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Tata Metaliks' new pipe facility comes up at Kharagpur - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 1:18 pm RBI eases lending norms for diamond industry - domain-B
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 1:18 pm Africa can survive global crisis - IMFKIGALI (Reuters) - Most African governments should continue their development spending plans and draw down foreign exchange reserves to bolster their economies while global commodity prices fall, the International Monetary Fund said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:15 pm India should still see growth at near 7%: KamathIndia should still see growth at near 7 per cent despite the last quarter numbers coming in at 5.3 per cent, a top banker said here.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:15 pm Subhiksha fails to pay rent; to give up 50% of its propertyChennaibased retail chain Subhiksha has decided to surrender almost 50% of its property since it cannot pay rental costs anymore. This move by Subhiksha is an attempt to save itself from further legal tangles.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Mar 2009 | 11:48 am Obama says will do all necessary to boost economyWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama promised on Saturday to do "all that's necessary" to boost the economy and warned, in an opening shot at critics of his budget proposals, that the country had tough choices ahead.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 11:03 am Ramalinga Raju's brother surrenders in courtB. Suryanarayana Raju, the younger brother of disgraced founder of Satyam Computer Services B. Ramalinga Raju and who had been on the run since the $1.43 billion financial scam in the company broke, Saturday surrendered in a court here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Mar 2009 | 11:00 am Tata Metaliks identifies land in Karnataka for steel projectPig iron manufacturer Tata Metaliks, which plans to establish an integrated steel plant in Karnataka, has identified land for this some 300 km from Bangalore, a top company official said here Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Mar 2009 | 11:00 am Raju judicial custody extended till March 20 - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:33 am 68 percent working women suffer from lifestyle diseases: AssochamMore than two-third of working women in India suffer from lifestyle diseases, according to a survey conducted by an industry lobby on the eve of Women's Day Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:30 am Britain may get 77 pct Lloyds stake in asset dealLONDON (Reuters) - Britain will get a stake of up to 77 percent in Lloyds Banking Group after agreeing a deal to cap its losses at 260 billion pounds ($370 billion) of risky assets, the struggling bank said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:21 am M&M unveils the new, affordable Scorpio! - NDTV.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:04 am Weekly wrap: Sensex loses 566 pts - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 9:16 am Slowdown in India until Sept, no deflation - officialMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's economic slowdown will continue until September but the right mix of monetary and fiscal policies will enable growth to improve soon after, a top government official said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 9:10 am TRAI mulls tariff regulation for DTHThe Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will consider tariff regulation in the DTH sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:53 am JK Tyres rolls out tubeless tyres for aftermarketJK Tyre on Friday announced the launch of The Ultima NXT tubeless range for the aftermarket buyers to support A and B segment cars.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:49 am Airlines look to women to fly highDownturn in the economy has made the travel industry look for a new set of flyers. Now that the corporates are flying less, the latest trend is to focus on women and children.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:41 am Bomb attack on Pakistani police kills eightPeshawar: Eight Pakistani police and soldiers were killed on Saturday in a booby-trapped car bomb attack on a police van on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said. Pakistan has been hit by a wave of bombings in recent years, most carried out by militants linked to the Taliban or al Qaeda who are opposed to the government’s support for the United States. The car bomb went off as the men approached to investigate following a tip-off that a body was in the parked car, said Peshawar police chief Safat Ghayur. “As the police patrol van reached the spot the vehicle blew up. We lost all the men,” Ghayur told Reuters. Five of the dead were police and three were paramilitary soldiers, police said. Most of the bomb attacks in Pakistan over the past couple of years have been aimed at security forces, particularly in the northwest, although militants have also attacked politicians and targets with Western connections. There have been attacks in all major cities. Last Tuesday, gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in the northeastern city of Lahore, killing seven Pakistanis and wounding six Sri Lankan players and two team officials. Nuclear-armed Pakistan is also struggling with an economy only staying afloat with the help of an International Monetary Fund loan, while its one-year-old civilian government is embroiled in a confrontation with its main rival. The problems have raised fears about prospects for a country that some analysts fear could become a failed state. In a separate attack on Saturday, a roadside bomb blew up as a military convoy was passing in the Darra Adam Kheil region, south of Peshawar, killing two passers-by and wounding six soldiers, security officials said. Pakistani Taliban militants have been active in the area in recent months. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:31 am Gold may trade between USD 905-950/oz - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:03 am Another loss-making week at Indian marketsIndian equities markets were down in the dumps during the week just ended as investors continued to offload stocks amid worsening domestic and global economic cues, resulting in a key index dipping below its three-year low.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Pakistani militants seen most likely behind Lahore attackIslamabad: An investigation into the attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in Lahore has found signs that Pakistani militants with possible ties to al Qaeda were responsible, a senior government official said on Saturday. The brazen attack by a dozen gunmen on the team and its police escorts as they drove to the main stadium in Lahore on Tuesday raised new fears about prospects for a nuclear-armed country that some analysts fear could become a failed state. “The indications are that it was one of our own homegrown groups, with possible linkages abroad,” said the government official with knowledge of the investigation. With an economy being kept afloat by an International Monetary Fund loan, Pakistan has been hit by a wave of attacks in recent years, most carried out by militants linked to the Taliban or al Qaeda opposed to government support for the United States. The civilian government which came to power a year ago is embroiled in a confrontation with the main opposition party over a court ruling banning its leaders from elected office and forcing the party’s government from power in Punjab province. Government critics have blamed the political machinations in Punjab, of which Lahore is capital, for the security failing that allowed the gunmen to attack the Sri Lankans. More political trouble is looming for the government and President Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Anti-government lawyers backed by opposition parties are due to launch a cross-country protest convoy on 12 March to press for an independent judiciary. Police have rounded up scores of suspects but have yet to announce a breakthrough in their investigation of Tuesday’s attack in which seven Pakistanis - six policemen and the driver of a bus carrying match officials - were killed. Six Sri Lankan players and two team officials were wounded. “It’s a tough job. We’re connecting the dots. We’re making every effort to get to the bottom and hopefully we’ll do it,” said Salahuddin Niazi, the policeman heading the investigation. “Any word before finalizing the investigation will benefit the criminals. Let’s finalize it, then we’ll be able to point the finger at someone or a group or groups,” he said. The Friday Times newspaper, citing a former high-ranking intelligence official in Punjab, said al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militants were responsible for the attack. The group has been behind some of the most audacious attacks in Pakistan in recent years. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, the government official said groups such as the LeJ were highest on the list of suspects. Some of the explosives carried by the assailants were not available in Pakistan, he said. The official was dismissive of media speculation that old rival India may have been behind the attack as payback for the assault by Pakistani militants on Mumbai in November. The News daily, in an editorial on Saturday, also admonished Pakistani journalists for speculating on Indian involvement without evidence. “The fact is that any kind of truth will emerge only if we can carry out a proper, impartial investigation ... blind bias will take us nowhere,” the News said. The Dawn newspaper said on Friday investigators had ruled out the possibility of involvement by Indian agents or ethnic minority Tamil guerrillas from Sri Lanka. Members of the banned Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba were emerging as the most likely culprits, it said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Mar 2009 | 7:37 am MSSRF unveils fishermen-friendly mobile phonePuducherry: A fishermen-friendly mobile facility which would provide vital informations like height of sea waves and weather report has been launched here for the first time in the country. The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) manning the Village Resource Centre (VRC) at a bio-village here launched the icon-based mobile facility. Agricultural scientist Professor M S Swaminathan, founder of the MSSRF, with the support of Prof Bruce Alberts, Department of Biochemistry and Biosciences, University of California (USA), launched the mobile phone which would furnish informations including weather reports, local news, potential fishing zone and market price to the fishermen. VRC sources told PTI that the pilot project was the first in the country and used a software developed by ‘Qualcomm´. The information