April 2015 – Page 2

Early weekend links – April 9 2015

I read a lot of different interesting things this week so even though I’m traveling tonight, I thought a weekend links post is in order.

First up, a very interesting article and 12 minute video about a certain invasive python species in Florida. Invasive species are a species of animals not native to a particular place, and this article focuses on the Burmese Python which is not native to Florida but is a big menace there now.

I was not surprised to see that the Chinese have invented a hydrogen powered tram and it is apparently doing quite well.

This was a totally new subject for me in the sense that I thought that gene edited babies were still many many decades away, and is mostly the work of fiction, but apparently not.

This can give you a laugh, or annoy and scare you to hell if you have kids who love Mountain Dew, but a man sued Pepsico saying he found a rat inside his Mountain Dew, and Pepsico won the case saying the rat would have disintegrated into a jelly like thing inside the can between the date of manufacture and the date of sale.

Police in Lucknow have procured drones to pepper spray people to control crowds. They are obviously thrilled.

Nice article on the utility of reading philosophy. Why I teach Plato to plumbers?

Finally, something for Game of Thrones fans.

Enjoy your weekend!

Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Offer for Sale (OFS) – April 2015 Issue

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

Indian Governments have been known for acting as late as possible in taking important economic decisions. But, contrary to their reputation, this time they are acting fast, quite fast. Soon after getting over with a week full of holidays, the Government is quick to announce its decision to sell its 5% stake in one of its Navratnas, Rural Electrification Corporation (REC).

For financial year 2015-16, the Government has set a target for itself to raise Rs. 41,000 crore by selling its minority stakes and Rs. 28,500 crore by selling its controlling stakes in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). To meet its target of Rs. 41,000 through minority stakes, the government has scheduled yet another offer for sale (OFS) on the stock exchanges tomorrow. This time the company is REC.

The government will be selling its 5% stake in the company i.e. 4,93,72,950 shares at Rs. 315 a share as the floor price. With 5% discount for the retail investors, the government will be able to raise approximately Rs. 1,540 crore from this share sale. Currently, the government holds about 65.64% stake in the company, which will come down to 60.64% post this OFS.

Before we check out the factors affecting our decision to invest in this OFS, let us first check the basic details of this offer.

Shares on Sale – The government has decided to offload its 5% stake in REC and will place 4,93,72,950 shares in the offer for sale, out of which 20% shares i.e. 98,74,590 shares will be reserved for the retail investors investing up to Rs. 2 lakh.

Offer Price – Share price of REC closed at Rs. 321.25 on the NSE today. The government has fixed Rs. 315 as the floor price in the OFS, which is a discount of 1.95% to its closing price. As always, the floor price has been disclosed by the government after market hours today.

5% Discount for the Retail Investors – Again, the government has decided to offer a discount of 5% to the retail investors. This discount will be offered on the price at which the retail investors bid in the OFS or the cut-off price set by the government, whichever is higher.

Brokerage – Unlike IPOs, stock brokers levy brokerage charges on these OFS transactions. These charges are normally higher than the rate of brokerage investors pay on their routine transactions. So, if the allotment price is fixed at say Rs. 317, the retail investors will get it at Rs. 301.15 a share plus applicable brokerage charges and taxes thereon. So, the retail investors should consider these charges in their overall cost of acquisition.

Introduction of Cut-Off price option still elusive – Offer for sale (OFS) process is still very complicated for the retail investors. They either require proper guidance or the option to bid at the cut-off price. But, this time also, the cut-off price option is missing.

Only a Single Day OFS – REC OFS will remain open for a single day only and that too, during the trading hours of the stock exchanges i.e. between 9:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. You’ll get to know the status of your bids by 6 p.m. and if successful, you’ll get the shares allotted by the designated stock exchange on T+1 basis.

Once bidding starts, you can check the bidding status on the National Stock Exchange as well as on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

How does an OFS process work?

