Business Opportunities
As part of India"s efforts to reach out to people of Malawi, Vice President Hamid Ansari today announced an assistance of $55 million for the southern African country.
The 60s are the new 40s. You can stay fit even after crossing six decades of your life by following a routine of exercise, morning walks and eating healthy. Still, at this juncture of life, the fear of failing health persists. And many a time, such fears come true. To overcome such a situation, the solution is health insurance. Medical insurance enables senior citizens to pay for health checkups, emergency medical costs and long-term treatment. It is provided through several private insurance companies and public sector general insurance companies.
FMCG major Dabur, which is currently hunting for acquisitions in the African continent, is setting up its second manufacturing facility in Egypt as part of its expansion plan in the region.
India"s economic growth rate is expected to accelerate to 8 per cent in the next fiscal from 6.3 per cent projected for the current financial year, the Planning Commission has said.
Piramal Healthcare director Swati Piramal has made history by becoming the first woman chief of a national chamber of commerce. As the newly-elected president of Assocham, she’s doing her bit for woman-power. All chairpersons of around 100 working groups in Assocham are now women, and the co-chairs are all men.
The country’s largest steel maker, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) today reported 14 per cent growth in its sales at over 3 million tonnes during the second quarter ended September 2009, over the year-ago period. “The company achieved record Q2 sales of over 3 million tonnes, registering growth of 14 per cent over the corresponding period last year,” SAIL said in a statement.
State-run power generation company, Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL) intends to procure 15 lakh metric tonnes of non-coking steam (thermal) imported coal. The company has invited bids from coal suppliers for supply of coal on high seas sale basis.
Future Group, the company that promotes India’s largest publicly-traded retailer, Pantaloon, is planning a joint venture company by bringing together Future Money, its consumer finance business; Future Generali, its insurance business; and Centrum Direct, the foreign exchange service provider. The JV, under a single management, will provide its service through the stores of Pantaloon Retail.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 65 crore on the BSE Thursday-an increase of 82.87% from Rs 35 crore clocked on Wednesday. As many as five stocks witnessed trades of 13 lakh shares on Thursday.
Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K), the first of the IIMs to conclude summer placements this year, saw a little over Rs 1 lakh as the highest stipend offered.
Twenty years ago, at sixth place in the batting order, the 16-year-old Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar walked across the National Stadium in Karachi and straight into every Indian’s heart and history.
Saab’s future will be decided at December 1 GM board meeting.
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.
Business Standard / New Delhi November 02, 2009, 0:19 IST
The probe into the Rs 14,000-crore Satyam fraud, clean chit to Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors payoff scam and a number of high- profile cases kept the country"s premier investigating agency busy in 2009.
The government today said auction for 3G mobile spectrum would commence as per schedule from January 14 next year and allotment would be made to four private players simultaneously by August 2010.
The stock rose 5.5 per cent to close at an all-time high of Rs 827.60, on reports that the company might launch its qualified institutional placement (QIP) book this week.
Major steel makers are facing inordinate delays in acquiring land in the east.
Farmax Retail (India) today said its board has approved to raise funds up to Rs 500 crore through various routes including issue of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) and global depository receipts (GDRs).
Bhupesh Bhandari / New Delhi September 29, 2009, 0:28 IST
Indian healthcare providers have not fully explored the opportunities in indigenisation of medical equipment and textiles, training of medical and paramedical staff and treatment of out-patients among others.
There is generally little to recommend on government publications except for those that have some useful data. Not that there will not be exceptions. A new brochure from the steel ministry will find favour for offering an unambiguous roadmap for the industry’s future, along with neatly arranged data.
Opto Circuits gained over 2% to Rs 172. The stock touched a high of Rs 177 and a low of Rs 168 during the day. The counter saw trades of 194,633 shares as against its two-week average traded quantity of 470,711 shares.
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.
Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC), the multi-faceted finance company, has decided to dilute a maximum 3.5 per cent equity to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) to raise over Rs 4000 crore.
The ITC Green Center that Hillary Clinton visited last month is an early adopter of sustainable construction.
Drug manufacturer Dr Reddy"s Laboratories today said it has received US regulatory approval for anti-heartburn capsules.
