** ** *INFRASTRUCTURE***
* * *JSPL to spend over Rs 10K cr on capex in FY’13* **· **Naveen Jindal-led JSPL will invest over Rs 10,000 crore in 2012-13 to part-fund its Rs 2 lakh crore capex plan that aims to ramp up its steel making capacity to 18 million tonnes in five years.**** **· **JSPL produces around 4.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) at its Raigarh plant in Chhattisgarh. It is now setting up three steel facilities at Angul in Odisha, Patratu in Jharkhand and Raigarh to raise capacity to 18 mtpa. Besides, it is setting up 4,200 MW captive power plants in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The company is also investing Rs 45,000 crore in a Coal to Liquid project in Odisha.**** *Neyveli plans 2,000-Mw plant with Odisha PSU* ** ** **· **Chennai-based Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd (NLC), a navratna public sector unit, has evinced interest in setting up a 2,000-Mw coal-fired power unit in Odisha through a joint venture (JV) with a state government owned PSU. The proposal envisages an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore**** **· **The plant is to be set up by forging a JV with any of the state PSUs —Odisha Hydro Power Corporation, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation or Grid Corporation of Odisha Ltd. NLC is the only central PSU with core competencies in both power generation and coal mining,**** **· **The state government had earlier signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with 29 independent power producers (IPPs) for setting up coal-based plants with a combined capacity of 37,000 Mw. Power availability is expected to reach 4,455 Mw by 2013, higher than the power demand of 3,726 Mw projected by the Central Electricity Authority. **** *Thermal coal imports via Paradip jump 50%*** **· **Thermal coal imports through Paradip port improved by 50 per cent to six million tonnes during 2011-12. This comprised the lion’s share of the 16 million tonnes of import traffic handled by the port during the year. The sharp jump in coal import through the port is attributed to higher demand for low-ash content coal.**** **· **Thermal coal imports improved to 37 per cent of total imports in 2011-12, from 30 per cent of the 13 million tonne import traffic seen in 2010-11, due to increasing demand for low-ash content coal,Even though Orissa is the second largest coal producer in the country after Jharkhand with 25 per cent of country’s deposits, the high ash content in its coal makes it less viable to produce power.**** **· **Our 2011-12 coal buying was certainly higher than the previous year as we had problems with supply from MCL (Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd).MCL is mandated to supply 4.7 million tonne tonnes of thermal coal to Nalco every year, but its supplies were 360,000 tonne less in the last fiscal, forcing the aluminum producer to import more coal. It had placed an import order for 200,000 tonnes of coal in September after a fall in production.**** *GMR sells Rs 179 cr worth of shares in Karur*** **· **Bangalore-based infrastructure major GMR Group has offloaded around 44.6 lakh shares it had in Karur Vysya Bank Limited for a total amount of around Rs 178.87 crore through bulk deal in the National Stock Exchange (NSE). GMR (Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao) and his group had a total 52.86 lakh shares in Karur Vysya Bank, as per the data filed with the NSE in December, 2012. Meanwhile, Sundaram Mutual Fund has picked up stakes worth Rs 87.3 crore in the company through bulk deals in NSE.**** *UP Power Corporation to cut losses by Rs 4,300 cr this year*** **· **Uttar Pradesh state power utility UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) is looking to cut its losses by Rs 4,300 crore in the current financial year. UPPCL has been incurring massive losses over the years, which touch about Rs 7,000 crore annually, including subsidy part of Rs 4,000 crore. The accumulated losses stand at around Rs 18,000 crore.**** **· **In 2000, loss-making UP State Electricity Board (UPSEB) was unbundled as UPPCL, with separate distribution companies (discoms) for operational efficiency in the power sector. However, the losses have continued to mount due to yawning gap between revenue and Expenditure.The Company would cut losses by Rs 4,300 crore this year by higher revenue generation, checking power pilferage, deftness in purchase of power and judicious management of power demand.**** **· **UPPCL has also to gear up for free electricity to farmers and weavers as promised in the ruling Samajwadi Party manifesto during UP poll 2012. This alone could cost the exchequer Rs 1,000 crore per annum.**** *Coal India could get to pass on cost of expensive imports* **· **The government is weighing a new coal pricing dispensation to help Coal India (CIL) recover the extra cost of imported coal it might have to give power plants to comply with the fuel supply agreement (FSA). The agreement means Coal India must guarantee supply of at least 80% of fuel required by these plants.