Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
NEWZ as on 22.06.2010
Today news 22-06-2010
1. INDIAN shares joined a global party in risky assets after China pledged to let its currency appreciate, which could boost international trade, but some viewed it as a gimmick to avoid exchange rate reform dis-cussions at the G20 meeting.Equity benchmarks across the globe, commodities and crude oil surged anticipating stronger demand from China , which may now have the double benefit of a stronger yuan and rising incomes after labour disputes.
2. JSW Steel, one of India ’s biggest steelmakers, has demanded a stake in the controversial Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) or a definite deal to supply iron ore as talks with Karnataka’s Reddy brothers for taking over their steel company reach a crucial stage.Top officials close to the negotiations told ET that the demand was made recently. JSW is looking to secure iron ore supplies for its new and existing steel projects in Karnataka and does not want to do a deal without assured supplies.
3. Bharti Airtel has appointed Ogilvy Africa BV as its marketing services partner for its African operations, the company said on Monday. The country’s largest telecom operator acquired African operator Zain Group’s mobile operations in 15 countries across Africa early this month.
4. KIA Motors, South Korea ’s second largest carmaker, is set to drive into the fast-growing Indian car market and build a manufacturing facility here, a person with direct knowledge of the development said.
5. SPECIALITY Restaurants, which owns popular fine dining restaurant chains Mainland China and Oh!Calcutta, is looking to sell 30% stake through a public issue to raise about Rs 200 crore, a person with direct knowledge of the development said.
6. TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor (TKM), in which Japan ’s Toyota Motor holds an 89% stake, is tweaking its marketing strategy to make deep inroads into heartland India .Toyota Kirloskar, which till date has focused primarily in metros and urban areas, plans to sell 40% of its cars in rural markets.In calendar year (CY) 2010, the company has set a sales target of 70,000 vehicles compared with 55,000 in CY09.
7. INDIAN Institutes of Management (IIMs) are in talks to get foreign accreditation to adhere to global benchmark, which is likely to help them in seeking tie-ups with foreign counterparts.All premier domestic institutes—IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow and ISB Hyderabad—are in various stages of getting an accreditation. IIM Ahmedabad was the first to get such recognition when it got approval from the European agency EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System)in 2008. IIM Bangalore got a similar accreditation from EQUIS last week.
8. Tata Steel won the environmental ministry approval to expand capacity at its Jamshedpur unit as it seeks to benefit from increased demand from carmakers. The company won a clearance to increase steel making capacity 43% to 9.7 million metric tonnes, according to a letter from the environment ministry posted on Tata Steel’s website.
9. Travel company Cox & Kings ( India ) plans to raise Rs 2,000 crore of equity and debt to fund expansion plans. “We have sought our board’s approval to raise Rs 1,000 crore equity and Rs 1,000 crore debt to fund our future expansion, which also includes merger and acquisition plans,“ Cox & Kings (India) CFO Anil Khandelwal said.
10. The GMR Group is willing to buy stakes held by minority partners in all the three airports it operates if there is any such offer, the group’s chief financial officer A Subba Rao said on Monday.
11. International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on Monday said the risk profile of Reliance Industries has increased following its entry into telecom by acquiring Infotel Broadband Services, but has retained the stable outlook of the company.
12. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has just settled a Rs 177-crore claim on account of a fire at Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) Jaipur storage facility last October.
13. BHARTI AIRTEL, the new owner of Zain’s Africa operations, will invest $100 million in Uganda over two years on technology upgrades and network expansion, a senior company official said.The investment will enable the company to double subscribers over the next two years from the current two million active users, Zain Uganda managing director Yesse Oenga said on Monday.
14. ESSAR group’s acquisition of AGC Networks from enterprise communications technology major Avaya has created a storm among back-office firms that are its customers in India . Essar group’s business process outsourcing (BPO) arm Aegis, which will now own 59% or higher in AGC, competes with other back-office firms in India for contracts.
15. Hindustan Global Solutions (HGSL) acquired UK-based customer support services firm Careline. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the transaction. “Careline is a strategic fit as it opens up a new geography and provides access to new clients,” said Partha Sarkar, CEO of HGSL.
16. Acer plans to focus on the Gateway brand in the Indian market to compete in the premium segment dominated by HP and Sony Vaio. While Acer India, till late, was selling the Gateway range through Tata Group’s electronics retail chain Croma, it now plans to sell the product through its own pan-India distribution network and multibrand retail chains.
17. THE department of disinvestment has sought a review of the recent norms that make it mandatory for all listed firms to have at least 25% public float, arguing it could affect the divestment programme and impact the valuation of public sector firms.
18. Noting that some financial institutions were allegedly flouting its norms, the Reserve Bank on Monday directed banks to carry out the settlement of non-performing assets (NPAs) in a transparent manner. “Of late, certain serious concerns have been expressed in different quarters and by Debt Recovery Tribunals over the manner compromise settlements have been effected by banks,” RBI said in a notification.
19. India on Monday favoured tighter financial regulations, as opposed to an European Union proposal to tax banks to pay for future crisis, to support the fragile global economic recovery. “The important thing is that the global economy should fully recover... We support all efforts at raising the benchmark of financial regulations,” finance secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters here on the agenda of G-20 meeting beginning June 26.
20. Trade, investment, and an easier visa regime are expected to be the key focus as Indian and US policymakers and corporate leaders meet here on Tuesday to discuss how to enhance business ties. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee leads the high-powered team of policymakers including commerce minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the India-US CEOs Forum.
