Asian equities tread cautiously on Tuesday; Nikkei deposes 1.47%

Asian equity markets are treading in a cautious mood on a mixed note in Tuesday's morning session led by Japanese benchmark which fell the most in the space, on concerns over high levels of nuclear radiations from the ill fated Fukushima nuclear plant and the impact of the natural disaster on corporate earnings. Overnight leads from the Wall Street too remained subdued despite some good economic reports as traders showed concern over Japan's nuclear crisis and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. South Korean shares receded on the back of profit booking after the recent eight-session streak of net purchases by foreign funds. Stocks in China rose marginally as steelmakers provided the much needed support on expectations of higher exports to Japan for use in the country's post-earthquake reconstruction drive.

Shanghai Composite rose 3.89 points or 0.13% to 2,987.90, Hang Seng advanced 5.54 points or 0.02% to 23,073.73, KLSE Composite gained 2.00 points or 0.13% to 1,516.25, Seoul Composite added 0.35 points or 0.02% to 2,056.74 and Taiwan Weighted increased 16.34 points or 0.19% to 8,569.40.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite shaved off 28.05 points or 0.78% to 3,574.81, Nikkei 225 plunged 139.55 points or 1.47% to 9,338.98 and Straits Times fell 3.54 points or 0.12% to 3,053.84.

US markets snap their winning streak on Monday

US markets closed modestly lower on Monday despite some good economic reports as traders showed concern over Japan's nuclear crisis and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Oil prices eased a bit as rebels in Libya, gained ground against Moammar Gadhafi with the help of international airstrikes against Gadhafi’s forces. On the domestic front, the Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in four months in February, though some of the increase was driven by higher gas prices.

On the same time, the National Association of Realtors said more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February than economists were expecting. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast, but remained below what is considered a healthy level. Sales agreements for homes unexpectedly rose 2.1 percent last month to a reading of 90.8. Signings were 19.6 percent above June's index reading, the low point since the housing bust.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 22.71 points, or 0.19 percent, to 12,197.88. The broader S&P 500 index dipped by 3.61 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,310.19, while the Nasdaq composite declined by 12.38 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,730.68.

Indian ADRs made a mixed closing on Monday, Infosys was up by 0.18%, HDFC Bank was up by 0.70%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.93% and Tata Motors was up by 0.06%.
On the others hand MTNL was down by 0.02% and Wipro was down by 0.04%

ONGC rises on the bourses

ONGC is currently trading at Rs. 280.45, up by 1.25 points or 0.45% from its previous closing of Rs. 279.20 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 280.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 281.35 and Rs. 280.15 respectively. So far 9,207 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 368.00 on 28-Sep-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 249.34 on 22-Apr-2010.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 281.45 and Rs. 269.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 238869.28 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 74.14% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 12.30% and 13.56% respectively.
In the 9th round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), ONGC bid for 28 out of 34 oil and gas exploration blocks. In all, 75 bids were received for 33 out of 34 oil and gas blocks on offer with Oil India bidding for 17. Further, Reliance Industries bid for six while Cairn India submitted offers for two out of the 34 on offer.
The government has hired UK-based Fugro Data Solutions to market the NELP-IX blocks. There were total 34 oil and gas blocks which include eight in deepwater areas, seven in shallow water and nineteen onshore properties.
In the eight rounds of NELP since 1999, 235 blocks have been awarded till date. This has resulted in enhancement of exploration coverage from 11% to about 58 per cent of the total Indian sedimentary basin area in the country between 2000 and 2010.
Recently, ONGC is facing problems in getting Cairn India's approval for developing its KG basin discoveries, where the private energy firm is a minority partner. ONGC has made 10 gas discoveries in the block. However, Cairn has not signed the DOC (declaration of commerciality) of northern discovery in the KG-DWN-98 /2 blocks and has held back some budget approvals.

BANKNIFTY FOR SUPPORT 29/03/2011

BANKNIFTY (2nd Resistance) 11818.43
(1st Resistance) 11688.87
Pivot point 11512.43
(1st Support) 11382.87
(2nd support) 11206.43

NIFTY FOR SUPPORT 29/03/2011

NIFTY (2nd Resistance) 5762.85
(1st Resistance) 5731.25
Pivot point 5697.4
(1st Support) 5665.8
(2nd support) 5631.95

Global Markets update 29/03/2011

DJIA Down 22.7 (0.2%) NSDQ Down 12.4 (0.5%) FTSE 100 Up 3.7 (0.1%) Asian Markets as on 8.45 AM  NIKKEI Down 140 (1.47%) HANG SENG Up 6 (0.03) SGX NIFTY Down 5

CARE reaffirms the ratings to Websol Energy Systems' long/medium term facilities

Credit rating agency, CARE has reaffirmed the ‘ CARE BBB-‘ ratings assigned to Websol Energy Systems' long/medium term facilities. The agency has also reaffirmed the assigned ‘PR3’ ratings to the company’s short term facilities.

The aforesaid credit ratings are provided to long / medium term and short term banking facilities availed by the company from its bankers / financial institutions.

Recently, Websol Energy Systems has signed a Joint Venture (JV) pact with Gopika Infrastructure LLP for the development of its land situated at Plot No. 1, Block - GP, Salt Lake Electronics Complex in Kolkata. The said JV agreement will help the company in generating long term value.

Earlier in February, the company had commenced the commercial production of 30 MW with effect from February 21, 2011.

Webel-Sl Energy Systems is a leading producer of Solar Photovotaic Cells and Modules in India. It is one of the fastest growing companies within the solar photovoltaic industry in India with a 30 per cent annual growth rate.  Webel Solar has established the reputation for making highly reliable photovoltaic modules for various domestic and commercial applications.

Simbhaoli Sugars zooms on its plan to hive-off its IMFL and Power biz to the new subsidiary companies

Simbhaoli Sugars is currently trading at Rs. 45.90, up by 3.05 points or 7.12% from its previous closing of Rs. 42.85 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 43.85 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 46.00 and Rs. 43.85 respectively. So far 36,356 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 53.80 on 11-Nov-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 32.50 on 25-May-2010.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 46.00 and Rs. 42.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 116.19 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 43.58 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 4.51 % and 51.91 % respectively. 

Simbhaoli Sugars (SSL), one of the country’s largest sugar refiners would be hiving off of its Simbhaoli Distillery mainly comprising of its potable alcohol (IMFL) business and Power Businesses to new subsidiary companies. These new companies shall be wholly owned subsidiaries of SSL and will chalk out their own growth plans.

The business of the Simbhaoli Distillery which includes Potable Alcohol Business is being carved out into a separate company. The main objective behind this exercise shall be to achieve growth in potable alcohol business by exploring new business and marketing areas for creation of new brands, their promotion and capacity enhancement. The potable alcohol business has an aggressive growth plan with a back drop of 10 to 12% year on year basis natural growth in domestic drinking alcohol segment.

Presently alcohol manufacturing is carried out in all the three units of the Company namely Simbhaoli Distillery (90 kld capacity), Brijnathpur Ethanol Division and Chilwaria Ethanol Division. The Simbhaoli Distillery business achieved a gross turnover of Rs 316.7 crore in FY10. All the three facilities of SSL have power generation capacities aggregating 64 mwh and two of the units have a capacity to export 34 mwh of surplus power to the State Grid.

The Company has also decided to transfer its existing business of power generation in to a separate entity. The total power generation capacity of the group at present is 64 mwh and is expected to increase to 115 mwh in three years time. New entity will tie up its own financing and implement the project in time bound manner.

Further, the Company is planning to create connectivity to the grid by laying down the transmission lines at its Brijnathpur power unit, with a present capacity o f 8 mwh. Bio mass/ bagasse shall be transferred to the new Company for conversion into steam and power.

Financial Technologies leads the gainer list of ‘BSE IT’ space

Financial Technologies is currently trading at Rs. 816.00, up by 46.85 points or 6.09% from its previous closing of Rs. 769.15 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 775.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 823.75 and Rs. 775.00 respectively. So far 39,267 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1652.00 on 30-Mar-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 689.05 on 28-Jan-2011.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 823.75 and Rs. 720.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 3723.15 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.39% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.34% and 22.90% respectively.
Financial Technologies (India) (FTIL) is a flagship company of the Financial Technologies Group. It provides technology solutions and domain expertise for digital transactions and financial markets across all asset class including equity, commodities, currency and debt. The company's flagship product ODIN is used for trading in securities and commodities and accounts for 80% of market share in India.
The company has posted a net profit of Rs 78.79 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 61.75 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, up 27.60%.

