51 per cent to 11.78 lakh from 24.26 lakh in the same month last year. Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange of India (PXIL) are the two power bourses in the country, which are engaged in trading of RECs and electricity. The trading of renewable energy certificates (RECs) is conducted on the last Wednesday of every month. Under the renewable purchase obligation (RPO), bulk purchasers like discoms, open access consumers and capacitive users are required to buy certain proportion of renewable energy or RECs. They can buy RECs from renewable energy producers to meet the RPO norms. The proportion of renewable energy for utilities are fixed by the central and state electricity regulatory commissions. An
Political ad spend tops Rs 1.5 cr a week on Facebook (Dangal 2019)
With the first phase of general elections now barely 10 days away, spending for political ads on social media platforms has soared, especially on Facebook where advertisers spent over Rs 1.5 crore during the March 17-March 23 period.
Rates, rupee to influence equities trends (Market Outlook)
The upcoming monetary policy review coupled with macro-economic data points will influence the trajectory of key equity indices in the week ahead.
Taken steps to ensure conformity to new regulatory framework: Independent TV assures TRAI
DTH operator Independent TV (formerly Big TV) has assured broadcast regulator TRAI that it has taken a series of steps to ensure that its current tariff plans are in conformity to the sector's new regulatory framework. The clarification came after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) wrote to Independent TV asking it to justify its current tariff plans in the backdrop of the sector's regulatory framework. The regulator had flagged the issue as it received several consumer complaints over lack of clarity on tariff plans and their break-up details for monthly charges. Sources said that in response to TRAI's queries, Independent TV, in a letter to the regulator earlier this month has stated, "In regard to our current tariff plans being offered by Independent TV, we would like to assure the authority of our complete compliance with the NTO (New Tariff Order). Pursuant to our meetings...and the discussions...we have realigned our product offerings..." The operator has submitted
Will employ youths in gram sabhas to improve environment: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said if his party is voted to power, lakhs of rural youths will be employed in gram sabhas to improve environment. "India needs to: 1. Repair & Restore our water bodies. 2. Regenerate & Afforest wasteland & degraded land," Gandhi tweeted. "We will employ lakhs of rural youth in our gram sabhas to improve the environment (sic)," he said. Gandhi has also said the Congress' soon-to-be released manifesto will lay major thrust on jobs' creation, addressing agrarian distress and strengthening the education and health sectors besides charting a roadmap to boost economic growth.
Jet assurance to pilots to ward off mass leave (Roundup)
In a bid to stave off a proposed mass leave by a section of pilots and aircraft maintenance engineer, Jet Airways on Saturday said it will soon pay the remaining December salaries to employees.
Vijay Chandok to head ICICI Securities
Private lender ICICI Bank Saturday said Vijay Chandok will be the MD and CEO of its subsidiary ICICI Securities with effect from May 7, 2019. Chandok presently is the Executive Director of ICICI Bank. "Vijay Chandok, presently Executive Director of the Bank would be assuming office as Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Securities Limited with effect from May 7, 2019 and has tendered his resignation from the Board of the Bank to take effect at the end of day on May 6, 2019," the bank said in a regulatory filing. The private sector lender also said that Dileep Choksi and V K Sharma, Independent Directors of the Bank, will complete their prescribed primary tenure under the Companies Act, 2013 on March 31, 2019 and will cease to be the Directors of the Bank effective April 1, 2019. The requisite procedures have been initiated to give effect to this change in accordance with regulation.
Jet pilots firm on word from SBI on payment
A majority of Jet Airways pilots on Saturday said they needed an assurance from the State Bank of India (SBI) over the dues clearance to prevent their going on a mass leave.
India likely to invest in Bolivia lithium industry
India has expressed interest in investing in the lithium industry of Bolivia, home to vast untapped mines of the mineral that is used in rechargeable batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles.
If Cong wins, rural youths will be employed to improve environment: Rahul Gandhi
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said if the party is voted to power, then lakhs of rural youths will be employed in gram sabhas to improve the environment. He tweeted that the country needs to repair and restore its water bodies, and also regenerate and afforest wasteland and degraded land. "We will employ lakhs of rural youth in our gram sabhas to improve the environment," Gandhi said. He has also said the Congress' soon-to-be released manifesto will lay major thrust on jobs creation, addressing agrarian distress and strengthening the education and health sectors, besides charting a roadmap to boost economic growth.
WR creates record by selling scrap worth Rs 517.41 crore
The Western Railway (WR) has earned a whopping Rs 517.41 crore by selling scrap material collected from its yards and stores offices in 2018-19, it said in a statement here. It thus broke the previous record held by the Northern Railway which had earned Rs 403 crore from scrap sale in 2011-12. The Material Management team of the Western Railway had launched a massive drive to identify and dispose of scrap lying in various railway premises under "Mission Zero Scrap", said chief PRO Ravinder Bhakar.
China airlines post mixed results, warn of headwinds
Chinese carriers posted mixed results for 2018 but have warned of stronger headwinds in the coming year, which could continue to put a damper on profits. China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by passenger numbers, reported a 3.71 per cent decrease in net profit, posting 8.82 billion yuan (USD 1.31 billion). This was mainly due to increased operating expenses from higher passenger volume and rising jet fuel prices, the company said in an earnings report filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late Friday. It also warned that big fluctuations in the yuan this year, along with an ongoing increase in oil prices, are likely to weigh down profits. Net profit for the country's second-largest airline by passengers, China Eastern Airlines, slumped 56.98 percent to 2.93 billion yuan in 2018, it reported Friday evening. The airline put this down to an increase in operational costs, chiefly due to the 25 per cent jump in jet fuel costs, resulting in additional spending of 6.72 ...
Georgia man pleads guilty of hacking Apple accounts
A Georgia man has pleaded guilty of hacking into Apple accounts of several famous musicians and athletes and spending thousands of dollars from their accounts.
anjay Jayavarthanavelu is CII, Southern Region Chairman
The Chairman and Managing Director of Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd, Coimbatore, Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, has been selected as the Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry, Southern Region for 2019-20. Prior to taking up the new role, Jayavarthanavelu was the Deputy Chairman of CII in 2018-19 and had also served the trade body as the Chairman, Tamil Nadu Trade Council in 2006-07, a CII press release said. Lakshmi Machine Works is engaged in manufacturing textile spinning machinery. Meanwhile, the Chairman of Hyderbad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Satish Reddy was selected Deputy Chairman of CII Southern Region for 2019-20. Reddy had served CII as Member, National Council from 2014-19 and he had also held various responsibilities as Past Chairman, CII National Pharma Committee and Past Chairman of CII, Andhra Pradesh State Council in 2003-04, it said.
China banks post profits but warn of instability
Chinese banks have posted profits for 2018 but warned that domestic and global uncertainties could put downward pressure on the sector in the coming year. Bank of China (BOC) posted a profit of 192.44 billion yuan (USD28.67 billion), up four per cent from the previous year, which the company credited to a stable economy and "prudent monetary policy" from the Chinese government. But the sector "will face a complicated operating environment in 2019", BOC said in its annual report filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late Friday. "The growth drivers of the global economy will weaken, international financial markets will remain at risk of fluctuation, and the functioning of the economy will be subject to a number of uncertainties." The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) -- the country's largest bank -- posted a net profit of 297.68 billion yuan in 2018, a 4.1 percent increase. China's second largest lender by assets, China Construction Bank, posted a net profit of 254.66 ...