FW
The Karnataka government plans to revive the state-owned Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation (KHDC) and Caurvery Handlooms. Along with, it also plans to transform the handloom industry into an organized profession. According to Karnataka Commissioner for Textile Development R Raju this initiative will benefit 80,000 weavers and 600 handloom cooperative societies. Currently, there are 227 cotton, 88 silk and more than 50 woollen co-operative societies operating in the State that make numerous products.
At present, the government has ensured the market linkage for handloom products such as uniform cloths, bed sheets and blankets to school children in the State, which ensures business to the tune of 100 crore annually. In the next two years, products of KHDC and Caurvery Handlooms will be aggressively marketed.
Plans are also afoot to market Ilkal sarees, Malakamuru silk sarees and Udupi cotton sarees which have acquired GI (Geographical Indication) accreditation for their uniqueness and endemic to the specific regions. The other sarees on the radar are ‘Guledaguddakana’ and large varieties of Priyadarshini silk.
For the second quarter of 2016 Indorama Ventures’ core profit after tax and non-controlling interests rose 74 per cent year-on-year driven by margin recovery in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) segment and contributions from additional feedstock volumes. Core EBITDA saw PET growth of 19 per cent underpinned by excellent growth in the fiber segment of 46 per cent year-on-year.
The company’s blend of focused businesses is expected to transform it as one of the most competitive producers in its space and provide it downside protection on volumes and integrated margins while preserving its upside potential as the industry recovers. Thailand-based Indorama Ventures, is one of the world’s leading petrochemical producers and a leading global manufacturer of wool yarns. Its products serve major players in diversified end use markets including food, beverages, personal and home care, health care, automotives, textile and industrial.
The company’s portfolio comprises necessities and high value-added categories of polymers, fibers, and packaging. With a focus on cost and efficiency, Indorama Ventures is now positioned among the lowest cost polyester chain producers in the world. In a proactive move towards maximising its value chain and operational synergies, Indorama Ventures has expanded its PET and polyester businesses in recent years.
This fiscal (2016-17) production of cotton in the country is expected to hit a seven-year low because of a reduction in area under cultivation and pest attacks in Gujarat, even as domestic prices have started firming up after a poor season. Cotton imports in 2015-16 may have been the highest in a decade, say experts. Imports may see a new high this fiscal as the overall area where cotton has been sown has declined 8.7 per cent.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, area under cotton as on August 5 was 96.48 lakh hectare as compared to 105.68 lakh hectare a year ago. India's cotton production in 2015-16 declined to 338 lakh bales (one bale of 170 kg each), down 12.4 per cent from 386 lakh bales in the previous year to hit a six-year low, according to last month's update of Cotton Advisory Board (CAB).
NK Sharma, MD, Gujarat State Co-operative Cotton Federation feared that cotton production would further fall to 310-315 lakh bales in 2016-17. Scientists and industry insiders said cotton production is expected to fall in key states such as Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana.
Higher production in Maharashtra, where weather conditions are favourable as of today, is not expected to fully compensate for the fall in Gujarat and Punjab. Pink bollworm in Gujarat and white fly in north India had led to severe crop damage last year. This year, scientists of Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) say that white fly infestation is restricted to pockets such as Fazilka and Abohar in the North. But, the late sown cotton in Gujarat which is 30 per cent of the total cotton sown is likely to get affected by pink bollworm on a large scale.
Despite delayed monsoon and sluggish sowing progress, cotton production in Gujarat is not likely to wilt this Kharif season, thanks to improved yields. Driven by good rains in the growing regions, the yield is likely to be higher. This would result in a stable crop size, it is gathered. In Gujarat, India’s largest cotton producing state, acreage under the fibre crop has touched a three-year low at 23 lakh hectares which is about 19 per cent lower than the last three year’s average of 28.21 lakh hectares (lh).