Usha Martin jumps on raising $125 million via ECB to fund its capex needs

Usha Martin is currently trading at Rs. 61.50, up by 4.70 points or 8.27% from its previous closing of Rs. 56.80 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 59.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 62.00 and Rs. 58.30 respectively. So far 38,000 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Re. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 106.95 on 07-Apr-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 49.30 on 08-Mar-2011.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 62.00 and Rs. 52.65 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 1730.93 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 38.38% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 50.17% and 9.90% respectively.
Usha Martin has raised $125 million via external commercial borrowing [ECB] from State Bank of India as sole mandated lead arranger and book runner with DBS Bank, State Bank of India [Canada] and The Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ as other participating lenders.
This exercise of company is for parting finance for its capex plans of Rs 1200 crore in order to strengthen its cost competitiveness in steel business and also maintain its global leadership position in the wire and wire rope industry.
Usha Martin is engaged in the manufacturing of wire rods, bright bars, steel wires, specialty wires, wire ropes, strand, conveyor cord, wire drawing and cable machinery. The company was incorporated as a joint venture between Usha Martin Industries and Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation, AEG Kabel, Germany (now Kabelrhydt and a member of the Alcatel group) and DEG, Germany.

Asian markets sustain sanguinity on last trading day of week with a positive start

Asian equity indices ascended this Friday morning as investors continued to pile up positions tracking buoyant leads from Wall Street overnight which went for a smart rally on the back of confident corporate earnings and signs of a stronger job market. Stock markets in Japan have bounced back from the recent downtrend as construction firms gained on optimism that demand will grow as Japan rebuilds after being grappled with a deluge of destruction. The South Korean benchmark climbed over half a percent as Won strengthened to a two-week high on speculations that global economic recovery will withstand Europe’s financial crisis.

Shanghai Composite advanced 16.56 points or 0.56% to 2,963.26, Hang Seng climbed 193.77 points or 0.85% to 23,109.05, Jakarta Composite zoomed 76.12 points or 2.14% to 3,632.35, KLSE Composite rose 4.03 points or 0.27% to 1,517.87, Nikkei 225 jumped 94.13 points or 1.00% to 9,529.14, Straits Times surged 28.20 points or 0.93% to 3,071.23, Seoul Composite increased 12.62 points or 0.62% to 2,049.40 and Taiwan Weighted added 40.39 points or 0.47% to 8,616.79.

FII DII DATA 25/02/2011

Net Index Futures (686), Net Stock Futures (-97), Derivative Market: Total Open Interest (Rs 1,47,554 cr), Stock Futures Open Interest (Rs 34,219 cr)

Indian ADRs Update 25/03/2011

 INFOSYS Up 2.1 (3.2%), WIPRO Up 0.2 (1.5%), ICICI BANK Up 1.3 (2.8%), HDFC BANK Up 3.3 (2.1%)

Global Markets update 25/03/2011

DJIA Up 84.5 (0.7%) NSDQ Up 38.1 (1.4%) FTSE 100 Up 85 (1.5%) Asian Markets as on 8.45 AM  NIKKEI Up 94 (1%) HANG SENG Up 207 (0.9) SGX NIFTY Up 34

Domestic markets may extend the rally mood with positive start

The Indian markets despite a dull day of trade were able to garner gain of about a percent in previous session, not only the blue chips but the broader markets too participated equally in the rally. All the rate sensitive’s gained despite the inflation returning into double digit, food price index rose 10.02% on annual basis during week-ended March 12, as compared with 9.42% recorded in the previous week. Today the start is likely to be good on sanguine global cues; also the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that it would be possible to maintain inflation at a moderate level on account of measures taken by the government. He further said the Centre and the states have to work collectively to remove supply bottlenecks, a move to tame inflation. Meanwhile, India is expected to see 5.4 per cent growth in the farm sector in the current fiscal 2010-11. In the Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under Ministry of Agriculture, the department has expressed satisfaction over the growth of investment and capital formation in agriculture in the recent past. However, the PSU oil marketing companies are not likely to get any respite soon, as the international crude prices are continuing to remain at elevated levels while it has been reported that the government has no plans to raise petrol and diesel prices until the completion of elections in some states.

The US markets added strength on Thursday supported by strong corporate earnings and fall in jobless claims data indicating the labor market is healing and employers may be stepping up hiring. Most of the Asian markets have made a good start with Japanese leading the pack as construction firms gained on optimism that demand will grow as Japan rebuilds after its worst earthquake.

Back home, it turned out to be a stable day for the Indian benchmarks which sustained sanguinity for the third successive session and climbed well over half a percent point and managed to get the better of the crucial support levels. Optimistic cues from across the globe underpinned the investors’ conviction locally as they overlooked the worrisome food inflation numbers which increased for the second consecutive week ended March 12. After early weakness, the crude oil prices bounced back due to rising fears over supply disruptions as Gaddafi denied surrendering to Western forces in any circumstances and data showing US gasoline stocks fell more than expected in the week to March 18. While marketmen remained of the belief that spiraling oil prices and towering inflation numbers are going to make it difficult for an emerging market like India to log higher than expected growth regardless of scoring higher on the GDP scale. The decline in index heavyweight Reliance which shaved off around a quarter percent point was off-set by the upsurge in rate-sensitive counters. The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty, which traded below 5,400 levels three sessions ago, ricocheted above the crucial 5,500 support level while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, Sensex garnered close to one hundred fifty points and regained the psychological 18,350 mark. The broader markets too traded on healthy note and performed in tandem with their larger peers. Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a gap up start as leads from the global front underpinned regional sentiments. Optimistic close on Wall Street, in-line growth in New Zealand’s Q4 GDP numbers, and the marginal wilt in crude oil prices filliped investors’ mood as they overlooked the weakness in Japanese markets which fell on worries over parts shortage and production halt. The frontline indices traded in a narrow band through the day’s trade led by gains in realty and auto stocks. The fifty stock nifty slipped below the crucial 5,500 level in the early moments of second half but recovered immediately to eventually settle around the high point of the day because of sustained buying interests across the board. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 144.58 points or 0.79% to settle at 18,350.74 while the S&P CNX Nifty climbed 42.15 points or 0.77% to end at 5,522.40.

The US markets went for a smart rally on Thursday on the back of confident corporate earnings and signs of a stronger job market. Earnings growth has been strong across US companies and Software company Red Hat Inc., chip maker Micron Technology Inc. and Chef Boyardee maker ConAgra Foods Inc. all reported profits that beat expectations. There was good news from the jobs market too; government said fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The Labor Department reported that the number of people seeking benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000 in the week ended March 19, the fourth drop in the past five weeks. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 385,250, the lowest since July 2008. However, in a disappointment the Commerce Department separately released February durable goods orders data, which showed companies trimmed their orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, signaling business investment falling for a second month.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 84.54 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 12,170.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose by 12.12 points, or 0.93 percent, to 1,309.66, while the Nasdaq composite index closed higher by 38.12 points, or 1.41 percent, to 2,736.42.

Crude prices edged up on Thursday in a choppy trading as Middle East unrest and the Libya conflict raised concerns about supply disruption supporting the prices, while euro zone debt problems weighed on Brent prices. Though, Portugal is unlikely to ask the European Union for a financial bailout during an EU leaders' summit, but it cannot be ruled out. There were mixed economic reports, the durable goods report offset a report showing US initial jobless claims fell.

Benchmark crude for May rose 22 cents or 0.2 percent to $105.97 a barrel, after trading from $105.11 to $106.69 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for May rose 17 cents to settle at $115.72 a barrel on the ICE.

TCS, Infosys and Engineers India to witness some action today

Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank in China selected Tata Consulting Services' (TCS) core banking solution Bancs to achieve competitive advantage by introducing new products and manage transformation.

Film content developer and aggregator, Eros International Media, is eyeing 35% growth in its bottomline for FY12 as it will focus more on profitability than its top line.

Improper evaluations by ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) while investing in assets abroad has resulted in a losses of nearly Rs 2,300 crore, the government auditor CAG said.

Kotak Mahindra Bank launched Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS) for its customers. With this facility, customers will enjoy 24x7 instant funds transfer, thereby enabling the beneficiary to avail of the credit immediately.

Infosys Technologies is planting the seeds for a long-term IT services play in the African continent.

In its maiden foray into the fertiliser sector, state-owned Engineers India will take up equity in the Rs 4,000 crore revival of the Ramagundam urea plant in Andhra Pradesh.

The Environment Ministry's expert appraisal committee has given conditional permission to Lavasa Corporation to complete pending construction work on 257 residential buildings in the 3,000-crore planned hill station township. The incomplete buildings are located in a 614 hectare area of the proposed hill town.

Steel pipe maker PSL will commission its second pipe mill of 75,000 tonne a year capacity at Sharjah in May as the company is anticipating strong demand from West Asia in the coming months.

Aegis Logistics has issued 6.3 per cent stake to private equity fund Infrastructure India Holdings Fund LLC on a preferential basis.

The Central Bank of India plans to raise Rs 2,500 crore through a rights offering at a discount to the market price as its dominant shareholder, the government, sets about infusing capital in state-run banks.

Bharti Airtel, India's top telecoms carrier, has no immediate plans for an initial public offering of its telecoms tower unit.

Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship entity of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), has bagged a fresh order of exporting rails to Sri Lanka.

