Breaking News & Stocks

Jet Airways in codeshare agreement with Japan`s Ana

New Delhi, April 07: In a first code sharing agreement between Indian and Japanese airlines, Jet Airways has partnered Tokyo-based Ana to commence operations on the Mumbai-Tokyo route from next month.

Jet Airways, which currently operates a fleet of 81 aircraft, and Ana, which carries 50 million passengers a year, "will commence a code sharing and network-wide reciprocal frequent flier partnership effective May 21, 2008, subject to regulatory approval", an official release said.

With this agreement, Jet Airways will place its flight code 9W on Ana's daily business Jet flights between Mumbai and Tokyo Narita, it added.

Both the airlines will also link their Frequent Flier Programmes (FFP) under this agreement.

"We are proud to announce a partnership between Ana and Jet Airways... Customers will enjoy several benefits such as frequent flier miles and seamless travel using Ana and Jet Airways's networks," Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said on the occasion.

"Our two countries -- located at opposite ends of Asia -- represent the diversity and dynamism of our region...", Ana president and CEO Mineo Yamamoto said.

The Mumbai-Tokyo route, on which Ana started operations in September last year with six flights each week, will see a planned increase to seven flights per week from April 11 this year, the release added.

Panel asks govt to allow PF, insurance cos to invest overseas

Mumbai, April 07: A high-level committee set up by the Planning Commission has asked the government to allow provident fund and insurance companies to invest in the overseas markets to mitigate their risks in the high volatile Indian markets.

Government's attempt to allow provident fund to invest in the domestic equity market has not fructified so far due to strong opposition from the left parties and trade unions.

"We should encourage greater outward investment by provident funds and insurance companies when inflows are high. Such diversification will make these funds more stable (give them less exposure to high volatility India markets)," said the draft report of the Committee on Financial Sector Reforms (CFSR), headed by former IMF chief economist Raghuram G Rajan.

With the forex reserves crossing USD 300 billion dollar mark, and rupee appreciation against dollar by over 10 percent over the past one year, the reserve bank is under pressure to liberalise the outflow of capital.

The plan panel said the relevant constituencies need to be persuaded that by restricting their investment options to domestic government securities, they are greatly limiting future returns and possibly increasing risk.

"At the very least, a first step will be to diversify across foreign government securities, so that we offset foreign inflows in to our government debt markets with outflow into foreign government debt markets, without these flow being driven by the RBI," it suggested.

Malay Mukherjee to retire from Arcelor Mittal`s board

New Delhi, April 07: World's largest steelmaker Arcelor Mittal on Monday announced the retirement of Malay Mukherjee, member of the group management board, from executive duties subject to shareholders' approval.

Mukherjee, 60, responsible for Asia, Africa, the CIS, mining, stainless and pipes and tubes, will retire on May 13, the date of the company's annual general meeting, a company release said.

The board of directors will propose to the AGM of shareholders that he will be appointed as a non-executive member of the company's board of directors effective from that date.

Commenting on the development Mukhejee said, "I am delighted to have been asked to become a member of the company's board of directors."

Mukherjee joined Arcelor Mittal (then Ispat International) in 1993 as executive director of the company's Mexican operations and subsequently became the Ceo. In 1996, Mukherjee moved to Kazakhstan as the company's CEO for three years.

In 2001, he was appointed as CEO, first of Ispat International and subsequently of Mittal Steel Company, following the merger between Ispat International, LNM holdings and International Steel Group.

Following the merger between Arcelor and Mittal steel in 2006, Mukherjee was appointed as one of the six members of the company's group management board, with particular responsibility of Asia, Africa, the CIS, mining, stainless and pipes and tubes.

Tata Motors raises truck, bus prices

Mumbai, April 07: Tata Motors Ltd, India's top truck maker, has raised the price of trucks and buses by an average of 3.5 percent from April 1 to offset higher raw material costs, a company spokesman said on Monday.

"Prices of raw material such as steel have shot up and we had to pass some of that to customers," Debasis Ray said. He declined to comment on plans to raise prices of cars and sport utility vehicles.

Let them abuse me. I won`t leave Mumbai: Big B

Mumbai, April 08: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday reacted strongly to the allegations leveled by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and said that he will not leave Mumbai city at any cost. In an interview to a city daily, the emotionally hurt superstar said, “Let them throw bottles… Let them bring morchas…Let them abuse me…I won’t budge.”

This is the first time that the superstar has broken his silence over the ‘karmabhoomi’ controversy, which has been deliberately linked with Marathi pride.

