Optibase Technologies a leading video over IP company

Optibase Technologies is a known name in advanced video over IP solutions, specializing in video encoding, decoding and streaming for government and law-enforcement agencies, military bases, Telco operators, enterprise organizations and the world's leading broadcast service providers. Founded in 1990, It has been active in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The company's regional sales head, Manish Chopra, shared some insights with us.

Q: What are the most important parameters when you decide on the packages and rates you offer to the consumer?
A : We are not a authority to decide on this..we are just a encoding and streaming partner in the whole IPTV Ecosystem.

Q: How big is the IPTV market in India ? and how does Optibase fair in it?
A: In the recent months IPTV buzz word has taken a new name called OTT Over the Top. .We enjoyed great success in past IPTV deployments around the world and now looking forward to increase our presence in the OTT market as well in the time and years to come as well.

Q: How do you maintain margins in this highly competitive vertical ?
A.  Since we are in the Hardware industry so more or less all HW related chip based products have very limited margins to work upon vis a vis Software related products where there is always a room for great margins.

Q: What would you describe as the key challenges you face when competing with other players in this business?
A: Major challenges is the integration and after sales service of whole Eco system with various technology players involved with different global time zone to support such a network to keep its uptime  .

Q:: What are your views on the vast hold that digital and internet space is gaining in the field of entertainment and media?
A: next big boom once Relaince LTE /4G starts its operation as PAN India .

Q: Which areas of internet streaming are the strongest at the moment? Does live tv have an edge over news, movies and serials?
A Mobile Internet Streaming with lots of you social sites are also becoming Video Upload sites as well. Live TV and other like news , movies and serials all have there own place depending on the generation watching the content.

Q: Which verticals or sectors do you see as the most promising in terms of growth for the next decade?
A: In Media specially the Content market will the most promising and go hand in hand with penetration of broadband allowing large data in terms of Video upload.
 
Q: What lessons have you learnt in managing growth especially during the financial slowdown?
A: Have Patience and futuristic ideas to innovate and ability to fund those ideas / projects.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

ONGC to raise $900m in overseas bond issue

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp will raise $900 million through overseas bonds to fund an acquisition in Azerbaijan, Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva told reporters on Thursday.

ONGC Videsh, a unit of India's largest energy explorer was planning to raise up to USD 900 million to fund the buy, a company executive said in November. Two sources said separately the company had hired banks for the fund raising.

ONGC gets partners' nod for $5bn Kashagan stake buy

See FY13 subsidy share rising by Rs 10,000cr: ONGC

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Bhel share sale not in this fiscal: Patel

Disinvestment in Bhel will not happen in this financial year due to the "terrible scenario" in the power sector, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel said today.

Government is aiming to raise Rs 30,000 crore through stake sale in public sector units in this fiscal.

"Bhel disinvestment will not happen in the current fiscal (2012-13), because of the terrible scenario in the (power) sector," Patel told reporters here.

Asked whether the government will launch the follow on share sale of the power equipment maker in the next fiscal, he said, "We will take a call (according to the situation)."

Sources, however, said that Finance Ministry is pushing for stake sale in PSUs to meet the disinvestment target for the current fiscal.

Bhel is facing order crunch from the power companies. The banks, on the other hand, are shying away from lending to power projects which have not received environmental clearances thereby causing gloom in the industry.

Last year, before announcing its annual results, the company withdrew the its initial papers for the FPO that it filed with the market regulator SEBI.

Bhel had filed draft prospectus in September 2011 for the follow-on public offer (FPO) under which the government planned to offload five percent stake in the company.

The sale of government's five percent stake in the power equipment maker was expected to fetch over Rs 4,000 crore. Shares of the company closed at Rs 227.70, up 2.36 percent on the BSE. 

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JSPL makes AUD 222mn bid to acquire Gujarat NRE Coking Coal

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) today made an all-cash AUD 221.61 million (about Rs 1,200 crore) offer to buy out Gujarat NRE Coking Coal Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Kolkata-based Gujarat NRE Coke.

The 0.20 Australian dollar (AUD) per share offer represents a premium of 5 per cent over the closing share price on January 29 at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

JSPL, already a minority shareholder in Gujarat NRE Coking Coal, in a filing to ASX said it is making the unconditional offer to all shareholders of the company via on-market bid.

The Naveen Jindal-led steel maker, which holds 19.48 per cent stake in Gujarat NRE Coking Coal, also has an agreement to source the fuel for its operations in India.

Steel division to perform better going forward: Gujarat NRE

"The AUD 0.20 cash offer allows Gujarat NRE Coking Coal's shareholders to realise full and fair value of their shares in a volatile equity market. The offer represents an attractive premium of 5 per cent on the closing share price of AUD 0.19 on January 29," JSPL Vice-Chairman Vikrant Gujral said in a letter to the Gujarat NRE Coking Coal shareholders. Gujarat NRE Coking Coal's shares rose by 7.89 per cent on the ASX to close at AUD 0.205 (20.5 cents) today.

Comments from Gujarat NRE Coke could not be obtained. The offer, which has been made through JSPL's Australian arm Jindal Steel and Power (Australia) Pty Ltd, will commence on February 15 and will remain open until March 15, JSPL said. "The maximum amount of cash which would be payable by Jindal under the offer if acceptances are received for all GNCCL shares on issue is approximately AUD 221,613,715," it added.

JSPL would get full control of Gujarat NRE Coking Coal's two producing coking coal mines, if it succeeds with the offer. The two coking coal mines are estimated to have reserves of 125 million tonnes (MT) and resources of 651 MT.

The acquisition, if successful, would help Jindal Steel in securing coking coal supplies to a big extent for its projects in India as it wants to have a 20 MT per annum steel producing capacity by 2020.

Currently, GNCCL sells most of its production to its parent company Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd, at market price on arms' length terms. The Kolkata-based Gujarat NRE Coke is the largest Indian manufacturer of metallurgical coke.

JSPL shares fell by 1.16 per cent on the BSE to close at Rs 420.35 apiece.

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Telcos get over 3 weeks to register for spectrum auction

Telecom companies interested in buying spectrum in the second round of auction beginning March 11 have being given over three weeks to register for participation. Last date for submission of applications is February 22, according to the notice inviting appications (NIA) issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) here.

The auction is expected to fetch over Rs 45,000 crore to government if all the airwaves for which bids are invited are sold at base price. Issuing the NIA, the DoT said last date for submission of applications is February 22 while the final list of bidders will be out by March 6.

Mock auction will take place on March 8-9 and auction process for 1800 MHz and 900 MHz will commence on March 11, NIA said. Auction of 800 MHz will start two days from the close of first auction, it added. In order to ensure aggressive bidding, the government has removed restrictions on the number slots that a company should be allowed to bid in the auction for both CDMA and GSM spectrum.

In the last auction held in November, new operators were mandatorily bid for a minimum of 4 blocks of 1.25 MHz each and a maximum of five for GSM spectrum. It was a minimum of two and a maximum of three in case of CDMA airwaves. The government will put 12 blocks of 1.25 MHz each in Delhi and Mumbai for 1800 MHz and 900 MHz while 10 blocks in 900 MHz will be put on the auction table for Kolkata.

In Karnataka and Rajasthan, 8 blocks of 1.25 MHz each (10MHz) is being put to auction while additionally, a provision is also made available for spectrum up to three blocks each for topping up. For 800 MHz auction, 3 blocks each of 1.25 MHz (3.75MHz) is being put to auction. "In addition, a provision has been made for spectrum of one block, wherever available, for topping up the 3 blocks of spectrum put to auction, to meet the requirement of new entrants, if such an exigency arises," the NIA said.

In the second round of auction, government will put unsold GSM spectrum in 1800 Mhz band and airwaves held by telecom licences in 900 Mhz band that is coming for renewal starting 2014 onwards. Government had slashed base price of CDMA spectrum by 50 per cent and for unsold GSM spectrum by 30 per cent. The price of spectrum in 900 Mhz has been fixed at two times the price of airwaves in 1800 Mhz.

The government has also given the option of deferred payment to the successful bidders. "An upfront payment of 33 per cent in the case of 1800MHz band and 25 per cent in case of 900MHz and 800MHz band of the final bid amount shall be made within 10 days of declaration of successful bidders and final price," the NIA said.

"There shall be a moratorium of 2 years for payment of balance amount of one time charges for the spectrum, which shall be recovered in 10 equal annual instalments," it added.

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Cut duty on iron ore to zero: Tata Steel

Tata Steel today demanded that import duty on iron ore be cut to zero for rescuing the domestic industry which is facing scarcity of the raw material and regulatory hurdles.

"The Indian steel industry is facing problems due to shortage of iron ore and continued delays in project approvals. The industry will benefit from proactive actions on these fronts in the Union Budget," Tata Steel Managing Director H M Nerurkar told PTI.

He said the first six months of the current fiscal have seen 40 percent jump in steel imports and in order to protect interests of the domestic industry, the Budget needs to revisit last year's hike in excise duty and take steps to discourage dumping of products in India.

"In line with the Government's policy of reducing the import duty on raw materials for making steel, import duty on steel grade limestone, dolomite (which is presently 5 percent) and iron ore (which is currently 2.5 percent) should also be reduced to zero," Nerurkar said.

He added given the priority accorded to infrastructure in the 12th Plan, and "the expectation that the private sector would contribute half of the envisaged investment of Rs 50 lakh crores, the Budget should also look at introducing special incentives to encourage capital goods industries".

Finance Minister P Chidambaram is scheduled to present Budget 2013-14 on February 28. The domestic industry is battling with a number of problems including raw material security after a ban on iron ore mining in some parts of key producing states on concerns over environmental issues and illegal mining.

