New Delhi: Seychelles can be an important partner for India and China, the country’s Minister for Finance, Trade and Investment Pierre Laporte said here on Tuesday.
“We consider ourselves as potential gateways to Africa because of our position in the Eastern African bloc. We could provide opportunities through our geographical location and through the free trade zones to Indian companies to invest in Seychelles,” the Minister said.
He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Indian Ocean Global Forum – Enhancing partnership for trade, infrastructure and resources development’, organised by the Ministries of External Affairs and Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industry.
Laporte said India and Seychelles had recently signed a bilateral investment promotion agreement.
Marc Hein, Chairman, Financial Services Commission, Mauritius, said while a lot had been said about inbound investment from Mauritius into India, in future India should look at using Mauritius as a platform to invest in Africa.
“There are over 900 funds based in Mauritius. A lot of them are servicing India but more and more of them are geared towards Africa,” he said.
The fact that a number of African countries are growing at 6-8 per cent annually is the reason why people should invest there, he said.
“(These are) unusual figures, which were only heard of from Asian tigers. Now such things are happening in Africa,” Hein added.
Success in my Habit
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
IVRCL bags orders worth Rs 959 cr
Mumbai: IVRCL said that it has received orders worth Rs 959.04 crore in water, irrigation and power businesses.
The company has bagged an order worth Rs 471.52 crore for the construction of a rehabilitation project from the National Irrigation Board, Kenya.
It has bagged another order for the construction of water tanks, infrastructure and related buildings from Kuwait worth Rs 124.70 crore.
The company’s water division has been awarded orders worth Rs 314.75 crore. One contract is from PHED, Bharatpur, for the construction of a transmission main pipeline for 97 villages, which includes operation and maintenance.
Another order is for a cluster distribution system for 71 villages. The order is from PHED, Jodhpur.
In the power division, IVRCL has got an order worth Rs 48.07 crore for the construction of transmission lines in Bhopal Circle from the Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company.
The company has bagged an order worth Rs 471.52 crore for the construction of a rehabilitation project from the National Irrigation Board, Kenya.
It has bagged another order for the construction of water tanks, infrastructure and related buildings from Kuwait worth Rs 124.70 crore.
The company’s water division has been awarded orders worth Rs 314.75 crore. One contract is from PHED, Bharatpur, for the construction of a transmission main pipeline for 97 villages, which includes operation and maintenance.
Another order is for a cluster distribution system for 71 villages. The order is from PHED, Jodhpur.
In the power division, IVRCL has got an order worth Rs 48.07 crore for the construction of transmission lines in Bhopal Circle from the Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company.
State-run banks asked to settle bilateral trade deals in local currency
New Delhi: The government has directed state-run banks to encourage local currency payments for bilateral trade transactions, a move that will cut down transaction costs and help mitigate currency risks along with spurring regional trade.
"The move is expected to curb the risk of exchange rate volatility and also ensure closer relations among the banking systems in the two countries," said a finance ministry official, requesting anonymity. Under the proposed mechanism, Indian exporters will be allowed to raise invoices and receive payments in Indian rupees while payments for imports will be made by the partner country's bank in its local currency. The two banks will then settle the transactions among themselves.
For instance, an Indian exporter will raise his invoice in rupees and get paid by his bank in India in rupees after submitting documents. The documents will then be sent to the importer's bank in the partner country which will remit an equivalent amount in the local currency to the Indian bank's branch in the partner country. The Indian bank will then convert it into Indian rupees at a pre-determined exchange rate and remit it to its international services branch in Mumbai for being credited in the vostro account. For importing into India, the same mechanism will be followed in reverse.
"It is an ideal way of reducing banking charges of exporters and importers. While trading in currencies other than the US dollar or the euro, the exporters and importer have to first convert the local currency into the dollar or the euro and then into the Indian rupee. The conversion costs are, therefore, double," points out Ajay Sahai, director-general of Fieo.
To begin with, the mechanism will be put in place in countries where Indian banks have a presence. "We are going to start with a country such as South Africa, where not only Indian banks have a good presence but also our exports and imports are more or less balanced. Gradually, we want to cover all countries," a commerce department official said.
