Garment exporters find Brexit right moment to kick-start FTA talk
Indian garment exporters are seeing an opportunity in Britain’s decision to exit the European Union. Even as the record drop in the Pound Sterling will impact un-hedged export contracts with British garment importers, Indian exporters say there is scope to gain in the long-term if the Indian government initiates fresh dialogue with the British Government for a Free Trade Agreement. An FTA is a trade highway between nations, allowing faster market access for exporters, besides duty incentives for businesses on both sides. India has been pushing for an FTA with the European Union for some time now. With Britain being a key a target destination, and with its exit from the 28-member alliance, the doors are open wide for an FTA, believe exporters. A Sakthivel, President of Tirupur Exporters Association, said: “India has been facing a lot of issues in TRIPS, Pharmaceutical, Automobile, Visa and movement of professionals which are blocking the commencement of negotiations to have FTA with EU. We feel that when India starts negotiations with UK immediately for FTA, India could get the early bird advantage and increase our trade significantly.” The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has been a prickly issue impeding the FTA with EU. India’s commitment to widening supply of generic drug medicines clashed with data exclusivity protection measures for drug firms to sell their products with exclusivity. Speaking to ET on the phone, Sakthivel said the immediate impact of Brexit was evident in the pound’s tumble to its 30-year-low. However, he is cautiously optimistic of business prospects going forward as Britain goes about the process of exiting the union. Sakthivel noted that The United Kingdom contributed to 10.62% of overall exports into the EU of Rs 1,11,178 crore, making The UK occupies the number one position among EU countries in garment exports. Nick Kwiatkoski Authentic Jersey
India well prepared to deal with short and medium term consequences of Brexit: FM Arun Jaitley
India is well prepared to deal with the short and medium term consequences of Brexit, finance minister Arun Jaitley has said highlighting the country’s strong fundamentals. “Our macro-economic fundamentals are sound with a very comfortable external position, a rock-solid commitment to fiscal discipline, and declining inflation. Our immediate and medium-term firewalls are solid too in the form of a healthy reserve position,” FM said in a statement. Jaitley is on a five-day visit to China. He committed to continuing on this path. “We are strongly committed to our macro-economic framework with its focus on maintaining stability.” FM said India is an attractive investment destination because of its high growth and stability, seeking to allay concerns that investment flows could be hit. “As investors look around the world for safe havens in these turbulent times, India stands out both in terms of stability and of growth,” FM said in the statement released by the finance ministry. “India, as you are all well aware, is amongst the fastest growing major economies in the world today. Our growth and inflation prospects are further improving in the wake of the good monsoons that are now moving well across India.” FM admitted that the event will lead to volatility in financial markets. “This verdict will, obviously, further contribute to such volatility not least because its full implications for the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are still uncertain. All countries around the world will have to brace themselves for a period of possible turbulence while being watchful about, and alert to, the referendum’s medium term impacts,” he said. Landon Collins Authentic Jersey
Ministry of HUPA to promote regional planning to meet urban housing demand
Minister of State for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Urban Development Shri Babul Supriyo has said that the Government will promote regional planning by moving beyond city-centric planning for construction of houses in satellite townships, peri-urban and peripheral areas to meet the housing demand in urban areas. He inaugurated an international workshop on “Human Settlements-Planning and Design : A Shared Understanding” here today. Shri Supriyo said that the Government is committed to ensure housing for urban poor by 2022 and further observed that “the government while acknowledging problems in urban areas is striving to solve them in an integrated and goal centric manner”. The Minister stressed the need to assist the poor even in remote and far off places in planning , design and construction of safe and resilient houses. Shri Supriyo referred to various initiatives launched by the Government to address infrastructure bottlenecks and housing shortage in urban areas. Dr.Nandita Chatterjee, Secretary (HUPA) said that “ the Ministry is close to finalizing a pro-acive, practical and pragmatic Rental Housing Policy keeping in view that 27% of the housing demand is for such rental housing”. She emphasized on the need for effective planning and design so as to meet the housing needs of all sections of the people in the context of rising costs of land, labour and availability of materials. Dr. Chattejee noted that to move beyond city-centric planning for housing, construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) is being allowed in planning areas which go beyond city limits. She said that planning needs to be done in the context of rural – urban continuum and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission is a step in this regard. Ministry of HUPA has organized the workshop for sharing of ideas and experiences in respect of housing among the Asia-Pacific countries. Representatives from 9 countries viz., Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Fiji have attended the workshop. Alcides Escobar Authentic Jersey
