Success in my Habit
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
GST to have minimal impact on retail inflation: Morgan Stanley
Crisil says Narendra Modi's steps to benefit growth over medium term
PM launches various projects of Kandla Port Trust
He unveiled plaques to mark the laying of Foundation Stone for construction of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Convention Centre; and the development of the 14th and 16th General Cargo Berth.
He handed over Letters of Award for Construction of Interchange-cum-ROB at Kutch Salt Junction; Deployment of two Mobile Harbour Cranes; and Mechanization for handling of fertilisers at Kandla Port.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the Sagarmala project, and port-led development would have a positive impact on the State of Gujarat, and would lead to job creation as well.
Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani spoke of the rich maritime traditions of the State, and added that the spirit continues even today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people for the warm welcome accorded to him on the way from the helipad to the venue of the function.
He said the people of Kutch are well aware of the importance of water. He spoke of the rich and glorious history and culture of the Kutch region.
The Prime Minister said that if India wants to make a place for itself in global trade, it should have the best of arrangements in the port sector.
The combination of infrastructure and efficiency is vital for the port sector to thrive, he said, adding that the Kandla Port has emerged as one of the finest in Asia.
The Prime Minister said that the Chabahar port, being developed with Indian participation in Iran, would further spur the growth of Kandla Port. The Prime Minister also mentioned the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Convention Center whose Foundation Stone was laid today.
The Prime Minister asked the people to resolve to make whatever contribution they can for the nation over the next five years, in the run-up to the seventy-fifth anniversary of Independence.
Stating that the nation is celebrating the centenary year of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay, the Prime Minister suggested that Kandla Port Trust be renamed as "Deendayal Port Trust - Kandla."
The Union Minister of Finance Shri Arun Jaitley says India-Africa together can shape the future of the world
Shri Jaitley said “our commitment is reflected in high level engagement with Africa on a scale never seen before.” He further added that ''India-Africa partnership model is unique; the cornerstone is voluntary partnership without any imposition on partner and the partner is free to decide what is best for them.”
Talking about the 'High 5' Agenda of the AfDB, the Finance Minister said that the High 5 Agenda is not different from Indian policy. “If India is a bright spot, then Africa is not very far away”, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance called Africa a continent of immense opportunities and said that there are opportunities for India and Africa to revive global growth.
Daniel Kablan Duncan, Vice President, Republic of Cote d’lvoire, Akinwumi Adesina, President, African development Bank, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President designate, CII, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Royal Enfield to push expansion abroad
The Chennai-based entity has identified Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia and Brazil as having the potential to become very large markets for itself over time. It will be investing in all four.
Siddhartha Lal, managing director of Eicher Motors, the parent entity of RE, said there were around 25 exclusive stores abroad and the plans was to add another 20-25 this year. The pace would continue in the coming year, too.
On the four country markets mentioned earlier, RE has five or six exclusive stores in Colombia and only a single one in the other three.
RE is adding single stores in a couple of other markets, too, with the hope that they reach a stage in the next year or two for an expansion.
“We expect that over the next five years, the developing markets will be on a different order of magnitude. Therefore, our retention would be much higher there,” said Lal.
Adding: “Our North America market, our first owned subsidiary there, has taken us a little bit of time -- we have just been adding dealers and getting up to speed in the US market.” He said he expected a good year in America and Europe. There are five countries in the latter -- Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – where RE has about 50 dealers each. Some are exclusive to it but most are multibrand. The company is selling well in some of these markets but the size in each is low. And, normally of slightly higher powered motorcycles than RE has in its current portfolio.
“That means we are still a niche player here than a mainstream player, which we plan to be in developing markets,” said Lal. The oldest of its brand is Royal Enfield itself, in continuous production with the focus on 350-500cc ones.
More on business-standard.com
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE LEARNING AND EXPANDING IN THESE FOUR CORE MARKETS. ANY OR ALL OF THESE COULD BECOME VERY LARGE MARKETS FOR US OVER THE NEXT DECADE. IT IS THESE FOUR CORE MARKETS THAT WE ARE EXPANDING ON
SIDDHARTHA LAL,
MD, Eicher Motors
Made in India iPhones to hit stores this month
Business Standard: May 18, 2017
Bengaluru: Buyers of Apple iPhone SE could soon find a “Made in India” tag on their devices. Taiwanese contact manufacturer Wistron would be making it at their plant in Bengaluru.
The company recently conducted a trial run at the factory. The few phones made during the trial run will be in stores in two weeks.
Full-scale production will take more time, according to a person familiar with Apple’s plans. The global tech major confirmed the production at the sole facility in India.
“We are beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SEs in Bengaluru. We’ll begin shipping to domestic customers this month,” Apple said in an email.
Karnataka was quick to claim credit for this. Its Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge said, “It shows the Bengaluru ecosystem is able to attract the world’s best companies. If the Make in India initiative has to work, we need to incentivise manufacturers to gradually increase local sourcing.”
