TCS Bags $140 Mn BSNL Deal

While Indian IT companies have been winning outsourcing contacts from all over the globe, the global biggies like IBM has beaten them hands down by winning big ticket telecom deals right in their backyard but looks like thats about to change. TCS the largest Indian IT player has cracked a $140 million deal from BSNL. It will revamp BSNL''s network to meet next generation requirements.

It is a very significant deal for us in the domestic space. We are expecting the revenues to start kicking in this quarter itself, said N Chandrasekaran, Executive VP, Head - Global Operations, TCS. Clearly, for Indian IT pack there is renewed interest in the domestic market. Thanks to the appreciating rupee that has made the domestic margins more comparable than earlier. We have focused on the domestic significantly and going forward we want to emphasise even more. There are quite a few deals of similar kind in the pipeline, said Chandrasekaran.

However, its not just the rupee factor with the government, not too willing to extend tax sops for software exports and with demand boosting back home it can significantly contribute to their bottom lines. No wonder that the IT companies are now going all out to woo Indian clients.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

M&M Launches Defence Purpose Vehicle

Its big and mean and very tough. Its the latest product from Mahindra Defence Systems, the Axe FAV is an extreme offroading multi terrain defence purpose vehicle. Mahindra has developed the Axe for defence use and is pitching it to the Indian Army. The company has also bagged an order from a foreign army for 215 units of which 15 are being shipped right away. In fact, Mahindra is eyeing quite an opportunity in this space and will be pitching this vehicle and some future variants to defence forces in many countries.

So the company is in the process of setting up a new arm, Mahindra Special Military Vehicles Ltd. This company will have its own manufacturing plant outside Delhi in Faridabad on a 6-acre plot. Initial investments are pegged at about Rs 50 crore. Work has already begun and the Faridabad plant will be operational by March 2008. It will source engines for the Axe platform from GM and Ssangyong initially, before switching to indigenous engines subsequently. The new plant will make and supply defence vehicles like the Axe and any future military specific models developed by Mahindra. These vehicles will be exported as well.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

TVS Motor Launching Seven New Lines

TVS Motor Co, India''s third-biggest motorbike maker, has rolled out seven new vehicles, including its first three-wheeler and a new 125 cc bike, aimed at gaining lost share in a highly competitive market.

Along with three types of motorised three-wheelers, the company also unveiled an electric scooterette, a 110 cc variant of its Star City bike and a new model of the Apache 150 cc bike, which will be launched in phases.

Each new roll-out signals intent to regain market share and momentum within the industry, TVS said in a statement.

TVS estimated the market for passenger three-wheelers at 360,000 units a year. Its plant in Hosur has an annual capacity to make 100,000 three-wheelers.

The market is led by Bajaj Auto Ltd, with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Piaggio also competing.

TVS Motor trails Hero Honda Motors Ltd and Bajaj in the motorbike market, which has seen a drop in sales in the past few months as higher interest rates hit consumer spending.

The new launches from TVS come just ahead of the launch of Bajaj Auto''s new 125 cc Exceed bike, which Bajaj expects will wean consumers from the lower-margin 100 cc segment.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Reliance Comm Rises On TRAI Proposals

Shares in Reliance Communications rose on Thursday on hopes that recommendations from the telecom regulator on the allocation and use of spectrum would speed up its growth.

The Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday recommended allowing existing licensees to provide wireless services using a mix of mobile phone transmission platforms on payment of an upfront fee.

Reliance Communications, India''s second-ranked mobile operator, has most of its subscribers on the CDMA platform.

It has applied for licenses on the dominant GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) platform in 15 of India''s 23 telecom zones. It already provides GSM services in the rest of the zones.

The recommendation is a clear positive for Reliance Communications, Macquarie Research analysts said in a report. This eliminates significant uncertainty about Reliance Communications'' ability to launch GSM operations.

Shares in Reliance Communications rose 2.8 percent up to 534.40 rupees in a Mumbai market that gained 0.9 percent. But Bharti Airtel, which is India''s top mobile services firm, slipped 0.1 percent to 878.80 rupees.

Under TRAI''s proposals to the government, analysts said Reliance Communications would be able to provide GSM services through its existing licenses, which could mean a faster roll-out of services than if it had to wait for approval of new licences.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Tata Steel Likely To Begin Work In November

Bhubaneswar: The Tata group mulls to begin the construction work of its proposed 6 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar in November 2007. Tata said that issues pertaining to the Kalinganagar plant, Gopalpur SEZ and other projects figured in the discussion with the Chief Minister. Two issues one pertaining to the mines and the other to the transferring of 200 families in the Kalinganagar area prominently came up at the discussion. They have asked for iron ore mines to the Orissa government and expect to get it very soon. Secondly, the shifting of 200 families required taking place for the construction to start at the project site. Out of 1200 families scheduled to be displaced from the Kalinganagar area 620 families had been shifted so far. Once 200 more families shifted, the company would start construction work. The company asked for mines as it fulfilled the conditions in the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) signed with the Orissa government pertaining to the order of equipment for the plant. It placed orders of Rs 4500 crore for this plant.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

ICICI Bank To Help Insurance JVs

MUMBAI: Even if RBI permits ICICI Bank''s proposal to establish a holding company for its insurance and asset management businesses, the private bank will have to not only lend its brand and give technical support, but also chip in if the insurance JVs are in trouble. The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) has put in the condition while approving the private bank''s proposal to establish an intermediate holding company between the insurance firm and the bank. Since IRDA had issued the insurance licence based on ICICI Bank''s balance-sheet, the regulator seeks the bank to take full resposibility for any eventuality.

According to the bank''s proposal, which has not gone down well with RBI, ICICI Bank wants to transfer its equity stakes in the insurance and asset management JVs to a holding company. In return, ICICI Bank will get shares of the proposed holding company. Though IRDA approved the proposal, it has been categorical that the bank, and no other entity, can be the promoter of the insurance companies. IRDA, however, has not stipulated a minimum shareholding that ICICI Bank has to maintain in the holding firm.

Banking circles think if RBI eventually approves the structure, it will ensure the holding company, which is like a special purpose vehicle, is regulated and not over leveraged. This will mean there could be serious restrictions on whether the holding company can borrow, or raise debt capital, to invest money into the insurance company. Secondly, the bank has to spell out the ways it is exposed to the insurance business and, thirdly, the regulations that will apply to an investment company managing the group investments and whether such an entity would have to be registered with the central bank.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Temptation To Buy HUL''s Marine Biz

It''s a deal that could be tempting enough for FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever. Temptation Foods, a little known frozen foods exporter is all set to buy out HUL''s marine division in a deal that has been in the cold storage for months. Temptation is likely to pay Rs 150-160 crore for the marine business. The deal is likely to be struck by the month-end. Temptation has a facility near Pune with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonne.

HUL''s marine business with five plants exports products crabsticks, shrimps and fish fillets. That''s not all, Temptation is also in the race to acquire Marico brand SIL Jam and that''s why it is now raising big money to fund its ambitious acquisition plans. Temptation is raising $200 million through sale of shares/convertible warrants to QIPs. The company will seek shareholders approval for the funds mop up plan at its EGM on September 17.Temptation, which was so far focused on exports is now planning to get into the Indian retail market in a big way. It knows that it makes far greater sense to acquire established brands rather than build brand new brands for the Indian retail market.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

New India Assurance Sets Tight Terms For Mediclaim

New Delhi: Insurer divides country into three zones with varying premiums. New India Assurance, the country''s largest general insurance company, has come out with differential pricing and tougher conditions in mediclaim policies from August 16 to check losses in health portfolio. Based on the region-wise claim experience, the company has divided the country into three zones with changing premium rates and claim amounts with effect from August 16. If one pays premium in Zone III but is hospitalised in Zone I, one has to bear 20 per cent of the claim amount, or in other words only 80 per cent of the claim will be paid. Mumbai comes under zone I, Delhi and Bangalore fall under zone II and the rest of India falls under zone III. Since there have been many claims for the age group 3 months to 5 years, a new category has been created for this age band and for a sum assured of Rs 3 lakh, the premium is Rs 3,615 for Zone III, Rs 3,705 for Zone II and Rs 3,800 for Zone I.

Compare this with rates for the age group 6 years to 35, where the rate is lower for the same sum assured Rs 3,445 for Zone III, Rs 3,530 for Zone II and Rs 3,620 for Zone I. Similarly, persons, aged above 45 buying a policy for the first time, will now have to undergo a prescribed medical test at own cost, no enhancement in sum insured will be allowed to persons above 60 years, cumulative bonus has been revised with a maximum limit of 30 per cent instead of 50 per cent and the entire cumulative bonus will be withdrawn at time of renewal if there is any claim. Compulsory coverage for pre-existing condition and existing conditions of diabetes and hypertension have to be covered compulsorily by payment of additional premium at rate of 20 per cent of basic premium per each pre-existing condition. Claim ratio in respect of mediclaim policies has increased from 102 per cent in 2004-05 to 128 per cent in 2005-06 for New India.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

M&M Launches Scorpio Getaway

umbai: Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra launched on Aug 29, Scorpio Getaway the sports utility vehicle version of its successful model Scorpio. The SUV variant is aimed at the young, image conscious and outgoing consumer. The company, which has earlier unveiled the vehicle in Chandigarh, will unveil it in the rest of the country by the end of the year. The vehicle has been unveiled in the overseas markets in South Africa and Australia. It is offered in two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Ashok Leyland Ties Up With Nissan To Produce Trucks

Chennai, Aug 29 Ashok Leyland and Nissan Motor Co Ltd on Aug 29, inked heads of agreement for forming three joint venture companies to produce light commercial vehicles (LCV), powertrains and R&D. This includes giving Nissan with access to Ashok Leyland''s dealer network in India and permitting Ashok Leyland to use Nissan dealer networks in identified export markets outside India. The truck maker is close to unveiling a few high-capacity products, perhaps even a 49-tonne truck with a payload capacity of 40 tonnes.

