Kolkata Economy and Real Estate Thread

[SamitB]

Foundation stone for a 10-lane, 5km thoroughfare connecting New Town to National Highway 34 in Madhyamgram
Or a poll gimmick

http://www.telegraphindia.com/110041...y_12328704.jsp

[SamitB]

[rupakd]

The West Bengal government’s decision to reduce the entertainment tax on Bengali films to 2 per cent from the existing 10 per cent , is expected to provide relief to the film industry.

Surinder Singh, president of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, and a leading producer, said that the move would be very good for the local industry. “Our main problem is piracy. This move will improve business.”

Arijit Dutta, one of the largest distributor-exhibitors in West Bengal, said, “This will especially help producers and distributors, but not exhibitors so much.”

According to Dutta, in the last eight years, around 40 cinemas have shut down in the state. “There will not be enough places to screen Bengali movies if standalone theatres keep shutting down. If the state government had injected this 8 per cent fund to exhibitors, it would have been especially helpful,” Dutta added.

Around 80 films were released in 2009 in Bengal, of which some 65 were commercial failures.

However, the tax benefit will not bring down ticket prices at standalone cinemas. Earlier, for a Rs 100 ticket, producers had to pay a tax of Rs 10. It will now become Rs 2. So producers now stand to make more money, but not exhibitors.

At multiplexes, tickets for Bengali and other regional language films are already 100 per cent cheaper than tickets for Bollywood films. The average ticket price for a Bengali movie is as low as Rs 50 at a multiplex in West Bengal.

Source: Business Standard

[IchimaruGin1]

How Indian cities fared in the downturn

Credit growth in Kolkata was hardly affected. Bank credit in the eastern city increased by 18.9% for the year to end-September 2009, lower than the 27.1% growth it had notched up during the previous 12 months, but nonetheless a higher rate of growth than the other big cities.

http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/0921...ed-in-the.html

[rupakd]

London bank sets up shop

Camellia Plc of the UK, which owns 74 per cent in city-based tea plantation firm Goodricke Group, is stepping up its presence in India.

Camellia’s wholly owned private bank Duncan Lawrie opened its first representative office here today. London-based Duncan Lawrie will operate out of Goodricke’s head office in the city.

“Our representative office will be marketing portfolio management services and will target high net worth clients keen to invest in companies listed on the UK and the US bourses,” Duncan Lawrie managing director P.J. Field said. Field, who is also the chairman of Goodricke Group, was here to attend the company’s annual general meeting.

“The portfolios of our Indian clients will be managed from our head office in London,” he said. The bank offers customised services mainly to high net worth individuals.

Source: The Telegraph

[IchimaruGin1]

Essar Oil to lay pipeline from Durgapur to Kolkata

Essar Oil plans to lay a 160-km pipeline from Durgapur to Kolkata to transport gas from its CBM blocks to consumers in West Bengal.

Essar Oil has applied to the sectoral regulator, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for permission to lay a 24-inch pipeline from Durgapur, according to the company's January 13 application to the regulator.

The company is likely to start producing gas found below coal seams, called Coal Bed Methane (CBM), from its Raniganj block in West Bengal this quarter.

The initial output is likely to be 9,000-10,000 cubic meters per day with peak production of 3.5 million standard cubic meters envisaged in mid-2013. Peak output will last for 20 years.
"In order to sell the entire production potential of the block we propose to supply CBM in Kolkata region," Shishir Agrawal, Head Essar Exploration Production Division, said in the application to PNGRB.

A special purpose vehicle would be set up for executing the project, Essar said.

Besides Raniganj, the pipeline may also be used to transport gas from Essar's Rajmahal CBM block in neibouring Jharkhand.

Agrawal said 15 test wells have already been drilled in Raniganj and 500 more are planned. "Initial estimates suggest that the demand enroute the pipeline will be about 3 mscmd."

Essar has suggested a pipeline capacity of 4 mmscmd considering PNGRB requirement of having 33 per cent excess capacity for leasing out to third parties.

"The proposed pipeline will pass along the National Highway-2 from Durgapur industrial area to Kolkata, which is highly polluted because of steel plants and the use of coal in plants. CBM gas will help in improving the environment in the entire region and in future, will be a push for city gas development in Kolkata and adjoining areas," the company said.

Essar is investing $300 million in Ranigang block that has in-place resource of 4.6 trillion cubic feet and recoverable resource of around 1 Tcf.

In Rajmahal block, where Essar has been declared provisional winner in the recently-concluded auction of CBM areas, in-place resource of 9.5 Tcf has been estimated with recoverable resource of 4.7 Tcf.

The Raniganj block is located in the industrial region of West Bengal with two major steel plants of SAIL, three existing and one upcoming power plant and a range of industries with a huge appetite for gas in the vicinity.

