New Delhi: Referring to Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) as the ‘backbone’ of the economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said his Government proposes to set up a Rs. 10,000-crore venture capital fund intended to be a catalyst to attract private capital. The fund will “provide equity, quasi-equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies,” he said.
Heeding the long-standing demand of the sector, Jaitley also announced that the definition of MSME would be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling. At present, the ceiling for manufacturing is Rs. 25 lakh for micro enterprises, Rs. 5 crore for small units and Rs. 10 crore for medium enterprises. He said a committee which would include members of the Finance Ministry, the MSME Ministry and the Reserve Bank would be set up to examine the sector’s financial difficulties and will submit its report in three months.
“The revision of the MSME definition for high capital ceiling will enable them to get greater credit from the market, in turn helping them grow and expand,” said R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME, a B2B buying platform for such enterprises.
The Budget also proposed to offer easier exit norms. “An entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework will also be developed for SMES to enable easy exit,” he said. A Rs. 200-crore fund was also announced to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the agro industry, and also a country-wide district-level Incubation Accelerator Programme to support new entrepreneurial ideas. The Budget also proposed to allocate Rs. 200 crore for setting up six more mega textile clusters in Bareilly, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Surat, Kutch (Gujarat), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Mysore (Karnataka) and one in Tamil Nadu.
Further, Rs. 50 crore has been provided for a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to promote handloom products. The city is known for its handwoven Banarasi silk sarees, mostly made by Muslimweavers who are now struggling to survive after the entry of cheap Chinese imitations.
Success in my Habit
Monday, July 14, 2014
Budget 2014: FM Arun Jaitley proposes 16 new port projects
Mumbai: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in its first budget after BJP's victory in May, said India will get 16 new port projects this year, with a focus on their connectivity to the hinterland.
India currently has 13 major ports. Jaitley also reiterated previous government's plan to spend Rs 11,635 crore to develop the phase one of the outer harbour project in VO Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin.
The FM also said special economic zones will be developed along the existing major ports, Kandla in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
He said a comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote the struggling shipbuilding industry in India this financial year.
He said India will also develop an inland waterway system in river Ganga from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, which will be build over the next 6 years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
India currently has 13 major ports. Jaitley also reiterated previous government's plan to spend Rs 11,635 crore to develop the phase one of the outer harbour project in VO Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin.
The FM also said special economic zones will be developed along the existing major ports, Kandla in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
He said a comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote the struggling shipbuilding industry in India this financial year.
He said India will also develop an inland waterway system in river Ganga from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, which will be build over the next 6 years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
FDI cap in insurance raised to 49%
New Delhi: The insurance sector finally had its moment in the sun after the Budget increased the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent. After the insurance sector opened up in 2000, both life and general insurance businesses have gone though a series of regulatory changes. Until recently, only few insurance players were profitable.
Also, the lack of valuation benchmarks in the listed space has kept investor interest tepid. But now, many players, both in the life and general insurance space, have turned around and are profitable.
Capital-intensive
With a possible recovery in the economy, and structural changes done with, insurance players are likely to get a leg-up.
The much-awaited increase in the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent will help the insurance industry in two ways. One, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive.
Two, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.
For many conglomerates in the financial services space, their insurance subsidiaries are still undervalued, in spite of accounting for a substantial portion of their earnings.
Valuations
Companies such as Max India, Reliance Capital, Bajaj Finserv and Sundaram Finance will see substantial value unlocking.
For instance, more than 75 per cent of Max India’s value (sum-of-the-parts) valuation comes from the life insurance business. For Bajaj Finserv, 44 per cent of its value comes from the life insurance business and 28 per cent form the general insurance business.
For Reliance Capital, 35 per cen
Also, the lack of valuation benchmarks in the listed space has kept investor interest tepid. But now, many players, both in the life and general insurance space, have turned around and are profitable.
Capital-intensive
With a possible recovery in the economy, and structural changes done with, insurance players are likely to get a leg-up.
The much-awaited increase in the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent will help the insurance industry in two ways. One, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive.
Two, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.
For many conglomerates in the financial services space, their insurance subsidiaries are still undervalued, in spite of accounting for a substantial portion of their earnings.
Valuations
Companies such as Max India, Reliance Capital, Bajaj Finserv and Sundaram Finance will see substantial value unlocking.