21. Banks raised nearly Rs 5,000 crore through the CD route on Monday which is almost double of the money raised through the same route on Friday.Major issuers included PNB, which raised over Rs 1,100 crore for less than three months at 6.30%, Central Bank of India raised around Rs 1,525 crore for three months at 6.30%, Corporation Bank raised about Rs 800 crore for three months at 6.25%. Among others, State Bank of Hyderabad raised Rs 310 crore, Canara Bank raised 425 crore, Uco Bank and Vijaya Bank raised Rs 400 crore each for one year.
22. CAPITAL market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will form a panel to examine conflict of interests in mutual funds (MFs) between different investor classes such as retail and wealthy, said a person familiar with the plan.
23. SBG Projects Investments, a part of Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), made an open offer to acquire an additional 20% stake in Maytas Infra at a price of Rs 195.72 per share. SBG Projects has made an open offer to acquire 1,54,23,236 shares, representing 20% stake in the infrastructure company, at Rs 195.72 per share, Maytas Infra, initially promoted by the kin of disgraced Ramalinga Raju of Satyam, said in a public announcement.
24. Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Broadcast Network (RBS) today surged 5% in early trade on BSE after the company announced to form an equal joint venture with US media conglomerate CBS to own and operate TV channels. Shares of Reliance Broadcast Network (earlier known as Reliance Media World) climbed 4.9% to hit the upper circuit at Rs 79.85 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
25. IN THE past two months, Prakash Industries’ (PIL) stock price has declined gradually from its peak in tandem with its metal peers. Notwithstanding this drop, the company promises a strong growth ahead given the expansion plans and opportunities in domestic steel and power industry.A Rs 1,945-crore company, PIL belongs to the Surya Roshni Group. It is integrated steel and power producer and manufacturers sponge iron, heavy and medium structural wire rod, ferroalloys and power generation. It has been aggressively ramping up capacity to take advantage of growing demand for steel and power in India .
26. Silver prices rose further to touch a new record high on Monday on sustained demand from industrial users triggered by firm global cues. Silver ready (.999 fineness) firmed up by Rs 105 per kg to end at Rs 30,340 from weekend’s closing level of Rs 30,235.
1. INDIAN shares joined a global party in risky assets after China pledged to let its currency appreciate, which could boost international trade, but some viewed it as a gimmick to avoid exchange rate reform dis-cussions at the G20 meeting.Equity benchmarks across the globe, commodities and crude oil surged anticipating stronger demand from China , which may now have the double benefit of a stronger yuan and rising incomes after labour disputes.
2. JSW Steel, one of India ’s biggest steelmakers, has demanded a stake in the controversial Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) or a definite deal to supply iron ore as talks with Karnataka’s Reddy brothers for taking over their steel company reach a crucial stage.Top officials close to the negotiations told ET that the demand was made recently. JSW is looking to secure iron ore supplies for its new and existing steel projects in Karnataka and does not want to do a deal without assured supplies.
3. Bharti Airtel has appointed Ogilvy Africa BV as its marketing services partner for its African operations, the company said on Monday. The country’s largest telecom operator acquired African operator Zain Group’s mobile operations in 15 countries across Africa early this month.
4. KIA Motors, South Korea ’s second largest carmaker, is set to drive into the fast-growing Indian car market and build a manufacturing facility here, a person with direct knowledge of the development said.
5. SPECIALITY Restaurants, which owns popular fine dining restaurant chains Mainland China and Oh!Calcutta, is looking to sell 30% stake through a public issue to raise about Rs 200 crore, a person with direct knowledge of the development said.
6. TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor (TKM), in which Japan ’s Toyota Motor holds an 89% stake, is tweaking its marketing strategy to make deep inroads into heartland India .Toyota Kirloskar, which till date has focused primarily in metros and urban areas, plans to sell 40% of its cars in rural markets.In calendar year (CY) 2010, the company has set a sales target of 70,000 vehicles compared with 55,000 in CY09.
7. INDIAN Institutes of Management (IIMs) are in talks to get foreign accreditation to adhere to global benchmark, which is likely to help them in seeking tie-ups with foreign counterparts.All premier domestic institutes—IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow and ISB Hyderabad—are in various stages of getting an accreditation. IIM Ahmedabad was the first to get such recognition when it got approval from the European agency EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System)in 2008. IIM Bangalore got a similar accreditation from EQUIS last week.
8. Tata Steel won the environmental ministry approval to expand capacity at its Jamshedpur unit as it seeks to benefit from increased demand from carmakers. The company won a clearance to increase steel making capacity 43% to 9.7 million metric tonnes, according to a letter from the environment ministry posted on Tata Steel’s website.
9. Travel company Cox & Kings ( India ) plans to raise Rs 2,000 crore of equity and debt to fund expansion plans. “We have sought our board’s approval to raise Rs 1,000 crore equity and Rs 1,000 crore debt to fund our future expansion, which also includes merger and acquisition plans,“ Cox & Kings (India) CFO Anil Khandelwal said.
10. The GMR Group is willing to buy stakes held by minority partners in all the three airports it operates if there is any such offer, the group’s chief financial officer A Subba Rao said on Monday.
11. International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on Monday said the risk profile of Reliance Industries has increased following its entry into telecom by acquiring Infotel Broadband Services, but has retained the stable outlook of the company.
12. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has just settled a Rs 177-crore claim on account of a fire at Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) Jaipur storage facility last October.
13. BHARTI AIRTEL, the new owner of Zain’s Africa operations, will invest $100 million in Uganda over two years on technology upgrades and network expansion, a senior company official said.The investment will enable the company to double subscribers over the next two years from the current two million active users, Zain Uganda managing director Yesse Oenga said on Monday.
14. ESSAR group’s acquisition of AGC Networks from enterprise communications technology major Avaya has created a storm among back-office firms that are its customers in India . Essar group’s business process outsourcing (BPO) arm Aegis, which will now own 59% or higher in AGC, competes with other back-office firms in India for contracts.
