6 Mar 2009, 1749 hrs IST
Equity indices bounced back in the last hour of Friday’s session on short covering ahead of a truncated trading week. The Indian benchmarks outperformed not only the broad market but also the global markets which were reeling under selling pressure.
The session began with a gap down opening as market took cues from weak US and Asian markets. Lack of conviction amongst traders saw indices gyrate in a narrow range. However, towards the end of session, bulls dominated on positive opening of the European markets.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 8325.82, up 127.90 points or 1.56 per cent from Thursday’s close. The 30-share index touched a high of 8347.74 recovering from a low of 8047.17.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 2620.15, up 43.45 points or 1.64 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 2628.10 and low of 2539.45.
“Nifty is likely to remain in the range of 2880-2500 which are its resistance and support levels respectively. General perception in the market is bearish and it is a matter of time that Nifty breaks the support and heads for new lows. The spike in the market was more due to short positions being squared off after a sharp fall during the week and some bargain buying,” said Sudhanshu Pandey, chief technical analyst, LKP Shares.
However, the BSE Midcap Index ended down 0.65 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 0.83 per cent. Amongst sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 3.05 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index higher by 1.51 per cent. On the other hand, the BSE FMCG Index fell 1.85 per cent and BSE Realty Index was down 0.94 per cent. Market breadth on BSE showed 1,419 declines against 993 advances.
Biggest Sensex gainers were HDFC (6.40%), Hindalco Industries (4.38%), Jaiprakash Associates (4.27%), Tata Consultancy Services (3.84%) and Wipro (3.37%).
Losers comprised Maruti Suzuki (-2.77%), Hindustan Unilever (-2.65%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (-2.15%), ITC (-1.61%) and DLF (-1.12%).
Satyam Computer Services closed at the 20 per cent upper circuit on SEBI’s nod to induct a strategic partner for taking management control of the software firm. The market regulator’s approval to Satyam comes after the Company Law Board authorised the Satyam board to make a preferential allotment of equity shares to a strategic investor. The investor will not be permitted to sell any equity shares acquired for a period of three years from the date of the acquisition.
Piramal Healthcare ended with losses after the management confirmed that it was not looking at selling to any company and was only open for long-term partnerships globally. The scrip closed over 8 per cent lower.
Recently listed Edserv Softsystems closed below its issue price of Rs 60, hitting a lower circuit for yet another day after a stellar debut.
On the economy front, India's infrastructure sector output grew 1.4 per cent in January from a year earlier, below an unrevised 2.3 percent in December, government data showed on Friday. Infrastructure output rose at an annual 3.6 percent in January 2008, and in the 2007-08 fiscal it rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier. The infrastructure sector accounts for 26.68 percent of the country’s industrial output.
Meanwhile, European markets which opened in the green, gave away all gains ahead of US unemployment data. At 5 pm IST, FTSE 100 was down 0.93 per cent, CAC 40 fell 1.71 per cent and DAX declined 1.45 per cent. Wall Street is likely to open in the red as traders aer worried about the rise in unemployment due to recessionary pressure. Dow Jones stock futures was down 0.97 per cent, S&P 500 fell 0.90 per cent and Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.81 per cent.
via: E.T
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sensex ends below 8200; ICICI Bank, RIL plunge
5 Mar 2009, 1542 hrs IST,
Indian indices ended towards day’s lows on Thursday as traders booked profits in heavyweights from oil&gas and banking space. Weak European markets did little to boost sentiments.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 8185.35, down 261.14 points or 3.09 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 8166.97 and high of 8535.03.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 2574.60, down 70.70 points or 2.67 per cent. The index touched a low of 2564.10 and high of 2663.90 in today’s trade.
Biggest Sensex gainers were Jaiprakash Associates (2.83%), Sun Pharmaceuticals (1.2%), Tata Consultancy Services (0.53%) and Wipro (0.1%).
Significant losses in Ranbaxy Laboratories (-10.62%), ICICI Bank (-6.26%), Reliance Industries (-5.42%), Tata Power (4.78%) and HDFC Bank (4.63%) dragged the Sensex sharply lower.
Market breadth on BSE showed 1663 declines against 715 advances.
European markets fell Thursday after a rally on Wednesday and ahead of interest rate decisions in Britain and the euro zone. FTSE 100 was down 1.40 per cent, CAC 40 fell 1.35 per cent and DAX declined 1.87 per cent.
(All figures are provisional)
Indian indices ended towards day’s lows on Thursday as traders booked profits in heavyweights from oil&gas and banking space. Weak European markets did little to boost sentiments.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 8185.35, down 261.14 points or 3.09 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 8166.97 and high of 8535.03.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 2574.60, down 70.70 points or 2.67 per cent. The index touched a low of 2564.10 and high of 2663.90 in today’s trade.
Biggest Sensex gainers were Jaiprakash Associates (2.83%), Sun Pharmaceuticals (1.2%), Tata Consultancy Services (0.53%) and Wipro (0.1%).
Significant losses in Ranbaxy Laboratories (-10.62%), ICICI Bank (-6.26%), Reliance Industries (-5.42%), Tata Power (4.78%) and HDFC Bank (4.63%) dragged the Sensex sharply lower.
Market breadth on BSE showed 1663 declines against 715 advances.
European markets fell Thursday after a rally on Wednesday and ahead of interest rate decisions in Britain and the euro zone. FTSE 100 was down 1.40 per cent, CAC 40 fell 1.35 per cent and DAX declined 1.87 per cent.
(All figures are provisional)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Gateway Distriparks recovers from record low
Gateway Distriparks jumped 5.20% to Rs 46.50 at on BSE, having recovered from a record low of Rs 43.75, after a block deal of 60 lakh shares was executed on BSE at Rs 46.50 per share.
At the day's low of Rs 43.75, the stock had declined 1.02% before the block deal.
The block deal constituted 5.54% of the company's equity.
The stock hit a high of Rs 48.75 so far during the day. The stock hit a low of Rs 43.75 so far during the day, which is a record low for the counter. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 132.70 on 30 April 2008.
The company's current equity is Rs 108.33 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
The current price of Rs 46.50 discounts the company's Q3 December 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 10.60, by a PE multiple of 4.39.
Gateway Distriparks' net profit rose 50.2% to Rs 28.69 crore on 28.9% increase in net sales to Rs 59.85 crore in Q3 December 2008 over Q3 December 2007.
Gateway Distriparks is mainly into container handling business.
Gateway Distriparks had on 20 February 2009 announced that Prism International, a promoter, has pledged 1.30 crore or 12% stake of the company with IL&FS Financial Services as security for a term loan. The entire proceeds of the loan were used to purchase equity shares of the company to increase the shareholdings in the company through the creeping acquisition route as per Sebi guidelines, Prism International.
The total promoters' shareholding in the company stood at 45.56% as on 31 December 2008.
At the day's low of Rs 43.75, the stock had declined 1.02% before the block deal.
The block deal constituted 5.54% of the company's equity.
The stock hit a high of Rs 48.75 so far during the day. The stock hit a low of Rs 43.75 so far during the day, which is a record low for the counter. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 132.70 on 30 April 2008.
The company's current equity is Rs 108.33 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
The current price of Rs 46.50 discounts the company's Q3 December 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 10.60, by a PE multiple of 4.39.
Gateway Distriparks' net profit rose 50.2% to Rs 28.69 crore on 28.9% increase in net sales to Rs 59.85 crore in Q3 December 2008 over Q3 December 2007.
Gateway Distriparks is mainly into container handling business.
Gateway Distriparks had on 20 February 2009 announced that Prism International, a promoter, has pledged 1.30 crore or 12% stake of the company with IL&FS Financial Services as security for a term loan. The entire proceeds of the loan were used to purchase equity shares of the company to increase the shareholdings in the company through the creeping acquisition route as per Sebi guidelines, Prism International.
The total promoters' shareholding in the company stood at 45.56% as on 31 December 2008.
ICICI Bank 's assets in Russia were at risk.
ICICI Bank lost 4.47% to Rs 283.15 at 15:30 IST on concerns the bank's assets in Russia were at risk.
The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 280, also its 52-week low. It hit an intraday high of Rs 305.82 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 1065 on 3 March.
ICICI Bank stock had declined 9.66% in two consecutive sessions to Rs 296.40 on 3 March 2009 from Rs 328.10 on 27 February 2009. The stock has witnessed a sharp setback in the past few weeks amid a broad-based decline in banking
stocks caused by concerns of rising defaults of Indian banks in a weakening economy.
Despite fears of rising defaults, the leading domestic institutional investor Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is mopping up ICICI Bank shares. LIC recently hiked its stake in ICICI Bank to 9.38% by acquiring over 2.27 crore shares or 2.04% of the bank's equity stake through open market between 21 November 2008 and 17 February 2009. ICICI bank made this announcement on 24 February 2009. Before the purchase, LIC held 7.34% stake in the private sector bank.
ICICI bank, India's largest private sector bank by net profit, has an equity capital of Rs 1113.26 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
The current price of Rs 283.15 discounts its Q3 December 2008 annualised EPS of Rs 45.71, by a PE multiple of 6.19.
ICICI Bank's Russian assets may be vulnerable as firms there struggle to stay afloat. Reports suggest that the market is quite concerned over the Russian exposure and expecting sharp write-downs as companies in Russia are in trouble.
Last week CLSA in its research report said ICICI Bank's investments in Russia are unlikely to yield fruit in the near term. CLSA has not assigned any value to the bank's $584-million assets in Russia due to potential market-to-market losses.
CLSA added that although the bank has not reported any mark-to-market losses in Russia, the country's economic woes are expected to spoil the loan quality.
