Public Relations
The Centre today urged the states to import foodgrains through their PSUs to support the public distribution system (PDS) and promised to look into subsidies for such imports.
The Uttar Pradesh sugar industry, the largest in the country, may engage Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in talks for resolving the cane price impasse, which is delaying the full fledged crushing in the state.
President Pratibha Patil had a narrow escape today when the blades of an Indian Air Force helicopter in which she was travelling hit the cement wall of an abandoned building inside the Bhubaneswar airport while landing. The President was returning from Puri after having a darshan of Lord Jagannath and inaugurating an urban haat there.
Production to begin in 12-15 months; second such venture.
Tata Motors, India’s largest auto manufacturer, will shut down manufacturing operations at its Pune’s commercial vehicle (CV) unit for three days.
In Jharkhand politics, it’s sometimes all in the family. Take for example, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren, who is a Lok Sabha member. His daughter-in-law Sita Soren, widow of Durga Soren, won the elections from the Jama Assembly seat. Soren’s younger son, Hemant, contested the Assembly polls from the Dumka seat and humbled former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi. Sushila Hansda of the JMM, who was a sitting party legislator in the last Assembly, was not in the fray from her Litipara constituency this time, but her husband, Simon Marandi, contested on JMM ticket and won the seat.
Oil marketing companies (OMCs) want a price cut of as much as Rs 8 in the procurement price of biodiesel from the producers, who, however, do not agree to this idea.
What was till now a popular model in the road sector has now become a strategy for cash-strapped Indian Oil Corporation to save on capital investment. The company has managed to bring down the cost of its Rs 29,777-crore Paradip refinery by Rs 5,000 crore, by taking recourse to the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) raised Rs 380 crore till September this year through short loans for funding various development projects but the borrowings will not lead to increase in passenger fares, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Air India is likely to receive the first tranche of equity infusion by December, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said today.
Following fare reduction by Jet Airways, national flag carrier Air India has cut fares by 20-46 per cent on certain flights on select domestic routes for travel up to September 18.
Andhra Bank ended at Rs 109, stronger by 1.5%, on the BSE.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, an otherwise able administrator, may earn the distinction of presiding over the fall of individuals and institutions in oil sector in a year when he also faced accusations of taking sides in corporate battles.
Flughafen Zurich AG, operator of Zurich airport in Switzerland, which has a 17 per cent stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), will reduce this to five per cent, to fund its further growth in India. The divestment process is expected to take four months.
A fresh $1-billion (nearly 4,600-crore) loan from the World Bank under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), to be routed through the Union government, would be linked to cities adopting certain efficiency parameters.
Commercial plane maker Boeing saw orders for its jets dip 11 per cent in August this year from a year ago while for the first eight months of 2009, orders plunged 71 per cent to 161 from 556 in January-August 2008.
Corporate awards normally go to the sultans of success and the purveyors of good news. The cautious CEO who worries about bad times and steers his ship away from choppy waters is rarely rewarded. So, it is not surprising that the same high-profile jury of a media group that rejected the name of former RBI governor YV Reddy for an award two years ago, on the grounds that he was an excessively cautious and conservative governor, has now chosen him for this year’s award for saving the Indian banking sector from the ravages of the global financial crisis.
The $100-million (Rs 470-crore) equity infusion through issue of global depository receipts (GDRs) to US-based buyout specialist Apollo Management and Rs 410 crore expected from the third tranche of its rights issue should help India’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, Dish TV, increase its subscriber base and post an improvement in performance.
India Infoline Investment Services today said that its Board of Directors has approved the appointment of M N Singh and A K Purwar as independent Directors on the Board of the company.
Trading in The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) surged to a record 3.15 billion shares as derivatives expiration and changes in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lifted volume to more than double this year’s average.
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 Sensex remains in the negative zone and is now at 16,808, down 35 points.
The Dubai crisis could have major ramifications similar to the global credit turmoil last year.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 25, 2009, 0:31 IST
On the back of robust economic growth at about 8 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal, the Prime Minister"s economic panel today said the economy is likely to grow by 7 per cent in the current fiscal.
The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has proposed to the prime minister that the Forward Markets Commission, the regulator for commodity futures, also be the regulator for all warehouses.
The BK Modi group’s finance arm, Spice Finance, has proposed to buy a 15 per cent stake in Ahmedabad-based National-Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE).
