Daily Excelsior...Business

Country Inn and Suites
announces expansion plans

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 11: Country Inns and Suites By Carlson, Katra has announced its plans...more'

MUMBAI, Jan 11: The initial public offer of Kishore Biyani-led Future Capital Holdings, expecting to raise up to Rs 490 crore, today got fully subscribed within the first four hours of opening....more

Paucity of stocks moves wheat dara prices up

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Wheat dara prices went up by Rs 20-30 a quintal in the wholesale grain market here today on frantic buying by stockists and rolling flour mills ........more

Trial runs in Bangalore International Airport from next month

BANGALORE, Jan 11: The trial runs on landing and take off of aircraft at the new Bangalore International Airport are likely to commence from next month, according to a top official of the Bangalore International Airport Ltd."Once the radar and air traffic control are......more

Geodesic to raise 125 million dollar from intl mkts

MUMBAI, Jan 11: Software solutions provider Geodesic Information Systems today said it will raise 125 million dollar in the international markets in order to .....more

Infosys beats market expectation posts 25 pc growth in profit

MUMBAI, Jan 11: IT bellwether Infosys Technologies defied concerns on Rupee appreciation and today posted 25.22 per cent increase in consolidated net ......more

Videocon to roll out mobile services by end of 2008

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Consumer electronics major Videocon today said it will roll out its mobile services by the end of this year and is expecting 10 ....more

Tourism fastest growing industries in World : UNWTO

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11: Noting that the tourism was the fastest growing industries in the World, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) today said that the Asia- Pacific region was the second most visited region in the globe having received 167 million international arrivals in 2006.......more

SBI invites bids for debit card solutions....

Fall in primary food articles keep inflation unchanged....

Industrial growth rate dips to 5.3 pc in Nov....

Govt considering to plough foreign land for oilseeds, pulses...

Country Inn and Suites announces expansion plans

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 11: Country Inns and Suites By Carlson, Katra has announced its plans of refurbishing the hotel by adding an exclusive suite wing comprising of nine deluxe suites.

Briefing about the plan, Suresh Khanna, general manager said expansion has been phased over the next four months and will increase the total room capacity to 77. "The expansion plan has been undertaken to facilitate client requests for suite facilities", he added.

He further said that expansion will also see MICE getting face-lift due to increasing demand of combining residential conferences and seminars with darshans of Mata Vaishno Devi. The pool that was added to the property in May 2007 will soon have facility of regulated temperature and two more rooms will be added to already existing two treatment rooms at the Sansha Spa, he apprised.

Presently, the hotel has seven luxurious guest rooms and one presidential suite that features country-style decor. All the rooms have high speed internet access, a 21" TV and DVD player, international direct dialling telephones amongst other features.

Future Capital IPO fully subscribed

MUMBAI, Jan 11: The initial public offer of Kishore Biyani-led Future Capital Holdings, expecting to raise up to Rs 490 crore, today got fully subscribed within the first four hours of opening.

The IPO of financial services arm of the Future Group received bids for 1.07 crore equity shares against the 64.22 lakh shares on offer, the latest data available on the stock exchanges show.

The price band for the IPO has been fixed between Rs 700- Rs 765 and the issue would close on January 16. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

The proceeds of the issue would be deployed against its consumer credit business Future Money which was launched in June 2007.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd, Enam Securities, JM Financial Consultants Private Limited and UBS Securities India are the book-running lead manager to the issue.

The issue would constitute 10.16 per cent of the post-issue paid-up capital of the company. At least 60 per cent of the issue shall be allocated on a proportionate basis to qualified institutional buyers.

Also five per cent of the QIB portion would be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to mutual funds only.

Further, not less than 10 per cent of the issue would be allocated on a proportionate basis to non-institutional bidders and about 30 per cent to retail individual bidders. (PTI)

Paucity of stocks moves wheat dara prices up

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Wheat dara prices went up by Rs 20-30 a quintal in the wholesale grain market here today on frantic buying by stockists and rolling flour mills amid insufficient stocks.

