SEBI plans annual information memorandum for listed companies

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has started work with regard to annual information memorandum for listed companies and it is going to be mandatory, Chairman U K Sinha on Wednesday said.

Noting that such an exercise would help in a variety of ways, Sinha said, "One is that you will not be visited by undue litigations from the regulators".

"Secondly, if you are going to raise some funds, either debt or equity, you don't have to update this information again and again. That is another idea why we are doing this," he said.

The idea is that let this information rest in the system and if there are minor changes or adjustments to be made to the specific issue then that can be done, the Sebi chief said.

He was speaking at a conference organised by industry body CII.

On whether this memorandum requirement is going to be introduced through guidelines or by amending the corporate governance norms, Sinha said it would be both.

"It (memorandum) will be a far reaching thing because today a corporation which has filed everything as per Sebi requirement can still be hauled up, that is a lacunae in our system," he said.

According to him, if an entity has filed some information under the takeover regulations as well as part of disclosure requirements, both are taken separately.

"So for an analyst, a shareholder, a stakeholder it becomes a problem and it also becomes a problem for corporations that are willing to comply," he added.

The capital market watchdog already has stringent corporate governance norms for listed entities, as part of efforts to ensure more transparency.

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United Bank of India declares Vijay Mallya as wilful defaulter

"We have declared Vijay Mallya and three other directors of Kingfisher Airlines as wilful defaulters," United Bank of India Executive Director Deepak Narang said.

The Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) of the bank has declared directors Ravi Nedungadi, Anil Kumar Ganguly and Subash Gupte as wilful defaulters.

Post this declaration, these persons and the entity would not be able to borrow from the bank in future. They would also lose Director-level positions in companies. Criminal proceeding could also be initiated against these persons if warranted.

Narang said the decision of GRC would be conveyed to the Finance Ministry, Reserve Bank of India, and Securities and Exchange Board of India for their information and action.

The GRC meeting was convened on Monday after a Calcutta High Court division bench allowed the bank to initiate the process of declaring them as wilful defaulters last week.

The GRC had asked directors to be present before it but no one turned up. Instead, they had sent a letter through their lawyer stating that they had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Supreme Court and pending the judgment the bank should not proceed in this regard.

The Kolkata-based bank is the first PSU lender to initiate the process of declaring Vijay Mallya and three other directors of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines as willful defaulters a couple of months ago.

Subsequently, other banks such as State Bank of India, IDBI Bank and Punjab National Bank have also initiated the process of declaring KFA and its directors as willful defaulters.

The bank's exposure to Kingfisher Airlines was around Rs 350 crore as part of consortium led by State Bank of India.

The consortium of 17 banks, has an outstanding debt of about Rs 4,022 crore from the now-grounded carrier and outside the consortium, the bank gave about Rs 60 crore loan for Pre-Delivery payment.

As part of the recovery process, banks in February last year decided to sell a portion of the collateral with them, including shares of its group companies United Spirits Ltd and Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd, Mallya's Goa villa, Kingfisher House in Mumbai and the Kingfisher brand, which was valued at over Rs 4,000 crore at the time it was pledged.

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Indian e-commerce cos to invest up to USD 1.9 billion on infrastructure

According to a joint study by consultancy firm PwC and industry body ASSOCHAM, Indian e-commerce industry will spend USD 950-1,900 million by 2017-2020 on infrastructure, logistics and warehousing.

"The total spend on warehousing and sortation centres could be as high as 3-6 per cent of top-line revenues, which represents an cumulative spend of over USD 450-900 million of spend in warehousing till 2017-2020," ASSOCHAM-PwC study said.

The industry is expected to spend an additional USD 500- 1,000 million during the same period on logistics functions, leading to a cumulative spend of USD 950-1,900 million till 2017-2020, it added.

The study, Evolution of e-Commerce in India, estimates that over the next three to four years, there will be an addition of 7.5-15 million square feet of space in the form of fulfilment centres.

This indicates an addition of 6-12 percent to the space available in form of organised warehousing in India and almost 25-50 percent of all the incremental addition of consumption driven warehousing space in the same period, it added.

 "The potential of sector and the likely liberalisation in form of FDI could be a vital factor in attracting significant investments resulting in better infrastructure and robust supply chains," PwC Director (Operations) Saurabh Srivastava said.

The growth of e-commerce industry has a huge potential in the country translating into huge gains for the manufacturing industry, infrastructure and jobs, he added.

"Size of the e-retail industry is poised to be USD 10-20 billion by 2017-2020," the study said.

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Diesel can be market-priced by September as crude falls to USD 100

Estimating diesel under-recoveries, or losses, to fall to 30 paise a liter after the price hike on September Goldman Sachs said in a report, "This implies we could effectively be done with the monthly cycle of diesel price increases in next two months and diesel will be market-priced."

