Tanzania plans to invest $1.9 billion each year in energy projects by 2025

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“Tanzania’s electricity sector faces another important challenge. As it is heavily dependent on hydropower, energy provision cannot be ascertained in times of drought,” Tanzania’s prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said.

Tanzania plans to invest $1.9 billion each year by 2025 in energy projects in a bid to end power shortages and boost industrial growth in East Africa’s second-biggest economy, its prime minister said.

Tanzania aims to boost power generation capacity to 10,000 megawatts from around 1,500MW at present, using natural gas and coal and reducing its dependence on hydro power sources.

“Tanzania’s electricity sector faces another important challenge. As it is heavily dependent on hydropower, energy provision cannot be ascertained in times of drought,” Tanzania’s prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said in a statement late on Tuesday.

“Severe and recurrent droughts in the past few years triggered a devastating power crisis as electricity generation in most of the hydropower stations have progressively been declining in recent years, occasionally resulting in long hours of power black outs.”

Majaliwa said the government wants to see more private capital investment in the energy sector.
“The projected power projects funding exceeds the existing government fiscal space,” he said. “To attract private capital, the government is improving institutional set up, legal and regulatory frameworks.”

Investors have long complained that lack of reliable power was one of the obstacles of doing business in Tanzania.

Tanzania said last week Japan’s Koyo Corporation plans to invest $1 billion in a gas-fired power plant near big offshore natural gas fields off the African country’s southern shore.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52432817.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

EU seeks to make it easier to buy online from other countries

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An eBay sign is seen at an office building in San Jose, California May 28, 2014.

Online retailers would be banned from stopping a customer in one EU country buying from a website based in another, under a proposal issued on Wednesday to make it easier for consumers to shop across the bloc.

The European Commission said its law would stop “geoblocking” where companies limit access to their websites based on user location, often forcing customers to use versions based in their own country, sometimes with higher prices.

“In the online world, all too often consumers are blocked from accessing offers in other countries,” the Commission said in a statement.

“Such discrimination has no place in the single market.”

The law would affect companies such as Amazon, eBay and Zalando as well as to sales of services provided in a specific location, for example car rental, accommodation and concert tickets.

It would not initially apply to copyright-protected items such as e-books, music and games, although those might be included soon, the Commission said. So for the time being a German citizen would still be unable to buy a Spotify subscription in, for example, Estonia, where it is much cheaper.

The music industry welcomed the exemption, saying that to include such services in the geoblocking proposal would be “a serious blow for cultural diversity.”

Under Wednesday’s proposal, which requires the approval of the European Parliament and national governments to become law, retailers would not be allowed to block access to websites based on a user’s location or to re-route customers to a website version based in their own country without their consent.

Amazon already makes its websites accessible to customers anywhere in Europe, and says 98 percent of its own stock is available to shoppers from any European country.

While e-commerce websites will not be allowed to prevent customers in one EU country buying products in another, they will not be forced to deliver cross-border.

Therefore, an Italian buying a TV from a German website would either have to arrange their own delivery or collect it at the trader’s premises.

The Commission hopes the new rules will increase the proportion of consumers who buy online from another country, currently only 15 percent.

“The European Commission is doing the right thing by helping solve practical problems faced by online businesses, particularly small and medium sized businesses,” said eBay’s’ Paul Todd, Senior Vice President of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

A business group said the proposal failed to address the reasons companies use geoblocking, such as differing VAT rates and consumer protection rules.

“This is like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg,” said John Higgins, director general of DIGITALEUROPE, which represents companies such as Sony, Google and Dropbox.

In a separate proposal, the EU executive sought to increase the transparency of prices for cross-border parcel delivery and to give national authorities the power to assess whether they are affordable.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-ecommerce-geoblocking-idUSKCN0YG1DC

Sumitomo likely to acquire 44% stake in Excel Crop Care

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Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo is at an advanced stage of negotiations to acquire a substantial equity stake in Excel Crop CareBSE -0.87 % , a Mumbai-headquartered listed company. The proposed deal could pave the way for the Japanese group to own about 44% shares of the pesticides and agrochemicals company for a total consideration ofRs 1,200-1,300 crore.

Sumitomo plans to buy out stake of Excel promoters — the Shroff family — holding 24.7% equity as well as two financial investors together owning close to 19% of the shares. ET’s email to Dipesh Shroff, managing director of Excel Crop Care, and Sumitomo Chemical went unanswered.

There have been several rounds of talks between officials of Sumitomo Chemical and the Excel management, and indications are that the deal may be signed in June. Nufarm, the Australian crop protection and specialist seeds company, owns more than 14% and is likely to retain its strategic stake in Excel Crop Care.

According to a report by Avendus Capital, global players are looking at India to increase their market share, add to their product portfolio , and strengthen their supply base in specialty and agrochemicals. “The Indian agrochemicals market is expected to grow rapidly (about 12% CAGR over 2014-19) with increase in farmer awareness, improvement in rural income and increase in pressure for improving productivity,” said Preet Mohan Singh, executive director, Avendus Capital.

The Shroffs are also the promoters of Excel Industries, a specialty chemicals company, and co-promoters of Aimco Pesticides in which they control a little over 25%. Before entering into any agreement with Sumitomo, the Shroffs are expected to conclude the inter se transfer of their holding to the other promoter family of Aimco. Excel Crop Care has 1.13% equity interest in Excel Industries.

Besides Shroffs, the other two shareholders of Excel Crop Care who may sell their shares to Sumitomo are Ratnabali Capital Markets (holding 14.99%) and Ratnabali Investments (3.95%). Among the institutional shareholders of Excel Crop Care are Life Insurance Corporation (6.58%) and DSP Blackrock (1.92%).