"The move is expected to curb the risk of exchange rate volatility and also ensure closer relations among the banking systems in the two countries," said a finance ministry official, requesting anonymity. Under the proposed mechanism, Indian exporters will be allowed to raise invoices and receive payments in Indian rupees while payments for imports will be made by the partner country's bank in its local currency. The two banks will then settle the transactions among themselves.
For instance, an Indian exporter will raise his invoice in rupees and get paid by his bank in India in rupees after submitting documents. The documents will then be sent to the importer's bank in the partner country which will remit an equivalent amount in the local currency to the Indian bank's branch in the partner country. The Indian bank will then convert it into Indian rupees at a pre-determined exchange rate and remit it to its international services branch in Mumbai for being credited in the vostro account. For importing into India, the same mechanism will be followed in reverse.
"It is an ideal way of reducing banking charges of exporters and importers. While trading in currencies other than the US dollar or the euro, the exporters and importer have to first convert the local currency into the dollar or the euro and then into the Indian rupee. The conversion costs are, therefore, double," points out Ajay Sahai, director-general of Fieo.
To begin with, the mechanism will be put in place in countries where Indian banks have a presence. "We are going to start with a country such as South Africa, where not only Indian banks have a good presence but also our exports and imports are more or less balanced. Gradually, we want to cover all countries," a commerce department official said.
ONGC to invest Rs 11 lakh crore over the next 17 years
Chennai: India’s premier oil exploration and production company, ONGC, intends to invest Rs 11 lakh crore between 2013 and 2030. (In the last 15 years, the company had invested Rs 5 lakh crore.)
Thanks to this, ONGC expects to be producing 130 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent hydrocarbons in 2030. Half of this will come from assets abroad. (Last year, it produced 27 million tonnes of oil and 25 million cubic metres a day of natural gas.)
A ‘perspective plan’ drawn up by the public sector oil major says the company would invest in petrochemicals, LNG re-gasification and alternative energy, so that 30 per cent of its revenues in 2030 comes from non exploration and production activities. It mentions wind, solar and nuclear as the areas of alternative energy it would get into.
A good part of the investments will go into “unlocking domestic yet-to-find reserves”. What this means is, ONGC will step up exploration. “With more than 28 billion tonnes of prognosticated reserves, Indian sedimentary basis has potential. Extra exploratory miles may give desired results,” says ONGC’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Sudhir Vasudeva.
The company expects to add 450 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent hydrocarbons from yet-to-find reserves.
Thanks to this, ONGC expects to be producing 130 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent hydrocarbons in 2030. Half of this will come from assets abroad. (Last year, it produced 27 million tonnes of oil and 25 million cubic metres a day of natural gas.)
A ‘perspective plan’ drawn up by the public sector oil major says the company would invest in petrochemicals, LNG re-gasification and alternative energy, so that 30 per cent of its revenues in 2030 comes from non exploration and production activities. It mentions wind, solar and nuclear as the areas of alternative energy it would get into.
A good part of the investments will go into “unlocking domestic yet-to-find reserves”. What this means is, ONGC will step up exploration. “With more than 28 billion tonnes of prognosticated reserves, Indian sedimentary basis has potential. Extra exploratory miles may give desired results,” says ONGC’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Sudhir Vasudeva.
The company expects to add 450 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent hydrocarbons from yet-to-find reserves.
Engineering R&D services mkt to reach $42 bn by 2020
Mumbai: After a lull of almost three years, multinationals are back to spending on engineering research and development (R&D). The impact of this is showing on the Indian captive engineering R&D centres’ growth.
In last one-and-a-half years, about 39 captive centres were set up by MNCs in India. Some of these were MNCs like Hitachi, Panasonic, Ricoh, Faurecia, Peugeot among others, said a study by Zinnov Management Consulting.
According to the study, ‘Engineering R&D: Advantage India’, India is one of the leading offshore destinations in delivering engineering R&D services with a market share of 22 per cent. The market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14 per cent from $14.7 billion in FY12 to $42 billion by 2020 and is also expected to outpace the information technology growth rate in India.
“The period of 2004-08 saw the maximum growth of captive centres in India. At least 15-20 captive centres were being set-up every year. But since 2008, several companies went slow on capex spends, with many putting it on hold. Over the last one year we are seeing spends back, especially to target growth in the emerging market,” said Sundaraman Viswanathan, manager (consulting), Zinnov.
