Corporate News : Indian-commodity.com

Unitech - Update On Unitech-Telenor Deal - Dec 26, 2008

2008-12-26T14:30:00.002+05:30

With reference to earlier annoucement dated October 29, 2008, Unitech Ltd has now informed that the telecom deal with Telenor is expected to close in January 2009 instead of December 2008. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. Unitech Group and its partner, Telenor, anticipate that not all conditions for closing will be fulfilled before December 2008. Both the parties thus expect to close the transaction during January 2009.

Further the Company has informed BST that the Company signed a binding agreement with Telenor on October 28, 2008 and are now completing all the formalities. Both the parties have made significant progress on the transaction. During this period, the Company have also made a lot of progress on various launch related activities, e.g. network order placement, tower sharing, recruiting and acquisition of offices/facilities in circles amongst many other things.

PVR - Opening Of Another Multiplex In Mumbai - Dec 26, 2008

2008-12-26T14:28:00.000+05:30

PVR Ltd has announced the opening of its another prestigious multiplex in Mumbai comprising seven mainstream digital audis with total capacity of 1847 seats, situated at Phoenix Mills Compound, 462, S B Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai named as PVR Phoenix Mill, on December 26, 2008. The PVR Phoenix Mill is owned by CR Retail Malls (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of PVR Ltd.

The new Multiplex has 2k digital cinema, compliant with DCI technology, advanced sound and picture quality, digital technology slated, to bridge the demand supply gap (movie prints vis-s-vis no. of seats) at no additional distribution costs. The technology enables wide releases of a movie, ensuring better return on investments helpful in curbing piracy which is widely prevalent in India in the absence of right technology.

The opening of the multiplex makes the screen count in Mumbai to 24 and total screen count would go upto 108 at 26 locations across 14 cities in 9 States and 1 Union Territory. The Company is also in the process of applying to the Mumbai State Government for exemption of entertainment tax.

Infotech Enterprises - Clarification - Dec 26, 2008

2008-12-26T14:26:00.000+05:30

Infotech Enterprises Ltd has informed that there have been some reports in the media about the Bhu Bharathi Project of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. In this connection, the Company stated as follows: The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has stayed a Government Order awarding a contract to Infotech Enterprises Ltd for conducting aerial survey of land, under the Integrated Land Information System, titled Bhu Bharathi Rollout Phase I Project in the Karimnagar and Nellore Districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The contract value is approximately Rs 48 crores and is to be executed over 24 months and as such, it has no material impact on the Companys performance. The matter is still to be heard by the Honble high Court of Andhra Pradesh and the Company is yet to receive the notices.

Indian Telecom''s M&As At Despite Downturn: Assocham - Dec 26, 2008

2008-12-26T14:17:00.000+05:30

New Delhi: The Indian telecom industry this fiscal has seen mergers and acquisitions, which is valued at over $9 billion, unfazed by the global slowdown, an industry survey said on Dec 24. In the country, the consolidation in telecom accounted for one-third of the total M&As. An Assocham EcoPulse study said, the largest of around 20 deals this year was Japanese major NTT DoCoMo''s purchase of a 26 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices.

The $2.7 billion deal "enabled the Japanese giant''s entry into the world''s fastest-growing telecom market, which has over three times the number of subscribers in Japan," the study said. Besides this, in another deal, Dubai-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) bought a 45 per cent stake in Swan Telecom for $900 million in cash. In the last eight months this fiscal, the Idea Cellular acquiring a 40.8 per cent stake for $679 million in Spice Communications was among the major domestic deals. The study says of the $9 billion M&A deals, foreign companies infused $8.06 billion.

Nava Bharat - Buy Back Offer - Dec 24, 2008

2008-12-24T13:19:00.002+05:30

JM Financial Consultants Pvt. Ltd (Manager to the Buy Back) on behalf of Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd (Target Company), has issued this Public Announcement (PA) to the Shareholders/ Beneficial owners of the Equity Shares of the Target Company, pursuant to the provisions of Regulation 8(1) read with 15(c) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-Back of Securities) Regulations, 1998, for the time being in force including any statutory modifications and amendments from time to time (Buy-Back Regulations) and contains the disclosures as specified in Schedule II to the Buy-Back Regulations.

The Buyback: The Target Company hereby announces the Buy-back of its fully paidup equity shares of the face value Rs 2 each (Equity Shares) from the open market using the electronic trading facilities of the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) in accordance with the provisions of Sections 77A, 77AA and 77B of the Companies Act, 1956 (the Act) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 1998 (the Buy-Back Regulations) for a minimum of 735,295 Equity Shares (Minimum Offer Shares) at a price not exceeding Rs 170 per share (Maximum Offer Price) payable in cash, for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 5,000 lakhs (Maximum Offer Size) from the existing owners of Equity Shares (the Buy-back) other than those who are promoters, promoter group, directors of promoters, persons in control and persons acting in concert holding Equity shares of Company. The Maximum Offer Size represents 6.29% of the aggregate of the Companys total paid-up equity capital and free reserves as on March 31, 2008.

The Maximum Offer Price has been arrived at after taking into consideration factors such as trends in the market price of Equity Shares, the book value of Equity Shares, price-earning ratio and impact on the other financial parameters due to Buy-back. The buy-back of shares will be made at a maximum price of Rs 170 per share which represents a premium of 42.44% and 42.02% to the closing price on BSE and NSE, respectively, on December 11, 2008, being the last trading day prior to the date of the Board meeting. The closing price of the Equity Shares of the Company as on December 11, 2008 (last trading date prior to board meeting) on BSE and NSE was Rs 119.35 and Rs 119.70 respectively.

The Company shall place buy orders so long as the price is below the Maximum Offer Price and the Buy-back will close in terms with the timetable mentioned herein. However, it is being clarified that the Company shall have the flexibility to close the Buy-back at an earlier date in the event the Minimum Offer Shares have been purchased. The fact that the Board Resolution provides for the Maximum Offer Price does not indicate that the Company will or is obliged to buy or continue to buy Equity Shares, so long as the market price is below the Maximum Offer Price. Similarly, the fact that this announcement mentions the Maximum Offer Size that may be bought back at a price not exceeding Rs. 170 per share does not indicate that the Company will utilize or is obliged to utilize, the entire amount of Rs 5,000 Lakhs (being the Maximum Offer Size) in the Buy-back.

Further, the maximum number of Equity Shares bought back shall be subject to (i) the Buy-back not causing the Company to be in violation of the conditions for continuous listing prescribed in terms of Clause 40A of the listing agreement between the Company and the Stock Exchanges and (ii) the aggregate consideration payable pursuant to the Buy-back not exceeding the Maximum Offer Size.

As required under the Act and the Buy-Back Regulations, the Company shall not purchase Equity Shares which are partly paid-up Equity Shares with calls-in-arrears, locked-in or non-transferable Equity Shares in the Buy-back till the time they become fully-paid or till the Equity Shares become transferable. There will be no negotiated deals (whether on or off Stock Exchanges), spot transactions or any other private arrangements in implementation of the Buy-back.

Proposed Time Table Board Meeting approving Buy-back-December 12, 2008, Date of Public Notice-December 12, 2008, Date of Public Announcement-December 22, 2008, Date of opening of the Buy-back-January 6, 2009, Verification of Equity Shares accepted in the physical mode - Within 7 days of the relevant payout date.

Acceptance of Shares-Within 15 days of the relevant payout dates of the Stock Exchanges
Extinguishment of Shares - Within 7 days of acceptance as above Last Date for the Buy-back - December 11, 2009 (i.e. 12 months from the date of the Board Resolution). However, the Board in its absolute discretion may decide to close the Buyback, at an earlier date in the event the Minimum Offer Shares have been purchased under the Buy-back, even if the Maximum Offer Size has not been reached, by giving appropriate notice of such date and completing all formalities in this regard as per relevant laws and regulations. There would be a completion of all payment obligations in respect of the Buy-back prior to the last date of the Buy-back.

Garware Polyester - Outcome Of AGM - Dec 24, 2008

2008-12-24T13:16:00.001+05:30

Garware Polyester Ltd has informed that the members at the 51st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company held on December 23, 2008, inter alia, have passed the necessary resolutions pertaining to the following Ordinary Business :

1.Adoption of the Audited Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account for the 18 months period ended September 30, 2008 together with Directors and Auditors Report thereon.

2.Re-appointment of Mrs. S S Garware, Ms. Sarita Garware, Mr. B Moradian, as Directors of the Company.

3.Re-appointment of M/s Shah & Co., Chartered Accountants, as Auditors and authorization to the Board of Directors for fixation of Auditors Remuneration.

4.Issue of 2,00,000 Equity Shares at a price of Rs 32.67 per equity share (i.e. at a premium of Rs 22.67 per equity share) to various schemes operating under UTI Assets Manage Company Ltd on Preferential basis in terms of Sect 81(1A) of the Companies Act, 1956.

5.Payment of Additional Remuneration to the Statutory Auditors of the Company for the. extended period of the Financial year from April 01, 2008 to September 30, 2008.

Piramal Health Buys Minrad For $40 Mn - Dec 24, 2008

2008-12-24T13:10:00.001+05:30

Piramal Healthcare on Dec 23 announced that it acquired US-based Minrad International for Rs 188 crore. With a bid to acquire stake of a 100 per cent in Minrad International and with a promise of almost a $100 million worth of sales, the Piramal Group is set to become one of the top three global companies in the critical care space.

Minrad, generic inhalation anesthetics drug maker, had been making losses to the tune of $25 million this year and will provide Piramal Group to enter the US market for sevoflurane.

“Minrad International had put in a lot of money into putting their infrastructure in place but then they ran out of funding”, said Ajay Piramal, chairman, Piramal Group. However, the acquisition by Piramal comes with the complete confidence of turning around the acquired company.

As small pharma companies in the US increasingly find it difficult to find funding, they may be up for grabs and make a strategic fix for companies that have a strong presence in certain niche segments like in biotech.

Insurance Staff Strike Work Against Tabling Of Bills - Dec 24, 2008

2008-12-24T13:07:00.000+05:30

On Tuesday, the employees in the insurance sector struck down work to protest against the introduction of two Bills in Parliament to amend the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Act, 1956 and the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill. Due to the strike the work in the insurance offices was affected. The LIC Amendment Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha, seeks to increase equity from Rs.5 crore to Rs.100 crore while on the other hand the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha, seeks at increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) cap to 49 per cent from 26 per cent. It also allows the four State-owned insurance companies to go public and raise funds from the capital markets. The financial meltdown globally has affected the insurance sector in U.S., Europe and Japan.

“It is beyond imagination as to how the companies, which are struggling in their own countries, are being allowed to increase their stakes in India”, said A.K. Bhatnagar, Northern Zone Insurance Employees'' Association. He also said, “India cannot totally escape from the impact of this global meltdown. It is agreed that the impact on our financial sector is not that severe simply because the Indian sector continues to be dominated by the public sector”.

“The LIC (Amendment) Bill is nothing but a farce and a step for its privatisation. Given the LIC''s assets, investment and returns, making it a weak organisation will be an imprudent and retrograde step of the government”, the Association said in a statement.

The Northern Zone Insurance Employees'' Association, along with the General Insurance Employees'' Association, organized a march to Parliament, where the employees were addressed by All-India Trade Union Congress general secretary and MP Gurudas Dasgupta and Centre of Indian Trade Unions president M.K. Pandhe. They cautioned the government against FDI describing it as "anti-national," "anti-people" and "anti-employees.

Satyam Investors Seek Answers On Maytas Deal - Dec 23, 2008

2008-12-23T14:22:00.001+05:30

B. Ramalinga Raju, Satyam chairman may have done his bit to undo the damage on the Maytas deal, but his answers have not satisfied some of the company''s most high profile investors, who now want more accountability. More than 25 high profile investors in Satyam are coming together to form a body, in order to make a formal representation to the company''s management. Some of Satyam shareholders such as SBI Mutual Fund, Reliance MF and Templeton MF, Birla Aberdeen, will be a part of this formal association.

This formal group will also make a representation to market regulator SEBI in order to ensure some action against such moves made by Satyam. They have also asked Raju to come to Mumbai to give some direct answers to them after the buy back meeting happens later this month. Foreign investors and institutions together hold about 60 per cent in Satyam whereas the promoters hold less than 10 per cent.

The Satyam-Maytas deal fiasco has raised questions on the company''s corporate governance norms. Even though the deal was called off, the role of independent directors occupied center stage. While these development have left the IT giants stock getting hammered, investors like Aberdeen who hold more than 5 per cent continue to sense an opportunity to have a more active say.For high profile investors to come together will be the first ever such move in a country where they rarely speak in one voice rarely.

Dabur Expanding Its Personal Care Biz - Dec 23, 2008

2008-12-23T14:09:00.001+05:30

Few weeks back, Dabur India wanted to freeze its retail expansion plans for the next quarter, but interestingly they are now keen to expand once again this time with a totally reworked strategy. Dabur is reworking its plan to now focus on personal care segment instead of health and beauty retailing, to beat competition and leverage its brand strength at the same time.

Sources suggest that the new stores would be a lot smaller in size and they will be located in Bangalore and the NCR region. The focus will be more on private labels and international brands and tie ups with Turkish personal care brand ''Moda'' and an Australian cosmetics brand ''QVS'' is already in place.

The management for the retail operations have also seen a rejig. Earlier in the month, Dabur Retail''s expat CEO Peter Baker had quit and moved to Future Group. Till date there''s no replacement and Dabur''s in no hurry to find a replacement. Instead, Dabur India''s CEO Sunil Duggal will now be at the helm of affairs and regional heads will report directly to him as well as to Dabur''s board.

Dabur is known as an ayurvedic company and it wanted its retail stores to be away from this middle-segment image. But now, with Dabur''s management directly running the show, the challenge for Sunil Duggal will be to convince the Burman family who so far has been bearish on the venture.

Insurance Bill: IRDA To Control Agent Commission - Dec 23, 2008

2008-12-23T14:08:00.000+05:30

The government along with the IRDA taking a shot at making the insurers more accountable has said that every insurance company will have to report the details of management expenses to the insurance regulator. Apart from this, the commission payment or any other remuneration to an insurance agent or an intermediary will now be governed by the regulations set by IRDA.