ArcelorMittal is the only other bidder for the state-run company.
Titan Industries, a Bangalore-based watch and jewellery arm of Tata Group, today reported 41 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 46.04 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
The government today said it will not relook into the investigations handled by arrested CLB member R Vasudevan, when he was heading the inspection department of the ministry of corporate affairs.
Recommending higher allocation for animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, a House panel has wondered as to why the sector got only 7.7 per cent of the allocated funds of the Agriculture Ministry last fiscal, even though it accounted for 31 per cent of the total farm output.
Thanks to a sharp turnaround IN THE fortunes of PSU oil marketing companies due to lower oil subsidies, savings in overall costs of production and interest earnings on the cash piles it is sitting on, India Inc’s profits rose over 63 per cent in the September quarter. This is while topline sales fell 6.3 per cent. Once you net out sectors like oil and refining or steel where prices have fallen hugely over the year, the sales growth is a more respectable 8.3% — net profit margins also rise, from 8.9% to 11%. Sales and profits, however, tend to be concentrated and the top 10 firms account for over 40 per cent of sales/profits of our sample of 1,068 firms — remove these top 10 firms, and net profit margins for the sample fall around 30 per cent. Tax provisions are up 23 per cent due to the Minimum Alternate Tax. Most of the top companies — in terms of sales/profits — have seen a relatively poor quarter. Costs of raw materials to sales are down 80 bps on a year-on-year basis but are up 540 bps on a sequential quarter basis, suggesting the extra boost to profits from lower commodity prices in the quarter will reduce in the months ahead. Should that happen, though, it will boost the topline and bottomlines of commodity firms.
The new rules on perks make it better to use the company car than to get usage reimbursed.
Hit by a drop in corporate tax revenues, direct tax collections rose marginally to Rs 20,822 crore in October, compared with Rs 19,708 crore in the corresponding month last year.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development today said it has sanctioned Rs 121.05 crore as loan to Karnataka to build rural infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, minor irrigation structures, secondary schools, anganwadi buildings, rural godowns and markets and fish jetties in various districts.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), which recently increased the corpus of its Tribal Development Fund (TDF) to Rs 600 crore, has launched six projects for the integrated development of tribals in Karnataka.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is hopeful that the defence ministry would release more spectrum for the 3G auction scheduled for next month.
Kraft Foods Inc today proposed a 10.2 billion pounds ($16.7 billion) takeover of Cadbury PLC, but said the offer was immediately rejected by the British maker of chocolate, gum and candy.
Nestlé has decided to take on Cadbury’s Dairy Milk head on
The US government quietly agreed to forgo about $38 billion in potential tax payment from troubled financial giant Citigroup as part of a deal that help the company repay bailout funds, a media report has said.
Investigators probing the radiation contamination of a drinking water cooler unit in Kaiga atomic plant in Karnataka have zeroed in on five employees from whose department the heavy water could have been smuggled out.
A PIL was today filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court here seeking a probe into the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case, including her expulsion by a local school, and the subsequent harassment of her family.
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.
With an aim to diversify into other minerals and metals, the country"s leading aluminium maker Nalco is considering buying coal, copper and uranium mines in Namibia.
We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end,” is what the G20 leaders conveyed to their trade negotiators at the Pittsburgh summit last Friday. Like the previous two summits in Washington and London respectively, the latest event under the leadership of President Barak Obama failed to provide any clear direction on how to end the comatose Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations.
Precision Cars, the official importer of Porsche in the country, is planning to increase its dealer network from the current two to six during the next year, a top company official said.
R L Narayanan, vice president - Equity & Institutional Sales, Bonanza speaks on market trends and sectoral view.
The stock extended gains and touched a high of 1,517 - up 2%. The stock finally ended with a gain of 1% at Rs 1,506. Over 26,830 shares were traded on the BSE today.
US conglomerate General Electric (GE) today announced it would sell its security unit to United Technologies Corp for $1.82 billion.
Low cost of funds and low credit growth have meant unprecedented levels of capital adequacy ratios (CARs) for banks.
Manufacturing and marketing of portable gensets firm, Honda Siel Power Products today said it has appointed BSR & Company an Indian associate of KPMG, as statutory auditors of the company.
Europe"s largest car maker Volkswagen is eyeing up to 10 per cent stake in the Indian passenger car market in the next six years from a minuscule share now, and is planning to roll out a smaller car than its upcoming "POLO".
