25% of sector's rejigged loans can slip into NPAs: Axis Bk

Oct 31, 2013, 12.38 PM IST

Bulk of the restructuring has happened over the last four-six quarters. So whatever plays out is going to play out in 2015-16 and Srinivasan Varadarajan, ED, Axis Bank believes that around 25 percent of restructured loans slipping into NPAs is something which is realistic to assume.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

25% of sector's rejigged loans can slip into NPAs: Axis Bk

Bulk of the restructuring has happened over the last four-six quarters. So whatever plays out is going to play out in 2015-16 and Srinivasan Varadarajan, ED, Axis Bank believes that around 25 percent of restructured loans slipping into NPAs is something which is realistic to assume.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

25% of sector's rejigged loans can slip into NPAs: Axis Bk

Bulk of the restructuring has happened over the last four-six quarters. So whatever plays out is going to play out in 2015-16 and Srinivasan Varadarajan, ED, Axis Bank believes that around 25 percent of restructured loans slipping into NPAs is something which is realistic to assume.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

Banks have been the primary lenders over the last few months when extraordinary measures have been put in place in terms of money market conditions.

V Srinivasan

ED

Axis Bank

Rising bad loans has been the biggest problems plaguing banking sector, which may not improve going ahead. Srinivasan Varadarajan, ED, Axis Bank , says the environment of elevated costs will persist for the next few quarters despite improving macros. So much so that 25 percent of the restructured loans can still slip into the bad loans category in future, he says. This will possibly play out in 2015 and 2016, he adds.

Also Read: S&P sees no end to banks' woes; pegs NPAs at 4.4% by Mar'15

But there is still a silver lining. Loan growth this year has been surprising on the upside, says Varadarajan. Around 18 percent credit growth is higher than what one could have anticipated in the current environment, he says.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Srinivasan Varadarajan's interview on CNBC-TV18

Q: Just to come to your sense of bad loans first, most of the private banks did not have the scare of bad loans that we had maybe two quarters ago, do you think that scare is over or can we still see something come up like power companies not being able to generate and the date of commencement now getting past one year or past two years?

A: As far as the asset quality issue is concerned again this is something, which we need to keep in mind that this phase of slow growth and slightly elevated credit cost is happening over a longer period of time and if you see whether it is public sector banks or private sector banks, costs have been more elevated than in the past for almost now four-six quarters and it looks likely that it will stay this way for the next few quarters.

So it is not that you are going to see a lot of stress happening all in a single window of one-two quarters but we have seen this phase being longer than what one had anticipated. That is how the problem is playing out as far as asset quality is concerned. So even if you look ahead, I do not think that we can say that we have seen the bottoming out on in terms of asset quality and things are going to look much better. Things are going to stay this way. The macro looks like it is improving but things are more likely to stay this way for the next few quarters.

Q: Curious about restructured loans, I get a lot of questions from international clients on this. The trend has been that restructured loans have been rising for the industry in general and there is a degree of suspicion around the governance of what exactly a restructured loan is, is it a hidden NPL, what is your perspective on this?

A: If you look at the last cycle and what we have seen even over the last couple of years, typically if you look at our track record, anywhere between 20 percent and 25 percent of restructured loans can slip into NPAs and that has been the evidence we have seen in the past. We believe around 25 percent going forward in the future is also something which can slip from restructured portfolio into non-performing assets. Our bulk of the restructuring has happened over the last four-six quarters and the seasoning on that is still too early. So whatever plays out is going to play out possibly in 2015 to 2016 and we believe that the numbers they are talking of around 25 percent of restructured slipping into NPAs is something which is realistic to assume.

Q: What about growth, ultimately India is a growth story, it is not a quality story, nobody is going to buy our banks because they have good quality assets but whether they are growing, what is the sense you are getting in terms of loan growth this year and next?

A: If you look at the loan growth this year, it is clearly surprising us on the upside. If you look at somewhere close to 18 percent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) credit growth, it is clearly higher than what one would have anticipated in the current environment. That has also been helped by a whole lot of factors such as tight liquidity and liquidity moving away from everyone else except banks. So banks have been the primary lenders over the last few months when extraordinary measures have been put in place in terms of money market conditions.

So that has caused loan growth as far as banks are concerned to see a sharp uptick and that would reverse itself to some extent as money market conditions ease but from where we thought 15 percent credit growth this year is going to be a tough ask. It looks broadly possible in the current context.

On October 31, 2013, Axis Bank closed at Rs 1222.90, up Rs 0.95, or 0.08 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1549.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 764.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 120.92 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 10.11. The latest book value of the company is Rs 705.65 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.73.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google faces anti-trust probes in India, 4 more regions

Internet major Google is facing probes by fair trade regulators in India, Europe, Argentina, Brazil and Taiwan for alleged anti-competitive practices.

Fair trade watchdogs have the mandate to keep a check on anti-competitive business practices across sectors.

"The Comision Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia in Argentina, the Competition Commission of India, the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission and Brazil's Council for Economic Defense have also opened investigations into certain of our business practices," Google Inc said in a recent regulatory filing.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) began its probe in August last year. Google accounts for over 90 percent of the Internet search market in the country.

"... As far as I recall, the allegation or the complaint was that their (Google) search engine is such that it is discriminatory and it favours the platforms which Google wants to support. That is when you click on Google under a certain category, you will get the platforms where there is a tendency to put them in a certain order which may not be the fair and non-discriminatory manner. So, what is the software and what is the algorithmic search, (that is) what the investigation team is looking at," CCI Chairman Ashok Chawla had said recently.

Meanwhile, in its filing, Google also said it was pursuing a potential resolution with the European Commission's Director General of Competition, which is probing various anti-trust related complaints against the company.

"We believe we have adequately responded to all of the allegations made against us. We continue to cooperate with the EC and are pursuing a potential resolution that would avoid a finding of infringement and a fine," it said.

Besides, European Commission has opened an investigation into Motorola's licensing practices for standards essential patents and use of standards-essential patents in litigation following complaints by Microsoft and Apple.

"The European Commission has issued a Statement of Objections against Motorola alleging abuse of a dominant position with respect to these standards-essential patents. We have responded to the Statement of Objections and are defending the case," the filing said.

Also, state attorneys general from Texas, Ohio and Mississippi have also issued Civil Investigative Demands relating to the company's business practices.

"We are co-operating with the state attorneys general and are responding to their information requests on an ongoing basis," it added.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Eye 3MT exports in FY14; net debt at Rs 30435cr: JSW Steel

Leading industry player JSW Steel aims to export 3 mt steel in FY14 versus 1.9 mt, year-on-year (YoY). In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Joint MD & Group CFO Seshagiri Rao said that the export market has improved on the back of better realizations and demand.

Rupee's deprecation has aided realisations and the Indian currency is likely to stabilise in range of 61-62/USD, he added.

Further, he said that the company's net debt currently stands at Rs 30,435 crore and is looking at hedging costs to zero and balance forex exposure.

Also Read: JSW Steel posts Q2 loss at Rs 115.5cr on exceptional item

Below is the edited transcript of Seshagiri Rao's interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: Your topline has beat street estimates because of higher contribution that you had from the export sales volumes, for FY14 you had a sale target of around 12 million tonne or so. Given the fact that exports are improving so much, do you think you may have to scale up that target?

A: Yes, we have already given the guidance of 3 million tonne of exports in this year as against 1.9 million tonne in the last year. So, it is almost 1.1 million tonne of more exports from India. At the same time, last year, India had exported 4.5 million tonne out of that our share was 1.9 million tonne.

First six months of this year if you take total India's export of steel, it has improved by 200,000 tonne, out of that 50.3 percent is from JSW Steel . That way, on one side India is exporting more and when Indian steel industry demand is flattish then export markets is looking better and India is competitive in terms of steel production. We are able to capture that advantage and then increase our exports. That is why one million tonne of more exports which we are talking in this year.

