Fiscal deficit at $65.7 billon for Apr-Nov: Govt

The fiscal deficit of India for the period between April to November stood at Rs 3.06 trillion ($65.7 billion), or 76.4 percent of the full-year target, the government said in a statement on Thursday. The tax receipts stood at Rs 2.33 trillion and a total expenditure stood at Rs 6.22 trillion for the first eight months of the financial year 2009/10.

In July, the government had forecasted fiscal deficit of Rs 4 trillion, or 6.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), for 2009/10.

The finance minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month had said that the fiscal deficit would not cross the target of 6.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). With the prevailing trends in the receipts and expenditure, along with better than expected economy performance in the second quarter of the current fiscal, it is expected that the fiscal deficit will remain with the estimate of 6.8 per cent.

However, the direct tax collections by the government increased by a marginal 3.7% to Rs 1.83 lakh in the first 8 months of this fiscal. Further, in the personal income tax segment, the government collected Rs 70,262 crore, up 4.53% while in November, the tax collections were nearly similar to last year as the mop-up was Rs 10,375 crore.

Moreover, the corporate tax collections declined by about 30% to Rs 3,214 crore against Rs 4,561 crore last fiscal while in the April-November period, the collections by way of the Security Transaction Tax stood at Rs 4,349 crore, up 4.44%.

The Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, yesterday stated that the Indian economy cannot sustain a high fiscal deficit for very long and it is, however, still too early to pull out of the fiscal stimulus.

“We shall have to strike a balance between the requirement of the economy and also the capacity of the economy to bear this level of fiscal deficit and borrowing,” the Finance Minister said on the sidelines of a Corporation Bank event.

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Dubai Debt News Sent a Shudder Throughout World Markets

Just a year after the global downturn  derailed  Dubai’s explosive growth, the  city is now  so  swamped  in  debt that  it’s  asking  for a  six-month  reprieve  on  paying  its bills.

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Dubai Debt Fears Grip World Markets

 

This has cast a shadow on a world only just emerging from the worst economic crisis since the 1930s,  knocking markets  from Sydney to Sao Paulo and raising questions about Dubai’s reputation  as a magnet for international investment.

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For India, which has tens of thousands of its citizens living  and working in the emirate,  the concerns are more direct:  thousands of its expats staring at job losses and  the economy, sharply reduced trade.

India, which gets nearly a quarter of the remittances from the United Arab Emirates and  has lakhs of laborers working in the region, could be worse off than most other nations  if the crisis escalates into a full-blown one  like the Russian or Argentinean crises of the past.🙂

India’s exports to the UAE stood at $23.92 billion in FY09.

It is very likely that we may see one more leg of job losses in Dubai.

The only consolation for the region is that Abu Dhabi is booming.

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Indian shares and the rupee fell in sync with other global markets where investors are fleeing for safety after Dubai debt trap concerns.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday tumbled over 451.63 points to 16,403.30 points in the first ten minutes of trading on hectic selling by funds in line with weak global cues and concerns over Dubai’s debt.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 140.50 points to 4865.05 points.

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Brokers said the selling focus was more on banking and realty stocks after Dubai’s debt problems revived concerns about the global financial system and rattled markets across Europe and Asia.

Indian rupee fell 24 paisa to 46.55 against the dollar.  The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 1.4%.

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Most European indices were about 2% lower after Asia tumbled.

The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 3.6%, its biggest drop since August, and Brazil’s Bovespa Index slipped 1.1%. U.S. markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Credit-default swaps tied to debt sold by Dubai rose as much as 131 basis points to 571.

“Dubai isn’t doing risk appetite any favours at all and the markets remain in a vulnerable state of mind,” said Market analysts.

“We’re still in an environment where we’re vulnerable to financial shocks of any sort and this is one of those.”

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Govt Not to Impose Restrictions on Foreign Borrowings

 

The government ruled out limiting companies from borrowing money from overseas market stating that the rise in foreign money is not a matter of concern at present and there is no such proposal.

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However, companies are permitted to raise $500 million annually under the automatic route while infrastructure firms under the approval route can remit up to $100 million for rupee expenditure and for other companies the cap on approval route remittance is set at $50 million.

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Meanwhile, capital inflows reached record levels as investors borrow cheap from advanced countries and invest in high-yielding assets in developing countries while this led to speculations that government may put in place a system of auctioning ECBs.

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In India, foreign inflows through foreign institutional investors (FIIs), ECBs and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) have been on the rise, while FDI is not picking up as fast.

