08.31.06
Posted in Review, India, Oil news, Real Estate at 11:40 pm by Mridul
Reliance found more Gas in the Krishna Godavari Basin
This is good, Reliance has found more gas reserves in the Krishna Godavari Basin. Now the company will start the pumping process by June 2008. The company earlier had gas in this region in the shallow sedimentary basin, but now what they have found is the gas belonging to the older deeper sedimentary basins which will ensure higher yield and better and sustained gas flow. RIL will now have 80 mmscmd of gas at its disposal; will call for competitive bids to develop the market.
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Posted in Review, News, India, investment, SEZ, Government, Prices, Real Estate at 11:40 pm by Mridul
SEZ: Is it Export promotion or Real Estate Promotion: says RBI
Now the SEZ fever has disturbed the (Reserve Bank of India) RBI too. The RBI has said that the SEZ policy 2005 sees to be more focused on the Real Estate promotion rather that Export promotion. In the recent reports, the RBI has said that “the tax breaks for the SEZ are only justifiable only if they establish forward or backward linkage with the domestic economy”.
Our review: If RBI is now in picture, then it’s a matter of concern. This will definitely ignite the political dispute for SEZ into the states also. The promoters who have already set up their plants in the existing operational SEZ must be the most happiest persons coz they would be affected by any the policy change into the SEZ act, since their units were set up in the SEZ which the old policy was in action.
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08.30.06
Posted in News, India, investment, SEZ, Government, Real Estate at 2:53 am by Mridul
Kerala inviting partners for SEZ in State.
The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is inviting proposals, the real estate developers to partner into the SEZ that they are willing to set up in Kerala State. The corporation has acquired land in the Districts of Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram. KSIDC has acquired approximately 250 acres in each of the districts. The KSIDC has no problem setting up industries like textiles, garments, rubber products, healthcare, tourism, resorts, food processing etc.
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Posted in Review, News, India, Real Estate, Retail at 2:51 am by Mridul
After Reliance and Bharti: Birla also explore for Retail
Birla has also joined the retail race going on in India. After Reliance Retail and Bharti coming up with their Retail outlets, Birla is also exploring opportunities to grab some market share. Birla’s have joined hand with McKinsey to study and explore the opportunities in the sector. The Aditya Birla Group will be the third business house to enter into the organized retail sector.
Our Review: With many business houses getting into the organized retail sector. The best thing is that consumer is definitely getting benefited. Also this will also give up a boost to the Real Estate and the manufacturing sector in the country.
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08.29.06
Posted in Review, News, India, Mutual funds at 8:06 am by Mridul
Prudential ICICI MF /ahead of UTI MF
Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund (MF) and UTI MF are competing hard for number one position in the mutual fund business with the gap in asset under management (AUM) by the two fund houses narrowing down to just Rs 28 crore at Rs 30,143 crore for Prudential ICICI to Rs 30,115 crore managed by UTI as of June 30, 2006. Anil Ambani-owned Reliance MF was placed at third position with a gap of Rs 3,801 crore with AUM of Rs 26,314 crore among the 29 MF houses as of June 30 as per the latest data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India(AMFI).
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Posted in Review, News, investment, SEZ, Real Estate at 7:49 am by Mridul
Rs 15,000-crore refinery in Jamnagar SEZ : Essar
As the SEZ fever is going on in the country. Essar group has decided to set up a Rs 15,000-crore, 16-20 million tonne green-field refinery in its upcoming SEZ near Jamnagar. Jamnagar already boasts of the world’s largest grassroots refinery built by Reliance Industries (RIL). RIL is also setting up a Rs 25,000-crore, 27-mt refinery in its SEZ in the district. Essar has set a target of touching a cumulative refining capacity of 32 mt by 2009-10. The capacity expansion will be carried out in a phased manner. While the refinery at Vadinar, in Jamna¬gar, is ready for commissioning, the new capacities will be a part of Essar’s 1,000-hectare SEZ in the same district.
Essar has already got formal approval for developing the 1,000-hectare SEZ, for which it would pump in an estimated Rs 15,000 crore - most of which would be invested in constructing the new refinery.
Essar Oil, the group company executing the refinery project, has already begun the groundwork for construction of the new refinery as well as other downslream petrochemicals units that would be set up in the SEZ. Executives of Essar Oil have begun parleys with the state ports regulatory authority, asking the latter lo suggest suitable locations for putting up single buoy moorings (SBMs) in Gujarat waters. The company has sought approval for two SBMs.