Although Ashok Leyland has not declared the range of trucks its joint venture with Nissan will produce, it will presumably be those in sub-6 tonne range. Today, multi-axle vehicles dominate the movement of goods between cities and with several cities restricting entry of big trucks during daytime, there is bound to be a demand for LCVs to take the cargo into cities. In July, the company declared two joint ventures one with Alteams of Finland for high-pressure dies castings and another with Siemens VDO for electronic components for vehicles.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

iGate Among Top 3 Best Employers In DQ-IDC 20 Best Employers Survey 2007

iGate Global Solutions Ltd has announced that the Company has been ranked among the top 3 best IT employers in the country in the 7th Annual Dataquest-IDC survey 2007.

The survey of Top 20 Best IT employers are based on a combination of Employee Satisfaction and HR scores.

With employee strength of around 6000, the Company in the survey is way ahead of bigger Indian and Multinational players in the IT industry. From its earlier (2006) rank of 29, the Company has moved to the third place.

A combination of unique employment benefit programmes, coupled with state of the art career planning and home grown leadership development model has pushed the Company to be the 3rd best IT employer in India.

We are glad that our governance model which attempts to optimize value of share holders, employees and customer and value to the society at large has received befitting espousal in the DO-IDC Best Employer Survey 2007. Our organizational culture which is built on adult to adult engagement model wherein employees have an effective say in their wealth creation has resulted in the most innovative stock ownership programme covering 50% of our workforce, said Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, of the Company.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Firstsource Rumored To Hunt Banking Captives

Indian BPO vendor Firstsource is reportedly negotiating to purchase two of financial services giant Prudential''s captive call centers as part of a massive outsourcing contract. If the talks go through, sources say the resulting deal could be worth between $1bn and $1.5bn. The contract would likely resemble the recent $250m Infosys tie-up with Philips, in which the outsourcing company acquires certain assets from the client in addition to a multiyear services agreement, the report states. Some media reports have mentioned that TCS may also be in the running to acquire the Prudential captives.

One of the centers is located in Mumbai and houses 1,800 employees, providing about one-third of Prudential''s call center work, the article said. The other back-office operation is in the UK.

Firstsource has been at the center of several acquisition rumors recently. Last week it was said to be closing in on a $300m deal to buy MedAssist, a US BPO group serving health care providers. It is also one of the three remaining bidders for Citigroup''s captive BPO unit. Fellow Indian BPO notable Genpact and private equity firm 3I are also looking to acquire an 80% stake of the captive, which could come at a price of $600m to $700m, a separate article in the Economic Times states.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

ING Vysya Life Receives Approval For Expansion

Mumbai: ING Vysya Life has got shareholders clearance to expand its capital base up to Rs 1,480 crore. Its current capital base is Rs 765 crore which will be increased to Rs 790 crore next month. They have the shareholder''s clearance to increase this to Rs 1,480 crore, which is enough to sustain the growth needs of the business until next year. On a holding company structure, adopted by banks such as ICICI Bank and SBI for raising capital for their insurance company subsidiaries. ING Vysya Life''s new business premium increased 65 per cent to Rs 467.44 crore in 2006-07 from Rs 284.07 crore in the previous year. The market share increased from 0.8 per cent between July and December 2006 to 1.2 per cent in the period between January and June 2007. The company mulled to increase its distribution footprint beyond the four States in the South where it currently has a significant presence.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Bombay Dyeing To Mop Up Rs 300Cr

Mumbai: Bombay Dyeing on Aug 28, said it has got shareholders clearance to mop up about Rs 300 crore through issue of warrants, representing up to five per cent stake in the company, on preferential basis to its promoter company Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd (BBTCL). Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company has got shareholders clearance to issue and allot up to 19.30 lakh warrants convertible into equity share of the company any time within 18 months from the date of issue in one or more tranches to BBTCL. The company will allot shares at a price arrived at by taking the average of the weekly high and low of the closing prices of the company''s shares quoted on the National Stock Exchange during the six months or two weeks preceding July 28. The promoter group company, had also asked shareholders approval via a postal ballot for infusing the amount to acquire the stake.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Reliance Fresh Faces Protest In Bengal

The signboards of Reliance Fresh outlet in Kolkata have been covered up after some stores were vandalized in the city by a partner in the Left Front government, the Forward Bloc. We are not going to shut up and sit back while someone snatches our livelihood from us. We can''t afford to see our children go hungry so we will fight back, said Hafiz Alam Sairani, Forward Bloc. If Reliance insists on opening shop, the people will protest and as representatives of the people, so will we, said Rahul Sinha, BJP. Reliance had big plans for Bengal including investments worth Rs 4,500 crore. It plans 145 Reliance Fresh stores and nine distribution centers as well as six food-processing units and 23 collection hubs. Reliance officials were not willing to comment except to say off the record that they were adopting a wait and watch policy. In Bengal then, for the moment at least, Reliance Fresh seems destined for the cold storage.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

IOC Names Petronet For Ennore Project

New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) is likely to appoint Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) as partner for its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and re-gasification terminal at Ennore, Tamil Nadu. It said bringing PLL into the project will help in sourcing LNG. Non-availability of LNG under long-term contracts has been a major deciding factor in such projects. In fact, IOC has also been pursuing various LNG suppliers for long-term supply.

Only after an umbrella MoU is signed will the two companies define the exact role of each other in the project. While the companies remained tight-lipped on the proposal, indications are that besides the LNG terminal project, PLL would look for a larger role in its joint venture with IOC, including certain downstream activities in related areas. The terminal is expected to cost around Rs 3,500 crore with proposed capacity of 2.5 million tonnes (mt) per annum. Currently, there are two LNG terminals in the country, PLL''s 6.5-mt-per-annum terminal at Dahej, Gujarat, and Shell''s 2.5-mt-per-annum Hazira terminal.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

NTPC Mulls To Increase Ennore Project Capacity

Chennai: Even as preparations for the foundation stone ceremony for the National Thermal Power Corporation''s 1,000 MW Ennore project on September 5 are under way, the public sector power producer is mulling to raise the capacity of the project by another 500 MW. The addition of a third unit of 500 MW capacity will help bring down the overheads of the project. The Ennore project, a joint venture with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, will be put up with an investment of Rs 5,200 crore. BHEL will supply the equipment. Meanwhile, the company also plans to revive the Cheyyur plant, with an enhanced capacity.

The project was conceived close to a decade ago for a capacity of 1,000 MW, but now NTPC plans to take it up further, perhaps even as high as 4,000 MW. The Cheyyur project will not face any environmental issues. NTPC was also interested in establishing an ultra mega power merchant plant. NTPC was looking at the feasibility of establishing a wind farm in shallow seas. NTPC will establish a 200-250 MW ''park'', going up to 1,000 MW by 2017.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

GM''s India Tech Centre All Set For To Design, Develop Complete Cars

Bangalore: The India centre of the General Motors'' technical centre will be capable to design and develop complete cars for the global market soon even as the centre plans to double its headcount to over 1,600 in two years. They are growing from engineering services to full product development service. The centre, which currently has around 800 engineers, is also the fastest growing among the 12 centres of the world''s leading car market. The centre will also establish the clay model of cars in November this year in its newly expanded 1.6 lakh square feet capacity near Bangalore.

Most of the global car makers have outsourced design and engineering part of their cars to Indian companies to reduce costs as well as to take advantage of the vast pool of talent in India. In three-five years, the centre will have the capability to do full vehicle development for the Indian market as well as for other markets. One of the policies of General Motors is to allow local engineers to slowly come of age rather than import a mature work force and put the centre on fast track. They give training, they have separate budgets for each centre and we also send engineers to work in other centres who come back equipped with doing better work as well as return with more work for the centre. The Bangalore centre currently does work on key sub-systems like bonnets and chasis sub-system and has started doing the entire face-lift for newer versions of passenger cars.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

State Bank Of Saurashtra To Be Amalgamated With SBI

Mumbai: State Bank of India, the country''s largest commercial bank, has started the consolidation process with its associate banks. SBI has decided to amalgamate State Bank of Saurashtra, a wholly owned associate bank, with itself. The boards of both SBI and State Bank of Saurashtra have given an in-principle clearance to the amalgamation proposal. SBI will now have to get permissions from both the Government, the majority owner of the bank holding 59.73 per cent stake, and the Reserve Bank of India.

The merger would enhance the capital and the balance sheet of SBI. State Bank of Saurashtra is the smallest among the seven associate banks of SBI, in terms of networth. The other six associates are State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Indore and State Bank of Patiala. SBI''s controlling interests in the associate banks range from 75 per cent to 100 per cent. SBS registered a net profit of Rs 87.4 crore in 2006-07, a jump of 45.4 per cent from Rs 60.1 crore in the previous year. The bank has paid-up equity capital of Rs 314 crore. SBS'' total deposits stood at Rs 15,804 crore while total advances were at Rs 11,081 crore.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

ICICI Bank Targets Single Digit Attrition

MUMBAI: India''s largest private lender ICICI Bank is targeting to reach single digit attrition rate even as it continues to recruit 20,000-30,000 people every year. The attrition in financial services group of the bank is 15-18 per cent also, getting the right skill sets and the right people to do the job is a challenge. To deal with dearth of trained manpower, the bank has decided to increase the pool of people with the right skill sets. They have provided our six-month training module for the curricula of NIIT, Manipal University and ICFAI and now they are in talks with various management institutions to include it in the first degree itself. The talent pool created is not exclusive only to ICICI Bank but are available to all. This year too ICICI Bank mulls to directly employ 20,000-30,000 people for its three backoffice hubs in Bhubhaneshwar, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Holcim Hikes Stake In Ambuja Cements

India''s infrastructure story is gaining strength and Holcim wants to build a stronger foundation.After posting a three-fold rise in profits for the first half of the year, the Swiss building materials giant is pumping in big money to take complete control of one of its Indian affiliates-Ambuja Cements.

Holcim, which owns 32.3 per cent in Ambuja said on Thursday that it is buying 3.9 per cent from its erstwhile promoters at Rs 154 per share. It will be followed by an open offer for an additional 20 per cent.

The open offer has been priced at 18 per cent premium over Ambuja Cement''s closing price on Wednesday. If fully subscribed the offer will cost Holcim $1.3 billion and increase its stake in Ambuja to over 56 per cent.

The enterprise value per tonne works out to $300, the highest for any cement capacity globally. And one reason why Holcim is paying so much for taking control of Ambuja is because it wants to consolidate Ambuja''s financials with the group balance sheet.

But will the offer be tempting enough for Ambuja shareholders who had rejected Holcim''s initial open offer after it bought into Ambuja in January 2006.