Pari Natarajan, chief executive officer, Zinnov said the current shift to set up captive centres is because of strong focus on emerging nations as target markets across major verticals. For instance, while Europe and North America are currently the leading markets in Aerospace, this is likely to change significantly by 2030, with countries outside these regions expected to own about half the commercial aircraft service.
Even in the telecom sector for that matter, deregulation in India and China is fuelling the future growth prospects of the industry. Similarly, in the medical devices and consumer electronics segments, markets like India and China are expected to lead the consumption, said the study.
Viswanathan added that the captive centres are also growing in maturity. “Several companies are now setting up centres of excellence for specific verticals. From a services provider landscape, earlier they would depend on certification as a selling point. But now they are moving beyond and looking at partnering with business houses and driving decisions,” he added.
Some of the instances where companies are using their India unit for core research include GE, which has been focusing on areas like material design, electromagnetic analytics, among others. General Motors is focused on smart system modelling, vehicle structure and safety and chemical reaction modelling.
While MNC captives today drive the Indian Product Engineering growth story in almost all verticals except Aerospace where service providers have a 76 per cent share, service providers are upping their game and in fact grew faster in FY2012, at 16 per cent CAGR compared to 11 per cent growth for captives. Rather the product engineering business at the top Indian IT services players like TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies is already a $1 billion business.
“India is well-poised to contribute to Global ER&D as the ecosystem of captive centres, service providers and startups, increasingly work together to drive innovation. As relationships mature, service providers and customers will enter into pricing models based on market outcomes. Further, with emerging nations growing in importance as key markets, MNCs are set to leverage the inherent competencies in India to build products for local and global markets,” said Viswanathan.
In last one-and-a-half years, about 39 captive centres were set up by MNCs in India. Some of these were MNCs like Hitachi, Panasonic, Ricoh, Faurecia, Peugeot among others, said a study by Zinnov Management Consulting.
According to the study, ‘Engineering R&D: Advantage India’, India is one of the leading offshore destinations in delivering engineering R&D services with a market share of 22 per cent. The market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14 per cent from $14.7 billion in FY12 to $42 billion by 2020 and is also expected to outpace the information technology growth rate in India.
“The period of 2004-08 saw the maximum growth of captive centres in India. At least 15-20 captive centres were being set-up every year. But since 2008, several companies went slow on capex spends, with many putting it on hold. Over the last one year we are seeing spends back, especially to target growth in the emerging market,” said Sundaraman Viswanathan, manager (consulting), Zinnov.
Pari Natarajan, chief executive officer, Zinnov said the current shift to set up captive centres is because of strong focus on emerging nations as target markets across major verticals. For instance, while Europe and North America are currently the leading markets in Aerospace, this is likely to change significantly by 2030, with countries outside these regions expected to own about half the commercial aircraft service.
Even in the telecom sector for that matter, deregulation in India and China is fuelling the future growth prospects of the industry. Similarly, in the medical devices and consumer electronics segments, markets like India and China are expected to lead the consumption, said the study.
Viswanathan added that the captive centres are also growing in maturity. “Several companies are now setting up centres of excellence for specific verticals. From a services provider landscape, earlier they would depend on certification as a selling point. But now they are moving beyond and looking at partnering with business houses and driving decisions,” he added.
Some of the instances where companies are using their India unit for core research include GE, which has been focusing on areas like material design, electromagnetic analytics, among others. General Motors is focused on smart system modelling, vehicle structure and safety and chemical reaction modelling.
While MNC captives today drive the Indian Product Engineering growth story in almost all verticals except Aerospace where service providers have a 76 per cent share, service providers are upping their game and in fact grew faster in FY2012, at 16 per cent CAGR compared to 11 per cent growth for captives. Rather the product engineering business at the top Indian IT services players like TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies is already a $1 billion business.
“India is well-poised to contribute to Global ER&D as the ecosystem of captive centres, service providers and startups, increasingly work together to drive innovation. As relationships mature, service providers and customers will enter into pricing models based on market outcomes. Further, with emerging nations growing in importance as key markets, MNCs are set to leverage the inherent competencies in India to build products for local and global markets,” said Viswanathan.
