Indian companies are being strongly advised to invest in the UK ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.
The British Deputy High Commissioner for South India, Mike Nithavrianakis said contract deals worth £6 billion as well as the 75,000 new business opportunities generated by the London Games present Indian companies with ample opportunity to solidify trade links between the two countries - as well as to use the UK as a springboard into European and Chinese markets.
Addressing the Indo-UK seminar on business partnerships, Nithavrianakis said potential trade would focus on high-tech, high growth and innovative industries.
Mr Nithavrianakis said the UKTI would play a key role in bringing together companies from the UK and the south Indian state of Kerala prior to the Games.
Despite the UK's laboured emergence from the recession, it is still a key trading post for India with bilateral trade between the two countries reaching £12.6 billion in 2008.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson underlined the importance of the relationship ahead of his visit to India this week: "The UK and India are natural business partners. There are huge opportunities for UK firms in India and Indian firms are strong investors in the UK."
Dr Thomas Issac, State Finance Minister for the government of Kerala, said that the response to the governments decision to set up a venture capital fund for promoting investments was enthusiastic adding that information technology, biotechnology and tourism would be key areas of investment.
Dr Isaac added that investment in infrastructure has been planned in order to accommodate a surge in trade relations between the UK and Kerala.
UK Capital Investments News, December 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Mobile shells more UK capital investments in India
Mobile putes huge UK capital investments in India and said it would rather improve upon on its competitiveness in the market.
"We have already made over a billion dollar investment in India. We do not have to make more uk capital investments. We have to run the business more efficiently to be more competitive in the market".
He said, "We do not need to build more factories or plants because those are already in place. Now we need to expand operations as foundation is already there."
Mehta clarified that the company has no plans to enter the refining business in India.
About the state of its LNG business in India after availability of Reliance Industries' KG-D6 basin gas, he said, "Reliance gas from KG-D6 basin has not affected our business as market is large enough to absorb both LNG as well as domestic gas. Reliance is still buying LNG from us."
About retail business expansion, Mehta said, "The government has to finally decide, how they want to arrange the pricing mechanism for petroleum (products), before private sector retailing becomes viable business."
UK Capital Investments News, December 2009
"We have already made over a billion dollar investment in India. We do not have to make more uk capital investments. We have to run the business more efficiently to be more competitive in the market".
He said, "We do not need to build more factories or plants because those are already in place. Now we need to expand operations as foundation is already there."
Mehta clarified that the company has no plans to enter the refining business in India.
About the state of its LNG business in India after availability of Reliance Industries' KG-D6 basin gas, he said, "Reliance gas from KG-D6 basin has not affected our business as market is large enough to absorb both LNG as well as domestic gas. Reliance is still buying LNG from us."
About retail business expansion, Mehta said, "The government has to finally decide, how they want to arrange the pricing mechanism for petroleum (products), before private sector retailing becomes viable business."
UK Capital Investments News, December 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Foreign Investment in China Climbs for a Fourth Month
Foreign direct investment in China climbed at the fastest pace in 16 months in November, aiding the recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.
Investment rose 32 percent from a year earlier to $7.02 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said at a briefing in Beijing today. That compared with a 5.7 percent increase in October. Investment fell 9.9 percent in the first 11 months of the year, the government said.
China’s economy grew at the fastest pace in a year in the third quarter and the expansion will be 9.3 percent in 2010, according to the median forecast of a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. Fast-growing developing nations will lure funds away from advanced economies for the next 10 to 20 years, according to Thomas Deng, head of China strategy at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong.
“China’s recovery, and especially the expanding consumer market, will continue to attract foreign investors,” said Xing Ziqiang, an economist at China International Capital Corp. in Beijing. “The Chinese market may be the brightest spot for growth for many multinational companies this year.”
Luxury car maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG said last month that it will build a new factory worth 5 billion yuan ($732 million) in China to tap an auto market set to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest.
Foreign direct investment will grow steadily in the next few months and may stay within the $7 billion to $8 billion monthly range attracted since August, the ministry said.
Accelerating Pace
“China’s long-term growth potential is bringing foreign capital into the country at an accelerating pace in the second half,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Inflows of foreign direct investment have climbed for four months and that bodes well for private investment in a country that this year has garnered most of its growth from government- linked investment, said Kowalczyk.