CLSA further mentioned that every additional $100 million written off on the bank's Russian assets would shed Rs 4 per share from ICICI's target price of Rs 535 a share.
ICICI's Russian arm, ICICI Bank Eurasia does not have a meaningful number of deposits and 84% of its total liabilities (including equity) in Russia are funded by group companies, the report added.
According to an earlier report dated September 2008, ICICI Bank Eurasia had assets worth $584 million (0.6% of the bank's total assets and 6% of its equity), including $434 million in the form of loans (including loans to banks and financials institutions) and $84 million in investments.
ICICI Bank Eurasia, was established in May 2005, after ICICI Bank acquired the entire equity of Investisionno-Kreditny Bank. The bank had opted for the acquisition route to save time, according to reports.
Last year, the management of ICICI Bank had to repeatedly assure investors and depositors after its exposure to collapsed Lehman Brothers triggered a slump in its share price.
ICICI Bank's net profit rose 3.4% to Rs 1272.15 crore on a 0.1% rise in sales to Rs 10350.62 crore in Q3 December 2008 over Q3 December 2007. The rise in Q3 December 2008 net profit was because earnings from fees and bond trading offset slowing credit growth and a rise in bad loans.
The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 280, also its 52-week low. It hit an intraday high of Rs 305.82 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 1065 on 3 March.
ICICI Bank stock had declined 9.66% in two consecutive sessions to Rs 296.40 on 3 March 2009 from Rs 328.10 on 27 February 2009. The stock has witnessed a sharp setback in the past few weeks amid a broad-based decline in banking
stocks caused by concerns of rising defaults of Indian banks in a weakening economy.
Despite fears of rising defaults, the leading domestic institutional investor Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is mopping up ICICI Bank shares. LIC recently hiked its stake in ICICI Bank to 9.38% by acquiring over 2.27 crore shares or 2.04% of the bank's equity stake through open market between 21 November 2008 and 17 February 2009. ICICI bank made this announcement on 24 February 2009. Before the purchase, LIC held 7.34% stake in the private sector bank.
ICICI bank, India's largest private sector bank by net profit, has an equity capital of Rs 1113.26 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
The current price of Rs 283.15 discounts its Q3 December 2008 annualised EPS of Rs 45.71, by a PE multiple of 6.19.
ICICI Bank's Russian assets may be vulnerable as firms there struggle to stay afloat. Reports suggest that the market is quite concerned over the Russian exposure and expecting sharp write-downs as companies in Russia are in trouble.
Last week CLSA in its research report said ICICI Bank's investments in Russia are unlikely to yield fruit in the near term. CLSA has not assigned any value to the bank's $584-million assets in Russia due to potential market-to-market losses.
CLSA added that although the bank has not reported any mark-to-market losses in Russia, the country's economic woes are expected to spoil the loan quality.
CLSA further mentioned that every additional $100 million written off on the bank's Russian assets would shed Rs 4 per share from ICICI's target price of Rs 535 a share.
ICICI's Russian arm, ICICI Bank Eurasia does not have a meaningful number of deposits and 84% of its total liabilities (including equity) in Russia are funded by group companies, the report added.
According to an earlier report dated September 2008, ICICI Bank Eurasia had assets worth $584 million (0.6% of the bank's total assets and 6% of its equity), including $434 million in the form of loans (including loans to banks and financials institutions) and $84 million in investments.
ICICI Bank Eurasia, was established in May 2005, after ICICI Bank acquired the entire equity of Investisionno-Kreditny Bank. The bank had opted for the acquisition route to save time, according to reports.
Last year, the management of ICICI Bank had to repeatedly assure investors and depositors after its exposure to collapsed Lehman Brothers triggered a slump in its share price.
ICICI Bank's net profit rose 3.4% to Rs 1272.15 crore on a 0.1% rise in sales to Rs 10350.62 crore in Q3 December 2008 over Q3 December 2007. The rise in Q3 December 2008 net profit was because earnings from fees and bond trading offset slowing credit growth and a rise in bad loans.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sensex registers lowest close in over three years
3 Mar 2009, 1657 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: A sudden all-round sell-off at the fag end brought down the benchmark Sensex below 8,400 after more than three months but the Index registered its lowest closing low of 8,427.29 in more than three years, down by a whopping 180 points despite a firm European opening.
The market resumed on a weak note after sluggish Asian cues following a steep fall on Wall Street yesterday. But it moved in a narrow range till late afternoon, coming in and out of positive terrain.
But sudden bouts of heavy selling in the concluding session pulled the bellwether Sensex down to an intra-day low of 8,390.21 before ending the day at 8,427.29, a steep fall of 179.79 points or 2.09 per cent.
The Sensex had finished at 8,308.93 on November 10, 2005. It also completed its three sessions of losing today. The broader 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange
also plunged by 52.20 points or 1.95 per cent to 2,622.40 from its last close.
Selling was so strong that all sectoral indices ended in the red with a fall between 3.15 per cent and 1.03 per cent. Only three out of the 30 Sensex counters registered gains.
Brokers said the rupee falling to record low levels against the US dollar also prompted foreign funds to pull out of bourses.
While a sharp plunge in exports in January weakened sentiment, the deepening global financial crisis dampened trading activity in software exporting units led by Infosys Technologies as American International Group's record loss worsened investor confidence. Over 50 per cent of India's software business revenue comes from the US markets.
The IT sector index fell by 1.86 per cent to 2,019.24 after Infosys, the second-largest software exporter, fell 1.74 per cent to Rs 1,197.60, Tata Consultancy Services, the largest software exporter, by 3.12 per cent to Rs 445.15, and Wipro, third, dropped 1.16 per cent to Rs 200.50.
MUMBAI: A sudden all-round sell-off at the fag end brought down the benchmark Sensex below 8,400 after more than three months but the Index registered its lowest closing low of 8,427.29 in more than three years, down by a whopping 180 points despite a firm European opening.
The market resumed on a weak note after sluggish Asian cues following a steep fall on Wall Street yesterday. But it moved in a narrow range till late afternoon, coming in and out of positive terrain.
But sudden bouts of heavy selling in the concluding session pulled the bellwether Sensex down to an intra-day low of 8,390.21 before ending the day at 8,427.29, a steep fall of 179.79 points or 2.09 per cent.
The Sensex had finished at 8,308.93 on November 10, 2005. It also completed its three sessions of losing today. The broader 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange
also plunged by 52.20 points or 1.95 per cent to 2,622.40 from its last close.
Selling was so strong that all sectoral indices ended in the red with a fall between 3.15 per cent and 1.03 per cent. Only three out of the 30 Sensex counters registered gains.
Brokers said the rupee falling to record low levels against the US dollar also prompted foreign funds to pull out of bourses.
While a sharp plunge in exports in January weakened sentiment, the deepening global financial crisis dampened trading activity in software exporting units led by Infosys Technologies as American International Group's record loss worsened investor confidence. Over 50 per cent of India's software business revenue comes from the US markets.
The IT sector index fell by 1.86 per cent to 2,019.24 after Infosys, the second-largest software exporter, fell 1.74 per cent to Rs 1,197.60, Tata Consultancy Services, the largest software exporter, by 3.12 per cent to Rs 445.15, and Wipro, third, dropped 1.16 per cent to Rs 200.50.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Bearish phase may pull down India's GDP to 3 pc: Morgan Stanley
2 Mar 2009, 2038 hrs IST, PTI
Continuation of the bearish phase in the global economy could pull down India's economic growth rate to a dismal 3 per cent in 2009, said international financial services major Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley's research report released on Monday said, depending upon the extent of economic recovery in the developed world, India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate during 2009 could range between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
"Based on bull-bear case outlook for G7 (club of developed countries), we see bull scenario growth for India at 5 per cent in 2009 and 7.4 per cent in 2010 and bear case at 3 per cent in 2009 and 4.5 per cent in 2010", it added.
However, on an average, the report projected India's economic growth rate for 2009 at 4.3 per cent and for 2010 at 6.1 per cent.
According to advance estimates of national income released by the government recently, the economic growth rate during 2008-09 is expected to moderate to 7.1 per cent from 9 per cent in the previous fiscal.
The third quarter growth (October-December 2008) rate has been estimated at 5.3 per cent, down from 8.9 per cent posted during the corresponding period last year.
Continuation of the bearish phase in the global economy could pull down India's economic growth rate to a dismal 3 per cent in 2009, said international financial services major Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley's research report released on Monday said, depending upon the extent of economic recovery in the developed world, India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate during 2009 could range between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
"Based on bull-bear case outlook for G7 (club of developed countries), we see bull scenario growth for India at 5 per cent in 2009 and 7.4 per cent in 2010 and bear case at 3 per cent in 2009 and 4.5 per cent in 2010", it added.
However, on an average, the report projected India's economic growth rate for 2009 at 4.3 per cent and for 2010 at 6.1 per cent.
According to advance estimates of national income released by the government recently, the economic growth rate during 2008-09 is expected to moderate to 7.1 per cent from 9 per cent in the previous fiscal.
The third quarter growth (October-December 2008) rate has been estimated at 5.3 per cent, down from 8.9 per cent posted during the corresponding period last year.
AIG enters record books with $61.7 billion loss
2 Mar 2009, 1900 hrs IST, REUTERS
NEW YORK: American International Group Inc posted a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss -- the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history—after reaching a revised rescue deal with the US government that wards off for now the prospect of crippling credit rating downgrades.
The massive quarterly loss, equal to $22.95 a share, was AIG's fifth in a row, bringing the total loss over that period to more than $100 billion.
The US Treasury and Federal Reserve said AIG had posed a systemic risk requiring government action to prevent its problems from damaging the entire financial system
.