15. Hindustan Global Solutions (HGSL) acquired UK-based customer support services firm Careline. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the transaction. “Careline is a strategic fit as it opens up a new geography and provides access to new clients,” said Partha Sarkar, CEO of HGSL.
16. Acer plans to focus on the Gateway brand in the Indian market to compete in the premium segment dominated by HP and Sony Vaio. While Acer India, till late, was selling the Gateway range through Tata Group’s electronics retail chain Croma, it now plans to sell the product through its own pan-India distribution network and multibrand retail chains.
17. THE department of disinvestment has sought a review of the recent norms that make it mandatory for all listed firms to have at least 25% public float, arguing it could affect the divestment programme and impact the valuation of public sector firms.
18. Noting that some financial institutions were allegedly flouting its norms, the Reserve Bank on Monday directed banks to carry out the settlement of non-performing assets (NPAs) in a transparent manner. “Of late, certain serious concerns have been expressed in different quarters and by Debt Recovery Tribunals over the manner compromise settlements have been effected by banks,” RBI said in a notification.
19. India on Monday favoured tighter financial regulations, as opposed to an European Union proposal to tax banks to pay for future crisis, to support the fragile global economic recovery. “The important thing is that the global economy should fully recover... We support all efforts at raising the benchmark of financial regulations,” finance secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters here on the agenda of G-20 meeting beginning June 26.
20. Trade, investment, and an easier visa regime are expected to be the key focus as Indian and US policymakers and corporate leaders meet here on Tuesday to discuss how to enhance business ties. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee leads the high-powered team of policymakers including commerce minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the India-US CEOs Forum.
21. Banks raised nearly Rs 5,000 crore through the CD route on Monday which is almost double of the money raised through the same route on Friday.Major issuers included PNB, which raised over Rs 1,100 crore for less than three months at 6.30%, Central Bank of India raised around Rs 1,525 crore for three months at 6.30%, Corporation Bank raised about Rs 800 crore for three months at 6.25%. Among others, State Bank of Hyderabad raised Rs 310 crore, Canara Bank raised 425 crore, Uco Bank and Vijaya Bank raised Rs 400 crore each for one year.
22. CAPITAL market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will form a panel to examine conflict of interests in mutual funds (MFs) between different investor classes such as retail and wealthy, said a person familiar with the plan.
23. SBG Projects Investments, a part of Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), made an open offer to acquire an additional 20% stake in Maytas Infra at a price of Rs 195.72 per share. SBG Projects has made an open offer to acquire 1,54,23,236 shares, representing 20% stake in the infrastructure company, at Rs 195.72 per share, Maytas Infra, initially promoted by the kin of disgraced Ramalinga Raju of Satyam, said in a public announcement.
24. Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Broadcast Network (RBS) today surged 5% in early trade on BSE after the company announced to form an equal joint venture with US media conglomerate CBS to own and operate TV channels. Shares of Reliance Broadcast Network (earlier known as Reliance Media World) climbed 4.9% to hit the upper circuit at Rs 79.85 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
25. IN THE past two months, Prakash Industries’ (PIL) stock price has declined gradually from its peak in tandem with its metal peers. Notwithstanding this drop, the company promises a strong growth ahead given the expansion plans and opportunities in domestic steel and power industry.A Rs 1,945-crore company, PIL belongs to the Surya Roshni Group. It is integrated steel and power producer and manufacturers sponge iron, heavy and medium structural wire rod, ferroalloys and power generation. It has been aggressively ramping up capacity to take advantage of growing demand for steel and power in India .
26. Silver prices rose further to touch a new record high on Monday on sustained demand from industrial users triggered by firm global cues. Silver ready (.999 fineness) firmed up by Rs 105 per kg to end at Rs 30,340 from weekend’s closing level of Rs 30,235.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
NEWS as on 17.06.2010
Today news 17-06-2010
1. UNIT-linked insurance plans (Ulips), equity-oriented mutual fund schemes and a number of other popular savings and investment instruments will lose their tax immunity, and with it, their attractiveness when the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) comes into operation.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) plans to reduce the number of instruments that qualify for tax deductions to only about half a dozen, its chairman SSN Moorty said, as the government overhauls the direct tax regime to try and make it simpler, boost revenues and encourage long-term savings. The Rs 3-lakh tax deduction limit proposed in the draft DTC will also be lowered.
2. THE finance ministry is set to tighten the tax slabs for individual taxpayers, and could retain or marginally lower the existing corporate tax rate in the new Direct Taxes Code.
Revenue compulsions and giveaways on the minimum alternate tax (MAT) have forced the government to revisit the tax rates proposed in the code. These include MAT and securities transaction tax (STT) rates, besides corporate and income-tax rates.
3. Aiming to capture 10% of the Indian car market by 2016, German auto major Volkswagen will be increasing output at its Chakan plant within three months as part of its strategy.
4. Rupa & Co, the country's largest hosiery producer, is planning to launch the brand across countries in South-Asia and Africa . The company would be launched in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka , where it would offer licences to local partners for production and marketing, Rupa & Co chairman P R Agarwala said here on Wednesday.
5. THE country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki will launch CNGfuelled versions of half of its models this year as it looks at alternative fuel technology to build a more eco-friendly fleet for the Indian market.
6. SINGAPORE’S securities regulator has asked India ’s Fortis Healthcare to announce whether it plans to counter Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah’s bid for hospital chain Parkway Holdings by July 30 in shareholders’ interest.
7. Reliance Capital has agreed to buy an 18% stake in business news channel Bloomberg UTV, it said on Wednesday. “The investment will form a part of Reliance Capital’s exposure to the fast growing and high potential media sector,” it said without disclosing the deal size.
