ICICI Bank To Mop Up Rs 20,000Cr Wia Sale Of Equity Shares

ICICI Bank has decided to mobilize Rs 20,000 crore from sale of equity shares in the domestic and also American Depository Receipts issue in June 2007. The follow-on offer would include the country''s largest public issue of about Rs 15,000 crore. The bank would also consider exercising a greenshoe option, which could almost the bank''s net worth from Rs 24,313 crore as on March 31, 2007. The domestic and overseas issues would dilute paid up equity by about 20 per cent, based on the bank''s shares of on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The bank expects the capital proposed to be raised to support credit growth for the next three years. This is third capital raising by the bank since the erstwhile development finance institutions, ICICI, merged with ICICI Bank. In October 2005, the bank had raised over Rs 8,000 crore through a combination of domestic and American Depository Receipts (ADRs) issues. The total foreign holding in the bank currently is 72%, 2% less than the ceiling of 74%.

Bharti, Global Telecom Cos To Set Up Asia-US Link

New Delhi: Large global telecommunications companies along with Bharti Airtel have signed an agreement in Kuala Lumpur to set up the first high bandwidth optical fiber submarine cable system from South East Asia directly to the US. The cable system, known as the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), will be built at a cost of about $560 million. The birth of AAG cable system will compliment existing high bandwidth cable systems in the region. In addition, the AAG cable system will provide the much-needed diversity against traditional routes to the US, mainly carrying broadband traffic. This is important considering recent earthquakes that took out almost all cable systems in the region. The cable project is spearheaded by 17 telecommunications companies namely, AiTi, AT&T, BayanTel, Bharti, BT Global Network Services, CAT Telecom, ETPI, Maxis, PCP Company, PLDT, Saigon Postal Corporation, StarHub, Telekom Malaysia, Telstra, TNZL, Viettel and VNPT. The AAG cable system is designed to provide upgradeable, future proof transmission facilities that support Internet and e-commerce.

RIL Decides To Reduce LPG Output

Reliance Industries has decided to reduce LPG production by around 1 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa) from mid-2008. Of late, RIL converted its Jamnagar refinery to an export-oriented unit. India, which is surplus in refining capacity, is still importing LPG to meet domestic demand. RIL is one of the significant producers of LPG in the private sector. Together with Essar, it produces 2.6 million tonne of LPG every year, where Essar''s contribution is stated to be between 0.3-0.1 million tonne per year. Shortage of LPG is a politically sensitive issue and the government has had to initiate several steps in the past to maintain regular and routine supplies of LPG for the domestic market. The country requires about 10.7 mt of LPG per annum -10 mt for domestic consumption and about 0.76 mt for auto LPG. In 2006-07, both public and private sector refiners in India produced 8.4 mt of LPG while public sector OMCs had to import 2.3 mt to bridge the gap. The annual LPG production capacity of public sector OMCs is around 5.7 mt.

Philips IT Opens Centre In Bangalore

Bangalore: Philips IT, the technology wing of electronics major Philips, has declared the opening of its Business Application Services (P-BAS) centre in Bangalore. As part of the Philips Innovation Campus (PIC) in Bangalore, the P-BAS centre will concentrate on growth in technical and functional SAP competencies, and play a key role in IT solutions and services delivery for various Philips units worldwide. The P-BAS centre in Bangalore would have 150 employees by the end of the year. The Philips was committed to making Bangalore a global sourcing centre for business application services. The centre here will give Enterprise Resource Planning services to Philips Product Divisions and Philips partners, and support the various business lines and service lines within P-BAS centre in Eindhoven. Projects related to stages of product lifecycle development would be transferred to India to begin with. The new centre would help the campus emerge as the global hub for Philips IT and the initiative was in line with Philips developing the Bangalore centre as a SAP competency centre.

ICICI Bank Unveils Rs 100Cr Fund For SMEs

NEW DELHI: ICICI Bank on April 26, declared a Rs 100-crore fund to support innovation and development of green businesses in India. The fund will give short to medium-term loans ranging between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 40 lakh to small and medium enterprises(SMEs). The bank has not identified any particular sector for lending but will concentrate on energy-efficient and environment-friendly ventures. The Rs 100-crore fund is an initial effort, let''s see how we take it forward. In 2005-06, ICICI''s microfinancing was to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore and the bank expects significantly higher funding this fiscal. New Ventures India''s goal is to attain at least $15 million investments in 20 sustainable and green businesses by 2008. These include areas of green building materials, energy efficiency products and services, renewable energy and water products.

LIC To Go Supreme Court Over Policy Trading Issue

Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will soon register a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court to prevent trading in life insurance policies. Last month, LIC had lost a case in the Bombay High Court to bar Insurance Policy Plus Services (IPPS), a Mumbai-based insurance policies trader, from trading in life insurance policies. A division bench of Justice FI Rebello and Justice Anoop Mohta had ruled that insurance policies were movable property and can be traded in by a policyholder. Though LIC admits a policyholder to assign (read transfer of rights) his policy to a bank or financial institution for mortgage or to a family member or a friend, it is against assigning the policy to an organisation for trading purposes.

Tata Tea Share Surges

Mumbai: Shares of Tata Tea, India''s second-largest tea company, soared 14.8 per cent on April 25, on reports that cola major Coca-Cola is planning to buy US company Energy Brands International, commonly known as Glaceau, in which Tata Tea holds 30 per cent. Coca-Cola has reportedly valued the maker of the Vitamin water brand at about $3 billion, higher than the $2.25 billion valuation by the Tata group in August last year when it purchased 30 per cent for $677 million.Tata Tea likely to look at exiting Glaceau at a significant premium to its initial investment if Coca-Cola decides to acquire a majority shareholding in the company. Glaceau founder J Darius Bikoff, his family, associates, and distributors hold about 50 per cent in the company, while the remaining 20 per cent is held by venture capital funds. The initial pack inked between Glaceau and the Tata group gives for a further 10 per cent increase in stake by either Tata Tea or Tata Sons, though no specific duration has been assigned.

