SEBI committee examining e-IPO proposal

Chennai: A committee set up by market regulator SEBI to examine IPO-related issues is looking into a proposal to allow companies to sell shares through electronic Initial Public Offers (e-IPOs).

The proposed move would enable companies to sell shares electronically. Under such a system, investors would bid for shares online and would not be required to sign any papers physically.

"The committee set up by SEBI to undertake various issues relating to IPOs is looking into it (the e-IPO proposal). We are awaiting formal clearance from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for the e-IPO process," SEBI Chairman U K Sinha said.

Asked about SEBI's proposal for reducing the number of days in the IPO process, he said, "The current period of 12-plus days and how to reduce it is part of the committee's mandate."

Calling for more awareness among the public on financial markets, he said an international conference is proposed to be held in Goa in February as part of investor education initiatives.

A SEBI official said the conference will be co-hosted by SEBI and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The conference will explore domestic issues related to investor education as well as international issues and global trends, with special focus on Asia and its investor education needs, he said.

Source: Financial Express

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IOB revises interest rates

Public sector lender Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has revised interest rates on its Non-Resident External (NRE) deposits upward to 9.25 per cent with effect from January 2.

Interest rates for NRE deposits have been revised to 9.25 per cent from the existing 3.82 per cent on deposits of one year to less than two years’ tenure, Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank said in a statement.

For deposits with a maturity period of two years and above, but less than three years, the interest rate has also been hiked to 9.25 per cent from the existing 3.51 per cent.

For deposits of three years and above, but less than five years, the interest rate has been increased to 9.25 per cent from 3.64 per cent, the statement added.

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Corp Bank hikes NRE deposit rates

Corporation Bank has increased the interest rates on Non-Resident External (NRE) term deposits with effect from December 30.

A bank release said here on Saturday that the bank has increased the interest rates offered on NRE term deposits up to 9.50 per cent in a bid to attract foreign currency inflows amid a depreciating rupee.

The bank is now offering 9.50 per cent (3.82 per cent) on NRE deposits with maturity ranging from one year to less than two years, and 9.25 per cent on NRE deposits with maturity ranging from two years to less than five years. Earlier, the bank was offering 3.51 per cent for two years to less than three years and 3.64 per cent for three years to less than 10 years.

The release said that NRE deposits of maturity period of five years and above stand withdrawn.

vinayakj@thehindu.co.in

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Rs 1000 note costs govt Rs 3.17 to print

MUMBAI: It costs money to make money. Last year, the Reserve Bank of India spent Rs 2,376 crore on printing 16.5 billion currency notes of varied denominations and the tab is only set to rise.

Of all the notes minted, Rs 1,000 costs the least, at Rs 3.17 per note. But the five-rupee note, the smallest in terms of size and denomination, costs the most, 48 paise, compared to the value of the note.

The number of notes printed has risen consistently. "Inflation remained high, often in double digits, in respect of commodities such as foodgrain , pulses, fruits and vegetables , and milk during 2009-10 and 2010-11 - where transactions are expected to be cashintensive ," the RBI said in its annual report for 2010-11 .

"The size of our currency notes has shrunk over time, probably because of the rising cost of paper. Yet, we maintain different dimensions and colours for different denominations ," said Dilip Rajgor, scholar and the author of several books on numismatics.

Paper accounts for fattest slice in note making

Mumbai: Various factors go into how much a currency note costs. RBI officials said that it was the paper that accounted for the fattest slice. Yet, the country's currency architects have not shied away from the idea of designing notes of varied dimensions , unlike many other nations like the US where all the bills are uniformly sized and of the same moss-green colour.

The Indian currency notes have come a long way from the 1800s when the Presidency banks maintained their own colour scheme and minted them for the state they had jurisdictional control over. The government stripped their right to issue notes after passing the Paper Currency Act, 1861. From 1862 when the earliest notes were issued by the government, to 1935, India had one-colour and unifaced notes, or bills that were printed on one side.

The RBI changed all that. It introduced a colour scheme for bills, making it easy for the then largely illiterate population to distinguish between notes. "Even the visually challenged were brought on board before the design of the notes was finalized. The varied size of the notes and the different shapes on the intaglio for each note help them differentiate between the notes," said an RBI officer.

In the history of currency notes, there have been some bloopers too, the most recent being the resemblance between the Rs 100 and Rs 500 notes that forced the RBI to redesign the latter. But that slip also drew out the apex bank's worst fears: Indians did not read the denomination on currency note before handing it to someone, a habit that the RBI inadvertently inculcated in the citizenry.

Source: EconomicTimes

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IOB gets new ED

Mr A. D. M. Chavali, 57, has joined the Indian Overseas Bank as its Executive Director. He assumed office on Wednesday. Prior to his appointment, he was working as General Manager in Bank of Baroda, in charge of Treasury & Resource Management. During his 34 years of service in Bank of Baroda, he has served in various parts of India in various capacities, heading the corporate finance branch in Mumbai, as regional head of Kolkata and Deputy General Manager in Risk Management, says a press release from IOB.

Meanwhile, IOB has also announced that it has signed a MoU with Mahindra & Mahindra under which the bank would be a “preferred financier' for the Indian automotive major. The MoU will enable M&M customers to avail themselves of vehicle finance services from any of the over 2,000 branches of IOB.

The MOU was signed by Shri M.S. Raghavan, General Manager, Shri K. Subrahmanyam, General Manager of Indian Overseas Bank and Mr Arun Malhotra, Senior Vice-President, Sales & Customer Care, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

mramesh@thehindu.co.in

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