The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on the Dabhol power project discussed various issues at its maiden meeting on Monday, including stuck compensation claims.
Leading foreign production companies Tokyo Broadcasting, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), USA’s International Sports Broadcasting (ISB) and International Games Broadcast Services (IGBS) are among the five international production companies and their partners in race to bag the public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati’s contract to cover the Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG 2010) in New Delhi in the High Definition Television (HDTV) format.
Government may not get the targeted Rs 25,000 crore from the sale of radio waves needed for the third-generation telecom services
Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama today met top Indian industry leaders, including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, here.
Cipla today said it is talking to many global drug makers, including Pfizer Inc, for the development and supply of generic products.
Pressed by Japan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), India today clearly put the onus on the US and China for taking a lead in this direction by ratifying it.
The Sensex is now flat at 16,880, down 13 points.
The Sensex has opened at 16,336 down 17 points.The index is now at 16,263, down 95 points.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 347.87 crore in futures and options segments on Monday.
Decides to provide extra helping hand after a sectoral review
Mahindra Satyam, the rebranded Satyam Computer Services, is set to position itself as an information and communication technologies (ICT) company.
Suggests settlement initiated by Sebi.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 72.74 crore in futures and options segments on Friday.
Pollution control equipment maker Thermax today said it has bagged an order worth Rs 477.77 crore from an Orissa-based company for construction of a captive power plant.
Though the Nifty closed slightly below 5,000 today, the trading volume in the put and call options suggests that bulls will find it difficult to hold on to this level.
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) today alleged in the Supreme Court that Mukesh Ambani Group Reliance Industries (RIL) played a "fraud" by coming out with a complex formula on gas pricing to artificially enhance its rate.
The total outstanding of the state owned Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Gridco) reached Rs 3,111.19 crore by the end of 2008-09.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 394.37 crore in futures and options segments on Monday.
Big Cinemas, a division of Reliance MediaWorks and a member of the Reliance ADA Group, said it has crossed the global milestone of 500 screens with the opening of its newest multiplex in Malaysia.
IRB Infrastructure Developers is all set to raise further funds to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore through various instruments.
Gemini Communication Ltd, a Chennai-based wireless networking and Wimax solutions company, has lined up Rs 150-180 crore for acquisitions and to expand its footprint overseas over the next three years.
Bombay Rayon Fashions is planning to raise funds through a GDR issue. In a communication to the exchanges, the company said that its board has approved issue of upto 1,90,00,000 Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) representing equivalent underlying equity shares at a par value of Rs 10 at an issue price of $ 5.11 per GDR. The GDR will be open for subscription to persons resident outside India, on November 11, 2009.
After having opened marginally in the red, the markets have rebounded in line with their Asian counterparts. Asia is largely trading in the green after the Federal Reserve raised the US growth forecasts for 2010. The US markets also ended off their lows, albeit marginally weak, after the Fed raised the GDP forecast.
Along with Subir Gokarn’s appointment as the fourth deputy governor, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today reshuffled some of the key portfolios of its deputy governors and executive directors.
French multinational drug major sanofi-aventis has joined the list of drug majors eyeing the generic or copycat drug sales opportunity in the Indian market. It has officially launched a new marketing initiative named ‘Prayas’ to market these generics in small towns and in rural India.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today praised the very completion of the Copenhagen climate summit as progress, saying that the talks had hovered near collapse.
K Santhanam & Ashok Parthasarathi / New Delhi December 11, 2009, 0:13 IST
Centre today said work on the Loharinag Pala, Pala Maneri and Bhaironghati hydel power projects in Uttarakhand has been suspended due to agitation by some environmental groups.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi November 16, 2009, 0:07 IST
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is known to stick to the subject at hand and not get into long discussions. So, when CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta raised a calling attention motion on the merger of banks and started making several ideological points, this made Mukherjee testy.
The stock jumped 8.4 per cent to Rs 852.05 after the company inaugurated its formulations manufacturing facility in its SEZ at Hyderabad.
Whitehall officials examining the feasibility of such a sale.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Bangalore-based firm which operates under the Ministry of Defence, has signed an agreement with Boeing to work together with the US plane maker for the production of flaperons for the Boeing’s 777 series commercial jetliner.