A daring Big B, while challenging MNS chief and his antics, said that he cannot be intimidated by blackening his posters or by stopping the screening of his films.

He added that any attack on his reputation and integrity, any attempts to target him or undermine his reputation in the country by hurling abuses in the print and electronic media will only strengthen his will power to fight against all odds.

Cornering MNS chief for accusing him of not doing enough for Mumbaikars and Maharashtra, the Bollywood icon said, “I don’t need to respond to trouble mongers. No body can force me to change the course of my conscience.”

Commenting on Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, Amitabh said that his family had cordial relations with the senior Thackeray and he was like a father figure to him.

On his comparison with Tamil megastar Rajnikanth in the context of the Hogenekkal controversy, Big B said, “I feel honoured that I have a friend in Rajnikanth and even more honoured that, despite my insignificance, I am brought into comparison with him.

Gold near 1-week high on dollar, shrugs off IMF

Singapore, April 08: Gold held steady near a 1-week high on Tuesday after the dollar's fall against the euro ignited buying from speculators, helping the metal defy news the International Monetary Fund plans to sell some of its gold.

The IMF is the world's third-largest gold holder with 3,217.3 tonnes, but any price dip on its sales would probably be met by buying from jewellers and investors, said dealers.

Gold edged up to USD 924.20/925.00 an ounce from USD 923.70/924.50 an ounce late in New York on Monday, when it jumped to a one-week high at USD 929.10 an ounce on surging oil -- still well below a record of USD 1,030.80 hit on March 17.

"Even though the IMF sells gold, I don't think it will have much impact," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

"They will do it bit by bit. If they say they have to sell 400 tonnes in one day or one week, there will be a bit of trouble."

Member countries must still approve the plan to sell 403.3 tonnes of the fund's stocks, and the US Congress will also need to give the go ahead before any gold sales could begin.

Gold futures for June delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added USD 1.9 an ounce to $928.7 an ounce.

The euro rose to a three-month high against the yen as Japanese investors bought higher-yielding foreign assets at the start of a new business year. The euro also rose against the dollar.

Dealers expected gold to trade in a range with tough resistance seen around USD 950 an ounce.

"If it stabilises around USD 950, we can see a further rise to USD 1,000," said Leung of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers, who pegged support around USD 915.

Spot platinum dipped to USD 2,028/2,038 an ounce from USD 2,030/2,040 late in New York on Friday.

The most active Tokyo platinum futures ended the morning session 38 Yen per gram higher at 6,577 Yen.

Silver edged up to USD 18.07/18.12 an ounce from USD 18.06/18.11 an ounce. It had risen to USD 18.22 an ounce on Monday, its highest since March 28.

Spot palladium rose to USD 452/457 an ounce from $450/455 an ounce, having gained to its best level since March 20 at USD 457 on Monday.

Precious metals prices at 0211 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 923.60 3.60 +0.39 10.92 Spot Silver 18.07 0.02 +0.11 22.34 Spot Platinum 2028.00 -2.00 -0.10 33.42 Spot Palladium 452.00 2.00 +0.44 22.83 TOCOM Gold 3064.00 19.00 +0.62 0.13 22909 TOCOM Platinum 6577.00 38.00 +0.58 23.19 11007 TOCOM Silver 601.10 6.70 +1.13 11.11 693 TOCOM Palladium 1530.00 38.00 +2.55 13.25 1387 Euro/Dollar 1.5774 Dollar/Yen 102.29

TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.

RIL, Bhel consider JV for solar fab units
8 Apr, 2008, 0313 hrs IST,Niranjan Bharati, TNN

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries (RIL) and Bhel are in talks to form a joint venture (JV) for setting up solar fab units. The development comes close on the heels of the Mukesh Ambani Group company’s plan to invest over Rs 30,000 crore in the chip manufacturing business. While RIL is scouting for partners for setting up two fab units, Bhel is looking for a strategic partner to venture into equipment manufacturing for solar power.

“We have received a communication from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in this regard and may go in for a JV with Reliance Industries,” Bhel chairman and managing director K Ravi Kumar told ET. When contacted, an RIL spokesperson said the company is still evaluating options for the solar fab units. “We will make an announcement once we finalise plans,” said the official.

The proposed JV is likely to venture into manufacturing of other small and medium equipment for solar power apart from the solar photo voltaic (SPV) cells. The JV would also look for small and mid-sized acquisitions in the international market for solar power, a source in the PMO said.

