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From Business-Standard Revised offer for services negotiations at WTO. |
| India has offered to allow up to 51 per cent foreign investment in insurance auxiliary services as part of its revised offers for services negotiations at the World Trade Organisation. This it has done while binding its commitment in insurance underwriting to 26 per cent. |
| Also, India has said foreign banks will not be denied a licence if the share of their total banking assets (on and off balance sheet) in India exceeds 25 per cent. This was 15 per cent in India’s initial offer. |
| While FDI in the banking sector has been capped at 49 per cent, the government has offered to bind asset management services at 51 per cent. The FDI limit for banks providing services related to participation in issues of all securities, underwriting and placements has also been increased from 51 per cent to 74 per cent. |
| For foreign financial services companies, including banks, the FDI limit in “factoring, venture capital, financial leasing, provision and transfer of information, financial data processing and related software by suppliers of other financial services and financial consultancy services, has also been enhanced from 51 per cent to 100 per cent,” the government has said. |
| Wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign banks in India will now be allowed to set up 20 branches in a year against the earlier limit of 15. |
| Computer and related services is another area where improvements have been made by relaxing the earlier requirement of obtaining a no-objection clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for existing ventures in India. Further, a new sub-sector on data preparation services has been included. |
August 30, 2005
India offers 51% FDI in insurance auxiliaries
Surveylab Lands $2m Venture Capital Investment
From BlackEnterprise.com
Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand
Venture capital firm No. 8 Ventures has made its first investment in Wellington, paying $2 million for a minority stake in technology firm Surveylab, which appears poised to win large contracts with the US military.
Surveylab’s invention, the "ike", combines a global positioning satellite (GPS) system, laser, digital camera, inclinometer and compass with a handheld computer.
It can be used to photograph and record the GPS co-ordinates of objects up to 50 metres away.
The ike has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan by the US to record the position of landmines and to survey poppy fields.
The devices have also been used by the Rotorua District Council to survey municipal property.
Surveylab will use the venture capital funding to up its marketing efforts in the United States, where Surveylab has set up an office and is negotiating several deals.
August 29, 2005
GE to enter Japan’s banking market
From Forbes.com
US electronics giant General Electric Co plans to enter Japan’s banking market as early as next year, following its consumer financing business in the country, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Saturday.
General Electric, a diversified manufacturer and financial house, plans to offer banking services to individual customers by setting up a branch of one of its overseas banks in Japan, the newspaper said.
GE runs many banks in Europe, including GE Money Bank.
GE is also considering a capital tie-up or joint venture with a domestic financial institution as it may take time for the company to obtain a license to establish the planned branch, the major daily said.
The company has been engaged in consumer financing in Japan since 1998 when it purchased consumer lender Lake Co. It is expanding retail products, including housing loans launched in April under the brand name of GE Money.
If it starts offering banking services such as deposits and account settlements, GE can build a strong foundation in Japan’s retail financial sector, the daily said.
Int’l banking, investment exposition to be staged in Beijing
From Xinhuanet News
BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhuanet) — The Beijing international banking and investment exposition will open on September 1, according to an official with the Beijing municipal government.
The four-day event aims to provide a platform for the general public to know more about personal financial management instruments, and financial organizations will exhibit their services there.
Covering 13,000 square meters of floor space, the coming exposition will supply 430 booths to 70 financial organizations, including banks and insurance companies.
The organizing committee, comprising government institutions, banks and business associations, will present 8 forums and 24 lectures to the public.
An exhibition focusing on the history and contemporary situation of China’s banking industry will also be held during theexposition.
August 26, 2005
Boston stock trading to rival NYSE
From Newsday.com
In a move said to be aimed at providing more competition for New York-based stock exchanges, four major financial services firms and the Boston Stock Exchange announced plans yesterday to launch an electronic stock market.
The firms forming a joint venture to build the new exchange include the brokerage arm of Fidelity Investments.
Executives of another Fidelity unit, which handles trading for Fidelity mutual funds, have criticized the New York Stock Exchange for what they have called "outdated, monopolistic trading rules" favoring NYSE members over investors.
Steve Austin, a Fidelity spokesman, said there’s no connection between the criticism and yesterday’s announcement.
He said the brokerage unit made the decision to invest in the Boston exchange, and that the mutual fund unit was "not involved."
In a joint release with the Boston exchange, Mark Haggerty, executive vice president of Fidelity Brokerage Co., said creation of the electronic exchange will "provide greater choice in competition among markets, which is vital to keeping trading costs low and insuring quality executions."
The other partners in the deal are the Manhattan-based investment banks Citigroup, Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston. Details of their investments weren’t disclosed.
Yesterday’s announcement came about a week after four Wall Street firms, including Citigroup and Credit Suisse First Boston, announced plans to buy a combined 25 percent share in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange for a total of $19 million.
In April, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market said they would buy their electronic rivals, Archipelago Holdings Inc. and Instinet, respectively.
If those plans succeed, the two New York-based exchanges will have more than a 70 percent share of trading of stocks listed on them, according to Harrell Smith, an analyst at Celent, a research and consulting firm headquartered in Manhattan.
In the face of such market power, Wall Street firms’ investments in regional exchanges can be seen as "a little bit of a defensive mechanism" to preserve reasonable fees and good service, Smith said.
"These firms don’t necessarily want two large dominant market centers out there," he said.
Robert Hegarty, vice president of TowerGroup, a consulting firm based in Needham, Mass., said that strengthening regional exchanges will help investors because prices and service are "always better when somebody’s chasing you."
A spokeswoman for Nasdaq declined to comment. An NYSE spokesman also declined to comment.
August 23, 2005
ATMIA summit to preview 2006 expectations for FIs, ISOs
From ATM marketplace
Sept. 14-16’s ATM Industry Association’s North American ATM Debit Summit will address a few of those issues, which are affecting U.S. deployers, keeping security at the forefront.
Lori Breitzke, vice president of prepaid products for Atlanta-based RBS Lynk Inc., will discuss security concerns surrounding prepaid and stored-value cards. During her Thursday workshop Breitzke will explore technology options for fraud prevention and regulation compliance.
