Impact on Demonetization? Bullion Speculators project FY18 economic growth between 6.75-7.5%

Economic Survey 2017: India’s economy will grow in the range of for the current financial year 2016-2017, says the Economic Survey that was tabled in the Parliament today. The survey projected growth for FY18 in the range of 6.75-7.5%.

Managing Director of RiddiSiddhi Bullion Ltd, Mr. Prithviraj Kothari has said that the cash ban move (demonetisation) can serve to be a risk to the growth forecast. The survey also cautions that a rise in oil prices would also be a risk to the growth forecast. The GDP growth rate at constant market prices for the current year i.e. 2016-17 has been placed at 7.1 per cent.


The Economic Survey is the Finance Ministry’s ‘health report card’ for the economy in the current financial year. Prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian, the economic survey gives an insight on the economy’s growth prospects, external factors that impact GDP growth, and the way ahead for policy focus. The Economic Survey comes a day ahead of the Budget 2017, which will be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.


This time, in a first, the Budget will be presented on February 1, as against the last date of the month. Also, this time Railway Budget will be presented as a part of the main Budget, added Kothari thereby hoping that an hefty investment shall be made by the Government towards Gold mining along with reducing the corporate taxes.

Prithviraj Kothari proved innocent in Surat Hawala Scam : ED

The Surat hawala racket busted by Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ahmedabad had said to have grown into a Rs 8,000 crore worth scam, making it one of the biggest cases of illegal money laundering in the country. According to highly placed sources, this case was being monitored by the Supreme Court-appointed-Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating black money stashed away abroad and has now been resolved confirming Prithviraj Kothari has clean and honest.

ED had filed two chargesheets and the name of a well-known Mumbai-based bullion trader Prithviraj Kothari figures in various statements alleging his involvement in the racket as per the second charge sheet.  According to sources, Prithviraj Kothari was summoned several times by the ED and he appeared to record statement twice. Kothari has challenged ED’s investigation in the SC which ordered the ED not to arrest him as there was legal proof which justified Kothari’s innocence.

Although, after further investigation it was found that Madanlal Manekchand Jain, (another key accused) and Prithviraj Kothari’s nephew, Rakesh Kothari are family friends but there was no proof of any business ties or transactions. Reputed media houses had dragged their names in order to  procrastinate, though they had no valid support and legitimate validation of their false allegations which eventually lead all their efforts in vain.

Prithviraj Kothari, MD of RiddhiSiddhi Bullions( RSBL) issued a press statement saying, “Rakesh Kothari is not involved with our company, RSBL in any way or in any capacity. In fact he is not even in the bullion field. He is rightfully my nephew and has blood ties with me, but absolutely no business relations.”

After getting complete investigation details in hand, Indiatoday.in sought an official reaction from Prithviraj Kothari - who has now denied his role in this scam.

Ketan Kothari, director of RSBL Group companies replied in a email statement, "All these allegations are absolutely unfounded. Prithviraj Kothari is no way involved in any wrongdoing and neither has any charge sheet or complaint served against him. Some vested interests are trying to tarnish his image for which he shall take appropriate legal action. Prithiviraj Kothari has an unblemished business record. All his business practices are as per the law of the land and he strictly adheres to the principles of corporate governance and transparency. Since no charge sheet or complaint has been served upon him, he is unable to make any comment on the same. Moreover, the matter is now sub judice."

How GST will affect online retail habits

GST is all set to become the biggest tax reform our country has ever seen. It is going to disrupt all businesses, whether big or small. Large organizations have already begun performing Impact Analysis for their businesses. These organizations are now preparing to adopt technologies that can enable smooth GST implementation and help them transition into the new regime according to Bullion King, Prithviraj Kothari

E-commerce businesses have been extensively covered under the Revised Model GST Law. This segment has largely been unregulated so far. The ED law has now come up with specific sections detailing compliance requirements related to e-commerce companies and online aggregators.

The Goods and Services Tax will impact the behaviour of both sellers and buyers transacting online. Today’s consumers have many options to order goods or services online. Additionally, such transactions are not limited to India alone. From the comfort of their homes, Indian shoppers can purchase any legally permitted goods or services from anywhere in the world and have it shipped or consumed here, Kothari added.

Indian E-commerce giants like Flipkart and Snapdeal dominate the Hawala market, with thousands of sellers registered on their marketplace platforms selling online directly to consumers. Competing with these domestic players are international entrants like Amazon and e-Bay, which maintain separate portals for domestic and international orders.

The Model GST law has clearly specified that E-commerce Operators supplying to a person in India are mandatorily required to get their business registered under Goods and Services Tax. However, there still exists ambiguity over the applicability of these provisions to International E-commerce Operators such as Amazon.com and Ebay.com, which transact in foreign currency. The government may come up with additional clarifications and rules for such operators.


To conclude, Prithviraj Kothari is of the view that it will not be unfair to buy from domestic portals and will remain a way cheaper option for consumers, than ordering it from international portals. Consumers should place orders on international portals only if the particular good or service is unavailable on the domestic portal.

