Page 875 - Business Finance
RBI pays Rs 28,000 cr interim dividend to govt ahead of elections
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monday announced the payment of Rs 28,000 crore as interim dividend to the government, which has been looking at resources to roll out populist schemes ahead of general elections. The RBI has in the past transferred its surplus profit or dividend to the government in August every year, including in election years in 2009 and 2014, after considering audited accounts for the year. RBI follows July to June year. The central bank in a statement said its board approved Rs 28,000 crore payment to the government as an interim dividend after a "limited audit review". This is the second straight year that the RBI has announced an advance payment to the government. Last year, it paid Rs 10,000 crore in the interim dividend in March and a final dividend of another Rs 40,000 crore in August. In August 2017, it had paid Rs 30,659-crore dividend, down from Rs 65,876 crore in the previous year. The government has been seeking about Rs 27,000 crore in dividend withheld
Punjab plans 4-yr framework to monitor development expenditure
The Punjab government plans to prepare a four-year action plan for monitoring the development expenditure of each department, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said. Presenting the state budget for 2019-20 in the Assembly, Badal said, "government is not only determined to incur development and productive expenditure, but also plans effective monitoring of the same by defining the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). "We are preparing a four-year strategic action plan 2019-23 (4 SAP) for each department. The plan will be operationalised in the current year and enable the government in evaluating the progress towards the attainment of pre-defined goals." Badal said that because of the persistent efforts of the present government, the state is on a fiscal recovery path. "As is evident from Punjab's performance across various economic and financial indicators published by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the state has posted a primary surplus to the extent of 0.60 per cent of GSDP in ...
Emami promoters divest 10 pc stake for Rs 1,600 crore
Emami Group's promoters on Monday sold their 10 per cent stake in its flagship Emami Limited, raising about Rs 1,600 crore in order to reduce their debts.
Argentina invites Indian investment
Argentina on Monday invited Indian business to invest in the Latin American nation in a move to boost the current low level of bilateral trade with India and take the relationship to a higher level.
Counting cost of stockpiling, UK bike maker gears up for Brexit
LONDON (Reuters) - Isla Rowntree, the founder of British children's bike maker Islabikes, has resorted to stacking spare parts in meeting spaces and office rooms as she gets ready for a potentially chaotic no-deal Brexit next month.
India, Argentina for expediting signing of BIT, DTAA to boost investments
India and Argentina Monday agreed to expedite signing of the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) and the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) between the countries to promote economic ties. Taking note of the increase in two-way investment flows over the past few years and its contribution in strengthening the economic ties between the two countries, both the sides agreed to further promote bilateral investments in sectors of mutual interest. They "agreed to expedite the signing of the BIT and the DTTA between the two countries," a joint statement issued after summit-level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Argentine President Mauricio Macri here. The two leaders also agreed that there was immense potential to increase two-way services trade in tourism, films, health care and information technology, among others. With a view to initiate India-Argentina cooperation in the infrastructure sector, both the sides encouraged companies to explore partnerships including ...
Centre was willing to apportion Rs 30,000 cr food account: Badal
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Monday claimed the Centre was "willing to apportion" the fiscal burden of about Rs 30,000 crore of food account between itself and banks but the previous government put this onerous burden on the state. Also lashing out at the previous SAD-BJP government, Badal accused it of inflicting several wounds on the state's fiscal by converting cash credit limit gap into long term loan of Rs 30,584.11 crore. Badal made these claims while presenting his budget for 2019-20 in the ongoing Punjab Assembly session here. Notably, the food account arose because of the mismatch between cash credit availed for procuring wheat and paddy and foodgrain stocks in the account books of the state procurement agencies since 2004. The account included Rs 12,000 crore principal and around Rs 19,000 crore interest and Punjab has been paying Rs 3,240 crore interest per annum on it which it has to pay for 20 years. "While the previous government inflicted several ...
SBI Mutual Fund, 2 others buy shares worth Rs 1,322 cr in Emami
SBI Mutual Fund along with two other entities Monday purchased shares worth over Rs 1,322 crore in FMCG major Emami Ltd through open market transactions. According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE, SBI Mutual Fund, PI Opportunities Fund I-LT and Pioneer Investment Fund bought a total of over 3.72 crore shares in FMCG firm. Individually, SBI Mutual Fund bought shares for Rs 722.78 crore, PI Opportunities and Pioneer Investment purchased scrips for Rs 199.97 crore and Rs 399.98 crore, respectively, with the average price being Rs 355 per scrip. However, in separate transactions, seven entities including a promoter of Emami Ltd, Amitabh Goenka, sold a total of over 2.3 crore shares for over Rs 844 crore in Monday bulk deal. Among the sellers, promoter Goenka sold 40 lakh shares worth Rs 142 crore amounting to 0.88 per cent stake in the firm. According to the latest shareholding data available with the BSE, promoter Goenka held 1.67 per cent stake in the company. Shares of ...
