Radico''s new grain-based distillery goes on stream

Radico Khaitan Ltd, the second largest spirits maker, has commissioned its second grain-based distillery, set up in Aurangabad, Maharashtra with an investment of Rs 136 crore. The new facility has been associated to reduce transportation and logistics costs.

The company, which posted Rs 1,600-crore turnover last year, said it expects to close the current fiscal with 15-18 per cent growth.

The company will hold a 36% stake in the new company to be called Radico NV Distilleries Maharashtra, with the remaining 64% divided between the other two partners Riddhi Siddhi and NV Distillers. The company also owns Asia’s largest distillery in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.

According to Mr Raju Vaziraney, Chief operating Officer, Domestic Business Radico Khaitan, the Aurangabad distillery will have an annual capacity of 36 million litres and will produce extra neutral alcohol, ethanol and Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL). It will also have a bottling facility.

Unprecedented Contraction of Automobile Market

The Automobile market reported a cumulative production data for April - November 2008 that shows production growth of 6.56 percent over April - November 2007. However, in November 2008, the overall production fell by 6.11% as compared to the same month last year.

Domestic Sales:

During April - November 2008, the passenger vehicles segment reported a marginal growth of 1.10 percent over the period between April - November 2007. During the same period, the Passenger Cars grew by 0.48 percent, Utility Vehicles fell by -0.21 percent and Multi Purpose Vehicles grew by 12.00 percent in this period. However, the sales in November 2008 for passenger vehicles fell by 23.71% over November 2007 - with all sub-segments registering negative growth.

The cumulative sales of Commercial Vehicles Segment registered de-growth. During April - November 2008, the segment grew at (-) 9.35 percent as compared to the same period last year. While Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles registered significant de-growth at (-) 16.88 percent, Light Commercial Vehicles also recorded de-growth of -0.26 percent. In November 2008, the commercial vehicles sales fell by 49.51%. M&HCV fell by 63% and LCV fell by over 33%. Also, buses (M&HCV) fell by 32% and even the smaller buses also fell by 26%. In fact the decline in buses has been since April 2008 with an exception in June.

Exports:

In terms of export, the automobile exports registered a growth of 33.03 percent during the period from April - November 2008 with all segments except commercial vehicles, registering positive growth. On the other hand, the passenger Vehicles and two Wheelers segment grew by 66.39 and 30.98 percent respectively.

Railway earnings up 14.49 per cent during April-November 2008

Indian Railways total approximate earnings of on originating basis during 1st April - 30th November 2008 were Rs. 50931.98 crore as against Rs. 44484.60 crore reported during the same period last year.

During the period, total goods earnings have climbed to Rs. 34393.78 crore from Rs. 29733.82 crore during 1st April-30th November, 2007, registering a growth of 15.67 per cent.

The total passenger revenue earnings stood at Rs. 14440.93 crore as compared to Rs. 12869.41 crore, registering a growth of 12.21 per cent. On the other hand, the revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 1297.71 crore as against Rs. 1215.99 crore during the same period last year, representing a growth of 6.72 per cent.

The total sundry earnings have gone up to Rs. 799.56 crore from Rs.665.38 crore, showing an increase of 20.17 percent.

The total approximate number of passengers booked during April-November 2008 was 4717.37 million as against 4430.75 million during the same period last year, showing a growth of 6.47 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during the period was 2510.40 million and 2206.97 million as compared to 2428.48 million and 2002.27 million, an increase of 3.37 per cent and 10.22 per cent respectively.

Indian Railways to invest approximately Rs 37,500 crore

During the current financial year, Indian Railways have drawn up plans for the increased upgradation of rail infrastructure and procurement of new assets of rolling stock with an estimated expenditure of Rs. 37,500 Crore to shore up the infrastructural development and upkeep. This move will give a boost to the Indian Economy as well as provide strengthened rail infrastructure for carrying yet higher loads.

The strategy includes massive track and sleeper renewal activity leading to increased steel consumption, along with this production of more steel bridge girders, more production of passenger EMU & MEMU Coaches. In line with this, more production of diesel and electrical locos, more production of wheels & axles, development of model stations and world class stations, installation of modern and upgraded signaling system, increased route electrification and improvement in telecommunication work. Apart from this, the Indian Railways is also undertaking the construction of dedicated freight corridor, which is the biggest infrastructural development activity of Indian Railways since independence, towards which an amount of Rs. 400 crore is being spent in 2008-09 and Rs. 3000 crore have been earmarked for 2009-10.

Some of the projects under execution are as follows:

o Indian Railways have set a high target of rail renewal over 2941kms which will require 3,39,288 MT of rail steel. The target of sleeper renewal over 2382 kms will require 38.59 lakhs pre-stressed concrete sleepers (approx.).

o A target of renewal of 44.5 lakhs of PSC sleepers has been fixed for open line works.

o Indian Railways to manufacture 3000 coaches this year which is an increase of 12.5 % over the previous year.

o It is planned to acquire 2873 EMUs, 1091 MEMUs, 216 Kolkatta Metro Coaches and 3 - phase propulsion system for 200 motor coaches with an expected outlay of about Rs. 9200 Crore .

o Railway has planned to acquire sufficient number of wagons to meet the requirements of growing freight.

o The production of diesel locomotives and high horse power EMD Design Locomotives would be enhanced at the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi.

o Indian Railways are setting up a 1000 MW thermal power plant through a joint venture with NTPC at Nabi Nagar, Bihar with a total cost of Rs. 5352 Crore.

o Indian Railways are also seeking an allocation of a coal block of 300 MT, which is proposed to be utilized for setting up a 2000 MW power plant.

o About Rs.300 Crore will be spent during the next three months for commissioning modern electronic signaling systems at about 400 stations, intermediate block signaling in about 200 block sections and 400 route kms of automatic block signaling. Rs.1800 Crore will be spent during the next year (2009-10) for the modernization/ upgradation of signaling systems.

o Railway electrification target for the XIth Plan has been enhanced to 3500 Kms. Similarly, the electrification target for the current year has been increased from 700 Kms to 1000 Kms.

o Acquisition of electric locomotives has been enhanced from to 220 in 2008-09. Process is underway for acquiring 200 electric locomotives from BHEL at an approximate cost of Rs. 5.5 crore each.

o A factory is to be set up at Madhepura for manufacturing 100 electric locomotives per year through JV route. Bid process is presently underway.

o Indian Railways is seeking an outlay of Rs. 2800 crore towards undertaking telecommunication works till 2011-12. The scope of works include replacement of more than 10,000 route Kms. of overhead alignment in the optical fiber communication and Quad Cable network, provision of a very high capacity DWDM network, modernize the switching and networking structure and Mobile Train Radio Communication.

India has lifted a ban on cement exports

According to trade ministry, India has lifted a ban on cement exports, as price pressures eased and domestic demand is depressed due to a slowdown in construction activity. The Director General of Foreign Trade under the Commerce Ministry has informed that he has allowed cement export with immediate effect.

In order to increase local supplies and check rising prices, government had banned cement exports in May. Construction activity has slowed down In the past few months as high interest rates trimmed demand for new homes while companies deferred expansion plans due to a credit crisis.

In November, India''s cement output was 14.34 million tonnes, which was than 14.76 million tonnes produced in October, according to the Cement Manufacturers'' Association.

BHEL bags order to set up 500MW plant at MP

Bharat Heavy Electricals LTD (BHEL), state-run power equipment maker said on December 22, it has bagged contract of worth a Rs 1,175-crore for setting up a 500 MW thermal power plant at Bina in Madhya Pradesh. The order has been placed by Bina Power Company Ltd, a Jaypee Group company. The company would install two units of 250 MW each for the project which is scheduled for synchronization during the 11th-Plan Period (2007-12). The company''s scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of boilers, turbines and associated auxiliaries. The company plans to invest Rs 4,200 crore to enhance its capacity from 10,000 MW to 15,000 MW in two years. It also plans to invest about Rs 10,000 crore for new ventures in the coming years. For achieving this target, its production units at Tiruchirappaly, Bhopal, Haridwar, Jhansi and Hyderabad are in the process of modernization and expansion.

Revision on Benchmark Prime Lending Rates (BPLR) & Deposit Rates

State Bank of India (SBI) has informed that the Bank has revised the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (referred to as SBAR) & Deposit Rates as under:
State Bank of India has revised the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate by 75 bps from 13.00% p.a. to 12.25% p.a. effective from January 01, 2009 and the Deposit rates downwards by 25 bps to 100 bps across the various maturities effective from January 01, 2009.

Rajendra Electrical Board to consider Bonus Issue

Rajendra Electrical Industries Ltd has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on December 29, 2008, inter alia, for considering the proposal to make a bonus issue of shares.
The authorised share capital will have to be increased also. The General Meeting for passing the necessary resolutions will be convened and held thereafter.

Software dealers demand CENVAT benefits

However, after the declaration of CENVAT on IT products by Central government, which would be reduced by 4%, the dealers anticipated that the decision would help improve the market performance that has been slow due to economic recession. A week after the government''s decision, the distributors like Ingram Micro and Redington are still taking advantage of imported software and the modified excise duty is not being applied on them.

The Indian Software Dealers Association (ISODA) members informed that distributors have not yet reduced the prices on products from Tally, Adobe and Symantec. On the other hand, after the government''s declaration the reduction was implemented on Microsoft licenses four to five days.

The members protesting the monopolistic attitude of distributors and in order to make them realize the strength of ISODA, have decided to call for a ''no transaction day'' on Dec 22, informed Harinder Singh Salwan, Secretary, ISODA.

Hemant Chabria, Secretary, ISODA informed that dealers were protesting about the fact that even after the government''s announcement the distributors are taking advantage by selling the products at higher rates.

Salwan informed that on Dec 22, all the 100 members of ISODA will protest and no billing, payment, supply or transaction will take place on that day. "We want to let our distributors realize that ISODA is a strong association and they cannot run business according to their own will," he said.

An ISODA member shared that the association had directly interacted with top officials of Redington and Ingram Micro over the issue of reducing the excise duty by four percent and the distis had agreed with them.


