Indian Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[nitesh]

PIB Press Release
Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance has been publishing ‘India’s External Debt: A Status Report’ on a regular basis since 1993. The current volume of the Report, the fourteenth in the series, brings out developments in India’s external debt during 2007-08. It also provides time series data and an analytical presentation of India’s external debt statistics since 1990. A cross-country comparison presents India’s external debt position in an international perspective.

India’s external debt stock at end-March 2008 amounted to US$ 221.2 billion (Rs. 884,516 crore), reflecting an increase of 30.4 per cent over the previous year. Valuation change due to weakening of the US dollar vis-à-vis other major international currencies accounted for almost 20 per cent of the increment in total external debt during the year. In terms of rupees, the increase in India’s external debt during 2007-08 was lower at 19.6 per cent due to the appreciation of Indian rupee essentially against the US dollar. The escalation in external debt during the year could be ascribed mainly to rise in external commercial borrowings (39.5 per cent) and short-term debt (34.8 per cent). Between end-March 2007 and end-March 2008, Government debt as a proportion of total external debt declined from 28.4 per cent to 25.6 per cent and as a percentage of GDP, it dropped from 5.3 per cent to 4.8 per cent.

All the major solvency and liquidity indicators of external debt continued to remain in the comfort zone: foreign exchange reserve cover of external debt continued to be at a high level, up from 117.4 per cent during 2006-07 to 140.0 per cent during 2007-08; debt service ratio remained low at 5.4 per cent during 2007-08, though this was marginally higher by 0.6 percentage points over the previous year; other indicators, such as the ratio of external debt to Gross Domestic Product which measures the burden of external debt, was 18.8 per cent during 2007-08; the ratio of short-term debt to foreign exchange reserves stood at 14.3 per cent; and the ratio of short-term debt to total external debt was 20 per cent at end-March 2008.

A cross-country comparison based on the data given in World Bank’s ‘Global Development Finance, 2008’ shows that India’s position among the top ten debtor countries of the developing world was fifth in 2006 in terms of the stock of external debt. India’s debt service ratio was the second best after that of China. The element of concessionality in India’s external debt portfolio was the second highest after that of Indonesia.

“India’s External Debt: A Status Report, 2007-2008” has endeavoured to improve the scope and reporting of the debt numbers (especially that of short-term external debt) to make the Report more comprehensive.

 

[Marshal]

150,000 emergencies handled by Gujarat’s ‘108′ project

150,000 emergencies handled by Gujarat’s ‘108′ project

If you are in Gujarat and face an emergency, just dial the toll-free number `108′ and experts will rush to your help. At least 150,000 emergencies have been handled by a project being run by the state government and the Hyderabad-based Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) in the past one year since its launch.”I want to make the 108 Emergency Response Service (ERS) one of the eight wonders of the world,” said Venkat Changavalli, CEO of EMRI.

Changavalli was speaking Friday at the first anniversary here of Gujarat EMRI completing successful operations in the state.

He said EMRI was now operational in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand. “Recently, I was in Europe and people there were surprised by the scale and scope of our achievement,” he said.

In India there are two million emergencies every year. “Our mission is to save one million lives in a year,” said Changavalli.

Six more states that have signed MoUs with EMRI are Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Goa, Assam and Karnataka. Operations would begin in all the six states by Nov 1, Changavalli said.

On August 29 last year, Gujarat EMRI was inaugurated by Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former president A.P.J. Kalam with just 14 ambulances and a year later there are over 300 ambulances.

The public private partnership (PPP) project between EMRI and the Gujarat government has become a model for other PPP projects. Today, within a span of just 12 months, it provides in all the 26 districts of the state, a world class emergency response service, said Gobind Lulla, Gujarat EMRI chief operating officer.

“Even as I am talking, three ambulances are being launched, taking the total to 303. It will be 320 by the end of next month,” Lulla said.

“95 percent of the emergency calls are attended in one ring. Within two to three minutes the ambulance is on its way,” he added.

On July 26 when the serial blasts occurred here, within an hour our team took 62 people to the trauma ward. Only one person died after admission.

