India will set up a company to develop Iran's Chabahar Port, a government statement said on Saturday, as New Delhi seeks a better trade route into Afghanistan. The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests. India plans to sign an agreement with Iran for the development of the port and New Delhi intends to lease two berths at Chabahar for 10 years in the first phase, the statement said. The planned Indian company will invest $85.21 million in one year to convert the berths into a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal, the statement said, adding India would consider the participation of Iranian firms if needed. India and Iran could enter into subsequent negotiations for participation in the construction, equipping and operating of terminals in Phase-II on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The Chabahar port would give India a sea-land access route into Afghanistan through Iran’s eastern borders. Chabahar is located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province on Iran's south-eastern coast is a port of great strategic value. It lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast, the government statement noted. Zaranj in Afghanistan, which is 883 km from the port, can be accessed from Chabahar port using the existing Iranian road network. Then using the Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009, one can access Afghanistan's garland highway and establish road access to Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif , Afghanistan’s four major cities, the statement said.
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Oil fell more than $1 a barrel on Thursday (16 October) to a four-year low below $83 a barrel as growing concerns over the global economy stretched a four-month rout.Global benchmark Brent has lost more than 28 per cent since June on slow demand and abundant supply. Losses have accelerated in October on signals that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has no plan to cut output.Brent crude for November delivery had dropped to $82.72 a barrel, the lowest since November 2010 and was down 83 cents at $82.95 a barrel by 0835 GMT. US crude fell $1.27 to $80.51 a barrel."The market still seems very bearish," said Eugen Weinberg, analyst at Commerbank in Frankfurt. "And despite us seeing a floor around $80, even this floor might come into danger if we don't have any signal from OPEC any time soon."Assets which depend on economic growth, such as shares and oil, have been hit by a raft of weak indicators fromEurope at a time when other big economies, including China, Japan and Brazil face their own hardships. At the same time, the US Federal Reserve is set to wind down later this month the asset purchase programme that has boosted markets over the past two years.Brent has fallen from a high of $115.71 reached in June - a level reached on concern that Islamic State's insurgency into Iraq would disrupt its supplies, and well below the $100-mark until recently seen as a level OPEC members would defend."The $30 fall since June has led to an intense discussion whether prices could be in for a new norm," said analysts at JB Energy in a report, which sees OPEC cutting some output in the firs half of 2015 to support prices."We see rather a deep slump than a permanent shift of – or a new norm for – oil prices. After all we are really in a hyped downward spiral, where any bear item is overly emphasized."Global economic worries deepened this week after China's consumer inflation fell to near five-year lows and US producer prices declined for the first time in more than a year. The International Energy Agency also cut its global oil demand growth forecast for 2015.Venezuela has called for an emergency meeting of OPEC - ahead of its next scheduled gathering on Nov. 27. OPEC has yet to respond officially to the request, athough OPEC sources have said such a meeting is unlikely.Reports of ample supplies in the United States added downward pressure on prices. According to industry group the American Petroleum Institute, US crude inventories rose 10.2 million barrels to 370.7 million barrels.Traders will be looking to the government's weekly supply report due later on Thursday for confirmation of the increase, whoch was higher than analysts' expectations for a build of 2.8 million barrels.(Reuters)
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Iran has sought payment of $400 million from India under an interim deal with six world powers that allows the OPEC nation to recover part of its overseas frozen oil revenues, industry sources said in Wednesday.Iran and the United States, China, France, Germany, Britain and Russia agreed in July to extend a six-month interim accord until Nov. 24 after they failed to meet a July 20 deadline for reaching a long-term deal to end their nuclear dispute.Nuclear talks are due to resume on Wednesday in Vienna. The six powers want Iran to scale back its uranium enrichment programme to ensure it cannot produce nuclear bombs. Iran says the programme is for peaceful purposes.In return for continuing action to curb its nuclear programme, Iran during the four-month extension has been granted access to $2.8 billion of its funds held in foreign banks, in addition to $4.2 billion paid between January and July.Tehran has already received $1 billion from Japan under the interim deal, state news agency IRNA reported last month."I think payment to Iran would be cleared by Friday or by Monday as the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) will have to notify the exchange rate and it also has to buy dollars for further payments," said one of the sources.The sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. The payments would be made using an existing mechanism that foresees a series of back-to-back transactions in different currencies that are initially channelled through the RBI.On receipt of the funds from refiners, the RBI would buy dollars from authorised dealers. It would instruct the Federal Reserve to transfer dollars to the United Arab Emirates' central bank account there, after confirmationAccording to the plan, India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd would pay about $183 million, Essar Oil Corp $172 million, Indian Oil Corp $41 million and Hindustan Petroleum $4 million, the sources said.Iran's top oil client after China, India has imported 38 per cent more oil from Tehran in the first nine months of this year than in the same period last year, tanker data obtained by Reuters show.(Reuters)
