NEW DELHI, NOV 29: The RBI said that it is examining the impact of the Dubai govt’s decision to suspend debt payments by Dubai World, which led global stock markets to tumble amid fears of widespread default, Governor Subbarao said that he has asked his officials to study the impact and “if necessary make recommendations.” “We shouldn’t react to instant news like this. One lesson that we learnt from the (global financial) crisis is that we must  study the developments and measure the extent of the problem the extent of the problem and hence study the impact on India,” said Subbarao.

      NEW DELHI, NOV 29: Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) is getting a US$160 million loan from local  bank Development Bank of Singapore (DBS). The bank is an associate member of Temasek Holdings, which also holds a controlling share interest in NOL, NOL said the company’s vessels would be mortgaged to DBS as  security for the loan. No details were given on the maturity for the maturity for the loan or interest payments. The loan comes after successful rights issues totalling US$960 million NOL raised earlier this year. Majority of the proceeds from the issue was used to pay off debts owed by  world’s the seventh largest container liner operator. NOL reported losses of US$530 million for  the first nine months of 2009 but its container volumes dramatically improved in the middle of October.

            NEW DELHI, Nov 29: Close on the heels of the Union Textile Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran’s statement that his Ministry was not in favour of clamping any ban on export of raw cotton the FIEO, has pleaded for quantitative curbs or ceiling on such exports  to help the user industries such as garments and apparel. In a statement issued, the FIEO President, Mr A. Sakthivel last Thursday appealed to the Government to allow 50 lakh bales of raw cotton for exports in a year with monthly ceiling of 4 lakh bales. This will help to maintain adequate supply of raw cotton at a reason able price to the end-user domestic industry.

         Mr Sakthivel said that export of readymade garments are declining and the main reason for this has been the out pricing of Indian garments by countries like China,Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Turkey, etc. Moreover, India is being  outpriced in international markets due to hike in raw cotton prices which has resulted in a 15-20 pc increase in prices of woven cotton  fabrics and a 10-15 pc hike in cotton yarn prices, required for knitted garments. Besides, exporters are apprehensive that the cotton prices will further increase as there are reports that nearly 20 lakh bales have been bought by traders for exports, President FIEO added. Mr Sakthivel cautioned that the hike in prices will force spinning industry to close down many of their units/mills.

       NEW DELHI, NOV 29: India’s exports are recovering faster than eatimated earlier by the govt as the revised figures for October 2009 have showed a much lower decline than initially estimated, but the commerce ministry has said it may still provide selective sops to the exports sector in December.

         The year-on-year decline in exports in October 2009 is down to 6.6pc from 11.4 pc estimated earlier this month, the commerce minister said.

         Following the improvement, the government now expects exports growth to turn positive in the third quarter (Oct-Dec 2009), commerce & industry minister Anand sharma said, Exports were expected to show a net positive growth only by the fourth quater.

            India’s exports have been falling for the past 13 months with the steepest dip of 39.2 pc in May. The recovery could, however, be affected by the debt crisis in Dubai, which has emerged as the largest destination for India’s exports.

               Mr Sharma said the sectors that are still not doing well could get additional sops in December.

              When queried on nontariff measures being resorted  to by a number of countries to stop India’s exports, Mr Sharma said be would take up the issue. “Protectionism is not good for global recovery, I will urge against non-tariff barriers and protectionism,” he said. Trade ministers from 153 countries will meet in Geneva to review the functioning of the WTO in the backdrop of the global slowdown. They are also expected to discuss ways to conclude the on-going Doha Round on a multilateral trade deal by 2010.

               The minister said it was not possible to point out exactly how well the exports sector is expected to perform in the coming months since even at this point global consumption is weak. “We have succeeded through policy interventions and incentives to arest the steep decline (in exports). The government, which is carefully monitoring the developments, will intervene, if required,” he said. The commerce department is carrying out a sectoral review of the effect of the stimulus package.

            “The sectors which ned special attention will get it. It will be announced in the first half of December,” he said. On the textile sector’s demand for a ban on cotton exports, the minister said if there is no exportable surplus, there will be no exports.

      NEW DELHI, NOV 26: Japaness export ship orders sank for the 13th consecutive month in october on a year-on-year basis, tumbling 37.3 pc to 358,300 gross tons, according to figures released by the japan Ship Exporters’ Association.

       But the year-on-year pace of decline in October more than halved from 75.5 pc in September and was the slowest since the nation’s export ship orders suddenly started to plunge in October last year due to the deep global economic downturn triggered by the financial crisis that erupted in the United States a month earlier.

      In October, Japanese shipbuilders received or ders for five export ships three bulk carriers totaling 92,100 gross tons, one general cargo vessel of 105,900 gross tons and one oil tanker of 160,300 gross tons, The five ships total 141,140 compensated gross tons.

