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How will Australias new tax regime impact metal biz?Last week the new Australian government announced that the resources superb profits tax will be scrapped.In its place a newly titled minerals resource rent tax will be levied on iron ore and coal projects in Australia at the rate of 30% which is 10% lower than the 40% proposed in the earlier tax.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 7:08 am Performance with purpose: PepsiCo\'s growth mantraPepsiCo believes it was able to tide through the financial downturn because of its philosophy of performance with a purpose. It believes in marrying ethical performance with profits.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 6:51 am Ban on Chinese, Israeli telecom gear a hoax: Vendors - Voice & Data Online
Source: Business - Google News | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:44 am Volkswagen hopes to score with the Vento - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:41 am Pawar hints at sugar decontrol, but fixing cane price will be with Govt - fnbnews.com
Source: Business - Google News | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:12 am TVS Group denies allegations of link with LTTESouth India-based automobile major TVS Group today said it has no link with LTTE and debunked allegations of financial irregularity.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:09 am EU considers deepwater oil restrictions- reportMILAN (Reuters) - The European Union could consider limiting the depth of deepwater oil drilling as part of new rules following BP's spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Europe's energy chief said in an interview on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:07 am It rains gains at Dalal Street; BSE Sensex vaults 373 points - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:07 am It rains gains at Dalal Street; BSE Sensex vaults 373 pointsExpectations of strong first quarter corporate results, upward revision in India's GDP growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and revival of monsoon pushed up the BSE-benchmark Sensex sharply by 373 points in the week.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 3:00 am Need to boost production to achieve food security: FMFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that the government will enact a legislation to provide subsidised wheat and rice to poor, but to make it a success there is a need to boost production and strengthen delivery system.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 2:40 am Satellite Failure wreaks havoc for DTH customers!! - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 10 Jul 2010 | 2:18 am China emerges as top exporter of sex toys: reportChina has emerged as the major exporter of sex toys with the country manufacturing about 70 per cent of such instruments for the world. "China produces about 70 per cent of sex toys for the world," Romeo Jiang, a Chinese sex toy manufacturer, was quoted as saying by the state-run China Daily today.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 2:14 am China shrugs off global fears with export strengthBEIJING (Reuters) - China's trade surplus in June topped expectations on surprising strength in exports that suggests the global economic recovery has remained on track despite worries about a fresh slowdown.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Jul 2010 | 2:12 am Bigger role seen for emerging financial centres like MumbaiSAO PAULO (Reuters) - London and New York are not about to lose their spots as the world's leading financial centres but they are being challenged by emerging market upstarts in a potentially lucrative area: the management of funds moving between developing economies.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Jul 2010 | 2:07 am No dearth of resources for agriculture: Pranab - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 10 Jul 2010 | 1:35 am European chocolatiers shower praise on Peru cocoaPeru wants to do for its cocoa what Colombia did for coffee with its globally-recognized image of Juan Valez.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Jul 2010 | 1:19 am Audi set for record year sales after solid JuneVolkswagen's luxury brand Audi reaffirmed its forecast to post record vehicle sales in 2010, only one year after the biggest crisis the auto industry has seen in decades.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:19 am BP to place new containment cap on oil spillEnergy giant BP was expected to begin a new effort today to contain a Gulf of Mexico oil spill by placing a better cap over the gushing well in hopes to stop the flow of oil completely.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:14 am IFRS training market hots upDo you have a few spare rooms? Can you do them up as classrooms and rent them out? If you can, welcome to a new business – IFRSSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am ‘Perfect stores' are just right to boost brandsS.V.K. Perumal Nadar and Sons, a provision store, has been on Konnur High Road in the Chennai suburb of Ayanavaram for almost 60 years. A road which has become busier over the years as new apartment complexes spring up, one even opposite Mr P.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am A novel attempt using drip irrigation for paddyAn initial experiment in the use of drip irrigation in paddy cultivation by Jain Irrigation has demonstrated significant savings in water andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Q1 indirect tax mop up signals economic surgeIn a clear sign of industrial turnaround and improved economic activity, the Centre's indirect tax collections grew 43 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal to Rs 56,930 crore (Rs 39,694Source: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Brokerages may see dip in Q1 revenuesBrokerages are likely to see a dip in their first quarter revenues (from broking activities) as indicated by a fall in the Securities Transaction Tax collections for theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Indian carriers seen buying more aircraftPointing out that the operating environment for Indian carriers is looking “increasingly positive”, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) on Friday indicated that it expects domestic airlines to soon place orders for newSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Power supply glitch partially cripples Insat-4BThe domestic communications satellite Insat-4B is reported to be partially crippled due to a power supply problem since Thursday morning, affecting at least two DTH players and some 50 channels, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am SEBI taken to court over jurisdiction on audit firmsAudit firm Price Waterhouse has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Securities and Exchange Board of India's jurisdiction to investigate its role in the multi-crore SatyamSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Centre lists entities for infrastructure bond tax breaksInvestment in infrastructure bonds issued by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd (IDFC) would qualify for the additional Rs 20,000 deductionSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Decision on sugar decontrol in SeptemberThe Union Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, on Friday, said that this was the “right time” to work towards decontrolling the country's sugarSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am No honest broker - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:59 pm Face-saving compromise lets China, Google do businessChina's renewal of Google's Internet license reflects a face-saving compromise between a political powerhouse and a technology titan who both sought to avoid a painful break-up, analysts said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 10:45 pm Economists see U.S. recovery weakening - surveyWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy will lose steam as the year progresses but will not slide back into recession, even though unemployment is unlikely to fall significantly, according to a survey released on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 10:08 pm Tesla formalizes Toyota deal, to deliver 2 carsSAN FRANCISCO/NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc said on Friday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp to deliver two electric vehicles to the world's largest automaker by the end of month.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 9:27 pm BP set to install bigger cap on leaking Gulf wellMALIBU, Calif./NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - BP was set on Friday to install a bigger cap that could contain almost all the oil leaking from its blown-out Gulf of Mexico well, a top U.S. official said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 7:17 pm Google gets nod from China to keep search pageSHANGHAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - China gave Google Inc approval to keep operating its Chinese search page, resolving a months-long censorship dispute that had threatened its future in the world's top Internet market.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 7:09 pm Even absent, Apple's Jobs a big player at Sun ValleySUN VALLEY, Idaho (Reuters) - Apple Inc boss Steve Jobs was a no-show at an annual pow-wow of media and technology moguls in Sun Valley. But he was far from forgotten.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 7:05 pm Happy tidings set telecom stocks afire - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2010 | 5:51 pm Wall St Week Ahead - Stocks, at crossroads, turn to earningsNEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. stock market landed at a technical crossroads following its best week in a year, yet the potential for positive earnings surprises beginning next week could give an edge to the bulls.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 5:21 pm Citigroup expands Asia energy business: SourcesCitigroup\'s Asia energytrading team is expanding by hiring at least another five staff, including two traders, and has also ventured into physical oil trading in the past 12 months, industry sources said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:52 pm Dabur: Earnings boost or valuation woes?Shares of Dabur India Ltd have outperformed the benchmark index since the start of FY11 on better visibility for growth but the outlook is cautious as valuations become a concern.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:40 pm Bharti to invest $150 mn in KenyaBharti Airtel will invest USD 150 million in Kenya to help boost network and capacity distributions after it took over mobile operations of Kuwait\'s Zain 15 African nations, a senior executive said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:29 pm HDFC raises stake in Credila to 51%Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd has subscribed to an additional 4.03 million equity shares of Credila for Rs 40.3 million, which would increase its shareholding in Credila to 51%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:29 pm SingTel buys Bharti Airtel shares on open marketSingTel buys Bharti Airtel shares on open market.