Tanishq, the jewellery retail business of the Tata group, is planning to invest around Rs 150-200 crore in setting up around 15 showrooms in various parts of the country in the next fiscal year.

PowerGrid Corporation of India (PGCIL), the country’s largest power transmission utility, will submit a revised offer for consultancy project in Nigeria and expects to finalise a deal in the next two to three months.

Less than a year after 'Munni Badnaam Hui' song helped pushed Zandu Balm sales, Emami wants something similar for its Himani Navratna extra thanda hair oil, and it's funding the entire cost of a Bhojpuri film song that will mention the brand.

Tulip Telecom promoter firm Cedar Infonet has increased stake in the company to 33.16%.

GAIL (India) has set a target of transmitting 118.2 mmscmd of natural gas from domestic sources and through LNG route during FY 2011-12 under the annual memorandum of understanding signed with Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for performance targets for the financial year 2011-12.

Usha Martin has raised $125 million via external commercial borrowing [ECB] from State Bank of India as sole mandated lead arranger and book runner with DBS Bank, State Bank of India [Canada] and The Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ as other participating lenders.

BHEL has won a contract from PowerGrid Corp along with Swedish firm ABB for supplying equipment for the construction of a transmission link

Mahindra & Mahindra, country's largest utility vehicles maker, will invest more than Rs 300 crore in a new tractor plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Greycells Education flagship brand EMDI Institute of Media and Communication (EMDI) receives the 'Chanakya Awards - 2011' for 'Business Communication School of the year' from Public Relations Council of India (PRCI).

Dhunseri to commence construction work on Egypt plant

Dhunseri Petrochem and Tea will start construction of its PET Resin manufacturing unit in Egypt by June. The company has put on hold its plans to start construction because of the political instability after an uprising in that country, which put an end to the 30-year-old rule of Hosni Mubarak.
The plant will be built with an investment of about $160 million and will have the capacity of about 420,000 tonnes per annum (TPA).

NTPC plans to raise $500 mn through dollar denominated bonds

The country’s largest power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is looking tap foreign markets to raise as much as $500 million through dollar denominated bonds. The proceeds are to be used to fund its plan to add 5,000 mw capacity next fiscal. It is also planning to raise funds through tax-free bonds in the country.
On the hand, the company is discussing the plans with the investment bankers and will unveil the final details in the coming weeks. The company has big plans for its coal and gas based power plants and is also trying to acquire coal assets abroad.
Recenlty, it has commissioned unit 6 of 500 MW of Farakka Super Thermal Power Station. Following the commissioning, the total capacity of the company has become 33,694 MW. With the coming of unit 6, the total installed capacity of Farakka Super Thermal Power Station has become 2,100 MW. Recently, the company had started Stage-III commercial operation at Unit-VII of 500 MW of Korba Super Thermal Power Project with effect from March 21, 2011.
NTPC posted a marginal increase of 0.27% in its net profit of Rs 2371.48 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 2364.98 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Its total income has increased from Rs 11961.31 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 to Rs 14165.90 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010

ABB bags contract worth $900 million from Power grid

ABB has bagged a contract worth $900 million from Power Grid Corporation of India to build an electricity highway of more than 1,700 kilometers long in India, reflecting the unabated demand for power in emerging markets that has been a boon to the Swiss electrical-engineering giant during the economic crisis.
Besides ABB, Indian government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) will also participate in the project, which uses ABB’s cutting-edge, long-distance power technology that may have been the key trigger in ABB's success to outbid rivals.
This will be world’s first 800 kV, 6,000 MW Ultra High Voltage Multi-terminal DC transmission link. The link comprises three converter terminals and a power transmission system with a built in capacity of up to 8,000 MW which is the largest HVDC transmission system ever built. In financial terms, this is the largest order finalized in T&D sector anywhere in the world and is valued at Rs 1,590 crore. The 800 kV North-East Agra UHVDC link will have a capacity to transmit up to 6,000 MW of clean hydroelectric power from the North-East Region of the country to Agra across a distance of 1,728 kilometers.
ABB reported a decline of 93.82% in net profit of Rs 6.77 crore for the quarter ended December 2010 compared to Rs 109.61 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter increased 8.80% to Rs 2074.60 crore compared to Rs 1906.78 crore in the same quarter last year.

Government-run Union Bank of India (UBI) which is aiming to expand its overseas business is likely to get regulatory approval in the next six months. It is planning to set up a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and a branch in Australia and Belgium. However, the bank has already got approval from RBI for setting up operation in these countries. It plans to open a branch in Antwerp, Belgium and Sydney, Australia. The bank also plans to open a subsidiary in UK, which can cater to customers in the European region. Presently, the bank has representative offices in Sydney and London. Apart from this, the bank has a full-fledged branch in Hong Kong. The branch carries out normal commercial banking operations like acceptance of deposits, trade finance, external commercial borrowing (ECBs) and syndicated loans.

Government-run Union Bank of India (UBI) which is aiming to expand its overseas business is likely to get regulatory approval in the next six months. It is planning to set up a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and a branch in Australia and Belgium.
However, the bank has already got approval from RBI for setting up operation in these countries. It plans to open a branch in Antwerp, Belgium and Sydney, Australia. The bank also plans to open a subsidiary in UK, which can cater to customers in the European region.
Presently, the bank has representative offices in Sydney and London. Apart from this, the bank has a full-fledged branch in Hong Kong. The branch carries out normal commercial banking operations like acceptance of deposits, trade finance, external commercial borrowing (ECBs) and syndicated loans.

Mahindra Satyam sets up NMS for Nimsoft

Mahindra Satyam has set up the Nimsoft Monitoring Solution (NMS) on its Unified Service Management Platform (USMP) - a managed services platform developed to optimize client infrastructure performance and service levels for Nimsoft. The company leverages the multi-tenancy and online reporting capabilities of NMS to provide mid-market and on-demand/managed hosting clients with cost-effective, enterprise-class monitoring services.
NMS combines a highly-scalable cloud monitoring platform with customizable portals to help USMP meet the scalability, complexity and service performance requirements of its clients’ enterprise IT service demands. With its combination of comprehensive coverage, ease of use, and scalability, NMS enables organizations to leverage existing and emerging technologies and services, with unprecedented agility and ROI.
Mahindra Satyam is leading information, communications and technology (ICT) company providing top-class business consulting, information technology and communication services. It is part of the $7.1 billion Mahindra Group, a global industrial federation of companies and one of the top 10 business houses based in India.

NMDC likely to acquire the US coal mine for building steel plants

NMDC, the state-owned miner is looking to acquire a coal mine in the US for building steel plants in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. It is reported that the company is in talks with the promoters of midsized coking coal mines in Pittsburg and Alabama to do due diligence part.

The company is keen to secure coal for its captive needs as it gets ready to build a steel plant in Chhattisgarh and another in Karnataka through a joint venture with Russia's Severstal. For the Karnataka plant, NMDC had inked a pact with Russia's leading steel maker OJSC Severstal in December last year to jointly set up a steel plant with an initial capacity of 2 million tons per annum, expandable to 5 million tons per annum later at an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore.

The Chhattisgarh plant, which is the first steel venture of the company with 3 million tons per annum capacity, being constructed at a cost of Rs 15,500 crore, is expected to be operational by 2014, while the constructions work of the proposed 2 million tons per annum steel plant in Karnataka is expected to begin in 2012.

The company is also in talks with Tata Steel to ink an equal joint venture for setting up a 2 million tons per annum steel plant at Bastar in Chhattisgarh.

Godrej Consumer Products commences commercial production at Guwahati Factory

Godrej Consumer Products has commenced commercial production of personal care products at its factory at Plot no. 52, Brahmaputra Industrial Park, Dol Gobinda Mandir Road, Village Sila, Guwahati on March 23, 2011.
Recently, Sara Lee Corporation has terminated Godrej Household Product’s (GHPL), a 100% subsidiary of Godrej Consumer Products license for Kiwi (shoe care) and Kiwi Kleen brands in India and Sri Lanka with effect from April 3, 2011. Consequently, Sara Lee will pay a consideration of Rs 177 crore to Godrej Household Product.
Also in an effort to battle mounting raw material costs, personal care products maker - Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is planning to hike soap prices by 4-5% starting in month of April.
On consolidated basis, the group has posted a net profit of Rs 118.82 crore for the December 2010 quarter as compared to Rs 85.12 crore for the December 2009 quarter, up 39.59%.

Unitech soars on selling 300 housing units of mid-income housing project

Unitech is currently trading at Rs 38.45, up by 1.50 points or 4.06% from its previous closing of Rs 36.95 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs 37.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs 38.70 and Rs 37.25 respectively. So far 22,00,562 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 98.45 on 07-Oct-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs 30.70 on 25-Feb-2011.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 38.70 and Rs 35.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 9876.54 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 48.57% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 36.28% and 15.15% respectively.