Excel Crop Care’s consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 was Rs 7.6 crore as against Rs 1.7 crore in the year ago period, on total income of Rs 188.6 crore (Rs 205.6 crore). The Excel Crop Care stock has been trading at around Rs 1,109, against 52-week high and low of Rs 1,247 and Rs 750, respectively.

M&A activities in sectors like agro and specialty chemicals is expected to pick up, said Avendus, adding that the stride towards food security will also increase the significance of agrochemicals. An estimated 85% of India’s crop loss (worth close to $20 billion) is caused by pest infestation, disease and weeds and is prevented by the use of agrochemicals.

India exports agrochemicals to countries like the us , France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52392474.cms

India moots framework for SME sector cooperation in BRICS

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India is working on a mechanism to boost cooperation amongst small and medium enterprises in the five-nation BRICS to promote joint ventures and share expertise on strengthening the sector.

New Delhi, which holds the Presidency of the BRICS this year, is drafting a framework for a joint growth strategy for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. “The framework for cooperation amongst MSMEs, which will identify the relative strengths of each country and also possible areas of joint ventures, will be discussed at the next meeting of officials in June and hopefully finalised at the BRICS ministerial meet in October,” a government official told BusinessLine . MSMEs in Brazil, for instance, are highly successful in participating in government procurements, he said, adding that they “capture almost 90 per cent of the business. Other countries could draw from Brazil’s legislative frameworks and other policy initiatives to help their small industry also get a chunk of government business.”

The BRICS grouping of five emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — together account for a GDP of over $16 trillion, which is about half that of the seven major advanced economies. More than 40 per cent of the BRICS economies are driven by the MSME sector, according to government estimates.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry is also holding discussions with the industry to give a final shape to its proposal of putting in place a BRICS portal for addressing non-tariff measures (NTMs) that hamper trade between the BRICS.

Exporters’ body FIEO is one of the industry bodies giving inputs for the proposed portal.

“One of the biggest problems faced by exporters in the five countries is the lack of knowledge on various non-tariff measures (NTMs), such as new standards or specifications. Most of the times they get to know about the NTMs only when their goods are rejected. If this issue is addressed, it will serve as a big incentive for industry in the five nations to trade with each other,” said Ajay Sahai of FIEO.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/india-moots-framework-for-sme-sector-cooperation-in-brics/article8617609.ece

IIT Madras incubated ‘water-tech’ InnoNano Research raises $18mn

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With an aim to making India an exporter of water technologies, the company plans to set up a manufacturing facility, a modern research laboratory and technology delivery offices across North America, Asia and Africa.

InnoNano Research (INR), a clean water technology company incubated at IIT Madras has entered into an agreement with NanoHoldings (NH), an energy and water investment specialist firm from US, to set-up a global water technology company with an investment plan of $18 million.

 

With an aim to making India an exporter of water technologies, the company plans to set up a manufacturing facility, a modern research laboratory and technology delivery offices across North America, Asia and Africa. Nano Holdings, has supported global patenting activity for the team and IIT Madras for the past four years.

 

“These technologies are destined to change the world in a significant way,” said Justin Hall-Tipping, CEO, NH.

 

This is perhaps first of its kind global expansion programme for academia-born Indian material technologies in India.  “IIT Madras is delighted that research at the cutting edge of materials science has led to applications at the very core of human well-being, namely, supply of safe drinking water,” said Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director of IIT Madras.

 

Prof Pradeep, co-founder and advisor of INR said, “Making our science challenging to academia and simultaneously delivering solutions to the common man is an enormous challenge, but we find a purpose there. Water is an area where India needs self-reliance and every technology and every effort matters in this noble objective.

 

Water technologies have to be inclusive as water itself presents enormous diversity, both locally and globally. This would not have happened without the sustained support of Department of Science and Technology, government of India”.

 

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/iit-madras-incubated-water-tech-firm-raises-18-million/251765/

IRDAI gives approval to 23 cross-border reinsurers

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The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has granted special approval to 23 Cross Border Reinsurers (CBR) for the year 2016-17.

This will allow Indian insurers to make reinsurance placements with a large number of reinsurers. Cross-border reinsurers are those who do not have a physical presence in India but carry on reinsurance business with Indian insurance companies.

According to PJ Joseph, Member (Non-Life), IRDAI, approvals were given on the basis of submissions made by CBRs and the recommendations made by the insurers and GIC Re in line with the guidelines issued by the authority last month. The approved CBRs include Ingosstrakh Joint Stock Insurance Company (Russia), Asian Reinsurance Corporation (Thailand), Trust Re (Bahrain), United Overseas Insurance Company (Singapore), Equator Reinsurances Ltd (Bermuda), East Africa Reinsurance Company Ltd (Nairobi), Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (Vietnam), CICA Re (Kenya), Arab Insurance Group (Labuan) and Union Insurance Company (UAE), among others.

Reinsurance assumes significance as it is important to maintain solvency of the insurer and to ensure that the claims/other clauses are honoured as and when they arise.

Past approvals

In the year 2015-16, the regulator had recognised 244 reinsurers and 90 Lloyds Syndicates. In 2014-15, 238 reinsurers and 87 Lloyds Syndicates were recognised. It is likely that the authority may give more approvals in future.

The onus of placing reinsurance business with registered CBRs is on the Indian insurers or reinsurers and they will have to ensure that the cross-border reinsurer meets the requirements as specified by the regulator. Within the country, the General Insurance Corporation of India is designated as the ‘Indian Reinsurer’ which entitles it to receive obligatory cessions of 5 per cent from all the direct non-life insurers.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/irdai-gives-approval-to-23-crossborder-reinsurers/article8581417.ece