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On the other hand, on a quarterly basis, the funds raised through ECBs and FCCBs increased by 70% in the September quarter to $4.61 billion while FIIs have put in a record over Rs 71,900 crore in the equities market.

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NEWS ROUND UP – ECONOMY & INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest News round up from Indian Economy and various industrial Sectors of the country.

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NEWS ROUND UP

Economy

·India’s industrial output rose at a faster-than-expected 9.1 percent in September from a year earlier. Manufacturing production rose 9.3 percent in September from a year earlier.

· The green shoots visible in the economy failed to enhance government revenue with indirect tax collections — comprising customs, excise and service tax — falling almost 22 per cent to Rs 1,26,903 crore in the April- October period this year.

It stood at Rs 1,61,954 crore in the corresponding seven months of 2008-09. The overall decline was led by a 32 per cent fall in customs revenue.

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Oil & Gas

·Reliance Industries Ltd. found oil in a block in the western state of Gujarat and is assessing the commercial viability of the discovery, which may help increase domestic fuel supplies.

Five wells were drilled in the 635 square kilometer area located in the Cambay basin, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Ahmedabad

·Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has decided to merge its energy trading joint venture with steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal with their exploration tie-up.

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Metals

·Tata Steel has approved an exchange offer for an existing $875 million of securities into foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), in a move to reduce costs and ease repayment.  The move gives an option to extend the repayment schedule by two years.

·Hindalco Industries plans to raise about Rs 2,900 crore in the next three to four weeks.
In July, it had announced plans to raise Rs 2,400 crore through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP).

The issue could not take place due to the volatility in the stock markets.

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Capital Goods

· Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has secured a contract worth Rs 1,635 crore to build a coal-fired plant for Madhya Pradesh Power Generation Co. Ltd.

The project will be executed on turnkey basis and L&T’s scope includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of balance of Plant Package (BoP) systems.

·L&T one of the failed suitors for scam-hit Satyam Computer, sold 2.32 per cent stake in the IT company (now Mahindra Satyam) for over Rs 306 crore, exactly a month after the lock-in perid on sale of its holding ended.

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Refineries

· MRPL is planning to invest Rs 6,000-8,000 crore starting from early 2011.

The company is looking at raising around Rs 5,000 crore to support its expansion plan, for setting up a polypropylene plant and installing a single buoy mooring (SBM) at the Mangalore port.

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FMCG

· Emami is diversifying into the cement business and will invest Rs 1,750 crore to set up production units in the next three years.

As part of the new plan, group company Emami Cement will set up a fully integrated cement plant in Chhattisgarh with an installed capacity to produce 3.1 million tonnes.

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Finance

· Power Finance Corporation has decided to lend Rs 50,000 crore, over two third of its total asset base, to fund various proposed power projects in the country.

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Indian Stocks Rose After Govt Approved Disinvestment Plans

Indian Stocks Rose After Govt Approved Disinvestment Plans

Indian stocks rose, extending the benchmark index’s longest string of gains in five weeks, after the government approved a plan to sell more shares in state- controlled companies, helping it raise funds to boost spending.

MMTC Ltd., India’s biggest state-owned trading company, surged 20 percent, the most in 10 months.

Rico Auto Industries Ltd., an auto component maker that supplies General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., climbed 5.1 percent after workers ended a 45-day strike.

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The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, rose 94.38, or 0.6 percent, to 16,158.28.
The measure this week gained 1.7 percent, snapping two weeks of losses.

The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.6 percent to 4,796.15.
The BSE 200 Index added 1.1 percent to 2,011.08.

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“The disinvestment move will help moderate India’s fiscal deficit,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of equities at SMC Capitals Ltd. in New Delhi.

“Also, it may help in higher GDP growth led by increased government spending.”

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MMTC soared 20 percent to 36,146.85 rupees, the most since Dec. 17.
State Trading Corp., the No. 2, leapt 15 percent to 353.6 rupees.

NMDC Ltd., India’s largest iron-ore producer, climbed 10 percent to 338 rupees. 

Hindustan Copper Ltd., India’s biggest copper miner, 99.59 percent state-owned, gained 10 percent to 256.35 rupees.

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Budget Deficit

The government owns 99.33 percent in MMTC and 91.02 percent in State Trading, while it holds 98.38 percent in NMDC, according to filings to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The government will use the money raised from the sale of shares of state companies for social spending.

India’s fiscal deficit reached 6 percent of gross domestic product in the year ended March 31, surpassing the 2.5 percent government target.

