GSK lifts EM bet with full control of Indonesia arm

GSK has paid 465 billion rupiahs to Sarasvati Venture Capital for the 30 percent of the Indonesian consumer healthcare operation it did not previously own, giving it 100 percent of a business that sells non-prescription products like Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste.

GlaxoSmithKline  is betting more on Indonesia by taking full control of its consumer healthcare unit in the country, underscoring a drive by the drugmaker to build up its presence in fast-growing emerging markets.

The move, announced on Friday, mirrors the British company's strategy in India, where it recently increased its stake in local units.

GSK has paid 465 billion rupiahs to Sarasvati Venture Capital for the 30 percent of the Indonesian consumer healthcare operation it did not previously own, giving it 100 percent of a business that sells non-prescription products like Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste.

Also read:  GSK Consumer's Crocin Advance set to get cheaper

At the same time, GSK has sold its non-core local Insto eye drops brand to Pharma Healthcare and agreed to divest its factory at Bogor, Indonesia, to PT Pharma Healthcare for a combined total of 133 billion rupiahs.

"This transaction is a further example of GSK focusing its business in strategically important growth markets such as Indonesia. It will also simplify operations in the Indonesian business," David Redfern, GSK's chief strategy officer, said.

GSK's Indonesian consumer healthcare business has seen significant growth over the last five years, with net sales reaching close to 50 million pounds in 2013, up from around 16 million in 2008.

The company is committed to emerging markets as a key growth platform - based on rising demand for healthcare among growing middle class populations - despite recent problems in China, where sales have been hit by bribery allegations.

GlaxoSmithKline stock price

On March 28, 2014, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals closed at Rs 2589.10, up Rs 18.40, or 0.72 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 3054.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 2153.30.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 59.25 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 43.7. The latest book value of the company is Rs 238.15 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 10.87.

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DoT wing clears Qualcomm-Airtel deal

As per the notice inviting application (NIA) issued forthe auction, a new applicant must retain at least 26 percent stake but it was not specified till what time it must be retained. The DoT had sought clarifications from the wing whether a successful bidder can reduce its equity below 26 percent in the new entrant nominee ISP company.

A DoT wing has given its go ahead to Bharti Airtel -Qualcomm deal after it found that the multi-stage transaction did not violate the NIA norms, sources said.

The deal in which Airtel acquired 49 percent and subsequently fully 100 percent stake in the Qualcomm's Indian venture that won 4G spectrum in four circles, had come under the DoT scanner due to change in equity structure of the licence holder -- Wireless Business Services (WBSPL).

As per the notice inviting application (NIA) issued forthe auction, a new applicant must retain at least 26 percent stake but it was not specified till what time it must be retained. The DoT had sought clarifications from the wing whether a successful bidder can reduce its equity below 26 percent in the new entrant nominee ISP company.

Also Read: Airtel, Safaricom get conditional nod to buy yuMobile

The US firm Qualcomm's Indian 4G venture, Wireless Business Services (WBSPL) had won BWA spectrum in 2010 in four circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. Bharti Airtel had acquired 49 per cent stake in WBSPL in 2012 and bought additional 2 percent equity in July 2013, taking the total to 51 percent.

In October last year, it acquired 100 percent stake in the company. Airtel also won BWA spectrum in four service areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kolkata and Punjab.
According to sources, the legal devision of DoT has opined that NIA does not impose any lock-in condition on the successful bidder in case of prospective new entrant company also.

"The restriction of successful bidder holding 26 percent shareholding in licence company is applicable till the time of full payment of spectrum fee and allotment of spectrum," the source added. The Department has alloted the spectrum and the company has also paid the bid amount of Rs 4,912.54 crore.

Bharti Airtel stock price

On March 28, 2014, Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 317.50, up Rs 6.80, or 2.19 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 373.50 and the 52-week low was Rs 266.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.07 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 22.57. The latest book value of the company is Rs 135.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.34.

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Vedanta donations to political parties ruled illegal

India's two main political parties both broke laws barring foreign donations by accepting cash from local companies owned by London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources Plc between 2004 and 2012, the Delhi High Court said on Friday.

The judgment was handed down 10 days before India holds a general election, in which the ruling Congress party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will go head to head in a contest where corruption is one of voters' top concerns.

Sterlite Industries India  and Sesa Goa, two companies then registered in India but whose controlling shareholder was Vedanta, donated 87.9 million rupees in total to Congress between 2004 and 2012, according to data gathered by the anti-corruption group that brought the case.

Sesa Goa donated 14.2 million rupees to the BJP over the same period, according to the data gathered by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and presented in court. The ADR brought the case against the two parties, and not the companies.

Also read:  Goa Mining: SC reserves order; good for Sesa Sterlite

Sterlite Industries India also donated 70 million rupees to the BJP, according to the company's annual 2009-10 report. Vedanta, which is the controlling shareholder, merged the two companies last year.

"The acts of the respondents ... clearly fall foul of the ban imposed under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 as the donations accepted by the political parties from Sterlite and Sesa accrue from "Foreign Sources"," Judge Pradeep Nandrajog and Judge Jayant Nath wrote in their judgment.

The court directed the home ministry and the election commission to investigate all donations to the parties by the two companies, as well as from any other groups with similar ownership structures that would also be deemed "foreign sources", and act within six months.

The government can prosecute people under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. Party officials and lawyers who facilitate such transactions can be jailed for up to three years for violating the laws on foreign donations.

Lawyers for Congress and the BJP had argued that the donations could not be classed as foreign partly because the two smaller companies were registered under India's Companies Act and partly because Vedanta's largest shareholder is billionaire Anil Agarwal, an Indian citizen.

Pinky Anand, a BJP member and lawyer for the case, said the party would appeal against the ruling using those arguments.

"Frankly, what is the objective of this law?" Anand added. "It's to prevent illegal money coming in, not legal money coming in. This money has been declared, it hasn't walked in."

A Congress party spokesman said the funds were received "from an electoral trust by an Indian company based in India".

"There has been no violation," said the spokesman Sanjay Jha but added that they would study the court order.

The party has been at the helm of India's coalition governments since 2004, although it is widely expected to be defeated in the upcoming elections.

Vedanta's legal head, Ajit Yadav, did not respond to requests for comment. The company's stock gained 0.3 percent in London trading at 886 pence.

Sesa Sterlite stock price

On March 28, 2014, Sesa Sterlite closed at Rs 182.90, up Rs 2.75, or 1.53 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 213.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 119.45.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 4.14 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 44.18. The latest book value of the company is Rs 44.64 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 4.10.

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'Young Turks' explores RedQuanta, a mystery shopping firm

India's leading mystery shopping firm RedQuanta, founded by 34 year old Pankaj Guglani is registered with over 30,000 mystery shoppers currently catering over 200 clients.

India's leading mystery shopping firm RedQuanta, founded by 34 year old Pankaj Guglani is registered with over 30,000 mystery shoppers currently catering over 200 clients. A mystery shopper reports back her findings to RedQuanta's team which in turn helps clients monitor and improve operations. Here's a look at this mystery audit firm.

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YT Newsfeed: What kept entrepreneurs busy this week

Here is a round up of all the entrepreneurial headlines of the week gone by on YT Newsfeed.

Here is a round up of all the entrepreneurial headlines of the week gone by on YT Newsfeed.

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Lupin eyes Brazil after Mexico-Lab Grin acquisition: MD

The Mexican market is about USD 13 billion. The generic and the branded generic market is all growing 20-25 percent, says Nilesh Gupta.

We are pretty excited about this acquisition. We have been talking forever to acquire in Latin America, Mexico in particular

Nilesh Gupta

MD

Lupin

Drug major Lupin  on Thursday acquires Mexico-based Laboratorios Grin , a leading player in ophthalmic products marking its foray into the Latin American country. Speaking to CNBC-TV18's Archana Shukla, Nilesh Gupta, MD, Lupin says the acquisition will become the launch platform for Lupin's entire portfolio. Along with Mexico, the company is also interested in Brazil and some other markets where it may possibily head post this acquisition.

"Mexican market itself is growing at 9-10 percent and the generic market is growing faster at 20-25 percent. That is the kind of growth that we would expect as well but as we leverage our own portfolio we should expect that kind of growth, "Gupta adds.

Below are edited excerpts from the interview:

Q: How are you feeling about this acquisition?

A: We are pretty excited about this acquisition. We have been talking forever to acquire in Latin America, Mexico in particular. We were looking for a while and we zeroed in on Grin quite a while ago and then we finally closed the transaction. Sales of the company are USD 28 million. It is primarily in the ophthalmic space and is one of the top four players in that market in Mexico. This is a great specialty platform to build from.

We have our own ophthalmic support but automatically this will become the launch platform for Lupin for our entire portfolio. It is in Mexico but Brazil and some other markets that we are interested in will naturally also be able to head there with this acquisition.

Q: Opthalmic space is the biggest synergy that you have with Laboratorios Grin. What sort of other synergies do you have with this organization? What can Lupin bring to the Mexican and the Latin American Markets through Laboratorios Grin and what advantages do you get from this acquisition?

