|
|
|
|
Emami to foray into cement biz; will invest Rs 1,750crEmami Cement is planning up a fully integrated cement plant in Chhattisgarh with an installed capacity to produce 3.1 million tonnes. The company has acquired 400 acres of land in Chhattisgarh for the project.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 8:28 am Sirpur Paper to suffer production loss due to strikeIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Ranjan Kumar Poddar Chairman of Sirpur Paper spoke about the latest happening in the company and the sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 8:17 am Tata Motors to shut down CV plant in Pune for 3 daysTata Motors will shut down its commercial vehicle (CV) plant in Pune for threedays reports CNBCTV18\'s Sonia Shenoy.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am Autolite lost Rs 1.5cr worth property, assets in IOC fireAutolite, Manufacturer and supplier of halogen bulbs, is one of the companies affected severely by the Indian Oil Corporation fire. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Adarsh Mahipal Gupta, Chief CorpFin of Autoliite, spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am AstraZeneca takes Lupin to NJ court over NexiumAstraZeneca has taken Lupin to New Jersey Court over Nexiumthe companys antiulcer blockbuster, claiming noninfringement on 5 Nexium. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Vikar Dandekar of pharmasianews.com spoke on his take on the issue.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 7:59 am Sugar cos have to pay much more than the fair price:ExpertsWith the Fair and Remunerative Price, or FRP norms coming in last week, there was an agitation by UP farmers, and there has also been a ban on imports temporarily. In an interview with CNBCTV18, SL Jain, Former Director General of ISMA CS Nopani, MD of Oudh Sugar Mills, gave clarity on the FRP norms.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 7:52 am Gateway Distriparks unit to raise up to Rs 3 bnGateway Distriparks Ltd said its unit, Gateway Rail Freight, plans to raise up to Rs 3 billion via an issue of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to Mauritius\' Blackstone GPV Capital Partners VH Ltd.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 7:39 am Bank of Baroda insurance JV to start ops by DecBank of Baroda insurance JV to start ops by Dec CMDSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 7:39 am Infosys eyes acquisitions in Europe, USThe backoffice arm of Infosys Technologies, India\'s No 2 software services provider, is looking at acquiring firms in Europe and in the United States of USD 50 million to USD 100 million, a top official said on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 7:04 am Everonn System\'s debtor days increased to 208 vs 187In an interview with CNBCTV18, P Kishore, MD of Everonn Systems, spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Nov 2009 | 6:17 am Asian nations bear brunt of dollar slump!Asia`s small, open economies are caught in the crossfire of a tussle between the United States and China over whether the yuan should strengthen against the dollar to fix the lopsided global economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Nov 2009 | 5:28 am Reliance close to $6 bn overseas buy: Report!Energy giant Reliance Industries is close to a nearly USD 6 billion overseas acquisition and the likely target is the assets of petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell, a newspaper reported on Monday, citing an unidentified banker.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Nov 2009 | 5:28 am Sensex rises 107 points in opening trade!The BSE benchmark index Sensex gained over 100 points in opening trade on Monday, continuing its winning streak for the fourth day.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Nov 2009 | 5:28 am Bharti sees more outsourcing deals in IndiaNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel, India's leading telecommunication firm, sees more network outsourcing activity in Indian telecoms, a top official said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:10 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes up 2.2 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally closed 2.2 percent higher on Monday, led by Reliance Industries after a newspaper said the energy giant was close to an overseas acquisition.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:08 am SBI capitalises on state-sale in UTI Mutual Fund - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:07 am CORRECTED - France AXA eyes Asia growth with takeover bid(Corrects per share price in paragraph 13 to A$5.43 from A$5.34, which was per share value at Thursday's close)Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am ICICI, Temasek revive Firstsource stake sale - sourcesHONG KONG/MUMBAI (Reuters) - ICICI Bank, Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings and another large shareholder have revived plans to sell their stakes in back-office company Firstsource Solutions, in a deal valued at $285 million at the current market price, sources said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:05 am Reliance close to $6 bn overseas buy: paperMumbai: Indian energy giant Reliance Industries is close to a nearly $6 billion overseas acquisition and the likely target is the assets of petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell, the Economic Times reported on Monday, citing an unidentified banker. Luxembourg-based LyondellBasell filed for bankruptcy protection in January, unable to meet its debt obligations after demand dropped for petrochemicals products during the global economic downturn. Reliance could buy the US and European assets of LyondellBasell, the paper said, citing an unidentified banker. At 2:00pm, shares in Reliance were up 2.8% to Rs2,012, in a Mumbai market that was up 1.45%, having risen as much as 3.6% to their highest since 29 October. “Reliance has an unleveraged balance sheet, and they have some money on them,” Deepak Pareek, an oil and gas analyst at Angel Broking said. “An acquisition will put it on a different orbit.” Last month, Maurice Bannayan, a senior vice president at Reliance, told Reuters the firm was negotiating to acquire refinery and petrochemical units in the United States and Europe and could finalise a deal by end-2009. In September, Reliance Industries raised about $660 million in a share sale that analysts said was likely to help the country’s largest listed firm make acquisitions. A company official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said a team of company officials was currently in the United States, but declined to elaborate on what it was doing there. Angel’s Pareek said while the outlook for the petrochemicals sector was muted, an acquisition could bear fruit over the longer term if Reliance managed to secure low valuations. Reliance would likely make an announcement before its annual shareholders meeting on 17 November, the Economic Times said, citing a source close to the development. A Reliance spokesman declined to comment on the newspaper report, but said the company was always considering options for acquisitions in India and abroad. “The difficult operating environment of the past year has made available several interesting opportunities,” Reliance said in an e-mail. LyondellBasell could not be immediately reached for comment. In September, Indian television reported, citing sources, that Reliance could make a cash payment of $3.25 billion to Lyondell’s vendors to buy some or all of its assets. Refining margins hit Analysts said Reliance might consider buying assets in the petrochemicals sector, and look for organic growth in its oil and gas exploration and production businesses. A sluggish global economy has slashed oil refining margins of Reliance Industries, leading to a fourth straight fall in quarterly profit and adding to concerns for investors already unnerved by a gas-pricing dispute. Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is embroiled in a high-profile legal battle over a deal to sell gas to Reliance Natural Resources, led by Ambani’s estranged younger brother Anil, at below the price set by the government. LyondellBasell is owned by investor Len Blavatnik through New York-based Access Industries. LyondellBasell had taken on billions of dollars of debt obligations when Access Industries led a 2007 buyout. An official committee of unsecured creditors has argued that the merger set the company up to fail. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am States order 11,185 busesVarious states have ordered 11,185 buses to boost their urban transport systems under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am Tata Steel in JV for ore project in CanadaMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Steel said on Monday its unit had signed a joint venture with Canada's New Millennium Capital and LabMag for developing a direct shipment ore project in that country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:58 am APEC expected to maintain stimulus until recoverySingapore: APEC countries including the United States, Japan and China are expected to pledge this week to keep up their stimulus policies and push for a global trade deal in 2010 to spur a lasting economic recovery. Leaders from the grouping will also try to provide some momentum for global talks on climate change next month in Copenhagen. Here are some questions and answers about the APEC meetings in Singapore, which culminate in a leaders summit on 14-15 November. What is APEC and who is coming? The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum brings together leaders from 21 of the world’s largest economies to work toward improving trade and world growth. APEC includes wealthy countries such as the US, Australia and Japan and some of the fastest growing emerging economies, including China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. The other APEC members are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Finance, trade and foreign ministers meet during the week and the leaders hold a two-day summit at the weekend. Among the leaders coming are: US President Barack Obama, China’s President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon, Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. What is the main aim of APEC? APEC’s member economies account for 54% of global gross domestic product, 44% of world trade and 40% of the world’s population. It is aiming to create a free trade and investment area by 2020 to promote growth, create jobs, reduce business costs and build an Asia-Pacific community. What will the meeting say about the global economy? The leaders will pledge to maintain economic stimulus policies until a durable recovery is secured, according to a draft communique obtained by Reuters. The US has enacted a $787 billion stimulus plan and packages in Asia total more than $1 trillion, according to a study by Standard & Poors. APEC