SpiceJet to dry lease 11 Boeing NG aircraft in next three months
As part of its expansion plan, low cost carrier SpiceJet has planned to dry lease 11 Boeing Next Generation aircraft in the next three months. A senior SpiceJet official told Bloomberg TV India that the 11 new aircraft include both Boeing 737-8 and 737-9. Earlier, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh had announced that the company is in talks with aircraft manufacturers to purchase aircrafts. The SpiceJet official added that the carrier will start restoring flights that had to be withdrawn due to non-availability of aircraft. At present, the airline has 25 B737-9 and B737-8 aircrafts in service. In addition, 14 Q-400 Bombardier aircraft are serving in tier-II and tier-III cities. Jay Novacek Authentic Jersey
Banks still not confident about PPP projects: Gammon Infra MD
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finalised infrastructure targets for road and rail sector for FY17. The government has sought to encourage private participation by August 2016 and also wants the Road Ministry to develop a contractor-rating system to incentivise early completion of projects. Bloomberg TV India discusses its impact with KK Mohanty, MD, Gammon Infrastructure. We heard about 30 per cent contracts are being awarded through NHAI under the hybrid annuity model. How do the prospects of the hybrid annuity model compare with the erstwhile model? The whole business position in this PPP sector runs with the basic philosophy: higher the risk, higher the returns. The hybrid annuity model has drastically reduced the risk by primarily giving 40 per cent at the initial construction stage and taking away the toll collection risk. That takes away the offside on the investment too. So you are likely to get only a marginal return on your investment when you borrow from a bank and complete the annuity project. So from a business proposition or investment angle, it reduces the risk and it also takes away the offside of the investment. But I would like to make another point. Even if out of ?3 lakh crore, 30 per cent as stated by the government has to be through the PPP model; at least a ?50,000-crore credit facility from public sector banks will be necessary to take forward the project. The present situation is that the doors of the banks are almost closed against PPP or road projects. So we need to address that issue. How do you address the concern of the banks and bring back their confidence? In the initial half, for a dozen projects that have been bid, frontline players have stayed away and and new-generation players have come forward to take annuity projects. These may not have a very large balance-sheet. So that brings in another area of risk. Because in a country like ours, you cannot be always in a learning curve and the new player comes in and just keeps on learning, and new challenges come along the way. There are certain major roadblocks which need to be addressed. What about project divestments for completed projects? You have also undertaken a few of those and been a beneficiary of the same. How much of an enabler do you think it has been for the industry? We have monetised six of our operational projects in a very difficult time. That is a one-of-a-kind deal in the infrastructure segment in the country. We got some valuable additional cash flows and resources that have improved our balance sheet, and we are slightly a cash-surplus company today. It might be easier for us to rebuild the business again from this level, because our balance-sheets are not stretched today. Going ahead, we need to see that all asset monetisation cannot happen in such a depressed market or when we are practically operating in a buyer’s market than a seller’s market. The market has to be more balanced where both the buyer and the seller have a choice. It is just not getting into a seller’s market where there is only one or two buyers and you have to sell the projects at an unattractive evaluation. That puts the investors at a disadvantage and sometimes shatters the confidence of new investors. George Fant Jersey
Union govt to give Rs. 97,000 crore for state highways
The NDA government has decided to spend Rs. 97,000 crore over the next three years on the state’s national highways, which includes adding new ones. The state government plans to increase the length of national highways passing through the state to 19,000 km from the existing 7,500 km, PWD Minister Chandrakant Patil said on Thursday. Tenders for all road contracts will be issued by December 2016 and the first instalment of Rs. 10,000 crore will be disbursed by March 2017, sources in the state Public Works Department (PWD) said, adding the rest of the amount will be sanctioned in two instalments. The decision was taken in a meeting held on Thursday that was attended by Mr. Patil and officials from the state and the central governments. The official announcement is likely to be made on Monday. Of the total funds to be allocated for the state, around Rs. 50,000 crore will be spent on building new highways and the rest will be for repairing existing ones, which includes upgrading state highways to national highways. “The centre is keen on improving road conditions in the state, which will lead to better connectivity between cities. The government’s focus is on adding more highways in the state, and money required for the projects will be provided by the Centre,” a PWD official said. At present, over 15 new national highway projects are under construction, for which around Rs. 7,000 crore have already been allocated. These projects include the second phase of the Pune-Solapur highway, six lanes of the