Tata Steel considers options for Riversdale New Delhi, December...

Tata Steel considers options for Riversdale

New Delhi, December 24
Tata Steel, the largest shareholder in mining firm Riversdale, today said it is looking at various options, including bidding solo, for the company, which has already received A$3.9 bid from Rio Tinto.

A consortium of five state-run companies International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) is also exploring the possibility of bidding for Riversdale.

?Tata Steel notes the takeover bid for Riversdale mining announced by Rio Tinto. Tata Steel will evaluate the takeover bid in the context of other alternatives available to Tata Steel,? the company said in a regulatory filing.

When contacted, Tata Steel spokesperson Sanjay Choudhary told PTI, "There are many alternatives available with Tata Steel but at this point of time the company will not like to discuss it. It is studying the bid." Rio Tinto's offer price of 16 Australian dollars per share -- valuing the company at around 3.9 billion Australian dollars -- was recommended by all of Riversdale's board yesterday, barring the director appointed by Tata Steel.

N K Misra, Tata?s nominee on Riversdale board, abstained from voting on the Rio Tinto?s bid.

This development sparked off speculations that Tata Steel might bid for Riversdale, which has 13 billion tonnes of rich coking and thermal coal reserves in its Benga and Zambeze projects in Mozambique.

ICVL, a special purpose vehicle for making overseas acquisitions, comprises SAIL, Coal India Ltd (CIL), National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC), National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL).

"We have appointed Citibank (as merchant banker). They will submit their report in about two weeks time on the proposal to bid for Riversdale," C S Verma, chairman of both International Coal Ventures Ltd and Steel Authority of India said yesterday.

On the possibility of joining hands with Tata Steel, Verma said that any decision would be taken after getting the merchant banker's report.

On December 10, iron ore miner NMDC, which is part of the consortium, had ruled out the possibility of joining hands with Tata Steel for Riversdale bid.

For any Indian company, the acquisition of Riversdale would ensure raw material security against the backdrop of widening gap between demand and supply of coal.

According to estimates, India?s coal imports are expected to touch 164 million tonnes by 2015 as against the current 73 million tonnes. ? PTI


Centre?s increased subsidy to J&K to hit industry in Himachal Pradesh
Ambika Sharma


The pharmaceutical industry has appealed to the HP Chief Minister not to levy any additional tax
Solan, December 24
With the union government increasing the subsidy on plant and machinery from 15-30 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir, the industry in Himachal is slated to suffer as its products become uncompetitive.

A 15 per cent central subsidy on plant and machinery was available to the industries in Himachal, Uttrakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, granted through a central incentive package in 2003. Though this package expired in March, the central government has now extended a special concession to Jammu and Kashmir in the form of a 30 per cent subsidy.

Resenting this additional subsidy, the Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association (HDMA) has appealed to the chief minister not to levy any additional tax in the form of entry tax on pharmaceutical raw materials. Their argument is that that the industry would not be able to compete with goods manufactured in Jammu and Kashmir in the changed scenario. President HDMA Sanjay Guleria said they had given a representation to the CM PK Dhumal to spare the pharmaceutical industry from any additional taxes.

He said the industry was already facing the brunt of drastic changes in the tax structure by the central government whereby the excise benefit had been reduced from the earlier 16 per cent to 4 per cent now. This had led to squeezing of margins of small-scale contract manufacturers. These comprise almost 80 per cent of the state?s pharmaceutical sector.

To avail the benefits of the central industrial package many entrepreneurs from the South had set up their operations in the state but the benefit of the excise duty was liquidated due to the quantum of freight being charged here and the reduction in the excise duty. This also impacted the job work in the several small scale units and more than 50 units have been forced to close shop in the state.


?18.98 mn telecom subscribers added in Oct?

New Delhi, December 24
Telecom operators added 18.98 million mobile subscribers in October this year, taking the total number of telephone users in the country to 742.12 million, sectoral regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said today.