leaders will come up with a new ‘growth paradigm’ for the changed post-crisis landscape, and an expanded trade agenda for enhanced regional economic integration (REI) to avoid the past growth as usual model, according to their draft communique. What will the meeting say about global trade? APEC will push efforts to reach a new agreement to cut tariffs and subsidies in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation. The talks aimed at reaching a global accord have been stalled for eight years and APEC is expected to warn that rising protectionism may deepen the world’s economic slump. They will pledge utmost restraint in implementing measures that have protectionist effects, even those considered to be WTO consistent, their draft communique says. APEC leaders will say they are concerned the high level political commitment to conclude the Doha Round has yet to be translated into substantive progress in the negotiations. What will it say about climate change? APEC is not a climate body, and has no power to negotiate, making all of its decisions by consensus. But it could try to reach a common position on carbon emissions ahead of next month’s UN sponsored talks in Copenhagen. The meeting in the Danish capital will try to hammer out a new treaty to tackle global warming, but preparatory talks have become deadlocked. APEC leaders believe global emissions will need to peak over the next few years, and be reduced to 50% below 1990 levels by 2050, according to the draft by leaders of some of the world’s top polluting nations. The leaders say they will achieve their APEC-wide target of reducing energy intensity by at least 25% by 2030 and increasing forest cover through the region by at least 20 million hectares of all types of forests by 2020. APEC has also promised to spur trade in green products or technologies. What are CEOs doing at the meeting? An APEC CEO Summit on Friday and Saturday will involve 1,500 participants in what is being billed as the premier business event in the Asia-Pacific region. The chief executive officers are expected to discuss issues around the global economic recovery, whether the crisis is over for corporate earnings, the decline of the dollar, worries about a double-dip recession in the global economy, and the role of green technologies in the new economy. Among the chief executive officers or chairmen coming are those from Exxon Mobil, DHL, Siemens, HSBC and China’s ICBC. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:47 am Tata Motors to shut down CV plant in Pune for 3 da... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:46 am Jones Lang sees a third of revenue from AsiaMumbai: Property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle sees its Asian business driving growth next year as the region powers a global economic recovery, a top official said on Monday. The company expects Asia to contribute almost a third of revenue in 2010, from a quarter in 2008, on the back of rising demand in China and India and as key markets such as Hong Kong and Australia start to show recovery. China and India — the world’s two most populous countries — have seen home and office sales reviving in major cities as prices fell as much as a fifth and lower mortgage rates, after the global financial crisis last year cut off funding and demand. “It seems Asia is recovering more quickly than the US or Europe and actually will be one of the drivers of the world recovering,” Jones Lang’s chief financial officer, Lauralee Martin, told Reuters in an interview. “It’s growing on both revenue and profit basis. It could reach a third of our revenues as we get into next year,” Martin, who is on a short visit to Mumbai, said. Jones Lang is betting on more transactions as other Asian countries also see capital coming into the market, and believes its strong position in the property management business gives it the competitive edge. “In the first nine months, we have grown our property management business by 30% because we have been able to save clients a great deal of money from that service,” Martin said. “In a slowdown, reducing employees may not be the best thing, but reducing the cost of services is certainly a better option,” she said. Last month, the Chicago-based company, one of the world’s largest real estate services firms, reported third quarter income rose a third, but said revenue fell 12% to $595 million as the global real estate downturn weighed. “The US market is not expected to get better until mid-2011. We could see a bottoming out by late 2010. But leasing and project development business will still feel pressure,” Martin said. Confidence returning In Asia, positive sentiment in the housing market has led to developers flocking back to the equity markets after a two-year hiatus, and she said talk of an asset bubble was premature. About 30 real estate firms have lined up for listings in China and India following a stocks rally. Chinese developers include Evergrande and Fantasia, while Indian firms include Emaar MGF, Lodha Developers and Godrej Properties. “For the industry this is a good thing, because it is equity going into real estate in a marketplace that needs to have some deleveraging and less debt,” Martin said. India’s benchmark stock index is up 70% so far this year, while the MSCI Asia Pacific exJapan stocks index has risen nearly 60% in the same period. “In the US and Europe, there’s nothing being built. There is property being built in Asia but it’s also a market that has business growth that is going to need that property,” Martin said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:40 am 02:47 PM Nifty touches 4900 on +ve European cues; heavyweig... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:34 am Education agenda at the India Economic SummitNew Delhi: Stressing on the lack of time for reforms in the education sector, Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development announced that the ministry was looking at having all legislative reforms for the sector in place by the next budget session of the Parliament. Speaking at the India Economic Summit, Sibal said that the ministry’s plan to set up an overarching authority is likely to be in place by the budget session of the Parliament. Meanwhile, other pending bills with the Parliament would hopefully be passed in the next session. In another step to track access to education, Sibal also said that he is in discussions with Nandan Nilekani to have unique identification cards for primary school children to track their progress into secondary school. “So, we will know who has dropped out of primary school and how many children have moved on to secondary school,” he said. Meanwhile, panelists stressed on the need for for-profit institutions as part of the education system, which have till now been kept on the fringes. “We can trust the private sector to play a role in education,” said Shantanu Prakash, managing director, Educomp Solutions. However, Sibal argued that for-profit institutions had a long way to come in order to create a distinction between profit and surplus. “We cannot have companies that are listed on the stock exchange and have educational institutions and pay dividends to shareholders from the fees that parents pay in their institutions. We cannot allow education to be subject to risk factors.” Click here to see all of Mint’s coverage of the India Economic Summit Richard Levin, president, Yale University, added that there are some for-profit institutions in the but none of them have risen to a competitive level. Both Sibal and Levin agreed that it would take many years before top schools from abroad would think of diluting their status to set up campuses in , though Sibal admitted that some other foreign universities have expressed a lot of interest in . The focus has been largely on the IITs and IIMs as centres of excellence. But we must also identify multiple layers and look for excellence in these layers. “We have to move away from exclusively focusing on infrastructure and focusing on individuals because at the end of the day employers hire individuals,” said Anand Sudarshan, managing director and CEO, Manipal Education. But Sibal asserted that needs world class universities and can’t afford to focus on layers. “But we need other good universities also and for that we must allow flexibility. We must move the government against regulation,” he said. The panel also stressed on the importance of recognizing and respecting vocational education and skill development. “In a degree-obsessed nation, we need to have much more vocational education in our curriculum and that requires a fundamental change in mindset,” said Prakash. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:33 am JP Morgan sees overseas firms listing in China soonBeijing: “The first red-chip and foreign companies could list shares on the Shanghai stock exchange next year,” Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at J.P. Morgan said on Monday. Red chips are Chinese companies that have their business on the mainland but are incorporated outside China and listed on overseas bourses, usually Hong Kong. They are currently prohibited from selling shares inside mainland China. “Within the next 12 months there should be at least a handful of red chip companies or foreign companies listed in Shanghai,” Ulrich told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. She mentioned China Mobile and CNOOC Ltd as red chips that might sell shares in Shanghai. Asked about the attitude of Chinese regulators, Ulrich said: “There is strong support for this initiative and I think the conditions are ripe.” She said that listings by red chips and foreign companies would open up new choices for Chinese investors and allow foreign companies to tap into a market with ample liquidity. A number of foreign companies, including global banking giant HSBC, have expressed interest in listing on the new board mooted in Shanghai for overseas companies. Shanghai Stock Exchange vice-president Liu Xiaodong said listing rules overseas companies were still being drafted and there was no timetable. He added that those looking to list would need to have a China-related business rationale for doing so and not just use it as a venue to raise capital. Robert McCooey, a senior vice-president of NASDAQ OMX Group said that his exchange had communicated its interest to China’s securities regulator and to the Shanghai stock exchange. “We will continue to have dialogue with them and see how the international board progresses. We are interested in becoming part of it, if it makes sense at the time,” he said. NASDAQ is the largest overseas bourse for Chinese companies, with 117 listings, and McCooey said a NASDAQ listing in Shanghai would be a reciprocal show of support for the Chinese market. NYSE Euronext, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange and a rival to NASDAQ, is also keen. “We hope that NYSE Euronext is in the first group of (overseas) companies to list, but we don’t know if it will be the first,” Ronald Keng, NYSE Euronext’s head of international listings for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia, told the Hong Kong Economic Times in remarks published on Monday. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:31 am Gold trades at all-time high above $1100/oz - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:19 am Midsession: Sensex extends gains to 2%; Reliance leadsMumbai: The BSE Sensex extended gains to 2% on Monday afternoon, led by Reliance Industries and banks, as global stock markets traded higher after the Group of 20 pledged to keep stimulus in place until recovery was assured. At 2:47pm, the 30-share BSE index was up 1.98% at 16,478.45 points, with 26 components in the green. Energy giant Reliance Industries rose 3.4% after a newspaper said it was close to an overseas acquisition. The banking sector index was up 4.4%. The 50-share NSE Index was up 2% at 4,894.15. “Given the unleveraged balance sheet size and treasury shares held by the company, we continue to believe that Reliance Industries is likely to remain in a high-growth orbit,” Angel Broking said in a note, and maintained a ‘buy´ on the stock. Top lender State Bank of India climbed 1.4 % to Rs2,234, after it said it had entered into an agreement with T. Rowe Price to sell a 6.5 % holding each in UTI Asset Management Company and UTI Trustee Company. Private lender ICICI Bank firmed 0.5 % and HDFC Bank rose 1.2 %. At 1:00pm, the 30-share BSE Index was up 214.20 points at 16372.48, with 14 components gaining. The 50-share NSE index was up 66.45 at 4862.60. It rose as much as 0.7 in early deals, extending a rise of 4.9 % over the previous three sessions, but briefly turned negative in late morning trade as profits were booked. “Global cues have been good. The foreign investors’ interest in our country is good. So, there is no bad news as such to pull the market down,” said R. Ganesh, director of Systematix Shares. “A large upside is not likely, but at the same time a steep downside is also ruled out. We will see range-bound trade for some time unless there is a surprise from IIP (index of industrial production) numbers ” he added. Industrial output data for September is due on Thursday. On Sunday, the finance minister said the timing for winding down stimulus measures would be decided when it was apparent the economy is recovering, but there would be no more stimulus measures. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday growth in the next fiscal year, assuming a normal monsoon season, was expected to be more than 7 % compared with a 6.5 % forecast for the 2009/2010 fiscal year. In the broader market, gainers were nearly double the number of losers as around 138 million shares exchanged hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Asian shares rose as investors bet policymakers may keep many stimulus measures in place until an economic recovery was on more solid footing, after the U.S. unemployment rate surged to a 26-1/2-year high. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:16 am UPA seeks to reform financial sector: PMNew Delhi: The session on private capital flow took place a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the participants of India Economic Summit that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) planned to reform the financial sector. Manmohan Singh’s announcement seemed to set the tone for a panel discussion on India’s attractiveness for global capital and things which could be done to enhance it. Kevan V. Watts, country head, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, India and Ashok Jha, chairman of MCX Stock Exchange, found common cause when their views on policy priorities and stock markets converged. Watts and Jha, who was earlier the top bureaucrat in finance ministry, felt domestic financial sector reforms, which could enhance the efficiency of capital allocation had to be the priority. The bulk of India’s investment is funded through domestic saving which is now around 38% of gross domestic product. Even in India’s best year for net foreign direct investment, 2007-08, the inflow was $ 15.5 billion, less than 2% of GDP, Jha pointed out. Click here to see Mint’s coverage of the India Economic Summit It did not make sense for debate on private capital flows to draw distinctions between foreign and domestic capital, Watts said. “Reform has to make financial system recycle Indian capital more efficiently,” he said. Once the financial architecture did a good job of allocating Indian savings efficiently, foreign capital would follow, he added. Jim Quigley, global chief executive officer of Deloitte, US, echoed Watts’ views on the inappropriateness of drawing distinctions between capital according to origin .Any growth engine needs multiple sources of capital, he said. “Capital stays where it well treated, just like all of us,” Quigley said, directing the debate to the regulatory environment. If the regulatory environment is characterized by mistrust of other stakeholders, it could create problems. In the new environment, capital market is going to exist at the intersection of government, investment and finance, he said. While the bulk of domestic investment is financed through household savings in India, foreign capital has played an important role at the margin. Robert Morris, chairman and chief executive, Asia Pacific, Barclays, Hong Kong, pointed out the percentage of foreign direct investment to GDP had increased after 2006, a phase when the economy recorded the fastest average growth rates. “India would need foreign capital to drive growth,” Tejpreet Singh Chopra, national executive for India, GE, said. The environment for foreign capital flows following unprecedented loosening of monetary policy by central banks around the world as an antidote to the financial crisis could be an unknown factor, Watts felt. “I don’t think any of us understand how we will extricate ourselves from this,” Watts said. A fallout of all the measures taken could show up in the foreign exchange market. “Government will have to think on how it will manage the rupee,” Watts said. As discussions in earlier sessions suggested, one factor which enhances India’s competitive advantage in attracting foreign capital is its scale and growth projections. Watts did not see India competing very hard for foreign capital as the economic growth rates would pull it in. When the discussion swung towards segments of the capital market in India, some of the panelists felt equity markets would gain in importance. At a regional level, Morris said Asia is seeing a move from lending to capital markets. Within India, Jha and Watts said small industries would benefit from a deeper and wide equity market as it would improve availability to capital. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:12 am India gold traders put off by record pricesMumbai: India gold traders turned their backs on the market on Monday as prices continued their record-breaking spree in the middle of the wedding season, but a strong rupee aided sentiment, dealers and traders said. “The physical market is absolutely calm looking at the way prices have been jumping around. Rupee is acting in support but overseas rise is huge. People are comfortable with $1,080 (an ounce),” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager-treasury, IndusInd Bank in Mumbai. “Demand is dull, I have a few orders in the range of 1,090-1,100 (an ounce),” said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank. Gold prices on the Multi Commodity Exchange stood at Rs16,684 per 10 grams at 2:17pm, after hitting a record of Rs16,703 earlier in the session. The last record of Rs16,688 was struck in late Friday trade. The Indian rupee extended gains in afternoon session on Monday on the back of the dollar’s sharp drop versus major units and boosted by gains of more than 1% in the domestic sharemarket. A strong rupee makes the dollar-quoted asset cheaper. Scrap sales eased after last week’s pick-up as consumers expected a further rise in prices. “There is no one now, we expect people to come in by afternoon for sale. At the end of the day, 100 kgs of scrap may come in Zaveri Bazaar. At least 400 kgs was collected last week,” said Jitendra Kantilal, partner, Jugraj Kantilal & Co, a Zaveri Bazaar-based scrap dealer. Jugraj quoted Rs16,800 per 10 grams for purchase of scrap gold. India imported 27 tonnes of gold between 1-22 October against 44 tonnes imported in all of October last year, the head of Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) said, as higher prices continue to hurt demand. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:02 am Indian rupee extends gains on firm shares; dlr down - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am Reliance close to $6 bln overseas buy - paperMUMBAI (Reuters) - Energy giant Reliance Industries is close to a nearly $6 billion overseas acquisition and the likely target is the assets of petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell, the Economic Times reported on Monday, citing an unidentified banker.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am Infosys BPO to hire 1500-2000 people by end of 2010 fiscalNew Delhi: Infosys BPO, the back-office unit of IT firm Infosys Technologies, today said it would hire 1500-2000 people by the end of the current fiscal. “We plan to hire 2000 people in the next four-five months or by the end of this fiscal. Currently we are 16,000 people in India,” Infosys BPO CEO Amitabh Chaudhry told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. The 300-million Infosys subsidiary recently signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up rural BPO centres in 22 districts of the state. Infosys BPO, gets significant part of its business from North America and Europe. To bag more clients, it is said to be looking at aligning with Finacle, the banking solution business of its parent. Infosys BPO is also reportedly planning to set up a new delivery centre in the United States before the end of this financial year. The back-office services wing of Infosys has eight delivery centres across the globe, including in Mexico, but it did not have a centre in the US so far. Infosys BPO registered revenues of $71.3 million with a net profit of $16.3 million for the September quarter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:59 am Infosys BPO to hire 1500-2000 people by end of 2010 fiscalNew Delhi: Infosys BPO, the back-office unit of IT firm Infosys Technologies, today said it would hire 1500-2000 people by the end of the current fiscal. “We plan to hire 2000 people in the next four-five months or by the end of this fiscal. Currently we are 16,000 people in India,” Infosys BPO CEO Amitabh Chaudhry told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. The 300-million Infosys subsidiary recently signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up rural BPO centres in 22 districts of the state. Infosys BPO, gets significant part of its business from North America and Europe. To bag more clients, it is said to be looking at aligning with Finacle, the banking solution business of its parent. Infosys BPO is also reportedly planning to set up a new delivery centre in the United States before the end of this financial year. The back-office services wing of Infosys has eight delivery centres across the globe, including in Mexico, but it did not have a centre in the US so far. Infosys BPO registered revenues of $71.3 million with a net profit of $16.3 million for the September quarter. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:59 am India can’t handle high fiscal deficit for long: Pranab London: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that India will not be able to sustain high fiscal deficit in the long run, but he did not give any timeframe for withdrawing the stimulus measures that inflated the deficit. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shared with industry leaders in New Delhi on Sunday, his government’s intent to wind down stimulus measures next year, Mukherjee told reporters in St.Andrews, Scotland, that he had already told Parliament high fiscal deficit was not sustainable in the long run. India’s fiscal deficit is projected to be 6.8% of GDP this fiscal, consequent to duty sops given last year to the industry to insulate it from the effects of the global economic crisis. Mukherjee said that efforts would be made to reduce fiscal deficit to 4% of the GDP and revenue deficit to 1.5% by 2012. Echoing the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister, he said that the economy would grow by more than 7% next fiscal. “In the next year, we will have growth projection of more than 7%,” he said on Sunday evening after a G-20 finance ministers’ meeting. With regard to the current fiscal, he said that the country was likely to register an economic expansion of 6.5%, less than the 6.7% recorded in 2008-09. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:58 am India gold traders put off by record pricesMUMBAI (Reuters) - India gold traders turned their backs on the market on Monday as prices continued their record-breaking spree in the middle of the wedding season, but a strong rupee aided sentiment, dealers and traders said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:57 am L&T bags order worth Rs 1635 cr from MPPGCL - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:55 am Stamp duty on land waived of for IT projects, call centres in UPLucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to waive off stamp duty on land for IT units and call centres being set up in the state. “In the wake of the global meltdown, the government has also decided to extend the time limit of completion of IT projects by two years,” principal secretary IT Chandra Prakash said on Monday. Prakash said the allottees will be required to get their development plan approved from the competent authority within 42 months of getting possession of land. “Similarly, these units will have to obtain completion certificate of land allotment within five years and execute the project within seven years,” he said. He said Information Technology units, which fail to complete the projects within the stipulated time will be required to repay stamp duty concession along with interest. “The government has also decided to reduce lease rent of commercial plots and properties being allotted through bid to IT units till March 21 to one per cent per annum from 2.5% per annum at present,” Prakash said. He said any unit that wants to pay the lease rent one time will have to pay only 11% instead of 27.5%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:43 am Premature for Asian central banks to tighten policyNew Delhi: It is premature for Asian central banks to begin exiting from their extraordinarily loose monetary policies given the fragility of economic recovery, a top official with the Asian Development Bank said on Monday. Rajat Nag, managing director general of the ADB, also said the US dollar would remain a key reserve currency but that other currencies would also gain prominence over the medium and longer term. “We do consider this as a V-shaped rather than a double-dip recovery, but the dynamics of the growth are frail. The numbers are obviously very encouraging, but they are soft,” Nag told Reuters TV on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum event. “On the one hand you certainly don’t want to choke off growth and you also don’t want to stoke inflation,” Nag said. “And this balancing act will require the central banks to be very watchful of inflation but our feeling is that, no, it is premature to talk about exiting right now.” He said countries should coordinate their exit strategies and cited the Group of 20 nations as a venue for such dialogue. “It is important to coordinate the policy. Now, that does not mean the countries will be able to synchronise, because circumstances will be different,” he said. The multilateral lender expects developing Asian economies on average to grow 3.9% this year and 6.4% next year. The so-called Group of Three or G-3 -- Japan, the United States and the euro zone -- are projected by the bank to contract 3.7% this year and grow 1.1% in 2010. Australia is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region or the G-20 to have raised interest rates as the global economy crawls out of its downturn, although India and South Korea are forecast to raise rates in coming quarters. “The central banks, I think, need to use various arrows in their quiver including the quantitative restrictions -- changing the statutory reserve ratios, which is what India has done, before going into the rates themselves,” he said. Dollars and Gold India last month bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund at an average price of $1,045 an ounce, surprising markets and prompting speculation that other central banks such as China’s would buy gold to diversify reserves in the face of a declining dollar. “I think the US dollar will remain certainly a very important currency, a reserve currency, for the foreseeable future, but I think it is also likely, and I think its almost inevitable that you will see a basket of currencies coming into that pool -- euro, yen, you know, the Chinese renminbi, in due course, and also the Indian rupee,” Nag said. “So, as the centre of gravity of economic power shifts east, you’ll obviously see many changes happening, but it’s not going to happen tomorrow. So the US dollar, I think it’s very important to recognise, will remain a very important reserve currency.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:28 am Gazprom first-half profits plunge 49.8%Moscow: Russian energy giant Gazprom, the world’s largest gas firm, said Monday its net profits plunged 49.8% in the first half of 2009 compared to a year earlier due to higher expenses. Half-year profits fell to 305.8 billion rubles ($10.6 billion), compared to 609.4 billion rubles ($21 billion) in the first six months of 2008, the company said in a statement. It said net income dropped 6.6% on a year earlier to 1.6 trillion rubles ($56.6 billion). Sales of gas to Europe and other states had increased 6% as higher prices across the world compensated for drastic falls in export volumes, it said. At the same time, operating expenses and financial charges rose sharply as the cost of purchased gas soared 105%, reflecting an increase in prices for gas from Central Asia. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:22 am Gazprom first-half profits plunge 49.8%Moscow: Russian energy giant Gazprom, the world’s largest gas firm, said Monday its net profits plunged 49.8% in the first half of 2009 compared to a year earlier due to higher expenses. Half-year profits fell to 305.8 billion rubles ($10.6 billion), compared to 609.4 billion rubles ($21 billion) in the first six months of 2008, the company said in a statement. It said net income dropped 6.6% on a year earlier to 1.6 trillion rubles ($56.6 billion). Sales of gas to Europe and other states had increased 6% as higher prices across the world compensated for drastic falls in export volumes, it said. At the same time, operating expenses and financial charges rose sharply as the cost of purchased gas soared 105%, reflecting an increase in prices for gas from Central Asia. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:22 am Indian warships to stay in Gulf of Aden till piracy ends: officialThe Indian Navy warships stationed in the Gulf of Aden to protect Indian merchant ships from frequent attacks by Somali pirates will remain in the region until a permanent solution is worked out, a senior navy officer said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:07 am Goa minister goes against own government, supports SEZsMonths after the state government bowed to public pressure and decided to cancel the three sanctioned special economic zones (SEZ) in Goa, a senior cabinet minister Monday said he would 'still welcome SEZ'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:05 am Punj Lloyd forays into solar energyPunj Lloyd, a diversified construction and engineering group, has tied up with Singapore-based Delta Solar to foray into the solar utility space, the company said Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:04 am Orissa orders suspension of work in 30 iron ore minesOrissa has ordered the suspension of work in at least 30 iron ore mines after the operators failed to produce documents to show their mining activities were legal, a senior mines department official said Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Strong companies kept hiring during slowdown: Genpact CEOBack office service provider Genpact Monday said the companies that kept hiring during the economic slowdown were viewed as 'strong' firms and would benefit from this perception when the economy begins recovering.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Trade pact a road to $1-trillion Gulf market for India: BahrainThe free trade agreement that India and Gulf countries hope to sign will give Indian firms greater access to the $1-trillion market in the Middle East, apart from a cost-competitive route to western economies like the US, a senior executive of Bahrain's Economic Development Board has said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am Accenture to hire 8000 in India by end of next year - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:56 am Accenture to hire 8,000 in India by end of next yearGlobal technology and consultancy giant Accenture said it is going to add around 8,000 people in India by the end of next year taking its total employee base in the country to 50,000.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:54 am Barclays to increase workforce by 10% in Asia New Delhi: UK-based Barclays on Monday said that it would increase its workforce in merchant banking segment across Asia by 10% during 2010.  “We’ve seen very strong performance across Asia for all our business classes. We would expect our workforce to increase across Asia by 10%,” Barclays chairman and chief executive officer Asia Pacific Robert A. Morrice said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit. On India strategy, Barclay said that it would continue to grow the business in the same way as it has been growing in the last 5 years. Meanwhile, Bank of America Merrill Lynch county head (India) Kevan V. Watts said that India is a structural story and it makes sense to invest money in the equity market. Click here to see all of Mint’s coverage on the WEF India summit “Sectors that look attractive include infrastructure and stock, which have good exposure to rural markets,” he said. However, dollar is expected to remain week in the coming months. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:52 am Infosys eyeing acquisitions in Europe, U.S.NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The back-office arm of Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 software services provider, is looking at acquiring firms in Europe and in the United States of $50 million to $100 million, a top official said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:47 am India, EU to resolve generic drug dispute: Trade min - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:43 am Indian bond yields ease on easy rate view - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:05 am Comex gold may correct lowerComex gold futures ended at a record high on Friday as investors sought safe-haven after data showed the US unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 per cent in October. While doubts about an economic recovery boosted gold, base metalsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Ad spends outpace sales growth for FMCG cosMakers of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) are setting aside a much larger slice of their sales towards advertising and promotions (A&P) this year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Downtrend persists on Nagarjuna Fertlizers, SuzlonI am only a seasonal trader in stock market and I enter futures whenever the technical charts and graphs break down continuously breaching important support levels. I will enter such stock futures and exit in between the technical pullSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Every downturn has its bright spots, and we see India as one’Even as the economic downturn slowed down airlines’ expansion across the world, Qatar Airways has managed to buck the trend. Its CEO, Mr Akbar Al Baker, believes: “In every economic slowdown, there are stillSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Power Company (Rs 1271.5): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of Tata Power Company from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that its intermediate-term uptrend that commenced in March low of Rs 602 was arrested at Rs 1,487 in late October.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am ONGC may be allowed to sell C-series field gas at $4.75ONGC may be allowed to sell gas from its marginal C-series field at the current market determined price of $4.75/mBtu. This is against $5.5/mBtu, a price firmed up by theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Complex issue of capital controlsThere have been discussions in the international media on the need to restrict capital inflows. This follows the decision by Brazil on October 20, 2009, to impose a 2 per cent tax on capital inflows. It is recognised that unrestricted capitalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Per-employee revenues, profits rise in IT firmsIn a year that saw the worst global slump of the century, many Indian IT companies have made more revenues and profits per employee than they did during the same time lastSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if the stop-loss levelSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am PM bets on domestic demand to spur growthNew Delhi, Nov. 8 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Sunday promised the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit to speed up economic reforms, while announcing that the fiscal stimulus would be wound down only next year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Triveni Engineering’s sugar crushing to touch 4 lakh tonnes New Delhi: Sugar major Triveni Engineering & Industries on Monday said in the ongoing season that the company will crush 14% more sugarcane at 4 lakh tonne compared to last year.  The company had crushed 3.5 lakh tonnes of sugar in the last sugar season, which starts from October. “We will soon start crushing sugarcane this season. We expect to crush four lakh tonnes of sugarcane compared with 3.5 lakh tonnes in the last season,” Triveni Engineering & Industries chairman and managing director Dhruv M. Sawhney said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit. He said that sugar prices are expected to remain stable as the country has enough supply for the next six to eight months although more imports are likely. Click here to see all of Mint’s coverage on the WEF India summit “It is expected that India will import 1-2 million tonnes of sugar between April and September next year,” he said. At present, raw sugar imports are unlikely as the global prices have increased to $560 per tonnes and not much margins can be made in the retail market after refining it. Asked about the company’s retail business, Sawhney said that the firm is still evaluating its options as to how to go about in the future. “We are currently focusing on the engineering division. As far as the retail division is concerned, we are not putting in much of our resources. We are evaluating various options, including partnerships for the retail venture,” Sawhney said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:24 pm Sensex volatile with positive bias; Bharti, rcomm, DLF dip - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:23 pm Pakistan businessmen hopeful about economy's potentialDespite the string of terror attacks across Pakistan, a group of business people here have expressed hope about the economic potential of the country.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm Snowfall in high hills of Himachal PradeshModerate snowfall Monday covered the high reaches of Himachal Pradesh and generated hopes of revival of tourism in the state, officials said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm Uttar Pradesh cane growers damage rail tracks, block roadsAgitated over relatively low sugarcane prices suggested by the government, hundreds of farmers took to the streets Monday, damaged railway tracks and blocked highways in parts of western Uttar Pradesh, police said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm Taking RTI furtherNew Delhi: The day before the IES starts, private sessions begin. These sessions continue through the conference. These are by invitation events where the WEF invites people with domain expertise to discuss in a roundtable format — any specific area. One of the key passions of the founding head of the WEF, Klaus Schwab since the beginning of the financial crisis has been to take these troubled times and reform large parts of the existing system in a ‘Global redesign initiative’ (GRI). The redesign is not limited only to the economic or the financial worlds and includes areas of governance. I attended a session on the GRI initiative on Saturday morning and various people who were taking initiatives discussed the issues behind their redesign initiative. I am heading one on the right to public information and believe it can be a source of major change throughout the world. Click here to see all of Mint’s coverage of the WEF We have a small group working on the issue of creating a model Act and creating discussion forums on then implementing the substantive parts across the world. Over 80 countries have versions of the right to public information in their countries but around a third of them have wholly ignored its implementation, another third have a mixed record and the balance have made good use of such an Act to create transparency and reduce discretion and corruption amongst other benefits. India with its 4 years of the right to information Act has many experiences to share with the world and I am happy to invite comments on particularly effective success stories on the right to information from India. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm Issues with USFDA to take long to resolve: RanbaxyNew Delhi: Pharmaceutical firm Ranbaxy on Monday said that it is in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to sort out issues related to generic drugs but the matter is likely to take long to resolve.  “Issues with the USFDA will take long and cannot be resolved in a day and the discussions with the FDA are going on,” Ranbaxy Laboratories chief executive officer Atul Sobti said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit. Last year, the USFDA had banned 30 generic drugs produced at Ranbaxy’s plants at Poanta Sahib (in Himachal Pradesh) and Dewas (in Madhya Pradesh) citing violation of good manufacturing practice. Subsequently, Application Integrity Policy(AIP) was imposed on Poanta Sahib facility, which meant the company’s drug applications were not reviewed. Click here to see all of Mint’s coverage on the WEF India summit Sobti also said that Ranbaxy’s proposed three-year strategy plan with Japanese Daiichi Sankyo will be a comprehensive one, including manufacturing tie-up and partnership in new chemical entity development. “It will be announced by January-end next year,” he added. The plan is aimed at enhancing value of both the companies with a focus on branded drugs and its back end support. Earlier this year, both companies entered into an arrangement under which Ranbaxy would market the branded products from Daiichi Sankyo’s portfolio in regions where the Japanese firm did not have a presence. The Gurgaon-based company has recently launched Evista, a drug used for treating osteoporosis, through its subsidiary in Romania from Daiichi Sankyo’s portfolio. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:58 pm GE hopes to build at least one Indian nuclear plantNew Delhi: General Electric Co expects to build at least one nuclear power plant in the country following last year’s US-India civil nuclear cooperation pact, a senior official said on Monday. “We hope that we will get at least one site, order to develop that site,” Tejpreet Chopra, president and chief executive of GE India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka told reporters. In July, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had said Delhi had approved two sites for US companies to build nuclear power plants, offering American companies the first fruits of last year’s landmark agreement. GE is also not focusing on its earlier target to achieve $8 billion in revenues from India in 2010, Chopra said. “We don’t have that target anymore. We are not putting out any target anymore. There is so much uncertainty and volatility in the market.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:58 pm Issues with USFDA to take long to resolve: RanbaxyNew Delhi: Pharmaceutical firm Ranbaxy on Monday said that it is in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to sort out issues related to generic drugs but the matter is likely to take long to resolve. “Issues with the USFDA will take long and cannot be resolved in a day and the discussions with the FDA are going on,” Ranbaxy Laboratories chief executive officer Atul Sobti said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit. Last year, the USFDA had banned 30 generic drugs produced at Ranbaxy’s plants at Poanta Sahib (in Himachal Pradesh) and Dewas (in Madhya Pradesh) citing violation of good manufacturing practice. Subsequently, Application Integrity Policy(AIP) was imposed on Poanta Sahib facility, which meant the company’s drug applications were not reviewed. Click here to see all of Mint’s coverage on the WEF India summit Sobti also said that Ranbaxy’s proposed three-year strategy plan with Japanese Daiichi Sankyo will be a comprehensive one, including manufacturing tie-up and partnership in new chemical entity development. “It will be announced by January-end next year,” he added. The plan is aimed at enhancing value of both the companies with a focus on branded drugs and its back end support. Earlier this year, both companies entered into an arrangement under which Ranbaxy would market the branded products from Daiichi Sankyo’s portfolio in regions where the Japanese firm did not have a presence. The Gurgaon-based company has recently launched Evista, a drug used for treating osteoporosis, through its subsidiary in Romania from Daiichi Sankyo’s portfolio. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:58 pm Hurricane Ida aims for Gulf of Mexico oil fieldsSan Salvador: Hurricane Ida roared through the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, where important oil fields are located, after triggering floods and mudslides that killed 124 people in El Salvador. Ida was expected to weaken gradually on Monday as it heads toward some of the oil and gas production facilities in the central Gulf, the US National Hurricane Center said. The storm reached hurricane force again late on Saturday and strengthened to a Category 2 storm on Sunday with sustained winds of near 165 kph, the Miami-based hurricane center said in its 8:30am advisory. Some energy companies in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuating workers from offshore platforms and several large producers shut down some oil and gas production as a precautionary measure. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only terminal in the United States capable of handling the largest tankers, said it would stop unloading ships due to stormy seas. A quarter of US oil and 15% of its natural gas are produced from fields in the Gulf and the coast is home to 40% of the nation’s refining capacity. In El Salvador, rivers burst their banks and hillsides collapsed under relentless rains triggered by Ida’s passage, cutting off parts of the mountainous interior from the rest of the country. El Salvador’s government said 124 people were killed as mudslides and floods swept away rudimentary houses. The bulk of the Central American country’s coffee is grown in areas far from the worst affects of the flooding but the national coffee association had no estimate of potential damage to the harvest. The hurricane center set a hurricane warning from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, meaning hurricane conditions could be expected in the area within 24 hours. A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi including the city of New Orleans, which is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Louisiana prepares Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on Sunday, allowing the government to mobilize troops and rescue workers. If Ida makes landfall in Louisiana it would be the first storm to strike the state since Hurricane Gustav came ashore in September 2008. As of 8:30am, Ida was 645 km south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and was moving north-northwest near 22 kph, the hurricane center said. Ida was expected to turn toward the north and move faster toward the Gulf Coast before veering off to the northeast late on Monday. Ida swept past the Mexican resort of Cancun on Sunday, doing little damage to the city. About 1,000 people were evacuated from Mexico’s Holbox Island, an isolated fishing community and sanctuary for thousands of flamingos and other exotic birds located northwest of Cancun. Ida first became a hurricane on Thursday off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, where heavy rains forced more than 5,000 people into shelters. The country’s coffee crop was not directly affected by the storm, according to the local coffee council. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:57 pm Dalai Lama draws huge crowds on visit slammed by ChinaTawang: Tens of thousands of Buddhist devotees gathered on Monday to hear the Dalai Lama on his visit to a Tibetan border region that he insists is ‘non-political but which China views as deeply provocative. Some 30,000 people, many of whom had arrived days in advance, were expected to attend a mass session of religious teaching by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader at the remote Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh. China, which claims Arunachal as its own territory, has condemned the week-long visit and accused the Dalai Lama of seeking to stir up tensions in relations between New Delhi and Beijing. On his arrival at Tawang on Sunday, the Dalai Lama dismissed China’s complaints and rejected charges that he actively promotes anti-China unrest in his homeland. “My visit to Tawang is non-political,” the 74-year-old Nobel laureate said. “It is quite usual for China to step up campaigning against me wherever I go,” he said adding: “It is totally baseless on the part of the Chinese communist government to say that I am encouraging a separatist movement.” Tawang—400 years old and the second largest Tibetan monastery in India—holds strong memories for the Dalai Lama. When he fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, Arunachal was his point of entry to India and he took refuge in Tawang at the start of his decades in exile. “There are a lot of emotions involved,” he said, looking back. “When I escaped from China in 1959, I was mentally and physically very weak. “The Chinese did not pursue us in 1959, but when I reached India they started speaking against me,” he said. It was not the Dalai Lama’s first return visit to Tawang but the timing has caused Beijing to protest in a robust fashion. Indo-Chinese tensions over their disputed Himalayan border—the cause of a brief but bloody war in 1962—have risen in recent months, with reports of troop movements and minor incursions on both sides. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh toured the state last month during an election campaign, prompting warnings from Beijing about harming bilateral ties. The presence in the disputed region of the Dalai Lama, whom China regards as a renegade Tibetan separatist, is seen as a double insult. China had accused the Dalai Lama and his exiled ‘clique’ of helping to organise anti-China protests that erupted in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in March last year and spread across the Tibetan plateau. Thousands of Buddhists gave the Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in exile in India for 50 years, a rousing welcome on his arrival at Tawang monastery, perched in the Himalayan foothills at 3,500 metres. “It was a lifetime experience to have seen the Dalai Lama from so close,” said a young monk called Sherbu on Sunday. “He waved back at us and I consider this to be a blessing for me and the people here,” he said. The Dalai Lama’s spiritual teachings are expected to last several days. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:40 pm Rupee gains another 30p against dollarThe rupee surged by 30 paisa to 46.50 against the dollar in early trade on Monday on fresh dollar selling by exporters amid firm local stocks and heavy capital inflows this year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:35 pm State IPO push lifts BSNL, Coal India listing hopesMUMBAI (Reuters) - Coal India and telecoms firm BSNL are the prime candidates to list on Indian bourses under the government's new rules for selling stakes in state firms, but valuations will have to be tempered to attract investors.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:25 pm State IPO push lifts BSNL, Coal India listing hopesMumbai: Coal India and telecom firm BSNL are the prime candidates to list on Indian bourses under the government’s new rules for selling stakes in state firms, but valuations will have to be tempered to attract investors. The government said last week unlisted state firms making profits in the past three consecutive years should list, as Asia’s third-largest economy looks to fuel growth without further widening a large fiscal deficit. The IPO windfall could raise more than $10 billion and prompt significant inflows of foreign investment. Coal India, the country’s biggest coal miner, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India’s fourth-largest mobile operator and No.2 telecom firm including fixed-line subscribers, are among firms meeting the new rules. Coal India chairman Partha Bhattacharyya told Reuters his company has been advised by the government to appoint an independent financial adviser for a potential IPO. “We expect to make the appointment by December,” he said. BSNL chairman Kuldeep Goyal said the government has to decide the timing for any potential IPO of his company. This follows recent strongly subscribed IPOs of state-run firms NHPC and Oil India, which together raised $1.8 billion for the government. Oil India also made a strong market debut, with analysts widely agreeing its valuations were attractive. But NHPC, and private sector firms Adani Power and Indiabulls Power, made muted debuts in recent months, with analysts blaming high IPO prices. “The valuations offered by the government have to be reasonable,” said Phani Sekhar, fund manager at Angel Mutual Fund. The government would also do well to time any potential offerings when the stock market is on an uptrend, he said. “If the government does not want to compromise on valuations, as in the case of NHPC, then it has to choose its timing very carefully.” Listed State Firms Jump The government also said all profitable, listed state firms must have at least 10% of their shares in public hands. The government should raise about $5.5 billion by selling stakes in profitable listed state firms in which it holds more than 90%, according to Standard Chartered estimates. Such firms include MMTC, Hindustan Copper, Rashtriya Chemicals, Neyveli Lignite, National Fertilizers, State Trading Corp, NMDC and Andrew Yule. Shares in most of these firms have jumped by at least a fifth since the new stake sale rules were announced on Thursday, with Rashtriya Chemicals climbing 25%. Coal mining and power generation firm Neyveli Lignite has risen 8%, while leading iron ore miner NMDC and heavy engineering firm Andrew Yule gained 15% and 13%, respectively. “Some steps need to be taken to give a fillip to the economy,” said A N Sridhar, a fund manager at Sahara Mutual Fund. “The proposed stake sales are definitely aimed at reviving the economy and closing the fiscal gap. If the government does it, that’ll be really positive.” Other candidates officials have said Railways subsidiary RITES, Cochin Shipyard, Telecommunications Consultants India and Manganese Ore India will also be on the government’s radar for potential IPOs. The government gave no timeline for potential IPOs of state firms when it released the new rules. RITES, Cochin Shipyard and Manganese Ore India have been profitable for the past three years, but past financials for Telecommunications Consultants were not immediately available. An official at Cochin Shipyard said the company had not received any direct communication from the government related to an IPO. The other firms could not be immediately reached. Standard Chartered analysts Samiran Chakraborty and Anubhuti Sahay said it was difficult to estimate the proceeds from potential IPOs of state firms. “In any case, the proceeds will be substantial, and we envision a heavy influx of foreign flows to capture this opportunity,” they said in a note to clients. The government last year proposed selling a 10% stake in BSNL, looking to raise around $10 billion, but the sale was headed off by political and labour opposition. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:21 pm France’s AXA unveils $7 bn Asian growth planSydney: Europe’s second-largest insurer, AXA SA, sought to double its bet on Asian growth on Monday, unveiling a planned $7 billion buy-out of its Asian assets and sale of its Australian assets to local rival AMP Ltd. In order to help fund the buyout of the Asian assets, AXA SA said it would seek to raise €2 billion ($3 billion) through a right issue. But AXA Asia Pacific’s independent directors rejected the main plank of the complicated deal, under which AMP would buy all of AXA Asia Pacific’s shares, including the French parent’s stake before selling the Asian assets back to AXA. “They’ve obviously wanted to have at least some of the assets of AXA Asia Pacific for some time. They wanted to do it cheaply before and they’re probably wanting to do it cheaply again,” said Ross Barker, managing director of Australian Foundation Investment Co. With the buyout, AMP would buy all of the shares in the Asia Pacific unit, including the parent’s 53% stake in a deal worth $10.3 billion, and then sell AXA Asia Pacific’s Asian assets back to the French parent for an undisclosed price. AXA Asia Pacific’s independent directors said the proposal “significantly undervalued” the company. “The proposal has been received against the backdrop of recent weakness in global financial markets and before the growth of our Asian operations is fully reflected in our profitability,” AXA Asia Pacific Chairman Rick Allert said in a statement. AXA SA holds its Asian operations through its stake in Australia-based AXA Asia Pacific Holdings but now wants to own these assets outright, doubling its exposure to Asian life insurance savings, including in China and India. AXA Asia Pacific shares jumped 30% on news of the takeover bid, with the market punting on AMP and AXA improving the offer. “The Asian assets are attractive,” said Mark Daniels, head of Australian equities for Aberdeen Asset Management. “That’s one of the reasons why you’d hold AXA (Asia Pacific). They’ve got a very good business in Hong Kong and other Asian businesses are coming on track,” Daniels added. In a separate development, AXA’s 15.6% stake in China’s No.4 life insurer, Taikang, attracted foreign and domestic bidders, including Temasek and Blackstone, valuing the holding at more than $1 billion, sources told Reuters. AMP’s cash-and-shares offer for all of AXA Asia Pacific, the first stage of the deal, implied a bid of A$5.43 per AXA Asia Pacific share, valuing the target firm at A$11.2 billion ($10.3 billion), based on AMP’s closing share price on Friday. AMP is offering a 26% premium to AXA’s close on Friday. AMP is offering 0.6896 of its own shares plus A$1.3796 in cash for each AXA Asia Pacific share. AMP said in a separate statement the proposal would value the Australian and New Zealand assets of AXA Asia Pacific at around A$4 billion, based on AMP’s closing share prices on Thursday. The second leg of the deal would be for AXA SA to buy AXA Asia Pacific’s Asian businesses from AMP for about $7 billion. “Our view would be that it probably looks a bit light,” Ross Barker, managing director of Australian Foundation Investment Co, AXA Asia Pacific’s seventh-largest fund manager shareholder, said of the offer. AXA SA tried to buy out the minorities in AXA Asia Pacific five years ago but was knocked back. AXA Asia Pacific has operations in Hong Kong, China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, providing about two-thirds of total operating earnings. The deal underscores AMP’s hunger to grow wealth management business after losing out in a bid for British insurer Aviva Plc’s assets to National Australia Bank Ltd earlier this year. The Australian wealth management sector is poised to more than double over the next decade, backed by an ageing population, the country’s mandatory superannuation pension scheme and the likelihood of continued strong economic growth. But the industry also faces tough new regulations that could curb fee growth. Australia’s competition watchdog plans to review the AMP bid, which would put Australia’s two biggest life insurers together, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Monday. AXA is being advised by Macquarie Group while Deutsche Bank is advising AXA SA. AMP is being advised by UBS, a source familiar with the advisory arrangements said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:11 pm Sensex rises 107 points in opening tradeSensex gained over 100 points in opening trade, continuing its winning streak for the fourth day, on buying by funds and retail investors after PM Manmohan Singh said his govt would pursue reforms for economic growth.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 10:10 pm BSE Sensex rises; Reliance, SBI leadEnergy giant Reliance Industries was up nearly 2% at Rs1,995 after a report it could be close to announcing a $6 billion overseas buy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 9:56 pm Rupee rises 20 paise at 46.60 a dollarForex dealers said expectations of continued inflow of foreign funds into local bourses that may open in the positive zone tracking other Asian markets pushed up rupee's demand.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 9:50 pm BSE Sensex seen up; Reliance, Bharti watchedBharti Airtel would be watched after its head said the leading telecoms company was not actively seeking acquisitions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pm Stem cell can treat blood cancers: Japanese scientistChennai: Stem cell developed in labs could help in treating some types of blood cancer in the near future, renowned Japenese stem cell scientist Dr Yukio Nakamura says. Blood cancers such as aplastic aneamia (a deficiency of red blood cells) and thalassemia (an inherited form of anaemia caused by faulty synthesis of haemoglobin) can be treated by the stem cell technology. “The technology, developed by Japanese scientists, does not involve usage of embryonic stem cells and therefore, is devoid of ethical conflicts”, Nakamura, a world renowned stem cell scientist and head of Bio Resources Centre, Riken Institute, Japan said. Nakamura was in the city recently to participate in an international stem cell meet, organised by the Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), a Indo-Japan joint venture institute. Explaining about the stem cell process, he said “after eliminating blood cancer cells by anti-cancer chemicals, normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are also eliminated. Thus, HSC transplantation is necessary. Since HSCs are present in bone marrow or umbilical cord blood in the human being, bone marrow transplantation or umbilical cord blood transplantation is useful. “Since HSCs can be produced from embryonic stem cells, it can be applied in the clinic for therapy of blood cancer”. Both aplastic anemia and thalassemias need multiple transfusions of blood components. However, finding donors whose blood or bone marrow would match that of the patients’ HLA for such transfusions was difficult, Nakamura said. His team had developed a technology by which they could engineer RBCs in lab from IPS cells in large quantities which had been proven in animal studies for safety and efficacy. The Cell Engineering Division of Riken Bio Resource Center is a not-for-profit public “Cell Bank” that accepts donation and deposit of human and animal cell materials developed by life science research community. “We examine, standardise, amplify, preserve, and provide cell materials to scientists around the world... aiming to contribute to the fields of developmental biology, transplantation medicine and regenerative medicine”, he said. On Indian perspective, NCRM Director Abraham said “Some of the thalassemia are genetically inherited and are prevelant in some specific parts of the country and also its prevelance is due to consanguineous marraige within those communities” The technology of lab engineered IPS cells will be of great help to patients when it becomes a clinical application. NCRM proposed to start some studies using Japanese technology for in-vitro expansion of Bone Marrow/Umbilical Cord Blood cells which can be clinically applied and in producing RBCs from lab Engineered IPS Cells as a translational research in collaboration with scientists like Dr Nakamura, he added Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pm Kraft set to formalize hostile Cadbury bid MondayPhiladelphia: Kraft Foods Inc is expected to formalize on Monday a hostile takeover bid for Britain’s Cadbury Plc valued at rougly £10.2 billion ($16.7 billion), sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday. Cadbury previously rejected Kraft’s informal offer two months ago, which was worth worth 745p a share, saying it made no strategic or financial sense. Cadbury’s stock closed on Friday at 758p. Still, Kraft was not expected to materially change its offer, sources familiar with the situation said. Kraft planned to press ahead and make its offer directly to Cadbury shareholders on Monday, meeting a deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel to formalize its offer or walk away, the sources said. “Monday will start the official process,” said one source. “It’s just a starting point,” said the source, saying that Kraft could increase its offer down the road. Kraft’s move to formalize its bid starts a 28-day clock to send the offer documents to Cadbury’s shareholders. When investors receive this information, a standard 60-day offer period kicks in. Kraft declined to comment. Cadbury’s board was expected to meet on Monday to weigh Kraft’s offer, according to media reports. A Cadbury spokeswoman, asked to comment by Reuters on media reports, reiterated the company’s opposition to being bought by Kraft. “While Kraft might need Cadbury, Cadbury certainly does not need Kraft,” the Cadbury spokeswoman said. The bid — at the same price or only slightly offer than its previous offer — reflects Kraft’s promise that it would not overpay for the British group best known for its Dairy Milk chocolate. Kraft, the maker of Velveeta cheese and Oreo cookies, believed from the start that there were no rival bidders who would push the bidding price higher. Although a new suitor could still emerge, Kraft’s tight bid shows it still sees no competition for Cadbury’s hand. A deal would create the world’s largest confectioner, ahead of privately held Mars Inc. It would put into U.S. hands a company that has been a British icon and corporate symbol of industry and philanthropy, a fourth-generation member of the founding family said. Felicity Loudon said she identified Kraft with “plastic cheese on hamburgers.