2017- SURPRISES TO UNFOLD FOR GOLD : RSBL

Until Wednesday last week, gold was trading in positive territory continuing the rally from the previous session.

The spot gold price was quoted at $1,164.85/1,165.15 per oz, up $8.05 on the previous close.

There were many supporting factors for gold’s rally-

• Mainly all the uncertainty that lies ahead with the changeover in the US administration
• Brexit
• The weakening trend in the yuan.

On Friday last week, gold slipped following the release of strong US employment data which was as follows-

• The USA added 156,000 jobs in December, compared with 204,000 in November, while wages grew 2.9% year-on-year to reach a seven-year high.
• German industrial production climbed 0.4%, which was down from the 0.7% expected, while the country’s trade balance climbed more than expected.
• The non-farm employment change for December showed 156,000 Americans entered the workforce, a slight miss from the 175,000 forecast.
• However, the figure for the previous month was revised up 19,000 jobs and the headline unemployment figure came in as expected at 4.7%.
• The big surprise was that average hourly earnings grew by 0.4% month-on-month, bringing total wage growth to 2.9% for the year and the highest level since before the recession.

Gold prices were in positive territory in London on the morning of Monday January 9, recovering slightly from last week’s drop.

The spot gold price was recently quoted at $1,176.20/1,176.50 per oz, up $3.40 on the previous close. Trade has ranged from $1,172.50 to $1,178.75. Gold prices edged up in a technical rebound on Monday after one-month highs hit last week were undercut by the prospects of more interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve.

US employment increased less than expected in December but a rebound in wages pointed to sustained labour market momentum that sets up the economy for stronger growth and the prospect of further interest rate increases this year.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said on Friday the central bank could raise interest rates three times this year, faster than he had expected just a few months ago.

Evans and other regional Fed presidents are scheduled to speak this week, and the outlook for U.S. rates may become even clearer when Chair Janet Yellen appears at a webcast town hall meeting with educators on Thursday.

Expectations of US interest rate hikes lowers demand for the non-interest-paying bullion.
Apart from a rate hike the most discussed r rather the most awaited topic currently is the fiscal stimulus that Trump is promising and, of course, inflation.

Despite the rebound in the dollar, gold prices are holding up well – all thanks to the safe haven move by investors, just ahead of the shift in US administration.

By the end of 2016 or rather post the 2016 US election, confidence in the global markets was running high thus propelling gold to lose its safe-haven appeal. But 2017 has lot of uncertainties and surprises to unfold for gold which will once again get into the investors basket keeping in the mind its appeal as a safe haven asset in times of global uncertainties.

In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to US economic reports, particularly Friday’s retail sales figures for December. Investors will also be watching an appearance by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday and speeches by a handful of other Fed officials during the week, as well as President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday for a press conference.

Now investors await the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump to see what the volatile leader will implement once in office.

Read More:-  http://www.prithvirajkothari.com/2017-surprises-unfold-gold-rsbl
Read More:- http://prithviraj-kothari-hawala-news.blogspot.in/2017/01/2017-surprises-to-unfold-for-gold-rsbl.html
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Read More:- http://riddisiddhi-bullions-limited-rsbl.blogspot.in/2017/01/2017-surprises-to-unfold-for-gold-rsbl.html
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Read More:- http://rsbl-ed.blogspot.in/2017/01/2017-surprises-to-unfold-for-gold-rsbl.html

SEBI streamlines norms for mergers involving listed companies

JAIPUR: To protect the interest of public shareholders, Sebi will strengthen the regulations for mergers whereby very large unlisted companies would be restrained from getting listed by merging with a very small company.

Besides, to improve the disclosure standards, an unlisted company merging with a listed one would have to comply with the requirement of disclosing material information.

Amendments to the regulatory framework on schemes of arrangements -- mergers and demergers -- has been cleared by the Sebi board at its meeting held here today.

Moving ahead to streamline as well as strengthen the norms, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said that an unlisted company can be merged with a listed one only if it is listed on a stock exchange having nationwide trading terminals.

With the revised norms, the holding of pre-scheme public shareholders of the listed entity as well as that of Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) of the unlisted company should not be less than 25 per cent in the merged entity.

In a release, Sebi said the objective of bringing these changes is to "have wider public shareholding and to prevent very large unlisted company to get listed by merging with a very small company".

Among others, the pricing formula -- as specified in the ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) norms -- would have to be followed in order to prevent issue of shares to select group of shareholders instead of all shareholders pursuant to the scheme.

Sebi said schemes involving merger of an unlisted company resulting in reduction in the voting share of pre-scheme public shareholders by over 5 per cent of total capital of merged entity can be approved through e-voting of public shareholders.

This facility can be used for schemes involving transfer of whole or substantially the whole of the undertaking of a listed company provided consideration for such transfer is not in the form of listed equity shares.

Further, schemes involving merger of unlisted subsidiary with listed holding company where the shares of the unlisted subsidiary have been acquired by the holding company directly or indirectly from the promoters/promoter group can also be subject to e-voting.

"Companies would be required to submit compliance report confirming compliance with the circular and Accounting Standards duly certified by Company Secretary, CFO and Managing Director," the release said.