Also steel projects, including those planned by ArcelorMittal, Posco and many others, worth around Rs 3 lakh crore could not take off because of various issues like land acquisition, delay in environmental clearances, among others.

India's total steel making capacity, including that of the secondary producers, at the end of 2011-12 stood at 89.29 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) and is projected to expand to 200 MTPA by 2020.

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CCI meets today to start work on clearances

The newly-formed Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) will meet today for the first time, and on top of the agenda is to get clearances from the defence ministry for 47 oil and gas blocks. The oil ministry says this will help in freeing up USD 13.5 billion of investments that companies have so far made, but now blocked on lack of clearances from the defence ministry.

The oil ministry fears the lack of clearances could lead to an exodus of investors. The ministry is pegging an immediate investment of USD 2.5 billion and says this will grow manifold once companies start making discoveries in these 47 blocks.

The oil ministry is seeking a nod for 14 blocks that have been objected to by the defence ministry as well the relaxation of conditional approvals given for 32 blocks.

On stake are 22 of ONGC's blocks, 15 of RIL-BP and 5 of BHP Billiton besides others like of Cairn, Santos etc.

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COAI seeks 50% reduction in 1800 MHz base price

GSM industry body COAI today sought 50 per cent reduction in the reserve price of 1800 MHz spectrum band in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka circles for the upcoming auction.
    
It also requested reduction in the base price for all the 21 circles which have the unsold spectrum.
    
"In the interest of successful auction, the reserve price for 1800 MHz auction should at least be reduced by 50 per cent in the four circles for the forthcoming auction," COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said in a letter to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal.

TDSAT stays DoT's one-time spectrum fee demand on Vodafone
    
COAI termed the government decision to reduce the reserve price of 1800 MHz spectrum by 30 per cent for the upcoming auction for the circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka, as opposed to 50 per cent reduction in case of 800MHz, as "both arbitrary and discriminatory", saying that there is no basis for this differential treatment.
    
"It would be just and fair to apply at least the same reduction in reserve price, 50 per cent for both 1800 MHz and 800 MHz," the Cellular Operators Association of India said.
    
COAI added that in order to maintain a level playing field, the policy of reduction in reserve price in 1800 MHz should be extended to all the 21 service areas and not just the circles which saw no bidders.

Vodafone seeks withdrawal of auction guidelines
    
The auction for the 1,800 MHz radiowaves for 2G cellular services in four circles that went unsold in the November 2012 auction, will start on March 11.
    
The government will sell 800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum after the GSM auction.
    
About 70 per cent of the radiowaves went unsold in the November auction that raised just Rs 9,410 crore, less than 25 per cent of the amount the government was targeting to raise from spectrum sale this fiscal.
    
COAI said there should be parity between 800 MHz and 900 MHz pricing for reserve price by reducing the same for 900 MHz to equal that of 800 MHz spectrum.
    
"Licensees coming up for extension in November 2014 cannot be arbitrarily coerced to participate in the forthcoming auction and the Government must honour and abide by the provisions for extension as contained in policy and
license," it added.

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NMDC not eyeing stake in PSUs

Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 18:40

NMDC has denied reports of buying stakes in other PSU. Earlier various media reports had suggested that NMDC will buy stake in Oil India,

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NMDC has denied reports of buying stakes in other PSU. Earlier various media reports had suggested that NMDC will buy stake in Oil India , NTPC & MMTC . NMDC sources tell CNBC-TV18 that the usage of cash in books is the sole discretion of the board and the plans to buy into other public-sector units have been shelved.

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Manoj Kohli to become Airtel MD to revive mobile business

In a major top-level management restructuring, Bharti Airtel is set to appoint Manoj Kohli as its managing director to revive its mobile business.
    
Bharti Airtel's founder Sunil Mittal, who is currently its chairman and managing director, will become executive chairman of the company, after Kohli moves to his new role.
    
Kohli currently heads the firm's international operations as its chief executive officer and is also a joint managing director of the company. A company veteran, he is currently based in Nairobi, the headquarters of Bharti Airtel's African operations.
    
In a filing to stock exchanges, Bharti Airtel said the board changes will be considered at the company's board meeting tomorrow.
    
Gopal Vittal, the new CEO of Bharti Airtel's India business, will be named joint managing director. He was named chief executive after the firm's India CEO Sanjay Kapoor stepped down two weeks back.
    
Vittal will take over as the CEO in March.
    
The management rejig comes at a time when the company is looking at improving profitability while increasing both 3G and 4G subscriber base.
    
Bharti Airtel is also grappling with uncertain regulatory environment and bleeding business in Africa.
    
The company is scheduled to announce its financial results for the third quarter of 2012-13 on February 1.
    
Shares of the company closed at Rs 344.65 on the BSE, down 1.22 percent from its previous close.

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GoAir to add 8 aircraft by July 2014, aims 92 by 2020

Wadia group's no-frills carrier Go Airlines today said it will acquire eight more aircrafts to increase its fleet to 21 by July 2014 from the existing 13.

The airline, looking to grow at non-metro and regional level, aims to have a fleet of 92 by 2020. India is projected to be the third largest aviation market by 2020.

"We had placed an order for 72 A320 Neo aircrafts at a list price of USD 100 million (per aircraft) in June 2011, so 72 will come at price list of USD 7.2 billion," Go Airlines Chief Executive Officer Giorgio De Roni told reporters.

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He was here to announce starting of a GoAir flight from Ahmedabad to Kolkata from February 4, for which a brand new A320 Neo Aircraft would be deployed.

"Eight aircraft shall be added within July 2014. There would be a steep increase in our fleet from 2016 to reach the target of 92 aircraft by 2020," Roni said.

"From 2016, we will be adding more than 10 aircraft a year."

As per the figures of Director General of Civil Aviation, the airline had 7.6 per cent market share as on December 2012.

Last year, the company had applied to Ministry of Civil Aviation for a norm-waiver for flying to international destinations.

"We have sought waiver from the existing norm of owning 20 aircraft to get permission to fly to foreign destinations," Roni said, adding that if the waiver was granted, it would evaluate the possibility of starting international flights out of Ahmedabad.

The company is expecting a revenue of around Rs 2,000 crore in 2012-13, against Rs 1,600 crore last year.

GoAir presently operates around 100 flights a day and from February 4, eight additional flights are expected, a company statement said.

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HDFC raises Rs 500 cr via NCDs

Mortgage lender HDFC today raised Rs 500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) for general corporate requirements.
   
Non-Convertible Debentures are loan-linked bonds issued by a company that cannot be converted into stock and usually offer higher interest rate than convertible debentures.
   
According to sources, one-day NCD issue closed for Rs 250 crore with a green shoe option to raise another Rs 250 crore.

New bank licence guidelines in final stage: RBI Chief
   
The funds were raised to meet general corporate needs, sources said.
   
Investors are being offered an annualised interest of 9.05 percent per annum through the NCDs that have a maturity of five years.
    
Private sector lender Axis Bank was the arranger of the issue.

HDFC is the country's largest home loan provider with cumulative disbursements of over Rs 3.74 lakh crore as at March 31, 2012.
   
Overall, companies last year had mopped-up over Rs 35,000 crore through the NCDs route, a steep hike from Rs 12,753 crore garnered in the preceding year.

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Ashiana Housing to invest Rs 750cr on four new projects

Realty firm Ashiana Housing will invest about Rs 750 crore in the next five years to develop four new housing projects in Rajasthan and Jamshedpur.

The company would construct nearly 4,000 apartments in these projects.

"Last week, we launched a housing project in Jamshedpur. We will announce two new projects in Jaipur and one in Bhiwadi by June this year," Ashiana Housing Managing Director Vishal Gupta said after unveiling its new corporate identity.

Liquidity, low interest rates will boost realty: Sobha Developers

"As we take Ashiana forward to greater heights in quality, service, size and the number of locations, we feel the need to create a much stronger and differentiated brand," Gupta said.

Elaborating on the new projects, Gupta said the company would develop 400 flats in Jamshedpur at a project cost of about Rs 75 crore.

In Jaipur, the company would launch two projects by June where it would construct 2,000 apartments at a total cost of Rs 400 crore.

Gupta said the company would also launch the first phase of its 50-acre township in Bhiwadi in April. "In first phase, we will develop 1,500 flats. The project cost will be about Rs 280 crore," he added.

Asked about the source of funding to meet project cost: Gupta said: "Land is already paid and we will meet the construction cost through internal accruals".

The company has entered Gujarat and West Bengal markets also. It is expecting to launch a housing project at Halol in Gujarat this year in joint venture with land owner.

The national capital-based firm posted a net profit of Rs 70 crore on a turnover of nearly Rs 250 crore during last fiscal. The company is known for developing retirement resorts for elderly people. During last fiscal, it sold nearly 18 million sq ft of area and constructed about 15 lakh sq ft. The company's share prices was up 1.48 per cent to close at Rs 220 on BSE.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

HCL signs multi million dollar pact with Cobham

Software services major HCL Technologies today said it has entered into a multi-year, multi million dollar pact with technology firm Cobham to deliver cost-efficient engineering and R&D services.

As part of the engagement, HCL will deliver a range of cost-efficient engineering and R&D services including end-to-end product engineering, design-to-prototype and value engineering to Cobham, which serves the aerospace and defence industry, the company said in a statement.

HCL will support multiple Cobham sites across the globe with a broad range of services, hardware, software, embedded, mechanical, testing and full turn-key projects, it added.