No roaming charges within India from 2013, says Telecom minister Kapil Sibal
New Delhi: Mobile phone users will not have to pay roaming charges when traveling within India from next year, telecom ministerKapil Sibal said Monday, but telcos say abolishing these charges could lead to higher call rates.
The minister also said that the government was did not want to control or govern the internet and added that the Centre would enter into dialogue with all stakeholders to deal with malicious use of cyber space.
"Our (telecom) secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,"" Sibal said when asked to specify timeline for implementation for the 'one-nation-free roaming' that he had announced earlier this year.
ET reported Friday that India would do away with roaming charges in 2013. The Cabinet has already approved the new telecom policy whose guidelines include doing away with roaming charges.
Last week, telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar told ET that this consumer centric move would be implemented next year. ""Our first priority is the upcoming spectrum auctions. At the same time, we are working on the Unified Licence (UL) and we want to finalise this by December.
Once the UL regime is rolled out post December, concepts like 'One nation-free roaming' that is part of it will be introduced. This will happen sometime next year (2013). At this stage it will be impossible to specify the exact time frame,"" Chandrasekhar had said.
Roaming charges account for about 10% of the sector's revenues, and Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India, Rajan S Mathews said that telcos were likely to offset this loss by increasing call rates.
"It is a fact that STD and ISD calls cross subsidize local calls. This comes at a time when the industry has to pay thousands of crore for airwaves, higher diesel costs and as other new costs are imposed on the sector," Mathews said.
The COAI, which represents operators on the GSM platform such as Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, is also of the view that the government must sort out a slew of policy related issues, including migration to the unified licence, before abolishing roaming charges.
"Since it is a tariff related issue, sector regulator Trai must have a consultation process and issue its recommendations first," Mathews added.
On internet governance, Sibal said freedom of speech protected some aspects of online expression, but pointed out that free speech could not be extended to all online activities.
The minister also said that the government was did not want to control or govern the internet and added that the Centre would enter into dialogue with all stakeholders to deal with malicious use of cyber space.
"Our (telecom) secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,"" Sibal said when asked to specify timeline for implementation for the 'one-nation-free roaming' that he had announced earlier this year.
ET reported Friday that India would do away with roaming charges in 2013. The Cabinet has already approved the new telecom policy whose guidelines include doing away with roaming charges.
Last week, telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar told ET that this consumer centric move would be implemented next year. ""Our first priority is the upcoming spectrum auctions. At the same time, we are working on the Unified Licence (UL) and we want to finalise this by December.
Once the UL regime is rolled out post December, concepts like 'One nation-free roaming' that is part of it will be introduced. This will happen sometime next year (2013). At this stage it will be impossible to specify the exact time frame,"" Chandrasekhar had said.
Roaming charges account for about 10% of the sector's revenues, and Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India, Rajan S Mathews said that telcos were likely to offset this loss by increasing call rates.
"It is a fact that STD and ISD calls cross subsidize local calls. This comes at a time when the industry has to pay thousands of crore for airwaves, higher diesel costs and as other new costs are imposed on the sector," Mathews said.
The COAI, which represents operators on the GSM platform such as Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, is also of the view that the government must sort out a slew of policy related issues, including migration to the unified licence, before abolishing roaming charges.
"Since it is a tariff related issue, sector regulator Trai must have a consultation process and issue its recommendations first," Mathews added.
On internet governance, Sibal said freedom of speech protected some aspects of online expression, but pointed out that free speech could not be extended to all online activities.
Funding platform for start-ups to be launched in three cities
Bangalore: The Indian start-up scene is set to take a big step forward with the launch of the Global Superangels Forum’s (GSF) Accelerator programme across three cities — Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The programme is seen as the single-largest funding platform for Indian start-ups.
GSF Accelerator is the initiative of Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF, a network of 30 leading digital founders and investors. Earlier, as president of Reliance Entertainment, Sawhney had led Reliance Group’s foray into media & entertainment — the film eco-system, broadcasting and new media. He had founded leading web portal Indiatimes.com and pioneered mobile value-added services in India.
Sawhney said the programme would create a global springboard for the next generation of Indian start-ups, especially product-oriented technology ones in mobile, social, local and cloud areas. “There is no reason why Indian entrepreneurs cannot create the next Instagram, or the next Twitter, or the next Inmobi,” he said.
