The Hindu Business Line : Weekly News Round Up

Dubai, ruled by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which borrowed $80 billion in a four-year construction boom to transform the economy into a regional tourism and financial hub, suffered default due to slump in real estate following the global recession. Dubai's conglomerate, Dubai World , may default on its around 59 billion dollar debt . It is seeking postponement of the debt until at least till May because of the crisis triggered by real estate slump. Dubai World, with $59 billion of liabilities, sought a standstill agreement from creditors. Its debt includes $3.52 billion of bonds due December 14 from property unit Nakheel PJSC. The Dubai government's attempt to reschedule debt triggered declines in stocks worldwide that had been rebounding from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

The annual rate of inflation in the Primary Articles group rose to 11.04 per cent during the week ended November 14, higher than the previous week's annual rise of 9.94 per cent. The rise in the Primary Articles inflation was mainly on account of higher inflation in food articles, where year-on-year inflation shot up to 15.58 per cent during the latest week on the back of potato prices, which have more than doubled in the past one year. Pulses and onions increased by over 25 per cent in the wholesale market. The Primary Articles inflation rate was 12.66 per cent a year ago.

The Acting Chairman of Company Law Board (New Delhi), Mr R. Vasudevan, was arrested on Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from a Company Secretary at his official residence to "give a favourable ruling in a case concerning a media house." Mr Vasudevan and the Company Secretary, Mr Manoj Banthia, were later produced before a CBI-designated court here, CBI spokesperson, Mr Harsh Bhal, told Business Line. The court remanded the duo to six-day CBI custody.

JSW Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the JSW Group, plans to raise Rs 2,700 crore through an initial public offering. The issue is scheduled to open on December 7 and close on December 9. Mr Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Energy, told that 60 per cent of the issue will be allocated to institutional buyers, of which five per cent will be offered to mutual funds. The company will also consider an anchor investor. Part of the proceeds will go to fund the company's on-going 1,200-MW coal-based project at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and for setting up a 1,000-MW lignite-based power plant in Barmer, Rajasthan.

In yet another game-changing move, Tata DoCoMo is extending to roaming services seconds-based billing that it offers for local calls. Subscribers on Tata DoCoMo's network moving from one circle to another will soon pay only one paise a second. Incoming calls while roaming will also be charged at the same rate. The offer from Tata DoCoMo will be uniform irrespective of the location or destination of the call. The move is aimed at countering Bharti Airtel's Friday decision to reduce roaming tariffs by 60 per cent.

Compiled by M J Madhavan
Podcast A Srirengarajan