Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- India’s exports, which have dropped for a ninth straight month in June, may get a boost as the government announces new measures this week to stem the decline in trade because of a global recession.
Trade Minister Anand Sharma is to announce steps to give additional assistance to labor-intensive export industries on Aug. 27, he said last week.
The worst global recession since the Great Depression has slashed demand for Indian exports such as gems and jewelry and textiles resulting in thousands of job losses across the nation. About 500,000 Indians have lost jobs, according to a government survey conducted between October and December last year.
India’s exports in the first three months of the fiscal year to June 30 declined 31 percent to $35.4 billion from a year ago, the government said Aug. 3.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his July 6 budget announced some incentives for exporters, including extending the deadline for cheap loans and giving them financial assistance to develop new overseas markets.
Oil India Ltd., the second-biggest state-run oil explorer, may set the price for its initial share sale this week after a group of ministers meets.
The company may sell shares at 1,200 rupees to 1,450 rupees ($30) apiece, the Economic Times reported on Aug. 18, citing a government official it didn’t name. It may raise as much as 35 billion rupees by selling a 12 percent stake, the report said.
Shares, Rupee
India’s benchmark Sensitive Index fell 1.1 percent last week on concern that a weak monsoon may hurt the country’s economic growth. Tata Motors Ltd., the country’s biggest truckmaker, and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. were the biggest losers among the 30 members of the index.
Housing Development Finance Corp., the nation’s biggest mortgage lender, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., India’s biggest power equipment maker, gained the most last week.
India’s 10-year bonds had the biggest weekly loss since July 11 as the government’s borrowing costs rose and primary dealers had to buy unsold debt at an auction, signaling demand weakened for the securities.
Yields on benchmark debt due 2019 surged to a nine-month high. The yield on the 6.90 percent note due August 2016 jumped 20 basis points last week to 7.31 percent in Mumbai, according to the central bank’s trading system. The price fell 1.38 per 100-rupee face amount, to 97.17. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
The rupee fell for a second week, its worst run in two months, as overseas funds sold assets in emerging markets on concern that the global economy may not recover from a slump soon. The rupee fell 0.7 percent last week to 48.605 a dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Source : bloomberg.com