Business Opportunities
The BSE Sensex, the barometer of stock market, is all set to enter its silver jubilee year.
Maharashtra government employees can no longer browse online trading sites from Mantralaya now, as the state government has blocked two financial websites moneycontrol.com and bseindia.com.
The first 600 Mw unit of Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project at Khedar in Hissar district, which will supply power to Haryana, was synchronised with the grid today by Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Industry body Assocham today suggested that the government should confer core industry status to the airlines business to sustain the aviation sector.
Emerging-market equity funds inflows tripled last week as the outlook improved for developing-nation exporters, EPFR Global said.
As the Budget preparation for the next financial year (2010-11) gathers momentum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a full Plan panel meeting on Wednesday to take stock of the overall condition of the economy. The meeting would be attended by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, along with all the eight members of the Commission.
With states speeding up distribution reforms in the power sector, the requirement for Central funds has gone up by over a half in the next financial year.
Axis Private Equity (PE), a fund sponsored by the third largest private sector lender Axis Bank, plans to invest Rs 200 crore in two more companies, while it lines up its second fund. The second fund will hit the market later this year.
The coal consumers drawing coal from the Basundhara coal block under the command area of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) continue to grapple with the problem of inferior quality of coal supplied to them.
State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) has set a production growth target of 7.7 per cent during the current financial year, its Chairman Partha S Bhattacharya said.
India"s steel consumption rose by 5.7 per cent to 26.49 million tonnes in the first six months of the current fiscal over the same period a year ago on account of improved demand from sectors like automobile and consumer durables.
Swati Piramal, Director of Piramal Healthcare, was elected president of Assocham today.
Tata, SAIL e-commerce joint venture to now take on eBay and Amazon.
While SAIL is operating at full steam, the capacity utilisation among other global biggies is just 50-60 per cent.
The stock touched a high of Rs 177 and finally settled with a 2% gain at Rs 175. The counter witnessed comparatively heafty trade volumes of 1.27 million shares on the BSE, as against the two-week daily average trade of 877,424 shares.
Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL) may be the most profitable media company in India but the company’s balance sheet reveals a lot more than the P&L.
State-run Coal India is eyeing strategic partnership with mining behemoths like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to mine coal abroad and has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the same.
Sun TV erased all its gains and finally ended in the negative terrain at Rs 333. The counter clocked volumes of 6,969 shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 18,919 shares on the BSE
T N Ninan / New Delhi November 14, 2009, 1:01 IST
T N Ninan / New Delhi December 5, 2009, 1:54 IST
Three friends went to college together, became software engineers, went to Silicon Valley, got cushy jobs and, after a few years, decided to become entrepreneurs. Sounds like a run-of-the-mill story? But this is where Tushar Makhija’s story takes a serious turn. It’s common to hear of entrepreneurs struggling to get that one big idea to start a business, but for Makhija and his two other friends, it was simply about taking inspiration from several popular online portals and creating a unique one of their own.
A local court here after verification has handed over the supplementary chargesheet documents filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the nine accused in the Satyam scam.
Ackruti City will open the qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue to the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) on September 3. This will be in respect of issue of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of the company.
The cost at which home loan major HDFC is borrowing Rs 4,000 crore — 7.15 per cent for two years and 7.85 per cent for three years — is very reasonable. The money will come in handy for the company to subscribe to warrants of HDFC Bank for an estimated amount of Rs 3,600 crore. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) who have bought the non-convertible debentures (NCDs) are also entitled to warrants, which can be converted into shares within three years at Rs 3,265 per share.
Wanted: 1,800 volunteers for free holiday packages to Mexico and Guatemala! All inclusive. Also on the cards: Free vacation in India!
Chandrayaan-II moon mission, which will help in analysis of mineral composition and undertake terrain mapping of the moon, will be completed by 2012-13, Project Director of Chandrayaan Dr M Annadurai said today.
India’s second mission to Moon ‘Chandrayaan-II’, expected to be launched in 2013, has many challenges for scientists and engineers, mission director M Annadurai said today.
The company will supply the main active pharmaceutical ingredient for Valtrex.
America"s increasing unpopularity in Pakistan is an issues of concern for the United States, the Obama administration has said.
