Core sector growth up 5.3% in February as cement, refinery output pick up-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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2 April  2018

The core sector (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Eight infrastructure sectors grew by 5.3 percent in February, mainly helped by a robust performance of refinery products, fertiliser and cement segments.

The eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- had grew by just 0.6 percent in February 2017. The core sectors expanded by 6.1 percent in January.

Petroleum refinery production spurted 7.8 percent in February against a negative growth rate of 2.8 percent in the year-ago month, according to the official data released today. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Fertiliser and cement production rose by 5.3 percent and 22.9 percent, respectively, during the month under review.

Electricity generation too grew by 4 percent in February against 1.2 percent expansion in February 2017.

Coal and steel production growth slowed to 1.4 percent and 5 percent respectively during February against 6.6 percent and 8.7 percent respectively in the same month last year. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Cumulatively, the eight core sectors grew by 4.3 percent in April-February 2017-18 against 4.7 percent in the same period last fiscal.

The core sector would have an impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data as these eight segments account for about 41 percent of the total factory output.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Fuel price: Pradhan wants petroleum under GST-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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2 April  2018

 

Fuel (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Petroleum products should be brought under GST so that consumers can get the benefit of price rationalisation, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday, a day after transport fuel prices in Delhi hit record highs, even as cleaner Euro-VI grade petrol and diesel supply began here.

Speaking at an event here to mark Sunday's launch in Delhi of the "cleanest available" Euro VI emission norm-compliant BS VI fuels, in place of the earlier Euro IV grade, Pradhan recalled how the Central government had cut excise duties on fuels last year in the face of rising global crude prices and some states had followed suit by cutting local taxes.

"On prices we have nothing to hide... petrol, diesel are international commodities and whenever there is a hike or fall in global rates we pass it on to the consumers," Pradhan said, noting that prices change on a daily basis under dynamic pricing. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

"India is a consumer sensitive country and the government has cut excise duties last year... some states also reduced VAT on fuels. States should now respond accordingly and responsibly."

"In this regard, I appeal again to the GST Council, finally this product has to come under GST (Goods and Services Tax) so that the consumer can benefit from price rationalisation," he said in a reference to states not being in favour of including petroleum in the new indirect tax regime for fear of losing excise revenue.

The price of petrol in Delhi on Monday was at Rs 73.83 a litre, which marks a four-year high, while diesel was at an all-time high of Rs 64.69.

Pradhan also noted that the price of the Indian basket of crude oils had gone over $70 a barrel by the close of trade on the weekend.

State-run IndianOil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh said though massive investments had been made to supply the improved BS VI fuel, Delhi consumers are not being passed on any of the additional cost of production for the time being. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

He said a mechanism for recovering the cost would be worked out when the entire country shifts to Euro-VI grade fuel.

The April 2020 deadline for the country to implement BS-VI grade fuels had been advanced for Delhi to April 1, 2018, in view of the extremely high levels of air pollution. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Singh also said the Euro VI fuel combined with the lesser grade cars and two-wheelers, presently available, would result in 10-20 per cent reduction in particulate emission in Delhi but for full benefit, the vehicles too need to have Euro VI engines. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

In this connection, Pradhan suggested that auto manufacturers can make the minor remodifications required for the domestic market to the Euro VI compliant vehicles that they are currently exporting.

"It would require that they change the left-hand drive of these export cars to the right side... but are SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) prepared to do so," he asked.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Trade War: China slaps tariffs on 128 US products-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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2 April  2018

 

Trade War (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

The trade war between China and the US escalated on Monday, with Beijing slapping a tariff as high as 25 per cent on 128 American products.

China's tit-for-tat move comes after US President Donald Trump announced to imposed trade charges of up to $60 billion on Chinese imports on March 22 and did not revoke them despite Beijing's stern warning.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided to impose a tariff of 15 per cent on 120 items of products imported from the US including fruits and related products, and a tariff of 25 per cent on eight items of imports including pork and related products from the country, according to a statement posted on the ministry website.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The tariffs come into effect from Monday.

Although in violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, the US measure went into effect on March 23, which has severely undermined China's interests, Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.

China advocates and supports a multilateral trade system, the ministry said, noting that to suspend tariff concession on US imports is a just move to safeguard China's interests using WTO rules.

The US said it imposed tariffs because of the intellectual property theft of American companies by China.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Global Markets Mostly Lower In Muted Easter Trading-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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2 April  2018

Japan financial markets (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Global markets mostly fell in muted trading Monday, as markets in Hong Kong, Australia and Europe were closed for Easter.

