The company plans to offer end-to-end logistics solutions where it has custodial charge of the cargo. Till the back-end warehouse infrastructure is ready at the airline's national hub in Nagpur, Gopinath's freighters will fly the Dubai-Mumbai-Delhi-Hong Kong route, offering dedicated cargo space to freight forwarders and serve anyone who wants to move international freight to these cities for time-definite delivery.
"This is for the first time that a manufacturer will charge for an application form. However, it will be refunded if an application is rejected," said a senior bank executive. Bookings are expected to start by the last week of March. The forms will be collected through various channels. "All the forms and the collected money will be transferred to SBI, where they will be processed, and loans will be given through various banks within 90 days," said a source.
Falling sales at home have failed to douse the company's zeal to grow abroad.
The prices of construction steel have come down nearly 37 per cent. The price of bitumen has come down by 22 per cent since mid-November, while diesel and cement prices have come down by 10 per cent. GMR infrastructure CFO A Subba Rao estimates that construction costs have come down by 20 per cent. Construction costs account for 70-75 per cent of the project costs; the other significant variable being interest costs.
Companies are trying to clean up their balance-sheets and make provisions for forex losses as they think the disclosures will not have a major bearing on their valuations, which are already down.
To take up debt restructuring of cash-strapped retailer.
Public sector banks could see higher pressure on their net interest margins in the coming months as they have mopped up large amounts of deposits at higher rates and have also effected steep cuts in lending rates between November 2008 and January 2009.
Most have pledged their shares as collateral to raise working capital or a term loan, to increase their holding or to fund an acquisition as a multinational had done to buy an Indian company. Companies are rushing to make disclosures on pledging of shares by their promoters after Sebi made it mandatory. Promoters have to disclose details of pledged shares if the same exceeds 25,000 shares in a quarter or 1 per cent of the total shareholding or voting rights of the company.
Public sector banks are increasingly looking at promoter funding as a business opportunity when others are shying away from it.
Jaybharat Textiles & Real Estate, a textile company that forayed into real estate three years back, today has a market capitalisation higher than Grasim Industries or Tata Motors.
The study conducted at select bank branches in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu has found that the lack of financial literacy was the main reason behind the non-operative accounts. Other aspects like distance from branches also had their share in influencing the degree of usage.
These will be business and mid-market hotels that will sport brands such as Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton (a long stay product). India is the second most important market for Hilton in Asia-Pacific after China, and accounts for 17 per cent of the 300-odd new hotels it plans to add in the region by 2017. It also expects India to account for 15-20 per cent of its revenues in the Asia-Pacific region by 2015.
Banks led by State Bank of India are set to lower deposit rates by over 50 basis points by the middle of the month, followed by a reduction in lending rates.
Banks and financial institutions are seeking more flexibility in dealing with commercial and industrial loan accounts, which are seeing pressure due to cash flows and repayment.
Cash-strapped real estate firms are resorting to short-term borrowings of funds to complete ongoing projects as the economic slowdown has virtually halted demand for properties, freezing cash flows.
Gone are the days when banks would treat payment delays as part of life. Instead, they are taking measures to minimise chances of any kind of payment default by doing rigorous background checks.
AMCs can invest $7 billion abroad, and $300 million per AMC, but investments are way below these levels. Most equity schemes can invest 35 per cent of their assets abroad and there are schemes that invest only in overseas equity. What's holding them back is that they are not very sure if they can buy these bonds.
Asks lenders to make sure that end use of advances to commercial real estate.
The slowdown coincides with rising loan defaults by retail customers and small enterprises, which have been hit by a steep rise in lending rates. The resource scarcity has changed the priority of investors. They want to remain liquid and not commit their funds to the long term.
Bankers expect RBI to drop rates though there may not be any increase in aggregate liquidity as banks are parking surplus funds with the central bank. Some sectors like the small and medium enterprises, real estate have not been getting adequate funds and RBI may extend a refinance line or special facility whereby they can borrow at a subsidised rate.