On the other hand, when the software dealers conveyed the message to an executive of one of the distributors, he refused to acknowledge the reduced rates, saying that ISODA is not a recognized body and cannot play any role in modifying the distributor''s decision.

Mega Launch of ACi Laptops, exploring growth by 100% & Profitability for FY 2008-09

Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd has announced the new launch of ACi Laptops for the Christmas and the New Year. After encountering significant demand from customers for low cost, low weight, and elegant looking high-end laptop, ACi launches December 22, 2008 its new fully upgradeable laptop models ACi Elite Pro and ACI Cinderella. ACi Elite Pro offers an idea solution for all mobile users working within the corporate and SOHO segment, housing a new and fast INTEL Ultra Low Voltage ATOM CPU running at 1.6 GHz, with 10.1 TFT screen, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, DVD / RW, Built-in web-camera and Built-in WiFi. The model only weighs 1.3Kg and is offered in two colors BLACK & WHITE.

Having appreciated the fact that most women of today are also in need of laptops for the work and pleasure, ACi launches a laptop model, ACI Cinderella, for women keeping in mind the elegant design and colour most women wear and prefer to carry available in two exciting colours i.e. Pearl White and Glossy Pink.

Both the new models are priced at only Rs 24,999, and with a choice of colours (i.e. white and black) and high user-defined specifications in a light weight and easy to slide in a handbag form factor. With this price tag and specifications, ACi Elite Pro and ACi Cinderella are first of its kind in the market. ACis launch of these two models today forms an ideal gift option for all during the forthcoming Christmas and New Year festivals.

On successful launching of the new products, Company is confident in increasing its sales turnover of its mid-high end range of laptops to well over 100%, i.e. from Rs 3 Cr to Rs 6 Cr for FY 2008 -09 giving rise to at least Rs 50 lacs of additional gross profits within the first quarter of its launch.

Market losing confidence: Sensex below 10K mark

Market extended early losses on account of weak Global market and caution ahead of monthly derivative settlement. The Asian Stock markets retreated on deepening worries about the global economic outlook. Further, the US stocks declined as year long recession is eating up the profit of the corporate even the sales forecast are not strong.

On the sectoral front, traders off-loaded positions across the sectors. Base metal stocks declined on worries about weakening domestic and global economy and pilling of inventory. Even capital goods stocks slipped on concern over economic slowdown that will eat up the orders. Banking stocks fell as the recent rate cuts raised concerns about a fall in net interest margin (NIM). Likewise, IT outsourcing firms extended downward on worries of weak global economy that could cut the amount firms spent on technology.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE, out of 2,301 stocks traded so far, 616 shares advanced while 1,620 shares declined. Nearly 65 shares are unchanged.

At 1.30PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 211.55 points at 9,716.79 and NSE Nifty is down by 60.10 points at 2,979.20.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading lower by 66.91 points at 3,192.87 and Small cap is trading down by 77.25 points at 3,657.70.

Losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Jaiprakash Associates slipped 11.04% to Rs.77.75 along with Satyam Computer Services fell 8.37% to Rs.148.80, Tata Motors by (5.56%) at Rs.177.65, ICICI Bank by (5.62%) at Rs.421.00, Sterlite Ind by (4.38%) at Rs.268.35, Larsen & Toubro Ltd by (4.16%) at Rs.780.80, Hindalco Ind by (3.73%) at Rs.51.65 and Tata Steel by (3.51%) at Rs.217.10 among others.

The BSE Bankex index is lower by 213.70 points or (3.89%) at 5,491.78. Stocks trading in red are Yes Bank down by (7.62%) at Rs.74.00, IDBI Bank by (6.99%) at Rs.63.90, Kotak Bank by (6.50%) at Rs.336.80, Axis Bank by (6.33%) at Rs.502.85, Bank of Baroda by (5.64%) at Rs.261.00 and ICICI Bank by (5.62%) at Rs.421.00 among others.

The BSE Realty index is lower by 76.81 points or (3.04%) at 2,451.83. Stocks trading lower are Ansal Infra by (4.96%) at Rs.34.50 along with Indiabulls Realty by (4.37%) at Rs.145.45, DLF Ltd by (4.35%) at Rs.302.00 and Orbitco by (4.13%) at Rs.64.95 among others.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) fell 1.39% to Rs.1,473.00 after it cut its retail lending rates by 50 basis points, effective 22 December 2008.

Satyam Computer Services fell 8.37% to Rs.148.80 ahead of the board meeting which is scheduled on 29 December 2008 to consider buyback of shares, a move aimed at boosting investor confidence.

Indian Oil Corporation gained 0.72% to Rs.408.00, after a block deal of two lakh shares was executed on BSE at Rs.410 per share.

Bajaj Hindusthan rose 4.07% to Rs.62.70 as Rahul Bajaj will buy stake in the company as part of a family settlement.

Jaiprakash Associates slipped 11.04% to Rs.77.75 on concerns of equity dilution after the board approved merger of its subsidairies in the hotel, cement, real estate and construction businesses.

National Aluminium Company rose 1.32% to Rs.188.70, on signing an initial agreement to sell a 24% stake in its project in Indonesia to United Arab Emirates-based RAK Minerals and Metals Investments.

Market in no mood to recover, Consumer Durables and Realty worst hit

The Indian market slips down further as the selling pressures across the sectoral indices prevails tracking the weak cues from the global markets. Also, the expiry of the derivatives contract, which is scheduled, tomorrow also added to the negative sentiments of the investors. From the sectoral front, Consumer Durables and Realty index are facing the heavy selling pressures as they are down by more than 5% each. Followed this are Bankex down by more than 4%.

The finance ministry today said, India has considerable scope for monetary easing over the next 6 to12 months and along with this an aggressive Reserve Bank policy may be necessary if the global economic turmoil continues.

On the global market front, the European Markets are trading mixed as Dax Index is trading lower by 0.24% and FTSE 100 is up by 0.72%.

The broader markets are also trading week as the BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap are trading with losses of 85.14 points or (2.61%) and 94.47 points or (2.53%) at 3,174.65 and 3,640.48 respectively.

The overall market breadth is negative as 1735 stocks are declining while 606 stocks are advancing in BSE.

Satyam Computers reported the top loser from the BSE Sensex pack. It is trading down by (12.25%) at Rs.142.50 along with JP Associates down by 11.04% at Rs 77.75.

At 2.32 PM BSE Sensex is at 9,680.07 down by 248.28 points and NSE Nifty is at 2,974.80 down by 64.5 points.

The BSE Realty index is trading with losses of 139 points or (5.50%) at 2,348.26. Pulling it are Unitech trading lower by 8.42% at Rs41.90 along with Indiabull Real by 7.36% at Rs140.90, HDIL by 5.95% at Rs146.90, Ansal Infra by 5.92% at Rs 34.15, DLF by 5.02% at Rs299.90, Parsvnath by 4.10% at Rs48 and Penland by 3.90% at Rs23.40.

The Consumer Durables index is trading lower by 111.07 points or (5.40%) at 1,946.38. Losers are Titan Industries is trading with losses of 7.35% at Rs 936 along with Videocon Inds by 5.11% at Rs123.55, Rajesh Exports by 4.60% at Rs25.95, Blue Star by 3.10% at Rs153.10 and Gitanjali GE by 1.98% at Rs71.85.

The most active shares on NSE are Unitech trading at Rs.41.90 with a total traded quantity of 79439270 shares followed by Suzlon Energy trading at Rs.56.50 with a total traded quantity of 33100251 shares.

Moser Baer names new CEO of its solar photovoltaic subsidiary

Moser Baer India Ltd has informed regarding a Press Release dated December 23, 2008 titled Moser Baer names new CEO of its solar photovoltaic subsidiary.

Four Soft gets listed on IBM SOA Business Catalog

Four Soft Ltd has informed regarding a Press Release dated December 23, 2008 titled Four Soft gets listed on IBM SOA Business Catalog.

Wipro to Acquire Citi Technology Services Ltd (India)

Wipro Ltd has informed that the Company has entered into an Agreement, on December 23, 2008, to acquire the Indian company Citi Technology Services Ltd. The Target company is mainly engaged in the IT Software and Solutions market in Banking industry and is currently a captive IT arm of Citigroup worldwide.

The Indian market ended lower as investors booked profits over the counters due to lack of positive cues on subdued global markets. Bears tightened their grip as Asian stock markets retreated for a third straight session. European markets opened positive but overlooked by the domestic traders. December 2008 derivatives contracts due to be expire on Wednesday, 24 December 2008, also contributed to the uneasiness.

The Indian market extended its yesterday’s losses and opened lower tracking negative cues from the markets all over the world. Further benchmark indices continued to trade in negative as strong selling pressure prolonged across the board on the back of deepening worries about the global economic outlook. Stocks slipped sharply lower during final trading and posted its biggest drop in more than two weeks to conclude the day in red led by banks and engineering companies on concern that corporate earnings may be hurt by slowing economic growth. BSE Sensex ended below 9,700 mark and NSE Nifty below 3,000 level. From the sectoral front, Investors off-loaded positions across the sectors and most of the selling was observed in Consumer Durables, Reality, Bank, Capital Goods, Metal, Auto and IT stocks. Midcap and Smallcap stocks also remained out of favor.

Among the Sensex pack 29 stocks ended in red territory and 1 in green. The market breadth was negative as 1752 stocks closed in red while 725 stocks closed in green and 82 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 241.60 points at 9,686.75 and NSE Nifty ended down by 70.65 points at 2,968.65. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps ended with losses of 83.98 points and 95.77 points at 3,175.81 and 3,639.18 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 9,838.38 and intraday low of 9,643.56.

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Satyam Computer (13.55%), JP Associates (10.18%), Tata Motos (7.04%), Sterlite In (6.00%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (5.33%), L&T Ltd (4.89%), DLF Ltd (4.40%), ICICI Bank (4.32%), Hindalco (4.10%) and HDFC Bank (3.92%).

Only gainer from the BSE Sensex pack is Reliance Com Ltd (1.24%).

The BSE Consumer Durable index tumbled (5.81%) or 119.58 points to close at 1,137.87 as Titan Ind (7.68%), Videocon Ind (5.53%), Rajesh Export (4.41%), Blue Star L (3.29%) and Gitabjale GE (2.32%) ended in negative territory.

