Business News

• Centurion acquires 40% stake in NMC
• Fraud not to affect Citi India rating: Fitch
• India considering import duty cuts

Centurion acquires 40% stake in NMC

Abu Dhabi headquartered Dubai: Abu Dhabi headquartered Centurion Investment has announced the acquisition of a 40% stake in B.R. Shetty owned New Medical Centre (NMC) in the United Arab Emirates.

Shetty said the new partnership will help develop the business and facilitate the company's expansion plans within and outside the UAE. “The acquisition of 40% share of NMC comes under the company's plans for investing in the medical sector,“ said Centurion Investment chairman Said Bin Buti Al Qubaisi.

He said the government is keen to encourage private sector investment in areas such as medicine, education and services.

Fraud not to affect Citi India rating: Fitch

Rating firm Fitch on Sunday said the `400 crore fraud at Citibank India's Gurgaon branch will not affect the bank's short term credit rating, but warned against waning investor confidence that could lead to client exits and impact profitability.

“The fraud in the wealth management business of Citibank India branch will not have any impact on the branch's national short term rating. The rating continues to factor in the financial profile of the parent of which the branch is a part, supported by the well established funding franchise of the bank's operations in India”, Fitch said in a statement.

However, Fitch cautioned that though the branch's strong capital structure has capacity to absorb any loss, there could be adverse reputation impact of the fraud.

India considering import duty cuts

India is concerned about high global commodity and oil prices and will consider cutting import duties on more food products to curb inflation gripping Asia's third largest economy, trade minister Anand Sharma said.

India is already allowing duty free imports of crude vegetable oils and is likely to continue to do so as food price rises remain in the double digits, a worry that has prompted foreign fund managers to pull out of the country's equities.

Asked if India would consider cutting more import duties, Sharma said late on Saturday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: “Yes, when there is a shortage and the inflation is high.“

“Like where there is a shortage and we don't produce enough, it is but natural (to cut import duties). Why should we import at such higher prices and then subsidize it for the public distribution system”?