India, France Sign Nuclear Reactor Deal

Chandrasekhar Atreya
06 Dec, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Mumbai failed to hold intra-day gains. India and France sign $9.3 billion deal for two nuclear power plants and look for ways to deepen military and energy collaboration. Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd plans to build $1.8 billion solar power park in Patan region.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in Mumbai failed to hold intra-day gains. India and France sign $9.3 billion deal for two nuclear power plants and look for ways to deepen military and energy collaboration. Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd plans to build $1.8 billion solar power park in Patan region.[/R]

Indian equities failed to hold on to their intra-day gains as traders booked profits as the index crossed 20,000. India and France signed nuclear power deal worth $9.3 billion as two nations discuss ways to deepen defense and energy collaboration.

The BSE Sensex ended 0.7% higher or 14.38 points to close at 19,981.31. The CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange dropped 0.55 points to close at 5,992.25.

The rupee was unchanged at Rs 45.49 to a dollar.

India and France today signed a multibillion agreement to build two nuclear power plants in India as French President Nicolas Sarkozy worked to boost business investments in the nations during his four-day state visit to India.

Areva SA, one of France’s main nuclear power companies, will build two pressurized reactors of 1,650 megawatts each at Jaitapur, Maharashtra. The agreement worth about $9.3 billion was signed in the presence of the leaders of the two nations.

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, the state’s apex utility, plans to set up an Rs 8,000 crore solar power park in Charanaka, a village in a remote corner of Patan district in north Gujarat.

GUVNL is currently in the process of entering into long-term power purchase agreements with 80 solar power project investors to commission almost 1,000 megawatts of capacity.

Shipping Corp of India, whose follow-on public offer was oversubscribed 5 times and mopped up around Rs 1,200 crore, is planning to spend around Rs 1,350 crore or $3 billion on expansion activities over the next three years, according to a senior official of the company.

“We have chalked out our growth plans and will invest $1 billion every year for the next three years. The capex will be financed through a mix of internal accruals and debt,” said SCI Chairman and Managing Director S. Hajara to PTI on the sidelines of a conference in Mumbai on Saturday.

Mahindra & Mahindra announced Saturday a tie-up with Italy-based farm equipment company Maschio-Gaspardo SpA for getting supply of a range of rotary tillage equipment.

“With this association we hope to provide world-class products to increase rural productivity and efficiency,” company President (Automotive and Farm Equipment) Pawan Goenka told reporters in Chandigarh.

Honda Motor Co plans to sell its stake in India’s top-ranked motorcycle maker Hero Honda Motors in order to focus on its wholly-owned subsidiary in India, according to the Nikkei news on Saturday.

The Advisory Panel to Prime Minister said Saturday that liquidity in short supply due to a number of public offerings and weak credit cycle and is expected to improve once the government accelerates its expenditure from next month.

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell $4 billion to $293.98 billion in the week ended November 26, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank.

Bhushan Power & Steel Group, an Indian energy group, is planning a float of 450 million pounds in London next year after appointing investment banks JP Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse to manage the offering, UK based Mail reported on Sunday.

RPP Infra Projects made a flat start to its debut today, before gaining over 7% at both the BSE and NSE in early trade. The RPP Infra share, which opened at the issue price of Rs 75 per share, on the Bombay Stock Exchange, surged as high as 7.2% to Rs 80.40

Oil and Natural Gas Corp will sign an agreement for taking 25% stake in Kazakhstan’s Satpayev oil field by the end of February 2011, Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said today.

“The finer details of the agreement are being worked out and we hope to sign the deal before the end of February 2011,” he said after a meeting of Indo-Kazakhstan inter-governmental commission.