The company is preparing a detailed project report for the new refinery as well as the two SBMs, the source added.
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08.28.06
Posted in News, India, investment, Government, Real Estate at 6:03 am by Mridul
Industrial Model Town ; in Faridabad
THE HARYANA government has decided to set up an Industrial Model Town (IMT) in Faridabad. The Haryana Small Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC), entrusted with the task to develop the IMT, has started the process of acquiring 1,850 acres. According to Ballabgarh MLA M.S. Sharda Rathore, the state government issued a notification on July 31 empowering the HSIDC to acquire the land for the proposed IMT.
The Faridabad IMT would be on the pattern of Manesar in Gurgaon, she said. Both Indian and multinational companies will be provided industrial sites and facilities to set up pollution-free units. Sectors 66, 67, 68 and 69, situated across the Agra Canal in the Ballabgarh block, have been identified as the ideal location for the IMT in a preliminary survey
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08.25.06
Posted in Review, News, Government, Prices, Travel & Tourism, Real Estate at 4:00 am by Mridul
DDA bidding hotel lands at unreasonable prices
In a study of the land auctions to be done in Delhi for the Commonwealth games in 2010, The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has grand plans to cope with this shortfall, by carving out specific areas for building hotels. The DDA is looking to make at least Rs 2,669.13 crore - as indicated from the reserve price - from the auction of 10 hotel sites on September 25, 2006.
Delhi at present is short of approx 22000 rooms for the Commonwealth Games and the DDA has planned to auction many sites. Most of these sites are actually not located at nice location from the tourist point of view. The sites at Shalimar Bagh and Wazirpur will not be preferred by tourists visiting Delhi during the Commonwealth Games, as they are not in proximity to the airport and popular tourist spots. So how these hotel even after getting the lands at such high prices will break even. The DDA should think over these facts and should think on making these hotels viable. If the cost of land and Building will be high, then it will affect the average room rate (ARR) of the Hotels which will directly affect the guest for the Commonwealth Games.
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Posted in Review, India, investment, SEZ, Act, Government, Information Technology, Real Estate at 3:44 am by Mridul
SEZ Caps: Central and State governments stands against each other.
So the SEZ war is on between the Central and the State Governments. PRESSURE is building on the central government from states for removal of the ceiling on SEZs by the empowered group of ministers (eGoM). The EGoM, which is meeting on Wednesday to review the cap, has to take the crucial decision on whether to maintain the cap at the original level, increase it, or do away with it.
State Ministers, Sharad Pawar, TJayanidhi Maran, Naveen Patnaik have been writing to the Central Government for this issue. They have asked the Government that the SEZ proposals for Maharashtra cannot be accommodated if the ceiling is not removed leading to loss of potential investment. With the commerce department formally approving 46 new SEZ proposals on Tuesday, the limit of 150 imposed by the EGoM has been exhausted, which has brought the State Ministries to react against the EGoM. The Orissa CM pointed out that his state, which had become an important investment destination for minerals and metals, IT and IT-enabled services, would lose out if the SEZ cap was not removed. He said Orissa was not as fast as many other states in getting sanctions and there should be fair and equal opportunities for all states in the sanctioning process.
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08.23.06
Posted in News, India, investment, Government, Real Estate, FDI at 10:51 pm by Mridul
FDI norms for Real Estate Development in India can be eased
Government of India is planning to ease the entry of the foreign investors in the country. The norms which were earlier being set by the Indian government were difficult so that the overseas Real Estate Developers cannot get into the market easily. But this news will not bring a cool breath to the Overseas Real Estate Developers.
The norms which were being set earlier:
For Commercial Development: A minimum area of 50000 sq mts.
For Residential Development : A minimum area of 10 Hectares.
These norms are now eased to 10000 sq mtr for the commercial and 10 Acres for the residential projects. Investors are not allowed to repatriate original investments before three years of completion of minimum capitalization. However in special cases, the foreign investor can be permitted to exit early but with prior FIBP approval.
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08.22.06
Posted in Review, News, India, investment, SEZ, Exemptions, Act, Information Technology at 11:27 pm by Mridul
Newly proposed policies by the Ministry of Finance for Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
So the Finance Ministry has come up with THEIR approach for the Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s). The Ministry has the following points to say:
(1) The New Units that are going to come up in these Special Economic Zones will have to make fresh investments in the Plant and Machinery i.e. they cannot shift their existing machinery into the SEZ.