"With over a decade of industry experience, comprehensive service capabilities and mature delivery models, HCL is well placed to help Cobham to become more competitive with greater focus on new technologies and innovation," HCL Technologies EVP and Global Head (Sales and Practice, Engineering and R&D Services) Sandeep Kishore said.

"HCL will be a key partner in helping to invest in strategic programmes which allow us to stay ahead of the competition," Cobham's Avionics and Surveillance Division VP Operations Tom Garvey said.

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CCI to consider approval to RIL's KG-D6, 46 other blocks

The newly formed Cabinet Committee on Investment is likely to consider tomorrow clearing 47 oil & gas blocks, including Reliance Industries'
producing KG-D6 gas fields, where defence approval has either been withdrawn or withheld.

The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI), which was constituted to expedite the clearance for infrastructure projects of Rs 1,000 crore or more, is scheduled to meet for the first time tomorrow evening, official sources said. On agenda is clearance to 47 oil and gas blocks.

The Oil Ministry wants CCI to relax stringent conditions that Defence Ministry has put for exploration in 32 blocks and clearance of 14 blocks which have been declared "No-Go" areas. Sources said companies like RIL have already invested USD 15 billion in these blocks since 2000 and the Ministry of Defence has now withdrawn or withheld clearance to them.

Of the 47 blocks, RIL's KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block falls in 14 areas which the Ministry of Defence has declared as "No-Go". The reason for classifying the Krishna Godavari basin block, where UK's BP Plc has 30 per cent interest, as 'No-Go' area is that it overlaps with a proposed Naval base.

KG-D6, which was awarded to RIL in 2000 by the Cabinet after clearance from all ministries concerned, has been producing oil since September 2008 and gas from April 1, 2009.

RIL-BP's Mahanadi basin block NEC-OSN-97/2 where sizeable gas discoveries have been made, also has been classified as "No-Go" area as it is close to missile launching range/air force exercise area. Sources said the other 12 "No-Go" blocks are with ONGC, Cairn India and Australia's BHP Billiton and reasons cited for withdrawing clearance include being close to missile launching range, overlapping with proposed Naval base, overlapping with Naval firing range and Air Force exercise area.

Besides the 14 "No-Go" blocks, the defence ministry has imposed stringent conditions in respect of 32 exploration blocks. Sources said the stringent conditions imposed include companies not locating any pipelines or structures on sea surface in the blocks cleared for exploration and production activities.

Subsea/submerged permanent structures, if any, are to be located more than 100 meters below sea surface or outside the DRDO/Indian Air Force danger zone area (on sea surface) or Naval exercise areas, they said adding the conditions were impractical. For one block, clearance has been denied by the Commerce Ministry.

Sources said the Oil ministry in the Cabinet note has argued that non-clearance of blocks will lead to disputes and may severely impact the future growth of the sector.

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EIL to execute OIL's Naharkatiya-Barauni pipeline project

State-owned Engineers India Ltd today said it has signed a contract to upgrade Oil India Ltd's Naharkatiya-Barauni crude oil pipeline.

EIL last week signed the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contract for implementing the project for upgrading pump stations/terminal of the crude pipeline, the company said in a statement here.

L&T exec says seeing early signs of govt spending on infra

It, however, did not give the value of the contract. The contract for the upgradation was signed by EIL Chairman and Managing Director A K Purwaha and OIL head S K Srivastava.

Naharkatiya-Barauni pipeline was originally commissioned in 1962 and spans over a total length of 1,157-kilometers (from Naharkatiya to Bongaigaon and Barauni to Bongaigaon) with 9 pumping stations and a capacity of 7 million tonnes per annum.

"The project involves upgradation of pumping stations/terminals to reduce operation and maintenance cost and increase the throughput of the system for accommodating the future-flow requirement of up to 8 million tonnes," the
statement said.

The project also aims to increase reliability and the life of the pump stations while ensuring compliance of safety and environmental norms.

"The scheduled mechanical completion of the project is 24 months," it said.

EIL is a leading EPC and total solutions consultancy organisation and has to its credit over 5,000 assignments including over 400 major projects successfully completed and operational in India and abroad.

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Aircel launches free roaming service

Aircel today launched a product that offers users one rate for voice, SMS and data in home circles and on roaming.

'One Nation, One Rate', offers one rate for voice, SMS and data in home circles and on roaming on Aircel network, the company said in a statement.

"Incoming calls while on roaming on Aircel network will be free," it added.

Aircel users in Delhi can avail the service for Rs 39, while Mumbai subscribers have to pay Rs 32, the statement said.

Govt to get Rs 24,000 cr from one-time spectrum fee

The price points for the service for other circles range from Rs 21 to Rs 59, it added.

"This product will enable Aircel customers to enjoy one rate for voice, SMS and data services in their respective home circles and even while they are on roaming," Aircel Chief Marketing Officer Anupam Vasudev said.

The product will offer voice - (Local/National) calling at 1paisa/second in home circle as well as on roaming on Aircel network, while incoming calls on roaming will be free. SMS will be charged at Re 1 for home circle as well as on roaming while data users will be able to carry the home circle rate on roaming, the statement added.

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Mercator gets Rs 210cr contracts from Paradip Port

Diversified conglomerate Mercator Group today said it has bagged two contracts worth Rs 210 crore from Paradip Port Trust in Odisha.

"The Company has secured two new orders from Paradip Port Trust for maintenance dredging of the approach and extended approach channel...aggregating to Rs 210 cr approx," Mercator Ltd, earlier known as Mercator Lines said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
    
Both the contracts are to be executed within three years, the company said.
    
The group has presence in coal, oil, gas, commodity and dredging among other sectors.    

Mercator up 5.5% on release of pledged shares

Mercator group has diversified business interests in Coal, Oil & Gas, Commodity Transportation and Dredging.
    
The company scrip closed at Rs 19.75, down 0.5 per cent on the BSE.

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Working on faster to market new products: Tata Motors

Chasing number two spot in the Indian passenger vehicle market, Tata Motors today said it will speed up the time for introduction of new products, apart from reorienting its dealer network towards better customer experience.
    
The company, which today launched the new Vista D90 hatchback priced at Rs 5.99 lakh and Rs 6.83 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), also said its capex for the next fiscal will be around Rs 3,000 crore.
    
"In the past, there has been a significant gap between the introductions of new products to the market. We have recognised that and we will bring that down drastically," Tata Motors President (Passenger Vehicles Business Unit) Ranjit
Yadav told PTI.

Volvo car sales soar two-fold to 821 units in 2012
    
He said the company's aim is to be number one in the long term and number two in the short to medium term, and added: "We believe that's an achievable target... We have a number of projects in the pipeline and we are giving emphasis on faster time-to-market for new products."
    
According the Society of Indian Automobiles (SIAM), Tata Motors was at the third position in the domestic passenger vehicles segment after Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) and Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) in April-December period this fiscal.
    
While the overall market stood at 19,59,444 units, the company's passenger vehicle sales were at 2,48,068 units. MSI occupied the top slot with 7,42,175 units followed by HMIL at 2,81,449 units. Mahindra & Mahindra was in fourth with 2,27,104 units during the period.
    
Yadav said Tata Motors has also been focusing on better customer experience and teams in both sales and after-sales have been put in practice in line with the new concept of "aligning with the market".
    
"As far as customer experience is concerned, there is a lot of headroom for improvement and we are working on it," he said.
    
On the capex for the fiscal 2013-14, a company spokesperson said Tata Motors usually spends around Rs 3,000 crore annually on different activities and it would be almost the same for the next financial year too.
    
When asked about the sales prospects, Yadav said: "The next couple of quarters look to be challenging for the overall industry. We are cautious but confident."
    
He also said the hike in diesel prices could have a dampening effect on the overall industry sales but "we will hold our share".
    
Commenting on the new VistaD90, he said the car has been developed around the evolving car customers, matching the product with their demanding needs and growing aspirations.
    
With sporty looks and powered by a 1.3 litre diesel engine, the Vista D90 will compete with the likes of MSI's Swift and HMIL's I20.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Volkswagen hikes prices of Polo, Vento by up to 2.27 pc

Car maker Volkswagen today said it has hiked the prices of its hatchback Polo and sedan Vento by up to 2.27 percent with effect from today.
    
Post the increase in rates, the Polo will now be cost between Rs 4.92 lakh and Rs 7.08 lakh, while the Vento will be priced at Rs 7.32-9.96 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
    
"Volkswagen today announced the increase in prices of its volume carlines the Polo and Vento effective today. The increase in prices comes against the backdrop of additional features incorporated in both the carlines," the company said in a statement.
    
The Polo and Vento will now be sporting features like advanced music system with bluetooth, USB and climatronic air conditioner among others.
    
"These carlines will see an increase in prices up to 2.27 percent," Volkswagen said.
    
Commenting on the increase, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Managing Director Arvind Saxena said: "Our aim has always been to give our customers a good value proposition and once again we are glad to be able to offer a good reason for them to buy these carlines."
    
The company sold 62,507 units of Polo and Vento in 2012.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Expect Etihad to increase stake, delist Jet Airways: CAPA

Kapil Kaul, CEO-South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) estimates, on CNBC-TV18, that Etihad may increase its stake to 49 percent in Jet Airways and delist the airline to avoid following the mandated procedures involved in a company listed on the stock exchange.

Also Read: Etihad may value Jet Airways stake at $1.25bn; stock up 3%

SpiceJet is not desperate to sell stakes immediately: CEO

Below is the edited transcript of  Kapil Kaul's analysis  on CNBC-TV18

Q: Do you believe the Etihad deal will strategically benefit Jet Airways and could be the first deal in India where we see a foreign carrier boards an Indian carrier?