Along with this, no insurer will be allowed to reject a claim if the policy has been in existence for 5 years and this will be good news for life insurance policyholders with even old claims being rejected on various grounds. And now it will be the Securities Appellate Tribunal that will settle the dispute cases between the insurers and the regulator. Whereas earlier the cases drag on in civil courts.

Besides this, the insurers will also have to pay an annual fee and register themselves to avoid their license getting cancelled. But on the other hand, the insurers will get more flexibility in hiring of agents. IRDA will not issue agent licenses anymore and instead it will now be left to the insurers.

For instance, the new FDI cap will be 49 per cent and Indian promoters will not be mandated to divest their stake to 26 per cent. The norms for holding equity and transferring capital have been made stringent. On the top of that, shareholders voting rights will be restricted to equity shares held by them, prior approval of IRDA will be needed if anyone plans to transfer more than 1 per cent of the paid-up equity capital of the insurer. Not just this, but reinsurers can open branches in India. All this, only after the parliament gives its nod to the bill.

Software Dealers Demand CENVAT Benefits - Dec 23, 2008

2008-12-23T14:04:00.000+05:30

However, after the declaration of CENVAT on IT products by Central government, which would be reduced by 4%, the dealers anticipated that the decision would help improve the market performance that has been slow due to economic recession. A week after the government''s decision, the distributors like Ingram Micro and Redington are still taking advantage of imported software and the modified excise duty is not being applied on them.

The Indian Software Dealers Association (ISODA) members informed that distributors have not yet reduced the prices on products from Tally, Adobe and Symantec. On the other hand, after the government''s declaration the reduction was implemented on Microsoft licenses four to five days.

The members protesting the monopolistic attitude of distributors and in order to make them realize the strength of ISODA, have decided to call for a ''no transaction day'' on Dec 22, informed Harinder Singh Salwan, Secretary, ISODA.

Hemant Chabria, Secretary, ISODA informed that dealers were protesting about the fact that even after the government''s announcement the distributors are taking advantage by selling the products at higher rates.

Salwan informed that on Dec 22, all the 100 members of ISODA will protest and no billing, payment, supply or transaction will take place on that day. "We want to let our distributors realize that ISODA is a strong association and they cannot run business according to their own will," he said.

An ISODA member shared that the association had directly interacted with top officials of Redington and Ingram Micro over the issue of reducing the excise duty by four percent and the distis had agreed with them.

On the other hand, when the software dealers conveyed the message to an executive of one of the distributors, he refused to acknowledge the reduced rates, saying that ISODA is not a recognized body and cannot play any role in modifying the distributor''s decision.

ICSI National Award For Excellence In Corporate Governance - Dec 22, 2008

2008-12-22T15:03:00.003+05:30

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has informed that the Company has been conferred the prestigious ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance for the year 2008 at a function held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The award is presented to those companies which follow the highest standards of corporate governance and follow best practices which are worthy of being exemplified.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), a premier professional body has been set up under an Act of Parliament to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries.

Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, received the award on behalf of the Company from His Excellency Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Honourable Vice President of India. Shri Prem Chand Gupta, Honble Union Minister for Corporate Affairs was also present on the occasion, along with other Jury members.

ICSI, while conferring this award to Mahindra & Mahindra, has stated that this award has been conferred on Mahindra in recognition of the Companys commitment to transparency, high integrity and its vision for the future, a customer centric approach, innovative thinking, its sustainable relations with all stakeholders and the top managements creative contributable capabilities.

This award is the most recent recognition of the good Corporate Governance practices followed at Mahindra. These are practices built on core values and ethics and the award is a reiteration of its philosophy that good governance goes beyond good working results and financial propriety and is a pre-requisite for excellent performance in terms of stakeholder value creation.

Mahindra had earlier bagged the Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance, 2006. Mahindra has also been assigned the Governance & Value Creation (GVC) Level -1 by CRISIL for Governance and Value Creation which indicates that the capability of the Company with respect to wealth creation for a its stakeholders while adopting strong Corporate Governance practices is the highest.

The US based Reputation Institute recently ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its Global 200; The World best Corporate Reputations list.

Press Release : Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, one of Indias leading companies, received the prestigious ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance for the year 2008 at a function held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

The award is presented to those companies which follow the highest standards of corporate governance and follow best practices which are worthy of being exemplified.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), a premier professional body has been set up under an Act of Parliament to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries.

Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, received the award on behalf of the Company from His Excellency Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Honourable Vice President of India.

Shri Prem Chand Gupta, Honble Union Minister for Corporate Affairs was also present on the occasion, along with other Jury members.

ICSI stated that this award has been conferred on Mahindra in recognition of the companys commitment to transparency, high integrity and its vision for the future, a customer centric approach, innovative thinking, its sustainable relations with all stakeholders and the top managements creative contributable capabilities.

This award is the most recent recognition of the good Corporate Governance practices followed at Mahindra. These are practices built on core values and ethics and the award is a reiteration of its philosophy that good governance goes beyond good working results and financial propriety and is a pre-requisite for excellent performance in terms of stakeholder value creation.

Mahindra had earlier bagged the Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance, 2006. Mahindra has also been assigned the Governance and Value Creation (GVC) Level - 1 by CRISIL for Governance and Value Creation which indicates that the capability of the Company with respect to wealth creation for all its stakeholders while adopting strong Corporate Governance practices is the highest.

The US based Reputation Institute recently ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its Global 200 The Worlds Best Corporate Reputations list.

Troubled Paint Makers Look At Real Estate Recovery - Dec 22, 2008

2008-12-22T14:53:00.001+05:30

The Rs 11,500 crore domestic paints industry is likely to get a much needed boost on account of cuts in home loan rates. The industry has been reeling under production cuts and a slump in the automobile sector. In any country, the paints industry has been a barometer of economic activity. The demand goes up in a boom as people buy more homes and cars, and businessmen put up more commercial space and factories.

The paint industry has two segments namely decorative (used in houses and commercial buildings) and industrial. The growth in the decorative segment came down to 15 per cent from 18 per cent in the last one year whereas the growth in the industrial segment dropped to just 3-4 per cent from 15 per cent.

To deal with this, the industry has decided to lower production in order to check the pile-up of inventory. Some have put their expansion plans on hold and still others are figuring out if their stocks can be exported. On the other hand, those who had bet on high-end paints, as consumers moved rapidly up the value chain, now find no takers.

The market leader Asian Paints had to temporarily close its chemical plant in Gujarat that makes phthalic anhydride (PAN), a component used in paint making, for its own use as well as for other paint makers. Besides this, the paint manufacturers now find it difficult to roll-back prices because of the depreciation in the rupee. Naturally, they are eyeing the real estate sector to bail them out of the situation.

The automobile industry that accounts for almost 90 per cent of the demand for industrial paint is also facing its worst ever crisis. The industry witnessed the worst decline in sales in 8 years this November, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, as buyers stayed away on account of tight liquidity.

NRC - Outcome Of AGM - Dec 22, 2008

2008-12-22T14:27:00.001+05:30

NRC Ltd has informed that the members at the 61st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company held on December 18, 2008, inter alia, have accorded to the following:

1. Adoption of the Balance Sheet of the Company as at June 30, 2008 and the Profit and Loss Account for the 15 months period ended on that date together with the Directors Report and the Auditors Report thereon.

2. Reappointment of Shri Ashok Goenka, as the Director of the Company, liable to retire by rotation.

3. Appointment of M/s. Lodha & Co., Chartered Accountants, as Auditors of the Company from the conclusion of the Annual General meeting until the conclusion of the next Annual General meeting of the Company on remuneration, terms and conditions as approved by the Board of Directors.

4. Appointment of Shri Arun Jain as Director.

5. Appointment of Shri Arun Jain as Managing Director of the Company and the remuneration payable to him for the period from February 22, 2008.

6. Appointment of Shri. L S Mehta as Director and Managing Director for the period from December 13, 2007 to February 21, 2008 and the remuneration paid to him and waiver of recovery of the said remuneration paid for want of approval of the Central Government, subject to the permission of the Central Government for such waiver.

7. Waiver of the remuneration paid to Shri A K Luke, as Managing Director during the period from February 20, 2007 to December 12, 2007 for want of approval of the Central Government, subject to the permission of the Central Government for such waiver.

Housing Demand To Pick Up In 2009 - Dec 22, 2008

2008-12-22T14:25:00.001+05:30

Housing demand which has remained unresponsive in 2008 due to high prices and interest rates is likely to pick up in the new year in the backdrop of a declining interest rate regime, according to a leading home finance company.

Although there is a temporary slowdown, the demand for housing will increase in 2009, LIC Housing Finance Director and Chief Executive R R Nair said. While he would not predict price movements in the realty sector, Nair said that there was a "possibility" of them increasing.

Advising buyers not to delay their home purchases in the hope of a fall in prices, Nair said, "builders may start jacking up prices once they liquidate their inventories.

Now, rates have started falling. Builders might wait for a while, for two months or so, to liquidate their inventories. After that, it is anybody''s guess (on a likely price increase), Nair said. Asked whether the sector was facing a slowdown pan-India, Nair said that this phenomenon was confined only to a few pockets and was not an all-India problem.

There might be slowdown in a few pockets including Mumbai and Bangalore but there is no problem elsewhere, he said. Asymmetric price hikes in a few regions was the main reason for the slowdown, he said.

Realty prices flared up till January this year after they either stabilized or started declining except in select locations where they increased, he said. According to him, despite the increase in interest rates, customers stand benefited to the tune of 35 per cent. Prices across the board declined by 20 per cent and were it not for the rate hikes, they would have flared up by another 15 per cent, he said.

As an example, he said, LIC Housing Finance had increased its interest rates by 1.25 per cent till December which worked out to be Rs 80 for an EMI of 20 years. Price reduction in the sector has been a minimum of 20 per cent across the board. If the interest rates had not increased, prices would have further gone up further by at least 15 per cent. So, 35 per cent is permanent savings for the customer.

The slowdown mainly afflicts those builders who are targeting investors or speculators. But for those who are targeting genuine end-users, it is not a problem. May be some end-users were waiting for a price reduction but this is temporary and should not be considered a regular feature, he said.

ICICI''s Kamath To Hang Boots Next Year - Dec 20, 2008

2008-12-20T12:24:00.000+05:30

Kundapur Vaman Kamath, ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director will hang his boots on April 30, 2009. He will be remembered for making interest rates sound interesting and the otherwise ''boring'' banking profession cool. He made a mark for himself in the country where people only banker without difficulty is the RBI governor.

Kamath''s success is the envy of bankers everywhere, but his feat of taking a small bank and turning it into the country''s second largest lender is hard to match. Kamath, born in Mangalore in the December of 1947, preferred banking as his profession. Mangaloreans have made a name for themselves in this field, with at least five banks founded by people from the region.

But IIM-educated Kamath ventured beyond where his predecessors treaded and made access to credit a real possibility for customers from different walks of life. After graduating from IIM-Ahmedabad in 1971, he joined the erstwhile Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India in the project finance division and dabbled in leasing, venture capital and credit rating fields. In 1988, he moved to the Asian Development Bank, Manila, where he worked on many projects in developing countries before returning to ICICI as its Managing Director and CEO in 1996.

Slowdown Forces RIL To Revamp Retail Formats - Dec 20, 2008

2008-12-20T12:22:00.000+05:30

Mukesh Ambani is going back to the drawing board once again two years after opening its first retail store ''Reliance Fresh'' in November 2006. There would be three main business units, value, lifestyle and joint ventures.

The value retailing will have formats like Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super and Reliance Mart under it. In the meantime, lifestyle will consist retailing formats such as Reliance Digital, Reliance Trends, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Footprint and Reliance Jewels.

The joint ventures will have tie-up businesses with Hamleys for toys, Marks & Spencer for apparel and Pearl Europe for optical retailing. Nevertheless, all these formats will still sport their current brand identity and the back-end operations will be one for each business unit.

This may result in job losses as many as 800 employees, including most of the expats were asked to resign in the last two weeks. Way back in 2006, during the company''s annual general meeting, Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said Reliance will hire over five lakh employees and spend Rs 10000 crore for its retail venture. Industry experts expect the gross margins to improve by two-three per cent and even the supply costs to reduce by as much as 40 per cent after the consolidation.

The Road Ahead For Chanda Kochhar - Dec 20, 2008

2008-12-20T12:21:00.000+05:30

Chanda Kochhar will take over the control of India''s second largest bank on the 1st of May next year from KV Kamath. Kochar will become the Managing Director and Chief Executive Offier of ICICI Bank, an organization that she joined as a management trainee some 24 years ago.

Chanda Kochhar will step into the corner office at ICICI to become one of the most powerful women in Indian business. At the age of 46, it may be heavy load to carry, but Kochar''s credentials left no doubt that she will be the chosen one. Kamath, her predecessor said, Chanda is a well rounded banker. She has handled all the key portfolios. For the last few years, Kochhar has increasingly become the public face of ICICI, pushing the bank''s achievements.

Even before that, Chanda was integrally involved with the operational side of the bank after joining as a trainee in 1984. In 1993 she was nominated to be a part of the core team that set up ICICI bank. By 1997, she was heading the large corporate clients group and in 2001, she went on to the head retail vertical.Further, Kochhar became a part of the top management when she was promoted to CFO in 2006 and finally was handed the post of Joint MD in 2007.

The past year has been a difficult one for ICICI as the stock has tumbled and investors have become disbelieving about its growth projection. Not only this, even the depositors have turned cautious. But Kochhar remains confident that these worries will be overcome. In the meantime, as she works on damage control, Kochhar is looking for future opportunities, which may lie in reviving the bank''s corporate focus and looking for consolidation.

