Hot From The PRESS NEWS
* ECONOMY : Fin Min says increasing foreign flows not a matter of concern.. ASSOCHAM an industrial body had suggested a 2% tax on foreign flows to curb Rupee appreciation
* HERO HONDA : rpts co may announce a special dividend to distribute the huge cash pile of Rs35bn its currently having in its books
* JSW STEEL : Nippon Steel denies rpts that it is in talks with JSW Steel to
pick up a minority stake in the co.. but the speculation continues, with the name of JFE Steel (world's 5th largest steel maker) now doing the rounds
* PSU BANKS : Govt asks the larger PSU banks to look out for M&A oppurtunities amongst PSU banks.. saying consolidation is imperative to augment efficiency
* UNION BANK : plans to raise $500mn thru bonds during this fiscal to fund its global operations
* RELIANCE : rpts co mulling entry into low-cost housing.. project could be
kicked off by 2010
* PETRONET LNG : may pick up a 10% stake in ONGC Petro-Additions Ltd, which is setting up a cracker complex in Gujarat
* HDFC : JMD says int rates to harden by as much as 50bps by middle of next yr
* LUPIN : Co sued by Medicis Pharma for patent infringement for generic Solodyn
* WOCKHARDT : to raise authorised capital by issuing 1.5bn pref shares @ Rs5/ share.. separately gets USFDA approval for marketing Nicardipine Hcl
injectison used in treatment of hypertension
* BHARTI : to be examined by special auditors for wrongfully availing of Cenvat credit and non payment of service tax in Uttar Pradesh circle
* EXIDE INDUSTRIES : board approves issue of 500bn shares on pvt placement to raise RS 5.97bn
* IOC : looking t invest upto Rs 15bn in nuclear power in a JV with Nuclear
Power Corp of India
Corporate News – Industry trends
* The 71-year-old chairman of Tata Group, which makes nearly
everything from salt to steel to luxury cars, told the US daily Wall
Street Journal in an interview that his successor could be an
expatriate. Tata’s tenure ends in 2012; "We are in the process of
formalising a successor to me. We have some outside consultants and
a formal search process is on. There are no constraints," Tata, who has
steered the group for nearly two decades, said in the interview (BS)
* The government will lose Rs 750bn if the gas from Reliance
Industries Ltd D6 Block in the Krishna-Godavari Basin is not sold
to priority customers like fertiliser and power sectors, additional
solicitor general Vivek Tankha told the Supreme Court (BS)
* FMCG MAJOR ITC, the largest player in the domestic cigarette
market, has increased prices of two of its brands, India Kings and
Benson & Hedges, by Rs 10 and Rs 5, respectively (BS)
* Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is looking to invest up to Rs 15bn in its
maiden nuclear venture in partnership with Nuclear Power Corporation
of India Ltd (NPCIL) (BL)
* Four international firms, including a joint venture between Larsen &
Toubro and Oman’s Galfar Engineering, have bid for the
construction of a new terminal at Muscat’s airport (BS)
* Aban Offshore issued 5,697,135 equity shares at aprice of Rs
1,224.30 per equity share (including a premium of Rs 1,222.30 per
equity share), aggregating to Rs 6975mn through QIP (BS)
* Indian drug companies Wockhardt and Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries have received final approval from the United States Food
and Drug Administration to market generic versions of Nicardipine, the
hypertension drug (BS)
* Reliance Industries Ltd is planning to spend US$3 bn for a new
petrochemical complex at Jamnagar; The new complex will utilise
residual gases generated from the two existing refineries, of which one
is located in a SEZ, to generate further downstream products (BS)
* Petronet LNG Ltd, is keen to acquire up to 10% stake in ONGC Petroadditions Ltd, which is setting up a cracker complex in Gujarat, a
senior ONGC official said (BS)
* Wind energy major Suzlon Energy has officially opened Infigen
Energy’s Capital wind farm, the largest wind farm in Australia at
Bungendore in New South Wales; The farm will produce 141 Megawatt
(Mw) of energy, according to a press release (BS)
* SHAREHOLDERS of Hero Honda Motors, who have received at least
