India plans to export petrol, diesel to Pakistan

In the run-up to the Commerce Secretary-level talks commencing in Islamabad on April 27, India on Monday expressed its willingness to export petrol and diesel to Pakistan provided the neighbouring country lifts ban on import of petroleum products from across the border.

“We have been pressing Pakistan since 2005 to remove petroleum products particularly diesel from the list of items it does not allow to be imported from India. The issue may again be discussed when Commerce Secretaries of the two nations meet in Islamabad later this week,” a senior official said here.

Former Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer had in June 2005 raised the issue of India exporting diesel to Pakistan during his visit to Islamabad. Pakistan at that time promised to look into the demand but nothing has moved since then on this front.

Pakistan imports 4-5 million tonnes of diesel from Kuwait every year. It was the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) which had offered in 2005 to sell 3.25 lakh tonnes of diesel to Pakistan during the six months beginning October 2005 at a discount. At that time, Pakistan had sought price quotations from IOC for import of diesel at Lahore and Karachi. IOC had proposed to supply one lakh tonnes of diesel from Jamnagar to Karachi through the sea route and the remaining 2.25 lakh tonnes through the land route.

IOC had proposed to price the product in such a way that the landed cost at Lahore was at least 50 cents a barrel less than the landed cost of fuel from Kuwait. But Pakistan did not take IOC's offer and continued with importing fuel from Kuwait. “If the restriction goes, we are ready to supply diesel as well as petrol to Pakistan. It is an opportunity and a market for us,” IOC Director (Refineries) B. N. Bankapur told reporters here.

Besides IOC, private sector Reliance Industries Limited and Essar Oil too may look at selling fuel to Pakistan if the ban is lifted. RIL and Essar have refineries on the Gujarat coast, just hours away from Karachi. IOC also hinted at making a foray into merchant power business while consolidating its leadership position in fuel retailing and oil refining business.

IOC Chairman R. S. Butola told journalists that IOC was looking at entering into merchant power business. “We have synergy as well as feedstock for that,” he said. The company has 1,100-1,200 MW of captive power generation capacity, with most of the refineries having surplus power to trade outside. Digboi refinery in Assam has 5 MW of surplus power for which an agreement has been signed to give it to the Assam grid.

Prize leakage of Droid Charge and Droid Incredible 2

Verizon Wireless will soon release the Samsung Droid Charge and HTC Droid Incredible 2 - both powered by Android 2.2 or higher. Phone Arena has obtained a price list for Verizon's smartphones, revealing the price of these newcomers, as well as for the upcoming LG Revolution and Motorola Droid X2.

The Samsung Droid Charge will be the most expensive of the lot at a minimum advertised price (MAP) of $299.99. The LG Revolution will receive the same MAP as the recently released HTC Thunderbolt at $249.99. All three devices offer 4G LTE connectivity.

The HTC Droid Incredible 2 and Motorola Droid X2 will receive a MAP of $199.99, which is the same price as the original Incredible and Droid X. Both models are 3G EV-DO models. While the price list doesn't state that the Droid Incredible 2 will be a smartphone featuring Global connectivity, a recent rumor has suggested otherwise.

Commodity MFs rush on high inflation

 

The markets may be on a sticky wicket impacting the performance of diversified equity mutual funds (MFs), but with inflation still remaining high, funds focused on the commodities sector have come out on the top. In all, six commodity-oriented MFs have made it to the top-10 list in the past six months and have delivered 9.4-18.6% during the period. While sensex and Nifty lost 6.1% and 6% respectively in six months (till March 25), diversified and tax-saving MFs lost 10%. Only pharmaceuticals and information technology-focused funds have managed to stay in the green but have given meagre returns.

"Commodities are becoming a natural hedge against equities. In any recovery, commodities as an asset class would do well," said Arvind Bansal, vice-president, ING MF. Commodities stocks would continue to outperform as long as global inflationary pressures persist, said Surajit Misra, national head, Bajaj Capital, a distribution platform for funds. Stocks of commodity firms do well, pushing up returns from these funds when there is a strong demand for key raw materials in markets such as China and India. The impact of commodity prices is much higher in emerging markets such as India, said observers.

Experts said that investors should have commodity MFs in their portfolio as a hedge. That's because, India is not a top producer of major commodities (except food grains), and therefore it is susceptible to price hikes, which in turn would impact debt and equities market in the country. Investors can have 5-10% in commodity-related MFs to start with, and can increase it up to 20% depending on market conditions, they said. Several commodity funds have outperformed their peers in the equities space by as much as 30%, said observers. Commodity MFs would give good returns as long as loose monetary policy continues in the West, said Bansal.