AIG, the recipient of $150 billion in taxpayer aid last year, will get access to an additional $30 billion under the government's revised plan announced on Monday.
It also got more lenient terms on existing financing and will be able to significantly pay down an outstanding credit facility in a swap that will give the government a preferred-share stake in two life insurance businesses.
AIG also announced plans to spin off part of its property-casualty business, to be renamed AIU Holdings.
The revamped rescue package is the third since last fall when the government stepped in to bail out AIG, once the world's biggest insurer by market value.
The Treasury and the Fed said that AIG, which has counterparties around the globe, was so important to the US economy and financial system that it had to be helped, and they held out the possibility more aid might be needed.
"This will take time and possibly further government support if markets do not stabilize and improve," they said in a statement.
Via:E.T
NEW YORK: American International Group Inc posted a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss -- the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history—after reaching a revised rescue deal with the US government that wards off for now the prospect of crippling credit rating downgrades.
The massive quarterly loss, equal to $22.95 a share, was AIG's fifth in a row, bringing the total loss over that period to more than $100 billion.
The US Treasury and Federal Reserve said AIG had posed a systemic risk requiring government action to prevent its problems from damaging the entire financial system
.
AIG, the recipient of $150 billion in taxpayer aid last year, will get access to an additional $30 billion under the government's revised plan announced on Monday.
It also got more lenient terms on existing financing and will be able to significantly pay down an outstanding credit facility in a swap that will give the government a preferred-share stake in two life insurance businesses.
AIG also announced plans to spin off part of its property-casualty business, to be renamed AIU Holdings.
The revamped rescue package is the third since last fall when the government stepped in to bail out AIG, once the world's biggest insurer by market value.
The Treasury and the Fed said that AIG, which has counterparties around the globe, was so important to the US economy and financial system that it had to be helped, and they held out the possibility more aid might be needed.
"This will take time and possibly further government support if markets do not stabilize and improve," they said in a statement.
Via:E.T
Rane Brake Lining-Nisshinbo to pick up additional 8% stake
2 Mar 2009, 1938 hrs IST, ET Bureau
CHENNAI: The board of Rane Brake Lining, flagship of Rane group, has decided to allow its Japanese technology partner, Nisshinbo Industries to pick up an additional 8% stake by investing Rs 3.5 crore in equity at premium.
For long, the foreign partner is having a 10% stake in RBL, which is a leading manufacturer of brake lining products for commercial vehicles and passenger cars.
RBL informed stock exchanges on Monday it has been decided to issue 7 lakh fully paid up shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 40 per share on preferential basis as per Sebi guidelines to Nisshinbo.
An EGM will be held on March 30 to get the approval of shareholders. The issue price will be close to the current market price of RBL.
In the Rs 7.21 crore paid up capital of RBL, the Indian promoters hold 42.72% stake. Since 1996, the Japanese partner is holding 10% stake.
Rane group chairman, L Ganesh told ET, " We have been getting their best technology and R & D support for long. Last year, they wanted to increase their holding".
Further, he said " With Japanese and Korean players dominating the Indian car market, the additional stake will help in getting the latest technology from Nisshinbo and expanding our customers in the Indian and export markets.
Globally, its major customers are Toyota, Suzuki and Nissan. In Korea, it is supplying to Hyundai through its subsidiary:.
RBL is already a major supplier to Maruti Suzuki. For Toyota, it is supplying for Innova. There is scope to expand the tie up for the small car project of Toyota.
Reeling under the severe down turn in the vehicle sector, RBL reported a loss of Rs 1.81 crore in the third quarter ending December 31, 2008 on a net sales of Rs 42.83 crore.
CHENNAI: The board of Rane Brake Lining, flagship of Rane group, has decided to allow its Japanese technology partner, Nisshinbo Industries to pick up an additional 8% stake by investing Rs 3.5 crore in equity at premium.
For long, the foreign partner is having a 10% stake in RBL, which is a leading manufacturer of brake lining products for commercial vehicles and passenger cars.
RBL informed stock exchanges on Monday it has been decided to issue 7 lakh fully paid up shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 40 per share on preferential basis as per Sebi guidelines to Nisshinbo.
An EGM will be held on March 30 to get the approval of shareholders. The issue price will be close to the current market price of RBL.
In the Rs 7.21 crore paid up capital of RBL, the Indian promoters hold 42.72% stake. Since 1996, the Japanese partner is holding 10% stake.
Rane group chairman, L Ganesh told ET, " We have been getting their best technology and R & D support for long. Last year, they wanted to increase their holding".
Further, he said " With Japanese and Korean players dominating the Indian car market, the additional stake will help in getting the latest technology from Nisshinbo and expanding our customers in the Indian and export markets.
Globally, its major customers are Toyota, Suzuki and Nissan. In Korea, it is supplying to Hyundai through its subsidiary:.
RBL is already a major supplier to Maruti Suzuki. For Toyota, it is supplying for Innova. There is scope to expand the tie up for the small car project of Toyota.
Reeling under the severe down turn in the vehicle sector, RBL reported a loss of Rs 1.81 crore in the third quarter ending December 31, 2008 on a net sales of Rs 42.83 crore.
Ranbaxy up on clarification from US FDA
2 Mar 2009, 1154 hrs IST, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: Even in a bad market, the share price of Ranbaxy Laboratories surged over 1.5% on news that the US FDA has clarified that there was no evidence that certain drugs from Ranbaxy do not meet their quality specifications and has not identified any health risks associated with the currently marketed products from Paonta facilities.
At 11:43 am on NSE, the stock was trading at Rs 162.80, up 0.62% from the previous close. The stock had risen to a high of Rs 166.30 earlier in the day, with total trade quantity at 5.87 lakh shares.
"We believe the current USFDA action will have limited impact on Ranbaxy’s US sales since the import ban on products from the Paonta facilities is already in place since September 2008. Though we had reduced our US sales estimates for CY2009E after the import alert, we would be again reviewing our estimates post the 1QCY2009E results to gauge any further impact of the AIP especially for products, which used clinical data from the Paonta facility," Angel Broking said to its clients recommending the stock with a target of Rs 277.
Earlier on Sep 16, 2008, the USFDA had issued two warning letters and instituted an Import Alert barring entry of all finished drug products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from Ranbaxy's Dewas, Paonta Sahib facilities due to violation of US current Good Manufacturing Practices requirements. That action barred commercial importation of 30 different generic drugs into the US and continues to be in effect.
Since then the Ranbaxy stock has slipped by 18%.
"We maintain a Buy on the stock, with a Target Price of Rs277 wherein the Core business is valued at Rs178 giving it a fair P/E of 16x CY2009E Core Earnings of Rs 11.1, Rs 24 for the Non-Core Income and NPV Rs75 is ascribed to the FTF opportunities available to the company," the Angel report said.
MUMBAI: Even in a bad market, the share price of Ranbaxy Laboratories surged over 1.5% on news that the US FDA has clarified that there was no evidence that certain drugs from Ranbaxy do not meet their quality specifications and has not identified any health risks associated with the currently marketed products from Paonta facilities.
At 11:43 am on NSE, the stock was trading at Rs 162.80, up 0.62% from the previous close. The stock had risen to a high of Rs 166.30 earlier in the day, with total trade quantity at 5.87 lakh shares.
"We believe the current USFDA action will have limited impact on Ranbaxy’s US sales since the import ban on products from the Paonta facilities is already in place since September 2008. Though we had reduced our US sales estimates for CY2009E after the import alert, we would be again reviewing our estimates post the 1QCY2009E results to gauge any further impact of the AIP especially for products, which used clinical data from the Paonta facility," Angel Broking said to its clients recommending the stock with a target of Rs 277.
Earlier on Sep 16, 2008, the USFDA had issued two warning letters and instituted an Import Alert barring entry of all finished drug products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from Ranbaxy's Dewas, Paonta Sahib facilities due to violation of US current Good Manufacturing Practices requirements. That action barred commercial importation of 30 different generic drugs into the US and continues to be in effect.
Since then the Ranbaxy stock has slipped by 18%.
"We maintain a Buy on the stock, with a Target Price of Rs277 wherein the Core business is valued at Rs178 giving it a fair P/E of 16x CY2009E Core Earnings of Rs 11.1, Rs 24 for the Non-Core Income and NPV Rs75 is ascribed to the FTF opportunities available to the company," the Angel report said.
RANBAXY: Last Hope :Rs.157
AN EXTRACT FROM MARKET BHAVISHYA, 2-MARCH-09
RANBAXY:
Last Hope :Rs.157
Once Breaks with volumes........watch panic selling upto Rs.139---133 in hrs only.
Already broken Big triangle :Our TARGET Rs.75
RANBAXY:
Last Hope :Rs.157
Once Breaks with volumes........watch panic selling upto Rs.139---133 in hrs only.
Already broken Big triangle :Our TARGET Rs.75
Nifty falls below 2700; RIL-RPL merger non-event
2 Mar 2009, 1054 hrs IST, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: Equities were witnessing selling pressure as investors booked profits
following sell-off in Asian markets. Hopes of support from the index heavyweight Reliance Industries were short-lived as the merger swap ratio between the RIL-Reliance Petroleum failed to lift sentiments.
According to the merger ratio Reliance Petroleum shareholders will get one share of Reliance Industries for every 16 shares held. Reliance Industries is to extinguish treasury stock. The merger will be effective from April 1, 2009.
The merger of stand-alone refinery Reliance Petroleum with integrated oil, gas and petrochemicals major Reliance Industries would create truly global-scale operations, and more. It would lead to synergies, tax savings and rev up valuations right across the board. The stock market did appear to give the thumbs down to the news of the merger on Friday, albeit only slightly so
“Dow closed in the negative and all Asian markets are in the negative. The US market corrected on Friday on the back of news that the US government will increase its stake in Citigroup. Reliance and RPL have approved a merger and the swap ratio has been decided at 1 share of Reliance for 16 shares held in RPL. We continue to believe that globally things will get worse from current levels. Hence, we remain bearish on the market for the short term. For the day, we expect the market to open down and see selling continuing through the day,” said Religare report.