Q: You were talking to us also about how because of the currency you are ready to replace steel that would have otherwise been important, how much of the sales have come from that and therefore what will you extrapolate as sales growth for the second half?

A: Today imports are falling. In the first six months of this year, import of steel into India has come down by 23 percent and exports are growing. So one way is out of these imports, which are happening into India, how much is replaceable, how much is substitutable, how much cannot be substituted if you look at it -  only a few elements of steel which are getting imported into India particularly high technology oriented steel are imported. 

I don't think they are more than 2 million tonne out of 8.6 which were imported last year. So 6.6 million tonne of steel can be substituted subject to certain constraints majorly relating to iron ore availability. If it can be increased, Indian steel industry is quite competitive to meet the challenge and also taking the advantage of what is vacated by other countries like China is slowing down next year. This is a great advantage for India to do better and to substitute these imports and at the same time become the global hub. 

We have that competitive strength, low labour cost, iron ore availability. Also, technology is coming from companies like Japanese and Koreans into India. So, we will be able to produce very high-end value added steel products and then reduce the pressure on the overall balance of payment.

Q: Tell me how you manage currency volatility, you are trying to win export orders, domestic orders over the next 12 months what you are assuming for the currency and how you are going to manage this volatility?

A: The way we have seen so far is that steel as a product is a globally traded product whether we sell in the domestic market or we export, economic exposure wise we have the dollar exposure. Whether rupee appreciates or depreciates it gets reflected by higher realisations or lower realisations in the sales. Therefore there is no need for hedging that is the view which we have been taking so far. But what it results in is there is mark-to-market (M-T-M) on the outstanding payables are long-term loans, which is bringing a lot of volatility in the earnings.

Therefore, what we have decided is that imports also we cover, exports also we cover. Thereby there is no volatility in the earnings at the same time, we need not worry about what happens to rupee/dollar. This brings stability in the cash flow and reduces volatility in the earnings.  So, we are changing the hedging policy from this quarter onwards. Rupee will be stable going forward. It has already depreciated from almost 54/USD as on March 31, 2013 to 61-62/USD. So it may stabilise at that level.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Infosys whistleblower could get $5-8 mn from settlement

A former American employee of Infosys , who had brought a whistleblower lawsuit against the IT giant, could receive between USD five to eight million of the total USD 34 million that the Indian company will pay to settle visa fraud allegations.

In one of the largest settlements in an immigration fraud case, Bangalore-based Infosys has agreed to pay the amount to resolve claims made by federal prosecutors in Texas. The payment by Infosys would be made within the next 30 days and include USD five million to Homeland Security Investigations for civil or administrative forfeiture, a similar amount to the Department of State and USD 24 million to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Also Read: Infy, US Govt complete civil settlement for $34mn

Jack Palmer, who had worked at Infosys, brought the whistle-blower lawsuit in Alabama in February 2011, saying that he had been punished and sidelined by company executives after he reported witnessing widespread visa fraud. His lawsuit was dismissed last year by a federal judge but it spurred the federal investigation into Infosys' visa procedures.

John Bales, the US attorney for the district of Texas, said in a news conference in Plano yesterday that Palmer will be "amply and justly rewarded." Palmer would get a small pie of the settlement amount that Infosys will have to cough up.

Authorities, however, refused to divulge the exact amount that Palmer would get, saying that it will be a "slightly complicated calculation about how the funds are apportioned." "It would be safe to say that Palmer can receive no more than 25 percent of the portion of the settlement amount that is attributable to his whistleblowing," Attorney-in-Charge at the US Attorney's Plano Office, Deputy Criminal Chief Shamoil Shipchandler told PTI in an email.

Palmer could receive as much as USD five million and up to USD eight million. Bales said the compensation to Palmer would be made under the False Claims Act, adding that the government had done a lot of the work during its two and a half year investigation into the case.

This would be kept in mind while calculating Palmer's share, he said. Earlier, a New York Times report had quoted Palmer as saying that the entire visa fraud investigation had taken a "personal toll" on him but "it would have been much worse in the long run if I had turned the other cheek."

"It was a question of right and wrong, following my conscience and following the law." Palmer had first reported that Infosys was writing false invitation letters for B-1 visas for Indian employees, because he was asked to write one and he refused.

Palmer said he had turned down an early settlement offer from Infosys, because it would not have allowed him to  continue cooperating with federal investigators. "They wanted to buy my silence, and I wouldn't do it," he said. "I never did it for the money. I did it because they were violating the law."

On October 31, 2013, Infosys closed at Rs 3308.65, down Rs 15.35, or 0.46 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 3372.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 2190.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 159.27 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 20.77. The latest book value of the company is Rs 627.95 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 5.27.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

LIC trims stake in Tata Global Beverages to 5.60%

Oct 31, 2013, 08.51 PM IST

The company's total income from operations rose to Rs 1,813.46 crore during the first quarter, as compared to Rs 1,725.10 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

LIC trims stake in Tata Global Beverages to 5.60%

The company's total income from operations rose to Rs 1,813.46 crore during the first quarter, as compared to Rs 1,725.10 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

LIC trims stake in Tata Global Beverages to 5.60%

The company's total income from operations rose to Rs 1,813.46 crore during the first quarter, as compared to Rs 1,725.10 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has reduced its stake in Tata Global Beverages Ltd by 2.02 percent, selling 1.25 crore shares in the open market. LIC, which had 7.63 percent stake earlier, brought down its shareholding in the company to 5.60 percent by selling shares between December 27, 2012 and October 29, 2013, Tata Global Beverages said in a filing to the BSE.

During the first quarter ended June 30, 2013, Tata Global Beverages posted 43.68 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 111.63 crore compared with net profit of Rs 77.69 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.

The company's total income from operations rose to Rs 1,813.46 crore during the first quarter, as compared to Rs 1,725.10 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

Shares of Tata Global closed at Rs 164 apiece, down 0.58 percent from their previous close on the BSE.

On October 31, 2013, Tata Global Beverage closed at Rs 164.00, down Rs 0.95, or 0.58 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 181.70 and the 52-week low was Rs 122.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 4.64 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 35.34. The latest book value of the company is Rs 37.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 4.37.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sanjiv Kapoor to be new SpiceJet CEO

SpiceJet today announced the appointment of Sanjiv Kapoor, aviation consultant and a former member of Bangladesh's GMG Airlines' Board, as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Kapoor, who would be occupying the post from tomorrow, had earlier worked with US carrier Northwest Airlines in several roles spanning corporate finance, business planning, procurement and operations, the no-frills carrier said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Besides Singapore's Temasek Holdings and the Boston Consulting Group in the US, Kapoor also worked with consultancy firm Bain and Company as a leader in their airline practice and worked with several large global carriers at the Board level on their fleet planning, network optimisation and revenue management.

His most recent stint was in the GMG Airlines where he led several initiatives towards improving productivity, cost control and customer satisfaction.

In April 2012, S. Natrajhen, formerly with Sun TV and erstwhile COO of SpiceJet, was appointed whole-time director of SpiceJet and designated Executive Director.  The airline's CEO Neil Mills quit in July last year.

On October 31, 2013, SpiceJet closed at Rs 20.20, up Rs 0.35, or 1.76 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 50.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 18.05.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -3.88 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -5.21.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

India slips to 134th spot in ease of doing business: WB

India has slipped three positions to 134th spot in the latest ease-of-doing business list, which is topped by Singapore, according to World Bank. In the 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking of 189 economies, India has dropped from 131 spot last year while Singapore continues to remain at the top.

Singapore is followed by Hong Kong and New Zealand at the second and third positions, respectively. Other nations in the top ten are United States (4), Denmark (5), Malaysia (6), Korea (7), Georgia (8), Norway (9) and United Kingdom (10).