The country’s largest realty firm Unitech has sold over 300 units worth Rs 200 crore in its Unitech South Park project in Gurgaon launched last week. The company has received over 300 bookings, garnering almost Rs 200 crore in its mid-income housing project.

Realty firm had announced in February that it plans to make available 10 million sq ft (msf) of area in the next few months with an estimated construction cost of Rs 1,500 to 2,000 crore. In February last week, Unitech had also launched a township project in Rewari in Haryana with an estimated construction cost of Rs 55 crore.

The company has reported a net profit of Rs 111.36 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 down by 36.73% as compared to Rs 176.01 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Its net sales / income from operations has decreased by 14.80% to Rs 659.79 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 from Rs 774.46 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Unitech is a real estate development company with over three decades of experience; today it has a market capitalization of nearly USD 6 billion. Unitech is engaged into development of residential, commercial/Information Technology (IT) parks, Retail, Amusement parks, Hotels and Special Economic Zones. It has also forayed into wireless telecommunication business. In this 60% stake amounting to Rs 6,120 crore has been brought by Norway-based Telenor, the world's seventh largest telecom operator with a subscriber base of about 159 million

Pipavav Shipyard in green on receiving Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s approval

Pipavav Shipyard is currently trading at Rs. 79.55, up by 1.15 points or 1.47% from its previous closing of Rs. 78.40 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 79.40 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 80.50 and Rs. 79.05 respectively. So far 2,85,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 119.95 on 30-Aug-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 61.60 on 29-Mar-2010.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 83.60 and Rs. 77.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 5303.08 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.00% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 20.50% and 34.51% respectively.

Pipavav Shipyard has received clearance from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Ministry of Finance and Government of India which permits foreign direct equity investment. The company has also obtained all statutory clearances required for warship building for defence sector.

All statutory clearances required for warship building for defence sector is been obtained by the company. With this clearance the company will be able to bid for all the future warship projects like frigates, destroyers, aircraft carriers, LPDs, submarine, corvettes etc., of Indian Navy.

Recently, Ovira Logistics has acquired 5.11 crore shares or about 7.7% stake in Pipavav Shipyard at Rs 80.83 a share under bulk deal on Monday. Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, IL&FS Financial Services and IL&FS Employee Welfare Trust sold the shares.

Pipavav Shipyard’s principal activity is to set up shipyard project. It is the sole sponsor of training at two Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) situated at Rajula and Mahuva, Gujarat, in the vicinity of the company's shipyard.

Zuari Industries gains on plans to acquire land to build urea plant in Karnataka

Zuari Industries is currently trading at Rs. 605.45, up by 6.75 points or 1.13% from its previous closing of Rs. 598.70 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 604.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 606.00 and Rs. 600.20 respectively.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 895.00 on 25-Oct-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 557.25 on 10-Feb-2011.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 606.00 and Rs. 562.80 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 1757.60 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 34.37% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 8.52% and 57.10% respectively.

Fertiliser-maker Zuari Industries is in the process of acquiring land in Belgaum district to set up a Rs 5,000 crore gas based urea plant in Karnataka with an annual capacity of 1.3 million tonnes a year. Further, the company has got the green signal from the Karnataka government to go ahead with the project.

The plant will be built near the Dabhol-Bangalore gas pipeline project, which is expected to complete by 2012-13. The Belgaum plant will be commissioned by 2015-16 after the government's new fertilizer investment policy comes into force. The project will be built in Belgaum district, bordering Maharashtra and Goa, which has a gas pipeline running through it.

Apart from this, Zuari Industries is also eying at land acquisition near Karwar, in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, for building a phosphate and customized fertilizer plant at an estimated investment of Rs 700 crore.

Recently, Zuari Industries had acquired 20,00,000 shares of Zuari Holdings, a company incorporated with the object to carry on the main business investment. Consequently, Zuari Holdings has become a 100% subsidiary of the company effective from March 10, 2011.

Zuari Industries, part of the K.K. Birla Group, was incorporated as Zuari Agro Chemicals to manufacture urea and complex fertilizers. The company forayed into various business areas such as cement, furniture, hybrid seeds, engineering consultancy, financial services, and oil tanking through a route of subsidiaries and joint ventures.

HDFC Bank gains on winning Asian Banker's Best Retail Bank in India award

HDFC Bank is currently trading at Rs. 2178.95, up by 14.55 points or 0.67% from its previous closing of Rs. 2164.40 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 2181.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 2185.40 and Rs. 2169.00 respectively. So far 3,255 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2518.00 on 04-Oct-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1785.00 on 25-May-2010.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 2199.90 and Rs. 2142.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 101364.39 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 23.40% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 40.23% and 18.90% respectively.
HDFC Bank, country’s second largest private bank, has won the Asian Banker's Best Retail Bank in India award this year.
The bank has won the 'Best Retail Bank in India' award for the fifth year in a row beating a host of other competitors in Asia Pacific, Middle-East, Central Asia and Africa on a range of parameters. There were more than 150 retail financial institutions from 29 countries across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Central Asia and African regions who have participated in this competition.
Recently, HDFC Bank has paid higher advance corporate tax for the fourth quarter. The company has paid Rs 500 crore as advance corporate tax, higher by 66.67% as compared to Rs 300 crore paid during same quarter last year. The bank posted an increase of 33% in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, which stood at Rs 1087.83 crore as compared to Rs 818.50 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Sara Lee terminates Godrej Consumer’s arm license for Kiwi and Kiwi Kleen brands

Sara Lee Corporation has terminated Godrej Household Product’s (GHPL), a 100% subsidiary of Godrej Consumer Products license for Kiwi (shoe care) and Kiwi Kleen brands in India and Sri Lanka with effect from April 3, 2011. Consequently, Sara Lee will pay a consideration of Rs 177 crore to Godrej Household Product.

Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is a flagship company of Godrej Group. The company is major player in FMCG market. It has three manufacturing units located at Malanpur (M.P) Guwahati (Assam) and Baddi (H.P).

On consolidated basis, the group has posted a net profit of Rs 118.82 crore for the December 2010 quarter as compared to Rs 85.12 crore for the December 2009 quarter, up 39.59%. Total income for the quarter grew by 86.64% to Rs 986.68 crore from Rs 528.64 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Vikash Metal & Power to issue GDR

Vikash Metal & Power has informed that the company plans to issue Global Depository Receipts (GDR) up to an aggregate of US$ 12 Million and the aforesaid issue of GDRs will open tentatively in the last week of March subject to necessary statutory and legal approvals.

The fixed minimum issue price of the proposed GDR is Rs.15.00 (INR) which has been determined in accordance with the amended guideline vide circular, New Delhi dated November 27, 2008 issued by the Joint Secretary to the Government of India.

Vikash Metal & Power was incorporated with the object of carrying on the business of trading in dolomite and iron & steel products.

Tirupati Inks reports fire incident at its Kanpur factory

Tirupati Inks informed that a major fire has erupted at the factory premises at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh during early hours of March 21, 2011. The company has clarified that plant and machineries, inventories and other assets were fully insured. In this regards the company is in process of taking necessary action along with assessing the loss suffered and filing claims with insurance authorities.
The company has also informed that its manufacturing facilities at Jammu are fully operational and hence it is not anticipating any major disruptions in the delivery schedule of the finished products.
The company is mainly engaged in the business of manufacturing of printing ink and trading in polyester films. The Company has two manufacturing facilities i.e. one at Kanpur & another at Jammu. At Kanpur Unit, mainly printing ink is manufactured apart from a small volume of printing cylinders and at the Jammu Unit, only printing ink is manufactured.

City Union Bank opens three new branches

Private sector lender - City Union Bank - has opened three new branches at Gudiyatham, Kallakurichi on March 23, 2011 and Bhavani in Tamilnadu on March 24, 2011 respectively.
Recently, the bank has opened two new branches at Rohini in New Delhi and Jalandhar in Punjab on March 6, 2011 and March 7, 2011, respectively.
The bank reported an increase of 42% in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 which stood at Rs 57.70 crore against Rs 40.65 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. It reported total income stood at Rs 349.28 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 against Rs 278.58 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

NTPC rises on commissioning unit 6 of 500 MW of Farakka plant

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is currently trading at Rs 176.20, up by 1.20 points or 0.69% from its previous closing of Rs 175.00 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs 176.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs 176.40 and Rs 175.60 respectively.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 222.20 on 04-Oct-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs 168.60 on 25-Feb-2011.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 177.50 and Rs 172.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 144295.63 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 84.50% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 11.78% and 3.72% respectively. The country’s largest power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has commissioned unit 6 of 500 MW of Farakka Super Thermal Power Station. Following the commissioning, the total capacity of the company has become 33,694 MW. With the coming of unit 6, the total installed capacity of Farakka Super Thermal Power Station has become 2,100 MW. Recently, the company had started Stage-III commercial operation at Unit-VII of 500 MW of Korba Super Thermal Power Project with effect from March 21, 2011.
NTPC posted a marginal increase of 0.27% in its net profit of Rs 2371.48 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 2364.98 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Its total income has increased from Rs 11961.31 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 to Rs 14165.90 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Lovable Lingerie gets marvelous debut on the bourses

Lovable Lingerie debuted at Rs 261.50, up by 56.5 points or 27.56% from its issue price of Rs 205 on the BSE.