Rs 177 per share as dividends in the last decade, could look forward
for another windfall payout soon, as India’s top two-wheeler maker
ponders appropriate uses for its cash pile amid a dearth of suitable
deployment options (ET)
* ONGC, the country’s largest oil and gas producer, is eyeing new
energy blocks in Ghana, in a bid to expand it presence in the African
continent. ONGC Videsh (OVL), ONGC’s foreign investment arm, is in
talks with Ghana’s national oil company to bid for Kosmos Energy’s
stake in the giant offshore Jubilee field of the region (ET)
* Exide Industries has decided to raise capital through a QIP to
primarily fund R&D initiatives and adoption of fresh technologies to
cope with future challenges. The QIP issue size is unlikely to be below
Rs 5bn, which will include premium over the face value of Re 1 per
equity share (ET)
* JSW Steel may sell minority stake to foreign co for around Rs 20bn;
Company is in talks with JAPANESE & EUROPEAN FIRMS TO SELL
AROUND 10% EQUITY (ET)
* Reliance Communications has entered into a strategic tie-up with
Atom Technologies, an m-commerce solutions provider from the
Financial Technologies India Ltd group (BL)
* BHEL said it has signed a JV pact to build a 1,600 MW thermal power
plant in Madhya Pradesh (Mint)
Commodity/Money Market News
* For the first time in 21 years, the Government is considering
importing rice; Pointing out that there were certain projections that
the quantum of the cereal may not be enough due to a shortfall in the
kharif output, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said: “To
make it up, we may have to make some imports. But we have not
decided the exact quantity and the timing.” (BL)
International trends
* Construction of new homes in the United States fell sharply last
month, showing potential weakness in the economy’s recovery, while
consumer prices rose slightly more than expected. The Commerce
Department said housing starts dropped 10.6% to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 529,000 units, the lowest level since April and
the percentage drop was the biggest since January (BS)
* ECONOMY : Fin Min says increasing foreign flows not a matter of concern.. ASSOCHAM an industrial body had suggested a 2% tax on foreign flows to curb Rupee appreciation
* HERO HONDA : rpts co may announce a special dividend to distribute the huge cash pile of Rs35bn its currently having in its books
* JSW STEEL : Nippon Steel denies rpts that it is in talks with JSW Steel to
pick up a minority stake in the co.. but the speculation continues, with the name of JFE Steel (world's 5th largest steel maker) now doing the rounds
* PSU BANKS : Govt asks the larger PSU banks to look out for M&A oppurtunities amongst PSU banks.. saying consolidation is imperative to augment efficiency
* UNION BANK : plans to raise $500mn thru bonds during this fiscal to fund its global operations
* RELIANCE : rpts co mulling entry into low-cost housing.. project could be
kicked off by 2010
* PETRONET LNG : may pick up a 10% stake in ONGC Petro-Additions Ltd, which is setting up a cracker complex in Gujarat
* HDFC : JMD says int rates to harden by as much as 50bps by middle of next yr
* LUPIN : Co sued by Medicis Pharma for patent infringement for generic Solodyn
* WOCKHARDT : to raise authorised capital by issuing 1.5bn pref shares @ Rs5/ share.. separately gets USFDA approval for marketing Nicardipine Hcl
injectison used in treatment of hypertension
* BHARTI : to be examined by special auditors for wrongfully availing of Cenvat credit and non payment of service tax in Uttar Pradesh circle
* EXIDE INDUSTRIES : board approves issue of 500bn shares on pvt placement to raise RS 5.97bn
* IOC : looking t invest upto Rs 15bn in nuclear power in a JV with Nuclear
Power Corp of India
Corporate News – Industry trends
* The 71-year-old chairman of Tata Group, which makes nearly
everything from salt to steel to luxury cars, told the US daily Wall
Street Journal in an interview that his successor could be an
expatriate. Tata’s tenure ends in 2012; "We are in the process of
formalising a successor to me. We have some outside consultants and
a formal search process is on. There are no constraints," Tata, who has
