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DVS eyes client base NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Integrated IT solutions provider, DVS has said it plans to sign deals with about 400 retail stores in the . .........more Global
players seek NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Adding nearly seven million new mobile subscribers every month has put India on the global telecom map .......more Instanex
Skindia MUMBAI, Dec 28: The Instanex Skindia DR Index rallied further sharply by 49.81 points or 2.16 per cent to 2,357.45 on December 27 and the Dr Index .......more Detariffing,
new NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The year 2006 turned out to be a historic year for the insurance sector as regulator IRDA laid the groundwork for detariffing general ........more |
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Ess Dee lists at Rs 265, XL Telecom at Rs 165 on NSE MUMBAI, Dec 28: Packaging solutions provider Ess Dee Aluminum got listed at Rs 265 per share on the National Stock Exchange with a premium of 17.77 ........more G
K Gupta elected NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has elected G K Gupta as president for a period of two years.. ......more Jet-Sahara,
airport NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The collapsed Jet-Sahara deal, tussle over airports modernisation project and go ahead to sale of sick NTC .. ......more Mittal
yet to hear final NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Sunil Mittal's Bharti, in which British telecom firm Vodafone has 10 per cent stake, today said it is yet to hear a final word from the UK-based operator on its plans to buyout . .........more |
DVS eyes client base of 1,000 retail stores by March 2007 NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Integrated IT solutions provider, DVS has said it plans to sign deals with about 400 retail stores in the next three months, taking the total number of its clients to 1,000. "We hope to cross the 1,000 stores mark by March next year as we are the only integrated solutions provider in the Indian market and we have already signed deals with 600 stores," Dynamic Vertical Solutions (DVS) Managing Director Rakhee Nagpal told PTI here. DVS' present client list include US Pizzas, Linc Retail, Eicher Good earth, Fabmall and Seasons Furnishings among others. The company, which offers integrated solutions for financial planning, CRM and supply chain management, is also looking at the possibility of providing IT solutions to other sectors including hospitality and real-estate. "We plan to offer 10 different add-on solutions to 10 different industries like hotels, real estate and construction in the next 2-3 years," Nagpal said. The Gurgaon-based solutions provider works in partnership with LS retail of Iceland to provide integrated solutions to the end users based on the Microsoft Dynamics software. It operates through a network of 14 partners in India including PwC, Trident Information Systems and Blue Star Technologies. The company plans to strengthen its research and development operations in the country and has earmarked Rs 4-5 crore for the purpose in the current fiscal. (PTI) |
Global players seek out Indian telecom market in 2006 NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Adding nearly seven million new mobile subscribers every month has put India on the global telecom map with many big players, including UK's Vodafone planning to increase presence in the Indian market, whose growth has for the first time overtaken China's. One of the key factors contributing to the growth of mobile subscribers has, among others, been the continuously declining tariffs and improving affordability of services and handsets. It was in 2006 that domestic long distance (STD) call rates were reduced to Re one per minute anywhere, anytime. But the progress in the telecom sector has been limited to urban India so far and the government has taken a slew of measures during the year gone by with a view to replicate the urban success this in rural India and this will be the focus for the coming year. Commenting on the performance of the sector during the year gone by, Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran told PTI "top priority would be accorded to roll out cellular infrastructure in rural areas and penetration of broadband services across the country." Expressing satisfaction with the rising number of upcoming telecom manufacturing units, he said in 2007, the turnover of the telecom manufacturing is expected to go up to Rs 17,000 crore from the existing about Rs 13,500 crore. On the rural India focus, Government amended the Indian Telegraph Act to bring cellular mobile services in the ambit of Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund to get subsidy to roll out infrastructure in the rural areas. This facility, hitherto, was available only for the fixed line services. (PTI) |
