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.

Ballarpur Industries trades in green on the BSE

Ballarpur Industries  is currently trading at Rs. 32.85, up by 0.05 points or 0.15% from its previous closing of Rs 32.80 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 33.15 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 33.25 and Rs. 32.70 respectively. So far 136218 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 43.55 on 11-Nov-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 23.45 on 06-Apr-2010.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 33.90 and Rs. 30.40 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2173.06 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 49.40 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 35.71 % and 14.89 % respectively.

BILT Paper Plc - unit of Ballarpur Industries is planning to raise at least $330 million from a London listing next month to fund its expansion and to pay its debt. The paper production capacity of BILT Paper has increased by nearly 90 percent over the last two years and it plans to grow it by another 50 percent by the end of 2014.

Ballarpur owns a 79.5 percent stake in the firm, part of the Mumbai-based Avantha group, with the rest held by private equity investors JP Morgan Mauritius and Lathe investment.

The company would be raising $330 million from the sale of new shares while the private equity investors may also sell some secondary shares in the offering, is also expecting to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 250 index.

The listing is expected to be completed in mid-April with a price range due during the week of April 4. Citigroup and JP Morgan are joint global co-ordinators and joint book runners of the initial public offering.

Recently, Ballarpur Industries has acquired entire paid up capital of Premier Tissues India (PTIL), a company engaged in business of manufacturing and trading of tissue paper and related products under the Brand names “Premier” and “Royal”.

Most Asian equities trade with marginal gains despite weak global cues

Majority of Asian benchmarks are trading in the green terrain this Wednesday morning session, however, the gains remained capped as weak cues from the Wall Street and towering crude oil prices on concerns that conflicts in Middle East could pinch oil supplies spoiled investors’ mood. The over one and half a percent plunge in Japanese stocks on reports that workers at Japanese nuclear plant were unable to continue work at reactor no 2 due to high radiation levels,that too did no good to the regional sentiments. The Singaporean benchmark, Straits Times remained the top gainer in the space as they climbed around half a percentage point.
Shanghai Composite advanced 12.01 points or 0.41% to 2,931.15, Jakarta Composite added 8.22 points or 0.23% to 3,525.94, KLSE Composite rose 11:41  0.41 points or 0.03% to 1,509.51, Straits Times climbed 14.34 points or 0.48% to 3,017.09, Seoul Composite inched up 1.45 points or 0.07% to 2,015.11 and Taiwan Weighted gained 2.94 points or 0.03% to 8,510.98.
On the other hand Hang Seng fell 57.77 points or 0.25% to 22,800.13 while Nikkei 225 plummeted 153.26 points or 1.60% to 9,455.06.

Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA approval for Famciclovir Tablets

Aurobindo Pharma’s tentatively approved ANDA for Famciclovir tablets 125mg, 250mg and 500mg has received the final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

Famciclovir tablets 125mg, 250mg and 500mg is the generic version of Novartis Pharamaceuticals Corp’s Famvir tablets 125mg, 250mg and 500mg and is indicated for the treatment of recurrent mucocutaneous herpes simplex infections in HIV-infected patients and suppression of recurrent genital herpes in immunocompetent patients.

The products have a market size of approximately $175 million for the twelve months ending September 2010 according to IMS and are ready for commercial launch. Aurobindo now has a total of 132 ANDA approvals (100 final approvals and 32 tentative approvals) from USFDA.

Last month, Aurobindo Pharma has received tentative approval from the USFDA to manufacture and market Venlafaxine Hydrochloride extended-release capsules 37.5mg, 75mg and 150mg.

NMDC expects to renew a five-year iron ore contract with Japan by the end of March

India's top iron ore miner - NMDC - is planning to renew soon a five-year iron ore contract with Japanese customers which expire by the end of March. The company currently supplies to a consortium of Japanese steels companies called Japan Steel Mills and to POSCO in South Korea.

Surprisingly, Japan despite facing power shortages from the earthquake and tsunami that crippled production at several steel mills and other industrial units, did not asked for supplies to be halted from the company.

The company is confident of bagging the order since they feel that the Japanese customers would try to maintain the continuity notwithstanding the fact that the physical lifting will be affected by their economic condition.

NMDC's contract with Japan Steel Mills was on an annual basis for the first four years. The buyers had then agreed to switch to a quarterly price mechanism in line with other firms such as BHP Billiton for the 2010/11 fiscal year.