In January 2013, the government allowed oil marketing companies (OMCs) to monthly raise diesel rates in small doses of 40-50 paise a liter towards wiping out losses. Since then, rates have cumulatively risen by Rs.11.24 per liter in 18 installments.

OMCs, effective Aug 16, are incurring combined daily under-recovery of about Rs 230 crore on the sale of diesel, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG.  Meanwhile international crude prices hovered near 14-month lows of USD 100 a barrel as worries over conflict in Iraq eased, and as higher Libyan oil output added to ample supplies coupled with weak demand. Price of Indian basket on Monday decreased to USD 100.04 per barrel.

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Gold remains weak on sluggish demand, global cues

However, silver found fresh buying support from industrial units and recovered by Rs 420 to Rs 43,300 per kg.

Traders said apart from subdued demand from jewellers and retailers, a weakening global trend on easing of tensions in Ukraine mainly kept pressure on gold prices.

Furthermore, strengthening rupee against the US dollar, making imports cheaper and shifting of funds towards surging equity markets also influenced gold prices, they said.

Globally, gold in New York fell 0.56 per cent to USD 1,297.20 an ounce in Monday's trade.

In Delhi, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 percent purity traded Rs 50 each down at Rs 28,550 and Rs 28,350 per ten gram respectively. The yellow metal had lost Rs 220 in the past three days.

Sovereign, however, recovered by Rs 100 to Rs 24,800 per piece of eight gram on some buying.

On the other hand, silver ready rebounded by Rs 420 to Rs 43,300 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 100 to Rs 42,680 per kg.

Meanwhile, silver coins continued to be asked at last level of Rs 76,000 for buying and Rs 77,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

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Toyota Kirloskar sales declines 4.3 percent in July

In the domestic market, TKM sold 11,921 units in July 2014, up 3.52 percent as compared to 11,515 units in July 2013.

During the month, the company exported 1,926 units of Etios.

Commenting on the sales performance, N Raja, Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) said: "Both the Corolla Altis and the Etios Cross have been well accepted by the customers. We sold 882 units and 888 units of the Corolla Altis and Etios Cross, respectively".

Innova and Fortuner also continue to maintain leadership position in their respective segments, he added.

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India fifth largest producer of wind energy

Annual growth rate of renewable energy in India in the last decade has been about 22 percent, said Seetharam, who was earlier this month appointed India's permanent representative to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
   
India is one of the 21 members of the Abu Dhabi-based IRENA and the current vice-chairman of its council.
   
Seetharam said hydropower, bio-energy and solar energy are other areas that have good potential and sharing experiences and international cooperation is the way forward to tap this potential.
   
"There are plans during the 12th five-year plan (2012-17) to add an additional renewable capacity of 30 GigaWatts. This includes 15 GigaWatts of wind, 10 GigaWatts of solar, 2.7 GigaWatts of biomass and 2.1 GigaWatts of small hydro," Seetharam said.
   
Further, he said that all these require huge investment. According to him, during the 12th five-year plan, the projected investment into renewable is to be four times above the 11th five-year plan.
   
The 11th five-year plan had projected an investment of Rs 892 billion and for the current plan it has gone up to Rs 3,186 billion.
   
Seetharam said that renewable energy solutions are relevant to India as they can be generated in remote areas that are difficult to access from the central grid. Renewable energy allows you to produce energy where it is consumed even in remote areas where you can have wind, solar or biogas.
   
India recently became the 19th member to designate a permanent representative to IRENA, an intergovernmental organization that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation.
   
IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy in the pursuit of sustainable development.

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Nokia to buy part of Panasonic's network business

"Nokia Networks has entered into a memorandum of understanding to acquire part of the wireless networks business of Panasonic System Networks Company Ltd," Nokia said in a statement on Thursday.

The agreement covers Panasonic's mobile phone (LTE/3G) wireless base station system business for mobile operators and related wireless equipment system business, it said in the statement.

The two firms plan to conclude the agreement by the end of September this year, with expected closure scheduled on January 1, 2015, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

As part of the deal, fixed assets and business contracts with Panasonic's customers are being transferred to Nokia Networks in Japan, including Panasonic employees involved in the business.

"Japan is a key market for us, and this agreement is a major milestone in forging closer ties in Japan. The acquisition of part of Panasonic's wireless network business would further strengthen our mobile broadband portfolio and add significant value for Japanese operators," Nokia Networks Executive Vice President (AMEA) Ashish Chowdhary said.

Through this acquisition, Nokia Networks aims to reinforce and further improve efficiency and quality control for product development and R&D.

It will also help strengthen Nokia's market share for base station systems and related wireless equipment in Japan.

In addition, Nokia Networks plans to leverage its extensive global experience and technical leadership in mobile broadband to grow its business in the acquired domestic carrier segment globally, it said.

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