Atta, maida and sooji price too run in line with wheat and registered gains in the range of Rs 20-25 per 90 kg bag.

However, prices of other grain maintained overnight closing levels on sporadic deals.

Wheat dara prices hardened from Rs 1,080-1,090 to close at Rs 1,110-1,120 a quintal on hefty demand.

Chakki atta and rolling flour mills prices also gained in line with wheat and quoted at Rs 1,100-1,115 and Rs 1,100 -1,105 from Rs 1,075-1,080 and Rs 1,070-1,075 per 90 kg bag respectively.

Maida and sooji price also finished higher at Rs 1,180-1,200 and Rs 1,200-1,215 from Rs 1,145-1,155 and Rs 1,150-1,160 per 90 kg bag respectively. (PTI)

Trial runs in Bangalore International Airport from next month

"Once the radar and air traffic control are installed, the trial runs will begin," BIAL Chief Executive Officer Albert Brunner told reporters here yesterday.

The trials on other facilities will start from January 15 as planned earlier, he said.

He said the BIAL has submitted the operation manual to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which is now being reviewed.

"Physically the runway is ready and the DGCA is expected to review it," he said.

BIAL insisted that its decision to levy user development fee on outbound domestic and international travellers would stay.

BIAL has sent a proposal to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, seeking to levy user development fee of Rs 675 on domestic travellers and Rs 955 on international travellers, he said.

"It is the core of our revenue stream without which the operations would not be viable," he said, pointing out the escalation of cost in building the airport from Rs 1,400 crore to Rs 2,400 crore.

After the international airport was operationalised, the existing HAL airport has to to be closed, he said citing the concession agreement that does not allow operation of a second airport in the city. (PTI)

Geodesic to raise 125 million dollar from intl mkts

MUMBAI, Jan 11: Software solutions provider Geodesic Information Systems today said it will raise 125 million dollar in the international markets in order to fund its investment plans and overseas acquisitions.

The company has launched 125 million dollar foreign currency convertible bonds issue and intends to use the proceeds for overseas acquisitions and investments in joint ventures or wholly-owned subsidiaries, Geodesic Information said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Closing is expected to be on or about January 17.

The FCCBs would be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The Singapore Stock Exchange has given in-principal approval for the listing of the Bonds, the company added.

The five year bonds would be convertible into equity shares of Geodesic Information and the initial conversion price is Rs 302.27.

Initial conversion price of Rs 302.27 represents a premium of 35 per cent over the closing share price on the National Stock Exchange on January 10, quoted at Rs 223.90. The bonds would be issued at par and redeemed at 138.38 per cent of par on maturity.

Citigroup Global Markets Ltd is the Sole Global Coordinator and Lead Manager for the offering.

(PTI)_

Infosys beats market expectation posts 25 pc growth in profit

MUMBAI, Jan 11: IT bellwether Infosys Technologies defied concerns on Rupee appreciation and today posted 25.22 per cent increase in consolidated net profit driven by strong growth in Europe and its financial services business.

"We saw strong growth in Europe during the quarter," Infosys Chief Operating Officer S D Shibulal said adding that "the pricing environment continues to be stable with an upward bias. We increased the depth of client engagements and our top 10 customers showed double digit revenue growth."

Infosys results were above the market expectations as there was a significant growth in its clientele and a one time tax gain of Rs 50 crore.

Around 47 new clients were added during the quarter by Infosys and subsidiaries. "We see several opportunities for growth in marketplace and have concluded several multi year, multi-million deals during the quarter," Infosys Technologies CEO and Managing Director S Gopalakrishanan said.

The net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, includes a reversal of tax provisions amounting to Rs 50 crore. Excluding this reversal, the earnings per share for the quarter would have been Rs 20.66, resulting in a year-on-year growth of 17.1 per cent, the company said in a statement.

The Nasdaq listed Infosys recorded net profit of at Rs 1,231 crore for the quarter ended December 31, compared to Rs 983 crore for the same quarter in 2006.