“It’s important for policy makers to see that the private sector can pick up the baton at some point,” he said. “The fact that the foreign private sector is recovering and investing quite a lot is definitely positive.”
Developing economies will expand 5.1 percent in 2010 compared with 1.3 percent in advanced nations, according to the International Monetary Fund.
China’s industrial output grew more than economists estimated last month and exports fell the least in 13 months, confirming the nation’s role as the leader of the world recovery.
In China, gross domestic product will expand 10.5 percent this quarter, helping the government to top its 8 percent target for the year, according to the median estimate of 38 economists.
The Shanghai Composite Index has gained more than 80 percent this year.
UK Capital Investments News, December 2009
Investment rose 32 percent from a year earlier to $7.02 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said at a briefing in Beijing today. That compared with a 5.7 percent increase in October. Investment fell 9.9 percent in the first 11 months of the year, the government said.
China’s economy grew at the fastest pace in a year in the third quarter and the expansion will be 9.3 percent in 2010, according to the median forecast of a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. Fast-growing developing nations will lure funds away from advanced economies for the next 10 to 20 years, according to Thomas Deng, head of China strategy at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong.
“China’s recovery, and especially the expanding consumer market, will continue to attract foreign investors,” said Xing Ziqiang, an economist at China International Capital Corp. in Beijing. “The Chinese market may be the brightest spot for growth for many multinational companies this year.”
Luxury car maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG said last month that it will build a new factory worth 5 billion yuan ($732 million) in China to tap an auto market set to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest.
Foreign direct investment will grow steadily in the next few months and may stay within the $7 billion to $8 billion monthly range attracted since August, the ministry said.
Accelerating Pace
“China’s long-term growth potential is bringing foreign capital into the country at an accelerating pace in the second half,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Inflows of foreign direct investment have climbed for four months and that bodes well for private investment in a country that this year has garnered most of its growth from government- linked investment, said Kowalczyk.
“It’s important for policy makers to see that the private sector can pick up the baton at some point,” he said. “The fact that the foreign private sector is recovering and investing quite a lot is definitely positive.”
Developing economies will expand 5.1 percent in 2010 compared with 1.3 percent in advanced nations, according to the International Monetary Fund.
China’s industrial output grew more than economists estimated last month and exports fell the least in 13 months, confirming the nation’s role as the leader of the world recovery.
In China, gross domestic product will expand 10.5 percent this quarter, helping the government to top its 8 percent target for the year, according to the median estimate of 38 economists.
The Shanghai Composite Index has gained more than 80 percent this year.
UK Capital Investments News, December 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
UK aims to Bolster Capital Rules
The U.K.'s Financial Services Authority proposed strengthening its rules that govern the amount and quality of capital that banks in the U.K. need to hold against potential losses as part of an effort to implement changes to European Union rules.
The proposals are expected to result in a £33 billion ($53.69 billion), or 5%, increase in the total amount of capital held by banks, with the bulk of this required to be held by the start of 2011, the FSA said.
The new rules will increase costs for banks, which will need to raise some of this extra capital, using higher-quality instruments than they have used in the past, from investors who may be unwilling to risk exposure to the banking sector in the wake of the financial crisis, regulatory observers said.
The FSA's new rules are designed to ensure that banks hold more capital against proprietary trading activities and securitization deals they invest in so they can better weather future financial crises. They are in line with changes to international capital rules set by the Bank for International Settlements.
The BIS is due to publish a draft proposal by the first quarter of 2010 on reforming its Basel II capital rules for the world's largest banks.
The FSA has suggested boosting the capital requirements for banks' trading-book exposures so they better reflect potential losses during times of financial turmoil, as well as improving the risk management of securitization exposures, partly by allowing firms to invest only in deals in which the originator retains a 5% economic interest.
It also has indicated it will impose higher capital levels for resecuritization deals in which an extra layer of complexity is added by repackaging existing asset-backed securities into new securitizations.
The new rules would limit a firm's lending to any one counterparty to 25% of its capital and upgrade standards of disclosure about capital levels to increase confidence in the financial sector, the FSA said.
They also would bring the U.K. into line with EU criteria for assessing the eligibility of hybrid capital to form a core part of the firm's overall capital base by specifying the flexibility of payments and loss-absorbency they must possess to be accepted, it said.