The scrip is currently trading at Rs 268.30, up by 63.30 points or 30.87% from its issue price and has touched  a high and low of Rs 269.40  and Rs 255.00 respectively. So far 1959589 shares were traded on the counter.

India’s leading women’s innerwear ‘Lovable Lingerie’ got listed today , the issue price was fixed at Rs 205, higher end of price band of Rs 195-205 a share. The issue got overwhelming response and was subscribed around 35 times raising around Rs 93 crore.

The company will be using the issue proceeds for Setting up of a manufacturing facility to create additional capacity at Bengaluru; Expenses to be incurred for Brand Building; Brand Development expenses for our “College Style” brand; Investment in Joint Venture; Setting up of Exclusive Brand Outlets (“EBO’s”); Setting up of retail store modules for “shop-in-shop”; Up gradation of design studios and General corporate purpose.

The Mumbai based company manufacturer’s women’s innerwear. The company is having joint venture with Lovable Lifestyles which will market, manufacture, distribute and direct retail in the super premium lingerie segment. Lovable will hold 90% stake in the JV with London's Lifestyle Galleries. The company’s brands include 'Lovable', 'Daisy Dee' and 'College Style' which are retailed through 103 distributors in India. Lovable has three manufacturing facilities - two in Bengaluru, with an installed capacity of 60 lakh pieces p.a. and another unit in Uttarakhand with an installed capacity of 7.5 lakh pieces p.a.

US markets closed modestly higher despite weak housing data

US markets closed modestly higher on Wednesday, worries of Japanese crisis was still looming and the stocks remained lower for most of the day however a spurt in energy stocks was seen after Energy Department report showed that gasoline consumption continues to grow despite sharp price increases at the pump, it shows that higher fuel cost has not made much impact. Meanwhile the Japanese government estimated that rebuilding costs for the earthquake could be as high as $300 billion, dragging the economy growth by 0.5 percent this year due to the widespread devastation. Also there was a disappointment from the housing front; sales of new single-family homes plunged to the lowest on record in February.

Commerce Department reported that home sales fell 17 percent to 250,000, well below the 700,000 rate being expected, it was the third straight monthly drop. That decline in activity is weighing down the construction industry, which in the past has fueled economic recoveries.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.39 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 12,086.02.The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 1,297.54. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.43, or 0.54 percent, to 2,698.30.

Most of the Indian ADRs closed in green on Wednesday, Infosys was up by 1.64%, Wipro was up by 0.29%, HDFC Bank was up by 4.78%, ICICI Bank was up by 2.62%, MTNL was up by 0.05% and Tata Motors was up by 0.60%.

FII DII DATA 24/03/2011

Net Index Futures (358), Net Stock Futures (-119), Derivative Market: Total Open Interest (Rs 1,45,535 cr), Stock Futures Open Interest (Rs 33,141 cr)

Indian ADRs Update 24/03/2011

INFOSYS Up 1.6 (2.5%), WIPRO Up 0.3 (2.1%), ICICI BANK Up 2.6 (5.9%), HDFC BANK Up 4.8 (3.1%)

City Union Bank opens three new branches

Private sector lender - City Union Bank - has opened three new branches at Gudiyatham, Kallakurichi on March 23, 2011 and Bhavani in Tamilnadu on March 24, 2011 respectively.
Recently, the bank has opened two new branches at Rohini in New Delhi and Jalandhar in Punjab on March 6, 2011 and March 7, 2011, respectively.
The bank reported an increase of 42% in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 which stood at Rs 57.70 crore against Rs 40.65 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. It reported total income stood at Rs 349.28 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 against Rs 278.58 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Markets likely to get a positive start on good global cues

The Indian markets remained in jubilant mood for the second consecutive day with benchmarks gaining over one percent each in last session, there were lots of short covering and the gains remained broad based, though the PSU oil marketing companies remained a bit under pressure. Today the start is likely to be good with global cues indicating for a positive start, fund buying in realty, banking and pharma may continue for yet another day, while the latest governments’ proposal of lowering taxes in some sectors may continue to support the stocks move further high. There is a new listing of one of India’s leading women’s innerwear ' Lovable Lingerie' today that too is likely to keep the markets buzzing. The issue price has been fixed at Rs 205, at the higher end of price band of Rs 195-205 a share. The issue got overwhelming response and was subscribed around 35 times raising around Rs 93 crore.

In a latest development Capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ordered restriction on transmitting ‘unauthenticated news’ by brokers and wealth managers on blogs and mobile phones. The Advice from the SEBI also says that broking firms will have to ensure that staffs don’t circulate rumours, or unverified information, obtained from client, industry or any other sources. They will also have to restrict their employees from accessing blogs and messenger sites.

The US markets closed modestly higher as the Japanese worries along with report that new single-family homes plunged to the lowest on record in February capped the gains. Most of the Asian markets have made a positive start though the Japanese Nikkei is trading marginally lower on government estimation that the direct damage from a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck the country’s northeast this month was at as much as $310 billion.

Back home, Indian benchmarks carried forward their northbound journey for yet another session on Wednesday, as optimistic cues from across the globe helped the indices to surpass crucial support levels of 5,400 and 18,000 and move in higher trajectories. Sentiments remained sanguine right from the start of trade as tabling of the banking sector amendment bill and the Constitution Amendment Bill in parliament on Tuesday buttressed the chances of a rebound for the domestic indices. The discouraging leads from Japanese markets which plunged over one and half a percent too went unnoticed amid reports that billionaire investor Warren Buffet intends to use the huge cash pile of his flagship firm Berkshire Hathaway to acquire companies in India, an investment destination Buffett feels is too big to be called an emerging market. Meanwhile, spiraling crude oil showed little signs of dying down as they toped $105 a barrel amid the ongoing turmoil in Libya and other parts of the Middle East, thereby raising skepticism over the advance on fears that the market lacks clear direction amid mounting global and local uncertainties. The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty, settled just below the crucial 5,500 support level while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, Sensex garnered a double century to regain the psychological 18,200 mark. The broader markets too remained amid the thick of the things but failed to outperform their larger peers. Rate sensitive banking index soared after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed changes to tax and banking laws. The reform bill seeks to make voting rights for bank shareholders proportional to their holdings, a move believed to boost the attractiveness of state-owned banks for investors. Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmarks had slipped to their intra-day low levels in the initial moments of trade tracking weak cues from the Wall Street and towering crude oil prices on concerns that conflicts in Middle East could pinch oil supplies. However the frontline indices staged a strong and stable pullback thereafter led by gains in banking, FMCG, healthcare and metal stocks. The indices gradually gained traction and sailed beyond the crucial support levels of 5,450 and 18,200 in the absence of any bouts of profit booking. Sustained buying interests across the board through the session helped the bourses eventually snap the day’s trade around the high point of the day with over a percent gains. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 217.86 points or 1.21% to settle at 18,206.16 while the S&P CNX Nifty climbed 66.40 points or 1.23% to end at 5,480.25.

US markets closed modestly higher on Wednesday, worries of Japanese crisis was still looming and the stocks remained lower for most of the day however a spurt in energy stocks was seen after Energy Department report showed that gasoline consumption continues to grow despite sharp price increases at the pump, it shows that higher fuel cost has not made much impact. Meanwhile the Japanese government estimated that rebuilding costs for the earthquake could be as high as $300 billion, dragging the economy growth by 0.5 percent this year due to the widespread devastation. Also there was a disappointment from the housing front; sales of new single-family homes plunged to the lowest on record in February.

Commerce Department reported that home sales fell 17 percent to 250,000, well below the 700,000 rate being expected, it was the third straight monthly drop. That decline in activity is weighing down the construction industry, which in the past has fueled economic recoveries.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.39 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 12,086.02.The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 1,297.54. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.43, or 0.54 percent, to 2,698.30.

Crude oil futures moved higher on Wednesday as Middle East crisis aggravated after attacks on Israel, unrest in Yemen and other neighbouring countries. Falling gasoline stocks in the United States too supported the prices to touch two and half year peak above $105 a barrel at settlement. US gasoline inventories fell 5.32 million barrels in the week to March 18. The stocks fell in the first three weeks in March, which was the biggest decline for the period since 1990 even though refiners boosted utilization rates by 0.7 percentage point.

Meanwhile, Yemen's president offered to step down by the end of the year in a bid to appease opposition groups demanding his resignation, but they showed no sign of easing up on efforts to force him out.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose 78 cents, or 0.74 percent, to settle at $105.75 a barrel, after trading in a range of $104.38 to $106.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent May crude futures pared losses and settled down 15 cents at $115.55 on the ICE.

