BackThe Week in Review for 26 August 2011
The Week in Review for 26 August 2011
PremiumThree regulatory bodies are looking at new ways to encourage foreign firms to list in India. Mint learnt Sebi, IRDA, and the Reserve Bank are planning to ease the rules for Indian Depository Receipts. Their proposals could include allowing insurers to invest in ID ₹ They also plan to allow two-way fungibility. That means investors can deposit shares of the foreign company in the IDR holding. Last year, Standard Chartered made India’s first IDR issue, but its monthly turnover has since plummeted.
In other developments, India’s steel companies are looking to overhaul the way they price their products. And that could change the price tags on everything from cars to consumer durables. Steelmakers are looking at several options. These include a surcharge on steel prices. They also might link steel prices to coal indexes. And some are already looking to switch to monthly pricing. Steel companies have usually offered their customers stable prices through quarterly and half-year contracts. But the last few years have seen great volatility in the prices of iron ore and coal, the two main ingredients needed to make steel.
The Singh brothers, who control Fortis, say they plan to eventually get out of the healthcare business. In an interview with Mint, one of the brothers, Shivinder Singh, that while they remained focused on healthcare they would exit once their business acquired scale.
The Reserve Bank has reiterated its commitment to fighting inflation. Deputy governor Subir Gokarn released its annual report on Thursday, which said it would tackle rising prices even if that meant slower economic growth. It added that high inflation should not be treated as a normal phenomenon.
Aspiring MBA students could soon have one less exam on their to-do lists. The Indian Institutes of Technology plan to adopt the Common Admission Tests employed by the IIMs. The decision applies to the six original IITs across India.
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