A: Lab Grin plays in the branded generic space. That is the sweet spot where we want to be as well. The Mexican market is about USD 13 billion. The generic and the branded generic market is all growing 20-25 percent and so, this becomes that vehicle.

Again you have the regulatory capabilities, they have manufacturing operations as well, they know how to commercialise products and so, we would use it for other than ophthalmic space as well. They have some small portions of non-ophthalmic stuff but we will use that as a platform for other stuff. We will do the opthals but then oral contraceptives are very interesting, dermatology products are very interesting.

Q: How are Mexican, Latin American markets growing? You said it is mainly branded and a bit of generics, how do you see that grow in terms of growth rates? What sort of growth rates do you expect Lupin to have now in the Latin American and Mexican markets?

A: Mexican market itself is growing at 9-10 percent. That is pretty good growth for a market of that size. The generic market is growing faster at 20-25 percent. That is the kind of growth that we would expect as well but as we leverage our own portfolio we should expect that kind of growth.

Lupin stock price

On March 26, 2014, Lupin closed at Rs 936.60, down Rs 26.9, or 2.79 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1003.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 606.20.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 42.06 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 22.27. The latest book value of the company is Rs 108.10 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 8.66.

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CIL production target fixed at 507 MT for FY'15

On whether CIL will be able to achieve its production target for 2013-14, Rao said that this year there will be a shortfall.

The production target for Coal India Ltd  has been fixed at 507 million tonne for 2014-15 even as the state-owned firm is set to miss the current fiscal's target of 482 MT.

"For next year's production target is 507 million tonne and offtake is 520 million tonne... That is the double digit growth. The asking rate is close to 10," CIL Chairman and Managing Director S Narsing Rao said.

On whether CIL will be able to achieve its production target for 2013-14, Rao said, "This year there will be a shortfall." He refused to say how much will be the shortfall.

On how much CIL is planning to import, he said, "Many people are saying there is no coal. Today, except some coal- based thermal stations in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and one in Karnataka there is plenty of coal with all the power plants, let me say that. Southern peninsula, there is some shortage partly because of the logistic issues, partly whatever issues. There are some 5-6 stations in Southern India facing constraints; otherwise there is plenty of coal today. 19 point something is the coal stock available with the thermal power plants."

Also read:  CIL officers threaten strike over performance-linked pay

Earlier Coal India had said that it may miss the target of 482 MT, by about 12 MT for the 2013-14 financial year, ending March 31.

"As per estimates, we are likely to achieve an output of 470 MT for the fiscal as a number of factors have resulted in less output. We may miss the target by more than 10 MT," Rao added.

He had attributed the projected production loss to a number of factors, including delays in securing clearances for CIL's projects, cyclone Phailin and problems related to evacuation.

CIL, which accounts for over 80 percent of the domestic production, contributed 452.5 MT of coal in 2012-13 as against the target of 464 MT.

Coal India stock price

On March 27, 2014, Coal India closed at Rs 279.95, down Rs 0.4, or 0.14 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 330.65 and the 52-week low was Rs 238.35.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 26.41 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 10.6. The latest book value of the company is Rs 32.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 8.62.

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Subrata Roy to remain in custody till he pays up: Experts

The Sahara counsel on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the bail amount of Rs 10,000 crore is too high and is virtually impossible for them to pay.

The apex court on Wednesday had granted conditional bail to Subrata Roy Sahara, after an upfront payment of Rs 5,000 crore in cash and Rs 5000 crore worth of bank guarantees to capital markets regulator Sebi.

Corporate lawyer HP Ranina feels that Roy will have to remain in jail unless he pays the amount. He thinks the company at best can persuade the apex court to reduce the amount when the matter comes up for hearing on April 3, but if the SC doesn't relent then, Sahara will be left with no choice but to pay the amount.

Hitesh Jain, Senior Partner, ALMT Legal feels that Sahara may try to again go, two or three times, to the Supreme Court and say that they genuinely do not have that much money to cough up, however, SC will take the final call. "So, basically it is like who will blink first – SC or Sahara. If you look from all the perspective, unless Sahara deposits the amount Subrata Roy will have to spend some time inside (jail)," he said.

On the matter, if SC constitutes a larger bench to hear the case, Jain said: "Even if the larger bench hears the matter, it will take some time. Roy may not immediately get out."

Reacting on the Sahara counsels statement, KTS Tulsi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court said though he believes that money should not be a condition for bail, but when "it appears to the court that the party is playing tricks then the court has no choice but to ensure that the money of the investors which was diverted fraudulently, can be repaid, it will not grant that concerned person the concession of bail".

"If he (Subrata Roy) misled the court yesterday, and today he adopted a different stance… the court is going to be very harsh on him," Tulsi said.

MP and Senior Advocate Majeed Memon thinks that even if a person has all the brightest lawyers on his side but the facts are not then law won't be on his side.

"Justice has to be firm, justice has to strictly follow the principles which serves the interest of that case. In this particular case, in the wisdom of Supreme Court they have thought that it is only denial of his liberty that would bring forth the money which is desired by the Supreme Court," he said.

Memon said the difference between what is being offered by Sahara Group and what is called upon by the SC may diminish gradually.

"They would rise and they would come down, somehow they must come to some stage whereby we would be reaching a place where the interest of justice will be taken care of," he added.

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LT wins housing contracts worth Rs 1,981 crore

The scope of work involves construction of 24 towers and 271 villas. The towers will comprise two basements and a ground floor with levels varying from 18 to 29 floors. The project is scheduled to be completed in 42 months.

Construction major  Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has won contracts worth Rs 1,981 crore in the housing sector this month, including a major order in Bangalore.

"The Buildings & Factories Business of L&T Constructions has won new housing orders worth Rs 1,981 crore in March 2014," the company said in a filing to the BSE. A major residential order has been bagged in Bangalore from one of South India's leading property dealers which is also the company's biggest residential order this year, it said.

The scope of work involves construction of 24 towers and 271 villas. The towers will comprise two basements and a ground floor with levels varying from 18 to 29 floors. The project is scheduled to be completed in 42 months.

The other order pertains to construction of a residential township in Gujarat with 134 housing units on turnkey basis. Senior Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Division, L&T and member, Board, S N Subrahmanyan said, "One of our key focus areas have been the growing potential in the residential sector and by winning these prestigious orders we have made significant roads in this space."

The Building & Factories Division of the company caters to design and builds construction of residential buildings, including high rise towers, airports, factories and other structures.

The shares of the company were trading at Rs 1,289 apiece on the BSE during afternoon trade, up 1.08 percent from the previous close.

Larsen stock price

On March 27, 2014, Larsen and Toubro closed at Rs 1283.35, up Rs 8.15, or 0.64 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1295.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 678.10.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 51.40 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 24.97. The latest book value of the company is Rs 272.68 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 4.71.

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Dr Reddy's launches generic cholesterol-lowering drug in US

The company's product is the generic equivalent of Pfizer Inc's Caduet tablets, it added. The Hyderabad-based firm's Amlodipine Besylate and Atorvastatin Calcium tablets are available in bottle counts of 30 and 90, the company said.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories  today launched generic version of Pfizer 's Caduet tablets, a cholesterol-lowering drug, in the American market after getting the approval from the US health regulator.

The company has launched Amlodipine Besylate and Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets in the US market following the approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Dr Reddy's Laboratories said in a statement.

Also read: India ready to discuss IPR norms at WTO if US wants: Sharma

The company's product is the generic equivalent of Pfizer Inc's Caduet tablets, it added. The Hyderabad-based firm's Amlodipine Besylate and Atorvastatin Calcium tablets are available in bottle counts of 30 and 90, the company said.

According to IMS Health sales data, Caduet tablets brand and generics had US sales of around USD 163 million for the most recent twelve months ending in January 2014. Dr Reddy's Laboratories shares were trading at Rs 2,594 apiece on the BSE in afternoon trade, down 1.60 percent from its previous close.

Dr Reddys Labs stock price

On March 27, 2014, Dr Reddys Laboratories closed at Rs 2587.10, down Rs 48.95, or 1.86 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2939.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 1732.75.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 108.14 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.92. The latest book value of the company is Rs 457.56 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 5.65.

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India to contribute 5% of Cisco's global revenues: CEO

India's contribution to the revenues of networking solutions giant Cisco is poised to grow to five percent over the next five years on the back of strong demand for cloud and networking services, its CEO John Chambers said.

The California-based firm, which currently derives about two percent of its global revenues of over USD 48 billion from India, is also rooting for a stable government to bring in "predictability" in the country's business environment.

"Right now, India's contribution is very small, about two per cent. We are committed to the Indian market. It should be 5-10 percent of our revenues," Chambers said. Asked about the timeline, Cisco Senior Vice President (Worldwide Field Operations) Chuck Robbins said it should be 5 percent in the next five years. "We should grow over 20 percent every year over the next five years," he added.

Also read:  Cisco joins cloud computing race with $1 bln plan - WSJ

Cisco employs over 10,000 people in India across cities like Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad. Of these, 8,000 people are part of the R&D set up.