India has been ranked lower at 179 in terms of ease of starting a business in the 2014 list at a time when its government is making efforts to improve the country's business climate. Last year, based on this criteria India was placed at 177th spot.

The ranking of countries are based on various parameters including starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

"The ranking on the ease of doing business, and the underlying indicators, do not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors or that affect the competitiveness of the economy.

"Still, a high ranking does mean that the government has created a regulatory environment conducive to operating a business," the report said. India had earlier expressed concerns about the report.

Earlier this year, a World Bank-appointed independent panel of experts, in its review report, had suggested scrapping the ranking system with regard to ease of doing business.

Recently, a government-appointed panel had suggested a slew of measures to improve the country's business climate.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Infosys says in process of resolving US visa investigation

Oct 29, 2013, 09.08 PM IST

The Wall Street Journal had earlier said that the United States was expected to announce a resolution in the case on Wednesday. In a statement, Infosys said a resolution had yet to be finalised.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Infosys says in process of resolving US visa investigation

The Wall Street Journal had earlier said that the United States was expected to announce a resolution in the case on Wednesday. In a statement, Infosys said a resolution had yet to be finalised.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Infosys says in process of resolving US visa investigation

The Wall Street Journal had earlier said that the United States was expected to announce a resolution in the case on Wednesday. In a statement, Infosys said a resolution had yet to be finalised.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

IT firm Infosys Ltd said on Tuesday it was in the process of reaching a settlement with the US government over the company's alleged misuse of temporary business visas.

US authorities have been investigating India's second-largest information technology services exporter since 2011.

The Wall Street Journal had earlier said that the United States was expected to announce a resolution in the case on Wednesday. In a statement, Infosys said a resolution had yet to be finalised.

"In response to reports attributed to Justice Department officials, Infosys is in the process of completing a civil resolution with the government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors," the company said.

"The resolution has not been finalized," it added.

Indian IT outsourcing firms like Infosys use thousands of visas to bring in employees, mainly from India, a practice that has come under intense scrutiny as it is seen by some US policymakers as hurting the American job market.

Earlier this month, Infosys said it had set aside a reserve of USD 35 million as it worked towards a resolution for the US government's investigation.

On October 29, 2013, Infosys closed at Rs 3334.90, up Rs 11.05, or 0.33 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 3372.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 2190.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 159.27 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 20.94. The latest book value of the company is Rs 627.95 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 5.31.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

India to ask Reliance to give up 80% of D6 gas block

India will ask Reliance Industries Ltd to relinquish 80 percent of its east coast deepwater D6 gas block, including five discoveries, as the energy major has not adhered to timelines for developing the area, the oil secretary said.

"We are waiting for the oil minister's final order," Vivek Rae told Reuters on Tuesday, referring to the instruction telling Reliance to relinquish the discoveries in the 7,645 square kilometre D6 block.

The five discoveries within D6 are D4, D7, D8, D16 and D23. Rae said Reliance failed to submit reports on the commercial viability the five discoveries on time.

He said the relinquished area will be auctioned in subsequent licensing rounds. The relinquished area does not contain any producing fields.

Total reserves in these five discoveries in the Krishna Godavari basin are estimated to be 805 billion cubic feet, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

No decision has yet been taken on the fate of the remaining three fields in the D6 block - D29, D30 and D31 - which are estimated to hold about 350 billion cubic feet of gas reserves, Rae said.

He said Reliance had submitted commerciality declarations of the three discoveries on time but had not carried out the necessary tests.

A Reliance Industries spokesman declined to comment.

Natural gas output from the Krishna Godavari basin's D6 block, in which BP has a 30 percent equity stake, has declined to 14 million cubic metres per day (mmscmd) from 60 mmscmd at the end of 2010.

The companies have cited geological complexities for the fall in output, which has been in steady decline since 2010, while the oil regulator believes they failed to drill enough wells.

On October 29, 2013, Reliance Industries closed at Rs 896.80, up Rs 6.60, or 0.74 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 954.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 761.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 67.88 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 13.21. The latest book value of the company is Rs 557.10 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.61.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Coal blocks auction may be delayed further to March

The auction of coal blocks to private firms may get further delayed to March next year as the Coal Ministry has sought from consultancy firm CMPDIL a report on reserves of four more mines.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had earlier said that auction of mines would begin in December.

"The auction of mines is likely by March next year," an official source said.

The Coal Ministry has asked CMPDIL, the mine planning and consultancy company of Coal India , to assess the reserves of four more mines and submit its report by next year, the official added.

The government which was initially planning to auction six mines in the first tranche is targeting to auction 10 blocks now, the official said.

The Cabinet had earlier approved the methodology for auctioning coal blocks, providing for upfront and production -linked payments and benchmarking of coal sale prices.

Coal blocks will be put up for auction after environment ministry reviews them and bidders have to agree to a minimum work programme, an official statement had said recently.

The policy provides for production-linked payment on a rupee per tonne basis, plus a basic upfront payment of 10 percent of the intrinsic value of the coal block.

The government had earlier said that exploration activities in identified blocks are at an advanced stage and are likely to be completed soon.

The government had earlier allocated 14 coal mines to central and state public sector units, including four to NTPC , in July.

It had earlier planned to auction 54 coal blocks with total estimated reserves of about 18 billion tonnes.

On October 29, 2013, Coal India closed at Rs 280.95, up Rs 4.40, or 1.59 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 374.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 238.35.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 13.88 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 20.24. The latest book value of the company is Rs 32.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 8.65.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vodafone to raise Indian unit stake to 100% for Rs 10141 cr

World's second largest mobile operator Vodafone Plc of UK on Tuesday sought FIPB approval to invest Rs 10,141 crore in raising its stake in the Indian arm to 100 percent.

"Vodafone confirms it has filed an application with the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) to increase its holding in Vodafone India Ltd (VIL) from 64.38 percent to 100 percent," Vodafone said in a statement.

The telecom major said it has always maintained that it would like to increase its holding in the business and the plan of further investment demonstrates Vodafone's long-term commitment to India.

"The total inflow of foreign investment into India as a result of the proposed transactions will be approximately Rs 10,141 crore. Following the completion of these transactions, Vodafone will also consider providing additional funding to VIL by subscribing to equity shares of VIL," Vodafone said.

The UK-based firm will buy minority investors including billionaire industrialist Ajay Piramal, who holds 11 percent stake in Vodafone India. The remaining 25 percent interest is with undisclosed minority shareholders, who are understood to include Analjit Singh, chairman of Vodafone India.

Vodafone entered India in 2007 by buying out Hong Kong-based Hutchison in Hutchison Essar for USD 11 billion.

The telecom major said: "Vodafone will continue to invest in India to bring the benefits of mobile communications and financial inclusion to more and more people across the country."

Vodafone India is among the top 5 contributors to Vodafone Plc's global revenue. In India, Vodafone ranks second in terms of mobile customers.

Vodafone is the first mobile operator to have applied for going solo in the Indian market under new norms, which allow foreign telecom companies to wholly own their India units.

Other telecom operators which are majorly owned by foreign telecom companies are Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Uninor and Aircel.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

JSW Steel to raise $600 mn from overseas market

JSW Steel is planning to raise around USD 600 million through external commercial borrowing (ECB) route, part of which will be mopped up in the current quarter, a top company official said today.

"We plan to raise around USD 600 million through ECB route in order to align our rupee and dollar denominated debt at around 50:50 ratio. Part of this total amount is likely to be raised in the current quarter," JSW Steel Joint Managing Director and Group Chief Financial Officer Seshagiri Rao told reporters here.

It will also reduce the interest outgo of the firm through reduction in average interest cost, he added. As per the private steel firm, the average interest cost of the company stands at around 8.25 percent and post-fund raising, it will be reduced by around one percentage point.

