indian economic news thread

[Espresso]

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Mumbai, May 25, 2011
First Published: 21:23 IST(25/5/2011)
Last Updated: 21:50 IST(25/5/2011)



'India to gallop at 9% for 20 yrs'


Indian economy is expected to grow at an average rate of 9.3% per annum over the next two decades, said a report of Standard Chartered Bank titled ‘India in Super-Cycle’, released on Wednesday. The report said that India could become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, after China and United States.
“The Super-Cycle Report projects that China is likely to overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy over the next decade, while India could become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030,” said Gerard Lyons, chief economist and group head of global research, Standard Chartered Bank.
According to the report India is likely to grow faster, on average, than China over the next two decades. “We factor in a trend rate of growth of 6.9% for China, allowing for setbacks along the way, and of 9.3% for India, again taking into account the business cycle,” said Lyons.
The report adds that India has tremendous potential to catch up with China and the developed world. “Based on our forecasts, India’s nominal GDP (gross domestic product) could top $30 trillion by 2030, against its current level of around $1.7 trillion. By 2030, India could be 8.4 times bigger than it is today” he said.
The report defines a super-cycle as a period of historically high global growth, lasting a generation or more, driven by increasing trade, high rates of investment, urbanisation and technological innovation, characterised by the emergence of large, new economies, first seen in high catch-up growth rates across the emerging world.
The report also said that India would have some challenges to face. “India needs to overcome its regulatory burden and address its infrastructure needs to achieve the desired growth,” he said.
There is a need for continued improvement in education, health care and skills as India provides the sizeable educated labour force needed for its private sector to grow, the report added.



http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...nt/701993.aspx
© Copyright 2010 Hindustan Times

[Espresso]

Tata Chem Unit Gets Stake in U.S. Firm

By ASHUTOSH JOSHI OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

MUMBAI --India's Tata Chemicals said its unit Valley Holdings Inc. has acquired about 16.7 million shares of EPM Mining Ventures Inc., a privately held developer of potash prospects in the U.S.
Tata Chemicals said its acquisition of a stake in EPM Mining is an outcome of a merger between 44170 Yukon Inc., 44907 Yukon Inc. and EPM Mining. The Indian company held about 16.7 million shares of 44170 Yukon, in exchange for which it received an equal number of shares in EPM Mining.
It didn't give financial details of the deal.
The company said its acquisition of shares of EPM Mining represents about 32.9% of that company's issued and outstanding shares on an undiluted basis.
EPM Mining's outstanding share capital also consists of non-voting shares, which are convertible into common shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain terms and conditions, the company said in a statement.
EPM Mining holds the lease of 95,172 acres granted to it during the U.S. government's potash lease auction in April. It also holds a 40% stake in Emerald Peak Minerals LLC, which holds 6,409 acres of land leased from the U.S. state of Utah.
Tata Chemicals also said EPM Mining plans to list its shares on the Toronto Venture Exchange and filed for regulatory approvals in Canada.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...160876934.html

[Espresso]

IndiGo orders 180 Airbus A320s worth $15.6 billion


Special Correspondent



Largest ever order of jets in commercial aviation history





— PHOTO: AFP

REPEAT ORDER:Airbus General Director Fabrice Bregier at a press conference in the Airbus lobby on Wednesday in Colomiers, south western France, after Airbus signed a $15.6-billion deal to sell planes to Indian airline IndiGo.
NEW DELHI: Private low-cost domestic carrier IndiGo has placed a firm order for purchasing 180 single-aisle Airbus A320 passenger jetliners, making it the largest single order for such a large number of jets in commercial aviation history.
IndiGo has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be A320neo's and 30 will be A320s. It will also make IndiGo a launch customer for the A320neo. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.
At the prevailing catalogue price of Airbus Industrie, the order is estimated to be worth about $15.6 billion.
It is not for the first time that IndiGo has raised eyebrows by placing a huge order for commercial jetliners. In 2005 too, the private airline had created a flutter by ordering 100 Airbus A320 aircraft. It flies 34 Airbus A320s on 25 destinations on the domestic sector and plans to launch international flights by August.
The A320neo, available from 2016, incorporates new more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets delivering significant fuel savings of up to 15 per cent.
“This order for industry leading fuel efficient aircraft will allow IndiGo to continue to offer low fares,'' IndiGo co-founders Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia said. “Ordering more A320s is the natural choice to meet India's growing flying needs. The opportunity to reduce costs and to further improve our environmental performance through the A320neo is key to our decision,'' they said.
“The A320 Family is the recognised market leader. The A320neo, offering the maximum benefit for minimum change, will ensure that this continues to be the case for many years to come,'' Airbus Industrie Chief Operating Officer (Customers) John Leahy said.
Some 6,800 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and some 4,500 delivered to more than 310 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world's best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo will have over 95 per cent airframe commonality with the A320 Family whilst offering up to 950 km more range or two tonnes more payload.