Since its launch, 150,000 emergencies have been attended to. Currently, Gujarat EMRI is responding to 1,300 emergencies on a daily basis and saving 60 lives per day, Lulla said.

A common person thinks that 108 services means ambulance but it is more than just that. It has four aspects like medical, police, fire services and natural disasters all being attended to through the single toll-free number `108′, Lulla said.

EMRI has given special attention to pregnant women in rural areas. Of the 1,300 cases per day, 400 are related to pregnancies., and of these 366 deliveries are taking place in the EMRI ambulances, Lulla said.

“Health is most basic. If good health prevails it helps other areas of progress. For the government EMRI is one aspect. More important is increasing the number of trauma centres so that critical patients can be taken directly by 108 service within the ‘golden hour’ so that life can be saved,” said Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas.

In seven-and-half minutes, one life should be saved is the target of EMRI.

The need for such a service arose because the country lacked a systematic Emergency Response Service (ERS), prevalent in the developed countries of the world. It is appalling that despite progressing in other areas of medicine, India still lacks basic emergency services, said Changavalli.

The project is the brainchild of B. Ramalinga Raju, founder and chairman of Satyam Computers and his brother B. Rama Raju. It was launched in Hyderabad on Aug 15, 2005.

This 108 is a great project undertaken by the respective governments of the states as it has been providing really good services not only to cities but also to the remotest villages of the states and that for 24 hours........ specially in Gujarat where I have seen it through my eyes.

 

[nitesh]

This 108 is a great project undertaken by the respective governments of the states as it has been providing really good services not only to cities but also to the remotest villages of the states and that for 24 hours........ specially in Gujarat where I have seen it through my eyes.

u should have understood why i quoted this particular news.

 

[Marshal]

Inflation continues downward trend, dips to 12.34%
Inflation continues downward trend, dips to 12.34%

Inflation for the week ended August 23 edged down to 12.34 per cent, from 12.4 per cent a week earlier, led by a decline in food prices. The prices of food articles down were down 0.8 per cent.

The prices of fruits and vegetables were down 2 per cent, while that of tea decreased 3 per cent.

The Commerce Secretary earlier said he expects single-digit inflation by December this year.

Echoing the secretary’s views, Daiwa Securities said it sees inflation to come down to 8 per cent by year end. Inflationary pressures would come down in near term, added Merrill Lynch.

But the Daiwa still expects further monetary tightening going ahead, expecting another 50 bps rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India.

Meanwhile, inflation for the week ended June 28 was revised to 12.03 per cent.

 

[nitesh]

ONGC eyeing Canadian oil co for $1.5 bn- Oil & Gas-Energy-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
EW DELHI: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is in talks to acquire Canada's Tanganyika Oil Co Ltd for about $1.2-1.5 billion, a media report said on Friday quoting unidentified sources familiar with the deal.

"The discussions are at an advanced stage," the report said citing a banker close to the deal.

ONGC plans to buy 38.8 percent stake owned by Tanganyika's main shareholders, including the Lundin family and Iceland's Straumur Burdaras Investment Bank, it said, adding ONGC Chairman R S Sharma declined to comment.

State-run ONGC's overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh, recently submitted a $2.6 billion bid to buy Russia-focused Imperial Energy Plc and is awaiting Moscow's approval.

Tanganyika is listed on the Stockholm bourse and has production and exploration assets in Egypt and Syria.

ONGC Videsh plans to appoint the India arm of consultancy firm Ernst & Young to advise it on the acquisition, the report said.

ONGC Videsh Managing Director R S Butola could not be immediately reached for comment.
-----------------

 

[Flintlock]

City skyline set to change as SC okays clusters of towers
5 Sep 2008, 0237 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN


NEW DELHI: The face of Mumbai will change forever as the Supreme Court on Thursday greenlighted the pulling down of all pre-1940 buildings, including chawls, to make way for highrises.

The highrises that would be constructed by the developers to replace over 16,000 old buildings, which are eligible for being pulled down and redeveloped, would have to accommodate the present tenants of the old buildings.