A: The deal looks certain. We expect a formal announcement to be made in the next week or 10 days. Most of the issues have been sorted out. There are some formalities which need to be concluded. So, this could be the first deal of this kind.

Incidentally, Jet Airways was the beneficiary of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in '90s is again the first beneficiary of FDI. It is quite a strategic deal and one must not see it only from the perspective of Jet-Etihad. It will structurally bring in a lot of changes across the entire sector.

One has to wait and watch what will be the final contours of the deal will be. I would really want to see that within the near-term Etihad increases its stake to 49 percent. I see Jet Airways being delisted when Etihad reaches 49 percent. But the contours of the deal and the structure that's been agreed make it a very important deal not only for Jet Airways, but for the entire sector.

Q: What makes you say that this will ultimately culminate to the point where Jet Airways will actually be de-listed from the Indian stock markets?

A: I don't expect Etihad to continue holding a 49-percent stake in a company that is listed. But one has to wait and watch. Etihad would not like to go through the kind of disclosures and other processes mandated for a listed company. So, I would think that the chances of de-listing exist.

Q: Strategically, how will Jet benefit from shifting its international hub from Brussels currently to Abu Dhabi to avail of  the lower ATF prices and a joint go-to market strategy as far as the internationalisation of routes is concerned?

A: I would be surprised if they shift their Brussels hub. I don't expect that to happen in the first phase. That will actually mean that the entire network strategy would have to completely change and I don't see that happening at all in the first phase, may be in the second phase.

You could expect them to move out of Brussels and look at some other European point which might add value to their US and onward European network, but we don't see them shifting to Abu Dhabi.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Air India trashes report ranking its safety amongst worst

National carrier Air India today termed as 'questionable' a report released by a German aviation think-tank ranking it as the third worst airline among 60 global carriers in terms of safety.

"The ratings arrived at by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) is questionable considering that airlines like American Airlines, Aeroflot, US Airways etc which have a worse track record of hull-losses as well as fatalities, are rated safer than Air India," the state-run airline said in a statement.

Also Read: Financial, aviation sectors to get astro support

Air India has been rated the world's third least safe airline among 60 global carriers after China Airlines and TAM Airlines by Hamburg-based JACDEC that monitors plane crashes around the world. The annual safety ranking "is strongly refuted", the statement said, adding the data utilised by the agency for arriving at the rankings "is factually incorrect".

"The agency has quoted three hull-losses against Air India in the last 30 years. However, Air India has had only one crash on June 1985, resulting in hull loss and 329 deaths. This crash was a result of terrorist action rather than poor safety," the airline said.

Other than this crash, Air India has had an excellent safety track record during the period considered by JACDEC, it added. Air India is the first airline in the country and among the first 10 in the world to have the IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certification which is a benchmark for aviation safety norms, the airline noted.

The airline's engineering department is FAA and EASA- certified and one of the strengths of Air India is its adherence to all safety norms and procedures, the statement said adding the domestic aviation regulator, DGCA, maintains a strict surveillance besides monitoring of all operators in India.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Crisil downgrades Bharti Airtel credit ratings

Rating agency Crisil has downgraded telecom major Bharti Airtel's rating after the government imposed a one-time fee for spectrum it holds beyond a threshold. "CRISIL has downgraded its ratings on Bharti Airtel long-term debt programmes and bank facilities to 'CRISIL AA+/Stable' from 'CRISIL AAA/Negative'. The rating on the company's shortterm debt and bank facilities has been reaffirmed at 'CRISIL A1+'," the agency said its ratingstatement on Thursday.

The agency is of the view that Bharti Airtel's gearing will not improve significantly as on March 31, 2013, despite an equity infusion through an initial public offer (IPO) in its subsidiary, Bharti Infratel. "Furthermore, potential cash outflows towards one-time spectrum fees and licence renewal fees are likely to result in its capital structure taking longer to improve than CRISIL's previous expectations," CRISIL said.

The government has imposed Rs 5,201 crore one-time spectrum fee on Bharti Airtel for spectrum that the company was allocated apart from the airwaves that it received bundled with licence. The agency,however, said that Airtel's operating performance in India is expected to improve on the back of its strong market position, healthy operating efficiencies, and expectation of reduced competition.

The agency said that despite intense competition, Bharti Airtel's Indian operations witnessed a moderate growth of 7.6 per cent in its subscriber base to 185.9 million as on September 30, 2012, from 173 million as on September 30, 2011. "The company reported a strong operating margin of around 32.2 per cent in the first half of 2012-13.

Its average realised revenue per minute has remained stable at about Re
0.44," CRISIL said. The agency said that debt levels on the company remained higher than CRISIL expectations at Rs 70,500 crore as on September 30, 2012, as against Rs 69,000 crore as on March 31, 2012. For Bharti Airtel's Africa business, CRISIL said it expects the bsuiness to gradually improve its operating efficiency driven by steady improvement in the utilisation of network

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ceat forms JV with Bangladesh co; to invest USD 67 million

RPG Group's tyre-making arm Ceat today announced formation of a joint venture company with the Bangladesh-based AK Khan & Company to set up a manufacturing facility in the neighbouring country.

The facility, which will come up at the investment of USD 67 million, is expected to be functional by December 2014, Ceat said in a statement. The 110-tonne per day facility will roll out tyres for trucks, LCVs and 2/3 wheelers for the Bangladeshi market.

Also Read: Apollo Tyres opens global R&D centre at Netherlands

The joint venture, in which Ceat will hold 70 percent stake, is a part of the long-term strategy for both the partners to have a presence in the growing tyre market in Bangladesh, the release said.

"This strategic partnership will enable us establish a leadership presence in the large tyre market of Bangladesh," Ceat Managing Director Anant Goenka said. Under the agreement, Ceat will provide technical and business expertise and manage the JV operations, while AK Khan will bring in knowledge of Bangladesh market besides providing the strength of "goodwill and local presence".

"The plant will earn valuable foreign exchange for the country by exporting approximately 20 percent of its output to the region and rest of the world," AK Khan Managing Director Salahuddin Kasem Khan said.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hero Moto yet to break deadlock with workers

Hero MotoCorp , world's largest two-wheeler maker continues to have labour trouble as wage negotiations between the management and the workers failed to break the deadlock. After the union members meeting on Tuesday, some of the workers of the Dharuhera plant also decided to 'go slow' on production starting from Wednesday.

The move delayed the company's production starting Thursday. The marathon talks between the management and the Gurgaon union to break the impasse over wage settlement doesn't seem to end. After the meeting on Friday, the two sides still seem to be locked in negotiations to reach a common ground on the final terms of the settlement.

Workers are demanding an adequate compensation as productivity has gone higher since 2009. The management meanwhile chose to remain tight-lipped on the meeting but maintained they were hopeful of a resolution soon.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Air India trashes report ranking its safety amongst worst

National carrier Air India today termed as 'questionable' a report released by a German aviation think-tank ranking it as the third worst airline among 60 global carriers in terms of safety.

"The ratings arrived at by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) is questionable considering that airlines like American Airlines, Aeroflot, US Airways etc which have a worse track record of hull-losses as well as fatalities, are rated safer than Air India," the state-run airline said in a statement.

Also Read: Financial, aviation sectors to get astro support

Air India has been rated the world's third least safe airline among 60 global carriers after China Airlines and TAM Airlines by Hamburg-based JACDEC that monitors plane crashes around the world. The annual safety ranking "is strongly refuted", the statement said, adding the data utilised by the agency for arriving at the rankings "is factually incorrect".

"The agency has quoted three hull-losses against Air India in the last 30 years. However, Air India has had only one crash on June 1985, resulting in hull loss and 329 deaths. This crash was a result of terrorist action rather than poor safety," the airline said.

Other than this crash, Air India has had an excellent safety track record during the period considered by JACDEC, it added. Air India is the first airline in the country and among the first 10 in the world to have the IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certification which is a benchmark for aviation safety norms, the airline noted.

The airline's engineering department is FAA and EASA- certified and one of the strengths of Air India is its adherence to all safety norms and procedures, the statement said adding the domestic aviation regulator, DGCA, maintains a strict surveillance besides monitoring of all operators in India.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Crisil downgrades Bharti Airtel credit ratings

Rating agency Crisil has downgraded telecom major Bharti Airtel's rating after the government imposed a one-time fee for spectrum it holds beyond a threshold. "CRISIL has downgraded its ratings on Bharti Airtel long-term debt programmes and bank facilities to 'CRISIL AA+/Stable' from 'CRISIL AAA/Negative'. The rating on the company's shortterm debt and bank facilities has been reaffirmed at 'CRISIL A1+'," the agency said its ratingstatement on Thursday.

The agency is of the view that Bharti Airtel's gearing will not improve significantly as on March 31, 2013, despite an equity infusion through an initial public offer (IPO) in its subsidiary, Bharti Infratel. "Furthermore, potential cash outflows towards one-time spectrum fees and licence renewal fees are likely to result in its capital structure taking longer to improve than CRISIL's previous expectations," CRISIL said.

The government has imposed Rs 5,201 crore one-time spectrum fee on Bharti Airtel for spectrum that the company was allocated apart from the airwaves that it received bundled with licence. The agency,however, said that Airtel's operating performance in India is expected to improve on the back of its strong market position, healthy operating efficiencies, and expectation of reduced competition.

The agency said that despite intense competition, Bharti Airtel's Indian operations witnessed a moderate growth of 7.6 per cent in its subscriber base to 185.9 million as on September 30, 2012, from 173 million as on September 30, 2011. "The company reported a strong operating margin of around 32.2 per cent in the first half of 2012-13.

