Public Relations
A Parliamentary panel today pulled up the Finance Ministry for its failure to take timely action to contain inflation and asked the government to take immediate steps to provide relief to common man reeling under rising food prices.
Pharma company Ranbaxy Laboratories today said it will launch a generic version of the urinary disorder treatment drug-- Flomax, next year.
Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML), the integrated agriculture player which is part of the RPG group, is mulling entry into the fruit juice segment in a year’s time. The company produces pineapple and passion fruit at its plantations in Kerala and is evaluating branching out into fruit juice.
State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has appointed three merchant bankers for its maiden overseas bond issue of $500 million (Rs 2,325 crore).
The Andhra Pradesh government has set a target of an average annual growth rate of 8 to 9 per cent in the gross state domestic product (GSDP) and a sub-target of 4 per cent for agriculture and 10 per cent for industry and the service sector. The focus would also be on increasing the share of manufacturing in GSDP to 25 per cent in phases from the present 15 per cent, said Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and its partners will invest over Rs 46,000 crore (about $10 billion , based on current exchange rate) in two giant gas fields and an LNG project in Iran, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Seifollah Jashnsaz said.
A crucial meeting of the Air India (AI) board tomorrow is likely to take decisions on several cost-cutting measures such as a proposal to scrap the productivity-linked incentives (PLI) to its management cadre, and adopt the financial accounts for 2008-09.
Amid reports of fresh bouts of dissidence in the ruling BJP in Karnataka, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa today said he has “committed several mistakes” after assuming charge and promised people that such mistakes would not recur.
Environmental think tank Teri wants to commercialise its technologies. Here’s how.
Congress-JVM(P) combine today won 10 assembly seats and was leading in 20 in Jharkhand while BJP- JD(U) alliance got 7 and was ahead in 17 as the state headed for a fractured verdict with JMM saying it would support any combine that makes its leader Shibu Soren the chief minister.
Public sector oil marketing companies(OMCs) are projected to incur under-recoveries of Rs 45,478 crore on retail sale of petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas and kerosene during 2009-10, based on the refinery gate prices in the first fortnight of December.
Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav is likely to hold a meeting on Friday with the committees reviewing the Productivity-Linked Incentives (PLI) of employees to chalk out a road map on the issue.
State-run gas utility GAIL India has bought an LNG cargo for $6.65 per mmBtu, about $2 million more than the rate at which Petronet LNG imported a shipload just two days later.
Central government-owned ports such as Kandla and Visakhapatnam might be the top two in the pecking order in terms of bulk cargo that they handle. But they might soon be overtaken by the new private upstarts, which have set up ports in Mundra and Pipavav (in Gujarat) and Gangavaram (Andhra Pradesh) and are growing at a rapid pace.
The state government intends to develop 12 airstrips in order to enable them to handle small aircraft suitable for air charter services for tourism purposes.
The country’s first Special Economic Zone dedicated to the Aerospace industry has been inaugurated in Belgaum district. The SEZ situated at Hattaragi, 37 km from Belgaum is promoted by Quest Global, an aerospace engineering and manufacturing company. The SEZ houses an engineering services facility, a precision machining unit and Aerospace Processing India, a joint venture between Quest and Magellan, a processing facility, which is critical for the industry.
Middle East-based air-carrier, Air Arabia, today announced special low fares from 13 destinations across India to its hub Sharjah and 46 stations, which the airline caters to globally.
Airtel DTH has high hopes from a market that offers scope for exponential growth but is already packed tight like a can of sardines. Can the telecom major pull it off?
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 2,207.28 crore in futures and options segments on Tuesday.
Andhra Bank ended at Rs 109, stronger by 1.5%, on the BSE.
German engineering conglomerate Siemens today said its net loss was at euro 1.06 billion (about $1.5 billion) in the fourth quarter of this year.
Private airlines in the country owe Rs 274.19 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as of October-end, with Kingfisher being ahead of Jet Airways and SpiceJet leading the pack of low-cost carriers.