**** **· **Government sources said a committee of secretaries led by Pulok Chatterjee, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, has been mandated to evolve a pricing dispensation where power companies will have to bear the extra cost of imported coal to the extent of difference in the quality of imported and domestic coal.**** **· **The quality of imported coal is much superior to domestic coal. For example, the ash content in domestic coal can be as high as 40%, compared with 10% in imported coal. The gross calorific value (GCV) of domestic coal is 3,000-3,500 Kcal/kg while that of imported coal is 5,000-7,000 Kcal/Kg.**** **· **CIL will be allowed to recover the balance of the extra cost of imported coal by increasing overall coal price. In other words, the proposed pricing regime will allow CIL to supply imported coal to power plants without having to bear the extra cost.**** *After making it big in India, AP infra entrepreneurs go global* **· **Andhra Pradesh's infrastructure entrepreneurs, not content with dominating India's infrastructure sector, are going global now. They have started acquiring assets in emerging markets.**** **· **GVK and Lanco acquired mining assets in Australia while NCC has more than 10 per cent of its revenue coming from West Asia. In India, Andhra Pradesh-based firms span irrigation projects, roads, airports and power, having outbid established players and outpaced them in growth. In fact, India's four best airports — Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi — are all managed by AP entrepreneurs.**** *BANKING* *SBI launches ‘virtual' card for online transactions* **· **State Bank of India has launched a ‘virtual' electronic debit card for e-commerce transactions. The ‘State Bank Virtual' card can be created by a customer using the bank's Internet Banking facility with transaction rights. The product allows the user to create a virtual card for any online transaction and the customer is not required to share the details of the principal account on the merchant Web site. The new product is a convenient and secure gateway to online payment for SBI's Internet banking users. Among the features of the virtual card are: no charges on creation of the card and the customer can create any number of cards at the same time. The card is created for each online transaction and is valid for a maximum of 48 hours.**** **· **There is no transfer of balance from the principal account inasmuch as only a lien is marked on the account. The minimum amount with which the card can be loaded with is Rs 100. There is no upper limit. Transfer of balance takes place only when the customer does the actual transaction online.**** *Oriental Bank cuts deposit rates by 50-100 bps across select maturities* **· **Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has slashed deposit rates by 50-100 basis points on certain maturities for deposits of Rs 15 lakh and above. No changes have been made for term deposits less than Rs 15 lakh and all those deposits with maturities of 1 year and above. The revised rates will come into effect from today (April 23). The deposit rate reduction comes close on the heels of the RBI reducing repo rate by 50 basis points at its recent monetary policy announcement on April 17.**** *Magma Fincorp a step closer to kick-starting insurance biz* Kolkata-based Magma Fincorp Ltd is one step closer to getting its general insurance venture operational. After almost three years Magma has got R2 licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). In July 2009, Magma had signed a joint venture agreement with Germany-based HDI-Gerling International Holding AG for its foray into general insurance business. The joint venture company — Magma HDI General Insurance Company Ltd — had received Reserve Bank of India's approval in October 2009. The company also received R1 licence from the IRDA in April 2011.**** THE LICENCES**** R1, R2 and R3 are the three approvals required by an insurance company to kick-start operations in the country.**** While R1 is an in-principle approval which basically means the company's business plans will be considered by the regulator for approval, R2 is cleared only when the regulator is satisfied with the company's strategy, business plans and credentials. R3 is the final step, which, once granted, allows the company to start operations.**** Magma's stake in Magma HDI General Insurance, set up at an initial investment of Rs 110 crore, is 76 per cent while HDI-Gerling holds the balance 24 per cent. Magma is a non-banking finance company into asset financing. The company has a strong presence in vehicle finance segment, including commercial, car and utility vehicles. So, clearly motor insurance will be a focus area for the general insurance company. The company would also provide insurance for other assets financed by Magma, such as construction equipment and SME (small and medium enterprise) loans.**** HDI-Gerling is wholly owned by the Talanx Group and is ranked third among German insurance groups. The company has operations in over 25 countries, with a particular focus on emerging markets such as Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Ukraine.**** ** ** Regards,**** ** ** Team Microsec Research**** ** ** ** ** * * -- CA. Rajesh Desai -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en.
