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Kochi termination to cost BCCI
Rs 20k cr
New Delhi, Sept. 20: Former IPL commissioner
Lalit Modi maintains that
termination of contract with Kochi team will cost BCCI Rs 20k crores.
"Kochi now being terminated - a further loss of 1500 crores to BCCI.
Compounded by reduction in Media Rights. My estimate 2000 crores. Who is
responsible for this mess now? Current President and outgoing President
for sure. Who will they blame now for this. Where is the accountability
and who will take responsibility," a PTI report quoted Modi as writing
on his twitter page. Terming himself as a self-proclaimed whistle blower
about the shady dealing related to Kochi, Modi wrote in his blog: "Now,
18 months later, the BCCI has terminated the Kochi contract on the basis
of an unpaid bank guarantee which, according to new President, N.
Srinivasan, "....is not capable of being remedied."
"As a consequence, the BCCI now stands to lose more than US $300 million
by virtue of reduced commercial revenue because Kochi's suspension means
fewer teams and therefore games - not to mention a loss of credibility
for the IPL itself," he said. Modi stated that he now wants to know as
to who will own the responsibility for this mess. "It is a situation
that could have been avoided but what it shows is that the
unsubstantiated accusations made against me suggesting I imposed
'onerous' conditions purely to try and manipulate the bidding process
towards my preferred bidders has been shot to pieces."
India’s tea imports down 22%
New Delhi, Sept 20:
India's tea imports declined
by 22% to 5.19 million kg in the April-July period of the current
fiscal, a PTI report said referring to data released by the
Tea Board. The country had
imported 6.62 million kg of the brew in the same period last fiscal.
India, the world's largest consumer of tea, imports the leaves solely
for the purpose of re-export to other countries. The dip in imports thus
signals less re-exports. India's
tea imports from China,
Kenya, Malawi, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Iran, Argentina and Nepal declined in
the first four months of the 2011-12 fiscal.
Imports of tea dipped by 19% in July, 2011, to 1.67 million kg from 2.06
million kg in the year-ago period. In the January-July period of the
current calender year, imports of the brew fell by 19% to 9.42 million
kg from 11.64 million kg in the same period of the previous year. India,
the second biggest producer of tea in the world, accounts for about 28%
of global tea production and 14% of trade. There are about 1,600 tea
estates in India. The industry employs more than two million people.
FICCI’s high hopes on trade with GCC
Dubai, Sept. 20: India is looking at
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
states, notably Qatar, with great expectations and hopes to improve
trade volumes with the region. "There has been a massive growth in
India's business with Middle East nations and it is poised to grow in
view of the growing requirements of both sides," Additional Director
(Arab states & Central Europe) Goutam Ghosh of the Federation of Indian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has said, according to a PTI
report. "While Indo-Qatar trade was worth only USD 1.1 billion in 2005,
it grew to approximately USD 5.6 billion at the end of the first quarter
of this year," Ghosh told the
Gulf Times on the
sidelines of a meeting organised by FICCI in association with the local
Indian Business Promotion Network (IBPN).
He said India is focusing on expanding its share in the small and medium
enterprises (SME) segment of
GCC states Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which the
country considers the strength and backbone of its economy. "More than
60 per cent of our industry comprises SMEs and their share is expected
to grow further in coming years as more and more entrepreneurs are keen
on investing in SMEs," he said.
Ghosh observed that the trend in GCC states, including Qatar, to shift
their focus from hydrocarbon industries will help attract more investors
from countries like India. "One of the top priorities of the FICCI-led
ongoing mission is to increase India's presence in the products and
services sector," the newspaper quoted him as saying. With more Indian
companies showing interest in the region in diverse areas, India hopes
to achieve better results in trade with GCC states in the next few
years.
India's skill and expertise in a range of businesses that are familiar
and beneficial to GCC entrepreneurs would help the countries record
substantial economic growth in the next decade, he said, adding that
even while seeking cooperation in setting up joint ventures in both
countries, India would help local entrepreneurs gain expertise and
knowledge in areas appealing to the locals. "While the UAE used to serve
as the hub of all business activities from India, now all the GCC states
have built up direct trade with our country," he said.
Private US firms eyeing BRIC market
New Delhi, Sept 20: Private firms in the US plan to target
BRIC countries and other
fast-growing markets such as Indonesia and South Africa to expand their
business over the next one to two years, According to a survey by PwC, a
PTI report said. The survey titled, 'US Private Company Trendsetter
Barometer', 51 per cent of US private companies with an international
presence plan to do business in
BRIC countries (Brazil,
Russia, India, and China) in the next one to two years.
In addition, 66% of the respondents are targeting other fast-growing
markets such as Indonesia, South Korea, South Africa, Poland, Turkey and
Mexico. Overall, 74% of the respondents with a global presence have set
their sights on emerging and fast-growing markets. The PwC survey
captures the views of 236 CEO/CFOs with private companies (128 in the
product sector, 108 in the service sector) that report an average
enterprise revenue of US$ 278 million annually.
The overwhelming reason for foreign expansion was to broaden their
customer base, as cited by 80% of the respondents, whereas just roughly
one-quarter of the respondents (24%) are eyeing international markets to
lower their cost base. Other reasons cited for going abroad include
facilitating better servicing of global clients (43%), compensating for
slow growth at home (33%), and being where competitors are (26%).
Interestingly, 51% of all the US private companies surveyed plan to do
business abroad in the next one to two years and 48% already have an
international presence. "Historically, companies expanded into
international markets to lower their manufacturing and sourcing costs,"
PwC Private Company Services practice Partner Ken Esch said. "The
international expansion we're seeing now is well beyond cost arbitrage.
It's about increasing sales and accessing new markets to grow the
top-line. To achieve those goals, many of our clients are looking
abroad, compensating for weakened demand at home," Esch added.
The surveyed executives also estimate that during this one to two-year
time frame, international sales growth (14.8%) will outpace domestic
sales growth (11.6%). The top challenges to operating abroad are finding
the right business partners (68%) establishing adequate cross-cultural
management (64%) and finding sufficient local talent (56%). Other
challenges that were cited by the respondents include security risks
(49%), local regulatory requirements (48%) and corruption (46%). These
challenges were particularly endemic to doing business in BRIC
countries, according to the survey respondents.
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