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Thursday, July 23, 2009
Talks on with MTN on deal: Bharti
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel Ltd said it is still in talks with South Africa's MTN over a deal which could see a merger of the two telecom giants with a combined revenue of 20 billion dollar.
The two companies would be in exclusive talks till July 31.
"Talks are going on between Bharti Enterprises, the parent of Bharti Airtel, and South Africa's MTN Group Ltd. to form a global business combination," Akhil Gupta, deputy group CEO and MD, Bharti Enterprises, said.
Gupta didn't elaborate any further.
Bharti Airtel and MTN had in May revived talks over a complex USD 23 billion combine that would create one of the 10 largest companies in the mobile telecom sector. Their merger talks last year had fallen apart as they could not reach an agreement on a management structure.
If successful, the combined wireless group will have more than 200 million subscribers and a combined revenue of USD 20 billion.
The Indian telecom major is exploring a potential transaction whereby it would acquire 49 per cent in MTN, and in turn, MTN and its shareholders would acquire approximately 36 per cent economic interest in Bharti.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has exempted MTN from making an open offer to Bharti shareholders.
The market regulator, however, said the open offer would be triggerred only once the global depository reciepts (GDRs) are converted into local shares with voting rights.
The two companies would be in exclusive talks till July 31.
"Talks are going on between Bharti Enterprises, the parent of Bharti Airtel, and South Africa's MTN Group Ltd. to form a global business combination," Akhil Gupta, deputy group CEO and MD, Bharti Enterprises, said.
Gupta didn't elaborate any further.
Bharti Airtel and MTN had in May revived talks over a complex USD 23 billion combine that would create one of the 10 largest companies in the mobile telecom sector. Their merger talks last year had fallen apart as they could not reach an agreement on a management structure.
If successful, the combined wireless group will have more than 200 million subscribers and a combined revenue of USD 20 billion.
The Indian telecom major is exploring a potential transaction whereby it would acquire 49 per cent in MTN, and in turn, MTN and its shareholders would acquire approximately 36 per cent economic interest in Bharti.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has exempted MTN from making an open offer to Bharti shareholders.
The market regulator, however, said the open offer would be triggerred only once the global depository reciepts (GDRs) are converted into local shares with voting rights.
Maytas Ventures asks Centre to denotify SEZ
New Delhi: Maytas Ventures SEZ Pvt Ltd has approached the Board of Approval (BoA) under the commerce ministry to scrap its notified Special Economic Zone at Ranga Reddy district in Andhra Pradesh. In addition, five more developers have also applied for surrendering their tax-free industrial zones, citing the ongoing economic slowdown.
Maytas Ventures Pvt Ltd is part of the tainted Maytas Group, which has six approved zones, out of which three are notified.
The applications will be considered by the BoA, headed by commerce secretary Rahul Khullar, on 11 August.
The infotech zone was notified in June 13, 2007 by the commerce ministry, a status which allowed the developer to enjoy tax and duty benefits under the SEZ Act of 2005. In its application, Maytas Ventures has said that it has not taken any customs, excise or sales tax exemption, but availed service tax exemption worth Rs 31, 46,550. While denotifying a zone, the developer has to pay the government back the tax and other duty benefits that it availed while developing the zone. Maytas Ventures has requested the board to waive the refund of service tax benefits, as the company is under “poor financial condition”.
The BoA has so far approved scrapping of five notified zones, of which four were to be developed by DLF, while one was to be developed by Mumbai based K Raheja Universal.
Maharashtra based Sanvo resorts have also applied for denotification of their Panvel based information technology SEZ. Sanvo has not undertaken any development activity in the zone and hence has not availed tax or duty benefits.
Moreover, Shiram Properties and infrastructure Pvt Ltd has asked for scrapping a part of their 23 hectare notified Infotech zone at Kancheepuram , Tamil Nadu. All these zones have stated reasons ranging from unavailability of prospective customers, high debt servicing cost and strict lending conditions for scrapping of the zones.
Developers of two formally approved zones – SEZs with land that are yet to be notified – and one zone with in principal approval – given to SEZs that are yet to complete land acquisition- have also applied for de-recognition. These include a handicraft SEZ proposed to be developed by Gujarat Growth Centre Development Corporation Ltd in Kutch and an infotech SEZ of T. Holdings Electronics Pvt in Mysore, Karnataka.
Significantly, many developers have decided not to abandon their SEZ projects. As many as 25 SEZs have asked for more time to make...
Maytas Ventures Pvt Ltd is part of the tainted Maytas Group, which has six approved zones, out of which three are notified.
The applications will be considered by the BoA, headed by commerce secretary Rahul Khullar, on 11 August.
The infotech zone was notified in June 13, 2007 by the commerce ministry, a status which allowed the developer to enjoy tax and duty benefits under the SEZ Act of 2005. In its application, Maytas Ventures has said that it has not taken any customs, excise or sales tax exemption, but availed service tax exemption worth Rs 31, 46,550. While denotifying a zone, the developer has to pay the government back the tax and other duty benefits that it availed while developing the zone. Maytas Ventures has requested the board to waive the refund of service tax benefits, as the company is under “poor financial condition”.