As per the markets regulator, arrangements involving merger of a wholly-owned subsidiary with the parent company would not have to be submitted to it. Such schemes have to be filed with stock exchanges for the limited purpose of disclosures only.

"The regulations attempt to ensure the rights of the public shareholders are protected and also get them greater look-in on mergers with unlisted subsidiaries," Sanjeev Krishan, Partner and Leader (Deals) at PwC India said.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/56539365.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Gold inches up on weaker dollar, Trump policy worries

Gold prices crawled higher on Monday on a weaker dollar and as uncertainty over US policy under President Donald Trump stoked safe-haven demand, although gains were curbed with many in Asia on holiday for the Lunar New Year, said Prithviraj Kothari, Managing Director of RiddiSiddhi Bullions

Spot gold had edged up 0.1 per cent to $1,191.98 per ounce by 0735 GMT, while US gold futures were up 0.24 per cent at $1,191.2.

Trump's administration on Sunday tempered a key element of his move to ban entry of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries in the face of mounting criticism and protests in major American cities.

Some of Trump's statements and a lack of detail on policy have led some investors to opt for gold, often seen as an alternative investment in times of geopolitical and financial uncertainty.

The executive order signed by Trump has raised the uncertainty even higher.
The upturn in safe-haven buying comes at a time when physical demand has been sapped due to the Lunar New Year holiday in Asia, added Kothari.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.12 per cent at 100.410.

The market for the precious metal has also been buoyed by sluggish US economic data released on Friday.

Economic growth in the country slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as a plunge in shipments of soybeans weighed on exports, the data showed.

"That puts just enough doubt into the industry's mind about the timing of (US interest) rate hikes," Hynes said.

Meanwhile, holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust GLD, remained unchanged on Thursday from Wednesday.

Speculators crimped their net long position in gold futures and options, following two straight weeks of increases, data showed. They also raised their silver holdings to the highest since early November.

Spot silver was up 0.23 per cent at $17.16 per ounce.

Platinum shed 0.14 per cent to $980.75 per ounce, while palladium dropped 0.5 per cent to $732.4 per ounce. Palladium touched its lowest since Jan. 4 at $708.97 an ounce in the previous session.

Gold, silver trade higher on weak dollar

Gold prices pushed higher Wednesday hitting an almost four-week high thanks to a weaker dollar and increased physical demand from major consumers China and India.

The spot price for the precious metal rose to its highest since Dec. 9 at $1,167.83 an ounce and was recently up 0.2% at $1,164.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, on track for its second straight day of gains. US gold futures climbed $3.80 to $1,165.90 an ounce.

A firmer dollar curbs demand for commodities priced in the greenback by making them more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Also, there is a little bit of safe haven momentum behind this buying with a certain amount of reality bite as we are only a couple of weeks away from U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump's inauguration and some concerns exist about his potential policies.

Trump has promised tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation, and such changes could boost inflation and might set the stage for a confrontation between a president seeking to boost economic growth and the US Federal Reserve. People in China (the biggest consumer of the yellow metal) are nervous about their economy, with Trump as president and currency control mechanisms, and might be moving some of their annual foreign exchange quotas into gold.

Gold imports to Turkey rose to 36.7 tonnes in December, their highest monthly level in just over two years, data from the Istanbul bourse showed on Wednesday.

Silver was up 1 per cent at $16.42 an ounce, after hitting near three-week highs in the last session.

Platinum rose to four-week highs of $948.40 an ounce, extending a 4 per cent increase in the previous session.

Palladium gained 2.2 per cent to $724.47 an ounce, having climbed over 5 per cent on Tuesday, 3rd Jan’17

Gold rises to Rs. 29,750 on firm global cues, wedding season demand

Gold prices rose Rs. 200 to Rs. 29,750 per 10 grams at the bullion market here today on persistent buying by jewellers boosted by firm global prices according to RiddiSiddhi Bullions.

Gold prices have been on the rise since January 28 and have gained Rs. 600 since then, added the Managing Director, Prithviraj Kothari

Silver also crossed the Rs. 42,000 level by rising Rs. 300 to Rs. 42,200 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Bullion traders said that besides a firm trend overseas, steady buying by local jewellers amid the ongoing wedding season mainly kept the precious metal prices higher.

Gold rose 0.59 per cent to $1,208.50 an ounce in Singapore today. The precious metal had risen by 1.25 per cent to $1,210.30 an ounce and silver went up by 2.75 per cent to $17.55 an ounce in New York yesterday, said a Bullion spectator.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity advanced by Rs. 200 each to Rs. 29,750 and Rs.29,600 per 10 grams respectively.

Sovereign, also went up by Rs. 100 to Rs. 24,400 per piece of eight grams.

In sync with gold, silver ready rose further by Rs. 300 to Rs. 42,200 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs.395 to Rs. 41,870 per kg.

On the other hand, silver coins remained steady at Rs. 72,000 for buying and Rs. 73,000 for selling of 100 pieces as per the statistics provided by RSBL.