Mumbai, Nov. 19 At least 10 companies, including public sector undertakings, are expected to tap the corporate bond market over the next two months to take advantage of the lower interest rates and surplus liquidity, say bankers and brokers. A corporate rated “AAA” can raise fund through bonds at an yield of 8-8.2 per cent, while one rated `AA+ ‘may have to pay 50-60 basis points more. As against this, a bank loan would be available at 10 per cent or higher, said a bond dealer.

Companies waiting to hit the market include Reliance Industries Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India, Indian Railway Finance Corporation and Tube Investments, said merchant banking sources. Mr B. Prasanna, MD and CEO, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, said that the appetite for bonds has picked up post the monetary policy announcement. “Issuers feel if they raise money now they will get good bids. People want to beat the hike in rates. The view is that the RBI may hike rates post-January,” he said.

Tata Chemicals (Rs 150 crore), Power Finance Corporation (Rs 1,100 crore) and NPCIL (Rs 2,000 crore) are among those raised money through bond issues recently. According to Mr Krishnan Sitaraman, Director, Crisil Fund Services, the amount to be borrowed by the government in the second half of this fiscal is lower than the first half; therefore, there is much more room available for the private sector. Also, the liquidity in the market is currently over Rs 100,000 crore. Besides, there is appetite in banks for investment in bonds as deposit growth is at 20 per cent, but credit growth is in single digits. That is why it is a good time for corporates to tap the market,’ he said.

Two-thirds of the government borrowing is complete and only one-third is left in the second half of the fiscal. Therefore, there will be no ‘crowding out’ effect. Analysts also expect increased investment demand from mutual funds and insurance companies, which are sitting on huge cash surpluses, another reason for corporates rushing to the bond markets.

NEW DELHI: It’s certainly not the best of times for Indian hockey. Reports of tension between players and the coach and the concerns over Hockey India elections are enough to make the International Hockey Federation (FIH), which is seeking to revive the game in the country, worried. However, FIH president Leandro Negre is not losing sleep over it. He’s optimistic that every problem facing Indian hockey will be sorted out in due course of time. Of course, he did reiterate on Friday that India would be barred from hosting the World Cup if they fail to have a democratically elected body in place before the tournament.

"India is key for world hockey but we maintain that as per our constitution, there should be an elected body before the World Cup. If they fail, we have to follow FIH constitution... hopefully that will not happen. I’m sure elections will be over before the World Cup," Negre said. The FIH president was in the Capital to sign a sponsorship deal with Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which he did in the presence of union minister for steel Birbhadra Singh, minister for state A Sai Prathap, steel secretary Atul Chaturvedi, SAIL chairman SK Roongta and Hockey India president AK Mattoo. This is FIH’s second major deal after the one with title sponsor Hero Honda. Negre spoke to TOI about the World Cup and other matters related to hockey. Excerpts:

Tell us something about this new deal. We signed an agreement today with SAIL, which will be our Presenting Partner. It’s not possible to give out details about the deal, but this contract, alongwith the one with Hero Honda, is something the types of which FIH had never signed in its history. Now the World Cup will be referred to as the ‘Hero Honda FIH World Cup, presented by SAIL’. Are you satisfied with the response you are getting from corporates for the World Cup? It’s hugely satisfying. I can assure you that the event is going to the best ever organised. Indian hockey is going through some tough times - there are so many issues, ranging from the problem in the team to Hockey India elections. Are FIH bosses worried? I am an optimistic person. I am sure everything will be solved at the right time. Certain things are not FIH’s concern, like what’s happening with the Indian team. It’s Indian hockey’s internal matter which they have to sort out. As far as the elections are concerned, the decision to postpone them was an unanimous one. India is a huge country with so many state units. We could have had the elections on November 18, but we postponed it to ensure the participation of more states.

And the venue for the World Cup? It’s yet to be handed over with just four months to go for the mega event. I will be visiting the stadium on Saturday. Only then can I say how much progress has been made. I believe some small things like electricity connection are to be put in place before the test events. There have been delays but I am confident everything will be ready in time. Will you stick to the new January-end deadline for HI elections or there’s still scope for another extension? The deadline is end of January and the elections have to be held before the World Cup. I am calling all parties to show responsibility because this is going to be a great opportunity to fix the problems for good. The next assembly of Hockey India will elect the office bearers in a democratic and fair manner. You always talked about having in place a Plan B as regard to the World Cup in case the Indian authorities did not put things in order. Does it still stand? There’s no Plan B. Having one would be a negative way to approach the concerns. To be very honest, I must say all of FIH’s demands and wishes have been settled by the Indian authorities. As of now, FIH seems to be interested in Indian hockey. But will the interest remain even after the elections and the World Cup? We are here to help the Indian hockey. I believe we are doing just that. India is important for hockey as well as FIH. We are very eager to see India back on the top and we are doing our best to achieve that.

