Loans sanctioned by the company during the current financial year (2009-10) so far have been worth Rs60,000 crore, of which Rs20,000 crore have been disbursed

State-owned Power Finance Corp (PFC) on Tuesday said that it would sanction loans to the tune of Rs68,000 crore in the next financial year, reports PTI.

"Our loan sanction target for the next fiscal (2010-11) is Rs68,000 crore and disbursement is Rs29,000 crore," PFC's chairman and managing director Satnam Singh told reporters in New Delhi.

PFC finances power generation, transmission and distribution projects across the country.

Loans sanctioned by the company during the current financial year (2009-10) so far have been worth Rs60,000 crore, of which Rs20,000 crore have been disbursed. However, the disbursement target is slightly higher at Rs23,000 crore. The company hopes to achieve this goal even as the fiscal comes to an end.

"The (financial) year is yet to get over. We would be able to meet our (disbursement) target," Mr Singh said.

He also said that PFC is keen on picking up as much as 26% equity in power-generation projects in the country. "Right now, we are working out a policy to decide on picking equity stake in power (generation) projects; we would prepare a framework and any company which fits the criteria would be approached," Mr Singh told reporters.

The company would partly utilise its net-worth of Rs12,000 crore for acquiring stakes in electricity generation plants.

Meanwhile, PFC would raise $300 million (about Rs1,400 crore) from State Bank of India's London branch under the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) route, to be utilised for funding power projects in the country.

PFC has received the Reserve Bank of India's approval for raising the money that expires on 31st March.

RCom has said that it was open to all opportunities in the domestic market to grow its presence and would do so at the right opportunity

Indian billionaire Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) on Tuesday said that it was open to acquisitions in India as a part of its strategy to grow its presence in the domestic market and would do so at the right opportunity.

"We are open to all opportunities. We are not averse to acquisitions in the domestic market. Let the right opportunity come," RCom's president, Mahesh Prasad, told PTI in Mumbai.

The company said that it has crossed the 100-million mark in wireless customers and would explore both organic and inorganic opportunities to strengthen its foothold in the domestic market.

RCom expects to add another 100 million customers within the next 1,000 days, he said. The company, however, did not have any immediate plans to expand operations in overseas markets and it would prefer more to focus on consolidating its position in the domestic market, Mr Prasad said.

"The Indian market is very vast and dynamic. We have a huge opportunity here. As of now, we are not thinking much about overseas plans. But we are not averse to any opportunities either," Mr Prasad said.

While commenting on the prevailing tariff war, Mr Prasad said that it may intensify further.
 

The weak monsoon and food inflation have impacted the purchasing power of the lower income group, resulting in marginal growth for the FMCG sector

Personal care products maker Marico Ltd said that it expects to clock a turnover of about Rs2,500 crore for the financial year 2010 that would end on 31st March. This would be around 9% higher than last year’s total revenue of Rs2,388 crore.

“We expect a turnover of Rs2,500 crore in this financial year. The weak monsoon and food inflation have impacted the purchasing power of the lower income group,” said Harsh Mariwala, chairman and managing director, Marico.

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is going through a tough time to hold on to its margins due to food inflation and weak monsoon. However, the company said that it will not increase product prices for the next four months.

Speaking about the impact of hike in excise duties on the FMCG sector, Mr Mariwala said,”Most of the FMCG companies won’t be impacted by the excise duties as they are located in an excise exempt zone like Uttaranchal.”

Other companies that do not fall within the excise exempt zone will have to bear the brunt of new excise duties, he said.

Marico, which is planning to launch new products in the beauty & wellness space, said that it will maintain its advertising spend to drive growth.