The FSA said the new capital requirements will cost firms £6 billion a year.
The new rules, in tandem with the FSA's plans to force banks to hold buffers of government bonds, will force many banks to alter their business models so they take on less risk from trading and investments in structured products, according to some regulatory consultants.
"This will change business models," said Selwyn Blair-Ford, senior domain expert at FRSGlobal, a risk and regulatory reporting company. "If I were a bank I would be questioning the ability to maintain certain business lines because of the increased costs of capital and liquidity."
Banks will also incur costs from having to raise capital from investors by issuing higher-quality instruments that absorb losses more efficiently.
"You've got firms at the moment which will be financing themselves with interest-bearing long-term bonds who will find that capital is just not acceptable anymore," said Blair-Ford. "The reason they had taken that route was because investors weren't willing to take raw equity."
The British Bankers' Association would only say that it is working with the financial authorities on the development of new capital rules.
"This is part of an international process to develop new rules for the treatment of capital," said Brian Mairs, a spokesman for the BBA.
UKCIG News, December 2009
The proposals are expected to result in a £33 billion ($53.69 billion), or 5%, increase in the total amount of capital held by banks, with the bulk of this required to be held by the start of 2011, the FSA said.
The new rules will increase costs for banks, which will need to raise some of this extra capital, using higher-quality instruments than they have used in the past, from investors who may be unwilling to risk exposure to the banking sector in the wake of the financial crisis, regulatory observers said.
The FSA's new rules are designed to ensure that banks hold more capital against proprietary trading activities and securitization deals they invest in so they can better weather future financial crises. They are in line with changes to international capital rules set by the Bank for International Settlements.
The BIS is due to publish a draft proposal by the first quarter of 2010 on reforming its Basel II capital rules for the world's largest banks.
The FSA has suggested boosting the capital requirements for banks' trading-book exposures so they better reflect potential losses during times of financial turmoil, as well as improving the risk management of securitization exposures, partly by allowing firms to invest only in deals in which the originator retains a 5% economic interest.
It also has indicated it will impose higher capital levels for resecuritization deals in which an extra layer of complexity is added by repackaging existing asset-backed securities into new securitizations.
The new rules would limit a firm's lending to any one counterparty to 25% of its capital and upgrade standards of disclosure about capital levels to increase confidence in the financial sector, the FSA said.
They also would bring the U.K. into line with EU criteria for assessing the eligibility of hybrid capital to form a core part of the firm's overall capital base by specifying the flexibility of payments and loss-absorbency they must possess to be accepted, it said.
The FSA said the new capital requirements will cost firms £6 billion a year.
The new rules, in tandem with the FSA's plans to force banks to hold buffers of government bonds, will force many banks to alter their business models so they take on less risk from trading and investments in structured products, according to some regulatory consultants.
"This will change business models," said Selwyn Blair-Ford, senior domain expert at FRSGlobal, a risk and regulatory reporting company. "If I were a bank I would be questioning the ability to maintain certain business lines because of the increased costs of capital and liquidity."
Banks will also incur costs from having to raise capital from investors by issuing higher-quality instruments that absorb losses more efficiently.
"You've got firms at the moment which will be financing themselves with interest-bearing long-term bonds who will find that capital is just not acceptable anymore," said Blair-Ford. "The reason they had taken that route was because investors weren't willing to take raw equity."
The British Bankers' Association would only say that it is working with the financial authorities on the development of new capital rules.
"This is part of an international process to develop new rules for the treatment of capital," said Brian Mairs, a spokesman for the BBA.
UKCIG News, December 2009
FSA proposes extra £32.6bn uk capital investment buffer for UK banks
British banks will be forced to hold up to £32.6bn in extra capital as a buffer against potential losses under new rules proposed by the financial watchdog.
The draft rules, published on Thursday by the Financial Services Authority, would also restrict what can be counted as capital.The FSA has developed the proposals in the wake of changes to European Union regulations covering banks' balance sheets.
In a statement, the regulator said the proposals would improve the quality of capital held by businesses affected – mostly banks and building societies, along with some investment companies.
The rules would ensure UK banks met new EU-wide criteria on the eligibility of hybrid capital – capital with both debt and equity features – to count as part of their overall capital, the FSA said.
They would also strengthen capital requirements specifically for trading books, to ensure companies better accounted for the risk of possible losses from "adverse market movements in stressed conditions".
