Page 710 - Business Finance
HC orders closure of 110 TASMAC shops functioning in
Observing that the law was applicable to individuals as well as government establishments like TASMAC, the Madras High Court Friday ordered the immediate closure of 110 state-owned liquor shops across Tamil Nadu that were functioning from unauthorised buildings. A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad passed the order on a PIL by Nallaswamy seeking to close a Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) shop opened in an agricultural land in Erode district. It also directed the authorities concerned to produce planning permission of 2,728 such shops located in village panchayats. Noting that TASMAC opened shops in buildings, where there was no planning permission, solely for the purpose of revenue, the court said when an individual has to follow the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act,it cannot be breached or diluted by the company. Law is applicable to both, it said. The advocate general made a submission that ...
Turnover of VSP expected to cross Rs 20,500 cr this fiscal end
The turnover of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) this fiscal end is expected to cross a record Rs 20,500 crore, the highest since its inception, a senior official said here Friday. P K Rath, Chairman and Managing Director of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of VSP, said the plant made significant progress on all fronts, including production, projects, marketing and personnel related issues. Addressing a press conference, Rath said there has been around 10 to 12 per cent growth in most production areas, improvement in the capacity utilization of mills and improvement in various techno-economic parameters. "In the area of expansion and modernization, notable progress has been madeand the coke oven batter-five, central dispatch yard, KBR-2 projects are [progressing at abrisk pace for early commissioning," he said. Rath said the plant expected to end the financial year with a record turnover of Rs 20,500 crore, nine per cent growth over the corresponding ...
FinMin to take review meet on NPA recovery next week
With little possibility of the two big ticket IBC cases -- Essar Steel and Bhushan Power and Steel -- happening this fiscal, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) will meet the PSU banks on March 18 to review the status of their non-performing assets (NPAs).
Pak airspace closure may push IndiGo to take Doha stop for debut Delhi-Istanbul flight
As Pakistan airspace continues to remain closed since February 27 in the wake of the IAF air strike in Balakot, IndiGo's Delhi-Istanbul plane may have to take a stop at Doha on its inaugural flight on March 20. "The flights on Delhi-Istanbul-Delhi route will be through Doha in Qatar if Pakistan does not open its airspace by March 20," said a senior airline official. On January 25, IndiGo, India's largest carrier in terms of domestic market share, announced it would operate daily non-stop planes between Delhi and Istanbul from March 20, with A321 aircraft. IndiGo would be the first Indian airline to fly to Turkey, and Istanbul would be the 16th international destination for the budget carrier. As Pakistan keeps its airspace closed since the Indian Air Force strikes on a terrorist camp in Balakot, on February 26, the operating cost for Air India, which flies to destinations in Europe and the US, have increased significantly as it has to take longer routes. Air India on Thursday ...
Month's ban on participants in case of market abuse
Financial market participants will be barred from trading for around a month if found guilty of market abuse, the RBI said on Friday.
Embassy REIT allots equity shares worth Rs 1,743 crore to anchor investors
IPO-bound Embassy REIT has allotted 5.81 crore shares in the upper band of Rs 300 per unit, aggregating to Rs 1,743 crore, as part of the anchor investor allotment. The REIT (real estate investment trust) of Embassy Office Parks, the joint venture firm of Blackstone and Embassy, is India's first such investment trust. Among the 59 anchor investors, Smallcap World Fund has been allotted 42.8 lakh shares, Fidelity Funds - Asian Special Situations Fund 44.16 lakh shares, Signature High Income Fund 29.05 lakh shares, and Prusik Umbrella Ucitis Fund 23.2 lakh shares. The initial issue of REIT will open on March 18 with a price band of Rs 299-300 per unit and will close on March 20. The total issue size is 12,95,56,000 units. The IPO is expected to raise up to Rs 4,750 crore, while it has already received Rs 876-crore commitment from strategic investors. Embassy Office Parks, a leading player in commercial real estate, has put 33 million sq ft of office and hospitality assets under its ...
Consumers may get GST benefit through grammage increase
With a view to passing the benefits of tax rate reduction or input tax credit to consumers in the GST regime, consumers may get volume benefit in lieu of only price reduction as the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) is allowing 'grammage increase', an official said here on Friday.
No stay on NCLT's nod to ArcelorMittal's bid: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appelate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday refused to stay the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) Ahmedabad bench order approving the ArcelorMittal's Rs 42,000 crore bid for the insolvent steel company.
MSTC IPO subscribed 1.12 times on Day 3
The initial public offer of state-owned trading company MSTC Limited was subscribed 1.12 times on the third day of bidding Friday. The Rs 226-crore IPO received bids for 1,98,69,390 shares against the total issue size of 1,76,70,400 shares, the data available with the NSE till 1900 hrs showed. Till Thursday, the IPO was subscribed 12 per cent. Price range for the offer, which opened for subscription on Wednesday, has been fixed at Rs 121-128 per share. Equirus Capital Private Ltd is managing the initial public offer. MSTC, a Kolkata-based firm, was incorporated in 1964 as a trading company to deal in the export of scrap. There are three main business verticals in the company-- e-commerce, trading and recycling. MSTC scrip would be listed on BSE and NSE.