Industry observers are divided, but there are others like Ambuja''s former CEO Anil Singhvi who feel that Holcim offer will get decent response this time around.

Holcim is clearly betting on India where cement demand is growing at over 12 per cent as against 3 per cent in its own backyard in Europe. Its next challenge however will be to take a majority stake in ACC, its other affiliate and possibly to merge the two companies at some later stage.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

LIC All Set For Girl Child Plan

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is in discussion with several State Governments on introducing an insurance scheme for the girl child. LIC will come out with a tailor-made insurance scheme for the Karnataka Government, specially for girl children belonging to the BPL (below the poverty line) families, the source said. According to the source, the corporation developed State-specific policies to suite the specific needs. The zone, which comprised Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, ranked first in the country by recording highest growth rate by collecting Rs 1,910 crore as on August 15, recording a growth rate of 76.55 per cent.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Yes Bank Eyes To Finance Agri-Biz

Agriculture may be the slowest growing sector of the Indian economy but it is also throwing up big opportunities that banks are eager to cash in on.Yes Bank is in talks with six state governments to help set-up and finance private public partnerships in the agri-business sector. The Planning Commission has approved the proposal and details are being worked out with state governments.

These projects will bring in private players to invest in agri-related businesses in partnership with state governments. The bank is already working on eight such projects in the supply chain management areas with an estimated investment of Rs 1,500 - 1,800 crore.

We are in talks with state governments in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa. In fact, we are running mandates for these state governments. Right now focusing on the supply chain model where essentially buyers and sellers will converge. There will be price discovery, a transparent mechanism, our estimate is that we will prevent 25 - 30 per cent of financial leakages that happen, said Somak Ghosh, President - Development Banking, Yes Bank.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Micro Technologies Introduces Chinese Version Of Its International Product Micro LMTS

Micro Technologies India Ltd has announced that the Company as introduced the Chinese version of its internationally acclaimed product MICRO LMTS (Lost Mobile Tracking System). In terms of advanced techno and the huge market demand the product has been made more sophisticated and versatile. China has the largest GSM mobile subscribers and this version of Micro LMTS would add on a significant number of Chinese customers to the existing ones. Micro LMTS is one of the foremost internationally accepted the Companys products.

This is the only advanced technology available in the market, which helps the user to retrieve the lost or stolen mobile. Micro LMTS is far ahead of some of the existing Chinese technologies in the global market in terms of unique features of intimating location of the handset; hidden mode of software in the users mobile, occupancy of less memory and above all an advance technology which is a cost effective solution for securing mobile handsets. This application works on a GSM Technology require GPRS activated SIM and informs the user about the new SIM card number (that has been replaced by the original SIM), IMEI Number through an SMS alert along with an email to the provided addon number. Micro LMTS will assist in reducing mobile theft on a larger scale.

The Company, a prominent name amongst techno-savvy Companies and IT research units in the entire country and is well positioned to be a significant force in the global economy of the 21st Century in the much-needed security devices, life support systems and web-based software.

There are several other language versions of Micro LMTS in pipeline, and introduction of the Chinese version of Micro LMTS has created a new geography for expansion of the Company with its products.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Siemens Medical Solutions fixes Record Date For Issue Of New Share Certificate Consequent To Change

Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics Ltd has informed that the Registrar of Companies, Gujarat on August 02, 2007, has issued a fresh certificate of incorporation to the Company in the name of Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics Ltd. Consequently, the name of Bayer Diagnostics Ltd stands changed to Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics Ltd with effect from August 02, 2007.

Further the Company has informed that in view of the above, the Company shall send new share certificate(s) through registered post to all the members of the Company holding shares in physical form for which the record date fixed by the Company is September 10, 2007.

Please refer Notice No. 20070823-24 dated August 23, 2007 issued by the Exchange for further details.

Source : www.indian-commodity.com

Nokia''s Global CEO In India

It''s been a bad time for Nokia not just in India but around the world. The Finnish phone major has been battling with the issue of defective batteries.Barely a week after the world''s largest mobile phone manufacturer recalled some of its batteries anticipating overheating, the company''s global CEO Olli Pekka Kallasvuo is in India to do some serious firefighting on his company''s behalf.

Nokia''s boss is quick to point out where the blame really lies-with Matsushita of Japan which manufactured defective batteries.

But an incident like this raises serious questions around the whole issue of vendor management, where despite high quality standards, grave concerns like these continue to creep in.

Trouble is, there is no getting away from a manufacturing outsourced model like this. But away from defective batteries, Nokia''s boss did talk about his investment plans in India.

Nokia manufactures mobile phones in Chennai and has so far shipped 60 million phones from there, of which two million have been exported to 58 countries and a new facility is also being set up by Nokia Siemens Network in Chennai.

Away from the controversies Nokia''s CEO certainly hopes that India, the second largest market for his company will continue to grow explosively and add to a robust topline.

LIC Hopes To Sell 1 Mn New Policies

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), South Central zone, hopes to sell 1 million policies of its newly launched Fortune Plus and Profit Plus products by March next year. The south central zone covers the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

LIC said that the South Central zone had already registered 115 per cent growth in terms of new policies and 76 per cent growth in premium income by August 15 as compared with the corresponding period last year. With the kind of boom already there for the life insurance business and the popularity the LIC enjoyed for its previous unit-linked schemes, we hope to get a good response to our new products as well. As against the annual target of selling 7.4 million policies with a total premium income of Rs 7,654 crore, the corporation has already reported a turnout of 2.3 million policies carrying a premium income of Rs 1,910 crore by the middle of this month.

Wipro Inks Deal With Lockheed Martin

It''s a business waiting to take off even as global aviation majors look to increase the outsourcing and research and development work done in India.One company that is expecting to benefit is IT major Wipro, which has recently signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin to set up a centre in Delhi, doing work on cutting edge aviation technology.

This is a network centric operations lab both a simulation and demonstration lab, wherein problems from defence and civil agencies bring in and do simulation, said VR Venkatesh, Senior VP - Business Unit Head, Embedded & Product Engineering Solution, Wipro.

Although both Lockheed Martin and Wipro refuse to discuss the exact nature of the partnership, the size of this deal is highlighted by the fact that Wipro expects that revenues from its aviation vertical will grow to about 5 - 10 per cent of total revenues in the next three - five years, which pegs the business at $150 million, making it the fastest growing vertical.

Lockheed Martin for its part says that it is still in talks with Indian IT majors like Infosys, Satyam and Wipro as it steps up its presence in India.

Wipro represented an opportunity for collaboration for opportunities in network centric work. It offers an opportunity for military and civil work and we wanted to partner with a premier company in India. So we are investigating both large and small companies, said Ray Johnson, Senior VP & CIO, Lockheed.

The aviation industry in India comprising manufacturing, outsourcing, IT and high end KPO work is expected to touch about $3 billion in the next three- five years and Wipro with its core strength in product engineering and IT capabilities seems to be the ideal fit.

L&T Bags Ship Building Order

Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has won a repeat order valued at over $70 million for construction of two ships from RollDock BV of Netherlands.The vessels will be built at the existing shipyard that is a part of the engineering complex at Hazira, Surat.

RollDock, the Rotterdam-based shipping company, caters to special purpose cargo movements. Its management has expressed their desire to continue the company''s association with L&T for its future vessel acquisition programme.

They have also signed an agreement that includes options for more vessels of the same series to be built later this year. The vessels will be delivered by May 2010.

Reliance Fresh Told To Shut Shop In UP

Angry traders in Varanasi on Wednesday set on fire a part of the yet to be opened Reliance Fresh retail store. A more violent attack followed in Lucknow led by trade leaders affiliated to the Samajwadi Party.

But on Thursday Chief Minister Mayawati seemed to be sympathetic to the traders. She ordered the retail chains in Varanasi and Lucknow to shut and announced a panel to decide whether such outlets across the state, some of them already running, should be allowed at all. Stores like these will be shut in Lucknow and Varanasi in order to avoid law and order situation, said Mayawati, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh.

But insiders say that its not quite so simple. Vegetable vendors opposed to the retail chains are Sonkars, a BSP vote bank.

Moreover, the retail chains owned by Mukesh Ambani''s Reliance group were okayed by the previous Samajwadi Party government, something the party''s trade leaders choose to ignore now.

Mayawati''s decision may be politically correct at this point but it''s a big disappointment for a government that wants to encourage and welcome industries and corporate houses.

Irda Lays Stiff Conditions For ICICI Bank`s Risk Firm

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has laid rigid conditions while clearing ICICI Bank''s proposal to set up a holding company for its insurance and mutual fund businesses. The insurance regulator has asked the bank and its proposed holding company, ICICI Financial Services, to enter into tri-partite pact with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company. The tripartite agreements require the bank to state that it would continue to be deemed to be the Indian promoter of the two insurance companies for all purposes and to give an undertaking that irrespective of any other regulatory situations, in case of the proposed holding company being unable to meet the funding requirements of the insurance firms, the bank would step in to provide financial support to them, according to finance ministry sources.

The Irda has also stipulated that commitments to be given by ICICI Bank should be passed as resolutions by the board of all the companies signing the agreements. ICICI Bank plans to transfer its 74 per cent stakes each in the insurance companies and 51 per cent in ICICI Prudential Asset Management to ICICI Financial Services, after it gets the Reserve Bank of India''s (RBI) approval. The bank has also obtained the Foreign Investment Promotion Board''s (FIPB) approval for selling 24 per cent stake in the proposed holding firm to foreign investors, subject to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agreeing to the holding company structure.

FirstSource Emerges Frontrunner For Buying MedAssist

Mumbai: FirstSource Solutions is the frontrunner for buying the US-based healthcare player MedAssist. The deal size is almost $300 million (around Rs 1,200 crore). If it materialised, it would be one of the largest overseas acquisitions after Wipro''s buyout of Infocrossing for around $600 million and the largest in the BPO space. A FirstSource executive, however, said: As a policy, we do not comment on market speculation.