This means they would move from their dilapidated tenements and occupy flats with a minimum area of 225 sq ft in brand new buildings at no cost. However, in lieu of the free rehabilitation of tenants, the builder can make profits by exploiting a portion of the land to construct a tower which he can sell in the open market.

A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and P Sathasivam upheld the Development Control Rule 33(7) as amended in 1999 and set aside the limitations on FSI and other restrictions imposed by the Bombay high court. DCR 33(7) will have immediate applicability to 16,502 buildings, which are listed under category ‘A' by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) since they were constructed prior to September 1, 1940.

These buildings, irrespective of whether they are dilapidated or not, can now be redeveloped “whenever 70% of the tenants/occupants of such buildings came together along with their landlords for redevelopment of their properties''. They would also be entitled to extra FSI as an incentive.

The court accepted MHADA's stand that under the DC regulation, houses with an area of minimum 225 sq ft would be provided free of cost to all tenants in these pre-1940 buildings.

While validating DCR 33(7), the bench took into account a survey conducted by the civic corporation in 1980-81 which showed that “30,237 buildings would have crossed their lifespan by 1996''. The Kerkar Committee report also recorded that the vast majority of the buildings would have to be reconstructed, the SC noted. It also relied on a report on the Development Plan for Greater Bombay which showed that way back in 1981, 5,82,200 tenements were required to house the natural growth of population.

The SC, clearly relying on facts and figures, also recorded the fact that “in 1991, nearly 73% of the population (living in such buildings) occupied one-room tenements—vertical slums; 18% lived in two-room flats. This meant that more than 90% lived in small areas''.

“Those occupying large areas constitute only 2.7%. Between 1961 and 1991, the number of households increased to 20,88,000, most of which are only of 100 to 120 sq ft,'' the bench said.

“It is thus clear that the policy is to enhance the quality of lives of those living in such poor conditions,'' said Justice Pasayat, writing the judgment for the bench.

The high court was not justified in reading additional requirements into DCR 33(7) after holding the same to be valid, the bench said.

The public spirited petitioners who had filed the original PIL before the Bombay high court in 2004 had been concerned with the problem of congestion of the population in the island city of Mumbai which covers the area from Colaba in the south to Mahim and Sion in the north.

“The existing infrastructure in the island city, particularly with respect to roads, water supply, sewage system, open areas and gardens, is already overstretched and under extreme strain,'' the PIL had said adding that the island city has already reached saturation point with respect to the population that it could accommodate.

According to the Report on the Development Plan of Greater Bombay, 1966, the total acreage of the island city is 17,388.83 acres and the ultimate population, which it can accommodate, is 32.5 lakh. An estimated 33.4 lakh people were already residing in the island city two years ago.

 

[shrivatsa]

^^^^^^thats a good news

 

[nitesh]

domain-b.com : India may become manufacturing hub for Airbus 350 XWB jets
India may become manufacturing hub for Airbus 350 XWB jets

4 sept
Indian aviation may be in the dumps currently with airlines cutting down on operations and passengers gravitating towards trains, but aircraft manufacturer Airbus continues to remain upbeat about its future in India. Not only is the European major expecting the next wave of orders from India's airlines in three to four years' time, it is also considering the country as one of the key centres for design and development of its long-haul A350 plane, set to take on rival Boeing's much publicized 787 Dreamliner.

''As Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines look to compete in the international arena there is likely to be need for more aircraft. We expect that the next big wave of orders will come in 2011-12 by when these airlines will have completed the delivery of the aircraft already ordered. The airlines will need aircraft to continue on the growth path that they have embarked on. Besides, there will also be need for freighter aircraft,'' Dr Kiran Rao, Executive Vice- President, Sales and Marketing, Airbus, said.

Commenting on the current downturn in the sector, Dr Rao insisted that its Indian customers have not cancelled any order of the flagship A-380 planes and the merger of Kingfisher-Deccan led to a combined order of 200 aircraft, though the airline has asked for rescheduling of deliveries. (See: Kingfisher Airlines defers A320 deliveries)

"All other airlines will get planes on schedule as there is no request for deferred deliveries. We were in touch with Kingfisher-Deccan when the merger was on and felt that together the aircraft intake could not be as fast as for two different airlines. Airbus offers flexibility of schedule to customers and that's what happened with Kingfisher," Dr Rao, who was in India to attend Kingfisher's launch of global operation, said. (See: Deccan Aviation-Kingfisher Airlines cleared to commence international services)

As for the future, he was largely positive. Although there would be a slackening of the fervent pace as seen in recent years, he still felt that growth would by no means stop. "In 2008, all planes are being delivered as per schedule. In 2009 and 2010, instead of 50 planes, we will be delivering 40 planes every year - one every week," he said.

