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NDA poised to set up a stable government
New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance is well poised to form a
government at the centre that is stable and has enough of a majority to pursue reforms.
The alliance has, as predicted, got a simple majority, with the Bharatiya Janata Party
itself securing 182 seats, while leading in four others. Political analysts say this
number will give the party the ability to take decisions without being stymied by its
allies. The alliance, which faced a huge deficit in Uttar Pradesh, showed an impressive
performance in Bihar, Maharashtra and Orissa.
The
Congress and its allies had to settle for a reduced number. The Congress will be the
second largest party in the Lok Sabha.
In the meanwhile, the Telugu Desam Party had an impressive
performance, winning an absolute majority in the Assembly elections. The party is in a
position to form its own government without having to turn to ally BJP for support. The
party will also have a significant presence -- 29 members -- in the Lok Sabha.
Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sonia
Gandhi from Amethi, former prime minister Chandrasekhar, finance minister Yashwant
Sinha, defence minister George Fernandes, Ajit Singh, Indrajit Gupta, P.R. Kumaramangalam,
Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar and Maneka Gandhi are among the notable winners, while
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav was defeated from Madhepura in Bihar by
Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav.
Meanwhile, the BJP leaders started deliberations on
ministry-making and the consensus emerging is that the allies will be given ministerial
berths in a ratio of one ministerial berth for every five MPs. Prime minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee has sought an appointment with President K.R. Narayanan on 11 October.
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Moody’s upgrades outlook on India
New Delhi: Moody’s, the
international rating agency, has upgraded India’s outlook from stable to positive,
but has kept the country rating at Ba2.
According to the agency, the
change in the outlook was owing to the view that the new government will be more stable.
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Gilts
down, rupee up
Mumbai: Gilt-edged securities prices fell by 10-15 paise on 7 October
1999. The Reserve Bank of India had fixed the Rs.5,000-crore twin auction cut-off price at
below market prices, since it had wanted full subscription. The 11.9 per cent, 2007 paper
for Rs.3,000 crore was auctioned at Rs.102.71. The 12.6 per cent, 2018 paper for Rs.2,000
crore was auctioned at Rs.104.05. The cut-off yield works out to 11.3535 and 12.049 per
cent for the papers respectively.
On receiving news that
Moody’s had turned its India outlook from stable to positive, the rupee rose four
paise. It closed at Rs.43.52/5250 to the dollar compared to the close on 6 October 1999 at
43.5575/5625. During the last two days, the rupee has gained seven paise. Beyond the
Rs.43.5 mark, forex dealers feel that the Reserve Bank of India will start supporting the
dollar.
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FDI
target can be achieved through PSU disinvestments
New Delhi: According to the industry ministry, the global depository
receipt and the American depository receipt issues of Indian public sector companies will
be a viable option, to achieve the $10 billion foreign direct investment target.
The ministry has also stated that
there should be sector-wise caps in core sectors such as aviation and telecom.
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Petroleum
ministry wants hike in prices of LPG, kerosene
New Delhi: The new government will be submitted a report by the petroleum
ministry that suggests a hike in the prices of kerosene and LPG.
The report suggests a Rs.1.5 per
litre price hike for kerosene sold through the public distribution system. It also
suggests a hike of Rs.40 per LPG cylinder.
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Privatisation,
mergers – two key issues in banking sector
New Delhi: According to a report in the Business Standard, the
ministry of finance has initiated talks with public sector bank chairmen, asking them for
their views on mergers and privatisation of banks. The ministry feels that mergers and
privatisation will be the most important issues that will govern the banking industry in
future.
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Insurance
companies hopeful
Mumbai: Private sector insurance companies that had evinced interest in
setting up fresh ventures once the sector is privatised, have once again become hopeful.
The BJP government has promised that within three days of forming the new government, it
will try and pass the insurance bill.
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2.5
million pending applications with DoT
New Delhi: There are more than 2.5 million applications for new
connections pending with the department of telecommunications. There are about 20 million
telephone connections in the country.
In Kerala alone, the waiting list
is 6,50,000 applications. In Calcutta, there is no waiting list as connections are
available on demand. In Delhi and Mumbai, the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. has a backlog
of 29,000 applications and 7,761 applications respectively.
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Japanese banks
merging, restructuring
Tokyo: Asahi Bank and Tokai Bank will merge to form a new bank with
headquarters in Nagoya. The merger will result in a loss of 4,000 jobs. The new group will
have assets of $550 billion.
The group will set up three
regional banks and one international bank. It expects to cut costs by $514 million. For
the year ended March 2003, the bank aims at a profit of $4.21 billion and a 14.5 per cent
dividend.
In another move, the Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi is raising its stake in Kokusai Securities from 1 per cent to 13 per
cent.
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Allianz to take
over Pimco
Frankfurt: Allianz, Europe's largest insurance company, is all set to
take over Pimco Advisors, the US specialist bond fund manager. The deal will strengthen
the German company’s presence in the US market.
Allianz and Pimco said they are in advanced talks. The
discussions cover a possible cash transaction valued at about $4.4 billion.
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