(2) The Companies in the Special Economic Zones cannot trade the goods via the DTAs (Domestic Tariff Areas).
(3) Trading activities can only be carried out by those companies that are importing the good and reexporting them.
Now, the basic idea behind the SEZ is to attract investments, create infrastructure and employment and generate economic activities.
Our Review: Well, these points have both advantages and disadvantages for the developer and the companies opting to put up units in the special economic zones. The original equipment manufacturer will defiantly be a gainer in these conditions, since there will be no traders sitting up in these zones, so the manufacturer will be benefited by the tax sops. The developer will have to allot the units to the OEM’s only. So the developers may feel a little pinch from the real estate point of view in their SEZ’s. Well, what we feel is that there is nothing much to worry about. Because our country has got a good number amount of manufacturers and exporters right !!!!
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08.21.06
Posted in Review, News, India, airlines, Travel & Tourism at 7:32 am by Mridul
Air Sahara expanding bases to 14 more cities
Air Sahara, one of the most preferred airlines in India has announced an expansion plan to 14 cities across the country. The company must have already lost much market share because of the news of takeover by Jet airways, so this step seems to regain and show the presence into the market. The airline will add 66 new flights over the next four months, as four new aircraft, Boeing 737-800, join the fleet by the year-end. When this expansion plan falls into place, Air Sahara hopes to regain its pre-merger market share of around 12-13 % by early next year said Air Sahara President Alok Sharma. With this expansion plan, Air Sahara would be connecting Delhi to six international destinations in addition to its code-share flights with American Airlines.
“As far as pilots are concerned, 50 per cent of those who had resigned in the aftermath of the merger with Jet Airways, have resumed their duties with us and more were expected to come back,” Sharma said.
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Posted in News, investment, SEZ, Service Tax, Exemptions, Information Technology, Automobiles, Biotechnology, Pharma at 7:21 am by Mridul
Lupin planning SEZ in India for themselves
Lupin, a global market leader in API and formulations in the Pharma Industry, is planning an SEZ in Maharashtra. The initial investment would be Rs 200 crore, which may go up to anywhere between Rs 400 crore and Rs 500 crore. The company has been heard for hunting land in Maharashtra. When asked to a senior official, he said that the company is would like to set up a manufacturing plant inside the SEZ and would not sell space to others. “We propose to put up a manufacturing plant inside the SEZ, but, in no way, are we going to develop it for the use of others,” a source said.
Our Review: With more and more SEZ coming up in the India, India would definitely be the preferred commercial hub of the world. The incentives that the government is giving in the SEZ would attract the foreign investments also. With Service Sector also waiting to get the incentives, more and more service providers outside India would prefer Indian companies to provide services at low costs.
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Posted in India, investment, SEZ, Information Technology, Automobiles, Biotechnology at 6:56 am by Mridul
Mahindra & Mahindra investing Rs 1,500 cr in Maharashtra
Mahindra & Mahindra has shortlisted four states Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttranchal and Karnataka. The company is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore in next 2-3 years, under its automobile, infrastructure and information technology business in Maharashtra.
The company has signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understating) with the Government of Maharashtra State for extending its Nasik facility for manufacturing its multi purpose vehicle “Ingenio”, with an investment of Rs 550 crore. The project will just double the capacity of the company. Mahindra & Mahindra has planned two SEZ in Maharashtra, one near Pune which will bring in Rs 1000 crore and a Biotech SEZ in Thane will fetch Rs 150-200 crore. The total investment would be around investment to around 1500 crore. The automotive division of M&M is also in talks with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur for developing a bio-diesel technolgy.
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08.20.06
Posted in airlines, Information Technology, Travel & Tourism at 7:24 am by Mridul
Spice Jet starting online hotel / reservation service
Spice Jet in collaboration with Yatra Online has launched a dedicated online web hotel reservation service for its customers. Initially, the reservation will be allowed for 13 cities only and will be extended to more cities soon. The service will offer rooms to passengers of any airline in about 100 hotels ranging from two to five star in 13 major cities. Spice Jet plans to boost its bottomline by increasing revenue from the anicillary services. Low-cost carriers in the US and Europe earn quite a chunk of their revenues from ancillary actvities like hotels, car rentals, credit cards, cancellations and re-bookings.