Completion financing, or last-mile funding, where developers get funds to complete projects stuck midway, is catching on among private equity (PE) funds.
Most of these families are looking at private equity funds as a way to earn fee-based income.
Shyamal Majumdar / Mumbai December 10, 2009, 0:14 IST
Captains of Indian industry have urged the government to continue the stimulus package till the middle of the next financial year (2010-11) to help the economy achieve robust growth.
Leading Indian drug majors, such as Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Piramal Healthcare and Wockhardt, are in-licensing popular products from overseas drug makers to boost their domestic sales. They introduce the in-licensed drugs — which are mostly in the premium skin care segment — on payment of an upfront fee to the brand owners, who also get a share of the sales revenue.
The Asian markets ended on a weak note.
The Planning Commission, as well as farmers in Uttar Pradesh, leading sugarcane-growing state, have opposed a proposal by the food ministry to control gur (jaggery) production.
The markets opened on a flat note today and slipped into red almost immediately. Strong IIP numbers helped the index rebound into the green to touch a high of 16,897. The market, thereafter, turned volatile on the back of global cues, ignoring the earlier gains.
Jet Airways surged further and zoomed to a high of Rs 412, up 25% from the day"s low. The scrip finally settled at Rs 398, up 9% from the previous close. The counter clcoked volumes of 1.28 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 572,048 shares on the BSE.
The Sensex has rebounded into the positive terrain and is now at 16,386, up 32 points.
Decides to provide extra helping hand after a sectoral review
The stock slipped to a low of Rs 478 and finally settled at Rs 483, down around 4% from the previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 3.17 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 1.81 million shares on the BSE.
After a massive 387 points fall on the Sensex yesterday. The index today opened on a weak note at 16,699 owing to negative cues from the global markets. The index then started slipping further into the red and is now at 16,229, down 123 points.
An intermediate reversal could mean net losses over the next 4-6 weeks.
The Sensex after rebounding into positive zone has surged singificantly mainly on account of fresh buying in index heavyweights. The index has now re-gained the 17,000-mark, and is now up 224 points at 17,010.
Energy major Reliance Industries today said that Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), like the one it had signed for KG-D6 fields with the government, should not be tampered with by anyone.
The industrial consumers numbering 19,417 owed Rs 220.15 crore as outstanding electricity bill to the power distribution companies in the state.
Ahmedabad-based Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Intas) has entered into a strategic partnership with US biotechnology company Amarillo Biosciences, Inc (ABI), whereby Intas will sponsor clinical trials of ABI’s orally administered interferon-alpha lozenges for influenza, which could also be used in combating the H1N1 virus.
The Union government has told the Supreme Court that the rights and obligations of NTPC and RIL could not be regarded as similar in status to the private arrangement between RIL and RNRL. In an affidavit filed yesterday in the appeals by the Ambani brothers on their gas dispute, the government stressed that NTPC “is not only a public sector undertaking but the process involved for price determination in the case of NTPC gas was by international competitive bidding.”
The stock ended at Rs 84 - up 2.3% from its issue price. the counter witnessed hefty volumes of 12.26 million shares on BSE today.
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) is targeting a business of Rs 50,000 crore by 2012-13 for which it would require around Rs 1,000 crore capital.
Reliance Industries (RIL) has been allocated 2.34 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of gas from its KG D-6 fields to meet just about one-fifth of the gas requirement at its twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Credit rating company Crisil has maintained a stable outlook on Reliance Industries Ltd, reaffirming its ratings on the debt instruments and bank facilities. This is after RIL’s announcement on its preliminary non-binding bid for the acquisition of LyondellBasell Industries (LBI).
India Inc"s overseas shopping spree has dipped to a four-year low of $27.3 billion so far this year, but a possible acquisition of LyondellBasell by Reliance Industries (RIL) would be one of the largest ever by an Indian company, according to deal tracking firm Dealogic.
The police have finally arrested top officials of Vedanta Resources charged with the collapse of an under-construction power unit chimney at Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in September, killing 41 persons.