If you are investing in an OFS for the first time and want to know more about the process, here is the link to check the details about it. If you have any query regarding the process, please share it here, I’ll try to respond to it as soon as possible.

How to invest?

You need to contact your broker to know how it is facilitating the bidding process. I think most of the broking firms must be providing the investment facility through their online platforms. If you don’t have access to the online platform, you should contact the customer care department of your broker and get the bid placed through telephonic confirmation.

Should you invest in REC OFS?

Power sector is one of the key drivers for a country’s rapid economic growth and poverty alleviation. Approximately 30% of India’s population do not have access to this basic amenity called electricity. For the past many many years, India’s power sector has been paralyzed with one issue or the other.

Poor financial condition of the state electricity boards (SEBs), unreasonable poll promises made by our politicians during elections, coal shortages due to scams/litigations or high import prices, poorly drafted laws of land acquisition, policy paralysis, shortage of funds or equipments for new capacities are some of the reasons due to which India’s power sector has shown an extremely poor growth.

However, the government is committed to provide electricity to all households over the next few years. Keeping that in mind, the government has recently taken many initiatives, including transparent & competitive auctions of coal mines, implementing gas price pooling policy, encouraging Coal India to meet its production targets etc. It makes me feel that the government is doing an excellent job at the ground level and it should start reflecting in growth numbers very soon.

REC is India’s biggest infrastructure finance company (IFC) for the power sector. Amidst a challenging environment for the power sector, the company has managed to keep its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) under control at 0.8%. Due to its low cost of borrowings, the company has managed to keep its net interest margins (NIMs) at a healthy 5.1% in the nine months period ended December 31, 2014.

From a long-term investment perspective, the stock price of the company is trading at extremely attractive valuations. Assuming the government to fix its allotment price to the retail investors at Rs. 300 per share, the stock is available at approximately 5 times its estimated earnings per share (EPS) and 1 time its estimated book value (BV) for the current financial year. It has also managed to keep its return on equity (RoE) above the levels of 20%. As the company is expected to post an earnings growth of around 30% in the next 3-5 years, its valuation of 5 times earnings seems strikingly cheap to me.

With the government moving in the right direction, an efficient minister heading the power ministry and the interest rates heading downwards, I think India’s power sector should do extremely well in the next 3-5 years. The need of the hour is not to mix politics with economics. Unnecessarily giving subsidies to people who can comfortably afford power makes no sense to me. I think the state governments should focus on making their electricity boards (SEBs) and power generation & distribution companies more efficient rather than subsidizing our electricity bills.

I think this offer for sale is attractively available at Rs. 315 a share and a 5% discount to this price again leaves a reasonable margin of safety for the retail investors. With the government taking it in the right direction, I expect the stock price to move past Rs. 350 levels very soon and to touch Rs. 500 in the next 15-18 months time.

Mutual Funds Tax Reckoner for Financial Year 2015-16 – Individuals, HUFs, NRIs & Domestic Companies

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

With stock markets rising by 35-40% and bond markets giving 15-20% returns in the last one year or so, mutual fund investments are gaining popularity. More and more people are now recognising mutual funds as a highly efficient vehicle to ride with the pace of corporate profitability and Indian economic growth. What makes mutual funds more attractive is their taxation treatment.

While selling equity mutual funds after holding for more than 12 months makes long term capital gains tax-free, selling non-equity mutual funds after 36 months provides indexation benefits, which make them extremely tax efficient vis-a-vis fixed deposits or post office small saving schemes. Short term capital gains on equity mutual funds are also taxed at a lower rate of 15%. Moreover, dividend received is also tax exempt in the hands of mutual fund investors.

Last year in July, the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley increased the holding period of debt mutual funds from 12 months to 36 months for these funds to quality as long-term capital asset. Though Budget 2015 has not tinkered with the tax rates applicable to mutual fund investments, some changes have been proposed as far as surcharge is concerned for high net worth individuals and domestic companies.

Mutual Fund Taxation for Individuals/HUFs

Equity Mutual Funds – Units of equity mutual funds held for more than 12 months qualify as long-term capital asset and long term capital gains (LTCG) on equity mutual funds are tax-free or exempt from tax, while short term capital gains on equity mutual funds are taxed at 15%.

Non-Equity Mutual Funds – Units of non-equity mutual funds held for more than 36 months qualify as long-term capital asset and long term capital gains (LTCG) on non-equity mutual funds are taxed at 20% with indexation, while short term capital gains on non-equity mutual funds are taxed as per the slab rate of the individual/HUF investor.

Dividend Income – Dividend income is tax-free or exempt from tax in the hands of individual/HUF investors. Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT), which is applicable to non-equity schemes only, is paid by the mutual fund/asset management company.

Tax Reckoner Financial Year 2015-16

Some Important Points:

Surcharge at the rate of 12% will be applicable to Individuals/HUFs having total income exceeding Rs. 1 crore.

Surcharge at the rate of 12% will be applicable to the domestic companies where the income exceeds Rs. 10 crore. Where income exceeds Rs. 1 crore but is less than Rs. 10 crore, surcharge of 7% will be applicable.

In order to qualify as long-term capital asset, the units of mutual funds (other than units of equity oriented funds) should be held for a period of more than 36 months. In the case of equity oriented funds, the units would qualify as long-term capital assets if held for more than 12 months.

In cases where the taxable income, reduced by the taxable long term capital gains of a resident individual/HUF is below the basic exemption limit, the long term capital gain will be reduced to the extent of this shortfall and only the balance of the long term capital gain is chargeable to income tax. The benefits of this provision are not available to NRIs.

For the purposes of determining the dividend distribution tax payable, the amount of distributed income shall be increased to such amount as would, after reduction of the dividend distribution tax on such increased amount at the specified tax rates, be equal to the amount of income distributed by the Mutual Fund.

Rebate of up to Rs. 2,000 available for resident individuals whose total income does not exceed Rs. 500,000.

(i) In the case of a resident individual of the age of 60 years or more but less than 80 years, the basic exemption limit is Rs. 300,000.

(ii) In the case of a resident individual of the age of 80 years or more, the basic exemption limit is Rs. 500,000.

(iii) Education cess is applicable at the rate of 2% on income-tax and secondary and higher education cess at the rate of 1% on income-tax.

Note: The rates above are based on the proposals in the Finance Bill, 2015. They will become a law once passed by both the Houses of Parliament and when they receive the assent of the President.

Tax Reckoner Financial Year 2014-15

Mutual funds, especially equity mutual funds, are the most tax efficient investment options for investors here in India. But, due to market volatility, most resident individual investors remain skeptical about it. I think they need to understand that it is their wrong timings of entry and exit which make them suffer losses in these funds. If they invest when the markets are down due to overly negative sentiments and sell when the markets are up due to euphoric sentiments, then I think they should be able to earn reasonably higher returns.

If you have any general query regarding mutual fund investments or their taxation treatment, please share it share.

Post Office Small Saving Schemes – FY 2015-16 Interest Rates – PPF @ 8.70% & Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana @ 9.20%

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

New Post for FY 2016-17 – Post Office Small Savings Schemes – FY 2016-17 Interest Rates – PPF @ 8.10% & Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana @ 8.60%

The Finance Ministry on March 31st announced the applicable interest rates for all the Post Office Small Savings Schemes, including PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS). These rates would be applicable for the current financial year, 2015-2016 and have come into effect immediately from 1st April, 2015.

Positive Surprise for Small Savers

To make these schemes more attractive, the interest rate for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana has been increased to 9.2% from 9.1% earlier and for Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, the rate has been hiked to 9.3% from 9.2% earlier. The interest rates on all other schemes have been left unchanged, including PPF which is going to earn 8.7% for you this financial year.

