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Mohan says RBI mulling exclusive access to PDs at Gilt auction
Dubai, Mar: Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan today said the central bank was considering exclusive access to primary dealers for bidding at government bond auctions. He said the Real Time Gross Settlement of Gilts will go live in `coming days or weeks.`
Dubai, Mar: Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan today said the central bank was considering exclusive access to primary dealers for bidding at government bond auctions. He said the Real Time Gross Settlement of Gilts will go live in "coming days or weeks."
Mohan was addressing the annual conference of the Fixed Income Money Market
and Derivatives Association of India here.
"PDs have been wanting exclusivity in bidding at auction of government securities. That is under consideration," Mohan said.
However, Mohan said if primary dealers get priority at bond auctions, they will have to assume greater role and responsibility in market making.
Mohan also said that the RBI has been conducting several trial runs before starting the RTGS live since it is very conscious about the risk and efficiency.
"RTGS is critically poised to go live, will make announcements in coming days, may be weeks." Mohan said. Mohan said he expects a significant fall in the government's market borrowing.
With the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, the government is mandated to wipe out the revenue deficit in five years. The fiscal deficit will also come down significantly along with the market borrowing, he said.
"We are hoping that there will be a new era of declining government market borrowing programme," he said. The market will have to prepare for shrinking of the government's market borrowing, Mohan said, adding, that presently banks' investments in government and other approved securities is around 38-40% to total liabilities. This is well above 25% mandated as Statutory Liquidity Ratio, he said.
"Banks have to think what they would do when G-sec issues decline. How will they use their funds," he said. Mohan said he expects investors to turn to corporate bonds as a result of fall in government bonds issues. He also said there will be a good chance of resurgence in initial public offerings by companies.
State-run oil cos may buy 6.3 mln tonnes Reliance pdts in 04-05
New Delhi, Mar 20: State-run oil companies owning marketing networks may buy 6.3 million tonnes of oil products from Reliance Industries Ltd. in 2004-05 (April-March), as against 11.3 million tonnes bought a year ago, a petroleum ministry official said. The off-take volume is lower as the state-run companies have expanded their own refining capacities. "Officials from the oil companies and Reliance will have a final meeting on
Monday to seal the product off-take agreement for 2004-05," the official said. There was a meeting earlier in the day today between senior officials of the petroleum ministry, oil companies, and Reliance to broadly arrive at the off-take volume.
If an agreement is arrived at, it will end months of negotiations between Reliance and the marketing companies, as the latter wanted to lower the off-take volume.
Of the total, oil companies will probably buy 3.7 million tonnes of diesel, 2.4 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas, and the remaining will be petrol and kerosene.
Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., which has the largest marketing network in the country, will buy about 50% of the commitment volume from Reliance while Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. will buy 25% each.
In 2003-04, the oil companies had bought 6.2 million tonnes of diesel alone and another 2.2 million tonnes of LPG while the rest was kerosene and petrol.
With the lowered offtake, Reliance Industries Ltd., which completed expanding its refinery capacity to 33 million tonnes per year in December, will be forced to export a larger volume of oil products.
Reliance exported 8.5 million tonnes of oil products in 2003-04. Reliance has a product off-take agreement with oil marketing companies because it still in the process of setting up its own marketing network. The company has said it will set up 300 retail outlets by April.
India's annual oil product sale is about 90-95 million tonnes. In April-February, the first eleven months of 2003-04, oil product sales have touched 83.7 million tonnes against 82.7 million tonnes a year ago.
Bureau Report Jaiprakash Ind to be replaced by Rane Engine in S&P CNX 500 (F&M) Mumbai, Mar. 20 (India Financial Wire) - Jaiprakash Industries to be replaced by Rane Engine Valves in the S&P CNX 500 Index from Monday (Mar. 22) as trading in shares of Jaiprakash Industries will be suspended, a release from the National Stock Exchange said.
Trading in Jaiprakash Industries will be suspended due to amalgamation of the company with Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (formerly known as Jaypee cement Ltd). In terms of the scheme of amalgamation, the shareholders of erstwhile Jaiprakash Industries Ltd. would be allotted one equity share of 10 rupees at par in Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. for each equity share held by them in Jaiprakash Industries Ltd. The company has fixed March 30, 2004 as Record Date for the said purpose. Bureau Report
US Helicopters, Afghan Troops Repel Taliban Attack Afghanistan, Mar 20: US helicopter gunships and Afghan troops repelled a Taliban attack near the eastern border with Pakistan, killing three suspected Taliban, an Afghan security official said today.
The attack occurred in the Bermal district of Paktika province, across the border from a massive ongoing Pakistani offensive against al-Qaida in that country's South Wazirstan tribal area. Zakim Khan, Paktika province intelligence chief and an Afghan militia commander, said suspected Taliban attacked Afghan checkpoints with rockets Friday night. Afghan troops responded with AK-47 fire, Khan said. US forces with Afghans brought in helicopter gunships, firing upon the attacker position, he said.
Four hours of fighting left three Taliban dead and eight injured, with no casualties among the Afghan soldiers or Americans, Khan said.
Khan said he believed the attack came from Pakistan, but gave no details. Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, the capital, said he had no immediate information on any firefight.
Bermal district is 150 miles south of Kabul, in a province in which the Afghan government has had little security presence.
US special operations forces and others are there in a stepped-up campaign to capture Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives hiding in the mountains there, and to close escape routes from hide-outs across the border in Pakistan.