Instanex Skindia DR Index rallies further MUMBAI, Dec 28: The Instanex Skindia DR Index rallied further sharply by 49.81 points or 2.16 per cent to 2,357.45 on December 27 and the Dr Index P/E Ratio also improved to 28.32 from 27.92 previously, Instanex Capital release said here today. Following are the GDR and ADR rates for Dec 27 in US dollars with differences in percentage from the previous level given in brackets. Bajaj Auto (GDR) 60.00 (+3.45) Dr Reddy (ADR) 18.01 (+1.01) HDFC Bank (ADR) 73.89 (+3.03) Hindalco (GDR) 3.90 (+1.30) ICICI Bank (ADR) 41.32 (+2.53) Infosys Tech (ADR) 54.72 (+0.75) ITC (GDR) 3.80 (-0.52) L&T (GDR) 32.80 (UNCH) MTNL (ADR) 6.49 (+6.57) Ranbaxy Labs (GDR) 9.00 (+4.05) Reliance (GDR) 57.90 (+2.12) Satyam Comp (ADR) 24.09 (+3.21) SBI (GDR) 72.70 (+3.86) VSNL (ADR) 18.90 (+1.34) Wipro (ADR) 16.12 (+1.96) (PTI) |
Detariffing, new players, FDI made headlines in insurance NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The year 2006 turned out to be a historic year for the insurance sector as regulator IRDA laid the groundwork for detariffing general insurance from 2007, while many companies announced plans to foray into the sector. Both domestic and foreign players vigorously pursued their long-pending demand for increasing the FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent and toward the fag end of the year the government sent the Comprehensive Insurance Bill to Group of Ministers for consideration amid strong reservation from Left parties. The Bill is likely to be taken up in the Budget session of the parliament. The life insurance sector grew new premium at a rate not seen before while the general insurance sector grew at a faster rate and is poised to take a big leap from January. Two new players entered into life insurance -- Shriram Life and Bharti Axa Life -- taking the total number of life players to 16. There was one new entrant to the non-life sector in the form of a standalone health insurance company -- Star Health and Allied Insurance, taking the non-life players to 14. A large number of companies, mostly nationalised banks (about 14) like Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, have announced plans to enter the insurance sector and some of them have also formed joint ventures. The year 2006 also saw a reversal of trend by country's largest life insurer LIC as it not only grabbed more market share, but also grew new premium at a much faster rate than the private players. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's demand, seeking withdrawal of sovereign guarantees to the policies issued by LIC to ensure a level-playing-field, was rejected by the Government. (PTI) |
Ess Dee lists at Rs 265, XL Telecom at Rs 165 on NSE MUMBAI, Dec 28: Packaging solutions provider Ess Dee Aluminum got listed at Rs 265 per share on the National Stock Exchange with a premium of 17.77 per cent over its issue price of Rs 225. Ess Dee Aluminum tapped the capital market with an initial public offer of 69.60 lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each. The issue was oversubscribed 32.5 times. The company entered the stock exchanges with 2.64 crore equity shares with an offer price of Rs 225 per share. The proceeds of the issue would be used to part finance the new expansion project at Daman and to foray into food-based aluminum packaging. Hyderabad-based XL Telecom, which also entered the bourses today, got listed at Rs 165 on NSE with a premium of 10 per cent over its issue price of Rs 150. XL Telecom has diversified business interest in telecom and energy sector and intend to use the proceeds from the issue to part finance the expansion of its mobile handset assembly line and module making capacity of solar photo-voltaic (SPV) division. The company tapped the bourses with over 1.45 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each with an issue price of Rs 150 per share. The company entered the capital market with an initial public offer of 39.56 lakh shares of Rs 10 each. The issue was oversubscribed more than eight times. (PTI) |
G K Gupta elected FIEO president NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has elected G K Gupta as president for a period of two years. Gupta, the Managing Director of Vijay Silk House, Mumbai, had been serving as the Vice-President of FIEO before being elected as President, an FIEO release said. A Sakhtival took over as Vice-President of FIEO. The appointments were made at FIEO's 200th Managing Committee meeting held here yesterday, the release added. (PTI) |