RIL Sets Up Retail Store In Jalandhar

Jalandhar: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will set up its first exclusive retail showroom in Jalandhar this month, followed by more in Punjab in the next couple of months. To mark its presence in the northern region, it has selected Jalandhar as a suitable city and our first store will be opened in this month followed by another six distribution centres in Punjab,from where,all the stocks would be supplied to the stores to be opened in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala and Chandgarh by May end or early June this year. The distribution centre in Jalandhar, from where they are supplying to Delhi and the NCR, is already operational, while construction is in process for distributions centres in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. In Haryana also the procurement had began and the company was catering, from Haryana, to about 30 per cent of the demand of Delhi and the NCR.

ONGC, OIL Renew Agreement For Assam Crude Movement

New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) on April 25, renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) for transportation of ONGC''s Assam crude oil from its installations at Lakwa, Galeki, Rudrasagar and Borholla via pipelines owned and operated by OIL. This MoU will be valid for five years from April 2007 to March 2012. Both companies accorded that this MoU will be converted into an agreement COTA (crude oil transportation agreement) in six months. ONGC and OIL are the two major crude oil producers operating together for more than 50 years in the North East region of India. They produce around 4.5-5 million tonnes per annum which is transported to four refineries of Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd located at Digboi, Numaligarh, Guwahati and Bongaigaon via the trunk pipeline of OIL. ONGC pumps its Assam crude into this trunk pipeline at two locations, one at Moran near Sivasagar and other at Jorhat.

Jubilant Organosys Buys Hollister-Stier For $122.5Mn

New Delhi: Jubilant Organosys Ltd on April 24, declared take over of the US-based Hollister-Stier Laboratories for $122.5 million. The acquisition will be funded through a combination of cash-on-hand, which had been mopped up via an earlier external commercial borrowing, and Hollister''s debt capacity. Hollister is implementing a Capex programme, which is to be completed by the first quarter in 2008, and would significantly enhance capacities and performance outlook. The acquisition will give Jubilant with a fast growing Contract Injectables manufacturing business and also a stable and profitable allergy business. Jubilant is a leader in CRAMS (Custom Research and Manufacturing Services) space, delivering high growth performance by servicing the global pharma and life sciences industry. The acquisition also brings with it, a high quality, steady cash flow allergy extracts and products business.

CIL Calls Bids For Nominating Consultant

KOLKATA: State-owned Coal India Ltd has called for expressions of interest for naming an architect for its proposed integrated office-cum-residential complex here to be set up at a cost of over Rs 100 crore. The company has called for expression of interest globally for a design competition for the building and providing project management consultancy services for the New Town project which is likely to cost over Rs 100 crore. The complex would come up on a 15 acre land at New Town and would house the CIL headquarters and offices of its subsidiary companies. At present the CIL headquarter is located in Coal Bhavan in the heart of the metropolis while the company''s marketing, welfare and a few other departments were scattered elsewhere in the city due to lack of space in the Bhavan.

ONGC, NTPC Attain Pact On CBM, Coal Mining Blocks

New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and NTPC Ltd seem to have settled a key issue on the exploitation of coal block in a situation where the coal seams bear both coal bed methane (CBM) gas as well as coal. This could well pave the way for tie up between the two corporates to exploit the block. A joint working group (JWG) establish by the two companies to work out a mechanism for simultaneous exploitation of block for CBM and coal mining have agreed on a possible sequential operation by them in the area. ONGC had expressed worry over the allotment of three coal blocks awarded to it for extracting CBM to other three companies for mining coal one in West Bengal and two in Jharkhand. The blocks in question have also been allotted to NTPC (Jharkhand), Electrosteel and Casting Ltd (Jharkhand), and West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation (West Bengal) for coal mining.

ICICI Prudential Life Expands Health Insurance Product Range

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India''s No. 1 private life insurer, has further expanded its health insurance portfolio, this time to cover over 1,000 surgical procedures and hospitalisation. With the launch of the new product, Hospital Care, the company moves into the realm of offering products that go beyond covering critical illnesses, and further strengthens its position as a significant player in the health insurance space.

Hospital Care is structured to ensure customers receive a pre-determined insurance amount for each procedure or hospitalization, even if they spend less. Further, its long-term design of a term between 10-20 years, assures policyholders the guaranteed cushion of insurance cover even if they make a claim during the term. Available for individuals between the ages of 1-60 years, this is one of the first products that will cover people up to the age of 80 years.

ICICI Bank Agets QFC Licence

ICICI Bank has received a licence to set up a branch in Qatar Financial Centre, Doha, Qatar, ICIC Bank, India''s second largest bank, is the first Indian bank to receive a licence from Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA). Meenal Mahajan has been appointed as the Resident Manager. On the occasion, Nimesh Shah, Senior General Manager, ICICI Bank Limited said, With the pace of economic growth and development in Qatar, ICICI Bank sees a significant opportunity to participate in the growth of the country. We are delighted to set up a branch at QFC. The QFC with its advanced regulatory framework provides the necessary platform to expand the International Private Banking operations for ICICI Bank.

PFC Registers 1.24% Net Profit Growth

New Delhi: Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on April 23, registered 1.24 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 983 crore for 2006-07, compared to Rs 971 crore during the previous year. Total income increased by 25.51 per cent to Rs 3,926 crore (Rs 3,128 crore). PFC, which recently tapped the capital market with an IPO that raised Rs 997 crore, plans to borrow about Rs 17,000 crore during the current fiscal from domestic and overseas markets. During the current year, around Rs 9,000 crore will be mop up via bonds, while nearly Rs 3,500 crore would come from short-term borrowings. The rest would come from medium-term borrowings and foreign currency loans, said Mr Satnam Singh, Director (Finance). PFC disbursed around Rs 14,055 crore (Rs 11,681 crore). The company, which is being actively considered for Navratna status, has reported recovery rate of over 99 per cent during the fiscal gone by, in line with the trend during the previous years. Financing of State sector projects will continue to remain the mainstay of the company.