NEW YORK: India will be the third largest economy in the world after China and United States by 2050, a US-based internationally recognised foreign-policy think tank has said. An article "The G20 in 2050", carried in November bulletin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said, "China, India, and the United States will emerge as the world's three largest economies in 2050. Their total GDP, in real US dollar terms, will be over 70% more than that of the other G20 countries combined." Other main findings include, China will become the world's largest economy in 2032, and grow to be 20% larger than the United States by 2050. Over the next forty years, nearly 60% of G20 economic growth will come from Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Mexico alone.

The article was written by Uri Dadush and Bennett Stancil. A Frenchman and former director of World Bank, Dadush is the director of the International Economics Programme at the Foundation, and Stancil is a Fellow at the Programme. "In China and India alone, GDP is predicted to increase by nearly $60 trillion--the current world GDP--but the wide disparity in per capita GDP among these three will persist," they noted. India's annual average GDP growth between 2009-2050 is predicted to 6.19 per cent, and these emerging markets will not rise among the world's richest countries in per capita terms- their average income in 2050 will still be 40% below that of the G7 nations presently. Stressing that the world's economic powers are shifting dramatically, the economists noted that the "G20's recent transformation into the world's principal economic forum highlights the beginning of a more integrated and complex economic era."

Over the next 40 years, the G20 GDP is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent, rising from USD 38.3 trillion in 2009 to USD 161.5 trillion in 2050, in real US dollar terms. Nearly 60 per cent of this USD 123 trillion dollar expansion will come from Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico (BRIC+M). The experts also find that out of the G20 countries, "India is predicted to grow most rapidly, but its current modest size will prevent it from surpassing either China or the United States in real US dollar terms." The authors observe that the growth could be even faster, but the low quality of education, infrastructure, governance, and business climate will hold back progress in developing countries. Technological convergence is expected to be lower in India and Indonesia than in China and Russia. India's Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) will be 97 per cent as large as that of the United States by 2050. India is expected to become the world's most populous nation in 2031--and an average exchange rate appreciation of 0.9 per cent per year will push annual GDP growth to an average of 6.2 per cent, according to the study.

"India's US dollar GDP will balloon to USD 17.8 trillion in 2050, sixteen times its current USD 1.1 trillion level," write Dadush and Stancil. On the future of Europe, the report stresses that "to retain their historic influence, European nations will increasingly need to conduct foreign policy under an EU banner, a shift implied by their recently ratified constitution." It warns that the once great power Russia may be marginalised in the new economic order if it remains outside regional coalitions. Currently, Germany, the UK, France, and Italy are the fourth through seventh largest economies in the world. By 2050, the UK, helped by demographic trends, will be the largest of the four, ranking seventh in the world. Italy will be the smallest, ranking fifteenth. PPP GDP in these four countries will be less than half of that in India and less than one-fourth of that in China, the report finds.

NEW YORK: News Corp, Time Warner Inc and Qualia Capital LLC are interested in buying Hollywood's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, home of the James Bond movies, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Citing people with knowledge of the situation, the report said the companies have not yet examined the studio's finances and their level of interest will depend on price. Burdened by about $4 billion in debt, Los Angeles-based MGM said last week it was weighing options, including a possible sale of the company.

Creditors are hoping to get at least $2 billion, from a single buyer or by selling the assets separately, Bloomberg said. Its sources also said Sony Corp may also be interested in all or part of the studio. News Corp, MGM, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner and Qualia, a closely held media and entertainment investment company, all declined comment, the report said.

A week ago, MGM said it was exploring a potential sale of the company as lenders extended a forbearance until Jan. 31. It said its other options include operating as a stand-alone entity or forming strategic partnerships. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the company was expected to open its books to interested parties in a process that could take months.

The studio, which has enlisted a restructuring specialist to help turn it around, faces debt obligations of $3.7 billion stemming from its 2005 buyout, plus payments on a $250 million revolving credit facility due April 2010. It was purchased from majority owner Kirk Kerkorian for $2.85 billion by a group including private equity firms Providence Equity Partners; TPG; DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, a unit of Credit Suisse; and Quadrangle Group; and media firms Sony and Comcast Corp. The group also assumed a debt of $2 billion.