The BSE Reality index ended lower by (4.84%) or 122.26 points at 2,406.38. Main losers are Unitech Ltd (7.54%), Ansal Infra (7.16%), Housing Dev (6.82%), Orbit Co (5.68%), Parsvnath (4.80%) and DLF Ltd (4.40%).

The BSE Bank index ended down by (3.76%) or 206.69 points at 5,285.09. Major losers are Yes Bank (8.11%), Axis Bank (7.07%), Indian Overseas Bank (6.70%), Kotak Bank (6.70%) and Bank of Baroda (5.78%).

The BSE Capital Goods index ended lower by (3.61%) or 257 points at 6,868.03. Major losers are Usha Martin (7.86%), Alstom Proje (6.57%), Suzlon Energy (5.79%), Jyoti Struct (4.96%), L&T Ltd (4.89%) and Punj Lloyd (4.54%).

The BSE Metal index lost (3.07%) or 164.06 points to close at 5,188.42 as Jai Corp Ltd (8.62%), Sterlite In (6.00%), Steel Authority (5.76%), Hindalco (4.10%), Guajrat NRE C (4.29%) and Hindalco (4.10%) ended in red.

Gold tumbles Rs 330 on weak global cues

Gold prices plunged by Rs 330 to Rs 13,000 per 10 gram in the national capital today on heavy selling by stockists sparked by a falling trend in the international market. Silver also recorded a hefty fall of Rs 450 per kg to Rs 17,400.

Selling pressure gathered momentum after reports of the precious metal falling in the overseas market on the back of declining crude and rising dollar that made the gold less lustrous for investors.The gold in London fell to 843.20 dollar an ounce from 853.10 dollar in New York Merchantile Exchange last evening, after the crude oil dipped to four-year low level around 36 dollar a barrel.

Marketmen said heavy selling by stockists in tandem with falling trend on the global markets mainly pulled down the precious metal prices here.They said retail customers also refrained from buying at existing higher levels that fuelled the downtrend. Standard gold and ornaments crashed Rs 330 each at Rs 13,000 and Rs 12,850 per 10 gram respectively. Sovereign lost Rs 25 at Rs 10,575 per piece of eight gram. Silver suffered heavy losses after the investors shifted their funds to forex and equity markets for quick buck. Silver ready plunged by Rs 450 at Rs 17,400 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 500 at Rs 17,590 per kg. Silver coins also slumped by Rs 200 at Rs 26,700 for buying and Rs 26,800 for selling of 100 pieces.

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Mirc Electronics Equity Shareholders & Creditors to approve Scheme of Amalgamation

Mirc Electronics Ltd has informed that pursuant to an order made on December 05, 2008 the Honble Bombay High Court has directed that a separate meeting of the Equity Shareholders, Secured Creditors & Unsecured Creditors of the Company will be held on January 05, 2009, for the purpose of considering and if thought fit, approving, with or without modification(s) the arrangement embodied in the SCHEME OF AMALGAMATION proposed to be made between Guviso Holdings Pvt. Ltd, (Transferor Company) and Mirc Electronics Ltd (Applicant Company), which also as a part thereof includes reduction of the paid up share capital of the applicant Company in the scheme.

Property rates in Mumbai is declining

After recent terror attacks property rates in Mumbai is declining. Global economic meltdown also leads to downfall in property rates. The November 26 Mumbai terror attack have led to severe drop in property rates and have also turned the customers from Mumbai to the suburban Navi Mumbai. Besides, builders feel it''s the right time to buy property. Prospective buyers are evaluating all possible measures and trying hard to get the best deal at the right time.

Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM) had organized a property exhibition where visitors believed that the recessionary trends had already reduced the property rates and terror attack would reduce the rates further.

The market comes off from the day’s low on selective buying across the counters.

The market comes off from the day’s low on selective buying across the counters. Tracking the negative cues from the global markets and the rising inflation figure that stood at 11.98%, the domestic market opened with a huge gap down. The metal stocks are attracting the investors confidence as most buying is seen from this basket. The market breadth is flat as 1114 stocks are trading lower while 1016 stocks are trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is trading lower by 88.42 points at 14,267.33 and the NSE Nifty is trading down by 35.5 points at 4,297.45. The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap are trading with marginal gains of 10.01 points and 19.38 points at 5,577.38 and 6,932.17 respectively.

Leading the rally form the losers pack of BSE are Rel Com trading down by 12.26% at Rs438.75 followed by Glenmark pharma by 5.56% at Rs610.75, Tata Tea by 4.60% at Rs725, Gammon India by 3.33% at Rs204.95, Tata Power by 3.28% at Rs1122.10, Maruti Suzuki by 3.11% at Rs557.

The Metal index is trading higher by 126.25 points at 13,038.86. Pushing it are JSW Steel trading up by 5.12% at Rs772 along with NMDC by 4.07% at Rs343, Jindal Saw by 3.53% at Rs529.45, Welspun Guj by 3.50% at Rs341.30, Ispat inds by 3.07% at Rs26.85, Tata Steel by 1.99% at Rs668 and Nalco by 1.40% at Rs430.50.

From the Banking Space, Union bank is trading lower by 2.80% at Rs128.25 in line with SBI by 2.04% at Rs1385.85, Bank of Baroda by 1.53% at Rs251.60, Allahabad bank by 1.09% at Rs59.10 and Axis bank by 1.05% at Rs647.

Tata Steel is trading higher by 2.08% at Rs668.7 as the company reported a growth of 21.78% in standalone net profit to Rs1488.40 crore for the first quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs1222.11 crore reported during the same period a year ago. The total income grew to Rs6177.25 crore as against Rs4305.33 crore previous year.

HCL Technologies is trading up by 1.85% at Rs204.05 as the company announced a acquisition of UK based BPO firm Liberata Financial Services (LFS) for $2 million. As per the agreement, HCL will acquire four LFS delivery centres in UK and will invest $24 million in the business over the next three years. This is second acquisition for HCL tech this yaer. Earlier in February its had acquired US based Capital Stream Inc. for about $40 mn in cash.

Suzlon Energy is trading firmly at Rs227.3 up by 1.88% due to strong quarterly numbers. The company has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs39.4 crore as against Rs20 crore. During te same period, the total income rose to Rs2760.46 crore from Rs1944.63 crore previous year.

The markets have gained some grounds from the day’s low and are trading flat.

The markets have gained some grounds from the day’s low and are trading flat. The selling pressure continued in the selective scrips mainly led by the FMCG, Auto, Realty and Pharma stocks. However, the Metal, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables and Power stocks are trading higher. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small cap are trading marginally higher.

The overall market breadth is positive as 1218 stocks are advancing while 1135 stocks are declining and the 83 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

The BSE Mid cap is higher by 24.59 points at 5,591.96 and the BSE small Cap is up by 22.17 points to trade at 6,934.96.

At 12.30 pm, BSE Sensex was at 14,366.17 up by 10.42 points and the NSE Nifty was at 4,329.20 down by 3.75 points.

BSE Metal index surged by 195.71 points at 13,108.32 as Tata Steel (1.93%), SAIL (0.75%), Nalco (0.44%) and Hindalco Industries (0.11%) are trading in green.

BSE Oil & Gas index was trading 53.82 points higher at 9,783.30 as Essar Oil (2.32%), BPCL (0.92%), Gail India (0.90%) and ABN Offshore (0.51%) are trading in positive.

BSE Capital goods index advanced by 143.14 points to 11,826.94. The main gainers are BHEL (1.39%), ABB (1.32%), Siemens (1.21%) and L&T (1.02%).

BSE Power index increased by 15.66 points to 2,589.93. Gainers are NTPC (0.67%), Suzlon Energy (0.38%) while the losers are Tata Power (2.60%), Reliance Infra (2.09%) and Reliance Power (1.85%).

BSE Bankex index is trading higher by 2.80 points at 6,519.21. Gainers are Orienetal Bank (2.08%), Kotak Bank (1.39%), Indus Ind Bank (1.24%) and PNB (0.83%).

BSE Realty index slipped by 69.11 points to 5,009.96. The major losers are DLF (2.42%), Mahindra Life (0.93%), India Bull Real (0.65%) and Sobha Developers (0.48%).

BSE Auto index decreased by 47.54 points to 3,631.97. The top losers are Maruti Suzuki (3.48%), Hero Honda (2.19%), Bajaj Auto (2.96%) and Tata Motors (1.18%).

BSE IT index inclined by 15.63 points to trade at 3,705.20 as Financial Technologies (1.86%), I-Flex (1.34%), and HCL Technologies (1.07%) trading in positive.

Financial Technologies fixes Book Closure for first interim dividend, final dividend

Financial Technologies India Ltd has informed that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from August 25, 2008 to August 28, 2008 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of 20th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on August 28, 2008 and also for the payment of 1st Interim Dividend (F.Y. 2008-09) & Final Dividend (F.Y. 2007-08).

IEC Softwares - Change of Name of the Company

IEC Softwares Ltd has informed that the Pursuant to the Central Government approval under section 21 of the Companies Act, 1956, name of the Company has been changed from IEC Softwares Ltd to IEC EDUCATION LTD with effect from July 31, 2008.

Insurance market witnesses important BPO deals

Indian outsourcers WNS and HCL Technologies have each acquired separate strategic assets, including the offshore unit of insurance giant Aviva and the financial services division of UK outsourcer Liberata. These deals have highlighted three important trends within the industry: the move away from captives, the increasing focus on the insurance vertical and the maturity of the Indian BPO market.

India-based outsourcer WNS has announced the GBP115 million ($228 million) purchase of Aviva Global Services (AGS), the captive offshore unit of insurance giant Aviva. As part of the acquisition, WNS, which is majority-owned by private equity shop Warburg Pincus, will continue to provide services to Aviva: the two companies inked a 100 month agreement that will provide WNS with approximately $1 billion in service revenue. Soon after this announcement, HCL Technologies, another Indian IT services provider, revealed the acquisition of Liberata Financial Services (LFS), a division of the UK outsourcer that serves the life and pension industry. The deal price was not disclosed, although the fixed assets have reportedly been valued at $2 million.