     NEW DELHI, NOV 26:  Eastern China’s Yangkou port has announced it’s the plan at the recent Third China Rudong Costal Economic Cooperation Meeting to build a 300,000 tonne channel by 2020 to attain a throughput of 100 million tonnes for the harbour and create an industry value of CNY100 billion (US $1.46 billion) and a tax base of CNY 10 billion. According to the plan, the port will build two man-made islands with three quay lines and 62 berths. The port district will be divided into five areas namely, an off sea operations area, harbour industrial zone, a logistics complex, a new coastal town and tourist resort. 

         NEW DELHI, NOV 26: France is focusing on initiatives to boost Indo-French cooperation to double bilateral trade from around 6-to-7 billion euros now to 12 billion euros. Interacting with the madia in the city on Tuesday, against the the backdorp of ‘Bonjour India Festival of France in India, which is about to unfold from the first week of December, French ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said the increase of trade figures would have been probably achieved as per the target had the recession not come in the way. “Now, we hope to achieve it by around 2012,” Mr Bonnafont said.

        France is also placing thrust on collaborating with India on civiliannuclear front. Dwelling on investments, he said France not only wants to invest in India, “it also wants India to route investments into France.”

         The French government is also seriously on the lookout “treble” the community of Indian students in France. Yes, I admit that French as a language is a hurdle for Indian students. But, we are putting a major thrust on attracting students from here, This exercise is being carried out by centres called Campus France which we have set up in various locales in India.

          In the context of the Festival of France in India, Mr Bonnafont met west  Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The chief minister asked us to participate in sectors like food processing and re newable energy, he said.

         NEW DELHI, NOV 26: Cheaper sugar substitute Saccharin being dumped from China would become a bit expensive with the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry recommending continuation of the current definitive anti-dumping duty on it, after a mid-term review. In its mid-term review, the Authority held that the subject goods are entering the Indian market at dumped prices.

        Also, the dumping margins of the subject goods imported from china are sighificant,. Saccharin is a nonnutritive sweetener and deemed to be a low calorie substitute for cane sugar. It is used in a host of industries such as food and beverage, personal care products, table-top sweeteners, electroplating brighteners and pharmaceuticals. The Authority said all forms of Saccharin-soluble saccharin and insoluble saccharin produced in granular and powder form are within the purview of the present investigation.

        The Authority noted that the product continues to be exported at dumped prices by China and the current dumping margin and injury margin irrefutably establishes the need for revision in the existing antidumping duty.

         The review has pointed out that the situation of the domestic industry continues to be fragile with the likelihood of resumption of dumping. And import of the subject goods from china are causing injury to indigenous industry.

          Accordingly, while all grades of Saccharin produced by Shanghai Fortune Chemicals Ltd, China must perforce fork out an anti-dumping duty of $ 0.96/kg other producers/exporters from china or those using china as an export base will have to pay an anti-dumping duty of $ 3.99/kg of saccharin, the Authority said.

       NEW DELHI, NOV 26: Pending revision of guidelines for setting up SEZs, the govt will continue to approve proposals for new SEZs which would be developed in an environmentally sustainable way. “The Board of Approval of the the SEZs to consider proposals for setting up of the tax free enclaves and other requests will be held on December  15,” a government official said. The government is yet to give a final shape to the new SEZ norms for which it has invited public comments.

          The broad areas on which comments have been invited include site identification, land acquisition, development plans,  role of state governments and physical infrastructure. “based on experience gained so far, formulation of certain broad guidelines to govern the development of SEZs has been considered appropriate to ensure environmentally sustainable well planned development of the SEZs, ” the official said.

           The draft guideline says cultivable land shoudl be considered only if adequate other land is not available. “First preference should be for acquisition of waste and barren land, followed by single crop land and double crop land necessary to meet the contiguity requirements, “it said.

            As of now the government has given formal approvals for setting up of 578 SEZs out of which 340 have been notified. SEZs have provided employment to 4.18 lakh persons.  Exports from the SEZs during the first two quarters of the current fiscal is estimated  at about Rs 89,750 crore.

       NEW DELHI, NOV 26: Maersk Line plans to stop making port of calls at chennai as the Indian Port is to be dropped from its MECL  2 service from January, severing its direct links with ports in the Mediterranean and US, in bid to run the service at a slower speed than at present. The east bound call at Jebel Ali is also to be removed from the port rotation, while Jeddah will be added to the MECL 2 westbound. Chennai will be served via colomb.

        The revised rotation for the MECL 2 will be: Colombo, Salalah, Jeddah, Aqaba, Port Said, Algeciras, New York Savannah, Houston,, Norfolk, Algeciras, Port Said, Djibouti, returning to Colombo, The service will continue to use 10 ships ranging in size from 4,500-5,00 TEU.