Colossal Reliance launches new India centric fund

On Tuesday, Nov 13, in the fashionable district of Yorkville at the upscale Indian restaurant, The Host, the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) hosted a dinner cum seminar for the upcoming launch of a new India focussed mutual fund. This new fund, the Lawrence India Fund, will be offered through the partnership of Reliance Asset Management of India and Lawrence Asset Management of Canada.
To open the evening, the president of ICCC, Mr. Sunil Jagasia introduced Singapore based Mr. Ashish Mehta, the bright and young CEO & Investment Manager of Reliance Asset Management and Mr. Ravi Sood, the dynamic youthful President & Chief Operating Officer at Lawrence Asset Management Inc. to the power-packed room.
“India is a non-stop growth story”, started Ashish, “ with $500 billion committed to building infrastructure in the next 7 years. For this we are inviting private tenders from all over the world. For toll roads, the promoters and builders will own the roadways for 20-25 years upon which it will be given back to the government. Already India has received several bids”.
“Furthermore, there are 70 million middle-class households with a lot of pent-up demand for consumption. There is a lot of internal indigenous demand with the top 30 companies, representing various fields that cater to these demands, enjoying a growth of 25%.”
Mr. Ashish Mehta also added that the organized retail sector also represented only 3% of the country’s consumption, a very low figure, thus there is plenty of room to grow. Also the mortgage industry, the credit card penetration and several other credit facilities are very low and have a huge potential for growth leading to a high velocity of money changing hands- a variable in judging the economic potential of a country. The ever-increasing demands for India’s software capabilities are also a factor to bear in mind. Also the remittances from overseas NRIs are building up India’s foreign reserves. Besides all this, India sits on a fantastic pool of coal, iron and bauxite reserves, resources that are heavily in demand all over the world. For all these reasons and more, India is well primed for even more stupendous growth and overseas investors should take advantage of this situation to invest part of their money in this incredible growth story, thus the launch of the Lawrence India fund, that will invest mainly in blue chip growth oriented companies.
Mr. Ravi Sood, who also sometimes co-shows Squeeze Play on the Business News Network (BNN) alongside Amanda Lang, then took the stage and explained the mechanics of the fund and how, to make it tax-efficient, all the money would be channelled through a holding company in Mauritius to be invested in India.
Several well-known personalities also attended the energy charged evening including Ms. Susan Prince of BNN and Mr. James Peterson, former Trade Minister for Canada and current member of the ICCC advisory board.

Government of Canada Is Reducing Taxes to Lowest Level in 50 Years

Ottawa, November 21, 2007


The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today tabled in the House of Commons the Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act to effect the $60 billion of broad-based tax relief proposed in the October 30, 2007 Economic Statement. The Act also includes Budget 2007 measures not included in the Budget Implementation Act, 2007, which received Royal Assent on June 22, 2007.

"Our government is reducing taxes across the board for every Canadian individual and business that pays tax," said Minister Flaherty. "As a result of our efforts since taking office, taxes will fall by some $190 billion over this and the next five years to their lowest level since the early 1960s. This is an achievement of which we can all be proud."

Building on the initial goods and services tax (GST) reduction introduced in Budget 2006, the Government proposes to reduce the GST by an additional percentage point to 5 per cent, effective January 1, 2008. For consumers, the total savings from the 2-percentage-point reduction will amount to approximately $12 billion next year. The GST credit will be maintained at its current level, translating into more than $1.1 billion in benefits annually for low- and modest-income Canadians.

Among other measures, the Government is proposing additional tax relief for individuals and families by:

· Increasing the basic personal amount to $9,600 retroactive to January 1, 2007, with a further increase to $10,100 on January 1, 2009.

· Reducing the lowest personal income tax rate to 15 per cent from 15.5 per cent, retroactive to January 1, 2007.

· Introducing a new Working Income Tax Benefit.

· Eliminating income tax on elementary and secondary school scholarships.

