Tata Group has invested in a Swiss start-up solar company as several companies from the European country look for a share of the growing Indian solar energy market."Tata is an investor in Flisom and has a significant investment in the company," Chief Operating Officer of Flisom Sudheer Kumar said speaking at the company's research office in Dubendorf.Asked about the Tata share of investment in the Swiss start-up that deals with solar energy generation equipment, Chief Executive Officer of Flisom Ulfert Ruhle said: "We have several investors and no one is a majority stakeholder but we can tell you that Tata is among the top investor."Ruhle and Kumar are of the view that India has a huge potential for exploiting the solar energy to meet its future energy requirements.The energy requirements are growing in India and they have to look for sources of new and renewable energy, they said adding a country like India can generate significant electricity from sunlight.Kumar said the copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells developed by his company were suited for a country like India."We have developed these cells on a thin film which can be folded and stored inside the house at night. While the cost of manufacturing and installation is lower than other solar cells, the efficiency is good and processing takes place at high speed," he added.Meyer Burger, another company dealing with photovoltaic materials which is setting up two solar power plants in Gujarat and Kerala, is also hoping to do more business with Indian companies and is ready to pass on the technology as well."Nuclear energy may not be enough for India. This will provide energy to big cities like Mumbai but there will be energy requirement in rural parts of the country too. This is where solar energy can be of help," said Peter Pauli, CEO of the Meyer Burger.Pauli said his company will be able to set up the solar power plants which have a cumulative capacity of generating over 950 megawatts of power within 18 months of getting approval from the government."We are ready to be faster. It is now for the other side (government of India). We hope the change in the government will expedite the process," Pauli added.The Meyer Burger official said the cumulative cost of the two solar power plants would be in the range of $800 million, including the cost of buildings.Several other Swiss companies involved in research in solar energy field are hoping that Indian companies and government take keen interest in renewable energy equipment.They felt China was dumping huge quantities of such equipment to put companies based in the West nearly out of business."China is the market leader in photovoltaic field. In fact it controls the huge segment of the market. India is one of the few countries which can emerge as a viable alternative as the Chinese have brought down the prices which is to such a low that no one can compete with that," a researcher at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) said.(PTI)
Read More
Even as the overall sentiment in the real estate sector has improved, buyers feel property prices across top 10 cities are likely to remain stable for the next six months, according to a recent survey.The Housing Sentiment Index (HSI) assessed by IIM Bangalore and real estate portal Magicbricks home buyers across 10 cities -- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida and Pune -- suggests that real estate prices are likely to remain stable over the next six months.The aggregate HSI measured across the cities dropped marginally by four per cent during July-September quarter to 114 compared to April-June period, indicating property prices would remain static."The Indian real estate consumer is still in the wait and watch mode. While there is active interest in the market, evinced by the time spent by consumers on Magicbricks searching for houses, the consumer still expects prices to hold for at least six months and is willing to wait to buy," Magicbricks Business Head Sudhir Pai said.As per the survey, sentiment in Ahmedabad soared by 30 per cent and can be attributed to the progressive policies and intelligent governance that led to mushrooming of various industries, the report said."The fact that the current reform-focused Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from Ahmedabad has assisted in the heightened positive atmosphere in the city," Pai said.Pune was the only city beside Ahmedabad to register higher sentiments this quarter, while Hyderabad posted an HSI of 104, a drop of 12 per cent as compared to the previous quarter. Bangalore, however, registered a drop in sentiments."Although all cities posted positive sentiments, consumers expect prices to remain stable or rise marginally.With the economy expected to perform better, effective policies in the housing sector will ensure that positive sentiments translate into actual purchase," IIMB-Century Real Estate Research Initiative (CRERI) lead researcher Uma Sitaraman said.(PTI)
Read More
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd aims to double its refining margins once it completes the expansion and upgrade of its Kochi refinery in Kerala to process high sulphur crudes by 2016, a senior company official said.Asian diesel margins have been lower this year due to new refining capacity and an economic slowdown inChina, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, while naphtha margins have been weaker amid an influx of the light fuel from western countries, mainly Europe and the Mediterranean.Bharat Petroleum's refining margins dropped to $3 a barrel this year, from $4.50 to $5 a barrel last year, but levels will increase by a about $3 to $4 a barrel by mid-2016, said Neeraj Shukla, a chief manager at BPCL's refineries division."We want to process only high sulphur crude at Kochi refinery, which is why we're setting up this plant," he said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Singapore.Crude grades with a high sulphur content are cheaper, and refineries that have installed specialty secondary units to process them can lower