Add a little colour to your living spaces with fresh orchids ordered from around the world.
State gas utility GAIL India Ltd plans to raise around Rs 2,000 crore during the current fiscal to part fund its expansion plans.
State-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) plans to acquire three new container ships in the New Year, and has set aside $200-225 million to fund these purchases, a top company official said.
P B Jayakumar / Mumbai September 25, 2009, 0:10 IST
Has six-month exclusive marketing right to anti-herpes Valtrex.
Drug maker Zenotech Laboratories today said reported Rs 3.41 crore loss for the quarter ended June 30, against a net loss of Rs 2.66 crore in the same period previous fiscal.
Sun Pharma"s US-based subsidiary Caraco Pharmaceuticals has agreed to undertake a series of measures as per requirements of the US health regulator Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get a ban on its manufacturing units lifted.
For the second time in last one year, the government is likely to inspect financial books of Uttam Galva Steels for alleged manipulation of share prices, funds diversions and some other related matters.
Drug firm Sun Pharma today said it has received the US regulator"s approval for the generic version of Acular, used to treat pain and swelling after eye surgeries.
Nava Bharat (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Hyderabad-based Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd, has signed a share sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for acquiring a 65 per cent equity stake in Maamba Collieries Ltd (MCL) of Zambia.
Tata Motors has said all the existing bookings of the Nano will be delivered at the current prices, notwithstanding the rising input prices.
The Sun TV Network is restructuring its distribution business into two new divisions (‘verticals’). One will handle South India operations and international business. The second will focus on expanding the Sun TV bouquet into the northern, western and eastern markets of India.
The Drug Controller General of India from next month will issue Certificates of Pharmaceutical Products (CoPP) and Certificates of Good Manufacturing Practice for medicinal products required for exports.
Ranibai Rajaram Chhabria, the mother of the late Manohar Rajaram ‘Manu’ Chhabria, has challenged in court the merger of Shaw Wallace with Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits, the Press Trust of India reported a few days ago. She has claimed that her son died intestate seven years ago and under Hindu Law she is entitled to a fifth of his estate, it said.
In a new development in the RIL-RNRL appeals in the Supreme Court today on their gas dispute, RNRL revoked its opposition to the Union government being heard. And, the Solicitor General appeared for the first time, on behalf of the government and NTPC.
Hardy Oil to abandon well in D9 block in Krishna-Godavari basin.
The stock markets ended the holiday-shortened week with a huge gain of 2.5%. The Sensex soared past 17,000 for the first time since May, 2008.
The meltdown on bourses today left investors on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) poorer by over Rs 2 lakh-crore -- with nearly half of the losses being incurred by shareholders in the 30 blue-chip stocks.
With gradual improvement in the security scenario in North Cachar Hills district of Assam, following the surrender of "Black Widow" militants, work on the Lumding-Silchar railway gauge conversion project has begun.
Currency volatility is a concern for India’s largest information technology company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). So much so, that it has taken new hedging positions worth $135 million (around Rs 630 crore) for the quarter ending December 31.
Wants to expand within the country and outside, while Star Aviation, yet to begin operations, has three aircraft ready
Oil rebounded in Asian trade today, lifted by strong regional stocks, which rallied after US aluminium giant Alcoa said it swung to profit in the third quarter.
Kuwait"s Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah today ruled out any production increase by OPEC this year and predicted that oil prices would remain at between $60 and $80 a barrel.
Ahmedabad-based Prudent Corporate Advisory and Brokering Services is targetting 100,000 Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) by March 2011.
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.
Pipe manufacturer Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren today said it has raised $250 million (over Rs 1,100 crore) by way of institutional placement of shares and bonds issue.
BS Reporter / New Delhi November 22, 2009, 0:37 IST
Intense debate on non-vegetarianism continues with flexitarianism emerging as the new diet fad.
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.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has hired an ultra deep-sea drill rig from Reliance Industries (RIL) for four years at close to Rs 3,915 crore.
Reliance Industries (RIL) has threatened to stop oil and gas exploration if it is not granted the promised drilling moratorium to cover for the acute shortage of rigs.