HDFC Cuts Home Loan Rates By 50 Bps - Dec 20, 2008

2008-12-20T12:19:00.001+05:30

Country''s largest housing finance company, HDFC Ltd, cut the lending rate on Dec 19 by 50 basis points for loans of more than Rs 20 lakh for both existing and new customers. It also introduced a new slab for sub-Rs 20 lakh.Loans of up to Rs 20 lakh will attract an interest rate of 10.25 per cent and the rates for loans above this level has been pegged at 11.25 per cent down from 11.75 per cent. The new rates are effective from Monday.

The advantage of a cut in retail prime lending rates (RPLR) will accumulate to all the existing floating rate customers over a period of next three months based on their respective reset dates. The housing major''s decision to reduce rates comes within 24 hours of Home Minister P Chidambaram announcing in Parliament that the government will persuade banks to reduce loans for existing home loan borrowers as well. HDFC also decided to reduce the deposit rates by 50 basis points. HDFC''s closest competitor in home loans ICICI Bank had earlier in this month reduced interest rates by 150 basis points to 11.50 per cent for fresh loans of up to Rs 20 lakh. Public sector banks have already capped the interest rates at 8.5 per cent for loans up to Rs 5 lakh to encourage low-income housing.

For middle-income loans of Rs 5-20 lakh, the PSU banks would charge a maximum of 9.25 per cent. These rates would be reset only after five years. The scheme by PSU banks is valid up to June 30, 2009.The state-run banks have also done away with processing fee and pre-payment charges for loans up to Rs 20 lakh. In addition, the PSU lenders have decided to offer free life insurance cover to the home loan seekers as an add-on with the credit.

Chanda Kochhar Tipped To Succeed Kamath - Dec 19, 2008

2008-12-19T11:52:00.000+05:30

ICICI Bank board will meet on December 19 and is expected to decide on the successor of K V Kamath, its CEO and managing director. The bank''s joint managing director and group chief financial officer Chanda Kochhar is expected to take over the responsibility from Kamath after he demits office on April 30 next year, sources said.

Kamath would take over as non-executive chairman of the bank in place of N Vaghul, they added. Kamath had started his career in 1971 at erstwhile ICICI, a domestic financial institution that founded ICICI Bank and merged with it in 2002.

After a stint with the Asian Development Bank, Kamath returned to ICICI as its CEO in 1996. This same year he was conferred with Padma Bhushan, one of the country''s top civilian honours. At present, Kamath is the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is a member of the boards of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and the Manipal University. Kochhar had joined the erstwhile ICICI in 1984 as a Management Trainee. When ICICI decided in 1993 to enter the commercial banking, she was deputed to ICICI Bank as a part of the core team to set up the bank.

Kochhar was involved in setting up and scaling up the retail business for ICICI Bank. In April 2001, she took over as the Executive Director, heading the retail business in the ICICI Bank. In April 2006, she was appointed as Deputy Managing Director. She has frequently featured in the Fortune magazine''s annual lists of most powerful business women across the world.

According To NASSCOM, The Indian IT Industry Is Recover In 12 Months - Dec 19, 2008

2008-12-19T11:49:00.000+05:30

Recent study of NASSCOM suggests that, Indian IT industry is likely to recover in another 12 months, despite of a continuing recessionary trend globally. Economy Slowdown resulted slower growth in Indian IT industry for the recent quarters and further expected in coming few quarters.

Mr Ganesh Natarajan, the chairman of NASSCOM admitted that, after 12 months the Indian IT industry will more focus on domestic market and less on international markets. Adding to this, NASSCOM chairman said that as compared to India, the UK and other European markets will recover in 2-3 years while the US will take another 12-18 months to emerge from the current gloomy conditions.

Among these countries, Japan is the worst hit since it is a big client of Indian and the US IT industry. Unlike a growth rate of 24% last year, the Indian IT industry is expected to reported lesser growth rate while the GDP will continue to grow between 6% to 7%. Further, additional 50,000 work forces will be recruited during the next year while, in the year 2008 the industry have recruited around 2 lakh people.

Shriram Eyes Citi''s Business - Dec 19, 2008

2008-12-19T11:47:00.000+05:30

A part of Citi may soon be under new ownership. Shriram Transport is close to buying CitiGroup''s asset based financing business as talks between the two companies are in their final stages. While the valuation of Citi''s division is still underway, the assets under this transaction are worth around Rs 4,000 crore.

The business includes commercial vehicle, construction equipment, engineering and medical equipment financing. Both Shriram and Citi refused to comment on the deal. However, it is clear that the earlier list of buyers that included names like HDFC Bank, Kotak, Sundaram, is now down to just shriram Transport Finance.

Citi considered selling this business to tide over its first quarter losses and now its seems eager to exit this portfolio as the commercial vehicle business has remained depressed in FY09 after a dim domestic sales of CV grew only four per cent in the first half of 2008-09, while consolidated profits of the five biggest players fell 27.56 per cent.

For Shriram, this could mean scaling up its operations and to an extent even diversifying, as it would include the construction equipment and engineering financing as well.

ICICI Bank Appoints Chanda Kochhar As MD & CEO - Dec 19, 2008

2008-12-19T11:43:00.000+05:30

ICICI Bank has announced that N Vaghul, non executive chairman of the board of directors of ICCI Bank would retire from the board on completion of his current term on 30 April 2009. The board has, subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank Of India and the shareholders, decided to appoint K V Kamath, presently managing director and CEO as non-executive chairman of the board for a period of five years effective 01 May 2009. Kamath's current term as managing director and CEO would end on 30 April 2009 and he has expressed his desire to lay down its executive responsibilities from that date.

The board of directors has, subject to the approval of RBI and the shareholders decided to appoint Chandra D Kochhar, presently joint managing director and chief financial officer as managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank from 01 May 2009 to 31 March 2014. Chanda Kochhar joined erstwhile ICICI in 1984 and was elevated to the board of directors of ICICI Bank in 2001.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 19 December 2008.

Disa India - Open Offer - Dec 18, 2008

2008-12-18T13:52:00.001+05:30

Ambit Corporate Finance Pvt Ltd (Manager to the Offer) on behalf of Hamlet Holding II ApS (Acquirer) & DISA Holding II A/S, DISA Holding A/S & DISA Holding AG (Person Acting in Concerts/PACs) has issued this Public Announcement (PA) to the Equity Shareholders of Disa India Ltd (Target Company), pursuant to and in compliance with the Regulation 10 (read with explanation (b) to Regulation 11) & Regulation 12 & other applicable provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997 & Subsequent amendments thereto upto the date of the PA (SEBI Takeover Code).

The Offer: The Offer is for acquisition of upto 3,02,041 Shares (Offer Size) from the existing shareholders of the Target Company (other than the PACs which hold Shares) representing 20% of the paid-up & voting equity share capital of the Target Company, at a price of Rs 1,657/- (Rupees One Thousand Six Hundred Fifty Seven only) per Share, payable in cash (Offer Price).

The offer is a result of indirect acquisition and control of the Target Company by the Acquirer.

Schedule of Activities: Specified Date - January 09, 2009, Date of Opening of the Offer - February 05, 2009,Date of Closing of the Offer - February 24, 2009.

Honda Defers Expansion, Cut Production - Dec 18, 2008

2008-12-18T13:32:00.000+05:30

Honda, the Japanese auto major on Dec 17 said it has decided to defer the expansion of capacity at its second Indian plant in Rajasthan besides cutting production at the existing facility at Greater Noida, near Delhi.

The company, which runs its Indian operations through a joint venture with the Siel Group said it would postpone capacity enhancement and assembly operations at its second plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan. The new capacity addition, which was initially scheduled for Q4 of 2009, has been deferred in view of the current economic slowdown, resulting in a drop in demand, a senior offical of HSCI said.

The company had announced an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore at the Rajasthan plant, out of which Rs 600 crore had already been used. HSCI had planned to set up the second plant in Rajasthan with an initial capacity of 60,000 units, while it expanded capacity at it Greater Noida facility to one lakh unit per year. The official said production at the facility in Greater Noida would be reduced in view of the negative growth in the Indian automobile industry and in the interest of maintaining lean operations.

Patni Appoints Jeya Kumar As Chief Executive Officer - Dec 18, 2008

2008-12-18T13:28:00.001+05:30

Patni Computer Systems Ltd has informed regarding a Press Release dated December 18, 2008 titled Patni appoints Jeya Kumar as Chief Executive Officer; Narendra Patni to continue as Chairman.

Press Release : Patni Computer Systems, a leading global IT services provider, today announced the appointment of Mr. Jeya Kumar as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kumar will come on board February 2009 and will be responsible for driving the companys operations. Mr. Narendra K Patni will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Loek van den Boog who was appointed as Executive Director earlier this year will handover the operational responsibilities to Jeya and continue as a non-executive director on Patnis board.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Narendra K Patni, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Patni said, This is in line with our succession planning and strengthening the operational leadership of the Company. I am excited with Jeya joining as CEO of the Company in view of his extensive experience in this market segment and his excellent track record.

Mr. Jeya Kumar said, Patni has been a pioneer in the IT Services industry and white I eagerly await taking over as its CEO, I realize that I am stepping into the shoes of an illustrious leader. I look forward to working with Mr. Patni, the Board of Directors and employees to maximize shareholder value and take the Company into its new growth phase.

APW President Systems Introduces For Higher Energy Savings - Dec 17, 2008

2008-12-17T14:46:00.001+05:30

APW President Systems has introduced COOL WAY, a cold aisle containment system for deploying in data centers. With energy efficiency becoming a critical goal, any technology to save power would be a boon to business. According to the GreenGrid (an international non-profit organization with a mandate to increase energy efficiency in the IT sector), cooling solutions consume about 63 per cent of the power in a datacenter.

According to E. A. Elias, Managing Director, APW President Systems, “As leaders in data center infrastructure solutions, we continue to innovate and come up with money-saving solutions that are designed to set standards in customer value. In today''s datacenters, there is greater heat generation in equipment, and a greater demand on the cooling system. Most high-end computer servers now require air as the cooling medium. So, in a typical data center design, every server location has to be provided with cool air at the optimal volume, temperature and humidity. The solution is a cold aisle containment system. By simply preventing the common and increasingly critical problem of short-circuited hot airflow returning directly back into the cold aisle, significant cooling and energy efficiencies can be achieved.”

In the design of COOL WAY, optimally conditioned air is directed to a sealed cold aisle which ensures that the thermal variations within the data centre do not impact the volume of cold air delivered to the front of the IT equipment.

About the company: APW President Systems Limited is a 27-year-old company Headquartered in Mumbai and engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and supply of data center infrastructure solutions.

The company has developed exceptional proficiency in designing and delivering custom designed infrastructure solutions. Service skills include IT infrastructure consulting, product design, customization, networking logistics and layout and service packages for IT administration and strategic development. World-class APW President solutions have been accepted by every prestigious name in Indian business and they are exported to several countries. Products are shipped to 20 countries, including Australia, USA, Singapore and the Middle East.

Kingfisher Ground Handlers Go On Flash Strike - Dec 17, 2008

2008-12-17T14:45:00.000+05:30

The ground handling staff of Kingfisher Airlines went on a flash strike at the IGI airport on Dec 16 as they were angry over "non payment" of their salaries. Protesting the non-payment of their salaries by the Universal Aviation Services, the ground-handling agency for Kingfisher Airlines, staffers went on a flash strike at around 7:15 am, airport sources said.

But 45 minutes later, at around 0800 am, the ground handling staff called off their strike following assurances of payment of dues and normal operation resumed thereafter. Some employees were paid their dues in the morning and rest in the evening. Passengers of a Kingfisher flight from Lucknow had to remain in the aircraft for about an hour after landing, as they were not provided stepladder by the ground handling staff.

Dot Against Administration Charges For 3G - Dec 17, 2008

2008-12-17T14:42:00.000+05:30

The government is still in doubt, a month before the 3G spectrum auctions, on the number of players to be allowed in a circle as well as the charges to be levied on 3G companies. This difficulty arises as the spectrum availability is different in all 22 telecom circles in the country. The government is also not sure about getting spectrum vacated from another long pending issue, defence services.

The Department of Telecommunications favors release of spectrum in phases and that could mean a second auction at a later date. Therefore, basically those being asked to put in bids right now won''t know if other players could come in subsequently to give them competition. And so the bids in this first round could be much lower than what the government expects. The DoT officials are in a dilemma because these issues need to be resolved before the date of auction. Moreover, DoT officials are worried that high recurring fees can diminish the auction. The DoT''s problem is that the telecom regulator has recommended an administrative charge equal to 2 per cent of the highest bid as an annual fee to be paid by telecom operators for 3G services. The DoT is concerned that bidders will factor in this proposed annual charge and lower their bids by the same amount.

IOL Netcom - Result Of Postal Ballot - Dec 17, 2008

2008-12-17T14:40:00.001+05:30

IOL Netcom Ltd has informed that the members of the Company, by way of Postal Ballot, have passed the following resolutions:

1. Raising of funds, whether from India or abroad, either through Borrowing including External Commercial Borrowing or by way of issue of Equity Shares or any other Securities convertible into equity shares on later date including warrants / ADR / GDR / FCCB / QIP for the amount not exceeding US $ 300 million (Three hundred million only) pursuant to RBI Guidelines, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Disclosure and Investor Protection) Guidelines, 2000 and any other applicable rules & regulations.

2. Issue of Equity shares / Convertible instruments or any other securities other than warrant through a qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) to Qualified Institution Buyers (QIBs) for an amount not exceeding US $ 10 (Ten only) million pursuant to chapter XIIIA of SEBI (DIP) Guidelines, 2000. However the limit can be increased subject to limit prescribed in resolution given in item no-1.

3. Increase the Authorised Capital of the Company from Rs 70,00,00,000 (Rupees seventy crores only) divided into 7,00,00,000 (Seven crores) equity shares of Rs 10/- (Rupees Ten only) each to Rs 150,00,00,000 (Rupees one fifty crores only) divided into 14,90,00,000 (Fourteen crore ninety lakhs only) equity shares of Rs 10/- (Rupees Ten only) each and 1,00,000 (One lakhs only) preference share of Rs 100/- (Rupees hundred only) each.

4. To Alter Memorandum of Association and Article of Association of the Company to give effect of increase of Authorised capital of the company.

