Daily GK Updates 19th April 2014

1.    Abdelaziz Bouteflika won fourth time as the President of Algeria

i. Abdelaziz Bouteflika won the Presidency for the fourth time consecutively in Algeria on 18 April 2014. He belongs to National Liberation Front party.

ii. He won the presidential election with a huge 81 percent of the vote. In 2008, he won the elections with 90 percent of the vote.

iii. Ali Benflis, main opponent, received 12.18 percent of the total votes casted. Other opponents Abdelaziz Belaid and Louisa Hanoune received 3.03 percent and 1.37 percent of the votes respectively.

iv. Voters turnout stood at 51.3 percent of the registered voters which went down from the 75 percent in 2009. 
v. In 1999, Bouteflika took office when Algeria was still in a civil war between the military and Islamist militants and restored some economic stability. In 2012, he surpassed Houari Boumedienne as the longest-serving President of Algeria.

vi. The president is elected for five years term by the people in Algeria. The presidentship was limited to two terms in the original constitution. However, the constitution was amended in 2008 to remove the term limits.

2.    SEBI issues detailed corporate governance norms

i. SEBI came out with detailed corporate governance norms for listed companies providing for stricter disclosures and protection of investor rights, including equitable treatment for minority and foreign shareholders.

ii. The new rules, which would be effective from 1st October, require companies to get shareholders' approval for related party transactions, establish whistle blower mechanism, elaborate disclosures on pay packages and have at least a woman director on their boards. 

iii. Sebi's norms issued on Thursday are aligned with the new Companies Act and is aimed to encourage companies to "adopt best practices on corporate governance".

iv. The capital market regulator has amended clauses -- 35B and 49 -- of the listing agreement. 

Main Points:

i. Now, under changed 35B norms, listed companies are required to provide the option of facility of e-voting to shareholders on all resolutions proposed to be passed at general meetings. 

ii. Under clause 49, pertaining to corporate governance, listed entities have to get shareholders' nod for related party transactions. It would be effective prospectively from 1st October onwards. 

iii. "All existing material related party contracts or arrangements as on the date of this circular which are likely to continue beyond March 31, 2015 shall be placed for approval of the shareholders in the first general meeting subsequent to October 1, 2014," SEBI said in the circular on Thursday. 

iv. The new norms also restrict the total tenure of an independent director to two terms of five years. 
v. If a person has already served as an independent director for five years or more in a listed company till the date new norms come into effect, he would be eligible for appointment for one more term of five years only. 

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3.    IFFCO gets approval to set up $ 1.6 bn urea plant in Canada

i. Leading fertiliser cooperative IFFCO on Saturday said its subsidiary received permission from the provincial government of Quebec to set up a $ 1.6 billion urea plant.

ii. A decision in this regard was taken on March 26 by the cabinet of the Canadian province and was notified in today’s edition of the official gazette of Quebec, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd (IFFCO) said in a statement.

iii. The proposed facility will have a production capacity of up to 1.6 million tonnes of urea and 7,60,000 tonnes of diesel diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), it said.

iv. The estimated project cost of $ 1.6 billion is based on the most recent feasibility study.

v. In January 2013, IFFCO’s Canadian subsidiary acquired the land for the plant. The site is at Bncour Port and Industrial Park, which provides access via land, rail and water to markets across North America.

4.    Doha Bank to purchase HSBC Bank Oman's business in India

i. Qatar-based Doha Bank has entered into an agreement with HSBC Bank Oman to purchase the latter’s banking business in India.

ii. HSBC Bank Oman is an indirect 51 per cent owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc.

iii. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Doha Bank, Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohamed Bin Jabor Al Thani, said that all staff of this operation (the business) will be transferred to Doha Bank as a part of the purchase.

iv. Doha Bank was incorporated in 1978 and commenced its banking business (including its International Banking services) in Doha, Qatar on March 15, 1979.

5.    David Ferrer beat Rafael Nadal at Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament

i. At the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament, David Ferrer of Spain produced a major upset by defeating eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

ii. The sixth seeded Ferrer beat the top seeded compatriot in straight sets 7-6, 6-4 on Friday. Ferrer will face Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka today.

6.    Maxwell powers Kings XI to easy win

i. Chennai Super Kings’ imposing 205 for four failed to intimidate Kings XI Punjab, who chased down the total with six wickets in hand and seven balls to spare in their Indian Premier League match at the Zayed cricket stadium on an oppressive Friday afternoon.

ii. Drifting dangerously at 52 for three early into the chase, the hour of reckoning produced the man for the crisis in the form of Glenn Maxwell, whose 43-ball 95 brought the Kings well within range of what had once seemed a distant target.

iii. That he came equipped for his mission was soon evident when he began by contemptuously clumping Ashwin in a reverse sweep, quite unfazed by the offie’s wile and guile.

iv. There was little to stop the wiry Aussie thereafter and with David Miller he forged a thriving, if not a productive, partnership. Plundering 15 boundaries and a brace of big blows over the ropes, Maxwell set the tone for Miller. Man-of-the-Match: G. Maxwell.

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