The state accounts for nearly a third of India’s cotton production. Cotton acreage in the country, which stood at around 118 lh for 2015-16 as per the provisional figures of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), is likely to be lower this year. But a good rainfall in the growing regions of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, apart from Gujarat, is likely to improve the crop situation for 2016-17.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) , through its notification No.43/2016-Cus (ADD) dated 8th August, 2016 has intimated those concerned about the imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of Viscose Staple Fibre excluding Bamboo Fibre originating in or exported from Peoples Republic of China and Indonesia.
This duty shall be effective for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this particular notification in the Official Gazette and shall be paid in Indian currency.
Cambodia’s total garments and footwear exports to Japan increased 32.7 per cent in the first half of the year, that is, January to June 2016. There was a surge in exports of garments and footwear to Japan during the period due to the competitive prices of Cambodian products. Cambodia has lower production costs than has Japan and so Japan doesn’t produce much of garments and footwear.
The good relations with Cambodia have induced Japan to place more orders with Cambodian suppliers. The main products that Cambodia exports to Japan are garments, footwear, sugar, fish and seafood. Imports from Japan are mainly machinery, automobiles, electronic products, beef, iron, steel and pharmaceutical products.
However, Cambodia’s imports from Japan rose only marginally by 0.9 per cent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. Cambodia hopes to learn from Japan how to utilise international supply chains for manufacturing. Cambodia relies heavily on garment exports to earn foreign earnings. There are now plans to shift from low-priced garment manufacturing to higher end manufacturing of automobile, machinery and electronic parts, which will help it diversify its export basket and maintain the overall health of the economy.
At Sri Lanka’s Presidential Export Awards, the Brandix Group won a remarkable 11 awards including the ‘Exporter of the Year’ for 2014 and 2015. The awards, presented by President Maithripala Sirisena, recognises the contribution of Brandix to the national economy as the country's largest exporter overall; as the Highest Net Foreign Exchange Earner in 2014 and 2015; the Highest Foreign Exchange Earner in the Apparel Sector in those two years; the Highest Employment Provider in the Export Industry in 2014 and 2015 and the Highest Value Added Exporter in the Apparel Sector last year.
The group also won the award for ‘Excellence in Sustainable Development’ and the award for ‘Highest Contributor’ from the regions to the export supply chain, both in respect of 2014. The two ‘Exporter of the Year’ awards presented to the Group this year confirm Brandix as Sri Lanka's top exporter across all industries for the last four years. In all, the Group has won 25 awards to date at the Presidential Export Awards.
The event was conducted by the Export Development Board (EDB).
The Bangladesh state minister for Jute and Textile Mirza Azam has said that his ministry would send a letter to the Prime Minister’s office, and the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and request them not to increase gas price for captive power generation for textile industries. The decision came from an inter-ministerial meeting.
In the meeting, textile mill owners said that the proposed hike in gas price by 130 per cent to Tk 19.26 per unit from existing Tk 8.36 per unit would make the industry uncompetitive leading to loss of exports, closure of mills, unemployment and fall of foreign exchange earnings and retention.
The textile sector has been passing through a tough time due to a sluggish run of the global economy, Britain’s exit from the European Union and the recent terror attack at Dhaka’s Gulshan.
Under these circumstances, if the government increases the tariff of gas, the textile sector will lose its competitiveness and the country will have to depend on export for yarn and fabric,’ Bangladesh Textile Mills Association president Tapan Chowdhury observed.
He said that the proposal to increase the price of gas for the captive power by 460.77 per cent within a year was not acceptable.
In the meeting, officials of several ministries commented that the arguments of the textile mills owners were logical and the government decision of gas price hike should be rational.
Archroma has created Color Atlas, a color library to easily bring color creativity and manageability to an entirely new level for stylists and designers, brands and retailers, and their suppliers.
The Color Atlas is a cotton poplin color library with more than 4,300 readily available new shades. The six volumes in this physical library come in an innovative, new, accordion-fold design that allows for quick, intuitive browsing of the samples. Colorful book covers indicate the shades that lie within each volume, and secure tabs help keep the swatches neat and ordered while allowing them to be easily removed.
As an added feature, a mobile-friendly online Color Atlas offers features such as color-on-the-go, which allows users to capture an image using their smart phone, identify the closest Color Atlas shades and, if desired, purchase a color sample instantly.