Hyundai Motor Likely To Establish Diesel Engine Plant

Hyderabad: Hyundai Motor will consider building diesel engines in India if demand of a single model reaches 50,000 units. The current demand for the company''s diesel cars in a single version is around 30,000 units. It said on the unveil Verna CRDi SX in Hyderabad, an overwhelmingly diesel-driven market, that 75 per cent of Vernas sold in the country were diesel variants, while the same was 95 per cent in Andhra market. The Verna sales have grown by 50 per cent to 3,000 cars a month during the last financial. The company is mulling to unveil another car, code-named PA, in the compact car segment, towards the end of the current year but has no plans to introduce any diesel variants in this segment.

SBI Life Aims 250 Pc Growth

Bhuabaneswar: SBI Life, the third largest private life insurance company of the country, is targeting 250 percent growth during the current fiscal. To attain this objective, the company has drawn an ambitious plan to be the most preferred life insurance brand in the country leveraging on multi distribution, customer centric approach coupled with simple and innovative product offering. The company forayed into the life insurance business in 2001 and has become the first private insurance company to make a profit within five years of operation. It attained more than 200 percent growth last fiscal by taking over new business premium of Rs.3080 crore compared to Rs.1070 crore during 2005-06. While at present about 4000 branches of the SBI are selling the life insurance products of SBI Life, the company has firmed up plans to involve more branches.

Wipro Launches Plans For BFSI Sector

Mumbai: Information Technology company Wipro is eyeing at increasing its level of specialisation in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. The sector is one of the high-growth areas for the company and it will look at tapping the sector via package implementation and integration of solutions and business process till the potential lasts. Under the package implementation, Wipro will look at giving specialised packages of products and solutions to the companies in the BFSI sector.
Wipro will look at giving end-to-end services in implementation for its clients who are active in derivatives, settlement, anti-money laundering and card processes among others. Wipro believes, will help in decreasing both integration and operational costs for its clients. In order to increase its level of specialisation, the company will establish a technology group. Wipro intends to recruit people with domain expertise in sectors such as hedge funds, derivatives, and payments and settlements.

Sterling Biotech - Issue Of US$250 Million FCCBs

Sterling Biotech Ltd has informed that the Company has issued Zero Percentage Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) due 2012 aggregating to USD250 million.The Bonds carry a 0% coupon with a yield to maturity of 6.35% per annum and are redeemable in 2012 i.e. after 5 years and 1 day from closing date.The Bonds are convertible into equity shares of the Company at any time after June 18, 2007 at a conversion price of Rs 204.576 per share which represents a premium of 25% to the Volume Weighted Average price. The Bonds are expected to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The Bonds are convertible into the Ordinary Shares or GDRs of the Company.J P Morgan Securities Ltd is the Lead Manager and Sole Book runner for the issue of the Bonds.

RBI To Let Temasek, GIC Up Stakes In ICICI

The Reserve Bank of India will allow Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) raise their stakes in ICICI Bank to 10 percent each. Temasek holds 7.41 percent equity in ICICI Bank, India''s largest private bank, and GIC holds 2.29 percent. Last year the central bank said the GIC and Temasek could not raise their stakes in ICICI beyond a combined 10 percent, the limit for foreign portfolio investors, as it did not regard the state investment vehicles as separate entities. It said that the Reserve Bank of India had agreed to make an exception in the case of ICICI Bank as the arrangement was a part of India''s obligations under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore.

Satyam Computer - Reconciliation As Per Indian GAAP & US GAAP

Satyam Computer Services Ltd has announced statement showing reconciliation between net profit as per Indian GAAP and US GAAP consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 is as follows: (US $ million)Sr.No.ParticularsQuarter endedQuarter endedMar 31, 2007Mar 31, 2006(unaudited)(unaudited)-1. Profit as per Indian GAAPConsolidated Financial Statements$89.4$64.32. Profit / (Loss) of subsidiariesan associated Companies-(0.1)3. Stock-based compensation(2.0)(0.4)4. Sale of shares in Sify Ltd, --5. Others, net(1.1)(1.5)6. Total adjustments (2 to 5)(3.1)(2.0)7. Net Income as per US GAAP$ 86.3$ 62.3Financial Statements Satyam Computer Services Ltd has announced statement showing reconciliation between net profit as per Indian GAAP and US GAAP consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2007 is as follows: (US $ million)Sr.No.ParticularsYear endedYear endedMar 31, 2007Mar 31, 2006(unaudited)(audited)1. Profit as per Indian GAAPConsolidated Financial Statements$311.9$257.22. Profit / (Loss) of subsidiariesan associated Companies-(0.2)3. Stock-based compensation(12.0)(0.8)4. Sale of shares in Sify Ltd, -0.65. Others, net(1.5)(7.4)6. Total adjustments (2 to 5)(13.5)(7.8)7. Net Income as per US GAAP$ 298.4$ 249.4Financial Statements

MRF Mulls Two Greenfield Facilities

Chennai: MRF Ltd, which in December declared that it will infuse between Rs 500 crore and Rs 600 crore over the next two years in expanding the capacities at the existing out put facilities and is looking at two greenfield projects as well. One of them will be in Tamil Nadu and the other possibly in the North. It was not able to give the estimated investments in the greenfield facilities because that would depend upon the location, incentive package and the type of tyres that would be produced there. MRF had then said that it will triple its radial tyres capacity at Puducherry to 3 lakh a year, increase 2-wheeler tyres capacity at the Arakonam plant from 5 lakh to 6 lakh and add 20,000 units to the Medak plant, which can produce 80,000 commercial vehicle tyres a year now. MRF is looking at takeover opportunities all over the world. In the recent past, the company had analyzed opportunities in Belarus, Germany, former Yugoslavia and China, but had not found any of them suitable. MRF will first like to put its money in the country.

