Anadarko Petroleum Corp said it agreed to sell a 10 per cent stake in a gas field offshore Mozambique to OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd) for $2.64 billion in cash, as the US oil company looks to focus more on its domestic assets. The deal for Mozambique's offshore Area 1 is expected to close around the end of this year, Anadarko said. ONGC faces diminishing supplies from its aging oil and gas fields in India and has been buying interests in overseas assets. ONGC Videsh, the Indian company's overseas arm, recently paid $2.48 billion for a 10 per cent stake in another Mozambique gas field from Videocon Group. Anadarko also said it will remain the operator of Area 1 with a working interest of 26.5 per cent in the block, which is located in Mozambique's deepwater Rovuma Basin. The Rovuma field has the potential to become one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producing hubs by 2018, and is strategically located to supply gas to India at competitive prices. Recent discoveries have turned the Rovuma offshore field into a major draw for global energy producers and boosted Mozambique's natural gas reserves to around 150 trillion cubic feet, or enough to supply the world's No. 1 LNG importer - Japan - for 35 years. Also Read: Interview with ONGC CMD Sudhir Vasudeva (Reuters)
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Blackberry loy- alists can stop mourning the end of QWERTY keyboards. BlackBerry promised another generation of devices, modernised and yet not losing sight of whatever faithful users have loved all these years. And it delivered. The jury is very far out on whether these new devices have come too late and are compelling enough, but here they are regardless. Two ‘Q’ smartphones give consumers a choice of expensive and a-little-less-expensive. The Q10 weighs in at a price of Rs 44,990. And when your head stops spinning, take in the fact that the Q5 cost Rs 24,990. I cannot pretend to understand BlackBerry’s pricing strategy but this much is clear that the company is segmenting its potential buyers into the young and the restless on one hand and the Type A hyper-connected professional on the other. And they believe the price is right. What both segments have in common is their need for a smartphone centred on communication more than anything else. Of course, all phones are about communication, but today your smartphone is your fitness trainer, your toy, your French teacher and a lot more and communication is just one item on the agenda. Not so the BlackBerry phones for which the focus is staying in touch. With the new BlackBerry 10 (now on 10.1) devices, Z10, Q10 and Q5 so far, the BlackBerry Hub is the very heart of the phone, created as it is to be the repository for all mail, messages, social communication, etc. You can send mail from the Hub as easily as you can tweet from it. Both the Q smartphones have full QWERTY keyboards that have shed their smiles to become straight and neat. And although I’ve never been a full-time BlackBerry user, I have to say the keyboards are truly well-made. The Q10’s has metal frets prominent between keys and the Q5’s doesn’t. The keys are small but remarkably well spaced in a style that’s still familiar to BB users. Keys are slightly sloped in the direction in which our finger is expected to travel. They even make the same press-and-let-go sound. For some reason, the Q5’s keyboard feels a little better to use and there are some murmurs about whether the Q5 will actually overshadow its more powerful sibling. Both devices have the distinct BlackBerry look, unlike the all-touch Z10. But I suppose anything with that keyboard will. Old users will notice that some of the keys they used earlier have gone, including the BB key and the call receive and reject buttons. Those functions have now shifted to touch. Speed dialing isn’t easy either and may call for a future fix. But there are lots of quick shortcuts one can use on the keyboard, specially with the browser, giving those who want to use touch as little as possible some relief. The phones are very nice to hold in the hand and have really hit that sweet spot in ergonomics that makes them neither too big nor painfully small. The two Qs are almost the same size, with the Q5 being a little taller. Both also feel quite premium, though that’s always a subjective view. A single swipe-up brings alive the remaining 60 per cent of the phone — the touch screen — and they feel adequate on both devices. They are