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China to Overhaul Strategy; Harish Salve to get married to London based Artist; NCB to bring back couple imprisoned in Qatar; India plans to take Kulbhushan case again to ICJ: Pak FM; Relations With India Bigger Than A Political Party: Top US Official – all in Asian Lite Daily Digital – please click here to read.
China to Overhaul Strategy; Harish Salve to get married to London based Artist; NCB to bring back couple imprisoned in Qatar; India plans to take Kulbhushan case again to ICJ: Pak FM; Relations With India Bigger Than A Political Party: Top US Official – all in Asian Lite Daily Digital – please click here to read.
Turkey announced late Saturday that it is extending by one week a gas exploration mission in the eastern Mediterranean that has caused tensions with Greece, reports Arab News.
In a fresh notice to shipping in the area, Turkey said the Oruc Reis seismic survey vessel, accompanied by two support ships, will operate in the area south of the Greek island of Rhodes until Nov. 4. An earlier notice had said the ships would be operating in the area until Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Ankara had dispatched the Oruc Reis along with several warships in August to waters also claimed by Greece and Cyprus, sparking a dispute that threatened a military confrontation between the NATO allies. The mission drew condemnation from the European Union.
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India’s first World Cup-winning cricket captain Kapil Dev was on Sunday discharged from the hospital after undergoing a successful angioplasty.
He was admitted to the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in South Delhi after suffering a cardiac arrest last Thursday, following which he had undergone angioplasty surgery as a treatment. Angioplasty is a procedure to restore blood flow through the artery.
“Mr. Kapil Dev got discharged today afternoon. He’s doing fine and can resume his regular daily activity soon. He’ll be under regular follow-up consultation with Dr. Atul Mathur,” a statement from the hospital read.
He was admitted to the hospital at around 1 am on Friday, and Dr Atul Mathur, Director of Cardiology Department successfully performed an emergency coronary angioplasty.
The ‘Haryana Hurricane’ himself tweeted late on Friday night to express his gratitude to his fans and friends. “Thank you all for all the love and concern. I am overwhelmed with the good wishes and well on the road to recovery,” he wrote.
The 62-year-old was working as a cricket expert during the ongoing IPL 2020.
Kapil held the world record for most Test wickets (434) for over six years until it was broken by Courtney Walsh of the West Indies. The other big achievement of Kapil was to lead India to World Cup triumph in 1983, when the team was considered minnows in limited-overs cricket.
He played 131 Tests and 225 ODIs between 1978 and 1994.
Also Read: Kapil Dev undergoes angioplasty, now stable
Indian Midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad has heaped praise on IM Vijayan, stating that the legendary India footballer is one of a kind.
During a recent show on AIFF TV, Sahal expressed his awe at Vijayan, who is regarded as one of the role models for young footballers coming out of the ‘God’s own Country’.
“There will be only one IM Vijayan. There’s absolutely none like him,” Sahal stated.
The 23-year-old went on to express his regret that he was never able to share a dressing room with the man who was often fondly referred to as the ‘Black Buck’ by fans for his propensity to dribble past opposition defenders.
“It is unfortunate that I could not play with him or share a dressing room with him,” said Sahal.
“All of us youngsters from Kerala look up to him. Everyone in Kerala who loves football, loves IM Vijayan,” he added.
Sahal, who himself is known to have tinkle-toes on the pitch, stated that he was left amazed when he saw Vijayan play in local exhibition matches.
“I couldn’t see him during his playing days, but even now whenever he plays local exhibition matches, you can see that he’s still got it – the magical feet,” he stated.
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The Centre has given more time to taxpayers in yet another compliance measure as it extended the due date to file GSTR-9 and GSTR 9C for 2018-19 by two more months.
The GST annual return in the two forms was to be filed by September 30, 2020 originally which got extended till October 31. Now this has been further extended till December 31 to facilitate taxpayers.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in a statement said that the decision has been taken as the government has been receiving a number of representations regarding need to extend due date for filing the forms.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic related lockdown and restrictions, normal business operations have still not been possible in several parts of the country and businesses felt some more relaxation could be given.
“In view of the same, on the recommendations of the GST Council,it has been decided to extend the due date for filing Annual Return (Form GSTR-9/GSTR-9A) and Reconciliation Statement (FORM GSTR-9C) for Financial Year 2018-19 from October 31, 2020 to December 31, 2020,” the CBIC said.
The extension of annual return filing has come as much needed relief for GST taxpayers. Along with compliance on GSTR-9 and 9C, taxpayers were also required to follow e-invoicing regulations. The industry had said that complying with both regulations would be difficult.
The GSTR 9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The GSTR-9C is a statement of reconciliation between GSTR-9 and the audited annual financial statement.
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Lee Kun-hee, who had transformed Samsung Group into one of the world’s major tech giants from a small trading firm, died at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday at age 78, leaving a thorny succession challenge for his children.
The chairman of the flagship Samsung Electronics had been bedridden since May 2014 following a heart attack.
“Chairman Lee passed away on October 25 with his family, including Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, by his side. Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local business,” Samsung said in a statement.
Lee officially inherited the Samsung crown in 1987 at the age of 45 when his father Lee Byung-chull, founder of the present day Samsung Group, died.
In 1993, Lee Kun-hee announced his first trademark business philosophy, the “New Management Initiative,” which has been embraced by Samsung like a doctrine to date.