However, the company’s contract with South Korean importers is also up for review. The company current price agreement for the January-March period with Japanese steelmakers and South Korea's POSCO has been fixed at about $140 per tonne for iron ore fines and about $158 for lump variety on free on board (FOB) basis.

revises the ratings assigned to Simplex Projects’ bank facilities

Credit rating agency CARE, has revised the ratings assigned to Simplex Projects’ long-term bank facilities from ‘CARE A-‘to ‘CARE A’.  The amount is also enhanced from Rs 1,151.00 crore to Rs 2,130.00 crore. It has reaffirmed the ‘PR1’ ratings assigned for short-term bank facilities of the company. The amount is been enhanced from Rs 35.00 crore to Rs 300.00 crore.
The agency has also revised the long/short- term bank facilities from ‘CARE A-/PR1’ to ‘CARE A/PR1’ for Rs 145.00 crore. Further, the agency has reaffirmed the ‘PR1’ rating assigned for the company’s Short Term Debt (including CP) for Rs 70.00 crore.
The revision in the long term rating takes into account the healthy order book position, high growth in revenue, profit level and cash accruals in FY10 as well as comfortable debt-equity ratio and interest coverage ratio and improved average collection period during the aforesaid period.

Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea starts production from its Haldia Plant

Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea has commenced production from its Haldia Plant which was shut down after a fire broke out in raw material store of the plant. The production from the plant has started at the rate of 420 TPD and full capacity is expected to be achieved shortly.

Further, the company’s Haldia Unit-2 project implementation is going on as per schedule and is expected to achieve mechanical completion by March 2012. Meanwhile, implementation of IT SEZ project first phase of 365000 sq ft is in full progress and is expected to be completed by June 2012. Second phase implementation is scheduled to start within 3 months from now.

Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea reported a net profit of Rs 24.99 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 down by 4.67% as compared to Rs 26.21 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Viceroy Hotels gets approval for assignment deeds for hiving-off its 'Bangalore Project Division'

Viceroy Hotels’ board of directors have approved the execution of assignment deeds between the company, Viceroy Bangalore Hotels (VBHPL) and the owners of the land on which the Bangalore Project is implemented for assignment of the lease pursuant to hiving-off the 'Bangalore Project Division' to VBHPL.
The company’s board of directors also took in consideration the revised terms of the proposed investment by JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company II in VBHPL and approved the draft Supplemental Agreement to be executed with VBHPL and JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company II inter alia, thereby amending the terms of the Share Subscription Agreement and the Shareholders' Agreement dated April 13, 2010.
According to revised terms of such proposed investment VBHPL will cease to be a subsidiary of the company. Further, the investment under the Supplemental Agreement is proposed to be made immediately pursuant to the transfer of the Bangalore Project division to VBHPL.
The board approved to hive-off the said division at a consideration of Rs 205 crore and also approved to make investment in the equity share capital of the said WOS.

Glenmark Pharma’s US arm gets USFDA approval for Norethindrone and Ethinyl Estradiol

Glenmark Generics’ (GGL) United States (US) subsidiary -- Glenmark Generics Inc., (GGI) -- has been granted final approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Norethindrone and Ethinyl Estradiol, USP 0.4 mg/0.035 mg tablets, their generic version of Ovcon 35 tablets by Warner Chilcott, Inc. The product will be marketed under the trade name Briellyn and distribution is expected to start immediately.

Briellyn provides a continuous 28 day regimen for oral contraception derived from 21 tablets composed of Norethindrone and Ethinyl Estradiol to be followed by 7 inert tablets and is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy. Glenmark remains the only Indian company to be granted ANDA approval for an oral contraceptive product and today’s approval marks their fourth female hormonal product authorized for distribution by the USFDA.

The company received approval in April 2010 for Heather tablets, their generic version of Watson’s Nor-QD tablets as well as approvals in July 2010 for Norethindrone 0.35mg tablets, their generic version of Micronor tablets by Ortho McNeil Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Norethindrone Acetate 5 mg tablets. Total market sales of Glenmark’s current hormonal product line are approximately $141 million for the 12 month period ending December 2010.

The company’s current portfolio consists of 69 generic products authorized for distribution in the U.S. market and approximately 40 ANDA’s filed with the US FDA pending approval. In addition to these internal filings, GGI continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of the existing pipeline and portfolio.

Glenmark Generics (GGL) is a subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and aims to be a global integrated Generic and API leader. GGL has an established presence in North America, EU and Argentina and maintains marketing front-ends in these countries.

India Infoline gets SEBI approval for IIFL Mutual Fund

India Infoline (IIFL) has received SEBI’s final approval for IIFL Mutual Fund sponsored by the company. This enables commencement of mutual fund business and launching of mutual fund schemes in due course.
IIFL is engaged in business of equities broking, wealth advisory services and portfolio management services. The company was incorporated in October 1995 as Probity Research and Services and later in April 2000 the name was changed to India Infoline.com. In March 2001 the company again changed its name to India Infoline. The company is part of India Infoline Group. It has pan- India presence through its distribution network of 607 branches, 151 franchisees located in 346 cities.