smooth and fluid for basic tasks, but also for video chat which you can initiate so easily from BBM. I did not test out on games. The cameras on neither phone are out of the ordinary. On the Q10, we have an 8MP and a 2MP. The Q5’s 5MP and 2MP cameras are make-do. The Q10 is in matte finish black and in white, while the Q5 is in black, white, and a very attractive red. Micromax Canvas 4Micromax Canvas 4Micromax’s proposition has so far been to offer better value for money than Samsung does. Micromax reinforced the perception by following the same design language as Samsung. When the Canvas series smartphones debuted, they made large Note-sized phones affordable. With the Canvas 4, the plot has changed somewhat. It’s still Samsung-like, complete with gimmicks, but at around Rs 18,000 it’s no longer shockingly inexpensive. It’s also not a dramatic upgrade over the Canvas HD but the price certainly is. The Canvas 4 seems better built than previous editions. It has a blindlingly bright blue-white 720 x 1280, 5-inch HD IPS display. You have to blow on it to unlock the device and it’s surprisingly sensitive while executing this party trick. You can also shake to unlock. The screen is crisp enough and has pretty good viewing angles. Colours are quite nice too. Micromax has put in lots of updates to apps and features, all running on Android 4.2.1 and doing a pretty smooth job of it too. I no longer have previous Canvases for comparison, but I do feel there’s significant fluidity over them on the Canvas 4. Powering it is a MediaTek 1.2GHz quad core processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There’s a microSD slot and 2 sim slots inside, along with the removable 2,000 mAh battery. The 13MP primary camera has a lot of features and you can now use it to take 360 degree images. The quality is average, but poor in low light. The 5MP rear facing camera is also on the average side, despite the increase in megapixels. The Canvas 4 is still a phone that gives you a lot for its price, but the scenario has changed since the first Canvas launch and there are more options today. It’s worth considering at a lower price.mala.bhargava@gmail.com(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 09-09-2013)
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India's inflation could accelerate in the current fiscal year due to the rupee's sharp depreciation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a report on Thursday 22 August. The Indian rupee touched record low of 65.52/dollar on Thursday and is down 16 per cent so far this year despite efforts by policymakers to prop it up. "The pass-through of the depreciation of the rupee exchange rate by about 11 per cent in the four months of 2013-14 is incomplete and will put upward pressure as it continues to feed through to domestic prices," the RBI said in its annual report for the 2012-13 fiscal year ending last March. Asia's third-largest economy has been pummelled by a selloff in emerging markets, with the rupee the worst performer in Asia this year after the US Federal Reserve indicated it will begin winding down its economic stimulus. Headline wholesale price index inflation climbed to 5.79 per cent in July driven primarily by higher food prices and costlier imports as the rupee's fall continued. Consumer price index inflation was 9.64 per cent in July, fuelled by high food prices. "Risks on the inflation front are still significant," the RBI said. The rupee's weakness could also increase subsidy payouts for fuel and fertiliser in 2013/14, the central bank said. However, the report said normal monsoon rains in India have taken a "major risk off the horizon" but said a close vigil was necessary after food prices showed an upsurge during April to July. "If high food inflation persists into the second half of 2013-14, the risks of generalised inflation could become large," it said. India's current account gap, which widened to a record high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in the fiscal year to March 2013, is likely to ease in the current fiscal year but may continue to be "much above" the sustainable level, the report said. "Global risks coupled with domestic structual impediments have dampened prospects of a recovery in 2013-14, and posed immediate challenges for compressing the current account deficit," it said. The central bank's report added that "utmost attention" is needed to contain risks to financial stability arising from deteriorating asset quality of banks.