8. Engineering and construction firm Punj Lloyd on Wednesday said one of its subsidiaries has bagged a contract worth Rs 1,394 crore in Singapore . The project involves construction of a hotel, villas, marine life park and water theme park for Resorts World Sentosa, a subsidiary of diversified business conglomerate Genting Group.
9. ESSAR Oil today said that it has procured $115 million (nearly Rs 533 crore) of the proposed $300 million it had planned to raise through the issue of bonds to promoter company Essar Energy Holdings.
10. RELIANCE Industries, India’s biggest company by market value, plans to build at least one power plant in the country marking the oil company’s entry into commercial electricity generation, two company officials said.
11. SHRIRAM Group plans to take its general insurance overseas by setting up operations in countries such as Thailand , Indonesia and Vietnam . Shriram General Insurance is mulling a tie up with private equity or local partners for this purpose.
12. THE life insurance industry is expected to cross the Rs 3 lakh crore total premium income mark in 2010-11. During 2009-10, the life insurance sector’s new business premium increased 25% to Rs 1.09 lakh crore. Renewal premium, on the other hand, rose 12.63% to Rs 1.52 lakh core during the same period. Total premium income, at Rs 2, 61,025 crore, rose 18% during 2009-10, against Rs 2,21,791 crore in the previous year.
13. IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday said it has inked a multi-year outsourcing contract with Telenor Norway . The contract comprises IT application maintenance and development services and will involve modernization of Telenor Norway’s application portfolio across its fixed, mobile, data warehouse and accounting system domains, a release said here.
14. Apple Inc has sold more than 6,00,000 units of its newest iPhone after just a day of preorders, surpassing some analysts’ expectations and sending its shares up nearly 3% on Wednesday. The makers of the iPad and iPod said it and carrier partner AT&T had been forced to turn away “many” potential customers after the surprising volume of online orders triggered order and approval system malfunctions.
15. CIPLA, the Indian drugmaker that built a $1-billion business making generic HIV treatments, aims to sell copies of Roche Holding’s and Amgen’s best-selling biotechnology medicines with a partner in China.
Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied plans to invest in companies in India and Hong Kong that make socalled monoclonal antibodies. The technology will enable Mumbai-based Cipla to gain access to products modelled on Roche’s Avastin and Herceptin cancer drugs and Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel, Mr Hamied said.
16. INVESTMENT in the Indian telecom sector will peak at $40 billion during the current fiscal as the country presses on to build a network of one billion mobile phones over the next two years, the Telecom Equipment & Services Export Promotion Council said on Wednesday.
17. ABOUT a dozen lossmaking state-run firms including Hindustan Photo Films and Scooters India may be delisted from stock exchanges on absence of revival prospects and investor interest to meet the new listing norms.
18. State-run power producer NTPC on Wednesday said it is sending a team to Australia for exploring the possibilities of coal mine acquisition there. “We had talked to the Australian government ... our team is going there in about 15 days ... New South Wales and Queensland these are the states we have zeroed in and they have good port connectivity, as well as black coal,” NTPC chairman and managing director RS Sharma said.
19. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) have signed contracts with Reliance Industries to buy natural gas to replace costlier liquid fuel at their refineries. IOC has signed a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) for buying 0.8 million cubic meters per day of gas from RIL’s eastern offshore KG-D6 fields, while HPCL has inked a pact for 0.2 mmcmd, officials at the state-owned firms said.
20. With production outlook improving and prices stabilising, the government has allowed export of 10,000 tonnes of refined sugar to the European Union (EU) despite restrictions. The relaxation has been given by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and the exports will be undertaken by trading firm Indian Sugar Exim Corporation during 2009-10 season ending September.
21. ONGC, SBI and RIL led the league table of the country’s top 100 tax payers for the fiscal first quarter, shelling out Rs 12,662 crore in advance taxes for the period, a nearly 19% jump over year-earlier levels.
22. Indian Bank on Wednesday said it plans to implement the financial inclusion programme in 5,563 villages in 19 states. Under the plan, the bank would press into service mobile van banking, which would have ATMs and credit disbursement facilities.
23. STATE Bank of India will launch its wealth management initiatives during the current financial year. This was indicated by the bank’s chairman OP Bhatt while speaking at the bank’s 55th annual general meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Mr Bhatt said the bank has already launched its financial planning and advisory services which guide customers on meeting their financial goals through a suite of products, including mutual funds, fixed deposits and insurance. “We plan to introduce wealth management services in a phased manner in 2010-11 to help high net individual clients preserve and grow their wealth,” he said.
24. Chennai-based Orient Green Power plans to mobilise Rs 900 crore through an initial public offer next month to part-finance its Rs 4,400-crore capex plan. It now plans to increase its renewable power generation capacity from the present 193 mw to 1,000 mw by 2013.
25. MEDIA and Entertainment Company Balaji Telefilms has so far failed to offer returns to investors over a one-year horizon. However, media reports that suggest Reliance Big Entertainment has evinced interest in buying a significant stake in the company may offer some solace for investors.
26. Pharma firm Parabolic Drugs’ Rs 200-crore IPO got subscribed 76 per cent by the end of the second day on Wednesday, with most of the bids coming in from QIBs. The issue got total bids for 2.02 crore shares against 2.66 crore on offer, thus getting subscribed 76%, according to NSE data.
27. Oil dropped from close to a one-month high in New York as a stronger dollar reduced the appeal of commodities to investors. Oil retreated as the US currency rebounded against the euro, limiting crude’s appeal as an inflation hedge. The euro fell to $1.2305 at 8:48 a.m. in London from $1.2332 on Tuesday.
