The interlocutory application filed on Tuesday made it clear that $4.20 per mmBtu price approved by the government for RIL's KG-D6 gas was without prejudice to the state-run firm's case seeking the fuel from the Mukesh Ambani-run company at $2.34 per mmBtu price committed in 2004.
Public sector major NTPC's follow-on public offer (FPO) managed to scrape through today, but raised questions about the state of the primary markets and the government's disinvestment programme.
The 11 units comprise two 660 MW units for the Damodar Valley Corporation and nine for the NTPC. The NTPC and DVC have already received the techno-economic clearance to buy Rs 21,000 crore worth of power equipment for their upcoming thermal power generation plants from the Central Electricity Authority. The equipment would be procured through the international competitive bidding route. The bidders should have a manufacturing base in India.
RIL is also fighting a case with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd in the Supreme Court on supply of 28 mmsmcd at the NTPC price to the Anil Ambani-owned company. Though Subramanium has said this case has no bearing on NTPC, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas' plea in the Supreme Court may have implications on price and utilisation of gas sales from RIL's D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Power Grid, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries and NTPC were the biggest gainers. Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Titan were among the laggards.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled higher on Thursday, powered by a rally in banking and power stocks amid a largely firm trend in global markets. The stock markets mostly traded range-bound in the absence of any major trigger and persistent foreign capital outflows, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 144.31 points, or 0.18 per cent, to settle at 81,611.41.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Sun Pharma, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, ITC, ICICI Bank, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, and HDFC Bank were among the biggest gainers. IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
India's second-largest passenger vehicles firm will be valued at Rs 1.59 trillion at the top-end of the price band of Rs 1,865-Rs 1,960.
From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, NTPC, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors were the biggest gainers. On the other hand, Tata Consultancy Services, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
Of the 17.99 mmcmd gas allocated to the power sector, gas supply pacts of only 2.67 mmcmd allocated to NTPC remained to be signed. NTPC's opposition has also delayed the GSPA for a separate 2.7 mmcmd allocated to the Dabhol power plant and the same is now slated to be signed next week.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, State Bank of India, NTPC, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro emerged as the biggest gainers. Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, IndusInd Bank and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.
From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers. In contrast, Tata Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
RIL has complained the to power ministry about NTPC's reluctance to sign an agreement to buy gas from it and said that the power PSU stands to lose Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion)on buying imported LNG.
The letter comes days after the government made it clear that the empowered Group of Ministers approved price of $4.2 per mmBtu for RIL's KG basin gas.
Benchmark Sensex declined over 45 points in highly volatile trade on Wednesday, tracking weak Asian markets and continuous foreign fund outflows. Declining for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 45.46 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 73,466.39. During the day, it went lower by 437.93 points or 0.59 per cent to 73,073.92.
The government holds 89.5 per cent stake in NTPC and it plans to dilute five per cent stake constituting 41.22 crore (412.2 million) shares through its proposed FPO.
In the face of oil minister's comment that Reliance Industries Ltd gas to NTPC could be given at a government-approved price, the state-owned power major on Saturday said it will continue to fight legally for the fuel's contracted price and seek power ministry's help.
From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, NTPC, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. Among the gainers, Hindustan Unilever climbed over 5 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Nestle, ITC, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other major gainers.
State-run power firm NTPC overstated its profits by Rs 938 crore (R 9.38 billion) in 2007-08, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in a report, but categorically stated that chances of Satyam like frauds in PSUs are very remote.
State-run NTPC has agreed to buy natural gas from Reliance Industries but is opposed to paying marketing margin to the private firm and wants to use the fuel at plants other than Kawas and Gandhar that were identified by the government.
ITC, State Bank of India, HCL Technologies and IndusInd Bank were the other big laggards. NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the gainers.
In a bid to diversify its product portfolio, National Thermal Power Corporation plans to enter into new areas like power distribution and electricity supply besides consolidating its presence in hydel power sector.
The Union Cabinet has cleared an initial public offer of 10 per cent of its equity in National Thermal Power Corporation to raise Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion), power secretary R V Shahi said on Thursday.
Power Grid was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 2.54 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv and HCL Technologies. In contrast, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and Titan were among the laggards.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty slumped over 1 per cent on Friday, tracking a weak trend in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows. Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 81,183.93.
Four major banks including State Bank of India and ICICI Bank have been appointed as the preferred banks for extending loans to employees of NTPC for investing in the power major's maiden public offer.
NTPC, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tech Mahindra were also among the major gainers. Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, Nestle, HDFC Bank and Maruti were among the laggards.
Around 90-100 people received burn injuries, and the condition of some of them was serious.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies hit a record high of Rs 429.32 lakh crore on Wednesday as the BSE benchmark Sensex ended higher amid a largely positive trend in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 149.98 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 76,606.57. During the day, it jumped 593.94 points or 0.77 per cent to 77,050.53.
NTPC raises new demands, while CIL is not willing to yield
With the government making a distinction between the privately-run Reliance Natural Resources Ltd and the government-run NTPC Ltd in relation with the gas dispute with Reliance Industries Ltd, the ministry of power is likely to take up NTPC's case with the Empowered Group of Ministers.
In a development that could deliver a setback to Reliance Industries, the Bombay high court on Monday allowed power PSU NTPC to amend its petition, seeking implementation of a gas supply agreement.
From the Sensex basket, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, and Maruti were the major gainers. Nestle, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC, and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
From the Sensex basket, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers. Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Reliance Industries and Titan were among the laggards.
Reliance Group-owned power distribution companies in Delhi on Thursday approached the Supreme Court against NTPC's notice threatening to cut off power supply for not clearing outstanding dues.
The crisis-riden CWG has received a further jolt with two power PSUs, NTPC and PowerGrid, deciding to hold back their Rs 40 crore sponsorship money out of a combined committed sum of Rs 60 crore for the event.
Asian Paints, JSW Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the laggards. In contrast, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Infosys and HCL Tech were the gainers.
NTPC, which currently generates over 43,000 MW, aims to add 14,000 MW capacity by 2017.
M&M was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 5.97 per cent, followed by JSW Steel, Ultra Cement, Kotak Bank, ITC and NTPC. Reliance Industries gained 0.73 per cent to close at Rs 2,871 apiece. In contrast, TCS, HCL Tech, HUL, Nestle Industries, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro and Infosys were among the losers.
India's largest power generation company National Thermal Power Corporation on Tuesday embarked upon a major overseas fund raising exercise and decided to establish medium term note programme of $1 billion.