The key Sensitive stock index has more than doubled from this year’s lowest level, in March.

Govt’s stand to sell state assets and accept more overseas funds into insurance and banking, has strengthened, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resounding re-election victory in May.

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Downward Movement Hits Indian Equities Markets

Downward Movement Hits Indian Equities Markets

Indian equities markets entered into a consolidation zone with analysts terming the downward movement as long expected.

A benchmark index fell 5.44 percent from its last weekly close and ended trade below the 16,000-mark.

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The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) ended 914.53 points, or 5.44 percent lower, at 15,896.28 points at the weekly close Friday, as opposed to the previous week’s close at 16,810.81 points.

The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too slipped, closing at 4,711.7 points, down 5.7 percent from its last weekly close.

However, companies with large-to-medium market capitalization saw greater selling with the BSE midcap index ending 7.36 percent lower and the BSE smallcap index losing 8.01 percent over the last week.

“This consolidation was expected anyways as the valuations were not commensurate with the earnings of corporates. To an extent a correction in valuations was warranted,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, equities head of brokerage and capital markets consultancy SMC Capital.

The markets started on a cautious note Monday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India‘s mid-year policy review Tuesday.

The Sensex ended a volatile day at 16,740.50 points — 70.31 points or 0.42 percent lower than Friday’s close.

The Nifty followed a similar trajectory and ended in negative at 4,970.9 points, down 0.52 percent.

Both benchmark indices nosedived Tuesday as the RBI indicated in its policy review that it would start tightening the monetary policy and look at exiting the stimulus measures.

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Data with markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) showed that foreign funds were net sellers during the week, having sold scrips worth $12.8 million.

The top gainers this week on the Sensex were

Tata Motors (up 7.2 percent),
Ranbaxy Labs (up 4.8 percent),
Wipro (up 2.9 percent),
Grasim (up 1.6 percent) and
Hindustan Unilever (up 1 percent).

The top losers were :

DLF (down 18.5 percent),
Reliance Capital (down 14.5 percent),
Reliance Infrastructure (down 14.2 percent),
Hindalco (down 13.9 percent) and
Reliance Power (down 12.9 percent).

“Broadly speaking only about one percent of the quarterly results show a sound top line growth. Profits might have increased, but that is not because of increase in core operations – cost cutting and other income have contributed towards it,” said Thunuguntla.

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NEWS CAPSULES

Hello Friends,

Last week witnessed lots of action with results of some major companies coupled with the RBI’s monetary policy.

Moreover, Week gone by, Indian markets turned distinctly weak as a sluggish global trend continued to cast a shadow on markets.

NEWS CAPSULES

Having said that here we bring you latest updates from the Indian market and Industry.

NEWS CAPSULES

1.

A hawkish Reserve Bank of India (RBI), while staying away from hiking key rates like repo or reverse repo, hiked the statutory liquidity ratio(SLR) to 25% from 24%.

The cash reserve ratio (CRR), the minimum amount banks need to park with the RBI, was also left unchanged.

2.

Sun TV Network Ltd (Sun TV), owned by Kalanithi Maran, is looking at foreign partners to produce non-fiction contents.
The company joined hands with Dutch firm Endemol to launch a television game show.

3.

Tata Steel, the sixth-largest steel maker in the world, has posted a 49.49 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 902.94 crore in the second quarter, following a sharp fall in steel and ferro alloys’ prices.

Total income fell 16.46 per cent to Rs 5,692.11 crore.

4.

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group-controlled Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) has posted a 5 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 21 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, against Rs 20 crore for the corresponding previous quarter.

During the quarter under review, RNRL’s total income decreased to Rs 66 crore from Rs 81 crore for the same quarter ended previous year.

The company posted an earning of Rs 0.13 per share for the quarter.

5.

Wipro Limited, backed by increases in price realisation, utilisation and fixed price contracts at its flagship IT services business, posted a 19 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 1,162 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009 as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

6.

United Spirits, India’s largest spirits firm, has posted a 25 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 69.6 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 where as the same was at Rs 94 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.

7.

Jet Airways, India’s largest private airline, reported net losses of Rs 406.69 crore for the second quarter ended September 20, down nearly 6 per cent from the same quarter last year.

The loss was mainly because of lower yield per seat following Jet’s decision to shift over half of its capacity to its low-cost service.

The shift of capacity to low-cost arm Jet Konnect was executed in May this year.

Jet Konnect fares are at least 25 per cent cheaper than full-service fares and a high load factor of 77 per cent did not offset the lower yield per passenger from cheaper fares.

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