For instance, more than 75 per cent of Max India’s value (sum-of-the-parts) valuation comes from the life insurance business. For Bajaj Finserv, 44 per cent of its value comes from the life insurance business and 28 per cent form the general insurance business.
For Reliance Capital, 35 per cen
Five new IITs and five new IIMS will be set up in the states
New Delhi: The Government has announced to set-up five more IITs in the Jammu & Kashmir, Chattisgrah, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Similarly, five new IIMs will be set-up in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra. For this, a sum of Rs. 500 crore has been allocated in the Budget. Presenting his Maiden Budget in Parliament here today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the country needs a large number of Centres of higher learning which are world class and accordingly declare to set-up Jai Prakash Narayan National Centre for Excellence in humanities in Madhya Pradesh.
Shri Jaitley announced “Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme” to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers with an initial corpus of Rs.500 crore. He said that for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a provision of Rs. 28, 635 crore has been made while for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Rs. 4,966 crores have been allocated. The Government will also strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls school in first phase, the Minister added.
To take advantage of the reach of the IT, the Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs. 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.
Shri Jaitley announced “Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme” to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers with an initial corpus of Rs.500 crore. He said that for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a provision of Rs. 28, 635 crore has been made while for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Rs. 4,966 crores have been allocated. The Government will also strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls school in first phase, the Minister added.
To take advantage of the reach of the IT, the Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs. 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Blackstone lines up Rs 1,000 crore for residential realty
Mumbai: Blackstone, one of the largest investors in commercial properties, is set to step up presence in the residential segment, said a top executive in the know. According to him, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the US private equity (PE) giant is gearing up to invest about Rs 1,000 crore in residential projects across Indian metros. The company is currently in advanced discussions with many developers, the executive revealed.
Recently, the New York- based fund invested Rs 175 crore in the Chennai project of Bangalore-based Ozone Group, its first investment in the residential sector.
Blackstone, which has invested about $1 billion in commercial properties in India, has so far stayed away from directly investing in residential properties. However, it had exposure to residential real estate by the virtue of taking over the $2.68-billion Asian Real Estate Opportunities Fund of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) in 2010. The most high-profile one in BofA Merrill Lynch's India portfolio being its $377-million (Rs 1,800 crore) investment in DLF's housing projects. It picked up 49 per cent stake in seven mid-income housing projects of DLF, the country's largest property company, in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore.
Its US peers such as Morgan Stanley, The Carlyle Group and others have entity-level stakes in some of the large realty companies. For instance, Morgan Stanley has entity-level stake in Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty. Carlyle has stake in the Jerry Rao-promoted Value & Budget Housing Corporation.
The timing of Blackstone's investment in residential properties bodes well for the investor, since residential enquiries have picked up in many markets such as the National Capital Region and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after the new government came to power and buyer sentiments have revived, consultants said.
"This is just an opportunistic investment. We did not get good opportunities in the past. Internationally, we invest in all asset classes abroad," said another executive associated with the PE firm.
An email questionnaire to Blackstone did not elicit any response.
Blackstone is a careful player, says Ambar Maheshwari, managing director, corporate finance at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). "They (Blackstone) did not invest when the prices were very high, Then, slowdown happened and prices crashed. If they are looking at residential, I think they are very serious about it." He added Blackstone would look at India-dedicated funds given their portfolio of assets.
Recently, the New York- based fund invested Rs 175 crore in the Chennai project of Bangalore-based Ozone Group, its first investment in the residential sector.
Blackstone, which has invested about $1 billion in commercial properties in India, has so far stayed away from directly investing in residential properties. However, it had exposure to residential real estate by the virtue of taking over the $2.68-billion Asian Real Estate Opportunities Fund of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) in 2010. The most high-profile one in BofA Merrill Lynch's India portfolio being its $377-million (Rs 1,800 crore) investment in DLF's housing projects. It picked up 49 per cent stake in seven mid-income housing projects of DLF, the country's largest property company, in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore.
Its US peers such as Morgan Stanley, The Carlyle Group and others have entity-level stakes in some of the large realty companies. For instance, Morgan Stanley has entity-level stake in Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty. Carlyle has stake in the Jerry Rao-promoted Value & Budget Housing Corporation.
The timing of Blackstone's investment in residential properties bodes well for the investor, since residential enquiries have picked up in many markets such as the National Capital Region and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after the new government came to power and buyer sentiments have revived, consultants said.