SBI Life To Tap Rural Banks

Kolkata: SBI Life Insurance plans to utilise more of the banking network other than State Bank of India''s own as part of its strategy to double the size of business. A beginning had already been made with five co-operative banks in various States and there was also a proposal to involve the regional rural banks (RRBs) in this regard. In 2006-07, the co-operative banks gave a paltry business of Rs 20 crore or so, which is likely to go up to Rs 100 crore in the current fiscal.

Tata Steel Decreases Debt Funding For Corus Buy

Mumbai: Tata Steel, the world''s sixth- largest maker of the metal, decreased the amount of debt needed to fund the record $12.9 billion buy of Corus group to protect its credit ratings. Tata got a total of $640 million from affiliated companies after they converted warrants into shares. Tata said on April 18, it also mulls to sell $2.4 billion of stock to shareholders and overseas investors to fund the buy. The transactions will enable Tata to split the funding of India''s biggest acquisition equally between debt and equity at a time when interest rates in India have been increasing for a year.

Tata Sons, the holding company for the Mumbai-based Tata group, increased its stake in the steel unit to 27.63 per cent from 24.08 per cent after 28.5 million warrants were converted into shares at Rs 484.27 a piece. The 138-year-old group''s total holding rose to 33.77 per cent. The group, which has operations in more than 54 countries, comprises India''s biggest software developer, Tata Consultancy Services, and the largest truck maker, Tata Motors. Tata Steel''s $4.1 billion contribution to the Corus deal is equivalent to 55 per cent of its market value.

L&T Forms JV With Mitsubishi

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will set up joint ventures with Japan''s Toshiba Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to commission manufacturing facilities for super-critical turbines and boilers, which are used in coal-fired power generation plants. The two joint ventures will have an aggregate capital outlay of about Rs 600 crore. L&T inked an agreement with MHI to float a JV- L&T MHI Boilers - for super-critical boiler plant on April 17 in Tokyo. The JV will be capitalised at Rs 300 crore, with L&T owning 51%. Initially, the JV will have a staff strength of 50, which will go up to 1,250 once production achieves momentum. MHI had signed an agreement with L&T in last October for licensing its supercritical pressure boiler technology. The agreement with Toshiba for setting up a turbine plant is likely to be signed next month, said sources close to the development. Hitherto, state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) is the only power equipment manufacturer that has tied up for large-size supercritical boilers so far in India. In 2005, it signed a technology transfer agreement with French power major Alstom. The new JV will handle the full spectrum of activities relating to supercritical pressure boilers, from manufacture and sales to installation and after-sale services. The sales targets for the new JV are set at $435 million after three years and $690 million after five years.

Tata Steel All Set To Mobilize $2.3 B For Corus Payment

Tata Steel is all set to mop up $2.3 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore) in the coming few months to part finance its $12.9-billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus. The money is being raised through two rights issues and an overseas issue. The $2.3 billion that Tata Steel will be raising is part of the company''s committed equity contribution of $4.1 billion (Rs 17,750 crore) for the Corus acquisition. The remaining $8.8 billion will be financed through a non-recourse debt arranged by a consortium of banks for $6.14 billion at Tata Steel UK (the SPV for the buy-out) and the balance $2.66 billion raised in the form of bridge finance by its subsidiary Tata Steel Asia Singapore. Tata Steel maintains that its contribution of $4.1 billion for the acquisition will not affect its own greenfield and brownfield projects in India, as its own cash flows are robust enough. Out of its share of $4.1 billion, Tata Steel has already invested about $1.8 billion (Rs 7,900 crore).

R-ADAG To Come Out With Open Offer For TV Today

Reliance Capital, part of the Reliance - Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has announced its intention to buy a further 20% in TV Today, the television firm that owns Aaj Tak news channel. RCL has offered to pay Rs 130.5 to shareholders of TV Today for increasing its stake to close to 32%. The firm, along with Reliance Capital Trustee, now holds just over 14% in the company. The offer is at 7% discount to TV Today''s closing price of Rs 140.15, shares of which have moved up 3.85% in the past week and 23.59% in the past month. On Tuesday, they ended 1.06% lower at Rs 140.15. RCL holds stakes in some other media stocks such as NDTV, Global Broadcast News, and TV 18. Industry sources said TV Today is valued at about Rs 750 crore which they believed is very low compared to that of some other news channels. TV Today runs Aaj Tak, Tez and Dilli Aaj Tak in Hindi and Headlines Today in English. TV Today is looking at the regional language news segment and plans to launch a few such channels in the coming months, for which it needs a huge funds infusion. The group also plans to come out with a daily newspaper, in association with The Daily Mail of London. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group has widespread interest in the media and entertainment sector. It owns Adlabs, one of India''s leading multiplex and film production companies.

Johnson & Johnson Unveils Consumer Website

Taking the queue from other companies, baby care giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has unveiled a consumer website in India. The website, babycentre.in, is owned by the San Francisco- based BabyCenter LLC, a company acquired by J&J about three years ago. Targeting the expectant and new mothers, covering aspects ranging from the various stages of pregnancy to caring of infants, the website has been generating an interesting response. In the past year, HLL took its Sunsilk ''gang of girls'' blog globally. HLL''s arch-rival P&G launched its international website, beinggirl.co.in for the Indian online audience. And also, J&J plans to unleash an online store in the Indian site. The only babycenter websites to provide an online shopping facility, at present, are the UK and the US websites, which are among the biggest websites.