At a time when interest rates are falling sharply and the Government is putting considerable pressure on the RBI to lower down its policy rates, this move of keeping small savings rates higher/unchanged has left me stunned. I did not expect such a move from a government which seems to me a progressive government as far as its economic reforms are concerned.

If there is a scientific method of calculating interest rates on these small saving schemes, then I think the current rates have been fixed abnormally higher. In the last 12 months or so, the yields on Government Securities (G-Secs) have fallen from a high of around 9.1% to 7.65% recently. Though keeping interest rates higher has left me disappointed, this move by the government would make small savers & senior citizens happier, for at least one more year.

The increase of 0.10% interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) should encourage more and more investors and parents to join this scheme now. In fact, the interest rate differential of 0.50% between PPF and SSY would make some of the investors to contribute more towards SSY now.

Here you have the table having all the small saving schemes with their applicable interest rates and tax benefits for the current financial year:

Public Provident Fund (PPF) – There has been no change in the interest rate offered by PPF, India’s most popular small savings scheme. PPF will earn you 8.70% for the current financial year as well. Interest rate will continue to remain tax-exempt on maturity and investment up to Rs. 1,50,000 will keep getting exemption under section 80C.

Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts (SSA) – Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts will carry 9.20% for the current financial year, 2015-16. I was expecting the government to marginally reduce the rate here, say between 8.80% to 9%. But, in a surprise move, they have actually gone ahead and increased the rate to 9.20% from 9.10% till March 31st. I think the government’s move will increase the popularity of this scheme.

Moreover, like PPF, the interest earned will be tax-free on maturity and the investment amount up to Rs. 1,50,000 will get you tax deduction under section 80C.

PPF vs. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana vs. Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) – Senior citizens will also feel happy about the changes announced by the Government as the interest rate on Senior Citizen Savings Scheme has also been increased by 0.10% to 9.30% from 9.20% earlier. Though your investment amount will get you deduction under section 80C, the interest earned is taxable and subject to TDS as well.

Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS) – Once quite popular with a terminal bonus of 10% and then 5%, Post Office Monthly Income Scheme is getting more and more unpopular these days. As against MIS, investors are getting attracted towards bank fixed deposits (FDs) these days as they get a higher rate of interest, better liquidity and quarterly interest payments. Interest rate has been kept unchanged at 8.40% for MIS.

National Savings Certificates (NSCs) – 5-year NSCs & 10-year NSCs will keep earning 8.50% and 8.80% respectively in the current financial year. Also, your investment will earn you tax exemption under section 80C.

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) – Your investment in KVP can double your money in 100 months, which makes its effective annual return to be 8.67% if held till maturity. Investment certificates in this scheme bear no name and can easily be transferred from one person to another.

Recurring Deposits (RDs)/Term Deposits (TDs) – Interest rates on recurring deposits and term deposits have also been kept unchanged at 8.40% for all tenures, except term deposit of 5 years tenure which will yield 8.50% per annum. 5-year term deposit with a lock-in clause will provide you tax deduction under section 80C.

Post Office Savings Account – Your savings account in a post office will continue to earn 4% annual interest and interest amount up to Rs. 10,000 will be tax exempt under section 80TTA.

At a time when banks are already struggling to keep their credit growth in double digits, I think keeping interest rates higher on these small savings schemes is not a wise move. It will make it really difficult for the banks to lower their deposit rates and hence there will be pressure on their net interest margins (NIMs) and profitability. I don’t know what exactly is the logic behind this move, but small savers will definitely benefit out of it. You should take full advantage of these high rates till the time the government realises its mistake.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana – Calculating Maturity Values @ 9.2% – Interest Rate Applicable for FY 2015-16

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

The Finance Ministry on March 31st announced the applicable interest rates for all the Post Office Small Savings Schemes, including PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS). Except for SCSS and SSY, the government has kept all other interest rates unchanged, including 8.7% for its most popular scheme, PPF.