Without going into specifics, Dr Rao pointed out that both Boeing and Airbus had predicted that India would require about 1,000 aircraft over the next 20 years. ''Airbus and Boeing together have already delivered about 500 aircraft. My guess is that about 250 aircraft will be required in the next wave of deliveries while another wave of deliveries of about the same number will see the domestic airline industry touch 1,000 aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years,'' he said. (See: India's aviation sector needs 1,000 planes over 20 years: Airbus and India to be world's largest civil aviation market by 2025: Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries)

Moreover, he announced plans to make India an Airbus hub. Designing work for the A350 is the next project for the Airbus Engineering Centre India, the company's high-tech aircraft component manufacturing facility in Bangalore, which started functioning in April last year.

"The A350 is the next big project for us. The engineers at the facility are currently working on the development of tools to design the aircraft. We will soon get the software for analyzing the stress and strain on aeroplanes. We are working on the structural analysis of the aircraft among other things,'' Dr Rao said.

He said that Airbus was recruiting engineers for the work every month. The centre has 35 engineers and the number is supposed to grow to 300 in the next four years.

The A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body), the new and improved version of the A350, has been built to take on the Boeing 777 family and some of the models of the Boeing 787. The aircraft has a wider fuselage, which makes it possible for it to accommodate nine people in every row.

"We have already sold (which means received orders) 480 A350s, out of which 15 to 20 are being bought by Kingfisher," said Rao. The aircraft will be put into service from 2013.

Airbus has been looking at various ways to use India for both component manufacture, as well as leverage its research and development potential. The first manufacturing agreement was with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in 1998 to make doors for the A320.

"More than half the doors for the Airbus 320 are produced in Bangalore. And as we increase the production of A320s to 40 aircraft a month, which is the largest number of civil aircraft ever produced per month in the aviation industry history, more than 20 sets of doors will be produced in Bangalore every month," said Rao.

 

[Neo]

India’s car sector in trouble: industry ​

Friday, September 05, 2008

NEW DELHI: India’s automobile industry is facing “unprecedented challenges,” hit by hefty interest rates and rising costs, said the head of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers on Thursday.

The sector is reeling from a triple whammy of interest rates at seven-year highs, costly fuel and climbing steel and other raw material costs, said Ravi Kant, President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

India is aiming for $145 billion in sales for the automotive sector by 2016, accounting for 10 per cent of its economy, from $34 billion in 2006, according to the government’s 10-year Automotive Mission Plan. It is also aiming for 25 million indirect and direct auto sector jobs, up from 13 million, but Kant warned that the achievement of the plan was at risk.

“The Indian automotive industry is facing unprecedented challenges,” he told SIAM’s annual meeting in New Delhi. “Demand is shrinking because of the lack of availability of consumer finance, high interest rates and the high cost of fuel,” he said, adding input materials have “witnessed massive increases.”

More than half the vehicles sold in India are financed through credit. In the past two years, steel prices have increased by nearly 40 per cent, copper prices are up by 45 per cent and natural rubber has risen by 40 per cent, Kant noted in a speech.

“These factors are having a catastrophic effect on the bottom line of the Indian automotive industry,” he said.

“These are (also) resulting in the withdrawal, scaling down or deferment of capital investment which would hurt the objectives of the Automotive Mission Plan,” he said. Kant appealed to the government to take “corrective measures” so the automotive plan’s goals can be met, but did not elaborate.

In August, Japanese-owned Maruti Suzuki India, which manufactures half the cars in the country, reported sales fell 9.2 per cent, the first fall in five months. Further gloom was cast over the industry this week when India’s Tata Motors suspended work on a project to make its “Nano” car, due to fierce protests over land acquired for the plant.

