Reliance plans to shut two-third of its 1,400 petrol pumps in the country by next month as it is unable to match the fuel price offered by state-run retailers, who get compensated by the government for selling fuel below the cost. Reliance and Essar make huge losses on selling petrol and diesel at prices higher than Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. On an average, fuel at private outlets is costlier by Rs 4 to 5 a litre than the PSU pumps.
The Ruias have received overwhelming response from international banks for funding of their proposed bid to pick up Hutchison's 67 per cent equity stake in Hutchison-Essar Ltd, in which they hold the remaining stake.
A landmark court challenge by Vodafone against Indian tax authorities, which want it to pay an estimated $2bn in taxes on its acquisition of Hutchison Essar, has been adjourned for three months. The Bombay high court delayed the hearing until June 23. It is a case that has potential implications for mergers and acquisitions of Indian assets by foreign companies. The court said it wanted to allow time for changes to tax laws to come into force.
Vodafone, which has equity interests in 25 countries besides India where it bought controlling stake in Hutchison Essar early this year, said its capital expenditure on fixed assets this fiscal would be around 4.7-5.1 billion.
Sources said one would have to reinforce the building foundation to adjust the weight of helipad and helicopter if helibase is built on rooftop with concrete.
Buoyant stock markets and booming telecom sector appear to have generated some interest among global equity players with Blackstone and Texas Pacific approaching Hutchison to buy stake in its India venture but the move could face hurdles.
In November they had raised $2.19 billion from abroad, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.
The total admitted claim of financial creditors of these 88 companies stood at Rs 1.3 trillion, of which they recovered Rs 65,635 crore.
The Income Tax deparment has sent a notice to Vodafone, seeking around $1.7 billion in capital gains tax related to the sale of Hutchison Telecom International Ltd's 67 per cent stake in Hutch-Essar, now renamed Vodafone-Essar.
Finance ministry is understood to have reservations on the ownership of minority stakeholders in Hutchison-Essar and is likely to raise the issue at the FIPB meeting.
Seeks capital gains tax payment prior to FIPB clearance.
BPCL's impending privatisation and RIL's stake sale to Saudi Aramco raise questions about the future of the West Coast Refinery, once touted as the world's largest.
The income tax (I-T) department in Mumbai has requested Vodafone to make an application to the assessing officer for determining the exact tax liability resulting from buying out 62 per cent equity stake from Hutchison in Hutchison Essar Ltd.
Ahead of Thursday's Foreign Investment Promotion Council meeting that would take up sale of stake in Hutch-Essar to Vodafone, the UK company's director Mathew Kirk met telecom secretary Dinesh Mathur on Wednesday.
Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications has entered into an agreement with GSM service providers Hutchison-Essar and the Aditya Birla-controlled Idea Cellular to share passive infrastructure for cell sites.
Bad loans continue to originate mainly from state-owned banks, where the top management's responsibility is not linked to career prospects nor has legal consequences, says Debashis Basu.
The government, however, amended the tax laws with retrospective effect to undo the Supreme Court judgement and claim taxes.
Egyptian telecom firm Orascom's CEO Naguib Sawiris has resigned from the board of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom, days before its shareholders are scheduled to consider the sale of its stake in Indian mobile venture Hutch-Essar to Vodafone.
UK's Vodafone is learnt to have approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for approval to acquire 52 per cent stake of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom in mobile firm Hutch-Essar and also for investing in telecom activities.
The Essar group firm is in talks with 7-10 companies for a "strategic fit", as it races to become a $500 million company by 2010. In some of these cases the due diligence process is in progress. Aegis is looking at firms in the US, South America and the Philippines.
The Essar group-owned company's agreement with the Bangalore-based BPL group, which owns the brand through its flagship firm, had expired on March this year.
Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who engineered the acquisition of Hutch-Essar in India, has accused unsuccessful rival bidders of trying to derail the deal and sought transparency from Indian regulators in M&A approvals.
Steel companies have reduced flat product prices by Rs 500-1,000 a tonne across categories in keeping with market conditions.
Of BSE 500 companies, promoters of 142 companies have pledged their holding.
Hutchison Telecom International Ltd is believed to have called a meeting of shareholders on February 15 to seek their approval for the proposed sale of its 67 per cent stake in India's Hutch-Essar.
For long, the Gujarat government has been hard-selling the sea of business opportunities that its 1,600-km long coastline offers.
Petrol and diesel are among the 90-plus commodities that have been approved by the government for derivatives trading
Essar Group's Shashi and Ravi Ruia are the only new entrants in the list of the 10 richest Indians compiled by Forbes, while banker Uday Kotak jumped the most number of places among the top 40 billionaires. The Ruias jumped five places to the 7th position with a net worth of $12 billion, while Kotak with $4.6 billion hopped 11 positions to the 16th rank.
The UK on Tuesday assured complete government neutrality on Tata Steel's bid to acquire Corus and sought similar treatment for British telecom firm Vodafone in its bid to acquire mobile venture Hutchison-Essar.
The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company Reliance Communications, which is in the process of bidding for Hutch-Essar, is planning to list its undersea cable business unit Flag Telecom in London to raise over $500 million.
British telecom giant Vodafone could face a downgrade in its credit rating by Standard and Poor's if its proposed bid for Hutchison Essar Ltd exceeds $19 billion, a media report said in London.
Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin on Wednesday discussions with Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who asked the UK telecom giant to follow best commercial practices in its bid to acquire Hutch-Essar.
Ahead of his scheduled meeting with Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who is bidding for Hutch-Essar, Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said the government wanted good companies to enter the country.
Hutchison Telecom is expected to complete the sale of its 67 per cent stake in the country's fourth largest telecom company, Hutchison Essar, before the Chinese New Year holiday, which begins February 17.
A consortium of bankers that will fund the Ruias' bid for Hutchison's 67 per cent equity stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd will begin "due diligence" on the company in the next few days
Reliance Communications, which is eyeing to acquire the country's fourth-largest mobile firm Hutch Essar, said on Wednesday it plans to raise funds through issue of securities in the international market.
Singapore Telecom is believed to have sought the removal of Vodafone representatives from the board of Bharti Airtel, following the British telecom major's bid to acquire a majority stake in Hutchison Essar.
British telecom giant Vodafone's plans to acquire India's fourth-largest mobile operator Hutch-Essar has received mixed reactions from some of its key shareholders.
The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd plans to rope in oil companies like Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Industries Ltd to boost Brent crude futures trading on the bourse.
