Property Focus
It's not the size of the step that matters But the direction in which you take it
Managing Director of Sow & Reap, a Property Investment & Financing company.
We provide our clients with a full turn key solution to property investment. There is something for all budgets and all |
VISA BYTES
The 2 immigration Caps
On the 28th June 2010 the Home Secretary announced that the Government intended to introduce an annual immigration cap to take effect in April 2011.
However in the meantime in order to prevent the |
BP posts record �11 bn losses, Dudley new CEO
British Petroleum, the embattled company reported record losses of �11 bn for the April � June 2010 quarter, the highest for any British company owing to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis. Following |
Leadership Matters
When the world is against you
I recently read a Chinese proverb, "A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion". Last week David Cameron publicly stated that, as far as he was concerned, the decision |
India operations could turn taxing for UK law firms
If UK law firms are operating in India, even without an office there, profits from the Indian operation are liable to Income tax there. Mumbai bench of Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recentl |
Khazanah of Malaysia beats Fortis in Parkway acquisition
Even as Fortis, the India based chain of hospitals lost the battle for acquisition of Parkway, the Singapore based healthcare major, the company is to benefit from sale of its entire stake in Parkway. |
US will soon savour Pakistani mangoes
Three years after George Bush facilitated Indian mango exports to the USA, it is now Pakistan's turn to tap the American markets. This time, it is Hillary Clinton playing the mango diplomacy. While |
Yorkshire, Clydesdale Bank home mortgage customers in trouble for bank miscalculation
Almost 18,000 home mortgage customers of Yorkshire Bank and its sister Clydesdale bank are now facing trouble in the form of higher mortgage payments for which they are not responsible. It was a |
Airbus to sources parts from a Bangalore firm
Quest, a Bangalore based Indian firm manufacturing aircraft parts has been listed by Airbus, the European plane maker as one of their 'preferred suppliers'. Aravind Melligeri, chairman of the leading |
Consultant Editor Financial Voice
Dear Financial Voice Reader, As the British Prime Minister concludes his visit to India consider the size and scale of the economics: never before has any country outside the US had as many of its |
Foreign Exchange
When Will Normal Trading Markets Return?
Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.
For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail info@rationalfx.com
The financial markets as a whole are undergo |
Property Focus
Sow & Reap
The Cheapest � Not Necessarily The Best
One of our clients recently completed their first investment property purchase last week. They are a working class couple. They had bought their first home after being married in Perival, Middlesex. < |
Fraud claims pushing up car insurance premiums
Car insurance frauds are pushing a record rise in premiums for honest motorists and that include the so called "crash-for-cash" scams. Other forms of unseen frauds include rising costs from persona |
BoB joining london High Street soon
London high street will see an invasion by quite a few foreign banks soon, all with new business styles for customers. Bank of Baroda, a leading psu bank from India is among them, coming with an inter |
Goldtrail collapse leads to spoiling of holiday plans of thousands of Britons
A leading tour operator and specialist in flights to Greece and Turkey, Goldtrail collapsed last week, spoiling holiday plans of tens of thousands of Britons. It is estimated that about 50,000 people |
House prices likely to be hit after new loan rules
The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced new affordability for those seeking mortgages and analysts have warned that these reforms are likely to depress the prices of houses that are alread |
UK banks causing distress to elderly customers
Banks in UK are facing the ire of their elderly customers as in many cases, accounts are frozen on wrong suspicions of customers being mentally incapable or involved in fraud. It is the responsib |
Foreign Exchange
These Tests May Be Too Stressful
To help end the panic on Wall St. the Federal Reserve Bank performed stress tests on American banks last year.
These tests decided how bad bank losses were and forced banks without enough capital t |
Mittal looking for selling stake in Kazakh oil firm
Steel tycoon Lakshmi Nivas Mittal is looking for buyers to acquire the entire stake that one of his companies, Mittal Investments Sarl is holding in a Kazakhstan oil company. Mittal had prop |
India considering purchase of BAE Systems M777 howitzer
Even as India is considering purchase of BAE Systems M777 howitzer guns for the Army, the company has received orders for 93 guns from the USA. The total order book has gone up to 955 guns and the val |
StanChart now offers online remittance for NRIs
Customers of Standard Chartered, the UK based banking major can now avail of `Transfer2Home', an online remittance service as a part of the NRI services offering from the bank. Customers in UK, U |
AIG agrees to settle fraud case by Ohio pension funds
In one of the largest class action settlements in US history, American International Group Inc.
