No Kingfisher in Kolkata skies for next 7 months

KOLKATA: Kingfisher Airlines is virtually winding up its operations in Kolkata, with no flights to and from the city listed on its ticketing system from March 25 till October. The airline’s airport manager in Kolkata, A Girish, quit two days ago and Salim Chowdhury, who is posted in Hyderabad, has been flown down to manage the affairs for now.

The airline used to operate five domestic and two international destinations from the city till mid-February when it suddenly withdrew services on February 18 following staff trouble and aircraft crunch. It first resumed ATR services to Bhubaneswar, Bagdogra, Aizwal and Dhaka on February 21 and then reconnected Mumbai and Bangkok with an Airbus A-320. The Kolkata-Delhi flight remained suspended.

The ATR flights were once again suspended from Wednesday, March 14, after pilots went on strike. Though the A-320 services operated on Thursday, sources said the flights are likely to be grounded within 10 days. “Passengers cannot book any flights from March 25. Unless the situation improves, all flights from the city are likely to be grounded after a week, if not earlier,” a source said. The airline though has maintained that it has no intent to shut down operations and blamed the current scenario on the freezing of its bank accounts. Officials were, however, unwilling to comment on why Kolkata did not figure on its itinerary after March 25.

Though senior Kingfisher officials had earlier said the carrier could not shut operations in Kolkata since it was the gateway to the northeast, it has effectively ceased operations to the region after grounding its sole ATR aircraft. Airline staff fear the A-320 aircraft that is now operating to Mumbai and Bangkok from Kolkata will be diverted to the more remunerative international sectors after discontinuing operations from Kolkata.

With uncertainty shrouding the future of Kingfisher Airlines’ operations in Kolkata, travel agents in the city are a worried lot with nearly Rs 20 crore blocked in the carrier’s tickets.

Travel Agents Federation of India chairman (east) Anil Punjabi said: “Agents are anxious about the fate of the airline and also the refunds. Passengers are now hesitant to book flights in advance.

Trade with Ghana to touch $1bn

Calcutta: Bilateral trade between India and Ghana is expected to touch $1 billion by 2013. Trade between the two countries increased 52 per cent to $818 million in 2010-11 from $538 million in 2009-10. Indian exports to Ghana are valued at $658 million against imports of $160 million.

The Ghana government is aiming to increase the country’s energy capacity to about 5,000 mega watt (MW) by 2015 from 2,000MW at present. It is looking for investments and partnerships for the 3,000MW shortfall.

“There are tremendous opportunities for Indian firms and investors within the electrical and engineering sectors, in the manufacture of consumer appliances and heavy industrial equipment for production and transmission and distribution. Our government is looking for investments in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil sector,” Robert Tachie-Menson, high commissioner of Ghana, said.

“There is a need for massive investment in the public sector projects such as energy transmission and distribution network, expansion of water treatment plants, new sewage systems, construction of deep sea ports and modernising existing dry docks. Rehabilitation of the railway network and its extension to the northern part of the country is also needed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the two countries signed an MoU in 2010 to set up a $1.3-billion joint venture fertiliser processing unit in Ghana.

Tatas break Odisha ore jam

Calcutta: Tired of waiting for the allocation of a new mine, Tata Steel has decided to feed the resource requirements of its upcoming plant in Odisha from its existing mines.

Tata Steel — the world’s seventh largest steel maker — will light up the first phase of the 3.5-million-tonne plant at Kalinganagar during January-March of 2014 even though the state government has so far failed to come good on its commitment to offer a new mine.

“If a mine is allotted to me today, it will take a minimum of 5-7 years to take it up to production level. So, we will have to start with existing mines at Kalinganagar,” Tata Steel managing director Hemant Nerurkar said earlier this week in Jamshedpur.

The Tatas have four iron ore mines, three in Odisha and one in Jharkhand, supporting the existing Jamshedpur plant, which is being expanded to 10 million tonnes from 7 million tonnes over the next 12 months.