Key advisors to GSF include Naveen Tewari, chief executive and founder of Inmobi (a global mobile platform), Avnish Bajaj, founder of venture capital fund Matrix Partners, Saul Klein, partner at Index Ventures and co-founder of TAG and Seedcamp, and Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups, an early stage investor in the Silicon Valley.
The programme would be held simultaneously in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore through October-November, with each city hosting four start-ups. Extensive coaching would be provided to the 12 GSF start-ups through seven weeks by a mentor pool of about 200 leading global co-founders and digital masterminds.
Sawhney says, “Twelve start-ups would receive initial funding from GSF this year. This is the single largest funding platform for Indian start-ups. GSF Superangels would provide additional funding to a few start-ups at the end of the programme. The 12 start-ups would also be showcased at the GSF 2012 (the second Global Superangels Forum) on Nov 26/27, in which 400 leading early stage investors from across the world would interact with officials from these start-ups.”
Thirty leading founders are funding GSF Superangels and the GSF Accelerator. Leading Indian funds such as Kae Capital and Blume Venture have also partnered the GSF programme. Sawhney says, “GSF has tied up with 500 renowned start-ups by Dave McClure to provide access to its Silicon Valley networks. Similarly, European mentorship platform Seedcamp would provide access to GSF start-ups in Europe. GSF’s relationship with Singapore-based fund Ruvento would create cross-border fertilisation of businesses and capital between India, Singapore and Russia.”
Dave McClure says, “India is booming with innovation, and 500 Startups is excited to partner GSF Accelerator in one of the world’s most exciting entrepreneurial ecosystems. 500 Startups has already made several investments in India, and we plan more investments in the future.”
Seedcamp partner Reshma Sohoni says, “We started five years ago, with the objective of accelerating founders across Europe. We broadened this to include EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia) and beyond, and are now happy to put a strong stake in the ground in India with GSF.”
GSF Accelerator is the initiative of Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF, a network of 30 leading digital founders and investors. Earlier, as president of Reliance Entertainment, Sawhney had led Reliance Group’s foray into media & entertainment — the film eco-system, broadcasting and new media. He had founded leading web portal Indiatimes.com and pioneered mobile value-added services in India.
Sawhney said the programme would create a global springboard for the next generation of Indian start-ups, especially product-oriented technology ones in mobile, social, local and cloud areas. “There is no reason why Indian entrepreneurs cannot create the next Instagram, or the next Twitter, or the next Inmobi,” he said.
Key advisors to GSF include Naveen Tewari, chief executive and founder of Inmobi (a global mobile platform), Avnish Bajaj, founder of venture capital fund Matrix Partners, Saul Klein, partner at Index Ventures and co-founder of TAG and Seedcamp, and Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups, an early stage investor in the Silicon Valley.
The programme would be held simultaneously in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore through October-November, with each city hosting four start-ups. Extensive coaching would be provided to the 12 GSF start-ups through seven weeks by a mentor pool of about 200 leading global co-founders and digital masterminds.
Sawhney says, “Twelve start-ups would receive initial funding from GSF this year. This is the single largest funding platform for Indian start-ups. GSF Superangels would provide additional funding to a few start-ups at the end of the programme. The 12 start-ups would also be showcased at the GSF 2012 (the second Global Superangels Forum) on Nov 26/27, in which 400 leading early stage investors from across the world would interact with officials from these start-ups.”
Thirty leading founders are funding GSF Superangels and the GSF Accelerator. Leading Indian funds such as Kae Capital and Blume Venture have also partnered the GSF programme. Sawhney says, “GSF has tied up with 500 renowned start-ups by Dave McClure to provide access to its Silicon Valley networks. Similarly, European mentorship platform Seedcamp would provide access to GSF start-ups in Europe. GSF’s relationship with Singapore-based fund Ruvento would create cross-border fertilisation of businesses and capital between India, Singapore and Russia.”
Dave McClure says, “India is booming with innovation, and 500 Startups is excited to partner GSF Accelerator in one of the world’s most exciting entrepreneurial ecosystems. 500 Startups has already made several investments in India, and we plan more investments in the future.”