By the end of September quarter, JSW Steel has a net debt of Rs 30,435 crore with a debt to equity ratio of 1.44. While 39 per cent of the debt book comprises foreign debt, the rest is in rupee terms.

Rao said the company intends the rupee debt to foreign currency debt at 50:50 ratio going ahead. Meanwhile, JSW Steel said most of its loans are long-term in nature and it doesn't have any repayment liability out of expiry of any short-term loan.

Referring to bidding for Stemcor assets, Rao said the company will submit its bid by November 18. JSW Steel, along with Tata Steel, Essar Steel, JSPL, Bhushan Steel and Aditya Birla Group firm Essel Mining, is in the fray to acquire assets of Stemcor, which is looking to hive off its Indian assets.

Talking about raw material pricing, Rao said, while iron ore rates are showing a downward bias, coking coal prices are likely to stabilise at the present level.

On October 29, 2013, JSW Steel closed at Rs 861.00, up Rs 1.60, or 0.19 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 893.75 and the 52-week low was Rs 451.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 54.25 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 15.87. The latest book value of the company is Rs 811.51 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.06.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

SpiceJet plans gradual global expansion

Aiming to expand its international network gradually, no-frills carrier SpiceJet today said it would add two more global destinations, Dammam and Kuala Lumpur, by March next year along with increasing frequencies on certain foreign routes.

"We are going to start operations to Dammam (Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) within this financial year. We are currently working on the financial details and also trying to increase frequencies to certain existing destinations," SpiceJet's Senior Vice President (Commercial) V Raja said here today.

Also read: FIR against Mallya, KFA for non-payment of airport fee

Asked whether SpiceJet was in talks with any foreign carrier for investment in its equity, he said these were "only reports", but added that "if there is a good proposal which is economically and commercially good for us, it will be wrong not to look at it".

With this planned expansion, SpiceJet would raise its foreign flights per day from 28 to about 42 within this financial year, Raja and other senior airline officials said.

Raja was talking to reporters after the airline added the Thai capital, Bangkok, as its tenth foreign destination, launching two flights simultaneously from Bangalore and Pune to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport here.

Congratulating the Indian carrier for starting the services, Indian Ambassador to Thailand Anil Wadhwa said the growing number of flights from India would further cement the historic bilateral ties and improve regional connectivity.

There were currently 156 flights per week between the two countries, with leisure and business travel growing at a phenomenal pace.

"Last year over 1.15 million Indians visited Thailand, while 88,000 Thai visitors went to India, mainly to Buddhist pilgrimage sites," the envoy said.

Besides being a popular destination for shooting of films, Thailand have also emerged as a favourite wedding destination with business estimated at around 30-40 million Baht (USD 32 million) a year, growing at a rate of 15-20 per cent rate.

"These is certainly a positive trend for airlines operating from India," Wadhwa said, adding that ten Indian cities are now connected with Bangkok.

Referring to road connectivity, the Indian ambassador said initiatives like the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) framework is under construction to connect the two nations.

India has invested USD 258 million on the 1,632 km long highway and is constructing 71 bridges on the entire length.

On October 28, 2013, SpiceJet closed at Rs 20.30, down Rs 0.5, or 2.4 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 50.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 18.05.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -3.88 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -5.23.

23.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

CIL stake sale likely in November or December: Jaiswal

The government today said the five percent stake sale in state-owned Coal India (CIL) is likely to take place either in November or December.

"It is likely that it (stake sale in Coal India ) may happen either in November or December," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters here. "You may be aware that Coal India Chairman has gone (overseas) for this purpose only," he added.

Also Read: Difficult to meet FY14 divestment target: Fin Min Sources

To woo foreign investors for Coal India stake sale, the disinvestment department (DoD) has embarked on a roadshow spanning across five nations, including Germany and the UK. The roadshow began last week amid threats by workers of the state-owned firm to go on strike in December against the government move to divest its stake further.

The Minister also said that though the production of CIL has been hit in the current month on account of Cyclone Phailin, however, "We are hopeful that (Coal India) will achieve its production target (of 482 million tonnes) for the current fiscal." Government currently hold 90 percent stake in CIL. It has already selected seven merchant bankers, including Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and SBI Caps, to manage the CIL stake sale which is to take place through the offer for sale route.

The Disinvestment department was originally planning to offload 10 percent stake in CIL, but faced strong opposition from employees union who threatened to go on strike. CIL workers' union had in September decided to defer its proposed three-day strike to December 17. Earlier, it was planned from September 23.

CIL got listed on the bourses in 2010 through an initial public offering in which the government raised Rs 15,199 crore by selling 10 percent stake. The company has a cash balance of about Rs 60,000 crore. The government plans to garner Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal by way of disinvestment and CIL's stake sale is expected to be the largest.

On October 28, 2013, Coal India closed at Rs 276.55, down Rs 2.5, or 0.9 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 374.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 238.35.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 13.88 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 19.92. The latest book value of the company is Rs 32.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 8.51.

23.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Airtel Digital TV launches set-top box for Rs 2,000

Oct 27, 2013, 02.10 PM IST

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel, today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Airtel Digital TV launches set-top box for Rs 2,000

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel, today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Airtel Digital TV launches set-top box for Rs 2,000

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel, today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

Airtel Digital TV, the direct to home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel , today launched a set-top-box for Rs 2,000 wherein customers can record by plugging-in an external storage device such as pen drive.

"The new standard definition (SD) set-to-box will allow customers to enjoy recording by just plugging-in an external storage device," the company said in a statement.

The company said customers can just plug-in their pen drive or other external storage device into the set-top box to start recording and can schedule the recordings even via mobile or Internet.

Also read: Bharti Airtel board okays merger of subsidiary with itself

"Customers can record on an external storage device of up-to 2 terabytes and create an unlimited personal content library by using multiple storage devices for the recordings," it added.

The recorded programmes can be watched with a DVD like control of TV viewing with features such as pause, rewind, slow-motion viewing and fast-forward, the company said.

Airtel Digital TV had 8.5 million customers as on June 2013 and it offers 373 channels, including 17 HD channels and five interactive services.

On October 28, 2013, Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 339.80, down Rs 3.85, or 1.12 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 370.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 266.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 11.47 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 29.63. The latest book value of the company is Rs 135.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 2.50.

23.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Walmart resumes US lobbying on FDI in India

Global retail giant Walmart has resumed its lobbying with the US lawmakers on matters related to FDI in India and it spent USD 1.5 million on about 50 specific issues, including those related to Indian market during the last quarter.

"Discussions regarding Foreign Direct Investment in India" is one of the ten-odd specific issues in the area of trade that were carried out by registered lobbyists on behalf of Walmart during third quarter of 2013, according to its latest Lobbying Disclosure Form submitted to the US Senate.

Also read: Studying feasibility of FDI norms in multi-brand: Wal-Mart

Overall, Walmart lobbyists discussed nearly 50 'specific issues' with the US lawmakers during the quarter, resulting into total expenses of USD 1.5 million relating to lobbying activities for the reporting period, shows the 19-page disclosure report.

Walmart's lobbying activities covered the Senate, House of Representatives, Department of State, US Trade Representatives, US Agency for International Development and the Department of Labour, among others.

As per Congressional records, Walmart had halted its lobbying with the US lawmakers and federal agencies on India- specific issues in the preceding quarter, after seeking their support for about five years to facilitate its entry into the high-growth Indian retail market.

However, such lobbying activities resumed during the last quarter -- a period which also saw hectic parleys in India with regard to Walmart's business activities in the country.

After months of discussions, Walmart earlier this month announced buyout of Bharti group's 50 per cent stake in their wholesale retail business in India.

Walmart has also been requesting the Indian government to further relax norms for FDI in multi-brand retail business, where 51 per cent foreign equity was allowed last year despite opposition by various political parties.