To encourage more and more people to get the Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) opened, the Government has decided to ride against the tide and has increased its interest rate to 9.20% from 9.10% earlier, an increase of 0.10%.

As the interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is subject to a revision every financial year, this rate of 9.2% will remain applicable only for the current financial year, 2015-16 and will be further revised in March 2016 for the next financial year, 2016-17.

But, this move of keeping its interest rate higher makes me feel that the Modi Government will continue to keep its interest rate higher going forward as well. I think, like the current financial year, they will try to keep a differential of approximately 0.50% between PPF and Sukanya Samridhi Yojana.

I had posted an article last month in which maturity values were calculated with 9.1% rate of interest throughout its tenure of 21 years. But, as the interest rate has been updated to 9.2% and as most of the investors are yet to open this account, I thought there is a need to have a new post having maturity values calculated as per the new rate of 9.2%.

So, here you have the tables in which maturity values are given as per your annual contributions as well as monthly contributions:

Yearly Contribution Table

Monthly Contribution Table

As different investors will have have different amounts and different timings of their deposits, it is natural that their maturity values will also be different. So, these maturity values are only indicative based on certain assumptions and here you have those assumptions:

* Rate of Interest has been assumed to remain 9.2% for all these 21 years.

* Yearly contributions have been assumed to be made on April 1 every year i.e. the beginning of the financial year.

* Monthly contributions have been assumed to be made on 1st day of every month.

* Although it is not mandatory, a fixed amount of yearly/monthly contribution has been assumed.

* It is also assumed that no withdrawal is made throughout these 21 years.

As people are looking for more and more information about this scheme, I would like to again highlight the main features of this scheme here:

Who can open this account? – Parents or a legal guardian of a girl child up to the age of 10 years, can open this account in the name of the girl child. So, if your daughter is born on or after December 2, 2003, you can get this account opened for her in a post office or an authorised bank branch.

Which documents are required to open this account? – You need birth certificate of the girl child, along with the identity proof, residence proof and two photographs of the parents/legal guardian, to open an account under this scheme. You can approach any post office or a branch of any of the authorised banks to get this account opened.

9.2% Tax-Free Rate of Interest for FY 2015-16 – As mentioned above, this scheme will carry 9.2% rate of interest for the current financial year and it was 9.1% for the previous financial year. Similarly, interest rate will be revised every year in March and will be applicable for the applicable financial year afterwards.

Scheme Matures in 21 years or on Girl’s Marriage, whichever is earlier – The scheme gets matured on completion of 21 years from the date of opening of the account or as the girl child gets married, whichever is earlier. Please note that the girl attaining the age of 21 years has no relevance to maturity period of this scheme.

Deposit for 14 years only – You need to deposit a minimum of Rs. 1,000 and a maximum of Rs. 1,50,000 only for the first 14 years, after which you are not required to deposit any amount. Your account will keep earning the applicable interest rate for the remaining 7 years or till it gets matured on your daughter’s marriage.

NRI/OCI Investment – It is still not clear whether Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) or Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) are allowed to open an account under this scheme or not. But, as it is not allowed with most of the post office small saving schemes, I think the government will not allow them to invest in this scheme either. I’ll update this post as soon as I get any information regarding the same.

Partial Withdrawal – It is allowed to withdraw 50% of the balance for higher education as the girl child attains the age of 18 years. Except for this period, it is not allowed to withdraw any amount during the whole tenure of this scheme.

Nomination Facility – Nomination facility is not there with this scheme. In an unfortunate event of the death of the girl child, the balance amount will be paid to the parents/ legal guardian of the girl child and the account will be closed immediately.

You can check all the features of this scheme from this post – Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana – Tax-Free Small Savings Scheme for a Girl Child

You can also check the updated list of banks and download the application form to open an account from this post – Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana – Updated list of Authorised Banks to Open an Account, Specimen Application Form & Passbook. If you have any query or something related to all these posts, please share it here.