In view of the unearthing of David Coleman Headley"s case by the FBI and several other similar incidents in the recent past, the US has modified procedure based on intelligence inputs to expose any travel nexus of terror suspects.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee"s ambition to collect Rs 30,000 crore from the auction of third generation (3G) telecom licences this year is in jeopardy, with the department of telecommunications (DoT) saying it is being forced to curtail its auction plans from four slots to three.
To dole out Rs 3,000 cr to fertiliser companies; Rs 800 cr to AI
Backed by strong credit demand mainly in the auto segment, private sector lender, HDFC Bank has disbursed Rs 3,000-crore of retail loans in October, its retail banking head said.
The Nifty ignored all bullish indicators and closed below 5,000 on profit-booking and weak global cues. The close of 4,953 is marginally above the 61.8 per cent retracement level of 4,940. Hence, if it falls below this, it can retreat to 4,860. Also, the Nifty has gained over 10 per cent since the last week’s low of 4,538 and so more correction is possible in the coming days.
The disinvestment department today said it is in talks with administrative ministries of 60 Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), including SAIL, BSNL, Coal India, for selling government stake.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may pick up a stake in the $1.95 billion gas pipeline that China is building for ferrying natural gas found off the Myanmar coast.
Ahead of its upcoming annual general meeting on December 31, 2009, Israeli drug firm Taro Pharmaceutical today asked its shareholders to reject a takeover bid by India"s Sun Pharmaceuticals.
Ahead of its upcoming annual general meeting on December 31, 2009, Israeli drug firm Taro Pharmaceutical today asked its shareholders to reject a takeover bid by India"s Sun Pharmaceuticals.
Israeli drug firm Taro Pharmaceuticals has filed a law suit in a US district court against Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries alleging violation of non-disclosure agreement and misleading shareholders.
Indian drug companies Wockhardt and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries have received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market generic versions of Nicardipine, the hypertension drug.
The stock soared to a high of Rs 429 and finally ended at Rs 421, up 5.5% from its previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 323,029 shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 20,162 shares on the BSE. _________________________________________
Farm equipment and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) today said its joint venture with China"s Yueda Group will invest around $40 million (Rs 188 crore) in China to set up a new R&D centre, engine plant and in modernising its tractor unit at Yancheng.
Nalco closed at Rs 392, higher by Rs 16 or 4.5%, on the BSE.
Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo said today a US Court has ruled in its favour in a patent litigation related to the anti-hypertensive drug, Benicar, against Mylan Inc and its Indian subsidiary, Matrix Laboratories.
RPG group company, RPG Life Sciences, today said that it has commercialised its second biotech immunosuppressant API Sirolimus.
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi December 24, 2009, 0:55 IST
Wants to expand within the country and outside, while Star Aviation, yet to begin operations, has three aircraft ready
The September 2009 quarter results of leading IT players suggest that the global telecom industry is not out of the woods. Indicatively, Infosys and TCS‘ telecom segments’ share in overall revenues posted a decline of 60-70 bps sequentially — even on an absolute basis, their telecom-vertical revenues were lower sequentially. Given the muted outlook for the telecom sector, the topline and operating performance of Tech Mahindra, which derives 60 per cent from Europe and about 50 per cent from its major client, British Telecom (BT), is reasonably good.
Oil fell in Asian trade today on profit-taking after overnight gains driven by hopes for improved demand as the global economy recovers, analysts said.
Industry body Assocham today said the Reserve Bank"s panel suggestion to have base rate for lending would ensure transparency and efficiency in pricing loans, which the current system of BPLR does not provide.
Groundnut shipments nosedived 94 per cent to the European Union (EU) in the first five months of the current financial year on strict quality norms adhered by exporters to uplift Indian commodity to global standards.
Groundnut oil prices may touch Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 1,700 per 15 kg
Indian companies have raised about $ 2.6 billion from the international market through external commercial borrowings and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) in October to fund overseas acquisitions and import capital goods and modernisation and lending.
Country"s eight of the top-10 firms together added over Rs 53,000 crore to their market capitalisation last week, while two state-run firms NTPC and NMDC-- saw an erosion in their valuation.
Country"s eight of the top-10 firms together added over Rs 53,000 crore to their market capitalisation last week, while two state-run firms NTPC and NMDC-- saw an erosion in their valuation.