"We are excited about the elections. Hopefully, it will bring in predictability...Stability is what we are looking for. It's like the US... even though our government was not taking decisions, our economy picked up. Once we get predictable in India in terms of making some decisions and people know which way it's going, investors will be willing to go," Chambers said.

He added that the company will continue to invest in India.

Chambers said he hoped the new government would focus on predictability as it will help boost investor confidence in the country.

"Companies won't invest if they are not sure about the predictability. They will not bring in FDI if they are unsure. As basic as it sounds, once the US got predictable, for whatever reasons, you saw stock market going up, investment started to increase, jobs were being created.

"Getting predictability back in India is crucial. We are committed either ways, but predictability will help," he added.

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Parents of babies born on March 26 to get free MTS dongle

MTS has provided a 21 day window to avail this offer starting March 26 till April 16. The offer will be provided to all the nine circles where MTS has operations.

On the eve of completing 5 years in India, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, which operates under MTS brand name, will gift free dongle worth Rs 1,499 to parents of all babies born on March 26 in states where the company provides its services.

"Given the recent success of MTS' Born For The Internet campaign, it was only fitting that we rolled out something as innovative as offering an MBlaze Ultra dongle, bundled with 10 GB data to parents of all babies born on 26 March, 2014," MTS India Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Leonid Musatov said in a statement.

The offer will be provided to all the nine circles where MTS has operations. These circles are Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West), Kolkata and West Bengal.

MTS has provided a 21 day window to avail this offer starting March 26 till April 16.

To avail this offer, parents of babies born on March 26 would need to register on the MTS India and visit an MTS branded retail store across all nine circles where it operates.

Parents will have to submit child's birth certificate issued by Municipal Authority mentioning the names of parents, proof of identity and address of the parent claiming gift, filled Customer Acquisition Form (CAF) along with photograph of the parent and offer form duly filled and signed by the claimant.

"The offer is only available to Indian nationals," the statement said.

Also read:  Is Tata Tele looking to exit Viom?

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Sharma made a case for common regulator for telecom, media

The media is the sacred cow and one is not supposed to talk about it, he said, adding, "I fail to understand why?"

You are building institutions or you are ruining institutions, you are projecting personalities or ruining reputations. Therefore care and caution is required

Anand Sharma

Minister

Ministry of Commerce

Asserting that the media need not be treated as a holy cow, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today made a case for a common regulator for telecom and media sectors as in other countries like the United States and the UK.

"Convergence of technologies in telecom and the media have led to a common regulator and regulatory framework whether it is in America or the UK or elsewhere. Why not in India? This is where industry, CII should reflect and talk to," he said.

The media is the sacred cow and one is not supposed to talk about it, he said, adding, "I fail to understand why?" Stressing that there was a need to protect the independence of media, he said, "the independence and that right does not come without duty and responsibility and the responsibility is of objective and balanced reporting because media is informing, sensitising and shaping public opinion.

"You are building institutions or you are ruining institutions, you are projecting personalities or ruining reputations. Therefore care and caution is required."

He said that in all democracies, regulatory frameworks have been evolved and converge with technologies.

"The moment we talk of a regulatory framework it is acceptable when it comes to electricity, when it comes to coal and when it comes to telecom", he said, adding it should also be there for those using the same national resource.

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Telenor promotes Indian executive for global role

Telenor in a statement said "current CFO Prasoon Sinha will move to the Group Finance function at Telenor Group headquarters in Oslo and take up the position of Vice President and Head of Dynamic Performance Management Project."

Norwegian telecom firm Telenor today promoted its Indian arm Uninor's CFO Prasoon Sinha, who will now move to Group Finance at its headquarters at Oslo.

Telenor in a statement said "current CFO Prasoon Sinha will move to the Group Finance function at Telenor Group headquarters in Oslo and take up the position of Vice President and Head of Dynamic Performance Management Project."

Sinha will implement cluster-based analysis and evaluation at global-level.

The cluster-based analysis is used by Uninor in India under which the company evaluates its performance in a small geographic area. The area can be as small as covered by signal transmitted by its 4-5 mobile towers.

"In his new role, Prasoon will be involved in creating value through performance management across the different business units of the Telenor Group. He will also drive the implementation of Uninor's 'cluster approach' in different Telenor Group business units," the statement said.

Sinha has been with Uninor for close to six years and has worked on delivering low-cost business model.

"We are proud to see him in a role from where Uninor's best practices can benefit Telenor Group companies across regions," Uninor's nominated CEO Morten Karlsen Sorby said.

Telenor also announced the appointment of Vivek Anand as its new Chief Finance Officer in place of  Sinha. Vivek was earlier working with Unilever Bangladesh as Chief Finance Officer.

"Vivek inherits a finance function that has been key to Uninor delivering on its financial targets, including the break-even within three years, exactly as committed," Sorby said.

The leadership change in Uninor's finance department will be concluded by the end of April with Vivek taking up the position in May, the statement said.

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Demand to grow by at least 6% next fiscal: Tata Steel MD

Narendran said the subdued steel consumption growth in the current fiscal is mainly due to poor demand for commercial vehicle and construction segments as they were "struggling".

Tata Steel  Managing Director TV Narendran today said steel demand would grow by at least six per cent next fiscal with the country's economy projected to grow by 5-7 per cent.

"Next year's GDP forecast is 5-7 per cent. Typically, steel demand grows by 1.2 to 1.3 per cent of the GDP growth. If the GDP growth is 5 per cent, I am expecting demand should grow by 6 per cent," Narendarn told PTI on the sidelines of a CII event.

During the first 10 months of the current fiscal, steel consumption in the country grew by just 0.5 per cent impacted by subdued economic growth.

Narendran said the subdued steel consumption growth in the current fiscal is mainly due to poor demand for commercial vehicle and construction segments as they were "struggling".

"If you look at it, most the growth in the GDP has come from the agriculture segment. That's why steel demand did not grew much," he said.

Next fiscal, demand would come from construction sector, which generally consumes 60 per cent of the steel demand in the country.

"Construction generally consumes 60 per cent of the steel demand. In the last few months, government has cleared lot of projects. So, hopefully, that will start coming into the pipeline," Narendran said.

Automobile sector consumes around 15 per cent of the total steel demand. Indian economy grew by 4.8 per cent during July-September quarter. It had hit a decade's low of 5 per cent in 2012-13
due to poor performance in the farm, manufacturing and mining sectors.

Tata Steel stock price

On March 26, 2014, Tata Steel closed at Rs 374.30, up Rs 7.60, or 2.07 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 435.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 195.40.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 59.13 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 6.33. The latest book value of the company is Rs 568.46 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.66.

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Air Asia's 1st Airbus A320 from France arrives in Chennai

With the first aircraft arriving in Chennai, AirAsia will take further add nine more A320 aircraft. It may be noted that Director General of Civil Aviation had dismissed all the 20 objects from Federation of Indian Airlines to grant license to AirAsia.

At a time when it is waiting to receive the Air operating permit to fly, AirAsia India received its first aircraft today at Kamaraj airport, Chennai at 9:25 am on Saturday.So ,finally, the pristine, state-of- art Airbus A320 made its opulent entry in the city.

The aircraft arrived from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France and is the first one to be delivered to AirAsia India. Powered by CFM engines, the aircraft is configured in an all economy layout with 180 seats.

Also read:  Govt says AirAsia doesn't need EC nod for flying permit

Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India said "AirAsia India family takes immense pride in welcoming home its first aircraft which has just rolled of the manufacturing line from Toulouse. It is overwhelming to see the AllStar spirit of our employees as they strive towards our dream of offering world-class high-quality, safe, reliable and affordable air travel to everyone on India.

The arrival of our first A320 signifies that we are a step closer to our dream to create a new benchmark in the low-cost air travel category. The Indian aviation industry will soon witness a prodigious overhaul with the entry of AirAsia India. As I mentioned in my final pre-flight address to our Ferry Flight crew of Pilots and Engineers "with this plane you bring home the hopes of all AirAsia India's AllStars and the promise to revolutionize Indian Aviation. Take pride in that honor and safe journey back".

Tony Fernandes, CEO, AirAsia on Twitter said, "AirAsia India first aircraft arrives in Chennai, India. Wow. Still a bit to do bit on the final straight though." With the first aircraft arriving in Chennai, AirAsia will take further add nine more A320 aircraft. It may be noted that Director General of Civil Aviation had dismissed all the 20 objects from Federation of Indian Airlines to grant license to AirAsia.

AirAsia India is a joint venture, partnering AirAsia, Tata Sons Limited and Arun Bathia of Telestra Tradeplace Pvt. Ltd. Currently, AirAsia India is awaiting AOP to start flying commercially.

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Aus Hotel Group eyeing franchise opportunities in India

Sean Flynn says that they have just embarked on initial discussions with a group in Mumbai about the possibility of a Country Comfort franchise.

Australia's hospitality group, Country Comfort Hotels, has begun initial franchise discussion with a Mumbai-based group as it looks for business opportunities in India.