The combined capacity of Tata Steel will go up to 16 million tonnes in the next four years when the capacity of the Odisha plant is expanded to 6 million tonnes, increasing annual demand for iron ore to 26 million tonnes.

According to the memorandum of agreement signed between Odisha and Tata Steel in November 2004, it was supposed to get a mine on lease after spending 25 per cent of the total project cost.

It is going to spend Rs 24,000 crore in the first phase and another Rs 12,000 crore in the second phase. Most of the first phase investment has already been made. “Everyone knows about the size of our existing reserves. It won’t last long. Tata Steel needs new mines soon,” Nerurkar added.

However, the fact that the company is going ahead with commercial production without a new mine, ignoring the medium-term risk of depleting captive resource, marks a strategic shift in the way mineral-based enterprises move forward in implementing new projects.

Observers said companies were beginning to value unencumbered land more than mines when they set up mineral-based industries in India.

“You can still get raw materials such as coal and iron ore from somewhere. But you need land and water to process it,” said an executive with the steel company.

Tata Steel has faced stiff resistance from locals over the Kalinganagar project where 12 people were killed when police opened fire to disperse protesters.

After patiently waiting for years and engaging with the local community through a string of welfare activities, it managed to persuade the squatters to get off the land and then start work on the project.

Bengal to push for coal solution

Calcutta: Bengal commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee today said he would visit New Delhi “next week or sometime after” to expedite the process of coal block allocation to the state.

“The state government is keen to solve the coal block problem,” Chatterjee said at an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industries here today.

He is likely to be accompanied by Basudeb Bannerjee, state principal secretary of commerce, industry and IT, and Romit Mutsuddi, managing director of the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation. Mutsuddi is also an executive director of the WBIDC.

The Bengal government has already written to coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal requesting the speedy allocation of nine more blocks out of the 15 reserved for the state. The state did not get any new block since 2007. These additional blocks are critical for power utilities and the steel industry.

The state government has also requested the Centre to consider reallocating the 30-million-tonne (mt) East Damagoria captive coal block to West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL).

The coal ministry had taken away the block from the state utility in 2011 following its failure to develop the block for the 1,000 megawatt Katwa thermal power project.

Chatterjee said he would also seek an explanation regarding the floor/reserve price of coal blocks that would come up for competitive bidding once the Centre gave a green signal to the auction.

The Central Mine Planning & Design Institute — a Coal India subsidiary — has reportedly invited bids for hiring a consultant to come up with a method to fix the floor/reserve price of blocks. The report is expected by tomorrow.

Over 50 coal blocks, having estimated reserves of about 18,000mt, is expected to come up for auctions.

The state government is also pushing for a national policy on iron ore in line with that of coal. “We want to ensure that industries here do not face uneven competition,” Chatterjee said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already taken up the issue of a national iron ore policy with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The policy is expected to curb the control of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh over the iron ore resources in the region.

Kazakhstan explores trade scope

Calcutta: The ambassador of Kazakhstan, Doulat Kuanyshev, today met Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee to explore prospects of co-operation in tea, tourism and mining.

“Kazakhstan is the second largest importer of tea. We take more Assam tea than Darjeeling. We should promote business ties with Bengal. I have invited the minister to take a delegation to Kazakhstan,” Kuanyshev said later at a session organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry here today.

He said the consumption of premium tea was becoming a trend in his country. “There is enough scope to qualitatively improve the tea market. We import about $41 million worth of Indian tea.”

Kazakhstan is India’s largest trading partner among the central Asian republics. Bilateral trade has grown to $306.30 million in 2010-11 from $171.48 million in 2006-07.

During the period, India’s exports to the country grew to $167.88 million from $83.18 million, while imports rose to $138.42 million from $88.30 million.

Major export items were tea, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, machinery, tobacco and consumer items.

Coal India net soars

Calcutta: Coal India (CIL) has posted a 54 per cent year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 4,037.76 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 on the back of better price realisation and a hefty interest income from fixed deposits worth more than Rs 55,000 crore.