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Energy conglomerate Reliance Industries and British oil company BP announced a new gas condensate discovery off the east coast of India in the Cauvery basin. The discovery is situated 62 kilometres from the coast in the Cauvery Basin and is the second gas discovery in the block. Reliance is the operator of the block with a 70 per cent stake and BP has a 30 per cent share. (Reuters)
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A top US Air Force official's remarks that his country is planning to station a military aircraft in Thiruvananthapuram as part of it's policy of encircling China with defence bases has created flutters in India and the government has dismissed any such possibility.General Helbert 'Hawk' Carlisle, the Commander of the US Air Force assets in the Pacific, had told reporters at a breakfast meeting recently that the American Air Force was planning to expand its presence in Asia as part of the 'pivot to Asia' policy. The idea behind it is to ring China with US and allied forces."This is just the start of the Air Force's plan to expand its presence in Asia. In addition to the Australian deployments, the Air Force will be sending jets to Changi East air base in Singapore, Korat air base in Thailand, Trivandrum in India, and possibly bases at Kubi Point and Puerto Princesa in the Philippines and airfields in Indonesia and Malaysia," he was quoted as saying by the Foreign Policy magazine and other media outlets.General Carlisle said "we are not gonna build any more bases in the Pacific to support the US Air Force's increased presence there." The US Air Force has nine major bases in different countries. The new doctrine means the air force will start regularly sending aircraft to countries the US has not had a presence in the Cold War.The General's views have created a sort of unease here.Top Defence Ministry sources said the Ministry is not discussing with the US any plans to base its assets on Indian soil."India is not going to allow any foreign country to establish any military base on it's soil," the sources said."India carefully maintains ties with countries in the world. As a policy, we are not part of any military and do not intend to be part of any in future as well," they said.Reacting critically to the US move, the CPI-M said the remarks of the US Air Force General reveals the Pentagon's plans to draw India into its strategic alliance in Asia.The US has been keen to use our air and naval bases. It is based on the India-US military framework agreement signed in 2006, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said in his reaction.He asked the UPA government to publicly state whether it was agreeing to such an arrangement."India cannot become a military ally of the US," he said.(PTI)
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Activity in China's vast manufacturing sector hit a four-month high in August as new orders rebounded, a preliminary private survey showed on Thursday, reinforcing signs of stabilisation in the world's second-largest economy.The Flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.1 from July's final reading of 47.7, which was the weakest in 11 months.But it barely surpassed the watershed 50 line which demarcates expansion of activities from contraction, indicating that a sharp recovery is unlikely.Risks range from continued weakness in exports to persistent overcapacity in key industries, which could saddle banks with more bad loans. And China's leaders are walking a fine line between tolerating slower growth and pushing through reforms needed to rebalance the economy to a growth model that is more reliant on consumption than investment and easy credit.The government has announced a series of targeted measures to support the slowing economy, including scrapping taxes for small firms, offering more help for ailing exporters and boosting investment in urban infrastructure and railways.But leaders have refrained from massive stimulus like that during the 2008/09 global financial crisis, which left a legacy of inflationary pressures and bloated local government debt.The flash PMI "confirms that the economy has stabilised in the short term and downside risks for H2 have declined," said Zhiwei Zhang, China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong.A sub-index measuring new orders rose to a four-month high of 50.5 in August from 46.6 in July. But the sub-index on new export orders edged lower in a reminder of weak global demand.The employment sub-index of the flash PMI also picked up in August, but still hovered below the 50 watershed line."This is mainly driven by the initial filtering-through of recent fine-tuning measures and companies' restocking activities, despite the continuous external weakness," said Hongbin Qu, chief China economist at HSBC."We expect further filtering-through, which is likely to deliver some upside surprises to China's growth in the coming months."The flash HSBC PMI, compiled by Markit Economics Research, is the earliest available indicator of monthly activity in the Chinese economy, and tends to focus more on small to mid-sized firms in the private sector.The Australian dollar jumped and Asian shares pared early losses after the PMI report but investors remained wary of negative fallout for Asia if the US central bank begins to taper back its massive stimulus programme as early as next month. Copper rose and crude oil prices bounced off early lows.Analysts in a Reuters poll forecast annual GDP growth of 7.4 per cent in the third quarter and the full-year growth of 7.5 per cent, in line with the official target. But Zhang at Nomura said he saw upside risks to his 7.4 per cent GDP forecast for the third quarter as growth may pick up from the 7.5 per cent pace in the second quarter."Nonetheless we believe a strong H2 recovery to above 8 per cent is unlikely, as rising interest rates will pressure investment. We still expect growth to slow to 6.9 per cent in 2014."Fan Jianping, chief economist at the State Information Centre, a top government think-tank, said annual economic growth may hover around 7.