"We have just embarked on initial discussions with a group in Mumbai about the possibility of a Country Comfort franchise," said Sean Flynn, Executive Vice-President for brands at the Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality that owns Country Comfort brand.

"We are focusing on India this year. We see huge opportunities there," he said, adding Country Comfort has aggressive plans for franchising in India.

"We aim to sign 14 Area Development Agreements in the country, which commit to the development of 100 properties. We are targeting to have over 20 of these open in five years," said Flynn.

Also read:  Online travel players shift focus to holiday packages

Country Comfort model has an average of 101 rooms and looks to put its franchise on hotels with 80-150 rooms each in major cities as well as secondary and tertiary cities in India.

"Both the domestic business and the domestic leisure traveller have continued to show resilience and maintain their share of the pie and overall length of stay, when compared to the nationwide average from last year's survey," he said quoting the Indian Hotel Industry Survey 2012-13.

Business travellers contribute the largest share to the market mix at 39 percent to the Indian hotel industry, he noted.

Flynn backed his market strategy in India with industry estimates showing that Indian cities recorded a growth of 11 percent in hotel room supply with demand increasing by 9.2 percent in 2012-13.

The 28-year old brand has 29 hospitality properties in Australia and New Zealand.

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Coalgate: CBI questions key PM aide TKA Nair

CBI has questioned TKA Nair, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks which included granting of a block to Hindalco at Talabira despite it being rejected by a screening committee of Coal Ministry.

As the agency prepares its submission before the Supreme Court later next week, CBI sources said that a detailed questionnaire had been sent to Nair which was replied by him. The questions included those on coal policy and allocation of coal blocks when the Prime Minister was in charge of the coal ministry between 2006 and 2009.

The replies of Nair were sought on delay in auctioning of coal blocks, missing coal files and events leading to the Talabira coal block being given to Hindalco in which the CBI has registered a case against then Coal Secretary P C Parakh and Chairman of Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla.

The CBI would now be informing the Supreme Court about the replies sent by Nair.

The agency has already examined two former PMO officials --Vini Mahajan and Ashish Gupta--who were posted in the PMO between 2006 and 2009.

Mahajan, a 1987-batch IAS officer from Punjab cadre, was a Director with the PMO during the period and has now been repatriated back to the state where she is Principal Secretary level officer. Gupta, an IPS-officer of 1989-batch from Uttar Pradesh cadre, who was the vigilance officer in the PMO, has also gone back to his cadre.

The CBI questions revolved around granting of Talabira coal mines in Odhisa to Hindalco as the agency has alleged in its FIR that the company got the coal block even after being rejected by the screening committee.

It alleged that the only material change that took place between rejection of Hindalco's application by the screening committee and allotment were two letters routed to the then Coal Secretary P C Parakh through the PMO and his personal meeting with Kumar Mangalam Birla.

CBI will be filing its final reports in five coal scam cases before March 26.

CBI has filed 16 FIRs which included those against AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Grace Industries, Jindal Steel and Power, Rathi Steel and Power Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat, Green Infrastructure, Kamal Sponge, Pushp Steel, Hindalco, BLA Industries, Castron Technologies and Castron Mining and Nav Bharat Power Private Limited.

These FIRs were registered after the agency probed three preliminary enquiries related to coal block allocation between 2006 and 2009, 1993 and 2004 and projects given under a government scheme.

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Road premium deferment to aid SPVs' credit profile: Sadbhav

There have been reports that several highway projects of Sadbhav Engineering have become eligible for deferment of premium payments. CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy spoke with Nitin Patel, ED, Sadbhav Engineering to understand the development.

It will also give a big relief to almost all [road] developers in terms of working capital.

Nitin Patel

ED

Sadbhav Engineering

There have been reports that several highway projects of  Sadbhav Engineering have become eligible for deferment of premium payments.

Premiums are payments road developers pay to the government in lieu of the right to develop a road and levy tolls.

CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy spoke with Nitin Patel, ED, Sadbhav Engineering to understand the development.

Also read: 21 projects will benefit due to premium rescheduling: NHAI

Below are the excerpts from the interview:

Q: What does this mean for you? And what is the amount of projects that have become eligible for deferred payment?

A: It is almost between Rs 2500-2600 crore, total value of these three project.

Q: And what is the advantage? They become eligible in 2015. You don't have to pay, and will there be some working capital relief for you in 2015 itself?

A: As per the terms and conditions of agreement and waterfall mechanism prescribed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), whatever revenue accrues first, payments will go towards statutory dues, then operational maintenance costs and premiums to NHAI. Whatever balance is left would be paid to lenders of the project.

Now, with this change, the government of India given precedence to lenders over the premium payment to NHAI and the premium has also been allowed to be deferred by the developers one year before the end of the consistent year period.

Obviously it will give a big relief to almost all developers in terms of working capital. Credit quality of all special purpose vehicles (SPVs) will also improve over the period of time.

Q: Credit quality will improve but whatever money you would have paid as premium now you have to pay the lenders, correct?

A: Premium is to be paid to the NHAI

Q: The money you can pay much late in the concession period. Therefore, the money that you save by not paying premium immediately, you have to pay to lenders?

A: Lenders have to be paid, so lenders have got the precedence over the premium payments.

Sadbhav Engg stock price

On February 24, 2014, Sadbhav Engineering closed at Rs 90.05, down Rs 0.55, or 0.61 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 129.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 52.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 5.39 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 16.71. The latest book value of the company is Rs 54.90 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.64.

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Somany sees Rs 20-30 cr Q4 revenue hit from Morbi lockout

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Somany Ceramics' Abhishek discussed the impact of the shutdown and how he sees the business for the company panning out ahead.

We are on track for what we had predicted: which is approximately a 20 percent growth for the year that might be shade off a little bit because of this hangover.

Abhishek Somany

JMD

Somany Ceramics

After ceramic units in Morbi, Gujarat, went on a one-month strike to protest various issues including state gas price hike, the impact will be felt in the current quarter results of various ceramic companies.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy,  Somany Ceramics' Joint MD Abhishek discussed the impact of the shutdown and how he sees the business for the company panning out ahead.

Also read: Q3 revenues to take 10% hit; optimistic on FY15: Kajaria

Below is the edited transcript of the interview.

Q: Last quarter the company has suffered from some production loss. What is the prognosis for this quarter and the quarters to come in terms of whether there will be any spillover effect and also what your revenue could look like?

A: The production loss was account of the shutdown we faced in the Morbi region, which is where about 600 units were concentrated in India and that was one of those very freakish moments where Morbi shut down completely.

There is going to be a spillover of about Rs 20-30 crore in this quarter because there is a backlog and we just don't have material to supply. The order book looks extremely strong but with the complete shutdown of Morbi, there is a little bit of hangover there reeling in this quarter.

Having said that, we are pretty much on track of what we have predicted, which is approximately a 20 percent growth for the year that might be shade off a little bit because of this hangover.

Q: When does this problem in Morbi ebb?

A: It has already ebbed. The shutdown was between the November 25 and December 25 and it's behind us. Going forward, things look extremely bright.

Q: You raised money by selling shares preferentially to Latinia Ltd. How much did you raise and what will that be put use to?

A: We raised about USD 8 million and that's going to be used for an aggressive acquisition and also some greenfield projects to fuel 20 percent plus compound annual growth rate (CAGR) growth for the next three years.

Somany Ceramics stock price

On March 22, 2014, Somany Ceramics closed at Rs 168.50, up Rs 1.95, or 1.17 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 173.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 62.10.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 6.95 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 24.24. The latest book value of the company is Rs 39.03 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 4.32.

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India's realty sector remains favoured destination: Report

Increasing migration to cities and urbanisation along with interest from buyers to invest in real estate market, will continue to be the prime demand drivers, according to assurance, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton.

The Indian construction and real estate sector continues to be a favoured destination for global investors and businesses are optimistic about their prospects for this year, says a report.

Increasing migration to cities and urbanisation along with interest from buyers to invest in real estate market, will continue to be the prime demand drivers, according to assurance, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton. "Despite being burdened with high construction costs and increased cost of borrowing, the Indian construction and real estate sector continues to be a favoured destination for global investors," said the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR).

Also Read: Private equity inflow in realty sector up 13% to Rs 7000cr

Steady housing demand, stock market rally and a slew of optimistic RBI rules permitting foreign banks into the country's banking ecosystem are set to offer further impetus to the projected growth of the sector, it said. Moreover, business leaders in the sector expect a strong revival for the housing industry if a stable government is formed May after the general elections.

Across Asia Pacific, growth is being driven by businesses in emerging economies which are more than twice as confident about raising profits as their peers in advanced economies. Around 78 percent of business leaders in southeast Asia are optimistic, followed by Latin America (60 percent) and North America (56 percent), while those in the eurozone (19 percent), and especially in southern Europe (-9 percent), are the least optimistic.

About 45 percent of BRIC economies are optimistic, slightly more than its peers in the G7 (39 percent). The report covered business leaders in 45 economies to understand how the real estate and construction sector is recovering from the financial crisis, where the opportunities lie and what businesses are doing to keep their operations running smoothly and free from fraud.

