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INDIA INTELLIGENCE REPORT
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Indian firms on a borrowing spree
Indian companies are on an
overseas borrowing spree. They are poised to raise 300-400 per
cent more by way of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) in 2004,
taking the total ECBs to $6.5-7 billion. Firms have already raised
nearly $3 billion through ECBs this year. The foreign loans include
includes Reliance Infocomm\92s $250 million syndicate loan, Indian
Railway Finance Corporation\92s $100 million loan, Exim Bank\92s $250
million bond issue, Bharat Petroleum Corporation\92s $107 million
issue, as well as the issues of Ashok Leyland, Zee Telefilms, Bharti
Cellular, National Hydroelectric Corporation and Power Finance
Corporation.
Steel firms raise prices by up to 4%: Steel companies today
announced price hikes of up to 4 per cent following a sharp rise in
global prices. Tata Steel said it raised retail prices on hot-rolled
and cold-rolled coil products by Rs 300-500 per tonne, while Essar
Steel, Jindal Iron & Steel Company and Ispat Industries increased
prices by Rs 500-1,000 per tonne, taking the prices to around Rs
28,500-Rs 29,000 per tonne.
Deliveries up 80% on SEs: FIIs turn net buyers, picks up Rs
1,183 crore worth of shares in July. Operators and foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) seem to be stocking up Indian stocks
again. The delivery volume has jumped a whopping 80 per cent in July
over the level in June.
Visa has restricted competition says EU: EU says, Visa
International has breached European rules. The European Commission
has charged Visa International, the credit card group, with
restricting competition, in breach of European rules. The
accusations, which could lead to fines, are contained in a
confidential document known as a statement of objections.
Inflation to be checked- FM: Finance Minister P Chidambaram
eased concerns about an errant monsoon and mounting inflationary
pressures today, while reiterating an upbeat forecast for the
economy. Chidambaram said all steps would be taken to keep inflation
under control, bringing relief to the debt market after bonds hit
their lowest for more than a year last week on inflation fears.
Primary dealers eye new business model: PNB Gilts, which had
posted a net profit of Rs 106.95 crore last year, recorded a Rs
83.63 crore net loss in the first quarter of this financial year. In
the corresponding quarter of the last year, its net profit was Rs
48.44 crore.PNB Gilts is not the only primary dealer that is in the
red. An industry source says 16 of the 17 primary dealers in the
country have made trading losses in the first quarter.
Praises, brickbats across WTO table: The Bharatiya Janata Party
today has announced the setting up of a three-member committee to go
into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework agreement. The
committee will comprise former Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, who
represented India at the Cancun negotiations, former Finance
Minister Yashwant Sinha and Former Disinvestment Minister Arun
Shourie.
Big Four in liability setback: A campaign by the big four global
accounting firms to secure protection against catastrophic
litigation suffered a serious setback yesterday. The Office of Fair
Trading (OFT), the UK competition watchdog, rebuffed the firms\92
assertion that limiting their liabilities in any litigation could
boost competition. A cap would be \93competitively neutral overall\94,
it concluded.
Punishment for cooked book stays: The finance ministry has
decided to retain the powers given in the Budget to the Income-Tax
department to punish those caught for falsifying documents, despite
protests by chartered accountants who have said the provisions were
too sweeping.
Vajpayee`s roads to be ready by Dec 2005:
Union minister for road transport and highways said the
golden quadrilateral project was delayed by a year and would be
completed by December 2005.The minister also said the entire cost of
the National Highway Development Programme had been raised to Rs
65,000 crore from Rs 54,000 crore.
Small farmers to benefit from WTO pact: Farmers of the
developing countries appear to have earned a fresh lease of life
under a globally administered multi-lateral trading apparatus with
India successfully leading a charge to incorporate key points the
revised framework agreement of the WTO.
States can\92t ban pan masala, rules SC:
The Supreme Court in an important ruling has held that the
state governments cannot impose a ban on the manufacture and sale of
gutka and pan masala under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act
even if the move of the states was well intended.
Toyota opens gearbox plant: Union Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram has said he is confident of persuading the Left parties
to drop their opposition to the increase in foreign direct
investment limits in sectors like insurance, telecom, and civil
aviation and stressed the importance of investment over subsidies
for lifting living standards.
Reliance accused of predatory tariffs: Cellular operators
have accused Reliance Infocomm of offering predatory prices in
Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, and sought telecom regulator
Trai\92s intervention immediately.
UPA-Left panel discusses FDI cap today:The contentious
issue of the hike in FDI cap in the telecom, civil aviation and
insurance sectors and the soaring oil price are expected to figure
in the first meeting of the UPA-Left coordination panel here
tomorrow.
HLL weighs on Sensex:
The Sensex opened
marginally lower at 5,190. Some buying in the morning deals led the
index to a high of 5,202. However, the index could not hold the
gains as selling pressure at higher levels owing to weak global
markets pushed the index back into negative zone.
Overall: Steel to cost more:
Steel companies today announced price hikes of up to 4 per cent
following a sharp rise in global prices. |