Economy & Business   

Markets welcome transaction tax slash

What is India News Service, July 22, 2004, 1700 hrs IST

THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, today brought cheer to market players by announcing that the 0.15 per cent securities transaction tax (STT) proposed in his Budget would be confined to only delivery-based trade in equities, even while totally exempting sale and purchase of bonds from the levy.

Chidambaram warns tax evaders :In his own subtle way, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Wednesday made it very clear that the Government will have no alternative but be harsh with those taxpayers who do not voluntarily own up what is due to the Central Exchequer.

Markets welcome transaction tax slash: The relief on transaction tax announced by the Finance Minister was greeted with cheers by both debt and equity markets. Stock prices, which were range bound all morning, shot up immediately following the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram's announcement cutting the proposed 0.15 per cent transaction tax to 0.015 per cent for day traders.

Exports in June post 34 pc growth :Cruising on the crest of a pickup in global economy in general and international trade in particular, India's exports during June 2004 notched up a higher growth of 34.32 per cent compared to the corresponding month in 2003. 

Indian and Chinese see higher IT spending: Reflecting greater optimism than their global counterparts, an overwhelming majority of technology executives in India and China expect their companies to increase IT spending over the next six months, according to a survey conducted by McKinsey. 

WTO- Discontent over new draft: The first draft for the extraordinary General Council meeting this month-end would decide whether 147 members can reach framework agreements in agriculture and market access for industrials plus other aspect of the Doha Agenda to acclerate trade liberalisation talks.

Fischer sees big scope for trade with India:Germany today said there was lot of potential for bilateral cooperation with India in various fields, including IT, life sciences, finance, chemicals and insurance. 

Tatas to promote group companies:Tata Sons Ltd., the holding and investment company of the Tata group, will use the IPO (Initial Public Offering) proceeds of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS), for promoting other Tata companies by increasing its stake in these companies.

Real estate to get aid:The Securities and Exchange Board of India has granted approval to Fire Capital to start operations as the country's first venture capital fund for real estate. 

Birlas, Lodha maintain silence:With the content of the disputed will of Priyamvada Birla still a closely guarded secret the contending parties, Birlas and their auditor, Rajendra Singh Lodha, today maintained a studied silence waiting for the law to take its own course.

Intelenet is now HDFC subsidiary:Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) announced that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had agreed to transfer its 50 per cent stake in Intelenet Global, a 50:50 joint venture BPO firm, to HDFC.With this Intelenet would be a 100 per cent subsidiary of HDFC.

Cipla tops in market share: Cipla has ended GlaxoSmithKline\92s long reign as the leading player in the Indian pharmaceutical market, according to research agency ORG\92s statistics. Cipla\92s market share for the 12-month period ended May 2004 was 5.53 per cent, against Glaxo\92s 5.52 per cent, as per the report.

Sensex up 60 points:The indices have dropped from their intra-day high of 5,083 due to profit booking in select stocks. The Sensex is now up 60 points at 5,054.