NEW DELHI: The government has relaxed the norms for allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction development sector. It is expected the move will boost affordable housing projects and smart cities across the country. At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the minimum built-up area required to attract FDI was reduced from 50,000 sq m to 20,000 sq m, while […]
BANGALORE: State-run power generator NTPC is awaiting forest department clearance to set up its first wind energy project in the country. The 100-MW project, with an estimated cost of Rs. 650 crore is to come up at Guledagudda in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, said R Venkateswaran, Regional Executive Director (South). A few months ago, the company floated tenders but was not successful, and now it is […]
ERP platform….improve company’s overall performance Qapco teams with IBM and SAP to drive growth DOHA, 21 hours, 20 minutes ago Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), a leading petrochemical powerhouse in the region and a pioneer in petrochemical production, has teamed up with IBM and SAP for the development and implementation of an innovative enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform that will improve the company’s overall performance. Dr Mohammed Yousef […]
By G. Srinivasan The Modi Government is overly obsessed head over heels with economic reforms so much so that even before the results of the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections were out, it announced the decontrol of diesel price and a higher price for natural gas. These are the boldest reform strokes the stakeholders had been crying for that hold out the desirably salutary and intended impact […]
NEW DELHI: Life Insurance Corporation of India, the country’s largest insurer, will consider increasing its holding in companies in which the government plans to sell shares this year, possibly up to the 15% limit allowed. LIC, which is also the country’s largest investor, is expected to invest about Rs 55,000 crore in the equity markets this financial year, up from about Rs 51,000 crore in 2013-14. […]
New Delhi: In a bid to take advantage of the bullish stock market sentiment, the finance ministry has kicked off the exercise to cut government stake in public sector banks to 51% and enable them to raise fresh capital to meet their growth requirements. Sources told TOI that the ministry has moved a cabinet note as the government is keen that banks are well capitalized to meet […]
NEW DELHI: Private-sector power plants with a combined capacity of over 1 lakh MW, including plants of 36,500 MW that have been deprived of their captive coal blocks thanks to a recent Supreme Court verdict will get “firm coal linkage” if the Cabinet approves a plan put forth by the power ministry. Pooling of domestic (Coal India) and imported coal will be done to ensure these […]
NEW DELHI: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, on Tuesday signed an agreement to pick an up to 50 per cent stake in PetroVietnam’s two exploration blocks in the South China Sea. OVL will take a 40 per cent stake in Block 102/10 and 50 per cent in 106/10 that lie outside the sea territory claimed by China. PetroVietnam, […]
By Amulya Ganguli The writing is on the wall. To save itself, the Congress has no option but to bid farewell to the Nehru-Gandhi family. Therefore, the 100-odd supporters of the party who recently clamoured for the elevation of Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra to senior party positions are mistaken. If the 129-year-old party is to have a future, it has to make a new beginning under a new […]
New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Monday scrapped the selection of six chiefs of public sector banks, recommended under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, following a high-level panel finding irregularities in the process followed. The probe into selections for banks such as Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank followed the arrest of tainted Syndicate Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) S K Jain […]
NEW DELHI: The NDA government has finally taken the first step towards formulating a policy for hydropower projects on the Ganga — Alakananda and Bhagirathi rivers —in Uttarakhand. Water resources minister Uma Bharti informed the National Ganga River Basin Authority on Monday that a committee comprising officials of the environment and water resources ministry had been asked to review the reports of three committees dealing with […]
NEW DELHI: After clarity on natural gas prices and an ordinance on coal, the government is set to decide on pooling of imported and domestic fuel prices to help stressed power stations with a combined capacity of 91,000 mw generate electricity that’s badly needed as India tries to revive its economy. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is likely to decide on pooling gas and coal prices […]
FRANKFURT: Twenty-five banks including Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA failed a stress test led by the European Central Bank, which said almost half of them must act to raise more capital. The central bank in Frankfurt identified a 25 billion-euro shortfall ($32 billion) for the region’s lenders, and said 12 of them have now raised enough funds. Eleven banks need more capital, including Monte […]
NEW DELHI: With a decade’s existence of the Electricity Act of 2003 doing precious little in infusing efficiency and competition into the sector, the government has proposed some key changes in the Act to remedy the situation and prevent the loss-ridden sector, which is struggling to meet the reformist conditions of a financial restructuring package (FRP), from plumbing fresh depths. The Union power ministry’s draft amendments […]
Kuwait’s privately owned Jazeera Airways is preparing to bid for a big stake in state-run flag carrier Kuwait Airways, Jazeera’s chairman told Reuters. If the deal goes through, it will be a sign that the business scene is changing in the Gulf. For several decades, Gulf Arab economies have been dominated by the heavy hand of the state. Governments’ huge oil revenues have eclipsed private sector activity. […]
Kuwait Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund which started as a Bank of England account dedicated to receiving oil money, will sell stakes in three local companies worth 1.56 billion dinars ($5.4 billion). The KIA, as the fund is known, will sell its Kuwait Investment Co. holding in a public offering in the first half of next year, according to a statement on the website of the […]
Aabar Investments is demanding a hefty premium for its minority stake in Malaysia’s No.4 bank, sources say, as the Abu Dhabi state fund leverages on its amplified role in a $22 billion merger that will create Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest lender. When the Malaysian stock exchange last week barred the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) from voting on a plan to merge CIMB Group Holdings, RHB Capital Bhd and […]
By G. Srinivasan The upcoming G-20 Heads of State meeting in Brisbane, Australia in mid-November is being convened when urgent policy actions from major economies, advanced and emerging, call for coordinated and focused approach to get the world economy out of the anemic recovery. Latest economic data from global financial institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, OECD and the WTO do not inspire hope that […]
MUMBAI: Foreign funds are buying more Indian corporate bonds as there is no sign that the $25-billion limit on government securities — close to being exhausted — is going to be raised. Overseas portfolio investors have used up nearly half the overall investment limit in corporate bonds compared with 37 per cent four months ago. But foreign portfolio investors, or FPIs, can invest another Rs 1,23,580 crore […]
Dubai International Capital (DIC) should complete the sale of the two main assets remaining in its portfolio within 18 months, which will provide it with cash to cover its outstanding debt well ahead of scheduled repayment in two years. Proceeds from the divestment of the five remaining assets should also give the private equity firm surplus funds to pass to its parent firm, Dubai Holding, to help […]
New Delhi: The government on Monday allowed private companies in the defence sector to sell equipment to state-run entities without prior approval of the defence ministry, a move that could attract investments in the sector. The decision came after the government opened the sector for higher foreign direct investments (FDI) and relaxed compulsory licensing for a number of equipment. “The licencee shall be allowed to sell […]
Saudi Arabian Airlines plans to raise at least 10 billion riyals ($2.7 billion) through the sale of shares in its ground-handling, cargo and maintenance units. An initial public offering of the ground-handling unit valued at 2 billion riyals will take place “in weeks,” Saudi Arabian Airlines’ Chief Financial Officer Muhammad Albakri told reporters in Dubai. The sale of shares in the cargo unit is planned for next […]
By Harihar Swarup Results in assembly election in Maharashtra are on expected lines: no party got majority and the BJP emerged as the single largest party, having secured only 121 seats in 288-member house, falling short of 22 seats to get majority. But in Haryana it was a real surprise: few expected clear majority for the BJP when in the last election the saffron party could […]
NEW DELHI: After announcing several labour reforms last week, the Narendra Modi government is considering allowing workers to participate in board decision of state-run firms such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Coal India, NTPC, Indian Oil Corporation and BHEL. The policy proposal, an initiative of the labour ministry, is expected to be initially confined to state-run enterprises, but its scope could be enlarged later to include […]
