Mar 28, 2012

Fortune names Narayana Murthy among greatest entrepreneurs:

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy is among the 12 ''greatest entrepreneurs of our time'' according to a Fortune magazine list that is topped by Apple's late chief Steve Jobs.

It includes Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for turning "concepts into companies" and changing the "face of business".

The US publication said as the "visionary founder" of Infosys, Murthy has built "one of the largest companies in India, helping to transform that economy and put it on the world stage".

Murthy, 65, proved that "India could compete with the world by taking on the software development work that had long been the province of the West.

"As one of six co-founders of Infosys and the CEO for 21 years, Murthy helped spark the outsourcing revolution that has brought billions of dollars in wealth  into the Indian economy and transformed his country into the world's back office," it said.

Fortune cited his lesson that an organisation starting from scratch must coalesce around a team of people with an enduring value system.

"It is all about sacrifice today, fulfilment tomorrow," it quotes Murthy, who is ranked 10th, as saying. "It is all about sacrifice, hard work, lots of frustration, being away from your family, in the hope that someday you will get adequate returns from that."

The list is topped by Jobs, whom Fortune calls "our generation's quintessential entrepreneur. Visionary. Inspiring. Brilliant. Mercurial."

Fortune said the most astonishing fact about Jobs was his view that market research and focus groups only limited a person's ability to innovate.

Jobs used his own intuition, which was not merely a gut call, "radar-like" feel for emerging technologies and how they could be brought together to create "insanely great" products, Fortune said.

"It is a safe bet to assume that none of Apple's blockbuster products, from the Macintosh to the iPod and iTunes, from the iPhone to the iPad, would have come about if Jobs had relied heavily on consumer research," it added.

Fortune related an incident when a reporter had called Jobs on the day he launched the Macintosh, asking him what type of studies Apple had conducted to ensure there was a market for the computer.

"In a nearly offended tone, Jobs retorted, 'Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he invented the telephone?'", according to the publication.

Coming next is Gates, who Fortune says is one of the very few extraordinary entrepreneurs who have had the opportunity to change the world twice in one lifetime.

"First, as the world's most influential geek, he helped usher in the personal computer revolution.
"Now he is tackling the stubbornly difficult challenges of global health and public education as the world's most generous philanthropist," Fortune added.

Fortune said the similarity between how Gates led Microsoft and the way he is leading the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as its co-chair is the focus on hiring very smart people and putting them to work in small teams to solve big issues.

"There is no way of getting around that," it quotes Gates as saying.

"In terms of IQ, you've got to be very elitist in picking the people who deserve to write software."

The list also includes founder, chairman and CEO of express delivery company FedEx Fred Smith, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Walmart chief Sam Walton.

On Zuckerberg, Fortune said by the time he celebrates his 28th birthday this May, Facebook would have in all likelihood gone public and become the biggest IPO of all time.

"The long-anticipated IPO will create hundreds of millionaires, result in a valuation of an Internet company that will approach USD 100 billion, and make the geek who dropped out of Harvard University his generation's Bill Gates," it said

Source: www.deccanherald.com


Vijay Mallya may sell between 12-13% stake in UBL:

Liquor baron and chairman of UB Group Vijay Mallya could be looking to offload 12-13% of his stake in United Breweries (UBL). Sources say Mallya and Heineken are in final stages of negotiations.

Heineken may look to acquire controlling stake. The deal could be valued around Rs 1,700 crore, reports CNBC-TV18, quoting sources
Mallya and Heineken could be working on an agreement on UBL stake sale. An announcement is expected shortly.

Currently, Heineken holds 37.5% stake in UBL and Mallya holds 23% stake in personal capacity. United Spirits Ltd (USL) and UB Holdings together own 14.71% stake in UBL. The balance is with the public.

Mallya stake sale will allow Heineken stake to go beyond 50%. Mallya will garner between USD 400-500 million, Rs 2,500 crore for 12-13% stake. The transaction will give control premium of Rs 800 crore to Mallya.

Meanwhile, sources indicated that USL and UB Holdings are unlikely to sell their stake.

When contacted, UB Group and Heineken refused to comment, saying they do not talk publicly about rumour and speculation.

At 13:37 hrs, UBL was quoting at Rs 548.40, up Rs 11.15, or 2.08%.

Source: www.moneycontrol.com

Mar 27, 2012

Will examine and modify GAAR if required, says FM:

Amid fears that FIIs may be taxed for short-term capital gains in stock markets, the government today said it will examine and modify the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) if required.

"I will examine and modify GAAR as and when required. This is essential for anti-avoidance," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Parliament today.

In his Budget for 2012-13, Mukherjee had said that the government wanted to introduce GAAR in order to "counter aggressive tax avoidance schemes, while ensuring that it is used only in appropriate cases, by enabling a review by a GAAR panel".

Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman UK Sinha had said yesterday the government "is going to have a new look at tax avoidance, so they they are going to work in that way".

The fear of GAAR had spooked stock markets which tanked 2% yesterday on concerns that all short-term capital gains made by FII and P-Note investments would be taxed. The Sensex, however, recovered today rising over 200 points.

