ONGC, Hero Honda and Idea may be in limelight today

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has emerged the provisional winner for close to 10 out of the 29 blocks it has bid for in the ninth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

Reliance Industries has bid for six oil and gas exploration blocks while Cairn India submitted offers for two out of the 34 on offer in the 9th round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Meanwhile, the oil regulator DGH said that Reliance Industries has not kept its commitment on drilling wells on the prolific eastern offshore KG-D6 field that has seen drastic fall in production.

The Union Cabinet is likely to approve tomorrow the induction of Rs 4,500 crore foreign equity by Hero Investments (HIPL), mainly to fund the buyout of 26 per cent stake of Japan's Honda in Hero Honda.

Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular would invest Rs 4,200-crore in 3G network infrastructure, including erecting around 16,000 towers by March, 2012.

SREI Infrastructure Finance is eyeing to clock up to 30 per cent growth both in profit as well as disbursement in FY12, driven by growing momentum in the sector.

ITC Hotels, the hotels division of the tobacco-to hospitality major ITC, is foraying into retail mall and service apartments. Most of the new mega hotel projects of the company will have luxury retail space and service apartments.

Delhi-based realtor Unitech had objected to Uninor India's proposed rights issue at a board meeting earlier this year and had demanded that a business plan be finalised before the modalities of fund raising are decided but its objection was over-ruled by its Norwegian partner, Telenor.

Country's largest software firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged an order from Australian financial institution CUA for deployment of its banking solution. Software education services provider Aptech plans to expand in Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the $1.22 billion (more than Rs 5,400 crore) takeover of India's sixth largest IT firm Patni Computer by US-based iGate.

Tata Steel is working on a pilot project that will enable it to use waste material in iron ore.

Swift Fundamental Research and Education Society (SFRES), the education arm for the Rs 1,600-crore Ind Swift group (manufacturer as well as exporter of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and finished doses) is geared to venture in global education with the plan of setting up of a college in the United Kingdom.

Back office services firm Firstsource Solutions expects to clock a growth of about 10% in FY11 and expects to improve on that next fiscal.

The government said Coal India has lowered the production target to 440.20 million tonnes from 460.50 million tonnes for the current fiscal.

SREI Infrastructure Finance has been classified as Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC) by the Reserve Bank.

India's Essar Oil may defer its planned refinery shutdown to September-October from a planned May-June.

Reliance Communications has introduced Star Talk, a mobile voice platform service to reach out to one’s favorite celebs. Star Talk service includes round the clock celebrity entertainment news, gossips, film news, star interviews, movie masala, movie reviews, archives, etc.

Tata Sponge Iron has decided to install an AFBC based 25 MW power plant, subject to obtaining all necessary and statutory approvals / clearances.

Natco Pharma’s novel anti-cancer drug has received Orphan Drug Designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for three indications- Glioma (brain tumor), pancreatic cancer and chronic myelogenous leukemia.

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.