 

[Spring Onion]

Rupee falls to lowest since Dec 2006
5 Sep 2008, 1820 hrs IST

MUMBAI: Rupee fell to its lowest since December 2006 on Friday, as a stock market slide triggered concerns of further foreign fund outflows.

Rupee ended at 44.65/66 against dollar, from the previous close of 44.35/36.

At 3:42 p.m. (1012 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 44.70/72 per dollar, its lowest since Dec. 21, 2006 and weaker than its previous close of 44.35/36.

The Sensex fell 2.8 per cent, tracking losses in other regional stock markets weighed down by fears of a global economic slowdown.

Foreigners have sold more than $7.3 billion in local shares so far in 2008 pushing the stock market down by more than a quarter. They bought a record $17.4 billion in 2007.

A widening trade deficit added to funding concerns. The trade deficit in July was $10.8 billion, expanding from $9.8 billion in June. For April-July, the first four months of the fiscal year, the deficit widened to $41.23 billion between April-July from $27.35 billion a year earlier.
Rupee falls to lowest since Dec 2006-India Business-Business-The Times of India

 

[Spring Onion]

Sensex sheds 415 points
5 Sep 2008, 1900 hrs IST, Mohammed Sabir,TNN

MUMBAI: Global cues, especially weak closing for the US markets on Thursday night, pulled the Indian markets down on Friday. After a lower opening the BSE sensex witnessed some recovery only to lose ground in late trades to close 415 points lower at 14,484. In the process, investors were poorer by Rs 94,000 crore with BSE's market capitalization now at Rs 47.3 lakh crore.

On Thursday, spooked by high unemployment rate and weak retail sales data, the Dow Jones Index on New York Stock Exchange had lost about 350 points. As a result, Asian markets too showed weak trends which in turn affected investor sentiment on Dalal Street.

After opening a little over 300 points lower, the sensex recovered some ground in early trades but then slid to end just a tad above its intra-day low of 14,438. Data showed it was the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who were at the forefront of selling. Provisional institutional trading data on BSE showed FIIs had net sold stocks worth Rs 1,857 crore while domestic funds net bought Rs 485 crore.

Market players feel with FIIs again turning sellers, there could be more pain left for investors. In early trades Friday, Dow Jones Index was again trading 80 points (0.7&#37 lower, which, if closes lower, could affect investor sentiment on Monday.

The day's slide was led by sectors like real estate, IT and banking. Market players pointed out that it was rare that IT, and banking and realty sectors slid together. Usually any slide in banking and realty, which are highly sensitive to interest rate outlook, are cushioned by some buying interest in the technology sector stocks which are considered defensive sectors in a higher interest rate regime.

Market players said while banking and real estate stocks slid on fears of higher interest rate in India, investors sold IT stocks due to fears of a recession in the US, the largest market for the Indian software companies. On Friday, on the BSE, there were 1,626 laggards compared to 1,011 stocks which ended higher.

Sensex sheds 415 points-India Business-Business-The Times of India

 

[Spring Onion]

India has only 1% of global wealth market
5 Sep 2008, 1946 hrs IST,PTI

NEW YORK: Names like Ambanis and Mittals making to global rich lists every now and then notwithstanding, India accounts for just about one per cent of the worldwide wealth market size of over $100 trillion.

According to the latest wealth report by global consultancy major Boston Consulting Group, the global wealth market grew to $109.5 trillion in 2007, up 4.9 per cent over the previous year.

While noting that the wealth market is growing rapidly in India, the report said that the country accounts for only a small fraction of the global market with a size of $ 1.4 trillion.

BCG has calculated the wealth market size on the basis of Asset Under Management (AUM), which includes cash deposits, money market funds, listed securities held directly or indirectly through managed investments and onshore and offshore assets. It excludes wealth attributed to investors' own businesses, houses or luxury goods.

BCG said India's wealth market, despite being underdeveloped and relatively small, is "attractive enough to be competitive".

According to a list of the world's richest billionaires released by US business magazine "Forbes" earlier this year, the number of billionaires in India has gone up to 53, from 36 last year.