Fitch Assigns Rating To ICICI Bank''s Loan Securitisation

Fitch Ratings has today assigned an expected National Short-term rating of ''F1+(ind)(SO)'' to the Pass Through Certificates (PTCs) to be issued by the special purpose vehicle (SPV), Loan Securitisation Trust Series 47, for a credit facility (facility) with a tenor of 1 month. The INR2000 millon facility was extended by ICICI Bank Limited (ICICI Bank, the originator or the seller) to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL, or the obligor). The final rating is contingent upon receipt of final documents conforming to information already received.The expected rating of the PTCs reflects the credit quality of the underlying obligor, the payment structure of the PTCs and the proposed legal structure of the transaction.

CARE Reaffirms PR1+ Rating To CD Programme Of ICICI Bank

CARE has assigned ‘PR1+ [PR One Plus]’ rating to the Certificate of Deposit programme of ICICI Bank Ltd. (IBL) for an enhanced limit of Rs.25,000 crore with a maturity upto one year. Instruments with this rating would have strong capacity for timely payment of short-term debt obligations and carry lowest credit risk.The rating factors in IBL’s strong market position, resource raising ability, significant retail reach, strong technology infrastructure, comfortable capital adequacy, proactive management and the measures taken by IBL to diversify and reduce its credit portfolio risk. IBL’s continuing ability to maintain asset quality of its fast growing retail portfolio and satisfactorily resolve residual legacy exposures inherited from erstwhile ICICI Limited are the key rating sensitivities.

Future Group To Roll Out Big Bazaar Supercentres

Future Group is mulling to unleash Big Bazaar Supercentres, which will provide postal services, health and beauty zones and entertainment sections to the existing services.The group would launch 6 such centres in the next 2 months and it has earmarked Rs 96 crore for this purpose. Supercentres would come up in Hyderabad, Baroda, Surat, Nagpur and two in Bangalore. On the Big Bazaar front, the company is targeting to enter the tier-II and tier-III cities in a big way. It plans to take the number of Big Bazaars from the current 50 to 300 by 2010.

BEML Files Draft Document For Rs 450Cr Follow-On Issue

The government''s shareholding in Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) will reduce to 54.63% from 61.23% after the Bangalore-based PSU''s follow-on issue for around Rs 450 crore. Mining and construction equipment maker BEML, which filed its draft document with Securities and Exchange Board of India on April 13, is issuing 49 lakh shares through the offer comprising 11.77% of the diluted post-issue capital of the company. The company will put in the funds mobilised through the follow-on issue for its expansion plans including the setting up of a metro-coach manufacturing facility at Bangalore at a cost of Rs 214.51 crore. The retail portion of the issue is for 15, 43,500 lakh shares or nearly 35% of the share issue. At present, retail investors hold only 9.22% of the equity capital. Domestic mutual funds hold 13.40% stake in the company while foreign funds own 6.26%.Shares of BEML are trading at around Rs 1,000-levels, but analysts expect the bankers to price the follow-on issue at a discount to the market price.

GVK Power Shareholders To Approve Scheme Of Amalgamation / Arrangement

GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd has informed that pursuant to the order made by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi, a meeting of the shareholders of the Company will be held on May 03, 2007, for the purpose of considering, and if thought fit, approving with or without modification(s), the proposed scheme of amalgamation of M/s. Bowstring Projects & Investments Pvt Ltd (First transferor Company) and M/s. Green Garden Horticulture Pvt Ltd (Second transferor Company) with the Company (Transferee Company).Further the Company has informed that, pursuant to the order made by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi, a meeting of the shareholders of the Company will be held on May 03, 2007, for the purpose of considering, and if thought fit, approving with or without modification(s), the proposed Scheme of Arrangement amongst M/s. GVK Industries Ltd and the Company and their respective shareholders.

Bajaj Auto Commissions New Plant At Pantnagar, Uttarakhand

Bajaj Auto Ltd has announced that on April 09, 2007, the Company has inaugurated its Greenfield Plant with a planned capacity of one million motorcycles per annum at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Built on a total area of 65 acres with the balance 155 acres allocated to the vendor cluster, the Pantnagar facility would be the Companys fourth Plant & first Plant outside Maharashtra. The unit has a plant area of 40,000 sq mtr and will employ 600 line engineers who have been trained at Chakan for 3 months.In a pioneering manufacturer vendor partnership, the Companys Pantnagar Plant will be supported by manufacturing facilities of 16 auto component vendors in the immediate proximity. A part of the land area allocated to the Company has been taken up by vendors to set up dedicated facilities to ensure seamless integration with the mother Plant resulting in phenomenal manufacturing efficiencies.

SAIL Near To Taking Over Malavika Steel

New Delhi: The state-owned Steel Authority of India is understood to be taking over Malvika Steel, bids for which were submitted today and are scheduled to be opened on April 13. SAIL confirmed that the company had put in a bid for Malvika Steel, saying the company could get a ready-made plant via the acquisition. The Malvika bid was a part of the company''s strategy to buy other steel assets in the country. It is also targeting the National Iron & Steel Company in West Bengal. The Debt Recovery Tribunal is auctioning the entire plant, located on 740 acres of land in Jagdishpur, located in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, in order to recover outstanding loans. The reserve price is Rs 194 crore. The entire dues realised from the property are payable to IFCI. The Rs 3,000 crore steel project was left half unfinished in 1998, within 10 months of getting off the ground. Malvika Steel owes nearly Rs 1,366 crore to IFCI. Over the last one year, IFCI has recovered around Rs 1,000 crore from the sale of various non-performing assets, which as of March 2006 stood at around Rs 4,500 crore

Jet Airways To Buy Out Air Sahara For Rs 1,450Cr

New Delhi: Air Sahara has finally landed on Jet Airways runway, ending nearly 10 months of dispute between the two airlines. Billionaire Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways on April 12, declared that it has agreed to take over Air Sahara in an all-cash deal for Rs 1,450 crore, which is about 40 per cent less than the Rs 2,300 crore that Jet had agreed to pay for the acquisition in January 2006. The two airlines, after two days of closed-door negotiations in a five-star hotel in Mumbai, submitted the re-worded sale buy out pact to the three-member arbitrators committee. While Rs 500 crore has already been paid to Sahara after the first pact was signed between the two in January 2006, Jet will be paying another Rs 400 crore on or before April 20. The remaining Rs 550 crore will be paid in four equal annual and interest-free instalments during the next four years ending 2010-11 starting on or before March 30, 2008. At the current interest rate, the Net Preset Value of the lumpsum price was in the vicinity of Rs 1,200 crore.

