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HPCL TO GO SOLO ON ITS RS 700-CR LPG FACILITY

Mumbai: State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited may go solo on its plans to build its second underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility in Mangalore.

The company which was planning to rope in Total SA of France, to build the cavern jointly, said Total is not interested at present and may join the company at a later stage.

“We see merit in the project and have decided to go ahead. We will commission the detailed feasibility report shortly and then call for tenders in the next four-six months,” said a senior HPCL official.

The cavern, will cost HPCL Rs 700 crore and will store 60,000 tonnes of LPG. HPCL and Total, through their equal joint venture, South Asi

DEFENCE PSUs LIKELY TO BE MAJOR DRAW AT ELECTRONICS SUMMIT

Bangalore: Electronics production in the country’s Defence sector touched Rs. 13,800 crore during 2013-14 and is expected to grow over 15 per cent this year, said Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) President Subhash Goyal.

The production of strategic electronics stood at Rs. 12,000 crore in 2012-13 and has been growing steadily from Rs. 5,700 crore in 2007-08 to Rs. 9,000 crore during 2010-11.

ELCINA has been holding the strategic electronics summit (SES) since 2010. This year it is being held in Bangalore on July 30 and 31.

The SES brings all stakeholders together on one platform to enable a better understanding of Defence requirements. The summit also aims to facilitate

Nigel Farage: David Cameron’s EU benefits diatribe fools no one

The European Commission has already said it will investigate the new policy statement from the Prime Minister to see if it complies with European law Photo: REUTERS The Prime Minister has scored a brilliant summer hit with the headline writers. “EU migrant benefit curbs fast-tracked”; “Government announces limits on EU migrants’ benefits access”; “New rules on migrant benefits to be announced as UK makes system more robust against […]

Emirati pearl divers’ songs to be subject of documentary

DUBAI // Nearly 20 years ago a filmmaker and a musician tracked down a group of long-forgotten entertainers in Havana and turned them into global music and movie stars. Wim Wenders and Ry Cooder sparked a rebirth of traditional Cuban music with The Buena Vista Social Club. Now the filmmaker Ray Haddad and the British musician Jason Carter aim to do the same with the musical tradition […]

Exposed: myth of subservient Emirati women in workplace

ABU DHABI // The image of Emirati female managers as subservient employees in a male-dominated work environment is a myth, a new study suggests. In fact they are clever, ambitious, hard working and not afraid to stand up to sex discrimination in pursuit of their professional success. “They are ambitious, but they are trying to pick their battles,” said Dr Hayfaa Tlaiss, researcher and author of the […]

US, EU add Russian banks in sanctions list

The U.S.  sanctioned three Russian banks and a state-owned shipbuilder that serves Russia’s navy and oil and gas industry, joining with the European Union in escalating the penalties for Russia over its actions in Ukraine. “Russia is once again isolating itself from the international community, setting back decades of progress,” President Barack Obama said at the White House. “We can’t, in the end, make President Putin see […]

Emerging markets stocks drop on sanctions

Emerging-market stocks fell as the European Union and U.S. said they’re imposing tougher sanctions against Russia to punish President Vladimir Putin for supporting Ukrainian rebels. The Ibovespa fell the most in a month after Brazilian industrial production declined. India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index dropped for a second day as motorcycle manufacturer Hero MotoCorp Ltd. slid 1.6 percent. Stocks in South Korea and China advanced as automakers and […]

Kerry to woo Modi’s India

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits India this week as Washington tries to revitalize ties it sees as a counterbalance to China’s rising power, but rapid progress is unlikely, despite the reformist reputation of India’s new leader. The visit by Kerry, and a trip by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel next month, follow the resounding election win of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May and are meant […]

POST FM NUDGE, BIG BANKS WORK ON BUYOUT BLUEPRINT

MUMBAI: India’s banking sector may be getting ready for a wave of consolidation as the country tries to build institutions of world-class proportions. Four big state-run banks — State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India — have already begun an exercise to identify takeover targets to gain access to franchises that would augment their capabilities, said three top bankers familiar with the move.

The top managements of the four banks are in the process of preparing a blueprint that would explain the rationale for absorbing one or two entities, said the people cited above, none of whom wanted to be named.