(AIG) has agreed to pay $725 mn to settle the long running securities fraud lawsuit filed by |
Leadership Matters
Primum non nocere, Patience and Balance
The Latin phrase `Primum non nocere' is translated as `First, do no harm'. This is one of the ethics taught to every medical student around the world meaning that when treating a person, the first cr |
Mukesh Ambani appointed MDG member
Mukesh Ambani has earned the distinguished honour of being appointed a member of MDG � a key advocacy group on Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Head of the Reliance I |
L&T GIC gets nod for insurance business
India will soon have another significant player in the general insurance sector, as L&T General Insurance Company has received the necessary license from IRDA to commence general insurance business. T |
UK economy grows, trade deficit widens
While the UK economy growth for the first quarter this year continued as per estimates, the trade deficit widened more than expected in May, latest official data showed last week. The g |
Apex court orders PGF to return investors' money
PGFL, a Chandigarh based company has been asked to return the investment money it had collected from public under investment schemes, as nothing is known about the business of the company and it is al |
Indian support for AfDB study on projects
African Development Bank, the tunis based bank will receive a donation support of US$6.7 million to fund studies of development projects in the continent. A senior official of the Indian finance minis |
Europe could soon be trading in BSE Sensex
After the agreement between rival National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in March this year, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is in talks with Deutsche Borse |
Amul reign as no. 1 in Asia Pacific continues
India's cooperative dairy major Amul's reign as the no. 1 Indian brand in the Asia Pacific region continued for the second year on a trot, a list of top 1000 brands released by `Media Magazine' has re |
French Rail wagon maker bought by TWL of India
One of the leading private rail wagon manufacturers of India, Titagarh Wagons announced on Monday this week that the company has successfully bid for the takeover of a French wagon maker, IGF Industri |
Two Tata firms on the Fortune 500 list
Two prominent companies of the Indian global corporate conglomerate - The Tata group - Tata Steel and Tata Motors alongwith with six other Indian companies have made it to the Fortune 500 list. Arc |
It's Only a Game
Now that the World Cup is over, we can all get back to worrying about normal things such as rail strikes, the price of petrol and how long the summer will last. During the tournament, whether we liked |
Sow & Reap
Property Focus
Risen from the dead
There is the Mews deal which I have spoken about in previous articles which was not an easy to begin with. It was brought to us by the bankrupted owner although it was in the hands of the receiver, wh |
Alpesh Patel
Consultant Editor Financial Voice
Dear Financial Voice Reader, Finance. It's obviously about money. So I shouldn't have been surprised about a question I was asked recently: `why aren't you i |
An Insight into Tax Investigations
Horwath Clark Whitehill, a top 20 accountancy firm, hosted a seminar in London on 29 June 2010.
The firm's specialist Employment Taxes and Tax Investigation teams delivered a role play based |
Solar lanterns of India win Ashden's Gold award
D.light Design, India won the Gold award at the Ashden Awards for sustained energy, 2010 for the durable and affordable solar lanterns, designed by them. The solar lanterns help reduce CO2 emiss |
UK to drive in a `Victoria Beckham designed Range Rover Evoque'
Victoria Beckham, famous British designer and wife of English footballer David Beckham will design the new Range Rover Evoque from Land Rover, scheduled to be launched next year. This new SUV would
|
Political Sketchbook:
Special or Enhanced?
As Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron expressed the importance to the UK of a `Special Relationship' with India. In the Queen's Speech that was changed to |
UK's StanChart to invest in Chinese bank's IPO
Standard Chartered Bank, the UK based global banking major has announced they are investing US$500 million in the IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank). StanChart will be investing as |
TCS climbs to no. 9 globally
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Indian software major and a part of the global Tata Empire has climbed to no. 9 globally in terms of revenues earned. Ratan Tata, chairman of |
Now, faulty engine problem for Toyota globally
Quality problems for Japan's leading carmaker Toyota seem to be adding and not ending, as last weekend, the company announced recall of 270,000 cars globally for faulty engines. The models involved ar |
Visabytes
The immigration cap: How will it work
There has been much said this week about the immigration cap to cut numbers. As many news items have already pointed out the cap, however limiting it is, will hardly have an impact on the overall migr |
Regulator for raising FDI in DTH, FM radio in India
More Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will soon be allowed in DTH and FM radio businesses in India. Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), the regulator for the industry as week recommended ch |
Reliance Power to have world's largest no. of shareholders
Merger of RNRL with R Power approved by boards of the two companies
ADAG's Reliance Power will become the world's biggest company in terms of having the largest num- ber of share holders after anoth |
Caught in a Compromising Position
"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny...At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." These were the first famous words of Jawaharlal Nehru's |
Property Focus
Sow & Reap
The case of the HMO
Over the next few weeks we will be giving actual examples of what we have done for clients. This will be done to illustrate what we can do for you. All examples used will be actual case studies where |
Foreign Exchange
Can sterling hold firm
Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.
For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail info@rationalfx.com
At the end of last week's trading session St |
Manmohan favours higher FDI in airlines
Indian Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh is in favour of allowing higher Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian careers, even allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake and giving them significa |
No tax on overseas capital inflows in India
Foreign funds need not worry about investing in India, as Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday ruled out tax on capital flows in the coun- try from abroad. He said in India at present, the sit |
Thinking Twice
The comic strip Calvin and Hobbes has a nice quote � Calvin, "Sometimes when I'm talking, my words can't keep up with my thoughts.
I wonder why we think faster than we can speak?" |
VISA BYTES
Victory for Points Based Applicants: The Court of Appeal expresses its concern
The Court of Appeal in a judgment delivered on the 23rd June 2010 has hopefully laid to rest the problems experienced by many applicants under the Points Based System. Numerous applicant have been ref |
Servosteel acquired by Essar group of India
Essar, another of leading India based industrial house has acquired Servosteel of UK. Servosteel is UK's largest steel processor, with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per annum. Essar made the |
Older style �20 Note withdrawn
The older style �20 notes that show a portrait of Sir Edward Elgar stand withdrawn by the Bank of England (BoE) with effect from 01 July, 2010. Most of the banks, building societies and Post Offices w |
Now, India to fly in Mahindra made planes
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), one of India's major automobile manufacturers' have announced their ambitious plans to build small civil aircrafts for India's general aviation market. M&M had recently ac |
Property Focus
Sow & Reap
Bullet Proof
Managing Director of Sow & Reap, a Property Investment & Financing company.
The budget as expected has increased taxation in every sphere of anything that we earn and spend, this it claims was to |
Quality for Community
Customer Satisfaction - Part 1
The continued healthy, and wealthy growth of a C o m m u n i t y Organization stems from sustained members; Members that applaud and appreciate an organization's events and services, additionally |
Political Sketchbook:
Immigrants � who needs `em?
When I consider the G8 meeting representing the world's largest economies � it's interesting their relationships with immigrants. Take the US � the largest of the G8 � a land of immigrants |
RCOM hives off the tower biz to GTL Infra
The Reliance group is back into mega business deals.
The latest is the Reliance Infratel; the telecom towers arm of Reliance Communications (RCOM) merger with a smaller rival, GTL Infrastru |
Tata Motors on fund mobilising drive
Tata Motors, the giant Indian automobile makers have finalised plans to raise huge funds to carry out expansion projects and also cut debts. Rs. 47 billion could be the company's target and they will |
India, UK have more millionaires even in the 2009 recession
Even the countries were reeling under the global meltdown, India, UK and China along with some other countries saw a rise in the number of millionaires in 2009. A Merrill Lynch and Capgemini survery s |
Invest for a Life in the US
The United States of America, often referred to as the land of opportunity, has been taking in immigrants at the rate of more than one million every year for over a century.