http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/13/stor...1367002000.htm

[Espresso]

india order's Largest ever order of jets in commercial aviation history



YouTube - ‪Airbus and IndiGo Settle Biggest Commercial Plane Deal‬‏

[Espresso]

SpiceJet

SpiceJet's next phase of global expansion from SeptemberMihir Mishra / New Delhi May 28, 2011, 0:08 IST
SpiceJet will start its second phase of international expansion by September.
“We plan to start flights to South Asian and West Asian countries by August or September, as some of our Boeing aircraft will be delivered during that period. We have applied for permission from the civil aviation ministry for a lot of destinations in these two regions and are awaiting permissions,” said Chief Executive Officer Neil Mills.
The Gurgaon-based carrier had launched its first international flight in October last year, to Kathmandu. It had received permission to operate flights to Kathmandu, Colombo, Dhaka and Maldives.
It currently operates to Kathmandu and Colombo. “As of now, we have not firmed up any plan for expanding to Dhaka and Maldives but will start operation to these destinations whenever it makes sense,” Mills said.
He said their fleet utilisation would increase with international expansion. “Our current aircraft utilisation is under 12 hours, which will increase to over 13 hours by the new set of expansion,” he added.
The fleet size is to rise from 29 to 43 by the end of this financial year. The Boeing aircraft will increase from 29 to 32 and the rest will be 78-seater Bombardier Q400s. The airline aims to have a fleet of 70 aircraft, a mix of 45 Boeing and 25 Q400 planes, by 2013-end.
The airline will need $200-250 million to fund its purchase of aircraft in 2011-12 and has not yet decided on how.
SpiceJet is also looking at smaller cities for its second phase of expansion in the domestic sector and for two more bases, apart from the one in South India. The airline has already said it would start its regional service with a base in Hyderabad and operate flights in the range of one to two hours from the base city.
“We plan to have two more bases to start operations from Bombardier Q400s. We are talking to various states,” Mills said.
The airline plans to recruit around 75 people, the majority being pilots and cabin crew, for the expansion.
SpiceJet shares today marginally fell to close at Rs 39.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day when the Sensex grew 221 points to close at 18,266.

YouTube - ‪Spicejet Video‬‏

[Espresso]

By ENS Economic Bureau
21 May 2011 02:35:53 AM IST

Ford India expands dealer network

CHENNAI: Ford India is aggressively expanding its footprint across India in a bid to further bolster its sales and service network even as it gears up to notch new sales milestones and launch newer products. The company opened three new integrated 3-S (Showroom, Sales and Service) dealerships AVK Ford in Mumbai, Odisha Ford in Cuttack and Omie Ford in Itanagar.
All three dealerships are Brand@Retail showrooms built according to
Ford’s global standards to guarantee a memorable and pleasant
ownership experience to all customers with Ford.
Speaking on the new dealership openings, Ford’s spokesman Nigel Wark said, ``With the opening of these dealerships, we want to say to our customers that Ford is committed to bring you world-class cars and service experience, even in the remotest towns of India. Ford cars will prove to be a smart choice not only in urban areas but also where distances are far and the terrain is tough.’’
Wark also said, ``We have great synergy with our dealers in delivering consistent quality and customer satisfaction. Our dealerships mirror our world class standards of customer service and demonstrate our genuineness in offering a satisfying ownership experience.’’
Tastefully designed, these dealerships will display all the Ford
models, including the Fiesta Classic, Figo, Endeavour and the Global Fiesta that will be launched later this year.