Incidentally, a probe report on Walmart's lobbying for entering India may soon be discussed by the Union Cabinet. The probe is said to have remained inconclusive as Walmart and others did not provide required information. .

The Indian government had ordered the probe on Walmart's lobbying late last year after a huge political outcry over the American retail giant having spent millions of dollars on its lobbying activities in the US for years on various issues, including on access to the Indian market and the relevant FDI norms.

Lobbying is legally permitted in the US, but the companies and their registered lobbyists are required to make detailed disclosures about their activities every quarter.

Walmart, on its part, has been maintaining that it has disclosed all its lobbying activities as per the US rules and it did not violate any Indian regulations in this regard.

There are no clear regulations on lobbying in India, although companies here also indulge in activities promoting their cause with the government and other agencies, either directly or through industry bodies and other groups.

As per the Congressional records, Walmart began lobbying in the US on India-specific issues way back in 2008. Since then, the company has spent a total amount of USD 39.42 million (about Rs 242 crore) on numerous lobbying issues, including those related to India.

Out of this, over USD five million have been spent so far in 2013. Walmart's lobbying issues did not include India in the second quarter of this year, while the first quarter of 2012, as also all four quarters of 2009 also did not have any single lobbying issue related to India.

Walmart and many other overseas supermarket chains have been wanting to set shop for many years in India, which opened up this business for foreign players only last year.

Still, there are many restrictions, such as those on sourcing of products, that are keeping foreign multi-brand retailers away from the country.

Separately, Walmart was also facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate here for alleged violation of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) norms, but is said to have been given clean chit on that front.

23.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sugar mills officials' arrest may impact functioning: ISMA

The standoff between the Uttar Pradesh government and the sugar mills has worsened. Officials of some sugar mills have been detained by the police that irked the industry, which alleges that arrests have been made without any proper reason. 

Abinash Verma, director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association fears that the arrests will affect functioning of the mills ahead of the crushing season. However, he expects the situation to calm down going forward as the sugar industry will collapse if the stalemate continues.

Also read: UP sugar crisis: Govt mulls linking cane with sugar prices

Below is the edited transcript of his interview to CNBC-TV18.

Q: Can you run us through what exactly has happened? How many people have been detained? We understand that the industry fears more officials are likely to be detained in future as well?

A: On Friday, three or four very senior officials in the Bijnor district were called and without giving them any kind of reason they were detained till 12:00 am at the police station. These are very senior officials. Some of them are unit heads, some general managers and all.

There is a general fear psychosis running in the district and the neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh that such kind of coercive action may actually go ahead and happen in the other sugar mills.

Senior people en-mass have resigned. I believe about 25-30 people very senior people in the Bijnor district of sugar mills they have resigned, which is creating a lot of problems there as most of these were actually maintaining the mills which are going to start in the next month or so. It is going to affect the maintenance of the factories as well as delay the crushing.

Q: What is really happening from a larger perspective? Is this a complete breakdown of negotiations of talks with the government then in lieu of what ha happened?

A: I do not believe that is the correct position to take because we had a very detailed meeting on October 22. We had a meeting with the honorable chief ministers and there we had the chief secretary, principal secretary.

We submitted our problems before them and they submitted their issues and we thought that we have kind of conveyed the real problems before them.

The CM and almost all the political parties and senior government officials understand the problems of the sugar industry. The cane pricing policy of Uttar Pradesh will see some rationalization in the next one month or so. So, this one of incident happening in Bijnor was a real surprise coming just after three days after the meeting with the chief minister.

I believe things would calm down now.

Q: So, your end you are hopeful of a solution over the cane pricing issue over the next one month or so?

A: I am very hopeful of that because without that kind of a solution I don't see the sugar industry able to run in the next season. The banks have refused giving us the loans unless the linkage formula between the cane price and sugar price comes up.

If the coercive action and high handedness of the states continue like this, I don't think the banks would come forward and give the loans.

If the sugar mills don't start and the cane farmers don't find buyers for the sugarcane and that they have to burn their sugar cane in the fields.

23.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apollo Hospitals Group partners with KKR to raise Rs 550 cr

Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals said it has entered into a partnership with American private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to raise Rs 550 crore to repay promoters' debt and build more hospitals.

"The partnership involves a Rs 550 crore long-term investment by KKR, together with its affiliates and select investors, in PCR, the holding company for the Apollo Hospitals Group," the healthcare group said in a statement.

The PE fund will subscribe to the convertible debentures issued by Prathap Reddy's holding company PCR Investments with an option to convert these debentures into equity shares of listed Apollo Hospitals at the end of five years, Apollo Hospitals said.

The promoters also will have the right to buy back these instruments at the end of two years, it added.

At the end of September quarter, PCR Investments held 18.42 percent stake in Apollo Healthcare.

"The investment is in the form of 5 year callable security that consolidates existing debt at PCR and initiates a partnership in the healthcare sector across the two firms," Apollo Hospitals said.

Commenting on the development, Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Pratap C Reddy said: "This transaction is the culmination of very involved deliberations with the clear intent of working together to create long term value for the group and reflects our philosophy of partnering with players who have a long term view and deep understanding of the healthcare space."

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) also said it is looking forward to partnering with the domestic healthcare major.

"KKR has a history of successful investments in the healthcare sector globally, including in market-leading businesses like Hospital Corporation of America and Alliance Boots, and we are very excited with the opportunity to partner with Dr Reddy and family who have created one of India's finest healthcare businesses," KKR India CEO Sanjay Nayar said on the development.

This partnership that has been initiated through the company's alternative credit business in India, and will look to pave the way for a much broader engagement between the firms as partners, he added.

Shares of Apollo Healthcare closed at Rs 878.95 apiece, down 1.35 percent on the BSE

On October 28, 2013, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises closed at Rs 878.95, down Rs 12.05, or 1.35 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1096.15 and the 52-week low was Rs 759.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 22.88 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 38.42. The latest book value of the company is Rs 196.05 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 4.48.

23.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Q2 earnings hit by recent regulatory actions: Wockhardt

Troubled drug maker Wockhardt reported a weak set of Q2 earnings . It posted a 70 percent drop in its profit after tax at  Rs 138 crore and an 11 percent drop in consolidated revenues at Rs 1197 crore on a year on year basis because of product recalls and import ban on its facilities from the US and UK regulators on non GMP compliance.

As the drug regulators tighten their noose, Wockhardt stock has been volatile and investors are wary of the company's recovery and this was evident during the company's investor call as prominent investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala quizzed Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakiwala about the company's remediation plans.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview

Q: You have various regulatory problems in various plants. So you think to resolves all this it will take around 15 months?

A: In terms of our corrective and remediation plan it will take about six months, I feel. Then we will apply for re-inspection and then it depends on the regulatory agency. Probably the entire process will take upwards of a year from now. It could be earlier than that or it could take longer than that. The situation is very uncertain and it is very difficult to predict.

Q: Today Waluj facility is under an import alert, remediation plan is under progress and when it is complete and we are ready, we will ask FDA for a re-inspection. Is it the same for Chikalthana?

A: That's right. For Chikalthana, as far as US is concerned, we have provided our responses, they have not taken any action as of now.

Q: So we are able to export to the US from Chikalthana?

A: Yes we are exporting to the US from Chikalthana. For the UK market, we can export 10 out of the 22 products that are registered there, which has an annualized value of 3 million pounds.