Kirtika Suneja / New Delhi November 13, 2009, 0:57 IST
Jarnail Singh, a Sikh journalist who acquired a celebrity status after the shoe-throwing incident at a press conference addressed by Home Minister P Chidambaram on April 7, 2009, has exercised unusual caution while narrating the incident that made him a hero for large sections of the Sikh community. It is ironic because the “heroism” for which he was hailed by many Sikh bodies, including the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, was clearly missing when it came to narrating the events that led to the infamous shoe-throwing incident.
Lancor Holdings, a realty major, has approved the further issue of securities up to a value of Rs 75 crore with domestic and international markets through various instruments. The decision ws taken in its board meeting yesterday.
With the rupee appreciating by nearly 4 per cent against the US dollar, Indian information technology service providers are expected to see flat to negative revenue figures in rupee terms for the third quarter (October-December 2009).
Despite the fall in deal volumes on both the merger and acquisition (M&A) and private equity (PE) fronts during the fourth quarter ending December, investment managers expect the improving global and domestic macro-economic indices to revive consumption and services-led growth, in turn leading to higher fund inflows into key sectors. Telecom, pharma, FMCG, healthcare, IT/ITES and educational services are expected to attract strong capital fund raises in 2010.
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar / New Delhi October 27, 2009, 0:52 IST
Global steel giant ArcelorMittal"s open offer for a 29.4 per cent stake in domestic company Uttam Galva will begin on December 19, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing by the secondary steel maker.
Kolkata-based FMCG major Emami is scouting for acquisitions in the domestic and overseas markets and says it can spend up to Rs 800 crore on this.
RBI is expected to increase CRR next month to signal a rate increase.
IT and ITeS being a knowledge industry does not discriminate in recruiting employees and the hiring is done on the basis of merit and competency, the Government today said in the Rajya Sabha.
More incentives for companies going to backward districts
The public sector copper producer Hindustan Copper (HCL) today said it will come out with a follow-on public offer (FPO) to raise Rs 1,700 crore by diluting 10 per cent stake for part-funding its expansion plans.
The stock soared to a high of Rs 738 and finally ended at Rs 733, up 3% from its previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 1.17 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 686,880 shares on the BSE.
Infosys ended at Rs 2,454, higher by Rs 10 or 0.4%, on the BSE.
Bajaj Auto ended at Rs 1,724, higher by Rs 81 or 4.9%, on the BSE, accompanied by a surge in volumes.
Alok Industries closed at Rs 22, higher by Rs 1 or 5%, on the BSE.
ACC, the country"s largest cement manufacturer, today said it would invest Rs 1,400 crore next year to expand its production capacity to 30 million tonnes by 2010-end and would raise Rs 300 crore to retire some of its long-term debt.
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.
Worried over an adverse impact on export earnings due to rising rupee against the US dollar, several north Indian export companies are mulling hedging against the volatility of the Indian currency.
India’s place as the leading location for legal process outsourcing (LPO) could face intense competition from emerging nations like South Africa and Philippines during 2010, according to a research report from LPO consultancy firm Fronterion.
J K Paper Mills, a leading paper manufacturing company has initiated the process of registration with the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) on carbon credits in the forestry sector.
Driven by scarcity of talent and increasing competition, India Inc is expected to hike salaries in the new year with the pharma, telecom and consumer goods companies leading the space with up to 12 per cent pay hike, global consultancy Ernst & Young (E&Y) says.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has revised its GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.7 per cent from 6.2 per cent announced last month.
On an overseas acquisition spree over the past few years, Indian companies, have suddenly become wary of making investments in foreign companies as a result of the current global economic crisis, a Columbia University report said on Monday.
The government will rely heavily on borrowings to finance its various flagship schemes as the target for this head has been increased to 34 paise of every rupee from 14 paise projected in the last Budget.
Companies get ready to face higher input costs, interest rates, likely stimulus rollback.
Minister for women development and child welfare Konda Surekha submitted her resignation to Governor ND Tiwari on Thursday. The minister stated she had resigned as she was unable to continue in a cabinet without former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Ever since the death of YSR, Surekha has been pitching for the chief ministership of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the late chief minister"s son. She had even said earlier that she would resign if Jaganmohan Reddy was not made the chief minister.
