Page 708 - Business Finance
Schlumberger seeks deviations in ONGC oilfield tender
New York-listed contractor Schlumberger - the sole bidder in state-owned ONGC's tender for raising oil production from aging fields - has sought several deviations from the bidding norms, including projection of a 26-27 per cent decline in output in next few years. India's leading national oil company launched its initial tender for Production Enhancement Contracts (PEC) in April 2018 for raising output beyond the business as usual (BAU) scenario from two aging fields. Schlumberger submitted the only application for Geleki, while ONGC received no bids for Kalol oilfield in Gujarat. Sources privy to the development said Schlumberger is projecting a 26-27 per cent decline in base production in next few years and has sought several deviations in tender norms for infusing technology to raise output over this base. The government has been pushing ONGC to hire international oil service companies to raise output from its mature oilfields as it saw the foreign companies as the answer to ...
DoT refers BSNL 4G spectrum to TRAI under pressure
The Department of Telecom has sent a communication to the sector regulator TRAI seeking its views on the possibility of giving 4G spectrum to BSNL outside auction under a preferential equity infusion route.
Air India to turn financially attractive before divestment
More investments with strict riders have been planned to make Air India financially attractive before starting any new round of divestment, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has said.
Centrum to launch Rs 500-cr structured credit fund
The diversified Centrum Group, which is into wealth management, equity broking and credit business with focus on SME financing and housing, is planning to launch a structured credit fund with an initial corpus of Rs 500 crore shortly. The Jaspal Bindra-run group offers integrated financial solutions under various verticals like the flagship Centrum Capital with its various subsidiaries like wealth management, broking, housing finance, financial advisory, and infrastructure & reality advisory and is present pan-India with 80 branches. The privately held group also has plans to enter the now lucrative ARC (asset reconstruction company) space given the trillions of rupees of assets up for grabs at the various bankruptcy courts. But the immediate focus is launching a structured credit fund. We plan to launch it with an initial corpus of at least Rs 500 crore and it should be up and running soon after the general elections, chairman Bindra, who owns around one-quarter ..
Profit booking to spark volatility in equity indices (Market Outlook)
Short-term volatility may persist in key Indian equity indices, as profit booking dents investors' risk-taking appetite during the upcoming trade week, market observers said.
Govt to soon start selection process for new PFRDA chairman
The government will soon start selection process for a new chairman of pension fund regulator PFRDA to succeed the present chief, Hemant G Contractor, whose term is slated to end in April. "The Finance Ministry will soon come out with an advertisement to find a successor to head the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)," sources told PTI. Contractor's term will be completed on April 30, 2019. PFRDA was re-constituted into a statutory body after notification of PFRDA Act in 2014. Contactor is the first Chairman to head the regulatory body. He had joined PFRDA on October 7, 2014. As per the Act, the chairman will have a tenure of 5 years or till age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Contractor was previously held the post of SBI managing director before being appointed as the PFRDA Chairman. The pension fund regulator has reached a subscriber base of 2.65 crore in its flagship National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) schemes and hopes to cover ...
FIIs may drive markets to fresh highs
Institutional investors, responsible for most of the trading in the financial markets are betting big on Indian markets, especially, banking stocks, which may drive major indices to fresh highs ahead of the polls.
Accor Hotels to add 20 hotels across India in next 3-5 years
Global hospitality major Accor Hotels plans to add 20 properties across India in the next three to five years as it adopts an asset-light strategy going forward and mulls bringing new brands to the country. The company currently has 51 hotels across nine brands with around 9,500 rooms in India. "We have 20 hotels in that are in pipeline in India which will be operational in next three to five years," Accor Hotels Chief Operating Officer India and South Asia Jean-Michel Casse told PTI. The new hotels will come up in places such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Udaipur, Goa, Jaipur and Shillong among others, he added. As the strategy of the company is to develop mid-scale and economy segment, the hotels will be mainly Novotel and Ibis and as well as few opportunities in the luxury space, Casse said. Luxury space is also increasing in terms of signing products after the acquisition of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel a few years ago and the acquisition of Movenpick last year. Accor has become the ...
Renault aggressive plans to double sales volumes in 2 to 3 yrs
: French car maker Renault has lined up aggressive plans to double sales volumes in three years by introducing new products and upgrading some existing models, according to a top official. Venkatram Mamillapalle, who recently succeeded Sumit Sawhney as Renault India, Country CEO and Managing Director, said that as a mid-term plan, the company was looking at doubling sales volume to 150,000 units in three years (from the current 80,000 units). "We also have new product launches in 2019 and 2020. Two new products will be launched, one in July (2019) and the other, the year after that," he told PTI. Besides, the company would also look at upgrading existing hatchback models Kwid and sports utility vehicle Duster, he said. To a query, Mamillapalle said he has lined up three objectives for the company over the next two-three years. "I have three things. One, is whole organisation should work as one team, one ambition. That is the primary objective. Because we have many legal .
Yamaha eyes 10 pc market share in Indian 2-wheeler segment in 5 yrs
With an eye on garnering 10 per cent of two-wheeler market in India in the next five years, Japan's Yamaha has started studying plans to add additional capacities here, according to a top company official. Yamaha, which currently has an annual production capacity of 1.7 million units, is looking at 2.5 million units by around 2023. "Our aim is to have a total of 10 per cent market share across the two-wheelers segment in India in the next five years, up from the current 4 per cent," Yamaha Motor India group of companies Chairman Motofumi Shitara told PTI in an interview. In the premium sports motorcycle segment, the company already has 10 per cent market share in India, he added. In the April-February period of the ongoing fiscal, the company sold 7,32,006 units in the domestic market, up 0.7 per cent from the year-ago period. The Indian two-wheeler market stood at 1,97,40,727 units during the period. When asked about the company's future production plans, Shitara said Yamaha would ...
