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NRIs warned against taking cash to India
NRIs warned against taking cash to India Sajila Saseendran / 6 September 2013 The Central Bank of the UAE has asked banks and exchange houses operating in the country to advise their customers travelling to India to abide by the laws on carrying cash to India. In a notice issued on Tuesday, the Central Bank also asked the banks and money exchangers to warn their customers of the consequences of failing to do so. “The penalties stipulated in the new law include confiscation of money, prosecution and imprisonment,” the notice said. It advised the firms that the Indian Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had implemented a new Law on 22/05/2013, criminalising bringing cash in Indian currency into India. As per the law, foreign travellers to India are strictly prohibited from carrying cash in Indian currency into India, while Indian nationals are permitted to carry cash not exceeding Rs7,500. The law also stipulates that all travellers to India must declare all cash in foreign currencies they might be bringing into India, including the UAE dirham, where its value exceeds $5,000. Foreigners should also make a declaration when the aggregate value of all foreign bills in the form of currency notes, financial instruments, travellers’ cheques etc. is equal to or exceeds $10,000, the notice added. The Central Bank’s move follows another advisory issued by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi in March. The mission advised non-redident Indians staying in the UAE against carrying Indian currency notes when they visit their homeland. According to the mission, there is a general misconception that NRIs are allowed to carry Indian currency and there had been some instances when NRIs were found carrying large amounts of cash in the form of Indian currency while visiting India and faced problems at the airport. “In some cases, the currency being carried by NRIs has even been found to be counterfeit,” the Embassy had said. Its counterpart in Oman had also issued a similar advisory after “cases of counterfeit Indian currency involving Omani visitors” which the mission described as a cause for concern for the Indian government. When contacted, Indian Ambassador to the UAE M.K. Lokesh denied the Embassy requesting the UAE Central Bank to issue any advisory on the law. Promoth Manghat, vice-president of global operations at UAE Exchange, confirmed receiving the notice from the Central Bank. “We have already started informing our customers about this law when they come for Indian currency. The new law hasn’t had much of impact in the market.” A section of the Indian expatriates feels they should also be allowed to carry a minimum amount of cash in Indian currency for emergency use after landing in India. However, officials point out that NRIs can exchange the UAE Dirham or any other foreign currencies with the Indian rupee on arrival in India, where there is a better system to check counterfeit Indian currency. – sajila@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Indian rupee, stocks jump on new bank chief’s plans
Indian rupee, stocks jump on new bank chief’s plans (AFP) / 5 September 2013 India’s rupee strengthened and stocks jumped on Thursday after new central bank governor Raghuram Rajan outlined a reform plan aimed at boosting investor confidence and stabilising the ailing currency. Raghuram Rajan, second left, the newly appointed governor of Reserve Bank of India, is received by its Deputy Governor Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty, second right, and others as he arrives at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai, India. AP The rupee climbed to 65.75 against the dollar, gaining nearly two percent from its previous close, on investor hopes the worst could be over for the currency, the worst performing in Asia this year. Indian shares jumped as much as 2.96 percent at the open, led by banking stocks, after Rajan took over Wednesday from Duvvuri Subbarao as head of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the afternoon stocks were up 1.51 percent. Rajan sought to reassure rattled markets with his first speech in the post, outlining a fresh approach to the currency crisis and warning that he may have to take unpopular steps to get Asia’s third largest economy back on track. Sonal Varma, an economist at Nomura Securities, said Rajan had made “an impressive start” but she stressed that a weak growth outlook was still a “major concern”. “In our view, amid the current gloom, the new RBI governor has infused a sense of optimism that he is in charge and that the RBI under him will unleash more financial sector reforms, a medium-term positive for the economy,” she said. Rajan, a former IMF chief economist, emphasised the importance of transparency and consistency in the bank’s actions, after the RBI spent weeks trying to stabilise the rupee with a range of measures. He stressed he would hew to the RBI’s mandate of “securing monetary stability” and sustaining confidence in the value of the country’s money. “This means low and stable expectations of inflation, whether that inflation stems from domestic sources or from changes in the value of the currency, from supply constraints or demand pressures,” he said. India faces its worst financial crisis in decades, as the once-booming economy grapples with sharply slowing growth, high inflation and a record current account deficit. Some analysts fear the economy could be heading for a meltdown with the rupee down around 22 percent against the dollar this year. Rajan’s bold entry to the job, which included financial deregulatory measures such as opening up the country’s banking sector, received rave reviews from economists and the local media. “This was easily the most substantive speech by a Reserve Bank governor on his first day in office,” financial daily Business Standard said on Thursday. With a mock photograph of Rajan in a James Bond-style pose on its front page, The Economic Times newspaper said he had “gotten off to a good start, radiating brisk purpose and optimism”. Rajan, famed for forecasting the 2008 global financial crisis, left his post as a professor at the prestigious University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and returned to India last year before taking up the new job. Continue reading
UAE, Gulf markets remain bearish on Syria flare-up
UAE, Gulf markets remain bearish on Syria flare-up Issac John / 5 September 2013 Stock markets in the UAE and other Gulf countries continued to plunge on fears of an imminent attack on Syria. Dubai’s benchmark DFM index tumbled to an eight-week low of 3.7 per cent to close at 2,397 points, its lowest finish since July 11, as retail investors cut risk after the United States moved a step closer to launching military action against Syria. Across the Gulf, markets declined in volatile trading as investors opted for short-term trades amid mounting tensions. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark fell 2.3 per cent to 3,648 points, Kuwait’s bourse declined 2.6 per cent to 7,268 points and Qatar’s measure slipped two per cent to 9,348 points. Saudi Arabia’s index was 1.7 per cent lower at 7,697 points. Crude oil held above $115 a barrel on Wednesday as US lawmakers’ support for military action against Syria revived concerns that Middle East oil supplies might be disrupted if the conflict widens. While Syria is not a big oil producer, investors are worried that a strike by Western forces against the country could spread unrest in the Middle East and disrupt supply from the region that pumps a third of the world’s crude. Shares in Emaar fall 3.2 per cent to Dh5.3 although small and mid-cap stocks were among the biggest fallers on Wednesday. Air Arabia and Dubai Financial Market slumped 6.2 per cent, with Arabtec Holdings and Dubai Investments down 5.6 and 5.3 per cent respectively. issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