Raniganj is the country's oldest coal-mining zone. The block is located about 150 km from Kolkata near the steel city of Durgapur in Burdwan district.

Essar in its application listed 25 prospective consumers including Jayshree Ceramics and Bhusan Steel.

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...olkata/391011/

[rupakd]

Jobs are back in city


Recruitment is back to the pre-downturn level in Calcutta.

The Naukri Job Speak index for the city moved up to 1055 in March from 990 in February this year. A similar sentiment is echoed in the national Job Speak index, which has been continuously moving in a positive direction in the past three months.

The key sectors in Calcutta such as IT, ITeS, insurance and construction seem to be on a positive path, a Naukri statement said.

“The hiring intentions of companies in most industry sectors seem to be moving in a positive direction as reflected by the consecutively upward moving job index in the first quarter of 2010. It seems, ‘cautious optimism’ among employers has given way to ‘definite optimism’,” Sumeet Singh, national head (marketing and communication) of Info Edge, said.

A sectoral analysis, both at the national and state level, shows an improving hiring environment in the majority of industry sectors as reflected by the rising three-month moving average index.

In March, the ITeS and the insurance sectors have seen maximum movement in the recruitment front with the index moving up 13 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, over February. Although the IT and the construction sectors have seen an 8 per cent and 1.5 per cent dip in March over February, the three-month moving average index climbed up 6.5 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

Source: The Telegraph

[IchimaruGin1]

Spice Digital's eastern expansion

Spice Digital, the mobile Value Added service(VAS) provider, announced the opening of a larger office premise in Kolkata, augmenting its capacity to service the increasing needs of the telecom market in eastern India. Spice Digital reaches out to over 50 million subscribers daily in India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Kenya, Indonesia, Jordan, Nepal, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

This announcement comes shortly after the company announced a host of senior level appointments to lead verticals within the organisation. The expansion is expected to significantly boost local employment in Kolkata and to help Spice Digital gain grounds in the eastern region.

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...ansion/392533/

[SarafIndian]

City jobs outlook rises by 16 index points

Kolkata April 21, 2010, 0:19 IST

The employment outlook for the city has registered an increase of 16 index points during the April-June period on the back of robust growth in the healthcare and pharma sectors, a report by TeamLease Services has indicated.

Nationally, while Bangalore has recorded the maximum increase of the 23 points in the employment outlook index followed by Ahmedabad at 17 points.

In Kolkata, the healthcare and pharma sector has been marked as the largest contributor (22 points) to the employment outlook for the period under consideration, followed by the information technology sector. Last quarter, the infrastructure sector had been pegged as the backbone for job growth in the city by the same report.

“Typically, the traditional sector of healthcare and pharma is been seen as a big contributor and they have seen robust growth, in terms of percentage increase. This goes to show that job growth in Kolkata is not just based on the IT and ITes sector,” TeamLease Services vice president Rajesh AR said.

According to the report, the first quarter of 2010-11 is expected to witness a gradual return of aggressive hiring. As a result, the employment outlook countrywide for the quarter has jumped by 11 per cent to 58 per cent.

Among the sectors covered, there is an increase in index points in all sectors except infrastructure and telecom. Healthcare and pharma, with 72 points, has the highest index points followed by IT with 69 points) as the overall trend for the cities. Interestingly, the marketing and customer services segment has recorded the least hirings.

On the attrition front, during the last quarter Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata saw the highest attrition rates, even as Ahmedabad witnessed the lowest attrition levels.

Additionally, barring the entry level, the intention to hire has increased, especially across the middle tier.

[rupakd]

GRSE to double capacity by 2012

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is planning to double its shipbuilding capacity by mid-2012.

The defence PSU shipyard will be capable of building major warships after the expansion, said KC Sekhar, chairman and managing director, GRSE.

GRSE, which has launched corvette-class anti-submarine warship in the trials before its induction into the Navy on Monday, is building three other warships in the same class. These three ships are expected to be commissioned by early 2015.

The defence PSU has increased its turnover to Rs 870 crore this year from Rs 100 crore three decades ago. “We have increased the steel throughput to more than 125 tonne per month,” Sekhar said. Its pre-outfitting has also increased to 40% after launch of the warship on Monday.

The PSU, which has produced 70 warships and 69 commercial vehicles in last 50 years, is targeting a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore by next fiscal.

Present at the launch of the warship, Sekhar said the corvette has stealth characteristics and low underwater noise signature. The ship has a unique hull form called ‘X-form’ which makes its detection difficult.

“The ship will be able to fight in nuclear, biological and chemical environment. It can cruise through water at more than 25 knots,” he said.

Source: Financial Express

[sourav2010]

Note:Excuse me,if this news item has already been posted..