The government has extended by two months the last date of bidding for the nation"s largest ever auction of oil and gas blocks to October 12.
Amid a continuing legal battle between the Ambani brothers over gas supply, the elder of the two, Mukesh Ambani, is believed to have met Law Minister Veerappa Moily.
The centre today faced a tough time in the Supreme Court, which questioned the Telecommunication Ministry"s decision for advancing the cut-off date for allocation of 2G spectrum to new telecom operators.
Inflation, a number of large issues and high valuations may weigh on indices; Sensex expected to trade at a historical average P/E of 15 on FY11 earnings.
The Sensex has added 71 points to 17,536.
Indian Railways could soon have its own dedicated television channel, broadcasting passenger related information and highlighting various other facets of the PSU behemoth, if the suggestion of a railway committee is accepted.
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.
Sunanda K Datta-Ray / New Delhi August 15, 2009, 0:51 IST
Lakshman Menon / December 02, 2009, 0:13 IST
Pepe Jeans India plans to open 50 more stores pan-India in the next 12 months which would give it a stronger market presence.
Apparel maker Arvind Brands is planning to expand its offerings by introducing more international brands this year, besides ramping up its retail presence across the country.
Subir Roy / New Delhi January 6, 2010, 0:11 IST
The Indian Army is short of over 11,387 officers, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha today.
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.
From upgraded portable ECG machines to digital X-ray units, the research lab does them all.
K Rajani Kanth / September 18, 2009, 0:18 IST
Wind turbines manufacturer Suzlon Energy today said it has bagged an order from conglomerate ITC for supplying 27 MW of wind power turbines to projects in Karnataka and Maharashtra for an undisclosed amount.
The stock jumped 4.24 per cent to Rs 103.15 after Mahindra Satyam won an IT outsourcing contract from Swedish defence and aerospace firm, Saab.
FMCG player Godrej Consumer Products today said it is ready to acquire some of its joint venture partner Sara Lee"s international businesses if the US-based company decides to sell its global assets.
FMCG major Marico has posted 32 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ending September 30, 2009 at Rs 62.35 crore as compared to Rs 47.12 crore profit it posted in the corresponding quarter last financial year.
The government today opened its arguments in the high-voltage gas row between the Ambani brothers in the Supreme Court asserting that any understanding reached between them was not binding on it as gas was not their "private property".
Taking a serious note of Union Bank of India (UBI) not reporting high-value transactions to it, the government has asked the state-owned bank to immediately carry out an audit of all its branches to check for such large deposits that have gone unreported.
The Airports Authority of India is seeking financial assistance from the government for its loss-making operations in the North Eastern region.
The improved market environment, initiatives to sustain growth in the long run and the proposal to extend trading hours are positives for broking companies
The existing IIMs will have to guide the new ones even as the issue of faculty crunch has raised its ugly head again
Raghavendra Kamath / Kolkata November 27, 2009, 1:30 IST
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 157.64 crore in futures and options segments on Friday.
Traders hedged against fall to 4,500.
Union Human and Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal is slated to meet top officials of the Obama Administration later this week as part of the endeavour of the two countries to forge greater collaboration in the field of education.
Our report is independent, say auditors.
Accounting regulator ICAI today said it has asked Reliance Communications (RCom), which is under attack for alleged fudging of accounts and evasion of licence fee, to provide financial details before it can initiate action against the teleco"s auditors.
HCL Technolgies, part of the Rs 24,000 crore HCL Group, today announced that it is entering into an outsourcing services engagement deal with MTV networks (MTVN). MTV or Music Television is owned by US-based Viacom.
Suddenly, search engines seem to be multiplying. Microsoft is set to unveil Kumo, its latest effort to crack Google’s dominance in search. Meanwhile, sites like Wolfram Alpha and Newssift are trying to find safe and profitable niches for searches that add specialist value. Sadly, Google’s supposed rivals have mostly done better at generating hype than meaningful results.
Google India Managing Director Shailesh Rao has been appointed as Chairman of industry body The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
Global majors like Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google may have decided to trim their workforce worldwide, but these entities do have openings in India.
US-based farm and construction equipment maker John Deere plans to rejig its tractor business in India by focussing more on smaller segment and is looking to launch at least two models by 2011 in that category.