Pune-Satara highway, the one connecting Solapur to the Karnataka border, four lanes of the Solapur-Yedshi highway and the Panvel-Indapur stretch on the Goa highway, six lanes of the Pimpalgaon-Nasik-Gode highway, four lanes of the Khed-Sinnar and Yedshi-Aurangabad highways, the Nagpur-Kondoli and Nagpur-Betul highways among others. The government has also decided to change the contractor for the Panvel-Indapur stretch on the Goa highway. According to sources, the Centre has agreed to extend Rs. 700 crore to the new contractor and the road will have toll booth. The pending road construction between Pune-Satara will now be given priority as PWD minister himself has decided to visit areas which are facing problems. “The minister, along with the district collector and police authorities, will be visiting local people to sort out their problems. The work has been pending for years and needs to be completed soon as per the directions from the centre,” the official said. Last year, around 11 projects were declared as national highways including the ones connecting Vadkhal to Alibaug, Duggipar to Gondia, Shewali to Gujarat border, Muramgava to Karanji, Sarad to Pimpalgaon, Malkapur to Aurangabad, Savner to Gaundkhairi, Nagpur to Armori, Sakoli to Sironcha, Umred to Warora and Butibori to Wardha. At present, over 15 new national highway projects are under construction Cameron Artis-Payne Womens Jersey
Smart city project in Kochi to be completed by 2020: CM Pinarayi Vijayan
The construction of the Smart City Kochi in will be completed in three years. This was announced by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after a meeting with Smart City authorities in his office in Thiruvananthapuram. The project will create 1 lakh job opportunities. The construction of about 55.5 lakh square feet of space out of the 88 lakh square feet Smart City will be completed by 2020. In the Smart City project 67 lakh square feet space has been earmarked for IT industries and 21 lakh square feet for non-IT purposes. So far only 6.5 lakh square feet of space has been developed in Smart City. The next board meeting of Smart City will be held at Kochi on August 6, 2016. Jesse Davis Jersey
Arun Jaitley woos Chinese firms to invest in India’s infra sector
Making a strong pitch for Chinese investments in India’s expanding infrastructure sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said India will be the only economy in the world which is poised to grow at 7.5 to 8 per cent in an “unsupportive global environment.” Addressing ‘Invest in India’ Business Forum here, Jaitley said “in the immediate future we will certainly maintain the growth rates which we have.” “Hopefully if there is good monsoon this year, which is expected to be, we have a potential to improve upon those growth rates. Even in an unsupportive global environment we probably would be only economy which moves up towards 7.5 per cent and more towards the eight per cent growth rate,” he said referring to the IMF downgrading global economic growth. “In a supportive global environment if things change for the better I do not know what the rate itself would be. But I am assuming that the global environment would remain the same,” he said laying out a detailed roadmap for massive development of rural and urban infrastructure across India. “Therefore India in these roadmaps offers an attractive opportunity,” he said at the meeting attended by a large number of top Chinese bankers and wealth fund managers. “Because this size of the economic activity is now going to carry on and expand in the next few decades,” he said inviting Chinese firms to step up investments in India. Outlining a host of measure initiated by his government, Jaitley said Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill which is pending in Rajya Sabha is expected to be passed soon. “We are now trying to bring direct taxes down and the corporate tax to a highest level of 25 per cent. The first significant step in this regard has been taken. Over the two to three years one can expect major reforms in that direction,” he said. “Indirect reform is pending before the Parliament and I hope to see it through very soon. It is called Goods and Services Tax (GST). We had a major challenge about resource allocation in India. We completely distanced the government from allocation and allowed the market mechanism now to determine that,” he said. Elaborating on “emphasis areas” of the development in India in the next few years, the Finance Minister said “the first emphasis area is going to be infrastructure creation. “And for a large number of Chinese investors present here, I think having gone through that experience in China, we are now passing that phase where there is massive infrastructure programme which is on India. Part of the infrastructure programme we are building rural roads, national highways,” he said. “Seven hundred thousand villages in India are going to be connected with regular road by 2019,” he said. “This year we are building about 10,000 km of national highway. That is the pace at which the changes are being carried on,” he said, adding that plans are afoot to build more airports and sea ports. There is also “private participation in railways infrastructure”. Indian railways is a large network therefore its modernisation is necessary, he said. In the power sector, particularly in renewable energy, a very big target has been set besides establishment of smart cities. “These are the infrastructure programmes which are on the anvil. Therefore the kind of returns they offer are also very large. Investors can look at each individual project or they can even look at the national infrastructure investment fund which we have set up, where the government itself remains a minority partner consistently,” he said. “We are