Reliance Power, GMDC, Unitech and Zuari Industries to witness some action today

Reliance Power is in advance stage of tying up debt of Rs 7,000 crore for financing its 2,400 MW gas-based power project at Samalkot in Andhra Pradesh.

Amidst opposition from some quarters on the proposal of the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) to carry coal from the Naini coal block in Orissa to meet the requirement of Torrent Power and Adani Enterprises, the state steel & mines department has given its go-ahead for the proposal.

Swiss engineering group ABB has clinched a $900 million order -- its largest single order ever -- from the Power Grid Corporation of India to deliver an ultrahigh-voltage transmission system.

Fertiliser-maker Zuari Industries is in the process of acquiring land to set up a Rs 5,000 crore gas-based urea plant in Karnataka with an annual capacity of 1.3 million tonnes a year.

Cairn, whose $9.6-billion stake sale in its Rajasthan oilfields to Vedanta has run into a roadblock, appears to have turned the tables on partner Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in their joint venture in the Krishna Godavari basin

Realty firm Unitech has sold over 300 units worth Rs 200 crore in its mid-income housing project at Gurgaon launched last week.

The Saroj Poddar-led group of companies, which include Zuari Industries and Texmaco unveiled a new group identity, Adventz Industries India.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering is in talks with a Japanese consortium for an equal joint venture to make suburban train coaches.

India's biggest gas transportation firm Gail India has endorsed petroleum sector regulator's proposal allowing pipeline companies to charge tariffs lower than approved rates but the move has been opposed by Reliance Gas Transportation.

Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) has beefed up its investment team at Aditya Birla Private Equity, naming Amitvikram Sharma as additional Investment Director.

Nippon Life’s plan to buy a stake in Reliance Life may be delayed as the deal requires special permission from the government.

The country’s largest power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has commissioned unit 6 of 500 MW of Farakka Super Thermal Power Station.

Agre Developers will be enhancing its presence in the realty sector. The company’s board of directors for this has authorized a committee of directors to consider suitable proposals for strategic acquisitions through such mode, for consolidating the company's presence in real estate development.

Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month target price on Reliance Communications by 26 per cent to Rs 115, citing reduction in the company's core business value.

Global Markets update 24/03/2011

 DJIA Up 67 (0.6%) NSDQ Up 14.4 (0.5%) FTSE 100 Up 33.2 (0.5%) Asian Markets as on 8.45 AM  NIKKEI Down 19 (0.2%) HANG SENG Up 167 (0.73%) SGX NIFTY Up 11

Ind-Swift Laboratories gets USFDA nod for two more DMFs

Ind-Swift Laboratories has received the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) nod for two more DMFs - Temozolomide and Telmisartan - filed by it in US. Besides commercially supplying four molecules to the US, the company has hitherto filed 20 DMFs with the USFDA, of which all have been approved. Temozolomide is an anti-neoplastic drug with market size of $700 million and Telmisartan is a drug for hypertension with market size worth $1.6 billion, the company has a strong basket of 40 plus products across 16 therapeutic segments.

The company’s subsidiary in the US, which has been operational since 2005, is playing a significant role in boosting the company’s business in the US market as it has forged key contracts with leading US generic companies.

The company has so far filed 302 DMFs with various regulatory authorities, including 4 DMFs filed in Japan. Also, 124 patents have been filed, of which one has been granted for cardiovascular drug. 

Recently, the company had received PMDA approval (Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Agency) from Government of Japan for Pioglitazone and Risedronate Sodium to be manufactured at its facilities in Derabassi (Punjab). With this achievement, the company has become the first Indian company to get Japanese Government approval without any observations.

Ind-Swift Laboratories is a part of the Ind-swift Group and is based at Chandigarh, India. The company is engaged in manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). 

Corporate advance tax payments up 22%

In a signal of robust increase in corporate incomes, overall advance tax payments by the India Inc for the current financial year have increased by buoyant 22%. Total advance tax paid by the corporates reached Rs 1.97 lakh crore in the current fiscal compared Rs 1.60 lakh crore in the last fiscal.

Highest tax payer as per the advance tax figures was publically controlled ONGC which paid Rs 8,492 crore, an increase of 35% compared to 2009-10. Another oil sector major, Reliance Industries, saw its overall advance tax payment increase by 38% to Rs 4,244 crore in the current financial year. Insurance major LIC paid Rs 3,599 crore as advance tax, nearly 11% higher than previous year.

Advance tax payments are often considered as a good barometer of overall performance of the economy and also serve as a lead indicator for growth in overall gross domestic product. However, part of the growth seen this year could also be attributed to the somewhat lower base as growth last year was weaker in many sectors and hence tax outgo also grew at a slower pace.

Nonetheless, the robust growth in tax receipts indicates that overall economy was doing well and if the trend continues, it will help the government meet an ambitious budgeted fiscal deficit target. The finance ministry has pegged fiscal deficit at 4.6% for the next fiscal. But experts have been raising doubts that given the high crude prices and implied increase in subsidy outgo, it would be difficult to adhere to the target deficit, particularly in light of the fact that there will be no one time receipt like the 3G revenue in next fiscal. 

Government panel to meet for pooled pricing of natural gas

The government has constituted a panel for deliberating on pooled pricing of gas irrespective of the source, international or domestic or public or private within the domestic space and the group is likely to meet within a week. The panel will be headed by Planning Commission Advisor on energy and is expected to come up with final recommendations pretty soon.

Demand for natural gas in the country has been increasing sharply, particularly from the power and fertilizer companies for whom there is a major feed stock. Further, overall output of gas in the country has been increasing rapidly and there are prospects of more gas supply from newer discoveries in near term. In this wake the government has been actively looking at a framework for pool pricing of gas in India.

At present, gas is sold at different prices based upon the source of the gas. For instance, domestic gas from public and private sector companies is mostly sold at $4.2 per per million British thermal unit (mmBtu). On the other hand, Australian LNG, which is to be imported by Petronet from its Kochi terminal in Kerala is indexed at 14.5% of crude oil price and will therefore cost over $14 mmBtu.

The terms of reference (ToR) of the committee indicate that the government wants an early alternative to differential pricing and is more inclined to get a pooled pricing solution as soon as possible. This is also reflected in the fact that the ToRs pre-suppose that the decision of a pooled price has already been taken and that the panel will only deliberate on the best method or formula for operating pool prices, without evaluating any other option.

Finance Minister tables Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill in Parliament

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday tabled the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill - 2011 in the lower house of the Parliament. The main aim of the Bill is to improve the regulatory powers of the central bank and reform the norms governing voting rights in both the public sector and private sector banks.

In case of the nationalized banks, the Bill proposes to raise the ceiling on voting rights of shareholders from 1% prevailing currently to 10%. It also proposes to enable the nationalized banks to increase or decrease their authorized capital with approval from central government and RBI. Presently, the nationalized banks are subjected to a ceiling of Rs 3,000 crore authorized capital.

In case of private banks it proposes to remove the voting right restriction of 10% for private sector banks in the total voting rights of all the shareholders of the banking company. It is proposed to “remove the existing restriction on voting rights limited to 10% of the total voting rights of all the shareholders of the banking company,” said the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.

The Bill also includes provisions to further empower the central bank. Such a step was felt necessary before new banking licenses were issued so that the central bank is in a better position to regulate the industry. Once the bill is passed, it will be mandatory for anyone to obtain prior approval from RBI to acquire 5% or more of the share capital of a bank and the central bank will have the right to impose whatever conditions it deems fit for such acquisitions.

The bill will also exempt bank mergers and acquisitions from provisions of competition act. This is being done to ensure that bank mergers and acquisitions are exempted from scrutiny of competition commission of India (CCI) and continue to be overseen by the RBI only. This point was request by the central bank itself as bank mergers also often have to be evaluated from point of view of stability of overall banking industry. Many times a bank merger might become necessary to rescue an ailing bank even if it leads to significant increase in market share of acquiring bank.

SEBI grants MF license to Indiabulls, IIFL and UBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given a final approval to Indiabulls Financial Services, India Infoline (IIFL) and Union Bank of India-KBC Asset Management to start their mutual fund business. Indiabulls and India Infoline had applied for a mutual fund license in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Union Bank had applied in 2009.

India Infoline will be launching the products in two months time. The company is looking to launch Index and ETF products. With a GDP of 9%, India Infoline feels that the mutual fund is a long-term business in India and it has a huge growth proposition.

SEBI is not comfortable in granting licenses to financial services companies and has expressed concerns over granting mutual fund licenses to non-serious players. Currently it has around 23 pending mutual fund applications.

The MF industry is witnessing a phenomenal 9% growth with close to asset under management of Rs 6.2 lakh crore. The new entrants in the mutual fund industry feel that India's asset management industry is underpenetrated and doesn't even constitute even 10% of the GDP. At the same time the industry is also witnessing exits by HNIs from mutual funds to other short-term investment opportunities.