Archroma is a global leader in color and specialty chemicals. It actively evaluates the environmental impacts of textile treatment, dyeing and finishing processes – and recognizes that it’s no longer sufficient to merely comply with relevant regulations.
Through its intense research and development efforts and application of innovative chemistries, Archroma has made numerous advancements that are making textile manufacturing more earth-friendly. It’s also working closely with brand associations to help establish standards and management frameworks, as well as with brands, to help enable the textile value chain to achieve these aims.
"The $41-billion Aditya Birla Group is planning another round of corporate reorganisation to unlock value and beef up the balance sheet, after consolidating its garments business into a single entity last year according to market sources, media reports suggest."
The $41-billion Aditya Birla Group is planning another round of corporate reorganisation to unlock value and beef up the balance sheet, after consolidating its garments business into a single entity last year according to market sources, media reports suggest.
The merger of Grasim and parts of Aditya Birla Nuvo, which is likely to be followed by the hiving-off of the financial services business of AB Nuvo into a separate company may involve a part of this two-step restructuring process. Reports suggest, discussions are evolving and serious consideration is being given to the merger proposal.
One of the key motives behind this mega restructuring is to strengthen the balance sheet of Idea Cellular ahead of spectrum auction and the launch of Reliance Jio, which analysts expect will result in heightened competition and price wars.
Unlocking A B Nuvo’s value The boards of Grasim and AB Nuvo are scheduled to meet soon for quarterly results. However, a final announcement could be expected as early as this week. If the financial services are demerged from other businesses of AB Nuvo, it could unlock significant value for Nuvo's shareholders. Nearly two-thirds of AB Nuvo's revenues come from financial services. Investment bank JM Financial is one of the advisers for the restructuring, a source added.
The merger and the complete reorganisation could involve a number of steps. A direct merger of Nuvo and Grasim and the simultaneous spinning-off of financial services business into a separate company is among the options. The other option is to demerge the non-financial business of Nuvo, which includes carbon black and viscose filament yarn, into Grasim and turn Nuvo into a holding company for financial services, including life insurance. This will make it easier for the financial services business to secure a partner. Grasim's holding in the group company, UltraTech could also be spun off separately. With holdings in the group's financial services, telecom, fashion and lifestyle, and divisions of fertilisers, insulators, linen manufacturing and rayon, Aditya Birla Nuvo is positioned as a diversified conglomerate within the group.
The life insurance JV, Birla Sun Life Insurance is held independently under Nuvo as a separate venture. Nuvo also owns 23.3 per cent in Idea Cellular, the separately listed telecom venture, and 9 per cent in Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail as of the past financial year.
Grasim and Nuvo have Rs 2,424.73 crores and Rs 890.94 crore cash in hand, respectively as of FY16, as per ETIG database. Following its merger with Aditya Birla Chemicals last February, Grasim has been positioned as a conglomerate. Grasim also houses the viscose fiber and chemicals businesses. Most of its value is created by the cement business, which it derives from its 60 per cent stake in UltraTech. Grasim clocked total consolidated sales of Rs 36,217 crore and posted a net profit of Rs 2,359 crore in the last fiscal.
As much as 21 per cent of sales came from viscose fiber, 9.5 per cent from chemicals and the remaining from the cement business. While valuing the company, however analysts give only holding value to the cement business as Grasim holds shares of UltraTech and not the business.
While UltraTech gets a market capitalisation of Rs 1.05 lakh crore with past 12 months net profit of Rs 2,475 crore, Grasim is valued at only Rs 48,000 crore on past 12 months net profit of Rs 3,103 crore. The group's cement business was split between Indian Rayon (now Nuvo) and Grasim in the 1990s before it was shifted completely to Grasim which in turn got merged with Ultratech.
Around Rs 9,200 crore was from ABFS out of the total AB Nuvo revenues of Rs 14,700 crore last fiscal. If all the businesses of AB Nuvo are valued separately, analysts arrive at a figure of approximately Rs 25,000 crore with Rs 19,000 crore coming from financial services.