Jindal Stainless sets up first dedicated facility for Railways in Chennai
Jindal Stainless said Monday it has set up a dedicated facility for Railways in Chennai which will supply stainless steel components to the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) there. Demonstrating its robust engagement with the Indian Railways, Jindal Stainless, through its subsidiary JSL Lifestyle Ltd, commissioned its first dedicated facility for Railways in Chennai, the company said in a statement here. The company is expecting an initial revenue of nearly Rs 100 crore annually from this facility and the revenue is expected to touch nearly Rs 300 crore annually once the enhanced capacity reaches 7,200 tonne, it said. Spread over two acres in the Industrial Estate, Maraimalai Nagar, this new railway facility will supply high-quality stainless steel components with "just-in-time" delivery to the ICF, Chennai, for production of railway coaches, it said. The company said the facility is equipped with the state-of-the-art robotic spot welding guns which function in the most precise and ...
Bad loan manager Fire to boost assets as it considers IPO - CEO
MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bad loan investor Fire is looking to add 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in assets under management this year as it works towards an eventual stock market listing, its chief executive said.
Germany consults industry about blockchain potential
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has opened a consultation process on how to tap into the potential of blockchain technology ahead of presenting a strategy by the summer, government sources said on Monday.
Reckitt shares rise after fourth-quarter sales top estimates
LONDON (Reuters) - British consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser reported higher-than-expected sales growth on Monday, helped by improvements in both its health and home and hygiene businesses and lifting its shares to a two-month high.
Chinese companies compete for Brazilian bridge project - newspaper
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Chinese construction companies China Communications Construction Company and a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp are expected to bid on a 5.3 billion reais ($1.42 billion) bridge in the northeastern state of Bahia, according to newspaper Valor.
Norwegian Air sets big discount for share sale
OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian Air will sell new shares at just a third of the current market price when the loss-making airline seeks to raise money from its owners in the next few weeks, it said on Monday.
Palladium soars to record high on supply deficit; gold gains
(Reuters) - Palladium surged to a record high on Monday as a sustained supply deficit boosted the investment case for the autocatalyst metal, while gold rose to its strongest in more than two weeks on a lower dollar.
Gadkari to inaugurate upgraded portal for maritime sector
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate on Tuesday an upgraded version of e-commerce portal Port Community System (PCS) in Mumbai. The upgraded portal 'PCS1x' has been developed in record time by the Indian Ports Association, based on feedback from stakeholders using PCS. The minister would launch "PCS1x" at the Regional Maritime Safety Conference in Mumbai on Tuesday, the Ministry of Shipping said in a release on Monday. According to the release, the portal has played a vital role in enhancing 'Ease of Doing Business' in the maritime sector by facilitating a transparent and paperless system for electronic submission of trade document, resulting in faster turnaround time and dwell time. "Digitisation in EXIM trade, of which PCS is a part, has played a major role in improving India's world ranking in Ease of Doing Business," the release said. In the latest World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index, India's ranking rose by 23 places to the 77th position.
Mamata writes to Modi seeking probe into IL&FS crisis
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to initiate a high-level probe into financial impropriety and possible misappropriation of savings of common people due to the debt crisis in Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) Ltd. The crisis has put to peril "lakhs and lakhs of employees" of private and public sector enterprises who had put their hard-earned money into the company, she said. In her letter to Modi, Banerjee said the crisis in IL&FS calls into question the role of LIC and the SBI, along with that of major credit rating institutions of the country. Both LIC and SBI are stakeholders in the infrastructure conglomerate. The chief minister wrote, "These grave financial irregularities, which have continued unabated under the Union Government, have placed financial security of the people in even graver danger. Demonetisation and hasty and unplanned implementation of the GST took away livelihood of ..
Global Markets: World stocks lifted to 2 1/2-month highs by trade optimism
London (Reuters) - Hopes for progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks and expectations of policy stimulus from central banks lifted world stocks to 2 1/2- month highs on Monday, though European gains were held back by concern over the outlook for auto makers.
Hike Atal pension scheme age limit to 50 years: PFRDA Chairman
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman Hemant Contractor said here on Monday they have requested the government to raise the upper age limit for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) to 50 years from 40 years.
Will file Rs 10k-cr damage suits against Chidambaram, 2 others: 63 moons
Venkat Chary, Chairman of 63 moons Technologies, formerly Financial Technologies, on Monday said his company will file for damages worth Rs 10,000 crore against former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and then Chairman of Forward Markets Commission, Ramesh Abhishek, and former Additional Secretary for Finance K.P. Krishnan.