Dec. 22 – Asia Briefing takes a closer look at India’s top six cities (by GDP) in the newly released Indian city guides for Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. These city guides are available for free download on the Asia Briefing bookstore.
1. Mumbai
GDP: US$209 billion
Mumbai is the most populous city in India and in the top five in the world. While the 2011 census estimated population at 12.4 million, external estimates suggest double that. Continue reading
Dec. 22 – The Government of India is planning to propose a hike in the maximum foreign direct investment (FDI) capital allowed in broadcasting services - such as direct-to-home (DTH) and cable TV – to a uniform portion of 74 percent.
The Finance Ministry has given its consent to a draft cabinet note which outlines the changes circulated by the Industry Ministry. In addition to DTH and cable TV, the initiative also aims to set FDI capital limit at 74 percent for mobile TV, an area of future growth. Continue reading
Dec. 20 – The Central Government of India has recently made amendments to the list of rules for Unlisted Public Companies (known as the “Unlisted Public Companies Preferential Allotment [2011]”). These rules will come into effect on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
The previous list of rules [2003] (hereafter referred to as “said rules”) will have the following changes made. Continue reading
Free app brings India Briefing to your fingertips
Dec. 16 – The brand new Asia Briefing mobile application brings the latest business news and foreign investment insights from India Briefing web site right to your fingertips.
The free app integrates with legal and tax regulatory updates from Dezan Shira & Associates, along with China, Vietnam, Russia, Mongolia Briefings, and 2point6billon.com (for emerging Asia). With hourly updates, it helps you stay on top of Asia’s dynamic investment environments. Continue reading
Dec. 15 – A Letter of Authority (LOA) can be used for most tasks, but should not be used for tasks that are more complicated. When large transactions are involved Power of Attorney (POA) is a better option because POA sets out the manner in which an action is to be carried out. An LOA may or may not identify how an action is to be carried out. In addition, POA is a notarized certificate with an added perimeter, while an LOA is not an authenticated document. An LOA merely authorizes one person to do a particular act for another person. Therefore, it is best used for a very specific purpose. It can be used, for example, when collecting or submitting documents on the authorizing person’s behalf. Experts agree however, that when large transactions need to be made, the authorizing person should opt for POA instead. There are two types of POA — general and special. POA is considered “special” if the appointment of POA is made for a single specified act or acts. POA is “general” if it is intended to grant general decision-making power with regard to certain acts, e.g., representation before the income-tax department. Additionally, POA may be revocable and irrevocable.
POA may or may not require registration. A POA dealing with immovable property requires mandatory registration. For example, POA that accompanies a development agreement would require registration while the power to operate a bank account may not. A Supreme Court judgment ruled that general POA cannot be used for transfer of immovable properties. The Supreme Court held that general POA has no legal sanctity and immovable property can be sold or transferred only through registered deeds. Continue reading
Dec. 8 – The vendor has to accumulate tax from the payer who has purchased the following items:
Dec. 7 – The value of India’s exports throughout October 2011 were recorded at US$19.87 billion, good for a 10.82 percent increase over the level of US$17.93 billion during October 2010. The increasing value of exports for the period of April-October this fiscal year was US$179.78 billion against US$123.17 billion over the same stage last year, recording growth of 45.96 percent.
India’s monthly imports during October 2011 were recorded at US$39.51 billion, showing a development of 21.72 percent over the level of US$32.46 billion experienced in October last year. The swelling value of imports for the period of April-October this fiscal was US$273.47 billion as against US$208.82 billion over the same period last year, recording an increase of 30.96 percent. Continue reading
Dec. 5 – After depreciating to a record low of 52.73 against the U.S. dollar on November 22, the Indian rupee (INR) rose in value to 51.206 per dollar on Friday to complete the currency’s first weekly advance since October.
The Indian rupee is under great stress as overseas investors are paring their exposure to Asia’s third-largest economy amid international uncertainty and mounting worries over the domestic economy.
On November 21 alone, overseas funds sold more than US$500 million worth of Indian-listed shares over the five trading sessions, reducing net inflows for 2011 to under US$300 million – a tiny sum compared with the record investments of more than US$29 billion experienced in 2010. The rupee has lost more than 10 percent of its value this year, making it one of the worst performing currencies in Asia. Continue reading