On October 25, 2013, Wockhardt closed at Rs 455.35, down Rs 4.5, or 0.98 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2166.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 344.15.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 51.43 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 8.85. The latest book value of the company is Rs 74.56 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 6.11.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

One more FTIL director resigns

Financial Technologies today said Chandrakant Kamdar has resigned from its board as director, amid continuing payment crisis in group firm NSEL. The company has appointed retired IAS officer A Nagarajan as additional director (non-executive and independent) on the board of the company, it said in a BSE filing.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Nagarajan has worked as Special Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner in Tamil Nadu. Earlier on October 11, FTIL had appointed former FMC Chairman Venkat Chary and retired judge RJ Kochar as additional directors on its board, after a series of resignations of top officials in the aftermath of the Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis at its group firm NSEL.

Five directors - CM Maniar, N Balasubramanian, R Devarajan, PR Barpande and TC Nair - had quit FTIL. Another group firms MCX, MCX-SX is also witnessing churning at the top management level following the crisis at NSEL.

National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), promoted by Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, is facing the problem of settling Rs 5,600 crore dues to 148 members after it suspended trade on July 31 on government direction. The bourse plans to settle the entire dues in 30 weeks time, by paying Rs 174.72 crore every week for first twenty weeks, followed by Rs 86.02 crore every week in the next ten weeks.

So far, NSEL has defaulted for 10 times and is able to settle about Rs 180 crore against Rs 5,600 crore dues.

On October 25, 2013, Financial Technologies closed at Rs 149.85, down Rs 5.25, or 3.38 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1216.95 and the 52-week low was Rs 102.05.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 71.19 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 2.1. The latest book value of the company is Rs 580.93 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.26.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Don't have power to monitor NSEL e-series: FMC

After much delay, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) today cited an internal communication with the Finance Ministry before the Bombay HC to clarify that as per the August notification, FMC does indeed have the power and responsibility to monitor NSEL e-series.

FMC tried justifying the inaction prior to the notification arguing that NSEL was not recognised under the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, nor was it registered with the FMC and hence was beyond the scope of FMC's regulation.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Bombay HC observes that this was turning into a fight between the centre and the FMC and was a sorry state of affairs. The HC has directed FMC and the Finance Ministry to put the clarification in an affidavit. The HC will give a final ruling on October 28.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Oct 25, 2013, 09.23 PM IST

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

Aditya Birla Group firm Ultratech Cement plans to increase the strength of its Board to 15 from 12 now, keeping in mind company's current size of business and its future growth plans.

Also Read: UltraTech Q2 net falls 52% on subdued demand, lower prices

"The maximum permissible limit of the Directors under Articles of Association of the company is 12. "Considering the increase in size of operations of the company and its future growth plans, it is proposed to increase the maximum number of directors from the existing 12 to 15," the company said in a notice to shareholders.

Ultratech Cement thus proposes to alter the existing Article  5 of the Articles of Association of the company. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board. The company is the largest cement maker in the country with installed manufacturing capacity of 59 million tonnes. Ultratech Cement, which recently added 4.8 mtpa by acquiring Jaypee Group firm's cement unit in Gujarat, hopes to take the capacity to 70 mtpa by 2015.

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

On October 25, 2013, UltraTech Cement closed at Rs 1944.05, up Rs 0.50, or 0.03 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2066.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1404.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 82.55 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.55. The latest book value of the company is Rs 555.58 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 3.50.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

No-confidence motion moved against GCMMF Chairman

A no-confidence motion has been moved against the Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex marketing body of various district dairy cooperatives that markets Amul brand for alleged mismanagement.

The resolution to bring no-confidence motion against Vipul Chaudhary was signed by 14 out of 17 directors of various district dairy cooperatives and is expected to be taken up at the board meeting on Saturday.

A director, who had signed the resolution, said "Despite protests from several quarters in the Board not to sell cattle feed to Maharashtra, Mr. Chaudhary went ahead with the decision and gave it for free to the neighbouring state."

"However, when Gujarat was reeling under scarcity and the state government approached the federation for cattle feed, it was provided but not free of cost," the director said.

"Mismanagement in Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy Board, where Mr. Chaudhary is the chairman, has also come to the fore," the director said, adding that Mr. Chaudhary had taken several decisions which were against the federation's constitution.

Mr. Chaudhary had taken over as GCMMF chairman in August 2012.

Repeated attempts to contact Mr. Chaudhary failed. There are three district dairy cooperatives which are backing him. Those who are not signatories to the resolution to move no-confidence motion are Amul Dairy of Anand, Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy and Valsad Dairy.

Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd Chairman Ramsinh Parmar said, "The no-confidence motion against Chaudhary is illegal. Why have they brought the motion? What wrong has he done? Has he caused losses to GCMMF, farmers?"

"Those who have brought the motion are not thinking about the consumers or about marketing," he said.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ajit Singh writes to PM seeking export sops for sugar mills

In view of surplus domestic sugar output, Union Minister Ajit Singh today shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding export sops and hike in import duty to improve finances of millers.

The letter to PM comes in the backdrop of sugar mills, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, facing financial problems because of lower sugar rates. UP mills have not been able pay cane arrears to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore. They have also incurred cash loss of Rs 3,000 crore last year. Singh, the chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, also warned that mills may delay crushing operation of sugarcane and compel farmers to burn cane this year.

"30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar needs to be exported in the next 8-10 months. I understand that the global sugar prices are depressed and sugar exports from India is unviable. "Therfore, similar to 2006-07 and 2007-08 season, the government should announce incentives to target for 30 lakh tonnes of exports," said Singh, whose party has strong presence in the sugarcane belt of western UP, in the letter. The country's sugar output stood at over 25 million tonnes in the 2012-13 season (October-September) against the demand of 22 million tonnes. India started the new sugar marketing year on October 1 with record carry-forward stocks of 8 million tonnes.

With so much surplus sugar in the country, Singh said: "There is obsolutely no reason to import any sugar into India. We need to export sugar and not import cheap sugar from Brazil and Pakistan. Hence, the improt duty on sugar should be increased from 15 percent to 40-60 percent immediately."

Stating that banks are not showing interest to extend working capital loans to mills, Singh said, "Unless efforts are made to reduce the surplus to the manageable levels and mills are financially assisted, the sugar industry will struggle for liquidity."

The ex-factory sugar price in UP have falled to Rs 29 per kg now, as against Rs 36 per kg in the year-ago period. "May I therefore request for your personal intervention in the matter and get the above request examined in the next meeting of the Cabinet," he wrote in the letter.

"Any delay may cause many sugar mills do no operate and may lead farmers to burn their cane, which will create a difficult situation to control," he said in the letter.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

One more FTIL director resigns

Financial Technologies today said Chandrakant Kamdar has resigned from its board as director, amid continuing payment crisis in group firm NSEL. The company has appointed retired IAS officer A Nagarajan as additional director (non-executive and independent) on the board of the company, it said in a BSE filing.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Nagarajan has worked as Special Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner in Tamil Nadu. Earlier on October 11, FTIL had appointed former FMC Chairman Venkat Chary and retired judge RJ Kochar as additional directors on its board, after a series of resignations of top officials in the aftermath of the Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis at its group firm NSEL.

Five directors - CM Maniar, N Balasubramanian, R Devarajan, PR Barpande and TC Nair - had quit FTIL. Another group firms MCX, MCX-SX is also witnessing churning at the top management level following the crisis at NSEL.

National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), promoted by Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, is facing the problem of settling Rs 5,600 crore dues to 148 members after it suspended trade on July 31 on government direction. The bourse plans to settle the entire dues in 30 weeks time, by paying Rs 174.72 crore every week for first twenty weeks, followed by Rs 86.02 crore every week in the next ten weeks.

So far, NSEL has defaulted for 10 times and is able to settle about Rs 180 crore against Rs 5,600 crore dues.

On October 25, 2013, Financial Technologies closed at Rs 149.85, down Rs 5.25, or 3.38 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1216.95 and the 52-week low was Rs 102.05.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 71.19 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 2.1. The latest book value of the company is Rs 580.93 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.26.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Don't have power to monitor NSEL e-series: FMC

After much delay, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) today cited an internal communication with the Finance Ministry before the Bombay HC to clarify that as per the August notification, FMC does indeed have the power and responsibility to monitor NSEL e-series.