Seedcamp partner Reshma Sohoni says, “We started five years ago, with the objective of accelerating founders across Europe. We broadened this to include EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia) and beyond, and are now happy to put a strong stake in the ground in India with GSF.”
BPCL plans Rs 45,000-cr investment for capacity expansion
Mumbai: Public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd plans to invest about Rs 45,000 crore in the next four to five years to expand its refinery capacity and upstream operations.
Addressing the media after the company’s 59{+t}{+h} Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on Friday, Chairman and Managing Director R.K. Singh said: “In the next four to five years, our company is going to change completely with BPCL emerging as a major player in the exploration and production field.”
The company is riding high on its discovery in Mozambique and plans to monetise the gas finds by proposing to set up two LNG plant of 5 mtpa capacity each.
Also on the anvil is its Integrated Refinery Expansion Project that envisages increasing the Kochi refinery capacity from 9.5 mtpa to 15.5 mtpa and diversification into the petrochemical sector to manufacture niche products.
The entire outlay for this project has been pegged at Rs 20,000 crore.
Singh said: “We are also committed to spend Rs 10,000 crore towards the marketing of Mozambique gas in the next four to five years.
By 2017-18 we are hopeful of get getting gas, of which a part would be brought to India.”
The company chairman also expressed his confidence at being able to mobilise the resources for its ambitious plans.
“We do not believe we would have any problem in mobilising resources to meet our capex requirement as we are tying up with banks for our loan arrangements in the upstream sector through reserve base lending,” added Singh.
The company may also go in for a foreign borrowing to finance its petro chemical project in Kerala. With the Government reducing the withholding tax from 20 per cent to five per cent, “We need to study the fine print to know what would be the benefit”, said S. Varadarajan, Director Finance.
BPCL has tied up with LG Chemicals of South Korea for the petro chemical project.
The company’s board has approved a new R&D project to produce diesel from bio-mass jointly with Shell and another Hyderabad based company, Chairman said.
Addressing the media after the company’s 59{+t}{+h} Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on Friday, Chairman and Managing Director R.K. Singh said: “In the next four to five years, our company is going to change completely with BPCL emerging as a major player in the exploration and production field.”
The company is riding high on its discovery in Mozambique and plans to monetise the gas finds by proposing to set up two LNG plant of 5 mtpa capacity each.
Also on the anvil is its Integrated Refinery Expansion Project that envisages increasing the Kochi refinery capacity from 9.5 mtpa to 15.5 mtpa and diversification into the petrochemical sector to manufacture niche products.
The entire outlay for this project has been pegged at Rs 20,000 crore.
Singh said: “We are also committed to spend Rs 10,000 crore towards the marketing of Mozambique gas in the next four to five years.
By 2017-18 we are hopeful of get getting gas, of which a part would be brought to India.”
The company chairman also expressed his confidence at being able to mobilise the resources for its ambitious plans.
“We do not believe we would have any problem in mobilising resources to meet our capex requirement as we are tying up with banks for our loan arrangements in the upstream sector through reserve base lending,” added Singh.
The company may also go in for a foreign borrowing to finance its petro chemical project in Kerala. With the Government reducing the withholding tax from 20 per cent to five per cent, “We need to study the fine print to know what would be the benefit”, said S. Varadarajan, Director Finance.
BPCL has tied up with LG Chemicals of South Korea for the petro chemical project.
The company’s board has approved a new R&D project to produce diesel from bio-mass jointly with Shell and another Hyderabad based company, Chairman said.
Wipro recognised as leader in Computer Services and Internet in Dow Jones Sustainability Index-2012
Bengaluru: Software services exporter Wipro has been recognized as leader in the 'Computer Services and Internet' sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) - 2012, for the third time in a row.
Wipro is one among the four companies worldwide and the only one from India in the Computer services and Internet sector of the DJSI World 2012.
"Sustainability is integral to all that Wipro does as an organization," said Anurag Behar, Wipro's chief sustainability officer. "We view frameworks like the DJSI as valuable platforms for benchmarking and holding ourselves up to scrutiny."
Some of Wipro's sustainability initiatives are in areas such as improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint, as well extensive work in the education sector.