ICICI Bank Joins Hand For Low-Cost Housing Finance

NEW DLHI: ICICI Bank, India''s largest private sector bank, is close to inking a partnership with US-based Development Innovations Group (DIG) for giving low-cost housing finance and also for microfinancing solutions. DIG, which has an international experience in giving low-income housing finance, will alliance with ICICI Bank in India. While DIG will give its expertise, ICICI Bank will be the financial institution that will disburse loans.

Satyam Partners With ITKO To Deliver SOA Testing Practice

Satyam Computer Services Ltd on April 12, 2007, has announced that it has partnered with iTKO, a US-based testing software Company, to establish a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) testing practice within QEdge, Satyams product and application testing practice. QEdge SOA experts will use iTKOs LISA testing technology to deliver SOA test planning and test execution services, Specifically, they will apply LISA during enterprise SOA migration projects that require maximum functional integrity and high service levels.By partnering with iTKO, the Company establishes itself as an SOA testing leader, while iTKO gains access to the Companys global reach and support, which will help solve the large-scale, complex quality challenges and risks of SOA migration.Creation of an SOA Testing Practice reflects the Companys recognition of the fact that about 80 percent of the worlds 500 largest Companies are either undergoing SOA initiatives, or planning them. Additionally, traditional manual testing and test coding methodologies and tools are not able to test SOA architectures, highlighting the need for such a practice. And while many organizations can develop service-based applications, they are now beginning to understand the importance of ensuring quality throughout the lifecycle of an SOA engagement, from development through deployment.

GAIL & IndianOil Ink MoU For JV In City Gas Distribution Projects In West Bengal

Gail India Ltd has informed that the Company and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd have entered into an understanding for formation of a Joint Venture for City Gas Distribution projects in West Bengal. A MoU was inked on April 11, 2007 by Shri. A K Purwah, Director (Business Development), of the Company, and Shri. B M Bansal, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil, in the presence of Dr. U D Choubey, CMD, of the Company, and Shri. Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, IndianOil. This will be the second joint venture of the Company and IndianOil for city gas distribution projects in India. The first JV, viz. Green Gas Ltd (GGL), is already operational in Lucknow and Agra, and is planning to expand to other cities of western UP..

ABN Amro Bank Increases Interest Rates On FD To 10.25%

MUMBAI: ABN Amro Bank on April 10, declared an increase in interest rates on fixed deposits to 10.25 per cent per annum. These rates are effective from April 9 onward. These rates are applicable for deposits for a tenor of 400 days and 188 days for a minimum deposit of Rs 10,000. The scheme is open to both existing and potential resident customers of the bank.

WB ESIC Recovers Rs 40Cr Dues

Kolkata: The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has reported a record Rs 40-crore recovery of dues in West Bengal during 2006-07. The corporation had recently requested the corporates in the State, comprising both public and private sectors and the Kolkata Port Trust, to extend ESI coverage to contractual workers. ESIC has approximately 13 lakh members in the State and has created a revolving fund to avert delay in payments. It has also begun distributing photo-identity cards to its members in West Bengal.

ICICI Bank, Megamart Ties Up To Unveil Co-Branded Credit Card

Bangalore: ICICI Bank and apparel discount chain Megamart April 10, joined hands to unveil a co-branded credit card. The ICICI Bank Megamart co-branded credit card is a gold card with features like multiple reward points scheme that enable customers to earn six reward points for every Rs 200 spent at any Megamart outlets. As a joining benefit, a customer gets a free Megamart gift voucher of Rs 200. A customer can convert buys above Rs 1,500, at Megamart into EMI for three months at zero per cent interest. Other privileges to customers comprise exclusive cash counters, free alteration of garments and special promotions from time to time.

SIDBI Registers 80Pc Growth In Credit Offtake In Kerala

Kochi: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has reported 80 per cent growth in credit disbursement in Kerala in the last fiscal as it disbursed Rs 750 crore for the SME sector in the State against the Rs 479 crore in the previous fiscal. SIDBI said that the Kochi branch, the sole office in the State, has saw the highest-ever disbursement figure and the highest number of fresh addition of accounts to its direct portfolio without having any fresh slippage to NPAs. During the financial year 2007, SIDBI granted Rs 781 crore as against Rs 522 crore in the previous year thus maintaining consistency in the all round growth.

NTC Aims 20Pc Increase In Operational Income

Coimbatore: The sick public sector monolith National Textile Corporation (NTC), now on its organisational and financial restructure, expects to increase its operational income by 20 per cent to Rs 716 crore during 2007-08 as compared to previous year''s earnings of Rs 600 crore. The Corporation has managed to bring down its cash losses to as low as Rs 90 crore for the just ended fiscal 2006-07, from a cash loss of Rs 454 crore it incurred during 2002-03 when NTC started its restructure programme. The NTC for which this year, being the terminal year for completing its restructuring exercise, is going to be crucial has in fact forayed into an MoU with the Ministry of Textiles, giving out all physical indicators of its modernization-cum-restructuring proposals and targets including its anticipated turnovers, productivity and workload contributions.