Sources close to the deal say there is one more serious contender in the race for MedAssist, which has revenues of $90-100 million and provides patient services, eligibility services, patient financing and healthcare collections. It has around 1,400 employees and 950 healthcare providers as clients. FirstSource is also rumoured to be in the race to acquire Citi''s BPO unit after the first round of bidding. The sale of the BPO business, being run by Citigroup Global Services (formerly eServe), is expected to fetch Citi around Rs 3,200 crore. Other bidders include WNS and Genpact. Around 13 per cent of FirstSource''s revenue comes from the healthcare segment. In January this year, it acquired BPM - a Delaware-based healthcare claims outsourcing company - for around $30 million.

Jet Airways To Embark On Delhi-Toronto Flight From Sep

Jet Airways will commence its five-day a week flight to Toronto from Delhi, via Brussels, from September 5. Jet Airways'' flight 9W225 will leave Toronto at 2015 hrs and reach Brussels at 0955 hrs. This flight will then leave Brussels at 1155 hrs and reach Delhi at 2335 hrs, it said. Meanwhile flight 9W 226, from New Delhi to Toronto, will take off at 0245 hrs from Delhi and reach Brussels at 0800 hrs. The flight will then leave Brussels at 0955 hrs and reach Toronto at 1215 hrs. The flight will operate daily except Tuesdays and Thursdays. The flight will also give Jet Airways passengers an opportunity to connect to Mumbai through its hub in Brussels. At Brussels, flights will be synchronised in such a way that it provides passengers from Toronto the opportunity to connect with the New York (EWR)-Mumbai flight and passengers from New York to connect to the Delhi flight.

The airline has offered a special roundtrip airfare from Toronto to Delhi or Mumbai in Economy Class for $1193, and a Premiere roundtrip fare starting at $4342, while the roundtrip fares from Toronto to Brussels in Economy Class are $680 and in Premiere $3712. All fares are valid until the end of the year and the tickets must be purchased by December 31, 2007.

ICICI Bank''s FDI likely To Fly

The decision by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to recommend the approval of 24% foreign holding in an ICICI Bank subsidiary for its insurance and asset management businesses is likely to take off in the face of the investment rules laid down. The limit on foreign shareholding in an insurance business is 26 per cent, but since ICICI Bank itself is 74 per cent owned by foreign interests, the effective (or beneficial) non-Indian interest in the insurance business will be way above the permissible limit if additional foreign investment is allowed through the subsidiary. This special dispensation for ICICI Bank is being proposed at a time when several other promoters of Indian insurance firms are patiently waiting for the law to be changed before they bring in fresh capital. Indeed, even if the proposed amendment to the Insurance Act to raise the foreign holding limit to 49 per cent is put through (and nothing is lost if this gets done), the effective foreign holding in ICICI Bank''s insurance business will still be way above the new ceiling permitted. It is unfortunate that the government is seeking to permit something by administrative fiat because it cannot change the relevant law at this juncture. It was on firmer ground when it raised the foreign investment limit in the telecommunications sector from 49 to 74 per cent as that did not need changing the law. The logic of that change was to put an end to the pyramiding of holding structures, to recognise what had already happened in the marketplace, and to cap the beneficial interest owned by shareholders; the ICICI Bank decision flies in the opposite direction, creates a new precedent, and therefore a new set of problems.

There is an urgent need to overhaul the entire regime governing foreign direct investment so as to make it simpler and more transparent.

Ranbaxy Launches Roliflo OD In India

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited on Wednesday launches Roliflo OD (combination of Tamsulosin and Tolterodine) brand in the Indian market for the management of bladder outlet obstruction with concomitant overactive bladder, a chronic urological disorder.

This is a Novel Drug Delivery System (NDDS) product which is being introduced for the first time in India.Roliflo OD will be sold as a once-a-day combination of Tolterodine tartarate extended release 4mg and Tamsulosin hydrochloride extended release 0.4mg dosage capsules. Overactive bladder in patients with bladder outlet obstruction largely remains under-treated due to the occurrence of side effects with currently available options in such patients.

Roliflo OD has demonstrated clinical tolerability of anti-muscarinics during various clinical trials due to the specially designed NDDS profile of the product. The extended release of the medicine in the human body is made possible because of the polymer coated beads of Tolterodine tartrate & Tamsulosin Hydrochloride, that are packed in a capsule, to enable only once a day administration. This significantly enhances patient convenience and improves compliance. Five out of every ten individuals above 40 years are believed to suffer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) with concomitant overactive bladder (OAB). The problem is equally common among men and women in both rural and urban population.

ICICI Bank Likely To Face Stiff RBI Test

The proposal of ICICI Bank, the country''s second largest lender, to set up a holding company for insurance and mutual fund businesses might hit a roadblock at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) though Finance Minister P Chidambaram on August 21 approved the proposal. The approval follows clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) subject to a nod from the RBI, which is still to take a view on such a holding structure for banks to own insurance ventures. Banking sources said such a holding subsidiary structure could possibly render RBI''s guidelines on para banking infructuous.

Finance ministry officials said the proposal would not go through if the RBI objects to it.The RBI had earlier rejected Catholic Syrian Bank''s proposal to sell a 15 per cent stake to Hong Kong-based AIF Capital, an Asian private equity firm. The Kerala-based bank then had to amend the plans to sell the stake equally to three private equity firms -- AIF Capital, London''s Gartmore and New York-based Siguler Guff. It went ahead with seeking approvals of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for selling a 24 per cent stake in the holding company, ICICI Financial Services, the formation of which solely rests on the receipt of approval from the RBI. In contrast, SBI, which has applied to the RBI for forming a similar holding firm for its insurance and mutual fund ventures, would not be approaching both the IRDA and the FIPB till it gets an approval from the banking regulator.

ICICI Bank plans to transfer its stakes in insurance and mutual fund joint ventures to the proposed holding company. This would enable it to transfer the burden of funding the highly capital intensive life insurance business.

Siemens Bets On Infrastructure Business

Just last month Peter Loscher took over the top job at German industrial group Siemens AG and now 50 days later Loscher is ready with big plans for India. Siemens is obviously gearing up to make the most of massive investments into India''s infrastructure sector. And Peter Loscher believes that Siemens'' low cost manufacturing and outsourcing capabilities puts India at the heart of Siemens AG''s global agenda.

Even as Siemens has scripted a smart turnaround in India, after years of losses the slide in its operating margins has been worrying its Indian shareholders. Siemens however says these are temporary hiccups.

Because of large investments margins are under pressure, J Schubert, Managing Director of Siemens India said. There has been a buzz that Siemens AG could de-list its Indian arm from the Indian stock exchanges. But Peter Loscher says that he wants Siemens to remain a listed entity.

Siemens currently accounts for just around four per cent of the group''s turnover and Peter Loscher wants this share to increase going forward. Siemens will focus on stepping up from India especially to neighboring countries and Middle East.

ICICI Bank Signs Pact With Korea Exim Bank

ICICI Bank inked an agreement with Export-Import Bank of Korea for a line of credit of $200 million. ICICI Bank would use the funds to meet the foreign currency requirements of corporates having business connections with Korean companies. These corporates could be Indian firms or those from neighbouring countries. This is the first time that Korea Exim Bank has extended such a line of credit to any bank. This two-step loan is not specifically tied to any sector and can be used across any sector. Sectors that are likely to benefit from this line of credit include consumer durables, automobile, power and shipping.

This facility would make it possible for ICICI Bank to give long-term loans, as it is a step-up loan having tenors of three years, 10 years and 14 years, the source said. The interest rates would be linked to tenors. The trade between India and Korea grew 40 per cent in the last two years, from $4.5 billion in 2004-05 to $6.3 billion in 2005-06. ICICI Bank had signed a similar arrangement for $200 million line of credit with Japan Bank for International Corporation a year ago. Out of this, $155 million has been drawn.

Infosys Sets Up Center In Mexico

Bangalore: Infosys Technologies Ltd has formed the company''s first Latin American subsidiary, and has opened the development centre and office for the region based in Monterrey, Mexico. This is the third region-specific subsidiary of Infosys after Australia and China. The subsidiary, Infosys Technologies S. De RL De CV, will provide business consulting and information technology services for clients in all industries, including banking, financial services, retail, consumer packaged goods, energy and utilities.

In the first year, Infosys Technologies S. De RL De CV will have more than 250 seats. By its third year of operation, it is expected to employ nearly 1,000 employees. After examining several countries in the region, Infosys chose Mexico because of the broad language skills, geographical proximity to Canada, the US and Europe. Latin America is a strong emerging market and one where many of the company''s clients have operations.

Infosys has roped in Mohit Joshi to head the new subsidiary. Joshi, formerly a group engagement manager with the company''s banking and capital markets organization, has more than 12 years experience.

DLF Bags Durgapur Township Project

DLF Ltd has announced that the Company has clinched the deal to develop an integrated town ship on 95 acres at Durgapurin the heart of the city. The public-private participation (PPP) project envisaged by the Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA), is expectedinvite investment up to Rs 4,000 crore and is to be completed in four years.

Based on a cross-subsidy model, the Dugrapur project will cater to all segments and comprise of Co-operative Housing Plots, residences for low, middle and high income groups as well as Bungalows, individual plots, commercial and retail space.

The Company will utilize the services of leading architectural and engineering Companies to design the township which will have large green spaces, wide roads, attractive retail and commercial spaces, an all-encompassing club with a swimming-pool, gymnasium, tennis court, card-room and state-of-the-art entertainment zone.

The township will have multiple environment protection measures like solar lights, rain-water harvesting, water recycling, use of waste water for toilet-flushing, irrigating green area and also a sewage treatment plant.

There were about 30 Companies who submitted their Expression of Interest. However, only one could clinch the deal the largest real estate player in India the Company. The group with its plans to capitalize on emerging market opportunities and provide high-end facilities through its proven expertise is the perfect partner for ADDA to translate its vision into reality.

With this project the Company reinforces its strong commitment for West Bengal. The company is developing around 5000 acre township and a textile SEZ at Dankuni, two IT parks at Rajarhat, luxury, budget hotels and service apartment in Kolkatta.

Educational Loans To Get Insurance Cover

Hyderabad: Banks are now trying to push their educational loan products with insurance cover to make them more attractive for the customers and safer for themselves. According to Mr A.L. Nageshwar Rao, General Manager, Andhra Bank, as educational loans have a long re-payment schedule often stretching up to nine years, the liability insurance shields the risk. In the event of any tragedy (death or incapacity), the loan repayment will be taken care of by the insurer.