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:29 pm IndusInd Bank to raise Rs 10 billion by DecPrivatesector lender IndusInd Bank will raise up to Rs 10 billion by December, Managing Director and CEO Romesh Sobti said on Friday. The lender seeks to dilute 810% equity, Sobti added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:29 pm Spain\'s moment in the sun has come, says Anand MahindraIt is the World Cup Football finals weekend. And Paul the octopus has picked Spain to win the final over the Netherlands on Sunday night in Johannesburg. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Anand Mahindra, VC MD, Mahindra Mahindra gave his perspective on the outcome of Sunday\'s final.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:19 pm Tax-free infra bonds to have 10-yr-plus tenure - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:13 pm Decontrolling sector a longterm positive: Rajshree SugarsAgriculture Minister Sharad Pawar believes that the time has come for freeing the sugar sector. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Rajshree Pathy, CMD, Rajshree Sugars gave her perspective on the government\'s intent.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:09 pm Wall St marks best week in a year; earnings on tapNEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street closed out its best week in a year on Friday, snapping back from a long stretch of selling, as investors looked ahead to what many expect will be a solid earnings season.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 3:48 pm Base rate regime will usher in transparencyIts effective functioning could change the retail lending industry. Now if only RBI will make banks' mechanism public...Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:36 pm Dainik Bhaskar Group's info guide for media, marketingCalled the DB Assist, this compact disc is a compilation of relevant information that the group has collected over 8 months from various sources such as Indian Readership Survey and Indiastat.com.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm Worst is over for wireless service providersForeign brokerage reports upgrading select telecom stocks triggered these stocks to come out of 'silent' mode on Friday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm SingTel raises stake in Bharti AirtelSingapore Telecommunications has raised its stake in Bharti Airtel marginally to 32.04% by buying close to 15.88 lakh shares in the open market.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm Placements grim at smaller B-schoolsIndustry experts say barring the IIMs and a few other renowned business schools, at least 40-45% students in the other institutes are yet to get jobs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm Nominee in a co-operative society does not become owner of shares or flatRegistration of a will is optional. Testator or after his death any person claiming as executor or otherwise under a will may present the same to Registrar or Sub Registrar of Assurances for registration.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm BL Kashyap nears sale of 1 lakh sq ft residential spaceThe project in Mohali has 117 2-BHK (bedroom, hall & kitchen) and 3-BHK apartments and the company claims to have already sold most of them.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm Secondary private equity deals rise 181%Five secondary deals, which involve sale of stake in a company held by a private equity firm to another firm, amounting to $225 million were concluded till June.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm Money market funds turn hot as norms changeThe decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India to value debt securities with maturity of up to 91 days at the weighted average price has resulted in more investors shifting to money market funds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2010 | 2:30 pm “He’s back”Mumbai: It’s a tried and tested formula and Sony Entertainment Television is hoping that it will work magic for the channel, as it has in the past for its competitor, Star Plus. The Hindi general entertainment channel from Multi Screen Media Ltd (MSML) announced the launch of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), at a press conference on Wednesday in Mumbai. This is the fourth season of the show on Indian television and will be hosted by actor Amitabh Bachchan. Though there was speculation early this year that actor Aamir Khan been approached to host the fourth season of the popular game show, the channel heads maintained that they had always been in talks with Bachchan. The show, which is expected to take off sometime later this year, is based on the international game show format, “Who wants to be a millionaire?” Produced by Big Synergy, the Siddharth Basu led production house, the show was hosted in India by Bachchan in 2000. This is the third season of KBC that Bachchan will host. He played host for KBC 1 and 2 on Star Plus which gained a lot of popularity at the time and catapulted the channel to it’s number one position. Season 3 of KBC, also on Star Plus was hosted by actor Shahrukh Khan and was tweaked to suit his style, which was more informal. However, KBC 3 failed to make a cut with audiences and delivered poor television ratings. Channel officials remained tight-lipped about any changes in the prize money or show format. But maintained that the prize money would definitely be “more than a crore, considering the show was called Kaun Banega Crorepati,” said NP Singh, chief operating officer, SET. KBC 3 which was hosted by Shahrukh Khan had a prize of Rs 2 crore. The production house, Big Synergy is currently assessing all the changes and innovations in the format globally and is likely to put together a fresher, reworked format to appeal to audiences and overcome any viewer fatigue for the show. “The show perfectly fits with our vision of driving the power of entertainment as a force of good in the society. Kaun Banega Crorepati gives equal opportunities to all – irrespective of all their social and economic standing – to use their knowledge to change their lives forever,”said Ajit Thakur, executive vice president and business head, SET. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:45 pm US stocks flat before Alcoa, but Google helps NasdaqNew York: The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed on Friday as the S&P was headed for its best week so far this year and investors looked ahead to the start of earnings season. Google Inc helped lift the Nasdaq, rising 1.6% to $463.68 after Beijing gave the company the green light to continue operating its China Internet search page. US-listed shares of rival Baidu Inc fell 2.7% to $70.46. The S&P 500 has risen 4.8% so far this week and could notch a fourth straight day of gains on Friday. Most of the advance has been driven by the hope that companies will post strong quarterly results. The earnings season unofficially kicks off on Monday after the closing bell when Alcoa Inc reports. The aluminum company, the first Dow component to report, is expected to swing to a second-quarter profit, though falling aluminum prices have prompted analysts to cut their estimates on the stock. Despite the week’s gains, marked by volatility and low volume, sentiment remains fragile. Many investors are concerned that the global economy could experience a double-dip recession. Those fears have driven the S&P 500 down about 12% from its most recent closing high in late April and down about 4% so far this year. “We’ve had better-than-expected earnings for the past six months, and the big question on everyone’s mind is if that will continue,” said Tom Lydon, president of Global Investment Trends in Newport Beach, California. “There’s been more discussion that we could see disappointing results, but the proof will be in the pudding.” The Dow Jones industrial average was up 4.39 points, or 0.04%, at 10,143.38. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 1.66 points, or 0.16%, at 1,071.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.08 points, or 0.28%, at 2,181.48. Johnson & Johnson was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 1.3% to $60.56 a day after it recalled more Tylenol and other over-the-counter drugs following consumer complaints of odors. The move expands a recall started in January. In deal news, Air Products and Chemicals Inc late Thursday raised its hostile bid for rival Airgas Inc by 5.8% to $5.3 billion, but the offer remained slightly below the company’s current market value. Air Products rose 0.9% to $69.41, while Airgas rose 1.3% to $64.67. In economic news, US wholesale sales fell unexpectedly in May for the first time in more than a year, lifting inventories to their highest level in 11 months, a government report showed on Friday. Recent US data showing slowing growth in the services and manufacturing sector, weakness in housing and a stagnating jobs market has worried investors, although most say it is too early to call a “double-dip” recession. Equity funds worldwide suffered more than $11 billion in net outflows in the first week of July, while money market funds attracted the biggest inflows in 18 months, fund tracker EPFR Global said. In addition to Alcoa, companies reporting next week include JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp and General Electric Co. The banks will be scrutinized by investors concerned about delinquencies and loan demand to gauge the sustainability of a recent improvement in credit quality. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:21 pm Pawar hints at sugar decontrolWeeks after an announcement to decontrol petrol, the government today hinted at a possible decontrol of the sugar sector, where output is set to rise. The statement, made here by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, sent sugar stocks soaring.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:21 pm No plans to sell stake: OberoiSuccession plan when the time is right.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:20 pm Global markets gain on earnings hopes, euro slidesNew York: Global stocks rose on Friday, on track for their best week in nearly a year, on hopes that US companies will report strong earnings next week. But investors were still cautious, buying the US dollar and driving gold prices up more than 1%. Trading on Wall Street was also volatile after three consecutive sessions of strong gains, with many investors going for cash due torecurring fears of a double-dip recession and the upcoming earnings season, which officially opens on Monday when Alcoa reports. “We are all holding our breath for earnings season to start,” said Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. “Companies are very well positioned because they’re lightly staffed now and are very productive.” The MSCI world equity index rose 0.4% during the session, boosting weekly gains to 4.8% — which could be the highest since the 6.6% gain recorded in the week ending 18 July, 2009. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.61% higher, also its biggest weekly rise since July 2009. Shares of ,iners and metal producers led gains on hopes for strong demand from China and positive quarterly results from US aluminium giant Alcoa. Gains on Wall Street were more modest. The Dow Jones industrial average added 4.54 points, or 0.04%, to 10,143.53, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.72 points, or 0.16%, to 1,071.