Vandana / Mumbai December 2, 2009, 1:24 IST
Cigarette to hotel major ITC today said it is open to demerger of its business verticals into separate entities if needed as they grow in size.
In advanced discussions with many domestic lenders, including SBI, Axis Bank and IDFC for raising the debt.
The Kerala High Court today held as legal, the sale of about 70 acres of land by public sector HMT to Mumbai based Blue Star Realtors,a subsidiary of the Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), to set up a Rs 4,000 crore cyber city project in Kochi.
With seven of the 16 initial public offers (IPOs) launched this year trading below their issue prices, 2009 has been a mixed year for primary market investors.
Dewan Hosing Finance Limited (DHFL) reported 69.96 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 37.51 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 as compared Rs 22.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
BS Reporter / Mumbai October 27, 2009, 22:21 IST
How best can the Union government use the window of political opportunity that has been opened up by the verdict of the recent assembly elections? Since the ruling Congress party has been strengthened by the poll result and there are no important elections due for the next year, the opportunity to push for better governance should not be missed. To begin with, the prime minister should consider a minor reshuffle of portfolios that empower performers and sideline non-performers, and also improve bureaucratic standards. The argument that in some ministries the ruling party needed fund collectors rather than good administrators has appeal before an election, but is less convincing when the priority should be to get things going. The ruling party should take a holiday on rent-seeking for a year and push for reforms and improved public sector productivity in the infrastructure sector, especially power. The recent raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Telecommunications are hopefully not part of some political bargaining between coalition partners but the beginning of a phase of crackdown on “corruption in high places” that the prime minister sought. Given the DMK government’s dependence in Tamil Nadu on the Congress for its survival in office, the latter can afford to crack the whip in Delhi and not appear as subservient as it does when dealing with this junior ally. Exemplary action here would send an important message to other junior partners and to ministers within the ruling party who have not exactly been symbols of good governance.
The Supreme Court today issued notices to Reliance Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Ltd, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on the appeals moved by more than 50 land owners of Surat, alleging that the Mukesh Ambani-led company had not paid them adequate compensation for acquisition. Their land will be used for laying pipelines to transport gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin to Gujarat.
Markets closed lower with the Sensex losing 3 per cent to close below the 17,000 mark at 16,810.80 during the last week. FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,083 crore for the week ending October 22. However, selling over the last two trading sessions by FIIs in frontline stocks, disappointing global cues and an uptick in domestic inflation were prime reasons for the correction.
FII attitude may be key
Retail and corporate loan rates may stay the same as bankers today ruled out any increase in lending rates in the next three to four months, thanks to the RBI keeping almost all key rates unchanged.
The Finance Ministry today said the RBI"s move to retain almost all key rates unchanged will give a positive signal to the economy, which is on the path of recovery.
Aiming to tackle inflationary pressures, the Reserve Bank today increased a key statutory deposit ratio for banks by one percentage point to 25 per cent but the move is not expected to push interest rates up.
Media house Sun TV Network today reported a rise of 20.54 per cent in its net profit at Rs 130.56 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, over the same period a year earlier.
Corpus may touch $500 mn if infrastructure included
The nearly Rs 150-crore FMCG company, Jyothy Laboratories, is looking for acquisitions of regional brands worth up to Rs 100 crore. The company is present in the fabric care, utensils washing and personal care segment with brands like Ujala, Maxo and Exo.
With the festive season of Diwali round the corner, Surat-based textile traders are facing the cash crunch again. Traders are facing a tough time dealing with a reduced credit limit of mere 30 days as against over 120 days couple of months ago.
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has so far borrowed about Rs 8,000 crore from banks this season to carry out procurement operations on behalf of the government, half of which is yet to be repaid.
Bangalore-based jewellery exporter Rajesh Exports Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that Rajesh Mehta, one of the promoters of the company has pledged 15 million equity shares in his personal capacity, about 17.18 per cent of his stake in the company to avail finance for his personal requirement.
Mangalore-based public sector lender, Corporation Bank, today reported 41.75 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 261.25 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Its operating profit for the quarter went up by 77.96 per cent year-on-year to Rs 571.24 crore.