feed costs and increase their margins.BPCL aims to raise the capacity of the Kochi refinery to 310,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the current 190,000 bpd by May 2016.Besides boosting margins with the upgrade and expansion, the refinery will also be able to produce fully Euro IV compatible gasoline and diesel, Shukla said on Thursday (30 October).This will meet tentative plans by the government to mandate the use of Euro IV oil products throughout the country by Aug. 1, 2017, and Euro V in some cities by 2020, he said.The refinery's distillate yield will go up to 84 percent from 77 per cent, he added.Once the refinery expansion is complete, BPCL also expects to lift lower volumes of oil products from private refiners such as Reliance Industries and Essar Oil."I think this is a step to self-sufficiency in our marketing network and we will not be depending on others," he said. BPCL now markets about 12 percent more fuel than it refines, he said.There are no immediate plans to export any oil products once the refining capacity is increased, Shukla said.BPCL also operates a 240,000 bpd refinery at Mumbai, and has majority stakes in the 60,000 bpd Numaligarh refinery in Assam and the 120,000 bpd Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh.It plans to double capacity of the Bina refinery in about two years and increase the capacity at Numaligarh in four to five years, he said.New Petchem PlantBPCL is also planning to enter the petrochemicals sector to boost its margins further.Construction has begun on a $850 million plant petrochemical plant that will use 300,000 tonnes per year (tpy) out of the 500,000 tpy a year of propelyne BPCL produces in Kochi.BPCL will look for other projects to utilise the remaining 200,000 tpy of propelyne, he added.Until then, the refiner might produce more liquefied petroleum gas or other oil products such as gasoline.(Reuters)
Read More
Tata Power Company Ltd plans to complete work on a $1.8 billion thermal power station in Vietnam three years early, government officials said, as the two countries strive to showcase the economic ties between them. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, visiting India just a month after India's president travelled to his country, said he had met Tata group officials and that the 1,320 megawatt project would be completed by 2019 instead of 2022. Tata Power won the contract last year to develop the coal-fired Long Phu 2 Power Project in the southern Soc Trang province of Vietnam on a build, own and transfer basis. Indian officials also said the project had been brought forward. "I have promised to the Tatas we will create favourable conditions for the power project," Dung told a business conference. "They said this project is not the final step, they are interested in expanding the relationship further." The strengthening of ties between the two countries, in defence as well, comes as both are embroiled in territorial disputes with China. Trade between the two countries increased by over 30 percent to $8 billion in 2013/14 from the previous year, the Indian foreign ministry said. Dung said trade could hit $20 billion by 2021, far outstripping a target of $15 billion. "India and Vietnam are two thriving economies at this point. This offers us a strong opportunity to build ties further," Dung said. Vietnam expects economic growth of 6.2 percent in 2015, faster than the targeted 5.8 percent this year. India's gross domestic product grew a faster-than-expected 5.7 percent year-on-year in the quarter ended in June, the fastest pace in two and half years. India's Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd also has signed a memorandum of understanding on the management of an expressway connecting Hanoi to the port city of Haiphong under an approximately $2 billion contract. (Reuters)
Read More
The NDA government’s decision to price natural gas lower than what the UPA government had agreed upon has many layers to it. The price of $5.61 per million british thermal unit (mmbtu) — eligible for revision every six months — is applicable to existing fields that are onshore. So, gas produced from deep, ultra-deep and other high-pressure areas would get a premium, which has not been decided yet. As a consequence, companies like RIL that operate in deepwater blocks will command a higher price for their gas compared to others. This will apply to new production from the KG D6 block. It’s a tricky situation as it gives no incentive to RIL to produce more from its controversial blocks — D1 and D3, which failed to reach the proposed gas production level of 80 million metric standard cubic meters per day by 2012. The company will have to sell gas from these two fields at the previous price of $4.2 mmbtu until the resolution of the arbitration. However, it gives RIL incentive to produce from other fields where production has not begun yet. RIL had made 19 discoveries in the KG D6 basin, of which 18 were gas finds and one was an oil block. Of these, the company is producing gas from only two fields, the rest are under development. In the absence of any clarification from the ministry, the clause on a premium for deepwater blocks makes RIL eligible for a premium over $5.61 per mmbtu. The idea of a premium on gas from difficult terrains, however, should not turn into a way for companies to make more money. They should not stop trying to bring down the cost of production from such fields. The production sharing contract — signed between gas companies and the government for the New Exploration and Licensing Policy — had a clause on arm’s length pricing for gas, which essentially meant deciding on a price at which two unrelated and non-desperate parties would agree to transact. The mechanism promoted real competition in the market where sellers were incentivised to keep production costs low. In the absence of any such binding contract, the government should look at the cost of production to arrive at the quantum of premium to be given to the producer of gas. It should verify the investments that explorers claim to have made to start production. The government in mature economies, however, plays no role in deciding gas price. But since it is deciding for India, it should ensure that only companies that invest large amounts in gas fields, get a premium over their investments. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 17-11-2014)