Indian IT sector set to be 2nd largest

Indian IT industry may be passing through a rough patch because of a slowdown in the US economy and high inflation rates, but this stage will pass. India will continue to drive the global IT market for the next few years. In fact, it will emerge as the second most important IT industry in the world after the US in terms of revenue and employment," says a study. "India will create the second largest IT services labour pool after the US within the next seven to eight years. That''s not all, domestic IT industry''s contribution to our GDP is likely to rise from 0.8% in 2006-07 to 2.65% by 2015-16."

This has been forecasted by a yet to be released white paper ''India''s Role in the Globalization of the IT Industry'' by Evalueserve, a KPO. It says, "by 2015-2016, the number of professionals working in the IT industry will grow ten-fold (from 2001-2002) and the total revenue will grow 22 times. This means, the IT industry is likely to employ 3,750,000 professionals and record $193.1 billion in revenue by 2015-16.

While in the last decade, IT services exports have been growing at 32% annually. Evalueserve estimates this growth rate will taper off and become around 20% in the next seven to eight years. The reason: rising wages, lack of high quality talent, and IT jobs relocating to other low-cost destinations in Eastern Europe and Latin America. The paper thus concludes: First, by 2016 India will have the second highest number of IT professionals in the world after the US. In fact, US will employ between 1.25 to 1.33 times more professionals than India. Second, even in 2016, the US IT industry will generate approximately $810 billion in annual revenue, which would be almost five times the revenue of the Indian IT industry.

Max New York Life rolls out insurance-cum-savings product

Max New York Life Insurance on July 24 rolled out "Max Vijay", an insurance-cum-savings product aimed at the underserved segment of society.

Max Vijay has been designed keeping in mind the lifestyle, income patterns and needs of the rural and semi-urban population. It empowers millions of Indians to benefit from the economic boom in financial services that was hitherto denied to them. The minimum premium payable under the product has been fixed at Rs 1,000 and the policy will not lapse as long as there is sufficient value in the account. The company has tied-up with IBM to provide end-to-end technology backbone for fulfilment. Apart from this, they will facilitate the handheld terminal, which enables data transfer to the back-end through GPRS and hence facilitates on-the-spot policy receipt.

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Market pares gains

Profit booking at higher levels in early afternoon trade capped gains in key benchmark indices after a solid early spurt. Metal, banking and capital goods stocks witessed buying demand. The market breadth was strong with small and mid-cap shares staging a comeback after a sharp recent plunge. Cues from the Asian markets, which opened before the Indian market, were positive. Spice Communications was up marginally on massive volumes.

At 12:24 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was up 178.37 points or 1.33% at 13,632.45. At the day’s high of 13,793.39 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex had gained 339.29 points.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 69.35 points or 1.38% at 4002.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 2.31% at 5,400.36, while the BSE Small-Cap index was up 2.94% at 6,639.34. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong on BSE, with 1896 gainers outpacing 480 losers. 57 stocks remained unchanged.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 26 advanced while the rest declined.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 1.29% at Rs 2072. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

Tata Motors (down 1.14% to Rs 396.25), HDFC (down 1.09% to Rs 2,032), Cipla (down 0.36% to Rs 207.20) and Reliance Communications (down 0.3% to Rs 436.90) edged lower from Sensex pack.

India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies rose 1.57% at Rs 1780.

Banking stocks rose on fresh buying. State Bank of India (up 4.3% to Rs 1,175.50), ICICI Bank (up 2.97% to Rs 617.90) and HDFC Bank (up 2.02% to Rs 1,019) edged higher.

Battered capital goods stocks staged a comeback today on bargain hunting. Siemens (up 7.59% to Rs 459.50), Suzlon Energy (up 3.51% to Rs 198.90), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 0.13% to Rs 1,502.20) rose.

India’s largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 2.65% to Rs 2,444.80 after it won a transmission line order worth Rs 446 crore.

Metal stocks rose. National Aluminium Company (up 3.31% to Rs 357.50), Steel Authority of India (up 3.21% to Rs 131.90), Hindalco Industries (up 2.68% to Rs 141.75), Tata Steel (up 1.78% to Rs 651.50) and Sterlite Industries (up 1.18% to Rs 650) edged higher.

Reliance Infrastructure (up 4.98% to Rs 812.10), Jaiprakash Associates (up 4.86% to Rs 161), Maruti Suzuki India (up 4.01% to Rs 571), Bharti Airtel (up 3.69% to Rs 743) edged higher from Sensex pack.

Spice Communication rose 0.48% to Rs 73.30 after a massive block deal of 28.45 crore shares was struck on the counter at Rs 74 per share in early trade on BSE, amounting to a sizeable 40.8% stake of the company changing hands. It was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 2137.16 crore.

Among the small-cap counters, Silverline Technologies (up 18.39% to Rs 18.35), ITI (up 14.52% to Rs 28), Astra Microwave (up 13.15% to Rs 52.05) and Garware Offshore (up 12.39% to Rs 160.50) surged.

Deccan Aviation (up 19.35% to Rs 69.70), Panacea Biotec (up 17.22% to Rs 355), State Trading Corporation of India (up 15.52% to Rs 262.90), Spicejet (up 15.6% to Rs 28.90) and HMT (up 14.18% to Rs 54.35) edged higher from midcap pack.

ICSA India declined 0.13% to Rs 277.90 even on securing order of Rs 79.88 crore from Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam for providing rural electricity infrastructure under Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojna of Banswara District, Rajasthan, on turnkey basis.

Tricom India rose 8.64% to Rs 115 after it fixed 22 July 2008 as the record date for 5 for 1 stock split.

Ramco Systems rose 9.66% to Rs 102.70 after it deferred board meet on 10 July 2008 to consider right issue. The revised date of the Board meeting will be communicated later.

Asian markets which opened before Indian market, edged higher. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by 0.11% to 4.19%. US stock markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday on Friday, 4 July 2008.

US light crude for August delivery traded at $143.92 a barrel and London Brent crude rose 23 cents to $144.65 a barrel. Crude oil hit a record $145.85 on 3 July 2008.

As per provisional data, foreign funds bought shares worth a net Rs 372.35 crore while domestic mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 97.02 crore on Friday 4 July 2008.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 120.10 crore in the futures & options segment on Friday, 4 July 2008. They were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 215.54 crore and bought index options worth Rs 99.23 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 221.21 crore and purchased stock options worth Rs 15.20 crore.

Indian stock Market is choppy in early trade.

The market today opened higher on the back of sharp positive cues from the global markets. But suddenly the market turned choppy and shed early morning gains. The significant buying is seen in the Consumer Durables, Metal, Realty and IT stocks. However, the FMCG and Oil stocks are trading marginally down. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap are however trading higher in the opening trade.

The overall market breadth is positive as 1112 stocks are advancing whereas 627 stocks are declining on BSE.

At 10.30AM, the BSE Sensex was down by 29.70 points at 15,740.02 and the Nifty was down by 6.44 points to 4,670.50.

The BSE Mid Cap increased by 31.18 points to 6,431.48 and the BSE Small Cap advanced by 40.94 points to 7,776.54.

HDFC reported the top gainer from the BSE Sensex pack. It is trading with a gain of 2.20% at Rs.2445 while ONGC reported the top loser down by 1.68% at Rs.930.35.

BSE IT index advanced by 38.40 points to trade at 4,655.84. The major gainers are Satyam Computer, Infosys Technologies, HCL Technologies and TCS grew by (2.15%), (1.34%), (1.18%) and (1.08%) to Rs.523, Rs.2006, Rs.309.45 and Rs.992.50 respectively.

BSE Metal index improved by 115.91 points to trade at 15,830.50. The top gainers are Sterlite Industries inclined by (4.83%) to Rs.873.10, NALCO increased by (0.76%) at Rs.504 followed by Tata Steel up by (0.62%) to Rs.846.95.

Mahindra & Mahindra is trading higher by (1.24%) at Rs.570.05. The company is developing a small engine for a smaller version of its Uvs. The engine will have a capacity ranging between 650cc and 750cc.

M&M takes over two-wheeler design house

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) said on June 5 that the company inked a pact with Italian two-wheeler design house, Engines Engineering, to buy its business. Engines Engineering''s with an annual revenue of about Rs 50 crore is primarily into two-wheeler design and developing of motorcycle prototype. Engines Engineering carries out a full range of activities comprising conception, design, styling, on line assembly, industrialisation and marketing, said a release from Mahindra. Its clients comprise international two-wheeler manufacturers Benelli, Ducati, Honda, LEM and Yahama. Mahindra has bought almost a dozen auto component/engineering companies in India and overseas during the last two and a half years.

Andhra Bank signs MoU with Crisil

Andhra Bank has forayed into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) for rating their corporate borrowers. Andhra Bank said credit rating assumed importance due to migration of banks to Basel II norms by March 2009. At first corporate borrowers availing credit limit of Rs 50 crore and above will be rated by the rating agency.

Reliance Infrastructure receive MERC approval to raise power tariff

Reliance Infrastructure, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, on June 5, won regulatory clearance to increase power tariff by as much as 10.22 per cent. The move will assist the utility to charge more from its 2.6 million users in Mumbai. Reliance Infrastructure (Rel Infra) had urged the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) for a 4.19 per cent increase in its annual revenue requirement (ARR). It was instead approved an increase of 10 per cent. The Ambani company will required to purchase power from the spot market. MERC was distributing power equitably between BEST and Rel Infra and the financial burden was also equitably shared by the organisations till last financial year, in the absence of a formal power purchase agreement between TPC and the distribution utilities.

Usha International fixes Record Date for Scheme of Amalgamation

Usha International Ltd has informed that the Scheme of Arrangement between Usha International Ltd (UIL) and Shriram Fuel Injection Industries Ltd (SFIL) with The Jay Engineering Works Ltd (JEW) and their respective Shareholders and Creditors under section 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956 has been approved by the Honble High Court of Delhi vide its order dated May 26, 2008 and the said order has been filed with the Registrar of Companies on June 02, 2008.