The partners-in-waiting have not finalised the financial and technical details for the proposed JV and would firm up the plans in the next couple of months. The JV company would be eligible for capital subsidies and tax concessions for the solar fab units, a cost of Rs 11,631 crore.

The solar fab unit is proposed to be set up at Jamnagar in Gujarat, while the company is in talks with the state government of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana to finalise the site for the semiconductor fab, according to details available with the government.

Bharat Forge buys Groupe Sifcor of France
8 Apr, 2008, 0249 hrs IST......................

BANGALORE/MUMBAI/PUNE: Forgings major Bharat Forge is believed to have acquired an 89% stake in French forgings company Groupe Sifcor (Society of Industrial and Financial Courcelles).

The acquisition will give Bharat Forge an entry into the French automotive sector and access to big Sifcor clients like PSA Citroen and Renault.

The deal size is not clear and company officials have refused to divulge details. Groupe Sifcor had posted euro 172 million (about Rs 1,152 crore) revenues last year.

Sources close to the deal said Bharat Forge probably had a preliminary agreement which is mandatory in France, since work councils and other local bodies have to be informed about any corporate deal. “It could take up to 6-7 months for a final agreement to happen,” sources said.

BFL chairman and managing director BN Kalyani told ET, “At any point of time, we get dozens of offers from European component companies. There is a process we have to follow when acquiring a company: We have to call a meeting of the board of directors, inform the stock exchange about the agenda of the board meeting and when the acquisition is complete, inform the stock exchange accordingly. At this point of time, we have taken none of these steps as yet,” he said.

Last week, news about a possible acquisition appeared in a French newspaper. One website claimed that the two companies had signed a preliminary reconciliation and partnership agreement, under which BFL would acquire an 89% stake, and the name of the company would be changed to Bharat Forge France which would be led “by the current Sifcor boss”.

The news item in Les Echos quoted Mr Kalyani as saying, “We want to be present in the high-value segment. That is why we are focused on Europe where there is expert technology.”

Bharat Forge shares closed at Rs 277 on Monday, up 3.63%. The shares gained 3.67% in the past week and 0.62% in the past month.

Bharat Forge has been steadily building up a global presence through acquisitions in select markets. It began its international journey with the purchase of Dana Corporation’s UK plant and shipped it to India. After the acquisition of Germany-based Peddinghaus, it sprang into the global league.

In December 2004, it acquired CDP’s aluminium forgings business for euro 6.3 million. The euro 29-million German acquisition has given BFL three locations in Germany.

This was followed by the acquisition of Swedish firm Imatra Kilsta AB and its subsidiary Scottish Stampings, after which Bharat Forge went across the Atlantic and acquired Federal Forge for $9.1 million (about Rs 40 crore then).

Federal Forge, now BF America, is a Michigan-based design and manufacturer of forged steel components for the automotive industry. Bharat Forge also holds majority in its Chinese JV First Automotive Works, now called FAW Bharat Forge (Changchun) Co.



The website of the Comite des Constructeurs Francais des Automobiles, an automobile association says, “India’s Bharat Forge is continuing its offensive in Europe. After buying German manufacturer Peddinghaus in November 2003, it would absorb three subsidiaries of French group Sifcor, Forges de Courcelles in Nogent (Haute-Marne), Friends in Montlugon (Allier) and Gueret (Creuse) and C2FT in Andrizieux-Bouthion (Loire). The French company will provide its know how in the manufacture of engines and transmission. The merger would enable Sifcor to develop internationally in emerging markets too.”

Groupe Sifcor has five manufacturing sites in Europe. It employs 1,280 people and spends 3% of its turnover on R&D. In 2007, the company produced 48,000 tonne of high-grade steel. Family-owned Groupe Sifcor was formed in the 1880s and is comprised of three subsidiaries for hot-die forging, warm extrusion and cast forgings, according to the company’s website.

Green groups oppose World Bank's India coal plant
8 Apr, 2008, 0935 hrs IST,

WASHINGTON: Environmental groups called on the World Bank to delay a decision on Tuesday on funding for a $4.2 billion coal-fired power plant in India until more analyses of costs and environmental impact are done. In a letter to the United States representative at the World Bank, Whitney Debevoise, six environmental groups said the bank could not effectively fight climate change while also funding high carbon-emitting projects, such as the 4,000 megawatt Tata Mundra coal project in Gujarat state.

The International Finance Corp (IFC), the bank's private-sector lender, said its $450 million proposed funding for the project was responding to India's enormous need for more and affordable electricity. It said the coal plant, being developed by Tata Power Co Ltd , India's largest private-sector power firm, would use new "super-critical" technology, which cut carbon emissions by 40 percent compared to other plants in the country. The project is likely to provide electricity to 16 million users in five states in western and northern India.