The original drummer of the iconic ‘60s band, Pete Best performed in Delhi and spoke about his past, present and the future.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has hired an ultra deep-sea drill rig from Reliance Industries for four years at close to Rs 3,915 crore.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked for comments from the petroleum ministry on Anil Ambani’s letter, wherein he accused the ministry of siding with estranged brother Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in an ongoing gas dispute.
Bharti Airtel today said it is still in talks with South Africa"s MTN over a deal which could see a merger of the two telecom giants that have a combined revenue of $20 billion.
The Telangana agitation over the Centre’s decision to create a new state in the region has forced several companies, including Bharat Forge, the Lakshmi Mittal Group and the NTPC-BHEL joint venture, to either put their expansion plans on hold or explore other states.
Prices have firmed up by Rs 5-10 a bag in the region.
The markets opened the New Year on a promising note today with the BSE Sensex shutting the shop at a 20-month high at 17,558.73 gaining 94 points, driven by a rally in the auto and metals counters and firm European cues.
A hundred and fifty years after photographer James Waterhouse charmed Nawab Sikander Begum of Bhopal to sit for him, an illustrated tome on the encounter, and other Indian trysts, enthralls Gargi Gupta.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is understood to have decided to slap a total penalty of Rs 132 crore on some major telecom operators for not rolling out services on time after the award of licence and spectrum.
Sunanda K Datta-Ray / New Delhi October 10, 2009, 0:34 IST
At the height of the dot-com boom of the 1990s, several executives at McKinsey & Company, the world’s most prestigious management consulting firm, launched what they called the War for Talent. After extensive research, they concluded that the best companies had leaders who were obsessed with “the talent issue”. They recruited ceaselessly, finding and hiring as many top performers as possible. They singled out and segregated their stars, rewarding them disproportionately, and pushing them into ever more senior positions. The “talent mind-set” became the new orthodoxy of American management — the intellectual justification for why a high premium was placed on degrees from first-tier business schools, and why the compensation packages for top executives had become so lavish.
No terrorist atrocity in India has produced as much distorted reportage as Mumbai 26/11. The ill-equipped and untrained city police got all the blame, while journalists failed to ask even basic questions. Why, for instance, did the Indian Army and the Navy commandos refuse to fight the Pakistani jihadis inside the Oberoi hotel?
Phase-II yet to begin, will take three years to conclude.
Reactions to the caste question are fairly predictable in India. The average (upper caste) response is that the policy of reservations has gone on far too long and that discrimination is very much a thing of the past. As to why certain social groups remain extremely poor and backward despite the legal safeguards, the usual explanation is that Dalits are either not well educated or do not have the merit to make it to good jobs.
The Nifty remained listless after opening on a positive note on lack of follow-up buying in cash and F&O segments. With traders unwilling to be active at higher levels, the derivatives trading volume dropped significantly by Rs 10,000 crore. The Nifty December futures closed on a par with the spot index and shed 1.24 million shares in open interest (OI), mostly through a blend of buy and sell trades, indicating short-covering and unwinding of long positions. The rollovers in the Nifty January were lower at 0.78 million shares compared to unwinding in the December futures. This indicates that participants are not in a hurry to rollover their positions at the current level.
Armed forces today intensified search and rescue operations using 13 helicopters and over 100 boats in flood-hit states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, reeling under one of the heaviest floods in the last century.
On the tenth anniversary of the Kargil conflict, the gun that did so much to facilitate that victory — the 155 mm Bofors FH-77B — could be staring at a major setback. With India’s artillery modernisation programme already stalled, the plan to refurbish and upgrade India’s old 155 mm FH-77B Bofors guns also seems headed for failure.
From upgraded portable ECG machines to digital X-ray units, the research lab does them all.
BHARTI AIRTEL
Government today said the Delhi and Mumbai airports achieved service quality ratings of 4.24 and 4.05 respectively on a scale of five in third quarter of the current fiscal and were aiming at reaching 3.75 at the end of stage II of their development.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi November 16, 2009, 0:07 IST
All-cash deal marks biggest purchase since 2000.
