22.09.2006

Gujaratis create gold bisuit crunch
On an average Gujarat consumes about 200-250 tonnes of gold a year, out of the total imports of 800 tonnes into India.
India is the world’s largest buyer of the metal.

AIDS drug tenofovir’s price set to crash
Its inventor and US patent holder Gilead struck non-exclusive licensing deals with four more Indian drug makers.
At present there are about 5.5 mln AIDS patients in India.

Schneider switches on deal for Anchor unit
Schneider Electric India is eyeing Anchor Electrical’s switches division. If the deal goes through Schneider will have an estimated market share of 40% in the switches and sockets market of India, which is currently pegged at Rs. 1000 cr.

Family biz beats professional cos fair and square
Family owner companies in India has outperformed professionally managed companies over the last five years, reveals and ET analysis of the BSE-100 companies.
However, professionally managed Indian companies that are not owned by MNCs have fared slightly better than family-owned ones on the growth indicators during the same period i.e., 2001-2006.

OVL, Sinopec buy Omimex for $850 mn
ONGC Videsh Limited and China’s Sinopec have acquired Omimex de Colombia.
Omimex has oil and gas operations exclusively in Colombia, with gross-proved reserves of more than 300 mn barrels of oil. Current production is approximately 20,000 bpd.

Mumbai police wants to monitor cyber cafes
They fear that the cyber cafes may be misued by anti-nationals.
This is significant in view of the recent conclusion by them that 7/11 blasts in Mumbai were funded by Al Qaeda and executed by LeT.

Moto-monsters to race to India
A number of key motorcycle manufacturers are planning to roll out high-end bikes in the 500cc plus range in India in 2007.

Lotto eyes 10% market share by 2010
India’s sports shoe market is estimated to be Rs. 600 cr in size.

Branded stationery market in India is valued at around Rs. 500 cr, while the global export market is estimated to be around Rs. 10,000 cr.

MNC pharmas to pay for data exclusivity
An inter-ministerial panel is about to recommend that local copies of MNC drugs have to wait for three to five years
The domestic industry wants the government to wrest something in return from the US backed MNC drug makers
They want benefit-sharing deal on all patented drugs which use biological resources and traditional knowledge of Indian origin.

Risk-averse MNCs move India up the value chain
India may receive $500 mn in three years as MNCs shift value chain from China and the West.
Value chain is the set of activities spanning procurement of basic raw materials to the distribution of the final product.

Hotels lose out manpower to BPO and retail sectors
The average staff turnover at 5-star deluxe hotels in India is at 29%, while it is much higher at 32%, 43% and 47% for 4-star, 3-star and 2-star hotels respectively.

Catch them young, ICAI tells govt.
ICAI as lobbying the govt to introduce commerce as a subject from 8th or 11th standard onwards.
Currently around 7500 to 8000 CAs pass out annually.
There is a shortage of 25,000 to 30,000 professionals in the country.

Software piracy down but more measures needed
Software piracy in India dipped by about 2% to 72%.
In China it did so by 4% to 86%.

Minimum investment criteria set for SEZs
To set up a multi-product SEZ, the investor has to have a net worth of Rs. 250 cr and the minimum investment required is Rs. 1000 cr. A multi-product SEZ will be allowed 25,000 houses, a 250 room hotel and a hospital with 100 beds.
To set up a sector specific SEZ, the applicant’s net worth has to be Rs. 50 cr while the minimum investment criteria is Rs. 250 cr. Sector specific SEZs would be allowed to have 7500 houses, hotels with a total of 100 rooms and 25 bed hospital and schools and other educational institutions over 25,000 sq meters.
IT SEZs require a net worth criteria of Rs. 100 cr.

More government projects are on time now
A quarterly status implementation project report of the Centre shows that of the 742 projects, 245 were on time while 269 were behind date.
In the last 10 years, cost overrun with respect to originally approved cost has declined from 47% in 1996 to 17.4% in 2006.

Buying into NBFCs becomes tougher
Foreign banking groups will find it more difficult to buy into dormant finance companies to make inroads into financial services.
At present, a foreign institution requires $50 mn to start a wholly owned NBFC, $5 mln where the stake is between 51% and 75% and $0.5 mn where the stake is less than 51%.
To qualify as an NBFC 50% of the income should be from finance activities.

FIPB core group to look into Guardian-MRL row
Guardian wanted to part ways with the local partners in Gujarat Guardian by buying out their stake in the local venture and start operations on their own.
Press Note 1 provides protection to domestic industries working in partnership with foreign companies by enjoining the foreign companies to get an ‘No Objection Certificate’ from their local partners for starting new wholly owned ventures.
Modi Rubber Limited is objecting to Guardian starting its operations in India as Gujarat Guardian is a joint venture. Guardian is willing to buy out the local partners in the JV, but there are disagreements over pricing.

State of affairs
India is placed at 134, out of 175 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings
What is convergence?
Delivery of different services through one platform or same service through multiple mediums.

Food imports need not be an anathema: Dhanmanjiri Sathe
Self sufficiency should mean the capacity to buy goods globally rather than the capacity to produce them domestically
If import was acceptable with respect to Onions, there should be no reason to cry hoarse over wheat imports
Balance between the interests of farmers and consumers needs to be achieved.

Has the NELP been successful?
To determine its success or failure, we should at the fine print of the bids:
What is the profit share offered by the bidder at various investment multiples
What is the work programme like
How much cost-recovery the bidder wants etc.
The ability and track record of the bidders to deploy and manage technologies to discover oil are critical to the success of any prospecting programme.

SEZs as a Chinese puzzle: Narender Pani
Globalization is not just about glamorous economic activities that can be generated simply by reducing grade barriers. It is also about investing to help the less successful sectors benefit from a global market.
The Mekong model of globalization laid emphasis on building connectivity.
The National Stock Exchange is the 3rd largest exchange in the world and the BSE is 5th largest.

Taking the LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a US rating.
According to Indian Green Building Council, structures with LEED certification are set to see a growth of 10 mln sft from the current 20,000 sft.
Energy efficient buildings can save up to 27% of total energy costs annually.

What is 3G and typically what services it can offer?
3G is high speed mobile broadband access with a speed of more than 384 kbps which can go upto 2 mbps
Possible services are: high-speed internet access, videophone, video stgreaming, high-speed video messaging, music downloads and mobile TV.

Amaranth’s holding in Indiabulls arm hangs in balance
Amaranth, a US based hedge fund has taken a big hit on account of hyper volatility in natural gas prices. Its assets under management have plunged to $4.6 bn from $9.2 bn in a month.

PSU oil firms set to anchor petrochem investments areas
After SEZs, it is the petrochemicals, petroleum and chemical investment regions (PCPIRs).
Each such hub would be set up in an area of 250 sq km and 40% of it will be the minimum processing area.

AAI seeks mini-ratna status for autonomy
Category I mini-ratna status would give the freedom to invest up to Rs. 500 cr in a single project without going to the Government.
Category II status would give the freedom to invest up to Rs. 250 cr in a single project without Govt. approval.

Tea production in India
South India produced 227 mln kg of tea in 2005
North India produced 701 mln kg.

India now wants more power on IMF board
India is seeking quotas on IMF board based on the GDP on PPP (purchasing power parity) basis.
India’s current GDP is at $750 bn. On PPP terms, it is the 4th largest economy in the world.