• NPS set to get more investment options
• Selloff may come in parcels
• Call Waiting: DoT tax breaks for foreign telcos deferred
• PFRDA norms for companies soon
• FIPB clears Telenor’s proposal to up stake in Unitech Wireless
• GDP likely to clock 7% in 2009-10: CII
• The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) has said that it may widen the list of assets allowed as eligible equity investments under the New Pension System (NPS) so that when the pension fund corpus grows bigger, the higher flow of money into select stocks does not influence their prices. Currently, index funds replicating the stocks in BSE’s 30-share Sensex and NSE’s 50-share Nifty are the only eligible equity investments. The proposed modification to the investment guidelines will happen as the NPS corpus attains a critical mass. (ET)
• According to sources, govt is looking at imposing caps on share sales by state-run firms in one go and is also laying the groundwork for NPS to take off in order to ensure it reaps maximum gains out of its disinvestment exercise. The finance ministry is eyeing a cap of 10% on govt equity that can be sold at a time and 15% on fresh equity that can be issued. The move to discourage big-bang public floats is expected to ensure that there is enough liquidity and appetite in the market for a flurry of issues expected if the govt clears a proposal for minimum 25% public holding in all listed companies. (ET)
• DoT has deferred plans to do away with the double taxation structure that foreign carriers offering long distance services in India are subjected to in India. The move will impact several foreign telcos such as AT&T, Verizon, British Telecom, France Telecom, Cable & Wireless and SingTel among others that provide the services of carrying national (STD) and international voice (ISD) and data traffic within India as well as to and from the country. The deferment may also imply that the DoT may ask TRAI to issue its recommendations on this matter through a consultation process. (ET)
• PFRDA is learnt to be working on a separate fund management guidelines for corporates - a move that will allow them to enter into an agreement with fund managers for managing the pension fund of their employees. The road map on the corpus management is expected to be announced in the next three-four months. (ET)
• FIPB is believed to have cleared the proposal of Norwegian telecom firm Telenor to hike its stake in its Indian telecom JV Unitech Wireless, putting an end to a two-month long wait by the telco. The decision on allowing the investment had been deferred earlier as the ministry of home affairs had asked for more time to examine the deal. The FIPB had earlier asked the ministry to complete its inquiry with regard to the proposal. The department of telecommunications has given its nod, provided the credentials of the investors are verified by the ministry, as there are concerns over their operations in Pakistan and Bangladesh. (FE)
• With various segments of the industry showing signs of recovery, a CII-Ascon survey has said that the county’s economic growth could go up to 7% during 2009-10 against 6.7% in the previous fiscal. Projecting a 6.5-7% growth rate for the current fiscal, the survey said, “the corporate results for the first quarter of 2009-10 showed some incipient signs of stablisation.” The survey further said key segments like fertiliser, cement and two-wheelers have entered in the excellent growth category from higher growth levels during April-June 2009-10 compared to the same period previous year. Sectors reporting excellent growth are industrial gases, automobile like scooters, it said. (FE)
