Chidambaram: No decision on selling of 49 pc residual shares in Balco yet
New Delhi: Finance minister P Chidambaram has said that no decision has been taken to sell 49 per cent residual shares of the government in aluminium major Balco. He said that a final approval will have to be taken by the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA).

Responding to allegations in Rajya Sabha by SP member Amar Singh that Rs9,000 crore had been lost as share prices had shot up, Chidamabarm said the prime minister was aware of the issue and that no decision had been taken to sell residual shares in the company.

"No decision has been taken by the committee of secretaries or the ministry of mines. The government knows and the prime minister knows (about developments). The final decision will have to be taken by CCEA," he said.
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Singapore to favour India over China
Chennai: India will become the third major trading partner for Singapore after the US and the UAE and also, will be the preferred destination for investments rather than China in the years to come. These sentiments were expressed by Ajit Singh, consul general designate, consulate general of the Republic of Singapore while addressing the special session held between the delegations from the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) here on Monday.

Singh said the Comprehensive Economic Cooperative Agreement (CECA) between the two countries last year will drive bilateral trade to greater heights. According to him, India will become the third largest trade partner after the US and the UAE. He also said that Singapore will consider India ahead of China for major investments.

According to R Ramraj, vice chairman, CII (TN Council), India will see a 300% increase in foreign direct investment from Singapore in the first year of implementation of CECA. "It is envisaged that by 2010, the two-way trade between the countries will cross $50 billion," he added. Singapore will probably turnout to be India's Hong Kong and there could be a shift in FDI from Mauritius to Singapore, he said further.

According to N Kumar, former CII president, the bilateral trade between the two countries grew by 52.24% in 2005. "Singapore has maintained its position since last year as India's largest export partner. India's imports from Singapore were estimated at $2.58 billion, having grown by 23.94% since last year," he said.
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Govt. mulling SEZs for the manufacture of drilling equipment, rigs
New Delhi: The director general of Hydrocarbons (DGH) said on Monday that the government was planning to set up special economic zones (SEZs) for manufacturing drilling equipment and rigs in order to address the problem of non-availability of the equipment in the country.

"There was a problem of availability of rigs and other equipment for drilling in the country. The government is thinking of setting up SEZs for manufacturing these equipment," DGH VK Sibal said at the NELP VI-CBM III meet on "Building partnerships for upstream Oil and Gas" organised by CII.
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AP to bring 4-5 lakh farmers in the fold of bank finance
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government intends to bring at least 4-5 lakh tenant landless farmers into the fold of bank finance in the current year, 2006-07.

Addressing the state-level bankers committee (SLBC) meeting here on Monday, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, said that banks should increase their lending to farmers and self-help groups in a big way to reduce the importance of micro-financial institutions (MFI) who are exploiting the opportunity charging higher rates of interest from the urban and rural poor.

"The government has appointed a committee to go into the process of regulating the interest rates on the lines of Private Money Lenders Act, which is fixed at 12% as a higher limit," Dr Reddy said. However, he requested the banks to come forward in a big way to replace MFIs in villages.

The government has asked the banks to identify one district in each of the regions to implement 100% financial inclusion as suggested by the RBI. Since the banks have already identified Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra, the chief minister asked them to identify two more districts - one each in Rayalaseema and the Telangana regions.

The district will be provided with 'no frills' account and a 'general purpose credit card'.
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