Jet-Sahara, airport proj, Mumbai Mills kept SC busy in 2006 NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The collapsed Jet-Sahara deal, tussle over airports modernisation project and go ahead to sale of sick NTC mills were some of the high-stake legal battles involving the industry in the Supreme Court in 2006. Though private carrier Jet Airways reached a pact to acquire smaller rival Air Sahara in January, their bonhomie was short-lived as differences surfaced over valuation prompting the takeover target to drag the industry leader to court. Another case involving the aviation sector -- opposition to Delhi and Mumbai airports modernisation plan by Anil Ambani group's Reliance Airport Developers -- kept the apex court busy in the year gone by. While Jet scored a point over Sahara with an order for transferring all litigations to Bombay High Court, Reliance Airport Developers' case against award of modernisation contracts to GMR and GVK-led consortia was turned down by the apex court. Far from airports, the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the controversial sale of the mill lands to private parties paved the way for resumption of redevelopment projects. What was interesting about the mills case was that the court decided the matter within three months, which saw a battery of top lawyers of the country assailing the Bombay High Court judgement holding as illegal, the Government's decision to sell the ailing mills. (PTI) |
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Mittal yet to hear final word from Vodafone on Hutch-Essar NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Sunil Mittal's Bharti, in which British telecom firm Vodafone has 10 per cent stake, today said it is yet to hear a final word from the UK-based operator on its plans to buyout Hutchison Telecom's stake in Indian joint venture Hutch-Essar. "We have not heard from Vodafone on their final position on Hutch-Essar," a Bharti spokesperson said. There are speculation that once Vodafone is through with acquiring Hutchison Telecom's stake in India, it would exit Bharti by paying a premium. Bharti's response comes on a day when Vodafone and Essar submitted offers for Hutchsion Telecom's stake in Hutch-Essar, triggering a bidding war for the Indian mobile operator that is being valued up to 18 billion dollars. A day after the visit of top brasses of both Vodafone and Essar, British media reported, quoting unnamed sources, that the two suitors have made their respective offers. Essar, the joint venture partner in Hutch-Essar with 33 per cent stake, has offered 11 billion dollars (about Rs 50,000 crore) for the 67 per cent stake of HTIL, putting the enterprise value of the JV at 16.5 billion dollars. However, Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone operator, has submitted an offer valuing the company at 17-18 billion dollars, the 'Financial Times' reported. No comments could be ascertained from Vodafone, Essar and Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom International Ltd. There was a confusion in the Indian media on valuation of Hutch-Essar following an interview by HTIL's parent Hutchison Whampoa's finance director Frank Sixt that the group would not entertain any offer made below 14 billion dollars. (PTI) |
Prasar Bharati to have new CEO in office by Jan 2 NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The Prasar Bharati is likely to have a full time CEO by Tuesday, after six months of wait, sources in the public broadcaster said today. Mr Baljeet Singh Lalli, Secretary (Border Management) in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, whose name for the post was cleared by a high-level comittee headed by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on December 21, will be taking over from AIR Director General Brijeshwar Singh who had been holding the post as an additiional charge. Mr Lalli, an IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre of 1971 batch, will assume office by Tuesday as he has to wind up his work in the Home Ministry, the sources said. The post has been lying vacant for nearly six months after the retirement of former CEO K S Sarma. After Mr Sarma, the post was additionally held by Mr Navin Kumar, DG Doordarshan, but he retired in August. Thereafter, Mr Brijeshwar Singh, DG, All India Radio took over holding the post as an additional charge. Finally, the selection Committee under the chairmanship of the Vice-President met here last week and approved Mr Lalli's name, though an official announcement is yet to come. The other members of the committee are Chairman Press Council of India Justice G N Ray and I & B Secretary S K Arora. (UNI) |