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters of 2013."As long as China's growth rate remains above 7 percent, there will be no crisis. Double-digit growth is not in line with China's new reality," he told reporters on Wednesday.Like some of its emerging market neighbours, China saw capital outflows for the second consecutive month in July, suggesting its sluggish economy is still deterring investors. But the pace at which money is leaving the country appears to be slowing and its markets have not been as volatile as in India or Southeast Asia.The final HSBC PMI for August is due to be published on September 2, a day after the release of an official government survey. The official PMI, which focuses on big and state-owned firms, has been generally rosier than the private survey, which targets small and private companies.Upbeat data for July ranging from factory output and exports to retail sales has raised hopes that China's economy may be stabilising after slumping for more than two years.Chinese leaders, while making clear they will accept some economic slowdown as they push through reforms, have expressed confidence of meeting their 7.5 percent growth target this year - which would be China's slowest growth in 23 years.Radical reforms, such as full interest rate liberalisation, appear to off the table for now although they may be tackled in October, when the Communist Party holds a key meeting that will set its economic agenda for the next decade.Until then authorities are expected to reach for low-hanging fruit: uncontroversial reforms that could have only modest impact on growth.One case in point came in July, when the central bank scrapped the floor on bank lending rates, in a long-awaited reform that signalled determination to carry out market-oriented reforms. But the central bank left a ceiling on deposit rates unchanged, avoiding for now what many economists see as the most important step Beijing needs to take to free up interest rates.For sure, Beijing will not rush into full yuan convertibility - a part of its push to make it a global currency - by dismantling capital controls at a time when volatile capital flows in emerging markets are raising concerns about economic stability.Annual economic growth slowed to 7.5 per cent in the April-June period from the 7.7 per cent in the previous three months - the ninth quarter of slowdown in the past 10 quarters. (Reuters)
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India's inflation could accelerate in the current fiscal year due to the rupee's sharp depreciation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a report on Thursday, 22 August.The Indian rupee touched record low of 65.52/dollar on Thursday and is down 16 per cent so far this year despite efforts by policymakers to prop it up."The pass-through of the depreciation of the rupee exchange rate by about 11 per cent in the four months of 2013-14 is incomplete and will put upward pressure as it continues to feed through to domestic prices," the RBI said in its annual report for the 2012-13 fiscal year ending last March.Asia's third-largest economy has been pummelled by a selloff in emerging markets, with the rupee the worst performer in Asia this year after the US Federal Reserve indicated it will begin winding down its economic stimulus.Headline wholesale price index inflation climbed to 5.79 per cent in July driven primarily by higher food prices and costlier imports as the rupee's fall continued. Consumer price index inflation was 9.64 per cent in July, fuelled by high food prices."Risks on the inflation front are still significant," the RBI said.The rupee's weakness could also increase subsidy payouts for fuel and fertiliser in 2013-14, the central bank said.However, the report said normal monsoon rains in India have taken a "major risk off the horizon" but said a close vigil was necessary after food prices showed an upsurge during April to July."If high food inflation persists into the second half of 2013-14, the risks of generalised inflation could become large," it said.India's current account gap, which widened to a record high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in the fiscal year to March 2013, is likely to ease in the current fiscal year but may continue to be "much above" the sustainable level, the report said."Global risks coupled with domestic structual impediments have dampened prospects of a recovery in 2013-14, and posed immediate challenges for compressing the current account deficit," it said.The central bank's report added that "utmost attention" is needed to contain risks to financial stability arising from deteriorating asset quality of banks.(Reuters)
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The Cabinet is likely to consider on August 22 the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill, which seeks to overhaul the over 50-year old income-tax law, with minor rejigs in the draft, including in the income-tax slabs. "The DTC Bill is on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting tomorrow," a source said. The exemption limit at Rs 2 lakh for individual tax payers is unlikely to be touched, but a new slab of 35 per cent may be introduced for the super-rich. Besides, Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) may be levied on book profit and not on gross assets, sources said. Further, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is likely to be retained, as against the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance that the levy be abolished. Among other things, the Standing Committee, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, had suggested raising the income-tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh from Rs 2 lakh proposed in the DTC Bill, 2010. The DTC bill, which aims to rationalise tax rates to bring more people and companies under the tax net, was introduced in Parliament in 2010. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had earlier said he intends to bring the DTC Bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament, following submission of the Standing Committee's recommendations. The ongoing Monsoon session is scheduled to end on August 30. The first draft prepared by Chidambaram in 2009 had proposed an income-tax slabs of Rs 1.6-10 lakh, Rs 10-25 lakh and Rs 25 lakh and above. Besides, corporate tax was proposed at 25 per cent. This was followed by the draft DTC Bill prepared by then-Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2010, which proposed the slabs at Rs 2-5 lakh, Rs 5-10 lakh and Rs 10 lakh and above and corporate tax at 30 per cent. The Standing Committee suggested slabs of Rs 3-10 lakh, Rs 10-20 lakh and Rs 20 lakh and above. On corporate tax, it recommended the rate be retained at 30 per cent.