Collectively, the 53 Indian billionaires command a net worth of over $ 340 billion. Besides, there are three resident Indians -- Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani and K P Singh -- among the 10 richest persons in the world, according to "Forbes".

In another report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini in June, India was identified as the fastest growing population of millionaires. The number of HNIs (high net worth individuals or those having net assets of at least one million dollar excluding own houses and consumables) in India grew by 22.3 per cent in 2007 to 1,23,000 last year.

BCG report noted that low barriers to entry have resulted in increased competition and a broad range of offerings in Indian wealth market. Most of the wealth in the country is invested in property or gold and is self-managed, it added.

The total wealth stood at $ 25.5 trillion in the Asia-Pacific region with Japan accounting for nearly half the total amount. Nonetheless, India and China clocked the fastest growth in AUM in the region.

"Entrepreneurs represent the region's most prominent client segment. They tend to have a high appetite for risk and are quite speculative, and they trust cash more than any other type of asset," the report said.

BCG, however, pointed out that several markets including India are facing acute shortage of Relationship Managers (RMs).

"Owing to increased competition, India's shortage of seasoned RMs is acute. This situation has led to high attrition rates, increased compensation and hiring of young, inexperienced RMs," the report noted.

Globally, North America (comprising the US and Canada) emerged as the wealthiest region, with AUM to the tune of $ 39.2 trillion, followed by Europe with $ 38.3-trillion AUM.

Moreover, in the 2002-2007 period, the share of wealth invested in equities jumped to 40 per cent from 32 per cent, which in turn pushed the potential for higher growth and volatility, the report added.

India has only 1% of global wealth market-Intl Business-Business-The Times of India

 

[nitesh]

The Asian Fab 50 - Forbes.com
China moved to the top in our fourth annual Asian Fab 50. Thirteen Chinese firms made our selection of the best of Asia-Pacific's biggest listed companies, out of a universe of 500. We look at long-term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation and projected earnings for every company in the region with revenues or market capitalization of at least $5 billion.

Gome and Suning, two of China's fastest-growing retailers, make their appearance for the first time this year. Nearly all of our China entries are geared to the domestic market, such as China Mobile (nyse: CHL - news - people ) with its 422 million cellphone subscribers; China Construction Bank, one of the country's biggest mortgage lenders; and China Vanke, the property developer.


Indian companies once again had a strong showing, with 10 making our cut. Infosys and Wipro (nyse: WIT - news - people ), perennial top performers, are back for the fourth year. Reliance Industries, Bharat Heavy and Larsen & Toubro are back for the third year. Consumer-oriented companies such as Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank (nyse: HDB - news - people ), Mahindra & Mahindra and ITC are growing with India's middle class.

Most of the Taiwanese companies on our list share a similar story: They are anonymous gadget makers, run by entrepreneurs who made their fortunes building export-driven businesses in China. The biggest, Hon Hai Precision, is China's largest exporter and has factories all over the world. Some have created their own brands, such as Acer, Asustek and HTC. Tingyi, a new entry on our list this year, is an exception. It's the firm behind some of China's most popular drinks and noodles, started by a Taiwanese entrepreneur.

A handful of other companies are making their fourth appearance this year, such as retailers Woolworths of Australia and Esprit of Hong Kong. So are Li & Fung, the Hong Kong logistics firm, and Yahoo! Japan (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ). BHP Billiton (nyse: BBL - news - people ), Australia's mining giant, has also made the cut every year. That sort of staying power is worth noting. This has not been an easy year. Share prices for last year's Fab 50 are down an average of 30% since January, and the earnings reports coming out now are full of angst. It's easy to pick winners when business is booming. Many on this list have shown they can outperform in good times and bad.

Over the past year, the market-cap weighted index of last year's Asian Fab 50, down 0.8%, outperformed the MSCI Barra All-Country Asia Pacific Index, down 15% (see chart below). Almost half of the last year's companies continued their consistent performance over the past year and returned to our list again this year. There were also 23 rookies making their first appearance as an Asian Fab 50 company. Most of the companies are based in China, led by Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical (nyse: SNP - news - people )), China's second-largest oil refiner. Japan and South Korea have both seen their presence on our list diminish each year since our inaugural list in 1995. This year's list has only three Japanese companies--Chiyoda, Nintendo (other-otc: NTDOY.PK - news - people ) and Yahoo! Japan, while South Korea checks in with two of its conglomerates--Doosan and LG.