Further, with reference to Point No. 6 of the said Scheme, wherein it was decided that:

a) 44 Exchange equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up in The Jay Engineering Works Ltd (Transferee Company) for every one equity share of Rs 10 each fully paid up held in Usha International Ltd (Transferor Company No 1 i.e. UIL); and

b) 31 Exchange equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up in The Jay Engineering Works Ltd (Transferee Company) for every ten equity share of Rs 10 each fully paid up held in Shriram Fuel Injection Industries Ltd (Transferor Company No. 2 i.e. SFIIL).

Further as per Point No. 6.3 of the said scheme where it is mentioned that upon coming into effect of this Scheme and after the reduction of the capital the transferee Company shall issue and allot to the Equity Shareholders of the Transferor Companies and the Transferee Company whose name would appear in the Register of Members as on the record date i.e. June 23, 2008 New Equity Shares in the following ratio:

1. 44 New Equity Shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up of Transferee Company for every 10 equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up held in Transferor Company No. 1 i.e. UIL.

2. 31 New Equity Shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up of Transferee Company for every 100 equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up held in Transferor Company No. 2 i.e. SFIIL.

3. 1 New Equity Shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up of Transferee Company for every 10 equity shares of Rs 10 each fully paid up held in Transferee Company.

International Combustion Board to consider dividend

International Combustion India Ltd has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on June 25, 2008, inter alia, to consider the Annual Accounts for the year ended March 31, 2008 as well as for recommending Dividend, for the year 2007-08 to the Shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Shivalik Bimetal Board declares second interim dividend

Shivalik Bimetal Controls Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on June 06, 2008, inter alia, has declared 2nd Interim Dividend @ 12.50% on Paid up Equity Shares for the financial year ending March 31, 2008.

AXIS Bank - Raising of Tier II Capital on Private Placement Basis

AXIS Bank Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on June 06, 2008, inter alia, have approved borrowing an amount of upto Rs 6520.24 crores in one or more tranches by way of Upper Tier II Capital in Indian / Foreign Currencies and / or Lower Tier II Capital in the form of Sub-ordinate Debenture.

ITC revises prices of three cigarette brands

ITC Ltd, the Kolkata-based company, has increased prices of select brands by around 10 per cent to offset rising cost of tobacco, paper and other inputs. ITC revised prices on three brands including Classic, Gold Flake and Silk Cut. The price of a 20-stick pack of the premium brand Classic has been increased by 10 per cent to Rs 88 from Rs 80 earlier, while a pack of the mid-market Gold Flake brand will cost 5 per cent more at Rs 40 against Rs 38 earlier. The price of economy brand Silk Cut has been revised slightly from Rs 20 now. The current price revision is apart from the increase the company effected after Finance Minister P Chidambaram increase excise duty on cigarettes in the Union Budget. The three brands are the company''s major cigarette brands and only the Wills brand, priced at Rs 34, has been kept out of the purview of this exercise.

Piramal Life Sciences debuts on bourses

Piramal Life Sciences, the newly hived off research and development business of Piramal Group has begun a new innings on May 29 by listing on bourses. On the opening day the stock lost 16 per cent even as Piramal promised big growth to his stakeholders. The company plans to invest Rs 400-500 crore over two years aiming for revenue of over Rs 1,200 - Rs 1,500 crore by 2010. The company''s research pipeline comprises 14 molecules of which 6 are in clinical trials targeting its first drug launch by 2010.

Piramal is already in talks with potential investors including MNC pharma & financial investors for a strategic stake sale in his new R&D arm. Clearly, Piramal knows research is long haul business with high risks but it is his expectations on irresistible returns that has kept him on track.

FM urges excise dept to step up drive against evasion

The Government is now looking to plug excise revenue leakages via a more rigorous set of deterrent steps and by obtaining third-party information that could be matched against the information on indirect taxes submitted by assessees. The third-party information collection system is proposed to be modelled on the annual information return (AIR) system that has become successful on the direct tax side. The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on May 29 advised the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to revisit the existing deterrent measures, stating that they were not deterrent enough. As many as 49 cases have been subject to deterrent measures. The idea is if you take action against one person, found guilty of excise evasion, the deterrent action taken against that assessee must have salutary effect on the assesses of the same product group.

IOL Netcom receives letter of intent from Power Grid Corporation

IOL Netcom has received a letter of intent from Power Grid Corporation - a Govt. of India undertaking, to provide last mile connectivity to over 600 members of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. The last mile connectivity to the members of NSE will be provided by IOL on its own and alliance partners'' Metro Ethernet Networks.

The above named contract will add approximately Rs 50 crore annually to IOLs top line in addition to significant collection and FMS revenues from large broking houses across the country. The company also announced plans to create a pan India, ultra modern secure NGN networks for mission critical applications enabling it to execute similar projects for other organizations. The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 29 May 2008.

Foreign Market Reports May-30-2008

Thursday, the US stock market continue to close higher for the third consecutive day for the week backed by the upward revision to the first quarter economic growth rate and a sharp drop in crude prices. The retailer stocks posted a solid gain on the back of mixed batch of earnings reports from Costco and Big Lots both posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings results. However, Sears Holdings unexpectedly lost $0.53 per share in its latest quarter, excluding items, compared to a profit of $1.15 per share in the prior year.
On the economic front, the first quarter GDP was revised higher to 0.9% from 0.6% matching the consensus estimate. The reading remains below the 3% normal growth rate.
Further, the number of weekly jobless claims reading held mostly steady at 372,000, which was roughly in-line with expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced by 52.19 points to close at 12,646.22. The S&P 500 (SPX) index increased by 7.42 points to close at 1,398.26 and the NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) grew 21.62 points to close at 2,508.32.

Among the Dow’s 30 components, 24 components ended in green mainly led by the stocks like Johnson & Johnson and Citigroup up nby 2.4% and 2% respectively.

A total of 0.8bn shares were traded on the NASDAQ, with advancing stocks outpaced the declining stocks by 8 to 5. On NYSE around 1.2bn shares traded for the day, with advancing stocks outpaced the declining stocks by 2 to 1.

Crude oil futures for the month of June delivery closed lower by $4.40 at $126.62 per barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. The crude prices fell after the dollar strengthened against its rival currencies and also after the inventory report announced by the Energy Department showed a large weekly drop in crude inventory levels since 2004. As per the weekly inventory report by the Energy Department, crude supplies dropped by 8.8 million barrels to 311.6 million for the week ended 23 May.

The gold prices for the month of June delivery fell by $23.30 to settle at $881.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold prices ended lower for the third consecutive days after the dollar strengthened against its rival currencies.

IFCI - Outcome of Board Meeting

IFCI Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 29, 2008, has discussed the advice received from Merchant Bankers, relating to issues of induction of Strategic Investor and Optionally Convertible Debentures held by Government of India and it was decided that Board would meet on June 12, 2008 to take a further view.

Mid Session indian stock market commentary May-29-2008

The market is trading with marginal gain. The significant buying witnessed in the Metal, Realty and Pharma stocks. However, the Auto, Bank and FMCG stocks are still trading in pressure. The BSE Sensex is hovering around the 16500 mark and the NSE Nifty is trading around the 4900 mark. The broader market has outperformed the benchmark index today as sustained buying is seen in the Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks.

The overall market breadth is positive, as 1455 stocks are advancing while 958 stocks are declining and the 76 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

The BSE Mid cap is higher by 49.01 points at 6,802.54 and the BSE small Cap advanced by 47.13 points to trade at 8,284.22.

At 12.30 pm, BSE Sensex was at 16,518.32 down by 6.95 points and Nifty was at 4,927.15 up by 8.80 points.

BSE Metal index surged by 347.58 points to trade at 16,997.23. The major gainers are Sterlite Industries (2.92%), NALCO (1.98%), Tata Steel (1.18%) and SAIL (0.69%).
Tata Steel has received mineral concession approvals from the ministry of Mines for two large mines-one for an iron ore mine in Jharkhand and other for a chrome ore mine in Manipur.

BSE Oil & Gas index was trading 49.58 points higher at 10,827.49 as BPCL (2.80%), Cairn India (2.28%), ONGC (0.82%) and RPL (0.55%) are trading in green.

BSE Capital goods index improved by 30.16 points to 12,602.07. The main gainers are BEML (2.93%), Crompton Greaves (1.89%), L&T (0.63%) and Punj Lloyd (0.28%).

BSE IT index inclined by 1.93 points to trade at 4,568.35 as I-flex (2.32%), Satyam Computer (2.58%), Wipro (1.74%) and Tech Mahindra (1.50%) are trading in green.
Satyam Computers and Siemens PLM Software has entered into an alliance to provide software and services to help customers enhance efficiency and enable them to benefit from the duos expertise. Also, it has entered into a comprehensive agreement GE Healthcare to support customers deploying healthcare IT solutions based on GE centricity enterprise software. The companies will join the forces to plan, design and implement infrastructures for global healthcare providers.

BSE Bankex index is trading lower by 65.39 points at 7,868.11. Losers are Allahabad Bank (3.30%), Bank of India (2.37%), ICICI Bank (1.55%) and SBI (1.60%).

BSE Realty increased by 50.83 points to 7,281.25. Leading to its gain are Indiabull Real (2.82%), Unitech (0.53%), Sobha Developers (0.36%) and HDIL (0.28%).

BSE Power index decreased by 6.96 points to trade at 3,097.33 as Suzln Energy (4.23%), Tata Power (0.83%) and NTPC (0.37%) are trading in negative.
Tata Power is investing Rs.500 crore for the expansion of wind power. The company would be adding 115 MW of wind power capacity in the current fiscal.

BSE Auto slipped by 78.46 points to 4,483.57. Leading to its fall are Tata Motors (6.66%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.18%) and Maruti Suzuki (1.65%).

Indian stock Market Commentary: Market is still weak.

The market is not showing a mood for recovery. All the key benchmark indices are trading in red. The Bank, Realty, Capital Goods and Auto are out of favor today. The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks are also trading lower. The BSE Sensex is still below the 17, 000 mark and the NSE Nifty is hovering around the 5000 mark.

The overall market breadth is negative, as 1097 stocks are advancing whereas 1549 stocks that are declining.