being provided in English by the Hyderbad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) to the VRC would be translated into the regional language for the onward communication to the fishermen, the sources said. The mobile phones with the software facility were supplied to the fishermen by the foundation on an experimental basis and 12 fishermen had been provided the service in the initial phase. Alberts, also the chief editor of a science magazine, visited the bio village council attached to the VRC and interacted with its members. The council functionaries would promote natural resources and conserve them in the village. They would also develop micro enterprises in the villages, the foundation said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Mar 2009 | 7:02 am MSSRF unveils fishermen-friendly mobile phonePuducherry: A fishermen-friendly mobile facility which would provide vital informations like height of sea waves and weather report has been launched here for the first time in the country. The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) manning the Village Resource Centre (VRC) at a bio-village here launched the icon-based mobile facility. Agricultural scientist Professor M S Swaminathan, founder of the MSSRF, with the support of Prof Bruce Alberts, Department of Biochemistry and Biosciences, University of California (USA), launched the mobile phone which would furnish informations including weather reports, local news, potential fishing zone and market price to the fishermen. VRC sources told PTI that the pilot project was the first in the country and used a software developed by ‘Qualcomm´. The information being provided in English by the Hyderbad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) to the VRC would be translated into the regional language for the onward communication to the fishermen, the sources said. The mobile phones with the software facility were supplied to the fishermen by the foundation on an experimental basis and 12 fishermen had been provided the service in the initial phase. Alberts, also the chief editor of a science magazine, visited the bio village council attached to the VRC and interacted with its members. The council functionaries would promote natural resources and conserve them in the village. They would also develop micro enterprises in the villages, the foundation said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 7 Mar 2009 | 7:02 am Sterlite to buy US firm Asarco for $1.7 billionNew Delhi: Sterlite Industries will pay $1.7 billion in cash and notes to buy bankrupt US copper miner Asarco LLC, lower than the $2.6 billion it offered last year, the Indian firm said on Saturday. Sterlite, a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources, said in a statement it had agreed with Asarco to pay $1.1 billion in cash, and $600 million in senior secured non-interest bearing promissory notes, to be paid over a period of nine years, for substantially all the operating assets of the US firm. Sterlite and Asarco’s parent Grupo Mexico have been in talks over the deal for months. Last October, Sterlite backed out of a $2.6-billion deal to buy the company, saying it would need a substantial reduction in price after a drop in the copper markets. “We are happy that we have reached agreement with Asarco on these new terms,” Sterlite chairman Anil Agarwal said in a statement. “This acquisition is in line with our strategy of leveraging our existing skills to become a diversified global copper producer and creating long-term value for shareholders.” Sterlite said, that of the $600 million payment in notes, it would have to pay $20 million each year from the end of the second year for a period of seven years and make a terminal payment of $460 million at the end of the ninth year. If the annual average of daily copper prices in a particular year increased beyond $6,000 per tonne, the annual payment that year would be increased to a maximum of $66.67 million, but the total payment in notes remains unchanged at $600 million, Sterlite said. “The deal looks to be valued quite fairly,” said Shraddha Shroff, a metals analyst with Mumbai brokerage K.R. Choksey. “We expect the commodity cycle to start reversing in six to eight months and Sterlite will be well placed now to reap the benefit.” Prices of copper, which is used in power and construction, have fallen about 60% since a record $8,940 in July 2008. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for three month delivery ended at $3,723 a tonnes on Friday. Asarco, which owns three copper mines in Arizona, sold 237,000 tonnes of refined copper in 2008 and its mines have reserves of 5 million tonnes of contained copper, Sterlite said. A deal with Sterlite would allow Asarco to exit bankruptcy after seeking court protection from creditors amid a slew of environmental lawsuits in 2005. “What we need to watch out for is how much funds they (Sterlite) need to put in to revive Asarco,” Shroff said. RBS Securities was the financial adviser for Sterlite, while Asarco was advised by Barclays Capital, the Indian firm said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Mar 2009 | 6:47 am China says G20 summit success a priorityBEIJING (Reuters) - China wants the G20 summit to make progress against global financial turmoil, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, stressing the economic imperatives of China's foreign policy and the desire for solid U.S. ties.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 6:44 am Sterlite in new deal to buy Asarco for $1.7 blnNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Sterlite Industries will pay $1.7 billion in cash and notes to buy bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC, lower than the $2.6 billion it offered last year, the Indian firm said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 6:32 am Pakistan giving Interpol data on Mumbai attacks probeParis: Pakistan has agreed to give Interpol DNA profiles and other data from its probe into the Mumbai bombings to help investigate possible broader international links, the international police agency said. Interpol will then compare the data to what it has received from India, which accuses militants from Pakistan of carrying out the attack. “Pakistan understands that unless terrorist-related information is compared against Interpol’s global databases and shared among its global network, an international terrorist investigation can never be considered complete and all countries which are not provided with this vital information remain at risk,” Interpol’s secretary-general, Ronald K Noble, said in a statement on Friday. Noble on Friday met in Islamabad with Pakistan’s Interior minister Rehman Malik and the director of the Federal Investigation Agency, Tariq Khosa. Pakistan agreed to send Interpol the DNA profiles obtained during the agency’s investigation “to determine whether there are even broader international links to the Mumbai terrorist attacks,” the Lyon, France-based Interpol said. Pakistan gave Interpol copies of requests it had sent to four countries for additional investigative leads, Interpol said. The statement did not name the countries. India blames Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group believed to have links to Pakistani intelligence, for the November bombings that killed 164 people. Interpol also offered passport screening technology to Pakistan to help monitor its borders. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Mar 2009 | 6:07 am CLB decision vindicates our stand: Maytas Infra - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:44 am ICICI Bank cuts home loan rates 25-50 bps - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:34 am Sterlite, Asarco sign $1.1 billion buyout deal - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:25 am Qualified investors to have $150 m as net assets - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:10 am Sterlite in pact with Asarco for USD 1.7 bn buyoutMetal czar Anil Agarwal-promoted Sterlite Industries has signed an agreement to acquire Asarco Llc for USD 1.7 billionSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:05 am Bollywood goes into exam mode, no big releases in MarchThe Class 10 and 12 board exams have begun and Bollywood too seems to be in exam mode, - with very few films releasing and no big-budget film on the anvil.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Mar 2009 | 4:31 am Nepal asks India for trade treaty with longer shelf lifeIndia and Nepal are seeking to update their nearly 60-year-old trade treaty with the new draft expected to be ready before India goes to staggered polls from April 16.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am Stanford receiver cuts 1,000 U.S. jobsHOUSTON (Reuters) - The court-appointed lawyer overseeing the assets and operations of Texas billionaire Allen Stanford's companies on Friday told 1,000 U.S. employees their jobs have been terminated and said most of the businesses' operations will be discontinued.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Mar 2009 | 1:22 am Mutual fund see Rs 47 tn redemption in FY`09!As investors continue to shy away from the melting stock markets, the mutual fund industry saw withdrawals of a whopping Rs 47,00,000 crore in the 11 months of this fiscal.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am `MTNL to soft-launch 3G in Mumbai by April-end` !State-run MTNL, which has already rolled out third-generation or 3G services in the capital, will soft-launch the new technology in Mumbai by end-April, a company official said.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am SEBI sends notice to Price Waterhouse in Satyam case!Market regulator SEBI has sent a show cause notice to Price Waterhouse, which audited the scam- tainted Satyam Computer`s accounts, under regulations dealing with fraudulent and unfair trade.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am BSNL to roll-out 3G service in June !BSNL is all set to launch its 3G operations in 700 cities across nation by June.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am 7% growth seen in late FY`10: PC!Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said that domestic economy will clock seven percent in FY`10.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am Satyam can sell 51% stake!Satyam on Friday received SEBI nod to sell 51% stake in the company.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am Infrastructure growth drops to 1.4% in Jan!Mirroring the dismal performance in other sectors, growth in infrastructure industries like steel, coal, crude oil, electricity and petroleum products has fallen to 1.4% in Jan this year from 3.6% in the same month last year.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am US jobless rate bolts to 8.1%!The US` unemployment rate bolted to 8.1% in February, the highest since late 1983, as cost-cutting employers slashed 651,000 jobs amid a deepening recession.