IIPM Admission

Friday, September 26, 2008

Pay or get paid for GHGs


IIPM - Admission Procedure

Carbon emission trading is not only catching up, but also reducing after-affects of trade


TheBusiness and Economy - India's Most Influential Magazine - A Planman Media Initiative ever growing concerns among environmentalists and policy makers to curtail pollution along with keeping the economies growing, have given birth to the concept of emission trading. With the world getting more and more business-like, day by day, this carbon emission trading makes more sense than other similar measures.

Clubbed with this, increasing acceptance by countries of Kyoto Protocol and growing social responsibility, this trading scheme is most likely to take shape of a multibillion-dollar industry.

This system entails the member, company or country, to meet their carbon emission targets. The members are actually countries (as in the case of the Kyoto Protocol), or companies (as in the case of a domestic trading system). The countries or companies have to buy units (credits) in order to emit pollutants above their set targets, or even may sell units if they emit pollutants below their set targets. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol allows industries in developing countries to create emission credits (units).

In simple words, carbon credits are nothing but an equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent Greenhouse Gas (GHG). A limit is prescribed to the amount of greenhouse gases a firm can let out in the atmosphere.

The carbon credits are “Entitlement Certificates” issued by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the implementers of the approved CDM projects. These credits/units can be marketed at both domestic and international level. Under a typical emissions trading scheme, industries are issued an allowance for emissions up to a mandated cap. If the industry uses only a partial allowance, the rest can be sold to other industries.

The initial allocation or the capping is based on traditional provision where the capping or emitting provision is decided on basis of its trend of emissions. Moreover, the national budget for environment is left to be spent on environmental activities and further can be invested to earn credits by reducing the national pollution level. The emission trading can fructify to best results when, a safety valve is applied to it. This system has an emission cap, with tradeable permit but the maximum (or minimum) trading price is fixed. Thus, the emitters Inc. is left with choice of either trading their credits/units in the market or purchasing them from the government without charging prices beyond the permissible limits (safety valve). Consider this: According to the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, 374 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were exchanged through projects in 2005, a 240% increase, relative to 2004. What’s more, the size of this market is estimated to be anything between $40 billion and $100 billion by 2010.

The current size of the emissions-related trading market is small globally but it is expanding by leaps and bounds. As per reports by the World Bank (May 2006), the emission trading market is worth about $30 billion for 2006, but the market size is growing exponentially.

The EU-ETS (European Union-Emission Trading Scheme) is a trading scheme using the cap and trading scheme, the UK’s Climate Change Levy is a price system using a direct carbon tax and China uses the CO2 market price for funding of its Clean Development Mechanism projects with the safety valve clause.

In order to check increasing local levels of pollutants, the EU have their greenhouse gases scheme in place, the US has established their own national market schemes to reduce Acid Rains and several other regional markets schemes to check emission of Nitrous Oxide. Nevertheless, the trading market for emissions is still ruled by the hazardous Carbon Dioxide. But then the existing emission trading market also addresses the problems and pollutions dealing (with local problems) with smog, Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides. The success of these localised policies shows that few customised local schemes should be in place to check the pollutants unique to a particular locality.

Even the Chinese environmentalist officials had started many such trading schemes and had seen noteworthy success and have also initiated several other emission trading test projects. Learning from their counterparts, Hong Kong Government had also started many a pilot emission trading tools which aim to reduce amount of Sulfur Dioxide and other pollutants. This will not only reduce concentration of pollution over China & Hong Kong but also over whole of Asia and the world. The future of this trading system is very promising as the whole of Asia (especially the developing countries) is largely facing global pressure to reduce such emissions.

With CDM being the part of Kyoto Protocol, the Chinese companies are making big bucks (61% market share in an emission trading) from it. They are actually selling their credits (called Certified Emission Reductions) to companies in rich economies, who whole-heartedly buy them to fulfill their stringent emission targets. Whereas, Asia as a whole dominates about 80% of the CDM market. India also captures a giant pie, grabbing not less than 12% of the market in 2006, a 3% increase from 2005 figure. It’s no doubt that emission trading has created a large pool of brokers like any other trading system. These brokers range from foreign banks to obscure middlemen.