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.51 points, or 0.30%, at 2,181.91. Alcoa shares rose 0.8% to $10.81. Google Inc added 1.6% to $464.00 after Beijing gave it the green light to continue operating its China search page. But sentiment remained fragile as many investors worry the global economy could slip back into recession. Even with the gains of the last three days, the S&P 500 is still down 12% from its most recent closing high in late April. Underscoring the rise of concerns about the global economy, fund tracker EPFR reported on Thursday that equity funds worldwide had outflows of more than $11 billion in the first week of July. Euro resumes slide The euro fell against the dollar as investors pocketed part of the rally that had taken the single currency to its highest level in more than two months. Traders said the euro was unable to remain above the key resistance level of $1.27 due to lingering worries about the euro-zone economy. “Since the $1.1877 June low, the euro has rallied an impressive 6.1%,” said Camilla Sutton, a currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto. “However, near-term risks continue to loom and we will see another bout of euro weakness.” The single European currency was down 0.46% at $1.2635 from a previous session close of $1.2693. On Thursday, the single currency got a lift after Jean-Claude Trichet, the European Central Bank president, said the euro zone’s economy performed much better in the second quarter. However, he also said the region would grow “at a moderate and still uneven pace in an environment of high uncertainty.” The dollar was also up against a basket of major currencies, with the US Dollar Index up 0.14%. Against the Japanese yen, the greenback was up 0.16% at 88.52. US Treasury prices fell as higher global stocks reduced the safe-haven allure of government bonds but also because investors made room for $69 billion worth of coupon-bearing supply next week. The US Treasury Department will sell $35 billion in three-year debt on Monday, $21 billion in 10-year notes on Tuesday and $13 billion in 30-year bonds on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down 6/32 in price, with the yield at 3.0574%. Gold prices rose back above $1,210 an ounce. Some investors were cautious about the US earnings season and others found the metal attractively priced. Spot gold jumped 1.07%, to $1,209.20 an ounce. US crude oil prices rose 19 cents, or 0.25%, to $75.63 per barrel. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:20 pm Telecom stocks surge on Credit Suisse upgradeThe markets today cheered an upgrade of telecom stocks by foreign brokerage Credit Suisse.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:19 pm Posco offers Rs 400-cr relief for displaced and landlessPosco, the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) in India at $12 billion (Rs 54,000 crore), has offered the largest ever compensation package in the country for the displaced and landless farmers.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:18 pm Govt mulls refund on surrendered spectrumWill take a call soon on demand by some leading telcos.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm ABP to start Bengali entertainment channel, takes cue from Star JalshaMumbai: ABP Pvt. Ltd, the publisher of newspapers such as The Telegraph and Anandabazar Patrika, plans to start a Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC) by the year-end, encouraged by the success of Star Jalsha. The television channel being set up by the Kolkata-based media group is among several similar projects in the pipeline. The new venture will be separate from the partnership ABP has with Rupert Murdoch’s Star Group. Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS), a 74:26 venture between ABP and Star for news channels, runs Star News, Star Ananda and Star Majha.  Graphic: Yogesh Kumar/Mint Mahuaa Media Pvt. Ltd, which runs Mahuaa Bhojpuri, recently announced the launch of Mahuaa Bangla. It will also look at producing Bengali films for theatrical release and to feed the channel, with execution being partly outsourced to production houses, said Tapas Kumar Bhattasaly, chief operating officer of Mahuaa Media. The group, which has been engaging in the in-house creation of content such as talk shows, has a post-production facility known as Pixion. The channel’s promoters are stressing on production quality, something that Star Jalsha has become reputed for. “Mahuaa Bangla will have premium-quality programming, the kind that’s a first for any regional player,” Bhattasaly said. “One of the shows will be an Endemol Production—a football show called Match, which will have youngsters playing under the guidance of famous players.” The channel will also have GEC staples such as music and dance talent shows, and family dramas. The group also plans to launch a news channel, but didn’t say when this will take place. The firm has already identified five-six film ventures to back, according to a film producer, who didn’t want to be named. Bhattasaly declined to comment on the film projects. Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd, which runs channels such as Colors and MTV, also plans to enter regional languages and will begin with a Bengali venture, according to media executives who declined to be named. Viacom executives did not reply to Mint’s queries and the company spokesperson declined to comment. The Bengal market accounts for overall revenue in excess of Rs300 crore and is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 25-30% year-on-year as per current estimates, said Rajesh Jain, head of media and entertainment at KPMG India. “I am aware that at least three-four players are evaluating entry into this market. It’s important to understand that it’s not just about Bengal alone, but an audience in the surrounding areas of Orissa, other parts of the North-East and even Bangladesh,” he said. “The entry of players such as the Star Group with Star Jalsha has increased the gross rating points of Bengali GECs. They’ve enhanced market share by capturing 900-1,400 gross rating points per week, which has enhanced competition in the genre.” Star Jalsha’s ad rates are comparable with that of any Hindi-language GEC, said Anita Bose, general manager at Mediaedge:cia, GroupM India Pvt. Ltd. “They’ve increased the overall pie of the market and (lifted) the standard of regional programming,” she said. “This is why other players may think this space is lucrative. Along with Maharashtra and Gujarat, Bengal is emerging as an important advertising market.” With saturation and fragmentation of the national channels, growth is coming from the regional markets, said Manoj Malkani, vice-president at MPG India, a part of Havas Media. “Even regional news such as Star Ananda are faring reasonably well,” he said. “Each one of us (in the metropolitan cities) is keeping track of regional developments and programming as it’s a link with the place we belong to.” According to ratings firm TAM Media Research Pvt. Ltd, Star Jalsha had a 47% viewership share among Bengali GECs in June, Zee Bangla had 22% and ETV Bangla 15%. Among Bengali news channels, 24 Ghanta TV had a 36% share, while Star Ananda had 35%. anushree.m@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm Oberoi Hotels plans to double room capacity - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:14 pm Lounge podcast | Predict it like PaulHello, and welcome to the Lounge podcast. We have sports writer Dileep Premachandran back with us this week. For those who remember, Dileep had predicted a Spain-Netherlands final on this show four weeks ago. Look up the 12 June edition: ‘Of Strikers and Stoppers’. Amongst other things, he talks about the upcoming final and how he expects the teams to play. Our film critic Sanjukta Sharma believes that there’s no one film that deserves a full review this week. So, with M. Night Shyalaman’s ‘The Last Airbenders’ out in Indian theatres, we discuss his oeuvre and ponder if he’s losing his touch. To wrap up, we have Chandrahas Choudhury reviewing journalist Manu Joseph’s debut novel, ‘Serious Men’. That’s all from us this week. We love to hear from you so do write to us at lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:01 pm The Lounge ShowAffordable prices, a new line of watches, and bridal wear that doesn’t weigh you down- designer Tarun Tahiliani talks to Lounge about his adventures in fashion. Can a karaoke night become the platform for bigger things? Yes, it can- as the Kroaking contest in Bangalore has proved, with over 650 singers from across six cities fighting it out in a karaoke style competition for a chance to get their song on a record. What Martin Scorcese did for the Rolling Stones, film maker Spandan Banerjee is doing for one of India’s most enduring bands, Indian Ocean. Banerjee goes behind the scenes to give us a glimpse of just how Indian Ocean works on their unique brand of music in a film that is headed for the International festival circuit. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 1:00 pm Navodaya entrance tests violate RTENew Delhi: The government’s special schools have discovered that their selection process is in direct violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which stipulates that entrance tests are illegal up to class VIII. The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), a special group of 594 schools across India, have conducted two rounds of “selection tests” to pick students violating the Act’s provisions, which took effect on 1 April. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the official monitor of the law, has asked the schools to scrap the test.  