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am ICICI Bank cuts new home loan rates !ICICI Bank has reduced its interest rates on new home loans by 0.25-0.50%.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am India`s forex reserves fell by $249 mn!The foreign exchange reserves of the country declined by USD 249 million to USD 249.278 billion during the week ended February 27 as compared to USD 249.527 billion in the previous week.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:14 am The legacy of Dr Singh’s teamWith the announcement of dates for the 2009 general elections, the UPA Government’s term comes to a virtual end; what we have now is a form of caretaker-ship. Whatever the Manmohan Singh team had to say or do for the economy has been said andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am TRAI mulls tariff regulation for DTHNew Delhi, March 6 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will consider tariff regulation in the DTH sector.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am ICICI Bank cuts rates on new home loansMumbai, March 6 Private sector ICICI Bank has cut the interest rates on floating home loans for new borrowers by 25-50 basis points, with immediate effect.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am LIC increases stake in banks as FIIs go on selling spreeKolkata, March 6 Some FIIs have been offloading bank stocks this year but Life Insurance Corporation has been increasing holdings in banks’ shares, both in private and public sectors, through market purchases.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am Walking the talk on footwear price tags in ItalyMilan, March 6 What is the price of this pair? That is usually the first question the group of Indian retailers asks at every stall in the Micam ShoEvent, the Italian international footwear fair.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am Core sector growth dips to 1.4% in JanuaryNew Delhi, March 6 Growth in the country’s six infrastructure industries slowed to 1.4 per cent (provisional) in January this year compared with 3.6 per cent in January last year mainly on account of deceleration in coal production andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am IT stocks advance on attractive valuationMumbai, March 6 Majority of IT shares moved up on Friday, with investors picking up these stocks for their attractive valuations in a falling market as compared to otherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am Satyam to call for global bidsHyderabad, March 6 With the Securities and Exchange Board of India giving the go-ahead, Satyam Computer Services will soon kick-start the global competitive bidding process to invite a strategicSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am Essar Group bets big on offshore services bizThe Essar Group, with interests ranging from steel and shipping to refining, is sharpening its focus on the offshore oil field servicesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am Trading interest in index options gaining strengthMumbai/Chennai, March 6 Trading volumes in index options have been steadily rising, as a result of investors seeking a hedge against volatility in a declining market.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Mar 2009 | 12:00 am IBM unlikely to bid for Satyam stake - sourcesNEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM is unlikely to bid for Satyam Computer Services Ltd as the advantage of expanding in India is outweighed by the legal and financial risks related to Satyam's accounting scandal, according to people familiar with the matter.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 11:55 pm Birlas in two minds over Lodha caseThe Birla-Lodha court case over the last will and testament of late Priyamvada Devi Birla, widow of M P Birla, seems to be taking yet another interesting turn.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:22 pm DGCA mulls fare structure normsCalls meet with airline CEOs next week to discuss this issue.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:21 pm CIL targets 6 mt imports next fiscalDiscussions are on at the ministerial levels to draw up estimates on the amount of additional coal that would be required by power utilities and the price of coal imports.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:20 pm M&M's Scorpio will cost up to Rs 70,000 lessAutomaker Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday launched new models of Scorpio and said it has reduced prices of the premium sports utility vehicle by Rs 70,000 to Rs 25,000.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:19 pm PE funds for Lavasa likely by JuneProject ahead of schedule despite slowdown in realty sector.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:17 pm Casio bets on India-specific productsCasio India, the wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based Casio Computer Co, is banking on India-specific products to strengthen its market share in music instruments.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:09 pm Start public sector cos, Chidambaram tells USChidambaram said India is surrounded by a "ring of fire" in the form of politically unstable neighbours.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:07 pm Realty hiring set to drop 50%The realty sector is on a shaky ground. With the industry moving into a freefall, the hiring outlook for the second quarter of 2009 may look gloomy, say industry analysts.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:05 pm Sebi slaps notice on PW for alleged FUTP violationThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has issued a show cause notice to audit firm Price Waterhouse under the Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practises (FUTP) regulations for its alleged role in the Satyam scam, reports CNBCTV18, qouting sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 9:51 pm Will gift Gandhi\'s item to Indian govt: MallyaVijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group, said being an Indian at heart, he believes that if things of tremendous national heritage and importance come up for auction or sale it should be acquired because these are once in a lifetime opportunities and that these should come home. He added he will gift them to the Government of India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 9:15 pm Satyam\'s financials imp for bidders now: Hinduja GroupThe decks have been cleared for the Satyam stake sale as the market regulator Sebi endorsed the board\'s stake sale plan. Prabal Banerjee, CFO, Hinduja Group, said the next most important thing for any bidder is a clear contour of the financials of the company the restated financial statements.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 8:42 pm Board rejig to revive, salvage reputation: Maytas InfraMaytas Infrastructure has welcomed the newly appointed board members, reports CNBCTV18. The reconstitution of the board will help revive and salvage the company\'s reputation. The Company Law Board order will help company to refocus energies on project implementation, it added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 8:00 pm Sun Pharma extends Taro offer expiration date to March 20Sun Pharma has extended the Taro offer expiration date to March 20, reports CNBCTV18, quoting NewsWire18. It expects to extend offer while temporary order remains outstanding. The Sun Pharma extension complies with the court order.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:59 pm BSchools see only 40% placement in one weekPlacement season for BSchools began on a dismal note and things don\'t seem to be improving, with time. CNBCTV18\'s Kritika Saxena delves deeper.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:45 pm Subhiksha’s move raises questionsNew Delhi / Chennai: While a Chennai high court verdict on the proposed merger between ailing retailer Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd and Blue Green Constructions and Investments Ltd is expected on 9 March, information sourced from Blue Green’s website raises fresh questions about prior relations between Subhiksha promoter R. Subramanian and the potential reverse merger target. Click here to watch video In June, Subramanian had picked up a 40% stake in little-known Blue Green. Subramanian had then said the acquisition in the listed company would help it both enter the consumer durables area and access capital markets without going through a fresh listing process. “We want to enter the consumer durables space in a big way and Blue Green also had similar plans,’’ Subramanian was quoted as saying at that time. According to documents released by managers to the merger offer Collins Stewart Inga Pvt. Ltd, Blue Green had reported a total income of Rs2.06 lakh and profit after tax of Rs19,000 “before prior period expense adjustment” for the year ended 31 March. Blue Green’s director’s report for 2006, available at www.blgrconstructions.com/DirectorsReport.htm states that an “M. Rathinakumar” stepped down as a director of the firm on or before 10 April 2006, almost two years before the stake acquisition. According to documents filed with the ministry of corporate affairs website by Subhiksha, the company secretary of Subhiksha happens to be one “M. Rathinakumar”. It is uncertain if both individuals are the same and when approached for a clarification, Subhiksha’s company secretary M. Rathinakumar asked us to route all queries through the managing director’s office. (Subramanian was repeatedly approached by Mint for clarifications on 5 and 6 March. He said that he was not in a position to respond and was waiting to hear from his IT staff.) Information on domain name registrar Net4India Ltd further indicates that the email address to contact the owners of Blue Green’s web address is info@viswapriya.com. This information was added to the Net4India database on 10 June 2006. Vishwapriya Financial Services and Securities Ltd is the name of a non-banking financial company started by Subramanian in 1991, which would later be involved in an IPO (initial public offering) financing scandal. The controversy led Securities and Exchange Board of India to place a five-year ban on Viswapriya from dealing in the capital markets. In response to an emailed questionnaire, R. Ganesh, chief manager of Viswapriya, clarified that the firm currently had no relations whatsoever with Subhiksha. Further, the telephone number shown on the Blue Green website is identical to those of two other listed companies: Aramusk Infrastructure Investments Pvt. Ltd and Beta-Kappa Investments Ltd. All three companies also have websites that are very similar in design, layout and uploaded information. Aramusk’s domain name was created on 11 June 2006, one day after Blue Green’s. Beta-Kappa’s domain name registration information gives the administrative contact as a “Subramanian, Ramaswamy”. In addition, Beta-Kappa’s board of director information shows a “M. Rathinakumar” as a member of the board since 3 July 1995. It is clear from this information that directly and indirectly all three companies, including Blue Green, may have ties to Subramanian and key Subhiksha personnel that trace back to well before the June 2008 stake acquisition in the company by Subhiksha’s promoters. Calls made by Mint to the identical phone number given on all three companies’ websites were automatically forwarded to a company called Matrix Financial Services Ltd. (Phone calls to confirm ownership of this company were not returned.) These links with Blue Green raise fresh doubts about the merger and potential conflict of interest issues arising out of Subramanian’s ties to both companies involved. Subhiksha Trading Service Ltd is a national chain of discount retail stores, promoted by Subramanian, and started in Chennai in 1997. From a base of less than 200 stores in 2005, the chain aggressively expanded till it had nearly 1,600 stores by January 2009. Prominent investors in the chain include ICICI Venture and Premji Invest. Subhiksha shelved plans for an IPO last year citing adverse market conditions. Subramanian initially denied reports of financial troubles in October before admitting in January that the chain was crippled by a lack of funds. All stores in the chain were subsequently shut down. A spokesperson for ICICI Venture declined to comment for this story as the matter was still pending in court. A person familiar with the terms of the proposed merger said that a large number of investors, lenders and creditors to Subhiksha have voiced opposition to the deal proposed by Subramanian. sidin.v@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:30 pm IPL on track, resets dates to avoid overlapNew Delhi: Fans of the Indian Premier League (IPL) can rejoice: The show will go on. The government on Friday put aside its fears that security forces would be stretched to the limit in May, when they would have to guard both polling stations during national elections and cricket grounds for the popular league. IPL organizers responded with a promise to finalize a new schedule, which would ensure that no match would be played on 16 May—when votes will be counted—or on the day any of the 14 cities where the games are to be played go to the polls. “We want to assure cricket fans and everyone involved with event that the IPL is on,” IPL commissioner Lalit Modi told reporters in Mumbai on Friday, asserting that there would be proper security for players and spectators. “There’s no reservation about security, we have our security experts in and (are) holding discussions with them.” In the aftermath of the debate on security issues, industry experts are now arguing for an improved security system Modi’s comments allayed fears that the cricket competition, played in a 20-over format, would have to be postponed because of the general election. The issue of security at the IPL matches was first raised by Union home minister P. Chidambaram, after the 3 March terror attack in Lahore on a convoy carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team led to the death of six policemen and injured seven Lankan cricketers. He had suggested that the tournament be postponed since it would be difficult to provide security cover to players and spectators. A few state governments echoed his fears. IPL organizers responded within a day with a new schedule that ensured there would be no overlap between the matches and the elections. All this changed on Friday. Chidambaram told reporters in Hyderabad, “Cricket in India is completely safe, but the dates for IPL matches need to be rejigged.” Allaying fears that the entire tournament would either be delayed or even cancelled, the minister added, “We’ll help in staging the IPL matches, even though redrawing of the scheduling appears unavoidable”. In response, Modi said, “We’re extremely grateful and thankful to the home minister for his clarification that security will be provided for IPL matches.” Modi said the IPL governing body would soon make public the revised schedule. For IPL franchisee holders, the news comes as a relief. “We are happy the issue has been resolved. Now we can get back to organizing the matches and work with police and local authorities to enure it all goes smoothly,” said Amrit Mathur, chief operating officer of the Delhi Daredevils team. Added Darshan M., vice-president of commercial operations for Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad team, “If IPL had been postponed, there would have been a lot to pay, not just for franchises, but more so for partners who have tied up with franchises. There are television shows already on air and merchandise ready to hit the shelves...there are sponsors who are banking on IPL as their summer plan...so this is encouraging news.” In the aftermath of the debate on security issues, industry experts are now arguing for a substantially improved system that will make international cricketers secure about playing in India. “BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) needs to use some of its funds to get world-renowned security that will give comfort to international players,” said Jamie Stewart, managing director at Commune Sport and Entertainment, a sports sponsorship and marketing agency that provides services to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Mumbai Indians. Stewart was also the former ICC global sponsorship manager. In an email response, Harsha Bhogle, sports commentator, added, “It would (raise concern) among some players and understandably so; especially because of what happened in Mumbai and so it would be up to the IPL to issue guarantees and up to the players to accept or reject them.” But franchisees are optimistic. “There is no apprehension expressed by international players; in fact, they are looking forward to it. Now that BCCI and the government have resolved the issue, the necessary arrangements should be put into place,” said Delhi Daredevils’ Mathur. AP contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:19 pm Commonwealth village workers not paid wagesNew Delhi: The Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi is unlikely to be completed on time because of alleged delays in payment by the developer, Emaar MGF Land Ltd. Around 8,500 athletes and delegates are expected to descend on the city in October 2010 for a sporting extravaganza. But work at the village where they will be put up has fallen behind schedule, as at least half the workers employed at the site have walked away because they haven’t been paid wages by a cash-strapped civil contractor. Civil contractor for the project says it has not been getting full payments Shravan is one such worker. The 24-year-old is a migrant from the Ghaziapur district of Uttar Pradesh and gets a daily wage of Rs140. “I have not been paid for the last three months,” he says sitting at a tea kiosk near the huts built for the workers. “When we asked for payment, the contractors Ahluwalia told us that the developer owes them some Rs100 crore. That’s why they have not been able to pay us.” Many other workers at the site also said that they have not been paid since December. Ahluwalia Contracts India Pvt. Ltd, civil contractor for the project, admits it has not been receiving full payments from the developer, Emaar MGF, for the past five-six months. “Close to Rs85 crore of payment has been blocked,” says Arun Sahai, chief executive of Ahluwalia Contracts. “Emaar is paying us piecemeal. That’s how work has slowed down.” He, however, said that workers have been paid till January. Emaar MGF denied in an email that it owes any payment to Ahluwalia. The workers say they had even gone on strike on 4 March to demand payment. “Around 40-50 people in my department went on strike...we have been told we will get our dues soon, but I am not sure,” says Shravan. “I have a wife and child to support, and I cannot go on working like this without money.” In June 2007, Emaar MGF, the joint venture between Dubai-based Emaar Properties PJSC and India’s MGF Developments Ltd, won the bid to build the Commonwealth Games Village over 118 acres near the Akshardham Temple in east Delhi. Emaar is building 1,168 flats at the village for athletes and delegates. These flats will later be sold to buyers in October-November 2011. Emaar MGF is developing the project in partnership with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), a government agency. Of the total flats built, Emaar MGF will sell 768 flats at market rates and the remaining will be sold by DDA after the games at lower prices. Emaar has priced the flats at over Rs2 crore. Unlike, most real estate developers who have cut prices because of the slowdown in the realty market, Emaar says it has no plan to reduce the prices of the flats. A fair bit of work seemed to have been done at the site when this reporter visited it. The basic structure of all the 34 towers that are expected to come up on the site is ready. Finishing work was being done inside the towers, said Chakraborty, a project officer at the site who gave only one name. Around 60% of the work has been completed, he said. There were guards at the site and labourers were not being allowed to speak to Mint. The number of workers at the site has come down drastically, as most have changed jobs because their wages have not been paid. “There were 7,000-8,000 workers at the site earlier, now we have around 2,000-2,500 workers,” says Sahai. “As things stand today, we really would not be in a position to comment on whether the project will get completed on time...funds have to come.” According to Ahluwalia Contracts, it is spending Rs20-30 crore every month, but Emaar MGF has been paying it only Rs10-15 crore. “The deficit in payment has been growing and it has piled up to around Rs85 crore now,” says Sahai. The fund squeeze has also affected Ahluwalia Contracts’ ability to procure raw materials such as cement. The contractor, however, does not blame Emaar MGF alone for the delays in payments. “It is not their fault entirely,” Sahai says. “It is a known fact that the project is facing a financial crunch due to several factors...sales of flats has come down because of the pending court case against the project and the crash in the real estate market. Emaar has even approached DDA for funds, but nothing has been forthcoming so far.” Emaar MGF was to fund the construction through the sale of flats. Bookings for the flats opened in 2008. The firm has so far sold around 260. Home sales in the Capital and its suburbs such as Noida, Greater Noida and Gurgaon are down almost 80% compared with a year-and-a-half back, according to real estate brokers. In December, Emaar MGF had written to DDA for a Rs300 crore loan. DDA is yet to decide on it. “All options are being explored,” Neemo Dhar, a DDA spokesperson says. “I cannot share the options since nothing has been decided yet.” Meanwhile, work at the site has slowed. “Up to January, we were meeting all our milestones as stipulated,” Sahai says. “The project was going as per schedule and we would have completed by March 2010 had this payment issue not cropped up.” “Development work at the Games village has been on schedule so far and we have recently achieved the third milestone in line with the project developer’s agreement signed with the DDA”, Emaar MGF said in its emailed statement. Ahluwalia Contracts said though it has not been getting full payment for the past five-six months, it managed to pay workers till January by using its own funds. “We need funds urgently. Once work stops at the project, it will be very difficult to mobilize 7,000-8,000 workers again,” Sahai says. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:07 pm The winning Gandhi bidThere is rich irony in the fact that a liquor baron, who is described as the king of good times, has bought the sandals, glasses and other personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, a frugal and abstemious soul. Vijay Mallya paid $1.8 million (Rs9.27 crore) for Mahatma memorabilia—and has been swamped by affectionate praise from ordinary Indians. What Mallya does with his money is really nobody’s business, but we cannot but help wonder whether he overpaid for no fault of his. India’s cultural affairs minister Ambika Soni said she had been instructed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to do “whatever possible” to ensure that the Gandhi items were brought back to India. There was enough national debate to tell the outside world that India was desperate to win the bid. Was that sensible strategy? The reserve price of the items was $20,000-30,000, far less than the final sale price. You do not need a game theorist to know that India sent the wrong signals and helped push up the final price. A collective poker face would have helped. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:05 pm Satyam gets nod to sell majority holdingBangalore: Satyam Computer Services Ltd has won approval to sell a majority stake in itself as the company at the centre of India’s biggest corporate fraud inquiry seeks to restore confidence with investors and clients. The shares rose. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India approved plans for Satyam to sell 51% of the firm, the Hyderabad-based software services provider said on Friday.  Front-runner: IBM’s corporate headquarters in the US. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), the world’s largest computer services provider, and Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), India’s biggest engineering and construction firm, are the leading contenders to buy Satyam, Global Equities Research Llc. had said in a report on 24 February. Karen Davis, a Shanghai-based spokeswoman at IBM, declined to comment. L&T hasn’t yet decided whether it will bid for Satyam, chief financial officer Y.M. Deosthalee said on Friday. The Mumbai-based company, which owns 12% of Satyam, needs more details on the bidding process, he said, without elaborating. Spice Corp., with businesses in entertainment and communication technologies, according to its website, will bid for a 51% stake in Satyam, chairman B.K. Modi said by phone from London on Friday. Spice, which in January offered Rs2,000 crore to buy control of the Indian software provider, will bid for Satyam on an as-is-where-is basis, Modi said. Satyam shares rose 20% on Friday, valuing the company at Rs2,840 crore. Its state-appointed board is expediting the sale to woo back investors after founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju said in January he had fudged the company’s account books by at least Rs7,136 crore, pushing down the stock by 76%. “This means that the process can now move forward because the more Satyam delays, the greater the risk that customers will desert it,” Apurva Shah, head of research at Mumbai-based Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd, said. Satyam gained Rs7.05 to close at Rs42.15 in Mumbai trading on Friday, the most since 27 January, while the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex rose 1.6%. The stock has lost 90% of its value in the past year, while the Sensex has declined 50%. Bidders, aiming to gain Satyam’s workforce of about 40,000 employees and customers, including Cisco Systems Inc., may face the challenge of making offers before the Indian company restates its financials. The buyer will also have to consider potential liabilities from lawsuits filed against Satyam in the US. Under the terms of the global auction, potential investors should have net assets of at least $150 million (Rs773 crore), according to Satyam’s statement. The winning bidder would purchase a 31% stake through new shares and then make a mandatory open offer to buy at least 20% of the company, it said. If Satyam’s buyer fails to acquire 51% of the company after the open offer, the suitor will have the right to buy more new shares to make up the shortfall, the software provider said. The investor acquiring control won’t be allowed to sell its holding for three years, the statement said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:04 pm Liquor baron Mallya buys Gandhi items in New YorkNew York: Vijay Mallya, the Indian liquor baron behind Kingfisher Beer, paid $2.1 million (Rs10.81 crore) on Thursday for glasses, sandals and other items belonging to Mahatma Gandhi, an official at his company said. Tony Bedi, president of the US branch of Bangalore-based United Breweries Holdings Ltd, the industrial group run by Mallya, beat a phone bidder to the objects at an auction hosted by Antiquorum. The items included Gandhi’s sandals, glasses, a pocket watch and a supper bowl.  Indian heritage: Tony Bedi (bottom right) makes the winning bid, on behalf of Vijay Mallya, for the items belonging to Mahatma Gandhi. Brendan Mcdermid / Reuters James Otis, the collector who put the items up for auction, caused a diplomatic furore when he said on the eve of the auction that he would withdraw the items from the sale unless India increased its spending to fight poverty. Before the auction, culture minister Ambika Soni said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had instructed to do whatever possible to repatriate the Gandhi items. At a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, Soni said India had retrieved the items with Mallya’s help and that the government had stayed away from the bidding process to prevent the commercialization of such objects. “They are invaluable to India,” Soni said. Tushar Gandhi, the leader’s great grandson, said he feels proud an Indian had bought the lot, according to ‘PTI’. The objects were given by Gandhi to various acquaintances, according to the online catalogue of Antiquorum. The sandals were reportedly given to a British army officer in Aden in 1931, after he photographed Gandhi at a peace conference. The dinner bowl and pocket watch were given to Gandhi’s niece and longtime personal assistant Abha. Thursday’s bidding was mainly between Bedi, who spoke by phone as he raised his paddle, and the phone rival, said to be based in London. Bidding paused at $800,000, then shot up to a final price of $1.8 million. With commission, the winner will pay $2.1 million for the items. ‘Forbes’ magazine said last year that Mallya’s net worth plunged to $390 million in November, from $1.6 billion in 2007. United Breweries has lost 79% of its market value since its peak on 24 September, 2007. At an auction in London in September 2003, Mallya bought the sword of Tipu Sultan, who ruled the kingdom of Mysore in the late 18th century. feedback@livemint.com (Nabeel Mohideen in New Delhi contributed to this story.) Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm Centre has been lax on green issuesNew Delhi: In the five years of its rule, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has failed to establish an efficient system to clear projects under the clean development mechanism (CDM) that seeks to contain climate change, an official said.  Under scanner: A file photo of trees being cut for widening of roads leading to the new airport in Bangalore. The govt has faced sharp criticism for its casual approach in tackling the environmental issues during its tenure. Hemant Mishra / Mint The government has also been lax in evaluating environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports that are required by law before a development or an industrial project is given a go-ahead, an expert said. CDM is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol, allowing industrialized countries to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries, as an alternative, to more expensive emission reductions in their own backyards. The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that seeks to cap greenhouse gas emmissions which lead to climate change. Proposed CDM projects are first cleared by a national agency called Designated National Authority (DNA) and sent for final clearance to a United Nations body set up for the purpose. Also See Five-Year Performance (Graphic) “Getting approvals for such arrangements is a complicated process and the government was frequently ill-equipped to facilitate the approval procedure,” said a bureaucrat who declined being named. “On one hand, there were too many projects to be handled by a small circle of advisers. On the other, there were frequent cases of projects getting cleared based on suspect documentation,” he said, defending such approvals as part of a “learning curve”.  