"This is just an opportunistic investment. We did not get good opportunities in the past. Internationally, we invest in all asset classes abroad," said another executive associated with the PE firm.
An email questionnaire to Blackstone did not elicit any response.
Blackstone is a careful player, says Ambar Maheshwari, managing director, corporate finance at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). "They (Blackstone) did not invest when the prices were very high, Then, slowdown happened and prices crashed. If they are looking at residential, I think they are very serious about it." He added Blackstone would look at India-dedicated funds given their portfolio of assets.
India gets more back-packer tourists
New Delhi: India appears to be getting back packers but not high spending tourists, says the Economic Survey. “While foreign exchange earnings (FEE) in rupee terms are a reflection of the exchange rate movements, what is cause for concern is the steep deceleration in FEEs in dollar terms, while the deceleration in tourist arrivals was less. This indicates a higher inflow of back-packers vis-à-vis high-spending tourists,” says the Survey. Foreign tourist arrivals grew 5.9 per cent in 2013 over the previous fiscal, but forex earnings in dollar terms were up 2.2 per cent during the period.
Passenger car sales jump 15% in June
New Delhi: Improved sentiment and speculative purchases towards the second week of last month have fuelled the sales of passenger cars in India, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Wednesday.
Total passenger car sales grew 15 per cent to 1.60 lakh units in June this year compared with around 1.4 lakh units in June 2013, the SIAM report said.
“This was the highest-ever June sales and we hope the trend of double-digit growth going forward,” Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM, told reporters here.
Excise duty cuts
He said because of the speculation that the Government might not continue with the excise duty cuts on cars in early June, companies saw increased footfalls at the showrooms, which turned into better sales too.
Total passenger vehicles sales also grew 11 per cent to 2.19 lakh units during last month against 1.97 lakh units in the corresponding month previous year.
2-wheelers, commercial vehicles
Total two-wheelers segment also grew 13 per cent to 12.61 lakh units from 11.16 lakh units in June 2013.
However, total commercial vehicle sales are still in negative (-9 per cent) zone year-on-year at 51,119 units during June against 56,194 units in June 2013.
Overall, the grand total of all vehicles sold during June grew 12 per cent to 15.78 lakh units against 14.07 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.
Total passenger car sales grew 15 per cent to 1.60 lakh units in June this year compared with around 1.4 lakh units in June 2013, the SIAM report said.
“This was the highest-ever June sales and we hope the trend of double-digit growth going forward,” Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM, told reporters here.
Excise duty cuts
He said because of the speculation that the Government might not continue with the excise duty cuts on cars in early June, companies saw increased footfalls at the showrooms, which turned into better sales too.
Total passenger vehicles sales also grew 11 per cent to 2.19 lakh units during last month against 1.97 lakh units in the corresponding month previous year.
2-wheelers, commercial vehicles
Total two-wheelers segment also grew 13 per cent to 12.61 lakh units from 11.16 lakh units in June 2013.
However, total commercial vehicle sales are still in negative (-9 per cent) zone year-on-year at 51,119 units during June against 56,194 units in June 2013.
Overall, the grand total of all vehicles sold during June grew 12 per cent to 15.78 lakh units against 14.07 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.
Indo-Israel free trade pact likely by year-end
Hyderabad: The Indo-Israel Free Trade Agreement may be concluded by the year end, paving the way for deeper engagement between the two countries, according to a senior Israeli diplomat.
“It should have been signed by the end of last year, but it got delayed. I am expecting that it will be finalised by this year end,” Avi Friedman, Consul for Trade and Economic Affairs, Head of Trade Section, Consulate General of Israel, said.
This agreement could significantly increase bi-lateral trade, currently at $4.5 billion, excluding the defence sector, he told Business Line . Friedman identified the cyber sector as a new potential area for greater cooperation, especially in the context of preventing cyber attacks.
“India is a victim of cyber attacks in the power and oil and gas sectors. Even Israel is faced with cyber attacks (hacking of key installations),” he said.
A Frost and Sullivan report says the cyber defence market for oil and gas industries alone may reach $3.75 billion globally by 2021. Russian security firm Kaspersky pointed that India follows Russia in the number of cyber attacks faced, with UK, Ukraine and Vietnam being other victims.
“It should have been signed by the end of last year, but it got delayed. I am expecting that it will be finalised by this year end,” Avi Friedman, Consul for Trade and Economic Affairs, Head of Trade Section, Consulate General of Israel, said.