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TCS ranked No 1 employer in Europe

The company was recognised as an exceptional performer across six core human resources areas - primary conditions, secondary benefits, working conditions, training, career development and company culture.

IT major  Tata Consultancy Services today said it has been named as the top employer in Europe for the second consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute.

The company was recognised as an exceptional performer across six core human resources areas - primary conditions, secondary benefits, working conditions, training, career development and company culture.

Also Read: TCS at 3-month low on growth concerns, brokerages say 'buy'

"We are delighted to have been rated as the foremost employer across Europe for the second consecutive year and we look forward to building on this success as we continue to grow and develop our talent base across the UK and Continental Europe," TCS Executive Vice President and Global Head, Human Resources Ajoy Mukherjee said.

Previously known as the CRF Institute, The Top Employers Institute is an independent organisation that identifies top performers in the field of Human Resources worldwide.

The Top Employer certification is based on independent research conducted by the institute and audited by Grant Thornton.

TCS stock price

On March 21, 2014, Tata Consultancy Services closed at Rs 2125.35, up Rs 17.45, or 0.83 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2384.20 and the 52-week low was Rs 1364.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 85.24 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 24.93. The latest book value of the company is Rs 165.73 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 12.82.

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LIC, Citi, Goldman Sachs pick up 3.1% stake in Axis Bank

New World Fund bought 26.88 lakh Axis Bank shares at Rs 1,315.12/ share, Citigroup Global bought 38.2 lakh shares at Rs 1,316.13 per share, Goldman Sachs bought 23.5 lakh shares at Rs 1,323.57 per share, while LIC of India bought 85.4 lakh (1.8 percent) shares at Rs 1,313.25 per share.

Moneycontrol Bureau

The government on Friday sold 4.2 crore shares, a 9 percent of its equity at an average price of Rs 1,323 per share, in  Axis Bank held via SUUTI. It raised Rs 5,557 crore through the bulk deal.

Of the 4.2 crore shares sold today, New World Fund bought 26.88 lakh shares at Rs 1,315.12 a share, Citigroup Global bought 38.2 lakh shares at Rs 1,316.13 per share, Goldman Sachs bought 23.5 lakh shares at Rs 1,323.57 per share, while LIC of India bought 85.4 lakh (1.8 percent stake) Axis Bank shares at Rs 1,313.25 per share.

After this stake sale (9 percent out of 20.72 percent stake), SUUTI will have a lock-in period of six-month, which means SUUTI can't sell stake in Axis Bank for six months after today's block deal.

Citi, JP Morgan and JM Financial were bankers for the deal.

Axis Bank stock closed at Rs 1,393.40, up 2.69 percent after hitting an intraday high of Rs 1,410.60 and low of Rs 1,313.25 on the BSE.

Axis Bank stock price

On February 24, 2014, Axis Bank closed at Rs 1235.50, up Rs 45.75, or 3.85 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1549.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 764.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 126.29 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 9.78. The latest book value of the company is Rs 705.05 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.75.

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Myntra ties up with Harvard for exclusive apparel line

Online fashion and lifestyle site Myntra has partnered with Harvard University to sell its exclusive apparel line in India from August this year.

In the past, brands like Ralph Lauren, NIKE, Champion Sportswear and Tag Heuer have designed their collections inspired by Harvard's style and have sought licence to use its name.

"It is an exclusive arrangement with Harvard to create their lifestyle clothing products, both online and offline," Myntra COO Ganesh Subrahmanian told PTI.

Such associations will help the online marketplace create a strong connect with the consumer who wants to be associated with renowned institutions like Harvard.

Previously, Myntra has also partnered with Salman Khan's Being Human Foundation, he added.

"We are trying to create inspirational value with such partnerships. Myntra will launch Harvard exclusively in India and will open a strong knits line with sweatshirts, polo's, tees, track suits," Subrahmanian said.

In the second phase, Myntra will introduce the on-campus wear, which is also called smart casual, he added.

On pricing, Subrahmanian said: "We will price them competitively and will take on sports brands like Tommy, UCB, VH Sport, etc."

Besides, Myntra portal also has a private original brands line which is created and merchandised in-house like Roadster, Dressberry, Kook n Keech, Mast & Harbour, Anouk.

"The latest to join the bandwagon is bollywood star Hrithik Roshan who has launched an exclusive clothing line called HRX only on Myntra," Subrahmanian said.

Myntra, which started operations in 2007 in B2B segment, today has over 500 brands under its banner and is expected to break-even and achieve profitability in the next 10-12 months.

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Tesco forms JV with Trent for multi-brand retail in India

Last December, Trent and Tesco had announced they have sought regulatory approval to enter into a partnership where each would own a 50 percent stake in THL, owned by the Tatas.

British retail major Tesco today announced forming of an equal joint venture with  Trent Ltd, a part of the Tata Group, by picking up 50 percent stake in Trent Hypermarket Ltd for about 85 million pounds.

"Following its previous announcement and receipt of approval from the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Tesco has today entered into an agreement with Trent Ltd, a part of the Tata Group, to form a 50:50 Joint Venture in Trent Hypermarket Ltd (THL)," the company said in a statement.

THL operates the Star Bazaar retail business in India.

Tesco's investment will be around 85 million pounds, it added.

"On completion of the transaction THL will operate 12 stores retailing a range of merchandise, including food and grocery, personal and home-care products, home and kitchen, fashion and accessories etc," Tesco said.

The stores are operated under the 'Star Bazaar' and 'Star Daily' banners, and spread across the Southern and Western regions of India, it added.

Last December, Trent and Tesco had announced they have sought regulatory approval to enter into a partnership where each would own a 50 percent stake in THL, owned by the Tatas.

Tesco became the first global retailer to apply for multi-brand retailing after the government allowed 51 percent FDI in the segment in September, 2012. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board had cleared its proposal on December 30.

Since 2008, Tesco has had a wholesale supply and franchise/technical service agreement to supply merchandise and provide technical knowhow and support to THL in India.

Trent stock price

On February 24, 2014, Trent closed at Rs 1009.50, down Rs 13.05, or 1.28 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1339.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 902.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 22.85 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 44.18. The latest book value of the company is Rs 461.02 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.19.

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Govt hopes to get over Rs 5.5k cr via Axis Bank stake sale

The government is talking to financial institutional investors via its bankers JPMorgan and Citigroup to see which FIIs are going to buy into Axis Bank.

The government is planning to raise over Rs 5000 crore which will be key to it meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent. The government is talking to financial institutional investors via its bankers JPMorgan and Citigroup to see which FIIs are going to buy into Axis Bank . The price band given is Rs 1297-1357, which means a 0-5% discount to investors. After this stake sale, SUUTI will have a lock-in of 6 months, which means SUUTI can't sell stake in Axis Bank for six months after tomorrow's block deal. 

Axis Bank stock price

On February 24, 2014, Axis Bank closed at Rs 1235.50, up Rs 45.75, or 3.85 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1549.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 764.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 126.31 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 9.78. The latest book value of the company is Rs 705.19 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.75.

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NTPC presentation to CERC on new tariff rules within a week

As per the regulations notified by CERC, there will be changes with regard to tax and calculation of incentives for thermal power plants.

State-owned  NTPC will make a presentation within a week to electricity regulator CERC to consider its case against the new 5-year tariff regulations.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to consider and decide on the NTPC representation against the regulations that would take effect from April 1.

Also Read: Govt asks NTPC for Rs 233cr bank guarantee after mine delay

As per the regulations notified by CERC, there will be changes with regard to tax and calculation of incentives for thermal power plants.

The regulations also require thermal plants to calculate incentives based on plant load factor (PLF) rather than plant availability factor (PAF). The PAF is the declared capacity or the total generation capacity of the plant, whereas PLF is the actual generation which is based on the demand.

According to sources, with the new guidelines coming into place from April 1, the company may find it difficult to find lenders in the future as the new regulations may impact the company's financials. They said it will make its presentation to CERC within a week.

NTPC has said that it will suffer a loss of around Rs 7,000 crore if regulations come into effect. The company has also said that it should be incentivised on total generation capacity of its plants.

CERC is expected to submit the report to the Delhi High Court in a month's time.

Query sent to NTPC CMD Arup Roy Choudhury remained unanswered.

"Recent CERC order will have 8-10 percent downward impact on NTPC's profitability and therefore it is a cause of concern for NTPC," Debasish Mishra, Senior Director (Consulting) Deloitte said.

NTPC stock price

On March 20, 2014, NTPC closed at Rs 116.00, up Rs 0.00, or 0.00 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 162.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 110.90.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.87 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 7.8. The latest book value of the company is Rs 97.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.19.

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Kakal quits Infy, co sees 9th high-profile exit

There have been some rumours about two to three weeks ago that he may look at a startup of his own and he may be talking to a couple of fund companies as well for that. However there is no confirmation on that as well.