· Enhancing the children's fitness tax credit.

· Expanding the scope of the public transit tax credit.

"We are also ushering in a new era of declining business taxation that will strengthen our economy and further encourage job creation," Minister Flaherty said. "By 2012, Canada's corporate income tax rate will be the lowest among the major industrialized economies."

The Government proposes to:

· Reduce the general corporate income tax rate to 15 per cent by 2012, starting with a 1-percentage-point reduction in the rate in 2008 beyond the already legislated reductions.

· Reduce the small business income tax rate to 11 per cent in 2008, one year earlier than scheduled.

· Increase the lifetime capital gains exemption for small business owners, farmers and fishers to $750,000.

· Increase the deductible percentage of meal expenses for long-haul truck drivers.

· Extend the mineral exploration tax credit.

· Ease tax remittance and filing requirements for small business.

The Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act will also bring into force Prime Minister Stephen Harper's October 10, 2007 announcement providing for a guarantee that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador will do at least as well as they would have under the previous Equalization formula and 2005 Offshore Accord if they permanently opt into the new Equalization formula.

The legislation also proposes to eliminate withholding tax on arm's length outbound interest payments to residents of all countries effective January 1, 2008. Based on the proposal in Budget 2007 and building on the Protocol to the Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty signed September 21, 2007, this major step forward in Canada's international tax policy will increase access to foreign capital markets and reduce costs for Canadians and Canadian businesses that borrow from foreign lenders.

Budget 2007 measures in the Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act include measures released in draft on October 2, 2007 (News Releases 2007-074 and 2007-075), as well as proposals relating to the issuance of T3 information slips released in draft on July 4, 2007 (News Release 2007-058). Revisions to the explanatory notes for certain of these measures based on public comments received, as well as draft regulations to implement particular international tax measures and explanatory notes for measures in the Act that were announced in the 2007 Economic Statement are available free of charge on the Department of Finance website. Printed copies are available for $10 from the Department of Finance Distribution Centre at 613-995-2855.

Looks like PDr Manmohan Singh might visit Canada soon.


Nov. 24th, 2007

Kampala, Uganda


Reflecting the diverse nature of Canada-India relations, Prime Minister Harper and Prime Minister Singh had a warm discussion of a broad range of issues. Both leaders expressed pleasure at the opportunity to meet and Prime Minister Harper extended an invitation to the Indian Prime Minister to visit Canada, which the latter said he would be delighted to accept given his personal links to Canada, including a university scholarship in his name.

Leaders reaffirmed the strong trade and investment relationship India and Canada enjoy, recognising that there is unrealised potential, and discussed the opportunities in a relationship which has developed from close links forged immediately after Independence.

Prime Minister Harper recognized India’s extensive involvement in development and reconstruction in Afghanistan as a complement to Canada’s extensive involvement. Prime Minister Singh underscored their long term commitment to bringing about transformational change in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Harper encouraged India to play an active and constructive role on Burma and Prime Minister Singh confirmed that India is joined with the international community in promoting democratic change in Burma, engagement with leaders, notably Aung San Suu Kyi.

Prime Minister Harper offered Prime Minister Singh congratulations on Indian High Commissioner Sharma’s confirmation as Commonwealth Secretary-General, succeeding New Zealand’s Don McKinnon.

Chinese stock index enters bear territory

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/28/bloomberg/sxcsi.php#end_main

My comment- Whoever wrote this did not factor in India. So take it any way you want. Only Japan and China figure. I don't think the person even studied India to make his comment.

However even without India, the view has plenty of punch.
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Sinking Currency, Sinking Country

The Euro, worth 83 cents in the early George W. Bush years, is at $1.45.

The British pound is back up over $2, the highest level since the Carter era. The Canadian dollar, which used to be worth 65 cents, is worth more than the U.S. dollar for the first time in half a century.

