CRISIL leading Rating Company expects higher interest rates

CRISIL leading Rating Company expects higher interest rates and commodity prices to slow down investment-driven demand in the country, with rising rates moderating retail demand, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Indian companies' credit quality is peaking and profitability of players in the cement, chemicals, construction, automobile and textile spinning industries may be affected by high input prices, CRISIL said that the External factors, such as surging oil prices due to unrest in West Asia and North Africa and interruption in trade and investments, can have a "large impact on corporate credit quality.CRISIL has modified credit ratio (MCR), an indicator of the relative frequency of upgrades and downgrades, rose for the second year, after plummeting to a decade low in FY09.

However, an improvement in the MCR is likely to be limited, going forward, on higher pressure on profitability and intensifying competition, it said.Increased profitability pressures are expected to continue over the medium-term, it said

World Cup: India run past Indies to meet Aussies

"Smith was taking it away from the Indians as West Indies were placed comfortable at 154 for two in the 31st over but once Zaheer Khan bowled Smith, the Caribbeans lost wickets in a heap.

Harbhajan sent back hard-hitting Keiron Pollard (1) and Yuvraj had Devon Smith (2) stumped by Dhoni. That brought skipper Darren Sammy on to the crease but threw his wicket by running himself out, thanks to a terrible mix up with Sarwan.

Yuvraj struck for the second time when he had Andre Russell (zero) caught by Yusuf Pathan at point.

Zaheer ended all Windies hopes when he scalped Sarwan.

It was Ashwin, playing his first game in the tournament, who handed India its first breakthrough by trapping Edwards with his carrom ball.

The umpire had initially turned down the appeal but the the decision had to be overturned after the Indians asked for a review, which went in their favour."

Source Indian Express

Arkan Eyes Capacity Expansion through Dhs100m Dry Mortar Plant

UAE, Mar, 20. Arkan Building Material Company has announced the launch of a Dhs100m dry mortar plant in Al Mafraq. The setting up of the state-of-the-art facility called Arkan Dry Mortar spread over more than 57000 square meters of area is a part of Arkan’s capacity expansion drive within the category of dry mortar products.

Arkan Dry Mortar has a wide range of products such as machine applied plasters, masonry mortars, tile mortars, and floor screeds. The Arkan plant will also provide such facilities as palletizing, tanker filling, and automatic shrink wrapping.

Saeed Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri, VP- Projects, Arkan expressed optimism in calling the new facility a sound investment and an enterprise that would persist in providing quality and cost-effective solutions to the regional construction industry.

The project Arkan Dry Mortar will produce pre-mixed mortars at the rate of 1000 tonnes per day.

Construction work has begun at the site, and by the fourth quarter of 2011, the unit is expected to be fully operational.

Al Quoz Industrial Area to Gain from Emirates NBD’s Bouquet of Banking Services

Emirates, Mar, 20. Emirates NBD, a prominent bank in the emirates, announced opening of its new branch and business centre in Dubai with a view to catering to the local residents and providing comprehensive banking services to the people working in the Al Quoz industrial area.

With 132 branches, 705 ATMs and SDMs, the retail banking franchise of Emirates NBD in the UAE registers a strong presence. It is also a prominent player in the corporate banking sphere in the UAE. The bank also has a wide coverage of operations such as Islamic banking, private banking, investment banking, brokerage operations and asset management. ]

The bank also operates in several countries such as the UK, the UAE, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as also having representative offices in Singapore, Iran and India

Polystyrene Demand to Go Up in UAE

If the figures of a semi-official study are any indication, it would seem that the consumption of polystyrene is a barometer of development as the material has found widespread application in the construction boom in the UAE as an insulating material as also registering ubiquitous presence as a material for packaging and disposable crockery. Polystyrene imports by the UAE have understandably more than doubled over the past eight years with an average annual growth of around 5.5 per cent. However, it is the domestic manufacturing of polystyrene and not just the imports that satiates the demand for more and more polystyrene. In fact, domestic production of XPS products in the UAE that started in 2003 has resulted in imports coming to a virtual halt, and almost the entire demand is being met by domestic manufacturing.

The fact that the material remains non-biodegradable is perhaps one factor that could constrain the growth in demand, but not by much, as collection of the material for the purpose of recycling should not be problem. Globally the dominant presence of polystyrene as a construction material cannot be overemphasized, said the study by the government supported Emirates Industrial Bank. EIB opines that installing thermal insulation systems in buildings could reduce the power requirements of a building by as much as 40%. According to EIB, the polystyrene products have two categories: Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS).