With an eye to beef up bilateral trade to $10-billion by 2010 from the present $4.6-billion with India, the Italian government has launched a ‘Go India’ fund to aid the country’s SMEs to invest in India. The proposed Euro 300-million fund will focus on sectors like film, biotech, logistics, infrastructure, chemicals and pharma. The Italian Trade commission is also stepping up presence in a big way across the country and will add three new centres including one in Kolkata by September this year. Speaking at an Indo-Italian business meet organised by Ficci in the city, Italy’s minister of international trade Ms Emma Bonino said: “ The ‘Go India’ fund is the first such initiative undertaken by our government. We have identified India as a focus country for doing business in calender 2007. A 400-strong business delegation is in Kolkata during February 12-13 and will visit Mumbai and Delhi subsequently. Italian SMEs with turnover of less than Euro 250-million will only be eligible to use this fund for expanding their business in India.” Elaborating, she said: “The fund is a fully-integrated financial scheme comprising of funding facilities, finance for feasibility studies, insurance and advisory services for Italian SMEs keen to invest in India. It will provide medium/long-term financing, equity participation in Indian companies and insurance coverage of investment in India.” A 10 million Euro fund has been earmarked exclsuvely for market support and promotion of the SMEs. The fund has been launched by seven Italian banks under the apex bank organisation ABI, and two other financial institutions, SIMEST and SACE, which are dedicated to support and promote activities of Italian companies abroad. SIMEST is authorised to acquire up to 25% equity capital of foreign firms in countries outside EU. While SACE is an insurance company supporting Italian business throughout the world. “There is an option to enlarge the fund platform with both new funds and entrance of new sponsor banks. Based on the success, we may also replicate the exercise in other foreign markets. This fund will play a vital role to increase the presence of Italian companies in India,” Ms Bonino said. Italy also plans to increase economic ties with India in sectors like tourism, IT, pharma, textile, food processing and infrastructure.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Switzerland hopes for India trade pact
Switzerland hopes that the draft of the comprehensive economic agreement with India would be ready by this November. Besides Switzerland, Norway and Iceland have also evinced interest in this agreement. A joint-study group(JSG) to examine the feasibility of the agreement was set up in December 2006 Speaking to the media, Mr Dominique Dreyer, the Swiss ambassador to India said that the land-locked nation was keen to expand trade not just in new economy sectors like IT and biotech but even in areas like textile machinery. “Indo-Swiss trade has already crossed the $ 2 billion mark and there is room for growth. We are keen that Indian companies use Switzerland as an entry point to Europe,” he added. Deals like the Holcim investment indicates the level of interest that Swiss companies are evincing in India. Switzerland already ranks among the top 10 international investing nations here, he said. In 2005 while imports from Switzerland grew by 36% year on year, Indian exports witnessed a 12% growth. Incidentally 2007 will mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic/trade relationship between Switzerland and India, said Ms Monika Ruhl Burzi, head of bilateral economic relations of the Berne-based State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. Ms Burzi said that given India’s growing prominence in the global textile industry many Swiss textile machinery makers are keen to expand their foot-print. She said that Switzerland had also a very strong Bollywood connection thanks to movies like ‘Dilwale Dhulaniya le Janage’ which was shot in 1995.
India, Russia, China to meet to boost trilateral ties
The foreign ministers of India, Russia and China were meeting Wednesday in the Indian capital in a bid to strengthen relations and to explore cooperation on issues such as counterterrorism and energy security, Indian officials said. The meeting between India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and their Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing is part of efforts by the three countries to forge a trilateral forum to work more closely on regional security issues, the officials said. "This will be the second stand-alone meeting of its kind," said Navtej Sarna, external affairs ministry spokesman. The foreign ministers of the three countries last met in Vladivostok, Russia, in June 2005 and have held at least four meetings on the sidelines of other international meetings. The situation in Iraq, this week's breakthrough in dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program and Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts were also likely to be discussed, news reports said. The India-Russia-China meetings have fueled speculation that the consultations are aimed at forming an alliance to counter the influence of the United States in the region. However, the three countries have vehemently denied that they are forming a coalition against American dominance in international affairs. Energy security was likely to figure prominently at Wednesday's talks with energy-starved India and China eyeing Russia's rich oil and gas reserves, analysts said. "Energy cooperation would be a big ticket item on the talks agenda," said C Uday Bhaskar of the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence and Strategic Analyses. The three-way consultations between the Asian powers were first proposed by Russia in 1996, and past meetings have focussed on issues such as global terrorism, drug trafficking and energy security. Russia has become increasingly assertive on the world stage under Vladimir Putin, who has presided over oil-fueled economic growth that has restored confidence and a measure of the clout it lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. US officials have accused Russia of using its energy wealth as a political weapon. Europe has recently seen its oil and gas supplies disrupted by disputes between Russia which provides one quarter of its natural gas and transit nations, through which supplies pass on their way to Germany, Poland and other countries.