DJSI evaluated some 1544 companies out of which 340 made it to the final ranking. In the sector where Wipro emerged as the leader, four companies were selected from 32 nominations. Companies were assessed on various indicators including climate strategy, eco-efficiency, environmental reporting, labor and human rights, human capital development, talent attraction & retention, digital inclusion and corporate governance.
Wipro is one among the four companies worldwide and the only one from India in the Computer services and Internet sector of the DJSI World 2012.
"Sustainability is integral to all that Wipro does as an organization," said Anurag Behar, Wipro's chief sustainability officer. "We view frameworks like the DJSI as valuable platforms for benchmarking and holding ourselves up to scrutiny."
Some of Wipro's sustainability initiatives are in areas such as improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint, as well extensive work in the education sector.
DJSI evaluated some 1544 companies out of which 340 made it to the final ranking. In the sector where Wipro emerged as the leader, four companies were selected from 32 nominations. Companies were assessed on various indicators including climate strategy, eco-efficiency, environmental reporting, labor and human rights, human capital development, talent attraction & retention, digital inclusion and corporate governance.
Government cuts tax to make foreign debt attractive
New Delhi: In a move to lower the cost of borrowings for Indian companies and spur investment, the government on Friday cut the tax it levies on the interest paid on foreign loans to 5% from 20% earlier. Although the move had been announced in the Budget, it came at a time when the government is unleashing a series of measures to get the economy back on track.
So far, if a company was borrowing overseas at 5%, the cost went up to 6% due to the 20% levy. But with the reduced rate of tax, the cost of the same loan would be 5.25%, excluding other costs such as those to hedge interest rate and currency risks.
"This lower rate of taxation will apply to interest paid to a non-resident by an Indian company for money borrowed in foreign currency from a source outside India, either under a loan agreement or by way of long-term infrastructure bonds," the finance ministry said in a statement. As a result, the rate of withholding tax, or the income to withhold or deduct tax from the payment made by a company and transfer the amount to the government, has also been lowered to 5%.
Simultaneously, finance minister P Chidambaram announced that companies that meet specified criteria will now get automatic approval instead of a case-by-case approach. There was almost an immediate cheer from the industry. "The reduction in withholding tax from 20% to 5% will enable corporates to access funds at a cheaper cost. Also, the automatic approval provision makes the process less time-consuming," said Sunil Agarwal, head of Deutsche Bank's institutional client group.
"Reduction in the applicable tax rate and withholding tax will reinforce the overall positivity from the reform measures announced recently. In a global scenario of competing capital destinations, this maintains attractiveness of Indian risk, while giving some advantage to the borrowers. Hopefully, this will provide some more push to investment activity in the country," added Saket Misra, MD (strategic equity solutions) at RBS.
The announcement comes at a time when the government is trying to create conditions - by improving the fiscal situation - to prod RBI into cutting policy rates in its October monetary policy review.
So far, if a company was borrowing overseas at 5%, the cost went up to 6% due to the 20% levy. But with the reduced rate of tax, the cost of the same loan would be 5.25%, excluding other costs such as those to hedge interest rate and currency risks.
"This lower rate of taxation will apply to interest paid to a non-resident by an Indian company for money borrowed in foreign currency from a source outside India, either under a loan agreement or by way of long-term infrastructure bonds," the finance ministry said in a statement. As a result, the rate of withholding tax, or the income to withhold or deduct tax from the payment made by a company and transfer the amount to the government, has also been lowered to 5%.
Simultaneously, finance minister P Chidambaram announced that companies that meet specified criteria will now get automatic approval instead of a case-by-case approach. There was almost an immediate cheer from the industry. "The reduction in withholding tax from 20% to 5% will enable corporates to access funds at a cheaper cost. Also, the automatic approval provision makes the process less time-consuming," said Sunil Agarwal, head of Deutsche Bank's institutional client group.
"Reduction in the applicable tax rate and withholding tax will reinforce the overall positivity from the reform measures announced recently. In a global scenario of competing capital destinations, this maintains attractiveness of Indian risk, while giving some advantage to the borrowers. Hopefully, this will provide some more push to investment activity in the country," added Saket Misra, MD (strategic equity solutions) at RBS.
The announcement comes at a time when the government is trying to create conditions - by improving the fiscal situation - to prod RBI into cutting policy rates in its October monetary policy review.
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