SBI Increases Prime Lending Rate

Mumbai: All loans, comprising existing home loans, offered by State Bank of India will be priced higher from April 9. This follows the 0.5% point hike in the benchmark Prime Lending Rate (PLR) declared by the bank on Saturday. The benchmark PLR (referred to as SBAR) has been revised upwards to 12.75 per cent from 12.25 per cent per annum, effective April 9. An increase of 50 basis points is good enough for us to maintain its margins. With this hike, they could see a slow down in credit growth from the current 26 per cent to around 22 per cent. The bank''s total outstanding advances stand at around Rs 3,30,000 crore. The floating rate stands revised at 10.75 per cent for new loans with a tenor of up to five years. The SBI''s home loan portfolio is around Rs 38,000 crore. The bank has also decided to extend the deposit schemes that offer the highest interest rates beyond March 31.

Motorbike Loans From ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank, which cornered a 40% share of the two-wheeler financing market in India, has now brought that expertise to Sri Lanka by unveiling motorbike (two-wheeler) loans in the country. ICICI Bank’s Motorbike Loans will fund all categories and brands, Indian as well as Japanese. The loans will be for up to 85% of the vehicle value and will be sanctioned to customers within 24 hours after submission of requisite documentation. Loans will be available to salaried as well as to self-employed customers, with the option of joint applicants. The bank is offering flexible repayment options to suit every customer, with tenures ranging from 12 months to 36 months. ICICI Bank in India does about 100,000 motorbike loans a month and has tie ups with all the two-wheeler manufacturers in both retail and inventory financing. ICICI Bank is India''s second largest bank and the largest in the private sector.

Gabriel India - Hon''ble High Court Of Judicature At Bombay Sanctions Scheme Of Demerger

Gabriel India Ltd has informed that the Honble High Court of Judicature at Bombay has sanctioned the Scheme of Demerger i.e. Scheme of Arrangement and Restructuring between the Company and Anand Engine Components Ltd and their respective shareholders and creditors under Sections 391 and 394 of the Companies Act, 1956. Accordingly, the Honble High Court has inter alia sanctioned the vesting of the Engine Bearings Division of the Company in Anand Engine components Ltd.The appointed date for the same is April 01, 2006.

ICICI Pru Life Increases Capital By Rs 245 Crore

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company has put in Rs 245 crore and taken its capital base to a total of Rs 2,060 crore, the highest among the domestic life insurers. This was the fourth equity hike in the last financial year. The two promoters, ICICI Bank and Prudential plc, contributed to the capital in their existing proportions of 74:26, respectively. The company last increased its capital base by Rs 230 crore in January. In the last financial year, there has been a total capital infusion of Rs 875 crore.

CCS Infotech Secures Orders From Various Prestigious Sectors

CCS Infotech Ltd on April 03, 2007 has announced that it has bagged orders worth Rs 1.45 crore from various prestigious sectors. The Company has received 1 crore order from the various leading Chennai based engineering colleges, 38 lakhs order from Airport Authority Of India, Chennai (AAI) and 7 lakhs order from BSNLPondicherry. Through these orders the Company will supply Software, PCs, high-end Servers, laptops etc., and maintain them.Commenting on this Mr. Hasan Abdul Kader, Managing Director, of the Company said, We are proud to get orders from BSNL Puducherry and other Government sectors repeatedly. The escalations in the order are the out come of the good relationship with our clients. And our domestic demand in the South India market is likely to gain tremendous momentum in 2007, which has been declared as year of broadband.The Company has recently received orders from BSNLSalem, Trivandrum, Trishur, Kannur, Mangalore, Cuddalore, University of Kochi, Various Engineering Colleges, Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) etc.

Lupin Finalizes Patent Sale Agreement With Servier

With reference to the earlier announcement dated February 20, 2007, and pursuant to signing a definitive patent sale agreement, Lupin Ltd on April 05, 2007 has announced that the Company has received Euro 20mn from Laboratories Servier of France for the sale of certain patent applications and other related Intellectual Property for Perindopril for multiple countries.The income from this sale significantly boosts our performance for the previous quarter. It obviously goes a long way to demonstrate our Research and IP capabilities, said Dr. Kamal Sharma, Managing Director, of the Company.

Karnataka Bank Revises NRE Rates

Mangalore: Karnataka Bank has brought down interest rates on its NRE and FCNR(B) deposit schemes with effect from April 3. The rate on NRE deposits has been reduced to 5.72 per cent (5.74 per cent) for tenure of one year to less than two years, 5.52 per cent (5.55 per cent) for two to less than three years and 5.46 per cent (5.48 per cent) for three to five years. In the case of FCNR(B) deposits, the interest rate on dollar deposits is 4.97 per cent (4.99 per cent) for tenure of one year to less than two years, 4.77 per cent (4.80 per cent) for two to less than three years, 4.71 per cent (4.73 per cent) for three to less than four years, 4.72 per cent (4.72 per cent) for four to less than five years and 4.76 per cent (4.74 per cent) for five years.

Zee Unveils Rs 100-Crore Cricket League

Zee Group has announced the launch of the Indian Cricket League waving a prize-money of $1 million (Rs 4.28 crore). Mr Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee Group announcing the new league, a joint venture between Essel Group and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), committed a corpus fund of Rs 100 crore, about a tenth of its failed bid in 2004 for the television rights of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI has received a letter from Mr Chandra seeking permission to start the Indian Cricket League.

Critics have drawn parallels to the Kerry Packer series launched by Australian TV tycoon Kerry Packer in 1977, soon after he was denied television rights by the Australian Cricket Board. In 2004, Zee Telefilms bid $260 million (about Rs 1,113 crore) for a four-year contract with BCCI.

ICICI Plans Back Office Ops For South In Hyd

The ICICI Bank will be setting up the back office operations of the Southern region of the country in Hyderabad Financial District. The bank is constructing a 28-storied centre in the district at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. The bank''s Hyderabad facility, coming up in 8 acres, will accommodate 25,000 employees and is expected to provide indirect employment to nearly one lakh people, said the source. While Rs 1,000 crore is being spent on civil construction, another Rs 500 crore has been proposed to be spent on the interiors of the skyscraper.