Its average realised revenue per minute has remained stable at about Re
0.44," CRISIL said. The agency said that debt levels on the company remained higher than CRISIL expectations at Rs 70,500 crore as on September 30, 2012, as against Rs 69,000 crore as on March 31, 2012. For Bharti Airtel's Africa business, CRISIL said it expects the bsuiness to gradually improve its operating efficiency driven by steady improvement in the utilisation of network

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ceat forms JV with Bangladesh co; to invest USD 67 million

RPG Group's tyre-making arm Ceat today announced formation of a joint venture company with the Bangladesh-based AK Khan & Company to set up a manufacturing facility in the neighbouring country.

The facility, which will come up at the investment of USD 67 million, is expected to be functional by December 2014, Ceat said in a statement. The 110-tonne per day facility will roll out tyres for trucks, LCVs and 2/3 wheelers for the Bangladeshi market.

Also Read: Apollo Tyres opens global R&D centre at Netherlands

The joint venture, in which Ceat will hold 70 percent stake, is a part of the long-term strategy for both the partners to have a presence in the growing tyre market in Bangladesh, the release said.

"This strategic partnership will enable us establish a leadership presence in the large tyre market of Bangladesh," Ceat Managing Director Anant Goenka said. Under the agreement, Ceat will provide technical and business expertise and manage the JV operations, while AK Khan will bring in knowledge of Bangladesh market besides providing the strength of "goodwill and local presence".

"The plant will earn valuable foreign exchange for the country by exporting approximately 20 percent of its output to the region and rest of the world," AK Khan Managing Director Salahuddin Kasem Khan said.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Expect Etihad to increase stake, delist Jet Airways: CAPA

Kapil Kaul, CEO-South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) estimates, on CNBC-TV18, that Etihad may increase its stake to 49 percent in Jet Airways and delist the airline to avoid following the mandated procedures involved in a company listed on the stock exchange.

Also Read: Etihad may value Jet Airways stake at $1.25bn; stock up 3%

SpiceJet is not desperate to sell stakes immediately: CEO

Below is the edited transcript of  Kapil Kaul's analysis  on CNBC-TV18

Q: Do you believe the Etihad deal will strategically benefit Jet Airways and could be the first deal in India where we see a foreign carrier boards an Indian carrier?

A: The deal looks certain. We expect a formal announcement to be made in the next week or 10 days. Most of the issues have been sorted out. There are some formalities which need to be concluded. So, this could be the first deal of this kind.

Incidentally, Jet Airways was the beneficiary of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in '90s is again the first beneficiary of FDI. It is quite a strategic deal and one must not see it only from the perspective of Jet-Etihad. It will structurally bring in a lot of changes across the entire sector.

One has to wait and watch what will be the final contours of the deal will be. I would really want to see that within the near-term Etihad increases its stake to 49 percent. I see Jet Airways being delisted when Etihad reaches 49 percent. But the contours of the deal and the structure that's been agreed make it a very important deal not only for Jet Airways, but for the entire sector.

Q: What makes you say that this will ultimately culminate to the point where Jet Airways will actually be de-listed from the Indian stock markets?

A: I don't expect Etihad to continue holding a 49-percent stake in a company that is listed. But one has to wait and watch. Etihad would not like to go through the kind of disclosures and other processes mandated for a listed company. So, I would think that the chances of de-listing exist.

Q: Strategically, how will Jet benefit from shifting its international hub from Brussels currently to Abu Dhabi to avail of  the lower ATF prices and a joint go-to market strategy as far as the internationalisation of routes is concerned?

A: I would be surprised if they shift their Brussels hub. I don't expect that to happen in the first phase. That will actually mean that the entire network strategy would have to completely change and I don't see that happening at all in the first phase, may be in the second phase.

You could expect them to move out of Brussels and look at some other European point which might add value to their US and onward European network, but we don't see them shifting to Abu Dhabi.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hero Moto yet to break deadlock with workers

Hero MotoCorp , world's largest two-wheeler maker continues to have labour trouble as wage negotiations between the management and the workers failed to break the deadlock. After the union members meeting on Tuesday, some of the workers of the Dharuhera plant also decided to 'go slow' on production starting from Wednesday.

The move delayed the company's production starting Thursday. The marathon talks between the management and the Gurgaon union to break the impasse over wage settlement doesn't seem to end. After the meeting on Friday, the two sides still seem to be locked in negotiations to reach a common ground on the final terms of the settlement.

Workers are demanding an adequate compensation as productivity has gone higher since 2009. The management meanwhile chose to remain tight-lipped on the meeting but maintained they were hopeful of a resolution soon.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Puravankara sees Rs 250cr sales from new project at B'lore

Realty firm Puravankara Projects Ltd said it is expecting revenue of over Rs 250 crore from its new luxury housing project in Bangalore. The company will develop more than 300 units in this project. The price has been fixed at around Rs 7,000/sq ft. "Expected gross revenues from the project are in excess of Rs 250 crore," the company said in a statement.

Puravankara Projects has presence in Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mysore. It has completed 34 residential and two commercial projects comprising 7.8 million square feet of area. The company has 30 million sq ft of projects under development with an additional 81.5 million sq ft in projected development over the next 7-10 years.

Also Read: Investment in commercial realty to touch $1tn by 2030: JLL

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sesa Goa defers 10-25% of salaries from January

Vedanta group firm Sesa Goa has deferred 10-25 per cent of salaries to its senior employees as it grapples with huge erosion in sales and profits on account of ban on mining in Goa and Karnataka, a top company official said today.

From January 1, payment of 25 per cent of salaries have been deferred for top management, including company's Managing Director and other Board members, and 10 per cent for manager level employees.

"We have deferred 10 to 25 per cent of the salaries of company's executives from January 1 but it is not a cut, only deferment and is applicable for non-unionised and managerial staff. I, myself, have gone for a 25 per cent deferment in salary," Sesa Goa Managing Director P K Mukherjee told PTI.

Sesa Goa's Q3 net down 26% on mining ban

The country's largest private sector iron ore producer is going through possibly the worst period in its history due to mining ban in Goa, where it is based.

The company did not produce or sell iron ore in the last quarter from Goa, where the ban was first imposed by the state government in September and subsequently extended by the Supreme Court in October. The ban was imposed after a report by Justice M B Shah Commission, which pegged a Rs 35,000 crore loss to the exchequer due to illegal mining in the state.

Sesa Goa's operations in Karnataka are already closed for more than a year due to the apex court-imposed mining ban in the state.

It reported a whopping 91.26 per cent fall in net sales  to Rs 227.54 crore in the October-December quarter. The firm would have posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 172.25 crore for the quarter, had it not been aided by a Rs 669 crore profit from associate firm and oil major, Cairn India .

"It all depends on how the apex court decides the Goa mining issue. There have been many hearings but we all are waiting for a final outcome. I am definitely positive that Goa will not go Karnataka way," Mukherjee said when asked about the way forward for the iron ore mining firm.

Not only Sesa Goa but Goan economy in general has been hit hard by the mining ban, he said.

He added: "The matter needs urgent attention of the authorities as about one third of the population is dependent on mining. With due respect to all the authorities, I don't find a sense of urgency to resolve the matter. I am open to
discuss it at any forum."

On Karnataka, where Sesa Goa's capacity has been pruned to 2.29 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from 6 MTPA, he said that the company is hopeful of resuming its operations soon but again it depends on apex court permission.

"Our Reclamation and Rehabilitation plan has already been cleared by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC). Now we are waiting for directions from the apex court," he said.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sesa Goa to start Liberia iron ore output early 2014

Iron ore miner Sesa Goa Ltd expects to start production at its mine in Liberia in early 2014, as it seeks to offset the impact of mining bans at home.

India was once the world's third-biggest exporter of iron ore, mainly to China. Sesa Goa, owned by Vedanta Resources , used to ship about 15 percent of those exports.

However, mining bans in Goa and Karnataka have hit production, triggering a 28-percent drop in Sesa Goa's net profit to 4.97 billion rupees in the quarter ended December.

"We are committed and expect to deliver the first shipment (from the mine in Liberia) in the last quarter of FY14 (fiscal 2013-2014) ... everything is progressing satisfactorily," Managing Director P.K. Mukherjee said.

Sesa Goa's financial year starts on April 1.

The company had completed 48,000 meters of drilling at the Liberian site as of December last year. Its initial production target for the mine is 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

Sesa Goa expects to get permission to re-start mining operations at its 2.3 MTPA mine in Karnataka, shut by the Supreme Court in July 2011, in the near future.

The court banned mining in Goa and Karnataka after allegations of illegal mining.

"The moment we get the clearance from the Supreme Court, we will put (in) our first shovel," said Mukherjee, adding he aimed to produce 400,000-500,000 tonnes of iron ore per day from the Karnataka operations, whose case hearing is scheduled next week in the top court.

Indian iron ore output, exports since 2000/01

Sesa Goa said about 3.5 million tonnes of China-bound iron ore was lying unsold in Goa, after the court ordered the ban along with restrictions on movement of material.

Mukherjee estimated India's iron ore exports would fall to around 27-30 million tonnes this financial year, compared with an annual average of 100 million tonnes, and said South African and Australian miners were moving in to fill the gap.

"It will be (a) hard task to regain that market ... Australians and South Africans are happily going to the banks," he said.

Analysts say India has lost vast swathes of its USD 15 billion of iron ore exports to overseas players like Vale , Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

NTPC's $2 billion share sale likely on February 7: Sources

The government's share sale in state-run power producer NTPC to raise roughly USD 2 billion is likely to take place on February 7, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

The government, which owns 84.5 percent of NTPC, plans to sell a 9.5 percent stake in the company to institutional investors through an auction of shares.