Meanwhile, Finance Ministry sources seeking to allay fears that Participatory Notes -- an instrument through which FIIs unregistered with Sebi invest in stock markets -- said that the I-T department will have to first prove the intention of avoidance before making GAAR applicable.

"GAAR is not created to target any class of financial instruments. The onus of proving tax avoidance lies mainly with the government and partially on the assessee," sources said.

"All benefits which a person is entitled in a DTAA [Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement] treaty can be overruled or denied if GAAR is invoked," sources said.

Provisions of GAAR will be applicable from April 1 and not with retrospective effect.

Source: www.business-standard.com

Sensex breathes 205 pts sigh on GAAR clarity; rupee spikes:

The BSE Sensex showed smart recovery on Tuesday after CNBC-TV18, citing unnamed finance ministry officials, reported the government would not target the participatory notes under its newly proposed General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR).

Overall the day was quite choppy ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 204.58 points or 1.20%, to close at 17,257.36 after hitting an intraday high of 17,366.84 and low of 17,061.16.

Finance ministry sources say, only participatory notes which fail certain regulatory tests may be subject to taxation. There will not be a double taxation, the report said.

Aliff Fazelbhoy, partner - tax, M&A and employment, ALMT Legal, said that it was not the government's intention to tax P-notes but advised caution until it was spelt out.

Meanwhile, the NSE's 50-share Nifty rallied 58.90 points or 1.14% to 5,243.15, helped by the rising rupee, short covering post yesterday's sharp fall and the global cues.

Jason Hughes of IG Markets tells CNBC-TV18 that Indian equities look attractive around the 5200 level on the Nifty.

The Indian rupee appreciated by 58 paise to 50.69 a dollar today after falling in previous sessions, which suggests that foreign institutional investors may have stepped in to buy their favourite stocks. The 8.79% 2017 bond yield spiked further by 0.5% to 8.52 ahead of announcement of government's borrowing programme this week.

Cigarette major ITC rose 1.8% and FMCG company Hindustan Unilever shot up 3.5%.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were up 0.7-1% while rival HDFC Bank was up 1.5%. Housing finance company HDFC moved up 2.2%.

Shares of Sterlite Industries, Cipla and DLF topped the buying list, rising 3.5-4.5%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro, telecom company Bharti Airtel and top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied 2-3%.

Index heavyweights Infosys and ONGC were up 1-1.8%. Tata Consultancy Services, India's No. 1 software services exporter rose 0.9%.

However, shares of Maruti Suzuki, country's largest car maker fell 2% after Maharashtra government imposed 4% tax on diesel cars and 2% on petrol cars. State-run BHEL was down 1%.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 841 to 593 on the National Stock Exchange. Total traded volume was more than Rs 2.42 lakh crore.
Global markets gained after comments over US economy by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday. Asian markets closed 0.8-2.4% higher barring Shanghai while European markets were moderately higher.


Source: www.moneycontrol.com

L&T Finance buys Fidelity's India fund business:

Reuters) - L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH.NS) has acquired Fidelity Worldwide Investment's India mutual fund business to boost growth in the country's growing but highly competitive asset management business.

The acquisition will provide L&T Finance, a unit of Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd (LART.NS), more products and access to retail customers, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Shares in L&T Finance, which the market values at $1.6 billion, ended 4.2 percent higher at 50 rupees before the deal announcement, while the BSE Sensex rose 1.2 percent.

Fidelity Worldwide was looking to sell its India mutual fund business, a source with direct knowledge said on January 30, as growing competition, weaker markets and regulatory changes take a toll on the sector's profitability.

The sharp fall in the Indian equity markets last year and the recent regulatory changes such as the removal of the entry load, or a commission charged by a mutual fund distributor for selling a product, have added to the competitive pressure.

Fidelity Worldwide's India asset management arm, which was launched in 2004, managed assets worth about 88 billion rupees as of end-December, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India showed.

As per the assets under management, it was the 15th largest company in India's 44-player asset management industry.

Assets managed by fund managers in India rose to 5.9 trillion rupees as of March 2011 from 2.3 trillion in March 2006, a study by research and consultancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers showed.

Lured by the long-term prospects of Asia's third-largest economy, overseas fund managers, such as U.S.-based T. Rowe Price Group Inc (TROW.O) and Fidelity, have been buying into Indian money managers or setting up operations on their own.

Nippon Life Insurance earlier last year paid $290 million for a 26 percent stake in the asset management unit of Indian financial services provider Reliance Capital Ltd (RLCP.NS).

Lazard was the financial advisor to L&T Finance for the acquisition.

Source: www.in.reuters.com

India in world's most eco confident list:

 Indians have emerged as the second most confident people about their economy across the world on easing inflationary pressure and increased foreign investments, says a report.
According to global research firm Ipsos, India's economic confidence jumped by 9 points to 74 per cent in the month of February compared to the previous month, becoming the second most economically confident country after Saudi Arabia which tops the chart with 90 per cent.

Sweden is the third most economically confident country, where 73 per cent are optimistic about their economy, followed by China (72 per cent), Germany (71 per cent), Australia (66 per cent) and Canada (65 per cent).

