India raises import tax on edible oils

NEW DELHI: India doubled the import tax on crude palm oil to 30 per cent, while the duty on refined palm oil has been raised to 40pc from 25pc earlier, the government said in an order late on Friday, as it tries to support local farmers.

The world’s biggest importer of edible oils also raised the import tax on crude soyoil to 30pc from 17.5pc earlier. It raised the import tax on refined soyoil to 35pc from 20pc earlier, it said.

India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.—Reuters

Allianz well-shielded against takeover attempts

FRANKFURT: Allianz, the world’s fourth-largest insurer by market value, is well-protected against potential takeover attempts, its chief financial officer told a German paper.

“Whoever wanted to buy a company like Allianz with a market value of more than 85 billion euros ($100bn) would still have to pay a premium, too. We are well-protected due to our size,” Dieter Wemmer told Boersen-Zeitung in an interview.

Friday’s closing price of 197.05 euros a share gives Allianz a market capitalisation of 87.7bn euros, according to Reuters data.

Sources told Reuters in September that China’s Anbang Insurance Group and HNA Group both considered buying into Allianz this year as part of plans to become global financial powerhouses.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2017