Oil is over $90 a barrel. Gold, down to $260 an ounce not so long ago, has hit $800.

Have gold, silver, oil, the euro, the pound and the Canadian dollar all suddenly soared in value in just a few years?

Nope. The dollar has plummeted in value, more so in Bush's term than during any comparable period of U.S. history. Indeed, Bush is presiding over a worldwide abandonment of the American dollar.

Is it all Bush's fault? Nope.

The dollar is plunging because America has been living beyond her means, borrowing $2 billion a day from foreign nations to maintain her standard of living and to sustain the American Imperium.

The prime suspect in the death of the dollar is the massive trade deficits America has run up, some $5 trillion in total since the passage of NAFTA and the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994.

In 2006, that U.S. trade deficit hit $764 billion. The current account deficit, which includes the trade deficit, plus the net outflow of interest, dividends, capital gains and foreign aid, hit $857 billion, 6.5 percent of GDP. As some of us have been writing for years, such deficits are unsustainable and must lead to a decline of the dollar.

A sinking dollar means a poorer nation, and a sinking currency has historically been the mark of a sinking country. And a superpower with a sinking currency is a contradiction in terms.

What does this mean for America and Americans?

As nations realize that the dollars they are being paid for their products cannot buy in the world markets what they once did, they will demand more dollars for those goods. This will mean rising prices for the imports on which America has become more dependent than we have been since before the Civil War.

U.S. tourists traveling to the countries whence their ancestors came will find that the money they saved up does not go as far as they thought.

U.S. soldiers stationed overseas will find the cost of rent, gasoline, food, clothing and dining out takes larger and larger bites out of their paychecks. The people those U.S. soldiers defend will be demanding more and more of their money.

U.S. diplomats stationed overseas, students and businessmen are already facing tougher times.

U.S. foreign aid does not go as far as it did. And there is an element of comedy in seeing the United States going to Beijing to borrow dollars, thus putting our children deeper in debt, to send still more foreign aid to African despots who routinely vote the Chinese line at the United Nations.

The Chinese, whose currency is tied to the dollar, and Japan will continue, as long as they can, to keep their currencies low against the dollar. For the Asians think long term, and their goals are strategic.

China growing at 10 percent a year for two decades and now growing at close to 12 percent is willing to take losses in the value of the dollars it holds to keep the U.S. technology, factories and jobs pouring in, as their exports capture America's markets from U.S. producers.
The Japanese will take some loss in the value of their dollar hoard to take down Chrysler, Ford and GM, and capture the U.S. auto market as they captured our TV, camera and computer chip markets.

Asians understand that what is important is not who consumes the apples, but who owns the orchard.

Other nations that have kept cash reserves in U.S. Treasury bonds and T-bills are watching the value of these assets sink. Not fools, they will begin, as many already have, to divest and diversify, taking in fewer dollars and more euros and yen. As more nations abandon the dollar, its decline will continue.

The oil-producing and exporting nations, with trade surpluses, like China, have also begun to take the stash of dollars they have and stuff them into sovereign wealth funds, and use these immense and growing funds to buy up real assets in the United States investment banks and American companies.

Nor is there any end in sight to the sinking of the dollar. For, as foreigners demand more dollars for the oil and goods they sell us, the trade deficit will not fall. And as the U.S. government prints more and more dollars to cover the budget deficits that stretch out with the coming retirement of the baby boomers all the way to the horizon, the value of the dollar will fall. And as Ben Bernanke at the Fed tries to keep interest rates low, to keep the U.S. economy from sputtering out in the credit crunch, the value of the dollar will fall.

The chickens of free trade are coming home to roost.

ICICI Bank Canada continues aggressive growth strategy.