Industry lobby group Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) said in a recent report that DNA lacked transparency and consistency. “Apparent political interferences in the decision-making bodies at the highest level weigh down the credibility of the CDM process,” the Ficci report said. The Congress party-led coalition government has also come under sharp attack from environmentalists for laxity. For instance, the ministry of environment and forests had cleared a bauxite mining project in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, to be operated by Ashapura Minechem Ltd. But it was revealed that the EIA report, on the basis of which a federal expert group gave its approval, was based on data simply copied from a Russian bauxite mine report that had nothing to do with Ratnagiri’s vegetation or ecology, as reported by Mint on 27 December 2007. “In the few years that we have started challenging faulty EIAs, we were clear that bulk of the EIA reports by even the most reputed organizations are a cut-and-paste job, based on secondary data,” said Ritwick Dutta, an environmental lawyer and convenor of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, a New Delhi-based non-profit agency that obtained the information on the Ratnagiri project through the Right to Information Act. However, the government in January, to its credit, made it compulsory for the big-ticket project developers, to not only conduct but also publicize the results of public hearings for their projects. The decision came in barely 10 weeks before the national polls in April-May. In January, the government also withdrew mandatory environmental clearances for modernization of airports and ports, a move welcomed by companies but strongly opposed by activists. During its term, the government also failed to contain rampant poaching of wildlife, headlined by the fall in tiger numbers. India’s tiger population has touched a record low of 1,411 since Project Tiger—an initiative to protect tiger habitats and ecosystems—was launched in 1972. Meanwhile, India saw an exponential rise in the use of transgenic cotton cultivation in the past five years, even as the agency that clears genetically modified crops in the country—the genetic engineering approval committee (GEAC)—was criticized for not adequately evaluating its long-term impact on biodiversity. Pushpa Bhargava, former head of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, said: “The GEAC is merely a signing-off body. It rarely analyses reports and the views of independent scientists.” Bhargava is a Supreme Court-appointed observer of GEAC. Compared with 400,000ha in 2004, 8 million ha of India’s farms currently cultivate genetically modified cotton, according to official data. Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar/ Mint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm UB Group may sell stake in its flagship beer companyMumbai: Vijay Mallya-led United Breweries Group is in talks to sell a portion of its 37.5% equity in the group’s flagship beer company, United Breweries Ltd (UBL), to its partner Heineken NV, according to two bankers familiar with the development. They declined to be named because the talks are still at an early stage.  Fresh strategy: UB Group chief Vijay Mallya. Indranil Mukherjee / AFP However, they clarified that “the current talks do not involve the Kingfisher brand as the UB Group wants to retain its mineral water as well as aviation business under this brand”. The Indian investment banking arm of Swiss bank UBS AG is advising UB Group in the deal, while Heineken is being advised by NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. The UB Group needs cash. The six listed companies in the group have a combined debt of Rs14,231 crore, higher than their market capitalization. The group is currently also in talks with three large multinational liquor firms, including the world’s largest spirits firm Diageo Plc., to offload a significant stake in group company United Spirits Ltd (USL). The promoter holding in UBL is worth Rs766.35 crore going by the closing price of its share on Friday. Heineken currently holds an stake equal to UB Group in UBL. The Dutch firm inherited this stake after acquiring UB Groups’s long-time partner Scottish and Newcastle, in a $15.4 billion (Rs79,310 crore today) global buyout in January 2008. According to the bankers, Heineken has offered a price of Rs125 per share, a 47% premium on the company’s current market price. However, they declined to specify the size of the additional equity that it is looking to acquire. Heineken is also struggling to resolve a no-compete agreement with UBL. Heineken operates a parallel business in India through a joint venture company Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, a fact that UB chairman Mallya has been using to resist the Dutch brewer’s entry on the board of UBL. UBL managing director Kalyan Ganguli said, “Heineken is talking to us, exploring a number of options to resolve the pending issues. But it’s not exactly in the direction of an equity transaction at present.” Heineken’s media manager in Amsterdam had not responded to an email till late Friday evening. A sector analyst with a Mumbai-based foreign brokerage firm tracking the UB Group said, “The group is now looking for an immediate cash flow to manage the debts that it raised for its recent investments. So, it will definitely leverage the two companies United Spirits and United Breweries, which can only command a premium over the current market valuation.” These are the only two group companies that are running a profit. A person close to Asia Pacific Breweries confirmed the talks between Heineken and UBL. “The parent (Heineken) is certainly looking at Indian market seriously and it’s first option is to have a clear majority in United Breweries, where it hold about 38% equity now,” he said. “It may even merge the other company with United Breweries eventually.” UBL currently has a over 40% share in India’s 12-billion-litre beer market, with its flagship brand Kingfisher alone commanding nearly a 25% market share. However, it has focused mostly on its strong beer segment, which has helped it grow so far, as Indian consumers have traditionally preferred a stronger beer. However, the mild beer segment has, of late, been growing. If Heineken acquires a portion of UB Groups’ stake, it will likely introduce most of its global brands, including Heineken mild in the Indian market. UBL shares closed at Rs85.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday, rising 3.34% from Thursday’s close. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex index closed 1.6% up at 8,325.82 points. ch.unni@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm Goa polls head for five-star controversyCongress govt amends century-old law to benefit Cidade de Goa.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 6:40 pm ICICI Bank cuts home loan rates 25-50 bpsBanks have finally started cutting lending rates with ICICI Bank, the countrys second-largest private sector lender today announcing a 25 to 50 basis point reduction in interest rates on new home loans with immediate effect.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 6:39 pm Mallya emerges as surprise buyer of Gandhi memorabiliaHours after high drama and frenzied bidding, Mahatma Gandhi's personal belongings were bought for $1.8 million (Rs 9.4 crore) by liquor-to-airlines industrialist Vijay Mallya, who said he bid for the country, at the auction after last-ditch attempts by India to stall the sale of the memorabilia fell through.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 6:37 pm Sebi clears final hurdle for Satyam to invite bidsAvendus and Goldman Sachs begin formal talks with suitors.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 6 Mar 2009 | 6:34 pm Sensex climbs most in three weeks, gains 1.6%New Delhi: Share prices rose on Friday, driving the benchmark index to its biggest gain in three weeks, as the weaker rupee drove software exporters higher. Click here to watch video Infosys Technologies Ltd advanced 3.2%. A weaker local currency boosts the value of sales abroad. Satyam Computer Services Ltd jumped 20% after receiving approval to sell as much as a 51% stake in the company. Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) rose after crude prices climbed. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) Sensex climbed 127.90 points, or 1.6%, to 8,325.82 at the close of trade. The S&P CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) added 43.45 points, or 1.7%, to 2,620.15. The BSE-200 index rose 1% to 981.69. S&P CNX Nifty futures for March delivery gained 2.2% to 2,612. The rupee fell 1.1% this week to 51.70 per dollar in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched a record low 52.19 on 3 March. Infosys gained 3.2% to Rs1,219.35. Wipro Ltd climbed 3.2% to Rs213.30. The share prices are composite of BSE and NSE rates. Satyam Computer jumped 20% to Rs42.15. The company at the centre of India’s biggest corporate fraud inquiry has received regulatory approval to sell as much as a 51% stake in the company, it said. Patni Computer Systems Ltd rose 11% to Rs110.10 after the company’s stock rating was raised to “overweight” from “neutral” at JPMorgan Chase and Co. ONGC gained 3.6% to Rs673.35. Crude oil for April delivery gained as much as 2% to $44.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $44.74 a barrel at 6.44pm Singapore time. Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd slipped 1.9% to Rs141.30, extending Thursday’s 9.4% slump. Australia’s top medicine regulator is investigating the company after US authorities banned its Paonta Sahib plant for falsified test results, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday. Ranbaxy declined to comment on the newspaper report. Tata Motors Ltd slid 0.5% to Rs138.65. The company’s corporate family rating was lowered two steps to B3 from B1, six levels below investment grade, by Moody’s Investors Service on a decline in sales and the need to refinance a $2 billion bridge loan amid a global credit crunch. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 5:46 pm The week in reviewNew Delhi: The week began with the Election Commission setting the schedule for the world’s largest and perhaps the most complex electoral exercise. A little over a month from now, India will start voting in over five phases to elect the 15th Lok Sabha. More than 700 million Indians are eligible to vote in the election. The elections are held in the backdrop of falling economic growth, fiscal indiscipline and increasing terror threat. Click here to watch video Yet, none of these issues have become the dominant national issue catching the imagination of the electorate. What is however clear is that there would be another coalition government at the centre with no single party in sight of an absolute majority. Therefore the announcement triggered hectic activity to sew up alliances. The two major formations United Progressive Alliance, headed by the Congress and National Democratic Alliance, headed by the BJP are racing with time to get their tie-ups in place. Threatening them is the so-called Third Front---- led by the Left, which fancies itself as a viable alternative. But the path to victory is not easy. Congress is fighting a ding-dong battle with Samajwadi Party to get a better deal in Uttar Pradesh. It has arrieved at a modicum of agreement in Maharashtra with the Nationalist Congress Party, but has no such luck in Andhra Pradesh where it has lost its ally Telengana Rashtriya Samiti to the Third Front. The NDA led by the BJP is in no better shape. It has lost its ally in West Bengal and is having trouble with its existing allies in Orissa and Maharashtra. The story of Third Front is no different. Mayavati who heads Bahujan Samaj Party has refused to bite the overtures of the Left and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa is playing hard ball with them. In short everyone is squabbling. Meanwhile Home Minister P. Chidambaram has put to rest apprehensions that Twenty20 tournament could be canceled. He said cricket is completely safe in India and the IPL matches will proceed with some changes in the schedule. The