FMC tried justifying the inaction prior to the notification arguing that NSEL was not recognised under the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, nor was it registered with the FMC and hence was beyond the scope of FMC's regulation.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Bombay HC observes that this was turning into a fight between the centre and the FMC and was a sorry state of affairs. The HC has directed FMC and the Finance Ministry to put the clarification in an affidavit. The HC will give a final ruling on October 28.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Oct 25, 2013, 09.23 PM IST

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

Aditya Birla Group firm Ultratech Cement plans to increase the strength of its Board to 15 from 12 now, keeping in mind company's current size of business and its future growth plans.

Also Read: UltraTech Q2 net falls 52% on subdued demand, lower prices

"The maximum permissible limit of the Directors under Articles of Association of the company is 12. "Considering the increase in size of operations of the company and its future growth plans, it is proposed to increase the maximum number of directors from the existing 12 to 15," the company said in a notice to shareholders.

Ultratech Cement thus proposes to alter the existing Article  5 of the Articles of Association of the company. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board. The company is the largest cement maker in the country with installed manufacturing capacity of 59 million tonnes. Ultratech Cement, which recently added 4.8 mtpa by acquiring Jaypee Group firm's cement unit in Gujarat, hopes to take the capacity to 70 mtpa by 2015.

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

On October 25, 2013, UltraTech Cement closed at Rs 1944.05, up Rs 0.50, or 0.03 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2066.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1404.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 82.55 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.55. The latest book value of the company is Rs 555.58 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 3.50.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Q2 earnings hit by recent regulatory actions: Wockhardt

Troubled drug maker Wockhardt reported a weak set of Q2 earnings . It posted a 70 percent drop in its profit after tax at  Rs 138 crore and an 11 percent drop in consolidated revenues at Rs 1197 crore on a year on year basis because of product recalls and import ban on its facilities from the US and UK regulators on non GMP compliance.

As the drug regulators tighten their noose, Wockhardt stock has been volatile and investors are wary of the company's recovery and this was evident during the company's investor call as prominent investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala quizzed Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakiwala about the company's remediation plans.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview

Q: You have various regulatory problems in various plants. So you think to resolves all this it will take around 15 months?

A: In terms of our corrective and remediation plan it will take about six months, I feel. Then we will apply for re-inspection and then it depends on the regulatory agency. Probably the entire process will take upwards of a year from now. It could be earlier than that or it could take longer than that. The situation is very uncertain and it is very difficult to predict.

Q: Today Waluj facility is under an import alert, remediation plan is under progress and when it is complete and we are ready, we will ask FDA for a re-inspection. Is it the same for Chikalthana?

A: That's right. For Chikalthana, as far as US is concerned, we have provided our responses, they have not taken any action as of now.

Q: So we are able to export to the US from Chikalthana?

A: Yes we are exporting to the US from Chikalthana. For the UK market, we can export 10 out of the 22 products that are registered there, which has an annualized value of 3 million pounds.

On October 25, 2013, Wockhardt closed at Rs 455.35, down Rs 4.5, or 0.98 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2166.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 344.15.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 51.43 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 8.85. The latest book value of the company is Rs 74.56 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 6.11.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

No-confidence motion moved against GCMMF Chairman

A no-confidence motion has been moved against the Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex marketing body of various district dairy cooperatives that markets Amul brand for alleged mismanagement.

The resolution to bring no-confidence motion against Vipul Chaudhary was signed by 14 out of 17 directors of various district dairy cooperatives and is expected to be taken up at the board meeting on Saturday.

A director, who had signed the resolution, said "Despite protests from several quarters in the Board not to sell cattle feed to Maharashtra, Mr. Chaudhary went ahead with the decision and gave it for free to the neighbouring state."

"However, when Gujarat was reeling under scarcity and the state government approached the federation for cattle feed, it was provided but not free of cost," the director said.

"Mismanagement in Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy Board, where Mr. Chaudhary is the chairman, has also come to the fore," the director said, adding that Mr. Chaudhary had taken several decisions which were against the federation's constitution.

Mr. Chaudhary had taken over as GCMMF chairman in August 2012.

Repeated attempts to contact Mr. Chaudhary failed. There are three district dairy cooperatives which are backing him. Those who are not signatories to the resolution to move no-confidence motion are Amul Dairy of Anand, Mehsana's Dudhsagar Dairy and Valsad Dairy.

Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd Chairman Ramsinh Parmar said, "The no-confidence motion against Chaudhary is illegal. Why have they brought the motion? What wrong has he done? Has he caused losses to GCMMF, farmers?"

"Those who have brought the motion are not thinking about the consumers or about marketing," he said.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ajit Singh writes to PM seeking export sops for sugar mills

In view of surplus domestic sugar output, Union Minister Ajit Singh today shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding export sops and hike in import duty to improve finances of millers.

The letter to PM comes in the backdrop of sugar mills, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, facing financial problems because of lower sugar rates. UP mills have not been able pay cane arrears to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore. They have also incurred cash loss of Rs 3,000 crore last year. Singh, the chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, also warned that mills may delay crushing operation of sugarcane and compel farmers to burn cane this year.

"30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar needs to be exported in the next 8-10 months. I understand that the global sugar prices are depressed and sugar exports from India is unviable. "Therfore, similar to 2006-07 and 2007-08 season, the government should announce incentives to target for 30 lakh tonnes of exports," said Singh, whose party has strong presence in the sugarcane belt of western UP, in the letter. The country's sugar output stood at over 25 million tonnes in the 2012-13 season (October-September) against the demand of 22 million tonnes. India started the new sugar marketing year on October 1 with record carry-forward stocks of 8 million tonnes.

With so much surplus sugar in the country, Singh said: "There is obsolutely no reason to import any sugar into India. We need to export sugar and not import cheap sugar from Brazil and Pakistan. Hence, the improt duty on sugar should be increased from 15 percent to 40-60 percent immediately."

Stating that banks are not showing interest to extend working capital loans to mills, Singh said, "Unless efforts are made to reduce the surplus to the manageable levels and mills are financially assisted, the sugar industry will struggle for liquidity."

The ex-factory sugar price in UP have falled to Rs 29 per kg now, as against Rs 36 per kg in the year-ago period. "May I therefore request for your personal intervention in the matter and get the above request examined in the next meeting of the Cabinet," he wrote in the letter.

"Any delay may cause many sugar mills do no operate and may lead farmers to burn their cane, which will create a difficult situation to control," he said in the letter.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Oct 25, 2013, 09.08 PM IST

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Ultratech plans to raise Board strength to 15

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

Aditya Birla Group firm Ultratech Cement plans to increase the strength of its Board to 15 from 12 now, keeping in mind company's current size of business and its future growth plans.

Also Read: UltraTech Q2 net falls 52% on subdued demand, lower prices

"The maximum permissible limit of the Directors under Articles of Association of the company is 12. "Considering the increase in size of operations of the company and its future growth plans, it is proposed to increase the maximum number of directors from the existing 12 to 15," the company said in a notice to shareholders.

Ultratech Cement thus proposes to alter the existing Article  5 of the Articles of Association of the company. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board. The company is the largest cement maker in the country with installed manufacturing capacity of 59 million tonnes. Ultratech Cement, which recently added 4.8 mtpa by acquiring Jaypee Group firm's cement unit in Gujarat, hopes to take the capacity to 70 mtpa by 2015.

Ultratech Cement would take shareholders' view till November 29 and has appointed Nilesh Trivedi, Partner KBNT & Associates as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot voting process.