Total income of the group increased 19.25 per cent to Rs 4,429 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, from Rs 3,714 crore in the corresponding quarter ended December 31, 2006. (PTI)

Tourism fastest growing industries in World : UNWTO

"Tourism is performing well on a global basis. The Asia- Pacific region have a global market share of almost 20 per cent and the prospects for further growth are excellent," UNWTO Development Assistance Department director Dr H Varma told reporters on the sidelines of signing a MoU with the Punjab Government on promotion of tourism in the border state.

He said that India received 4.5 million international arrivals which represented a growth rate of 13.5 per cent over 2005.

"In fact, India has registered double digit growth rates for the past four successve years," he said.

Giving figures, he said that in 2006 there were 842 million international tourists arrival worldwide a growth rate of 4.9 per cent over 2005.

These tourists arrivals generated US 735 billion Dollars in expenditure which translates into an expenditure of over US two billion dollars on tourism activities worldwide each day of the year.

"In economic terms, the tourism industry is at par with other mega-industries such as petroleum, automobile, telecommunication and information technology," he said.

The other benefits of tourism is its capacity to create employment, both skilled and unskilled and incomes.

The UNTWO, based in Madrid, serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and its membership includes 160 countries. (PTI)

SBI invites bids for debit card solutions....

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Grappling to manage its burgeoning business, the country’s largest public sector lender the State Bank of India has invited bids from IT firms for providing end-to-end solution for the debit card related activities of the SBI Group.

"The SBI (is) inviting proposals (technical and commercial) for procuring, processing of card and PIN files and Personalisation (embossing/indenting) of Debit Cards and/or printing of PIN mailers for State Bank Group’s ATM Network", the bank said, while inviting request for proposal (RFP) from prospective companies.

The selected bidder will be required to provide "end-to -end solutions" for various activities related with the debit cards, it said.

The SBI Group is a leading debit card issuer in the country and has issued about one million debit cards on VISA and MCI platforms.

The bidder, in addition to obtaining approval of design and product from VIAS and Master Card, will be required to provide solutions for web-tracking facilities, uploading of data and dispatch of cards to customers.

The bidder, according to the terms and conditions of the bidding, would also be responsible for safety, security and confidentially of the data.

The interested companies can submit their bids for managing SBI Group debit cards by January 31.

SBI operates through a network of over 9,500 branches in India and abroad. Its associate banks have 4,700 branches and the group has over 4,000 ATMs. (PTI)

Fall in primary food articles keep inflation unchanged....

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Marginal fall in prices of primary food articles helped to keep the inflation rate unchanged at the previous level of 3.50 per cent for the week ended December 29.

The low rate of inflation is expected to give a headroom to the Reserve Bank to move towards soft interest rate despite high crude oil prices, when it reviews its monetary policy later this month.

The prices of food products in the manufactured commodities’ group rose by 0.9 per cent due to jump in prices of rapeseed and mustard oil, which went up by 5 per cent oil cakes by 4 per cent and butter and imported edible oil (2 per cent).

The annual rate of inflation stood at 5.89 per cent a year ago, official data released here today stated.

The prices of primary food articles’ group declined by 0.3 per cent for the previous week due to lower prices of fruits and vegetables by 2 per cent, and fall in prices of fish marine, moong and urad by 1 per cent each.

Meanwhile, the prices of manufactured products like textile leather and processed food products, which have 63.75 per cent weight in the price index, rose by 0.2 per cent for the week ended December 29 over the previous week.

HDFC Chief Economist Abheek Baruah said: "Despite low inflation rate the Reserve Bank may hold interest rates for sometime due to concerns over rising international crude oil and food prices."

He added that the fall in industrial production growth from 15.8 per cent in November 2006 to 5.3 per cent in November 2007, may not influence RBI’s review of monetary policy later this month as it also wants to contain high borrowing for consumer goods.

The prices of tobacco products like bidi, cigarettes, zarda, soft drinks and liquor remained unchanged.

Also, wholesale prices of leather, tyres, tubes, wood, plastic products remained unaltered during the week.