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Indian Oil Corp has cut retail gasoline prices by about 1.78 percent or 1.21 rupees a litre from Wednesday as global prices of the fuel have eased since the last revision, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday. The three state-run fuel retailers -- IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd -- tend to move their prices together. The state-owned oil firms, which cut petrol price by 54 paisa on October 1, reduced rates by another Re 1 per litre, excluding local sales tax or VAT, with effect from midnight tonight. But the first reduction in diesel rates in over five years will have to wait till completion of assembly polls. The price revision was announced ahead of Wednesday's polling in Maharashtra and Haryana. After accounting for the incidence of local sales tax, petrol rate in Delhi was reduced by Rs 1.21 a litre to Rs 66.65 per litre, according to Indian Oil, the nation's largest fuel retailer. In Mumbai, petrol price was cut from Rs 75.73 to Rs 74.46 per litre. A Rs 2.50 per litre cut in diesel prices, the first in over four years, is likely after results of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana are announced on Sunday. Diesel, the nation's most consumed fuel that has a direct bearing on prices of essential commodities as it is the preferred fuel for the transport sector, is regulated or controlled by the government. (Agencies)
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched for closer engagement between India and Canada in areas of trade and investment, nuclear energy, healthcare, infrastructure development and people-to-people contacts. He made the observation while receiving Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and Minister of International Trade Ed Fast in New Delhi on Monday. Baird, who is on a visit to India for the 2nd round of Strategic Dialogue, conveyed Canada's commitment to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership with India and extended an invitation to Modi on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to visit Canada. Ed Fast sought early conclusion of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement between the two countries, a PMO statement said. "The Prime Minister welcomed close cooperation between India and Canada and expressed satisfaction at comprehensive nature of bilateral ties, including in areas of economic cooperation, agriculture, security, civil nuclear energy, education, and science and technology," the statement said. "The Prime Minister called for strengthening bilateral engagement in the areas of trade and investment, energy, healthcare, infrastructure development and people-to-people contacts," it said. Modi thanked Baird for Harper's invitation and said he looked forward to visiting Canada at mutually-convenient date. He also said that he looked forward to meeting Harper at the G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, in November. (PTI)
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DLF Ltd shares fell to a record low on Tuesday, wiping out $1.2 billion in market value, after India's securities regulator banned the property giant from capital markets and raised investor concerns about how it will service its debt. DLF, whose shares slumped as much as 27 per cent in Mumbai, may be forced to sell assets to pay down its debt that reached 191 billion rupees ($3.13 billion) at end-June, analysts say. DLF's debt has been a longstanding investor concern, and it will not be the first time the company is offloading non-core assets. The ruling by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday marks the latest regulatory threat to the property developer, which is facing a probe from the antitrust watchdog and is also at the centre of a political controversy over sweetheart land deals in Haryana. "DLF's inability to access capital markets could impact its fund-raising program, both at the listed company level and potential listing of its commercial assets such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)," Macquarie research said. "DLF, in this case, would have to resort to large asset sales to reduce debt in the future." The ban follows what SEBI said was DLF's failure to provide key information on subsidiaries and pending legal cases at the time of its record-breaking 2007 initial public offering (IPO). DLF is the largest real estate group in the country with nearly Rs 10,000 crore annual turnover and market value of over Rs 26,000 crore. Its market cap had crossed Rs one lakh crore mark soon after its listing in 2007, but fell later. DLF's IPO in 2007 had fetched Rs 9,187 crore -- the biggest IPO in the country at that time. Sebi has barred the realty major as well as its six top executives, including chairman and main promoter K.P. Singh, from the securities market for "active and deliberate suppression" of material information at the time of its IPO. Besides Singh, those barred from the markets include his son Rajiv Singh (vice chairman), daughter Pia Singh (whole time director), Managing Director T.C. Goyal, former CFO Ramesh Sanka and Kameshwar Swarup, who was ED-Legal at the time of the company's public offer in 2007. DLF said in a statement on Monday the order dated October 10 came to its notice only on October 13 and it is being reviewed by DLF and its legal advisors. The company said it did not violate the law “either during its initial public offer or otherwise” and would defend its position against any adverse findings in the Sebi order. "DLF has full faith in the judicial process and is confident of vindication of its stand in the near future," the statement said. (Agencies)