Andhra Bank''s educational loan portfolio had grown by 34.7 per cent to Rs 953 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to Rs 707 crore in the same period last year. The bank has a tie-up with Life Insurance Corporation for the purpose.Though dependent on the loan amount and repayment schedule, the average premium amount works out to a little over Rs 1,000 per lakh per annum. While insurance is still an option for the customers in PSU Banks, many private banks are ''literally forcing'' the insurance on the customers, according to an official of a private bank.

Goldstone Technologies To Source Echelon Studios'' Content

Goldstone Technologies Ltd on August 20, 2007 has announced that that it has entered into an agreement with the US-based Echelon Studios to boost its video library content for its Video-on-Demand subscribers.

Echelon Studios, based out of Los Angeles, acquires and distributes filmed entertainment worldwide. Echelon Studios will now provide the Company with more than 3,500 video titles to be offered to its subscribers. These include movies, cartoons and sitcoms.

The agreement with Echelon Studios is for a period of five years on a revenue-sharing basis. It will substantially boost the Companys existing library of movies and other video content. The tie-up will widen Companys array of western video content and will reiterate its objective of movie on demand to global masses.

The Company will offer the Movie-on-Demand services along with the IPTV service initially in India and Asia Pacific countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Mr. Nandan Kundetkar, Chairman of the Company said, We are walking on the path we had clearly chalked out, by increasing our presence in the global market, step by step. Tie-up will give us access to huge quality video content and will definitely help us boost video-on-demand subscribers.

RIL Mulls Consumer Finance Foray

Reliance Industries is planning to enter financial services and is considering to apply for a NBFC licence. The company is currently eyeing to enter into agriculture, rural and micro finance. Reliance is formulating a strategy to empower farmers who are suppliers to Reliance Fresh and to middle class Indian consumers who shop till they drop.

The company is also considering distribution of mutual funds and insurance schemes. It plans to provide loans to consumers for high value retail shopping. The company''s aim is to tap farmers for steady supply of goods via agriculture, rural and micro finance.

RIL is evaluating various options to enter into financial products distribution. No concrete plans has been put into place to enter into agriculture, rural and micro finance, Reliance Industries Spokesperson said.

Reliance is planning to open 1,000 hypermarkets by 2011 and it is planning to replicate Wal-Mart format there by selling from ''pins to cars''. Analysts say that with rising middle class, consumer finance will be the key to its retail success.

Cipla Rolls Out Emergency Contraception Tablet

Mumbai-based Cipla is all set to roll out emergency contraception tablet under the brandname I-pill. Cipla is looking to generate awareness on this product to promote better spacing of children while planning a family, besides safeguarding against unintended pregnancies. Priced at Rs 75 for a tablet, this single pill emergency contraception (EC) will be sold over the counter, offering greater convenience and stronger dosage when compared to other products in the market. I-pill is the generic version of levonorgesprel, sold globally as Levonelle One step by Schering AG. At present, EC pills in the market are half the dosage i.e. 0.75 mg and two tablets need to be taken. The convenience with I-pill is that the single pill has double the dosage and when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex or contraceptive failure, it decreases chances of pregnancy by 90 per cent.

Nestle plans to bring down M&A spending

Nestle intends to reduce its annual budget for acquisitions to 2 billion francs ($1.7 billion) after spending $8 billion this year. The world''s largest food company, which last week announced plans to buy back a record 25 billion Swiss francs ($21 billion) of shares, will also consider selling units. The maker of Nescafe and Perrier mineral water agreed to buy the Gerber baby food brand and a medical nutrition business from Novartis AG, Switzerland''s biggest drugmaker, this year. Unilever said on August 2 that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs over four years. Last week, Nestle reported an 18% gain in first-half profit, the largest in two years.

UCO Bank To Offload Rs 500-Cr Bad Loans

UCO Bank has decided to bid about Rs 500 crore of the stressed assets next month. The bank is sitting on an Rs 1,285-crore pile of non-performing assets. About Rs 300 crore of the bad loan the bank has on its books today were old agricultural bad loans that have got reclassified as NPAs, after the two-year moratorium from 2004-05. Some NPAs also resulted from fraudulent housing loans. All the other NPAs are fully backed by securities. The bank has 48 accounts of ''big ticket'' (over Rs 5 crore) NPAs amounting to a little over Rs 500 crore.

Shoppers'' Stop To Increase Holding In HyperCity

The K Raheja Corp-owned Shoppers'' Stop is expected to decide by the year-end to increase its stake in HyperCity to 51 per cent as part of plans to make it the holding company of the group''s retail ventures. At present, it holds 19 per cent stake in HyperCity. The group is investing around Rs 1,100 crore for expansion to increase its retail space to six million square feet across all its retail formats in next three years.

Shoppers'' Stop can buy additional 32 per cent stake by December at a price including investment cost (made in HyperCity) plus 10 per cent interest on it. Raheja Corp has been taking steps to make Shoppers'' Stop its holding company and recently it bought out ICICI Venture''s 49 per cent stake in Crossword bookstores, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the departmental chain. The current number of 22 Shoppers'' Stop stores will go up to 49 and 19 new Hypercity stores were planned in next three years taking the total number to 20. While the number of stores of the other formats will go up to 250 from the current 70 stores by 2010-11.

Apollo Tyres Gains 2.68% On 17 August 2007

Apollo Tyres gained 2.68 % on 17 August 2007 as it closed at 39.00 compared to previous close of 37.98 on 16 August 2007.The gain in the stock prices of the company will benefit various mutual funds schemes, which have invested in the stocks of the company. JM Equity Fund (G) is likely to benefit the most as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. JM Equity Fund (G) has 8.02% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on July 2007. The scheme holds 1.47 lakh units of the company in July 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company.

JM Small and Mid Cap Fund (G) is also likely to benefit as scheme holds 7.17% of its portfolio with 4.04 lakh units of the company as on July 2007.

However the scheme like UTI Master Value Fund (D) is likely to lose to some extent as scheme sold 2.05 lakh units and holds 6.25 lakh units as on July 2007 as compared to 8.30 lakh units held in June 2007.

The stock gained on account of split of the face value of Company''s equity shares of Rs 10/- each into ten equity shares of Re 1/- each.

Essar Steel To Set Up More Service Centres At Auto Hubs

Essar Steel, subsidiary of Essar Global, is in the process of expanding its steel service centre capacity to two million tonnes from 1.2 million tonnes at its Hazira plant in Gujarat. Additionally, the company is commissioning three steel service centres at the auto clusters in Chennai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR) to support its growing presence in automobile and appliance sectors. The Hazira service centre is already operational, while the Chennai centre is expected to become operational by the third quarter of the current fiscal. The Pune and NCR centres will become operational by the end of the financial year. The company is investing about Rs 200 crore in the project which would be raised through a mix of debt and internal accruals.

Andhra Bank Looks At Insurance Partner

Hyderabad-based Andhra Bank is looking for strategic partners to foray in life insurance sector by the end of the financial year 2007-08. The bank plans to hold at least 26 per cent stake in joint venture company, and Bank of Baroda was one of the potential partners for the project. This apart, the bank plans to open representative offices Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar by the end 2007-08.

The bank plans to open its second overseas office in New Jersey after the necessary approvals from the US government. Currently, the bank has one foreign office in Dubai, and is looking for a presence in Malaysia in alliance with with the Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank. Domestically, the bank plans to open 85 new branches and 200 ATMs this year across the country. Nearly 50 per cent of the branches would be in rural areas. At present, the bank has 1,303 branches in the country, with nearly 900 in Andhra Pradesh. With the current business of around Rs 70,000 crore, the bank plans to reach the 1 lakh crore mark by the end of 2009. Also, this fiscal the bank is looking at 25 per cent and 23 per cent increase in credit and deposit respectively. The bank has identified education and housing as priority lending sectors, and plans to decrease the lending rates in the two sectors by 25 basis points across segments in the coming months. Last year the bank disbursed Rs 1,000 crore as education loan, and Rs 3,900 crore as housing loan. With the headroom of around Rs 3,000 crore, the bank plans to raise Rs 400 crore in the tier II category by December 2007.

M&M Increase Sales Target

Mumbai: Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) are now targeting to reach the one million sales mark in five years. The first million was reached in 50 years, while the second million came in 10 years. This utility vehicle (UV) major company launched its two-millionth vehicle last month. Mahindra now has an aim of selling one million vehicles in the next five years. This will account for the company''s domestic and international sales. Its main aim is to build the brand name (for M&M). In South Africa, the company has been successful in building that image. The company''s goal was to be known as a global sport utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturer and not a small car maker.

In line with its aspirations, the company is expanding its international bases by establishing more assembly lines, directly exporting to more number of countries and also through the inorganic route. The UVs account for the company''s 82 per cent overall sales, with light commercial vehicles (LCV) and three-wheelers constituting 9 and 6 per cent, respectively. The company will unveil a premium SUV, a multi-utility vehicle-Ingenio, LCV''s and heavy-duty trucks and trailers from its joint venture (JV) plant in Pune in collaboration with International Truck and Engine Corporation (ITEC), and passenger cars from Chennai and Nashik in a JV with Renault.

ONGC To Build New Corporate Office

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 20 will lay foundation stone of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation''s (ONGC) new corporate office at the plush Vasant Kunj locality in south Delhi. Singh will lay the foundation stone of building named Rajiv Gandhi Urja Bhawan, being set up at an investment of over Rs 500 crore, on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Congress president Sonia Gandhi would also be present on the occasion.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said the new building, being constructed on a 36,340 square meter plot, will house ONGC Energy Centre and corporate offices of group companies-ONGC, ONGC Videsh Ltd and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. Designed by noted architect Hafeez Contractor, the building would be ready by April 2009, he said. Deora, however, said that ONGC''s headquarters will continue to remain at Dehradun and there no intention on part of government to move it to the new office.

PNC To Remake 3 Classic Films In Animation Version

Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd (PNC) has announced that it has started work on making Shakti Samantas famous action thriller Howrah Bridge, starring legendary actors Ashok Kumar and Madhubala, and featuring two of the most successful songs in Hindi film history, composed by O P Nayyar. The original film, shot in black and white in 1958, is a cult classic and also starred Helen in her most famous cabaret number, K N Singh, Om Prakash, Madan Puri, Mehmood and Minoo Mumtaz.

