30tober 2007

Thanks: IBN Live
Markets surge and it's boom time for Guj housewives
Ahmedabad: With the Sensex at an all time high and still going strong, it's housewives and women investors who are seeking a share of the fortune at the markets.

Sonal Pandya may not look like your run-of-the-mill stock market player but a keen interest in stocks is helping this Ahmedabad homemaker earn a small fortune sitting at home. And a laptop and a TV are her only tools.

“My Internet is there, so whatever trading I have to do, I have it in my mind. So I put it on the Internet, whatever I want to take or sell, I decide from before,” says Pandya.

Pandya is one of a growing tribe of women investors in Gujarat using the stock market's bull run to make a quick buck. Like Geeta ben who started playing the market just three months back, but is already raking it in.

“I just come here to pass my time in the afternoon instead of sleeping at home and make some extra money. And my investment is nearly two lakhs,” she says.

With trading of over Rs 50 lakh daily at this brokerage firm alone, women across Gujarat are making the most of the stock market rise.

Stock market experts in Ahmedabad say there's been a 20 per cent rise in women investors after August, when the market started its marathon run. Many brokerage offices have opened branches only for women - with women traders handing out market advice.

Branch head of Anagram Brokerage, Chiragi Patel says, “Past five or six months we have seen they (women) want quick returns. This is what surprises us these days.”

Power and infrastructure are still investment favourites, but many women are also willing to take some risks to earn big dividends.

“Women investors are also some times adventurous and they do take risks sometimes. If they are new and upcoming then go slowly with the investment,” says Jamuna, a housewife.

Thanks: The Hindu
India, Germany to double bilateral trade

NEW DELHI: India and Germany on Tuesday signed a joint statement on furthering their strategic partnership through new initiatives in trade and investment, energy, science and technology, education and culture and defence. Having achieved the bilateral trade target of Euros 10 billion two years ahead of schedule, they resolved to double it in another five years.

The two sides also expressed their “firm support” for each other’s candidatures for permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and chalked out plans for closer cooperation in the defence arena, with a technological approach underpinning the symmetry of purpose in this direction.

Acknowledging the considerable potential in the services sector, they agreed on the need to speedily seal a social security agreement both for individuals and companies in their countries. They also felt the early conclusion on an agreement on clean development mechanism (CDM) projects would strengthen the prospects for joint projects in energy efficiency.

The signing of an agreement on mutual protection of classified information in the area of defence [preceded last year by a defence cooperation agreement] along with dialogue on export control, it was hoped, would mark the development of a new phase to enhance the strategic partnership.

The joint statement envisaged the ambit of defence cooperation to include exchange of information and cooperation in defence technological research, armament procurement projects including project related development and general defence technology. On the Doha Round, they underlined the need for a focus on the development dimension and stressed the necessity to overcome the differences in a manner that benefits all member countries of the Worlds Trade Organisation (WTO). “Close cooperation between India and Germany will make a significant contribution to achieve a balanced and comprehensive agreement,” noted the joint statement. They also agreed that further enhancement of air traffic would underpin the growing trade relations between the two countries.

Thanks: The Hindu
Tata Realty forms JV with Jafza
MUMBAI: Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd. (TRIL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Sons, on Tuesday, signed a 50:50 joint venture with Jafza (Jebel Ali Free Zone) International, the global operation arm of the Economic Zones World of Dubai, UAE, to develop and operate a chain of business and logistics parks across India.

The yet to be christened joint venture will develop a network of business and logistics parks adhering to global standards of quality and excellence. The joint venture will be managed by a board of directors, which will see equal representation of both partners.

Addressing a press conference here, Dinesh Chandiok, CEO and Managing Director, TRIL, said, “The first phase would encompass seven locations across the country and entail a joint investment of Rs. 2,400 crore. In the second phase, 15 to 20 more hubs would be added and the total investment in both phases would be around Rs. 10,000 crore. However, the structure and the means of funding have not yet been fixed.”

“Our joint venture with Jafza International is dedicated to enhance value in logistics management. We are in the process of identifying land outside major metros and are at the point of freezing locations for the logistics parks in India,” R. K. Krishna Kumar, Chairman, TRIL, and Director, Tata Sons, said.

Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO, Ports and Free Zone World, said, “ Dubai World Group (the parent of EZW & Jafza) already has major involvement/commitments in the Indian economy in the field of real estate, infrastructure development, logistics and transport. With the Tata partnership, Jafza International is planning to expand its operations in India.”

“In the framework of the joint venture, the proposed network of business and logistics parks would provide an infrastructure platform for integrated trade and logistics services across the country,” Samir Chaturvedi, Executive Vice-President, Jafza International, said.

The key focus, according to Mr. Chaturvedi, is to find the right site although the Tatas, who have a huge land bank across the country, have offered their resources.