The most famous line from that philosophy, which took shape through nearly three months of meetings with CEOs convened in Europe and Japan, is, “Change everything but your wife and children.”
Under his leadership, Samsung has dozens of affiliates, including the world’s top smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics Co., and Samsung Life Insurance Co., under its wing.
Samsung Electronics is the world’s largest smartphone maker on the back of its Galaxy smartphone lineup and a series of budget phones. The tech giant is also the world’s largest memory chipmaker, whose clients include Apple Inc. and other major smartphone vendors, as well as other global tech firms.
Samsung stands at the center of the South Korean economy, with its outbound shipments accounting for over 20 percent of Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s exports.
The group’s assets at 8 trillion won ($6.9 billion) at the time Lee took the throne and now estimated at well beyond 400 trillion won.
His only son, Jae-yong, is widely expected to take over the rein of Samsung Group, but he has been embroiled in a high-profile succession scandal.
Lee was indicted on charges of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation for the merger of the group’s two units to facilitate his succession from his father.
The senior Lee holds a 4.18 percent stake in Samsung Electronics and a 20.76 percent in Samsung Life, and interests in numerous affiliates, with his assets estimated at up to 20 trillion won.
The sheer assets held by the senior Lee means that his heirs may pay hefty inheritance tax, estimated at over 10 trillion won.
Lee is survived by his wife, Hong Ra-hee, and only son, Jae-yong, and two daughters, Boo-jin and Seo-hyun.
Jae-yong currently serves as vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, while Boo-jin leads Samsung’s hotel arm, Hotel Shilla Co., and Seo-hyun is in charge of Samsung Welfare Foundation.
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The Indian hotel industry’s recovery to pre-Covid levels profits is at least three years away, ratings agency ICRA has said.
The ratings agency said that road ahead for the industry is rough as revenues and margins are expected to post record decline in FY21 with losses mounting over the next two years.
The hotel industry has witnessed one of the worst revenue declines, in Q1FY21, with revenues for the industry sample declining by 85 per cent.
“Given the high operating and financial leverage in the industry, the revenue decline led to huge operating and net losses in Q1 FY2021 despite the extensive cost-cutting measures adopted by most entities in the industry,” ICRA said in a statement.
“Despite sharp weakening in interest coverage, recourse to the RBI provided moratorium on debt servicing as part of its Covid relief package announced in March 2020 supported the industry.”
As per the statement, about 66 per cent of ICRA’s hospitality portfolio applied for moratorium under this scheme and several of these will apply for restructuring under the K.V. Kamath committee too.
“Although hotels have been gradually allowed to reopen, occupancies have remained subdued in H1FY2021,” the statement said.
“This will keep revenues moderated, resulting in operating losses and stretched debt metrics during FY2021 and FY2022.”
The industry has reported a 2.7 per cent de-growth in topline with flat operating margins at 22 per cent in FY2020.
“With an 85 per cent YoY decline witnessed in revenues in Q1 FY2021 and subdued occupancies witnessed in Q2 FY2021 as well, industry wide revenues are expected to witness sharp de-growth of 60-65 per cent for FY2021,” ICRA said.
“Despite several measures taken by the companies to variabilise the fixed costs, the industry is likely to report massive operating and net losses in FY2021.”
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Automobile major Tata Motors has achieved the production milestone of 4 million passenger vehicles in India since its inception.
“Over the years, Tata Motors has produced legendary vehicles like the Indica, Sierra, Sumo, Safari and the Nano that have played a pivotal role in the shaping the country in its post-economic liberalisation era,” the company said in a statement on Saturday.
“These iconic vehicles have broken barriers across categories in the Indian automobile sector. With the launch of the Tata Safari, the company pioneered the concept of a ‘lifestyle SUV’ to the industry, thereby creating the most aspirational four-wheeler for its customers.”
The company had also introduced the first ever MPV in Tata Sumo.
In the more recent past, Tata Motors launched the entry level car and the compact SUV segment with the rollout of the Tiago and the Nexon, respectively.
“Tata Motors is also India’s largest EV manufacturer with 67 per cent market share and leading the way on electric vehicle adoption in India,” the statement said.
“The company had achieved the 1 million production mark for passenger vehicles in 2005-06, 3 million in 2015 and the 4 million production milestone was achieved this month.”
As of today, its ‘New Forever BS6’ range consists of the Tiago, Tigor, Nexon, Harrier and the Altroz.
Besides, Tata Motors has been India’s first car manufacturer to have received a 5-star Global NCAP rating for its model, the Nexon.
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The Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched an AED500 million economic stimulus package to support various business sectors across the economy.
The new package brings the total value of stimulus packages introduced by the emirates’ government in 2020 to AED6.8 billion.
The deal came under the directives of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The stimulus package is aimed at mitigating the impact of the current global economic situation on businesses and support them to overcome the current exceptional circumstances.
“We strive to support the business sector while working together to counter the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The business sector is at the heart of our economy. We are keen to revive the business environment and open new horizons for entrepreneurs and investors in line with Dubai’s future aspirations,” Sheikh Hamdan said.
Highlighting the importance of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), He said: “We are working as one integrated system, and our main goal is to accelerate the pace of recovery and ensure that the economy can tide over this phase.”
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