Graphic: Paras Jain/Mint Under the Act, the entrance test should be scrapped or the law amended, he said. “We don’t have anything against any particular institution, but we are the official monitoring agency for RTE,” Kumar said. NCPCR authorities said the schools that have broken the law will need to scrap the test and use a lottery to choose students. The schools have a total of 207,000 students, with 30,000 entering every year in class VI, according to official statistics. These schools were set up in 1985 to provide quality education to talented children predominantly from rural areas selected on the basis of a written test. JNV commissioner Manoj Singh said the schools have written to the human resource development (HRD) ministry, seeking its intervention. “Whatever final decision they take, we will abide by it,” he said. Another JNV official close to the development said the schools would seek an exemption. “We are catering to the poor and there should not be any hindrance in selecting quality students from rural backgrounds,” he said on condition of anonymity. “The JNVs are doing very well and part of the credit goes to quality student intake. Instead of implementing it universally, the RTE needs to be amended in favour of special schools like JNVs,” the official added. JNV students appear to be faring well in the Central Board of Secondary Education board exams. In the 2010 class X exams, JNVs had a pass percentage of 98.72% against 83% in general government schools. Independent, or public schools, had a 91.79% pass percentage. NCPCR has also pulled up Delhi state government-run special schools known as Rajakiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas for conducting entrance tests. The state government, which runs 19 such schools, has been given time until 15 July to comply with the law. Delhi education minister A.S. Lovely has sought Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal’s intervention in the matter, said an HRD ministry official close to the development. NCPCR has asked all state chief secretaries to ensure that the Act is implemented, said Kiran Bhatty, national commissioner of RTE. prashant.n@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 12:23 pm Quick Edit | Deterrence, Delhi styleA few days ago the army was called out in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for what the powers that be described as “deterrence”. Either they don’t know what deterrence means or misunderstand the term. On Thursday, official statements said the army’s stay in J&K would be “short”. We suggest that those who manage the army’s deployment read the 2005 economics Nobel Prize winner Thomas Schelling’s book The Strategy of Conflict. Schelling says the key to effective deterrence is communication of one’s resolve to the enemy, may that be a country, an army or a stone-pelting crowd. By broadcasting the army’s “short stay”, the government killed the effect the deployment may have had. In any case, deterrence in a complex situation of the kind that prevails in J&K requires a well-thought-out mix of coercion and tact, something that eludes New Delhi. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 12:22 pm PwC India cedes control of BPO bizKolkata: The Indian arm of global consulting and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is ceding control of its prized business process outsourcing (BPO) unit to PwC US, ending years of battle between the Indian partners and other PwC network firms. Because the Indian arm alone cannot anymore support the envisaged growth of the BPO business—or “global delivery service” in PwC’s parlance—over the next few years, it is being transferred to a joint venture with other PwC network firms, according to Ambarish Dasgupta, executive director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd, or PwC India. “Using PwC India’s enterprise alone would limit the scope of expansion of this segment,” Dasgupta said, adding that the revenue of this business could grow 15-20 times over the next two years. A new firm—PricewaterhouseCoopers Service Delivery Centre (Kolkata) Pvt. Ltd—has been founded and the BPO business has been transferred to it, PwC announced on Friday. It started operations on 1 July, and is being headed by Sumanth Prakash, partner at PwC Australia. The Kolkata-based firm currently has some 650 employees; over the next two years, it will ramp up its workforce to 2,000, PwC said in a statement. The service delivery centre will provide back-office support to firms “across the PwC global network” in areas such as tax and assurance services, PwC said. PwC US owns a controlling 70% stake in the newly-founded firm, according to people familiar with the development, but who did not want to be named. PwC India owns 26%. PwC firms from Canada, the UK and Australia would also have equity interest in the BPO business. Asked if more network firms could buy into the business, Prakash didn’t rule out the possibility. “Such investments, particularly from countries where we do business, would boost client confidence,” Dagupta said. Though PwC refused to comment on the ownership structure of the newly-founded firm, saying that “it was still being worked on”, it said the BPO business would have five directors—one each from the five PwC arms that have equity interest in it. Dasgupta would be a director of the BPO business, but would not have any day-to-day role in it, according to Prakash. The technology outsourcing business under PwC India, which develops enterprise resource planning and business intelligence solutions, would for now work closely with the newly-founded firm, according to Dasgupta. Eventually this division, too, could be merged with it, he said. For years, top executives at PwC India have been resisting this change. Many have quit and joined competing firms such as Deloitte and KPMG. The people cited earlier said audit arm Pricewaterhouse’s inability to detect gross financial irregularities in the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Ltd’s accounts seriously weakened the Indian partners. “It broke their back,” one of them said. When asked if the Satyam fiasco had in any manner influenced this organization change, both Dasgupta and Prakash refused to comment. Following this restructuring, PwC India would be left with its domestic business only. It offers services such as tax advisory and management consulting, and employs around 5,500 people. “The growth potential of the domestic business is extremely limited though in terms of revenue it is, at present, much bigger,” said a former PwC employee and one of the key persons behind the launch of the BPO business. “Imagine taking away from TCS (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, India’s biggest IT firm by revenue) its offshore business... What would it be left with?” he asked. What is more, the BPO business is far more profitable than the “rather flat domestic business”, he added. A number of key people, who led the BPO unit till now, have left PwC lately, according to the people cited earlier. Dasgupta denied, saying “attrition at top-level was zero”. Prakash said he did not want to comment on “what happened before 1 July”—the day the new firm started operations. “We are starting afresh,” he said. manish.b@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 12:16 pm Pvt retailers plan fuel pumps in small citiesMumbai: Private sector firms planning to restart the retail sales of fuel following the deregulation of petrol prices are looking to expand in cities that proved to be unviable for them under the government’s erstwhile administered pricing mechanism, according to the companies and analysts. The government had been subsidizing public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) such as Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd to offset under-recoveries as a result of selling fuel at prices lower than the cost of production. The benefit —aimed at protecting the public against rising crude oil prices—was, however, not available to private sector firms. Moreover, large private sector fuel retailers such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Essar Oil Ltd had to restrict their operations to semi-urban and rural areas, mostly along highways, where the presence of state-owned OMCs was less. Eventually, these firms had to either shut down their outlets or continue with a marginal existence. With the government allowing petrol prices to be market driven, firms are now looking to tap urban markets, especially the smaller cities, where auto demand is on the rise. Apart from freeing up petrol, the government raised the price of diesel along with kerosene and cooking gas. Analysts expect the deregulation of diesel prices in due course. Essar Oil, which now operates 1,340 outlets, is planning to increase them to 1,700 by March. “The new retail outlets will be distributed across the country, including cities,” an Essar spokesperson said in an emailed statement. An RIL spokesperson said: “We are studying the development and reviewing all growth opportunities.” A 25 June note by Alok Deshpande, oil and gas sector analyst at Elara Capital, stated that Reliance, which has around 1,400 outlets, was operating only half of them. More outlets are likely to open soon, he said. The Indian arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which has 80 fuel pumps across the country, is the only non-state firm with a significant presence in cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad, though many of the outlets are not operational. The company stated that it was committed to retailing fuel in India and would stick to growth plans. “The government’s decision to free petrol pricing is a major and bold step in the right direction,” a Shell spokesperson said. “We at Shell have followed our own growth trajectory based on what we learn as we go along.” However, Shell did not specifically comment on expanding in cities, stating that the firm does not make predictive statements. A person familiar with the development at Essar Oil said that around 8-10% of its existing fuel pumps were located in cities and depending on the viability, more pumps could open up. “The location of each new fuel station would be decided on a stand-alone basis, depending upon the potential for profitability and competition in the region,” he said on condition of anonymity. Analysts stated that rather than expanding in big metros, it makes sense for private sector fuel retailers to target smaller cities where land is more readily available and at lower costs. “Cities like Delhi and Mumbai have reached a level of saturation with a filling station every few kilometres,” said Akhil Sambhar, associate director (oil and gas) at audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young. “Also, the realty costs in these cities are too high to justify returns. However, tier II and III cities offer good opportunity.” Companies setting up fuel stations could also exploit ancillary opportunities. “The international concept of fuel stations is to combine fuel and non-fuel retailing services,” Sambhar said. “The latter could constitute a considerable part of the revenue of an outlet.” An Essar spokesman said non-fuel retailing is a key element of its retail strategy and “gives our dealers a wider product range to offer to customers”. Reliance already has a nationwide retail business. Dealers of public sector OMCs are gearing up for competition in the cities. “We have to wait and watch how the situation unfolds, but undoubtedly we have to improve the quality of services to compete with them,” said M. Kannan, former vice-president of the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders and president of the Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers’ Association. aveek.d@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 12:15 pm RIIL fixes July 14 as record date for dividend payoutThe Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industrial Infrastructure today said it has fixed July 14 as the record date for determining the shareholders who will be eligible dividend, if declared at the company's forthcoming AGM.