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The BSE Sensex fell around 400 points and the Nifty slumped over 100 points on Wednesday, 21 August. The Bank Nifty was off highs, and was down 0.5 per cent after earlier rising as much as 5.93 per cent after the RBI eased cash and bond holding rules for banks late on Tuesday. The rupee on the other hand, hit a fresh all-time low, trading around 64.40 per dollar as heavy dollar buying from large state-run banks along with demand from custodian banks hurt the local currency on Wednesday. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 64.30/40 per dollar, after hitting a record low of 64.40 and down around 1.7 percent on the day. Traders said there was no signs of RBI's intervention in the spot market so far during the session. Book value or net worth of state-owned banks would become more opaque after the Reserve Bank of India eased bond holding rules, Morgan Stanley said in a report on Tuesday. State Bank of India is down 1.2 per cent after earlier rising as much as 5.5 per cent, while ICICI Bank Ltd is down almost 2.4 per cent, also retracing intra-day gains. Falls also track lower global shares on concerns that minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July policy meeting may add to suspicions it will soon pare back on stimulus. Market Reacted Well To RBI MeasuresEarlier, snapping a three-day downmove, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex Wednesday jumped by 321 points in early trade, led by rally in banks and capital goods stocks, on the back of overnight steps taken by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease liquidity. The RBI said late on Tuesday it will buy Rs 8,000 crore of bonds on Friday and will pare down its cash management bill sales as its target of pushing up the overnight rate to the central bank's emergency funding rate of 10.25 per cent had been achieved. The RBI relaxed rules on mandatory bond holdings for banks, known as the statutory liquidity ratio, which will help protect lenders from large mark-to-market losses. While banks had previously been asked to cut their hold-to-maturity bond holdings gradually to 23 per cent of deposits, the RBI on Tuesday allowed banks to retain them at 24.5 per cent of deposits. The 30-share barometer surged by 321.66 points, or 1.76 per cent, to 18,567.70, aided by buying in beaten down bluechip stocks. The index had lost over 1,121 points in the previous three sessions. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty recovered 80.85 points, or 1.50 per cent, to 5,482.30. Brokers said sentiments turned better after the RBI yesterday (20 Aug) announced a fresh set of liquidity easing steps amid rupee falling past 64 mark. The banking sector index led the recovered by gaining 5.53 per cent to 11,092.12 points as stocks of SBI were up by 5.07 per cent to Rs 1,632.20, ICICI Bank by 3.34 per cent to Rs 857.25, and HDFC Bank by 5.25 per cent to Rs 614.90. Meanwhile, in other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 1.01 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.79 per cent in the early trade. Ahead of release of crucial minutes of the Fed meeting held in July, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.05 per cent lower in Tuesday's trade.(Agencies)
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National Aluminium plans to raise its alumina exports by 40 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes this fiscal year, its production chief said, helping the country increase its dollar inflow amid a plunge in the rupee. Asia's third-largest economy is looking to boost exports and lower imports of commodities such as gold to arrest a steep fall in the rupee, which sank to its lowest on Tuesday. The fall in the rupee has helped National Aluminium, better known as Nalco, raise its exports, said S.S. Mohapatra, the production director of the state-owned company. The overseas shipments of Nalco, India's largest exporter of alumina, could raise about $400 million based on current prices. "Our earnings will be proportionate to the rise of dollar," Mohapatra told Reuters, adding that Nalco was India's third-largest foreign exchange earning company last fiscal year. The weakness in the rupee, which makes Indian products more competitive and inflates sales in the local currency, has also prompted steel companies such as state-owned Steel Authority of India and Jindal Steel and Power to raise exports. Nalco plans to raise its alumina output by about 19 per cent to 2.15 million tonnes for the fiscal year ending March 2014. Its output of aluminium, produced by smelting alumina, would be about 300,000 tonnes, out of which about 35-40 per cent would be exported, Mohapatra said. (Reuters)
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