The floor prices for the auction is likely to be announced a day ahead of the sale, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Officials at the Department of Disinvestment, responsible for handling state stake sales, could not immediately be reached for a comment.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Budget 2013-14: Steps be taken to widen tax base, says India Ratings' Pant

By Devendra Kumar Pant
Chief Economist, India Ratings

The FY14 budget will be presented in the backdrop of the most uncertain global economic situation in recent times. Global growth has remained fragile and likely to remain so during most of 2013-14. 

The fiscal cliff resolution in the US will have repercussions for the global economy. The Euro zone is expected to be stagnant next fiscal, other advanced economies are also likely to follow similar growth trends.

While, developing economies are expected to grow in FY14, their growth is likely to be lower than their peak growth performances of recent times. Global growth has significant impact on India's growth in general and manufacturing sectors in particular.

India is facing fiscal cliff of its own and India Ratings expects central government's fiscal deficit in FY13 to touch 5.8% of GDP (FY13 budget estimate: 5.1% and government's recent estimates of 5.3%). There is an urgent need to move back to the path of fiscal consolidation. While government acknowledges it, some difficult steps have to be taken to move back to fiscal consolidation path. Problem has to be solved both from revenue and expenditure side.

To increase revenue, steps should be taken to broaden tax base, mere increasing of tax rate will not solve the problem. Hiking tax rates will reduce compliance and give incentive to tax evasion. A low and stable tax regime is a necessary condition for improving the investment climate.

Inability to settle issues related to compensation for central sales tax (CST) is a major stumbling block for implementation of goods and services tax (GST), we expect budget to move towards agreement on CST and finally to implementation of GST. Twin deficit (fiscal and current account) is exerting pressure on growth of Indian economy.

Significant fiscal consolidation was achieved during FY04-FY08, which was revenue driven on the back of high economic growth. We expect budget to make the environment conducive to economic growth by improving investor's sentiments and capital inflows. While the direct investments are preferred mode of capital inflows, the portfolio inflow will have significant impact on exchange rate of Rupee.

India is a net commodity importer, exchange of rupee has a direct bearing on subsidy burden. While the dollar price of commodities is exogenous to India, strength of Rupee will provide comfort to subsidy payment.

On the expenditure front, subsidies should be targeted. A detailed roadmap to control fuel subsidy is the need of the hour. Middle and upper income sections of the society are major beneficiaries of fuel subsidy. While the best way to tackle fuel subsidy especially diesel subsidy would be to raise retail prices of diesel to eliminate subsidy.

The government could settle for second best alternative of increasing taxes on diesel vehicles, especially high end passenger cars. Government could go for a combination of gradual monthly increase in retail price and increase in taxes on diesel vehicles. The subsidy to poor section of the society should not be curtailed. Physical infrastructure — roads and power — has to improve. Road completion targets are missed repeatedly and coal issues is affecting power generation. Power deficit is associated with economic losses.

A government estimate in FY05 pegged economic losses due to power shortages at INR3,000bn. Improvement in physical infrastructure should be one focus point of budget. India has very poor record of human development and missed Millennium Development Goals.

Skill shortage is another inhibiting factor for adoption of modern technology and sustainable growth. While over the years government with the support of the World Bank is implementing Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which is yielding results, the higher education sector is in dire need of attention.

The private sector participation in education is limited due to not-for-profit status of sector. The budget should focus on this developmental aspect. Foreign university bill is pending with the parliament since last two years. Unless skills of population are not improved, we will not be able to reap the benefits of demographic dividend.

Movement of Indian economy to a high growth phase during FY04-FY08 was due to structural improvements — high savings and investment rate. Incrementally public sector contributed to a sizeable proportion of it. Since FY09, the savings rate started falling due to expansionary fiscal policies (higher deficit) and higher inflation also had an impact of household savings.

The budget should address this and adopt policies conducive to increasing the savings rate.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

CCI report on complaints against coal firms in 45 days

Fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) today said the report of probe into alleged abuse of market dominance by CIL and its two  subsidiaries will be ready in the next 45 days. Maharashtra State Power Generation Company had filed an  information with CCI that Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries are abusing their dominant position.

"On coal, there are three matters before us, all three are with Director General (Investigation), the point is quite similar in all the three, which are against subsidiaries of Coal India ," Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairman Ashok Chawla told reporters here.

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) and Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) are the two CIL subsidiaries named in the information by the Maharashtra power company. Chawla said power companies have also alleged that fuel supply agreements with coal firms are one-sided and there is abuse of dominance. According to him, power companies have alleged that the user which buy coal are made to sign on the dotted line and they do not get the right kind of quality coal, not the right terms and conditions.

Chawla added that the whole matter is under investigation and the report of the Director General should be with us in the next 45 days. In a meeting with the senior executives of various companies and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, CCI today asked companies to ensure fair trade practices and restrain from anti-competitive activities.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Court halts airwave surcharge demand on Idea Cellular

The Bombay High Court has asked the government to not take any coercive action against Idea Cellular Ltd until March 1 on a demand to pay surcharges on airwaves, the mobile phone operator said on Thursday.

Idea, the country's No.3 mobile phone carrier by revenue, had appealed the order after the telecommunications ministry sent notices to carriers asking them to pay the surcharges.

Telcos reduce promotional benefits, cut free minutes

The government is imposing the surcharges totalling more than USD 4 billion on long-established carriers including Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc's local unit, after an overhaul in the airwave sale process.

But carriers have challenged the move saying it violates the conditions of their licence agreements with the government.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

IVRCL baffled at over 20% stock crash; says everything okay

Shares of infrastructure company IVRCL were hammered following allegations of foul play by family members of a consultant who was murdered while on a NHAI project being executed by an IVRCL arm.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, S Ramachandran, director of IVRCL said he has "no idea" why the stock crashed the way it did. "The company is working as usual. It is having its problems and its challenges as usual in terms of any infrastructure company, which all of you know. We are working our way to see how we come through the general problems in the industry. It could be to do with working capital, (or) it could be to do with the slow pace at which work is happening. But that's something, which is very common. There is nothing new," he says.

According to reports, Paulose Thomas, expert consultant with NHAI was found dead at his Coimbatore apartment over a month and half ago. The autopsy report has revealed that Thomas was murdered. Thomas's family members have alleged that his death could be connected to some irregularities in the project.

Ramachandran says it is quite possible that some of IVRCL employees maybe questioned. "One thing is I don't see anybody having accused IVRCL. If they have then they will be in trouble because they have actually mudsling the company and we will not accept that," he told CNBC-TV18.

Below is edited transcript of the interview on CNBC-TV18.

Q: If you can just give us any indication of what went wrong today? Your stock price crashed over 20 percent correction.

A: We have absolutely no idea. I got somebody to give me the news. I think it was Indian Express or so. There are talks about the death of one of the consultants; the independent engineer. And that's our Chengapalli road, which we are currently implementing. Chengapalli-Walayar is the one, which we are currently working on. It is under construction. It is in two phases: 42 and 12 kilometres. The 42 km phase is right up to Coimbatore. We have absolutely nothing to do (with the report) and we have absolutely no idea.

It is an individual who is no more for reasons either known to him or his family or his friends or maybe his employer. We have no idea. I don't understand; if this is the reason, (then) why this stock has tanked because I cannot see anything else because company is working as usual. It has its problems and its challenges as usual in terms of any infrastructure company, which all of you know.

We are working our way to see how we come through the general problems in the industry. It could be to do with working capital, it could be to do with the slow pace at which work is happening as well as whatever issues we may have with anybody including NHAI on some of our roads in terms of land. But that's something which is very common. There is nothing new.

Q: The family of the NHAI consultant has accused IVRCL to be behind this alleged murder. Is there any kind of CBI raid or anything that has taken place?

A: None whatsoever. If somebody has died, there is a link between his work, it is obvious that people will be questioned, including his parents or his brothers, his friends, his own bosses and the people for whom he was supervising, including IVRCL. It is quite possible that some of IVRCL employees maybe questioned. It is extremely normal. One thing is I don't see anybody having accused IVRCL. If they have then they will be in trouble because they have actually mudsling the company and we will not accept that.

I am not sure because I don't seem to have any direct accusation on our company. Whoever has done that will be in deep trouble.

Q: Can you tell me what is the percentage of pledged shares that the promoter has and was there any kind of institutional selling that you saw in the market today?

A: I cannot say. The promoter, as you all know, has about 13 percent in this merged entity -- IVRCL Assets and Holdings into IVRCL. There is no pledging to the best of my knowledge. The company is on a standalone. I don't know if somebody is selling; maybe (because of ) their perception of how the market is or some other stock is. They (sellers) could more enticed to the another stock but if this news of today is the reason then whoever has done that, it is their bad luck because it will come back again because this is absolutely a ruthless and uncalled for.

Q: Has there been any kind of CBI enquiry or probe?

A: No CBI enquiry. Police would obviously call the people all around -- distant/nearby -- to ask, "What do you know about this? Do you have any idea?". Definitely, our site person would probably have to meet them and say what I am trying to tell. We are working, they are doing our road. If somebody for reasons known or not known to us expires, we are in no way answerable.

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Sebi penalises individual for violating broker norms

Sebi has imposed a total penalty of Rs 5 lakh on an individual for allegedly violating broker norms and not furnishing information to the market regulator in a case relating to trading of Sumeet Industries shares.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has slapped a fine of Rs 3 lakh on one Sunita Gupta for acting as a unregistered sub-broker and imposed another Rs 2 lakh for not complying with the summons issued to her. In its order issued yesterday, Sebi said it is imposing a "consolidated penalty of Rs five lakh on Sunita Gupta".

