Mittal is unfazed by Tata troubles, to go ahead with projects

The world's largest steel producer, Arcelor Mittal, has reiterated its confidence in the India story and stated that there's no question of it reneging on its planned investments in India due to either cost overrun or issues like Singur.

Speaking to a select group of journalists in the Capital, Arcelor Mittal's chairman & CEO, India-born LN Mittal said, "One case of Singur cannot be an example for the world. One can face this kind of problem in any other country. One particular project can face this kind of opposition from people.But the country as a whole is interested in growing."

Mittal's comments assume significance as India Inc has reacted negatively to the Singur developments.

Arcelor Mittal has its own share of problems in India. Its proposed steel plants in India would cost more than the estimated $20 billion, as over the last three years capex costs for steel projects have gone up by 30-50% globally.

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Coca-Cola to buy China juice maker for $2.4 billion

US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola said today it planned to buy Chinese juice maker Huiyuan Juice Group in a$2.4 billion deal that would be its biggest acquisition in China.

Coca-Cola will offer 12.20 Hong Kong dollars ($1.6) per share in Hong Kong-listed Huiyuan, it said in a statement, adding that three shareholders holding a total of 66 %in the company had accepted the offer.

"It is the largest proposed transaction in China and the second largest for the Coca-Cola Company," the company said in an email Coca-Cola said it intended for Huiyuan, one of China's best-known juice brands, to carry on its business, but that it would later review its operations.

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They discussed recent national

WITHOUT spelling
anything
out, the Samajwadi
Party
took another calibrated step
towards backing the UPA government.
Its chief Mulayam
Singh Yadav once again said
today that his party had “no
political enemies” and his
general secretary Amar Singh
announced, after last night’s
meeting with Pranab Mukherjee,
the Government’s key interlocutor
on the deal, that the
UPA’s National Security Adviser
would brief the SP leadership
on the deal.
The briefing by NSA M K
Narayanan — he is on his way
back from Iran — at Amar
Singh’s residence is ostensibly
a response to SP’s longstanding
call that so long it has been
dependent on the Left for
feedback on the deal and was
willing to reconsider it if the
UPA “shared new facts.”
Parallel to this, the Government,
brushing aside the
Left’s not-so veiled warnings,
announced the PM’s visit to
the G8 summit in Japan beginning
July 7. Yesterday and
even today, CPM leaders said
that a visit to the G8 by the
PM would tantamount to going
ahead with the deal.
But Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh met President
Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati
Bhavan today for 50 minutes
after which a statement was issued
by Rashtrapati Bhavan:
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Labels: BHEL, capacity, coal sector, distribution, green house gas effect, investments, McKinsey, nuclear power, performance, power ministry, power sector, target

Jack up distribution to light up India: McKinsey

The Planning Commission has asked the power ministry to take urgent steps to reform the distribution sector. Speaking after releasing ‘Powering India-the road to 2017', a report by global consultancy firm McKinsey, deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the power ministry should set targets for achieving reforms in the distribution sector. The McKinsey report has advocated a radical new approach through a 10-point programme that primarily suggests methods to reduce the aggregate technical and commercial losses (AT&C) losses to 15% from the current 30-40% by 2017.

Responding to Ahluwalia's suggestion, minister of state for power, Jairam Ramesh said, "We are in close coordination with Mckinsey regarding the suggested 10-points and I look forward to work for implementing them". Ramesh added that, "As per the estimates of Bhel, today we have 8,000 mw manufacturing capacity, which by the end of 2009 would be 14,000 mw and by the end of 2012 would touch 15,000 mw."

Speaking about the investments required in the power sector, Ahluwalia said it would not be of use unless power was properly and evenly distributed. "If you improve generation and not distribution, then it would be a loss," he said.

"The power sector values are linked to the coal sector and the issue of climate change. So, the question of energy and demand are integrally related.

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Value from family differences

It was a terse note on June 18, 2005 from Kokilaben D Ambani that many thought would put an end to a public spat between her two sons-Mukesh and Anil Ambani-over ownership of the Reliance empire. Three years later, the spat continues, the latest over Anil's plans for a stake sale in his flagship Reliance Communications (RComm) to South Africa's MTN. This time, no one's stepping in, not even the matriarch. Paradoxically, after the split, both sides of the Reliance empire have grown manifold in value under the two brothers. Is that why no one's complaining?

In her 2005 statement, Kokilaben Ambani said, "With the blessings of Srinathji, I have today amicably resolved the issues between my two sons keeping in mind the proud legacy of my husband. I am confident that Mukesh and Anil will uphold the values of their father and work towards protecting and enhancing value of over 3 million shareholders of the Reliance group."

Mukesh, who got Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the erstwhile Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd, and Anil, who took control of what was then Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital, did indeed protect and enhance shareholders' interest. They added new businesses and pumped in much investment and vigour into existing ones.

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G-7 readies reply to market crisis

The Group of Seven economic powers are likely to deploy an international team to keep closer tabs on the world's big banks while demanding better risk management and information disclosure across financial markets. The move, due to be announced at G7 talks on Friday, is in response to a global markets crisis which could cost close to $1 trillion in losses and downgrades in the value of toxic assets accrued over years of investor euphoria.

Finance ministers and central bankers of the G7 nations meet in Washington on Friday to plot their next move in response to the crisis, based on a list of recommendations from the Financial Stability Forum, a body they created.

Among the key FSF ideas, elements of which were published in the Wall Street Journal and confirmed to Reuters by a G7 source on Wednesday, is the creation by the end of this year of a team of supervisors to watch over the biggest international banks.

As news of the action plan emerged, so did news that German regulators had ordered the closure of a small bank which blamed its downfall on the credit crunch. This hit in August as a defaults crisis in the US mortgage market snowballed. If implemented, the plan should "minimise the possibility that the challenges we've faced will reoccur", David McCormick, U.S.Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

FSF recommendations include:

By July, supervisors should improve their guidelines for the way banks plan for cash shortages. Banks should run "stress tests" to ensure they can get cash in emergencies.

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