TCS reported the top gainer from the BSE Sensex pack. It is trading higher by (0.68%) at Rs.970.50 while Tata Motors the top loser down by (4.01%) at Rs.661.25.

At 2.31PM BSE Sensex is at 16,914.44 down by 328.72 points and Nifty is at 5,028.90 down by 88.75 points.

The BSE Mid Cap is lower by 76.13 points to 7,071.92 and the Small Cap dropped by 78.70 points to 8,710.28.

The BSE Bank is the top loser trading with a loss of 226.24 points at 8,413.66. The main losers are PNB down by (3.44%) at Rs.539, ICICI Bank decreased by (3.27%) at Rs.881.70 followed by SBI and HDFC Bank declined by (2.05%) and (1.89%) to Rs.1627.95 and Rs.1383.40.

The most active shares on NSE are Reliance trading at Rs.2634.95 with a total traded quantity of 1739730 shares followed by Reliance Capital trading at Rs.1417.10 with a total traded quantity of 3001204 shares.

Indian stock market: Market is trading with heavy losses

The market is trading lower following the unfavourable global cues and heavy selling across all indices mainly capital goods, metal, banking and oil & gas counters led the Sensex to fall below 17,000 mark while Nifty is still holding 5000. The market is hovering in the negative territory since the initial bell as oil surged to a new high of $135 a barrel and weak Asian Markets. Among the Sensex pack, 1 stock is trading in green while 29 stocks are trading in red.

At 1.37PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 329.82 points at 16,993.34 and NSE Nifty is also down by 85.1 points at 5,032.55.

The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap are trading down by 85.03 points and 85.98 points at 7,063.02 and 8,703.00 respectively.

Losers from the BSE are Tata Motors trading lower by (4.15%) at Rs660.25 followed by Reliance Infraby (4.12%) at Rs1,321.0, Reliance Communication by (3.60%) at Rs582.00, ICICI Bank by (3.54%) at Rs879.0, Jaiprakash Associates by (2.85%) at Rs245.60 and Reliance by (2.62%) at Rs2,598.0.

The Metal index is trading lower by 345.33 points at 17,044.95. Pushing it are JSW SL trading lower (5.93%) at Rs1,067.50 along with Hindustan Zinc by (3.98%) at Rs722.10, Steel Authority by (3.48%) at Rs176.20, Jindal Stain by (2.60%) at Rs146.0, Jindal Saw by (1.80%) at Rs603.8, Bhushan Steel by (1.70%) at Rs806.25, and Sterlite Industries by (1.68%) at Rs929.20.

The Capital Goods index is trading down by 322.16 points at 13,347.92 as Suzlon Energy is trading down by (4.58%) at Rs294.8 followed by Kirloskar Br by (4.30%) at Rs271.50, Punj Lloyd by (3.10%) at Rs340.80, ABB Ltd by (2.85%) at Rs1000.50 and Kalpat Pow T by (2.49%) at Rs1020.0.

From the telecommunication sector, Reliance Communications is trading down by (3.1%) at Rs584.95 along with Tata Communications by (1.82%) at Rs507.65, Idea Cellular up by (2.59%) at Rs108.9 and Bharti Airtel by (0.81%) at Rs815.75.

From the Cement sector L&T Ltd is trading lower by (2.23%) at Rs2926, followed by Ambuja Cements Ltd by (1.54%) at Rs105.6 and ACC Ltd by (1.23%) at Rs681.85.

Tata Motors is trading lower by (4.15%) at Rs660.25. It has entered into an agreement to buy British brands Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor Co for $2.3 billion and indicated there will be some changes to the numerous models and makes available when they acquire Ferrari and Skoda. The company is planning to raise long term funds to partly finance requirements of some plans. As a key concern for the company, increase in the steel prices is affecting cost of the cars and it may be difficult to meet the deadline of Tata Nano project and keep the prices under control as steel constitutes 60% of the manufacturing cost of a car.

Mcleod Russel fixes Record Date for Scheme of Amalgamation

Mcleod Russel India Ltd has informed that the Directors of the Company have decided to fix June 12, 2008 as the Record Date to determine the eligibility of the Members of The Moran Tea Company (India) Ltd (MTCL) for allotment of Shares of McLeod Russel India Ltd (MRIL) in the ratio of 4 new Equity Shares of Rs 5/- each of MRIL for every Equity Share of Rs 10/- held in MTCL in terms of the Scheme of Amalgamation of MTCL with MRIL duly sanctioned by the Honble High Court at Calcutta vide its Order dated April 16, 2008.

Indian stock Market Commentary: Mid Session Market May-22-2008

The market has recovered a bit from the morning lows but is still reeling under heavy pressure as strong selling in scrips continued across the board. The Bank, Capital Goods. Realty and Power stocks are feeling the most selling pressure. The BSE Sensex is hovering around the 17,000 mark and the NSE Nifty is trading above the 5,000 mark. The broader market is also recovered but is till in red.

The overall market breadth is negative, as 1033 stocks are advancing while 1457 stocks are declining and the 77 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

The BSE Mid cap is lower by 65.46 points at 7,082.59 while the BSE small Cap slipped by 54.52 points to trade at 8,734.46.

At 12.30 pm, BSE Sensex was at 16,492.69 up by 17.46 points and Nifty was at 5,027.80 down by 89.85 points.

BSE IT index inclined marginally by 2.97 points to trade at 4,456.32 as I-Flex (2.76%), Patni Computer (1.90%), TCS (0.71%) and Satyam (0.10%) are trading in green.
Satyam Computers and GE Healthcare has entered into a comprehensive agreement to support customers deploying healthcare IT solutions based on GE Centricity Enterprise software. Under this agreement, both the companies will plan, design and implement infrastructures for global healthcare providers.

BSE Oil & Gas index was trading 137.94 points lower at 11,294.86 as BPCL (4.09%), RPL (1.92%), ONGC (1.92%) and Gail India (1.02%) are trading in red.

BSE Metal index dropped by 165.12 points to trade at 17,225.16. The major losers are SAIL (2.55%), NALCO (2.38%), Hindalco Industries (1.55%) and Tata Steel (0.67%).
SAIL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited (RSMML) for a long-term supply of low silica limestone, a critical input for steel making.

BSE Capital goods index declined by 208.96 points to 13,461.12. The main losers are L&T (1.99%), ABB (1.90%), Siemens (1.51%) and BHEL (1.50%).

BSE Bankex index is trading lower by 167.63 points at 8,472.27. Losers are ICICI Bank (2.89%), PNB (2.88%), HDFC Bank (1.96%) and SBI (1.56%).

BSE Realty slipped by 115.04 points to 7,789.84. Leading to its fall are Indiabull Real (3.34%), Purvankara (2.22%), Ansal Infrastructure (2.18%) and DLF (1.66%).

BSE Power index decreased by 48.61 points to trade at 3,254.31 as Suzlon Energy (3.61%), Reliance Energy (3.07%), NTPC (1.54%) and Power Grid (1.40%) are trading in negative.

BSE Auto index down by 80.57 points to trade at 4,702.33 as Tata Motors (3.91%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.08%), Maruti Suzuki (1.60%) and TVS Motor (1.50%) are trading in negative.

Indian stock market: Market is trading weak

The market is trading on the back foot tracking the weak cues from the global markets like the surging crude oil prices to $135 a barrel led to the negative sentiments in the market. Also, the US Federal Reserve’s steps to cut US economic growth forecasts and signaling of any rate cut further is unlikely add to the sentiments. The market breadth is weak as 1270 stocks are trading in red while 995 stocks are trading in green.

At 11.33AM, BSE Sensex is trading lower by 247.96 points at 16,995.19 and NSE Nifty is trading down by 70.75 points at 5,046.90. The BSE Mid Cap is trading lower by 22.87 points at 7,125.18 while Small Cap is trading flat at 8,789.36.

Scrips that fell to attract investors confidence are HPCL trading down by (3.90%) at Rs233 in line with Suzlon Energy by (3.54%) at Rs298, JSW Steel by (3.41%) at Rs1096, BPCL by (3.40%) at Rs343.95, Tata Motors by (3.32%) at Rs666, Lanco Infra by (3.24%) at Rs565, PNB by (3.13%) at Rs540.80 and Indian Bank by (3.09%) at s136.40.

The Capital Goods index is trading lower by 253.14 points at 13,416.94. Pulling it are Suzlon Energy trading lower by (3.48%) at Rs298.20 along with Punj Lloyd by (2.59%) at Rs342.60, Kirloskar BR by (2.36%) at Rs277, L&T by (2.17%) at Rs2928.95, ABB by (1.78%) at Rs1011.50, Bhel by (1.68%) at Rs1742, AIA Engineer by (1.67%) at Rs1595, Jyoti Structures by (1.21%) at Rs146.95 and Areva by (1.05%) at Rs1616.40.

The Metal index is trading down by 205.70 points at 17,184.58 as JSW Steel trading lower by (3.41%) at Rs1096 followed by Hind Zinc by (2.98%) at Rs729.60, Hindalco Inds by (2.21%) at Rs192.90, Jindal Stainless by (1.97%) at Rs146.95, Jindal Steel by (0.69%) at Rs2448, Welspun Guj by (1.05%) at Rs377.80, Sterlite inds by (1.04%) at Rs935.25 and Bhushan Steel by (0.63%) at Rs815.

Satyam Computers is trading higher by (0.19%) at Rs494.85 as he company and GE Healthcare has entered into a comprehensive agreement to support customers deploying healthcare IT solutions based on GE Centricity Enterprise software. Under this agreement, both the companies will plan, design and implement infrastructures for global healthcare providers.

Buy Petronet LNG, target of Rs 90: Angel

Angel Broking has upgraded its rating on Petronet LNG to buy rating with a target price of Rs 90 in its May 9, 2008 research report. "Dahej expansion to 12.5 mmtpa (current 6.5 mmtpa) is slated to come on stream July onwards in a phased manner. Expanded capacity will help Petronet process more Spot volumes till the 2.5mmtpa contracted supplies from Qatar commence October 2009 onwards. For the next 2-3 years, growth will primarily be driven by Spot LNG and the expanded capacity will benefit from the situation."

