Business & Economy

India strong on radar
of foreign investors 

What is India News Service, Saturday, 15 January 2005, 2100 hrs IST

Money from funds is set to pour into Asian stocks for a third straight year in 2005, helped by a weaker US dollar and attractive valuations, funds industry experts say.
The big winners will be India, whose stock market hit life highs this month as the economy powers ahead, and smaller markets such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

\93Based on the heady inflows into the India country funds we track, there are a lot of institutions out there that are still scrambling to increase their targeted exposure to Indian equities,\94 said Brad Durham, managing director at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Emerging Portfolio Fund Research. India\92s growth story has attracted investors in droves. Deutsche Asset Management last month raised $70 million from Japanese investors to put into Indian stocks and this week launched a similar fund for Singaporean investors. 

India, US to have open skies pact soon: As India and US begin talks in Washington on signing an open skies agreement, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel will hope to seal some immediate gains by increasing the number of US cities to which Indian carriers can operate.

EU to relax anti-dumping norms against Indian goods: India and the European union have agreed to find areas of common interest in the ongoing negotiations in the World Trade Organisation and to work for the progress of the Doha Round ahead of the Ministerial Conference of the WTO scheduled for December 2005 in Hong Kong. 

Stock markets slip again:  The Sensex was back in free fall today after yesterday\92s good showing. The BSE Sensitive Index closed 47 points lower at 6174, while the Nifty closed 23 points lower at 1931.

Tax exemption to units in DTA after conversion to 100% EOU: Manufacturing and service units set up in the domestic tarrif area but later converted into export-oriented units will be eligible for tax exemptions till 2009-10.

Esteem Standard vies for official car slot: Maruti Udyog is introducing a special non-AC variant of Esteem with Rs 3.08 lakh price tag after an approval from the Finance Ministry, which accorded the sedan the status of staff car for government officials.

2000 plus cases stuck, pending SC ruling on CCI: The fate of over 2,000 cases hangs in balance till the Competition Commission of India (CCI) can be set up, since it will supersede and replace the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) and take over the functions of Board for Industrial Finance and Reconstruction (BIFR) and Appellate Authority against Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR) as well.

Mittal Steel acquires stake in Chinese co: World\92s leading steel producer, Mittal Steel, today forayed into the high-value Chinese market by acquiring 37.17 per cent stake in top Chinese steel producer, Hunan Valin Steel Tube and Wire Co Ltd for $ 314 million . 

Buzz over spurt in biz channels: With the launch of a Hindi language business TV channel \93Awaaz\94 by leading English business channel CNBC-TV 18 and a new business channel recently launched by the Zee network, the year 2005 is set to witness a fierce battle among the media groups to grab a share of TV viewership and a pie of the growing advertisement revenue.

Reliance asks DoT to reconsider penalty: Reliance Infocomm has asked the Government to reconsider the penalty imposed on it on charges of illegal routing of international calls, saying the Telecom Ministry's action was "misconceived and unjustified."

Refineries to adhere to Euro norms: The petroleum ministry has asked oil marketing companies to adhere to the deadline for marketing Euro-ii
and Euro-iii grade transport fuel to ensure that pollution levels in the country are reduced significantly.

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