1 Apr 2010, 0100 hrs IST,Debjoy Sengupta,ET Bureau

KOLKATA: One of the oldest and most popular legacies of British rule in India is galloping down the revival track. A pioneer in organised racing in
the country, the 160-year-old Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) is firmly in the saddle in its attempt to regain lost glory and put Kolkata back on the racing map.

The club, which in 2007 was keen on scrapping the Indian Turf Invitation Cup due to financial crunch, is now planning to give its rivals—Bombay and Bangalore race course—a run for their money by planning to introduce night racing. "If that happens, the Calcutta race course will get transformed into a major social gathering zone. In foreign countries, race courses sport restaurants and bars, as well as various outlets for social activities," an RCTC official said.

FALSE START

During 1970s and 80s, as businesses started moving out of Calcutta, so did the elites who were keenly involved in the sport. In step, owners' interest in bringing horses to Calcutta declined and trainers no more found Calcutta a lucrative destination. In tandem, stake money declined and so did the participants. A huge fire during the 70s also hit the club hard. Just a couple of years back, RCTC was somewhere at the bottom of the heap among the six turf clubs in India in all aspects: prize money, betting, number of horses and spectators.

FIGHTBACK

During 2007-08, the club management decided to enter into a lease agreement with real estate biggie Emaar MGF for a 3.7-acre Russell Street property. The Rs 300-crore deal infused a new lease of life in the club whose annual Queen's Cup race trophy is still signed and sent by Queen Elizabeth.

In less than two years, Cyrus Madan, chairman of RCTC, has steered the club out of the woods with a burst of speed that has caused heads to turn.

Talking about RCTC’s fightback, Mr Madan said: "Industry sponsors from the city plus sponsorships from a clutch of stud firms helped enhance the prize money on offer." Last year, the Calcutta Derby offered Rs 60 lakh to the winner, which is second only to Mumbai where the McDowell Signature Indian Derby, the country’s most talked-about race, offered just double at Rs 1.2 crore.

"Total prize money in a horse race, divided by the number of horses, is a fair indicator of how a club is faring. By that yardstick, RCTC is now close to the No. 1 slot" a Calcutta-based industrialist and owner of champion thoroughbreds told ET. For a club that was considered almost finished, this is quite a comeback. Interestingly, Bangalore came third with prize money varying between Rs 35 and Rs 40 lakh for its derby.

However, Mr Madan is quite modest about the achievement.

"Total prize money offered in any season in Bangalore and Calcutta is more or less the same," said Mr Madan. "As the number of horses in Bangalore is about 1,100 against Calcutta’s 600, the chances of winning here are, therefore, more. And by that logic, RCTC is perhaps ahead of Bangalore in that respect." RCTC’s 2009-10 winter racing season attracted outstation sponsors such as Casino Royal, Goa Tourism, Poonawalla Stud farm, Kunigal Stud farm and AB Stud Thoroughbred. While the Police Commissioner’s Cup was sponsored by Diamond Beverages, Assam Co sponsored the Calcutta Million Cup (2009-10). The Calcutta Derby Stakes (2009-10) Grade-I in January got handled by regular local sponsors, the B M Khaitan-owned Eveready Industries.

RACING AHEAD

"With stake money rising, Brand RCTC now offers a first-mover advantage to horse owners and trainers,” said a senior RCTC official. He added: “The logic that we sold to all was: Participate in races and your chances of winning here are higher than other turf clubs."

And today, there are nearly 600 horses and trainers of the likes of Pesi Shroff, Imtiaz A Sait and Rashid Rustomji Byramji, who’ve all set up bases in Calcutta. Galleries too have been spruced up and RCTC is now in talks with the defence department for renewing the lease of the 153-acre race course.

With RCTC’s financials looking up, ambitious plans are under consideration. Explains Mr Madan: "The state government has recently allowed four outstation betting terminals outside the city. We are also in talks with the Assam and Orissa governments for opening similar off-station terminals."

With Calcutta races happening thrice a week now—Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday—more people have started turning up to watch the races. "For the first time, average attendance at Calcutta races has started mounting, racing towards the levels scaled in Mumbai and Bangalore. From about 3,700 in 2007, footfalls have now touched 5,000 mark on any racing day," Mr Madan said. The numbers may be still short of Bangalore (9,000 spectators every day) and Bombay (7,000 every day) but the positive thing is a steady rise in footfall.

In Kolkata’s horseracing circuit, Ram Gupta is a familiar face. Having first entered the racing turf at the age of 19, today, the 57-year-old Gupta says: “It is necessary to portray horse racing as a lifestyle game and repackage the entire product. We need to correlate horse racing with other events to bring more people to the racecourse."