India Infoline has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 58.02 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 as compared to Rs 40.21 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
The Mysore Mandakalli Airport will become operational by September 15 just before the Dasara, commencing on September 18, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said in Mysore yesterday.
The current outlook is poor and how the future will look is critically dependent upon government policy on spectrum and on allowing mergers and acquisitions.
Signals to look for before deciding when to enter, lie low or get out of stock markets.
Gold’s best year in three decades has yet to match the returns of an interest-bearing checking account for anyone who bought the most malleable of metals coveted for at least 5,000 years during the last peak in January, 1980.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 86.72 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
The way to succeed for any new start-up company in the IT services field is to focus on niche areas or small verticals and doing some unusual things, a top IT industry official said.
Fortis Mutual Fund today announced a 10 per cent dividend in its Fortis Equity Fund. The record date for the declaration of this dividend is September 9, the company said in a statement here.
The government may not have come out clearly on introduction of the proposed indirect tax structure GST but the lack of preparedness for the new tax regime hints at a possible delay by up to a year.
Since October, stocks of hotel companies have done reasonably well having outperformed the BSE Sensex. While most of them have underperformed the broader market since January last year till March 2009, the key reason for the recent upmove is that the fundamentals of the industry are showing signs of improvement helped by the domestic demand.
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) today accused Reliance Industries (RIL) in the Supreme Court of unilaterally inserting provisions in the agreement for gas supply, saying it went against the family MoU of 2005 providing for fixed quantity of gas from the KG Basin for 17 years.
The Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, today said the economy could grow by 7.5 to 8 per cent during the current financial year, though price rise and fiscal consolidation remained areas of concern.
India’s commodity futures turnover from four national exchanges and 18 regional ones during the December 1-15 period stood at Rs 4.44 lakh crore, up 131 per cent from the same period a year ago, said an official with the Forward Markets Commission (FMC).
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.
The bourse to start with seven contracts.
The Sensex opened at 17,365 tracking mixed global cues and then soared to a high of Rs 17,492. The index is now at 17,481,up 137 points.
Markets have extended gains. The Sensex has touched a high of 17,531 and is now up 181 points at 17,524.
Sidhartha / Mumbai December 04, 2009, 0:42 IST
Canon, the Japanese imaging and printing firm, has grown its revenue from the government vertical by 25 per cent and will end end this calender year with a revenue of Rs 850 crore. The sector was just 15 per cent of its business in 2008. “Although our growth was down to 18 per cent in the first quarter 2009, we will close the fourth quarter with a growth rate nearing 30 per cent. This growth has come from timely remodeling of our India strategy,” said Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president, Canon India.
Dr Kushagra Katariya, CEO and chief cardiothoracic surgeon of Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon, thinks that YouTube can be the smartest way to reach millions in the field of medical science. So long as he is not reading about electricity-generating solar panels, he has no gadget wish-list, and buys whatever he likes, whenever he likes.
Private sector-lender, Dhanalakshmi bank today said that it has reduced its interest rate on deposits across various slabs.
With the objective to create awareness regarding banking services among people in remote villages of North-East, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has undertaken a series of financial outreach programmes in the region.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is hopeful that the Defence Ministry will release more spectrum for the 3G radio wave auction scheduled for next month.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is considering the Defence Ministry"s demand for an exclusive band of spectrum that will not be put to civilian use like mobile telephony and broadcasting.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned Rs 159.86 crore under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) XV to the government of West Bengal.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a loan of Rs. 2.14 crore to the state government for implementation of a drinking water scheme at Lingdok Bazaar in East Sikkim, an official release said today.
Cadbury Plc, the confectioner that rejected Kraft Foods Inc’s bid on Monday, may attract suitors ranging from Nestle SA to Hershey Co and sell for as much as $21 billion, according to analysts.
Cadbury said the bid "fundamentally undervalues" the company.
This festive season has been successful enough in pushing sales for companies to revise upwards their year-end targets. A survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) says demand conditions have improved across sectors.