5. To issue of 75,000 Convertible Equity Warrant to Investors pursuant to Chapter XIII of SEBI (Disclosure & Investor Protection) Guidelines, 2000.

6. To obtain approval under section 293(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 1956.

7. To increase the Borrowing Power limit not exceeding Rs 1000,00,00,000 (Rupees one thousand crore only) pursuant to section 293(1)(d) of the Companies Act, 1956.

Wockhardt Plans To Sell Pinewood Labs For $200 Mn - Dec 16, 2008

2008-12-16T14:23:00.000+05:30

Mumbai based drugmaker Wockhardt is working out a new strategy to shore up drooping profit margins and stay ahead of the competition amid current global financial crisis. According to sources, Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakhiwala has decided to put Wockhardt''s Irish business Pinewood Labs up for sale for $200 million.

It is believed that Sanofi-Aventis, French pharmaceuticals company, is leading the race to buy it but probably for a better price. Wockhardt is sitting on nearly $700 million of debt and it needs the money to repay it. For Wockhardt selling Pinewood is just the first step.

Since the asset continues to have good presence in the UK, Wockhardt hopes to sell it while the going is good. For repaying rest of the debt, the company has been looking to raise more money as well through equity and debt. Khorakiwala holds a 73.64 per cent stake in Wockhardt while LIC holds 5 per cent.

Indian IT Firms Re-Consider Battle Plans - Dec 16, 2008

2008-12-16T14:19:00.000+05:30

Star Performers during the bull run, IT companies are ready to take challenges in the bear run also. Tech Companies have managed to create million dollar revenues over the past few years are now part of market myth now. But the companies have affected badly during the last 12 months due to recession across the globe. The large cap companies such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL Tech, Satyam and hundreds of others get higher billing rates for their coding work Sure, the "consulting" work that has made them billionaire.

However, the bulk of the earnings still come from the coders/programmers'' billing rates. The slowdown which hits the IT companies hard have planed to to improve utilization rate. In other words, get more employees to do work for the clients. For an example, TCS'' utilization rate for the second quarter (excluding trainees) stood at 81%. Arguably, which mean nearly 19% or 19,000 of over 100,000 of its employees were not contributing to the revenues of the company during the same quarter. TCS now wants to improve its utilization rate to 83%, which will improve its margins and help battle the current slowdown.

The task what TCS is willing to do is something that all tech companies are trying to do. According to TCS experience, a typical software programmer works for about 8 years in a position where his serviced can be billed to a client. After that, if he does not move to very specific business units of the company, he moves to a supervisory, non-billable role.

Toyota Cuts India Output By 30% In Investment Plan - Dec 16, 2008

2008-12-16T14:16:00.001+05:30

Toyota, World''s largest carmaker said on Dec 15, it has cut production in India by 30 per cent this month, but is not holding back its planned investments of Rs 3,200 crore in the country. The company said the slowdown in the auto market has forced it to revise its sales target in India for this year. Everywhere else in the world, Toyota has put on hold all investments for expansions, except India, TKM Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa told reporters.

The company, which produced 2,886 units in November, has decided to cut its production in the current month due to slowdown in the domestic automart. TKM had announced a sales target of 60,000 units for 2008. It had sold 54,181 cars in 2007 in the Indian market. The company posted a fall of 48.55 per cent in sales in November this year at 2,087 units compared with 4,056 units in the same month last year. The company is also planning to launch the CNG version of its utility vehicle ''Innova''.

M&M Frontrunner For Chrysler''s Jeep Brand - Dec 16, 2008

2008-12-16T14:14:00.000+05:30

It seems that selling off some of the group brands of US carmakers may take centre stage amid the threat of bankruptcy looming large over three large US carmakers, which means M&M is a step closer to buying out Chrysler''s Jeep brand. In fact, sources say that unlike last month, now M&M is keen on just Jeep not Dodge since it wants to stay focused on utility vehicles. Chrysler appointed investment bankers have already approached M&M and management level talks are likely in mid January.

M&M will get access to a 50 statewide dealer network in the US and also two plants in Toledo, Ohio, one in Belvidere, Illinois, and one in Detroit, Michigan. These plants do produce some Dodge badged vehicles but are mostly Jeep specific. The Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler was sold to Cerberus in 2007 at about $7.2 billion. But given the financial situation of the business today, Jeep is likely to cost M&M in the range of $2.5-3 billion. M&M has a $54 million debt on its books at this point and has recently acquired Kinetic''s two-wheeler business. More significantly the company''s current debt-equity ratio stands at 1.6x which seems worryingly high.

Chrysler is under pressure to scale down production and sell its few brands. With auto bailout package quite far, the company''s investment bankers have also approached investors in the Middle East, China, Russia. But the Chrysler management is keen to go with Mahindra which now has frontrunner status and chances are untangling Dodge from Jeep may be impossible and so M&M may get Dodge thrown in to sweeten the deal.

Icici Bank Chief Hints At Rate Cuts Rates Will Come Down - Dec 15, 2008

2008-12-15T16:11:00.000+05:30

K V Kamath, ICICI Bank chairman hinted on Dec 13 that the deposit and lending rates are set to fall in the next 2-3 weeks. However, he said that the when benefits will reflect on their books then banks will start passing on the profit to customers. He pointed out that the fall in interest rates of 10-year government bonds indicate that shortly deposit and lending rates will come down.

We clearly see a process where markets are signaling the rates down. The leading indicator, 10-year government bonds, in the past few weeks has dropped by 1.5 percentage points. We need to keep that in context because that will determine movements in deposit and lending rates, Kamath said.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on discussing business strategies for emerging India at the Indian School of Business in hyderabad. He said that the one-year deposit rate has dropped almost by 150-200 basis points in the last one week. The lending and borrowing rates don''t change so quickly because the whole book has to be repriced. I can see the repricing starting now and we have to give a little time for rates to get lower, Kamath said.

Kamath refused to say by how much the rates will drop. However, he said the fall in the interest rates of government bonds and one-year term deposits, around 2 percentage points, are indicative. The estimated inflation rate, below 5 per cent, will also lead to a substantial drop in the interest rates, Kamath asserted.

Bag Films Media Ltd Broadcast Initiative Known Broadcast - Dec 15, 2008

2008-12-15T16:02:00.003+05:30

BAG Films & Media Ltd has informed regarding a Press Release to be issued by the Company regarding first anniversary of its Hindi News Channel News24 that was launched under B.A.G. Newsline Network Pvt. Ltd a subsidiary of BAG Films & Media Ltd. In this regard the Company has issued a Press Release titled News 24 Completes One Year.

Press Release:BAG Films & Media Ltd celebrates today the first anniversary of its twenty four hour national Hindi News channel, News 24 that was launched under the aegis of B.A.G News Network Pvt. Ltd. The channel was launched as part of B.A.G. Films & Media Ltds broadcast initiative known as Broadcast 24.

After its successful launch on December 13, 2007, News 24 caught the eye of discerning viewers of Hindi news from across the country. And within three months of its launch emerged as the nations fastest growing Hindi News Channel. Featuring latest news and reports focused coverage and in depth analysis of events and happenings taking place around the world, the channel carved a niche for itself in the highly competitive market of news broadcasting.

In the past year, the channel was lauded for its innovative news programming covering a range of genres that included programmes like Target, Yeh India Ka Cricket Hai, Home Theatre and Dharamyatra. The coverage of the devastating Bihar floods along with which the channel also brought aid and relief to the flood victims was especially appreciated by viewers and critics alike.

Attributing the success to the News 24 team, Ms. Anurradha Prasad, Chairperson cum Managing Director, B.A.G. Films & Media Ltd said, The success of News 24 is a result of the tireless efforts of the entire News 24 team under the able leadership of our Managing Editor Mr. Ajit Anjum and Director News Mr. Supriya Prasad. Our anchors too have ably connected and struck a chord with our audience. I am confident that in the coming years, News 24 will cross many a new milestone and make an indelible mark in news broadcasting in our country.

HCL Tech, SKS Micro Among World''s Top Emerging Cos - Dec 15, 2008

2008-12-15T15:59:00.000+05:30

According to BusinessWeek magazine two Indian companies HCL Technologies and SKF Microfinance have been named among the world''s most influential emerging companies along with social networking site Facebook and online community for classified ads Craigslist. On the list of the world''s most influential companies, the Indian companies have found a place under the segment of five ''Up and Comers'', which are the most influential emerging companies.

Meanwhile, the US publication has giants like Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Wal-Mart on the list of the world''s ten most influential companies. Unilever, News Corp, Toyota Motors, Saudi Aramco, Monsanto, Huawei and Google are also included in the list. While describing the emerging companies segment, the magazine said many are up-and-coming stars still expanding their global reach, building brand recognition or trying to beat their industry''s dominant player. About HCL Technologies, info-tech services provider, the magazine said that Vineet Nayar, CEO of the firm, has adopted a novel philosophy that the management should be accountable to employees and has put it into practice as well.

On financial services provider SKS Microfinance, the magazine said the firm could have had more impact than Grameen Bank, the organization founded by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. SKS has 14,000 employees and 3.5 million customers in India, and is adding 300,000 new customers each month. The emerging influential companies also include Facebook, which has more than 160 million members.

IT Firms Started Sharing Internal Green Practices With Clients - Dec 15, 2008

2008-12-15T15:57:00.000+05:30

Indian IT services firms'' mere services and even consulting has become old, as most of the companies have now opened their internal best practices to clients. Now, Wipro and Infosys have started sharing of internal green computing practices with clients, which helped them step into the green path amid rising concerns of global warming. As a result of this, company would get additional revenues for the vendors as worsening economic conditions forces clients to go slow on technology deployment.

In this regard, Infosys has signed Wm Wrigley Jr for green IT offering and is helping the world''s largest chewing gum maker to reduce carbon footprint by transforming its logistics operation in Western Europe.

Furthermore, IT hardware vendors such as IBM, HP and Dell have been making their products more power efficient and this is the first time that the Indian IT services vendors are helping their clients to reduce carbon footprint. Going ahead, Wipro''s green IT offerings comprise of consulting, green data centres, carbon accounting, paperless offices and freight management solutions.

The Asia-Pacific and India IT business of Wipro Ltd, Wipro Infotech, had launched eco-friendly computer peripherals last year that included Wipro Greenware range of desktops and laptops containing restricted quantities of unsafe substances.

Satra Properties Notice Of Postal Ballot And Transparent - Dec 13, 2008

2008-12-13T11:56:00.002+05:30

Satra Properties India Ltd has informed that the members of the Company will consider to approve by way of Postal Ballot the ordinary Resolution relating to Mortgage and / or create, charge, in addition to Mortgages / Charges created / to be created by the Company; in such form and manner and with such ranking and such time and on such terms as the Board may determine, on all or any of the movable and / or immovable properties of the Company.

Where over situated, both present and future and / or the whole or any part of the undertaking(s) of the Company of any nature and kind whatsoever and / or creating a floating charge in all or any immovable properties of the Company together with the powers to takeover the Management and business of the Company in certain events of the default, in favour of banks, financial institutions, the lender(s), Agent(s), Trustees(s) and others, to secure the present and future term loans / foreign currency loans / external commercial borrowings, etc.,availed / to be availed by the Company from time to time.

Within the limits approved under Section 231 (1) (d) of the Companies Act, 1956 (including any revision made by the Members from time to time) together with interest at their respective agreed interest rates, additional interest, compound interest, liquidated damages, commitment charges, premier on pre-payments, remuneration of the Agent(s)/ Trustees. premium (if any) or redemption, all other costs, charges and expenses, including any increase as a results of devaluation / revaluation, fluctuation in the rates of exchange and all the monies payable to the Company in terms of the Loan agreements / head of Agreements / Letters of sanction / memorandum of Terms and Conditions in respect of the said Loand.

Or any other documents, entered into/ to be entered into between the Company and the Lenders / Agents(s), Trustee(s) and Others, in respect of the same Loans / Borrowings and containing such specific terms and conditions and covenants in respects of enforcements of security as may stipulate in that behalf and agreed to between the Board of Directors or Committee thereof and the Lender(s) / Agent(s), Trustee(s), and others, subject to necessary provisions & approvals.

The Company has appointed Mr. Hemanshu Kapadia, Practicing Company Secretary as the Scrutinizer for conducting the Postal Ballot process in a fair and transparent manner. The Postal Ballot form duly completed should reach the scrutinizer before the closing of business hours on January 08, 2009. The scrutinizer will submit his report to the Chairman after completion of the scrutiny and the results of the postal ballot will be announced on January 14, 2009.

PI Industries Withdrawal Of Record Date For Bonus Issue - Dec 13, 2008

2008-12-13T11:53:00.000+05:30

With reference to earlier annoucement dated December 08, 2008 regarding Record Date fixed on December 29, 2008 for forthcoming Bonus Issue, PI Industries Ltd has now informed that, due to non compliance of SEBI (DIP) Guidelines, wherein the bonus shares have to be issued within 6 months from the date of board approval, the Company is approaching Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for condonation of delay occurred in connection with issue of Bonus Shares and hereby withdraw the Record Date fixed on December 29, 2008.The Company will inform the fresh Record Date upon hearing from SEBI on this issue.

AV Cottex Appoints Additional Promoter Directors - Dec 13, 2008

2008-12-13T11:51:00.001+05:30

AV Cottex has appointed Sudhir Milapchand Naheta (executive promoter director) as additional director on the board of the company with effect from 30 October 2008.The company has appointed Rajkumari Sudhir Naheta (non-executive independent director) as additional director on the board of the company with effect from 30 October 2008.

The company has apointed Aditi Aditya Duggar (non-executive independent director) as additional director on the board of the company with effect from 30 October 2008.The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Friday, 12 December 2008.

Onward Technologies Opens Second Product Center - Dec 13, 2008

2008-12-13T11:47:00.002+05:30

Onward Technologies has announced the opening of its second product engineering excellence center at e-Space, Nagar Road, Pune.This is Onward's second design and development center in Pune and is spread across 12000 sq.ft in this beautiful modern building called e-space IT park. This facility has automated monitoring and controlling systems for safety, security, back up and business continuity of international standards. This facility will have around 140 seating capacity and is built with a theme of open office culture. We have provided bio-metric access control system.