[highrise-kolkata]

Source: Rediff.com - GDP: The top 10 cities in India

1. Mumbai: $209 billion
2. New Delhi: $167 billion
3. Kolkata: $150 billion
4. Bangalore: $83 billion
5. Chennai: $67 billion
6. Hyderabad: $60 billion
7. Ahmedabad: $59 billion
8. Pune: $30 billion
9. Surat: $22 billion
10. Kanpur: $17 billion

[sidney_jec]

phewwww..
nice to know Kolkata still stands tall

[IchimaruGin1]

Originally Posted by sidney_jec

phewwww..
nice to know Kolkata still stands tall

yup Kolkata has a very high purchase parity compared to other states

[IchimaruGin1]

UPDATE 1-Phillips Carbon to invest 3.5 bln rupees over 2 years

KOLKATA, April 28 (Reuters) - Phillips Carbon Black (PHIL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) has lined up an investment of 3.5 billion rupees to increase its total capacity to 460,000 tonnes over the next two years, a top official said on Wednesday.

Currently it produces 360,000 tonnes of carbon black annually.

"We would be adding 50,000 tonne capacity at our plant in Mundra for which the work has already started," Chairman Sanjiv Goenka told reporters.

"We are also going to set up another plant with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes the location for which is yet to be decided," Goenka said.

The Kolkata based firm which makes carbon black, an input for the tyre industry, expects the commercial operation in its proposed plant at Vietnam to commence during calendar 2012.

"The land acquisition is on full swing, we are expecting all the formalities to be completed over the next few weeks. So we expect the production to start by 2012," he said.

Earlier in 2010, Phillips Carbon entered into a joint venture to set up a 65,000-tonne carbon black plant in Vietnam with an investment of $63 million.

The firm recently raised 992.8 million rupees through a share sale to institutions.

"Domestic demand for carbon black is going up as new projects by tyre companies are likely to go on stream over the next 12 to 15 months," Goenka said.

http://in.reuters.com/article/domest...BrandChannel=0

[Hindustani]

hmmm. since when did Hyderabad, a city of 7+ million became smaller area wise of population wise.

Originally Posted by IchimaruGin1

How Indian cities fared in the downturn

http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/0921...ed-in-the.html

[avishar]

You didnt get the point,the article is not about small cities,its about all cities but it just highlights the fact that small cities have done well.

[SarafIndian]

CESC set to switch on Balagarh project

Calcutta, April 29: CESC Ltd has decided to revive the Balagarh thermal power project to meet the growing demand of electricity in the state.


The RPG Enterprises flagship had planned the project with a 500MW capacity in 1994 but shelved it in 2001.

The company continues to hold 800 acres of land, located on a riverine island on the Hooghly, about 70km (upstream) from Calcutta, for the power project.

Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of CESC, today said the board had agreed to build a 660MW plant in the first phase for Rs 3,200 crore. There are plans to double the capacity in the second phase.

“We are writing to the coal ministry seeking allotment. An environmental study will be commissioned soon,” he said.

The Balagarh plant will be in addition to a 600MW unit CESC intends to build in Haldia. Taken up two years ago, the project in the port town is stuck over land acquisition.

Goenka insisted that the decision to revive Balagarh was taken to keep the company prepared for the huge power deficit that the state would face in the future.

Profit show

CESC Ltd today reported a net profit of Rs 100 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, a 6.38 per cent rise over the corresponding period last year.

Net sales were Rs 754 crore during the quarter, higher than Rs 741 crore in the year-ago quarter. The power utility reported a net profit of Rs 433 crore, higher by 5.6 per cent, for 2009-10. Net sales for the year under review were Rs 3,291 crore against Rs 3,031 crore in 2008-09.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/110043...y_12397514.jsp

[SarafIndian]

Bata to get Rs 100 crore for township venture

Bata to get Rs 100 crore for township ventureIndia's one of the oldest company Bata India Ltd. has informed that it will entre in to a joint venture with Riverbank Developers Private Ltd. The company will receive Rs 100 crore towards upfront payment and 6.4 lakh per square feet for the upcoming project of the company. It has to build up area for a township development. The joint venture will be 50:50 between theses two companies.

The Bata India Ltd. has also announced it's forth quarter financial results. In this publication, it has mention about this restructured agreement that is going to happen soon.

The township project is located near the city of Kolkata. The Bata Company is keen on utilizing its company shoe manufacturing unit's surplus land. The company wants to develop it to a proper township.

The Riverbank Developers Private Ltd. is also having a joint venture with Calcutta Metropolitan Group Ltd. before. On the other hand Bata is also associated with CMGL for an IT SEZ. The SEZ has around25 acres of land in an adjacent area.

[IchimaruGin1]

Originally Posted by Hindustani

hmmm. since when did Hyderabad, a city of 7+ million became smaller area wise of population wise.

i dont understand your question?

what has credit growth in % got to do with population?

Its more of a general trend. In general smaller cities have fared better. Does not mean that all cities which have done well are small