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Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday (13 October) posted a better-than-expected 1.7 per cent rise in second quarter net profit, helped by strong growth in refining margins which neutralised slump in oil and gas earnings.Net profit in July-September at Rs 5,972 crore, or Rs 20.3 per share, was 1.7 per cent higher than Rs 5,873 crore, or Rs 20 a share earning in the same period last fiscal, the company said in a statement here.RIL, the operator of world's biggest oil-refinery complex, earned $8.3 for turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in Q2 as compared to $7.7 a barrel gross refining margin a year ago.The GRM, however, was lower than $8.7 per barrel in the previous April-June quarter.Turnover dropped 4.3 per cent to Rs 113,396 crore due to lower crude oil prices and volumes mainly in the refining and oil and gas business.Exports too dipped 14.7 per cent to Rs 66,065 crore ($10.7 billion) as against Rs 77,428 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.Pre-tax profit from refinery business jumped 18.5 per cent to Rs 3,844 crore even though revenue dropped 5.9 per cent to Rs 103,590 crore on slump in international oil prices and lower processing.While petrochemical earnings were almost unchanged at Rs 2,361 crore, pre-tax profit from oil and gas business dropped 14.4 per cent to Rs 818 crore due to drop in production.Commenting on the results, its Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D Ambani said: "RIL's financial performance for the period stands testimony to the intrinsic strength of our integrated business operations. The refining and petrochemical businesses, once again, delivered robust results, outperforming regional industry benchmarks.""These projects will propel the next phase of growth for India and Reliance," he said."Renewed optimism in the domestic economy augurs well for business and consumer confidence particularly against the backdrop of continuing concerns on global economic growth."We expect to create significant value for our stakeholders over the next 12-18 months as we complete our large investment programme across energy and consumer businesses. These projects will propel the next phase of growth for India and Reliance," he said. (Agencies)
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A power plant in New Delhi is among 37 across India that have either exhausted their coal or have less than four days' supply, a shortage that has forced some states to ration power for industries and homes.Many states have been hit by a severe power deficit which has dealt a blow to small-scale factories that produce everything from steel to textiles and cannot afford alternatives such as diesel generators."The situation is very bad, with power cuts of up to 16 hours a day," said Vijay Agarwal, a director at Puja Ferro Alloys in Goa. "The shortage has raised our costs while output is at 60 percent of what it should be."The New Delhi plant, run by India's largest power producer NTPC Ltd has shut one of its five units due to coal shortage, a company official said.Sixty of India's 103 power plants have coal enough for less than a week, mainly due to lower supplies from Coal India, according to the Central Electricity Authority.The level of coal stocks is the worst in about six years, forcing power companies to import huge consignments and leading to congested ports. In early September, 53 plants had less than a week's supply on hand.To deal with the power deficit, Telengana has started cutting supplies to industries for two days a week, a move that industry body ASSOCHAM said will badly hurt small and medium sized companies."While all the segments of the industry will bear the impact, the small scale units will face death knell," ASSOCHAM Secretary General D.S. Rawat said in a statement.Apart from Goa, industries in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are suffering from frequent power cuts.Coal ImportsState-owned Coal India, the world's largest miner of the fuel, accounts for more than 80 percent of the country's total production but has failed to raise its output fast enough to cater to the increasing needs of the power sector.Its April-September production fell short of its target of 220.11 million tonnes by more than 9 million tonnes. Coal India's production shortfalls have already made India the third-largest importer of coal despite sitting on the world's fifth largest reserves.But a Coal India official told Reuters on Friday that the company cannot be expected to supply all the coal that power companies need and that they should import a percentage of their requirement.Forced by populist governments to sell power at regulated rates, many debt-laden state power companies shy away from importing coal, given the higher costs. Importing coal can cost twice as much as buying it from Coal India.Still, India's coal imports hit 168.4 million tonnes in the fiscal year through March 31 and are rising as the new government has promised to scale up power output to light up every home. About 400 million of the 1.2 billion Indians still live without electricity.India's inbound shipments of thermal coal, used in power generation, are expected to surge 11 percent to 150 million tonnes this fiscal year, according to online market operator mjunction.Annual coal imports could jump by as much as a third to more than 200 million tonnes for the next few years as a result of a court ruling last month that will halt mining of the resource by most private companies from next year.(Reuters)
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