สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 3 มกราคม 2555
Manufacturing PMI at 6-month high in Dec
Amid the disappointing macroeconomic numbers, the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in India might give some cheer to policy makers. It rose to a six-month high in December, at 54.7 points, from 53.7 in November.
In fact, the November level was a five-month high. A PMI reading above 50 points indicates growth and one below it indicates contraction.
A statement by Markit Economics, the financial information company which compiles the PMI, attributed the increase to rising output growth and new orders.
(Sources: Business Standard, Financial Express, Reuters India, Hindustan Times, Business Today)
Vizag Steel to set up 240 Mw plant
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is setting up a 240Mw (120X2) captive power plant to meet its future power requirements. At present, it has a coal-based power plant (about 18 Mw) to run the 3-million tonne capacity steel plant.
VSP is expanding its capacity to 6.3 million tonnes and this will be ready during the next fiscal. In view of this, the company is setting up the first 120 Mw blast furnace gas-based captive plant with an investment of $ 124 .50 million. AP Choudhary, chairman and managing director of VSP, launched the works related to the power plant on Wednesday.
(Sources: Business Standard, i4u, Smart Investors, Moneycontrol, Worldnews)
India companies' margins seen firm in Oct-Dec despite slow growth: CRISIL
Indian companies are likely to see their EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margins staying firm in October-December, despite continuing pressures on demand growth, CRISIL Research said in a note on Wednesday.
Sectors such as sugar, tyre, cement and airlines would see an expansion of over 250 basis points year-on-year in EBITDA margins due to higher realisations, Prasad Koparkar, Senior Director, CRISIL Research, said.
India's economy grew 5.3 per cent from a year earlier in July-September and is on track for its worst year in a decade.
(Sources: Moneycontrol, Hindu Business Line, India Everyday, Reuters India, BBC News)
French sports goods retailer Decathlon to set up shops in India
French sports goods giant, Decathlon, is planning to enter the Indian market as a single-brand retail chain, it is learnt.
Currently present in the country as a cash-and-carry or wholesale operator, Decathlon has written to the government proposing to open retail stores in India, similar to the 20 other countries that it conducts business in.
This is the first time that a cash-and-carry player has formally sought to go retail in India. Single-brand retail, which till a year ago had an foreign direct investment (FDI) cap of 51 %, can now be fully foreign-owned, thereby encouraging international chains to foray into India.
Decathlon is among the largest sports goods retailers of the world, with its annual revenue estimated at over euro 6.5 billion.
(Sources: Business Standard, India Retail News, Zeenews, IBNLive, NDTV)
Now, pay more for cars
The 15 % dip in sales in December 2012 notwithstanding, car companies have gone ahead with the planned price rise, even as their dealers struggle to meet sales targets amidst declining footfalls in showrooms.
The hike is in the range of 0.5 % to 2.5 %. The rise, which was brought into effect from Tuesday, is aimed at easing pressure on operating margins hit by factors such as exchange rate fluctuation and input price rise.
While companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Toyota Kirloskar, Renault India, BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz have already increased prices, others such as Hyundai, General Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Nissan said a hike will follow shortly.
(Sources: Business Standard, i4u, Rediff, Smart Investors, Livemint, Zeenews, IBNLive)
$ 25 million CSR bill likely for each of top-15 BSE companies
Top-listed firms will have to shell out hundreds of dollars each in social sector initiatives if the new Companies Bill takes effect. The Bill has been passed by Lok Sabha and is likely to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha in the Budget session. Officials are targeting the beginning of the new financial year (April 1) as the effective date for the new Act.
According to clause 135 of the bill, “Every company having net worth of $ 92 million or more, or a turnover of $ 184 million or more, or a net profit of $ 25 million or more, during a financial year” shall make “every endeavour to ensure it spends, in every financial year, at least two per cent of its average of net profits made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy.”
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Business Standard, Forbes, Smart Investors, Moneycontrol)
Economic Section
Royal Thai Embassy