Read More
A significant oil discovery has been made near Ahmedabad in the Cambay basin that by some estimates may be the biggest onland find this year.Jay Polychem (India) Ltd, a unit of city-based Jay Madhok Group, made the oil discovery in the very first well it drilled on the block CB-ONN-2009/8 in Gujarat's Cambay basin.The firm has since July last year drilled two wells and discovered huge oil pay zones in both the wells, sources said.The discovery in the well Kharenti-A has been notified to the upstream regulator DGH and the government.Sources said the discovery by Jay Polychem is huge and similar to oil being produced by ONGC in the neighbouring Padra field as also by GSPC in Ingoli field.The block is operated by Jay Polychem (India) Ltd with 87 per cent interest, while Jay Polychem Pte Ltd holds the rest.Cambay basin, which extends from Surat in the south to Sanchor in the north, covers an area of about 59,000 sq km with a hydrocarbon resource of more than 15 billion barrels.Few dozen discoveries, mostly oil, have been reported in the basin. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp produces oil from most of them and recently Oilex of Australia too has found tight oil.Sources said the well Kharenti-A was drilled to a total depth of 858 meters in July last year and encountered significant oil shows of Olpad Formation.Testing done this month resulted in oil being found in three zones. A gross column of 52 meters was interpreted from log analysis and testing data to be oil bearing, they said.Initial analysis of the oil samples suggests the presence of oil of API 14.Sources said the company is taking necessary steps to establish potential of the discoveries.The firm will further deploy world best technologies used to produce heavy oil in USA, Canada and South America to determine and commence production on commercial basis from the Khrentie field.Jay commented that the discovery of a significant oil column in their first well in CB-ONN-2009/8 is encouraging for the ongoing prospectivity of the block.The discovery enhances their understanding of the Olpad Play which extends over the entire block and establishes hydrocarbon potential of the various prospects in the block, the firm said.Jay had won the block in the 8th round of bidding under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).The discoveries are first in NELP VIII blocks and very significant in the recent times in the Cambay basin.The 136 sq km CB-ONN-2009/8 was among the 13 onland blocks along with 8 deepwater and 11 shallow water areas that were awarded to explorers in 2010.The company, which has acquired 200 sq km of 3D seismic data, will drill 5 more wells by next quarter. Site for the new wells has already been acquired and the development is on.It also has city gas distribution licence to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in Jallandhar, Ludhiana and Kutch (east).(Agencies)
Read More
Hospitality major Marriott International plans to further expand its footprint in the country with an additional 49 hotels, which will take the total operational properties to around 70 by 2018, a senior company executive said. "We are in India since last 15 years and currently have 25 operating hotels under our various brands. We have another 49 properties in pipeline that are under various stages of construction. Every year, we sign new contracts and are expecting 60-70 operating hotels in India by 2017-2018," Marriott International Area Vice President for South Asia Rajeev Menon said. Marriott International, which primarily follows the management contract model, has seven operating brands in India representing luxury to upper mid scale category. "These seven brands fairly fulfils the necessity in the country. However, we will continue to access opportunity in India to launch additional brands here," he added. In India, Marriott International currently operates brands like JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Fairfield by Marriott, Marriott Executive Apartments, Renaissance Hotels and The Ritz Carlton. The hospitality major, which currently employs about 6,500 in India is also planning to hire 10,000 more for all levels by 2018, Menon said. "We have the largest pipeline in the industry and with this expansion we will also need more manpower. We are looking at hiring about an additional 10,000 workforce by 2018," he added. Of the seven brands, Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield have huge potential in the country as they can expand anywhere, especially in Tier II and III cities. "We see opportunity for our two brands - Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield - to grow aggressively in the country. They have locational advantage as they can be opened anywhere like tier II and III cities," he pointed out. At present, there are 11 properties under the Courtyard by Marriott brand and another 19 are under construction. (PTI)
Read More