steered the group for nearly two decades, said in the interview (BS)
* The government will lose Rs 750bn if the gas from Reliance
Industries Ltd D6 Block in the Krishna-Godavari Basin is not sold
to priority customers like fertiliser and power sectors, additional
solicitor general Vivek Tankha told the Supreme Court (BS)
* FMCG MAJOR ITC, the largest player in the domestic cigarette
market, has increased prices of two of its brands, India Kings and
Benson & Hedges, by Rs 10 and Rs 5, respectively (BS)
* Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is looking to invest up to Rs 15bn in its
maiden nuclear venture in partnership with Nuclear Power Corporation
of India Ltd (NPCIL) (BL)
* Four international firms, including a joint venture between Larsen &
Toubro and Oman’s Galfar Engineering, have bid for the
construction of a new terminal at Muscat’s airport (BS)
* Aban Offshore issued 5,697,135 equity shares at aprice of Rs
1,224.30 per equity share (including a premium of Rs 1,222.30 per
equity share), aggregating to Rs 6975mn through QIP (BS)
* Indian drug companies Wockhardt and Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries have received final approval from the United States Food
and Drug Administration to market generic versions of Nicardipine, the
hypertension drug (BS)
* Reliance Industries Ltd is planning to spend US$3 bn for a new
petrochemical complex at Jamnagar; The new complex will utilise
residual gases generated from the two existing refineries, of which one
is located in a SEZ, to generate further downstream products (BS)
* Petronet LNG Ltd, is keen to acquire up to 10% stake in ONGC Petroadditions Ltd, which is setting up a cracker complex in Gujarat, a
senior ONGC official said (BS)
* Wind energy major Suzlon Energy has officially opened Infigen
Energy’s Capital wind farm, the largest wind farm in Australia at
Bungendore in New South Wales; The farm will produce 141 Megawatt
(Mw) of energy, according to a press release (BS)
* SHAREHOLDERS of Hero Honda Motors, who have received at least
Rs 177 per share as dividends in the last decade, could look forward
for another windfall payout soon, as India’s top two-wheeler maker
ponders appropriate uses for its cash pile amid a dearth of suitable
deployment options (ET)
* ONGC, the country’s largest oil and gas producer, is eyeing new
energy blocks in Ghana, in a bid to expand it presence in the African
continent. ONGC Videsh (OVL), ONGC’s foreign investment arm, is in
talks with Ghana’s national oil company to bid for Kosmos Energy’s
stake in the giant offshore Jubilee field of the region (ET)
* Exide Industries has decided to raise capital through a QIP to
primarily fund R&D initiatives and adoption of fresh technologies to
cope with future challenges. The QIP issue size is unlikely to be below
Rs 5bn, which will include premium over the face value of Re 1 per
equity share (ET)
* JSW Steel may sell minority stake to foreign co for around Rs 20bn;
Company is in talks with JAPANESE & EUROPEAN FIRMS TO SELL
AROUND 10% EQUITY (ET)
* Reliance Communications has entered into a strategic tie-up with
Atom Technologies, an m-commerce solutions provider from the
Financial Technologies India Ltd group (BL)
* BHEL said it has signed a JV pact to build a 1,600 MW thermal power
plant in Madhya Pradesh (Mint)
Commodity/Money Market News
* For the first time in 21 years, the Government is considering
importing rice; Pointing out that there were certain projections that
the quantum of the cereal may not be enough due to a shortfall in the
kharif output, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said: “To
make it up, we may have to make some imports. But we have not
decided the exact quantity and the timing.” (BL)
International trends
* Construction of new homes in the United States fell sharply last
month, showing potential weakness in the economy’s recovery, while
consumer prices rose slightly more than expected. The Commerce
Department said housing starts dropped 10.6% to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 529,000 units, the lowest level since April and
the percentage drop was the biggest since January (BS)