The film is being made by the Company as a tribute to the genius of Shakti Samanta, one ofBollywoods legendary film makers, and the animation work will be done by Florida-basedMotion Pixel Corporation, who are already partnering the Company on five animation film projects.

Following Howrah Bridge, the Company has also acquired the rights to make animation versions of two other Shakti Samanta films; Amar Prem, starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Raakhee. This is our way of reviving some of the grand old classics of Indian cinema and introducing them to the new generation of movie goers, says Pritish Nandy, Chairman, the Company.

ICICI Bank Captures 23Pc Of Derivatives Mart

Mumbai: ICICI Bank has made entry into the complex world of financial derivatives, which till not long ago was the exclusive domain of foreign banks. In about three years, the bank says it has captured a 23 per cent market share in the derivative business, helped by its relationships with Indian companies, which are growing their operations globally. As the bank tastes success in derivatives business, the country''s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), is taking the initial steps to acquire derivatives capabilities. Foreign banks had near monopoly in offering complex foreign exchange and interest rate derivative products to Indian companies, as they could also import any product required from their global experts. ICICI Bank has achieved quite a distance and SBI has made serious beginnings towards acquiring the necessary expertise for offering full range of derivatives products.

ICICI Bank said So far, banks like it had the capability in lending but they did not have access to the structured market business. Large part of the fee income comes from advisory, syndication, transaction banking fee, derivatives and others. They have set up a dedicated foreign exchange derivatives business team of 100 people. ICICI Bank''s trading volumes in currency derivatives increased by 70 per cent to Rs 73,093.16 crore in 2006-07 from a year earlier and in interest rate derivatives by 28 per cent to Rs 2,79,474.31 crore from a year earlier. The derivatives business is driven by volatility in the foreign exchange market. The bank has product experts that assist corporate bankers in helping companies understand various derivatives products, which would best suit their operations.

Posco, SAIL Sign MoU For Cooperation

South Korea''s Posco and state-run Steel Authority of India have signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation over the next three years, Posco said Thursday. Under the partnership, Posco is seeking to expand its knowledge of the Indian steel market ahead of its entry into the country, while Steel Authority of India is hoping to improve its operations through exposure to Posco''s advanced technologies.

The two companies have also agreed to jointly purchase raw materials and for Posco to utilize the Steel Authority of India''s sales network, Posco said in a statement. There is no capital alliance such as a cross-shareholding between the two steelmakers, Posco spokeswoman Ko Min-jin said. Posco, the world''s fourth-largest steelmaker, is set to invest $12 billion to build a 12 million metric ton-a-year plant in India by 2016.

The government of the Indian state of Orissa has so far allocated 454 hectares (1,121 acres) of land, though Posco has requested 1,600 hectares (3,952 acres). The strategic partnership between Posco and the SAIL can be renewed in three years for another three-year contract, Ko said.

Steel Authority of India, 86 per cent-owned by the Indian government, has a steel production capacity of 15 million tons a year and will raise that to 25 million tons by 2010, according to the statement.

FIPB To Look Into ICICI''s FDI Request Again On Aug 17

NEW DELHI: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will on Aug 17, again looking in to ICICI Bank''s application for infusion of foreign funds into a holding company for its insurance venture. The board had earlier, on June 22, refused ICICI Bank''s proposal to disinvest 24% stake in ICICI Financial Services, the holding company for insurance business. It had refused the bank''s proposal on the ground that 2(g)(i) of Insurance Regulation and Development regulation does not allow a subsidiary company to be a promoter of insurance business. The board had sent its recommendations to finance minister P Chidambaram, who has sent back the proposal to FIPB for reconsideration.

IOC Likely To Begin Tendering Process Soon For Paradip Project

Kolkata: IOC may begin tendering the key process packages for the proposed 15-million-tonne Paradip refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in December 2007 or January 2008. The projects are, however, likely to be granted early in the next fiscal once the IOC board permits final investment in the project, expectedly in March 2008. Tenders for all key packages may be open for participation in December-January. They are hoping to go to board in March 2008 for the final approval to investments in Paradip.

The company has named Engineers India Ltd for preparing a detailed feasibility report for process upgradation in Barauni refinery. They are planning a low-cost select process upgradation requiring an investment of Rs 1,000-1,500 crore so that the refinery can use 40-50 per cent of high-sulphur crude. This will enhance the refining margin by $2-3 a barrel. Established in 1964, the six-million-tonne Barauni refinery is run on low sulphur Nigerian crude resulting into high operational cost. A pre-feasibility report is also prepared for setting up a coker unit at eight million tonnes Mathura refinery. They are hoping to approach the board in September seeking its approval for launching a detailed feasibility report on the project.

Visa Steel Enters Into JV With BAOSTEEL

Visa Steel Ltd has announced that the Company has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Baosteel Trading Co. Ltd., China and VISA Comtrade AG, Switzerland to set up a 100,000 tpa Ferro Chrome Plant in Orissa. The Joint Venture will operate through a separate Company titled VISA BAO Ltd.

In this regard the Company has issued the following press release:

VISA Steel Ltd on August 17, 2007 has entered into a Joint Venture with Baosteel Trading Co. Ltd., China (Baosteel Trading) and VISA Comtrade AG, Switzerland (VISA Comtrade) for setting up a 100,000 TPA Ferro Chrome plant in Orissa.

The JV Company titled VISA BAO Ltd shall be a subsidiary of VISA Steel, which will hold 51% of the shares in the Company. Baosteel trading and VISA Comtrade will hold 35% and 14% shares in VISA BAO Ltd respectively.

The JV Agreement was signed on August 17, 2007 Shanghai by Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Managing Director on behalf of VISA Steel, Mr. Li Qing Yu, President on behalf of Baosteel Trading and Mr. Vivek Agarwal, Executive Director on behalf of VISA Comtrade, in the presence of Mr. Vishambhar Saran, Chairman, VISA Group, Mr. Xu Le Jiang, Chairman, Baosteel Group, Madam Xie, immediate past Chairperson, Baosteel Group and various other senior executives of Baosteel.

The cost of setting up the 100,000 TPA capacity Ferro Chrome plant and related infrastructure is estimated to be around Rs 260 crores, which will be financed through a debf:equity mix of 65:35.

Punj Lloyd Divests 11Pc Stake

Mumbai: A clutch of private equity funds including Warburg Pincus, Blackstone, Avenue Capital and hedge funds DKR Oasis and Kingdom Capital have purchased a total of 11 per cent stake in Punj Lloyd for Rs 814 crore. Warburg Pincus has purchased 5.5 per cent stake while, Avenue Capital has taken over 2.5-3 per cent in Punj Lloyd, which is an EPC contractor concentrated on the oil and gas sector with diversification to infrastructure. Private equity major Blackstone purchased somewhere between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent in Punj Lloyd, which issued the shares to these global investors via a qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue priced at Rs 275 a share, almost on par with the current market price.

The deal propels the company''s valuation to nearly Rs 8,000 crore. Moore Capital bought 1-1.5 per cent stake in the Delhi-headquartered construction major. The company issued 29.6 million shares through the QIP issue, managed by Citigroup Global Markets India and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company. The Pipavav shipyard complex, situated on the west coast of India along the Dubai-Singapore sea route, will give the company access to fabrication facilities for off-shore platforms, single buoy moorings and rigs.Overseas exposure has also helped the company move up the learning curve and become competitive globally. India''s infrastructure needs about $ 282-370 billion overhaul to maintain the GDP growth rate at 8.5 per cent, encouraging companies such as Punj Lloyd to raise funds to meet their expansion plans.

Technical Snag Affects RIL Testing Activity In Cauvery Block

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) seems to have experienced a minor hiccup in its successful Cauvery asset. Reliance was unable to finish the hydrocarbon testing in the second well drilled in its deepwater Cauvery block due to technical snags. While the company was able to complete the testing activity in the first well, in the second well it has suffered technical problems. The company was still working on the results of hydrocarbon testing in the asset. The company plans to go back to the block CY-DWN-2001/2 (CY-D5) when deepwater rigs are available.

RIL, which is the operator of the CY-D5 block, had recently declared availability of hydrocarbon reserves in the asset. Initially, it held 90 per cent participating interest, with Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc holding the rest. Subsequently, Hardy pulled out and RIL now holds 100 per cent interest in the block. There are two zones in the block, in the first zone as per the initial tests RIL has found 550 barrels per day of oil and one million cubic ft per day of gas, while in the second it has found 31 million cubic ft per day of gas and 1,200 barrels per day of condensate.

Centre Permits MMTC To Import Cement Sans BIS Mark

Mumbai: In a bid to hold the increasing cement prices, the Government on Aug 15, mandated Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) to import cement sans Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) certification. It is compulsory for foreign cement companies to obtain the BIS quality certification before exporting to India. A statement from Ministry of Commerce said: the exemption to import cement (by MMTC) without standard mark certification will be valid for 150 days from the date of recording of applications or till the grant of regular licence by BIS to the foreign manufacturer. The Union Government had taken various steps such as abolishing import duty and withdrawing countervailing and special additional customs duties to facilitate imports.

According to the Ministry estimates, cement prices have increased nearly 45 per cent between January 2006 and July 2007. The (latest) measure is in continuation of the Government''s efforts to augment the availability of cement in the domestic market. Cement producers, however, maintain that the prices in India have been stable for the last couple of months. There is no demand-supply mismatch. Prices are under pressure and have declined by around Re 1 to Rs 2 in north India. According to the Cement Manufacturers Association, supplies grew 7 per cent to 41.60 million tonnes during April-June from a year ago, but demand expanded by 10 per cent in the same period and this had pushed up prices. India has an installed capacity of 165 million tonnes and faces a shortfall of around 10 million tonnes.

FIPB To Review ICICI''s Insurance Proposal On Aug 17

NEW DELHI: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board will reconsider a proposal by ICICI Bank to disinvest 24 per cent stake in ICICI Financial Services. The board will also take up Standard Chartered Bank''s proposal to take 49 per cent stake in UTI Securities from Securities Trading Corporation of India (STCI). ICICI Bank will present papers of approval given by insurance regulator IRDA to its proposal. FIPB had earlier refused the bank''s proposal on the ground that Section 2(g)(i) of IRDA regulations does not allow a subsidiary company to be a promoter of insurance business. However, ICICI Bank is of the view it would continue to be the promoter of its insurance businesses, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and ICICI Lombard General Insurance, despite transfer of shares from ICICI Bank to ICICI Financial Services and as such this does not flout any regulations.