Dish TV operators trying woo customers on eve of CAS regime KOLKATA, Dec 28: It is time to say goodbye to your local cable operator as CAS makes entry into over 2.5 million Indian homes in January 2007. With Conditional Access System (CAS) ready to take off in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi from January 1, 2007, almost 2.5 million cable television viewers could look forward to have a customised bouquet of channels, and paying for only those channels they would like to watch without having to deal with the cable operators. These three cities make 15 per cent of an estimated 65 million cable homes in India, the world's third-biggest cable television market. A set-top box (STB) gives the choice to pick and choose channels and vendors from whom you wish to buy entertainment services. Currently, there is no channel segregation and subscribers pay a blanket rate for the entire cable service, which include channels that are never viewed by an individual subscriber. Under CAS, subscribers would pay Rs 77 for 32 free-to-air (FTA) channels, in addition to Rs 999 or Rs 250 (refundable security deposit) for the STB which would be leased to the user. The subscribers would be paying a monthly rental of Rs 30-45, along with Rs 5 for every pay channel they opt for. "The cable operators have a very restricted market to operate in DTH, on the other hand, is backed by bigger players who can afford to cut prices and yet stay afloat," Dish TV CEO Arun Kapoor told UNI today. Tata Sky and Dish TV were banking on the fact that customers would eventually demand premium channels, which would include focussed news, entertainment, sports, music channels and even niche channels like nature, health and fashion. "An international channel freak would want a slew of channels from across the globe or a foreign language learner may ask for Chinese, German or French channels. In that case, we are ready to give customers what they want," Mr Kapoor said. Tata Sky head (consumer marketing) Vikram Mehra said, "Free subscription for the next six months will include all 103 channels along with interactive services like Actve Wizkids, Actve Sports, Active Star News, Actve Games, Actve Khabar that are being offered by Tata Sky." Tata Sky and Dish TV have undertaken the task to educate the consumers with aggressive marketing campaigns, besides slashing the price tags in CAS areas. For the 20,000 cable operators, who have survived until now by under-declaring their subscriber numbers, charging random tariffs and sometimes giving a cold shoulder to certain broadcasters, it is a wake up call to get their act together. The DTH players agree that almost 70 per cent of the 2.5 million cable subscribers in the CAS areas are still groping in the dark. (UNI) PNB hikes BPLR by 0.25 pc to 11.75 pc NEW DELHI, Dec 28: To maintain profitability, the country's second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank today hiked Benchmark Prime Lending Rate by 0.25 per cent to 11.75 per cent. After raising term deposit rates twice in quick succession by 0.25-0.75 per cent, the bank said it was imperative to increase the BPLR to protect the net interest margin and shareholders' interest. Faced with liquidity crunch, many banks including State Bank of India and ICICI Bank have raised both deposit and lending rates after Reserve Bank's decision on December 8 to hike Cash Reserve Ratio, the percentage of deposits banks park with the central bank. (PTI) |
Ranbaxy ties up with AEGON for insurance, asset management biz NEW DELHI, Dec 28: Ranbaxy Promoter Group has roped in European insurance major AEGON to float life insurance and asset management joint ventures in India. Ranbaxy and The Hague-based AEGON today signed definitive agreements for setting up two companies. Ranbaxy's financial services arm, Religare would hold 44 per cent stake in the life insurance venture, AEGON 26 per cent stake and Bennett Coleman, an investor, would hold 30 per cent stake, the company said in a release. In the asset management venture, Religare and AEGON would hold 50 per cent stake each, it said. Commenting on the agreement, AEGON N V member of the Executive Board Alexander Wynaendts said: "India is an important market for AEGON given the significant growth potential for the products and services we provide." Ranbaxy Group's Shivinder Mohan Singh said these ventures were part of the strategic initiatives of the Group to consolidate its position and become a meaningful player in the financial sector covering a wide spectrum of activities. "We are very happy to join hands with AEGON to establish business in the high growth areas of life insurance and asset management", said Ranbaxy Promoter Group's Malvinder Mohan Singh. (PTI) |
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