At 10:20 am, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 2698.40, down 65.25 points or 2.36 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 2677.65 and high of 2764.60.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 8682.17, down 209.44 points or 2.36 per cent. The broader index touched an intra-day low of 8644.03 and a high of 8762.88.
“Trend deciding level for the day is 8,855 / 2,753. NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 8,981 / 2,798. However, if NIFTY trades below 8,855 / 2,753 for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 8,765 / 2,719,” said Angel Broking note.
Second rung stocks were less affected. BSE Midcap Index was down 1.18 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.69 per cent.
Zee Entertainment (-5.94%), Tata Steel (-4.92%), HDFC Bank
(-4.19%), Punjab National Bank (-4.06%) and Power Grid (-3.87%) were the major Nifty losers.
BPCL (0.03%) was the only gainer.
All the sectoral indices were in the red led by losses in metals, banks and realty space. BSE Metal Index was down 3.23 per cent, BSE Bankex was down 3.15 per cent and BSE Realty Index slipped 2.22 per cent.
Shares of Tata Steel were down on profit booking after a surge Friday when the company announced its consolidated results. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 732.2 crore for the third quarter ended December 2008. The Jamshedpur-based steel company also said it planned to prepay around $400-500 million of its debt next financial year. Although Tata Steel’s year ago consolidated net profit at Rs 1,325 crore was higher, the current financial year’s third quarter net profit surprised the market.
Shares of Reliance Industries were down 2.14 per cent and Reliance Petroleum was marginally lower.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks slid, dragging the Nikkei 225 Stock Average down the most in in five weeks on concerns the global recession is deepening. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 3.90 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sank 3.83 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi slid 3.98 per cent and Taiwan Weighted was down 2.82 per cent.
Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 979 declines and 508 advances.
via:E.T
MUMBAI: Equities were witnessing selling pressure as investors booked profits
following sell-off in Asian markets. Hopes of support from the index heavyweight Reliance Industries were short-lived as the merger swap ratio between the RIL-Reliance Petroleum failed to lift sentiments.
According to the merger ratio Reliance Petroleum shareholders will get one share of Reliance Industries for every 16 shares held. Reliance Industries is to extinguish treasury stock. The merger will be effective from April 1, 2009.
The merger of stand-alone refinery Reliance Petroleum with integrated oil, gas and petrochemicals major Reliance Industries would create truly global-scale operations, and more. It would lead to synergies, tax savings and rev up valuations right across the board. The stock market did appear to give the thumbs down to the news of the merger on Friday, albeit only slightly so
“Dow closed in the negative and all Asian markets are in the negative. The US market corrected on Friday on the back of news that the US government will increase its stake in Citigroup. Reliance and RPL have approved a merger and the swap ratio has been decided at 1 share of Reliance for 16 shares held in RPL. We continue to believe that globally things will get worse from current levels. Hence, we remain bearish on the market for the short term. For the day, we expect the market to open down and see selling continuing through the day,” said Religare report.
At 10:20 am, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 2698.40, down 65.25 points or 2.36 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 2677.65 and high of 2764.60.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 8682.17, down 209.44 points or 2.36 per cent. The broader index touched an intra-day low of 8644.03 and a high of 8762.88.
“Trend deciding level for the day is 8,855 / 2,753. NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 8,981 / 2,798. However, if NIFTY trades below 8,855 / 2,753 for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 8,765 / 2,719,” said Angel Broking note.
Second rung stocks were less affected. BSE Midcap Index was down 1.18 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.69 per cent.
Zee Entertainment (-5.94%), Tata Steel (-4.92%), HDFC Bank
(-4.19%), Punjab National Bank (-4.06%) and Power Grid (-3.87%) were the major Nifty losers.
BPCL (0.03%) was the only gainer.
All the sectoral indices were in the red led by losses in metals, banks and realty space. BSE Metal Index was down 3.23 per cent, BSE Bankex was down 3.15 per cent and BSE Realty Index slipped 2.22 per cent.
Shares of Tata Steel were down on profit booking after a surge Friday when the company announced its consolidated results. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 732.2 crore for the third quarter ended December 2008. The Jamshedpur-based steel company also said it planned to prepay around $400-500 million of its debt next financial year. Although Tata Steel’s year ago consolidated net profit at Rs 1,325 crore was higher, the current financial year’s third quarter net profit surprised the market.
Shares of Reliance Industries were down 2.14 per cent and Reliance Petroleum was marginally lower.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks slid, dragging the Nikkei 225 Stock Average down the most in in five weeks on concerns the global recession is deepening. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 3.90 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sank 3.83 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi slid 3.98 per cent and Taiwan Weighted was down 2.82 per cent.
Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 979 declines and 508 advances.
via:E.T
Sunday, March 1, 2009
India must learn to live with slowdown
Won’t get better soon, learn to live with slowdown
1 Mar 2009, 1700 hrs IST, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, ET Bureau
Indian politicians and citizens are mostly in denial about the impact of the global meltdown on India. Politicians make brave statements laughing away the slowdown, saying India will be least hit and first out of the slump. Three stimulus packages in three months have been announced with fanfare.
But the slowdown continues. Impatient citizens and Opposition parties demand additional stimuli. But this rests on the illusion that the economy will return to fast growth if only it imbibes enough caffeine.
Sorry, but this is not a problem of caffeine shortage. The world is going through the worst downswing since the Great Depression, and India willy nilly has to go downward with the rest of the world. We should expect the slowdown to continue for several quarters, until the world economy recovers. We must batten down our hatches and patiently ride out this storm.
Official data have just revealed the ugly truth that GDP growth declined to a dismal 5.3% in the October-December quarter, way below official expectations. Agriculture declined by an unexpected 2.2% in this period: poor harvests of sugarcane, cotton, pulses and oilseeds overwhelmed gains in rice, horticulture and animal husbandry. In this quarter, the Pay Commission award boosted community services growth by a whopping 17%. This is mostly illusory: higher pay does not mean better service. Despite this illusory boost, overall GDP growth only touched 5.3%.
This lends credence to the IMF’s forecast of 5.1% GDP growth for the calendar year 2009. We may experience some small improvement in the last quarter of 2009, but a return to fast growth will have to wait till late 2010, or even 2011.
Let nobody think that more stimulus packages will somehow save us. The slump was not caused by lack of government stimulus — it occurred despite an enormous stimulus from Chidambaram’s 2008 budget through the farm loan waiver, Pay Commission award, and spiraling subsidies for petroleum products, fertilisers and food. Because of these — and falling tax revenue — the overall fiscal deficit of the Centre and states in 2008-09 will be a massive 11% of GDP. Yet, this massive stimulus proved helpless to combat the global downswing.
India’s 9% growth in the preceding five years was due to an unprecedented global boom, not great reforms or cleverness on our part. A huge global tide lifted all boats — even Africa grew at an unprecedented 6%. Alas, the tide is now falling, and lowering all boats. Drinking more caffeine will not raise India’s boat in a falling tide.
We must accept that we are part and parcel of the global economy. The global boom drove up our growth to 9% and the global slump has lowered it to 5%. We must abandon the illusion that we can somehow grow fast again while the rest of the world stagnates. We must learn to live with the global downswing , and ride out the storm. We cannot end the storm on our own: we must patiently wait for it to subside.
Meanwhile, our aim must be to alleviate pain, and build infrastructure for future growth. Seen in this light, the so-called stimulus packages are actually alleviation packages. They are worthwhile measures to alleviate economic pain, and stem deterioration. But they cannot stimulate the economy back to fast growth. This crisis was not caused by us and cannot be solved by us. Our role is to ride out the storm.
What policy lessons flow from this? First, lower your expectations and targets, for false hopes can lead to policy excesses. Second, overhaul procedures for infrastructure contracts, because red tape currently prevents accelerated spending in this vital sector.
Third, don’t cut taxes endlessly in the hope that this will revive the economy. Taxes should of course be cut in a downswing, but should then be raised again in the next upswing. Raising taxes is politically far more difficult than cutting them. I support the tax cuts so far, but oppose any further cuts on the ground that they will be too difficult to reverse later.
Instead, the Reserve Bank of India should loosen its purse strings, and pump more cash into the economy. Today, huge government deficits are swallowing up all bank finance, leaving little for corporations. This squeeze has lifted interest rates for corporations even as the RBI cuts its own rates. So, the RBI must abandon its taboo on buying government bonds, and print currency to finance the government’s deficit. This has inflationary potential, but inflation is not today’s problem. Politically, printing money is more easily reversible than cutting taxes further. That’s the way to go.
VIA:E.T
1 Mar 2009, 1700 hrs IST, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, ET Bureau
Indian politicians and citizens are mostly in denial about the impact of the global meltdown on India. Politicians make brave statements laughing away the slowdown, saying India will be least hit and first out of the slump. Three stimulus packages in three months have been announced with fanfare.
But the slowdown continues. Impatient citizens and Opposition parties demand additional stimuli. But this rests on the illusion that the economy will return to fast growth if only it imbibes enough caffeine.
Sorry, but this is not a problem of caffeine shortage. The world is going through the worst downswing since the Great Depression, and India willy nilly has to go downward with the rest of the world. We should expect the slowdown to continue for several quarters, until the world economy recovers. We must batten down our hatches and patiently ride out this storm.