The transaction values XTO at $51.69 a share, 25 per cent higher than its last closing - MCL decision on coal transport to help land oustees - UBI likely to float IPO by early February - 25 suspended workers reinstated at Dunlop"s Sahaganj unit - Elder gets bolder - Ruia Group acquires 60% stake in Henniges Automotive Grefrath - "Declare oil palm a plantation crop"
Education solutions provider Edserv Softsystems today said it has received approval from its shareholders to raise funds through various options, including issuing securities of up to $500 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) in the overseas market.
The last fortnight of 2009 brought back smile on the face of bankers, as outstanding credit in this period grew at the quickest pace in the financial year so far.
Credit growth of banks remained at 13 per cent for the fortnight ended January 1 compared to 24 per cent in same period a year ago.
Set to turn the company around this year.
The year 2009 saw the industry combating the shadows of global slowdown. A year full of challenges, which kick-started with the Vibrant Gujarat summit, was also a blessing in disguise in some cases especially with pharma companies returning homewards to Gujarat or brain drain from the reputed insitutes like IITs and IIMs being contained for the time being. While acquisitions and mergers gained some momentum in the later half of 2009, some of the special economic zone projects were hit. Companies responded with more innovative solutions while waking up to newer challenges. Problems in land acquisitions continue to remain although the process has been far more peaceful in Gujarat as compared to other states. This can be guaged from the fact that the first Nano by Tata Motors at Sanand got ready this year
Subir Roy / New Delhi December 23, 2009, 0:14 IST
The government has relaxed the visa conditions that require a foreigner to take a two-month break before re-entering the country, Home Minister P Chidambaram said here today.
The Nifty traded in the positive territory for most part of the day. The index made an intra-day high of 5,167 but closed at 5,103, indicating caution at higher levels. This means the 5,182 level has acted as a strong resistance for the last four days with crucial support remaining at 5,080. It is difficult to predict when the market will move out of the current trading band as indecisiveness has now spread to stocks futures — most traded Nifty components, such as Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Unitech, DLF, Tata Motors and Suzlon Energy, closed in a Doji pattern today.
The Indian government has cancelled visas of Pakistani-origin terror suspects David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana, according to sources.
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).
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co’s investment bank, survivors of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, are set to pay record bonuses this year.
Citigroup Inc posted a $4.28 billion profit, less than analysts estimated, as surging loan losses cut into a gain from selling control of the Smith Barney brokerage unit.
Bank of America Corp, the biggest US lender, has raised almost all of the $33.9 billion demanded by regulators after last month’s stress tests and now expects to “comfortably exceed” that number.
General Electric Co (GE) is seeking to sell its security unit, which builds surveillance cameras and alarms, and may fetch about $2 billion, people aware of the details said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepped in this evening to soothe market sentiments after the government’s intention to borrow over Rs 4,00,000 crore during the current financial year pushed up bond yields.
Media firm Eros International plans to raise Rs 350 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) and has filed a draft prospectus with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for the same.
German lender Deutsche Bank today reported third quarter profit of 1.4 billion euro, which has nearly tripled from that of the year-ago period supported by tax benefits and rise in revenues.
Business Standard / New Delhi October 28, 2009, 0:02 IST
Companies like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Nomura, Standard Chartered, JPMorgan and RBS flock the campuses Banking and finance companies, whose dismal performance in late 2008 caused panic among students and faculty members of the premier Indian Institutes of Management, are making up this year with better profiles and stipends.
Global banking behemoth Standard Chartered plans to hire 3,000 employees in India by the end of 2010, a year that would also see it listing its shares on the bourses in India.
Tata Sons Director R K Krishna Kumar today said the company should increase its holdings in Tata Group companies.
The steel ministry is planning to set up a special arm under Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to spearhead overseas acquisitions, particularly in the mining sector.
Nine years after it exited the business, Premier Auto is making a comeback in passenger cars. The Doshi family, promoters of one of India’s oldest car companies, known for the once-ubiquitious Premier Padmini, are set to launch a compact sports utility vehicle (SUV).
Godrej Properties has fixed a price band of Rs 490-530 per equity share for its initial public offer, which is scheduled to open for subscription on December 9.
The Union shipping ministry has asked all ports in the country with a presence of Dubai World’s maritime subsidiary, DP World, to report on how much trade goes through the company-operated terminals.
Giving relief to individual taxpayers, the government today raised the income tax exemption limit by Rs 10,000 for general taxpayers, and by Rs 15,000 for senior citizens.
With the new UPA Government expected to give a push to economic reforms, LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL) hopes the Centre would resolve some pending issues to enable it to launch long-awaited reverse mortgage scheme for senior citizens.
