Monday, 24 June 2013

JP Associates down 8% on shelving cement unit sale plan


Shares of Jaiprakash Associates  declined over eight percent to Rs 52.85 after its cement arm (Jaypee Cement) shelved plan to sell its Gujarat unit on  not getting right price.

Jaypee Cement was looking to sell its 4.8 metric tone cement plant and the valuation of the deal was estimated at over Rs 4000 crore.

Simultaneously, its subsidiaries-Jaiprakash Power Ventures andJaypee Infratech also tanked 15 percent and 6 percent following this news.

The cement plant sale was aimed at reducing the firm's debt pile. Also, the deal was likely to be carried out at USD 150 a tonne. It is also learnt that the company was in talks with the Birla Group/s cement subsidiary for the transaction.

NHPC Dhauliganga power station plant sinks....

  Damages at Dhauliganga Power Station due to flood in River Kali

NHPC Ltd has informed BSE that due to cloud burst and unprecedented high flood in Uttarakhand, the water has entered into the Dhauliganga Power Station (280 MW) of NHPC Limited and submerged all the system on the early hours of June 17, 2013. The generation from the plant has been stopped and efforts are being made to restore the generation at the earliest. In addition to this the water has caused damage to various ancillary structures of the project like roads, residential and non-residential buildings. The communication and power supply has been fully disrupted in the power house, dam, colony and other project areas. The extent of damage is being worked out.
   The Scrip is down by 1.37%, trading at Rs.17.85.

Gold imports may fall by more than half to 150 tonnes in July-Sept


Gold imports are expected to more than halve to about 150 tonnes in the coming July-September quarter, against the projected 350 tonnes in the current quarter, due to sluggish demand, says an industry official.

“We expect gold imports to be in the range of 120-150 tonnes in July-September period of this year,” Bombay Bullion Association President (Emeritus), Suresh Hundia, told PTI.

He said gold imports in the April-June quarter are expected to be around 350 tonnes.

The country had imported 160 tonnes of gold in July-September period of last fiscal.

Gold imports in the coming quarter would decline on likely weak demand, which would be a relief to the government, that is facing current account deficit, he said.

“There would be hardly any demand in July and September, and imports are likely to be about 40 tonnes in each month,” he said, but added that demand would pick up in August with the start of festival season.

Gold imports in India, the world’s largest consumer, will also depend on good monsoon, global prices and rupee situation, he added.

In the April-June quarter of 2013-14, total gold imports could reach 350 tonnes, and much of it has already been shipped in April and May at 142 tonnes and 162 tonnes, respectively, he said, adding the overseas purchase of gold in the current month may not exceed 50 tonnes.

Asked if recent curbs have reduced gold imports, Hundia said: “Demand will drive gold imports even if shipments are made costlier by raising Customs duty to 8 per cent and other measures. Demand for gold will shoot up if global prices fall sharply and rupee strengthens in the coming months.”

All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Association Regional Chairman (North) Vijay Khanna too said restrictions on gold imports have not reduced overall gold imports, rather it has encouraged illegal shipments.

Till last week, global prices of gold were up by 1.63 per cent to $1,298 per ounce, while the yellow metal’s rates in the national capital stood higher by Rs 260 per 10 grams at Rs 27,640.

NDMC meeting this week on Taj auction

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is set to discuss the proposed auction of the Taj Mahal hotel, Mansingh Road, at its next meeting on Thursday.

It had earlier decided to convene a meeting to discuss this issue after Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which operates the hotel, filed an injunction suit in the high court here against the impending auction. IHC's two-year lease extension ends in October. NDMC has to give its reply to IHC's plea in the court by July 18.

The civic body is yet to decide whether it plans to go ahead with the finalisation of the auction details or stop all action till the matter remains in court. Senior officials said the first right of refusal would be given to IHC, which was enough to protect its interest in the property. IHC, in its plea, has claimed to have equity in the property and, so, cannot be treated as any other lessee.

It has cited its long relationship with NDMC for grant of a stay in the auction process.

It has said the company shares its revenue with NDMC as rent every year for managing the property, built on the civic body's land. Indian Hotels said it had a right to seek an extension of the lease because it "built a permanent structure" and invested in development of the area.

The 33-year lease agreement ended in October 2011, after which NDMC decided on an auction instead of renewing the lease. Thereafter, the civic body had given a lease extension to the company.

The Taj group pays NDMC 10.5 per cent of its gross revenue annually as rent and it is expected the proposed auction could result in a substantial increase in the figure. NDMC had appointed Ernst & Young as consultant to advise on the course of action on the lease.

Sahara freeze order gets Sebi Rs 52 cr in cash, investments

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has been able to get hold of cash and investments totalling about Rs 52 crore and details of 450 acres of land so far through its attachment orders against the Sahara group entities.

In a high-profile case involving refund of Rs 24,000 crore to the bondholders of two Sahara companies, Sebi had passed orders for attachment of various properties and freezing of accounts in February, after the entities failed to deposit the entire money. The cash totalling Rs 23 crore, received from various banks pursuant to these orders, has been invested in a term deposit for now, while investments worth about Rs 28 crore in mutual funds and demat accounts have also been frozen, sources said. After passing its attachment orders, Sebi informed all banks, depositories, mutual funds and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), among others, about the matter and also requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct the chiefs of the banks to transfer the money of Sahara firms to a designated Sebi account.

Sebi had also approached the collectors of as many as 600 districts to request them not to permit the Sahara entities and persons concerned from any sale or transfer of properties attached by the regulator. As a result, the district collectors and revenue officers from various parts of the country have provided Sebi with details of 450 acres of land belonging to Sahara, sources added.

The regulator had already asked the Supreme Court's permission to appoint an Officer on Special Duty and other officers to deal with the objections and claims relating to the property to be sold and for conducting the sale of the property to garner funds for refunding the investors' money.

Sahara has so far deposited Rs 5,120 crore with Sebi towards the refund and claims that this amount is more than sufficient to meet the liabilities towards its bondholders since the group has already paid close to Rs 20,000 crore directly to the investors.

The money was raised by Sahara Housing Investment Corporation and Sahara India Real Estate Corp from about 30 million investors, through issuance of certain bonds. However, these claims have been disputed by Sebi before the Supreme Court, which is expected to resume hearing the case next month. Meantime, Sebi has begun the process of refunding the money to genuine investors after verifying their credentials. A pilot study conducted by Sebi for ascertaining the genuineness of investor documents filed by Sahara, however, found close to 99 per cent of the bondholders were untraceable, said sources. Under this programme, Sebi sent redemption notices inviting claims to 21,000 bondholders but it received less than 300 claims, currently under examination.

While more than 7,000 notices returned undelivered, there was no response in respect of over 13,000 notices. Sebi will refer these case to Sahara for further verification, sources said. Last month, Sebi began inviting claims from Sahara bondholders in a prescribed format and has said it would directly transfer the refund money to the bank accounts of the genuine investors and they can not get the money without having a bank account.

The apex Court last month told Sebi to begin refunding the money from Rs 5,120 crore deposited with it so far, while the matter would be heard further by the apex court on July 17.