"The company is now also diversifying into different segments like power, port development, etc., which is expected to generate value over a period of time. We have valued Petronet on DCF methodology with a Cost of Equity of 15.2% (high as it is a high beta stock), Cost of Debt - 10% and WACC - 9.2%. The stock is currently available at 9.8x FY2010E EPS of Rs7.7. Based on our DCF valuation model, we upgrade the stock to a Buy, with a target price of Rs 90," says Angel's research report.

US mkts recover from day’s low; Asia opens mixed

U.S. markets recover from day’s low on back of positive retail sales data & M&A news. Dow Jones end down 44 pts at 12832.2; recovers nearly 50 pts from day’s low. Nasdaq ends up 6.6 pts at 2495; recovers nearly 23 pts from day’s low. Financial index down nearly 1.5% on Oppenheimer downgrades and Moody’s concern over MBIA & Ambac. Asian markets open mixed; Shanghai up 1.5%, Taiwan up 0.5%, Straits Times up 0.2%, Nikkei, Kospi marginally in the red, Hang Seng down 0.75%. EMs; Brazil up 0.12%, Russia up 0.80%. CBOE VIX up 1% at 17.98.

Commodities/ Currencies
Crude oil hits new all-time high at $126.98/bbl in yesterday’s trade during the day. Gold loses nearly 2% or $20 at $867/ounce in yesterday’s trade. Dollar rebounds against major currencies; Yen depreciates by 1% at 104.6.

Global Stocks
HP stock down 5.5%; traders fears that HP is overpaying for EDS. EDS stock up 1% at 24.4 (was up 28% day before yesterday); HP offer price at $25. Wal-Mart stock down 2.4%; earnings top expectations, but outlook is somewhat cautious. Yahoo! Stock up 5%; reports that investor Carl Icahn mulling a Yahoo proxy fight. Oppenheimer cut its earnings estimates on Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers & Morgan Stanley. Moody's concerned over the capitalization ratios of MBIA & Ambac; portfolio losses are higher than expected.

Global News
US April retail sales ex-autos rose 0.5%, which is better than expectations of 0.2%. Japan’s current account lessens 12.3% on account of slow export growth & higher oil costs. China’s retail sales rose 22% in April; fastest pace since 1999.

Wadias file suit against GL Raheja Group in Bombay HC over breach of land agreement; to claim damages upto Rs 1370 Cr

Wadias file suit against GL Raheja Group over breach of land agreement in Bombay HC. Wadia alleges that GL Raheja Group sold properties developed on Dinshaw Estate land owned by Wadia to sister companies. Wadias will claim damages to the tune of Rs 1370 crore.

Earlier, Wadias had signed agreement with GL Raheja to develop 470 acres in Malad, Mumbai in 1995 and GL Raheja was to give Wadias 12% of revenue form sale/ lease of developed properties.

Stock tips: UTV Software

UTV Software Communications Ltd has informed that pursuant to the authority granted by the Board of Directors to the Shareholders Investor / Grievance Committee, the committee at their meeting held on May 09, 2008 allotted 93,52,500 equity shares of Rs 10/- each at a issue price of Rs 860.79 per equity share aggregating to around Rs 8050 million to The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Pte Ltd on the terms contained in the resolution approved by the members at their Extra Ordinary General meeting held on March 17, 2008.

Panasonic Home Board recommends dividend

Panasonic Home Appliances India Company Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 09, 2008, inter alia, has recommended a dividend of 10% per equity share for the financial year 2007-2008 to the members for their approval at the ensuing Annual General Meeting.

Indian stocks in news: IEC Softwares

IEC Softwares Ltd has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on May 12, 2008, inter alia, to consider and approve the following:
1. Tie up with Vocational Education Trust to run and manage a School and College at Alwar.
2. Change in Registered office of the Company from M-92, Connaught Place to 5, Sant Nagar, East of Kailash, New Delhi.

Govt mulls further export ban to curb inflation

Hinting at hard measures like further ban on exports to control rising prices, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said inflation is also being stoked by cartel like behaviour in some sectors of Indian economy. Listing out a number of steps, including exports ban on non-basmati rice taken by the government, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that the government would consider further bans. Noting that soaring prices of rice and other basic food items are a matter of worry, Chindambaram said inflation is also being stoked by a mismatch of supply and demand and by cartel-like behaviour in some sectors of the economy.

The daily said that Indian government has cut some exports and taken actions to reduce food prices, such as banning the exports of non-basmati rice and hiking the export price of basmati variety. "As a short-term measure we will consider such bans, too," Chidambaram was quoted as saying. The minister told the daily that ministries of Steel and Commerce have proposed some export bans in steel, but further ban on food exports are less likely since "all export of food items is virtually banned" already.

Canada setting up trade office in Hyderabad, Kolkata

Canada is to set up two new trade offices in Hyderabad and Kolkata, the Prime Minister, Mr Stephen Harper, has said. These new trade offices will expand Canada''s reach in India beyond our traditional concentration on the North. India''s boom is not just happening in the northern region, and Canada requires to be where all the action is, the Prime Minister said in a statement. The Prime Minister added that to further heighten trade and investment alliance, the Government will also post additional commissioners at the established offices in Mumbai and Delhi.

Tata Communications Introduces Global Suite of Security Services

Tata Communications Ltd on April 23, 2008 announced the launch of a robust suite of security services designed to protect the applications, IT systems and networks that power its customers critical business infrastructures. The high-quality, cost-effective security services, which include premise and managed services as well as professional services, enables Tata Communications to provide its customers with security solutions on a global basis.
Tata Communications delivers a full range of monitored and managed security solutions that are backed by aggressive performance-based Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The services are overseen by an experienced, globally distributed support team using state-of-the-art systems, processes and tools. Tata Communications wide range of supported vendors and solutions, combined with its globally consistent and efficient service delivery model, meets the security needs for businesses.
Research by our global network of strategic partners shows that security risks continue to increase dramatically. As attacks continue to grow in complexity, effective solutions must integrate multi-dimensionally across different categories of security infrastructure, take on global visibility of incidents and events, and build upon best-available real-time intelligence, said John Landau, Senior Vice President. Global Managed Services, Tata Communications. Tata Communications has assembled extraordinary expertise and purposefully designed its defense-in-depth services suite to address this concerning trend. We are strongly positioned to support our customers as they recognize the requirement to move beyond simple point security solutions towards globally consistent integrated threat management solutions.
Tata Communications focus on managed services allows enterprises to reduce costs by outsourcing the increasingly difficult and expensive task of both monitoring and managing their security infrastructure, while simultaneously delivering higher levels of coverage and protection. The suite of security services, which includes managed and monitored Firewalls and Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliances, Intrusion Detection and Prevention systems, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Detection and Mitigation, and Penetration Testing, offers customers proactive detection and evaluation of information security threats, accompanied by swift incident response and remediation actions. Evaluation and response is based on Tata Communications sophisticated real time security incident and event analysis, which draws upon a global base of current activity and trends.
By combining third party expertise with core security competencies, Tata Communications has assembled a suite of services robust enough to meet the needs of multinationals and global enterprises, yet priced to be accessible to small and medium sized enterprises. Additionally, Tata Communications services enable enterprise customers worldwide to enhance the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their applications, information assets and systems, while managing their regulatory, compliance and IT governance requirements.
Tata Communications customers are running their businesses on cutting-edge IP solutions, with security management being a paramount concern, stated Vinod Kumar, President of Global Data and Mobility Solutions, Tata Communications. As one of the worlds largest global network operators, our Company is committed to meet our customers unique infrastructure needs, allowing them to focus on running their businesses. Our delivery of these world-class managed security solutions is now providing our customers with the ability to reliably secure their critical business networks and applications.
Global enterprises look to Tata Communications to reduce the complexities of information and network security, while meeting key governance benchmarks. Tata Communications MSS are delivered in accordance with ITIL guidelines, and the Company is in progress of attaining ISO27001 certification in May 2008. Tata Communications experience and range of risk and security solutions help clients secure business operations and maintain regulatory compliance across the globe.

Fortis launches life insurance operations in India

IDBI Fortis Life Insurance, the joint venture between IDBI, Federal Bank and Fortis NV in India, April 22 has launched life insurance operations. Following approval from all regulators, the company has started selling a full range of life insurance and long-term saving products across the country. IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd, is a joint venture between Fortis and two leading Indian financial conglomerates, namely India''s premier development and commercial bank - IDBI, and one of India''s leading private sector bank - Federal Bank. IDBI Fortis has recruited and trained as of today about 400 employees, servicing 490 bank branches of IDBI and 550 bank branches of Federal Bank. Both banks together have about 5 million customers, including some 800,000 non resident Indian account holders. The company will primarily focus its bancassurance activities on cross-selling across top-tier client segments.

Insurers asks for health pool for elderly

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) should make a pool for senior citizen policies, according to general insurance companies. In May 2007, Irda had constituted a seven-member panel to look into issues pertaining to senior citizen policies and health insurance. The committee had suggested an insurance pool that will be primarily sourced via government funding and involve the participation of all stakeholders, including insurance companies and policy holders. A senior public sector general insurance company executive admitted that certain senior citizens may not be readily insurable by industry standards, thanks to medical conditions. Medical science has advanced in the last few decades, leading to increased average life expectancy. Insurance companies are turning away first-time customers who are above 50 years in age and are charging almost 100 per cent additional premium for policy renewals.

Packaged Software Sales to SMBs to Hit US$770M in India in 2008

Small and medium businesses (SMBs, or companies with up to 999 employees) in India are on track to invest about US$770 million on packaged software this year, up 21% over 2007 levels. Spending on databases, accounting, networking, productivity and system software will account for more than 90% of the total software spend this year, according to the latest report by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. There has been strong growth in financial indicators for all the major verticals in the SMB space, which is likely to continue this year as well, says Nirupam Chaudhuri, Senior Research Manager with AMI Partners. "SMBs in India are likely to continue to invest to support business expansion plans, globalization needs, compliance and risk mitigation needs, and leverage technological advancements."