JSW Energy will open its Initial Public Offer (IPO) on December 7, to raise Rs 2,700 crore. The issue will close on December 10.
Adani Enterprises today reported a 30 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 147.95 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed companies planning initial public offerings (IPOs) and their merchant bankers to pay commission to self-certified syndicate bankers (SCSBs) who process IPO applications for subscribers.
The average size of IPOs rose by nearly half in 2008 over 2007, though the financial meltdown may have scared away many from the primary capital market, bringing down the number of IPOs to about one-third, the Economic Survey said today.
There is need for a separate exchange or platform for small and medium enterprises (SME) as the criteria for listing such companies are different, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today.
THIS YEAR will be remembered as the beginning of the Magnus Carlsen era. Carlsen is not yet world champion. In fact, he can’t be, earlier than 2011-12. However, the world championship looks inevitable, even if it"s tempting fate to say it.
Passengers flying in and out of the Mumbai airport are likely to face a tough time on every Tuesday for the next five months as the intersection point of the two runways would remain closed for a few hours that day.
Comprehensive civil nuclear pact to be signed during PM’s visit.
The market watchdog Sebi today extended the ASBA (application supported blocked amount) facility to corporate investors and high networth individuals (HNIs) to enable them to apply for IPOs or rights issue by keeping the application money in their bank accounts till allotment.
Satyam Computer Services Ltd (SCSL) founder, B Ramalinga Raju, his brothers and their spouses have acquired 1,065 properties with a registered value of Rs 350 crore.
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.
Tata Capital, the Tata Group’s non-banking finance arm, is looking to raise a fund that will invest in distressed companies and help them expand their equity base.
Acting chief Vasudevan caught taking Rs 7 lakh.
After a year of slow growth, apparel maker and retailer Provogue is reworking its business strategy to boost revenues and prop up margins, a top company executive said.
Kolkata came to standstill on the eve Durga Puja as major breakdown in CESC system caused massive power cut for several hours. A sudden breakdown of electricity supply to the city lasting for hours gave a creepy feeling to the people on the eve of Durga Puja. The breakdown in power supply affected Metro Rail, city"s major hospitals, the High Court, the state"s administrative headquarters and the commercial hubs. The CESC which is responsible for maintaining electric supply to the city, had a major breakdown in its system, causing a shortfall of 635 mw. According to CESC, one of its 132 KV substation line snapped in the morning causing the breakdown. As a result, two of its units in Budge Budge power station and one in Southern Generating Station went out of the system. To save other power stations from tripping, the CESC had to isolate other units from the grid.
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.
The Supreme Court (SC) today refused to entertain a petition filed by Himanshu Sabharwal challenging acquittal of ABVP activists in the case of killing of his father Professor H S Sabharwal in Madhya Pradesh.
The country"s second-largest realty firm, Unitech, is likely to raise $200 million (nearly Rs 1,000 crore) within the next three months by selling stake in its affordable housing projects to private equity players.
The Initial Public Offer (IPO) of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN), the state-owned hydro power producer, is likely to hit the market in the next financial year.
A strong brand, robust performance and healthy growth prospects provide comfort, but the IPO pricing caps any near-term gains.
Intrasoft Technologies, which runs greetings card website 123greetings.com, will enter the capital market to raise funds and has filed draft papers with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
Telecom wizard Sunil Mittal has said Bharti Airtel would not call South Africa"s MTN again, after renewed merger talks between the two companies failed for want of government approval.
India may go beyond the purchase of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft.
Sensex ends up 35pts
Pune-based realty firm Kumar Urban Development plans to raise Rs 450 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) to fuel its expansion plans and pay-off debts.
US-based private equity firm Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) today said it has raised $1.2 billion to invest in domestic and international companies across sectors.
The CBI today began its probe into the helicopter crash that killed former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four other persons with a team visiting the site in Nallamala forests.
The government has deferred a decision on Pepsico India Holding"s proposal to invest $200 million (about Rs 930 crore) in the next three years.
Business solutions company Aditya Birla Minacs has partnered with NorthStar Systems International, a provider of wealth management software solutions, to provide a total wealth management package.
Logistic solutions provider Aqua Logistics is aiming to raise up to Rs 150 crore through its proposed initial public offer and has already filed draft papers with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for this purpose.