Page 886 - Business Finance
Hong Kong economy stalls amid trade dispute: finance chief
Hong Kong's economy stalled last year as the ongoing China-US trade dispute and retail woes dragged down local business, the city's financial chief said Sunday. Beijing and Washington have already imposed duties on more than USD 360 billion in two-way trade, roiling global financial markets and weighing heavily on manufacturing output in both countries. "The impact of China-US trade frictions on Hong Kong's exports has clearly emerged at the end of last year," said finance secretary Paul Chan. Economic growth in the semi-autonomous Chinese city for the last quarter of 2018 was less than 1.5 per cent -- the weakest since the first quarter of 2016 and a "significant slowdown" from the average growth rate of 3.7 per cent in the first three quarters, Chan wrote on his official blog. The slowdown brought last year's growth rate to an estimated three per cent, down from the higher-than-forecast 3.8 per cent recorded in 2017, he added. "It was almost 'zero-growth' for commodities exports in .
FIEO suggests series of measures to boost exports
Exporters body FIEO Sunday suggested a series of measures including outright exemption from GST, interest subsidy for agri-sector, and more funds for MSME players to boost outbound shipments. With increasing protectionism in several countries, domestic exporters need incentives to increase shipments, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said. "These support measures, if provided on time has the potential to take the country's exports to USD 375 billion in 2019-20 and create lakhs of jobs. This fiscal, we will cross USD 325 billion to USD 330 billion," he said on Sunday. On Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said, it is necessary that an outright exemption window may be provided to exporters as was in existence before the GST regime to mitigate the liquidity problem. "Though, the government has taken several measures to provide quick GST refunds to exporters, but due to one reason or the other, substantial GST refunds remain outstanding for long ..
FinMin to take up demands to RBI on PCA, interim dividend, SME loan easing
The Finance Ministry will take up the issue of dividend and Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) and easing of SME loan norms by public sector banks banks with the RBI when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will address the Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank on Monday in his first meeting after the Interim Budget.
Reliance Group reaches standstill pact with lenders, no sale of pledged shares till Sept
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has reached a 'standstill agreement' with more than 90 per cent of its lenders under which they will not sell any of the shares pledged by promoters till September. Under the pact, the group will pay the principal and interest amounts to the lenders as per the scheduled due dates, while it has also appointed investment bankers for part placement of the group's direct 30 per cent stake in Reliance Power to institutional investors, officials at the lenders and Reliance Group said. The investment bankers will begin roadshows for the share placement soon, they added. Some of the key lenders include Templeton MF, DHFL Pramerica MF, Indiabulls MF, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank. When contacted, a Reliance Group spokesperson said, "We are grateful to our lenders for believing in the intrinsic and fundamental value of our companies, and granting their in principle approval to standstill arrangements." Officials said the agreement has been reached with more than 90 ..
High-level panel for reverting to older system of auctioning oil blocks
Two years after the government shifted to revenue sharing contracts for oil and gas block auctions, a high-level panel has suggested reverting back to older system of awarding areas in most basins based on exploration commitment. The six-member panel, headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, which was formed on directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in its report submitted on January 29 stated that "unexplored areas in Category II & III basins be bid out exclusively based on exploration work programme". "No revenue or production sharing other than payment of statutory levies (including royalty)" should be the criteria, it said. "However, in case of windfall gain defined as revenue of more than USD 2.5 billion in a financial year from the block, then 50 per cent sharing of incremental revenue above USD 2.5 billion." The BJP-led NDA government had two years back moved from production sharing contracts, where acreage for exploration of oil and gas was allocated to firms ..
India Size' garments may hit the shelves soon
You may soon be able to walk into a shopping mall and try on clothes with the 'India Size', tailored to suit the body measurements of the country's populace. The government will also begin collating information for "trend forecasting" for textiles this month, using commercial intelligence to determine what could be in vogue in the near future, a move bound to exert major influence on global fashion trends, a top official said. In March, the government will launch an exercise to measure a group of people to prepare a comprehensive 'India Size' chart, which can be adopted by the country's apparel industry. "We want that we should have Indian size for two things. It can boost our retail market. South Asian size will also get fillip, plus our own diaspora which is outside, we will become influence drivers for foreign companies also. We are actually rolling out the exercise in March itself," Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh told PTI. He said the government is trying to complete the ...
15 lakh salaried employees with PF a/c's stuck with toxic IL&FS bonds (IANS Exclusive)
A new threat looms large for the government in an election year. A spanking new but restive community of salaried employees is concerned about its money deposited with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
China to lure foreign investment in state giants - regulator
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will seek to attract foreign investment in its larger state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which are undergoing reforms to make them more competitive, the head of the country's state asset regulator said.
RBI may impose penalty on Yes Bank for info disclosure leading to stock soaring
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may impose monetary penalty on Yes Bank for breaching the confidentiality norms of its communications exchange with the private bank which the central bank is said to be treating as a market-related information slip aimed at boosting the stock.
Qatar's real estate market faces reality check ahead of World Cup
DOHA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar's Doha Tower, a spike-tipped cylinder that glows orange at night, won an award when finished in 2012 amid a Gulf-wide real estate boom, but today about half of its 46 floors are empty.
VLCC to open wellness centres, skill development institutes in
Beauty and wellness firm VLCC, has planned to open 14 wellness centres and five skill development institutes in Tamil Nadu in 2019. The expansion plan was in line with the company's strategy to reach out to more customers as it strives to further strengthen its foothold, a top official said. The company already operates 11 centres in the State. "Tamil Nadu is an important market for us and we are extremely happy with the uptake of beauty, health and wellness segment in the state. The network expansion has been well-planned to reach out to every customer not just in Chennai, but also in Coimbatore and Madurai," VLCC Healthcare Ltd, founder Vandana Luthra said in a company statement. Taking into consideration that the State with a population of around 79 million ranking high in obesity, VLCC was offering latest body sculpting and scientific weight-loss procedures like DNA Wellness and Coolsculpting to customers apart from the advanced beauty and skin care treatments, she ..
Nissan panel to recommend outside director to chair board - Nikkei
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Nissan Motor governance committee will recommend the appointment of an external director as board chairman, a role distinct from company chairman, in a move to decentralise power at the top level, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.
UK regional airline Flybmi goes into administration blaming Brexit
LONDON (Reuters) - British regional airline Flybmi has gone into administration and has cancelled all flights with immediate effect, the company said in a statement on Saturday, blaming Brexit uncertainty as one of the reasons for its collapse.
Trump meets US trade delegation after Beijing talks
US President Donald Trump said that he met the team of US negotiators who had travelled last week to Beijing for a new round of trade negotiations with China.
Six airports' privatisation: AAI receives 32 technical bids from 10 cos
A total of 32 technical bids have been received from 10 companies to operate six airports that are currently under AAI's management, senior officials said Saturday. As part of an open international competitive bidding process, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had sought bidders for carrying out operations, management and development of the six airports -- Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. "AAI has received 32 technical bids from total 10 companies for six airports," senior government officials said. "Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports have received seven bids each. Lucknow and Guwahati have received six bids each. And Mangaluru and Thirvananthapuram have received three bids each," they added. The last date to submit technical bids was February 14. AAI will open the financial bids on February 25. The winning bids will be announced on February 28. In November last year, the government had cleared a proposal for managing six AAI-run airports on ...
Stop spending funds on separatists, PM urged
The Taxpayers Association of Bharat (TAXAB) on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop spending government funds on providing security to the separatist and Hurriyat leaders in the Kashmir valley.
Russian court jails US investor pending fraud trial
A Russian court on Saturday jailed the US founder of a major investment firm for two months over fraud charges he says were fabricated for use in a shareholder battle. Michael Calvey, founder of the multi-billion-dollar investment fund Baring Vostok Capital Partners (BVCP), was placed under arrest until April 13 as he and five others await trial on charges they embezzled 2.5 billion rubles (USD 37.7 million). Authorities detained four BVCP employees on Friday, including French national Phillipe Delpal. Two other suspects include a former fund employee and someone at another firm mentioned in the probe. All six are now under pre-trial arrest. In a statement Saturday, Baring Vostok said the claims made against its employees "have no merit". The case has already drawn comparisons to other high-profile probes against foreign investors in Russia, notably one against Bill Browder and the Hermitage Capital fund. Ironically, it comes as Russia hosts a high-profile investment forum in its ...
Kwality Ltd seeks more time to file results
Dairy firm Kwality Ltd, which is undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), Saturday sought more time to declare its financial results. It said after an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the powers of the board of directors of the company stood suspended and are being exercised by the interim resolution professional appointed by the NCLT. "Though the company is sincerely endeavouring for completion of audit on priority basis, but the company would need additional time to declare and publish financial results beyond the stipulated due date and will be able to do within 30 days," Kwality Ltd said in a BSE filing. It said that at the time of initiation of CIRP, the audit work for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, although commenced, was progressing at a slow pace on account of high employee attrition in the past few months and is yet to conclude.
V-Mart Retail update on retail expansion in Bihar
With this total number of stores remains to 201 Stores in 163 cities across 16 states and total the tally of stores in Bihar to 40.
Ritesh Properties & Industries reports standalone net loss of Rs 3.07 crore in the December 2018 quarter
Sales rise 124.86% to Rs 27.23 crore