second edition of the tournament looked uncertain in the wake of the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. Chidambaram had said it coincided with the general elections and providing simultaneous security for both would be tough. He has now clarified. “I did not say that IPL should be postponed. I am trying to help them and will help IPL hold the matches. Some rescheduling seems unavoidable,” Chidambaram said. Eager to avoid a postponement, IPL organizers offered to schedule the matches away from the polling dates. In what could possibly be its last push to bolster the economy till the new government takes over in June, the RBI cut its two key policy rates by 50 basis points each on Wednesday. The repo rate came down to 5% and the reverse repo rate to 3.5%. RBI had been under pressure from the government and industry lobbies to cut rates to help pull up the sagging economy. Lower interest rates are expected to spur demand for loans, and encourage consumers to spend and firms to invest. With the latest cut in repo rate, fifth since the crisis began in October, the RBI has reduced 400 basis points. Fraud hit Satyam Computer Services has received SEBI’s approval to sell 51 per cent stake through a global bidding process. The selected investor will have to acquire the stake by purchasing 31 per cent equity via a preferential sale of new shares and later make an open offer for a minimum 20 per cent. Satyam’s likely suitors include global IT major IBM, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, BK Modi-owned Spice group, and the Hinduja group. Inflation for the week ended February 21 hit a near seven-year low at 3.03% compared to 3.36% for the previous week. It is expected to fall faster over the next two weeks because of base effect. With the FIIs selling heavily in Indian markets and a high demand for the dollar, the Rupee crossed the 52 to a dollar mark for the first time to dip to an all-time intra-day low of Rs 52.20 on Tuesday. On Friday afternoon it stood at 51.58/6 to a dollar. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 5:45 pm Banking | ICICI Bank cuts interest rates for home loansMumbai: The country’s second largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank Ltd on Friday cut interest rates on floating home loans for new customers by 25 to 50 basis points. One basis point is one hundredth of one percentage point. According to the bank, “home loan up to Rs20 lakh which qualify as priority sector loans will carry an interest rate of 9.75%, down from 10%”. The bank will charge an interest rate of 10%, instead of 10.5%, on home loans in the range of Rs20-30 lakh, while loans exceeding Rs30 lakh will attract an interest rate of 11.5%, down from 12%. Housing and Development Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC), the oldest mortgage lender in the country, is also expected to review its home loan rates by the end of this month. —Anita Bhoir ********* UBS to start commercial banking in India by July Mumbai: Swiss bank UBS plans to start commercial banking operations in India by July, its India head said on Friday. “We will offer high-end retail banking and fixed-income business,” Manisha Girotra, head of UBS India, said on the sidelines of an industry conference. UBS, which already offers investment banking and other services in India, has committed $50 million (Rs257.5 crore) as initial capital for the banking operations in the country, she said. —Reuters ********* Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 5:24 pm Hit by realty meltdown, AAI plans new levy at nine airportsNew Delhi: A plan to boost the revenues of airports in smaller cities, by leasing out land to private developers, has run into rough weather because of plummeting real estate values. The country’s largest airport operator, state-run Airports Authority of India Ltd, or AAI, which is spending Rs6,443.53 crore to modernize 35 non-metro airports, plans to go slow on such leasing deals. It fears it will lock itself into low lease rates as real estate prices drop.  Price disparity: The Bengaluru International Airport. Its fee for domestic passengers is capped at Rs260, while the same fee at Hyderabad, which handles fewer passengers, is the highest in the country at Rs375. Hemant Mishra / Mint The operator, which is part of the government’s regulator for airports, had late in 2007 floated a plan to lease out land around non-metro airports. Each of the airports, after being modernized, were to farm out this land to private developers for hotels, convention centres and shopping malls. The aim was to boost revenues at the airports, which currently are overly dependent on so-called aeronautical revenues, earned from charging airlines for use of the airports for services such as landing or take-off. Udaipur’s Maharana Pratap Airport and the Amritsar International Airport, which have land of 50.93 acres and 11.24 acres, respectively, were the first to go for such a bidding process. That plan, however, ran into trouble. AAI objected to the civil aviation ministry’s view that control of airport terminal buildings be given to the selected private operators to maximize “commercial exploitation”. Shortlists of five bidders at each of these two airports were scrapped. AAI now plans to issue new tenders for the two airports in the next two months with new conditions, but will go slow before finalizing the bidders so as to get better real estate prices, said an AAI board member, who asked not to be identified. “We will be ready with (tenders for all the non-metro airports) and as things improve (real estate) we will issue them,” this official said. Since deferring land leases would drastically reduce expected revenues at the airport operator, which until 2006 controlled all airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, has requested the government to bail it out from the “financial squeeze”. It has submitted to the aviation ministry a proposal to apply airport taxes or user development fee at nine airports that it has completed or is about to complete modernization of. This follows a decision by the ministry in the last two months to allow two largest airports in the country by passenger traffic—GMR Infrastructure Ltd-led Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd and GVK Infrastructure and Power Ltd- led Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd—to levy Rs200 on each departing domestic passenger and Rs1,300 for an international traveller. The fee is expected to yield Rs1,827 crore and Rs1,543 crore at the two reporters respectively over the next three-four years. New airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad were already granted similar permissions when they were commissioned last year. “We can’t compete and deliver the same level of standards unless you give a level playing field,” the AAI official said, adding any airport which has seen Rs100 crore or more investment will need to have an additional airport fee for four-five years to recover costs. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel had said last fortnight that airport taxes could be levied at at least five airports being developed by AAI. “Competition (between private airport operators and AAI) has brought out the best and is giving a better deal to passengers and expanding employment opportunities,” he had said. Some of these nine airports include Jaipur, Udaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Ahmedabad and Amritsar. Kolkata and Chennai are “not yet” part of the proposal, the AAI official said. Since many of these non-metro airports have lower passenger volumes compared with airports at metros, passengers will end up paying a higher fee each. The fee may range up to Rs300 for such airports or more. This would depend based on the annual passenger flow and the gap between investments and returns. For example, at Bangalore, the airport fee for domestic passengers is capped at Rs260 while the same fee at Hyderabad, which handles lesser passengers, is the highest in the country at Rs375. International passengers pay Rs1,070 and Rs1,000, respectively. Both airports have spent nearly equal amounts in the being developed. An aviation ministry official, who, too, requested anonymity, said the government would appoint a consulting firm to audit investments made at the AAI airports after which the fee at each of the airports could be fixed. But this process could take longer as the civil aviation ministry believes that only international passengers should be taxed with a new airport fee while the domestic passengers should be spared at these AAI airports. The AAI board member, however, said it was not possible to do so because unlike the large metro counterparts some of the smaller non-metros do not even host international flights. “Its not feasible,” the official said adding they expect the new fees to be in place from the next fiscal. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 5:17 pm Mahindra expects sales to look up in MarchMumbai: Utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd expects an improvement in sales last month to carry over into March, a senior official said on Friday. In February, Mahindra, which is also India’s top tractor maker, said total sales rose 1% from year earlier and about 13% from January. Car sales in India have fallen in annual terms in six of the seven months to January, but some firms saw a rise in sales in February as government stimulus measures, including a lowering of duties, and central bank rate cuts started to have an impact. “As you saw, February was much better for us in terms of sales. We see no reason why the momentum should not continue,” Pawan Goenka, Mahindra’s president of its automotive sector, told reporters, although he said the situation kept changing. “So what I can say is, as of today, March is looking good,” he said at the launch of a new version of the company’s flagship utility vehicle, the Scorpio. The new version will sell for between Rs34,000 to Rs70,000 less than existing Scorpio models, with the base model starting at Rs720,000, Goenka said. The new Scorpio would be modified and sold in the US from early next year, Goenka said. Mahindra launched its Xylo utility vehicle earlier this year and plans to launch a goods carrier in the fourth quarter of calendar 2009. The company’s share price rose 1.78% to Rs316.90 at the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day when its benchmark Sensex index gained 1.56% to 8,325.82 points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 4:30 pm FII holdings in Indian markets drops to 15.5%Mumbai: Investments in equities have reached a full circle for foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the main drivers of domestic stock markets. FII ownership in Indian stock markets dropped to 15.5%—levels last seen in December 2003, which were early days of the big bull rally that climaxed in January 2008 when Sensex