Bajaj Financial Service plans foray into AMC business

The new financial services arm of the Rahul Bajaj group, Bajaj Financial Service (BFL), plans to foray into asset management business and set up a company to distribute financial services products. The details of the distribution company will be finalized by December. The company is also open for joining hands with foreign group for the mutual fund business.

Satra Properties acquires Property at Bhopal

Satra Properties India Ltd has informed that the Company has acquired property situated at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, through its Special Purpose Company (SPC), in which Gammon (India) Ltd is having 51% Stake and Satra Property Developers Pvt Ltd [the Wholly Owned Subsidiary Company of Satra Properties (India) Ltd] is having 49% Stake. The Special Purpose Company (SPC) has made Development Agreement with the Government of Madhya Pradesh & Collector of Madhya Pradesh.
The proposed Project shall be one of the state of art project in Madhya Pradesh and the property is to be developed for providing Shopping Malls, Street Shops, Commercial Offices, Food Courts, Five Star Restaurants, Amusement parks, First Snow Parks in Madhya Pradesh with Modern and Hi end amenities. The property is approx. 15 acres of land situated at CBD Bhopal, Opp New Market and South T.T. Nagar, i.e. in the heart of the Bhopal city and it is the prime shopping destination of the Bhopal city. It is having Basic F.S.I. of approx 16,22,673 Sq. ft. and having saleable area of approx. 22,50,000 Sq. ft. The Land & Construction cost of the proposed project is estimated at Rs 800 Crores and has the capacity to generate the Total revenue of approx. Rs 1400 - 1500 Crores. The proposed Project is expected to be completed within 3 to 4 years.

Orchid forays into strategic alliance with Ranbaxy

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals has struck a peace partnership with Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for jointly manufacturing and marketing of drugs across various geographies. The move comes after Ranbaxy built up a 14.7 per cent stake in Orchid by purchasing shares from the open market through a subsidiary unit Solrex. The take over of a 15 per cent stake in a firm by persons other than the founder or the founder-group will trigger a compulsory open offer for a further 20 per cent. If that happened, then Orchid''s current management would have had to give up control to Ranbaxy. On the other hand, Ranbaxy has similar strategic stakes of just under 15 per cent in other pharma companies, including Krebs Biochemicals and Industries Ltd and Jupiter Bioscience Ltd. Explaining the rationale for such investments.

Post Session Indian Stock Market Commentary

The Indian market closed lower after facing the volatility throughout the trading session. Though the market opened with marginal gains but was unable to sustained at higher levels as the profit booking prevailed. The cues from the US market are not in favor that led to the investors in the domestic market to take calculated steps to book their positions. Also the expiry of the April 2008 derivatives contract on this Thursday also add to the sentiments. From the sectoral point, most buying was witnessed from the Realty index.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 85.83 points at 16,698.04 and NSE Nifty fell by 26.5 points to close at 5,022.80. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with marginal gains of 28.79 points and 1.78 points at 7,066.41 and 8,799.86 respectively.

Major losers from the BSE are Indian Bank (7.08%), Idea Cellular (5.33%), SAIL (5.26%), MMTC (4.95%), United SPR (4.67%), Chambal fertilizers (4.45%), Suzlon Energy (3.74%), Biocon (3.70%), Oriental Bank (3.55%), Educomp Solutions (3.49%).

Gainers from the BSE are Spice Tele (15.85%), Ashok Leyland (9.71%), Mangalore Refineries (8.55%), Hind Zinc (7.23%), Welspun Guj (7.23%).

The Metal index closed marginally higher by 18.72 points at 15,548.10 as Hind Zinc (7.23%), Gujarat NRE (5.22%), Jindal Saw (4.33%) and Tata Steel (2.14%) closed in green while Sail (5.26%), JSW Steel (2.83%) and Bhushan Steel (2.07%) closed in red.

The Realty index grew by 150.03 points to close at 8,056.17. Major gainers are Purvankara (8.22%), Akruti City (3.83%), Omaxe (3.64%), Indbul Real (2.38%), Mahindra Life (2.24%), Phoenix mill (1.92%) and HDIL (2.02%).

The Capital Goods index fell by 157.74 points to close at 13,770.97. Losers are Suzlon Energy (3.74%), Bhel (2.40%), Siemens (1.85%), BEML (1.74%), Crompton Greaves (1.46%), SKF India (1.13%), Alstom Projects (0.70%) and ABB (0.66%).

The Bankex index dropped by 164.37 points to close at 8,552.46. Major losers are Oriental bank (3.55%), HDFC bank (3.01%), Canara bank (2.59%), BOB (2.14%), SBI (2.10%), Axis bank (1.47%) and Andhra bank (1.33%).

The IT index closed up by 52.38 points to close at 3,982.85. Scrips that gained are Infosys (2.94%), Wipro (2.88%), Rolta India (0.51%), TCS (0.32%).

Lupin expands its product basket in JapanKyowa receives Ten product approvals

Lupin Ltd on April 23, 2008 has announced that its subsidiary in Japan, Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co Ltd, (Kyowa) has received approvals for 10 products from the Ministry of Health & Labour Welfare, Japan (MHLW) and expects to launch these in July 2008 post NHI listing.
Kyowas expanded product basket will now include ten more products and these are Amlodipine (CVS), Risperidone (line extension; CNS), Cabergoline (CNS), Milnacipran (CNS), Tandospirone (CNS), Meloxicam (NSAID), Fluticasone (line extension for pediatrics; Anti-Asthma), Quazepam (line extension; CNS), Ethyl Icosapentate (line extension) and Maprotiline (line extension; CNS). The combined market size of these molecules in Japan is JPY 265 Bn (USD 2.65 billion) as per IMS 2007.
Kyowa has a strong position in the CNS and CVS segment and through additional six products in the CNS category it is further consolidating its position as an indomitable player in this segment.
Amlodipine is the largest molecule in Japan, with sales of over JPY 184 billion (USD 1.84 billion) as per IMS 2007. Kyowa plans to aggressively market this product through its trained medical field force. In order to garner a dominating market share in this segment the Company has also out-licensed this product to two other generic partners in Japan.
In case of Risperidone, Kyowa is currently the second largest generic player and with the recent approval for the line extension the Company expects to consolidate its position in this molecule.
Expressing his pleasure at the development, Mr. Vinod Dhawan, President - Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Lupin Ltd. said,
We expect that these newly registered molecules will significantly add to Kyowas growth over the next few years. It is our intention to leverage the advantage of an early entry in the progressive opening up of the generic Pharma market of Japan. We intend to rapidly introduce an array of generic therapies from our global portfolio.
Lupin had acquired Kyowa in October 2007 and it is currently focusing on enriching its product basket and expanding its therapy width. These fresh approvals will strengthen Lupins position in the worlds second largest pharmaceutical market.

Maytas Infra to construct All Weather Deep Water Port at Machilipatnam

Maytas Infra Ltd has announced that Honble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on April 23, 2008 laid the foundation stone for the construction of All Weather Deep Water Port at Machilipatnam to be constructed by Maytas Infra Ltd, a Hyderabad based construction and infrastructure development Company in association with Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd., SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd and Sarat Chatterjee & Co (VSP) Pvt Ltd.
The proposed location for the development of a Deep Water Port at Machilipatnam is around four kilometers to the North of the existing fishing harbour at Gilakadinne.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Teja Raju, Vice Chairman, Maytas Infra said, Maytas Infra is proud to be associated with Machillipatnam Deep Water Port that will provide a strong impetus to the development activity in this region. The project would be developed in 3 years, and we look forward to contributing for the progress of our Andhra Pradesh state,.
The port, well connected by road and rail and in close vicinity of Gannavaram airport has a good potential for handling coal requirements of Vijayawada Thermal Power Plant and other cement plants spread in the Krishna belt. On completion, the Machilipatnam Deep Water Port will be well equipped to handle exports of agricultural produce, minerals and other commodities from the surrounding districts.

Dabur Pharma Equity Shareholders to approve Scheme of Arrangement

Dabur Pharma Ltd has informed that pursuant by an order on the March 11, 2008 as amended on March 27, 2008 read with order dated October 17, 2003, the Honble High Court of Delhi has directed that a meeting of the equity shareholders the Company will be held May 18, 2008, for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, approving, with or without modification(s), the proposed modification of the Scheme of Arrangement sanctioned by the Honble High Court on October 17, 2003 to the extent that property bearing Plot No. 11 in ECHELON Institutional Area, Sector - 32, Gurgaon, Haryana shall be kept outside the purview of Scheme of Arrangement and stand omitted from the definition of Demerged Undertaking and shall not form a part of the transfer of undertaking contemplated in the said Scheme of Arrangement.

JSW Steel to maintain Prices for Two to Three Months

JSW Steel Ltd has announced that the inflationary trends in the country in the last few months are a cause of concern. To ease the inflationary pressures in the system, JSW Steel has decided to maintain the current price levels for two to three months.
The input cost for steel making has seen an unprecedented increase in the last few months. Added to this is the fact that there is a restricted availability of raw materials on a sustainable basis. Despite a global cost push, JSW is voluntarily exercising restraints on the prices. The next few months should give a clarity on whether there will be any respite to the steel maker on this front.
Mr. Sajjan Jindal said, Pro-active policies should be put in place to improve the supply side of steel by putting the Greenfield steel plant projects on a fast track and ensuring adequate raw material linkages. This would ease the pressure on prices in the long term.

India Inc heading eastern Germany

India''s booming companies are scouring the world to invest and the latest destination is eastern Germany. A recent KPMG report suggests that eastern Germany is emerging as a potential investment destination for India Inc.

Seeing the potential in these sectors, some Indian companies that could be making their foray into eastern Germany are SAIL, NTPC, Unitech, IL & FS and Cairn India.Some of the companies that already have a strong foothold in eastern Germany and are looking to expand are RIL, Suzlon, Voltas, Wockhardt and Bharat Forge.

The driving force for these companies to Eastern Germany are 30-40 per cent lower labour costs compared to western Germany and a relatively enterprise friendly political system. In addition, Germany is the largest consumer market in Europe with 80 million consumers. Indian companies are finding eastern Germany a lucrative investment destination. Indo -German trade has grown by 23 per cent in last two years and analysts say post Tata-JLR deal, they anticipate more big Indian acquisitions in the European market.