This facility is built with our theme vision of becoming trusted joint product development partner of qualified customers for lifetime by offering lowest cost per unit of innovation. While engineering center at e-Space provides a sense of trust, long term relationship and collaboration to customers, it provides world class environment and an opportunity to work in product design engineering space using advanced digital technology tools for world renowned customers.The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Friday, 12 December 2008.

Satyam Wins Innovation Award For Partner Software AG - Dec 12, 2008

2008-12-12T14:56:00.002+05:30

Satyam Computer Services, a leading global consulting and information technology services provider has announced that Software AG named it the partner innovation award winner at the Innovation World 2008 conference in Miami. Satyam won for its work with Tele2, one of Europe's largest telecommunications providers.

On that project, Satyam's business infrastructure experts implemented and optimized a Software AG solution that helped Tele2 improve customer satisfaction and increase revenues, while reducing lead time for new product introductions by 90%. Additionally, order fulfillment was expedited by more than 30%.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 12 December 2008.

Plaza Premium Lounge Launches Its Arrival Environs - Dec 12, 2008

2008-12-12T14:52:00.001+05:30

Plaza Premium Lounge launched its Arrival Lounge at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport today. The new lounge, developed in response to customers' growing needs for airport facilities aimed at offering passengers with a convenient place to unwind and freshen up in comfortable environs.

This Arrival Lounge is a premier full service airport lounge with an unwavering commitment to providing the ultimate lounge experience for clients who arrive or depart from Hyderabad in excellent shape. The facilities and services offered at the Lounge are consistent with very high standards.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 12 December 2008.

High Speed Data Download And Video MTNL Country - Dec 12, 2008

2008-12-12T14:48:00.001+05:30

High speed data download and video streaming on mobile phone, Live TV, today became a reality in India, with state owned MTNL launching the next generation 3G technology-based telecom services in Delhi. The service was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by receiving a video call from Telecom Minister A Raja, who was also present at the function.

Expressing concern over slow pace of broadband growth, Singh said, I believe that 3G and Broadband Wireless Access will give a fillip to mobile broadband penetration. So far, India''s success in extending broadband has not been satisfactory. These services were launched in January 2005 and till now we have managed a very modest penetration. I expect that 3G will become the predominant platform on which we will be able to build and deliver upon India''s broadband objectives.

He also said that 3G and wireless broadband would bridge the much needed digital divide between the rural and urban India. For urban India, 3G and wireless broadband will offer convenience of mobility with the rich multimedia content of the internet. MTNL, a service provider in Delhi and Mumbai, would extend the 3G services in Mumbai by the end of next month.

NHB In Discussion With Insurance Firms - Dec 12, 2008

2008-12-12T14:46:00.001+05:30

The National Housing Bank (NHB) is discussing for tie-ups with a few insurance firms with regards to offering insurance-linked housing finance products. With the increased life expectancy, most of the borrowers will outlive their term of reverse mortgage and end up giving up their property. Hitherto, banks have disbursed around 2,000 loans worth Rs 550 crore, the source said.

Reverse mortgage is now being seen as a way to meet the financial requirements of elderly house-owners. The apex body after joining with hands Tina Ambani promoted Harmony for Silvers Foundation, hopes to create more awareness about reverse mortgage, clear misconceptions and provide unbiased advice to senior citizens about this product.

Goenkas May Exit Andhra Cement, Promoters Want $100/Tonne - Dec 11, 2008

2008-12-11T14:12:00.001+05:30

Promoters of Andhra Cements, Gouri Prasad Goenka has decided to offload a significant stake in the company. The process for offloading the stake has begun and sources say talks are on with players like Lafarge, Swiss-based CRH and Jaypee Group who have been looking at Andhra Pradesh for a greenfield plant. Some Middle East based cement companies are equally keen to enter India through this acquisition in which E&Y is advising Andhra Cements. Andhra Cements is currently going through an expansion programme which would mean by May 2009 its capacity will more than double from the current 1.6 MT to 3.5 MT in its three Andhra plants. So, it is quite natural the valuations will have to take that into account.

According to the sources, Andhra Cements is looking at $100/tonne valuation with a $100 million project debt and an equity value of $250 million. It is mostly due to its 500 million tonne limestone reserves. At the time of a bleak sector outlook, the polarization looks complete.

Jet Sacked 1,000 Workers In Sep, Kept It Under Wraps - Dec 11, 2008

2008-12-11T14:08:00.000+05:30

Jet Airways had handed marching orders to 1,000 workers and even managed to keep it under wraps, much before its sack order to 1,900 employees turned into a publicity nightmare. According to informed sources, Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock Schauer had told investors that the company was able to synergise better between full service Jet Airways and budget airlines JetLite after trimming its staff.

During September, Jet Airways had announced that JetLite offered voluntary separation scheme to 687 employees. In the same month, Jet and JetLite executed a code share agreement aimed at offering better connections and wider connectivity, besides having a common reservation system. The carrier, which has a total of 13,000 employees, played out the sacking-and-reinstatement drama of 1,900 employees in October, with Chairman Naresh Goyal ''overruling'' its Board decision to fire the employees. Jet came under attack from various ministers and agitating employees for the sudden decision to sack so many people immediately, especially ahead of Diwali. It, however, defended itself stating that the decision was taken to save the jobs of the other 11,100 employees and would result in savings of $1 million a month.

Punjab National Bank Partners Finacle From Infosys - Dec 11, 2008

2008-12-11T14:07:00.001+05:30

Infosys Technologies and Punjab National Bank has announced that PNB, one of the 500 largest banks in the world and the second largest public sector Bank in India, has chosen Finacle from Infosys to power its rural banking, core banking initiative. Infosys shall deploy a tailored version of Finacle core banking solution across PNB's six regional rural banks (RRBs) covering 1300 branches.

Punjab National Bank has taken the lead in business excellence and commitment to customers by providing core banking coverage to its 4850 service outlets. The bank has now decided to extend new age technology benefits to its regional rural banking customers.

Due to remoteness of rural branch locations, there are issues such as connectivity of branches for operational ease, centralization of data, and enhancement of customer service as well as innovation in banking products. Moreover, all this is needed at a substantially lower cost for the RRBs as their operations are relatively less complex.

Finacle from Infosys recognized this need of RRBs and tailored its Industry leading core banking solution to suit the requirements of these institutions. PNB management selected this platform to transform and standardize the operations of its RRBs.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 11 December 2008.

Superpartners Signs Up Leading Technology Partner For Program - Dec 11, 2008

2008-12-11T14:04:00.002+05:30

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services and consulting firm has been chosen as prime systems integrator for a new core administration platform at Superpartners, the largest retirement fund administrator in Australia. The delivery is expected to be completed in less than 15 months.

Under the terms of agreement, TCS will manage end to end systems integration such as configuration work, complex integration with various business critical applications and execution of complex testing scenarios to ensure that the system meets the business objective of Superpartners for their business transformation program.

All 16 of Superpartners' industry retirement fund clients are expected to be integrated onto the new system by the end of January 2010. Superpartners serves approximately 6 million member accounts, 700,000 employers and has over $75 billion in funds under administration. Superpartners employs over 1500 people across Australia. To maintain its position and increase scalability and flexibility Superpartners has embarked on a transformation program costing AUD $ 70 million and spread over 12 months.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 11 December 2008.

Mcafee Wipro Global Said In A Statement Technologies - Dec 10, 2008

2008-12-10T13:07:00.000+05:30

McAfee, Inc. and Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited, have announced a global coalition. The partnership combines Wipro''s Enterprise Security Solutions (ESS) practice, together with McAfee''s extensive security product suite including McAfree Total Protection solutions for Endpoint and Network Security, Bangalore headquartered Wipro said in a statement. Wipro will be a global reseller of McAfee products and is also a managed security services partner addressing a market for security systems of more than USD three billion and growing at the rate of 15 per cent annually, it said.

SBT Ties Up With United India Of The Bank Across Country - Dec 10, 2008

2008-12-10T12:55:00.000+05:30

State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has entered into an alliance with United India Insurance Company to provide personal accident insurance cover to its savings account holders. The insurance cover is of Rs 5 lakh at a subsidised premium of Rs 50 per annum per account holder. All savings bank accountholders, including NRIs, will be eligible to join the insurance scheme. Currently, the scheme will be available at 101 select branches of SBT and by January 2009 it will be available at all the 715 branches of the bank across the country.

Patni Amongst The Top 10 Insurance Technology Ranking - Dec 10, 2008

2008-12-10T12:52:00.002+05:30

Patni Computer Systems, a leading global IT and BPO services provider has announced that FinTech 100, a premier annual listing of top technology providers, has positioned it as amongst the top10 vendors for the insurance sector. Patni is also ranked 35th among the top 100 global entities offering IT solutions for financial institutions.

Patni has consistently improved its ranking in the FinTech 100 and has moved up from # 45 in 2007 and # 60 in 2006. FinTech 100 is an annual ranking of IT providers within the financial services industry announced by The American Banker, SourceMedia's flagship publication for banking and financial services professionals, and global independent advisory firm Financial Insights, an IDC company. This is the fifth year of FinTech 100, and each ranking is categorized and evaluated based on CYO7 year-end revenues and the percentage of revenues attributed to financial services.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 10 December 2008.

GMR Ambala Chandigarh Highway International Project - Dec 10, 2008

2008-12-10T12:50:00.003+05:30

GMR Group's Ambala-Chandigarh highway project was inaugurated at Chandigarh on 10 December 2008. This 35 km stretch on NH21 & NH22 was executed on a BOT Toll model at an investment of Rs 500 crore. The concession period for this project is 20 years and it took two and a half years to complete. The project has been completed within the time schedule agreed under the concession agreement and received its provisional completion certificate on 14 November 2008.

GMR Group won this project through an international competitive bid from the NHAI in November, 2005. The scope of the project included widening of the existing 2-lanes to 4-lanes and improvement, operation and maintenance, rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing road. This project was GMR Group's first highway project in North India.

The Ambala - Chandigarh stretch has one of the highest traffic densities in the country, catering to vehicular traffic between Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and New Delhi. Four laning of this road will ease the traffic congestion and provide a tremendous boost to trade and commerce in the region. Apart from reduction in travel time, this road is also expected to improve safety levels for travelers since it has been built as per world-class specifications. There is a 12-lane state of the art toll plaza for toll collection.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 10 December 2008.

Kaashyap Technologies Ltd Has And Other Relevant Factors - Dec 09, 2008

2008-12-09T14:01:00.000+05:30

Kaashyap Technologies Ltd has informed that the members at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Company held on December 08, 2008, inter alia, have discussed and approved offer, issue, and allotment of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) / American Depository Receipts (ADRs) / Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) for an aggregate sum up to US $30 Million subject to approval of statutory and other authorities through Public Issue(s).

Private Placement(s), by way of cash or stock swap or towards acquisition of business on a back-to-back basis or a combination thereof at such time or times in such tranche or tranches at such price or prices at a discount or premium to market price or prices in such manner and on such terms and conditions as may be deemed appropriate by the Board at the time of such issue or allotment considering the prevailing market conditions and other relevant factors.

Car Market Leader Maruti Suzuki India Has Company Reduction - Dec 09, 2008

2008-12-09T13:47:00.002+05:30

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India has passed on the full benefit of excise duty reduction to customers. This follows the announcement by the Union Government for reduction in CENVAT for all cars by 4% on Sunday 07 December 2008. The new prices come into effect from midnight of 07 December 2008.

The company has announced price reduction in all 11 car models that are manufactured in company's plant in Gurgaon and Manesar.After passing of the complete duty reduction benefit, the price reduction (Ex showroom Delhi prices) ranges from Rs 6,500 for Maruti 800 to Rs 23,000 for the top-end SX4 sedan. There is no change in prices of Grand Vitara, as it isnot impacted by CENVAT changes.

Previously, in February 2008, upon announcement of reduction in excise duty on small cars from 16% to 12%, the company had passed on the full benefit to the customers.The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Monday, 08 December 2008.

IOC Inks Mou With Adani For Gas Distribution Venture - Dec 09, 2008

2008-12-09T13:34:00.000+05:30

Indian Oil and Adani Energy Ltd signed a MoU for setting up 50:50 city gas distribution joint venture. Adani Energy is the gas distribution arm of the Gujarat-based Adani group. City gas distribution (CGD) includes supply of compressed natural gas as auto fuel and piped natural gas for domestic, commercial and industrial use.

The joint venture expected to be incorporated this fiscal, will undertake CGD activities on behalf of both the companies in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Expansion in other States may also be considered on mutually agreed terms and conditions. Apart from bidding for new CGD circles with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the IOC-Adani venture will also acquire Adani''s interests in CGD sector at Lucknow, Noida and Khurja in UP, Faridabad in Haryana and Udaipur and Jaipur in Rajasthan. Adani Energy, however, will continue to manage its existing Rs 400-crore CGD operations in Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat.

Life Insurance Corporation Of India Is Financial - Dec 09, 2008

2008-12-09T13:32:00.001+05:30

Life Insurance Corporation of India is thinking to increase its investments across different portfolios up to Rs 1.6 lakh-crore by March despite witnessing a 17-18 per cent fall in its policy sales during 2009 fiscal.It has already put in Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the 2009 fiscal in various segments which includes around Rs 29,000 crore investments in equities which is likely to go upto Rs 40,000-crore by end-fiscal.

LIC had invested Rs 97,000-crore in the 2008 fical. LIC has seen a rise in the number of corporates approaching for debt this year on account of the credit crunch in financial markets.

Maruti Cuts Prices Others Likely To Follow - Dec 08, 2008

2008-12-08T14:11:00.000+05:30

Major auto companies, including the market leader Maruti Suzuki, on Dec 7 announced to cut prices of its vehicles by up to 4 per cent on account of the government''s package to stimulate the economy. The government''s stimulus package, which announced 4 per cent reduction in Cenvat is likely to give a shot in arm to struggling auto sector, which has seen a slump in demand.