The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants group, which has a weight of 14.23 per cent in the price index, also did not show any change during the week ended December 29 and remained at its previous week’s level of 330.2.

Wholesale prices of coal, mineral oil and electricity, fertiliser, pesticides and medicine also stayed steady during the week.

However, prices of man made textile products went up by 0.6 per cent during the week.

Among basic metals alloys and metal products’ group, prices of zinc ingots and lead ingots went up by 1 per cent and 3 per cent respectively. The prices of enamelled copper wires declined by as much as 8 per cent within a week.

The inflation rate for the week ended November 3, 2007 has been revised upward to 3.35 per cent from 3.11 per cent, said the official statement. (PTI)

Industrial growth rate dips to 5.3 pc in Nov....

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: The country’s industrial growth nosedived to 5.3 per cent in November 2007 from nearly triple in the same month a year ago after higher interest rates curbed consumer spending and slowed down manufacturing sector.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) fell from 15.8 per cent in November 2006, while manufacturing output during the same month slipped to 5.4 per cent from 17.2 per cent, according to official data released today.

Some economists reasoned that the Diwali festival season during the month partly impacted industrial activity, while Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath favoured cutting interest rates to encourage consumers to spend more.

"Output is usually less after Diwali, which was celebrated in November in 2007," Saumitra Chaudhuri, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said.

HDFC Bank’s chief economist Abheek Barua echoed similar views. "Decline in IIP is on account of shutting down of plants after Diwali. The IIP growth rate will go up to 8-9 per cent in the coming months," he said.

Nath also said he was confident industrial growth will accelerate in the coming months. "I don’t see this as a slowdown. I see this as signal to relook at consumer spending and may be loosening at bit (of monetary policy)," he said.

According to Government data, growth in mining output declined to 3.5 per cent during the month from 8.8 per cent a year ago. Electricity sector recorded a growth rate of 5.8 per cent from 8.7 per cent in the corresponding month a year ago.

As regards April-November 2007, IIP slid 9.2 per cent from 10.9 per cent during the corresponding period a year ago.

Manufacturing growth rate during the eight-month period stood at 9.8 per cent, down from 11.8 per cent during the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. (PTI)

Govt considering to plough foreign land for oilseeds, pulses...

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: The Government is considering a proposal to help Indian industry start farming activities, particularly of pulses and oilseeds, in other countries and bring the produce back home for meeting the demand-supply gap.

The Committee of Secretaries in a meeting in September 2007 had decided to explore the possibility of cultivation of pulses and oilseeds in countries such as Myanmar. It had also asked the Commerce and Food Ministries to examine the issue.

Following this decision, Food Secretary T Nanda Kumar early this week met representatives of the edible oil industry to know their response, official sources said.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Yashwant Bhave is also going to meet the representatives of pulses industry soon, the sources said, adding Bhave had already discussed the issue with the industry once a couple of ago.

"It is at a very initial stage. The meeting (with edible oil industry) was held to know the industry’s response to take up contract farming of oil palm in Myanmar," a source said, adding the government’s role would only be as a facilitator.

Though the edible oil industry has responded positively to the proposal, it also expressed some reservations on issues such as security, the source said.

It was decided that the Government would facilitate a visit of industry delegation to Myanmar to help the private players assess the ground situation, the source added.

Government is of the view that contract farming of pulses and oilseeds in other countries and subsequently importing the produce will not impact domestic farmers as India faces a huge shortage in these commodities, officials said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said at the National Development Council meeting last month that there was a need for enhancing stocks of food grain and consider buffer stocks for pulses and edible oils.

Edible oil production in the country is about 7.5 million tons against a requirement of 12.5 million tons. The deficit is being met through imports of palm and soya oils from Malaysia, Indonesia and Latin America.

The demand for pulses is estimated to go up by nine per cent to 18.29 million tons in 2009-10 from 16.77 million tons projected for 2007-08, while production is likely to remain stagnant at around 13.6 million tonnes. (PTI)