Companies affected would collectively have to hold up to an extra £29.6bn of capital against their trading books, and an extra £3.6bn against securitised products.
The changes amounted to an increase in the "absolute amount of capital held by UK capital investment banks of about 5pc, and a reduction of risk-weighted assets of about 4pc", the FSA said. The regulator will embark on a consultation programme until March, before the final rules are published later next year. They are due to come into force in January 2011.
A spokesman for the British Bankers' Association said the draft rules were in line with the industry's expectations following the development of new EU rules.
The proposed commencement date was ambitious as banks would need time to adjust their business models and potentially raise more capital, he said. The association is lobbying for the rules to come into force in 2012.
UK Capital Investments News, December 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Capital investment adequacy is a mutual headache for UK's building societies - UKCIG News
Back in February of last year, Adrian Coles, director general of the Building Societies Association, declared that his members were "definitely not" suffering the acute agony of the banks, a fate which I had predicted a few days previously.
Two years since, it's obvious who was right and who was wrong in that argument and yesterday saw further evidence of the ongoing problems the building society sector faces.
Yorkshire's willingness to consider absorbing the Chelsea Building Society is just one more rescue, albeit with a substantial capital restructuring as a condition. That said, it's not a done deal. Yorkshire is talking about a "possibility" of a merger and both sides' customers will vote. Such democracy is a far cry from the secret loans used by the Government to prop up HBOS while it merged with Lloyds TSB.
As with the banks, capital adequacy continues to be a headache at a time when the folding stuff is at a premium. Names such as Barnsley, Britannia, Chelsea, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dunfermline, Scarborough and West Bromwich have all either been dismantled, rescued, recapitalised or merged since Coles made his assertion.
Two years since, it's obvious who was right and who was wrong in that argument and yesterday saw further evidence of the ongoing problems the building society sector faces.
Yorkshire's willingness to consider absorbing the Chelsea Building Society is just one more rescue, albeit with a substantial capital restructuring as a condition. That said, it's not a done deal. Yorkshire is talking about a "possibility" of a merger and both sides' customers will vote. Such democracy is a far cry from the secret loans used by the Government to prop up HBOS while it merged with Lloyds TSB.
As with the banks, capital adequacy continues to be a headache at a time when the folding stuff is at a premium. Names such as Barnsley, Britannia, Chelsea, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dunfermline, Scarborough and West Bromwich have all either been dismantled, rescued, recapitalised or merged since Coles made his assertion.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
UK Car Insurers to Raise Rates as capital Investment Income Dwindles
U.K. car insurers will have to raise premiums by a further 5 percent to make up for lower investment returns this year, according to research by Deloitte LLP.
British auto insurers will likely make a 1 billion-pound ($1.7 billion) loss from insuring drivers this year and will have to raise prices to offset the cost of claims and dwindling investment income, the London-based management consultant said in a statement.
“Motor premiums are on the increase,” said James Rakow, insurance associate partner at Deloitte. “The current year of trading is far from being profitable at a market level and this is likely to remain the case in 2010.”
The car insurance industry hasn’t made an underwriting profit, which excludes investment income, for at least 11 years, the Association of British Insurers said. The Bank of England’s record low interest, which was cut to 0.5 percent in March, is squeezing the investment returns that buoyed insurers’ earnings for the past decade.
Aviva Plc and RSA Insurance Group Plc, the U.K.’s two biggest non-life insurers, said they succeeded in pushing through price increases in the first half of this year. In the market as a whole, motor insurers raised prices at the fastest rate on record in the three months to Sept. 30, and the average premium has risen 14 percent over the last year, according to the Automobile Association Ltd.
UK Capital Investments Group News, December 2009
British auto insurers will likely make a 1 billion-pound ($1.7 billion) loss from insuring drivers this year and will have to raise prices to offset the cost of claims and dwindling investment income, the London-based management consultant said in a statement.
“Motor premiums are on the increase,” said James Rakow, insurance associate partner at Deloitte. “The current year of trading is far from being profitable at a market level and this is likely to remain the case in 2010.”
The car insurance industry hasn’t made an underwriting profit, which excludes investment income, for at least 11 years, the Association of British Insurers said. The Bank of England’s record low interest, which was cut to 0.5 percent in March, is squeezing the investment returns that buoyed insurers’ earnings for the past decade.