28. Metals rise on Wednesday as economic reports added to optimism a US recovery will support global growth. Copper advanced for a seventh day, the longest streak since July 2009. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained as much as 1.4% to $6,770 a metric tonne.
1. UNIT-linked insurance plans (Ulips), equity-oriented mutual fund schemes and a number of other popular savings and investment instruments will lose their tax immunity, and with it, their attractiveness when the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) comes into operation.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) plans to reduce the number of instruments that qualify for tax deductions to only about half a dozen, its chairman SSN Moorty said, as the government overhauls the direct tax regime to try and make it simpler, boost revenues and encourage long-term savings. The Rs 3-lakh tax deduction limit proposed in the draft DTC will also be lowered.
2. THE finance ministry is set to tighten the tax slabs for individual taxpayers, and could retain or marginally lower the existing corporate tax rate in the new Direct Taxes Code.
Revenue compulsions and giveaways on the minimum alternate tax (MAT) have forced the government to revisit the tax rates proposed in the code. These include MAT and securities transaction tax (STT) rates, besides corporate and income-tax rates.
3. Aiming to capture 10% of the Indian car market by 2016, German auto major Volkswagen will be increasing output at its Chakan plant within three months as part of its strategy.
4. Rupa & Co, the country's largest hosiery producer, is planning to launch the brand across countries in South-Asia and Africa . The company would be launched in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka , where it would offer licences to local partners for production and marketing, Rupa & Co chairman P R Agarwala said here on Wednesday.
5. THE country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki will launch CNGfuelled versions of half of its models this year as it looks at alternative fuel technology to build a more eco-friendly fleet for the Indian market.
6. SINGAPORE’S securities regulator has asked India ’s Fortis Healthcare to announce whether it plans to counter Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah’s bid for hospital chain Parkway Holdings by July 30 in shareholders’ interest.
7. Reliance Capital has agreed to buy an 18% stake in business news channel Bloomberg UTV, it said on Wednesday. “The investment will form a part of Reliance Capital’s exposure to the fast growing and high potential media sector,” it said without disclosing the deal size.
8. Engineering and construction firm Punj Lloyd on Wednesday said one of its subsidiaries has bagged a contract worth Rs 1,394 crore in Singapore . The project involves construction of a hotel, villas, marine life park and water theme park for Resorts World Sentosa, a subsidiary of diversified business conglomerate Genting Group.
9. ESSAR Oil today said that it has procured $115 million (nearly Rs 533 crore) of the proposed $300 million it had planned to raise through the issue of bonds to promoter company Essar Energy Holdings.
10. RELIANCE Industries, India’s biggest company by market value, plans to build at least one power plant in the country marking the oil company’s entry into commercial electricity generation, two company officials said.
11. SHRIRAM Group plans to take its general insurance overseas by setting up operations in countries such as Thailand , Indonesia and Vietnam . Shriram General Insurance is mulling a tie up with private equity or local partners for this purpose.
12. THE life insurance industry is expected to cross the Rs 3 lakh crore total premium income mark in 2010-11. During 2009-10, the life insurance sector’s new business premium increased 25% to Rs 1.09 lakh crore. Renewal premium, on the other hand, rose 12.63% to Rs 1.52 lakh core during the same period. Total premium income, at Rs 2, 61,025 crore, rose 18% during 2009-10, against Rs 2,21,791 crore in the previous year.
13. IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday said it has inked a multi-year outsourcing contract with Telenor Norway . The contract comprises IT application maintenance and development services and will involve modernization of Telenor Norway’s application portfolio across its fixed, mobile, data warehouse and accounting system domains, a release said here.
14. Apple Inc has sold more than 6,00,000 units of its newest iPhone after just a day of preorders, surpassing some analysts’ expectations and sending its shares up nearly 3% on Wednesday. The makers of the iPad and iPod said it and carrier partner AT&T had been forced to turn away “many” potential customers after the surprising volume of online orders triggered order and approval system malfunctions.
15. CIPLA, the Indian drugmaker that built a $1-billion business making generic HIV treatments, aims to sell copies of Roche Holding’s and Amgen’s best-selling biotechnology medicines with a partner in China.
Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied plans to invest in companies in India and Hong Kong that make socalled monoclonal antibodies. The technology will enable Mumbai-based Cipla to gain access to products modelled on Roche’s Avastin and Herceptin cancer drugs and Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel, Mr Hamied said.
16. INVESTMENT in the Indian telecom sector will peak at $40 billion during the current fiscal as the country presses on to build a network of one billion mobile phones over the next two years, the Telecom Equipment & Services Export Promotion Council said on Wednesday.
17. ABOUT a dozen lossmaking state-run firms including Hindustan Photo Films and Scooters India may be delisted from stock exchanges on absence of revival prospects and investor interest to meet the new listing norms.
18. State-run power producer NTPC on Wednesday said it is sending a team to Australia for exploring the possibilities of coal mine acquisition there. “We had talked to the Australian government ... our team is going there in about 15 days ... New South Wales and Queensland these are the states we have zeroed in and they have good port connectivity, as well as black coal,” NTPC chairman and managing director RS Sharma said.
19. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) have signed contracts with Reliance Industries to buy natural gas to replace costlier liquid fuel at their refineries. IOC has signed a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) for buying 0.8 million cubic meters per day of gas from RIL’s eastern offshore KG-D6 fields, while HPCL has inked a pact for 0.2 mmcmd, officials at the state-owned firms said.
20. With production outlook improving and prices stabilising, the government has allowed export of 10,000 tonnes of refined sugar to the European Union (EU) despite restrictions. The relaxation has been given by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and the exports will be undertaken by trading firm Indian Sugar Exim Corporation during 2009-10 season ending September.