Coal offtake from various subsidiaries during the reporting quarter was a tad lower at 110.27 million tonnes (mt) compared with 110.42mt in the previous corresponding quarter.

A better price realisation in the third quarter of the current financial year helped net sales to grow 21 per cent year-on-year at Rs 15,349.28 crore.

The PSU had also increased prices of some coal grades from February last year.

Production and offtake of raw coal in the October-December quarter were higher at 114.62mt (80.32mt) and 110.27mt (93.73mt), respectively, compared with the July-September quarter of the current financial year.

However, production of raw coal in the first nine months of the current financial year declined marginally to 291.24mt from 299.45mt in the same period a year ago, though offtake remained almost flat at 310.25mt (310.37mt) during the period.

Given the trend, CIL is unlikely to surpass last year’s production of 431.32mt by a big margin.

CIL’s other income, that includes interest income from cash reserves of Rs 55,000 crore in bank fixed deposits, grew 48.39 per cent to Rs 1,855.87 crore in the quarter ended December from the previous corresponding quarter following a steep increase in interest rates last calendar year.

Amway mulls first facility

Calcutta: Amway India will set up its first manufacturing facility in the country at an investment of Rs 300 crore.

The plant is expected to be commissioned in 2014 and will mainly manufacture beauty and nutrition products.

“We are considering different locations for the plant and have received several proposals. Board approvals have been received. But things have not been finalised yet,” managing director and chief executive officer William S. Pinckney said.

“We have about seven third-party contract manufacturing partners. India can become the sixth largest Amway market in the world by this year,” he said.

Amway India’s turnover stood at Rs 2,130 crore in 2011 and is expected to cross the Rs 2,500-crore mark this year.

The contribution of the eastern region is likely to go up to Rs 450 crore this year from about Rs 385 crore in 2011.

‘Europe’s auto hub’ keen to invest in state

KOLKATA: Bavaria, the German state commonly called Europe’s automobile hub, is keen to invest in Bengal’s automobile sector.

This has assumed significance after the exit of Tata Motors from Bengal in October 2008. A 27-member Bavarian parliamentary delegation met chief minister Mamata Banerjee and commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday. They had an hour’s meeting with Chatterjee along with industry secretary Basudeb Banerjee and WBIDC MD Nandini Chakraborty.

The commerce and industries minister said the German state has expressed interest to invest in Bengal. Incidentally, Bavaria is the headquarters of automobile-makers BMW, Volkswagen and Audi. Other big companies like Siemens, Allianz, Munich Re, Continental, Adidas, Puma are based in Bavaria as well.

“They want to know what kind of investment Bavaria can make. We know that it is strong in automobiles, auto ancillaries and industrial clusters. We have sought their help in developing an auto industry here,” he said.

Chatterjee said a Bavarian delegation has invited him to visit the German state. “If we get a formal invitation, we shall consider it. They can help us make logistic hubs along with auto-related industries,” he added.

Chatterjee pointed out that a Bavarian delegation has expressed interest in investing in biotech and solar energy, too. “We told them that Bengal has cheap and skilled manpower which they could utilize,” he added.

WBIDC managing director Nandini Chakraborty later added that key members of the delegation have assured that they would talk to industries in Bavaria for investment in Bengal. “In fact, the Bavarian delegation was keen to discuss about industry and sought appointments for it,” she added.

2G order puts users on the blink

KOLKATA: Cell phone users in the city and beyond were clueless and confused about their fate following Thursday’s Supreme Court order cancelling 2G licences in several circles, including Kolkata and West Bengal. Nearly 1 crore subscribers of five telecom operators – MTS, Idea, Uninor, Loop and Videocon – are expected to be affected by the court order.

According to the order, the operators have to wind up operations in 122 circles in which licences have been cancelled. This means their subscribers have to shift to other operators or risk disconnection.

