Funds tracking MSCI’s emerging markets index are likely to start buying several stocks in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that will see their benchmark weightings increased after the end of trading on Tuesday. These include Emaar Properties, Dubai Islamic Bank and First Gulf Bank in the UAE, plus Doha’s Industries Qatar, Qatar National Bank, Doha Bank and Commercial Bank of Qatar. Gulf International Services will join […]
Iran may propose that OPEC cut its output target by as much as 1 million barrels a day to halt the slide in crude prices when the country’s oil minister consults with his Saudi counterpart before the group gathers this week. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi will talk on the sidelines of the meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting […]
A panel of national representatives reviewed OPEC’s oil market outlook for 2015 this week, OPEC sources said, preparing the ground for a policy-setting meeting next week that will decide how to address a looming oversupply of crude. The Economic Commission Board concluded a two-day meeting in Vienna on Friday ahead of the gathering of the group’s oil ministers on Nov. 27. It does not recommend policy to […]
NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Thursday approved an outlay of Rs 43,033 crore to fund an ambitious initiative to supply electricity through separate feeders for agricultural and rural domestic consumption, aimed at providing round-the-clock power to village households. In addition, the cabinet also approved spending Rs 32,612 crore on an integrated power development initiative, which involves strengthening sub-transmission and distribution systems, according […]
NEW DELHI: The government will soon relax the rules so that road developers can sell their completed or stuck project, which will free them up to invest in other road projects that have found few takers in recent years. The current rules say developers have to hold at least 26 per cent stake in highway projects, tying them to projects executed by them. The road ministry […]
Mumbai: The board of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday cleared big-bang market reforms, including a move to replace the two-decade-old insider-trading rules with the new prohibition of insider trading (PIT) regulations, and amending the existing delisting regulations. Additionally, Sebi approved new reforms in consent mechanism under which it will give entities found violating securities laws the option of settling the matter before the […]
New aircraft and fresh routes will help Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates grow profit by no less than eight to ten percent in coming months, its president said on Wednesday. “We will continue to grow at a percentage which is never going to be less than about 8-10 percent, and that’s a conservative figure,” Tim Clark said on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Dubai. Clark warned […]
NEW DELHI: Bids in the February 2015 spectrum auction are likely to skyrocket as the department of telecommunications (DoT) plans to auction just 800/900/1800 MHz spectrum bands, and not the vital 2100 MHz band spectrum that telcos were hoping for. Auctions for spectrum in the 2100 MHz band will take place only in May, and with no certainty about how much 2100 MHz spectrum would be available […]
Kolkata: The fear of bad loans and limited lending opportunities to top companies have prompted several banks to shift focus towards the retail (individual loans) and small & medium enterprises segments. India Inc’s reluctance to borrow money is keeping bankers worried. While lenders were able to stem fresh impairment in their credit quality in the July-September period, low demand for corporate loans has decelerated the growth in […]
NEW DELHI: With global energy firms refusing to participate in the ambitious TAPI gas pipeline, India may propose getting a Chinese company to lead a consortium that will build the USD 10 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. French giant Total SA had initially envisaged interest in leading a consortium of national oil companies of the four nations in the TAPI project, but backed off after […]
NEW DELHI: A few weeks before the Reserve Bank of India announces the monetary policy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made his preferences clear in the raging debate over whether governor Raghuram Rajan should cut interest rates on December 2. “Reduction in the cost of capital will give a good fillip to the Indian economy,” Jaitley said at the Citi Investor Forum, but added that the […]
NEW DELHI: A few weeks before the Reserve Bank of India announces the monetary policy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made his preferences clear in the raging debate over whether governor Raghuram Rajan should cut interest rates on December 2. “Reduction in the cost of capital will give a good fillip to the Indian economy,” Jaitley said at the Citi Investor Forum, but added that the decision […]
By Sankar Ray If all goes well, India and Russia will shortly ink the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India & the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan & Russian Federation. The coming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India next month is supposed to impart a new dimension to the bilateral ties between India and Russian Federation and speedy finalization of the FTA between the two […]
Brisbane: DRIVEN by a strong domestic political agenda of getting black money back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday managed to get the Group of 20 include a certain clause in the final Leaders’ Communique that will make it difficult for tax havens to give complete tax exemption to companies. This, along with the G-20’s endorsement of a global Common Reporting Standard for automatic exchange of […]
By S Sethuraman As the Modi Government completes its first six months with a record of hesitant, incremental moves on the economic front, growth recovery has at last become visible and looks to gain momentum to hit the targeted 5.5 per cent or slightly above, in fiscal ’15. Business sentiment is being bolstered by falling inflation and output modestly growing by 2.8 per cent in the […]
By Anjan Roy China is riding the crest of its economic success currently. It has taken one more step to make its currency globally traded and thus acceptable. China has announced what is known as the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stocks Connect from November 17. This in effect means off shore trading in the Chinese currency for purchase of stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges. Earlier, […]
By Harihar Swarup Another round of crucial Assembly elections are round the corner. While the polls are due in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand in December, in Delhi, where state assembly has been dissolved, the election is slated to be held in January. Doubtless, election in Jammu and Kashmir is of vital importance in the changed scenario. Both the ruling National Conference and the Congress are […]
Mumbai: The finance ministry will meet chief executives of public sector banks on November 20 to take stock of the progress made under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). There will also be a review of the performance of the lenders. Hasmukh Adhia, the newly appointed secretary of financial services, who took charge on November 8, will chair the meeting. Adhia, a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer of […]
NEW DELHI: After cementing trade ties with China, energy-rich Russia is now looking to strengthen its relationship with India by reviving discussions on a hydrocarbon pipeline, in addition to inviting ONGC Videsh (OVL) to invest in oil and gas projects in the Russian Federation. India and Russia have decided to form a joint working group to study laying a ‘hydrocarbon’ pipeline connecting the nations. Preliminary discussions […]
Dubai’s inflation rate advanced to the highest level in more than five years, after prices in the housing index rose the most since at least January 2009. Consumer prices accelerated to 4.38 percent in October compared with the same period last year, the Dubai Statistics Center said in an e-mail today, the highest since May 2009. Housing, the biggest component in the consumer price index, added 6.67 […]
India on Thursday achieved a major victory with the US agreeing to its proposal on food security issues at WTO, a development that will pave the way for a breakthrough to end the three-month long stalemate. The agreement comes two days ahead of the G-20 Summit in Australia, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders including the US President Barack Obama. […]
KATHMANDU: India and Nepal are holding negotiations to sign a second Project Development Agreement (PDA) to generate hydorelectric power in the Himalayan nation endowed with rich water resources. The negotiations for the 900 MW Arun-III project between Investment Board Nepal (IBN) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, India, which began here yesterday, continued today, Indian Embassy sources said, adding, they are set to continue tomorrow as […]
The government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi is looking at ways to reform its system of subsidies for electricity and water, a senior International Monetary Fund official told Reuters on Wednesday, in what would be a landmark move by the emirate. “We discussed it here at the policy level, particularly with the Abu Dhabi government, which indicated they are now looking at ways to streamline their […]
Dubai’s stocks fell the most among global markets as oil extended declines while Saudi shares slumped amid heightened security concerns. The benchmark DFM General Index (DFMGI) dropped 3.3 percent, the most in three weeks, to 4,400.80 at the close. That’s the steepest slide among 93 gauges worldwide tracked by Bloomberg so far today. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index lost 1.6 percent for the third-worst decrease, taking […]
