Nintendo 3DS Impresses

For gamers, this is the most wonderful time of the year. It's the week of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), where developers unveil their upcoming software and hardware offerings to the public. Forbes caught up with GamePro editor John Davison to get the scoop on what's caught his eye so far at E3.

Exports jump 35% to $16.1 bn in May

India's May exports rose an annual 35 per cent to $16.1 billion, flattered by low year-ago numbers, the trade secretary said on Friday.

Imports for the month were at $27.4 billion, Rahul Khullar said, widening the country's trade deficit to $11.3 billion.

Asia's third-largest economy is targeting close to 15 per cent export growth in the current fiscal year, following an annual drop of 4.7 per cent in the 2009/10 fiscal year as the global slowdown crimped demand.

"It is a huge base effect kicking in," said Khullar.

India has exported $33 billion worth of goods in April and May, the first two months of the current fiscal year, he said.

April exports had risen 36 per cent to $16.9 billion as demand picked up for India's gems and textiles, while imports rose 43 per cent from a year earlier to $27.3 billion and the trade deficit stood at $10.4 billion.

RIL mulls $9-bn investmen

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to invest USD nine-billion in expansion of its polyester and petrochemicals business, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said today.

"In the next five-years, our total investment in all the new polyester and petrochemical manufacturing facilities will be the largest investment in this sector to be made anywhere in the world at any given point of time," RIL's Chairman, Mukesh Ambani, told shareholders at the company's AGM here.

RIL is executing a 1.4-million tonnes of paraxylene capacity at Jamnagar. It is also setting up an integrated 2.3-million tonnes of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), 5,40,000-tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate complex at Gandhar and 3,60,000-tonnes of polyester filament yarn plant at Silvassa.

These initiatives translate to the single largest capacity addition in polyester in the history of Reliance.

This expansion will strengthen India's position as a leading textile and fibre producer in the world, Ambani said.

With the next phase of large-scale investments, combined with value-added products, the polyester business would contribute in greater measure to Reliance's growth and profitability and maintain its global leadership, he said.

"In our recent past, the petrochemical business went into a consolidation phase. This was a sequel to the large capacity additions in Jamnagar and integration of manufacturing facilities of the erstwhile IPCL," he said.

"We are committed to creating competitive capacity in petrochemicals to cater to the next decade of growth in India and Asia," Ambani said.

The refinery provides Reliance with extremely competitive feedstock. Reliance will leverage its superior technical and project execution skills in building additional global scale capacities.

Ambani pointed out that currently, due to the on-going economic crisis, capacity-building in this sector globally is at a low. This provides Reliance with a unique opportunity to build world-scale capacity at competitive capital costs. All these augur well for rapid growth and profitability of the petrochemical business of Reliance, he said.

"We are accelerating the implementation of an off-gas cracker at Jamnagar. This off-gas cracker with over 1.5 million tonnes per annum of olefins capacity with matching downstream capacities will be one of the largest facilities in the world. MEG from cracker will add to our leadership position in the polyester business," he said.

Reliance is also the largest player in the synthetic rubber business in India.

"We want to build on this leadership to become one of the top ten elastomer companies in the world. Reliance will create additional capacities of poly butadiene rubber at Baroda and styrene butadiene rubber at Hazira...

Pipavav denies stake sale to Reliance

Pipavav Shipyard is not in talks with Reliance Industries for a stake sale, Nikhil Gandhi, chairman of SKIL Infrastructure, which controls Pipavav it was revealed today.

Earlier this week, media reports had said Reliance could buy a 26 percent stake in the shipbuilding firm.

Gold regains Rs 19,000 level on firm global cues

NEW DELHI: Gold prices extended gains for the second day on Friday by adding Rs 25 to Rs 19,000 per 10 grams at the bullion market here on sustained buying by traders.

Silver shot up by Rs 200 to Rs 29,800 per kg.

Domestic prices gained after the precious metal rose in the overseas markets which normally set the price trend at the domestic front.

In the global markets, investors indulged in buying the metal after growing concerns that the economic recovery is not as strong as expected.

Standard gold of 99.9 purity and 99.5 purity rose further by Rs 25 each to Rs 19,000 and Rs 18,900 per ten grams, respectively. They had gained Rs 75 in the previous trading session.

Sovereign also traded higher by the same margin at Rs 14,700 per piece of eight gram.

In line with the general firming trend, silver ready rose Rs 200 to Rs 29,800 per kg and weekly based delivery by Rs 300 to Rs 29,520 per kg.

Silver coins also went up by Rs 100 to Rs 34,600 for buying and Rs 34,700 for selling of 100 pieces. — PTI