Economy & Business  

Asian skies may open up soon
for private Indian carriers 

What is India News Service, July 16, 2004, 1700 hrs IST

The government will soon permit scheduled Indian private carriers to fly to South East Asian countries. This opens the skies for Jet Airways, Air Deccan and Air Sahara to fly to more lucrative destinations like Singapore and Bangkok. 

The government currently permits private carriers to fly to Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Government sources said the permission could extend to daily flights to some key regional hubs such as Singapore. 

Sources told a business daily that the government has taken up the issue of increasing connections to Singapore recently. 

When additional capacity is added between the two countries through bilateral agreements, Indian private airlines will be allowed to fly. 

However, flying to regions like the Gulf, Europe and the US may have to wait for some time, as the government has not taken a view on opening up these markets. 


Birlas issue joint statement: Breaking their silence for the first time since the controversy over Priyamvada Birla’s will erupted on Monday, the Birla family on Thursday said: “The late M P Birla had clearly and unequivocally decided to leave his entire estate for charity. This desire was repeated several times by Smt M P Birla to the family and family friends.” 

In a joint statement, KK Birla, BK Birla, GP Birla, SK Birla, CK Birla, Siddharth Birla, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Yash Birla said: “The Birla families are united to secure the estate for charity as the late M P Birla had intended — and none of the families will like to have any share of the assets of (the) late Smt Priyamvada Birla."

The Birlas are not unduly worried, at least immediately, over the prospect of Mr R S Lodha acquiring the M P Birla Group's stake in Pilani Investment & Industries Corporation Ltd, the investment arm of the Birla family.

However, their stand that the ownership of the companies under the M P Birla Group should go to the legal heir of Priyamvada Birla, and not to Mr R S Lodha, could open a legal pandora's box. 

Another report said Lodha may have letters from Priyamvada asking him to protect the assets of M P Birla group.

Gas Authority plans: Gail (India) Ltd proposes to raise $150 million through external commercial borrowing to part fund its capital expenditure of Rs 3,700 crore during the current financial year.
 
The company has also lined up investments of Rs 10,700 crore to put up petrochemical plants in southern and eastern parts of the country. 

The company proposes to raise Rs 2,400 crore debt during the year to meet its investment requirements, Gail Chairman and Managing Director Proshanto Banerjee told reporters at a press conference. 

Textile sector ready for investment: The budget proposal to do away with additional excise duty on textiles could see investments of around Rs 60,000 crore flow into the sector over the next five years.

Bonds plunge on all-round pressure: Fears of higher inflation and concerns about transaction tax dragged bond prices sharply on Thursday. The 10-year benchmark yield inched up to 6 per cent, led by a crash of around 80 paise in bond prices.

Mobile mix: While wireless GSM operators are chasing pre-paid customers, trying to bait them with juicy post-paid schemes, Reliance Infocomm, India's largest wireless CDMA player, has been offering its customers a scheme for shifting to pre-paid.





Overall:

Private carriers may fly to Singapore: The government is planning to allow private Indian airlines to fly to key hubs in Asia. 

Birlas said they weren't interested in fortune: They issued a joint statement saying they only wanted to ensure that the late M P Birla's estate was used for charity. 

Textile sector expects to grow: It is now in a position to attract new investments.

Gail plans petrochemical units: It is raising money to set up units in southern and eastern India.