21. ONGC, SBI and RIL led the league table of the country’s top 100 tax payers for the fiscal first quarter, shelling out Rs 12,662 crore in advance taxes for the period, a nearly 19% jump over year-earlier levels.
22. Indian Bank on Wednesday said it plans to implement the financial inclusion programme in 5,563 villages in 19 states. Under the plan, the bank would press into service mobile van banking, which would have ATMs and credit disbursement facilities.
23. STATE Bank of India will launch its wealth management initiatives during the current financial year. This was indicated by the bank’s chairman OP Bhatt while speaking at the bank’s 55th annual general meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Mr Bhatt said the bank has already launched its financial planning and advisory services which guide customers on meeting their financial goals through a suite of products, including mutual funds, fixed deposits and insurance. “We plan to introduce wealth management services in a phased manner in 2010-11 to help high net individual clients preserve and grow their wealth,” he said.
24. Chennai-based Orient Green Power plans to mobilise Rs 900 crore through an initial public offer next month to part-finance its Rs 4,400-crore capex plan. It now plans to increase its renewable power generation capacity from the present 193 mw to 1,000 mw by 2013.
25. MEDIA and Entertainment Company Balaji Telefilms has so far failed to offer returns to investors over a one-year horizon. However, media reports that suggest Reliance Big Entertainment has evinced interest in buying a significant stake in the company may offer some solace for investors.
26. Pharma firm Parabolic Drugs’ Rs 200-crore IPO got subscribed 76 per cent by the end of the second day on Wednesday, with most of the bids coming in from QIBs. The issue got total bids for 2.02 crore shares against 2.66 crore on offer, thus getting subscribed 76%, according to NSE data.
27. Oil dropped from close to a one-month high in New York as a stronger dollar reduced the appeal of commodities to investors. Oil retreated as the US currency rebounded against the euro, limiting crude’s appeal as an inflation hedge. The euro fell to $1.2305 at 8:48 a.m. in London from $1.2332 on Tuesday.
28. Metals rise on Wednesday as economic reports added to optimism a US recovery will support global growth. Copper advanced for a seventh day, the longest streak since July 2009. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained as much as 1.4% to $6,770 a metric tonne.
Monday, June 14, 2010
NEWS as on 15.06.2010
Today news 15-06-2010
1. ACONSORTIUM of PE firm Blackstone and US-based tower company Crown Castle International, Manoj Tirodkar owned GTL, and the world’s largest independent tower company, American Towers, are in talks with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCOM) for acquiring its tower unit through a demerger, said a person with direct knowledge of the development.
2. WHOLESALE inflation soared to double digits in May, beating all forecasts and mounting pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise key rates ahead of next month’s monetary policy review.
3. The move by Reliance Industries (RIL) to acquire Infotel Broadband will help it tap India ’s mobile broadband market but it entails “technological, operational and commercial risks, given the fairly nascent stage of commercial roll-out globally”, global rating agency Moody’s said on Monday. Last week, RIL acquired 95% stake in Infotel for Rs 4,800 crore (around one billion dollar), soon after Infotel bagged a pan-India licence for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA).
4. Anil Ambani group company Reliance MediaWorks on Monday said it has purchased another 0.06% stake in Fame India along with two other group firms, hiking their combined stake in the multiplex chain to 15.34%. Three entities of ADAG—Reliance MediaWorks, Reliance Capital and Reliance Capital Partners—acquired 19,792 shares of Fame India through open market transactions.
5. Strides Arcolab, a Bangalore based pharmaceutical company announced on Monday that it had received the nod from the US Food and Drug Administration for the sumatriptan succinate injection, used to treat patients suffering from migraine attacks.
6. INDIA’S LARGEST IT player in infrastructure management services HCL Technologies has outbid global majors such as IBM, CSC and HP to win a $79-million deal to manage the IT infrastructure of Singapore Exchange.
7. SUN TV Network promoter Kalanithi Maran has offered to buy 20% stake in Spice Jet from the public at Rs 57.76 each. If successful, it will give him majority stake, allowing him to go ahead with plans of rebranding the no frills airline.
This follows a deal where Mr Maran in his individual capacity agreed to acquire 37.7% stake in Delhi-based budget airline from the promoter of the firm besides financial investor Wilbur Ross for around Rs 739 crore. He will have to shell out Rs 479 crore to buy the additional 20% stake.
8. THE country’s drug regulator has banned import of raw material from 10 Chinese drug companies for supplying products without having the mandatory drug manufacturing standards, people familiar with the matter said.
9. MAHINDRA & Mahindra , India ’s largest sport-utility automaker, will begin carrying out due diligence on Ssangyong Motor within two days, as the company aims to expand overseas. A bid will depend on the inspection’s findings into Ssangyong, Mahindra & Mahindra president Pawan Goenka said.
10. JAPANESE IT firm NTT Data Corporation, which was reported to be in negotiations for a controlling stake in Patni Computer Systems, sprang a surprise by announcing it was acquiring the US-based Intelli group, an enterprise software implementation firm with a sizable Indian footprint. The acquisition will be an all-cash deal of $199 million. “This could be the beginning as NTT gets a lot more aggressive in India ,” said an industry expert, requesting anonymity.
11. HARIT Nagpal of Vodafone Group UK is taking over as managing director of direct-to-home (DTH) player Tata Sky, replacing Vikram Kaushik , MD & CEO, who is due to retire in December. Mr Nagpal, an FMCG veteran with over two decades in the industry, was based at the Vodafone Plc headquarters in London as its group marketing director for the past nine years.