IT-major  Infosys has now seen the ninth high profile exit as Chandrashekar Kakal, the senior vice president and member of Infosys' executive council, has resigned from the company with effect from April 18.

Before BG Srinivas and Pravin Rao were elevated as presidents of the company, there were talks about Kakal being one of the prospective contenders for the post of the chief executive officer.

This is because Kakal was gradually increasing in terms of his concentration across verticals. He started with application and testing, moved on to infrastructure development services, consulting and marketing. Infact, after V Balakrishnan had quit, Kakal had taken over a majority of his portfolios as well.

Now what has happened is that when Pravin Rao came in he almost got around 95 percent of the delivery capabilities that Infosys has, which was largely being taken care of by Kakal. Sources say that, that could be the reason why Kakal was put on the backseat or felt that he was put on a backseat and hence decided to exit the company.

There have been some rumours about two to three weeks ago that he may look at a startup of his own and he may be talking to a couple of fund companies as well for that. However there is no confirmation on that as well.

This is definitely a setback, but in the analyst concall that Narayana Murthy had with Barclays, he suggested that there could be some more exits around the corner . Analysts have been saying that the flab of the company is being cut off now. So, people who were prospectively hoping to get a larger position, who were hoping to get the post of a CEO or CEO designate going forward, would possibly be disappointed.

Hence, it makes sense for them to exit the company so that the two new leaders who have come- Pravin Rao and BG Srinivas- can take care of the operations as a whole and rejig. There is a lot of rejig happening at this time and Infosys cannot essentially handle too much of baggage. So, that could be possibly what Murthy was hinting at one week ago.

Infosys stock price

On March 20, 2014, Infosys closed at Rs 3303.00, up Rs 31.45, or 0.96 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 3847.20 and the 52-week low was Rs 2190.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 142.80 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.13. The latest book value of the company is Rs 627.95 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 5.26.

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Toyota suspends some workers; conciliation process on

The government's talks with the management and union to break the impasse did not have any headway yesterday.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has suspended some of the workers at its two plants in the city where it has declared lockout, as the strike continued for the fifth day today amid government's conciliatory efforts to break the impasse.

"A decision to suspend some of the members pending inquiry, for serious misconduct, was taken earlier in the week. This is in line with the company's rules and regulations," TKM said in a statement here.

It did not specify the number of suspended workers. Toyota Kirloskar Workers Union President Prasanna Kumar told PTI that suspended workers have not received any letter.

"We are attending a meeting convened by Karnataka Deputy Labour Commissioner and Additional Labour Commissioner, and we will press for lifting of the lockout and withdrawal of suspension, if any," Prasanna Kumar said adding the "lockout is illegal."

The government's talks with the management and union to break the impasse did not have any headway yesterday.

The Japanese global firm's Indian joint venture's plants are located at Bidadi, about 30 km from here, with a capacity to rollout about 700 cars a day, with an installed production of 3,10,000 units annually.

Of the 6,400 employees, about 4,000 are union members and the remaining of them are on contract in both the factories. This is for the second time that lockout was declared since 2006 over dismissal and suspension of employees. Toyota holds 89 per cent equity in the joint venture, while the remaining 11 per cent is controlled by the Pune-based Kirloskar group.

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FTIL may have to dispose of holdings worth Rs 2,500 crore

With Sebi declaring Jignesh Shah-led  Financial Technologies unfit to hold shares in stock exchanges and other related entities, it will have to dispose of holdings worth about Rs 2,500 crore in five companies.

FTIL (Financial Technologies India Ltd) will have to sell shares in MCX Stock Exchange, rival National Stock Exchange of India, two non-functional bourses -- Delhi Stock Exchange and Vadodara Stock Exchange, and MCX-SX Clearing Corporation within three months, Sebi said in an order yesterday.

Also read: Financial Tech not fit and proper to run bourses: Sebi

According to market sources, the total value of FTIL's holdings in these five entities is estimated at about Rs 2,500 crore, although it could be difficult to sell these shares in the current scenario.

Financial Technologies has 2.71 crore shares as well as 56.24 crore transferable warrants in MCX-SX, 57.5 lakh shares in MCX-SX Clearing Corporation, 14.96 lakh shares in DSE, 2.9 lakh shares in VSE and 10,000 shares in NSE.

The shares and warrants held in MCX-SX would account for a large chunk of the potential sales proceeds, the sources said, adding that FTIL had told Sebi it had no intention to convert the warrants. These are convertible into an equal
number of shares.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directed FTIL to sell its shares in MCX-SX and the other entities within 90 days on the ground that it was not "fit and proper" to own stakes in any exchange.

The market regulator's order came when the MCX-SX is under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation for alleged irregularities in being granted a licence in 2008 and its subsequent renewals.

FTIL is the flagship firm of the Shah-led group and one of the original founders of the MCX-SX, although it is no longer classified as a promoter shareholder.

Since a payment crisis broke out at group company National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) in August last year, it has sold holdings in some entities, including Singapore Mercantile Exchange and National Bulk Handling Corp Ltd.

It recently appointed JM Financial as an advisor for the divestment of a stake in the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX).

In February, the FTIL board had constituted a committee to propose and oversee a restructuring plan, which included the sale of up to 24 per cent stake in MCX.
FTIL is a listed company with a market valuation of Rs 1,738 crore, while MCX, also listed, is valued at Rs 2,575 crore.

Financial Tech stock price

On March 14, 2014, Financial Technologies closed at Rs 360.95, down Rs 17.05, or 4.51 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 870.30 and the 52-week low was Rs 102.05.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 50.03 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 7.21. The latest book value of the company is Rs 580.93 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.62.

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Voda to SC: Sale of call centre not taxable in India

Vodafone argued that sale of its call centre and assignment of call options is not taxable in India according to the Supreme Court order. The taxman refutes Vodafone's claims. The matter will be heard on Thursday.

The income tax appellate tribunal heard the Rs 8,500 crore Vodafone transfer pricing case today. Vodafone argued that sale of its call centre and assignment of call options is not taxable in India according to the Supreme Court order. The taxman refutes Vodafone's claims. The matter will be heard on Thursday.

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2017 marketshare target may be delayed: Nissan India chief

Nissan still hopes to achieve double-digit market share in India but the timing is under debate given the carmaker's current performance and market conditions, said Kenichiro Yomura, president of Nissan India.

Nissan Motor Co's target to capture a 10 percent share of India's passenger vehicle market by 2017 may be delayed due to slumping domestic car sales in a slowing economy, the head of the Japanese automaker's local unit said on Wednesday.

The local car market is bracing for a second year of falling sales, hit by high interest rates and fuel costs. Nissan held a 1.4 percent share of the local passenger vehicle market at end-February, industry data showed.

"We are reviewing our mid-term plan," Kenichiro Yomura, president of Nissan India, told Reuters. "I don't know. It could be later," he said, when asked if the company was on track to achieve its market share target for India.

Nissan still hopes to achieve double-digit market share in India but the timing is under debate given the car maker's current performance and market conditions, Yomura said.

His comments come after Nissan last month said it would be willing to fall short of its global market share target of 8 percent by end-March 2017 in order to ensure it meets an 8 percent operating profit margin goal for the same period.

Nissan is hoping its low-cost Datsun brand , resurrected after three decades to drive growth in emerging markets, will help its sales in India.

On Wednesday, it said it would begin selling its first Datsun model -- the GO hatchback -- from USD 5,100 in India, where the brand makes its debut ahead of other emerging markets.

GO, whose price will range from Rs 3.12 lakh to Rs 3.69 lakh will compete in India's crowded small-car market, which includes top carmaker Maruti Suzuki 's popular Alto 800 hatchback, which starts at about Rs 2.76 lakh.

"If I just look at it from the initial pricing point of view, it looks pretty competitive," said Abdul Majeed, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers India.

Datsun cars will go on sale in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa later this year.

Maruti Suzuki stock price

On March 19, 2014, Maruti Suzuki India closed at Rs 1870.50, up Rs 1.65, or 0.09 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1899.90 and the 52-week low was Rs 1217.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 106.68 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 17.53. The latest book value of the company is Rs 615.03 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 3.04.

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Sun TV to offer content in YouTube, iTunes

Some of the airlines where the facility would be available include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air India, Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, Oman Air, British Airways and Cathay Pacific.

Television broadcaster  Sun TV has entered into a contract with YouTube and iTunes to facilitate the sale of the company's content on a "pay for view" basis to customers living across the globe.

Besides,the Chennai-based company also signed an agreement with Mumbai-based Purple IFE Ltd, to deploy its content for inflight entertainment.

Also read: Sun TV Network standalone Dec '13 sales at Rs 508.34 crore

"By tying up with Purple IFE, the company has successfully licensed some of popular programmes in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages to provide premium inflight entertainment on airlines", Sun TV said in a BSE filing.

Some of the airlines where the facility would be available include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air India, Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, Oman Air, British Airways and Cathay Pacific.

The company was launching these initiatives to monetize its vast content libraries by partnering with several globally active digital distribution platforms that transact with customers over the internet, it added.