Official data have just revealed the ugly truth that GDP growth declined to a dismal 5.3% in the October-December quarter, way below official expectations. Agriculture declined by an unexpected 2.2% in this period: poor harvests of sugarcane, cotton, pulses and oilseeds overwhelmed gains in rice, horticulture and animal husbandry. In this quarter, the Pay Commission award boosted community services growth by a whopping 17%. This is mostly illusory: higher pay does not mean better service. Despite this illusory boost, overall GDP growth only touched 5.3%.
This lends credence to the IMF’s forecast of 5.1% GDP growth for the calendar year 2009. We may experience some small improvement in the last quarter of 2009, but a return to fast growth will have to wait till late 2010, or even 2011.
Let nobody think that more stimulus packages will somehow save us. The slump was not caused by lack of government stimulus — it occurred despite an enormous stimulus from Chidambaram’s 2008 budget through the farm loan waiver, Pay Commission award, and spiraling subsidies for petroleum products, fertilisers and food. Because of these — and falling tax revenue — the overall fiscal deficit of the Centre and states in 2008-09 will be a massive 11% of GDP. Yet, this massive stimulus proved helpless to combat the global downswing.
India’s 9% growth in the preceding five years was due to an unprecedented global boom, not great reforms or cleverness on our part. A huge global tide lifted all boats — even Africa grew at an unprecedented 6%. Alas, the tide is now falling, and lowering all boats. Drinking more caffeine will not raise India’s boat in a falling tide.
We must accept that we are part and parcel of the global economy. The global boom drove up our growth to 9% and the global slump has lowered it to 5%. We must abandon the illusion that we can somehow grow fast again while the rest of the world stagnates. We must learn to live with the global downswing , and ride out the storm. We cannot end the storm on our own: we must patiently wait for it to subside.
Meanwhile, our aim must be to alleviate pain, and build infrastructure for future growth. Seen in this light, the so-called stimulus packages are actually alleviation packages. They are worthwhile measures to alleviate economic pain, and stem deterioration. But they cannot stimulate the economy back to fast growth. This crisis was not caused by us and cannot be solved by us. Our role is to ride out the storm.
What policy lessons flow from this? First, lower your expectations and targets, for false hopes can lead to policy excesses. Second, overhaul procedures for infrastructure contracts, because red tape currently prevents accelerated spending in this vital sector.
Third, don’t cut taxes endlessly in the hope that this will revive the economy. Taxes should of course be cut in a downswing, but should then be raised again in the next upswing. Raising taxes is politically far more difficult than cutting them. I support the tax cuts so far, but oppose any further cuts on the ground that they will be too difficult to reverse later.
Instead, the Reserve Bank of India should loosen its purse strings, and pump more cash into the economy. Today, huge government deficits are swallowing up all bank finance, leaving little for corporations. This squeeze has lifted interest rates for corporations even as the RBI cuts its own rates. So, the RBI must abandon its taboo on buying government bonds, and print currency to finance the government’s deficit. This has inflationary potential, but inflation is not today’s problem. Politically, printing money is more easily reversible than cutting taxes further. That’s the way to go.
VIA:E.T
Why RIL wants to merge RPL with itself
28 Feb 2009, 1023 hrs IST
Why the merger?
RIL has traditionally set up large capital-intensive projects under new companies to ring-fence itself from project risk. This happened with the first Jamnagar refinery, also called Reliance Petroleum. Now that RPL is up and running, it doesn’t make sense to keep it separate.
Why now?
RIL has not issued any statement. There is speculation that RPL is sitting on inventory losses and may need balance sheet support from RIL. RPL enjoys a 7-year tax break while the export-oriented status of the first unit of the Jamnagar refinery, which is part of RIL, will expire soon.
Chevron link
Chevron bought a 5% stake in RPL in 2006. It had the option to increase it to 29% before July 2009, and the speculation was that the merger would follow. The non-exercise of this option hastened RIL’s decision to fold its 70% subsidiary into itself.
Treasury stock
It could be cancelled to prevent equity dilution. RIL may also create an SPV to park the treasury shares and sell them or borrow against the stock later.
SEZ & EOU status
RPL and RIL will not lose SEZ and EOU status. They will remain as they are.
What are bankers saying
Banks say their single-borrower limit may be breached following the merger. Bank officials say they may have to ask RBI for a special dispensation.
What's in for investors
The market feels RPL shareholders will lose out. But the final position will depend on the swap ratio. The ratio could be between 17:1 (17 RPL shares for one RIL share) based on Friday’s closing prices and 24:1 derived from the book value. Analysts say it could be around 20:1. It also depends on whether the treasury stock is cancelled.
Why the merger?
RIL has traditionally set up large capital-intensive projects under new companies to ring-fence itself from project risk. This happened with the first Jamnagar refinery, also called Reliance Petroleum. Now that RPL is up and running, it doesn’t make sense to keep it separate.
Why now?
RIL has not issued any statement. There is speculation that RPL is sitting on inventory losses and may need balance sheet support from RIL. RPL enjoys a 7-year tax break while the export-oriented status of the first unit of the Jamnagar refinery, which is part of RIL, will expire soon.
Chevron link
Chevron bought a 5% stake in RPL in 2006. It had the option to increase it to 29% before July 2009, and the speculation was that the merger would follow. The non-exercise of this option hastened RIL’s decision to fold its 70% subsidiary into itself.
Treasury stock
It could be cancelled to prevent equity dilution. RIL may also create an SPV to park the treasury shares and sell them or borrow against the stock later.
SEZ & EOU status
RPL and RIL will not lose SEZ and EOU status. They will remain as they are.
What are bankers saying
Banks say their single-borrower limit may be breached following the merger. Bank officials say they may have to ask RBI for a special dispensation.
What's in for investors
The market feels RPL shareholders will lose out. But the final position will depend on the swap ratio. The ratio could be between 17:1 (17 RPL shares for one RIL share) based on Friday’s closing prices and 24:1 derived from the book value. Analysts say it could be around 20:1. It also depends on whether the treasury stock is cancelled.
Natco Pharma's request on ESOPs turned down by SEBI
27 Feb 2009, 1433 hrs IST, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: SEBI has turned down Natco Pharma's request to give cash to employees who are ready to forgo their entitlement of stock options
The origin of the case goes back to 2004 when Natco Pharma granted six lakh stock options to its employees at Rs 10 per share. At that time, the market price of the shares was Rs 140. Further, the options were to be vested in four equal instalments during the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
However, due to the market downturn, the share price has fallen below Rs 50 and most of the employees of the company indicated that they would like to forgo their entitlement of options and would instead prefer equivalent cash. According to the company, it proposes paying cash at or more than the market value prevailing on the date due for exercise of the options.
Hence, in a letter dated January 6, Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma asked for a no-action letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The market regulator, however, has opined that the company cannot pay cash equivalent to its employees as regulations clearly say that stock option scheme "essentially envisages allotment of shares to eligible employees by a listed company against exercise of employee stock options vested in such employees in terms of the ESOS".
The SEBI release, however, adds that the market regulator's stand is based on the representation made by Natco Pharma and that "different facts or conditions might require a different result". This letter does not express a decision of the board on the questions referred, it adds.
MUMBAI: SEBI has turned down Natco Pharma's request to give cash to employees who are ready to forgo their entitlement of stock options
The origin of the case goes back to 2004 when Natco Pharma granted six lakh stock options to its employees at Rs 10 per share. At that time, the market price of the shares was Rs 140. Further, the options were to be vested in four equal instalments during the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
However, due to the market downturn, the share price has fallen below Rs 50 and most of the employees of the company indicated that they would like to forgo their entitlement of options and would instead prefer equivalent cash. According to the company, it proposes paying cash at or more than the market value prevailing on the date due for exercise of the options.
Hence, in a letter dated January 6, Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma asked for a no-action letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The market regulator, however, has opined that the company cannot pay cash equivalent to its employees as regulations clearly say that stock option scheme "essentially envisages allotment of shares to eligible employees by a listed company against exercise of employee stock options vested in such employees in terms of the ESOS".
The SEBI release, however, adds that the market regulator's stand is based on the representation made by Natco Pharma and that "different facts or conditions might require a different result". This letter does not express a decision of the board on the questions referred, it adds.
India to miss 7.1% growth target in 2008-09 on disappointing Q3 figures of GDP
27 Feb 2009, 1800 hrs IST, ET Bureau
India is unlikely to achieve the 7.1% growth estimated by the government statisticians and other forecasters unless the economy experiences a sharp acceleration in economic activity in the January-March 2009. The economy would need to expand by 8.1%, at constant prices, in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal, from a year ago, to realise the growth projected for the whole fiscal year.
That, however, may be tough given the sluggish domestic and global conditions. Yet, the government continues to be sanguine about growth expectations for the full year. The impact of the three instalments of fiscal stimulus and likely rate cuts by the central bank
is expected to kick in during the fourth quarter.
The economy expanded at its slowest pace in nearly six years in September-December 2008 quarter, growing at 5.3% year-on-year, as manufacturing and exports contracted. While the three stimulus packages announced by the government (December 7, January 2 and February 24) is expected to help stimulate domestic demand for some goods, global conditions are not seen to improve until the end of the year. This would mean that exports in the final quarter too would remain depressed.
The surprise element in the third quarter GDP numbers was the sharp contraction in agriculture, down 2.2% from the same quarter a year ago. To some extent, the contraction can be explained as the base effect; farm output grew 6.9% in the same quarter last year. Economists expect this data for agricultural output may be revised upwards when revised estimates are released in July 2009.
The slower than expected growth in the third quarter becomes a matter of concern, as the second half of the fiscal year usually accounts for about 54% of the GDP. For the agriculture sector, the third quarter performance is the most important.