The whole concept of carbon trading is based on global co-operation, but with developed countries (especially USA) showing reluctance, the whole essence of the scheme seems to lose relevance or go into oblivion. Studies of British industry published by Britain’s Carbon Trust undermine the idea that a carbon price of $30 a tonne would be a huge burden. However, the same Carbon Trust reveals that the ETS can bring about deeper cut-backs in its next phase, without harming competitiveness. The recent rush in carbon credits trading in the EU is an indication of future of this immature trading industry.

Emission trading is any day better than the direct carbon tax regulations. This not only reduces the chance of parallel black market (as in the case of carbon tax) but also is cheaper and politically viable.

India: the future market

India is one of the leading players in the carbon trading industry as it generates a huge amount of carbon credits through CDM. According to industry estimations, the carbon trading would touch a figure of US$ 100 billion by 2010. Presently, no less than 300 projects are registered with CDM while the total issued carbon credits with India stands at 34,101,315.

Moreover, the recent surge in project registration with CDM shows a whole new tappable market. In 2007, about 150 new projects were registered with the UNFCCC. The number of expected annual carbon credits in India is predicted to be about 28 million and with each of these carbon credits being sold at 15 euros.

As per Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), industries like agriculture, energy, manufacturing, fuels, mining & mineral, chemicals and afforestation & reforestation are the most viable industries to generate carbon credits. With MCX interested in playing a major role on the emission trading by adding carbon credits to its existing portfolio of commodities, the existing and potential market of carbon credits had increased manifold. This will also help in getting around the price hedging, advance selling and avoiding counterparty risk. MCX also will give the seller a platform for demonstrating their bargaining capabilities.

Sray Agarwal

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

HCL’s ‘nano’ ambitions


IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

The company launches the smallest and the cheapest laptop


While India is still wondering about the practicality of Tata’s Nano project, another Indian manufacturer HCL has gone ahead and embraced the ‘Nano’ concept. HCL Infosystems has unveiled its MiLeap series, which is supposed to be the smallest and cheapest laptop available in the country. The notebook has a 7-inch LCD screen, weighs less than a kg and has an attractive starting price point of Rs.14,000.

Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd. commented on the product, “This revolutionary new range of ultra portable laptops will herald in a new category of computing devices, opening up a wide range of new usage scenarios and application areas.”

Well, HCL’s MiLeap can definitely be called revolutionary when it comes to price. Before the launch of MiLeap, the entry level laptop segment was dominated by companies like Acer, Compaq & Zenith but even these companies were unable to break the important Rs.15,000 price point. While HCL is the first company in the world to launch a laptop at this price point, globally its counterparts are focusing more on performance and design. Recently, Apple launched its super-slim laptop called the Macbook Air. With its innovative slim design and ultra portable features, the ‘Air’ gives the mobile computing a completely new standard. Even Lenovo is revolutionising the mobile computing with its new IdeaPad range of low weight laptops.

With the tech giants realising the growing importance of laptops in daily life, the futuristic technological innovations in the laptop arena are going to be even more exciting.

B&E edit bureau: Neha Saraiya

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Thursday, September 04, 2008

Big Dada Bets on Big Adda


IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

With access to content, infrastructure and mobile platform, RCom is in a position to ring in a new convergent future, believes DEVDEEP SINGH

Let’s Anil Ambanistart this story from March 2003, when, despite eight years since the launch of mobile services in the country, owning a mobile was still a dream for a majority of Indians. At that stage, Airtel ruled the market with 3 million subscribers, closely followed by the state-owned BSNL (2.2 million) and Hutch, now Vodafone, (2.1 million). But over 90% of these subscribers lived in metros. It was then, while GSM players were competing with each other that Reliance Infocomm (now Reliance Communications) decided to launch Indiamobile services on the CDMA platform. Within the first eight weeks of the launch, the company witnessed a record of 80 million minutes of usage by its subscribers. Today, as tele-density in the country has increased from 1% in 2003 to 23%, RCom, with its customer base of 38 million, just behind Airtel’s 51 million, has proved to be a success. It has changed the way service providers, customers, regulators and experts think and feel about telecom. It transformed the manner in which people think about the future of communications. B&E analyses how RCom provided the right ring tones for a connected India.