The matter relates to Sebi probe in the trading of the shares of Sumeet Industries for the period from October 1, 2006 to March 12, 2007.
Sebi said it observed that Gupta had traded as un-registered sub-broker in BSE on behalf of various clients. Gupta was allegedly trading through the stock broker Parasram Holdings and had admitted that her main source of income is trading in shares, Sebi said.

According to the regulator, she had sold about 1.2 lakh shares of Sumeet Industries for four entities -- Perfect Car Scanners, Goldline International Finvest, Master Finlease and Avisha Credit Capital. As per Sebi, Gupta "acted as un-registered sub-broker and traded on behalf of the above mentioned four entities".

On the charge of not providing information to Sebi, the regulator found that "the Investigation Authority (IA) had issued four letters and two summonses to the noticee". "The noticee failed to fully comply with both the summons," it said.

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DGCA to look into tariff structure of Indian carriers

DGCA would look into the tariff structure of Indian airlines in view of the wide range of the base prices of air tickets, after the Supreme Court observed that the price bands were too wide and directed it to examine the matter.

Efforts would be made to compress these price bands, which range from 12 to as high as 22 set by different airlines on each sector, and make air fares more transparent so that the travelling public are clear about the cost of travel, official sources said here.

While there was a need to make the price bands more transparent, there should also be some rationale behind the huge differences between the highest and the lowest air fares in these price bands, they said.

Justifying the higher price bands, airline industry sources said that they have to take into account, apart from the actual costs of air travel, the variable costs on inputs like jet fuel, whose prices continue to rise, and staff costs.

While the Airlines Passengers Association of India (APAI) has welcomed the apex court's directions, some aviation experts have also objected to the inclusion of congestion charges or extra charges of Rs 50 for giving a printout of the ticket.

"When most airlines are showing high on-time performance, then why should they charge congestion charges," asked Debashish Saha of the Aeronautical Society of India. Giving an example, he said there used to be severe congestion earlier at the IGI Airport with planes hovering for 30 minutes before being cleared to land.

"Now it has three operational runways and there are generally no delays, barring the foggy days. Then what is the justification for the congestion charge," he asked. Regarding the price for a ticket printout, Saha said under the Carriage by Air Act, it is the contractual obligation of an airline to provide a ticket to the passenger. "Why should an extra fee be levied?"

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Tata Power looking for more hydro projects

Tata Power is actively looking at opportunities to develop hydro projects as part of efforts to boost its renewable energy portfolio which is expected to make up about one-fourth of its overall generation capacity by 2020.

The country's largest private power producer is already developing hydro projects in India, Nepal and Bhutan. "The company is also looking at other opportunities (in hydro power) to bid in the near future," Tata Power Managing Director Anil Sardana told PTI.

At present, Tata Power has a hydro power generation capacity of 447 MW in Maharashtra.

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Tata Power and Norway-based SN Power's joint venture is developing an 880 MW hydro project in Tamakoshy, Nepal. The entity has also bagged the 240 MW Dugar hydro electric project in Himachal Pradesh.

Further, Tata Power is implementing the 114 MW Dagachhu hydro project in Bhutan.

"Tata Power has aggressive plans of generating 26,000 MW by 2020 and intends to have a 20-25 per cent contribution from 'clean power sources' which will include a mix of hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and waste gas generation," Sardana said.

Currently, the company has an installed generation capacity of 7,700 MW.

In the renewable energy segment, besides hydro, Tata Power is working on various solar, wind, geothermal and waste gases-based power projects.

It has an operational capacity of 375 MW in wind energy and 28 MW in solar power.

Recently, Tata Power along with its consortium partners - Australia's Origin Energy and PT Supraco Indonesia -- won the bid for 240 MW geothermal project in Indonesia which is under development.

Tata Power also set up various plants at Haldia and Jamshedpur, based on the blast furnace and coke oven gases which are waste gases from steel making process.

 "The company is also in the process of evaluating different business models for distributed power generation and supply to the rural areas," Sardana said.

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AC mkt has been stagnant for past 2-3 years: LG officials

Slowing down of the economy and delay in real estate projects are among the reasons that have led to stagnation in the air conditioner market for the past few years, top officials of consumer durables manufacturer LG India said today.

"The market has been almost stagnant for the last 2-3 years due to delayed projects in the real estate sector," Saurabh Baisakhia, Business Head, Air Conditioners, LG India, said.

LG Electronics' Head, Corporate Marketing, Sanjay Chitkara added that erratic weather, power cuts and slowing economy were the other reasons for the said market scenario. Baisakhia noted that with an increase in possession of homes in the coming years, he expected the industry to look up as there is scope for "business to improve."

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However, the commercial sector was doing well with an increase in office spaces and this segment contributed to about 15 per cent of the South Korean company's total business, he said.

LG had set its focus on key buying factors and was therefore working to provide the right value proposition to the customer including good payback options, he added. Announcing the launch of a new range of ACs including the Inverter V series, he said split AC segment contributed to 75 per cent of the 3.2 million units strong AC market.

Responding to a question, he said he would "not rule out the possibility" of window ACs being phased out gradually in the coming years. Its market share has been constantly declining in the last few years, he added.

South India contributed to about 26 per cent of the company's overall market share while it stood at 23 per cent at the national level.

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Investment in commercial realty to touch $1tn by 2030: JLL

Investors are increasingly putting in more capital into commercial real estate, particularly in the Asia Pacific region and direct investments in this segment are likely to more than double to USD 1 trillion by 2030, says a Jones Lang LaSalle report. 

Investors are already responding to shifting economic conditions by funnelling more capital into commercial real estate, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, it said.

The report estimates that direct commercial real estate transactional market will exceed USD 1 trillion per annum by 2030, compared with nearly USD 450 billion in 2012. 

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Asia Pacific has outpaced other regions in real estate activity since the global financial crisis, achieving commercial real estate investment volume in 2012 equal to 77 per cent of the previous peak reached in 2007.

The Americas have only reached 62 per cent of that level, while Europe's investment volume is 46 per cent of its peak amount.

"While real estate asset values have shown no immunity to the financial shocks of recent years, real estate nevertheless is emerging as a preferred option for many investors," Jones Lang LaSalle President and CEO Colin Dyer said. 

The report - The Advancement of Real Estate as a Global Asset Class, - said that since 2008, strong economic growth in the Asia Pacific region contrasted with recessionary contraction in Europe and North America has fuelled real estate activity.

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"The Asia Pacific region is emerging as the long-term winner in the global contest for investment capital, boosted by the rise of domestic pension funds and private wealth," the report said. 

Higher returns are convincing many investors to increase exposure to real estate and increased allocations to real estate also reflect investor efforts to reduce risk by diversifying away from the traditional portfolio mainstays of
bonds and equities, the JLL report said. 

However there are some operational challenges like low levels of liquidity and in some cases undeveloped capital markets currently constrain institutional investment in the region.
    
This is partly the reason why most western institutions are underweighted in the Asia Pacific region relative to the size of its real estate markets.
    
Over the long term, JLL expects relative portfolio weightings to move in favour of the region as high rates of savings, rapid urbanisation, the inexorable rise of the middle classes and evidence of improving transparency increase investor confidence and interest in the region.

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Govt constitutes GoM to review urea pricing policy

Facing a mounting subsidy burden and imbalanced use of fertilisers, government has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM), which is likely to be headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to look into urea pricing.

Apart from Pawar, the GoM will include Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Fertiliser Minister M K Alagiri and Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily.

"The government has formed a GoM, which is most likely to be headed by Sharad Pawar and it will look into the modified New Pricing Scheme (NPS) III for urea as well as consider earlier proposals for de-regulating the sector," a senior Fertiliser Ministry official said.

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Urea is the only fertiliser that remains under full price control. Its current retail price is Rs 5,360 per tonne. The proposal to hike urea prices was made to redress imbalanced use of soil nutrients and reduce government's subsidy burden.

Another senior official in the ministry said the department of fertilisers is not in favour of raising the prices of the key nitrogenous crop nutrient as the farmers are already facing high prices of phosphatic (P) and potassic (K) fertilisers.

"After the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs's (CCEA) decision in June 2012 to send the proposal back to the GoM on urea prices to be reviewed again, the Ministry had some three months back sent its revised proposal to Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and it has been with them since then," the official said.

PMO acted on the proposal last week and asked a GoM to be formed to reconsider the urea pricing policy. The constitution of the GOM comes in the backdrop of stiff resistance by Fertiliser Ministry in raising urea prices
and bringing the sector under the nutrient based policy (NBS) like P&K fertilisers.

In June last year, CCEA had deferred the ministry's proposal to increase the retail prices of urea by 10 per cent. It had sent the proposal back for review to the then GoM, which was headed by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Earlier, the government had plans to decontrol the urea sector by bringing it under the nutrient based subsidy (NBS) scheme. A committee headed by Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhary had also suggested freeing of the sector. However, the proposal hit a road block as the Fertiliser Ministry, among others, opposed it in view of rise in retail prices of P&K fertilisers after they were decontrolled in April 2010.

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OilMin for doubling gas price to $8-8.5 per mmBtu

Oil Ministry has moved a Cabinet note for nearly doubling the price of natural gas produced by state-owned ONGC and OIL to USD 8-8.5 per million British thermal unit in the current year itself and for Reliance Industries from April 2014.

The Ministry in a draft Cabinet note proposed accepting in toto the Rangarajan Committee recommendation of pricing domestically produced natural gas at an average of international hub prices and cost of imported LNG instead of present mechanism of market discovery.

Sources said ministry wants the pricing formula proposed by the panel to apply to all forms of natural gas - conventional, shale and coal-bed methane (CBM). Also, the price determined shall be applicable to all consuming sectors uniformly.

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It, they said, wanted the new pricing guidelines to apply from 2013 itself on all domestically produced gas barring cases where it is either governed by a definite formula prescribed in the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) or the government had previously fixed a tenure for the same.

This essentially meant that RIL would get the new price only from April 1, 2014 upon expiry of the fixed five-year term of current rate of USD 4.205 per million British thermal unit.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) can, however, get the new rates this year itself for gas they produce from fields given to them on nomination basis by the government. Gas from nominated fields, called APM gas, is currently priced at USD 4.2 per mmBtu.

RIL gas output falls to all time low

The Rangarajan panel suggested rates may also not apply to BG Group-operated Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields in the western offshore as the current rates of USD 5.57-5.73 per mmBtu for the fuel produced from these are derived from a pre-defined formula detailed in the PSC.

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However, Cairn India 's eastern offshore Ravva gas, which is currently priced at USD 3.5-4.3 per mmBtu, may be revised as per the committee recommendations.

Sources said the ministry said the Rangarajan panel report needs to be accepted so that domestically produced natural gas prices are fixed in a fair manner and in a way that incentivises production.

The panel had suggested taking a weighted average of the US, Europe and Japanese gas hubs or market price and then averaging it with the net imported price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to give sale price of domestically produced gas.

Taking last year's publicly available consumption numbers and the prevailing price of gas in the three markets, the formula suggested by the Rangarajan committee gives USD 8-8.5 per mmBtu as the price of domestic gas.

RIL, which had been engaged in protracted wrangling with the Oil Ministry on pricing of natural gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 field, last week said there was "positive traction in domestic exploration and production business environment with the submission of Rangarajan Committee Report".

The panel had addressed key issues on "gas price mechanism" and created "an investment enabling environment", RIL said in investor presentation on its October-December quarter results.

RIL has since been seeking a price of almost USD 13 per mmBtu for gas produced from KG-D6 gas on expiry of current USD 4.2 per mmBtu price in April next year and its comments on Rangarajan Committee recommendation are being seen as its readiness to accept a lower price.

The company, which had previously stated that USD 4.2 was too low for monetising smaller and marginal gas finds in KG-D6 and other blocks, said the Rangarajan panel recommendation "indicates positive sign for monetisation of marginal fields".

The Rangarajan Committee suggested averaging volume-weighted price of gas at US's Henry Hub, UK's NBP and Japan Customs Cleared prices for the trailing 12 months with the the net price that producer got from exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India on a long-term contract.

Previously, RIL had from April 2014 wanted to price KG-D6 gas at the rate India pays for importing gas in its liquid form (called LNG) on a long-term contract from Qatar. India pays 12.67 per cent of the international oil rate plus USD 0.26 per mmBtu to Qatar. At USD 100 per barrel oil rate, this translated into a gas price of USD 12.93.

The panel headed by C Rangarajan -- Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister -- also suggested gas-on-gas competition after five years and sweeping change in future exploration contracts.

The existing PSC allows a company to recover its cost, before giving the government a share in revenue earned from sale of oil and gas.

Stating that cost recovery is at the root of the problems being experienced currently, the panel proposed to dispense with it in favour of sharing of the overall revenues of the contractor, without setting off any costs.

The committee has also recommended that an extended tax holiday of 10 years, as against 7 years already available for all blocks, be granted for blocks having a substantial portion involving drilling offshore at a depth of more than 1,500 metres, since cost of a single well can be as high as USD 150 million.

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IT industry concerned over property tax hike proposal

Concerned over the proposed steep upward revision of property tax on them, IT companies here are expected to meet senior state government officials within a couple of days over the issue.
    
The Chennai Corporation Council passed a resolution yesterday seeking to increase the property tax for IT companies  ranging between 50 to 200 per cent hike.
    
"We have been getting calls from several IT firms and agencies since morning. We are planning to meet the Government and discuss the matter during the next two days..", a senior official of an IT industry body told PTI.

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Expressing apprehensions that the move would affect the industry, the official said small companies and start up firms should be spared from such steep hike.
    
"The government by way of encouraging start up IT companies may relax the norms to companies whose turnover is less than Rs 5 crore..," he said.
    
He also said the government should ensure proper infrastructure facilities for IT companies. "It cannot be a one way process. It should be two way. If they are increasing the property tax they should ensure provision of infrastructure facilities (to IT companies)", he said.
    
After Bangalore, considered the country's IT capital, Chennai has a number of IT firms with several of them setting up base on the Old Mahabalipuram Road also known as the IT corridor.
    
According to Software Technology Parks of India, IT exports from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry reached Rs 46,791 crore in 2011-12, up 10.8 per cent from Rs 42,210 crore registered during the previous fiscal.

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RIL gas output falls to all time low

Reliance Industries has shut its eighth well on the main gas fields in KG-D6 block, leading to output plummeting to all time low of 20.88 mmscmd.

RIL, on January 9, shut the well B6 on the main producing fields of Dhiburbhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) in Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 block "due to water loading," according to a status report of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

Previously, on November 29 it had shut B4, the seventh well on D1&D3 field.

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The latest shutting led to the output slipping from D1&D3 to 16.98 million standard cubic meters per day during the week ended January 13, the report said. Together with 4.37 mmsmcd from MA oilfield in the same block, the output totalled 21.35 mmscmd in the week.
    
However, the production has since plummeted further to 20.88 mmscmd this week, the lowest level since D1&D3 started production in April 2009.
    
The output has fallen from 22.04 mmscmd in December end, when D1&D3 produced 17.66 mmscmd and MA 4.38 mmscmd.
    
RIL has so far drilled 22 wells on D1&D3 fields but has put only 18 on production so far. D1&D3, which started gas production in April 2009, had touched a peak of 55 mmscmd in August 2010 before beginning of water and sand ingress in wells.
    
The same problem has led to shutting of one-third of the wells on MA oilfield in the same block. Output from MA is half of the peak rate it had achieved in 2010.
    
Sources said RIL had last year proposed to do work-over or maintenance job to revive sick or closed wells but the Oil Ministry and DGH are yet to give their go ahead.
    
The USD 100-120 million spending in the work-over is part of the capital Budget for current fiscal which along with the same for 2010-11 and 2011-12 is pending approval.
    
Oil Ministry says it has withheld approvals pending RIL agreeing to give the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) access of its books to conduct a second round of audit. The audit has since begun but the approvals haven't come yet.
    
Of the 21.35 mmscmd of cumulative production from January 7 to 13, 14.54 mmscmd was sold to fertiliser plants and 4.02 mmscmd to power plants. The remaining 2.79 mmscmd gas was consumed by other sectors such as LPG and the East-West pipeline which transports fuel from east coast to the west.
    
RIL, the report said, has projected an output of 22 mmscmd in January.
    
RIL has so far made 18 gas and one oil discovery in the Krishna Godavari basin block in Bay of Bengal. While the lone oil find, MA went on stream in September 2008, largest among the gas finds, D1&D3 were put on production in April, 2009.

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KFA needs at least Rs 10 bn to restart operations: Minister

Grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines needs at least 10 billion rupees to restart operations, aviation minister Ajit Singh told reporters on Tuesday.

All stakeholders will have to give no-objection certificates for the carrier to fly again, he said.

Earlier, a government source told reporters India is willing to support the revival plan of Kingfisher Airlines if it were to settle its employees' dues.

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Mumbai, Delhi realty prices fell in Dec: Property Index

Moneycontrol Bureau

Realty prices in Mumbai fell by 2.4 percent in December followed by a minor drop of 0.9 percent in Delhi, an all-India property index showed.

According to the Makaan.com Property Index (MPI), although the overall drop was not significant, there is a ray of hope that the present trend in Mumbai and Delhi NCR might continue due to an inventory overhang.

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This is a welcome change for the home buyers who have been burdened by high property prices and home-loan interest rates.

"The real estate market in Mumbai and Delhi NCR is undergoing a small correction in property prices," said Aditya Verma, EVP and COO, Makaan.com, but cautioned that it was too early to say if this correction will continue.

"Overall, any correction would prove to be healthy and should be welcomed. It will encourage the fence-sitters to enter the market," he said.

The MPI covers property prices in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad. At the national level, property prices remained quite stable, registering a slight drop of 0.3 percent.

Neelalohith.Chitrapu@network18online.com

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Kingfisher should infuse Rs 2,000 cr for revival: SBI chief

Kingfisher Airlines needs to invest at least Rs 2,000 crore to restart its operations, said one of its lender SBI 's Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri.

SBI is the lead banker in the 17-lender consortium that extended Rs 7,000 crore loans to the now grounded Kingfisher Airlines. The state-run bank has an exposure of Rs 1,500 crore to the carrier. The debt has not been serviced since January, 2012.
    
To a question, Chaudhuri also said right now SBI is not contemplating any legal action against the carrier as the door for negotiations is still open.

KFA needs at least Rs 10 bn to restart operations: Minister
     
"In order to restart operations, Kingfisher Airlines needs to infuse at least Rs 2,000 crore as capital. We are still holding talks with the company and following up also," Chaudhuri told reporters here.
    
Chaudhuri said the bank was holding talks with the carrier every week.
If necessary, some buildings and non-core assets might be disposed, he said.
    
Kingfisher is saddled with mounting losses and debts. It has been grounded since October 1 following strike by pilots over non-payment of salaries. The airline's licence has also been temporarily suspended and aviation regulator DGCA has told the  airline that it will be restored only when it submits a revival plan.
     
As per the revival plan submitted to DGCA last year, Kingfisher had said it would require about Rs 652 crore over the next 12 months for running its operations.

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