the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange reached its lifetime high of 21,206.77 points. The index saw seven-fold rise from about 3,000 points to more than 21,000 points between 2003 and early-2008, the biggest bull run in its history. It ended with a 52% slump in 2008, as global investors fled from high-risk equity assets, hit by a worldwide financial crisis. “The (ownership) level is almost of an age gone by,” according to a mid-February India strategy report by equity analysts at Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt. Ltd. The value of FII ownership in Indian stocks, however, is much higher than what it was in 2003. Citi analysts estimate the value at about $94 billion (Rs4.84 trillion). In December 2003, Sensex was at around 5,000. On Friday, it closed at 8325.82, gaining 1.56%, after it had dropped to its lowest level in more than three years on Thursday. FIIs sold more than $13 billion worth of Indian stocks in 2008, after investing $17 billion in 2007, betting on the decoupling theory, which said that the Indian economy will be resilient to the outside world. The theory was proved wrong in 2008. In 2009 so far, FIIs have sold another $2.1 billion of Indian stocks, driving the benchmark stock index down 14%. “FIIs had started a buying trend around December 2008 and early January, but the Satyam episode reversed the trend again,” said Nirmal Jain, chairman of publicly-traded domestic financial services firm India Infoline Ltd. B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India’s fourth largest software exporter, on 7 January confessed to a Rs7,136 crore fraud. India’s large fiscal deficit is seen as a big worry. According to Jain, FIIs could review their India strategy after the new government takes over in June. Domestic institutional investors, including mutual funds, insurance firms and banks, now own more than retail investors. Citi analysts view this as a sign of Indian markets attaining maturity. Retail investors now have only 50% ownership of what they used to when the bull run began. While insurance firms have increased their stake by 1% in 2008 to 5.04%, the mutual funds’ stake remained unchanged last year even as these funds are sitting on cash of about $4 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 4:24 pm Premise of long-term returns of Indian equities challenged In the US, the S&P 500 total returns index has underperformed long-term treasury bonds for five-year, 10-year and 25-year periods. This is based on Ibbotson data quoted by Peter Bernstein in a recent Financial Times article. While Indian markets have retained a large part of the gains made in the April 2003 to January 2008 rally, long-term returns have started faltering. In January 2008, the Sensex index on the Bombay Stock Exchange had delivered an average annual return of 22% based on total returns (capital appreciation plus dividend) for a 10-year period. Its average annual 10-year returns have now halved to 11%. Note that early 2008 as well early 2009 didn’t represent an unusually high-low base. Also See Southbound (Graphics) Data for the total returns index is available only since 1996 on Bloomberg, but excluding dividend income, the Sensex has delivered average annual returns of just 5.5% in last 15 years. Dividend income in India is typically 2.5% of the investment value annually, which means total returns in the past 15 years stand at only 8%. Returns over a 25-year period are still impressive at 15% (excluding dividend), but note here that the base year (1984) is from the pre-liberalization period and a time when foreign institutional investors weren’t allowed in India, representing an unusually low base. Another premise that’s being challenged is one can’t go wrong with investments in blue-chip Indian companies. Till recently, Hindustan Unilever Ltd was a rare example of a large firm generating zero or negative returns for shareholders over a long period. But the recent crash has added to this list names such as Hindalco Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd. The levels these stocks now trade at were first seen in 1991-1992. In other words, excluding the dividend income received by investors (which is lower than the return on savings bank deposits), investors have earned zero return on these stocks in the past 17 years. Companies such as Infosys Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd haven’t generated any return in the past 9-10 years, except the minimal dividend income paid out. Two other firms that are part of the Sensex, ICICI Bank Ltd and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, have generated zero return in the past five years. These calculations are based on current prices and pertains to investors who adopt a long-term buy and hold strategy. Of course, those who book profits regularly would be much better off. Based on the low Sensex returns in the long-term and the dismal performance of many of its constituent companies, investors need to realize that sticking to blue-chip names and indices may not be the right strategy for participating in the markets. Of course, there are higher returns available, but is it worth the risk? Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 4:24 pm Court directs ICICI Bank to release confiscated carA city court Friday ordered ICICI Bank to release a man's car bought with the bank's loan that it confiscated even though he was paying the monthly instalments regularly.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Mar 2009 | 3:31 pm Coke plans to $2 billion investment in ChinaAP Hong Kong: The Coca-Cola Co. said Friday it plans to invest $2 billion in China over the next three years on top of the billions of dollars it has already committed to buying out a major Chinese juice producer. The investment would go toward new plant and distribution infrastructure, sales and marketing, and research and development, the world’s largest beverage company said in a statement. “Coca-Cola is proud to be a long term partner of China, and our commitment and confidence in China never wavers,” said CEO Muhtar Kent, who helped unveil Coke’s new $90 million research and development center in Shanghai Friday. The announcement comes as Chinese regulators are reviewing the company’s some $2.5 billion friendly takeover bid for Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd., the country’s leading maker of pure fruit juices and nectars. The proposal has sparked criticism in China over the possible sale of a prominent national brand name to a foreign company. Under terms of the deal, the companies have 200 days to complete the acquisition from September. That would be around 23 March. “We have deep respect for the hard work (Chinese commerce officials) are doing as part of the regulatory approval,” said Kenth Kaerhoeg, a Coke spokesman in Hong Kong. “We think it would be inappropriate for us to speculate about when (Chinese regulators) will be able to finalize the approval process.” Huiyuan shares fell 0.4% to HK$9.05 in Hong Kong trade. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 3:10 pm 651,000 jobs lost as US hits 25 yr jobless highWashington: The US economic bleeding extended in February with 651,000 jobs lost and the unemployment rate surging to 8.1 %, according to data Friday highlighting an ever-deepening recession. The number of job losses was in line with most forecasts but underscored the dire state of the economy as companies axe jobs to cope with an intensifying slump. The Labor Department also revised heavily upward its estimates for losses for the previous two months -- 655,000 in January from 598,000, and 681,000 in December from 577,000. The figures showed December’s losses as the worst on record since October 1949, officials said. The jobless rate rose from 7.6% in January to 8.1% in February, the highest since December 1983. “It was an awful report but it was not a death spiral report,” said Cary Leahey, senior economist at Decision Economics, who said some were bracing for losses of up to one million jobs. “While things are terrible we are tracking the 1981-82 recession very closely.” Leahey added that with tax cuts and various financial rescues taking hold, “I don’t see why the economy can’t bottom in the next three to six months.” Robert Brusca at FAO Economics said the report suggested the worst job losses are past: “The revisions have made the trend looking ahead much less bad.” Officials said 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007, with 2.6 million in the past four months. Sophia Koropeckyj at Economy.com said that the latest report was “disastrous,” pointing to a three-month decline in payroll employment of nearly two million. “Such a plunge was last seen in the mid-1940s, when wartime production was winding down,” she said. The goods-producing sector shed 276,000 jobs in February while services lost 375,000. Within the goods-producing sector, manufacturing lost 168,000 jobs. Among the few sectors showing modest job gains were education and government. The number of persons who worked part-time for economic reasons in February -- sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers -- rose by 787,000, reaching 8.6 million. This includes people who would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. The jobs report underscores the challenges facing President Barack Obama’s administration in stabilizing a teetering financial system and pulling the shrinking economy out of a second year of recession. Based on the most recent government estimate, the US economy contracted at an eye-popping 6.2% pace in the fourth quarter of 2008, and some analysts say the downturn may be even worse in the first quarter of 2009. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 3:00 pm ITC opens 60-room upscale hotel in LavasaConstruction major Lavasa Corp and ITC's subsidiary Fortune Park Hotels Friday announced the opening of a 60-room upscale hotel, Dasve, in Maharashtra's Lavasa township.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:31 pm UCO Bank to give incentives to borrowersThe state-owned UCO Bank has decided to provide 50 basis points loan rate cut to borrowers in some sectors as incentives, a top bank official said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:30 pm Uttar Pradesh post offices to also sell gold coinsAfter Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi, now it is the turn of post offices in Uttar Pradesh to sell gold coins, an official said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:30 pm Satyam gets nod to sell 51 pct; suitors cautiousBANGALORE (Reuters) - Fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services won regulatory approval to sell a majority stake in itself, but potential suitors said there was still uncertainty about the Indian company's accounts and liabilities.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Mar 2009 | 12:28 pm
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