This agreement could significantly increase bi-lateral trade, currently at $4.5 billion, excluding the defence sector, he told Business Line . Friedman identified the cyber sector as a new potential area for greater cooperation, especially in the context of preventing cyber attacks.
“India is a victim of cyber attacks in the power and oil and gas sectors. Even Israel is faced with cyber attacks (hacking of key installations),” he said.
A Frost and Sullivan report says the cyber defence market for oil and gas industries alone may reach $3.75 billion globally by 2021. Russian security firm Kaspersky pointed that India follows Russia in the number of cyber attacks faced, with UK, Ukraine and Vietnam being other victims.
India has the Second Fastest Growing Services Sector with Compound Annual Growth Rate at 9 Per Cent
New Delhi: India has the second fastest growing services sector with its Compound Annual Growth Rate at 9.0 per cent, just below China’s 10.9 per cent, during 2001 to 2012. Also, India ranked 12th in terms of services Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012 among the world’s top 15 countries in terms of GDP. While services share in World GDP was 65.9 per cent and in employment was only 44 per cent in 2012, in India, they were 56.9 per cent and 28.1 per cent respectively.
GDP
Services constitute a 57 per cent share in GDP at factor cost (at current prices) in 2013-14, an increase of 6 percentage points over 2000-01. Despite deceleration, services GDP growth at 6.8 per cent was above the 4.7 per cent overall GDP in 2013-14. The growth rate of the combined category of trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, and communications decelerated to 3.0 per cent while financing, insurance, real estate, and business services grew robustly at 12.9 per cent.
FDI
In 2013-14, FDI inflows to the services sector (top five sectors including construction) declined sharply by 37.6 per cent to US$ 6.4 billion compared to an overall growth in FDI inflows at 6.1 per cent resulting in the share of the top five services in total FDI falling to nearly one-sixth.
Exports
India’s increase in share in world services exports from 0.6 per cent in 1990 to 3.3 per cent in 2013 was faster than in merchandise exports. Exports of software services, accounting for 46 per cent of India’s total services exports, decelerated to 5.4 per cent in 2013-14, travel, accounting for a nearly 12 per cent share, witnessed negative growth of 0.4 per cent.
GDP
Services constitute a 57 per cent share in GDP at factor cost (at current prices) in 2013-14, an increase of 6 percentage points over 2000-01. Despite deceleration, services GDP growth at 6.8 per cent was above the 4.7 per cent overall GDP in 2013-14. The growth rate of the combined category of trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, and communications decelerated to 3.0 per cent while financing, insurance, real estate, and business services grew robustly at 12.9 per cent.
FDI
In 2013-14, FDI inflows to the services sector (top five sectors including construction) declined sharply by 37.6 per cent to US$ 6.4 billion compared to an overall growth in FDI inflows at 6.1 per cent resulting in the share of the top five services in total FDI falling to nearly one-sixth.
Exports
India’s increase in share in world services exports from 0.6 per cent in 1990 to 3.3 per cent in 2013 was faster than in merchandise exports. Exports of software services, accounting for 46 per cent of India’s total services exports, decelerated to 5.4 per cent in 2013-14, travel, accounting for a nearly 12 per cent share, witnessed negative growth of 0.4 per cent.
Argentina-based luxury brand La Martina opens store in Delhi
Mumbai: Argentina-based luxury brand La Martina, a polo lifestyle company known for its apparel, technical equipment and accessories, has started operations with its maiden store in Delhi.
The 1,800 sq ft standalone store was opened at luxury mall DLF Emporio.
Eliana Koulas, Director of Luxus Retail, the Indian franchisee for La Martina, said La Martina has a strong association with vacations and leisure.”
La Martina has also diversified the brand to add general fashion products for ladies, men and kids. The apparel and accessories are priced between Rs 8,900 and Rs 66,800.
La Martina has offices in North and South America, Switzerland and the UK.
The 1,800 sq ft standalone store was opened at luxury mall DLF Emporio.
Eliana Koulas, Director of Luxus Retail, the Indian franchisee for La Martina, said La Martina has a strong association with vacations and leisure.”
La Martina has also diversified the brand to add general fashion products for ladies, men and kids. The apparel and accessories are priced between Rs 8,900 and Rs 66,800.
La Martina has offices in North and South America, Switzerland and the UK.
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