• SEBI to make fund raising easier
• No more tax cuts with stimulus III, says Montek
• 30 firms under ministry’s AS 11 investigation
• Proposal to allow 49% stake for foreign airlines in domestic carriers
• BRIC needs 10% growth in ’09 to avoid recession
• FDI to developing countries likely to dip further
• Against all odds: infra sector will beat the slump in 2009, says E&Y report
• Fiat takes 35% stake in Chrysler
• TCS bags Ducati contract
• SEBI is likely to make it easier for more co.s to raise money from the stock market by relaxing the eligibility criteria for fast-track rights issuance. SEBI plans to lower the market capitalisation threshold wherein only companies with a M-cap of more than Rs 10,000 crore over the last one year are eligible for the fast track rights issuance route. SEBI is also looking at reducing the issue period for rights issues to 15 days from the current 30 days. (ET)
• Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that the third stimulus package being considered by the govt will not include tax cuts to boost demand. He further added that the key issue confronting govt now is implementing the two packages announced and in the next two months implementation has to be the top priority. Ahluwalia also added that a fiscal stimulus package will be necessary in the later part of the 2009 calendar year. (BS)
• Ministry of company affairs has ordered a probe by the Registrar of Companies (RoC) into the IT company’s accounts. A much larger probe ordered by the ministry into levels of compliance with Accounting Standard (AS) 11 – which requires firms to make mark-to-market provisions in their profit & loss accounts on account of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates - in November is yet to be complete and the investigation involves 30 companies. (FE)
• According to sources, the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary is to consider a proposal of the Civil Aviation Ministry to allow foreign airlines to hold a 49 % stake in scheduled, non-scheduled and charter airlines. (BL)
• According to a report by brokerage firm Enam Securities, with major developed economies such as the US, Japan and those in the euro zone falling into recession, the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations need to grow at 10% in 2009 to stave off a global recession. It also states that if the US, the European Union (EU) and Japan witness a decline of 2% this year and the rest of the world’s growth remains static, then the emerging markets would have to spur up their gross domestic product (GDP) growths to avoid a global downturn. (Mint)
• According to a new UN report, businesses in the developing world were hit the hardest with FDI dropping more than 20% last year and it is expected to fall further during the current year. The report estimated that flows of investment made by corporations outside of their own country have fallen by an average of 21% worldwide to an estimated $1.4 trillion. (ET)
• According Ernst & Young’s quarterly India infrastructure report, “Against all odd”, infrastructure sector can foresee optimism in 2009 as there are signs of the government trying to revive and focus on bringing more infrastructure projects into the market unlike 2008 that has seen the sector bear the brunt of the economic slowdown. It also states that the opportunities for growth in the infrastructure sector continue to be as promising as ever although it is heavily dependent on capital flows and it is likely that with increasing focus on project execution, Indian companies will start capitalising on the opportunities. (FE)
• Italian Fiat auto group has acquired a 35% stake in US giant Chrysler. Under the outline, non-binding deal, Fiat would obtain 35% of Chrysler without making any payment in exchange for giving Chrysler access to its own vehicle platforms, products and technology to expand Chrysler's current product portfolio and would offer access to new markets through its international network. (ET)
• Tata Consultancy Services has won a multi-year contract from Ducati to deploy ERP solutions for the Italian super bike major in Europe. However, financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. This is the first instance for Ducati of partnering with an Indian IT vendor.(BL)