The financial crisis in 2008 has seen many new entrants in the mutual fund business burning their fingers.  Also the market regulator has removed the entry load barrier which many fund houses see as a boon to the MF industry.

Assocham sees excessive use of monetary policy hurting growth

A recent study by the industry body Assocham has concluded that continued monetary policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was beginning to have negative impact on Indian businesses as rising cost of funding was not only squeezing profit margins but also rendering some investment plans unviable.

“The country is pursuing a high growth strategy and braving the pains of high inflation. If the economy continues to use monetary policy without fiscal consolidation of appropriate degree, higher interest rates will continue to fuel high cost of production and squeeze profit margins of India Inc,' observed the study conducted to evaluate current economic health of the country.

It advocated that the government should also begin focusing more on the fiscal consolidation and try to focus on improving the efficiency of public spending. The central bank too had pointed out a number of times that a high fiscal deficit was hindrance to effective working of monetary policy. While the government has budgeted the deficit for current fiscal at 4.6%, which sounds reasonably low in current circumstances, experts doubt that there could be upside to the budgeted level in wake of surging crude prices and implied increase in subsidy outgo.  

The study by Assocham also observed that a large part of the inflation problem stemmed from food prices that were rising because of supply shortage. Even though some food article prices were cooling, the food articles index was still hovering at 10% rate from previous year. This could result in a more broad-based inflation in manufactured sector as well, concluded the study.

Further, while inflation was high, industrial growth was slowing down. The Assocham noted that the industrial production dropped to 5.5% in the third quarter of current fiscal year from 9.1% in second quarter and 12% in the first. While there was a slowdown in consumer goods too, greater worry was the slump seen in capital goods sector. The latter reflected that future industrial growth prospects too would be weak until the investment cycle picks up further. This however is unlikely while the central bank is hiking its policy rates in every review.

Essar Oil inks pact with Graphite India for the supply of 55,000 scmd of coal-bed methane

Essar Oil has inked a pact with K K Bangur - controlled Graphite India (GIL) for the supply of 55,000 scmd (standard cubic metre a day) of coal-bed methane (CBM), latest by the fourth quarter of 2011. Gas will be supplied from Essar's CBM block near the industrial city of Durgapur in West Bengal. The Durgapur facility is the largest as well as the oldest of the GIL facilities in India (three) and abroad (one in Germany).

Essar for this has also recently approached the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) to build a 3-km dedicated pipeline connecting the graphite facility in Durgapur. The proposal is reportedly approved by the regulator.

Based on an expression of interest (EoI) submitted by Essar, PNGRB recently invited bids for laying a trunk pipeline from Asansol to Howrah (approximately 200 km) in the State. If implemented, it will be the first common carrier pipeline in the State as well as the Eastern region paving way for monetization of CBM assets in the coal bearing areas of Bengal and Jharkhand.

Essar produces coal-bed methane from 38 production wells. The company further hopes that the production is likely to reach between 40,000 and 60,000 scmd by end of March and would be ramped up to 80,000 - 1,00,000 scmd by July-September.

Essar Oil (EOL) offers a spectrum of products to bulk customers in the industrial and transport sectors. It supplies aviation turbine fuel to Indian Armed Forces. It the first private company in India to enter into petro-retailing sector through franchisee model.

Godrej Properties to jointly develop residential properties

Godrej Properties is in talks with various firms to form a joint venture as quickly as possible, since there is huge demand coming from residential properties. It is negotiating for jointly developing residential properties and expects to announce a couple of them in the first quarter of FY12.
Godrej Properties had earlier entered into joint ventures for construction of commercial properties.
Realty sector is expecting a price correction over the next 3-4 months but Godrej Properties has no plans to cut prices while in most of their project the prices are increasing. The company expects the sales to double in FY11 on strong growth across regions and segments.
Recently, Godrej Properties acquired the entire paid up share capital of Udhay OK-Realty from HDFC Ventures Trustee Company (in its capacity as trustee of HDFC Property Fund). This is pursuant to an approval of the shareholders in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on July 17, 2010. Godrej Properties reported a net profit of Rs 13.25 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 against Rs 17.59 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, declined 24.67%.

HCL Infosystems unveils new range of laptops and desktops

HCL Infosystems, India’s premier hardware, services and ICT system Integration Company, has launched its new range of laptops and desktops. The laptop series - HCL ME 1014 and HCL ME 1015 and desktop series - HCL Infiniti M A365 Pro are packed with unique features embedded with latest technologies.

The newly launched HCL laptop and desktop series are amongst the first dual-core computers in India powered by the new latest 2nd Generation Intel Core family of processors. The products are also available on quad-core platform. The new devices from HCL are empowered with powerful configuration along with excellent features like Multi-touch Gesture Touchpad for laptops, HCL Desktop Management Software (HDMS) for desktops, one touch in-built customer service button with HCL Touch, in-built data recovery button with EC2 etc. will ensure a better and more-enhanced experience to the users.

The newly launched HCL computing devices ensure better customer experience with enhanced computer performance and better energy efficiency. This a breakthrough for providing robust media processing, more computing muscle for higher workloads, and a smoother multi-tasking experience without compromising on the style factor. It supports faster encoding and decoding of different media formats, along with smooth HD playback with high visual quality and colour fidelity enhancements.

Kotak Bank’s property investment arm to raise $500 million by the second quarter of this year

In a bet on the long term case for property in Asia's third-largest economy, Kotak Realty Fund, the property investment arm of India's Kotak Mahindra Bank, plans to raise as much as $500 million by the second quarter of this year. The fund intends to raise about $150-$200 million from domestic investors and another $300 million from global markets. Separately, Kotak is raising a $300 million private-equity fund to invest in infrastructure projects in the country.

Kotak Realty Fund had in the last week, sold one of its property assets - Peepul Tree Properties - to Tata Realty Fund for Rs 525 crore or $117 million. The fund had made an initial investment of Rs 95 crore.

Further the fund, which has about $750 million worth of assets under management, plans to invest close to $100 million over the next couple of months in major Indian cities. The investments will mainly be in the residential property assets.

Private equity funds, including four domestic and 10 international funds, have invested a total of $14 billion in Indian property during the last ten years. Of that, private equity firms have sold Indian property holdings worth nearly $2 billion.

Perfect Octave’s album “Silsila Suron Ka” gets GIMA Award 2010

Perfect Octave Media Projects’ album -- Silsila Suron Ka -- has won the prestigious GIMA Award 2010 for Best Classical Music Instrumental Album of the year. The album featured world’s best Indian Music instrumental Jugalbandi by legendry maestros Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shivkumar Sharma.

The company owns the copy rights in the said album. While retaining the copy right in the said valuable IP, the company has recently licensed this album to Times Music and now is available at leading music stores.

Recently, the company had also won an award by prestigious MTV-IMMIS for its one of the best selling album titled “Hari OM Tat Sat” by Jagjit Singh as best devotional album of the year.

Content creation is an ongoing and continuous process. The company’s objective is to create classic, thematic and world class music products in the targeted musical segment.

Godrej Consumer products to hike soap prices

In an effort to battle mounting raw material costs, personal care products maker - Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is planning to hike soap prices by 4-5% starting in month of April. The company is hiking the price since vegetable oil prices have rose significantly. Rising crude prices due to unrest in North Africa and West Asia will affect the fuel prices and freight cost.
GCPL has already hiked the prices of soap on two occasions one in September by 5% and other in January by 3-5 %. In the new fiscal year, the company is also planning to launch its own brand of air freshener along with various other new launches.
GCPL in FY12 hopes to continue announcing new buys in domestic and overseas market and expects Rs 30-40 crore in revenue, from recently acquired Naturesse Consumer Care Products and Essence Consumer Care Products which own brands like Swastik and Genteel.
Recently, FMCG major GCPL had announced its plans to boost growth in Rs 7,500 crore soap market through more acquisitions. Godrej Consumer Products has reported a surge of 18.19% in net profit to Rs 66.39 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 against Rs 56.17 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

BHEL secures Rs 1,590 crore worth of order from Power Grid Corporation of India

State-run power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) in consortium with ABB, Sweden has bagged an order from Power Grid Corporation of India for 800 kV 6,000 MW HVDC Multi-Terminal System Package associated with the NE/ER-N/WR Interconnector-1 project.

This will be world’s first 800 kV, 6,000 MW Ultra High Voltage Multi-terminal DC transmission link. The link comprises three converter terminals and a power transmission system with a built in capacity of up to 8,000 MW which is the largest HVDC transmission system ever built. In financial terms, this is the largest order finalized in T&D sector anywhere in the world and is valued at Rs 1,590 crore. The 800 kV North-East Agra UHVDC link will have a capacity to transmit up to 6,000 MW of clean hydroelectric power from the North-East Region of the country to Agra across a distance of 1,728 kilometers.

BHEL together with its partner ABB, Sweden, will execute the project involving system engineering, design, supply and installation of three HVDC converter stations. The first stage of the system is scheduled to be operational in 2014 and the second stage in 2015.