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:34 am A new champion awaitsThe intense planetary buzz surrounding the month-long Fifa World Cup is now focused on just two teams. Two teams that have never won the Cup before and will compete for a place with the elite and exclusive club of seven nations that have already won the tournament. The Dutch will carry the burden of losing two consecutive finals in 1974 and 1978, while Spain will be looking to rewrite their history of underachievement, a process that started with their triumph in the 2008 European championship. We pick three key players from each team — the men who can change the outcome of the final with one moment of brilliance, and help a country put its hands on the golden trophy for the first time. What in the world? A World Cup without controversies is a flavourless dish, and thankfully that has never happened. Here are the top controversies from the 2010 World Cup, which could lead to lasting changes in the way football is played Also See | Goal-line debate and more Final Showdown A look at past World Cup finals and their defining moments 1930 Uruguay 4-2 Argentina Controversies surrounding the World Cup ball are not new—in the first World Cup final, Argentina played with their own ball in the first half and Uruguay played with theirs in the second 1934 Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia The World Cup shifted to Europe from South America, and both the previous finalists refused to take part in the tournament. All the better for Italy, which became the second host nation to lift the Cup 1938 Italy 4-2 Hungary Italy set the tone for their dominance of world football by winning a second straight title, helped by Silvio Piola’s brace in the final 1950 Uruguay 2-1 Brazil Back after a forced hiatus due to World War II, the Cup moved to Brazil, the spiritual home of the game. The Maracana, the world’s largest football stadium, was built for this tournament, but even the partisan support was not good enough to stop Uruguay 1954 West Germany 3-2 Hungary Commonly called “Das Wunder von Berne” (The miracle of Bern), this is the final that put a stop to Hungary’s incredible 31-match-winning run. Hungary raced to a two-goal lead in just 8 minutes, before West Germany made a brilliant comeback 1958Brazil 5-2 Sweden Finally, a World Cup for Brazil. No surprise then that this was the tournament where a 17-year-old goal machine Pelé burst on to the scene and the Brazilian concept of ‘joga bonito’ (beautiful play) was introduced to the world 1962 Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia Once they started, Brazil couldn’t stop winning. They became the second team to defend their title, but this time the magic didn’t come from Pelé—it was a small, bent-legged Brazilian called Garrincha who lit up stadiums with his wizardry 1966 England 4-2 West Germany In a thrilling roller-coaster final, West Germany drew first blood with a strike from Helmut Haller before Geoff Hurst equalized within 6 minutes. The pattern repeated, leading to extra time, where Hurst struck twice, notching up the only hat-trick in a World Cup final to date 1970 Brazil 4-1 Italy Brazil’s free-flowing attacking game was pitted against Italy’s gritty defensive style. The result was a final that is widely regarded as one of the best football matches ever played, with a Pelé-inspired Brazil running rampant 1974 West Germany 2-1 Netherlands Dutch captain Johan Cruyff’s “total football” paid off in the first minute of the final when the Netherlands scored from a penalty. But the Germans had the last laugh, scoring once from a controversial penalty and then a second from a Gerd Muller strike 1978 Argentina 3-1 Netherlands It was double heartbreak for the Dutch, losing a second consecutive final to the host nation. Mario Kempes scored a brace in the final, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals and helping the Argentines win their first World Cup 1982 Italy 3-1 West Germany Italy had failed to win their first three games at the Cup, but they left that behind with a brilliant counter-attacking game in the final for their third title 1986 Argentina 3-2 West Germany This was Maradona’s Cup—and for most football fans, that’s all that needs to be said. Though Maradona did not score himself in the final, he did set up the third and decisive goal 1990 West Germany 1-0 Argentina Despite Maradona’s presence, this was a cynical and defensive final, with more cards than goals. The only goal came in the 85th minute, courtesy a penalty 1994 Brazil 0(3)-0(2) Italy This was the first World Cup final decided on a penalty shoot-out, and when Italy’s Roberto Baggio missed his, Brazil had a record fourth title 1998 France 3-0 Brazil If 1986 was Maradona’s Cup, this one belonged firmly to Zinedine Zidane. Even the mighty Brazil could only look on 2002 Brazil 2-0 Germany Brazil bounced back from their 1998 defeat to win a record fifth title, led by the indomitable Ronaldo, who scored both goals in the final 2006 Italy 1(5)-1(3) France A final that is remembered more for Zinedine Zidane headbutting Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro during extra time. An unnerved France lost on penalties Compiled by Rudraneil Sengupta rudraneil.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:19 am Mehul Choksi | Growth is coming from small-town IndiaNew Delhi: Gitanjali Group, the Rs6,500 crore diamond jewellery company that pioneered the concept of branded stores in India, is looking for new retail formats. With over 15 leading brands, including Asmi, Nakshatra, D’Damas and Gili in its portfolio, the company’s chairman and managing director Mehul Choksi says he will continue creating brands wherever the need exists. The hands-on promoter spoke in an interview about where he sees growth coming from and experimenting with new formats. Edited excerpts: Why are you diversifying from jewellery into other luxury product categories such as watches (Morellato and Chronotech) and apparel? That’s just to give a new format to selling jewellery. We put our jewellery everywhere we sell our other brands. If you go to a departmental store with apparel and jewellery, it gives it a friendlier feel. There are many more formats we are looking at. Jewellery is the core business. I don’t expect revenue from other businesses to be more than 10%; 95% of my own investment will be in the jewellery business. In modern retail, we have 75% of the jewellery market. What kind of new formats are you exploring? We are rolling out another format with designers. The first project is with fashion designer J.J. Valaya. We are making him a jewellery designer. The range will be called JJ Valaya Fine Jewellery. This has been on my mind for a long time because designers play an important role in the life of a woman. Women believe that designers are gods who can make them look beautiful. I feel if they can advise on jewellery, it can be a big category. When will you launch the new range? In the next couple of months in the JJ Valaya stores. He has about 10 stores. It will also be launched in all the good boutiques in the country. How many designers are you looking at? Two or three, to begin with. Why Valaya? Bridal is the biggest category in jewellery—he is very good with bridal wear. Our philosophy is that whether it is a Rs500 jewellery piece or something worth Rs5 crore, the consumer should think about Gitanjali. We have created brands across price points including those in pearl and steel. For these we are tying up with saree stores such as Nalli and Chhabra 555. We are available in nearly 5,000 outlets today. But I feel I could do 20 times more. Where is growth for jewellery coming from? It’s coming from places like Berhampur and Bhubaneswar in Orissa, basically from all across India’s small towns. But you have also got foreign luxury jewellery brands to India. Don’t they affect your business? We have Tiffany, Rosato, Stefan Hafner. We will bring Damiani from Italy. These are completely on the luxury side and don’t affect our business. We believe in catering to all segments. Do Indians accept foreign designs? Absolutely. Did you expect Chanel dresses to sell in India? This year we have seen the highest growth in international womenswear brands. How can you say that? This year we added a few hundred extra parties with the Indian Premier League (laughs) and we sponsored some of those. I saw the trend in the IPL parties. It is a new culture. Two years ago, at a luxury conference in Paris, I advised Chanel and said that unless you come out with an Indian edition of your brand, it will never work. Chanel said this is absurd. We will follow what we are. And now I see this… You have retail chains abroad. Are they making money? Three years ago, we acquired the speciality retailer Samuels Jewelers and then (jewellery chain) Rogers in Ohio and clubbed the two under one company. The operation is still not profitable but we will break even soon. However, we are already making money on the value chain. Earlier, 100% merchandise at Samuels was outsourced. Today 85% is our own products. We also have retail chains in China, Japan and West Asia. We are a global retail player. Of our Rs6,500 crore business (including exports), nearly 55% is jewellery. The rest is diamonds. We are basically a diamond company. The return on diamonds is much lower than on gold. Is the diamond business still growing? In diamonds, the margins are good for us. In gold, you pay 15-20% premium on raw material. In diamonds, you pay—maybe 50%. But if you knock that profit off, diamonds are still cashable. Have gold prices helped in pushing diamond jewellery? Very much so. In the last two years, for us the growth has been more than 50%, while the market has grown more than 25%. If I am not wrong, jewellery is the third largest category after oil and food at Rs300,000 crore. Have you evaluated your brands? There are so many of them. Last year we evaluated four of our brands. We were not very happy with the valuation, which was about Rs1,500 crore. I feel all our brands put together would be worth Rs5,000 crore. Sales-wise, each brand is growing at 50% a year. But creating and managing so many brands is difficult. It’s a new science. We make every (piece of) jewellery aspirational. We enter a space where we see an opportunity or a vacuum. For instance, if we see a gap in the kangan (bangle) category, we may launch a brand there. Gradually, each brand turns into a retail chain. But what is the brand differentiator? Positioning or quality? Each one has a character. It is positioning. The quality of the diamond is not what we go by. The declaration (of quality) is important. But quality can be a differentiator if we launch something very clean. What was the effect of recession on the business? Worldwide, retail saw de-growth of 10%. The wholesale business went down by 40-45%. This year, it has bounced back and there is great demand. The prices of diamonds have increased by 30-35% and the price of gold has increased by 40%. What do you do in your free time? I like the sea and take the yacht in Mumbai. I like to travel. I go to Italy three-four times a year. There is something about Italy—the food, clothing, styling. They are a cut above. shuchi.b@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:18 am Bharti Airtel to invest $ 150 mn in KenyaMobile service provider Bharti Airtel, which had completed acquisition of Zain Telecom's African assets last month, on Friday said that it will invest $ 150 million in Kenya to help boost the network coverage there.