Employees at these state-run banks are engaged in the exercise after f

FM MAY BRIEF RBI BOARD ON STEPS TAKEN TO CUT DEFICIT, NEED TO LOWER RATES ON AUGUST 9

New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley will address the board of the Reserve Bank on August 9 amid expectations that the central bank will complement government actions by reducing rates to boost growth. “The meeting has been scheduled for August 9 where he would be addressing the board members and talk about announcements made in the Budget to perk up growth,” a source said. Jaitley is likely to inform the RBI board about the steps taken to contain the fiscal deficit and may underline the need to reduce interest rates to promote growth. It has been a custom that the finance minister addresses RBI board, consisting of RBI governor and existing three deputy governors, after the Budget. The meeting comes in the backdrop of the persistent high food

POWER MINISTRY MULLS RS 5,700 CRORE SUBSIDY FOR OPERATIONALISING GAS-BASED IDLE POWER CAPACITY

NEW DELHI: In a big push to 31,000-MW of electricity generation plants stranded without fuel, the power ministry has proposed a Rs 5,700 crore subsidy to help operationalise idle gas-based capacity, a loan restructuring scheme for such plants and the supply of coal to projects that will be commissioned before March 2015.

The proposals will benefit 24,148 MW of gas-based projects and 7,230 MW of plants that run on coal, set up at a total investment of about Rs 1,50,000 crore.

An additional 10,930 MW of coal-based plants that will be commissioned before March are also likely to gain. The ministry will approach the Union cabinet with a proposal to pool prices of imported gas and coal with domestic fuels to help stran

GAIL TO BUY 1/3 OF LNG SHIPS FROM INDIAN BUILDERS

New Delhi: GAIL (India), under a petroleum ministry directive, has decided to buy a third of the LNG ships it plans to acquire to ferry the fuel from the US to India, from Indian shipbuilders. Considering that the PSU, whose massive LNG imports from the US would start in 2017, has lined up investments to the tune of $7.6 billion for hiring the required specialised vessels, the move would give a big boost to the Indian shipbuilding industry.

Domestic players such as L&T and Pipavav are among the obvious beneficiaries of the decision, which is in line with the Modi government’s thrust on the domestic manufacturing sector. Although some analysts are doubtful about the feasibility of Indian ship makers meeting such huge demand g

DEFENCE MINISTER DEFERS DECISION ON NAVY CHOPPER DEAL OVER AGUSTAWESTALND LINKS

New Delhi: The NDA government has deferred its decision on the procurement of 16 multi-role helicopters for the Indian Navy as one of the two companies in the race for the deal is linked with Finmeccannica– the parent organisation of the scam-tainted firm AgustaWestalnd.

The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley put off its decision on the procurement of the helicopters for the Navy from vendors including American Sikorsky and European NH Industries, which has Finmeccannica as one of its partners, highly-placed sources said.

Finmeccannica is the parent firm of AgustaWestland firm, whose Rs 3,600 crore contract for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to the IAF has been scrapped by the

Saudi market opening to have huge impact on region’s profile

|By TAP Staff| The Saudi decision to open up the stock market to foreigners could eventually lead to the Middle East North Africa region becoming as large as 5.2 percent of MSCI emerging markets benchmark. The significance of the Saudi entry to the region’s profile is brought out by the fact that even after UAE and Qatar’s upgrade to emerging market status over a month ago, the […]

Qatar spending growth slowest in 11 years

Qatar’s state spending increased 12.7 percent last fiscal year, the lowest rate in 11 years, as slow growth in current expenditure offset a sharp rise in funds spent on infrastructure projects, data showed on Sunday. Expenditure rose to a record high of 231.7 billion riyals ($63.6 billion) in the year that ended in March, from 205.6 billion riyals in 2012/13, preliminary finance ministry data released by the […]

Dubai behind Heathrow for now, but no big deal

|By TAP Staff| Dubai is behind UK’s Heathrow International airport by only fewer than 3,000 passengers daily to become the world’s biggest airport for international traffic. Considering that this number is equivalent to just 12 flights, Dubai can be expected to overtake Heathrow any time in future. “It can be expected Dubai will power ahead, having earned the right to the title of world’s leading airport,” said […]

DEBT MF TAX WILL BE MADE PROSPECTIVE, FINMIN WON’T APPEAL RETRO TAX VERDICTS

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday iterated the Modi government’s promise to keep tax rates low and ruled out any new retrospective taxes when he replied to the debate on the Finance Bill, 2014, in the Lok Sabha, which passed it later.