 

[nitesh]

RIL makes it to world's 100 most respected cos list- Hindustan Times


RIL makes it to world's 100 most respected cos list
Press Trust Of India
New York, September 06, 2008
First Published: 19:49 IST(6/9/2008)
Last Updated: 22:26 IST(6/9/2008)

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has made it to the annual list of world's 100 most respected companies compiled by the Wall Street Journal, topped by US-based healthcare products major Johnson & Johnson.
Ranked 83rd, RIL is the only Indian company on the list, although there are three more companies led by persons of Indian origin -- PepsiCo, ArcelorMittal and Citigroup.

J&J is followed by FMCG giant Procter & Gamble, Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor, legendary investor Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway and technology giant Apple in the top five positions.

While Berkshire has slipped from its first position last year, J&J has moved up from its second place in 2007 list. Toyota has retained its third place, while Apple and P&G have improved on their previous year rankings.

Besides, Google (6th), Wal-Mart (7th), Coca-Cola (8th), PepsiCo (9th) and Nestle (10th) also figure among the top- ranked companies.

As part of the fourth annual survey, Wall Street Journal asked money managers to indicate the degree to which they respect or don't the 100 largest publicly traded companies, as measured by total market value.

According to the survey, 74 per cent respondents said they 'highly respect' J&J, 23 per cent said they 'respect', 3 per cent said 'respect somewhat' but none said they 'don't respect' the company making it top-ranked company.

About RIL, 4 per cent considered the company as highly respected, 17 per cent said they 'respect' it, 46 per cent responded saying they 'respect somewhat', while 11 per cent said they 'don't respect' the firm.

 

[Neo]

TV channels attract foreign investment​

THE Indian small screen is getting bigger and more crowded by the day as television broadcasters, both domestic titans and media moguls from around the globe are rushing in for a bigger share of the pie.

Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media tycoon, recently announced plans to invest $100 million in a slew of six regional television channels. “We are happy to be in India,” said Murdoch. “Slower expansion of the economy may slow growth a bit, but in the long term, there is a lot of growth to be had.”

While India’s GDP growth rate might decelerate this year to around seven to 7.5 per cent – as against over nine per cent every year over the past four years – the electronic media continues to expand at a frenzied pace.

Media Partners Asia, a top independent research company, estimates that the Indian television industry will surge by 16 per cent annually over the next few years. PricewaterhouseCoopers, an international consultancy, predicts an 18 per cent compound annual growth rate.

Television advertising is growing at an even faster pace; during the first six months of 2008, it is estimated to have grown by 26 per cent. Revenues from ad spends on television are expected to double to $11 billion by 2011 and top $16 billion by 2015. The direct-to-home satellite market is expected to jump to 38 million by 2015, up from a little over 2.5 million in 2006. The first-half of 2008 alone saw an additional 17 million viewers being added in India.

Not surprising then that media majors from Star TV to Turner Broadcasting and Reliance Big Entertainment to Zee TV are salivating at the thought of raking in the money. According to Steve Marcopoto, president and managing director, Asia-Pacific, Turner Broadcasting System, India accounts for 30 per cent of its Asia-Pacific revenues and is one of the highest priority markets for the company worldwide.

One of the fastest growing segments is regional television, with advertising revenues soaring by over 22 per cent last year (as against less than 15 per cent for national advertising). So it was not surprising that Murdoch announced plans to launch half a dozen regional channels in India.

Unlike the regional print media – where newspapers are starved of funds and lack modern printing presses and technology – language channels in India are thriving, both in terms of viewership and advertising. Star TV had a tie-up in the past with Balaji Telefilms for starting general entertainment channels (GECs) in south Indian languages, but that venture has turned sour.