Lanco Infratech consortium emerges as the lowest bidder for a power project by Maha Tamil Colleries

A consortium of Lanco Infratech and US-based Massey Energy Company emerged as the lowest bidder for a power project by Maha Tamil Colleries. The company informed that the final decision is yet to be announced as the bids were opened today. The developer has to supply 35 per cent of the coal obtained to Maharashtra and can use the rest of the coal to set-up a power project.
Half of the power produced from this project should be supplied to Tamil Nadu state government and the other half can be sold via the merchant route by the company. As per the rules of the bid, any excess coal should be diverted back to the joint venture company.
The 1,980 megawatt power project located in Raigarh, Chhatisgarh includes the development of the coal mine, which has an estimated annual production capacity of 10 million tonnes and reserves to the tune of 650 million tonnes. Maha Tamil Collieries is a joint venture company of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and the Maharashtra State Mining Corporation, each an arm of their respective state governments.
The project had six other bidders, all of whom have submitted bids where they charged Maha Tamil to supply coal which is developed from the mine. Reliance Power asked for a price of Rs 380 per tonne, Sterlite’s bid asked for Rs 175 per tonne, GMR put in a bid for asked for Rs 234 per tonne, and GVK’s at Rs 405 per tonne and L&T Power put the highest bid at Rs 819 per tonne, while the Lanco and Massey consortium submitted a negative bid of Rs 112 per tonne where instead of charging Mahatamil, they would pay them for the coal used

IDFC plans to raise 250 crore long-term capital

Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) is planning to raise 250 crore long-term capital through the private placement subordinated debt market before the end of the current fiscal. IDFC plans to raise funds via private placement as the company did not have enough time to come out with the fourth tranche of tax saving infrastructure bonds.
The company has mobilized around 1,500 crore by selling bonds to tax payers in three tranches, 56% less than what it had targeted to raise via retail bonds.
IDFC fixed the coupon rate at 9.33% a year for the 15-year bond issue. The bonds will carry a call option at the end of 10 years. ICICI Bank and Trust Capital are the lead arrangers to the issue.
Recently, IDFC has extended the closing date of its Rs 3,400 crore bond issue by five days from its scheduled closure date of March 16, 2011 and the issue consequently closed on March 21, 2011.

Reliance Industries’ FCC unit likely to start production from this week

Reliance Industries’ fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) unit is likely to start production from this week. Earlier, the FCC unit of about 2, 00,000 barrels per day (bpd) at reliance‘s older refiner at Jamnagar was closed for maintenance in early February.

The FCC converts vacuum gas oil into light value-added products like liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline-blending components and diesel.

Recently, the company is reported to have paid Rs 1054 crore in the fourth and final installment due on 15 March 2010 against Rs 770 crore in the similar quarter previous year.

The company’s net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 rose by 28.14% to Rs 5136 crore as compared to Rs 4008 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. On the other hand, the company’s net Income rose by 5.52% at Rs 60530 crore for the December quarter for the year 2010 as compared to Rs 57364 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Mindtree completes pilot execution of software testing course at RVCE

Mindtree, a global IT Solutions and product Engineering Service Company, has successfully completed the pilot execution of a software testing course at R V College of Engineering (RVCE) in Bangalore as part of the core syllabus for the final year Information Science and Engineering (ISE) students.

The company designed and developed the entire curriculum of this course in association with ISE department faculty with Vishweshwaraya Technological University’s (VTU) guidelines as base line.

MindTree offers IT services across the consumer goods value chain, spanning product development and manufacturing intelligence systems, supply chain execution and optimization solutions and customer and consumer management solutions.

CESC to double Balagarh thermal power plant capacity: Report

RPG Group Company CESC is reportedly planning to double the earlier planned capacity of its Balagarh thermal power plant in West Bengal from 660 mw to 1,320 mw. The Balagarh project, which is likely to be commissioned by 2016, would be set up for an investment of Rs 6,800 crore, making it the single biggest investment in a power project. CESC’s planned investment in thermal power projects of 4,440 mw capacity now stands at Rs 22,700 crore. The company has already received the terms of reference for the environmental impact assessment report but is awaiting final approval.
Meanwhile, the company is in the process of setting up projects in Orissa, Jharkhand and Maharashtra apart from West Bengal, where all its existing plants are located.
By 2016, CESC is also looking to commission 600 MW each at Chandrapur in Maharastra, Haldia in West Bengal and Dumka in Jharkhand apart from 1,320 mw at Dhenkanal. By 2018, CESC’s 1,000 MW capacity at Pirpainty in Bihar, 1,320 mw in Orissa under second phase and additional 300 mw in Haldia would be executed.

CARE reaffirms the ratings assigned to Amtek India’s bank facilities

Credit rating agency, CARE has reaffirmed AA- rating assigned to Rs 1,815 crore (enhanced from Rs 1,411.90 crore) long term bank facilities of Amtek India. The rating agency has also reaffirmed PR1+ rating assigned to Rs 38 crore short term bank facilities. Further, the rating agency has also reaffirmed PR1+ rating assigned to Rs 200 crore commercial paper of the company.
The rating continues to derive strength from experienced and resourceful promoters, long-standing relationships with a large number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and relatively improved industry scenario resulting in increased sales & profitability.
Amtek Auto manufactures components such as connecting rod assemblies, flywheel ring gears and assembly, steering knuckles, suspension and steering srms, CV joints, crankshaft assemblies and torque links. It is backed by in-house design and development facilities engaged in developing new product and processes.

Tata Steel looking to buy coking coal mines in western Canada: Report

Tata Steel, the world's No. 7 steel-maker, is reportedly in talks to buy coking coal mines in western Canada. The company has initiated talks with the government of British Columbia, a Canadian province, to acquire coking coal mine.
Tatas are keen to acquire coking coal mines for its European operations, which have zero raw material integration. The company needs to find more mines as coking coal prices continue to go up, pressurizing the margins for the company.
On Tata Steel Europe's raw material integration, iron ore from its Canadian DSO project is expected to reach its mills from 2012 onwards. So is coking coal from the Benga project at Mozambique. Tata Steel has 100 per cent off take at the DSO project, which will be producing four million tonnes of iron ore every year from 2012.

Shoppers Stop opens one new store at Durgapur

Shoppers Stop has opened one new store at Durgapur. With the opening of this store, the company has now 37 stores (including two airport stores) under its operation.

Further, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary - Crossword Bookstores - has also opened one franchisee store at Sadashiva Nagar, Bengaluru. With opening of this store, there are now 69 Crossword stores.

Recently the company’s subsidiary - Crossword Bookstores opened one franchise store at Junction Mall, at Durgapur.

Shoppers Stop is engaged in the retailing business. It runs a chain of departmental stores with brands including Shopper’s Stop, Home Stop, Crossword and Cafes and Restaurants etc. The company has reported a surge of 45.03% in net profit to Rs 27.86 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 against Rs 19.21 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Total income of the quarter stood at Rs 458.68 crore, up 26.50% over Rs 362.60 crore for the year ago period.

Elder Pharmaceuticals plans to raise Rs 105 crore through seven-year bonds

Elder Pharmaceuticals, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in India, is planning to raise Rs 105 crore through seven-year bonds at 11.25%. The bond features repayments in 10 equal semi-annual installments commencing two years after the issue date.

Meanwhile, proceeds from the secured non-convertible debenture issue will refinance existing higher cost debt. Almondz Global Securities is the sole arranger of the deal.

Elder Pharmaceutical is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of prescription pharmaceutical brands, surgical and medical devices. It holds market leader position in three therapeutic segments - Women’s Healthcare, Wound Care and Nutraceuticals.

Sugar stocks trade higher on allowing exports to the tune of 5 lakh tonnes

Sugar companies stocks continued their upward journey for yet another session after the government decided to allow sugar exports to the tune of 5 lakh tonnes.

Shree Renuka Sugars is currently trading at Rs 73.80, up by 1.60 points or 2.22% from its previous closing of Rs 72.20 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 73.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs 74.85 and Rs 73.10 respectively. So far 6,12,298 shares were traded on the counter.

Balrampur Chini Mills is currently trading at Rs 72.70, up by 1.15 points or 1.61% from its previous closing of Rs 71.55 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 72.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs 73.75 and Rs 72.50 respectively. So far 1,11,039 shares were traded on the counter.

Bajaj Hindusthan is currently trading at Rs 72.05, up by 1.60 points or 2.27% from its previous closing of Rs. 70.45 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 70.65 and has touched a high and low of Rs 73.15 and Rs 70.65 respectively. So far 2,46,555 shares were traded on the counter.

Rana Sugars is currently trading at Rs 6.06, up by 0.16 points or 2.71% from its previous closing of Rs 5.90 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 6.11 and has touched a high and low of Rs 6.17 and Rs 6.05 respectively. So far 1,29,663 shares were traded on the counter.