With the report of the special audit into the accounts of Reliance Communication (RCom) stating that the company had misclassified its income to avoid paying licence fees and overstated its mobile phone income (by around a fourth) in other ways, you’d think the Ministry of Corporate Affairs would be interested in examining the report and taking appropriate action.
Vijay Kelkar, chairman of the thirteenth finance commission, has called for a “much stronger” disinvestment process of public sector companies, saying the money raised should be used to take care of environment degradation.
Defending the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, government today said it will be implemented in nine more cities.
Seeking to allay apprehensions about organising the Commonwealth Games, Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy today said all projects were on course to host the prestigious sporting event.
Takes Mahindra Renault to court over car’s name
The collapse of a Delhi Metro bridge stretch on Sunday morning and three recovery cranes toppling over today crushed the contractor — Gammon India’s — scrip in initial trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, but the stock recovered dramatically in a falling market to close 2.73 per cent higher.
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.
Devika Banerji / New Delhi November 11, 2009, 0:33 IST
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.
Tata Steel, the world’s sixth largest steelmaker, said on Friday steel sales at its Indian operations jumped 38 per cent in October to 462,000 tonnes, compared to same period last year. The Indian operations contribute about a quarter of the group’s total annual global capacity of 30 million tonne, which includes Corus, Europe’s second-largest steel maker. Saleable steel production in October rose by 27 per cent from a year earlier to 570,000 tonne and crude steel production gained 22 per cent to 599,000 tonne, the company said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met here today to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern against the backdrop of the war of words between the two neighbours over Arunachal Pradesh.
The tri-nation cricket tournament in Colombo, involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, ended a few days back. But for brand Compaq, it’s the start of a new innings – something it wants to repeat every year.
The stock erased most of its gains and ended flat at Rs 452. The counter clocked volumes of 1.47 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 756,608 shares on the BSE.
This week’s trade mini-Ministerial in Delhi is mainly about the US, observes Suman Bery
The country’s third largest public sector lender, Bank of Baroda (BoB), today said it is open to overseas acquisition if a good opportunity comes across.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 106 crore on the BSE Thursday-an increase of 296.11% from Rs 27 crore clocked on Wednesday. As many as five stocks witnessed trades of 16 lakh shares on Thursday.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 41 crore on the BSE Wednesday-an decrease of 48.69% from Rs 80 crore clocked on Tuesday. As many as six stocks witnessed trades of 6.13 lakh shares on Wednesday.
The decline is Rs 21,186 crore from the fortnight ended July 3
IDBI Bank, which has been mandated to raise Rs 13,000 crore syndicated loan for Reliance Power"s Krishnapatanam Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) has put the process on hold.
Emerging market stocks are "technically overbought" after 12 straight weeks of fund inflows drove the global benchmark index above its 200-day moving average, Morgan Stanley said.
A proposal from the Dainik Bhaskar media group to allow more foreign equity in it and another one from Travel Channel International, UK, for setting up an Indian subsidiary, have been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Imaging equipment maker Canon has targeted a 35 per cent revenue growth in Indian market this year, which will take the company"s total revenue to Rs 1,100 crore, a top official said today.
About 50 employees are being interrogated.
Elections to 57 seats in the 60-member Arunachal assembly began early this morning amidst tight security.
Sri Lanka’s former top general Sarath Fonseka, who quit following a spat with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, today announced that he will be the joint candidate of opposition parties in the Presidential polls slated for January 26 next year.
The implementation of mobile number portability (MNP) is likely to be delayed by one to three months, with operators still not fully prepared to meet the deadline and with the government imposing new requirements with respect to security.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned a loan of Rs 102 crore to Uttar Pradesh under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
Business Standard / New Delhi December 17, 2009, 0:56 IST
Some of the biggest buyers of gold may be sending the strongest signal to sell it, if past performance is indicative of future results.
Companies take a number of steps to ensure that investors continue to find value in their stocks.
More than 6,300 frozen demat accounts are now finding some claimants, giving new leads to the Income Tax department"s probe in the matter pertaining to Rs 6,700 crore of unclaimed stocks.