Star TV is now entering into a fresh pact with leading Kerala-based broadcaster, Asianet, for launching GECs in the four south Indian languages. The Murdoch group broadcaster is also keen on launching GECs in Bengali and Gujarati. It recently launched Star Jolsha, a Bengali GEC.

*****

REGIONAL languages including Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati are attracting a lot of television networks, wanting to start their own channels. The Zee TV group and the Eenadu group are at the forefront, having launched several such channels.

Star is now entering the fray and wants to expand its presence in the regional space. Political parties and top regional politicians are also launching their own channels in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and other states.

The Sakaal group of Pune – which is controlled by a close relative of Sharad Pawar, the federal agriculture minister and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo – recently launched a Marathi channel. Other parties have also drawn up plans for their own channels.

Not to be left behind, the new kid on the media block, Anil Ambani, has also announced plans for the launch of 20 television channels, including regional ones. Reliance Big TV Ltd, part of his Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), has already got licences for 20 channels, says Sanjay Behl, a senior Reliance Communications executive. ADAG recently launched Reliance Big TV Ltd, a direct-to-home service, which is in direct competition with Tata Sky (a joint venture between Tatas and Star TV’s British Sky Broadcasting), and Zee TV’s Dish TV.

Arun Kapoor, CEO, Big TV DTH, says that three of the new channels would be launched later this year and about five early next year.

Another broadcaster with ambitious expansion plans is New Delhi Television (NDTV), which is coming up with two non-news channels and a local news channel in Chennai. NDTV already operates half a dozen channels – including NDTV 24x7, NDTV India and Imagine – in India and three overseas channels.

The network, founded by Prannoy Roy, its chairman, sold off a 26 per cent stake to NBC Universal last year for $150 million. It now plans to plough back the same amount for setting up studios and production facilities.

Other broadcasters are also planning major expansions. UTV, which has also emerged as a leading media and entertainment giant, has sold a 15 per cent stake in UTV Global Broadcasting Ltd to Walt Disney Co. The American media and entertainment giant now has invested almost $2 billion in the UTV group – including a 32 per cent stake in UTV Software Communications.

The group has television channels including Bindaas, Bindaas Movies, World Movies UTV Movies and UTV Business News.

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INDIAN television viewers have access to a mind-boggling range of nearly 450 channels. But broadcasters feel there is room for more channels. Applications for about 150 additional channels are awaiting approval from the government.

About 60 per cent of these 150 applications relate to news and current affairs channels, hunger for which appears insatiable. This year so far, the government has already given licences to 33 news and current affairs channels.

Many of the Indian news channels have degenerated into sordid, electronic tabloid versions, focusing on crime, sensationalism, bogus spirituality, superstition and voyeurism.

Even the Supreme Court recently lashed out at news channels, accusing them of sensationalising news. It directed the government to lay down guidelines for the electronic and print media while covering criminal cases under investigation. The immediate trigger for this was the shocking coverage of the murder of a school girl near Delhi, with television networks carpet-bombing viewers with saturation coverage of the crime and passing off wildly speculative stories as facts.

Surprisingly, despite the channels’ obsession with perversity, superstition, celebrities and other inane subjects, their ratings keep climbing, indicating the popularity among viewers. This is driving other entrants to set up their own ‘news’ channels, hoping to grab a share of the growing advertising market.

But some degree of churning is also happening in the Indian television business, as weaker players are swallowed by the bigger ones. Global Broadcast Network, which has promoted CNN-IBN, recently acquired Channel 7, while Sony TV bought SAB TV. There are many other pickings available, and analysts expect a lot more of consolidation to happen over the coming months.

Besides regional markets, many of the channels are also eyeing the overseas markets, especially countries with a significant expatriate Indian population, like the US, Canada, the UK, the Gulf, South East Asia and Australia. About 25 million overseas Indians or persons of Indian Origin live around the globe, many of who are hooked on to Bollywood and Indian entertainment programmes.

Channels like Star, Zee, NDTV, 9X and others are being distributed in many countries through cable and satellite or direct-to-home platforms. They have seen advertising revenues and even subscription fees soar in recent months.

For the Indian television industry, the news has never been better, as viewership continues to soar along with advertising revenues.