3 june 2000

abn amro restructures its financial services along global lines
mumbai: in keeping with the its global restructuring into three strategic business units, abn amro’s different financial services arms in india are redefining their operations.

the bank currently has four outfits offering financial services -- abn amro asia equities — an equity brokerage, abn amro securities — a primary dealer, abn amro corporate finance and abn amro leaseplan which is into vehicle fleet management for corporates. it is understood that while these entities will remain separate for regulatory purposes, they will function under three principal client segments — wholesale, retail and private clients & asset management. previously the various business functions were demarcated geographically.

besides taiwan and thailand, the parent has singled out india as one of it strongest retail operations in asia and plans to intensify its investments in the retail area in these countries. plans are afoot to launch personal loan products, mortgages and credit cards soon. abn amro is also awaiting clearance from sebi to set up its asset management company which will offer a mix of debt and equity funds.

abn amro in india already has a base of 2.2 lakh retail customers and the retail business which currently accounts for 20 per cent of its total income, received a shot in the arm after it took over bank of america’s retail operations last year. retail banking is expected to account for 30 per cent of total business within the next two years.

re loses further ground, closes at 44.62/63
mumbai: sustained demand from importers and corporates saw the rupee fell further on friday against the dollar closing at 44.62/63 as against thursday's close of 44.56/57.

with the state bank of india, a major player in the currency market, keeping out of the market, the rupee, which opened the day at 44.57/58, fell to a low of 44.66/67 in the morning. further, with the reserve bank of india not indicating any particular level for the currency, importers are panicking and covering for several months together.

the forward premium also increased due to the new low touched by the rupee. the six-month annualised forward premium closed at 2.7 per cent as against yesterday's close of 2.5 per cent, an increase of 3.5 paise. the 12-month premium went up by six paise to 2.9 per cent as compared to 2.75 per cent yesterday.

1 june 2000

rupee continues to slide
mumbai: the rupee continued its downward slide on the back of dollar demand from small corporates, after touching an intra-day high of 44.52 in morning deals.

the market opened on a positive note with dealers hoping that exporters would come in and sell their dollars. but exporters thought otherwise, and held back, hoping for a greater fall. futher, with the stock markets looking up, there was also the hope that the fiis’ would be bringing in more funds.

in the forward segment, heavy receiving by banks across all maturities led premiums to end lower. the six-month forward annualised premium ended the day at 2.49 per cent (55/56 paise) against its previous close of 2.63 per cent while the 12-month premium ended at 2.72 per cent (120/122 paise), down from tuesday’s close of 2.82 per cent.

finally, fema replaces fera
new delhi: the draconian foreign exchange regulation act (fera), which played havoc for many decades, will soon lapse into history, bringing relief to the corporate world.

enacted in 1973 in the backdrop of acute shortage of foreign exchange in the country, fera had a controversial run for 27 years during which many big names in the indian corporate world found themselves at the receiving end in the hands of the enforcement directorate.

the new enactment promulgated by parliament, the foreign exchange management act (fema), will replace fera. the enactment is more forward looking and is said to be more compatible with the pro-liberalisation policies. the most significant change brought in by fema is that forex law violators would no longer be treated as criminals but as civil offenders.

the cases already under fera purview would have to be settled within a time period of two years, that is may 31, 2001, beyond which it would lapse. however, if the fera cases were in court, it would end with the verdict given by the judicial officer.

there are around 4,000 cases which are before the courts under fera and another 3,000, in which investigation is almost complete and the same ready for filing before the competent courts according to the enforcement directorate chief.

fema has been welcomed by the industrial chambers with assocham saying that the introduction of the new law was a in tune with economic liberalisation which has proved beyond doubt that stringent laws of the early seventies need to be done away with.

amex to co-brand its cards with mtnl and indian airlines
new delhi: in an ever-growing credit card market in the country, the world’s largest credit card company, american express, has decided to pursue an aggressive strategy of launching cobranded credit cards in a bid to step up its presence in india.