ONGC Signs MoU With Ministry Of P&NG For FY 2007-08

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has announced that the Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, agreeing on a set of Performance Parameters and targets for the financial year 2007-08. The MoU was inked by Mr. M S Srinivasan, Secretary, MoP&NG and Mr. R S Sharma, CMD, ONGC in the Ministry on March 29, 2007. The FY 2007-08 MoU has also doubled the weightage on subsidiary management (OVL and MRPL) from 2% to 4%.Since the introduction of the MoU, the Company has consistently performed well in its score card and has been rated Excellent thrice during the last five years. It secured a Composite MoU score of 1.43 in the MoU Performance Evaluation in FY 2006-07 based on audited results.

BEML Plans To Come Up With Follow-On Issue In June

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd has all set for its public issue to mobilize Rs 440 crore by offloading 49 lakh shares for the first half of June this year. According to the source, the fund raised from the follow-on issue will be used mainly for the modernisation and expansion plans of its metro coach production infrastructure at Bangalore. Internal accruals would to a degree fund the expansion - Rs 230 crore for metro infrastructure and Rs 150 crore for modern machinery. The plan is to raise the output to around 300 coaches a year to meet the estimated demand for 1,000 coaches in a couple of years as many States have announced metro projects. Metro and rail coach business is around 10-15 per cent of the turnover; mining and construction equipment around 55 per cent; and 35-40 per cent is from defence orders. Currently, the Government of India holds 61.23 per cent of the shares in BEML; UTI, banks and FIs hold 23.12 per cent; and non-institutional investors 15.65 per cent. At present, around 100 employees are opting to exit each year and this number may rise. A Rs 25-crore captive wind energy project is being planned at Chitradurga through a turnkey contract with Suzlon.

HDFC Raises Retail Lending Rates By 50 Bps

Housing Development Finance Corporation has hiked its retail prime lending rates by 50 basis points, on which its adjustable rate home loans (ARHL) are benchmarked, effective April 1. For all new home loan customers, the ARHL (floating) loans will now be priced at 11.25 per cent per annum while the fixed rates will be at 13.25 per cent per annum. The housing finance company clarifies that this is in line with the rates of interest in the economy, which have hardened due to rising inflation. Also bond prices have moved up by about 200 basis points in the past few months raising borrowing costs of triple-A companies. And also, it has raised its prime lending rate by one percentage point to 15 per cent per annum against 14 per cent earlier. The revised rates will be effective April 3. HDFC has also increased its deposit rates by 0.75 per cent across all maturities. HDFC''s premium and premium plus deposit schemes are being extended till April 30.

Reliance Retail Plans To Enter Used Vehicle Market

Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani''s Reliance Retail is looking at entering a second-hand car market on the lines of Maruti''s True Value and Mahindra''s Automart. The venture marks an addition to its plans to set up multi-brand car servicing stations at its retail outlets and its auto finance business. Reliance Retail plans to cover 1,500 cities with over 1,500 supermarkets and 1,000 hyper-markets. Reliance Retail is believed to be in talks with Corghi SpA, an Italian automotive firm, to offer customers at its outlets vehicle servicing facilities. Corghi manufactures tyre changers, wheel balancers, wheel aligners, and lifting and testing equipment. Industry estimates put the annual second-hand car market at 1 million units, almost as big as the new-car market (1.3 million units). Both markets grew 20 per cent in 2006-07 and are expected to grow at 20 to 25 per cent in the coming years. The market is dominated by informal deals, with the organised sector accounting for only 20 per cent of the business through players like Maruti (True Value), Hyundai (Advantage), Ford (Assured), Mahindra (Automart India) and Honda (Auto Terrace). Others include e-commerce auto websites

ICICI Bank Hikes Lending Rates

ICICI Bank Ltd has announced an increase of 1% in its Floating Reference Rate (FRR) for consumer loans (including home loans) with effect from March 31, 2007. The revised FRR will be 12.75% p.a. as against 11.75% at present.For existing floating rate customers, the increase in Floating Reference Rate (FRR) by 1% will be effective from April 01, 2007. The existing fixed rate customers whose loans are fully disbursed, will, however, not be impacted by the increase and their contracted rates will remain unchanged.The Bank has also announced an increase of 1% in its Benchmark Advance Rate (I-BAR). The revised I-BAR will be 15.75% p.a. payable monthly as against 14.75% at present.

RIL - GSPL Sign Pact To Transport Natural Gas

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has informed that the Company and Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) on March 31, 2007 signed a Gas Transportation Agreement to transport 11 MSMCMD of natural gas from Bhadbhut in Bharuch to the Companys Refinery and Petrochemical complex in Jamnagar.Under this Agreement, the Company has an option to increase the volumes of gas upto 14 MSCMD. The Company would transport portion of its KG Gas from Kakinada through its East West Pipeline and deliver the same to GSPL at Bharuch. For transportation of gas, GSPL would use its existing pipeline and develop new pipelines between Bharuch to Hadala and Rajkot to Jamnagar.The transportation of gas shall commence in Second Quarter of 2008. The agreement is valid for a period of 15 years from the Start Date.Similarly, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation has signed Gas Transportation Agreement with Reliance Gas Transmission and Infrastructure Ltd for transportation of 3.5 MSMCMD of natural gas from its largest KG Basin discovery at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Gujarat. As per this agreement, GSPC has an option to increase the volumes of gas upto 11 MSCMD.For transportation of gas from Kakinada to Gujarat, RGTIL is developing a pipeline between Kakinada and Bharuch.The transportation of gas shall commence as soon as GSPC starts the production of gas from its KG basin. The agreement is valid for a period of 15 years from the Start Date.PMS Prasad, President & CEO, Petroleum Business, of the Company signed the agreements with the Managing Director of GSPC, D J, Pandian, IAS, in the presence of Saurabhbhai Patel, Honorable Minister of Energy & Petrochemicals and D Rajgopalan, IAS, Chairman, GSPC.