Ashutosh College student Sharmila Roy, who had opted for Uninor because it offered tariff lower than leading players Vodafone, Airtel, Tata Docomo and CellOne, was shocked when she heard the news. “I have to obviously shift to another cellular operator. But I am unlikely to get the attractive plan that Uninor had offered. That means my phone bill will go up. The biggest hassle is documentation for the shift. If the process is not streamlined, it will cause a lot of problems for subscribers,” she said.

Like Roy, scores of cellular subscribers either dialled helplines or visited nearby customer care centres for some clarity on the issue. There are several worried on how and where to apply for switching to another operator; when to do so and how long it will take; nature of the new plan and how much more the bill will be.

It’s not just them who are worried. Subscribers of other operators are also worried that the likes of Vodafone, Airtel, Tata Docomo and Aircel will raise tariff as competition constricts. “There are rumours doing the rounds that call and SMS charges will go up,” Tata Docomo subscriber Suromona Dasgupta said.

While many subscribers had serious concerns, there were several others who were blissfully ignorant of the judgment. St Xavier’s College third-year student Mohammed Samim was shocked to learn that the services would cease in a few months. “I had no idea about any verdict on cellular service. What is 2G anyway? By when do I have to switch a new operator?” he wondered aloud.

Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) director-general Rajan Mathews allayed fears and said there would be no immediate impact given the transition time given by the court. “Companies will come out with statements and policies. A clearer picture should emerge in a couple of weeks,” he said.

In Bengal, Uninor has the biggest subscriber base among the affected operators. Of its 50 lakh users in Bengal, 15 lakh are in Kolkata. Idea has 30 lakh subscribers in the state, of which 11 lakh are in the city.

The Supreme Court order cancelling 122 licenses has also raised deep trust-related issues about stakeholders involved in the troubled telecom brands. According to a study titled ‘The Brand Trust Report (BTR) India Study, 2012′ which compares brand trust on a 61-component matrix and ranks the top 1,000 brands in terms of trust, the verdict would dent of a lot of trust from the brands.

“The telecom growth is nothing short of a revolution. Telecom has left no life untouched. The Supreme Court judgment will definitely impact the consumers, but the bigger and deeper damage has been done to the trust that these brands evoke. The brand trust of the impacted brands is bound to be severely affected,” TRA chief executive officer N Chandramouli said.

Mathews, however, felt that since almost all players had been hit by the court verdict, Indian subscribers will learn to live with them.

Concast funds plan

Calcutta: City-based Concast Group is planning to invest over Rs 2,000 crore to strengthen its steel and cement businesses over the next two to three years.

The company has recently acquired a majority stake in a 0.5-million-tonne-per-annum cement plant in Jamshedpur from the original promoters Swati Group.

It is looking to invest Rs 300 crore to expand the plant’s capacity to 1.2mt by the year-end.

The company plans to set up a 1.2mt cement facility in Arunachal Pradesh at an estimated investment of Rs 800 crore.

Chairman and managing director Sanjay Sureka said the presence of limestone reserves close to the plant in both Jamshedpur and Arunachal Pradesh would benefit the company.

He added that the Arunachal unit was expected to be operational within two years after getting the environmental clearance, which was likely in a month.

The company plans to invest Rs 550 crore to upgrade the capacity of its steel plant in Jharsuguda (Odisha) to 1.4mt from 0.5mt.

It had acquired the plant last year from Bipin Vohra-promoted SPS Group.

Concast has also lined up an investment of Rs 400 crore to set up a pelletisation plant at Bankura.

Meanwhile, the company is looking to diversify into the hospitality sector and has acquired two acres for Rs 96 crore off EM Bypass.

It plans to develop a 150-room hotel and residential complex.

In the infrastructure sector, the company is looking to construct two airports at Dwarka and Ankleshwar in Gujarat. The memorandum of understanding has already been signed.

“All our expansion will be financed through a mix of bank loans and internal accruals roughly in the ratio of 70 to 30,” Sureka said.

The company hopes to increase its turnover to Rs 9,000 crore by the end of this fiscal from about Rs 7,000 crore last fiscal.

“Concast has engaged Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan as brand ambassador for its TMT steel bars under a two-year contract.”