However, only a handful of commodity-oriented MFs are available and they have exposure to mostly global stocks and funds. These MFs invest in a range of companies including Monsanto, Rio Tinto, Posco, Exxon Mobil and funds with underlying investments in global commodity stocks. Commodity-focused MFs, however, can be extremely volatile and most funds generated negative returns in the first six months of 2010. They also attract more taxes than diversified equity funds. Since these funds have their underlying investments in global commodity stocks, they also carry exchange rate risks.

A strong rupee can impact returns adversely, said observers. The markets may be on a sticky wicket and impacting the performance of diversified equity mutual funds (MFs), but with inflation still remaining high, funds focused on the commodities sector have come out on top. In all, six commodity-oriented MFs have made it to the top-10 list in the past six months and have delivered 9.4-18.6% during the period. While sensex and nifty have lost 6.1% and 6% respectively in six months (till March 25), diversified and tax-saving MFs are down 10%. Only pharmaceuticals and IT-focused funds have managed to stay in the green but have given meagre returns.

"Commodities are becoming a natural hedge against equities. In any recovery, commodities as an asset class would do well," said Arvind Bansal, vice-president, ING MF. "Commodities stocks would continue to outperform as long as global inflationary pressures persist," said Surajit Misra, national head, Bajaj Capital, a distribution platform for funds. Commodity stocks do well, pushing up returns from these funds when there is a strong demand for key raw materials in markets like China and India. The impact of commodity prices is much higher in emerging markets, said observers.

Experts said that investors should have commodity MFs in their portfolio as a hedge. That's because, India is not a top producer of major commodities (except food grains), and therefore, it is susceptible to price hikes, which in turn would impact debt and equities market in the country. Investors can have 5-10% in commodity-related MFs to start with, and can increase it up to 20% depending on market conditions, they said. Several commodity funds have outperformed their peers in the equities space by as much as 30%, said experts. Commodity MFs would give good returns as long as loose monetary policy continues in the West, said Bansal.

However, only a handful of commodity-oriented MFs are available and they have exposure to mostly global stocks and funds. These MFs invest in a range of companies including Monsanto, Rio Tinto, Posco, Exxon Mobil and funds with underlying investments in global commodity stocks. Commodity-focused MFs, however, can be extremely volatile and most funds generated negative returns in the first six months of 2010. They also attract more taxes than diversified equity funds. Since these funds have their underlying investments in global commodity stocks, they also carry exchange rate risks.

Commodity MFs rush on high inflation

 

The markets may be on a sticky wicket impacting the performance of diversified equity mutual funds (MFs), but with inflation still remaining high, funds focused on the commodities sector have come out on the top. In all, six commodity-oriented MFs have made it to the top-10 list in the past six months and have delivered 9.4-18.6% during the period. While sensex and Nifty lost 6.1% and 6% respectively in six months (till March 25), diversified and tax-saving MFs lost 10%. Only pharmaceuticals and information technology-focused funds have managed to stay in the green but have given meagre returns.

"Commodities are becoming a natural hedge against equities. In any recovery, commodities as an asset class would do well," said Arvind Bansal, vice-president, ING MF. Commodities stocks would continue to outperform as long as global inflationary pressures persist, said Surajit Misra, national head, Bajaj Capital, a distribution platform for funds. Commodity stocks do well, pushing up returns from these funds when there is a strong demand for key raw materials in markets like China and India. The impact of commodity prices is much higher in emerging markets, said observers.

Experts said that investors should have commodity MFs in their portfolio as a hedge. That's because, India is not a top producer of major commodities (except food grains), and therefore it is susceptible to price hikes, which in turn would impact debt and equities market in the country. Investors can have 5-10% in commodity-related MFs to start with, and can increase it up to 20% depending on market conditions, they said. Several commodity funds have outperformed their peers in the equities space by as much as 30%, said observers. Commodity MFs would give good returns as long as loose monetary policy continues in the West, said Bansal.

However, only a handful of commodity-oriented MFs are available and they have exposure to mostly global stocks and funds. These MFs invest in a range of companies including Monsanto, Rio Tinto, Posco, Exxon Mobil and funds with underlying investments in global commodity stocks. Commodity-focused MFs, however, can be extremely volatile and most funds generated negative returns in the first six months of 2010. They also attract more taxes than diversified equity funds. Since these funds have their underlying investments in global commodity stocks, they also carry exchange rate risks.