Aviva Plc and RSA Insurance Group Plc, the U.K.’s two biggest non-life insurers, said they succeeded in pushing through price increases in the first half of this year. In the market as a whole, motor insurers raised prices at the fastest rate on record in the three months to Sept. 30, and the average premium has risen 14 percent over the last year, according to the Automobile Association Ltd.
UK Capital Investments Group News, December 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
UK Capital Investments adequacy is a mutual headache for UK's building societies group
Back in February of last year, Adrian Coles, director general of the Building Societies Association, declared that his members were "definitely not" suffering the acute agony of the banks, a fate which I had predicted a few days previously.
People have said that UK Capital Investments adequacy is a mutual headache for UK's building societies group.
Two years since, it's obvious who was right and who was wrong in that argument and yesterday saw further evidence of the ongoing problems the building society sector faces.
Yorkshire's willingness to consider absorbing the Chelsea Building Society is just one more rescue, albeit with a substantial capital restructuring as a condition. That said, it's not a done deal. Yorkshire is talking about a "possibility" of a merger and both sides' customers will vote. Such democracy is a far cry from the secret loans used by the Government to prop up HBOS while it merged with Lloyds TSB.
People have said that UK Capital Investments adequacy is a mutual headache for UK's building societies group.
Two years since, it's obvious who was right and who was wrong in that argument and yesterday saw further evidence of the ongoing problems the building society sector faces.
Yorkshire's willingness to consider absorbing the Chelsea Building Society is just one more rescue, albeit with a substantial capital restructuring as a condition. That said, it's not a done deal. Yorkshire is talking about a "possibility" of a merger and both sides' customers will vote. Such democracy is a far cry from the secret loans used by the Government to prop up HBOS while it merged with Lloyds TSB.
Lowestoft UK enterprise capital investments group
A seaside town where 5,000 new businesses have been set up in the past two years, creating almost 10,000 jobs, was named the enterprise capital of Britain.
Lowestoft in the East of England is said to have transformed itself from a town in decline hit by industrial downturns into a breeding ground for business growth.
The town, the most easterly in the country, ranks in the bottom 15 most deprived areas in the UK and beat off competition from London, Glasgow, Hull, Anfield in Liverpool, Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales, and Chatham in Kent to win the Government-run award.
Thanks to funding from the local enterprise agency NWES, the first centre for performing arts opened and money was invested in renewable energy.
Scott Cain, deputy chief executive of Enterprise UK, said: "Lowestoft and specifically NWES has demonstrated outstanding vision and drive to become this year's Enterprising Britain winner. It's an inspiring story of inspiring people coming together to change lives."
Trade, Investment and Small Business Minister Lord Davies said: "Enterprise remains the engine room of our economy, with 4.8 million businesses last year contributing more than 50% to the UK's turnover.
"NWES has turned a deprived seaside town into a community that is no longer dependent on a few major employers. In these tough economic times it has established a strong enterprise culture in the region, supporting growing businesses and creating jobs.
"In the current economic climate, we must continue to place enterprise at the heart of our businesses and communities."
UK Capital Investments Group News, December 2009
Lowestoft in the East of England is said to have transformed itself from a town in decline hit by industrial downturns into a breeding ground for business growth.
The town, the most easterly in the country, ranks in the bottom 15 most deprived areas in the UK and beat off competition from London, Glasgow, Hull, Anfield in Liverpool, Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales, and Chatham in Kent to win the Government-run award.
Thanks to funding from the local enterprise agency NWES, the first centre for performing arts opened and money was invested in renewable energy.
Scott Cain, deputy chief executive of Enterprise UK, said: "Lowestoft and specifically NWES has demonstrated outstanding vision and drive to become this year's Enterprising Britain winner. It's an inspiring story of inspiring people coming together to change lives."
Trade, Investment and Small Business Minister Lord Davies said: "Enterprise remains the engine room of our economy, with 4.8 million businesses last year contributing more than 50% to the UK's turnover.
"NWES has turned a deprived seaside town into a community that is no longer dependent on a few major employers. In these tough economic times it has established a strong enterprise culture in the region, supporting growing businesses and creating jobs.
"In the current economic climate, we must continue to place enterprise at the heart of our businesses and communities."
UK Capital Investments Group News, December 2009
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