Mississauga: On Nov 22, as part of its enterprising expansionary plans, ICICI Bank Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, India’s largest private sector bank and the best bank in Asia according to Euromoney, inaugurated its seventh branch in Canada at 3024 Hurontario street in Mississauga, Ontario, by the corner of Dundas street.
A puja performed by a priest followed the ribbon cutting ceremony after which Mr. Hari Panday, CEO and President of ICICI Bank Canada and a true veteran of the banking industry, welcomed the attendees giving a brief history of the bank. “We opened our first branch downtown in December 2003 with a base of $25 million. Today, just a short four years later, we have assets in excess of $2.6 billion. We have seven branches in Canada, five in Toronto and two in Vancouver, servicing over 160,000 customers in every province in Canada, with 5,000 clients in Quebec and several as far away as Nunavut, places where we have no physical presence”.
With this new branch in the vibrant city of Mississauga, we are expanding our network and will attract thousands of new customers. We also currently offer the highest return on a one-year GIC- 4.85%”, Mr. Panday, beamed. “We have staff that can render service in 5 different languages and as far as I know ours is the only bank with ABMs in 6 languages”.
He then introduced the manager of the new branch, Mr Jatinder Pal Singh, a young and energetic person, and Mr. Sriram Iyer, the Senior Vice President & COO of ICICI Bank Canada, a well informed and highly educated (from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, no less) professional.
Replying to queries about customers being disgruntled at the mediocre service provided by the banks’ employees at the retail level, Mr. Panday acknowledged, that like any other institution that comes to a new country, they had their teething challenges, but based on feedback, they have implemented innovative and effective training programs and are continuously improving on their service commitment.
To further questions regarding the low numbers of branches as compared to other foreign banks like HSBC, Mr. Panday replied that they are on a bold growth trajectory and that there are plans on the anvil for further branches across the country in 2008.”Soon we are also moving our corporate offices all under roof and spread out on two floors, to our new headquarters at the Don Mills/Eglinton area”, he added.
The bank currently offers, both in-house and online, savings and chequing accounts in Canadian and US dollars, RSPs, credit cards, mortgages, money transfers to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and has a 24/7 customer help line. Besides all these services, the bank also has a very strong commercial banking department that funds multi-million dollar projects. They have also recently in July set up a wealth management section, that offers accredited investors the chance to invest in India’s booming economy. Several other initiatives to expand their products suite are in the pipeline.
A splendid dinner following the inauguration, at the restaurant, The Host, in Mississauga, brought the evening to a close.
Besides Canada, ICICI Bank Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, has a strong international presence through offices in Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Singapore, South Africa, UAE, UK and the U.S. In 1999, ICICI Bank became the first non-Japanese Asian company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Love that line from this news clip.

"We'll buy them out!"


India’s New International Strategy

Toronto: “India may not be geographically west but it is certainly politically west. It is a democratic country and is heavily embedded in capitalism,” explains Prof C. Raja Mohan to a well-engaged audience at The George Ignatieff auditorium in Toronto on Nov 28.
Dr. Mohan, a PhD in International Studies, currently based in Singapore, was visiting Canada to give lectures on India’s Global Strategy at the invitation of Canada’s former High Commissioner to India, Mr. Peter Sutherland. He went on to explain that as India gains more clout and recognition as an economic powerhouse it is also making inroads in its political relations with the world. It has grown closer to the US in the last 6 years, has had better relations with Pakistan in the last few years than ever before and is also wooing Japan, that has committed to build India’s ailing and crumbling infrastructure. To build closer relations with Canada, one of the things, besides having the Prime Ministers of each country visiting each other’s country, will be for Canada to take a crucial stand on an issue dear to India, for instance siding with the US to change the nuclear laws to accommodate India.
To a query from the audience as to India's relation with its former colonial master, the United Kingdom, Dr. Mohan quipped " We'll buy them out!"
It was a very informative and educational evening with the audience participating in a very animated Q&A at the end. Several dignitaries including the Consul-General of India, Mr. Satish Mehta, Hari Panday-CEO of ICICI Bank Canada and Mr. Surjit Babra of Sylink Aviation attended the seminar.