© Copyright 2008 ExpressBuzz

http://expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=276413

[Espresso]

BMW starts local assembly

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Heavy industries minister Praful Patel (right) and Andreas Schaaf (left), president of BMW India, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, May 10: BMW India today said it had started assembling engines, keeping it outside the purview of 30 per cent customs duty on completely knocked down units.

“In our engines, about 50 per cent of the assembly are done in India. So it is considered as locally produced,” said Andreas Schaaf, president BMW India.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the budget had raised the customs duty on pre-assembled engines, transmissions and gearboxes, imported as completely knocked down (CKD) units, to 30 per cent from 10 per cent.
Premium car maker BMW said it was locally assembling engines for its 3 and 5 Series sedans and sports utility vehicle X1 at its Chennai plant from April.
“At this point of time, our completely knocked down operations are fully fulfilling the new regulations. We are paying 10 per cent duty so there will be no price hike on our sedans and SUVs,” said Schaaf.
He added that the company would gradually shift to complete local manufacturing once sales reached a sizeable volume.
The company currently assembles 3 and 5 Series cars and the SUV X1. The ex-showroom prices of the 3 and 5 Series models in Delhi start at Rs 24.4 lakh and Rs 37.6 lakh, respectively, while the X1’s price begins at Rs 22.4 lakh.
BMW today unveiled a concept hybrid sports car in the presence of heavy industry minister Praful Patel.
The minister said his office had asked the finance ministry to give two years’ time to the industry to comply with the new CKD norms.
Schaff, too, stressed on the importance of more time to fulfil the norms. “We are of the belief that any regulation should not be changed overnight but should be implemented planfully over a period of time. So we are a part of Siam’s request to extend the timeline.”
He also expressed disappointment at the government not consulting the industry before hiking the customs duty.
Industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) has been asking the government to either reduce the duty or give manufacturers more time for the local production of parts.
Last week, BMW’s rival Mercedes-Benz India said it had started assembling the engines and transmissions of C and E Class sedans at its Maharashtra facility.
Mercedes is, however, paying the higher 30 per cent duty on the S Class. The company is likely to hike the price of the car by about Rs 8 lakh within the next few weeks.
On BMW’s sales, Schaaf said, “In the first four months, our sales have grown 80 per cent. Our target is to hit 10,000 units sales mark during 2011.”
BMW sold 6,246 units last year and became the market leader for the second consecutive year after displacing Mercedes Benz, which sold 5,819 cars in 2010.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/111051...y_13967575.jsp

[IamDZJ]

whatever happened to those pilots on strike??

[Espresso]

Mon, May 30, 2011 | Updated 07.16AM IST

29 May, 2011, 07.03PM IST,PTI
MSI India eyes $60 mn revenue in FY12

NEW DELHI: Computer maker MSI India on Sunday said it is eyeing revenues of USD 60 million this fiscal as it expands its product portfolio and distribution channel across the country.

The Taiwan-based firm had registered about USD 45 million in revenues for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011.

"India, currently, is just about two per cent of our global revenues. Going ahead, we see a huge opportunity here and we would bring in the latest technology through our products," MSI India General Manager Eric Kuo told media.

The company, which also manufactures motherboards and graphics cards , will spend about USD one million on marketing and advertising this year.

"We are fairly new in the notebook category and we are working on increasing our brand recall in that segment. We don't want to compete only on the basis of price, but we also want to be known for quality and technology (of product)," Kuo said.

The company currently has sales offices in the country with about 50 people.

"We are aggressively looking to expand our operations in India. By year-end, we are looking at doubling our headcount and setting up more offices. We will also strengthen our distribution channels for all products," he said.

The company sells about 8,000-10,000 notebooks a month and is targetting monthly sales of 20,000-30,000 units in the next 2 years.

"Our aim is to be among the top 3 players in the next two years and for that we need to have monthly sales of 20,000-30,000 units, so I would say that is the sales target that we have set for ourselves to achieve in the next two years," Kuo said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/8638309.cms

[Espresso]

whatever happened to those pilots on strike??

yeh they called it off after some out of court settlement manupulation from these ever hungry corporation's & gang i want a strong labor law which protacts as well as laid down the rules for these rich privete limited class whichshould clearly state that the corporates must not breech the worker's right at any cost & should compensate