Stating that the government will not interfere with the judicial proceedings regarding tax notices issued with respect to indirect transfer of Indian assets under the 2012 retrospective changes to the Income Tax Act, Jaitley removed an irritant by making the higher long-term capital gains tax rate on debt mutual funds proposed in his Budget strictly prospective.

The minister had in his maiden Budget announced a new committee under the Central Board of Dir

NEW MFI BILL AFTER CONSULTING STATES: JAITLEY

New Delhi: The government will come up with a new Bill to regulate the micro-finance institutions after consultation with states, finance minister Arun Jaitley told Lok Sabha on Friday. “We have started the consultation process with everyone, including state governments, to prepare a new Bill,” he said. The Micro Finance Institutions Development and Regulation Bill, 2012, was introduced in Lok Sabha on May 22, 2012, and was referred to the Standing Committee, which submitted its final report on February 17, 2014. The committee had urged the government to have wider consultations with state governments and stakeholders and bring forth a fresh legislation before Parliament, he said. The Bill lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha and shall have

TRANSFORMING THE POWER SECTOR

The power sector is one of the biggest concerns in terms of potential non-performing loans of banks given the host of headwinds the sector is facing. About a quarter of banks’ total exposure to the power sector is to the stressed players. Slowdown in the economy, shortage of coal, mounting losses of state electricity boards (SEBs) and non-remunerative tariffs have stymied the sector. The government’s high-level panel to revamp the power sector headed by former power minister Suresh Prabhu will have to address these challenges at the earliest and create a roadmap for the long-term sustainability of the sector.

As the gap between demand and supply of coal is increasing, the dependence on imported coal will rise from 150 million tonn

HPCL MAY AGREE TO RAJASTHAN’S STAKE HIKE DEMAND IN REFINERY

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a major stakeholder in the proposed refinery cum petrochemical complex at Pachpadra, may give in to the Rajasthan government’s demand to increase the state’s share from 26% in HPCL-Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL).

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje vowed to renegotiate the terms under which the previous Congress government persuaded HPCL to set up the refinery. In her budget speech, Raje had targeted the conditions in the agreement and termed it as unique and against the interest of the state. She pointed out that despite giving land, interest free loan of Rs 3,736 crore each year (for 15 years) and oil wells, the state controls only 26% while HPCL has stake of 76%.

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New role-models for mid-size companies

More than 90% of enterprises in the Arab world can be considered small and medium-sized enterprises. The growing importance of small and medium-sized firms requires a need to help those enterprises and to develop sustainable growth, networks for change and management development. In this column I will introduce new role-models for small and medium-sized companies. An emerging role-model for medium-sized companies is Germany with its more than […]

CABINET CLEARS 49% FOREIGN INVESTMENT CAP FOR INSURANCE

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared a Bill to raise the foreign investment ceiling in private insurance companies from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, but inserted a provision that the management and control of these companies must be with Indians. This cap will be composite — both foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment. Experts said this meant voting rights of foreign investors would not be capped at 26 per cent but they cannot have contractual agreements for control of insurance companies. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs this morning gave its approval to changes in the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which will now be taken up in the current session of Parliament. “The Cabinet has cleared raising the for

MONTHLY LIMIT OF ONE SUBSIDIZED CYLINDER PER HOUSEHOLD MAY GO

New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government plans to do away with the limit of one subsidized cooking gas cylinder per household.

The move comes before assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Jharkhand slated to happen later this year.

The issue is expected to be taken up soon by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).

To reduce its subsidy bill and cut the fiscal deficit, the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had restricted the number of subsidized domestic cylinders per household to six every year in September 2012, revising it to nine the following January. The cap was revised in January 2014 to 12 cylinders pe

DP World hopes to outperform itself this year

DP World, the world’s third-largest port operator, said it is confident of exceeding industry growth predicted to reach about 5 percent in 2014 as it adds capacity and global trade picks up. First-half throughput grew 9.3 percent on a like-for-like basis to 29.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units across its group of container terminals, it said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai today. On a reported basis, gross […]