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:07 am The Week in Review for 09 July 2010New Delhi: Businesses came to a halt in some of India’s biggest cities that day in response to the opposition’s call for a strike. It was protesting both soaring inflation and the government’s hikes in fuel prices. Shops were closed in Mumbai and the streets were deserted. The strike was almost total in Bangalore and Kolkata, both of which lie in opposition ruled states. Delhi was better off, though there were fewer public transport options on the road. And much of the old city remained shuttered. Industry bodies estimated the cost of the strike at anywhere between Rs3,000 crore and Rs13,000 crore. In a surprise prediction, the I M F this week said India’s economy would grow at 9.4% in 2010. The IMF has been hiking its projection for India’s growth since October of 2009, when it predicted a growth of 6.4%. The government’s own estimate for the fiscal ending in March of 2011 is 8.5%. Reacting to the I M F projection, the Planning Commission’s Pronab Sen told Mint it appeared to be an over-estimation. Sen said India’s growth could fall in the last quarter of 2010 once the low base rate ceases to be. The government’s department of public enterprises is all set to go on a hiring spree. It’s looking to recruit independent directors for government-run firms making public offers this year. The move is part of its efforts to comply with Sebi’s listing norms. Under those rules, firms with non-executive chairmen should have independent directors in at least one third of their boards. And independents should make up at least half the board when there is an executive chairman. Engineers India, Hindustan Copper and Coal India are getting ready to make public offers by September end. New rules are in place for foreign workers and their employers. Mint has learnt the government has removed the limits of the number of foreign hires. Under old rules foreigners could only make up one percent of an organization’s workforce. Also gone is the minimum salary requirement of twenty five thousand dollars a year. What’s been added is a rule that says only skilled foreigners should get work visas. This week Mint learnt that the home ministry sent out the new rules to the external affairs ministry in a letter dated 31 May. The rules came into effect immediately. Foreign retailers had something to cheer about this week. On Tuesday the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion released a so-called discussion paper on foreign investment in multi-brand retail. The paper says FDI in organized retail can help modernize back-end infrastructure and make supply chains more efficient. It adds that cold storage facilities will cut down wastage and help control food inflation. Though the DIPP paper on retail calls for greater foreign investment, it does not specify how much. The paper also says the sector will be opened up in what it calls a calibrated manner. Several political parties are opposed to opening up the retail sector. They fear foreign giants will put India’s traditional kirana stores out of business. Internet service provider Tikona says it will adopt whatever technology RIL decides to use for broadband wireless. CEO Prakash Bajpai told Mint it made sense for his company to follow the market leader. R I L will choose from either of two broadband technologies- Wimax or LTE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:05 am Indian carriers to fare better this fiscal: CapaIndian airlines, powered by an improving economy and steady passenger traffic, are expected to fare better this fiscal than in the previous two, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, or Capa, says in its latest mid-year assessment of the sector. The aviation consultancy has raised its expectations of cumulative profits for Indian airlines and predicted further consolidation in the sector. “We had previously forecast that private Indian airlines would report profits of $250-300 million (Rs1,170-1,404 crore) in the current FY2010/11 (fiscal 2010-11). Our latest assessment is that the result could be higher than this earlier estimate,” Capa says in its report titled Indian Aviation 2010: Mid-Year Outlook. The report was released on Friday.  Photo: Ramesh Pathania / Mint Indian carriers had a collective loss of $2 billion in fiscal 2008 and 2009, forcing them to defer aircraft deliveries and lease out wide-body planes, but some are now gradually expanding. In fiscal 2010, India’s top three airlines—Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and Air India—had combined net losses of at least $1.5 billion, according to industry estimates. Of this, the state-run Air India, run by National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, alone had a loss of about $1 billion. Capa expects Air India will narrow its losses to $650-700 million this fiscal, and expects most other Indian airlines to post profits. Passenger traffic for airlines rose 22% in May and 26% in April over the corresponding year-ago months, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation show. In fiscal 2010, net loss for Jet Airways widened to Rs467.64 crore from Rs402.34 crore the previous year, and for Kingfisher Airlines to Rs1,647.22 crore from Rs2,139.65 crore earlier. SpiceJet Ltd was the only listed carrier to post profit, at Rs61.4 crore against a loss of Rs352.5 crore in 2008-09. In June, media baron Kalanithi Maran acquired a 37.75% stake in the low-fare SpiceJet and has to make an open offer to buy another 20% in the airline under Indian law. Capa says consolidation of Indian carriers would be further accelerated and Maran would be a central player in this process. “We expect that Sun TV (headed by Maran) will look for further opportunities in the sector and there could be another one or two transactions during the current financial year,” it said. The previous such acquisition in the sector was Kingfisher’s purchase of Air Deccan in 2007. Capa expects Indian airlines to also start ordering aircraft for fleet expansion. “IndiGo is looking to acquire up to 150 aircraft, SpiceJet 47 aircraft, and Air India is planning to lease 10 A330s as well as several A320s and ATRs. Some of these orders may even be announced at Farnborough (air show in the UK) later this month,” it says. The debts of India’s biggest airlines, however, remain a concern. “The total debt across these three carriers (Jet, Kingfisher, Air India) is approximately $13.5 billion, with an annual interest burden well in excess of $1 billion... Outstanding amounts payable to vendors such as oil companies and airports are in addition to this,” it says. According to the Capa report, the low equity base of these airlines makes raising additional capital a challenge. The three carriers need a further $10-12 billion over the next two to three years to finance scheduled aircraft deliveries, it says. tarun.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 11:04 am SC adjourns hearing on RPL land acquisition caseThe Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, challenging an Allahabad High Court verdict that quashed an Uttar Pradesh government notification to acquire land for the company’s 8,000-MW Dadri power project.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 Jul 2010 | 10:44 am Rural ministry charts timeline for timely payment to workersNew Delhi: To ensure timely payment of wages to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA, the ministry of rural development has suggested a timeline to state governments to reduce administrative delays. The Act, which guarantees 100 days of manual work every year to each rural household, stipulates that workers be paid wages on a weekly basis and not later than a fortnight after the work was done. In a circular dated 25 June, the ministry, which oversees the scheme, has said that delays in wage payments to workers under the employment guarantee scheme has caused them “undue hardships” and has “violated” the provisions of the Act. To address this, it has recommended a schedule to be followed by states to ensure payment of wages within a fortnight. Under the proposed schedule, muster rolls must be closed on the sixth day after the start of work. Pay orders should be generated on the ninth and 10th days. These pay orders should be submitted at the block post office or bank, and wage slips generated on the 11th and 12th days, and the wages should be deposited in the accounts of the workers on the 13th day.  Sweat equity: Villagers in Govindpura in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan build a road under the rural employment guarantee scheme. Madhu Kapparath/Mint “States are urged to review the reasons for administrative delays in wage payments and take immediate steps for remedying them,” it says in the circular. The ministry’s move comes after several audits and monitoring processes found inordinate delays in paying wages to the workers. Timely payment under this social security scheme is crucial for beneficiaries, especially now as India’s benchmark inflation has risen to 10.16% in May on the back of soaring food prices. MGNREGA, the flagship employment programme of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, has been credited with helping the alliance return to power in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. Since the scheme was launched in 2006, it has provided employment to 10 million households, generating 243.6 million person-days of employment. It is the single largest social sector spending for the government with a budget allocation of Rs40,100 crore. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 10:30 am DCHL surges 12% on stake sale report in Deccan ChargersMumbai: Shares of Deccan Chronicle Holdings on Friday jumped over 12% on the buzz that it has sold its entire stake in the Hyderabad IPL team, Deccan Chargers, for $300 million. Shares of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL) settled at Rs138, up 12.15% on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares during the trade surged 14.34% to touch a month-high at Rs140.70. A similar trend was seen on the National Stock Exchange, where the scrip closed at Rs134.70, up 9.47%. On the volume front, over Rs95.4 lakh shares of the company changed hands on both the bourses. The sudden spurt in the stock was witnessed amid media reports that the company has sold 100% stake in Deccan Chargers, the franchise that represents Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), for $300 million. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 9:52 am New York state of mindYou can tell it is summer in New York by the bright light that invades your hotel room early in the morning. In other cities, you want to hide beneath the blanket and sleep longer. But New York does not allow indulgence; each moment is precious, and you have none to lose. You look down the street from your 25th-floor window, and there is already a line of cars crawling along those linear streets. The day began long before you woke up, because the night had never ended. The city is on the move—you want to get down and join the crowd, otherwise it will race ahead of you. The early joggers are already pounding the street. The man selling bagels has set up his stall. The newsvendor is ready with his supply of newspapers, chilled bottles of water, and granola bars for sale. The African man in dreadlocks has spread the carpet on which he has arranged the masks and beads and necklaces that he hopes to sell. Women in business suits walk briskly, carrying coffee from Starbucks, the waft of caffeine from its stores never more than a block away. These are formidable women—you don’t want to get in their way. I remember emerging from a subway station some years ago, and saw a man hesitantly asking one such woman directions to the Empire State Building, and without looking at him, and continuing to march, she said: “Do I look like an information booth?” But today is a languid summer day, and women off from work or on holiday are in frilly dresses showing bare shoulders, some in tank tops and tiny shorts fraying at the edges, competing for attention with the row of flowers that divide Park Avenue. New Yorkers don’t give either a second look; everyone is in a rush, so what if it is summer and half the offices are empty. But outsiders ogle: You can tell that tourist is from the land where women are rarely seen in public, by his protruding zoom lens, settling on the scantily attired young women in Central Park. Also Read Salil Tripathi’s previous Lounge columns I walk past the lake, the Dakota Building where Lennon was shot, towering over us. The city is blasé about its landmarks; too self-absorbed to notice what matters elsewhere. As Saul Steinberg commemorated in the famous cover of The New Yorker in 1976, the view from the 9th Avenue is clear: The dense city gets sparse beyond the Hudson, turning less detailed beyond Jersey, with China, Russia, and Japan looking like tiny salt pans. Not just landmarks, even world spectacles. The previous evening I was at a beer garden moments after Ghana ended the American dream. There was a giant screen, now gone blank. In a city such as London, Paris or Rome, the mood would have been angry, the conversation fixed on the opportunities missed. But here, people had already moved on, enjoying those tall glasses of beer, only the odd fan casually draping his body with the US flag. In his 1949 essay, Here is New York, E.B. White divided the city into three categories: the city of the one born here, the one who commutes (whom the island’s natives now call the “B&T” crowd, for bridge-and-tunnel, the vestibules that connect this incredible powerhouse of energy with the rest of the continent), and the city for the person who came here in quest of something. And it is the energy of the third that keeps pulling the city along. That’s why New York does not tire, and nor do you tire of the city, and New York rejuvenates itself constantly. An elevated railway line becomes a pedestrian garden. A door without signs is a new speakeasy. A meat-packing district becomes the home of art galleries. Grand Central station reclaims its glory, with the ceiling of its concourse filled with astronomical signs, as if making sure you know your place in the universe—at its centre, never alone, never lost. If you’ve forgotten your date, right there is the clock, where people wait anxiously, at the stroke of 12, hoping to keep the appointment they’ve made. New York can be brash, like those malls around Broadway, and sometimes it ceases to look like a neighbourhood, as with Times Square, now a permanent chewing gum for the eyes. But come winter, and the city turns sublime. No matter how often you pass by the Rockefeller Center, it is impossible not to pause and look at the large Christmas tree, and see dozens of people skating in that ice rink, your face showered by a flurry of light snow, strong winds slicing you as you walk between skyscrapers. New York becomes part of your DNA—its relentless pace, your heartbeat, those skyscrapers the city’s cardiogram. The city becomes a part of your being, and as you walk along the Brooklyn waterfront and look at Manhattan, if you close your eyes briefly, you can imagine the grey silhouette of the scene from Woody Allen’s Manhattan, George Gershwin’s rousing Rhapsody in Blue playing in your mind. New York is also the city of grand gestures. In 2005, the artist Christo draped the Central Park with saffron flags. This time, it is Luke Jerram, a British artist, who has randomly left 60 grand pianos in the city, giving your fingers something other than a keyboard to press. It might be noisy, but it is music for this city’s cacophony, and for your loved ones, a moment of pure epiphany. Write to Salil at detours@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 9:43 am Measuring inflation expectationsIs the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) doing enough to offset inflationary pressures in the economy? That’s a topic that fuels endless debate among economists. Some argue that the central bank is “behind the curve”; others say it’s not doing enough. Some say there’s little RBI can do, given the fact that much of the rise in prices is due to supply-side factors; others say that even then the central bank has a role to play. But everybody is agreed that central banks across the world must act to prevent inflationary expectation from rising. That begs the question: What determines inflationary expectations? Michael Patra and Partha Ray address this question empirically in the Indian context. They point out that regardless of whether inflation is initiated by higher food prices, monetary policy has a role to play if inflation fears get embedded in expectations. Thus, the key to the setting of forward-looking monetary policy is an adequate measure of inflation expectations. The authors have adopted a model-based approach to generating inflation expectations. They find that lagged inflation, changes in fuel and primary articles prices and the output gap are the main determinants, followed by the real interest rate. Lagged inflation refers to the past trend in inflation and the study finds that this contributes almost 50% to explaining the formation of inflationary expectations. That’s rather intuitive, since people’s expectation of future inflation will obviously be coloured to a large extent on the inflation they have experienced in the recent past. This conclusion does, however, have an interesting corollary. The researchers point out that this is indicative of a “high degree of inertia or persistence”. In other words, even if inflation starts coming down, inflationary expectations will remain elevated for a long time. The implication is that monetary policy must be pre-emptive, so that the central bank stays ahead of the inflation curve. In India, changes in food and fuel prices account for 40% of variation in inflation expectations. The authors go on to make the assertion that, “Moreover, shocks delivered by food prices on the overall level of prices are relatively slow in reverting to mean. In our view, therefore, the argument that the current phase of inflationary pressures is essentially a supply-side phenomenon and monetary policy has little to do or can do little is overwhelmed by the clear and present danger of inflation expectations coming unhinged and taking on a lasting levitation.” Though the paper refers to the inflation situation in March 2010, its conclusions are equally relevant today. The researchers also find that the real interest rate, or nominal interest rate less anticipated inflation, has a significant effect on people’s anticipations, outweighing the effects of fiscal policy or even exchange rate changes. Accordingly, say the authors, “the stock monetary policy response would need to be in terms of calibrated increases in policy rates, as mentioned earlier, with a readiness to stay ahead of the inflation curve so that real policy tightening is achieved”. Currently, the repo rate is at 5.5% and most economists believe that wholesale price inflation by end-March 2011 is likely to be in the range of 6-7%. In other words, the real policy rate is still negative. If this paper’s conclusions are correct, that calls for further tightening by RBI to curb inflationary expectations. Write to simplyeconomics@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 9:20 am NTP sues Apple, Google, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola, LGNew York: NTP Inc said it filed patent infringement lawsuits against several of the world’s top mobile phone companies including Apple Inc, Google Inc, Microsoft and Motorola Inc. The privately held company, which is also suing HTC Corp and LG Electronics Inc, won a $600 million from a settlement with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion in 2006 after a long legal battle. NTP said it filed the lawsuits on Thursday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and that it had no option since the companies in question were using its patents without a license. The eight patents it says are being infringed relate to the delivery of email “over wireless communications systems.” Representatives for Motorola, Microsoft, HTC, LG and Google could not immediately be reached for comment. Mobile email has become essential for wireless companies whose latest smartphones are more like mini computers and include everything from Web surfing to games. While Apple has gained a strong foothold in this market with its iPhone, Google has been gaining ground as more phone makers depend on its Android mobile operating system for their flagship phones. HTC, Motorola and LG all make phones based on Android. In December, the US Patent and Trademark Office validated 67 of NTP’s claims in four patents in the RIM litigation and said RIM infringed three claims, NTP said. NTP also said on Friday that it filed an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to overturn the patent office’s remaining rejections of NTP patent claims. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 8:06 am Rupee rises 0.4% on strong sharesMumbai: The rupee extended gains into a second straight day on Friday helped by robust domestic shares, which raised hopes for more capital inflows while early gains in the euro against the dollar aided sentiment. The partially convertible rupee closed at 46.66/67 per dollar, 0.4% stronger than its previous close of 46.8525/8625. The rupee edged up 0.2% on the week. “The rupee was largely steady through the day after the higher opening tracking shares and the euro’s gains but later there was some demand in the market which limited gains,” the chief dealer with a large private sector bank in Mumbai said. Other dealers said there was some dollar demand in the market from the Haj pilgrimage panel, which capped the rupee gains. Traders expect an outflow of around $50 million to $75 million on account of the dollar demand from the Haj buying. Dealers said gains in other Asian peers also boosted rupee sentiment. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.1%. The euro slipped off two-month highs against the dollar on Friday with investors booking profits ahead of the weekend as strategists said its recent rally would peter out due to lingering worries about the euro zone economy. Gains in local shares provide cues on direction of capital flows, which has a key influence on the rupee’s fortunes. So far in 2010, foreign investors have bought a net $6.8 billion worth of shares, adding to record inflows of $17.5 billion seen in 2009. Indian shares notched their best weekly rise in three days as they gained 1%, with telecom stocks cheering an upgrade by Credit Suisse and Infosys Technologies testing a new high on better earnings expectations. Dealers said the rupee would continue to be rangebound between 46.25 to 47.25 over the next week and they were awaiting the Reserve Bank of India’s policy at the end of July. “The quantum of the rate rise is an issue. Market participants are expecting a 25-50 basis points hike, but I see only a 25 basis points increase,” said Vikas Chittiprolu, a senior foreign exchange dealer with state-run Andhra Bank. The rupee is expected to rise over the year due to the rate hikes as the interest rate differential between developed economies and India widens and makes investment in India an attractive option. The RBI is likely to raise interest rates again in its quarterly review on 27 July, a new survey found, and rates at the end of the year are likely to be higher than forecast before Friday’s unexpected 25 basis point rise. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 46.85, weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX closed at 46.7725 and 46.7825 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at a low $2.8 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 6:27 am Telco stocks upgrade sends Indian shares higherMumbai: Indian shares notched their best weekly rise in three as they gained 1% on Friday, with telecom stocks cheering an upgrade by Credit Suisse and Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) testing a new high on better earnings expectations ahead of its quarterly results next week. Credit Suisse upgraded top mobile operator Bharti Airtel to “outperform” “neutral”, which sent the shares soaring as much as 10.4%. Also, Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), Southeast Asia’s largest telecoms firm, said it bought around 1.6 million shares in Bharti from the open market for about S$12.45 million ($9.03 million), hiking its stake by 0.04% to 32.04%. Credit Suisse also raised its rating on Reliance Communications to “neutral” from ”underperform”, and Idea Cellular to ”outperform” from “underperform”. The 30-share BSE Index .BSESN rose 1.03% or 181.81 points to 17,833.54, taking the gains this week to 2.1%, with 22 of its components logging gains. World markets cheered Wall Street’s higher close on Thursday on the back of a fall in US jobless claims and solid sales from a handful of large retailers. India’s benchmark index has gained 0.75% so far in July, supported by around 107 million of foreign fund inflows. For this week, the benchmark has underperformed vis-a-vis the broader MSCI’s measure of Asian markets other than Japan, which gained 3.2%. Double-dip recession fears hit equity funds globally in early July. According to EPFR Global, equity funds worldwide suffered more than $11 billion of net outflows in the first week of July. Indian market will now look to the June-quarter earnings season, which starts next week, for further cues. The advance tax numbers hint at overall earnings and revenue growth. The May industrial output data due on Monday and June’s wholesale price inflation data due on Wednesday will also be watched for further cues. A Reuters forecast showed industrial output may have grown 16% in May from a year earlier, lower than an annual growth of 17.6% in April. “For telecom stocks, the worst seems to be already in the price. Now, we are waiting for the June-quarter results,” said Jigar Shah, vice-president of equity sales at brokerage Motilal Oswal. “We believe that concerns on competition, regulation, 3G auction fee and RIL’s entry have been overstated,” Credit Suisse said in a note on Thursday. Bharti Airtel closed 9.7% higher. Smaller rivals Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular climbed 2.8% and 13.3% respectively. “Infosys is rising in a run up to results. People are expecting some positive surprises there,” said Shah of Motilal Oswal. IT bellwether Infosys, which unveils its quarterly earnings on 13 June, rose as much as nearly 2% to a record high of Rs2,882. Its earnings are often dubbed as a trendsetter for the sectoral peers. Macquarie expects Infosys to raise fiscal year 2011 US dollar revenue growth guidance to 17-19% from 16-18%. Its rival Wipro rose 1.01% while sector leader Tata Consultancy Services dropped 0.3%. Robust economic growth forecast, led to expectations that loan demand would pick up in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy. Top lender State Bank of India gained 0.5% while leading private-sector rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rose 1.1% and 3.1% respectively. In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers in a ratio of 1.2:1 in a relatively better volume of 443 million shares. The 50-share NSE index rose 1.1% to 5,352.45 points. By 3:59pm, the MSCI world equity index and the Thomson Reuters global stock index .TRXFLDGLPU were up 0.2% each. STOCKS Bajaj Auto rose 0.7% to Rs2,417.60 after the automaker signed an agreement with Renault-Nissan alliance to manufacture an ultra low-cost car to be sold in India and other emerging markets, which would be a rival to Tata Motors’ Nano. Hindustan Dorr Oliver Ltd rose nearly 3% to Rs126.05 after the company said it won an order worth 8.3 million pounds. Entertainment Network slid 15.6% to 198.25 rupees after its board approved selling its entire stake in Times Innovative Media Ltd to Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd for 450 million rupees. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 5:16 am Google says China has renewed web page licenceShanghai: Google Inc said on Friday that the Chinese authorities had renewed its licence to operate a website, averting a potential shutdown of its flagship search page in the world’s biggest Internet market. Google said last week that it would stop automatically rerouting users to its uncensored Hong Kong-based search page, explaining that Beijing had indicated it would not renew its Internet Content Provider licence if it continued to do so. That had prompted speculation that China might use the opportunity to shut down Google’s China search page, in what would have been a blow to its other business in the country. “China has renewed our licence,” a Google spokeswoman told Reuters. “We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP licence and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China.” Google stunned markets and consumers in January when it warned it might quit the country, saying it would not provide the censored search results that China requires. In March, Google began to redirect visitors to its China website to a search site in Hong Kong that provided uncensored results. But it stopped automatically rerouting users last week, in what analysts saw as a softening of its stance and a willingness to compromise to maintain a foothold in the world’s biggest Internet market by users. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt had expressed confidence about securing the licence on Thursday. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:37 am Google says China has renewed web page licenceShanghai: Google Inc said on Friday that the Chinese authorities had renewed its licence to operate a website, averting a potential shutdown of its flagship search page in the world’s biggest Internet market. Google said last week that it would stop automatically rerouting users to its uncensored Hong Kong-based search page, explaining that Beijing had indicated it would not renew its Internet Content Provider licence if it continued to do so. That had prompted speculation that China might use the opportunity to shut down Google’s China search page, in what would have been a blow to its other business in the country. “China has renewed our licence,” a Google spokeswoman told Reuters. “We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP licence and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China.” Google stunned markets and consumers in January when it warned it might quit the country, saying it would not provide the censored search results that China requires. In March, Google began to redirect visitors to its China website to a search site in Hong Kong that provided uncensored results. But it stopped automatically rerouting users last week, in what analysts saw as a softening of its stance and a willingness to compromise to maintain a foothold in the world’s biggest Internet market by users. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt had expressed confidence about securing the licence on Thursday. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 4:37 am BlackBerry maker RIM in push to tap China marketHong Kong: Research in Motion, maker of BlackBerry e-mail devices, said it is preparing to launch an applications store and consumer Internet services in China, as part of a big push into the world’s top mobile market. The upcoming Chinese App World applications store would follow RIM’s May launch of BlackBerry service in China through China Telecom, one of China’s three major carriers, and as RIM develops service for the homegrown third-generation (3G) mobile standard used by leading Chinese carrier, China Mobile. The applications store and consumer Internet service were just two of the initiatives RIM was undertaking to tap into China’s 700 million-plus subscriber mobile market, the world’s largest, said Greg Shea, head of RIM in China. In other initiatives, RIM is also working with top Chinese Internet content providers and site operators, including search leader Baidu, online game leader Tencent and online commerce leader Alibaba Group, to create versions of their popular sites to work on BlackBerries. “We will soon be launching the Internet service” for consumers, Shea told Reuters in an interview. “We will also launch an App World China -- that will be soon as well. We think sometime after we put in Internet service and these other initiatives, we’ll see that magic moment when we see that acceleration” in sign-up of new customers. Before its recent China Telecom tie-up, RIM offered BlackBerry services mostly to corporate customers in China through China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier by subscribers. But many observers said China Mobile was slow to promote the service, in part because RIM has no BlackBerry models compatible with TD-SCDMA, the homegrown 3G wireless standard that China Mobile is using for its high-speed services. China Mobile said earlier this year that RIM had agreed to make BlackBerries based on TD-SCDMA but gave no details. Shea said that effort was ongoing, but declined to give specific dates for the launch of new TD-SCDMA models. “It’s in active development,” he said. “You’re going to see that product come to market, and more after that.” China Mobile’s current service with RIM is over its older 2G network, based on widely used GSM technology. China Telecom has high hopes for its BlackBerry service, which it officially launched in May after signing an agreement with RIM earlier in the year. China Telecom, which entered the wireless space less than two years ago following a broad industry restructuring, said it would initially offer BlackBerry services over its own 3G network, based on CDMA 2000 technology, in 16 Chinese provinces. Shea said only one BlackBerry model was available for China Telecom services, but more would come soon. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2010 | 3:52 am
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