Sun TV Network currently operates 33 TV Channels, including four High Definition channels with a reach of more than 100 million households in India, the statement added.

Sun TV Network stock price

On February 25, 2014, Sun TV Network closed at Rs 364.90, down Rs 0.45, or 0.12 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 457.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 324.15.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 17.68 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 20.64. The latest book value of the company is Rs 73.41 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 4.97.

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Toyota twin plants lockout enters Day 4

"Government is trying to reach a fair settlement between company management and workers' union. The Deputy Labour Commissioner will take a decision. We hope both plants will resume production soon," Labour Minister Parameshwar Nayak told reporters yesterday.

The lockout at Toyota's twin plants in Karnataka has entered the fourth day. Workers are demanding a wage hike from the management. The Toyota top brass met the Karnataka labour minister on Tuesday but the deadlock continues to persist.

The Karnataka government has said it was working for a fair settlement.

"Government is trying to reach a fair settlement between company management and workers' union. The Deputy Labour Commissioner will take a decision. We hope both plants will resume production soon," Labour Minister Parameshwar Nayak told reporters yesterday.

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CDR package augurs well for us: Orchid Chemicals

Orchid Chemicals  management did speak to CNBC-TV18 about the CDR. Some of  the key takeaways from that conversation was that according to the company the CDR package which is the corporate debt restructuring package which Orchid Chemicals has signed up for augurs well for the company.

Orchid Chemical stock price

On March 19, 2014, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals closed at Rs 54.45, up Rs 0.85, or 1.59 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 78.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 35.00.

The latest book value of the company is Rs 69.29 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.79.

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Samsung faces about Rs 70 cr alleged duty evasion charge

DRI had last month issued the notice to Samsung India for allegedly evading duty worth about Rs 70 crore while importing the tablets from South Korea between April 2012 and February 2013

Electronics goods giant Samsung has been slapped with a notice by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly evading import duty to the tune of Rs 70 crore.

Samsung India had allegedly imported tablets valuing about Rs 460 crore by declaring them as mobile phones and evaded import duty on the consignment, official sources said.

Also Read: Google, Samsung ask China to limit Microsoft-Nokia deal

A duty of about 12 percent was applicable for import of tablets as against one percent on mobile phones, they said.

DRI had last month issued the notice to Samsung India for allegedly evading duty worth about Rs 70 crore while importing the tablets from South Korea between April 2012 and February 2013, the sources said.

When contacted, a company spokesperson said the notice was being reviewed by it. "We are currently reviewing the notice in question. We would like to assure our customers that we have always adhered to the laws and regulations of all countries in which we operate.

"Samsung has always acted in the matter after consulting the respected legal experts in the concerned area of practice," the company's spokesperson said in a statement.

In the show cause notice issued to Samsung, the DRI has asked why the consignment should not be seized by it for alleged import duty evasion, they added.

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Infra investment to push growth to 8% in 3 years: Montek

"We are working to revive the pace of investment in infrastructure, which we believe can provide the basis for a return of growth back to eight percent over a three year period," says Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Attributing declining growth to global and domestic factors, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said efforts to revive infrastructure investment would help in reverting to 8 percent growth in next three years.

"We are working to revive the pace of investment in infrastructure, which we believe can provide the basis for a return of growth back to eight percent over a three year period. Our economic fundamentals are strong and we believe that a return to high growth is possible," Ahluwalia said while addressing the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) forum. In the October-December quarter, India's economy grew below expectations at 4.7 percent on falling output in the manufacturing sector.

Growth in the first nine months (April-December) was 4.6 percent.

The economy must expand by 5.7 percent in January- March quarter to achieve the estimated GDP expansion of 4.9 percent in 2013-14.

"GDP growth in India has slowed down to around 5 percent over the past two years, partly because of the global downturn but also because of the certain domestic constraints, which we have been addressing," he said.

Ahluwalia congratulated China for achieving 7.7 percent growth, which was above than the targeted 7.5 percent. "Whatever be the outcome of the general election (in India), I am confident that the objective of strengthening bilateral economic relations with China will not be altered," he said.

Also read:  Clean energy investment of $36 tn to attract private sector

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Tech Mahindra to manage IT infra for Volvo Car group

The scope of the partnership, which was signed in February, covers 2,800 servers across Volvo Cars' regional offices, global factories, global data centre, R&D and manufacturing IT, Tech Mahindra said.

IT firm Tech Mahindra  on Tuesday said it will provide end-to-end IT infrastructure support and services to Volvo Car Group in various countries, including Sweden, China and Belgium.

Also Read: Tech Mah in talks for offering IT services in Saudi Arabia

The scope of the partnership, which was signed in February, covers 2,800 servers across Volvo Cars' regional offices, global factories, global data centre, R&D and manufacturing IT, it said in a statement.

The service also covers 4,000 factory devices in Sweden, Belgium, China and 30,000 end users and their work devices, including parts of the Volvo Cars dealer network, it added.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The partnership also encompasses application maintenance and development, including the introduction and management of a hybrid cloud strategy.

"Volvo Cars values and goals strongly emphasise reliable products and services in all operations. The vision outlines IT as a competitive advantage for all Volvo Cars business units. Tech Mahindra is excited to be supporting and sharing that vision for quality in each business area," Tech Mahindra Head Europe (Enterprise) Vikram Nair said.

Volvo Cars will be supported by Tech Mahindra's Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) practice team.

The IMS team covers data centres, end user computing, networks, security and IT operations management to over 190 customers across industries including telecom, banking, manufacturing, insurance, retail and healthcare.

Tech Mahindra stock price

On February 25, 2014, Tech Mahindra closed at Rs 1836.70, up Rs 6.65, or 0.36 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1906.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 895.25.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 98.45 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 18.66. The latest book value of the company is Rs 183.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 10.00.

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3 out of 4 insurance policies to be sold online by 2020

As many as three out of every four insurance policies will be sold online by 2020, says a Google study.

"It is estimated that three in every four insurance policies sold by 2020 would be influenced by digital channels during either the pre-purchase stage, purchase or renewal stages," according to the report prepared by Google in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Also Read: Reliance Life eyes Rs 1,800 cr new business in FY14

The report 'Digital@Insurance-20X By 2020' asserts that not only will insurance sales from online channels grow 20 fold from today by 2020, but overall Internet influenced sales would be Rs 3,00,000-4,00,000 crore.

"The exploding popularity of smart phones and Internet has become a core part of life for many consumers across the globe and in India," the report said.

The influence of Digital is already 'big' and is getting 'bigger', exponentially in terms of user growth and time taken. The connected online population of over two billion users forms a brand new market that cuts across borders, it added.

"As insurers seek new avenues to grow profitably, they have a unique opportunity to embrace and benefit from the digital wave, which also addresses many key issues that plague the offline world today," it said.

"The digital adoption could result in potential savings of 15-20 percent of total costs in the case of life insurance and 20-30 percent in the case of non life, thereby showing the path towards profitability for the industry", said Alpesh Shah, a BCG Senior Partner also the author of the report.

"While online purchases represent a small component of insurance activity in India today, the overall influence of Internet on insurance product purchase in India is already 6x and growing rapidly," said, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, BFSI, Travel Google India.

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7 telcos to share infrastructure in Africa, Middle East

The seven operators include Bharti Airtel, Etisalat Group, MTN Group, Ooredoo Group, Orange, Vodafone Group and Zain Group.

Seven major telecom operators across Africa and Middle East, including  Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Group, will share their network infrastructure, with the objective of providing Internet to rural communities and driving down the cost of mobile services.

"Senior leaders from seven major mobile operator groups, serving 506 million customers across Africa and the Middle East, plan to cooperate on network infrastructure sharing initiatives," global telecom body GSM Association (GSMA) said in a statement.

Also Read: Telecom user base rises to 92.20 cr in Jan: Trai

The seven operators include Bharti Airtel, Etisalat Group, MTN Group, Ooredoo Group, Orange, Vodafone Group and Zain Group.

The participating operators have made this commitment to providing Internet and mobile broadband access to unserved rural communities and driving down the cost of mobile services for all sections of the population.

"Unique mobile subscriber penetration is only 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East, lower than the global average of 47 percent, so we need to work together to expand the reach of mobile," GSMA Director General Anne Bouverot said.

The operators collectively manage 76 mobile network operations across 47 countries in Africa and the Middle East, where many of the unconnected population live in rural areas, it said.

"This cooperation demonstrates that the industry is committed to innovating in order to serve the billions living in the rural areas," Bharti Enterprises MD and Chair of the Public Policy Committee of the GSMA board Manoj Kohli said.

Bharti Airtel stock price

On March 18, 2014, Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 295.30, up Rs 0.20, or 0.07 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 373.50 and the 52-week low was Rs 266.95.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.07 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 20.99. The latest book value of the company is Rs 135.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.18.

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Industry appeals for slashing rates grow stronger

For the first time in nine months, inflation based on Wholesale Price Index, slipped below the psychological mark of 5 percent in February on easing prices of onion and potato.