Tactic No 1: Become the price warrior

The success of RCom is significant considering the price revolution it initiated in the sector. While the likes of Airtel were offering STD calls for over Rs.3 per minute, Reliance empowered people to make domestic long-distance calls for a measly 40 paise. Although this was applicable for a Reliance-to-Reliance call, it gripped the price-sensitive nation and, by June 2003, the company amassed a subscriber base of 1.2 million. Says S. P. Shukla, President (Wireless Group), RCom, “According to Dhirubhai Ambani, a telecom business would achieve its goal if it could make mobile telephony services available to the masses at rates that were cheaper than the postcard.”
Not only did RCom implement this vision successfully, it strategically reduced the cost of owning a mobile at the entry level. With the Monsoon Hungama scheme that was launched in July 2003, RCom allowed individuals to own a mobile for just Rs.500. Such was the frenzy created that in next few months, the company penetrated deep into towns & villages & became one of the top mobile service providers. “Reliance has always offered the cheapest monthly plans. Also, their valued added services like Hello Tunes and others are cheaper than other operators. It’s a treat to be an RCom customer,” says a Reliance mobile user.

Tactic No 2: Go grassroots

After conquering Version 1.0 in the telecom battle (affordability), RCom focused on Version 2.0 (reach). Anil Ambani confidently asserted, “Our network expansion will give us the power to drive the market and stay ahead of the curve.” And RCom has expanded aggressively. While the company’s wireless network extends to over 10,000 towns today, it plans to take the count to 23,000 by 2007-08, covering 90% of India’s population. To achieve this, RCom plans to invest a massive Rs.200 billion in the coming year.

“The company’s network is undoubtedly amongst the vastest in the country and it has proven its execution skills. In fact, in seven months of the full-fledged CDMA launch, it became the top mobile operator in India,” says Harit Shah, Telecom Analyst, Angel Broking. And it also boasts of an extraordinary distribution channel. As Shukla comments, “We have the largest chain of exclusives Reliance showrooms under two brands - Reliance World and Reliance Express. No other operator has a phenomenal reach of 2,000 exclusive outlets where both sales and services are offered.”

RCom’s rural strategy has paved the path for its overall growth. “When we went rural, everybody contradicted our move. However, a few months later, all the other service providers were talking about going to the rural sector,” explains Shukla. In fact, it was RCom, which envisioned the approaching maturity levels in the metros, and targetted mass markets in India’s small towns and villages. It rightly predicted the rise of the rural middle class.

Tactic No 3: Be a value-added player

RCom became the telecom disrupter in value-added services. When GSM players like Airtel and Hutch were betting on GPRS and EDGE services, Anil entered with a slew of other services like integrated wire-line and wireless services, and convergent voice, data and video services, which took the mobile content market by storm. Interestingly, the competition failed to recognise that Anil was planning something bigger.

This turned out to be the ultimate weapon of convergence, aimed at redefining the scope and limits of the traditional telecom business. “Today telecom is no longer about voice or data; it is about communication in the widest possible sense of the term,” said Anil Ambani. Adds Subrato Das, Head (GSM - IT and Special Projects), RCom, “Reliance has established a pan-India, next generation, integrated (wireless & wireline), convergent (voice, data & video) digital network capable of supporting best-of-class services spanning the entire information-communication value chain.” Adding vigour to his convergence dreams, Anil recently managed to partner with Microsoft for his IPTV foray. “Until now, TV has been a broadcast, ‘one-size-fits-all’ experience. IPTV promises to offer subscribers more choices, control and convenience and a unique and more satisfying user experience,” he said. In the meantime, he has already purchased strategic stakes in firms, or finalised other financial alliances, that will allow him to access news, entertainment, music, gaming and other content that can be accessed on a Reliance mobile phone.

Apart from dominating the value-added services domain, RCom is a market leader in the enterprise segment, offering a variety of telephone solutions ranging from Internet, data networking and IT infrastructure services, helping companies meet their connectivity and automation needs. For the uninitiated, RCom serves over 800 of top 1,000 companies in India. No other telecom player in India seems to be serious about the enterprise segment. In that sense, RCom intrusion in this segment makes it India’s largest integrated telecom player.

RCom has now geared up to provide more headaches to competitors with its foray into GSM. Already, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, and BSNL are fuming and preparing themselves to face the Reliance belligerence. They have even resorted to legal recourse. But customers are not complaining as they feel that they will now witness price cuts and value additions in the GSM arena. Looks like another disruption is in the offing!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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