The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) in its advance estimates for 2008-09, earlier this month, suggested that the Indian economy was set for a 7.1% expansion despite the contraction in industrial production and exports experienced over the past few months. In January, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council said it expected the economy to grow 7.1%, down from its earlier estimates of 7.8% made in July 2008.
via:E.T
India is unlikely to achieve the 7.1% growth estimated by the government statisticians and other forecasters unless the economy experiences a sharp acceleration in economic activity in the January-March 2009. The economy would need to expand by 8.1%, at constant prices, in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal, from a year ago, to realise the growth projected for the whole fiscal year.
That, however, may be tough given the sluggish domestic and global conditions. Yet, the government continues to be sanguine about growth expectations for the full year. The impact of the three instalments of fiscal stimulus and likely rate cuts by the central bank
is expected to kick in during the fourth quarter.
The economy expanded at its slowest pace in nearly six years in September-December 2008 quarter, growing at 5.3% year-on-year, as manufacturing and exports contracted. While the three stimulus packages announced by the government (December 7, January 2 and February 24) is expected to help stimulate domestic demand for some goods, global conditions are not seen to improve until the end of the year. This would mean that exports in the final quarter too would remain depressed.
The surprise element in the third quarter GDP numbers was the sharp contraction in agriculture, down 2.2% from the same quarter a year ago. To some extent, the contraction can be explained as the base effect; farm output grew 6.9% in the same quarter last year. Economists expect this data for agricultural output may be revised upwards when revised estimates are released in July 2009.
The slower than expected growth in the third quarter becomes a matter of concern, as the second half of the fiscal year usually accounts for about 54% of the GDP. For the agriculture sector, the third quarter performance is the most important.
The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) in its advance estimates for 2008-09, earlier this month, suggested that the Indian economy was set for a 7.1% expansion despite the contraction in industrial production and exports experienced over the past few months. In January, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council said it expected the economy to grow 7.1%, down from its earlier estimates of 7.8% made in July 2008.
via:E.T
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Promoter groups pledge over 90% of their shares in 27 companies
27 Feb 2009, 0725 hrs IST
Promoter groups have pledged more than 90% of their holdings in 27 companies, shows an ETIG study based on disclosures made by 467 listed firms Well-known listed companies in this category include Kirloskar Electric, JP Hydropower, ERA Infra Engineering and Micro Inks.
Promoters of another 38 companies, including realty firms Unitech and Parsvnath besides other large firms such as Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and India Cements Capital, have pledged over 70% of their holding in the company. When the promoter group pledges a high proportion of its shares , the firm is potentially vulnerable to a management change. However, so far there are just three cases, including Satyam, with promoters actually losing control due to share pledging.
In the case of Satyam, former chairman B Ramalinga Raju had got the IT firm’s board to approve purchasing of a company owned by his family at a phenomenal valuation. This was done at a time when almost his entire stakeholding was pledged. Following the Satyam case, market regulator Sebi has made it mandatory for listed companies to disclose details of pledged shares.
“Usually a lender gives a loan worth 60% of the value of shares and if the share price falls, a margin call is triggered. There is a risk of management change if the quantum of shares pledged is high,” says Prithvi Haldea of Prime Database, an independent market research firm. He points out that some promoters may even be tempted to manipulate profits of the company to keep the share prices inflated and avoid triggering selling of shares.
Promoters of a quarter of all the companies in the study have pledged more than half of their total stake. Most haven’t disclosed either the object or the institutions with which shares have been pledged. Shares owned by promoters are pledged either for their personal borrowings or as a collateral with banks and other financial institutions against borrowings by the company.
If the value of shares drops significantly, as is the case currently, banks ask for more shares or some other collateral. If the firm or the promoter fails to furnish the extra amount, the lenders can sell the shares in the market. Some firms, however, say there is not a significant risk of selling such shares in the market.
Consider JP Hydropower, where promoters have pledged around 59% of their total 63% in the company. “These pledged shares are only secondary securities. The primary security is the project for which finance is made available,” says a senior executive of JP Hydropower.
Moreover, these shares are not really linked to market prices and do not trigger margin call, as they are meant to ensure lenders have control over the company in case of a default. JP Hydro shares were pledged before it was listed. “There is definitely a case for more disclosure, which will bring in more transparency in the way promoters and companies function,” says Gagan Banga, CEO of Indiabulls Financial Services, an NBFC with which many promoters have pledged shares.
Mr Haldea says these are early days. “We will learn lessons as we go along. It’s debatable if companies need to disclose the object, name of lenders and even use of funds. But the focus should only be on disclosures that are relevant and useful for investors.”
There are also firms where one of the co-promoters has pledged a large part of his stake. So, even though the proportion of pledged shares of the total promoter holding is not significant, if margin calls are triggered it could see one of the co-promoters losing part control of the company.
One such example is UTV Software in which original Indian promoter group has pledged 22.7% out of 23.3% held in the company. But the majority stake in the firm is now owned by Walt Disney (59.9%) and as a result, percentage of the promoter group holding pledged would not be significant.
Among the companies, where large part of promoter’s stake is pledged, there is another set of firms where the total shares pledged is a significant proportion of the total paid up capital. Those companies include India Cements Capital, Satra Properties (India) and Micro Inks.
via: E.T
Promoter groups have pledged more than 90% of their holdings in 27 companies, shows an ETIG study based on disclosures made by 467 listed firms Well-known listed companies in this category include Kirloskar Electric, JP Hydropower, ERA Infra Engineering and Micro Inks.
Promoters of another 38 companies, including realty firms Unitech and Parsvnath besides other large firms such as Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and India Cements Capital, have pledged over 70% of their holding in the company. When the promoter group pledges a high proportion of its shares , the firm is potentially vulnerable to a management change. However, so far there are just three cases, including Satyam, with promoters actually losing control due to share pledging.
In the case of Satyam, former chairman B Ramalinga Raju had got the IT firm’s board to approve purchasing of a company owned by his family at a phenomenal valuation. This was done at a time when almost his entire stakeholding was pledged. Following the Satyam case, market regulator Sebi has made it mandatory for listed companies to disclose details of pledged shares.
“Usually a lender gives a loan worth 60% of the value of shares and if the share price falls, a margin call is triggered. There is a risk of management change if the quantum of shares pledged is high,” says Prithvi Haldea of Prime Database, an independent market research firm. He points out that some promoters may even be tempted to manipulate profits of the company to keep the share prices inflated and avoid triggering selling of shares.
Promoters of a quarter of all the companies in the study have pledged more than half of their total stake. Most haven’t disclosed either the object or the institutions with which shares have been pledged. Shares owned by promoters are pledged either for their personal borrowings or as a collateral with banks and other financial institutions against borrowings by the company.
If the value of shares drops significantly, as is the case currently, banks ask for more shares or some other collateral. If the firm or the promoter fails to furnish the extra amount, the lenders can sell the shares in the market. Some firms, however, say there is not a significant risk of selling such shares in the market.
Consider JP Hydropower, where promoters have pledged around 59% of their total 63% in the company. “These pledged shares are only secondary securities. The primary security is the project for which finance is made available,” says a senior executive of JP Hydropower.
Moreover, these shares are not really linked to market prices and do not trigger margin call, as they are meant to ensure lenders have control over the company in case of a default. JP Hydro shares were pledged before it was listed. “There is definitely a case for more disclosure, which will bring in more transparency in the way promoters and companies function,” says Gagan Banga, CEO of Indiabulls Financial Services, an NBFC with which many promoters have pledged shares.
Mr Haldea says these are early days. “We will learn lessons as we go along. It’s debatable if companies need to disclose the object, name of lenders and even use of funds. But the focus should only be on disclosures that are relevant and useful for investors.”
There are also firms where one of the co-promoters has pledged a large part of his stake. So, even though the proportion of pledged shares of the total promoter holding is not significant, if margin calls are triggered it could see one of the co-promoters losing part control of the company.
One such example is UTV Software in which original Indian promoter group has pledged 22.7% out of 23.3% held in the company. But the majority stake in the firm is now owned by Walt Disney (59.9%) and as a result, percentage of the promoter group holding pledged would not be significant.
Among the companies, where large part of promoter’s stake is pledged, there is another set of firms where the total shares pledged is a significant proportion of the total paid up capital. Those companies include India Cements Capital, Satra Properties (India) and Micro Inks.
via: E.T
USFDA for independent audit in Ranbaxy probe
Press Trust of India / New Delhi/washington February 26, 2009, 16:40 IST
US health regulator Food and Drug Administration has said it may seek third-party audit for drug applications from Ranbaxy's Paonta Sahib plant in Himachal Pradesh, as it has found evidence of falsified data and test results in them.
Five months after banning import of Ranbaxy's 30 drugs to the US, the regulator said in a statement late last night that it was taking "new regulatory action against Ranbaxy's Paonta Sahib plant in India" and has halted review of drug applications from the plant due to evidence on falsified data.
"To address the falsified data, the FDA has invoked its Application Integrity Policy (AIP) against the Paonta Sahib facility," it said.
Under AIP, the regulator may implement a Corrective Action Operating Plan (CAOP), which FDA said, might include seeking a third-party independent audit of drug applications associated with the plant.
The AIP is invoked when a company's actions raise significant questions about the integrity of data in drug applications. Under the AIP, FDA has asked Ranbaxy to cooperate with the agency in resolving the questions of data integrity and reliability.
Ranbaxy said separately in a statement that it would continue to cooperate with the USFDA.
US health regulator Food and Drug Administration has said it may seek third-party audit for drug applications from Ranbaxy's Paonta Sahib plant in Himachal Pradesh, as it has found evidence of falsified data and test results in them.
Five months after banning import of Ranbaxy's 30 drugs to the US, the regulator said in a statement late last night that it was taking "new regulatory action against Ranbaxy's Paonta Sahib plant in India" and has halted review of drug applications from the plant due to evidence on falsified data.
"To address the falsified data, the FDA has invoked its Application Integrity Policy (AIP) against the Paonta Sahib facility," it said.
Under AIP, the regulator may implement a Corrective Action Operating Plan (CAOP), which FDA said, might include seeking a third-party independent audit of drug applications associated with the plant.
The AIP is invoked when a company's actions raise significant questions about the integrity of data in drug applications. Under the AIP, FDA has asked Ranbaxy to cooperate with the agency in resolving the questions of data integrity and reliability.
Ranbaxy said separately in a statement that it would continue to cooperate with the USFDA.
Diamond Cables To Issue Bonus Shares
Diamond Cables Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 06, 2009, inter alia, to consider the issue of the Bonus Shares.
Hind Dorr Oliver-Bags Order For Rs 441 crore, Book rises to Rs 1000
Posted by: "Maverick"
Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:46 pm (PST)
Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Ltd has informed the Exchange that: "The Company has bagged a prestigious order for Uranium Ore Processing Plant from Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.(UCIL) worth Rs. 441 crores for their Greenfiled Ore Mining and Processing facility of capacity 3000 MTPD coming up at Tumalapalle in Andhra Pradesh on LSTK basis. The process plant shall adopt innovative Alkali Pressure Leaching process technology which will be used in India for the first time and M/s Bateman of South Africa are Company's Technology partners for this project. Execution of the above project shall be completed within a period of twenty two months.
sOURCE: From another Forum
Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:46 pm (PST)
Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Ltd has informed the Exchange that: "The Company has bagged a prestigious order for Uranium Ore Processing Plant from Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.(UCIL) worth Rs. 441 crores for their Greenfiled Ore Mining and Processing facility of capacity 3000 MTPD coming up at Tumalapalle in Andhra Pradesh on LSTK basis. The process plant shall adopt innovative Alkali Pressure Leaching process technology which will be used in India for the first time and M/s Bateman of South Africa are Company's Technology partners for this project. Execution of the above project shall be completed within a period of twenty two months.
sOURCE: From another Forum
Hindustan Dorr extends gains on order win
26 Feb 2009, 1608 hrs IST, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: Shares of Hindustan Dorr-Oliver stretched gains to Thursday, after the company Wednesday said it received an order worth Rs: 441 crs from uranium Corporation of India. The new order is significant, as the company’s existing order book is roughly Rs 700 crore.
IL&FS Investsmart, earlier this month, initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘buy’ rating and price target of Rs 55, citing healthy order book and business diversification as some of the key reasons. The report was prior to the company winning the order from Uranium Corporation.
“We believe that HDO has all characteristics to graduate to the next league and therefore the concerns reflected in the stock price is unwarranted,” the brokerage said.
At 3:25 pm on Thursday, the stock, which has risen 30% since Wednesday, was at Rs 34, up 7.1%.
MUMBAI: Shares of Hindustan Dorr-Oliver stretched gains to Thursday, after the company Wednesday said it received an order worth Rs: 441 crs from uranium Corporation of India. The new order is significant, as the company’s existing order book is roughly Rs 700 crore.
IL&FS Investsmart, earlier this month, initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘buy’ rating and price target of Rs 55, citing healthy order book and business diversification as some of the key reasons. The report was prior to the company winning the order from Uranium Corporation.
“We believe that HDO has all characteristics to graduate to the next league and therefore the concerns reflected in the stock price is unwarranted,” the brokerage said.
At 3:25 pm on Thursday, the stock, which has risen 30% since Wednesday, was at Rs 34, up 7.1%.
Short covering, Europe rebound lifts Nifty in last leg
26 Feb 2009, 1735 hrs IST,
Indian equity benchmarks pared losses in the last half hour of trade Thursday to end higher as traders settled F&O February series.Positive opening of European markets and higher US index futures also boosted sentiments. Auto and oil&gas stocks led the upmove while banks and realty ended lower.
The indices failed to break psychological levels and retreated as profit booking set in. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 2785.65, up 23.15 points or 0.84 per cent. The broader index fell short of breaking the 2800 mark as it retreated from an intra-day high of 2797.80. It touched a low of 2731.90.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 8954.86, up 52.30 points or 0.59 per cent. The index failed to cross 9000 as it slipped after touching an intra-day high of 8998.31. The 30-share index hit a low of 8788.32 in the day.
“The spurt towards the close was mainly due to short covering due to expiry. Positive opening of European markets also helped. But there is a general feeling that markets may declined in March and so most traders have gone short. One should be cautious next month as the view is bearish,” said Rajesh Baheti, managing director, Crossseas Capital Services.
The BSE Midcap Index ended up 0.09 per cent but BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.70 per cent.
Several scrips including largecaps reacted to newsflow. Ranbaxy Laboratories was under pressure after the US FDA said the company falsified data and test results in its drug applications, prompting it to take necessary actions. The US regulator said in a statement that it has taken "new regulatory action against Ranbaxy’s Paonta Sahib Plant in India" and has halted review of drug applications from plant due to evidence of falsified data.
HDFC has been on a decline ever since the mortgage giant decided to charge its customers up to 3% of the outstanding loan, if they decide the prepay their loans by switching over to another bank. The home loan giant’s move is aimed at discouraging customers from switching over to State Bank of India, which has recently launched a special scheme with an offer of 8% interest on all home loans for the first year.
Shares of Tata Motors shot up on reports the company will launch its most awaited low-cost car, Nano, in March. The launch, in Mumbai, is scheduled on March 23. The car drew global attention for being cheapest car at Rs 100,000.
The top Nifty gainers were Tata Motors (7.03%), Grasim (4.05%), Maruti (4.04%), Hero Honda (3.48%) and Cipla (2.97%).
Ranbaxy Laboratories (-18.05%), Punjab National Bank (-5.04%), ICICI Bank (-4.62%), Reliance Capital (-4.08%) and BPCL (-4.01%) were the major index losers.
Amongst non-index stocks, Hindustan Dorr-Oliver ended 7.57 per cent higher after the company received order worth Rs 441 crore from Uranium Corporation of India. The new order is significant, as the company’s existing order book is Rs 700 crore.
Seamec was locked at the 20 per cent upper circuit after the company posted a turnaround in earnings for the fourth quarter. The company Tuesday posted a net profit of Rs 54.57 crore for the December quarter of 2008, against a net loss of Rs 15.88 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The stock has surged 42.71 per cent in the past one week.
On the data front, Indian economy is forecast to have grown 6.2 per cent in October-December from a year earlier, according to media poll. Traders will keep an eye on GDP growth announcement Friday. The economy grew 7.6 per cent in the September quarter and 7.9 per cent in the June quarter.
Elsewhere, shares in Europe continued to move higher but were off early highs after markets welcomed UK government’s insurance scheme for banks' assets. At 5:15 pm IST, FTSE 100 was up 1.06 per cent, CAC 40 moved 0.76 per cent higher and DAX gained 1.01 per cent. US stock futures also indicated a positive opening. Dow Jones was up 1.02 per cent, S&P 500 higher by 1.16 per cent and Nasdaq futures were up 1.28 per cent.
via E.T
Indian equity benchmarks pared losses in the last half hour of trade Thursday to end higher as traders settled F&O February series.Positive opening of European markets and higher US index futures also boosted sentiments. Auto and oil&gas stocks led the upmove while banks and realty ended lower.
The indices failed to break psychological levels and retreated as profit booking set in. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 2785.65, up 23.15 points or 0.84 per cent. The broader index fell short of breaking the 2800 mark as it retreated from an intra-day high of 2797.80. It touched a low of 2731.90.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 8954.86, up 52.30 points or 0.59 per cent. The index failed to cross 9000 as it slipped after touching an intra-day high of 8998.31. The 30-share index hit a low of 8788.32 in the day.
“The spurt towards the close was mainly due to short covering due to expiry. Positive opening of European markets also helped. But there is a general feeling that markets may declined in March and so most traders have gone short. One should be cautious next month as the view is bearish,” said Rajesh Baheti, managing director, Crossseas Capital Services.
The BSE Midcap Index ended up 0.09 per cent but BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.70 per cent.
Several scrips including largecaps reacted to newsflow. Ranbaxy Laboratories was under pressure after the US FDA said the company falsified data and test results in its drug applications, prompting it to take necessary actions. The US regulator said in a statement that it has taken "new regulatory action against Ranbaxy’s Paonta Sahib Plant in India" and has halted review of drug applications from plant due to evidence of falsified data.
HDFC has been on a decline ever since the mortgage giant decided to charge its customers up to 3% of the outstanding loan, if they decide the prepay their loans by switching over to another bank. The home loan giant’s move is aimed at discouraging customers from switching over to State Bank of India, which has recently launched a special scheme with an offer of 8% interest on all home loans for the first year.
Shares of Tata Motors shot up on reports the company will launch its most awaited low-cost car, Nano, in March. The launch, in Mumbai, is scheduled on March 23. The car drew global attention for being cheapest car at Rs 100,000.
The top Nifty gainers were Tata Motors (7.03%), Grasim (4.05%), Maruti (4.04%), Hero Honda (3.48%) and Cipla (2.97%).
Ranbaxy Laboratories (-18.05%), Punjab National Bank (-5.04%), ICICI Bank (-4.62%), Reliance Capital (-4.08%) and BPCL (-4.01%) were the major index losers.
Amongst non-index stocks, Hindustan Dorr-Oliver ended 7.57 per cent higher after the company received order worth Rs 441 crore from Uranium Corporation of India. The new order is significant, as the company’s existing order book is Rs 700 crore.