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook visited India last May and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They reportedly discussed manufacturing of iPhones in India, for the local market and export. Since then, the government has turned down Apple’s demands for tax sops. But, the fast-growing domestic market seems too attractive for the company.
With a dip in iPhone sales in developed markets like the US and China, India is now a major focus for Apple. Since the country’s appetite for expensive flagship devices is still small, Apple continues to produce its four-year-old iPhone 5s to compete with Xiaomi, Motorola, Samsung and others in the mid-level market.
Is domestic production going to cut prices? There is no clarity on that yet. Experts said assembling devices locally will help it save 12 per cent in taxes.
One can buy an iPhone SE for Rs 27,200 but on Flipkart and Amazon, it is available for as low as Rs 20,999. Apple is known to maintain price parity across the world. In the US, the iPhone SE starts at $399 (about Rs 25,000).
“Prices might go below Rs 20,000 only in October,” said Neil Shah, research director, devices and ecosystems, Counterpoint Research. “At that price it has to compete with Chinese rivals Oppo and Vivo.”
Japan offers support for Northeast projects
The Ambassador of Japan to India, Mr Kenji Hiramatsu officially met the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and conveyed his government’s inclination to invest in Northeast and also offer any other feasible support for new ventures. He said, the North-Eastern region of India has immense potential and with the kind of priority being given to the region by the Government of India and the Government of Japan looks forward to engage itself as a partner at different levels, both financially and otherwise.
According to Mr Kenji, the preferred States which the Government of Japan looks forward to invest in Northeast are Assam, followed by Manipur and Nagaland. He said, besides the trade and entrepreneurship interest, the Government of Japan also has a historic emotional link with the region because it was in the area around Manipur and Nagaland that during the Second World War, around 30,000 Japanese soldiers had got killed while fighting jointly with the British Army against the allied forces.
Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the offer made by the Government of Japan and said, while the Ministry of DoNER will look forward to engagement of Japanese resources in the making of roads and bridges in the North-Eastern region, the Japanese partnership could also be utilized in the recent initiative of developing inland waterways transport along River Brahmaputra down to Bay of Bengal as well as supplementing the Venture Fund announced by DoNER Ministry for "Start-Ups" in Northeast.
Cabinet approves Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program
The Maternity Benefit Program will provide compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the women can take adequate rest before and after delivery and not be deprived of proper nutrition.
The total cost of the proposal for the period from 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 including Central and State Government share isRs.12,661crore. Government of India’s share during the period 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 comes to around Rs. 7932 crore.
Objective of the Scheme
i) To provide partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.
ii) The cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother (PW&LM) to reduce the effects of under-nutrition namely stunting, wasting and other related problems.
Target Group
All eligible Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are in regular employment with the Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertakings or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being. It has been decided to give the benefit of Rs.5000/- to PW&LM in three installment for the birth of the first live child by MWCD and the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get ₹ 6000/-.
Conditions and installments
Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are eligible will receive a cash benefit of Rs.5,000/- in three installment at the following stages as specified in the table given below:
Cash Transfer
Conditions
Amount
(in Rs)
First installment
Early Registration of Pregnancy.
1,000/-
Second installment
Received at least one antenatal Check-up (after 6 months of pregnancy)
2,000/-
Third installment
Child birth is registered.
Child has received first cycle of BCG, OPV, DPT and Hepatitis-B or its equivalent/substitute.
2,000/-
The eligible beneficiaries would continue to receive the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get ₹ 6000/-.
Mode of cash transfer to the Beneficiaries
The conditional cash transfer scheme would be in DBT mode.
Background:
The Government of India is committed to ensure that every woman gets adequate support and health care during pregnancy and at the time of delivery and every newborn is immunized on time which is the foundation for better health of the mother and the newborn. Normally, the first pregnancy of a woman exposes her to new kinds of challenges and stress factors. Hence, the scheme intends to provide support to the mother for safe delivery and immunization of her first living child. The improved health care seeking behaviour of the PW&LM would lead to better health status for the mother and the child.
Boost to transform domestic nuclear industry
India has current installed nuclear power capacity of 6780 MW from 22 operational plants. Another 6700 MWs of nuclear power is expected to come onstream by 2021-22 through projects presently under construction.
As the government marks three years of its nation and people centric governnace, in a first of its kind project for India’s nuclear power sector, the ten new units will come up in fleet mode as a fully homegrown initiative. It would be one of the flagship “Make in India” projects in this sector.
With likely manufacturing orders of close to 70,000 crores to the domestic industry, the project will help transform Indian nuclear industry by linking our goal of a strong nuclear power sector with our indigenous industrial capacities in high-end technologies.
This Project will bring about substantial economies of scale and maximise cost and time efficiencies by adopting fleet mode for execution. It is expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment. With manufacturing orders to domestic industry, it will be a major step towards strengthening India’s credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse.