Liberty International
Financial daily City AM said Cinven, advised by Goldman Sachs, has for three months been eyeing a bid to take the FTSE 100 company private. Wolseley shares gained nearly 7 pct or 84 pence to 1,396. In earnings news, Liberty International, which converted to a real estate investment trust (REIT) on Jan 1, took on 4 pence to 1,294 after posting a rise in full-year net asset value and pretax profit, and said it is well placed to prosper on the strength of its underlying business. Merrill Lynch said the adjusted NAV of 1,327p came in below its flagged 1,395p, adding it was "expecting a better uplift" at its Covent Garden and Manchester Arndale sites. Nevertheless, the broker reiterated its 'buy' advice and said it thinks the outlook for UK regional shopping centre market remains positive. In broker-driven news, Barclays gained 5 to 780 after UBS reiterated its 'buy' advice on the stock and hiked the price target to 900 pence from 825 ahead of the bank's full-year results due next Tuesday. UBS pointed out to clients that the bank indicated with its November trading statement that it remained comfortable with the market's 22 pct EPS growth forecast for 2006. Meanwhile, high street fashion retailer Next took on 20 to 2,044 after UBS hiked its price target for the group to 2,350 pence from 2,150 as the broker sees an improvement in the content of the group's recovery plan. Centrica added 1 to 366-1/4 after Lehman Brothers raised its target to 320 pence from 275 with an unchanged rating of 'underweight'. On the downside, BSkyB slipped 2-1/2 to 558 after Teather & Greenwood downgraded its stance to 'reduce' from 'buy' to reflect continual long term investment in its network and operations. Drax was also lower, off 15 at 658 after Credit Suisse reiterated its 'underperform' rating and 690 pence price target saying forward sales will not only will be hit by lower gas and carbon prices but also higher coal prices. Cadbury Schweppes slipped 11 to 560 after news Morgan Stanley cut forecasts on the confectionary giant added to ongoing jitters over the group's recent series of product recalls. The broker also lowered its 2006 and 2007 estimates to account for an expected hit from foreign exchange, and nagging problems in Nigeria.
LONDON
London shares ease in early deals; oils weigh, offsetting Reed Elsevier, Diageo Leading shares slipped lower in early deals as weakness in the oil & gas sector offset stellar performances from Reed Elsevier following plans to sell its struggling education operations and Diageo on the back of its raised guidance, dealers said. At 9.10 am, the FTSE 100 index was 8.3 points lower at 6,412.9, after breaching the 6,400 point level in afternoon trade yesterday to close up 39.4 points at 6,421.2. But the broader indices were marginally higher. Volume was relatively light, with 209.0 mln shares changing hands in 39,830 deals. In the US overnight, the Dow Jones industrials set new highs when stocks extended their gains for a second day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a Senate panel the economy should grow modestly this year and that he expects inflation will continue to ease. The Dow Jones closed 87.10 points higher at 12,741.90, while the Nasdaq Composite added 28.50 points at 2,488.38 and the S&P 500 index took on 11.05 points at 1,455.30. Meanwhile, Asian markets were in a jubilant mood this morning, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closing up 144.59 points at 17,897.23 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ending 92.54 points higher at 3,142.94 ahead of the Chinese New Yearcelebrations this weekend. Still in Asia, oil prices were little changed following last night's decline, sparked by a report showing higher-than-expected US stockpiles of heating fuel. Earlier this morning, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was up three cents at 58.03 usd per barrel after falling 1.06 usd to 58.00 in late US trades overnight. Brent North Sea crude for April rose six cents to 57.49 usd. In London, Reed Elsevier led the risers, taking on 5.7 pct, or 34-1/2 pence at 639, after the Anglo-Dutch publisher announced plans to sell its under-performing education division and return the proceeds to shareholders, overshadowing slightly dull sales figures for the full-year. Reed, which counts the Lancet medical journal and New Scientist magazine among its 15,000-plus publications, said adjusted pretax profit rose 5 pct to 1.02 bln stg on revenue up 4 pct to 5.39 bln. Peers Pearson, Reuters and WPP Group followed suit, gaining 9-1/2 pence at 826, 2-1/2 pence at 429-1/2 and 5-1/2 pence at 756-1/2, respectively. Meanwhile, Diageo was close on Reed's heels, up 36 pence at 1,057 -- a climb of almost 3.6 pct, as the world's largest alcoholic drinks producer reported organic operating profit growth of 8 pct in the first half and raised its full-year guidance to 8 pct organic operating profit growth.
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