12. TATA Tea is stepping up its presence in Pakistan and Bangladesh . It aims to capture at least 10% of the packaged tea market in both countries over the next two years. “We are in the process of enhancing our distribution networks in Pakistan and Bangladesh and will increase points of sales in these countries,” Tata Tea executive director Sangeeta Talwar said.
13. IT SERVICES provider Mahindra Satyam, which is undergoing a restatement of accounts, has sought additional time from the Company Law Board to file the required financial results by September-end this year in India. The company, hit by the Rs 7,000-crore fraud last year, was to submit the financial statements for 2008 and 2009 quarterly reports by June 30 this year.
14. The economy will clock a near-9% growth in the first quarter of 2010-11, finance ministry’s chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu said on Monday. Contrary to popular belief, he said that a partial decontrol of fuel prices would lower inflation and improve the country’s fiscal scenario in the long run. “Fuel prices ought to be decontrolled, in particular petroleum (sector).
15. The oil ministry has approved the sale of 10% government holding in consultancy firm Engineers India (EIL), and a public offering is expected in the second half of July. “The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has granted its approval for the offer, involving disinvestment of 10% paid up equity share capital of the company out of its holding in the company,” EIL said.
16. FARMERS may soon start receiving collateral-free bank loans up to Rs 1 lakh. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will consider raising the collateral-free lending limit from Rs 50,000, as proposed by the eastern state governments at a meeting with Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the RBI and country’s top public sector bankers.
17. THE country’s largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), plans to enter the reverse mortgage space. LIC is in initial discussion with the housing finance regulator, National Housing Bank (NHB), for introducing this scheme to its clients, a senior official in the company said.
18. THE government will carry out regular reviews of five key export sectors to measure the impact of global developments, such as the recent debt crisis in Greece , on their performance. The commodities division of the commerce ministry will track gems & jewellery, textiles, pharmaceuticals, engineering and agriculture products to make timely policy interventions if anything goes wrong for these sectors, which account for more than half of India ’s export earnings.
19. IFFCO plans to scale up production at its Paradip plant by 30% and its top officials are confident of bettering the Rs 150 crore profit figure achieved by the unit last year.
20. FITCH Ratings has raised the outlook on India ’s long-term local currency to stable from negative on expectations that India ’s debt will come down, therefore reducing pressure on India ’s local currency ratings. It has also revised India ’s growth forecast up to 8.5% from 7% on signs of strong growth momentum.
21. PHARMACEUTICAL shares have been in the thick of action over the past couple of months as investors sought refuge in defensive or low beta stocks in a volatile market. Shares of pharmaceutical and fast moving consumer goods are viewed as defensive bets as they are less reactive to sharp swings in the overall market.
22. UCO Bank plans to come out with a FPO in July to raise around Rs 500 crore. “We are planning to raise Rs 500 crore through an FPO in July,” UCO Bank chairman and managing director, SK Goel said on the sidelines of a bankers’ meeting. The money raised through the public offer will help the bank increase its business.
23. GODAWARI Power & Ispat (GPIL) is one of the few small-cap steel companies that have run ahead of the Sensex despite the recent correction in metal stocks. In the past one year, its stock price has appreciated by nearly 60% against a 15% rise in the Sensex during the period.
24. Oil prices rose above $75 a barrel on Monday as rallying stock markets and a stronger euro bolstered investor confidence. Benchmark crude for July delivery was up $1.66 to $75.44 a barrel at around midday in London (around 11:00 GMT) in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
25. Wheat rose for a third day in Chicago on a forecast that excessive rain will reduce planting in Canada , the world’s second-biggest exporter, and on a weaker dollar. Wheat for September delivery gained 1.4% to $4.6325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 1:15 pm London time.
1. ACONSORTIUM of PE firm Blackstone and US-based tower company Crown Castle International, Manoj Tirodkar owned GTL, and the world’s largest independent tower company, American Towers, are in talks with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCOM) for acquiring its tower unit through a demerger, said a person with direct knowledge of the development.
2. WHOLESALE inflation soared to double digits in May, beating all forecasts and mounting pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise key rates ahead of next month’s monetary policy review.
3. The move by Reliance Industries (RIL) to acquire Infotel Broadband will help it tap India ’s mobile broadband market but it entails “technological, operational and commercial risks, given the fairly nascent stage of commercial roll-out globally”, global rating agency Moody’s said on Monday. Last week, RIL acquired 95% stake in Infotel for Rs 4,800 crore (around one billion dollar), soon after Infotel bagged a pan-India licence for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA).
4. Anil Ambani group company Reliance MediaWorks on Monday said it has purchased another 0.06% stake in Fame India along with two other group firms, hiking their combined stake in the multiplex chain to 15.34%. Three entities of ADAG—Reliance MediaWorks, Reliance Capital and Reliance Capital Partners—acquired 19,792 shares of Fame India through open market transactions.
5. Strides Arcolab, a Bangalore based pharmaceutical company announced on Monday that it had received the nod from the US Food and Drug Administration for the sumatriptan succinate injection, used to treat patients suffering from migraine attacks.
6. INDIA’S LARGEST IT player in infrastructure management services HCL Technologies has outbid global majors such as IBM, CSC and HP to win a $79-million deal to manage the IT infrastructure of Singapore Exchange.
7. SUN TV Network promoter Kalanithi Maran has offered to buy 20% stake in Spice Jet from the public at Rs 57.76 each. If successful, it will give him majority stake, allowing him to go ahead with plans of rebranding the no frills airline.
This follows a deal where Mr Maran in his individual capacity agreed to acquire 37.7% stake in Delhi-based budget airline from the promoter of the firm besides financial investor Wilbur Ross for around Rs 739 crore. He will have to shell out Rs 479 crore to buy the additional 20% stake.
