Business standard news updates 12-9-2012

Sebi may crack down on corporate executive pay

BS REPORTER New Delhi, 11 September The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to bring guidelines to regulate executive compensation in listed firms. Expressing concern over the way performance appraisal of top executives was done by the boards of these firms, Sebi Chairman U K Sinha said the regulator might ask firms to form “remuneration committees”, to be headed by independent directors. These panels would be on the lines of similar requirements mandated for bourses under the Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations (SECC) regulations notified by Sebi in 2012. “Our long-term vision is that other corporate entities should be encouraged to follow the same norms,” he said in his lecture at an event organised by International Management Institute here today. Sinha indicated, other norms in SECC regulations, like clawback of executives’ variable pay and the requirement of 50 per cent members on boards to be independent directors, would be extended to the broader corporate universe. than that for equity holders.” A case was being made out that employee stock option plans (Esops) should not be allowed in the financial sector, Sinha said. Besides, Sebi wants companies to declare their agenda for annual general meetings and extraordinary general meetings on their websites and to the stock exchanges. The regulator is also looking at level playing field for private sector and public sector firms and stricter norms for selection of independent directors. Move to make board accountable for performance appraisal OPINION, P11 EDIT: Wasted efforts |Governance norms for stock exchanges to be expanded to all corporate entities |50% members on boards to be independent directors | Remuneration panels, to be headed by independent directors, at corporate bodies |Variable pay to be ploughed back if profits are suffered |Level playing field for public and private firms

CBI to question directors of companies named in FIR

BS REPORTER New Delhi, 11 September The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is expected to question next week the directors of companies owned by the families of Congress Parliamentarian Vijay Darda and businessman Manoj Jayaswal, who have been named in the first information report (FIR) the agency filed in the coal allocation case. According to people aware of the development, the directors of all five companies named in the FIR would be called by the investigation agency for questioning after the sleuths are through with scrutinising the documents recovered during the raids in their offices in 10 cities on September 5. The companies named in the FIR are: AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal, Navbharat Power, Vini Iron and Steel and Jas Infrastructure. In more trouble for allotees of coal blocks, the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate are scanning investments and finances of the firms that are alleged to have illegally benefited in the scam. Both the agencies, under the finance ministry, have begun a discreet inquiry into the firms, especially those who have been recently booked by the CBI in its latest FIR. Sources monitoring the probes said while the agencies are yet to be officially handed over the CBI complaint, they have begun a preliminary exercise to obtain data about the "financial activities" of these firms. Sources said the I-T could also carry out searches of the official premises of some of the firms against whom they detect contravention of tax laws. The CBI, earlier this month, had registered cases against five companies for alleged criminal conspiracy to get coal blocks by fudging their net worth figures and misrepresentation of facts. While the CBI has has named five companies-JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited, JAS Infrastructure Capital Private Limited, AMR Iron and Steel, Navbharat Power Private Limited and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited--with their 20 directors and unknown government officials, it may register more cases against few other firms who were allocated blocks. Both I-T and the ED, according to sources, have information about the finances of few companies who were allocated coal blocks as the agencies had probed separate cases in this regard last year. PTI I-T, ED on trail in coal allocations scam

ECB norms eased to repay ~loans, capex, trade credit

BS REPORTER Mumbai/New Delhi, 11 September The Reserve Bank of India today liberalised norms on using external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to repay loans, capital expenditure and trade credit availed by infrastructure companies. For availing ECBs to repay rupee loans and fresh capital expenditure, RBI has enhanced the limit to 75 per cent of average foreign exchange earnings realised from 50 per cent of export earning in the last three years. Under this scheme, the maximum ECB that an individual company or group (as a whole) can use is capped at $3 billion. The limit set for the scheme is $10 billion. The central bank has also permitted infrastructure companies to use trade credit (up to five years) to import capital goods. Trade credit must be contracted for at least 15 months. It should not have elements of short-term credit rollovers. The all-in-cost ceilings of trade credit will be 350 basis points above six-month London Interbank Offered Rate. Infrastructure finance companies will be permitted to refinance bridge finance (nature of buyers’ and suppliers’ credit) with ECB under the automatic route, RBI said. Cheaper fund access Earlier in the day, the finance ministry had said it would look at steps for further easing of ECB norms to allow domestic companies access to cheaper funds abroad. Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said at the executive committee meet of industry chamber Ficci: “We will continue to look at various spaces… ECB is one of that, not only to increase the foreign flow in the country but also to improve business climate… Many of the sectors now require higher foreign exchangedenominated loans, so we are looking at all of them. "We are also looking at the possibility of allowing those companies — which have borrowed from Indian banks to get infrastructure assets outside of their country and there are some very large borrowings on that account — for borrowing abroad and retiring the Indian loans. So, the burden comes down." Mayaram also said the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of GDP for this year might get exceeded but the government would take measures to contain this and promote investment with growth. The steps, which could be announced soon, might not only impact low income earners, but also “those who are in the higher classes”, he said, while asking people “to be prepared for that”. Interest rates in India are high, with the Reserve Bank having refused to ease the policy rate beyond a point, to counter inflation. Mayaram said people should not seek lowering of taxes; this would add to the problem of fiscal deficit. “The government intends to take steps to correct the fiscal deficit; it will not happen in one day. Correction would also mean hardship and that hardship will have to be across the board,” he added. He hoped the country would be able to grow by six per cent in the current financial year, still among the highest rates in the world. This would be lower than estimated by the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council, at 6.7 per cent.