"The key is access to power and there are many poor people who still don't have access to power in India and it is getting them power as inexpensively as possible by using responsible technology," Rashad Kaldany, IFC head for global infrastructure, said in an interview. The environmental groups argue that the Mundra region where the plant will be located has huge solar potential, while coal for the project would need to be imported from Indonesia and other countries at rapidly rising costs.

They added that coal's previous cost advantages have largely vanished with rising prices, while fuel and construction costs for "super-critical" coal-fired power plants have escalated. The groups include the Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth US, National Wildlife Federation, Bretton Woods Project and the International Accountability Project. Kaldany said IFC had conducted a thorough evaluation of the project and concluded that a coal plant was by far the least expensive option at this stage to meet India's 160,000 MW power needs over the next decade.

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

He said IFC analysis also looked at alternatives to coal including wind technology, which would have meant an investment of about $24 billion. "This is by far the least expensive and to try to do something like either wind or solar would cost huge amounts in terms of subsidies. The question is where would these subsidies come from?" Kaldany said.

"If we're going to provide a consistent base load power, which is what the country needs. Our analysis shows that unless you have huge subsidies -- several billions of dollars -- you cannot do alternative technology," he added. Kaldany said where it could, IFC would support renewable energy sources where it was commercially viable. "There are opportunities for alternative types of technologies -- wind and solar -- but at the scale it is required, it is just not available to deploy it," he said.

Kaldany acknowledged carbon emissions from the Tata Mundra coal plant would be large at 23 million tons per year of Co2 but less than 27 million tons emitted by current plants. Carbon capture and storage technology, which absorbs plant heating carbon dioxide and stores it safely underground, is not yet available for power plants, he said. "No such technology is proven for us to require it, so it's a Catch 22," he said, adding that carbon capture was only used on a commercial basis by the oil and gas industry.

"It is not ready yet to be deployed for power." "Emerging markets and developed markets are facing this conundrum -- the technology is not ready or is hugely expensive, which begs the question: who is going to pay? "It is fine for developed country to impose additional costs on itself but for the poor country it is not obvious to impose that additional cost on them," Kaldany added.

Signs of woes worsening for Indian steel makers

Mumbai, April 08: There is more bad news for Indian steel makers as BHP Biliton has settled its annual contract price for coal with Posco at around 205 percent higher, which, sources said, could add to domestic producers cost of production by around Rs 7,000-8,000 for per tonne.

BHP Biliton of Australia, one of the largest coking coal producers in the world, has settled its annual contract price with Posco, one of the largest steel producers, at a base price of USD 305 per tonne (FOB), around 205 percent more than last year`s price of USD 98 per tonne.

"This will directly add about Rs 7,000 to 8,000 of additional costs for every tonne of steel produced by Indian steel companies as well," steel industry sources told agencies, adding that Posco and other Asian steel makers agreed to the settlement price.

The domestic steel producers are already reeling under rising input costs and also face a threat from the government to bring back steel under the essential commodities act.

Moreover, their woes would further aggravate in the next few weeks once the annual iron ore benchmark prices are settled, sources said.

Indian steel makers, including SAIL and Tata Steel, depend mainly on coking coal imports from Australia and China to meet their demands. The BHP Billiton-Posco contract price thus is expected to have an impact on the domestic industry too.

Annual contract prices has already been settled by CVRD of Brazil with European mills of Arcelor Mittal and Corus with 67 percent increase, while pellets has been settled with an increase of 88 percent.

"Increases for Asian mills are also expected in similar lines," they said.

Public sector iron ore supplier NMDC Ltd has already informed Indian steel producers that once the new annual contract price is settled with Japanese steel mills, they will also have to cough up the new price with retrospective effect.

"If domestic steel companies are unable to raise prices considering the tremendous pressure government is putting on the steel producers, many small or big companies may have to shut shop," sources said.

During last few months of 2007-08, major increases in prices of key steel making raw materials like iron ore, pellets, coking coal as well as railway and shipping freight added to be about Rs 12,000 of extra cost for every tonne of steel production.

Steel companies managed to recover about Rs 6,000 per tonne with price increases since January 08.

SAIL imports about eight million tonnes of coking coal from Australia, while Tata Steel imports about another five million tonne annually. Other steel producers import another 12 million tonnes of coking coal and coke from Australia, China and other countries.