The BoA has so far approved scrapping of five notified zones, of which four were to be developed by DLF, while one was to be developed by Mumbai based K Raheja Universal.
Maharashtra based Sanvo resorts have also applied for denotification of their Panvel based information technology SEZ. Sanvo has not undertaken any development activity in the zone and hence has not availed tax or duty benefits.
Moreover, Shiram Properties and infrastructure Pvt Ltd has asked for scrapping a part of their 23 hectare notified Infotech zone at Kancheepuram , Tamil Nadu. All these zones have stated reasons ranging from unavailability of prospective customers, high debt servicing cost and strict lending conditions for scrapping of the zones.
Developers of two formally approved zones – SEZs with land that are yet to be notified – and one zone with in principal approval – given to SEZs that are yet to complete land acquisition- have also applied for de-recognition. These include a handicraft SEZ proposed to be developed by Gujarat Growth Centre Development Corporation Ltd in Kutch and an infotech SEZ of T. Holdings Electronics Pvt in Mysore, Karnataka.
Significantly, many developers have decided not to abandon their SEZ projects. As many as 25 SEZs have asked for more time to make...
ONGC Q1 net falls 27 per cent
Mumbai: State-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp reported a 27 per cent fall in quarterly net profit on Thursday, a smaller fall then the market had expected, as crude prices declined sharply.
ONGC, the country's second-most valuable company with a market worth of $48.5 billion, reported a net profit of Rs 48.48 billion ($1 billion), down from 66.4 billion a year ago.
The company gave a discount of Rs 4.29 billion on crude sales to state-run refiners during the quarter, down nearly 96 per cent from year earlier, Chairman R.S. Sharma said earlier in the day.
In the June quarter, ONGC shares rose 36.9 per cent while the main index rose by nearly half.
Ahead of the results, shares in ONGC closed flat at 1,092.85 rupees in a Mumbai market that rose 2.6 per cent.
ONGC, the country's second-most valuable company with a market worth of $48.5 billion, reported a net profit of Rs 48.48 billion ($1 billion), down from 66.4 billion a year ago.
The company gave a discount of Rs 4.29 billion on crude sales to state-run refiners during the quarter, down nearly 96 per cent from year earlier, Chairman R.S. Sharma said earlier in the day.
In the June quarter, ONGC shares rose 36.9 per cent while the main index rose by nearly half.
Ahead of the results, shares in ONGC closed flat at 1,092.85 rupees in a Mumbai market that rose 2.6 per cent.
RBI likely to keep interest rates unchanged: Moody's
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank is likely to keep interest rates unchanged in its quarterly monetary policy as there is little pressure on the central bank to further take liquidity easing measures, according to Moody's.
"The Reserve Bank of India is facing little, if any, pressure...March quarter GDP numbers show that India’s economy remained on a solid footing, and subsequent high-frequency data such as industrial production point to a brighter outlook," Moody's economy.com said in a release.
It further said that at the upcoming quarterly meeting on July 28, the apex bank is also likely to keep reserve requirement ratio unchanged.
"The current relatively loose monetary policy setting will complement the fiscal stimulus by ensuring sufficient liquidity for expansionary projects that are expected to gather steam later in the year. Monetary policy takes time to filter through to the economy," Moody's economy.com, the research arm of Moody's, said.
It added that as commercial banks had accepted deposits at high fixed rates in the latter half of 2008, they had been reluctant to immediately lower lending rates to mirror the series of official rate cuts.
"However, as commercial banks gradually re-price these deposits as their terms expire, lending rates are expected to fall accordingly," it said.
Moody's further added that India’s stock market has witnessed a notable rise in net capital inflows, mainly due to improvement in the global investors' sentiment.
"The trend is likely to continue in the coming year, which will help to fund business expansion and strengthen the rupee," it said.
"The Reserve Bank of India is facing little, if any, pressure...March quarter GDP numbers show that India’s economy remained on a solid footing, and subsequent high-frequency data such as industrial production point to a brighter outlook," Moody's economy.com said in a release.
It further said that at the upcoming quarterly meeting on July 28, the apex bank is also likely to keep reserve requirement ratio unchanged.
"The current relatively loose monetary policy setting will complement the fiscal stimulus by ensuring sufficient liquidity for expansionary projects that are expected to gather steam later in the year. Monetary policy takes time to filter through to the economy," Moody's economy.com, the research arm of Moody's, said.
It added that as commercial banks had accepted deposits at high fixed rates in the latter half of 2008, they had been reluctant to immediately lower lending rates to mirror the series of official rate cuts.
"However, as commercial banks gradually re-price these deposits as their terms expire, lending rates are expected to fall accordingly," it said.
Moody's further added that India’s stock market has witnessed a notable rise in net capital inflows, mainly due to improvement in the global investors' sentiment.
"The trend is likely to continue in the coming year, which will help to fund business expansion and strengthen the rupee," it said.
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