18 September, 2013

Asia business sentiment drops, India optimistic

Business sentiment among Asia's top companies deteriorated in the third quarter, led by businesses in export engines such as China and South Korea, ending three consecutive quarters of improving sentiment, the latest Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asia Business Sentiment survey showed.

The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asia Business Sentiment Index fell to 66 in the third quarter from 71 in the second quarter when it reached the highest level in more than a year. An index reading above 50 indicates an overall positive outlook.

Some of the weakest readings came from north Asia's economies of China, South Korea and Taiwan, and regional trading hub Singapore, all of which turned in readings of 50 - highlighting the impact of a stuttering global economy.

Volkswagen to sell electric cars in US from 2015: Report

German carmaker Volkswagen plans to start selling electric cars in the United States in 2015, the New York Times reported, citing a Volkswagen official.

The company aims to enter the US electric car market with a battery powered version of its subcompact "Golf" and would follow with more models if demand increased, said Marc Trahan, an executive vice president for VW's American unit, according to the paper.

The automaker is also considering building a small sport utility vehicle, Trahan said, the paper reported.

Education loans a problem at sub-6% growth’

Pratip Chaudhuri's tenure as SBI chairman has been one of extremes. The bank recorded its highest ever profit of Rs 14,105 crore, but this was marred by a surge in bad loans. The sell-off in bank stocks resulted in SBI losing its position as the most valuable bank but Chaudhuri reaffirmed its fundamentally strong image by bolstering Tier-I capital adequacy to well over 9% and providing for pension liabilities. Excerpts from an interview with TOI

Now, govt hikes import duty on jewellery

The government on Tuesday hiked customs duty on jewellery from 10% to 15%, widening its net to curb import of the yellow metal.

The latest move was meant to protect the local industry as there was no difference between the customs duty on gold, silver and jewellery. "Jewellery-making is a labour-intensive industry. Millions of artisans are dependent on this sector for their livelihood. In the absence of any duty differential between articles of jewellery and primary metal, which was 8% in the case of gold jewellery and 4% in the case of silver jewellery in January 2012, there is an apprehension that Indian jewellery makers would not be able to compete with cheaper imports, particularly when majority of the imported jewellery is machine-made as compared to handmade jewellery in India.

To protect interests of small artisans, customs duty on articles of jewellery and of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof is being increased from 10% to 15%," the finance ministry said. The government has increased the import duty on the gold from around 1% at the start of 2012 to discourage imports and manage the current account deficit, which was estimated at a record 4.8% of GDP in in 2012-13.

IT to reskill staff as technology reshapes business

As cars become driverless, medical records become instantly available on smartphones and 3D simulation becomes ever more accurate, new and specialist skills are becoming critical for the Indian IT and business process management (BPM) sectors.

This has pushed industry body Nasscom to formulate occupational standards guidelines for IT services, BPM, engineering R&D and software products, with the objective of providing these segments with strong pipelines of qualified talent in the years to come.

"Growth in future will be driven by new services/solutions and not more of the same. The industry has started to make significant investments in tools, technology and talent to build appropriate solutions and communicate the value proposition," said Som Mittal, president of Nasscom, at the 15th edition of the Nasscom BPM Strategy Summit in Gurgaon.

At present India is better than Pakistan, says Zaheer Abbas

Former captain Zaheer Abbas feels restoration of bilateral cricket ties with India would prove to be beneficial for Pakistan as presently India is in a stronger position in world cricket.

"I have always said that regular Indo-Pak cricket relations and ties also lead to improved relations at people to people and government levels," Abbas said in an interview.

The former batting great, who has held key positions in Pakistan cricket, said he was happy to see Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif taking steps to encourage regular cricketing and sporting ties between the two nations.

"At the moment the Indian team is better than us and there is no doubt about it. If we play against India regularly it will benefit our players," he observed.

Shahid Afridi keen to captain Pakistan cricket team again

Senior all-rounder Shahid Afridi has once again expressed his interest in captaining the Pakistan cricket team.

Afridi said that after having played 17 years for the country he always considered it as a big honour to captain the national team.

"If the Cricket Board (PCB) deems it fit and offers me the captaincy again I will accept it as a challenge," Afridi said.

"I think the position we are facing right now is that all the senior players need to contribute more and play a more decisive role in the South Africa series," he said.

Pakistan out of Commonwealth Games Hockey

Pakistan were on Tuesday eliminated from the field hockey event at next year's Commonwealth Games after failing to enter the event by the deadline due to an internal sporting dispute.

Pakistan have won four world titles and three Olympic golds in field hockey.

But the latest setback is part of a sequence of disasters the national sport has suffered. It comes barely a month after the national team failed to qualify for next year's World Cup.

Pakistan were in danger of exclusion from the Commonwealth Games ever since the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) split into two factions earlier this

Arsenal in toughest group, says Wenger

Arsenal will need 10 points to get out of the "hardest" section in the Champions League, said manager Arsene Wenger on the eve of Wednesday's tough test at Olympique Marseille.

The Londoners, beaten by eventual champions Bayern Munich in the first knockout round last season, also face Borussia Dortmund and Napoli in Group F.

"If you look at the group I would say yes it is the hardest because all four teams have a chance to qualify," Wenger told a news conference.

"That means every game is basically a very important one. On average you need 10 points to qualify so that gives you the task.