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Posted in News, India, Government, Oil news at 6:17 am by Mridul
ONGC planning two refineries
NEW DELHI: ONGC, the country’s largest oil producer, is planning to build two refineries, minister of stole for petroleum and natural gas Dinsha Patel said on Thursday. ONGC has been trying to boost its refining capacity to ensure better margins and make up for a fall in domestic crude output. Patel said ONGC is examining the feasibility of setting up a refinery in Kakinada. It’s also exploring the techno-economic feasibility of setting up a well head refinery for processing crude oil discovered by Cairn Energy and ONGC in Rajasthan.
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Posted in News, investment, Life Insurance at 6:05 am by Mridul
ADAG company Reliance Life Insurance on Thursday announced the lunch of Reliance Connect 2 Life Plan Reliance Connect 2 Life is a 15 year insurance-cum-savings plan for individuals in the age group of 18 to 45 years with a minimum sum assured of Rs one lakh. With Connect 2 Life, for the first time ever, the Indian consumer would get hassle free life insurance - instantly - without any medical check-up. “Reliance Connect aims to provide products that makes life insurance hassle-free and the policy can be upgraded to keep pace with individual lifestyle”, said Reliance Life Insurance’s Chief Exective Officer P Nandagopal.
The target is highly ambitious considering that AMP Sanmar, when it was acquired by Reliance, was at the bottom of the ranking list. Although Reliance had acquired AMP Sanmar a year ago the group had been quiet on its business as it has been on a recruitment overdrive. Reliance Life Insurance has 30,000 insurance advisors spread over 158 branches across 143 locations and a call centre to service its customers.
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08.19.06
Posted in News, Oil Prices, Markets, Commodities, Prices at 6:28 am by Mridul
Oil dips to two-month low
LONDON: Oil fell more than a dollar on Thursday lo its lowest price in nearly two months after ample US fuel stockpiles eased investor fears of supply shortages as the US summer driving season draws to a dose. Although prices have fallen for four consecutive sessions, the market is still up 14% this year on healthy global demand, geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions in key oil-producing countries. US light, sweet crude for September delivery dropped $ 1.19 to $70.70 a barrel by 1100 GMT, its lowest since June 26.
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Posted in Review, News, India, investment, SEZ, Service Tax, Exemptions, Act, Government at 6:17 am by Mridul
Service Tax breaks to SEZ in pipeline
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce is now planning to give service tax breaks to the companies opting to set up their units in the Special Economic Zones around the country. The companies which are already exempted from Service Tax in these SEZ’s are the companies that provide the services within the Special Economic Zone. Now the service providers having their units in SEZ will get this benefit too if this notification is issued. The export promotion council for EOUs and SEZ’s has taken up the issue with the government saying that “The SEZ Act clearly states that so long as a service is related to an authorised operation in an SEZ, exemption from service tax should be provided irrespective of where it is rendered.
Our Review: See, the Act is under and with the Government only and we feel that this Act is going to face amendments soon. How could be the finance ministry be happy with the Act when there is nothing that the government is getting from it. If it was upto the government, they would act as a sleeping partner in all the commercial activities going in the country.
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Posted in News, India, investment, SEZ at 6:05 am by Mridul
So here is the list of projects which are expected to start soon in India.
Reliance Haryana SEZ : SEZ (Haryana) : Haryana : Rs. 40,000 Cr.
Reliance Petroleum : jamnagar Petroleum Refinery (SEZ) : Gujarat : Rs. 25,000 Cr.
Mittal Steel Company NV : Integrated Steel (Jharkhand) - Phase 1 : Jharkhand :Rs. 15,000 Cr.
Nuclear Power Corp of India :Jaitapur Nudear Power :Maharashtra : Rs. 13,000 Cr.
Vedanta Alumina : Aluminium Smelter (Jharsuguda) : Orissa :Rs. 9,500 Cr.
SAIL : Integrated Steel (IISCO) : W Bengal, jharkhand : Rs. 8,107 Cr.
AP Power Development : Krishnapatnam Power : Andhra Pradesh : Rs. 8,000 Cr.
Bihar State Electricity Board : Nabinagar Thermal Power : Bihar : Rs. 8,000 Cr.
ONCC : Refinery (Barmer) : Rajasthan : Rs. 7,967 Cr.
Hindalco Industries : Integrated Aluminium (Sidhi) : Madhya Pradesh : Rs. 7,700 Cr.
Neyveli Lignite : Lignite-Based Power (South Gujarat) : Gujarat : Rs. 7,500 Cr.
Arunachal Pradesh Govt : Naying Hydro Electric Power : Arunachal Pradesh : Rs. 5,000 Cr.
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