Indian SMEs bullish on economic growth: HSBC Survey
Mumbai: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India are optimistic about economic growth in the country, with almost 79 per cent expecting it to accelerate, says an HSBC Asia-Pacific Small Business Confidence Survey.

India emerged as the most optimistic country in the survey, which was conducted in nine countries in the Asia Pacific, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and China. Around 1,800 SMEs were surveyed in the first quarter of 2007.

The SMEs surveyed in India had an annual sales turnover of less than $11 million. While 36 per cent of Indian SMEs said they would make more investments in their business this year, 64 per cent said that they had no such plans.

Puneet Chaddha, Head, Commercial Banking, India HSBC, said: "SME investments were mainly for increasing capacity or hiring new talent. What is significant is that SMEs are not cutting down their production."

Chaddha expects SMEs in India to sustain a growth rate of 25-30 per cent this year. "The SME sector accounts for 50 per cent of the exports and is the second largest employment provider, next to agriculture," Chaddha said.
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Western business executives lack basic knowledge of Indian economy: Study
Bangalore: Western business executives would rather do business in India than its international competitors, but lack basic knowledge of the Indian economy and industry, according to a new international study by British Telecom.

In a startling revelation, the study reveals that more than half (55 per cent) of company board directors in the US, UK, France and Germany do not know the Indian currency unit. Ten per cent could not even give an example of India's main export or industry, and five per cent believe it is tea, even though more than six out of 10 (64 per cent) accept that emerging economies such as India will "reshape" the global business landscape.

The survey polled 800 directors of large American, British, French and German corporations to assess their knowledge about Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).

India ranked significantly higher in comfort level among BRICS economy to do business compared to China, while Russia ranked as the least comfortable.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents said it is "crucial" for their business to work with the economies of BRICS to succeed in the long term.

India was perceived by four out of ten (41 per cent) Western directors to be the most advanced in terms of technology support for business, followed by China with 29 per cent.
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Crude oil import dips in May, petroleum product exports up
New Delhi: The country's crude oil imports dipped in May, while exports of petroleum products, as well as domestic consumption of petroleum products, saw an upward movement when compared to April.

Indian refineries imported 10.35 million tonne (mt) crude oil in May, up 14.4 per cent from the same month last year, but down from 10.99 mt imported in April. The import of petroleum products in May stood at 1.48 mt up from 1.39 mt in the same month last year.

Rising domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand has led to higher imports by public sector undertakings, official sources said. The country's LPG imports in May shot up by 67.3 per cent, kerosene imports rose 153.2 per cent, and diesel 53.4 per cent.

Export of various oil products during the month was at 3.33 mt (from 2.71 mt in April) up from 2.11 mt during the same month last year. The reason for a boost in exports was due to commissioning of Essar Refinery. Two-third exports of petroleum products are from the private sector oil companies, according to official sources.

As per estimates, private oil company exports contributed 14.2 per cent of the total exports of the country against only 10.9 per cent in 2005-06.
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Cabinet decision allows Mittal to pick up 49% stake in Bhatinda refinery
New Delhi: Steel baron, LN Mittal, is all set to enter India's petroleum refinery sector, with the union cabinet giving its nod to a proposal which would allow the Mittal Group to pick up 49 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's, Guru Gobind Singh Refineries Ltd (GGSRL) at Bhatinda. This is a one-off exception to the rule of allowing only 26 per cent foreign direct investment in public sector refineries.

Under the current norms, 100 per cent FDI is permitted under the automatic route only for private refining companies.

The Petroleum Ministry has made a specific recommendation on which the exception has been granted.

HPCL and Mittal will contribute Rs3,506 crore each for 49 per cent equity, and balance 2 per cent equity, of Rs143 crore, will be taken by Indian financial institutions. The investment by Mittal Investment of Rs3,506 crore (or about five per cent of total FDI in 2006-07) is the largest FDI brought into the petroleum refining sector in collaboration with a PSU.

The project consists of a 9-million tonne per annum (MTPA) refinery, crude oil pipeline from Mundra to Bhatinda and crude oil terminal at Mundra. The project is to be made ready by September 2010.
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CCEA clears 14% hike in royalty on coal, lignite
New Delhi: Giving in to long-pending demand from coal-producing States, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved an increase in royalty rates on coal and lignite by an average 14 per cent.

The approval is likely to give coal-producing States a reasonable share of the income earned by production and selling of non-renewable mineral resources.

The rates as of August 2002 varied between 13 per cent and 20 per cent; these would now go up to 15 per cent and 31 per cent.

Speaking to newspersons after the CCEA meeting, Finance Minister Mr P. Chidambaram said: "The increase in revenue for the States, barring West Bengal, will be 24 per cent for coal and 27 per cent for lignite. The revenues of the coal-producing states would increase to Rs3,718 crore from Rs3,000 crore now."

The Finance Minister also said that since royalty on coal had not been revised since 2002, States had been seeking enhancement in the rates.

"It is contended by States that while coal companies have been revising the prices frequently and since the royalty rates are fixed on tonnage basis, the benefit of higher prices has not been shared with the producing States. Consequently, the share of royalty as a percentage of coal prices has declined."
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BrahMos weapon system inducted into the Army
Hyderabad: The first land-based supersonic BrahMos Weapon Complex System was inducted into the Indian Army on Thursday, after the first batch of the system was handed over to the Indian Army by the president, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, in New Delhi.

The Hyderabad-based, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), the prime production agency for the complex system, has developed the Mobile Command Post (MCP) and Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL).

In the BrahMos (Indo-Russian joint venture) missile project, ECIL and the Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, have been involved from the conceptual stage in the development of the prototype command, control, communications, computer and information systems (C4I), according to an ECIL release here.

Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai, Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace, has ensured the involvement of public and private sector industries from the initial stages with clearly defined roles and the project has been completed in a short span, the release said.

The BrahMos missile has been developed for the Indian Army to hit static targets, and is launched against a designated target with the aid of the C4I system, in which the MCP and MAL are key components.

The supersonic BrahMos missile, developed with the participation of Indian and Russian industry and research institutes, has undergone several user trials. Even its Naval version is expected to enter the inducting phase soon.
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