Seamec was locked at the 20 per cent upper circuit after the company posted a turnaround in earnings for the fourth quarter. The company Tuesday posted a net profit of Rs 54.57 crore for the December quarter of 2008, against a net loss of Rs 15.88 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The stock has surged 42.71 per cent in the past one week.
On the data front, Indian economy is forecast to have grown 6.2 per cent in October-December from a year earlier, according to media poll. Traders will keep an eye on GDP growth announcement Friday. The economy grew 7.6 per cent in the September quarter and 7.9 per cent in the June quarter.
Elsewhere, shares in Europe continued to move higher but were off early highs after markets welcomed UK government’s insurance scheme for banks' assets. At 5:15 pm IST, FTSE 100 was up 1.06 per cent, CAC 40 moved 0.76 per cent higher and DAX gained 1.01 per cent. US stock futures also indicated a positive opening. Dow Jones was up 1.02 per cent, S&P 500 higher by 1.16 per cent and Nasdaq futures were up 1.28 per cent.
via E.T
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Third stimulus: Govt cuts excise, service tax by addl 2%
February 24, 2009, 15:17 IST, BS Report
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today announced an across-the-board cut in excise and service tax rates, as a part of the third stimulus package to boost the domestic economy.
In his reply to the interim budget speech, Mukherjee announced a two percentage point cut in service tax rates to 10 per cent.
Mukherjee also announced that on goods that attract 10 per cent excise duty will now be charged at 8 per cent. However, excise rates on items that attract 8 per cent and 4 per cent excise duty will not be changed.
The cut in excise duty have been extended beyond March 31, 2009. But Mukherjee did not specify the date till which the excise cut has been extended.
Excise duty on bulk cement has been fixed at 8 per cent or Rs 230 per tonne.
Mukherjee announced that customs duty exemption on Naptha will continue beyond March 31, 2009.
VIA: B.S
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today announced an across-the-board cut in excise and service tax rates, as a part of the third stimulus package to boost the domestic economy.
In his reply to the interim budget speech, Mukherjee announced a two percentage point cut in service tax rates to 10 per cent.
Mukherjee also announced that on goods that attract 10 per cent excise duty will now be charged at 8 per cent. However, excise rates on items that attract 8 per cent and 4 per cent excise duty will not be changed.
The cut in excise duty have been extended beyond March 31, 2009. But Mukherjee did not specify the date till which the excise cut has been extended.
Excise duty on bulk cement has been fixed at 8 per cent or Rs 230 per tonne.
Mukherjee announced that customs duty exemption on Naptha will continue beyond March 31, 2009.
VIA: B.S
DLF cuts prices in Chennai by up to Rs 13 lakh
Press Trust of India / New Delhi February 24, 2009, 17:58 IST
Realty giant DLF today announced up to Rs 13 lakh cut in the prices for the existing and new customers of its residential project in Chennai on account of fall in input costs and slump in property demand.
The company's decision to cut rates up to 19 per cent in the 53-acre Chennai project has come on the heels of similar reductions in affordable housing projects in Hyderabad and Bangalore.
"The unprecedented events in the global economy have affected the realty sector in the country, bringing quantum changes in raw material cost, home loan rates and property values. Considering this, we are extending Superior value proposition to our existing customers," DLF spokesperson said.
DLF Vice Chairman Rajiv Singh had said last month that the company would reduce its property prices by 15 per cent to beat its falling sales.
"The reduction in prices would benefit customers between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh per unit depending upon the size of an apartment," the spokesperson said.
The affordable housing project in Chennai, comprising 3,500 units, was launched last year. The company has so far sold 2,000 units costing between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,200 per sq ft.
via:B.S
Realty giant DLF today announced up to Rs 13 lakh cut in the prices for the existing and new customers of its residential project in Chennai on account of fall in input costs and slump in property demand.
The company's decision to cut rates up to 19 per cent in the 53-acre Chennai project has come on the heels of similar reductions in affordable housing projects in Hyderabad and Bangalore.
"The unprecedented events in the global economy have affected the realty sector in the country, bringing quantum changes in raw material cost, home loan rates and property values. Considering this, we are extending Superior value proposition to our existing customers," DLF spokesperson said.
DLF Vice Chairman Rajiv Singh had said last month that the company would reduce its property prices by 15 per cent to beat its falling sales.
"The reduction in prices would benefit customers between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh per unit depending upon the size of an apartment," the spokesperson said.
The affordable housing project in Chennai, comprising 3,500 units, was launched last year. The company has so far sold 2,000 units costing between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,200 per sq ft.
via:B.S
Sensex shrugs off S&P rating,indirect tax cut
24 Feb 2009, 1544 hrs IST, ET Bureau
Indian benchmarks ended volatile session flat ahead of February F&O series discounting Standard & Poor’s negative credit rating outlook on India and indirect tax cuts by the government.
The Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reduced excise duty by two per cent while the general excise duty was reduced 8 per cent from 10 per cent. The rate of service tax was cut from 12 per cent to 10 per cent. Four per cent excise cut announced earlier in the stimulus package in December will continue beyond March 31. Duty on bulk cement was reduced from 10 per cent to 8 per cent.
Standard & Poor's has revised India's sovereign credit rating outlook to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term sovereign credit ratings on India, which are investment grade ratings. The rating agency has justified its stance on the grounds that India's fiscal position has deteriorated to a level that is unsustainable in the medium term.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 8810.49, down 32.72 points or 0.37 per cent. The 30-share index slipped after touching an intra-day high of 8856.52. It touched an intra-day low of 8619.22.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 2733.90, down 2.55 points or 0.20 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 2740.15 and low of 2677.55.
Second rung stocks continued to remain under pressure. BSE Midcap Index was down 1.83 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 1.38 per cent.
BSE Metal Index was down 2.54 per cent, BSE Bankex was down 1.44 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index fell 0.62 per cent.
Biggest Sensex gainers were Mahindra & Mahindra (4.96%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (3.85%), Grasim Industries (2.81%), DLF (1.81%) and Reliance Communications (1.55%).
Tata Steel (-5%), HDFC (-4.78%), Sun Pharmaceuticals (-2.21%), Sterlite Industries
(-2.13%) and Wipro (-1.86%) were the losers.
Market breadth on BSE remained negative through the day with 1604 declines against 783 advances.
(All the figures are provisional)
via: E.T
Indian benchmarks ended volatile session flat ahead of February F&O series discounting Standard & Poor’s negative credit rating outlook on India and indirect tax cuts by the government.
The Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reduced excise duty by two per cent while the general excise duty was reduced 8 per cent from 10 per cent. The rate of service tax was cut from 12 per cent to 10 per cent. Four per cent excise cut announced earlier in the stimulus package in December will continue beyond March 31. Duty on bulk cement was reduced from 10 per cent to 8 per cent.
Standard & Poor's has revised India's sovereign credit rating outlook to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term sovereign credit ratings on India, which are investment grade ratings. The rating agency has justified its stance on the grounds that India's fiscal position has deteriorated to a level that is unsustainable in the medium term.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 8810.49, down 32.72 points or 0.37 per cent. The 30-share index slipped after touching an intra-day high of 8856.52. It touched an intra-day low of 8619.22.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 2733.90, down 2.55 points or 0.20 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 2740.15 and low of 2677.55.
Second rung stocks continued to remain under pressure. BSE Midcap Index was down 1.83 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 1.38 per cent.
BSE Metal Index was down 2.54 per cent, BSE Bankex was down 1.44 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index fell 0.62 per cent.
Biggest Sensex gainers were Mahindra & Mahindra (4.96%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (3.85%), Grasim Industries (2.81%), DLF (1.81%) and Reliance Communications (1.55%).
Tata Steel (-5%), HDFC (-4.78%), Sun Pharmaceuticals (-2.21%), Sterlite Industries
(-2.13%) and Wipro (-1.86%) were the losers.
Market breadth on BSE remained negative through the day with 1604 declines against 783 advances.
(All the figures are provisional)
via: E.T
Monday, February 23, 2009
MTNL, DLF among 150 cos inspected by MCA
23 Feb 2009, 1818 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The government-owned Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and real estate major DLF figure in the list of 150 companies in which the government has ordered inspection of books of accounts after receiving complaints from certain quarters.
Of the four regions- east, west, north and south- there are 14 listed companies from the northern region apart from 51 unlisted companies. They include Ansal Housing and Construction, Cyber Media India, Triveni Infrastructure development company, Eicher Motors, Bhushan Steels Ltd among others, official sources said.
Various pharma companies too figure in the list including Novartis India Ltd, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the sources added.
The government had ordered inspection under section 209 A in the accounts of these companies after receiving certain complaints and adverse remarks from auditors in certain cases. It had also ordered probe in six public sector units after receiving adverse qualifications from their auditors.
Section 209 A of the Companies Act, 1956, allows the registrar of companies (RoC), directors or members to inspect the accounts of the company.
NEW DELHI: The government-owned Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and real estate major DLF figure in the list of 150 companies in which the government has ordered inspection of books of accounts after receiving complaints from certain quarters.
Of the four regions- east, west, north and south- there are 14 listed companies from the northern region apart from 51 unlisted companies. They include Ansal Housing and Construction, Cyber Media India, Triveni Infrastructure development company, Eicher Motors, Bhushan Steels Ltd among others, official sources said.
Various pharma companies too figure in the list including Novartis India Ltd, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the sources added.
The government had ordered inspection under section 209 A in the accounts of these companies after receiving certain complaints and adverse remarks from auditors in certain cases. It had also ordered probe in six public sector units after receiving adverse qualifications from their auditors.
Section 209 A of the Companies Act, 1956, allows the registrar of companies (RoC), directors or members to inspect the accounts of the company.
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