On October 25, 2013, UltraTech Cement closed at Rs 1944.05, up Rs 0.50, or 0.03 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2066.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1404.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 82.55 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.55. The latest book value of the company is Rs 555.58 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 3.50.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

GAIL sells part of stake in China Gas Holdings for Rs 385cr

Oct 25, 2013, 06.22 PM IST

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

GAIL sells part of stake in China Gas Holdings for Rs 385cr

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

GAIL sells part of stake in China Gas Holdings for Rs 385cr

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd today said it has sold more than a fourth of its 4.6 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed city gas distribution firm China Gas Holdings for Rs 385 crore.

Also Read: GAIL Q2 PAT may dip 20% at Rs 786 cr: KR Choksey

GAIL, which made a strategic investment of Rs 137 crore by acquiring 210 million shares of China Gas in 2005, has sold 60 million shares, company's chairman and managing director BC Tripathi told reporters here.

"We had acquired the shares at Hong Kong Dollar 1.1 and we sold the shares at HKD 8.2," he said. The gas utility plans to keep a small strategic interest in the company that will help it retain its board position in China Gas Holdings. "Our gross realisation is Rs 385 crore," he said, adding that the company has to pay taxes like capital gains on this realisation.

The board of GAIL had accorded approval to partially divest its equity stake in China Gas for recoupment of entire initial investment, while retaining the strategic advantage as envisaged at the time of initial investment. "We sold the stake to capitalise on the high price of the shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange," he said.

China Gas has exclusive rights to set up gas distribution projects in 42 cities in China. GAIL picked up equity in the company as China was keen to replicate Delhi's success in using natural gas as a vehicular and domestic fuel in its cities, primarily Beijing, before the 2008 Olympics.

GAIL saw synergies in city gas/CNG business. Now that the city gas distribution business is being pursued by GAIL's wholly-owned subsidiary, GAIL Gas, the company feels continuation of the investment in China Gas does not appear to meet the original objectives. Also, China Gas shares are currently performing well on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, giving the company a market capitalisation of around USD 4.4 billion.

Sources said GAIL has earned only Rs 16.29 crore as dividend on its investment in China Gas over seven years. As the current share price is more than seven Hong Kong dollars, GAIL believes it is a good time to sell and re-invest the earnings from the stake sale in overseas upstream assets.

On October 25, 2013, GAIL India closed at Rs 343.55, down Rs 7.85, or 2.23 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 395.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 273.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 29.14 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.79. The latest book value of the company is Rs 191.00 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.80.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sebi orders a/c attachment to recover Rs 1520cr from CIS co

Market regulator Sebi today ordered attachment of over 50 bank accounts of West Bengal-based MPS Greenery Developers Ltd for recovery of Rs 1,520 crore, along with applicable returns, collected from investors through illegal collective investment schemes.

This is the first direct attachment order issued by the Sebi in a case involving an unauthorised CIS scheme, which has emerged as a major route for illegal raising of public funds. Sebi has taken action against a number of unauthorised CIS entities from West Bengal including Saradha, Rose Valley and Sumangal group entities.

Also Read:  Sebi lays out guidelines for listing of SMEs, start ups

Passing the order, Sebi said MPS Greenery was ordered in December last year to refund Rs 1,520 crore along with return to investors, but it failed to do so and therefore the regulator was now passing an attachment order for recovery of this money.

Sebi has asked eight banks, including both public and private sector entities, to attach at least 51 accounts held by MPS Greenery with them, as also other accounts that the defaulter entity may have with those banks. Sebi also ordered attachment of "all other accounts by whatever name called of the defaulter, either singly or jointly with any other persons".

It is further asked the banks not to allow any debit in these accounts until further orders. However, the credits, if any into the account may be allowed, the Sebi said. The move is part of Sebi's efforts to recover a total fine of about Rs 1,520 crore "along with interest, all costs, charges and expenses in respect of all proceeding for recovering the said sum against defaulter and the same is due from it."

The government recently granted Sebi powers to attach properties and bank accounts, among other things, of persons and entities which have failed to comply with directions involving payment of penalties and other dues.

Sebi has also asked banks to provide details of all accounts, including lockers held by MPS Greenery, copy of account statements of the past one year, confirmation of attachment of the said accounts.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shriram EPC board approves Rs 300cr preference share issue

Oct 25, 2013, 08.53 PM IST

Shriram EPC said it would issue three crore cumulative redeemable preference shares of a face value of Rs 100 each in one or more tranches for an aggregate subscription price of Rs 300 crore.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Shriram EPC board approves Rs 300cr preference share issue

Shriram EPC said it would issue three crore cumulative redeemable preference shares of a face value of Rs 100 each in one or more tranches for an aggregate subscription price of Rs 300 crore.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Shriram EPC board approves Rs 300cr preference share issue

Shriram EPC said it would issue three crore cumulative redeemable preference shares of a face value of Rs 100 each in one or more tranches for an aggregate subscription price of Rs 300 crore.

Share  .  Email  .  Print  .  A+A-

Shriram EPC today said its board has approved raising Rs 300 crore by issuing cumulative redeemable preference shares in one or more tranches.

The board has approved the proposal at a meeting on October 22, it said in a BSE filing. Shriram EPC said it would issue three crore cumulative redeemable preference shares of a face value of Rs 100 each in one or more tranches for an aggregate subscription price of Rs 300 crore.

The issue is subject to approval of the shareholders of the company to be obtained through a postal ballot and other regulatory authorities, it said. Shriram EPC is a part of the USD 9 billion Shriram Group. It offers design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services.

On October 25, 2013, Shriram EPC closed at Rs 28.70, down Rs 0.15, or 0.52 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 86.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 26.10.

The latest book value of the company is Rs 55.15 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.52.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

One more FTIL director resigns

Financial Technologies today said Chandrakant Kamdar has resigned from its board as director, amid continuing payment crisis in group firm NSEL. The company has appointed retired IAS officer A Nagarajan as additional director (non-executive and independent) on the board of the company, it said in a BSE filing.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Nagarajan has worked as Special Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner in Tamil Nadu. Earlier on October 11, FTIL had appointed former FMC Chairman Venkat Chary and retired judge RJ Kochar as additional directors on its board, after a series of resignations of top officials in the aftermath of the Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis at its group firm NSEL.

Five directors - CM Maniar, N Balasubramanian, R Devarajan, PR Barpande and TC Nair - had quit FTIL. Another group firms MCX, MCX-SX is also witnessing churning at the top management level following the crisis at NSEL.

National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), promoted by Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, is facing the problem of settling Rs 5,600 crore dues to 148 members after it suspended trade on July 31 on government direction. The bourse plans to settle the entire dues in 30 weeks time, by paying Rs 174.72 crore every week for first twenty weeks, followed by Rs 86.02 crore every week in the next ten weeks.

So far, NSEL has defaulted for 10 times and is able to settle about Rs 180 crore against Rs 5,600 crore dues.

On October 25, 2013, Financial Technologies closed at Rs 149.85, down Rs 5.25, or 3.38 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1216.95 and the 52-week low was Rs 102.05.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 71.19 per share as per the quarter ended June 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 2.1. The latest book value of the company is Rs 580.93 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.26.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Don't have power to monitor NSEL e-series: FMC

After much delay, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) today cited an internal communication with the Finance Ministry before the Bombay HC to clarify that as per the August notification, FMC does indeed have the power and responsibility to monitor NSEL e-series.

FMC tried justifying the inaction prior to the notification arguing that NSEL was not recognised under the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, nor was it registered with the FMC and hence was beyond the scope of FMC's regulation.

Also Read: NSEL board, management set to face criminal charges

Bombay HC observes that this was turning into a fight between the centre and the FMC and was a sorry state of affairs. The HC has directed FMC and the Finance Ministry to put the clarification in an affidavit. The HC will give a final ruling on October 28.

23.25 | 0 komentar | Read More