สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 20 มิถุนายน 2555
RBI chief warns inflation unacceptable
The Reserve Bank of India governor warned inflation is above acceptable levels and he called on the government to do more to support the flagging economy after a controversial decision to leave rates unchanged in the face of pressure for a cut.
The RBI shocked financial markets on Monday by leaving its 8 % policy repo rate and 4.75 % level for banks' required reserves unchanged.
Consumer price inflation in May was 10.36 %, unchanged from April and higher than March. Wholesale price inflation, the main inflation gauge in India, hit a 2012 high in March of 7.7 % before easing slightly to 7.6 % in May. Both Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings have threatened to cut India's credit rating from the lowest investment grade to junk.
(Sources: Business Standard, Reuter India, Hindustan Times, Moneycontrol)
Govt to promote IT SEZ in smaller towns
The government is likely to announce incentives to promote IT-related export hubs in small towns as part of its effort to woo back investors to special economic zones.
The commerce ministry is amending the rules for special economic zones (SEZs), which have become unattractive to investors following imposition of minimum alternative tax (MAT) and dividend distribution tax (DDT) in 2010-11. Earlier, SEZs were exempted from most levies.
After imposition of MAT and DDT, growth in exports from SEZs slowed to 15.4% in 2011-12, from 43.1% in 2010-11 and 121% in 2009-10.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Worldnews, Moneycontrol)
Steel imports jump 69% in April-May to 1.5 million tones
India's steel imports jumped by 69 % to 1.528 million tonnes in the first two months of the fiscal year and was possible only due to the firm demands from sectors like automobile, consumer durables and manufacturing. India's production for sale of total finished steel grew by only 4.4 % during the period, Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said in a recent note to the Steel Ministry.
(Sources: Business Standard, Indiatimes, Economic Times, IBNLive)
Tommy Hilfiger on expansion spree in India; other retailers entering the market through joint ventures
Tommy Hilfiger Arvind Fashion Pvt Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between the US premium lifestyle brand and Ahmedabad-based Arvind Ltd, will invest $ 10.75 million in 45 company-owned stores; a significant number of the stores will be opened through franchisees, according to a foreign investment application filed by the company.
Currently, Tommy Hilfiger operates 58 franchisee outlets and over 60 shop-in-shops in other department stores. The expansion will take Tommy Hilfiger's presence to 631 points of sale by 2016-17.
(Sources: Indiatimes, Economic Times, Yahoo, Worldnews)
Auto companies like Maruti Suzuki, General Motors and Toyota cut petrol car output
The effect of higher petrol prices is telling on the car industry. With consumers gradually shifting to diesel models, petrol variants are increasingly finding no takers in the market, forcing companies to shutdown their production.
Top companies are slashing petrol car output to align themselves to the new market reality and these include Maruti Suzuki, General Motors and Toyota. Maruti has already said that sales of its petrol cars are under pressure and are likely to fall by 50,000 units this fiscal.
(Sources: Bloomberg, Times of India, Economic Times, Business Today, Moneycontrol)
Honda launches Dream Yuga; eyes 18% market share this year
Japanese two-wheeler major Honda, which rolled out its second mass segment motorcycle Dream Yuga here today, said it is planning to take the bike to overseas markets towards year-end.
The company has currently two manufacturing facilities, at Manaesar in Haryana and Alwar in Rajasthan, with a combined capacity of 2.8 million scooters and bikes per annum.
Its third plant at Narsapuram in Karnataka with a 1.2 million capacity is expected to be up and running from the second half of the next year.
(Sources: Times of India, Economic Times, Business Today, Financial Express)
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