KEEPING SCORE: Trading in France, Germany and Britain was closed for Easter and was to resume Tuesday. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.4 percent at 24,061. S&P 500 futures lost 0.3 percent to 2,635. New York trading was off for a long weekend on Good Friday and was resume Monday.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 percent to close at 21,388.58, while South Korea's Kospi was down nearly 0.1 percent at 2,444.16. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2 percent to 3,163.18. Indexes in Southeast Asia were mixed. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

TRADE FEARS: Fears are still simmering that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff programs could set off a trade war. China raised import duties on U.S. pork, fruit and other products Monday in response to a U.S. tariff hike on steel and aluminum. A bigger dispute looms over Trump's approval of possible higher duties on nearly $50 billion of Chinese goods.

JAPAN ECONOMY: A quarterly business outlook survey by Japan's central bank shows corporate sentiment has worsened for the first time in two years. The Bank of Japan's "tankan" index for large manufacturers was 24 in March, down two points from December. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

THE QUOTE: "The market's biggest fears about escalating trade war and higher U.S. interest rates have tentatively blown over, suggesting investors will shift into bargain-hunting mode," said Stephen Innes, head of trading at Oanda.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 18 cents to $65.12 a barrel. Trading had stopped for the long Easter weekend. On Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 56 cents to $64.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 33 cents to $69.67 per barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 106.29 yen from 106.23 late Friday. The euro inched up to $1.2331 from $1.2329.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Mutual Fund ELSS Vs The Rest-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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31^st March  2017

ELSS(The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Nifty, Sensex will be dictated by global trends over a long weekend – Wednesday closing report-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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28 March  2018

I had mentioned in Tuesday’s closing report that Nifty, Sensex bulls might have to struggle.  The major indices of the Indian stock markets suffered a correction on Wednesday and closed with losses over Tuesday’s close. On the NSE, there were 567 advances, 1,176 declines and 283 unchanged. The trends of the major indices in the course of Wednesday’s trading are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

 

Major Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Key Indian equity indices traded on a lower note during the mid-afternoon session on Wednesday following negative global peers, along with selling pressure in metals, banking and healthcare stocks. According to market observers, investors traded on a cautious note ahead of March derivatives expiry. US stocks had already fallen sharply on Tuesday on the back of losses in technology names, pointed out market analysts.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced special measures for transaction of central and state government business by banks handling government accounts on March 31 in view of the closing of the financial year on that day. In a release late on Tuesday, the RBI also said special arrangements have been made to conduct special clearing operations on March 31 in order to facilitate government receipts and payments.

Currency markets showed some movements, which could later be important for foreign institutional investors investing in Indian stock markets. Amid rising tensions over a global trade war, the US dollar has witnessed intense selling pressure over the last two weeks. Currencies such the euro, Swiss franc and the Canadian dollar have all rallied versus the greenback, but it is the cable, the British Pound (GBP), which has seen the steepest gains.

Indian biotech major Biocon on Wednesday said the biosimilar insulin glargine it co-developed with US drug major partner Mylan received approval from the European Commission and the Australian regulatory body for marketing it globally. "Our co-developed insulin glargine Semglee has received marketing approval of the European Commission on the recommendation of the committee for medicinal products for human use of the European Medicines Agency," said the city-based pharma company here. The Australian regulatory body Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) also approved the insulin in a pre-filled pen for diabetics in that country. The Pennsylvania headquartered Mylan is an American global generic and specialty pharma firm registered in the Netherlands, with a presence at Hatfield in Britain's Hertfordshire county. Bicon shares closed at Rs594.25, down 1.41% on the BSE.

Fortis Healthcare has announced plans to demerge its hospitals business (Fortis Hospitals) into Manipal Hospital Enterprises Private Limited (Manipal Hospitals). According to a statement issued on late Tuesday night, the company said that the proposed transaction is subject to shareholders' approval, creditor's approval, applicable regulatory approvals (including Competition Commission of India, SEBI, stock exchanges and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)) and other customary conditions precedent. The company's board has also approved sale of its 20% stake in SRL Limited (SRL) to Manipal Hospitals. "The resultant entity Manipal Hospitals will be a publicly traded company listed on NSE and BSE. The remaining FHL will be an investment holding company with 36.6 per cent stake in SRL," the statement said. "As part of the proposed transaction, Dr. Ranjan Pai and TPG will invest RS 3,900 crore into Manipal Hospitals." As per the statement, the funds will be utilised by Manipal Hospitals to "finance the acquisition of 50.9% stake in SRL (20.0% from FHL and 30.9% from other investors for which discussions are currently underway)". Fortis Healthcare shares closed at Rs123.40, down 13.37% on the BSE.

Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra said that it will form a joint venture company in Sri Lanka with Ideal Motors. According to the company, its proposed investment is subject to the RBI's approvals. "The company today has agreed to enter into a joint venture agreement with Ideal Motors (Sri Lanka) ("Ideal") to form a joint venture company in Sri Lanka ("NewCo") and subscribe or acquire up to 35% of the share capital of NewCo with the remaining proposed to be held by Ideal or any of its affiliates," M&M said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. "The proposed investment is subject to the requisite RBI approvals." The filing said that M&M's investment in the new company will not be more than 25 crore Sri Lankan rupees. The JVC will be formed for the purpose of assembly of vehicles in Sri Lanka. Mahindra & Mahindra shares closed at Rs745.00, up 0.03% on the BSE.

The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

 

Top Gainer (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Asian Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

India's April-February deficit at 120.3% of full year's target-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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28 March  2018

 

fiscal deficit (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

India's budgetary fiscal deficit for the 11 months ended in February of 2017-18 stood at 120.3 per cent -- Rs 7.15 lakh crore -- of the full year's revised target of Rs 5.94 lakh crore, official data showed on Wednesday.

The data furnished by the Comptroller General of Accounts (CGA) showed that the April-February fiscal deficit was 113.4 per cent of the (revised) budget in the same period of the last fiscal. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

As per the CGA data, net tax revenue during the period under review was Rs 10.35 lakh crore or 81.6 per cent of the revised estimated target.

The total receipts -- from revenue and non-debt capital -- during the fiscal's 11 months ended in February were Rs 12.83 lakh crore, or 79.1 per cent of the revised estimates for the current year.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Government plans to divest 76% in Air India, invites EoI-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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28 March  2018

 

Air India (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

The central government has invited 'Expression of Interest' to divest 76 per cent stake in the national passenger carrier Air India (AI).

The development follows the issue of Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) which invited "Expression of Interest" for the strategic divestment of AI, along with the airline's shares in AIXL (Air India Express) and AISATS (Air India SATS Airport Services) from private entities including the airline's employees.

The central government owns 100 per cent equity of Air India. In turn the airline has a cent per cent stake in Air India Express, while it holds 50 per cent stake in the joint venture AISATS. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

"The Government of India has given 'in-principle' approval for the strategic disinvestment of AI by way of the transfer of management control and sale of 76 per cent equity share capital of AI held by GOI, which will include AI's shareholding interest in the AIXL and AISATS," said the PIM document.

The PIM detailed that the central government plans to retain a 24 per cent stake in AI and that the existing debt and liabilities of AI and AIXL are being reallocated.

"... the balance debt shall be allocated to Air India Asset Holding Limited which is 100 per cent owned by the GOI subject to receipt of requisite approvals from lenders and regulators, as applicable. Details of this debt or liabilities reallocation shall be shared at RFP (request for proposal) stage," the document said.

Apart from AIXL and AISAT other subsidiaries of AI Group like AIESL (Air India Engineering Services Ltd), AIATSL (Air India Air Transport Services Limited), HCI (Hotel Corporation of India) and AASL (Airline Allied Services Limited), "will not be part of the proposed transaction". The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The other four subsidiaries will either be "hived off (along with any receivables or payables related to these subsidiaries) through demerger or other appropriate mechanisms... before the closing of proposed transaction."

According to the memorandum, private entities should have a net worth of Rs 5,000 crore to be eligible to send in their bids for the proposed transaction. The entity should have reported a positive profit after tax in at least three of the five preceding financial years. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Last month, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had said that the government plans to divest its stake in the national passenger carrier by this year-end. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

He said the bidding process is expected to be finished by June, by when the winning bidder will be chosen, and all the "legal formalities" will be completed by December. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

As per the plan, the Air India group will be divested as four different entities and that the "information memorandum" will be issued in sometime.

Accordingly, one of the four entities will include Air India, its budget subsidiary Air India Express and gateway services and food solutions units AI-SATS. 

In addition, Air India Air Transport Services, Air India Engineering Services and Alliance Air will each form separate entities. 

In his Budget speech for 2018-19, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said: "The government has also initiated the process of strategic disinvestment in 24 Central Public Sector Enterprises. This includes strategic privatisation of Air India." 

The airline is under a massive debt burden of around Rs 50,000 crore (around $8 billion). The national carrier got a new lease of life in April 2012, when the then UPA government approved a Rs 30,000 crore turnaround and financial restructuring package spanning up to 2021.

Till now budget passenger carrier IndiGo has evinced interest in buying the airline's international operations and its subsidiary Air India Express. 

Besides IndiGo, aviation industry majors SATS, Bird Group and Celebi have shown interest but in buying Air India's ground handling unit.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions