Patna. Feb. 23: The State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB), which held its meeting today after a gap of almost five months, cleared all 116 proposals, except about half-a-dozen that have been put on hold.
Among the proposals that were set aside for the time being included one that talked about setting up of an aircraft manufacturing unit in the state.
Beltronics Techno Pvt Ltd, Patna, had come up with an investment proposal to set up a manufacturing unit of aeroplane and air taxi, besides carrying out maintenance work of aircraft in the vicinity of the state capital.
The company, which claimed that it has already entered into a tie-up with a UK-based firm for financing the project, said it would pump in Rs 92,000 crore for the purpose.
“We have asked them (the company) to give a presentation before the board. We want to see their project details. We would like to know what it wants to do and how it plans to go about? We also want to know what are the land and other requirements of the entrepreneur?” principal secretary (industries) C.K. Mishra told The Telegraph.
SIPB was set up by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government after assuming power in November 2005 with an aim to promote private investment in the state.
The board has, so far, approved 603 project proposals, which entail an investment of Rs 2.48 lakh crore with a capacity to generate 1.85 lakh jobs.
Sources said if the aircraft manufacturing unit gets the board’s approval, the chances of which are very bleak, it would bring Rs 92,000 crore in investment alone to the state.
In the wake of entrepreneurs, especially Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla who made a fervent appeal to the government at the just concluded “Global Bihar Summit” for speedy approval of the project, the SIPB decided to hold regular meetings in order to avoid delay in giving approvals to proposals.
Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president KPS Keshri, who is also a member of the SIPB, told The Telegraph: “SIPB meeting would now be held twice a month. The aim is to ensure that the proposed projects do not get delayed in getting the board’s approval.”
He added, “It was also decided that those entrepreneurs, who could not apply to the SIPB, would be given a chance to apply to the board.”
According to the industrial incentive policy of 2011, projects having SIPB’s approval would get incentives.
Since there was no fixed time-frame for holding the meeting of the board for approving the investment projects, it led to accumulation of a long list (116) of investment proposals requiring the board’s approval.
The last time a meeting of the board was held was in the last week of September last year
Any fresh investment proposal, once cleared by the SIPB, of up to Rs 100 crore investment would be put up before chief minister Nitsih Kumar for his approval, whereas proposals of over Rs 100 crore would be sent to the cabinet for the necessary approval.
The proposals, which got the board’s approval included investments from sectors like food processing, power, cold storage, flour mills, rice mills, beer factories and others.
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2012年2月24日星期五
Aircraft unit misses take-off nod
Patna. Feb. 23: The State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB), which held its meeting today after a gap of almost five months, cleared all 116 proposals, except about half-a-dozen that have been put on hold.
Among the proposals that were set aside for the time being included one that talked about setting up of an aircraft manufacturing unit in the state.
Beltronics Techno Pvt Ltd, Patna, had come up with an investment proposal to set up a manufacturing unit of aeroplane and air taxi, besides carrying out maintenance work of aircraft in the vicinity of the state capital.
The company, which claimed that it has already entered into a tie-up with a UK-based firm for financing the project, said it would pump in Rs 92,000 crore for the purpose.
“We have asked them (the company) to give a presentation before the board. We want to see their project details. We would like to know what it wants to do and how it plans to go about? We also want to know what are the land and other requirements of the entrepreneur?” principal secretary (industries) C.K. Mishra told The Telegraph.
SIPB was set up by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government after assuming power in November 2005 with an aim to promote private investment in the state.
The board has, so far, approved 603 project proposals, which entail an investment of Rs 2.48 lakh crore with a capacity to generate 1.85 lakh jobs.
Sources said if the aircraft manufacturing unit gets the board’s approval, the chances of which are very bleak, it would bring Rs 92,000 crore in investment alone to the state.
In the wake of entrepreneurs, especially Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla who made a fervent appeal to the government at the just concluded “Global Bihar Summit” for speedy approval of the project, the SIPB decided to hold regular meetings in order to avoid delay in giving approvals to proposals.
Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president KPS Keshri, who is also a member of the SIPB, told The Telegraph: “SIPB meeting would now be held twice a month. The aim is to ensure that the proposed projects do not get delayed in getting the board’s approval.”
He added, “It was also decided that those entrepreneurs, who could not apply to the SIPB, would be given a chance to apply to the board.”
According to the industrial incentive policy of 2011, projects having SIPB’s approval would get incentives.
Since there was no fixed time-frame for holding the meeting of the board for approving the investment projects, it led to accumulation of a long list (116) of investment proposals requiring the board’s approval.
The last time a meeting of the board was held was in the last week of September last year
Any fresh investment proposal, once cleared by the SIPB, of up to Rs 100 crore investment would be put up before chief minister Nitsih Kumar for his approval, whereas proposals of over Rs 100 crore would be sent to the cabinet for the necessary approval.
The proposals, which got the board’s approval included investments from sectors like food processing, power, cold storage, flour mills, rice mills, beer factories and others.
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
Among the proposals that were set aside for the time being included one that talked about setting up of an aircraft manufacturing unit in the state.
Beltronics Techno Pvt Ltd, Patna, had come up with an investment proposal to set up a manufacturing unit of aeroplane and air taxi, besides carrying out maintenance work of aircraft in the vicinity of the state capital.
The company, which claimed that it has already entered into a tie-up with a UK-based firm for financing the project, said it would pump in Rs 92,000 crore for the purpose.
“We have asked them (the company) to give a presentation before the board. We want to see their project details. We would like to know what it wants to do and how it plans to go about? We also want to know what are the land and other requirements of the entrepreneur?” principal secretary (industries) C.K. Mishra told The Telegraph.
SIPB was set up by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government after assuming power in November 2005 with an aim to promote private investment in the state.
The board has, so far, approved 603 project proposals, which entail an investment of Rs 2.48 lakh crore with a capacity to generate 1.85 lakh jobs.
Sources said if the aircraft manufacturing unit gets the board’s approval, the chances of which are very bleak, it would bring Rs 92,000 crore in investment alone to the state.
In the wake of entrepreneurs, especially Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla who made a fervent appeal to the government at the just concluded “Global Bihar Summit” for speedy approval of the project, the SIPB decided to hold regular meetings in order to avoid delay in giving approvals to proposals.
Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president KPS Keshri, who is also a member of the SIPB, told The Telegraph: “SIPB meeting would now be held twice a month. The aim is to ensure that the proposed projects do not get delayed in getting the board’s approval.”
He added, “It was also decided that those entrepreneurs, who could not apply to the SIPB, would be given a chance to apply to the board.”
According to the industrial incentive policy of 2011, projects having SIPB’s approval would get incentives.
Since there was no fixed time-frame for holding the meeting of the board for approving the investment projects, it led to accumulation of a long list (116) of investment proposals requiring the board’s approval.
The last time a meeting of the board was held was in the last week of September last year
Any fresh investment proposal, once cleared by the SIPB, of up to Rs 100 crore investment would be put up before chief minister Nitsih Kumar for his approval, whereas proposals of over Rs 100 crore would be sent to the cabinet for the necessary approval.
The proposals, which got the board’s approval included investments from sectors like food processing, power, cold storage, flour mills, rice mills, beer factories and others.
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
2012年2月20日星期一
Home, study loans become cheaper
For a loan of Rs 400,000, the interest rate has been reduced by 25 bps to 11.75 per cent, while for loans between Rs 4 lakh and 750,000, the rate reduction is 100 bps to 12.50 per cent.
And, for the loans of above Rs 750,000, rates have been cut 25 bps to 12.25 per cent.
SBI also offers a concession of 50 bps on interest rates for loans given to female students.
Education loans, which constitute about seven per cent of SBI’s Rs 1.75-lakh-crore (Rs 1.75 trillion) retail portfolio, saw a growth of 14.17 per cent as of December-end.
Another state-run lender, Central Bank of India, has announced a reduction of 25-50 bps on home loan rates to boost credit demand, which has seen a slow growth in the current financial year.
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And, for the loans of above Rs 750,000, rates have been cut 25 bps to 12.25 per cent.
SBI also offers a concession of 50 bps on interest rates for loans given to female students.
Education loans, which constitute about seven per cent of SBI’s Rs 1.75-lakh-crore (Rs 1.75 trillion) retail portfolio, saw a growth of 14.17 per cent as of December-end.
Another state-run lender, Central Bank of India, has announced a reduction of 25-50 bps on home loan rates to boost credit demand, which has seen a slow growth in the current financial year.
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2012年2月6日星期一
Tanzania: U.S. Energy Investors Set to Pay Dar a Visit
New York — Executives from some leading US energy companies are scheduled to arrive in the country on Wednesday to explore opportunities in power-generation and fuel-supply projects, a State Department official said on Saturday.
The public-private energy trade mission is led by Johnnie Carson, the US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, and is co-sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa, a grouping of American businesses with interests in Africa.
The delegation will discuss “specific challenges to the attraction of private investment for energy infrastructure projects,” according to a State Department briefing paper.
A series of talks with Tanzanian government officials is planned for the two-day visit, which is part of a larger trip that begins in Mozambique on February 6 and includes stops in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
“Implementation of large projects is crucial to meeting the two goals of addressing huge African generation capacity needs and providing the lowest per unit cost of electricity possible,” the State Department briefing adds.
“The historical impediments to such private sector involvement include uncertain legal and regulatory regimes, inconsistent support of cost reflective electricity pricing, and insufficient availability of long-term, limited recourse financing from private financial institutions.”
Currently, one of the US-based companies, Symbion, has been contracted by Tanesco to produce power as part of an emergency plan to address electricity shortage in the country.
The company, which bought another controversial firm, Dowans, is producing power from its Ubungo base as well as in Dodoma.
Copyright © 2012 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.The public-private energy trade mission is led by Johnnie Carson, the US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, and is co-sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa, a grouping of American businesses with interests in Africa.
The delegation will discuss “specific challenges to the attraction of private investment for energy infrastructure projects,” according to a State Department briefing paper.
A series of talks with Tanzanian government officials is planned for the two-day visit, which is part of a larger trip that begins in Mozambique on February 6 and includes stops in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
“Implementation of large projects is crucial to meeting the two goals of addressing huge African generation capacity needs and providing the lowest per unit cost of electricity possible,” the State Department briefing adds.
“The historical impediments to such private sector involvement include uncertain legal and regulatory regimes, inconsistent support of cost reflective electricity pricing, and insufficient availability of long-term, limited recourse financing from private financial institutions.”
Currently, one of the US-based companies, Symbion, has been contracted by Tanesco to produce power as part of an emergency plan to address electricity shortage in the country.
The company, which bought another controversial firm, Dowans, is producing power from its Ubungo base as well as in Dodoma.
http://tourism9.cm/ http://vkins.com/
2012年1月23日星期一
Indian casinos struggle to get out from under debt
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The warning from the ratings agency could not have been more direct: The parent company of the Mohegan Sun faces a “wall of debt” due early this year as the casino, struggling with rising competition and a weak economy that’s hammered consumer spending, tries to refinance hundreds of millions of dollars in loans.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has $505 million in loans outstanding and another $250 million due April 1, Keith Foley, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, recently told investors. The gaming authority, parent company of casinos in Uncasville, Conn., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., also has about $21 million in interest payments due Feb. 15, he said.
Mohegan Sun announced this month that fourth-quarter net income rose significantly, to $46.7 million, compared with a net loss of $26.3 million in the same period in 2010. But it also said it failed to reach an agreement to refinance debt, though lenders waived a possible default.
“They get to live another day,” Foley said in an interview.
Executives at Mohegan Sun did not respond to a request for an interview.
Mohegan Sun is not alone as several Indian-run casinos — some with plans for expansion that have been put on hold — struggle to refinance debt after being caught short when the economy went into recession in December 2007.
Foxwoods Resort Casino in eastern Connecticut seeks to restructure debt, and the Mescalero Apache tribe restructured $200 million in bonds last year for casino resort property in New Mexico. A spokeswoman said Foxwoods is in debt talks, but would not provide details.
An advantage that Indian-run casinos have over their commercial counterparts is that they cannot file for bankruptcy and creditors can’t foreclose on their properties because tribal governments are sovereign, said Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
Valerie Red-Horse, an investment banker and financial adviser who worked on the Mecalero Apache deal, called it the “best model out there,” in part because it preserved the casino’s financial distributions to tribal members and tribal government while bond holders kept their stakes, she said.
Some tribes have been forced to agree to cut their distributions until debt is paid down, Red-Horse said. Making sure distributions continue is a “very delicate subject. It causes a lot of angst among tribes,” she said.
Financial problems at the casino, the Inn of the Mountain Gods, were due in part to the slowing economy and faltering tourism, she said.
Indian-run casinos expanded rapidly because they are strong economic development tools for the tribes that run the casinos, said Peter Kulick, a Lansing, Mich., tax and gaming lawyer. The businesses survived economic downturns in the 1970s and 1980s and were seen as immune to recessions, he said.
“In the last go-round, that’s not the case,” he said.
Kulick and Barrow said competition is the newest threat to casinos, even as revenue is now rising as the economy slowly improves.
“There are some real pockets of recovery going on right now,” Barrow said.
Massachusetts legalized casino gambling in November, but it will be years before the three casinos authorized will be operating.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month that he would work with the Genting Group, one of the world’s largest gambling companies, to transform the Aqueduct horse track into a megaplex that would eventually include the nation’s largest convention center, 3,000 hotel rooms and a major expansion of a casino that began operating in October.
For Connecticut’s two casinos, “Aqueduct could be pretty substantial competitive pressure,” Barrow said.
“I don’t see real revenue growth for Connecticut’s casinos, he said.
Declining or stagnant revenue is bad news for Connecticut state government, which takes 25 percent of what the casinos pull in. State revenue from the two casinos reached their peak in 2007 at more than $411 million, said Kevin Lembo, Connecticut’s comptroller who tracks state revenue from all sources.
That’s declined to $342 million in the state’s budget year that ended last June 30, down $69 million, or 17 percent.
“The loss of revenue is one obvious and immediate impact for the state,” Lembo said. “What happens to jobs? What happens to future development plans? These are areas of concern for everyone at this point.”
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said the health of the two casinos is critical because they are destinations in southeast Connecticut, drawing tourists who also visit vineyards along the shoreline, the Mystic Aquarium and other sites.
“This is a big thing for us,” she said.
http://tourism9.cm/ http://vkins.com/
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has $505 million in loans outstanding and another $250 million due April 1, Keith Foley, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, recently told investors. The gaming authority, parent company of casinos in Uncasville, Conn., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., also has about $21 million in interest payments due Feb. 15, he said.
Mohegan Sun announced this month that fourth-quarter net income rose significantly, to $46.7 million, compared with a net loss of $26.3 million in the same period in 2010. But it also said it failed to reach an agreement to refinance debt, though lenders waived a possible default.
“They get to live another day,” Foley said in an interview.
Executives at Mohegan Sun did not respond to a request for an interview.
Mohegan Sun is not alone as several Indian-run casinos — some with plans for expansion that have been put on hold — struggle to refinance debt after being caught short when the economy went into recession in December 2007.
Foxwoods Resort Casino in eastern Connecticut seeks to restructure debt, and the Mescalero Apache tribe restructured $200 million in bonds last year for casino resort property in New Mexico. A spokeswoman said Foxwoods is in debt talks, but would not provide details.
An advantage that Indian-run casinos have over their commercial counterparts is that they cannot file for bankruptcy and creditors can’t foreclose on their properties because tribal governments are sovereign, said Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
Valerie Red-Horse, an investment banker and financial adviser who worked on the Mecalero Apache deal, called it the “best model out there,” in part because it preserved the casino’s financial distributions to tribal members and tribal government while bond holders kept their stakes, she said.
Some tribes have been forced to agree to cut their distributions until debt is paid down, Red-Horse said. Making sure distributions continue is a “very delicate subject. It causes a lot of angst among tribes,” she said.
Financial problems at the casino, the Inn of the Mountain Gods, were due in part to the slowing economy and faltering tourism, she said.
Indian-run casinos expanded rapidly because they are strong economic development tools for the tribes that run the casinos, said Peter Kulick, a Lansing, Mich., tax and gaming lawyer. The businesses survived economic downturns in the 1970s and 1980s and were seen as immune to recessions, he said.
“In the last go-round, that’s not the case,” he said.
Kulick and Barrow said competition is the newest threat to casinos, even as revenue is now rising as the economy slowly improves.
“There are some real pockets of recovery going on right now,” Barrow said.
Massachusetts legalized casino gambling in November, but it will be years before the three casinos authorized will be operating.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month that he would work with the Genting Group, one of the world’s largest gambling companies, to transform the Aqueduct horse track into a megaplex that would eventually include the nation’s largest convention center, 3,000 hotel rooms and a major expansion of a casino that began operating in October.
For Connecticut’s two casinos, “Aqueduct could be pretty substantial competitive pressure,” Barrow said.
“I don’t see real revenue growth for Connecticut’s casinos, he said.
Declining or stagnant revenue is bad news for Connecticut state government, which takes 25 percent of what the casinos pull in. State revenue from the two casinos reached their peak in 2007 at more than $411 million, said Kevin Lembo, Connecticut’s comptroller who tracks state revenue from all sources.
That’s declined to $342 million in the state’s budget year that ended last June 30, down $69 million, or 17 percent.
“The loss of revenue is one obvious and immediate impact for the state,” Lembo said. “What happens to jobs? What happens to future development plans? These are areas of concern for everyone at this point.”
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said the health of the two casinos is critical because they are destinations in southeast Connecticut, drawing tourists who also visit vineyards along the shoreline, the Mystic Aquarium and other sites.
“This is a big thing for us,” she said.
http://tourism9.cm/ http://vkins.com/
2012年1月20日星期五
Volunteers will help college bound students with financial aid applications on College Goal Sunday
GRAND RAPIDS – College bound students seeking free assistance with filling out the federal financial aid application, known as the FAFSA, should plan on attending the College Goal Sunday event in their area on Feb. 12.
“For many students and their families, college seems like an unachievable and unaffordable dream,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, about the statewide event. “College Goal Sunday locations have financial aid experts who can help families complete these complex applications and maximize financial assistance for students wanting to go to college.”
Last year, more than 1,600 students received assistance at College Goal Sunday events from volunteers. According to the state, statistics show that students who complete and submit FAFSA forms are more likely to go on to college.
The annual event is a collaborative effort of the state Department of Education, the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association, and EduGuide. The program was created to increase the number of students who continue education beyond high school and earn post-secondary degrees. The FAFSA is required of any student seeking financial aid including grants, loans, and many scholarships.
“It is critical that high school seniors and their parents are aware of these College Goal Sunday events,” said Bryan Taylor, president of EduGuide. “Students must complete and file a FAFSA in order to secure financial aid and should file by the March 1st priority date to ensure eligibility for federal and state programs.”
On Sunday, Feb. 12, student financial aid experts will be available to guide students and their parents through each step of completing and filing the free FAFSA. Students under age 23 are encouraged to attend with a parent or guardian. Parents and students should bring their completed 2011 Federal tax return (1040) if possible, or their W-2 and 1099 forms.
Dozens of sites across Michigan will be hosting College Goal Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.including: Grand Valley State University Pew Campus Building A, located at 401 Fulton St.; Davenport University-Holland campus, 643 South Waverly Rd. and Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Agency, 4747 West 48th St. in Fremont; Loutit District Library, 407 Columbus Drive in Grand Haven and Western Michigan University
Schneider Hall – Business Court, 1903 W Michigan Ave. in Kalamazoo.
For a complete list of locations and additional information visit the website.
Prizes will be awarded during events, including a $1,000 scholarship, two $500 scholarships, and three $250 scholarships. Additional support for College Goal Sunday was provided by the C.S. Mott Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, and the DTE Energy Foundation.
Email: mscott@grpress.com and follow her on Twitter at Twitter.com/GRPScotty.
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
“For many students and their families, college seems like an unachievable and unaffordable dream,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, about the statewide event. “College Goal Sunday locations have financial aid experts who can help families complete these complex applications and maximize financial assistance for students wanting to go to college.”
Last year, more than 1,600 students received assistance at College Goal Sunday events from volunteers. According to the state, statistics show that students who complete and submit FAFSA forms are more likely to go on to college.
The annual event is a collaborative effort of the state Department of Education, the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association, and EduGuide. The program was created to increase the number of students who continue education beyond high school and earn post-secondary degrees. The FAFSA is required of any student seeking financial aid including grants, loans, and many scholarships.
“It is critical that high school seniors and their parents are aware of these College Goal Sunday events,” said Bryan Taylor, president of EduGuide. “Students must complete and file a FAFSA in order to secure financial aid and should file by the March 1st priority date to ensure eligibility for federal and state programs.”
On Sunday, Feb. 12, student financial aid experts will be available to guide students and their parents through each step of completing and filing the free FAFSA. Students under age 23 are encouraged to attend with a parent or guardian. Parents and students should bring their completed 2011 Federal tax return (1040) if possible, or their W-2 and 1099 forms.
Dozens of sites across Michigan will be hosting College Goal Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.including: Grand Valley State University Pew Campus Building A, located at 401 Fulton St.; Davenport University-Holland campus, 643 South Waverly Rd. and Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Agency, 4747 West 48th St. in Fremont; Loutit District Library, 407 Columbus Drive in Grand Haven and Western Michigan University
Schneider Hall – Business Court, 1903 W Michigan Ave. in Kalamazoo.
For a complete list of locations and additional information visit the website.
Prizes will be awarded during events, including a $1,000 scholarship, two $500 scholarships, and three $250 scholarships. Additional support for College Goal Sunday was provided by the C.S. Mott Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, and the DTE Energy Foundation.
Email: mscott@grpress.com and follow her on Twitter at Twitter.com/GRPScotty.
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
2012年1月13日星期五
O'Malley proposes extra $15 million to help build rental housing, create jobs
Gov. Martin O’Malley is proposing a $15 million increase in the state’s program to help build affordable rental housing, saying the bump would leverage $285 million in private investment and create 1,100 jobs in Maryland.
Surrounded by housing advocates, construction workers and local residents, O’Malley went to the site of a former public housing development in Annapolis to announce plans to double the state’s investment in loans to developers to help spur rental housing construction.
The governor said the increased spending would help address a shortage of affordable housing by providing gap financing for about 20 privately owned rental developments in the next fiscal year. But his emphasis was on the employment the money would bring.
“This announcement here today is about creating jobs,” O’Malley said at the site where the privately owned Obery Court complex is under construction with the help of existing state spending. “This is a time to go out in the market and try and put our people back to work.”
Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin disagreed, saying the initiative “doesn’t make any sense.”
“We’re seeing more and more dollars going into things the private sector should be doing,” the Upper Shore Republican said.
The administration said it has maintained state spending on affordable housing programs at $15.5 million a year despite budget pressures. O’Malley is proposing to nearly double that to $30.5 million through what the administration is calling its “Rental Housing Works” initiative. The new state money would help offset the loss of federal stimulus funds, housing officials said.
The announcement comes at a time when the state is facing a $1.1 billion shortfall in its general fund budget — a gap that must by law be closed.
O’Malley said the additional housing money would be part of the capital budget. The extra spending would be financed through additional borrowing but would not push borrowing beyond Maryland’s debt guidelines, he said.
Like all of the governor’s budget proposals, the housing plan is subject to General Assembly approval. “I think the legislature will keep it intact,” O’Malley said.
State officials say there is a severe lack of affordable housing in Maryland, with the shortage expected to reach 127,000 units in 2015. Andy DeVilbiss, spokesman for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, said the Rental Housing Works program would use the $15 million for “shovel-ready” projects.
Housing Secretary Raymond A. Skinner said the money is typically used to provide gap financing to make up the difference between what a developer can raise through the private sector and the cost of the project. He said the state loan for an individual project is typically about $1 million to $1.5 million.
While Skinner said each $1 in state lending leverages $19 in private funding, the developer of Obery Court gave more a conservative estimate for that project.
Mark Dambly, president of Pennrose Properties, said the three phases of the project will cost about $39 million, about $8 million of which will come from the loan program. He said the project, the second phase of which is now under construction, will build 175 to 180 units and create 900 jobs.
The governor’s announcement drew praise from housing activists.
“This is a big deal for us,” said Trudy McFall, president of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition. “Federal resources are down. We were facing a very grim year ahead of being able to do just a handful of projects. Now this will allow us to do 20 new rental communities.”
McFall emphasized that the projects the new spending will spur are not public housing. “It’s housing that’s developed by the private sector. It’s owned and managed by the private sector,” she said. Typical monthly rents are about $500 to $700 for a two- or three-bedroom unit, McFall said.
michael.dresser@baltsun.com
Surrounded by housing advocates, construction workers and local residents, O’Malley went to the site of a former public housing development in Annapolis to announce plans to double the state’s investment in loans to developers to help spur rental housing construction.
The governor said the increased spending would help address a shortage of affordable housing by providing gap financing for about 20 privately owned rental developments in the next fiscal year. But his emphasis was on the employment the money would bring.
“This announcement here today is about creating jobs,” O’Malley said at the site where the privately owned Obery Court complex is under construction with the help of existing state spending. “This is a time to go out in the market and try and put our people back to work.”
Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin disagreed, saying the initiative “doesn’t make any sense.”
“We’re seeing more and more dollars going into things the private sector should be doing,” the Upper Shore Republican said.
The administration said it has maintained state spending on affordable housing programs at $15.5 million a year despite budget pressures. O’Malley is proposing to nearly double that to $30.5 million through what the administration is calling its “Rental Housing Works” initiative. The new state money would help offset the loss of federal stimulus funds, housing officials said.
The announcement comes at a time when the state is facing a $1.1 billion shortfall in its general fund budget — a gap that must by law be closed.
O’Malley said the additional housing money would be part of the capital budget. The extra spending would be financed through additional borrowing but would not push borrowing beyond Maryland’s debt guidelines, he said.
Like all of the governor’s budget proposals, the housing plan is subject to General Assembly approval. “I think the legislature will keep it intact,” O’Malley said.
State officials say there is a severe lack of affordable housing in Maryland, with the shortage expected to reach 127,000 units in 2015. Andy DeVilbiss, spokesman for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, said the Rental Housing Works program would use the $15 million for “shovel-ready” projects.
Housing Secretary Raymond A. Skinner said the money is typically used to provide gap financing to make up the difference between what a developer can raise through the private sector and the cost of the project. He said the state loan for an individual project is typically about $1 million to $1.5 million.
While Skinner said each $1 in state lending leverages $19 in private funding, the developer of Obery Court gave more a conservative estimate for that project.
Mark Dambly, president of Pennrose Properties, said the three phases of the project will cost about $39 million, about $8 million of which will come from the loan program. He said the project, the second phase of which is now under construction, will build 175 to 180 units and create 900 jobs.
The governor’s announcement drew praise from housing activists.
“This is a big deal for us,” said Trudy McFall, president of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition. “Federal resources are down. We were facing a very grim year ahead of being able to do just a handful of projects. Now this will allow us to do 20 new rental communities.”
McFall emphasized that the projects the new spending will spur are not public housing. “It’s housing that’s developed by the private sector. It’s owned and managed by the private sector,” she said. Typical monthly rents are about $500 to $700 for a two- or three-bedroom unit, McFall said.
michael.dresser@baltsun.com
2012年1月9日星期一
Revenue part of the State budget of Turkmenistan from 2011 onwards was 137.2 per cent
Minister of Finance of Turkmenistan Dovletgeldi Sadykov at the Government meeting, reported on the State budget of Turkmenistan in the year 2011, correspondent BakuToday. “The revenue part of the budget year 2011 was 137.2 per cent expenditure of 93.7%,” said Sadykov. According to him, 75.3 per cent of the budget was released on the financing of the social sphere and communicated in the form of investment for the construction of social facilities. “On the basis of the reporting period, the revenue part of the local budget has been implemented at the level of 121%, shipment-96.9%,” said the head of the Ministry of Finance of Turkmenistan.
As already reported BakuToday, for January-September 2011, the revenues of the State budget of Turkmenistan were executed at 123.1% and 93% of the costs compared with the plan. From all budget 75.8 per cent was directed towards financing of the social sphere.
http://tourism9.com/
As already reported BakuToday, for January-September 2011, the revenues of the State budget of Turkmenistan were executed at 123.1% and 93% of the costs compared with the plan. From all budget 75.8 per cent was directed towards financing of the social sphere.
http://tourism9.com/
2012年1月6日星期五
How to Restore Communities Blighted by Subprime Loans
Hill’s latest book Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home was published in October 2011.
(MORE: 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis)
To begin with, the $10,000 compensation some of the 200,000 Countrywide customers covered in the settlement are entitled to is likely not enough to put them back in their homes, let alone rebuild their neighborhoods. No one is more aware of this than Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Madigan’s investigation into Countrywide and Wells Fargo Bank began in March of 2008. From 2004 until 2007, at the height of subprime and high-cost lending, Countrywide was the state’s most prolific mortgage banker. During that same period, Wells Fargo aggressively embraced the increasingly lucrative subprime mortgage market as well. Madigan had been tipped off to huge disparities in the numbers of risky loans given to African Americans and Latinos by an investigation conducted by the Chicago Reporter. The Reporter found that African Americans, even those with six-figure salaries, were as much as three times more likely to get subprime or high-cost loans from the two lenders than whites or Asians and that the preponderance of those loans were given out in black and Latino neighborhoods. These practices, combined with the targeting of specific neighborhoods, wound up bankrupting poor working- and middle-class communities of color.
Madigan’s pleadings in a 2009 lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo outline how this discrimination siphoned off equity in neighborhoods until they became drags on municipalities and, over time, the state. Ongoing lawsuits against Wells Fargo in Baltimore and Memphis paint a similar picture and make clear the short-term and long-term negative impact of era’s lending tactics on the safety and security and the tax-based funding of schools in blighted neighborhoods. There is no reason to believe that Wells Fargo and Countrywide were the only banks engaged in such behavior.
Madigan flanked Holder at the news conference when he announced the settlement with Countrywide, which ends the state of Illinois claim against that bank. Yet, as she contemplated “the enormous amount of work that needs to be done to rebuild communities and our economy,” Madigan’s endorsement of the DOJ’s settlement agreement was understandably measured. Illinois’ suit against Wells Fargo continues. In it the state alleges that Wells Fargo broke a number of its consumer-protection and human-rights laws and asks for what could amount to much as $110,000 for every violation of credit and civil rights protections. Unlike the DOJ settlement, that compensates individuals, Baltimore and Memphis ask that a jury determine the amount of compensatory and punitive damages owed the cities for Wells Fargo’s actions.