All major auto makers are expected to pass on the benefit of the duty cut to the consumers who can expect at least four per cent cut in automobile prices from December 7 midnight. Mahindra and Mahindra President (automotive sector) Pawan Goenka said.

Kingfisher Reduces Fuel Surcharge By Rs 400 - Dec 08, 2008

2008-12-08T14:09:00.000+05:30

Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines reduced fuel surcharge on air tickets that will bring down fares by up to Rs 400 on all domestic routes. According to a company spokesperson the cut on fuel surcharge will be applicable with immediate effect on all domestic routes.

Consequently, travel by Kingfisher Red (formerly Air Deccan) will see a cut of up to Rs 300 on routes up to 750 kilometres to Rs 1,950 from Rs 2,250 earlier. Flights over 750 km will see a drop of Rs 200 to Rs 2,700 from Rs 2,900 previous. For the full service carrier, Kingfisher, the drop on flights up to 750 km will be Rs 400 to Rs 1950 from Rs 2350 earlier. Fares for traveling above 750 km will be down to Rs 2,700 from Rs 3,100.

Honda India Plans Unfazed By Slowdown - Dec 08, 2008

2008-12-08T14:06:00.000+05:30

The management at Honda''s two-wheeler division is not discouraged by the slowdown in the Indian auto market as the Japanese are known for their patience and long term planning. Honda is staying the course with its India plans. According to Naresh Rattan, divisional head (sales and marketing), the company has achieved the initial target of one million vehicles and now as an expansion strategy it has lined up new launches.

The company is expected to lunch 5-6 new bikes over the next two years in India besides plans to include products from 100 cc to 1000 cc by then. Honda is investing Rs 300 crore on new models and also to expand capacity from the current 10 lakh units to 15 lakh by 2011. Honda usually sets high target in environment, safety, fuel economy, technology and doing research. There is a reason for the overall optimism with respect to India.

Along with its partner Hero Honda, is one of the few firms to achieve volumes growth even in a bleak year. Honda sales have grown 16 per cent year-on-year in the Apr-Nov period this year while hero Honda has managed an impressive 13 per cent.So even as the company grapples with issues like lack of finance and tight margins, it is not losing track of the larger growth picture.

Jetlite Posts Loss Of Rs 273 Crore In Quarter Last Fiscal - Dec 08, 2008

2008-12-08T14:03:00.000+05:30

Jet Airways'' unlisted subsidiary, low-cost airline JetLite, had incurred a loss after tax of Rs 273 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, which made the accumulated losses of the erstwhile Sahara Airlines exceed its net worth.While declaring its results of the second quarter ended September 30, Jet Airways had said the subsidiary had accumulated losses exceeding its net worth and its financial statements have been prepared on going concern basis.

According to reliable sources, JetLite''s revenues for the quarter were at Rs 429.3 crore against Rs 366.2 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Jetlite''s loss after tax increased over three-fold for the second quarter to Rs 273 crore from Rs 86.27 crore in the year-ago period. Jet Airways had also said in October that the parent company planned to support the growth plans of the said subsidiary based on its assets, growth model and other factors.During the quarter under review, Jetlite had a seat factor of 61.2 per cent against 68 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Bikramjit Ahluwalia Has Inter Se Promoter Transfer - Dec 06, 2008

2008-12-06T12:48:00.001+05:30

Bikramjit Ahluwalia has informed that he is one of the promoters of M/s. Ahlcon Parenterals (India) Ltd and holding 597412 (8.297%) Equity Shares in the Company. M/s. Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd is also co-promoters of Ahlcon Parenterals (India) Ltd and,holding 2650090 (36.806%) equity Shares of Rs 10/- each of the target Company,Ahlcon Parenterals (India) Ltd.He intend to acquire 1200000 (16.666%) Equity Shares of M/s. Ahlcon Parenterals (India) Ltd which is presently held by M/s. Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd.

And he is also one of the Promoters of Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd.He further state that after the said acquisition of 1200000 (16.666%) shares of the target,Company his holding will increase to 1797412 Equity Shares of M/s. Ahlcon Parenterals (India) Ltd 24.963% of the paid-up capital of the Company. However overall share holding of the Promoters group shall remain unaffected.

Lloyds Steel Ltd Result Of Postal Ballot - Dec 06, 2008

2008-12-06T12:47:00.000+05:30

Lloyds Steel Industries Ltd has informed that the members of the Company, by way of Postal Ballot, have passed the following Resolutions:

1. Ordinary Resolution for increase in the Authorised Share Capital and Alteration of the Memorandum of Association of the Company.

2. Special Resolution for Alteration of the Articles of Association of the Company.

3. Special Resolution for Issue of further shares.

Indo Transformers Proposed Sale Of Promoter Shareholding - Dec 06, 2008

2008-12-06T12:06:00.000+05:30

Indo Tech Transformers Ltd has informed that, the Company have been informed that the Promoters of the Company, along with their relatives, have by a Share Purchase Agreement dated December 04, 2008 agreed to sell their entire shareholding (5,771,625 fully paid-up equity shares) in the Company aggregating to 54.35% of the paid up capital of the Company to Prolec-Ge International, S.DE R.L. DE C.V., a Company incorporated and registered under the laws of Mexico.

Indus Fila Fixes Book Closure For Dividend & AGM - Dec 06, 2008

2008-12-06T12:05:00.000+05:30

Indus Fila Ltd has informed that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from December 20, 2008 to December 27, 2008 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of payment of dividend & 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on December 27, 2008.

Jindal Poly - Buy Back Offer - Dec 05, 2008

2008-12-05T14:49:00.002+05:30

Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd (Manager to the Buy Back) on behalf of Jindal Poly Films Ltd (Target Company) has issued this Public Announcement (PA) to the Shareholders/Beneficial Owners of the Equity Shares of the Target Company, which is in compliance with the Securities and exchange Board of India (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 1998 as amended.

Jindal Photo Investments Ltd, Soyuz Trading Company Ltd, Rishi Trading Company Ltd, Consolidated Finvest and Holdings Ltd, Consolidated Photo and Finvest Ltd and Mr. Shyam Sunder Jindal, (together The Promoters) who own 55.20% of the Equity shares of the Target Company vide their application dated July 22, 2008, to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sought an exemption under Section 4(2) of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations 1997.

The exemption has been granted by SEBI vide its letter dated November 24, 2008. The Buyback offer: The Target Company hereby announces the Buy-back of its fully paid-up Equity shares of the face value Rs 10 each (Equity shares) from the existing owners of Equity shares (the Buy-back) from the open market through stock exchanges using the electronic trading facilities of the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd (the BSE) and/or the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd ( the NSE) in accordance with the provisions of Sections 77A, 77AA and 77B of the Companies Act, 1956 (the Act) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 1998 (the Buy-back Regulations) at a price not exceeding Rs 350 per Equity share (Maximum Offer Price) payable in cash, for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 150 crore (Maximum Offer Size).

The Maximum Offer Size of Rs 150 crores is less than 25% of the aggregate of the Companys total paid-up Equity share capital and free reserves as on March 31, 2007.

The number of Equity shares to be bought back would depend upon the average price paid for the Equity shares bought back and the aggregate consideration paid for such Equity shares bought back, subject to the Maximum Offer Size in accordance with the resolution passed by the shareholders of the Company on August 29, 2008. Assuming the maximum price of Rs 350 per Equity share and that the Maximum Offer Size is completely exhausted, 42,85,714 shares representing approximately 15% of the paid up Equity capital of the Company will be bought back.

The Company will buyback a minimum of 750,000 Equity Shares (Minimum Offer Size) towards the Buyback.

Should the average purchase price be lower than Rs 350 per Equity share, the number of Equity shares bought back will be greater assuming the payment of an aggregate consideration amount of Rs 150 crore.

As per Section 77A of the Companies Act 1956, the number of Equity shares that can be bought back in any financial year shall not exceed 25% of the total paid-up Equity capital of the Company i.e. 7,023,970 Equity shares of the Company.

The buy-back of shares will be made at a maximum price of Rs 350 which represents a premium of approximately 190% to the closing price of Rs 120.05 on the BSE and 188 % to the closing price of Rs 121.55 on the NSE on November 28, 2008.

Proposed Time Table: Date of opening of the Buy-back - Not before December 10, 2008, Acceptance of Equity shares - Within the relevant payout dates of the Stock Exchange, Extinguishment of the Equity shares - Within 15 days of acceptance as above, Last date for the buy-back - August 28, 2009 (i.e. 12 months from the date of passing the special resolution).

However, the Board in its absolute discretion may decide to close the Buyback at an earlier date in the event that the Company has completed the Buyback to the extent of the Minimum Offer Size, even if the Maximum Offer Size has not been reached by giving appropriate notice for earlier date and completing all formalities in this regard as per relevant laws and regulations.

There would be a completion of all payment obligations in respect of the Buy-back prior to the last date of the Buy-back.

Asahi Fibres - Result Of Postal Ballot - Dec 05, 2008

2008-12-05T14:44:00.001+05:30

Asahi Fibres Ltd has informed that the members of the Company, by way of Postal Ballot, have passed the following Resolutions, with requisite majority:

1. Ordinary Resolution U/s 94 of the Companies Act, 1956, for increase in authorized Share Capital of the Company from Rs 8,00,00,000/- (Eight Crores) to Rs 100,00,00,000/- (Hundred Crores).

2. Ordinary Resolution U/s 16 of the Companies Act, 1956, for alteration in Clause V of Memorandum of Association for increase in authorized Share Capital of the Company from Rs 8,00,00,000/- (Eight Crores) to Rs 100,00,00,000/- (Hundred Crores).

3. Special Resolution U/s 31 of the Companies Act, 1956, for alteration in existing Clause 3 of the Articles of Association for increase in authorized Share Capital of the Company from Rs 8,00,00,000/- (Eight Crores) to Rs 100,00,00,000/- (Hundred Crores).

4. Ordinary Resolution under Section 293(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 1956 for creation of Charge by way of Mortgage / Hypothecation on the Companys assets in favour of Banks / Institutions to secure Term Loan and other facilities not exceeding 1000 crores to be granted to the Company.

5. Ordinary Resolution pursuant to Section 293(1)(d) of the Companies Act, 1956 for borrowing monies (apart from Temporary Loan obtained or to be obtained from Companys Bankers in the ordinary course of Business) for a sum not exceeding Rs 1000 crores from Banks / Financial Institutions notwithstanding the amount of Borrowings may exceed paid up capital and free reserves (besides reserves set apart for any specific purposes) of the Company.

The Benefit Of The Eligible Employees Of The Company - Dec 05, 2008

2008-12-05T14:41:00.001+05:30

PVR Ltd has informed that the members of the Company will consider to approve by way Postal Ballot the following Special Resolutions:

1. To create, offer, issue, grant and allot over a period of time to time and for the benefit of the eligible employees of the Company (as defined in the Guidelines) or to a Trust formed for the benefit of such persons, not exceeding 5,00,000 Equity Shares of the Company, as the Board may deem fit at such time or times, in one or more tranches at such price or prices and in such-manner and on such terms & conditions framed / to be framed by the Board with regard to the Employees Stock Option Scheme in accordance with the Guidelines or other provisions of law as may be prevailing at that time and otherwise on such terms and conditions as may be decided and deemed appropriate by the Board at the time of issue or allotment and to give financial assistance for the purpose of purchase or subscribing of such shares by such persons and such shares shall be subject to the terms of Memorandum & Articles of Association of the Company and all such shares shall rank pari passu with the existing Equity Shares of the Company as and when issued, subject to necessary provisions & approvals.

2. To alter the Articles of Association of the Company.

3. To revise the remuneration of Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Joint Managing Director of the Company with effect from July 24, 2008 for a period of 5 years, on necessary terms & conditions.

4. To charge / mortgage / hypothecate / create security / encumber in respect of the whole or substantially the whole of the undertaking(s) of the Company including all or any of its movable or immovable property(ies), both present and future, from time to time, on behalf of the Company, for securing the loan(s) not exceeding Rs 300 crores availed / to be availed by the Company, in any form or manner or otherwise, in one or more tranches, from any bank / financial institution / other lenders, on such terms and conditions, as may be decided by the Board of Directors, from time to time.

The Company has appointed Shri. Brajesh Kumar, Practicing Company Secretary, as the Scrutinizer for conducting the Postal Ballot process in a fair and transparent manner.

The Postal Ballot form duly completed should reach the scrutinizer on or before the close of working hours on January 02, 2009. The scrutinizer will submit his report to the Chairman after completion of the scrutiny and the results of the postal ballot will be announced on January 05, 2009.

Govt Asks RIL To Allocate Gas To Dabhol - Dec 05, 2008

2008-12-05T14:22:00.002+05:30

The government has asked Reliance Industries to supply natural gas from the company''s eastern offshore D6 fields to the beleaguered Dabhol power plant, a segment that gets top preference for gas allocation along with fertilizer units.Detailing customers for the initial 40 million standard cubic meters per day of gas to be produced from Krishna Godavari basin D6 field, a petroleum ministry statement said that gas to Ratnagiri Gas and Power (Dabhol) will be within the overall allocation of 18 mmscmd for the power sector.

Further, 8.5 mmscmd would be supplied to RGPPL after September 2009.Reliance is to begin production from its prolific D6 fields lying off the Andhra coast in January 2009 with an initial output of 5 mmscmd. This will rise to 25 mmscmd by March and to 55 mmscmd by July 2009.The fertilizer sector would continue to get top precedence over D6 gas with 14 mmscmd being allocated for existing units.

Reliance is to first supply gas to existing gas-based urea plants and then give 3 mmscmd to LPG plants, according to the gas utilization policy approved by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM). After that, up to 18 mmscmd of gas was to be given to gas-based power plants that were lying idle/under-utilized or likely to be commissioned during 2008-09.

No Change In LIC''s Investment Cap: IRDA - Dec 04, 2008

2008-12-04T15:48:00.001+05:30

The big names in India Inc, from Reliance to Tata Steel, Larsen & Tourbo and Mahindra & Mahindra, were all relying on the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to raise rupee debt through non-convertible debentures, since equities got devalued and overseas debt became expensive. There was pressure on the insurance regulator, IRDA to allow LIC to invest more aggressively in these corporate debt instruments.