Unfortunately, because |
Only Tata vehicles for CWG guests in Delhi
Commonwealth games guests in New Delhi will travel in only in Tata vehi- cles, be it athletes and offi- cials or VVIP guests. The organising committee of the Commonwealth Games announced last week abo |
Consultant Editor Financial Voice
Alpesh Patel
Dear Asian Voice Reader,
Okay, I write this whilst listening to the Emergency Budget. This is my blow by blow take on it: we are reminded that credibility of sovereign debt in the international mark |
Bilateral trade between UK � India on a downslide
After a record surge of US$ 12.5 billion in the previous year, the bilateral trade between UK and India saw a downslide in 2009-10 according to R N Prasad, the new Deputy High Commissioner of India in |
Unemployment rate still rising in UK
Even as the economy in UK is witnessing a fragile recovery, the unemployment figures are a cause of concern. For the period of three months to April this year, the total number of people unemployed wa |
Alcatel Lucent eyes India for a single location services HQ
India is likely to attract global major in telecom equipment major Alcatel Lucent for housing their global headquarters for services, the company has indicated. Currently, they have the facility scatt |
Pakistan, UAE businesses of RBS sold off
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) last week struck deals to sell off their oper- ations in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Faysal Bank Ltd. has agreed to take over the Pakistan operations, while |
Property Focus
Sow & Reap
To hold is gold
The new coalition government this week will be announcing the new rates of taxation which will be used to fund the hole created by the credit crunch. Much has been written in the press regarding how u |
The Big Squeeze
Everyone knows the government will be squeezing the population in the form of taxes. What many are failing to acknowledge the rises which will take place with the interest rates, as time goes on |
Specialists in Education Law
Are you a student at University or College? Do you know your rights as a student? Did you know that as soon as you enrol on a course with a further or higher education institution you have a legally b |
Anil Ambani gets into business news channel
After a ceasefire with brother Mukesh, Anil Ambani is again on the move. Last week, he sealed a deal to buy 18% stake in Bloomberg-UTV, a business news channel.
The value of the deal was however no |
Virendra Rastogi ordered to pay �30 mn compensation
A Southwark Crown Court last week ordered former RBG Resources Plc chairman Virendra Rastogi to pay �30 million as compensation to the victims of his fraud. Rastogi is serving a nine- and-a-half-ye |
VISA BYTES
A shopping list of problems
Administrative Reviews v Appeals When the Points Based System was introduced, appeals were replaced by Administrative reviews which are handled by an officers who did not make the original decisio |
Foreign Exchange
The Most Important Budget for 30 Years
The emergency budget, presented by George Osborne on Tuesday 22nd of June, has been designed to reduce the public sector spending racked-up by the previous government, surmounting to a mind boggling n |
The `U' in British Airways
There is no `i' in team. A simple and apt statement.
However, the letter of contention for British Airways is not `i', but rather `u' (for Unite). In many ways the conflict at BA symboli |
Cambridge honour for Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata, the Chairman of Indian industrial house and also owner of British companies JLR and Corus was honoured by the University of Cambridge with an honorary degree of Doctor of Law. At a co |
LIC denied permission for a subsidiary in Singapore
India's state owned life insurance major, Life Insurance Corporation of India was recently denied permission for setting up a subsidiary in Singapore.
LIC had initiated the process of see |
Hinduja's BPO arm HGSL acquires Careline Services in UK
Hinduja Global Solutions (HGSL), a BPO company of the Hinduja group announced on Monday the acquisition of Careline Services, a UK based company in the business of providing contact services.
The a |
Insurance, pension via ULIPs set to be more attractive
The ministry of finance in government of India has finally intervened in the battle over control for ULIP products. An ordinance was issued, making it clear that ULIPs would be considered as Insurance |
Jhagadia gets a Rs. 570 mn Lanxess plant
Germany based speciality chemicals major, Lanxess is expanding their operations with a new plant being set up at Jhagadia in South Gujarat to manufacture engineering plastics. The Lanxess already |
Political Sketchbook:
The Budget � control to coincide cycles for power
The youngest Chancellor for over 100 years � but I believe a masterly performance.