The ten reactors will be part of India’s latest design of 700 MW PHWR fleet with state-of-art technology meeting the highest standards of safety.
The approval also marks a statement of strong belief in the capability of India’s scientific community to build our technological capacities. The design and development of this project is a testament to the rapid advances achieved by India’s nuclear scientific community and industry. It underscores the mastery our nuclear scientists have attained over all aspects of indigenous PHWR technology. India’s record of building and operating PHWR reactors over the last nearly forty years is globally acclaimed.
The Cabinet’s decision reflects the Government’s commitment to prioritise the use of clean power in India’s energy mix, as part of low-carbon growth strategy and to ensure long-term base load requirement for the nation’s industrialization.
It also supports India’s commitment to sustainable development, energy self-sufficiency and bolsters global efforts to combat climate change.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal to invest up to US$ 2 billion in Anglo American
The move, made through his personal investment firm Volcan Investments, was announced late on Wednesday in London. While sources close to the Indian industrialist were insistent that it was not a “hostile bid”, the move comes a year after a merger proposal by Agarwal’s Hindustan Zinc was rebuffed by Anglo.
In an interview to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January, Agarwal had said: “There was a proposal that Hindustan and Anglo American should merge… It was a good match. One and one wasn’t going to be two, but 11.”
The full stake will equate to about 13% of Anglo’s stock, giving Agarwal, an investor long reputed to have a “risk-taking appetite”, enough influence to bring the metals and mining major back to the negotiating table. The shareholding of Anglo American is widely dispersed with the South African government holding a significant stake. Agarwal seemed to play down any such intent.
“This is an attractive investment for our family trust. Anglo American Plc is a great company with excellent assets and a strong board and management team who are executing a focused strategy to drive shareholder value. I am delighted to become a shareholder in Anglo American Plc,” Agarwal said. His interest in Anglo American may also lie in the mining company’s ownership of De Beers, the world’s leading diamond exploration, mining and marketing company.
India’s diamond production is negligible, but it is the largest consumer of rough diamonds in the world, importing 80% of total global production with an import bill of $15 billion, besides being a hub for processing the stones. De Beers produces over 30 million carats of diamonds per year, 35% of the global production of roughs.
“Anil Agarwal always looks for opportunities to grow,” said veteran investment banker Nimesh Kampani. “Once he takes a strategic call, he goes the whole hog. He has a sharp mind in spotting good investments.”
Anglo American has revenue of $23 billion, Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $6.1 billion and market value of more than $20 billion. It is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds apart from base metals and minerals — copper, nickel, niobium and phosphates. It also produces bulk commodities such as iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal.
Thanks to a rebound in metal prices, Anglo American has seen its fortunes recover. At its peak in November 2007, when commodity prices were quoting at lifetime highs, market cap had touched $101billion. When commodity prices plummeted, this dropped to $8.88 billion.
ATTRACTIVELY PRICED
At current prices, Anglo American isn’t cheap, but is still attractively priced, quoting at price-earnings multiple of 7.48, whereas Vedanta, the Indian mining and metals major owned by Agarwal, is quoting at a PE of 13.2.
Agarwal has been honing his acquisitive instincts from the early days. Back in the early eighties, he took a Rs 60-lakh loan from Syndicate Bank to buy jelly-filled cables. He was rebuffed by Alcan in the midnineties, when he made an unsolicited bid for its Indian subsidiary.
Alcan finally sold Indal to the Aditya Birla Group. In 2008, he pipped Lakshmi Mittal to buy iron ore miner Sesa Goa for $980 million. He used the cash with Sesa Goa to partly fund the acquisition of Cairn India for about $9 billion.
Agarwal, who once famously said he understands the “algorithm of metals”, has had transactions with Anglo American in the past.
The Konkola copper mines in Zambia were initially owned by Anglo American and Roan Selection Trust. Subsequently, government entities became the main shareholders. In 2004, Vedanta acquired a controlling stake in the mines from them.
In 2010, Vedanta acquired Anglo American’s portfolio of zinc assets in Namibia, South Africa and Ireland.
Through his entities, Agarwal has also signed an agreement with the South African government for sharing advanced mining technology.
With Agarwal’s Volcan owning 13% of Anglo American, Agarwal will be the second-biggest shareholder after the South African government investment firm Public Investment Corp, which owns 14%.
Any move by the government to sell will have Agarwal in pole position to drive a deal in his favour. Collateral for the deal will be Anglo American shares. Volcan intends to finance the investment through mandatory exchangeable bonds. The sale will be led by JPMorgan as sole bookrunner, on or around April 11, the closing date.
Agarwal started as a scrap dealer in 1975. It’s part of the folklore that when he first visited Mumbai at age 19, he was so struck by the opulence of what’s now the Trident Hotel on Marine Drive that he booked himself in, just to get a feel of the city and a sense of what it meant to be successful. But, frugal as he was, he ate and did his laundry elsewhere.
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