However, IRDA told that it was not in favour of relaxing the rules and allowing LIC to invest more aggressively in corporate debt. At present LIC can invest up to 10 per cent of capital employed by the investee company or 10 per cent of the fund size in a coroprate entity, whichever is lower. The capital employed includes share capital, free reserves and debentures or bonds. There was hectic lobbying to hike that ceiling to 20 per cent. Until last year, the rules were a lot relaxed and LIC''s ceiling was up to 20 per cent of the capital employed. IRDA chairman now told that a higher limit might be considered, but only for certain special cases.

Postal Ballot Form Duly Completed Of Notice - Dec 04, 2008

2008-12-04T15:47:00.000+05:30

Dabur Pharma Ltd has informed that the members of the Company will consider to approve by way of Postal Ballot the Special Resolution relating to change the name of the Company from Dabur Pharma Ltd to Fresenius Kabi Oncology Ltd, subject to approval of Central Government.The Company has appointed Mr. Kiran Sharma, Practicing Company Secretary as the Scrutinizer for conducting the Postal Ballot process in a fair and transparent manner.

The Postal Ballot form duly completed should reach the scrutinizer not later than the closing of business hours on January 02, 2009. Dr. Satihs B Kulkarni, Managing Director an CEO and in his absence by any persons authorised by him shall announce the results of postal ballot on January 05, 2009.

Mount Everest Resignation Of The Auditors - Dec 04, 2008

2008-12-04T15:42:00.001+05:30

Mount Everest Mineral Water Ltd has informed that M/s. PKF Sridhar & Santhanam, Chartered Accountants, the Statutory Auditors of the Company have tendered their resignation vide their letter dated December 02, 2008.The Board of Directors of the Company at its on December 03, 2008 have subject to the approval of the Members at the ensuing to be held on December 29, 2008 have appointed M/s. SNB Associates, Chartered Accountants, as the Statutory Auditors of the Company.

Futura During Polyesters Company Director Resigns - Dec 04, 2008

2008-12-04T15:28:00.001+05:30

Futura Polyesters has announced that S S Marathe passed away and therefore, ceased to be director.Further, the company has accepted the resignation of N S Ghia resigned from the board with immediate effect.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 04 December 2008.

Jet Asks Senior Employees To Take Pay Cut - Dec 03, 2008

2008-12-03T14:49:00.001+05:30

Private airline Jet Airways asked its senior employees, including pilots, to take a cut in wages over a period of next 12 months due to the financial crises. All the airline employees drawing a gross salary of over Rs 75,000 a month have been requested for a graduated wage cut over the next 12 months, an airline spokesperson said.For pilots the cut in their pay packages would be a combination of wage cut and allowance rationalization, after which their pay package at par will come in line with the other employees in the company.

The top management of the company has already taken a voluntary cut of 25 per cent from this month. The cash-strapped airline industry is facing with high operation costs. High cost jet fuel is cited as one of the reasons for high operational costs. However, the ATF prices have been slashed six times since August, extending some relief to airlines. The measures taken by Jet to reduce operational costs include rationalization of routes.

Reducing frequencies on certain sectors, both international and domestic, and cutting the capacity in line with the demand. The airline had last decided in October to sack about 1,900 temporary employees that led to protests by the employees. The company later decided to retain them. Jet Airways had posted losses to the tune of Rs 384 crore in Q2 of the current financial year.

Focus On Skincare Products Dabur Limited - Dec 03, 2008

2008-12-03T14:47:00.001+05:30

Dabur has finally decided to focus on skincare products and give its brands the much-needed international push, four years after Fem''s acquisition. The company is supposed as a slow mover, but now Sunil Duggal is not taking it easy. With Fem in its kitty, Dabur already is gearing up to widen its presence in the Rs 2500 crore skin care category, that has so far been dominated by international giants HUL, P&G, Rekitt Bencksier, Nivea and Loreal. According to sources, Dabur will begin with splitting its skin care business into three.

One will focus purely on the Fem portfolio while the second will ride on Dabur''s existing brand Gulabari. The third will branch into Ayurveda as a stand-alone platform that is to be launched in the 1st quarter of next fiscal. Besides, over the next 15 months, Dabur would also set up a dedicated plant in Himachal for skincare, where Fem already has a plant. The company would invest close to Rs 100 crore.

Fem''s brands so far have only focussed on the middle east markets. But Dabur now plans to give it a global push through its international business divisions. The company will like to leverage Fem''s brand equity to crack the category. But there will be competition from deep pocket global rivals and pricing flexibility will also be limited.

Saurabh Nanavati As CEO For Its AMC Business - Dec 03, 2008

2008-12-03T14:37:00.001+05:30

Following the approval from SEBI for restructuring its AMC business and also the nod for acquiring arid rechristening Lotus AMC, Religare has decided in principle to appoint Saurabh Nanavati as CEO for its AMC business. This decision has been communicated to Nanavati who has agreed to the same. The appointment shall formally come into effect within the next few days.Ajay Bagga, the incumbent CEO of Lotus India AMC has decided to step down and will pursue other career opportunities.

Religare Enterprises, one of the leading integrated financial services groups of India had last month confirmed that Religare Securities, its wholly owned subsidiary had received clearance from SEBI to acquire the entire shareholding of Lotus India Asset Management Company (Lotus India AMC) from its shareholders. Earlier in November, Religare had announced its decision to acquire Lotus AMC and subsequently announced its restructuring plans relating to Religare's partnership with Aegon in the asset management business in India, Religare has also received regulatory approval for divesting its stake in its 50:50 AMC joint venture with Aegon.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 03 December 2008.

Take Solutions Launches New Range Of Products - Dec 03, 2008

2008-12-03T14:35:00.001+05:30

Take Solutions, a leading technology-enabled business solutions provider with expertise in the life sciences and supply chain management arenas, in collaboration with BaseCon A/S, a reputed Danish Phamacovigilance products company is launching a new range of Pharmacovigilance solutions for the Asia Pacific pharmaceutical companies. The association win lead to broadening of TAKE's current offerings in the life sciences spectrum to the Asia Pacific region.

Pharmacovigilance is the pharmacological science relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects, particularly long term and short term side effects of medicines. It is a trend that is gaining traction amongst doctors and scientists as it helps minimizing the adverse drug reactions that can be caused to patients as it involves the identification of new information about hazards associated with medicines.The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 03 December 2008.

Four Soft Netherlands BV Contract With Mondial Logistics - Dec 02, 2008

2008-12-02T13:48:00.001+05:30

Four Soft Netherlands BV, a global leader providing software solutions for transportation and logistics verticals and a subsidiary of Four SofT, India has signed a contract with Mondial Logistics, Netherlands to implement its freight forwarding software - 4S eTrans SME across its multiple locations in Netherlands to streamline its disparate processes and improve the operational efficiency.

4S eTrans SME is a modular enterprise application designed to automate, streamline, and support the multi-modal freight forwarding operations. It is a flex and Integrated software application, which enables logistics companies to increase productivity and improve the overall services to their customers.

Mondial Logistics is an international, 25 year old Netherlands based logistics company, providing multi-modal transportation and distribution of goods, as well as a host of other value-added services, over the years, several systems were introduced to support its unprecedented growth. Sustaining this environment became extremely challenging as most of their resources - both in terms of time and money were spent in synchronizing the data from various systems to arrive at one common result. Mondial Logistics required an integrated solution to automate, streamline and manage its freight forwarding operations, while also supporting its globalization efforts. Four Soft was selected over other vendors to implement its proven software application - 4S eTrans SME.

The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Monday, 01 December 2008.

Exports Stood At 525 Units During The Month - Dec 02, 2008

2008-12-02T13:40:00.000+05:30

Mahindra & Mahindra reported a decline in its total automotive sales in November by 41.04 per cent at 10,955 units compared with 18,583 units in the corresponding period last year. Domestic sales during the month stood at 10,430 units, against 17,844 units last year, down 41.55 per cent, the company said in a statement.

Exports stood at 525 units during the month, against 739 units in the same month last year, down 28.96 per cent. Sales of utility vehicles were down 40.59 per cent at 7,523 units, against 12,662 units in the year-ago period. Three-wheelers sales recorded a decline of 17.94 per cent at 2,305 units, against 2,809 units in the corresponding period last year.

Mahindra-Renault''s sedan ''Logan'' recorded an over five- fold decrease at 300 units in November this year as compared to 1,561 units in the same month last year.

RIL Seeks LNG To Test East-West Pipeline - Dec 02, 2008

2008-12-02T13:37:00.000+05:30

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which planed to start producing natural gas from its eastern offshore D6 fields, is seeking liquefied natural gas (LNG) to test its gigantic 1,386-km East-West pipeline. RIL, which bought 5 million standard cubic metres of gas from state run GAIL India to check the 48-inch pipeline, is looking for 100 million cubic metres to build minimum pressure required in the pipeline for transporting D6 gas from the east to the west coast, industry sources said.

The pipeline, the biggest in the country and designed to transport up to 80 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from D6, which will be ready to start production by the end of the month. Sources said Reliance had in late October approached Shell India, which runs the Hazira LNG import terminal in Gujarat, seeking one and a half shiploads of LNG. But with spot LNG prices falling to $7-8 per million Btu, talks between the two have not made much progress. Petronet LNG imports 1.5 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar for meeting the Dabhol plant''s feedstock requirement. Sources said all but two of the 10 sections of the pipeline running from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Baruch in Gujarat have been tested. The pipeline is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of the month to synchronise with the gas production plans. Reliance is to begin gas production from the KG-D6 fields, lying off the Andhra coast, by January with an initial output of 5 mmscmd. This would rise to 40 mmscmd by mid-2009 and eventually to 80 mmscmd by the end of 2010.

Life Insurance Corporation Of India Has Bought Lots - Dec 02, 2008

2008-12-02T13:34:00.000+05:30

Life Insurance Corporation of India has bought lots of banking stocks when markets plunged sharply in October and November. Now, LIC''s stake stands at five per cent in three public sector banks that is State Bank of India, Bank of India and Allahabad Bank.

During October-November, LIC bought 1.67 crore shares representing 2.64 per cent stake of SBI from the secondary market. LIC hiked its stake from 4.40 per cent as of September 30 to 7.04 per cent as on November 18, 2008. The shares of SBI, the largest public sector bank, had dipped to 52-week low of Rs 991 on October 27 in intra-day trading and closed at Rs 1056. LIC held 3.62 per cent stake in SBI as on December 31, 2007 and it went up by less than one per cent till September 30, 2008 to 4.40 per cent.

LIC also purchased 9.6 lakh shares of Bank of India on November 11, 2008 raising its stake to 5.14 per cent. In Allahabad Bank, it has bought over 1.09 crore shares, or 1.45 per cent stake, taking its stake to 8.84 per cent as on November 12, as compared to 6.39 per cent as on September 30, 2008. In addition, LIC has hiked its stake in FMCG major Dabur India to 5 per cent from 4.24 per cent.

Koffee Break Pictures Ltd Has Result Of Postal Ballot - Dec 01, 2008

2008-12-01T14:49:00.000+05:30

Koffee Break Pictures Ltd has informed that the members of the Company, by way of Postal Ballot, have approved the following Resolutions:

1. Ordinary resolution under Section 94 (1) (d) of the Companies Act, 1956 for sub-division of shares.

2. Special resolution under Section 16 of the Companies Act, 1956 for consequential amendments to Memorandum of Association.

3. Special resolution under Section 17 of the Companies Act, 1956 for amendment of Objects Clause in Memorandum of Association.

4. Special resolution under Section 17 of the Companies Act, 1956 for alteration of Clause II in Memorandum of Association due to shifting of registered office from Gujarat to Maharashtra.

Birla Power Solutions Ltd Has Companies - Dec 01, 2008

2008-12-01T14:46:00.001+05:30

Birla Power Solutions Ltd has informed that the members at the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company held on November 28, 2008, inter alia, have transacted the following business:

1. Received, approved and adopted the Audited Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2008 and the Profit and Loss Account for the year ended on that date and the Reports of the Directors and the Auditors thereon.

2. Declared a dividend of 3% on the Equity Share Capital.

3. Reappointed the retiring Directors Mr. P V R Murthy and Mr. Rajesh V Shah.

4. Reappointed M/s. Dalal & Shah, Chartered Accountants as Auditors.

5. Appointed Mr. Kalyan Bhattacharya as Director and Whole Time Director.

6. Approved increase in Authorised Share Capital from Rs 55.00 Crores to Rs 65.00 Crores and consequent amendments in Clause V of the Memorandum of Association and Article 5 of the Article of Association.

7. Approved further issuance of securities upto a sum of Rs 60.00 Crores U/S 81(1A) of the Companies Act, 1956.

Lawson Software moving its operation from US operations to RP office - Dec 01, 2008

2008-12-01T14:08:00.000+05:30

America''s 3rd software creator for business the Lawson Software Inc, plans to transfer its full operations in its Philippine office. Company''s 80% of business software development operations are already here. In a press conference regional managing director David Hope has said that it''s not far that we get that to a 100%.

Going ahead, Hope said that the trend points further and further to outsourcing from the United States to here in the Philippines. After two years of reestablishing its office here, the wholly owned subsidiary of the company Lawson Philippine Solutions & Services Center (PSSC) Inc. already has nearly 800 employees from less than 100 in 2006. Nearly half of the personnel are software engineers. Last week, the Saint Paul, Minnesotta-headquartered company announced it will reduce by 5% its jobs worldwide, of which about 200 employees will be affected. These employees develop software for companies in the Philippines including Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., Pascual Laboratories Inc., and mining company Nickel Asia.