8. THE country’s drug regulator has banned import of raw material from 10 Chinese drug companies for supplying products without having the mandatory drug manufacturing standards, people familiar with the matter said.
9. MAHINDRA & Mahindra , India ’s largest sport-utility automaker, will begin carrying out due diligence on Ssangyong Motor within two days, as the company aims to expand overseas. A bid will depend on the inspection’s findings into Ssangyong, Mahindra & Mahindra president Pawan Goenka said.
10. JAPANESE IT firm NTT Data Corporation, which was reported to be in negotiations for a controlling stake in Patni Computer Systems, sprang a surprise by announcing it was acquiring the US-based Intelli group, an enterprise software implementation firm with a sizable Indian footprint. The acquisition will be an all-cash deal of $199 million. “This could be the beginning as NTT gets a lot more aggressive in India ,” said an industry expert, requesting anonymity.
11. HARIT Nagpal of Vodafone Group UK is taking over as managing director of direct-to-home (DTH) player Tata Sky, replacing Vikram Kaushik , MD & CEO, who is due to retire in December. Mr Nagpal, an FMCG veteran with over two decades in the industry, was based at the Vodafone Plc headquarters in London as its group marketing director for the past nine years.
12. TATA Tea is stepping up its presence in Pakistan and Bangladesh . It aims to capture at least 10% of the packaged tea market in both countries over the next two years. “We are in the process of enhancing our distribution networks in Pakistan and Bangladesh and will increase points of sales in these countries,” Tata Tea executive director Sangeeta Talwar said.
13. IT SERVICES provider Mahindra Satyam, which is undergoing a restatement of accounts, has sought additional time from the Company Law Board to file the required financial results by September-end this year in India. The company, hit by the Rs 7,000-crore fraud last year, was to submit the financial statements for 2008 and 2009 quarterly reports by June 30 this year.
14. The economy will clock a near-9% growth in the first quarter of 2010-11, finance ministry’s chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu said on Monday. Contrary to popular belief, he said that a partial decontrol of fuel prices would lower inflation and improve the country’s fiscal scenario in the long run. “Fuel prices ought to be decontrolled, in particular petroleum (sector).
15. The oil ministry has approved the sale of 10% government holding in consultancy firm Engineers India (EIL), and a public offering is expected in the second half of July. “The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has granted its approval for the offer, involving disinvestment of 10% paid up equity share capital of the company out of its holding in the company,” EIL said.
16. FARMERS may soon start receiving collateral-free bank loans up to Rs 1 lakh. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will consider raising the collateral-free lending limit from Rs 50,000, as proposed by the eastern state governments at a meeting with Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the RBI and country’s top public sector bankers.
17. THE country’s largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), plans to enter the reverse mortgage space. LIC is in initial discussion with the housing finance regulator, National Housing Bank (NHB), for introducing this scheme to its clients, a senior official in the company said.
18. THE government will carry out regular reviews of five key export sectors to measure the impact of global developments, such as the recent debt crisis in Greece , on their performance. The commodities division of the commerce ministry will track gems & jewellery, textiles, pharmaceuticals, engineering and agriculture products to make timely policy interventions if anything goes wrong for these sectors, which account for more than half of India ’s export earnings.
19. IFFCO plans to scale up production at its Paradip plant by 30% and its top officials are confident of bettering the Rs 150 crore profit figure achieved by the unit last year.
20. FITCH Ratings has raised the outlook on India ’s long-term local currency to stable from negative on expectations that India ’s debt will come down, therefore reducing pressure on India ’s local currency ratings. It has also revised India ’s growth forecast up to 8.5% from 7% on signs of strong growth momentum.
21. PHARMACEUTICAL shares have been in the thick of action over the past couple of months as investors sought refuge in defensive or low beta stocks in a volatile market. Shares of pharmaceutical and fast moving consumer goods are viewed as defensive bets as they are less reactive to sharp swings in the overall market.
22. UCO Bank plans to come out with a FPO in July to raise around Rs 500 crore. “We are planning to raise Rs 500 crore through an FPO in July,” UCO Bank chairman and managing director, SK Goel said on the sidelines of a bankers’ meeting. The money raised through the public offer will help the bank increase its business.
23. GODAWARI Power & Ispat (GPIL) is one of the few small-cap steel companies that have run ahead of the Sensex despite the recent correction in metal stocks. In the past one year, its stock price has appreciated by nearly 60% against a 15% rise in the Sensex during the period.
24. Oil prices rose above $75 a barrel on Monday as rallying stock markets and a stronger euro bolstered investor confidence. Benchmark crude for July delivery was up $1.66 to $75.44 a barrel at around midday in London (around 11:00 GMT) in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
25. Wheat rose for a third day in Chicago on a forecast that excessive rain will reduce planting in Canada , the world’s second-biggest exporter, and on a weaker dollar. Wheat for September delivery gained 1.4% to $4.6325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 1:15 pm London time.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Economy Data (Inflation for May)
May Inflation is at 10.16% V/S 9.59% in April
WPI Primary Goods Article index 3.5% (MoM)
WPI Mfg. product 1.2% (MoM)
WPI Mfg. production inflation 6.41% (MoM)
WPI primary Goods Article Inflation 16.6% (MoM)
WPI fuel Inflation 13.05% (MoM)
WPI fuel price index 1.2% (MoM)
WPI Primary Goods Article index 3.5% (MoM)
WPI Mfg. product 1.2% (MoM)
WPI Mfg. production inflation 6.41% (MoM)
WPI primary Goods Article Inflation 16.6% (MoM)
WPI fuel Inflation 13.05% (MoM)
WPI fuel price index 1.2% (MoM)
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