In what could be termed as a victory for home grown FMCG player Emami, the Kolkata Civil Court has restrained Hindustan Unilever (HUL) from running a campaign using the word "Boro" in its advertisement for Vaseline.
Are Hindi-speaking markets and the four southern states really poles apart on TV viewing habits?
What sense do you make of the upcoming real estate initial public offers? There is a lot of hype around them. The shares of many real estate companies that came up with public issues in the past are trading below their offer prices. What is the outlook for the sector?
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 157.64 crore in futures and options segments on Friday.
After a promising start, key indices first witnessed an upside breakout, and then crashed due to derivatives expiry and the Dubai debt scare.
The UGC is mulling a reward scheme for university and college teachers on the lines of the Performance Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS) being worked out for IIT and IIM faculty to encourage better performance.
The Income Tax (I-T) Department has issued a fresh notice to realty major DLF even as it’s appeal against an additional tax liability imposed on it by the I-T Department is being heard.
Dubbing as "biased" the special audit report alleging overstatement of revenues and evasion of licence fee by Reliance Communications (RCom), its Chairman Anil Ambani today said corporate rivals were behind the "vicious campaign" against his group company.
Expressing confidence that the country will return to 9-10 per cent economic growth within a couple of years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today invited the Indian diaspora to participate in the development of the country of their origin.
Five-hour tense standoff in rural Bengal finally ends without violence.
The government today admitted that there was "rampant" killing of tigers in the country and said the big cats have became locally extinct in Sariska and Panna Reserves mainly due to poaching.
To be tabled in Winter, Budget sessions of Parliament.
Commodity exchange ICEX made a business of Rs 2,559 crore in just four days after it went live on November 27, the market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said today.
Decision to allocate 725 hectares comes after a long delay.
The serene Thai beach resort here is expected to provide an ideal setting for tomorrow"s meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao to lower temperatures built over recent weeks on border and other issues.
Bank of India (BoI) is planning to buy back part of $240-million upper Tier-II bonds to save on servicing debt capital.
The World Trade Organization will remain in Geneva, Switzerland. That is what the voters of this city decided today in a special referendum.
Public sector lender Bank of India (BoI) today said it has raised Rs 500 crore through the issue of bonds in the market.
B A Prabhakar, Executive Director, Bank of India, says the bank’s net interest margins have contracted due to a rise in the cost of deposits. Excerpts:
The government has set up a 16-member group headed by UTI Asset Management Company Chairman and Managing Director UK Sinha to review all forms of foreign investment other than foreign direct investment.
The condition of Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu, who is battling pneumonia, remained critical today with doctors putting him back on full ventilation.
Congress MPs from Telangana region today met senior party leader and Defence Minister A K Antony demanding disciplinary action against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for joining a TDP protest in Lok Sabha against the decision to carve out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.
The cabin crew of Alliance Airlines will not be terminated though its Boeing aircraft will be used as freighters, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed Rajya Sabha today.
Terming as "most immature and irresponsible" the UPA government"s handling of the Telangana problem, BJP today said the Centre "should apply its mind" to solve the problem.
Things are beginning to look better for the hospitality industry across the country, with an increase in occupancy levels to 10-30 per cent and hotel rates getting closer to the pre-recession ones.
Credit growth of banks remained quite low at just over 10 per cent for the fortnight ended December 4 on an yearly basis compared to over 20 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 17, 2009, 0:56 IST
India is not facing any shortage in onion supplies and prices of the key vegetable have now started easing, Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma said in the Lok Sabha today, replying to a member"s query.
Indian economy may expand by 8.2 per cent next fiscal on robust domestic demand, especially from infrastructure sector, Goldman Sachs said in a report today.
BJP today attacked government"s decision to abolish profit sharing clause in the Sugarcane Control Order saying farmers would not be able to get better price even though mills are currently earning huge margins.
Markets open strong; Tata Steel up 2%
State Bank of Mysore (SBM) will restructure agriculture loans to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore in the flood affected districts of North Karnataka. The bank is predominant in four of the 14 districts affected by the floods.
United Bank of India (UBI) is likely to file a red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for their initial public offer (IPO) next week, Chairman Satish C Gupta has said. “We hope to come out with the IPO by end January or early February,” Gupta said.