Pritish Nandy Receives Karamveer Puraskar - Dec 01, 2008

2008-12-01T13:59:00.000+05:30

Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd has informed that Chairman, Pritish Nandy received the Karamveer Puraskar 2008 on November 26 from iCONGO-Indian Confederation of NGOs at the Right Every Wrong Conclave held at Satyagraha Mandap, Rajghat, New Delhi. The organization iCONGO integrates many NGOs working in different spheres and the Karamveer Puraskar is annually given to individuals who have been leaders of change and excelled in doing work that contributes to society and promotes important social causes. Mr. Nandys award was for his contribution to socially responsible media and outstanding film making. The short listing of the entries is carried out by an expert panel from iCONGO comprising representatives of prominent NGOs based on a process set and created by Mercer and Grant Thorton.

Vedanta Resources Chief Gets E&Y Award - Nov 28, 2008

2008-11-28T14:53:00.001+05:30

Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources, Mr Anil Agarwal, will receive the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 award. A six-member jury chaired by Mr K.V. Kamath, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank, selected the finalists from over 291 nominations received. Nominations were highest this year since the awards were launched in 1999. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mr P.R.S. Oberoi, Chairman and CEO, The Oberoi Group.

The Entrepreneur of The Year Infrastructure and Construction Award was conferred upon Mr Jaiprakash Gaur, Founder Chairman, Jaypee Group. Chairman and CEO of Avantha Group, Mr Gautam Thapar, was announced as the winner in the Manufacturing Category. The Award for the Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year was given to Mr Arvind Rao, CEO and Co-Founder, OnMobile Global. The Services Category Award was given to Mr Rohinton Screwvala, CEO, UTV Software Communications.

Television Eighteen To Increase Stake In The Company - Nov 28, 2008

2008-11-28T14:50:00.001+05:30

Television Eighteen India Ltd has informed that the Company has decided to subscribe to 15,000,000 warrants of ibn18 Broadcast Ltd (ibn18) to be allotted on preferential basis, which would be convertible into equity shares of ibn18 at Rs 102 per share. This allotment shall be made at the same price at which ibn18 has allotted shares, to Qualified Institutional Buyers in its recently concluded QIP.

TV18 will make this subscription via RVT Investments Pvt Ltd (RVT Investments), a 100% subsidiary of TV18, which currently holds 23,454,495 equity shares of ibn18. Once RVT Investments converts the current issue of 15,000,000 warrants of ibn18, RVT Investments holding in ibn18 will be 20.77% on a fully diluted basis. This will enable TV18 to consolidate ibn18s financial results with itself.

TV18 believes this strategic initiative is extremely beneficial for its shareholders, since ibn18s bouquet of TV channels is entirely synergistic with TV18s business news channels and Web18s family of internet portals. This equity stake will also allow TV18 to get strategic ownership in what is arguably the strongest bouquet of TV channels in the country, including TV18s two business news channels (CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz) and ibn18s seven general interest channels (Colors, CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN Lokmat, MTV, Nickelodean and VH1).

State Bank Of Grameen India Has Out Rolled - Nov 28, 2008

2008-11-28T14:41:00.001+05:30

State Bank of India has rolled out a micro insurance scheme ''Grameen Shakti'', for its Self Help Group (SHG) members. The product was launched on Nov 26 at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The bank is hopeful to cover at least five lakh SHG members by December 31.Total proposal forms were received soon, after unveiling it from the SHG, members were around 77,430.It is a life cover for an assured sum of Rs 50,000.

The premium payable on this five-year policy is Rs 601 a year. The Chennai circle of the bank, comprising Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, has credit linked 84,500 SHGs with a total membership of about 14 lakh.

Leslie Whiteford Has Tendered His Personnel - Nov 28, 2008

2008-11-28T14:38:00.000+05:30

IL&FS Investsmart Ltd has informed that Mr. James Leslie Whiteford has tendered his resignation as Managing Director & CEO of the Company with effect from November 26, 2008. The resignation has been accepted by the Board of Directors on November 28, 2008.Further the Company has informed that, it is proposed to appoint Mr. Manasije Mishra as Managing Director & CEO with effect from November 28, 2008.

Sun Pharma Acquires Chattem Chemicals Undisclosed - Nov 27, 2008

2008-11-27T14:59:00.000+05:30

Sun Pharmaceutical has acquired Chattem Chemicals, US-based drug ingredients manufacturer for an undisclosed amount. Sun Pharma informed in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange that the American subsidiary of the company has bought Chattem Chemicals from Elcat Inc,.However, the financial details of the transaction were kept undisclosed. The acquisition is subject to clearance from regulatory authorities, the filing added.

This is Sun Pharma''s third acquisition in the US. In 2005, the company had acquired a facility in Hungary that manufactures controlled substance active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The same year it had acquired a manufacturing site in New Jersey. Chattem is a registered narcotic raw material importer with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and manufactures a variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Tomsk Region Of Western Siberia Acquisition - Nov 27, 2008

2008-11-27T14:56:00.001+05:30

On November 26 ONGC informed that its $2.1 billion acquisition of UK-listed Imperial Energy Corp Plc was "well on-track" and the fall in global oil prices would not be a constraint in the buyout. The Government of India holds 74 per cent stake in ONGC.ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of ONGC, is not revising the 12.50 pounds a share buyout price of Imperial, as it had valued the company''s in place 2P (proven and probable), oil and gas reserves at $2.5-3 per barrel.

Imperial explores for oil in Russia''s Siberia region and had the equivalent of 920 million barrels of proven and probable oil reserves as on December 2007, according to an audit by DeGolyer & MacNaughton. Acquisition of Imperial will cost OVL about 1.4 billion pounds or $2.1 billion at current exchange rates. There have been speculations that OVL may revise its bid price as crude oil prices have fallen from $115-120 a barrel, when it made the offer in August to around $50 per barrel currently. Till December 9 OVL has time to make an offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Imperial. The offer would remain open for 28 days and OVL would take another 14 days thereafter to make payments to shareholders tendering their shares.

OVL, earlier this month won the Russian government''s approval for taking over Imperial, which has assets in Tomsk region of western Siberia.Russia''s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) granted approval for the takeover in respect of ownership of Russian entities by entities controlled by a foreign government. Prior to this, FAS had cleared the acquisition under anti-monopoly regulations and stated that Imperial''s assets were non-strategic. Since July, Imperial has been producing 11,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Output will reach 25,000 bpd by fiscal-end with 18 wells coming on stream.

PNB To Reduce Maturities Lending Rates By 100 Bps - Nov 27, 2008

2008-11-27T14:53:00.001+05:30

Punjab National Bank will cut its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 100 bps to 12.50 per cent from 13.50 per cent. The revised rates will come into effect from December 1. The revised BPLR would be applicable in respect of all existing and new accounts linked with BPLR where rates are charged at BPLR and above. PNB has also, decided at its board meeting on November 26, to reduce its peak deposit. rate from 10.50 per cent, to 9.50 per cent for deposits of 1 year to less than 3 years. Accordingly, interest rates in the time buckets having maturities of 180 days and above have also been reduced by 25 basis points to 100 basis points with effect from December 1.

City Kerala Bank Unveils New Deposit Scheme - Nov 27, 2008

2008-11-27T14:51:00.000+05:30

City Union Bank has rolled out a 1,000-days deposit scheme called ''CUB 1000''. The bank is offering 11.60 per cent for senior citizens and 11.30 per cent for rest of the investors investing in this scheme. In addition, introducing the product, the bank has also strengthened its branch network by adding four branches. at Rajaji Nagar in Bangalore, Kollam in Kerala, and Madurapuri and Sirkazhi in Tamil Nadu.

Oudh Sugar Fixes Book Closure For Inclusive - Nov 26, 2008

2008-11-26T13:58:00.001+05:30

Oudh Sugar Mills Ltd has informed that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from December 15, 2008 to December 18, 2008 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of holding 76th Annual General Meeting on December 18, 2008 & also for the purpose of reckoning eligible shareholders, who are entitled to make payment for first and final call on 39,98,240 Equity shares issued on the Rights basis.

Cements Ltd Company Of Guidelines Said Delisting - Nov 26, 2008

2008-11-26T13:55:00.001+05:30

With reference to the earlier announcement dated on March 25, 2008 & October 29, 2008, Vinay Cements Ltd has informed that an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting of the shareholders of the Company has been convened on December 19, 2008 to consider the delisting of equity shares of the Company from all stock exchanges including Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd, in accordance with the SEBI (Delisting of Securities) Guidelines, 2003. The said delisting is subject to receipt of necessary approvals of shareholders, lenders and other regulatory authorities.

Hitkari Fibres Fixes Book Closure For AGM - Nov 26, 2008

2008-11-26T13:53:00.000+05:30

Hitkari Fibres Ltd has informed that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from December 26, 2008 to December 31, 2008 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on December 31, 2008.

Visagar Polytex Ltd Has Extra Ordinary General - Nov 26, 2008

2008-11-26T13:49:00.000+05:30

Visagar Polytex Ltd has informed that the members at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Company held on November 25, 2008, inter alia, have accorded the following:

1. Increase the Authorised Share Capital of the Company from 12500000/- to 50000000/- divided into 5000000 Equity Share of Rs 10/- each and consequential amendments in the Memorandum & Articles of Association of the Company.

2. To the issue of Equity Shares for an amount not exceeding Rs 3,72,00,000/- to be offered to the shareholders and / or to such persons whether shareholders of the Company or not as the Board of Directors of the Company may in their absolute discretion deem fit, subject to necessary provisions & approvals.

3. Issue 3720000 Equity Shares of Rs 10/- each in the Share Capital of the Company, be and are hereby issued to the persons who at the record date of the offer are holders of the equity shares of the Company in proportion of 5 equity shares for every 1 equity share held on the aforesaid date on the following terms & conditions.

(i) That the Rs 15/- (including Share premium of Rs 5/) per Equity Share will be payable in two installments: - 50% on application and 50% on allotment. (For more details kindly refer Corporate Announcement on www.bseindia.com).

Alembic - Buy Back Offer - Nov 25, 2008

2008-11-25T13:38:00.001+05:30

Edelweiss Capital Ltd (Manager to the Buy Back) On behalf of Alembic Ltd (Target Company) has issued this Public Announcement (PA) to the Equity Shareholders / Beneficial Owners of the Equity Shares of the Target Company pursuant to the Provision of Regulation 8(1) read with Regulation 15(c) and is in compliance with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Buyback of Securities) Regulations, 1998 for the time being in force including any statutory modifications and amendments from time to time (Buy Back Regulations) and contains the disclosures as specified in Schedule II to the Buy-Back Regulations.

The Buy back
Pursuant to the Approval of Board of Director of Target Company at their meeting held on November 14, 2008 (the Board Meeting) for Buy-Back of its own fully paid up equity shares of Rs 2 each (Buy-Back), the Company hereby announces the Buy-Back of its fully paid-up equity shares of the face value of Rs 2 each (Equity Shares) from the existing owners of Equity Shares other than the Promoters, Persons who are in control of the Company and Promoter group at a price not exceeding Rs 55/- per Equity Shares (Maximum Offer Price) payable in cash, for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 3,300 lacs (Buy-Back Size). The Buy-Back Size represents 9.69% of the aggregate paid-up equity capital and free reserves of the Company as on March 31, 2008 (the date of the latest audited accounts) which is within the maximum permissible limit of 10% of the paid up equity capital and free reserves. The aggregate paid up Capital and free reserves of the Company as at March 31, 2008 is Rs 34,071.54 Lacs.

The Buy-Back will be implemented by the Company through the methodology of Open market purchased through stock exchanges using the electronic trading facilities of the Bombay Stock Exchanges Ltd (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE), and together with BSE, hereinafter referred as the Stock Exchange) in accordance with the provisions of Sections 77A, 77AA, 77B and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (the Act) read with Article 8A of the Articles of Association of the Company and the Buy-Back Regulations, subject to approvals as may be necessary, from time to time statutory authorities including but not limited to Securities and exchange Board of India, Stock Exchanges, Reserve Bank of India, etc. as required, any further subject to such conditions as may be prescribed while granting such approvals/s which may be agreed to by the Board of Directors hereinafter referred to as the Board (which term shall include any committee constituted specifically for the Buyback hereafter referred to as Buy-Back Committee)
The maximum offer Price has been arrived at after considering factors such as the trends in the market price of the Equity shares during the last 6 months prior to the date of the Board Meeting, the book value, earnings trends in the recent past, the future outlook for the industry / company and other relevant factors.

The maximum Offer Price of Rs 55/- represents a premium of 52.14% and 50.68% over the closing prices of Equity Shares on the BSE & NSE respectively prevailing on November 12, 2008 being the last trading day prior to the date of the Board Meeting held on November 14, 2008 approving the Buy-Back. The Closing Price of Equity Shares of the Company as on November 12, 2008 on BSE and NSE was Rs 36.15 and Rs 36.50 respectively.

The Company hereby proposes to buy back a minimum of 12,00,000 Equity shares (Minimum Offer Shares) during the offer period. the actual number of equity shares bought back would depend upon the average price paid for the Equity shares bought back and the aggregate consideration paid for such Equity Shares bought back, subject to the maximum limit of 9.69% of the total paid up equity share capital and Free Reserves of the Company, in accordance with the resolution passed by the Board of directors of the Company on November 14, 2008. the Maximum limit envisaged in the foregoing is further subject to a limit of 25% of the total paid-up Equity Share capital of the company in a financial year as stipulated under section 77A of the Act.

Proposed Time Table
Date of Board Meeting Approving the Buyback - November 14, 2008
Date of Public Notice in compliance with regulation 5A of the Buy0back regulations - November 14, 2008
Date of Opening of Buyback - December 08, 2008
Acceptance of Shares - Within the relevant payout dates of the Stock Exchanges.

Verification of acceptance of Equity shares in the Physical mode - within 15 days of relevant payout date
Extinguishment of Shares - Within 15 days of acceptance of Equity Shares. Further, all the Equity Shares bought back will be extinguished within 7 days of the last date of completion of Buy-back.

Last Date for the Buyback - November 13, 2009 (i.e. 12 months from the date of the Board resolution). However, the Board in its absolute discretion may decide to close the Buyback at an earlier date in the event Minimum Offer Shares have been purchased under the Buyback even if maximum Buyback size has not been reached, by giving appropriate notice of such date. All payment obligations in related to the Buy-back shall be completed by the last date for the Buy-Back.