While IRDA has given its clearance over the issue that transfer of shares to ICICI Financial services, which has got commitments from foreign investors, would not breach the 26 per cent FDI cap, it had not taken up the issue of promoter company for insurance businesses. Stanchart Bank''s proposal to purchase 49 per cent stake in UTI Securities from STCI would also come up at the FIPB meeting. In February 2006, STCI had purchased 100 per cent stake in UTI Securities for Rs 265 crore from the Specified Undertaking of UTI. UTI Securities offers institutional, retail and online broking services.

ICICI Mops Up Rs 1,294Cr Through Green-Shoe Option

MUMBAI: ICICI Bank has mopped up Rs 1,294 crore via its green-shoe option in the local market. The bank had mopped up Rs 8,750 crore via its local issue and an equal amount via its overseas issuance, too. The bank was eyes green-shoe option of Rs 1,312.5 crore. The bank had earlier priced its local issue at Rs 940. However, for retail shareholders, the bank had given a discount of Rs 50 per share. The share price of the bank in the past two weeks has decreased much below the issue price.

M&M To Establish Unit In Brazil

Mumbai: Utility and tractor giant Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) will establish a utility assembly plant in Manuas, North Brazil, with local partner Bramont. The plant is hoped to be commissioned by early November this year. M&M will assemble 5,000 completely knocked down kits (CKD) of Scorpio and pick-up trucks in this plant per annum. The investment will be made by its Brazilian partner Bramont, which will be $10 million in the first phase, while M&M will give the necessary technical support. Bramont will name 30 dealers in the first year of its operations. Out of the current four-wheeler market of 2 million units in the country, 12 per cent belongs to sports utility vehicles. Unlike the European or the US markets, where the vehicle market is saturated, in Brazil and other Latin American countries, it is growing in double-digits.

ICI India To Demerge Paint And Chemical Bizs

ICI India is all set for a demerger after its parent company ICI on August 13 accepted a takeover offer from Dutch conglomerate Azko Nobel for £8.1 billion (about $16 billion). ICI India''s paints and speciality chemicals businesses will be divided as Azko Nobel has an agreement with Henkel to sell ICI''s adhesives and electronic material businesses for £2.7 billion. ICI India''s paints business, with revenues of Rs 900 crore, will go to Azko Nobel, while its adhesives and electronic material division, with revenues of Rs 100 crore, will go to Henkel. This transaction is likely to be completed by the end of the year.

ICI and Asian Paints compete in India and Sri Lanka with Asian Paints leading in Indian market and ICI leading in Sri Lanka. The Rs 11,500 crore Indian paints industry is dominated by unorganised players with 35% market share. In the organised segment, Asian Paints is the leader with 26% market share, followed by Nerolac Paints and Berger Paints and ICI India with 12% market share each.

ICICI Bank Asks Govt Suggestion On Sovereign Guarantee

Mumbai: The borrowings of the erstwhile Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) are still unforgettable ICICI Bank. After the government urged ICICI Bank to free it from the sovereign guarantee it had provided for ICICI''s outstanding borrowings of nearly Rs 3,400 crore, the country''s second-largest bank has now urged the government itself to advise a way out. Development finance institution ICICI was amalgamated with ICICI Bank in 2002. ICICI Bank, not looking on pre-paying the loans from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, has written to the government, asking clarification as to what can replace a sovereign guarantee. The government looks at ICICI Bank to either pre-pay the loans or arrange for equivalent alternative guarantees. A way out could be that you can change the security and give the multi-lateral lending agencies equivalent security. Banking sources said it is generally difficult for institutions to pre-pay such loans as they were based on certain agreements. Unless the bank decides to pay a premium (penalty), it''s very difficult to pre-pay. In this case, replacing a guarantee is impossible unless another sovereign is willing to give a security or the bank decides to repay. Since the government looks at to withdraw its guarantee, it''s possible that the bank may be negotiating with the government for bearing the penalty amount.

ICICI had mopped up funds from the World Bank and the ADB via loans and issue of bonds, both of which were guaranteed by the government. As on March 31, 2007, ICICI Bank had Rs 3,396.67 crore of such loans and bonds outstanding, which is 6.6 per cent of the bank''s total borrowings, including subordinated debt, at the end of March 2007. The government had written to the bank on May 31, suggesting that it wanted to withdraw its outstanding guarantees given to the borrowings of ICICI, which was not permitted to mop up funds via public deposits as its primary source of funding.

Indian Hotels To Mop Up Rs 1,900Cr Via Rights

Mumbai: Indian Hotels Company Ltd, the Tata group firm that operates the Taj chain of hotels, has decided to mop up around Rs 1,700-1,900 crore via two rights issues to meet its long-term requirement for capital for expansion, including acquisitions. The company will mop up Rs 844 crore via a rights offer for equity shareholders, while it will raise Rs 900-1,080 crore via a similar offer for unsecured convertible debenture-holders. The company will offer one rights share to shareholders for every five shares they hold. The offer will be priced at Rs 70 apiece. Debenture holders will get one debenture for every 10 they hold. The debentures will carry a coupon rate of 4 per cent for five years. The debentures can be converted after two years at a price of Rs 150-180 apiece.

The rights issue will be the second offer by the company, the first being a 1:3 issue in 1993. The company unveiled two bonus issues 1:2 in 1989 and 1:1 in 1994. It will be among several Tata group companies such as Tata Steel, Trent, Tata Teleservices and Tata Coffee to have announced rights offers in the past one year. Indian Hotels Company is seeking rapid expansion in India and abroad. The company has inked agreements for Ginger hotels in Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Mangalore, Jamshedpur and Tiruppur.

SBI Life Mulls To Expand Biz To Rs 6,000Cr

Kolkata: In its bid to increase the size of business to more than Rs 6,000 crore in the current year over last year, SBI Life Insurance, the life insurance arm of State Bank of India, has initiated several steps. These comprise, among others, creating more zones, delegating more authority to each zonal head and broad-basing the incentive mechanism for distribution of products through the banking channel. The mirco-insurance products, especially for self-help groups too, will be prepared within the next few month.

The number of zones had been increased to eight from four. The east zone now included West Bengal, North-East and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Earlier, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand were under the east zone. Orissa has now been tagged to Andhra Pradesh while Bihar and Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh. Since the banking channel accounted for 55 per cent of SBI Life''s total business, it was imperative that those active in the channel were suitably rewarded to make them responsive to the current market dynamics. SBI Life has noted that predominant growth areas were not necessarily the metros.

Mahindra Renault To Increase Logan Production

Mumbai: Mahindra Renault plans to ramp up output of passenger vehicle Logan as well as more than double its dealer network by October-November this year to meet hoped soar in demand during the festive season. Presently, they manufacture 2,800-3,000 units per month. They are likely to incrase this up to 4,000 units by the festive season of October. The company expects that demand, which was slow in Q1 this fiscal, growing by only five per cent in the C-segment where the Logan is placed, will pick up during the festive season which will justify the production ramp-up.

This month, however, the company will maintain the Logan output at around the July level in order to stabilise quality before increasing output to meet the expected festive season pick-up. The initial response for the Logan, unveiled in April, has been very good. The company now mulls to aim towns such as Ranchi, Dhanbad, Rajkot, Udaipur, Kota, Jabalpur, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai, amongst others, where it sees a huge demand potential for the its brand. The company will be indulging in aggressive advertising for the Logan. The company''s strategy will involve a strong focus on test drives as well as a lot of on-ground activities. In February 2005, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Renault decided to tie up in a 51:49 joint venture to produce and commercialise the Logan in the country and it is presently being rolled out from M&M''s state-of-the-art facility located in Nashik.

L&T Bags Rs 203 Crores Worth New Orders From Delhi Metro For Its Phase II Project

Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has announced that the Company has secured two more Design and Build contracts from Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) for the construction of the underground station at Saket (Delhi) and a tunnel as part of its Phase II Project. Valued at Rs 203 crores the new station and tunnel will come up between Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar Corridors of Delhi Metro.

To be completed in 30 months, the construction of the Saket station involves 1500m of tunneling. The length of the station will be 284m. In addition, the construction involves a 945m Link Tunnel and a 260m Ramp, both of which to be completed in 24 months. Top down construction method will be adopted for the underground station at Saket (Delhi) while Cut & Cover Method will be used for tunneling and NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method) for 185 m of Twin Tunnel.

The new orders come close on the heels of the Rs 355 crore Phase II orders secured by the Company, in the same corridor during last fiscal. The Company is presently executing the Udyog Bhavan and Green Park stations along with the construction of 1 km long tunnel by Cut and Cover method. The Company is also executing yet another contract, in Joint Venture with DYWIDAG, SAMSUNG, SHIMIZU and IRCON, for the construction of two underground stations at Hauz Khas and Malviya Nagar with a 3.10 km long tunnel using Tunnel Boring machines. These projects are slated for completion by 2010 for the Common Wealth Games in New Delhi.

Deposits Abroad Can Be Upto $1 Lakh: RBI

As part of efforts to flush out excess foreign capital, Reserve Bank has allowed resident Indians to open accounts in banks outside the country and transfer up to $100,000 about Rs 41 lakh a year in them without its approval.

Individuals can now open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with banks outside India, the Reserve Bank said, while clarifying the provisions of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).

The RBI clarification comes on the heels of the union government tightening External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) to restrict inflow of foreign capital to prevent appreciation of the Indian currency.

RBI and the Centre have been encouraging people and corporates to invest overseas to tide over the problems created by excessive inflow of foreign capital.

The RBI said under LRS, resident individuals can remit up to $100,000 in a financial year to acquire and hold immovable property, make investment in financial instruments or purchase any other asset without any prior approval.

Resident individuals, RBI clarified, could utilise the amount deposited in foreign bank accounts to invest in mutual funds, venture funds, unrated debt securities and promissory notes under the scheme.