Koenigsegg to jaunt in 10cr superfast machine

 

India's dream run with super cars is keeps getting hotter. With Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin waiting in the wings and the Rs 16 crore Buggatti making an entry, it is now the turn of Swedish super carmaker Koenigsegg Automotive AB to burn the rubber on the roads here. "The company, known for its superfast hand-made dream machines, is set to enter India next week, in partnership with InterGlobe Enterprises, which runs low- cost carrier Indigo," sources said. It has decided to get its cars to the Indian market considering the huge wealth creation in the economy and the rising love of Indians for superfast cars even if they cost a fortune. Koenigsegg, a relatively new company (formed in 1994) that was started by Christian von Koenigsegg, produces hand-crafted supercars at its factory in Sweden, which surprisingly had earlier been home to the Swedish Air Force. Sources said the cars could be priced in the Rs 10 crore range, though there is no confirmation on this at the moment.

While being a virtually unknown brand in India, Koenigsegg has created ripples in the global super car market. The company had the distinction of producing one of the fastest cars in the world in its CCR model that in 2005 became the fastest production car in the world, beating the nine-year-old Guinness World Record of the McLaren F1. Bugatti, however, bettered this with the Veyron later. Koenigsegg unveiled its latest model-the Agera R at the Geneva Motor Show in February that has a five-litre V8 bi-turbo engine-which boasts of a pulsating 1115 horse power (depending on the fuel type).

Despite the absence of adequate infrastructure, India is fast emerging as an upcoming destination for super car makers, purely led by the indulgence of its rising list of billionaires. While volumes are still limited (an overall double-digit market annually), it is giving Indians their taste of speed and aspirational brands. The rising wealth and the global exposure of Indians have seen many opt for these brands, most of them even boasting of having multiple super cars in their driveway. The bullishness has seen virtually all the supercar makers queue up for India. While Bugatti had last year debuted its Veyron at a jaw-dropping ex-showroom price tag of Rs 16 crore, others are about to launch their cars. These include Ferrari and Maserati from Fiat's stable as well as Aston Martin models, the cars that James Bond made famous through many Ian Fleming flicks. German brand Porsche is already selling its sports cars in India for the last many years and has identified it as a key sales destination.

CPI-M candidates for Tamil Nadu assembly poll debuted

 

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday renominated three of its legislators for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The CPI-M, part of the AIADMK-led front, finalised the list of its 12 candidates Tuesday at the state committee meeting in Tiruchirapalli, around 335 km from here.

Apart from K. Balabharathy, R. Leema Rose and P. Dilli Babu, the three sitting legislators, the party has also fielded veteran trade union leader A. Soundararajan from Perambur. G. Ramakrishnan, the party state secretary, said the candidates will file their nominations before March 25.

The CPI-M will highlight price rise, power crisis and corruption in its election campaign, he said. From the DMK-led front, the PMK, contesting 30 seats, named its two candidates Tuesday. Tamil Nadu goes to polls April 13.

PTC India Financial's IPO Prices at 28 Rupees

 

PTC India Financial Services Ltd is likely to price its initial share offering at the top end of its indicative price band, between 26 and 28 rupees, despite relatively tepid demand for the offering, two people familiar with the matter said Monday. State-run power trading company PTC India Ltd financing arm is likely to sell the 133.2-million-share IPO at 28 rupees a piece, the people told Dow Jones Newswires, asking not to be named.

Although the fully-subscribed offering was just about 1.7 times covered around three hours before closing Friday, most bids came in at the upper end of the price band, the people said. The offering will raise close to 4.38 billion rupees through the share sale at the top end of the band, including the 658 million rupees worth of shares sold to three anchor investors on March 15.

The company raised 658 million rupees by placing 23.5 million shares with three anchor investors--HSBC Bank Mauritius Ltd., Capital International Emerging Markets Fund and Emerging Markets Growth Fund Inc--at 28 rupees a share. The IPO was managed by SBI Capital Markets Ltd., JM Financial Consultants Pvt. Ltd., and ICICI Securities Ltd., along with Almondz Global Securities Ltd. and Avendus Capital Pvt. Ltd.

This is the largest initial share sale to be launched so far this year and will be seen as a key barometer of primary market appetite in the coming months, as the government prepares to push through its divestment program, valued at 400 billion rupees, to help pare its gaping fiscal deficit. A long list of private firms, including L&T Finance Holdings Ltd., Micromax Informatics Ltd. and Future Ventures India Ltd. are also seeking to tap the primary share market in the coming months.