American chocolate maker Hershey Co is unlikely to bid for British confectionery major Cadbury as the company is "too small" to support the debt load needed to make an offer, says a media report.
Former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, who has been keeping a low profile following an uproar after he got away lightly in the Ruchika Girhotra case, today stepped out of his residence here to meet his lawyer in the wake of fresh FIRs being filed against him.
After acquiring 51 per cent stake in domestic money changer and transfer agent Wall Street Finance, the BK Modi Group-promoted Spice Finance is looking to acquire one of Nepal’s biggest money changer and transfer agent, Annapurna Finance, promoted by a local businessman.
To concentrate on domestic business, keen to partner BSNL.
Only Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Brazil better Sensex returns.
Strong portfolio capital flows into stock markets and direct investments will continue to push the rupee up against the dollar in 2010.
S Tel, a joint venture between the Chennai-based Siva group and Bahrain Telecom, today said it will launch mobile services from tomorrow with twin tariff plans of one paise a second and 50 paise per minute.
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.
Proof of firmly growing buoyancy in demand, says industry.
A big controversy on procurement of Rs 35,000 crore worth equipment by telecom behemoth BSNL is brewing with position taken by the two government nominees on the Board, threatening mega expansion programme of the PSU.
Low cost of funds and low credit growth have meant unprecedented levels of capital adequacy ratios (CARs) for banks.
The government today approved the policy for Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) operators, a technology that will provide digitised cable content to viewers across the country. The guidelines are not binding on the cable operators or the subscribers and they can continue with the existing analogue system.
Sterlite Industries India, a Vedanta Group firm, today said it is planning to raise funds through the issue of securities under Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) route.
India Inc"s fund raising spree have dried up in the first six months of this year with just Rs 10,000 crore mopped up, down 73 per cent over the year-ago period.
Sugar and bio-fuel manufacturer Shree Renuka Sugars today said it has raised over Rs 506 crore through private placement on preferential basis.
After months of hampered operations, there is now an official assurance that the floundering Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), West Bengal"s only facility capable of handing large vessels, will have a new navigational channel by the first half of next year.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 30, 2009, 0:33 IST
A K Bhattacharya / New Delhi October 21, 2009, 0:18 IST
The listing of three big initial public offers (IPOs) — JSW Energy, D B Corp and Godrej Property — this week would be yet another test for the lackluster primary markets.
A senior official of Tata Steel on Wednesday indicated that the steel major might provide a rehabilitation package for the 1,700 workers slated to lose their jobs due to the partial mothballing of its subsidiary, Corus’ Teesside plant in Britain.
Vishal Chhabria / Mumbai December 28, 2009, 0:01 IST
Sidhartha / Mumbai December 25, 2009, 0:43 IST
The Orissa government will introduce the e-filing of returns and e-challan for the dealers in the state starting from 1 January, 2010. The finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai has approved a proposal in this regard. Initially, this will be launched as a pilot project using the portal of the State Bank of India (SBI) and the system is proposed to be expanded to all the areas of the state later, Ghadai told the media.
Global hospitality chain Carlson today announced plans to open its luxury brand Regent in India with the opening of a hotel in Gurgaon in 2013.
India"s exports fell by 28 per cent in July, for the tenth month in a row, due to the ongoing global downturn, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said today.
Abhineet Kumar & Sidhartha / Mumbai December 31, 2009, 0:26 IST
It is not just landlines, BSNL is losing mobile subscribers too, according to a Parliamentary panel which has pulled up the PSU for not taking effective steps to check its falling market share.
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) signal on raising interest rate to manage inflation pushed the rupee to a one-year high against the US dollar.
New model drives volumes but a strengthening rupee could hit income from exports.
Chennai-headquartered Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has written to the government for a capital infusion of about Rs 1,000 crore to maintain a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 12 per cent and to ensure a credit growth of 20 per cent in the next 3 years.
IDBI Bank is expected to formally shelve its plan to become the first public sector lender to introduce variable pay for its employees.
Indian Overseas Bank today reported 51 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 176.04 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009.
Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) today reported a jump of 60 per cent in net profit to Rs 634.18 crore for the second quarter ended September over the corresponding period a year earlier.
State-run lender Andhra Bank today said its net profit rose by 69.58 per cent to Rs 273.97 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009, over the same period last year.
The Finance Ministry today expressed hope that the Reserve Bank in its monetary policy review next week will continue the current soft policy stance.
Mukesh Ambani and Anand Jain promoted Mumbai SEZ Ltd has suspended, for an indifinite period, its land acquisition for the MahaMumbai special economic zone (SEZ) in coastal Raigad. The company may drop the project altogether, as it was not able to acquire “a minimum of 1,000 hectares of contiguous land” as mandated by the SEZ Act.
State-run lender Andhra Bank today said its net profit rose by 69.58 per cent to Rs 273.97 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009, over the same period last year.
Bankers today said that the increase in the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) limit would not impact the liquidity in the banking system in any significant manner.
Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) today reported a jump of 60 per cent in net profit to Rs 634.18 crore for the second quarter ended September over the corresponding period a year earlier.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the RBI"s move to keep almost all rates unchanged is line with the discussions he had with the apex bank"s governor and the government"s thinking on fiscal and monetary policies.
Buoyed by the improvement in demand for its products, stainless steel maker JSL today reported an over three-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 94.76 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, over the same period a year ago.
The 50-share Nifty also ended almost flat at 5,041.
Federal Reserve officials are stepping up scrutiny of the biggest US banks to ensure the lenders can withstand a reversal of soaring global-asset prices, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has lost an oilfield in Algeria to a consortium led by a Chinese oil firm. ONGC teamed up with Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO) and the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) Dana Gas to bid for the hotly-contested Hassi Bir Rekaiz acreage in Algeria’s latest licensing round, sources said. It lost to a consortium of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and Thailand’s PTTEP.
Dishman Arabia, the 50:50 joint venture between Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals and Saudi Arabia based Takamul, is bullish on touching a turnover of $50 million within two years of commencement of production at its JV plant in Riyadh.
The chief executive officers of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley will headline the inaugural hearing of a congressional panel investigating Wall Street’s financial crisis.
The rupee on Monday hit a fresh 15-month high against the dollar. Dealers offered oil companies’ dollar buying and heavy inflow of funds from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as reasons.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has applied before authorities for registration of trademark for its "Currency Derivatives" label.
The rupee today rallied by 42 paise to close at a 16-month high of 45.34 against the US dollar on heavy selling of the American currency by exporters and banks amid flat local equity markets.
Dishman Arabia, the 50:50 joint venture between Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals and Saudi Arabia based Takamul, is bullish on touching a turnover of $50 million within two years of commencement of production at its JV plant in Riyadh.
The Sensex has ended (provisional) at 17,541 - down 75 points.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, under fire from the Left parties for its nexus with the outlawed Naxals, will launch an aggressive campaign in the Naxal-dominated areas of West Bengal.
ICICI Merchant Services, the newly-formed joint venture (JV) between ICICI Bank and First Data Corporation (FDC), plans to expand its Point-of-sale (PoS) terminal network to 500,000 over the next five years, according to a senior FDC executive.
After hitting a 13-month high in October, external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) issued by Indian companies dipped slightly to $2.35 billion.
The government today said it will raise Rs 97,000 crore in the last quarter of the fiscal through treasury bills, which are short-term bonds.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 06, 2010, 0:08 IST
Business Standard / New Delhi November 24, 2009, 0:08 IST
- US economy moving in right direction: Obama - US economy expands 3.5% in Q3 - White House defends Obama"s economic policies - It may take US over seven yrs to wipe off job deficit: Report - Oil lower in Asian trade - Job mkt still grim; 27 people lose job per hour
Mukesh Ambani, who heads India"s most valuable company Reliance Industries (RIL), has been ranked among top five best performing CEOs in the world by the prestigious Harvard Business Review.
State Bank of India (SBI) and Macquarie Capital today announced today the appointment of Varun Bajpai as Chief Executive Officer and Praveen Gupta as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of their joint venture management company, SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Management (SMIM).
Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank by market value, reported the highest quarterly profit in more than two years on gains from trading.
When financial stocks slumped in February to the lowest level in at least 17 years, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke told Congress the government might end up owning “substantial” stakes in the country’s biggest banks.
While the battle lines for folding the Forward Markets Commission into Sebi have been drawn — and good luck with that — I believe that there is a more important, and easier, battle that needs to be fought as well. This has to do with the evolution of the corporate bond market. No less an authority than the prime minister has acknowledged that this is a crucial piece of India’s development and I have little doubt that you are already working with RBI on how best to turn this need into a reality.
Bloomberg / January 5, 2010, 0:16 IST
After its Rs 462-crore initial share sale, the real estate developer Godrej Properties today said it plans to raise around Rs 3,000-crore through debt or equity to fund its expansion plans over the next two-three years.
Kalpataru Power Transmission closed at Rs 1151, weaker by Rs 19 or 1.64%, on the BSE.
India Inc today urged the Finance Minister to continue the stimulus packages till firm signs of economic recovery are visible, and also reducing the corporate tax rates.
Rajiv Shirali / New Delhi November 8, 2009, 0:17 IST
New-age private banker YES Bank is now focusing on eastern Uttar Pradesh and will soon expand its footprint in the region.
Business Standard / New Delhi October 28, 2009, 0:09 IST
The listing of three big initial public offers (IPOs) — JSW Energy, D B Corp and Godrej Property — this week would be yet another test for the lackluster primary markets.
The stock was locked at an upper circuit limit of 5 per cent to Rs 114 after the company said its board will meet on 1 December to consider a proposal from Pramod Jain to acquire 25 per cent stake in the company.
In the last few months, a number of new platforms have been launched for buying and selling mutual funds (MFs). With the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) banning the entry load for all MF schemes, both distributors and banks now have to renegotiate their fees with customers.
Private sector power producer JSW Energy has raised Rs 464.86 crore through the issue of shares to seven anchor investors under its public offer, which opens tomorrow for subscription.
Union Bank of India is planning to raise $500 million through bonds by the end of this financial year to fund its global operations. The money would be raised under its medium-term note (MTN) programme from the overseas market by March.
Europe today urged the IMF to introduce a "social" tax on banks, insurers and markets to repay taxpayers" support during lean years with a slice of boom-time profits.
State-run gas utility GAIL India has sought $0.18 as marketing margin to make up for the effort it undertakes to sell natural gas, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said today.
Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private (RGPPL) or the erstwhile Dabhol power project in Maharastra would start generating 1,900 Mw of electricity by March, 2010.
Non-banking finance company Tata Capital today announced the appointment of Jamshed Daboo, to the newly created position of head, of national sales and services organisation.
New Delhi, Oct 19 (PTI) The Company Law Board today dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Harsh Vardhan Lodha, son of late R S Lodha, on board of Birla Corporation.
Provogue India has invested over Rs 1,500 crore for setting up six new malls, which would be developed by its real estate arm, Prozone Enterprises, and come up in the next two years.
The stock surged further to a high of Rs 37 - up 7%. The stock, however, slipped from the high and ended with a gain of 5% at Rs 36.30. Over 7.46 million shares changed hands at the counter today, comparatively higher than the two-week daily average trade of 1.56 million.
Aditya Birla Retail, the country"s second-biggest supermarket operator, is considering an initial public offer (IPO) and will time it as soon as the company starts spinning profits.
Most of these families are looking at private equity funds as a way to earn fee-based income.
Public sector hydropower producer Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) today said its proposed initial public offer is likely to come in the next fiscal and the company is in the process of appointing independent directors, a prerequisite for firms planning to hit the market.
Hindalco Industries, the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, today said it has received approval from its shareholders for raising funds up to Rs 2,900 crore through issuing securities.
Private port developer and operator Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd (GPPL) plans to raise nearly Rs 500 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) and has filed draft papers with capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).