India's forex reserves improves by US$ 0.26 billion in the week ended 8 March
Forex reserves rises to US$ 402.04 billion as on 08 March 2019
India's services exports up 8.6% in January 2019
Services trade surplus improves 3.5% to US$ 6.72 billion in January 2019
India's trade deficit narrows to 17-months low of US$ 9.6 billion in February 2019
Exports rises 2.4%, while imports dip 5.4% in February 2019
Punjab & Sind Bank to raise equity capital of Rs 500 cr via QIP
State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank Friday said it would raise up to Rs 500 crore by issuing fresh equity shares through qualified institutional placement. The decision was taken at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held here. The money will be raised in one or more tranches, it said in a regulatory filing. Among others, the bank said it would issue up to 5 crore shares to its employees under the Employee Share Purchase Scheme (ESPS). Such shares under ESPS will be created and allotted in one or more tranches, it added. Stock of Punjab & Sind Bank closed 0.33 per cent down at Rs 30.15 on the BSE.
India bullish on strategic oil reserve plan
India has decided to fast track its plan to augment its strategic oil reserves facility with 90-100 days stock to shield itself from supply disruptions coming from perennial political risk in the prime oil supplying countries in the Middle East and Africa.
LG Uplus eyes growth momentum in 5G
LG Uplus Corp would expedite deployment of the 5G network and develop various services to create new business opportunities, CEO Ha Hyun-hoi said on Friday.
Exports up 2.44 pc in Feb; trade deficit narrows
The country's exports grew by 2.44 per cent year-on-year to USD 26.67 billion in February on account of higher shipments in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, engineering and electronics, according to data from the commerce ministry. Imports declined by 5.4 per cent to USD 36.26 billion in the last month, narrowing the trade deficit to USD 9.6 billion. The gap between imports and exports was USD 12.3 billion in February 2018. Gold imports also fell sharply by about 11 per cent to USD 2.58 billion in February as against USD 2.89 billion in the corresponding month last fiscal. During the April-February period of the current fiscal year, exports grew 8.85 per cent to USD 298.47 billion, while imports rose by 9.75 per cent to USD 464 billion. The trade deficit has widened to USD 165.52 billion during the 11 months of the current fiscal from USD 148.55 billion compared to the year-ago period.
BSNL clears February salaries of employees: CMD
State-run telecom firm BSNL said Friday the pending February salaries of its 1.76 lakh employees have been cleared. The company also announced the launch of various schemes to increase its market share and revenue. "We have disbursed salary of all employees that was pending for the month of February. BSNL employees have ensured that customers services run uninterrupted despite issues that they were facing. Now we will aggressively focus on increasing our market share and revenue with attractive schemes," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava told PTI. The BSNL CMD Thursday had said that the telco was using internal accruals of Rs 850 crore to clear the February salary. He had stressed that with the telecom department's support, there would be no delay in salary disbursement in coming months. BSNL Friday announced free voice call on its 'Wings' mobile app and free broadband services for a period of 30 days to attract new customers. Under the scheme, BSNL landline and ..
Cos allowed to pass on volume benefit to consumers for GST cut
The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) Friday said companies are free to offer volume benefit or price reduction to consumers, in the wake of rationalisation of GST rates. To evaluate cases of GST benefits, the NAA has decided to look into three yardsticks - proportionate grammage increase (volume) in products, timeline of the passing on the benefit, and additional benefits offered by a firm. NAA (GST) Chairman B N Sharma said this on the sidelines of a session by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. Citing an example, he said, passing on price benefits to consumers for goods sold in small sachets might not be feasible and practical. Sharma, however, did not explain whether the same can be replicated in products of higher volume-packs or in sectors other than FMCG. He declined to take media queries. "Allowing volume benefit will have a dual advantage to companies. This will help achieve higher turnover and profits," said Dipankar Chatterji, ...
HomeLane.com eyes to invest Rs 10-12 crore in two yrs
Online home interior brand, HomeLane.com Friday announced setting up of the second largest experience centre in the city. The experience centre is located at Thoraipakkam on Old Mahabalipuram Road and aims to cater to the needs of the population in the region. In a statement, the company said, "it aims to invest Rs 10-12 crore in the market over the next two years. With 10 experience centres across India in top five cities, the company is expanding fast." "Chennai, with its huge real estate potential, has emerged as one of our prominent markets in South India," company chief business officer, Tanuj Choudhry said. "Our addressable market is 15,000 of the 20,000 units coming up (in Chennai)..we are witnessing a steep demand and interest from new home buyers..," he said. The new experience centre here is spread across 4,000 square foot over two floors and showcases traditional designs. The Centre is powered by SpaceCraft, HomeLane's proprietary virtual design platform, the ..
Lloyd ropes in Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh as brand ambassadors
Consumer durables brand Lloyd, a part of Havells India, has roped in Bollywood star-couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassadors, replacing Amitabh Bachchan. The newly-wed couple will be promoting Lloyd's range of consumer durables, including air conditioners, washing machines and televisions, the company said in a statement Friday. "We are confident that this association will enable us explore new avenues for our continued growth and success and further strengthen our positioning in the consumer durables segment," Lloyd CEO Shashi Arora said. The company will engage the couple in brand campaigns across print, electronic and outdoors, he added. "The idea behind roping in them is to move up the brand on recall chart of consumers while also bringing in youthfulness," Arora said. This is the first time these two celebrities - now a couple - are coming together to endorse the same brand, the company said. Lloyd will also try to connect with its young consumers with ..