it has recently entered into co-branding tieups with mtnl and indian airlines and is said to be planning similar arrangements across the hospitality, utilities and financial services sectors. the card company is looking at exclusive and non-exclusive tie-ups in its attempt to beat competition. in doing so, it is following the strategy adopted by the company abroad, where amex has several co-branded products.

according to industry estimates, about 3.8 million credit cards have been issued in india and credit card billing in the country is around $1.5 billion. it is estimated that amex’s credit card business in india had grown by 50 per cent in 1999 both in terms of new credit cards well as billings and the company aims to keep up this growth rate

idfc set to fund telecom acquisitions
chennai: with increasing consolidation in the telecommunications industry, the infrastructure development finance co ltd (idfc) has identified acquisition financing as a new financing avenue for the next few years.

this would result in consolidation of operations in cellular services in the country. according to mr. nasser munjee, managing director of idfc, the funding of acquisitions in this areas would only help further investments in the sector.

during 1999-2000, idfc approved assistance for acquisition of cellular licensees operating in two circles and one metro for such players as bharti televentures ltd, bpl mobile communications ltd and bpl cellular holdings ltd.

mr. munjee said that telecom projects were taking off mainly because there was clarity in policy. and if long distance telephony was opened up, there would be more investments in the sector.

idfc also plans to set up a policy group on integrated transport logistics, besides funding internet backbone projects.

31 may 2000

re down 8p, ends at 44.56 to dollar
mumbai: the rupee lost eight paise to the dollar to close at 44.56/57, on continued demand from importers and an oil company.

the rupee opened the day on a weak note at 44.49/51 and was quoting at 44.54/56 in early trades. there was sustained importer demand for dollars through the day. however, state bank of india sold dollars later in the day which helped check the rupee’s fall.

in the forwards segment, premium ended lower on the back of receiving (buy-sell swaps) by banks. the six-month premium ended at 2.63 per cent (2.79 per cent), while the 12-month premium ended at 2.82 per cent (2.98 per cent).

30 may 2000

rupee pushed to a new low
mumbai: large dollar purchases reportedly made by hindalco, india’s largest aluminium company, knocked 12 paise off the rupee on monday, to end the day at a new low of 44.49/4950 against last friday’s close of 44.37/38. hindalco is said to have purchased nearly $150 million to pay alcan of canada for the 54.6 per cent stake it recently bought in the calcutta based indal.

however, the company denied any such large scale purchases stating that it had a very strong export earner’s foreign currency account. company officials dismissed it as rumours being generated by the market to speculate on the rupee.

dealers expect the rupee to settle in the 44.10-44.40 range by next week when month-end dollar demand from importers drops. they also feel that with stock market bottoming out, foreign funds might bring in money once again to pick up value stocks.

in the forwards segment, there was a mix of receiving (buy-sell swaps) by banks and paying (sell-buy swaps) by a section of importers. the six-month forward annualised premium ended at 2.79 per cent against last friday’s 2.88 per cent, while the 12-month premium ended at 2.98 per cent (2.96 per cent).

29 may 2000

accounting body, icai, to make business segment disclosure mandatory
new delhi: with more and more companies looking westwards for funds and overseas listing, the country’s leading accounting body, the institute of chartered accountants of india (icai), has made it mandatory for corporates to furnish detailed information on each business segment, including countrywise financial breakup, along with the balance sheet.

this is being done in a bid to bring domestic accounting and disclosure standards on par with international norms, the new guidelines will come into effect from accounting year beginning april 1, 2001. this reporting has been made mandatory for all listed companies and all non-listed corporates with a turnover of over rs 50 crore per annum.

the move to bring domestic accounting and disclosure standards on par with international norms is because segment reporting is mandatory under the us gaap and international accounting standard (ias).

icai’s accounting standard (as) board recently approved the new norms. as per the segment reporting provisions, a corporate with revenues from different countries and different segments will have to give details of business generated in each of the segments from each country.

the application of segment reporting will make accounts and disclosures more transparent, and the accounting information more purposeful for the user. such information would help better understand the performance of the enterprise, better assess its risks and returns, and help make a more informed judgement about it as a whole.
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