DIL To Unveil Odomos Body Sprays

Ahmedabad: Dabur India Limited (DIL) is in the process of re unveiling Odomos brand of mosquito repellants as body spray. The personal application product is available at present in cream, lotion and gel formats.Body spray as a format is virtually empty for mosquito repellants and they want to tap that segment and others as well. Recently, the company relaunched the Odomos brand with new packaging and labelling. The mosquito repellant market is estimated at Rs 1,100 crore, about 3.6 per cent of which is contributed by the personal application products.

With the Odomos brand, Dabur India holds a market share of over 96 per cent of the personal application products. Dabur India is also in negotiations with several state governments like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra for free distribution of Odomos packs in areas affected by diseases like Chikungunya, Dengue, Malaria, Encephalitis among other diseases. For the relaunch and to increase sales, the company increased its spends on Odomos by 40-45 per cent.

OVL Looks For 20Pc Stake In Iran Oil Field

New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has asked 20 per cent participating interest in Iran''s Yadavaran field, which has pegged capacity to yield 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. They have asked Iran to consider giving OVL a 20 per cent stake in the project. The fate of the five-million-tonne liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal, which was signed between India and Iran in 2005, is linked to the development of these fields. In 2005, as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with India, Iran had accorded to give 100 per cent participating interest in the Jufeyr project along with 10 per cent in the Yadavaran project to OVL. However, if OVL, is unable to get 100 per cent participating interest in Jufeyr field then there was an option that Iran would offer 20 per cent in Yadavran project.

Besides, PEDEC, a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), is understood to have informed OVL that the MoU inked in 2005 has expired though OVL had prepared a master development plan for the project and submitted the same to PEDEC. Since Jufeyr field has been offered to Belarus, they will like them to consider the option of offering 20 per cent stake to OVL in Yadavaran project. A sale-and-purchase deal between India and Iran for five million tonnes of LNG, with an option of raising it to 7.5 million tonnes, was signed in 2005 June. The Indian companies have got stake in Farsi block.

TCS Enters Into MOU With TRIL

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has informed that the Company and Tata Realty And Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which the Company proposes to commission TRIL to develop for the Company properties on land owned / to be owned by the Company. The MoU covers eight properties located at Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Nagpur and Mangalore totaling approx. 380 acres acquired / to he acquired by the Company. The properties will he developed in a phased manner over the next few years for the Company. The buildings will he constructed and owned by TRIL (or by Special Purpose Vehicles set up by TRIL) and will be leased tothe Company.

The Company is one of the worlds leading information technology Companies, engaged in the business of software development and allied businesses. TRIL is engaged in the business of, inter alia, development of real estate and infrastructural facilities. The Company and TRIL are both promoted by, and are subsidiaries of Tata Sons Ltd.

BOC India - Contract / Letter Of Intent For Long Term Gas Supply Schemes

BOC India Ltd has informed that the Company has signed a contract with GKN Sinter Metals Ltd and received a Letter of Intent from Electrosteel Castings Ltd in connection with long term gas supply contracts with the said customers:

1. Long Term gas supply contract signed with GKN Sinter Metals Ltd for supply of 420 Nm3 of nitrogen per hour to their Works at Pimpri, Pune for which the Company is in the process of installing an onsite nitrogen generator at their Pimpri Works.

2. Letter of Intent received from Electrosteel Castings Ltd for supply of 35 tons per day of oxygen to their works at Khardah, Kolkata, for which the Company is in the process of installing an onsite oxygen generator at their Khardah Works.

Bharat Electronics Bags IETE Award For Software Development

Bharat Electronics Ltd has announced that the Company has bagged the 9th IETE Corporate Award for performance excellence in the field of software development.

It is a little-known fact that the Companys customized IT solutions are used in its equipment and systems. The Company has a strong background in application / embedded software development in various areas. They include:

- Artillery Combat, Command and Control Systems with Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems

- Radars, Fire Control Systems and Displays

- Military Switching Applications with ISDN Switch

- Electronic Warfare Applications

- Launch Control and Check out Systems

- Embedded Systems and Navigation System using GPS

- Network Monitoring Systems

- Simulator Systems

- Command Information and Decision Support Systems

- Simputer / PDA based applications

- GIS and GPS based applications

- Standard Database based such as Oracle applications

- Network Communication projects

BHEL Wins Mega Contract For Installing Three Sets of 500 MW Each At Jhajjar; Project To Add 36 Milli

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has announced that Under International Competitive Bidding (ICB), the Company has won orders for the supply and installation of the Main Plant Package at the upcoming Jhajjar Super Thermal Power Project in Haryana, involving three units of 500 MW each.

Valued at over Rs 29,000 Million, the orders have been placed on the Company by Aravali Power Company Pvt Ltd (APCPL), a joint venture Company of NTPC, IPGPL and HPGCL.

Significantly, this is the highest value Boiler and Turbine Generator (BTG) package contract for a single project ever received by the Company and is a testimony to the customers confidence in the Companys capabilities and proven technological excellence.

Slated for synchronisation during the 11th Plan, these units will add 36 million units every day to the grid on commissioning, which will be shared by the power deficit states of Delhi and Haryana. Notably, power from the first unit will also be used for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi in 2010.

The Company has fully established state-of-the-art technology for manufacture of thermal sets up to 500 MW rating and has the capability to manufacture sets up to 1,000 MW rating. So far, orders for 58 numbers of 500 MW rating sets have been won, of which 31 have been commissioned.

Asahi India Glass Loses 3.56% On 8 August 2007

Among the day''s top 10 losers Asahi India Glass lost 3.56% on 8 August 2007 as it closed at 106.85 compared to previous close of 110.80 on 7 August 2007. This loss in the stock prices of the bank will detriment various mutual fund schemes, which have invested in the stocks of the bank.

HSBC Midcap Equity Fund (G) is likely to lose as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. HSBC Midcap Equity Fund (G) has 2.03% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on July 2007. The scheme holds 5.94 lakh units of the company in July 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company.

Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund (G) is also likely to loose as scheme holds 1.22% of its portfolio with 21.64 lakh units of the company as on July 2007. However the scheme like Kotak Emerging Equity Fund (G) is likely to gain as scheme sold all its shares as on July 2007.

Air India Mulling Euro Hub

Buoyed by the successful launch of its non-stop Mumbai-New York flight on August 1, Air India is planning to add more such destinations in the US from various Indian cities. The airline is now looking at connecting more destinations like Chicago, Washington and Houston in the US and Vancouver and Toronto in Canada. It is also looking at setting up an European hub and restart services to Australia and Switzerland, besides adding more services to Asian and SAARC destinations.

ICICI Bank Sacks Former CEO Of Russia Unit

ICICI Bank has dismissed its former CEO of Russian operations over ''integrity issues''. He was found to have entered into improper dealings. The official, who was ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC''s former president and CEO for around two years, was transferred to India earlier this year and was with bank''s treasury operations where he was involved in the proprietary book. He was also said to have channelled investments into real estate in the country. The matter came to light after one of the employees of the Russian operations bought it to notice of the bank, recently. The bank has informed the Reserve Bank of India and is also in the process of informing Russian authorities.

In 2005, ICICI Bank had bought a small-sized bank Investitsionno-Kreditny Bank (IKB), a closely-held Russian bank with a registered office at Balabanovo in the Kaluga region which is 190 km south-west of Moscow. The bank had picked up the entire equity capital of around $1.2 million. The official had been with the Russian operations from the time of the acquisition. The bank has been extremely wary about compliance issues in Russia after local operations were pulled up by authorities for delayed reporting on transactions under obligatory supervision, including a cash transaction, and errors in the matters reported to the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring in 2005 and up to March 31, 2006. These omissions were contrary to the requirements under the Russian legislation on anti-money laundering.

Tata Capital Makes Debut Through Precision

Tata Son''s newly formed financial subsidiary Tata Capital also made its first investment in that space. According to sources Tata Capital has bought 36 per cent stake in Precision Camshaft from Actis Private Equity for $9 million.

Solapur based Precision is an auto components company with revenues close to Rs 400 crore. It has 85 per cent market share and supplies to clients like GM and Daimler Chrysler.Actis is exiting from the venture after 10 years. There is a strategic reason why Tata Capital has made this transaction. Tatas have big plans to grow their auto components business which is led by group company Taco. Taco was formed over 10 years ago but has not grown the way the Mahindras or Bharat Forge have. Taco has over 50 JVs which many feel can be restructured and investments by Tata Capital in the same space might help Tatas grow the business. Tata''s brush with financial services has been quite chequered. Its earlier avatar Tata Finance was caught violating SEBI guidelines and its boss was sacked. Then it became a part of Tata Motors and now it''s back on its own. Even though Tatas are yet to make any formal announcement, the fund might have Rs 1,500 crore corpus and will be focusing on smaller PE deals which will have synergies with Tata business interests.

Bajaj To Roll Out Exceed With DTS-Si In Sept

Bajaj Auto, two- wheeler major, on August 9 rolled out its Digital Twin Spark - Swirl induction (DTS-Si) technology that will offer the customer a combination of fuel economy and performance. The company''s research and development team has built a 125cc engine, which is the first engine based on the DTS-Si technology. A new motorcycle Exceed, to be launched early next month, will have this engine, and will mark Bajaj Auto''s entry in the 125cc segment, said the source. The production of motorcycles using the new engine will begin at the company''s Waluj (Aurangabad) plant from tomorrow (10 August), and the estimated run for September will be 20,000 units which will be ramped up to 50,000 per month from November. Admitting that the new product will cannibalise the 100cc Platina to an extent, Bajaj said the Exceed volumes with higher margins will justify the trade-off.

Glaxopharma Takes A Lead

Among the days top 10 gainers in the A group Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals gained 5.87% on 7 August 2007 as it closed at 1207.20 compared to previous close of 1140.25 on 6 August 2007. Gain in the stock prices of the company will benefit various mutual fund schemes, which have invested in the stocks of the company.

Magnum SFU- Pharma Fund (D) is likely to benefit the most as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. Magnum SFU- Pharma Fund (D) has 11.26% share of its portfolio invested in the stocks of the company with 43704 units in July 2007.

Franklin India Taxshield 98 is also likely to benefit as scheme has invested 5.58% of its portfolio with 700 units in the stocks of the company in July 2007.

However, scheme like Principal Dividend Yield Fund (G) is likely to benefit to a limited extent as scheme sold 1.38% of portfolio nearly 12,039 units of the company and holds 36401 units as on July 2007 as compared to 48,440 units in June 2007.