India Inc's appeal for easing of Reserve Bank's key interest rates grew stronger as inflation declined to 9-month low of 4.68 percent in February.

"The moderation in inflation should induce the RBI to make a shift towards a more accommodative monetary policy stance to revive investment and propel demand especially as investment demand is declining and consumer durables are in the red," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

For the first time in nine months, inflation based on Wholesale Price Index , slipped below the psychological mark of 5 percent in February on easing prices of onion and potato.

Industry officials believe that this has created headroom for RBI to cut interest rates in the monetary policy review on April 1 so as to boost the sagging economic growth.

RBI has maintained a hawkish interest rate regime to tame inflation. Industry, on the other hand, has been demanding a cut in interest rates to boost economic growth, which has slowed to a decade-low level.

"The decline in inflation will hopefully create some space for monetary policy easing by the RBI. This is imperative as the sentiment of caution continues to weigh heavy on the minds of investors," Ficci President Sidharth Birla said.

Food inflation dropped to 8.12 percent in February, compared to 8.8 percent in January, as the rate of price rise slowed in almost all items, except fruits and milk.

"A cut in repo rate at this juncture would pave the way for economic recovery to become more visible and sustainable," President of PHD Chamber of Commerce Sharad Jaipuria said.

Inflation, which is on a decline since December, was 5.05 percent in January. Prior to February, the lowest WPI was recorded in May 2013 at 4.58 percent. In June, it had inched up again to 5.16 percent.

Assocham President Rana Kapoor said: "Drop in inflation sets the stage for the Reserve Bank to go in for cut in the policy interest rates in wake of the sharp deceleration in industrial demand."

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Kalyan Grp in talks with investors to sell $200-250mn stake

The company has annual revenues of 94 billion Indian rupees and hopes to touch 150 billion rupees next year. It also plans to expand into Malaysia and Singapore next year in anticipation of a potential listing in 2-3 years, Kalyanaraman said.

Indian silk and jewellery retailer Kalyan Group is holding separate talks with Blackstone, TPG Capital Management and Temasek Holdings to sell a minority stake for USD 200- USD 250 million, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sources said the talks with the private equity firms were ongoing, and no decisions had been made as to the exact amount of the stake sale.

"At this point in time, we cannot give a time frame for the conclusion of the deal," said one of the sources.

When contacted, Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director of Kalyan Group, told Reuters the company is in talks with various investors, but declined to name them or provide details.

Temasek, TPG, and Blackstone Group LP each declined to comment.

Kalyan Group, based in southern India, runs silk and jewellery retail chains across the country.

The company has annual revenues of 94 billion Indian rupees and hopes to touch 150 billion rupees next year. It also plans to expand into Malaysia and Singapore next year in anticipation of a potential listing in 2-3 years, Kalyanaraman said.

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Sahara investors untraceable, search empties Sebi coffers

Watchdog Sebi's quest to locate genuine Sahara investors may be turning largely futile, but the entire process has become a very costly affair for the regulator and its expenses may rise further next year from about Rs 60 crore estimated for the current fiscal.

Also Read: Sahara chief challenges detention by SC

In the high-profile case involving refund of over Rs 24,000 crore and additional interest of 15 percent per annum, the Supreme Court had asked Saharas in August 2012 to submit all documents and refund money to Sebi for further repayments to genuine investors after verifying the documents.

Sebi feels that the storage cost payable for the documents submitted by Saharas will go up further in the next fiscal 2014-15 due to receipt of additional documents, such as property title deeds submitted by Saharas, as also due to storage of scanned images, sources said.

The Supreme Court had ordered that all expenses incurred by Sebi in the refund process would be incurred by Saharas.

The regulator has now sought a permission to use a portion of Rs 5,120 crore -- deposited by Saharas for refund to investors -- for settling expenses incurred or to be incurred in the matters for carrying out directions of the apex court.

After months of delay, Saharas finally submitted 5.28 crore documents to Sebi without providing "any authentic database and the documents were dumped at Sebi in a totally haphazard fashion," according to the latest status update of the Special Enforcement Cell set up by the regulator for Sahara case.

Sebi has completed the work of scanning all these documents and has created computer files running into a total size of 70 terabytes (about 20 crore images). A hard disc with such a storage capacity can contain more than three crore songs.

While the scanning job is over, the work relating to data entry may be still continuing, sources said.

While Saharas have denied the charges that the documents submitted to Sebi were "hopelessly mixed up", Sebi felt it necessary that all the documents be scanned and a proper database be created to move ahead with the investor verification and refund process.

It was felt that the database would also make the work of refund processing much more manageable, besides covering the risk of damage to the documents.

In this context, Sebi had awarded a contract to Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL) for storage, digitisation, scanning etc, for an annual contract value of Rs 25.96 crore and to UTI Infrastructure & Technology Services Ltd (UTI-ITSL) for refund related activities for an annual contract value of Rs 29.87 crore.

In addition to these contracts, Sebi has incurred significant expenses under other heads also with regard to the Sahara case, including towards legal costs and the in-house refund handling expenses, sources said.

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IFC raises Rs 2,000 cr more in international Re bond sale

International Finance Corp, an arm of the World Bank, today raised Rs 2,000 crore through sale of 5-year global rupee bonds, with a yield of 7.8 percent, making it the largest offshore rupee bond issuance till date.

This takes IFC's total fund raising to Rs 4,971.5 crore since November, when it had issued the first such bonds.

Also Read: Are emerging market bonds a better deal than stocks?

The aim of the issuance, which is the fourth reopening of the November issue - when it sold Rs 1,000 crore worth rupee bonds, is to develop capital markets and attract more overseas investors into the country, IFC said in a statement.

"IFC's five-year global rupee bond comes to market at a time when foreign investors are seeing renewed opportunity in the country's capital markets," its vice-president and treasurer Jingdong Hua said.

"The bond supports this momentum while providing a unique bridge that links international investment with India's private sector financing needs," Hua added.

The order book of the bond issue has reached close to Rs 2,500 crore.

More than two-thirds of IFC's subscribers consist of US and European asset managers, insurance companies, private banks and real money investors.

This issuance brings nearly USD 815 million of notes issued under IFC's USD 1-billion global rupee bond programme, launched last November, the statement said.

IFC global rupee bonds are denominated in rupees but settled in US dollars, with all principal and coupon payments tied to the US dollar/rupee exchange rate.

IFC converts bond proceeds from dollars into rupees on the domestic spot exchange market, and uses the rupees to invest in the country.

Under the programme, IFC also has a three-year outstanding bond of Rs 3,000 crore.

India accounted for USD 4.5 billion of IFC's committed investment portfolio as of June 30, 2013 - more than any other country.

In FY'13, IFC invested USD 1.38 billion into the country to achieve several strategic priorities such as promoting inclusive growth in the country's low-income states, addressing climate change, and supporting global economic integration.

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Hospitality sector ruled MA deals in Feb: Grant Thornton

Sector wise, among mergers and acquisitions, Raja Lahiri believes hospitality tops the chart as there were two big deals including Aman Resorts buying Silverlink Holdings and Thomas Cook buying Sterling Holidays in February.

We are seeing good amount of interest in the e-commerce sector. eBay bought Snapdeal along with other private equity sectors

Raja Lahiri

Partner

Grant Thornton

Despite USD 4.2 billion deals in just January and February, the sentiment and momentum remains sluggish at this point in time, says Raja Lahiri, Grant Thornton in an interview to CNBC-TV18's Elan Dutta.

Sector wise, among mergers and acquisitions, Lahiri believes hospitality tops the chart as there were two big deals including Aman Resorts buying Silverlink Holdings and  Thomas Cook buying Sterling Holidays .

Also Read: Hotel Leela to renegotiate with lenders for bridge loan

Below are excerpts from the interview:

Q: Your report suggests that even though the overall deal value is actually lower,  M&A deal volume has managed to remain steady?

A: The deal volumes are fine but again if you see the underlying sentiment and the momentum, it is still moderated. However, if you look at the month of February we still had USD 2.6 billion of deals. If you look in the first two months, we had USD 4.2 billion which is not a bad number but again important point is that the sentiment and the momentum still remains sluggish at this point of time.

Q: What caught your attention for the month of February, sector wise?

A: Sector wise from an M&A perspective we saw hospitality as a key sector. We saw Aman Resorts buying out Silverlink Holdings which is basically a clutch of resorts that DLF had bought which they have kind of sold off to Aman Resorts; USD 300 plus million transaction. The second was Thomas Cook buying out Sterling Holidays.

From a private equity perspective the good news is we see some interest in the infrastructure side. We saw Canadian Pension Investment Board putting in a good sum of money in Larsen and Toubro infrastructure and  IDFC and Temasek parking their money in GMR Infrastructure . It was a transaction where they swap their stake in GMR Energy into GMR Infra and so, these are the top deals.

Thirdly, we are seeing good amount of interest in the e-commerce sector. eBay bought Snapdeal along with other private equity sectors. Fourthly, from a telecom perspective we saw  Bharti Airtel buying Loop Mobile which again is an emerging trend of consolidation in the Indian telecom sector.

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