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 9:09 pm Not dead: Bajaj seeking funds to buy BalrampurTalks with ICICI, SBI for Rs 1500-2000 cr loan on. May also hit NCD route.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pm First mega highway project in 2 mths: Kamal NathThe government will award the first ultra mega road project in two months, road transport and highways minister Kamal Nath said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm Conditional clearance for Jet QIP likelyMinistry says carrier can raise FDI level beyond 49% cap subject to conditions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm Stimulus to be wound down in 2010: PMPutting an end to speculation about withdrawal of the government's economic stimulus package, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said the government would take ``appropriate action next year to wind it down''.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pm How to assign a buying price independently and accuratelyKen Fisher presents some powerful formulae to value stocks based on a company's market share.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:07 pm 'Q4 will likely see the most growth in earnings'Affordability, not demand, is the key to the Indian markets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm Everonn benefits as IT education spreadsThe improving education scenario opens new vistas in the Indian education space for private players.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm Ketu-Uranus alignments may keep markets volatileThe recent euphoria over gold seems unlikely to continue much longer.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm India's small car market drives the global biggiesHonda has named India the "lead country" for its global small car which is expected to debut in two or three years. This is part of the Japanese automakers strategy to create models for lead countries and modify them appropriately for other global markets. For example, Japan was the lead country for the Jazz.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:18 pm India Inc prefers other sources to bank fundsBank credit fell sharply in the first half of the financial year, but the overall funds flow to the corporate sector was virtually the same as the corresponding period last year.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pm PM opens door wider for foreign investmentIn addition to FDI, we welcome portfolio investment in Indian companies, says Singh. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sent out a strong message on the need for further economic reform, particularly in the financial sector, and welcomed investment through qualified institutional investors in Indian companies. Stating that the country has been able to withstand the economic downturn, he said a gradual phase-out of the stimulus measures would take place next year.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm Akai set to make a comebackTwice unlucky Japanese electronics brand, Akai is staging a comeback in the country soon.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm Investing in attractive midcap, small stocks can also be riskyDalal Street is agog with talks about multi-baggers - stocks that go up in price multiple times of the initial investment - in small and midcap segments.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pm SMS tariff: Activists, MPs tell Trai to take actionTelecom regulator Trai has been besieged with representations from several quarters, including consumer activists and members of Parliament, asking it to abandon its policy of forbearance with regard to SMS tariffs.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm 'Mumbai, Delhi to join rich club'India's financial hub Mumbai and political capital Delhi are likely to witness a significant jump in economic growth along with other emerging markets and make it to the league of the world's wealthiest cities by 2025, a report says.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm 'Nissan keen to make budget car with Bajaj'Still betting big on the ultra low-cost car segment, Renault/Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn on Sunday said the company was committed to develop a budget car in partnership with Bajaj Auto despite some differences and difficulties on the project.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:59 am NHAI to float 6 mega projects to woo investorsTo attract global infrastructure majors in the highway projects, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon float six ultra mega projects, each of 600 km or more.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am GM Europe chief may head JLR: reportLondon: The outgoing boss of General Motors Europe, Carl-Peter Forster, is all set to take charge of Tata group-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in the next few months, a media report said. Quoting German officials, the Sunday Times said, “Forster was likely to be appointed to a senior role at Tata Motors, owner of Jaguar Land Rover, and would take charge of the group’s British operations.” Tata Motors Ltd bought Jaguar Land Rover, which employs 15,000 people, from Ford Motor Co. for £1.3 billion (Rs10,101 crore) in June 2008. The report, citing senior officials in Frankfurt and Detroit, said: “Forster...was sounded out about the job earlier in the year, and is expected to join within a few months.” Forster was responsible for leading GM Europe through its recent turbulent negotiations with the German government and would-be buyer Magna International Inc. Besides, he has had some success in moving the Opel brand upmarket. On 6 November, GM Europe, owner of brands such as Opel and Vauxhall, had said Forster was leaving. Forster, 55, made his name as a fast-rising star at BMW in the 1990s and was head of production at the German car maker during its ownership of MG Rover and Land Rover. The Tata group declined to comment, the Sunday Times said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 8:09 am Renault committed to bringing low-cost car in IndiaNew Delhi: French carmaker Renault on Sunday said it is committed to bringing in a low-cost small car as the concept is still relevant not only in India, but globally also, despite differences with its partner Bajaj Auto. Renault has been working with India’s second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto to launch an ultra low-cost car, which was initially tagged to be around $2,500 (about Rs1 lakh), in the domestic market by 2011 and is, at present, reportedly facing difficulties on host of issues such as branding and price point. “The entry price point, which will be $2,500 is still very important for the market, not only for India, but also for lot of emerging markets. We have to bring in the car with basic feature, basic functionality at a very affordable price,” Renault chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters here on the sidelines of India Economic Summit here. He, however, declined to comment if the proposed small car would stick to earlier announced price point of $2,500. “..(whether) it is going to be $2,500 or $2,800 or $3,000 (not sure)... (but) I am stuck into making customers happy and satisfied. But it is not going to be very far of ...,” Ghosn said when asked if project is stuck due to differences on the price of the car with Bajaj. India’s largest auto maker Tata Motors, earlier this year, introduced Nano, considered to be the world’s cheapest car, with a price tag of just over Rs1,00,000. “I know that some of our competitors like Tatas has already put the car in the market ... its moving on. We will continue to work to bring in this car (with Bajaj) into the market,” Ghosn said. Bullish on the Indian market, he said: “I am very optimistic about the growth of the market in India. When you move from two million cars a year to six million cars a year, this is very appealing to global carmakers.” He said India’s capability in frugal engineering and frugal product planning becomes key on the backdrop of the global downturn and shift towards small and lower priced products. “The products that are selling the most are the products affordable but with just necessary features and I think Indian engineers are second to none in this segment,” he added. On the issues that Renault was facing in India with its various partners, he said: “I never thought that coming to India will be right at the first time. Nobody get it right in the first time in any country, and particularly in a country with long tradition and long history like India.” So we would be naive to think that everything you are going to undertake, you are going to be successful in the first time. But we have the patience, we have the determination and we have the focus, and hopefully the modesty to recognise when things are going well and when things are not going well and to learn from them.“ He admitted that fall in sales of Logan, a product of Renault’s joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra, was a cause of concern and the company is talking with M&M on ways to overcome the situation. Ghosn said the plant at Chennai, where Renault and Nissan had jointly announced to invest Rs4,200 crore to produce four lakh cars annually, is likely to start production in the early part of 2010. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Nov 2009 | 1:55 am
|