V Resorts to add 150 properties across India by 2019-end
Boutique luxury hospitality firm V Resorts is looking to add 150 properties in India by the end of this year, following which the number of resorts in its inventory will double to 300, a top company official said. The company currently has around 150 resorts with 2,000 rooms across 20 states in India. "Our focus is to double the inventory by adding 150 resorts across the country by the end of this year, so that we will have a total of 300 properties with over 4,000 rooms by end of 2019," V Resorts Founder and CEO Aditi Balbir told PTI. On an average most of the properties the company manages have 10 to 15 rooms, she added. "While the properties are in 20 states, they are mainly clustered around Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. We also have presence in Sikkim, Shillong, Sundarban and Manas National Park in Assam," Balbir said. When asked about the business model the company follows, Balbir said: "We are a hotel management company. We manage, operate and market the resorts that are under ...
Guinean PM arrives in India on 10-day visit
Guinean Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana arrived here Saturday for a 10-day visit during which he will participate at a key India-Africa business conclave and hold talks with the top leadership to deepen ties. Fofana will participate at the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on the India-Africa Project Partnership Sunday. During his visit from March 16-25, he will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and will meet Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, according to Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. On March 20, he will leave for Vishakhapatnam for four days for an official programme. Ghana vice president Mahamudu Bawumia will also arrive in India from March 16-20 and will participate at the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on the India-Africa Project Partnership.
Modicare a hoax, excludes outpatient care: Congress
The Congress on Saturday said the much publicised Ayushman Bharat scheme, also known as Modicare, was a "jumla" (hoax) as it excludes outpatient treatment, which constitutes 87 per cent of patients.
No dilution on Feb 12 circular over stressed assets: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India Saturday maintained that there is no dilution in its stand with regard to February 12 circular on stressed assets recognition and resolution. "It is reiterated that the Reserve Bank maintains its stand on all aspects of the Framework as has been consistently articulated in its communications, including the clarification given during the post-monetary policy press conference on February 7, 2019," the central bank said in a statement. The statement comes amid reports that the RBI seems to be toeing the government line and considering relaxation of some of the aspects of the Revised Framework on Resolution of Stressed Assets issued on February 12, 2018. As the matter is sub-judice and the Supreme Court has reserved its orders on the matter, the Reserve Bank will not comment on the specific details, it said. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das last month had said there would be no changes in the circular. The circular directed lenders to refer ...
PSB hikes MCLR by 0.05% on six-month tenor
Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) has hiked its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.05 per cent for six-month tenor and lowered interest on three-year tenor by 0.05 per cent. "Our bank has reviewed the marginal cost of fund based lending rate (MCLR) for different tenors," PSB said in a regulatory filing. The bank said these rates are effective from March 16, 2019. Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) has hiked MCLR on six-month duration loan to 8.70 per cent. It has also lowered interest on three-year tenors by 0.05 per cent to 8.85 per cent. Interest on overnight, one-month, three months and one-year tenors remain unchanged at 8.30, 8.40 per cent, 8.55 per cent and 8.85 per cent, respectively.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank raises Rs 459 crore via QIP
Private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank Saturday said it has raised Rs 459.59 crore through qualified institutions placement (QIP). The Chennai-headquartered lender said it has raised funds at the rate of Rs 72 per share. "This fund raising via QIP will help the bank in strengthening its capital base and will enable bank to further raise tier II capital," Lakshmi Vilas Bank said in a statement. The QIP closed on March 15, 2019. SREI Capital Market Ltd acted as the book running lead manager to the QIP issue.
US government warns public of new phone scam
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the taxation agency of the government, has warned the public of a new type of "IRS impersonation phone scam".
I-T Dept sends notices to 2,000 property sellers who took cash above Rs 5 lakh
New Delhi [India], Mar 16 (ANI): The Income Tax Department (I-T) has sent notices to about 2,000 property sellers who took Rs 5 lakh or above in cash while selling their assets between June 2015 and December 2018, a senior official said on Saturday."To start with, we have sent notices to those property buyers and sellers who paid or received Rs 5 lakh and above in cash. Once we settle these cases, we will focus on those violators who had paid or received cash below Rs 5 lakh," the official told ANI.In 2015, Section 269SS of the Income Tax Act introduced some changes for the realty sector to curb generation of black money.According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), any transaction in real estate, including agricultural land, has to be made through account payee cheque or real time gross settlement (RTGS) or electronic funds transfer if the amount is Rs 20,000 or above.If a transaction is done in cash from June 1, 2015 onwards, then a penalty of an equal amount equal under ...
Grasim to challenge Rs 5,872 crore tax demand on mega merger
Grasim Industries said on Saturday that the Income Tax Department has called for Rs 5,872.13 crore to be paid as taxes with respect to its merger with Aditya Birla Nuvo and Aditya Birla Financial Services, but will challenge the order.In September 2017, the National Company Law Tribunal bench at Ahmedabad had approved the merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo with Grasim Industries to be followed by the listing of Aditya Birla Financial Services.On Friday, the company received a communication dated March 14 issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, raising a demand of Rs 5,872.13 crore on account of dividend distribution tax (including interest), the company informed stock exchanges in regulatory filings.The department held that as the demerger of the demerged undertaking is not in compliance with Section 2(19 AA) of the Act, the value of shares allotted by Aditya Birla Capital Ltd to the shareholders Grasim Industries, in consideration of the transfer and vesting of the demerged ...
IDBI Bank staff seek option to shift to other PSBs
The employees of IDBI Bank have opposed the bank's categorisation as a private lender and are seeking the option to switch to any other nationalised bank with protection of pay and service.