M&M to establish tractor manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh

Auto-maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is planning to establish its tractor manufacturing unit at its existing facility at Zaheerabad in Andhra Pradesh to give boost to industrialization in the backward Telangana region. In this regard, the company will invest Rs 300 crore on the tractor manufacturing facility over the next three years and provide direct employment to about 2,000 people and indirect employment to another 5,000 persons.
This will be the company’s first facility in South India which intended to manufacture 90,000 tractor units per year and also 3 and 4-wheeler commercial vehicles.
At present, the company has its automobile plant spread over 343.36 acres of land at Zaheerabad, 136-km from Hyderabad, where its products like UV (Maxx), 3-wheelers (Champion Alfa), Light Commercial Vehicles and buses are manufactured. It now has employee strength of 641 and a vehicle assembly capacity of 218 vehicles per day.
M&M reported a surge of 77.59% in net profit from ordinary activities after tax of Rs 734.68 crore for the quarter ended December 2010 compared to Rs 413.70 crore in the same quarter last year.

BILT Paper planning raise $330 million from a London listing

BILT Paper Plc - unit of Ballarpur Industries is planning to raise at least $330 million from a London listing next month to fund its expansion and to pay its debt. The paper production capacity of BILT Paper has increased by nearly 90 percent over the last two years and it plans to grow it by another 50 percent by the end of 2014.

Ballarpur owns a 79.5 percent stake in the firm, part of the Mumbai-based Avantha group, with the rest held by private equity investors JP Morgan Mauritius and Lathe investment.

The company would be raising $330 million from the sale of new shares while the private equity investors may also sell some secondary shares in the offering, is also expecting to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 250 index.

The listing is expected to be completed in mid-April with a price range due during the week of April 4. Citigroup and JP Morgan are joint global co-ordinators and joint book runners of the initial public offering.

Recently, Ballarpur Industries has acquired entire paid up capital of Premier Tissues India (PTIL), a company engaged in business of manufacturing and trading of tissue paper and related products under the Brand names “Premier” and “Royal”.

Jain Irrigation in green on its bank facilities getting ratings upgrade by CRISIL

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 264.57 on 09-Aug-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 155.15 on 01-Feb-2011.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 187.00 and Rs. 178.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 6987.15 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 30.76% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 57.82% and 10.78% respectively.
Credit rating agency, CRISIL has upgraded its ratings on the bank loan facilities of Jain Irrigation Systems to ‘A-/Stable/P2+’ from ‘BBB+/Stable/P2’. The upgrade reflects rating agency’s belief that the company’s business risk profile will benefit on the back of healthy growth in revenues and continued strong profitability. The rating agency also believes that the company will fund its ongoing capital expenditure towards capacity augmentation with prudent proportion of debt and accruals, thereby improving its financial risk profile.
The ratings continue to reflect the company’s diversified revenue profile and strong market position and benefits. The company is expected to derive the healthy growth prospects from the micro irrigation system (MIS) segment in India over the medium term. These rating strengths are partially offset by Jain Irrigation’s large working capital requirements and the high dependence of the company’s MIS division on government policies.
Jain Irrigation is a diversified company with a market capitalization of Rs 7,500 crore approx. Jain’s product portfolio includes Irrigation Products, Piping Products, Plastic Sheets, Dehydrated Foods, Fruit Puree and Juice concentrates.

Jindal Saw gains on talks to acquire a logistic firm

indal Saw is currently trading at Rs. 184.50, up by 1.50 points or 0.82% from its previous closing of Rs. 183.00 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 184.70 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 185.30 and Rs. 184.50 respectively. So far 5,171 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 234.40 on 25-Oct-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 170.00 on 26-Nov-2010.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 194.35 and Rs. 181.05 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 5054.96 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 46.00% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 33.84% and 20.16% respectively. 

Jindal Saw is in talks to acquire a logistic firm that operates container trains and owns terminals for about Rs 100-150 crore. The deal is likely to be closed in three months, officials stated.

The company is planning to acquire a firm in such a space which has terminals at critical locations. At that level, it would probably become India's only multi-modal logistics company which has its own terminals, its own rail operations and ships.

The company has consistently created value by creating low-cost capacities in capital-intensive industries in businesses largely overlooked by other corporate. Jindal SAW had recently launched its Jindal ITF (infrastructure, transportation, fabrication) subsidiary.

Golden Tobacco to ink pact with Sheth Developers and Suraksha Realty

Golden Tobacco has received its members’ approval to enter into an agreement with Sheth Developers and Suraksha Realty or their affiliates/nominees for the joint development and or sale or otherwise disposal of plots of land owned by the company admeasuring about 31128.48 square meter situated at S V Road, Vile Parle (West) in Mumbai.
The company is engaged in manufacturing of cigarettes and tobacco related products. Its first manufacturing zone is a primary manufacturing division which is a tobacco processing plant located at Vadodara. This unit caters to the needs of the factory, as well as the requirements of Mumbai unit.