Even though VAT up to 20%. When he said that, the shouts from the opposition benches meant he had to be remi |
Teamwork the Key
It seems quite fitting that the World Cup is on at the same time as the first budget delivered by the new alliance government. There are many comparisons that could be made between the challenges f |
A Reliable Succession
Irreplaceable is a powerful word. Imagine Apple without Steve Jobs or Virgin without Richard Branson. Are they irreplaceable? What would happen to their companies if they left? When Dhirubhai |
VISA BYTES
Controlling immigration and the extension of the English test requirement
Throughout the election campaign all parties made a song and dance about the fact that the public were expressing concern about the control of the levels of immigration. What every party sought to do |
China may rewrite the record for world's biggest IPO
AgBank or The Agriculture Bank of China (ABC) has got the regulatory approval for in IPO that is to come soon. It is expected to be the biggest IPO in the world, beating previous record, |
JLR begins deliveries of Jaguar XJ in India
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has begun deliveries of the iconic Jaguar XJ in India, Tata Motors said on Tuesday. The company's Senior Vi c e - P re s i d e n t (Commercial), Passenger Car Business Uni |
Ambanis discuss synergies during African safari
Leaving little to doubt about their growing understanding at home and at work, Mukesh and Anil Ambani holidayed with their families in South Africa and are believed to have discussed synergisin |
SBI to raise Rs 200 bn via rights issue
India's largest lender SBI last week said it was planning to mop up Rs 200 billion from rights issue by this fiscal end. "We are expecting to raise Rs 200 billion from rights issue," SBI |
Indians are the 3rd-fastest growing investor in US
Indians are the third fastest growing foreign investors in the United States, a top Obama Administration official has said, acknowledging the positive contribution of India in the US economy at the ti |
UK may `share' $3 bn IT jobs with India
the government is more inclined to establish shared service centres in order to avoid any mass- offshoring fears. "The current govern- ment's focus on giving greater autonomy to agen- cies is likel |
IDBI Bank opens first overseas branch at Dubai
IDBI Bank of India has opened its first overseas branch at The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which will provide a full range of corporate banking servic- es, including financial advisor |
RIL discovers more oil at Cambay Basin
Reliance Industries (RIL) has discovered more oil at an on land site in Gujarat's Cambay Basin, raising the potential of the exploratory fields it has been drilling. The energy major made its sixth |
Indian industry grows 17.6 per cent in April
India's factory output bet- tered expectations to expand at 17.6% in April, marking a near 20-year high achieved on the back of copious domestic con- sumer demand, a revival in exports and higher infr |
Political Sketchbook:
Poor People Don't Matter
Doing the early morning BBC TV newspaper review allowed me this past week to vent some anger which has been boiling up for 20 years.
The story I was asked to comment on was the fury of Obama at BP |
Essar Energy included in FTSE 100 Index
Essar Energy, a company of Indian industrial group of Essar, took rapid strides at the London Stock Exchange. Within a very short period of just over a month, the Essar Energy oined an elite group of |
Tame debut for StanChart IDRs in India
The IDR issue of StanChart, the UK based bank made a tame debut on the BSE, opeining at Rs. 105 per IDR against an issue price of Rs. 104. The issue was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange |
UK growth forecast down to 2.6%
The growth projections for the UK economy in year 2011 have been lowered at 2.6% by the new independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The last budget by the
previo |
Kansagra offloads entire stake in SpiceJet
Bhupendra (Bhulo) Kansagra, the founder of Indian low cost airline SpiceJet and the US fund owner W L Ross have sold their entire 37.7% stake to Kalanithi Maran, an Indian media magnate |
Dana Petroleum of UK to buy Petro Canada Netherlands
British entity Dana Petroleum Plc announced a deal to acquire the entire stake of Petro Canada Netherlands from their current owners. The takeover deal is worth �270 mn. The oil an |
Invest for a Life in the US
The United States of America, often referred to as the land of opportunity, has been taking in immigrants at the rate of more than one million every year for over a century.
Unfortunately, because |
Consultant Editor Financial Voice
Dear Financial Voice Reader, As I mentioned in my political column this week, I had the opportunity to do one of my regular BBC TV newspaper reviews. Do you buy BP? Well, if they pay all the comp |
When all hope is lost Sow and Reap remain
There comes a time when regardless of what profession you are in you sometimes get real satisfaction for a job well done. For us its doing deals which are not possible but we make them possible. Deliv |
Property Focus
Suresh Vagjiani Managing Director of Sow & Reap, a Property Investment & Financing company.
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I thought I had seen it all...
I thought I had seen pretty much everything in the property industry. This week was a revelation and an education. One of our contacts told me that she had a brothel in the posh area of Marylebone vil |
