corporate law

NEW FDI NORMS MAY BE REVISED FOR BANKING SECTOR To avoid problems for Indian banks with majority foreign equity. The new foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines may be revised with respect to the banking sector to avoid an adverse fallout for Indian banks with majority foreign equity. Under the new regime, as defined by Press Notes 2, 3 and 4, any downstream investment by a firm with more..

Holding back clearance under the Foreign Exchange Management Act to the controversial FDI rules, the RBI has raised concerns over the new guidelines resulting in far-reaching changes in the ownership pattern of private banks. As per the new guidelines, for the purpose of calculation of indirect foreign investment in an Indian entity, a sum total of FDI, stake from non-resident Indians, American an..

The Finance Ministry has raised questions on the new foreign direct investment rules which have prompted several domestic firms to rework their ownership structure for attracting FDI in areas like retail through backdoor. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal point for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) guidelines, is examining the issues raised by the Finance Ministry. ..

Experts in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have argued that CSR is not just philanthropy by companies. It should involve the right combination of enhancing long-term shareholder value and protecting the interests of various other stakeholders (such as employees, creditors, consumers and the society in general). In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, R. Venugopal..

Recently, in the case of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board v. Videocon Power Ltd., a two-judge bench of the Madras High Court had occasion to deal with foreign arbitral awards, and the applicability of Part I of the Arbitration Act (which deals with domestic arbitration) to such awards. It may be recalled that in the cases of Bhatia International and Satyam, the Supreme Court had held that Part I of..

The RBI has made the lives of non-banking financial companies (NBFC) a tad easy. Factoring in the tough market conditions to raise equity capital, the apex bank has decided to defer the implementation of capital risk-weighted assets ratio (also known as capital adequacy ratio) of 12 % to March 31, 2010 and of 15 % to March 31, 2011. This applies to NBFCs which are non-deposit taking and systematic..

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said it would deal with the problem of black money being hidden in tax havens by continuously updating its regulations in line with the G-20 guidelines on strengthening transparency in cross-border movement of capital. “The RBI would continue to incorporate in its regulations latest international best practices (to deal with tax havens and non-cooperative juri..

The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has issued a useful clarification (Policy Circular No. 80/2008, dated April 30, 2009). It follows the amendment in Para 4.22 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. 1 (through Public Notice No. 151/2008 dated February 26, 2009), extending the export obligation period of advance authorisations from 24 months to 36 months. It was not clear from the amendment ..

In an effort to hasten the process of settlement in primary market issuances, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is mulling ways to shift to the T+2 (transaction+2 days) system, which is followed by the secondary market for settlement of transactions. Sebi Chairman C B Bhave had recently said that the regulator was considering ways to reduce the settlement time in public issues. Sou..

Gujarat High Court posted for hearing all applications, seeking higher compensation to farmers affected by Nano car project, being set up near Sanand town by Tata Motors, about 30 kms from here, on April 15. The two member bench, comprising Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Aquil Qureshi, in its order, set the hearing of all individual applications seeking higher compensation from Tata Motors, man..

The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the tendency of mobile phone companies and cable operators looting the people at will. The damaging observation which is in conformity with the grievances of the consumer was made by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan sitting along with Justice P Sathasivam. The apex court was hearing the petition filed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (T..

CNICA ( Council for National and International Commercial Arbitration) established in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India is now spreading its wings. The institution is to open up its branch at Kanyakumari District at Nagarcoil, on 14.4.2008. The Venue is to be inugurated by His Lordship Justice. K.Venkataraman, Judge Madras High Court. ..

3/31/2009 Delhi Developement Authority(DDA) told the Delhi High Court that it will not allot the flats to the applicants till the investigation being carried out by the the economic offence wing (eow) is complete. Arguing before Justice Hima Kohli the lawyer appearing on behalf of DDA said that though the draw has been finalised but the allotment of flats will be deffered till the EOW give..

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS: CLAUSE 49 IS FINE, BUG LIES IN APPOINTMENTS Even as corporates generally appreciate the prescribed corporate governance norms set out in Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, a Grant Thornton-Ficci study reveals the bane of the issue relating to the availability of independent directors is in the process companies adopt to appoint them. There is also a need to enhance the ..

3/23/2009 The Bajaj Alliance logo on the Rajasthan Royals team jersey will not be seen anymore as the contract between the duo has been terminated before the Delhi High Court. Both the parties made a compromise before the Delhi High Court and the contract for the sponsorship was terminated for the next seasons. Mr Anish Dayal, lawyer appearing on behalf of Rajasthan Royals, said they ha..