All firms which had their coal blocks cancelled by the Supreme Court, barring those convicted for offences related to mines allotment, can bid in the e-auction after paying additional levy, says the Ordinance on coal mines. The companies engaged in specified end use plants like steel, cement and power, including ones having a coal linkage, also qualify to participate in the e-auction, said the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance 2014, which got Presidential nod on Tuesday (21 October)India could also allow commercial coal mining by foreign companies if they set up units in the country, opening the door for global giants like Rio Tinto to access the world's fifth largest coal reserves, a source familiar with the matter said. In an executive order posted on the Coal Ministry's website on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government said that any company incorporated in India may be allowed to mine coal for their own consumption or sale, overturning a 42-year-old ban. As of now, only Indian power, steel and cement companies can mine coal for their own consumption. Commercial mining is dominated by state-owned Coal India Ltd. But the government now plans to allow companies like Rio Tinto India to mine coal commercially after it completes the auction of 74 coalfields for the exclusive consumption of Indian companies' power, cement and steel plants, said the source. He did not want to be named as he is not authorised to talk to media. Rio Tinto India Managing Director Nik Senapati declined to comment.Firms With Cancelled Mines Can Bid In Auction By Paying Levy"A prior allottee shall be eligible to participate in the auction process subject to payment of the additional levy within such period as may be prescribed and if the prior allottee has not paid such levy, then, the prior allottee, its promoter or any of its company of such prior allottee shall not be eligible to bid either by itself or by way of a joint venture," said the Ordinance made public today.Any prior allottee, convicted for an offence relating to coal block allocation and sentenced with imprisonment for more than three years, would not be eligible to participate in the auction, it said.The long-awaited "reforms" in the coal sector, a departure from the existing practice of allocation by a screening committee mechanism, got the go-ahead from President Pranab Mukherjee, who promulgated the Ordinance cleared by the Union Cabinet. The Ordinance was warranted in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's order quashing 214 coal blocks allocated to various companies since 1993 on the ground that they were done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind". Industry bodies hailed government's move and termed it as a step in the right direction. Landmark SC JudgementThe apex court had last month quashed the allotment of 214 coal mines to various companies since 1993 on the ground that they were done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind".It had determined additional levy of Rs 295 per metric tonne of coal extracted.The Ordinance was brought to allocate coal mines and "vesting of the right, title and interest in and over the land and mine infrastructure together with mining leases to successful bidders and allottees with a view to ensuring continuity in coal mining operations and production of coal, and for promoting optimum utilisation of coal resources consistent with the requirement of the country". The Centre will appoint an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary as the "nominated authority" for the Ordinance, who may engage any expert to make recommendations for conducting auction and execution of the vesting order for transfer and vesting of coal mines.The Authority will collect proceeds of the auction which will go to the kitty of states where the mines are located."The nominated authority shall, in consultation with the Central Government, determine the floor price or reserve price ... The successful bidder shall, prior to the issuance and execution of a vesting order, furnish a performance bank guarantee," the Ordinance said.After the issuance of a vesting order and its filing with the central government and with the appropriate authority designated by the respective state governments, the successful bidder shall be entitled to take possession of the coal mine without let or hindrance, it said.Getting The Process Right"A successful bidder or allottee in respect of Schedule II coal mines, may negotiate with prior allottee to own or utilise such movable property used in coal mining operations on such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed to by them," it added.It said the Centre may select a "Government company or corporation or a joint venture company formed by such company or corporation or between the Central Government or the State Government...any other company incorporated in India or a company or a JV company formed by two or more companies" for granting reconnaissance permit (RP), prospecting licence (PL) or mining lease (ML) through competitive bidding.The ML is granted for undertaking operations for extracting minerals while PL is granted for undertaking operations for purpose of exploring. RP, on the other hand is granted for preliminary prospecting of a mineral through regional, aerial and geophysical surveys.These companies may carry on coal mining operations in India, in any form either for own consumption, sale or for any other purpose in accordance with the permit, the Ordinance said.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the e-auction process will be "transparent" and completed in "three to four months" with proceeds going entirely to the state governments where the mines are located.The biggest beneficiaries would be the eastern states like Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh would also benefit.Unions Threaten StrikeBut Left parties and trade unions have opposed the e-auctioning of coal blocks and the enabling provision in the Ordinance, which allows commercial mining by private firms and sought its reversal, warning of a nationwide strike if the Centre went ahead with the changes. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi nationalised the coal industry in 1972, creating Coal India, one of the world's largest mining companies. All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said the decision of the government on coal blocks has a "covert" implication. "It is a back-door entry for taking over the entire coal sector by the private corporates," he said. All India Coal Workers Federation General Secretary Jibon Roy warned of a nationwide strike if the government allowed commercial mining by private companies. "To protest against the enabling provision and proposed e-auction, the workers would stage nationwide dharna on November 5 to 7," he said, demanding that the coal blocks be handed over to Coal India.
Read More
