Retail inflation eases at 25 month low of 8.10% in February

In a good news ahead of the upcoming RBI policy on April 1, annual rate of inflation, based on the consumer prices index (CPI) for month of February, 2014 eased more than expected to a 25-months low of 8.10%, as against 8.79% in January, aided by moderation in food prices.

According to the data, all India General (all groups) CPI numbers of February 2014 for Rural, Urban and Combined stood at 139.0, 135.3 and 137.4 respectively. The corresponding provisional inflation rates for rural and urban areas for February 2014 stood at 8.51% and 7.55%, While, inflation rates (final) for rural and urban areas for January 2014 stood at 9.35% and 8.09% respectively.

Additionally, core consumer price index was estimated to have risen around 7.9 per cent in February from a year earlier, easing from an 8.1 per cent advance in January. This is a positive since core inflation for the past few months has been stuck at around 8 per cent, a level Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) chief Raghuram Rajan deems uncomfortably high.

However, retail inflation could pick momentum in coming months as recent trend of a decline in food prices could be temporary as hail and heavy rains in the past two weeks have damaged crops, which is likely to keep core retail inflation elevated. RBI so far has raised interest rates three times since September, even though economic growth is languishing at around a decade-low of 4.5 per cent.

L&T‘s arm bags international order worth Rs 3655 crore from ASHGHAL

The Transportation Infrastructure Business of L&T Construction has secured a major prestigious international order worth Rs 3655 crore (2,187 billion Qatari riyal) from ASHGHAL (Public Works Authority), State of Qatar for design and construction of Al Wakrah Bypass Road (P015). The scope of work involves construction of 11 Km road consisting of 10 lanes and four future lane sections with additional collectors/distributor roads, frontage roads and ramps. The freeway will provide access to the existing and planned developments via five major interchanges comprising of 20 bridges, 13 bicycle overpasses, 8 vehicular underpasses, 3 pedestrian bridges and 736 m long and 32 m wide vehicular tunnel works.State of the art road furniture and other related utility works for potable water, treated sewer effluent, drainage, electrical, intelligent transportation system, irrigation and landscaping are also part of the scope. The project is scheduled to be completed in 32 months.

IPO-less listing of tiny cos not against retail interest, says SEBI chief

Listing of shares by start-ups and small and medium enterprises without initial public offering is not aimed to drive away retail investors.

Entities failing to raise needed capital after exhausting all available fund raising options alone shall list on this special platform, said UK Sinha, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

“Safeguarding interests of genuine investors will remain paramount while promoting alternative fund raising mechanisms for the industry,” Sinha said.

Listing of shares on exchanges without an IPO aids price discovery and liquidity and grants private equity and venture capital easier exit options.It also provides better visibility, wider investor base and greater fund raising capabilities to aspirant SMEs/start-ups.Investors do not need to pay capital gains tax on the transaction either. Such short-term gains on a non-market platform attract up to 20 per cent.Sinha said that initiatives aimed at facilitating SME listing can be traced back to the 1990s.

SEBI: Appoint directors to fulfil anti-money laundering obligations

SEBI-regulated intermediaries (brokers, mutual funds, custodians, depository participants and portfolio managers) will now have to appoint a designated director responsible for ensuring compliance with Anti-Money Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Obligations.

The designated director would be the managing director or a whole-time director in case of companies, managing partner in case of partnership firms, proprietor for proprietorship firms and a managing trustee in trusts.This would be in addition to the existing requirement of a principal officer, said a SEBI circular on Wednesday.The Director-Financial Intelligence Unit India can take appropriate action, including levying monetary penalty on the designated director for failure to comply with the obligations.

Intermediaries have been asked to provide details of the designated director, to the Office of the Director, FIU-India.Intermediaries have to carry out risk assessment to identify, assess and take measures to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risks with respect to their clients, countries or geographical areas, nature and volume of transactions and payment methods.

The risk assessment would be carried out according to specific information circulated by the Government of India and SEBI from time to time.Intermediaries relying on third party due diligence to ascertain proof of identity, proof of residence of the client and the beneficial owner (in case the client is acting on behalf of the beneficial owner) have to ensure that the third party is a regulated entity.

Further, SEBI clarified that ultimate responsibility of due diligence rested with the intermediary.Intermediaries now have to keep records of identity and transactions of clients for five years instead of the earlier requirement of 10 years.