On March 5, US special operations snipers killed nine alleged Taliban in the area after 30 to 40 of the fighters allegedly tried to flank a U.S.-Afghan position, the US military said.
Bureau Report This will also lead to corresponding increase in debt issuance by companies, he said.
Bureau Report
"PDs have been wanting exclusivity in bidding at auction of government securities. That is under consideration," Mohan said.
However, Mohan said if primary dealers get priority at bond auctions, they will have to assume greater role and responsibility in market making.
Mohan also said that the RBI has been conducting several trial runs before starting the RTGS live since it is very conscious about the risk and efficiency.
"RTGS is critically poised to go live, will make announcements in coming days, may be weeks." Mohan said. Mohan said he expects a significant fall in the government's market borrowing.
With the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, the government is mandated to wipe out the revenue deficit in five years. The fiscal deficit will also come down significantly along with the market borrowing, he said.
"We are hoping that there will be a new era of declining government market borrowing programme," he said. The market will have to prepare for shrinking of the government's market borrowing, Mohan said, adding, that presently banks' investments in government and other approved securities is around 38-40% to total liabilities. This is well above 25% mandated as Statutory Liquidity Ratio, he said.
"Banks have to think what they would do when G-sec issues decline. How will they use their funds," he said. Mohan said he expects investors to turn to corporate bonds as a result of fall in government bonds issues. He also said there will be a good chance of resurgence in initial public offerings by companies.
State-run oil cos may buy 6.3 mln tonnes Reliance pdts in 04-05
New Delhi, Mar 20: State-run oil companies owning marketing networks may buy 6.3 million tonnes of oil products from Reliance Industries Ltd. in 2004-05 (April-March), as against 11.3 million tonnes bought a year ago, a petroleum ministry official said. The off-take volume is lower as the state-run companies have expanded their own refining capacities. "Officials from the oil companies and Reliance will have a final meeting on
Monday to seal the product off-take agreement for 2004-05," the official said. There was a meeting earlier in the day today between senior officials of the petroleum ministry, oil companies, and Reliance to broadly arrive at the off-take volume.
If an agreement is arrived at, it will end months of negotiations between Reliance and the marketing companies, as the latter wanted to lower the off-take volume.
Of the total, oil companies will probably buy 3.7 million tonnes of diesel, 2.4 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas, and the remaining will be petrol and kerosene.
Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., which has the largest marketing network in the country, will buy about 50% of the commitment volume from Reliance while Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. will buy 25% each.
In 2003-04, the oil companies had bought 6.2 million tonnes of diesel alone and another 2.2 million tonnes of LPG while the rest was kerosene and petrol.
With the lowered offtake, Reliance Industries Ltd., which completed expanding its refinery capacity to 33 million tonnes per year in December, will be forced to export a larger volume of oil products.
Reliance exported 8.5 million tonnes of oil products in 2003-04. Reliance has a product off-take agreement with oil marketing companies because it still in the process of setting up its own marketing network. The company has said it will set up 300 retail outlets by April.
India's annual oil product sale is about 90-95 million tonnes. In April-February, the first eleven months of 2003-04, oil product sales have touched 83.7 million tonnes against 82.7 million tonnes a year ago.
Bureau Report Jaiprakash Ind to be replaced by Rane Engine in S&P CNX 500 (F&M) Mumbai, Mar. 20 (India Financial Wire) - Jaiprakash Industries to be replaced by Rane Engine Valves in the S&P CNX 500 Index from Monday (Mar. 22) as trading in shares of Jaiprakash Industries will be suspended, a release from the National Stock Exchange said.
Trading in Jaiprakash Industries will be suspended due to amalgamation of the company with Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (formerly known as Jaypee cement Ltd). In terms of the scheme of amalgamation, the shareholders of erstwhile Jaiprakash Industries Ltd. would be allotted one equity share of 10 rupees at par in Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. for each equity share held by them in Jaiprakash Industries Ltd. The company has fixed March 30, 2004 as Record Date for the said purpose. Bureau Report
US Helicopters, Afghan Troops Repel Taliban Attack Afghanistan, Mar 20: US helicopter gunships and Afghan troops repelled a Taliban attack near the eastern border with Pakistan, killing three suspected Taliban, an Afghan security official said today.
The attack occurred in the Bermal district of Paktika province, across the border from a massive ongoing Pakistani offensive against al-Qaida in that country's South Wazirstan tribal area. Zakim Khan, Paktika province intelligence chief and an Afghan militia commander, said suspected Taliban attacked Afghan checkpoints with rockets Friday night. Afghan troops responded with AK-47 fire, Khan said. US forces with Afghans brought in helicopter gunships, firing upon the attacker position, he said.
Four hours of fighting left three Taliban dead and eight injured, with no casualties among the Afghan soldiers or Americans, Khan said.
Khan said he believed the attack came from Pakistan, but gave no details. Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, the capital, said he had no immediate information on any firefight.
Bermal district is 150 miles south of Kabul, in a province in which the Afghan government has had little security presence.
US special operations forces and others are there in a stepped-up campaign to capture Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives hiding in the mountains there, and to close escape routes from hide-outs across the border in Pakistan.
On March 5, US special operations snipers killed nine alleged Taliban in the area after 30 to 40 of the fighters allegedly tried to flank a U.S.-Afghan position, the US military said.
Bureau Report This will also lead to corresponding increase in debt issuance by companies, he said.
Bureau Report