also putting in a lot of resources as an emphasis in India’s rural sector like rural sanitation, roads, electrification, housing so that we could create development apparatus in those rural areas,” he said . Manufacturing is a great emphasis area, he said. “Startups are being given utmost priority. There is a big programme of financial inclusion which is going on in India as a part of the social sector reforms,” he said. Jaitley said, “State support, subsidies as they are called, we have rationalised the whole process. This again is work in progress. This has been one of the most important changes which have taken place in India. So that state support reaches those who really deserve it and not those who do not deserve it.” “Therefore through legislation a unique identity number being given to every Indian. We have managed to put that reform in place. We have tried and brought in major amendments to our arbitration law and other legal systems to ensure that resolution of disputes in relation to commercial matters including public private partnership contracts takes place expeditiously,” he said. “We passed the bankruptcy law which makes exits even easier. Over the next one year besides the indirect tax reforms and certain reforms in the company law, certain reforms of regulations in banking and easier resolution of disputes are all legislative changes which are pending,” he said. While explaining India’s economic development since his government took over, he said in the last few years significant changes that have been taken place in India. “Three years ago India was considered relatively among the weaker points as far as BRICS nations were concerned” with questions whether India will be able keep up with the reforms and its growth potential. “These were the questions being raised. India succeeded in putting all the questions behind it because the country managed to grow and grow reasonably well and grew in environment where the rest of the world has slowed down,” he said. “When in unsupportive global environment you grow that displays your real strength potential. That is what India has been trying to do. Last two years has consistently seen India pass the seven per cent growth rate. 7.6 last year and 7.2 per cent the year before last,” he said. Corey Clement Jersey
FDI will kill Indian brands, says Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today reiterated that her government will continue to oppose foreign direct investment in various sectors, including pharmaceutical and agriculture, as it will “kill the Indian brands”. “I am not against people getting jobs, but it (FDI) will kill our Indian brands,” Mamata said. “TMC MPs will discuss the matter in Parliament. But 100 per cent FDI be it in pharmaceutical, agricultural or manufacturing sectors will have an adverse impact on Indian brands. We have to look after the Indian brands. We need to do the branding of our own products,” she told the state assembly. Trinamool Congress has been consistently opposing FDI in many areas and often outlined reasons for it at different fora. It was on the issue of allowing FDI that TMC had walked out of UPA-II government in 2012. Banerjee said there were certain issues on which the Center should take a call after talking to all political parties. Citing the instance of the pharma sector, she said “allowing FDI in it will lead to increase in prices of medicines including life saving ones.” “It will increase medicine prices and no one will be able to buy them. If you allow 100 per cent FDI, the merit and talent of our country will not come up,” she said. The BJP-led NDA government has relaxed FDI norms in a host of sectors including civil aviation, single-brand retail, defence and pharma by permitting more investments under automatic route. The other sectors in which FDI norms have been relaxed include e-commerce in food products, broadcasting carriage services, private security agencies and animal husbandry. Patrick Kerney Authentic Jersey
Top India LNG Buyer Said to Plan Terminal Expansion by September
Petronet LNG Ltd., India’s biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas, will complete expanding its import terminal on the nation’s west coast by September, boosting shipments to the facility, according to three officials with knowledge of the matter. The capacity of the Dahej terminal, the nation’s largest LNG import and regasification plant, in India’s Gujarat state will be boosted by 50 percent to 15 million metric tons per year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The expansion will lead to additional LNG imports of at least 1 million tons in the September to December period, they said. While Petronet uses the terminal for its own imports, it also allows other companies to lease the facility for taking delivery of their LNG purchases. The expansion will allow Indian buyers to ship additional volumes from overseas, taking advantage of a global glut that’s cut prices for the fuel by two-thirds since September 2014. Higher processing will increase Petronet’s income from regasification, boosting profits. Petronet Chief Executive Officer Prabhat Singh didn’t answer two calls to his mobile phone seeking comment. Surging Imports The New Delhi-based company has already leased out about half the expanded capacity to other energy companies such as Gail India Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. These firms import LNG to Dahej and pay Petronet regasification fees. India’s LNG imports have more than doubled in the past seven years as domestic gas supplies dried up. The nation purchased 2.08 million tons of the super-cooled fuel last month, a 43 percent increase from a year earlier, according to provisional data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. Jermaine Kearse Authentic Jersey