(MORE: Hill: The Stories I Carry with Me)
Yet, even if Madigan and the cities of Baltimore and Memphis prevail, more needs to be done. Relief is in order for countless other cities which the DOJ acknowledges continue to suffer losses attributable to the reckless practices of lenders leading up to the foreclosure crisis. Ultimately, after the financial market collapsed, the government bailed out the banking industry, including Bank of America, which now owns Countrywide. The industry rebounded because the government concluded that a secure banking system was in the public’s interest. Yet, the playing field won’t be level as long as American communities pay for the corrupt decisions made by lenders. A federal effort targeted at restoring blighted neighborhoods is needed to clean up the mess left behind by such egregious predatory practices as those alleged in the Department’s reports and pleadings. The establishment of a pool of money, drawn from fines for violation of the laws and modeled after the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund, to be distributed by the DOJ in collaboration with state and local governments, is also in the public’s interest. The process for prioritizing communities set for restoration and structuring relief could be coordinated with other agencies under the DOJ’s direction.
Speaking before Congress in April 2011, Attorney General Holder acknowledged that “communities of all kinds, in every state, from coast to coast” have been touched by the foreclosure crisis. But Holder noted that “communities of color [had] been hit particularly hard, and [had] suffered greater consequences” as the basis for his establishment of the agency’s enforcement of fair housing laws. Funding to restore the neighborhoods Holder’s team of attorneys, economists and mathematical statisticians have identified would enhance the DOJ’s effectiveness as well as assist state and local governments currently dealing with costs associated with these sites. As importantly, it would show our federal government’s commitment to the protections enshrined in our Constitution and laws.
Hill, author of Reimagining Equality, is a professor of social policy, law and women’s studies at Brandeis University. The views expressed are solely her own.
2012年1月2日星期一
News In Brief Tech ticker Biz buzz
Affymetrix
Investor sues over financing of acquisition
Affymetrix is being sued for fraud by investment firm Tang Capital Partners, which claims the Santa Clara maker of genomic analysis tools misrepresented the financing of an acquisition for which it depleted cash meant to repurchase $95 million in notes bought by Tang and other investors.
Tang Capital, which purchased $78 million of Affymetrix’s 3.5 percent senior notes from 2008 to 2011, alleged in a complaint filed Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose that the repurchase money is being used as collateral to finance Affymetrix’s acquisition of eBioscience.
The $330 million cash deal was announced Nov. 30. The merger triggers a repurchase provision in the note contract that Affymetrix has refused to honor, Tang said in the complaint.
Affymetrix said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it believes the suit is “without merit.”
– Bloomberg News
Nasdaq
Judge OKs delisting of cleantech company
The Nasdaq Stock Market won a federal judge’s permission to delist a Chinese maker of wind towers that claims the procedures for kicking it out are marred by bias.
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan on Friday lifted the restraining order imposed against Nasdaq by New York State Supreme Court Justice
Melvin Schweitzer on Dec. 20. Sullivan also denied a request by CleanTech Innovations, based in Tieling, China, that he impose his own temporary restraining order.
“The court finds that the state court lacked jurisdiction to enter a temporary restraining order in a matter arising under” the federal securities law, Sullivan wrote in his order.
CleanTech has been fighting removal since January, when Nasdaq asserted that the company, which makes towers for wind turbines, intentionally withheld material information about $20 million in financing during its listing application. The company says it provided all necessary information in a timely manner.
– Bloomberg News
http://tourism9.com/
Investor sues over financing of acquisition
Affymetrix is being sued for fraud by investment firm Tang Capital Partners, which claims the Santa Clara maker of genomic analysis tools misrepresented the financing of an acquisition for which it depleted cash meant to repurchase $95 million in notes bought by Tang and other investors.
Tang Capital, which purchased $78 million of Affymetrix’s 3.5 percent senior notes from 2008 to 2011, alleged in a complaint filed Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose that the repurchase money is being used as collateral to finance Affymetrix’s acquisition of eBioscience.
The $330 million cash deal was announced Nov. 30. The merger triggers a repurchase provision in the note contract that Affymetrix has refused to honor, Tang said in the complaint.
Affymetrix said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it believes the suit is “without merit.”
– Bloomberg News
Nasdaq
Judge OKs delisting of cleantech company
The Nasdaq Stock Market won a federal judge’s permission to delist a Chinese maker of wind towers that claims the procedures for kicking it out are marred by bias.
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan on Friday lifted the restraining order imposed against Nasdaq by New York State Supreme Court Justice
Melvin Schweitzer on Dec. 20. Sullivan also denied a request by CleanTech Innovations, based in Tieling, China, that he impose his own temporary restraining order.
“The court finds that the state court lacked jurisdiction to enter a temporary restraining order in a matter arising under” the federal securities law, Sullivan wrote in his order.
CleanTech has been fighting removal since January, when Nasdaq asserted that the company, which makes towers for wind turbines, intentionally withheld material information about $20 million in financing during its listing application. The company says it provided all necessary information in a timely manner.
– Bloomberg News
http://tourism9.com/
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