With this, the overall teledensity (telephones per 100 people) in India touched 62.51 per cent.

According to data released, the wireless subscriber base increased from 687.71 million in September to 706.69 million by the end of October 2010, registering a growth of 2.76 per cent.

The growth in the wireless category was led by Bharti Airtel, which added three million users taking its subscriber base to 146.29 million in October.

Vodafone added 2.48 million subscribers, taking its user base to 118.03 million. Idea Cellular and Aircel, on the other hand, added 1.81 million and 1 million users, respectively. Reliance Communications added 2.01 million subscribers, while Tata Teleservices added 1.74 million users in the reported month.? PTI


Rubber Imports
Import duty cut may not lead to lower prices: Dealers

New Delhi, December 24
The government's efforts to cool down rising rubber prices by lowering import duty may not yield the desired results, as traders are unlikely to resort to overseas purchases due to higher prices of the commodity in international markets than domestic rates.

The government had on December 23 reduced import duty on natural rubber shipments of up to 40,000 tonnes to 7.5 per cent from 20 per cent earlier till March 31, 2011, with a view to boost domestic supply and check rising prices.

"International prices of natural rubber are still high. It is Rs 223 per kg vis-a-vis domestic prices of Rs 207 a kg. Adding 7.5 per cent import duty, the landing cost touches around Rs 240 a kg. This is not an economic proposition," Indian Rubber Dealers Federation President George Valy told PTI. Natural rubber prices have been on the rise for the past few months due to non-stop rains in central Kerala and the Malabar region, which has hampered tapping activities.

Valy expressed hope that international prices might come down in the next few weeks, with fresh supplies from Thailand likely to make their way into the market. However, if China resorts to aggressive buying immediately after the festive season to meet demand from its booming tyre industry, the chances of a significant reduction could be bleak.

"But, in no way international prices are going to go past Rs 230 a kg," he said, adding that domestic farmers were also augmenting supplies to the market to cash in on the high prices ahead of the holiday season.

In the meantime, if international prices show signs of going up further, domestic traders may start hoarding to drive up prices at home, Valy said.

As of now, there is no sign of domestic prices coming down, he added. ? PTI


Supply to improve, say tyre makers

New Delhi, December 24
The government?s move to reduce import duty on natural rubber to 7.5 per cent would help in boosting supply of the raw material in the domestic market, tyre makers said today.

?We welcome the government?s move as it was our long pending demand and the situation was getting worse for us in the wake of sudden spurt in the prices of natural rubber,? Automotive Tyre Manufacturer?s Association (ATMA) director general Rajiv Budhraja told PTI.

Looking at the price position and availability situation, it will provide much needed respite to the tyre industry, he added.

The government yesterday cut import duty on natural rubber to 7.5 per cent from 20 per cent for shipments up to 40,000 tonnes till March 31, 2011, to boost domestic supply and check rising prices that touched record Rs 207 a kg.

Besides, the natural rubber import beyond March 31, 2011, will attract duty of 20 per cent or Rs 20 per kg, whichever is lower.

It is an irony that natural rubber was attracting import duty of 20 per cent whereas only 10 per cent duty was applicable on the import of finished tyres from China. ? PTI


DTH turns a corner as subscribers rise

Mumbai, December 24
After years of depressed growth, the direct-to-home industry is likely to improve over the next two years as costs decline, companies aggressively increase their subscriber base and the market leader nears break even.

However, profits at loss-making DTH providers, bogged down by high subscriber acquisition costs, selling and marketing expenses and low revenue per user, might take longer, analysts said.

?Like in a lot of businesses, the first round of economic destruction has happened, the business has bled, but from here on, the industry will take off,? IDFC Securities analyst Nikhil Vora said.

Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV, said the Indian DTH industry should have 33 million subscribers by the end of this fiscal and expects it to be the largest globally, overtaking the US, much earlier than analysts? projections of 2012.

The historically high subscriber acquisition costs - cost the DTH provider records for each subscriber - have stabilised over the last one year.

Subscriber acquisition costs, which were initially as high as Rs 6,000, have now stabilised at somewhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, Anil Khera, CEO, Videocon D2H, a unit of Videocon Industries, said.

Subscriber acquisition costs should fall by 20 per cent in the next two years, an analyst, who did not wish to be named, said.

?Subscriber acquisition costs should definitely come down because of stabilisation in price war and reduction in the price of set-top boxes,? the analyst added.

Dish TV launched its DTH services in 2005, becoming the first entrant in the Indian market. Tata Sky, Sun TV Network's Sun Direct, Reliance Big TV, Bharti?s Airtel Digital TV and Videocon D2H jumped in later, setting off a price war to gain subscribers in an analog-dominated market.

Prices of set-top boxes, a large chunk of the subscriber acquisition cost, have dropped considerably over the years, especially in markets such as China and Taiwan. Service providers such as Videocon D2H are also manufacturing their own set-top boxes to cut down on costs and avoid import duty.

Additionally, the rupee?s appreciation against the dollar is also pushing the cost down. The rupee has appreciated 3.2 per cent against the dollar so far this year.

Cut-throat competition has so far kept average revenue per user (ARPU) subdued, but going forward DTH companies could see ARPU rising to Rs 225-260 in the next three years from the current Rs 140-150, Vora said.

Changes in the content sharing agreements between broadcasters and service providers are also helping DTH companies reduce costs to a certain extent.

Earlier, the broadcasters' fee would change depending on the DTH companies' total subscriber pool, but of late, many DTH providers have worked out fixed-pay agreements with broadcasters.

Dish TV, which recently crossed the 9-million-subscriber mark, is leading the way to recovery. The company is aiming at profitability in the coming months and analysts expect the firm to break even in calendar year 2011.

?Others should be able to breakeven by FY13 or FY14 because you need to have more subscribers to break even faster,? KR Choksey analyst Rohit Maheshwari said. ? Reuters




Qatar?s Tasweeq, IOC ink LPG supply contract

Dubai, December 24
Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Company (Tasweeq) has signed a contract for long-term supply of LPG to Indian Oil Corporation.The contract was signed at IOCL's headquarters in New Delhi between IOC Chairman Brij Mohan Bansal and Tasweeq Acting CEO Saad Al-Kuwari on December 15.However, the details were only revealed yesterday.

Senior representatives from both companies were present at the signing ceremony. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a versatile commodity produced from natural gas and crude oil and is used for heating, as well as feedstock for petrochemicals, besides other uses.Qatar is one of the largest producers of LPG in the world and India has the highest growing demand for LPG worldwide.

Tasweeq said it aims to expand into new markets across the globe to reduce its dependence on traditional export destinations.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Al-Kuwari said, "It has been a long negotiation process between the two parties and we have finally reached an agreement.

"With this contract, Tasweeq has added a valuable market to its portfolio... making Tasweeq less dependent on Qatar's traditional LPG markets." Bansal said the contract is considered a huge step forward in cooperation between India and Qatar in the energy sector. ? PTI


Bridgestone opens showroom in Ambala
Tribune News Service

Ambala, December 24
Bridgestone, the world?s no.1 tyre and rubber manufacturer, has announced the inauguration of its exclusive select showroom Hindustan Wheels at Ambala. The showroom was inaugurated by Rajiv Sharma, DGM of Bridgestone (North and East) .The Bridgestone Select stores boosts of an exclusive Bridgestone retail ?Identity and Sales? in line with the global retail philosophy adopted successfully across the world.

Rajiv Sharma said ?We are back with yet another customer-friendly, smart and stylised shop equipped with a wide product range and modern services to offer. Select is a unique retail channel concept of a quality shop which promises the customer a better and unique buying experience.?