"The Indian economy has continuously recorded high growth rates and has become the second most preferred destination for foreign investments and business. India's economic growth is expected to remain robust in 2012 and 2013, despite likely headwind of double-dip recessions in Europe and the US," Ipsos India CEO Mick Gordon said.

More than half of Indian citizens (51 per cent) believe their local economy which impacts their personal finance is good and 56 per cent people expect that the economy in their local area will be stronger in next six months, Ipsos said.

Mick further noted that inflationary pressure eased as the wholesale price index fell, making daily consumption items relatively affordable and giving hopes that Reserve Bank of India will ease its monetary policy stance by reducing the policy rates in the coming months which will further fuel economic growth of the country.

The report, which examined citizens' assessment of the current state of their country's economy said the overall global average economic confidence remained unchanged at 38 per cent last month.

On the other hand only a handful of those in Hungary (3 per cent) rate their national economies as 'good', followed by Spain (4 per cent), Italy (6 per cent), France (7 per cent), Japan (9 per cent) and Great Britain (10 per cent).

Countries with the greatest improvements include India, China, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, while, countries with the greatest declines are Argentina, Poland, Belgium, Indonesia and Australia.

The survey was conducted in February this year among 19,216 people in 24 countries like Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the USA.

Source: www.financialexpress.com

Mar 26, 2012

Nifty ends below 5200, Sensex loses 309 pts; Re @ 51.42/USD

The BSE Sensex could not see any resurrect on Monday even after falling in previous five consecutive weeks. Rising bond yields, falling rupee and GAAR issues remained tricky aspects leading to yet another weak closing.

The market ended at two-month low. The BSE benchmark fell 308.96 points or 1.78% to close at 17,052.78, with all 30 stocks closing in the red. The NSE benchmark closed down 93.95 points or 1.78% at 5,184.25, underperforming global peers. European markets were moderately higher.

The Indian rupee depreciated by 25 paise to 51.42 a dollar while 8.79% 2012 yield rose by 0.05 to 8.42 ahead of announcement of government's market borrowing calendar for first half of FY 2013 this week.

According to Ambareesh Baliga of Way2wealth, the market is surely worried due to some of promissory-notes selling and some sort of advance selling by local investors.

With new General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) coming into effect from April 1, which will make P-Note based transactions taxable,  the market saw widedpread selling by foreign institutional investors. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), including Mauritius based FIIs, will need to revaluate all PNs/ offshore derivative instruments now.

Baliga further said, the market could break most important 200 day moving average at about 5170 and could look at levels of about 5000-5050.

All sectoral indices closed in the red; the BSE Realty hit quite badly, falling 3.6%. Power, Bank, Metal, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods indices were down 1.8-2.6%.

ICICI Bank, country's largest private sector lender plunged 4.3% while rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank fell 1-2%. Housing finance company HDFC slipped 1.5%.

Oil & gas producers and index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC dropped 2% each. Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro was down 1.77% and state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals lost 3%.

Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, India's top software service exporters were down 1.7% while telecom player Bharti Airtel tumbled 2.3%.

NTPC, country's largest power generation company and Tata Power, No. 1 private power producer plummeted over 3.5%.

Shares of Bajaj Auto, Sterlite, Cipla and DLF among other largecaps tanked 3.5-4%.

However, Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1% post block deal. Warburg Pincus sold 2.65 crore shares at Rs 530 a share on BSE via block deal.

Jaiprakash Associates outperformed other infrastructure stocks, rising 3% after the company received two contracts worth Rs 913 crore.

In the second line shares, Indiabulls Real Estate and HDIL plunged 6-7% after cash strapped Maharashtra government proposed to hike stamp duty on leave-license to 0.1% on market value or 1% of the average annual rent or deposit paid, whichever is higher, for residential properties. For commercial properties, the duty proposed is 0.4% for lease agreements over 60 months. This is a whopping 160 times hike from the previous fixed amount of Rs 25,000 for residential and Rs 50,000 for commercial properties for 60 months.

EIH Associated Hotel shot up 6% amid heavy volume as the company will consider rights issue and merger of company's wholly owned unit, Maharaj with itself.

Manappuram Finance crashed 11% today, which had fallen 20% last week after the RBI tightened rules for gold financing companies

About two shares declined for every share gaining on the BSE. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 1.4-1.6%.



Taxman's GAAR spooks mkt: Mauritius invsts under threat?

The tax department is all set to tighten the noose around foreign investors who have been investing through shell companies in tax havens. CNBC-TV18 learns that the I-T dept will ask FIIs and foreign investors to file tax residency certificates if they are situated in a country with which India has a DTAA.

Legal experts say all forms of investment from Mauritius will now come under the scanner. Tax lawyers add that the taxman may eventually start going beyond just the tax residence certificate.

Moreover, the confusion over general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) spooked the markets. (Read here )
Mukesh Butani, chairman at BMR Advisors believes to some extent the SC verdict in Azadi Bachao Andolan case, which was rendered on the back of a government circular of 2000, gets diluted. He says now that applies to all forms of investment that comes from Mauritius, be it an FII or FDI route.

"If the participatory note is in relation to an underlined asset i.e. part of the investments into an Indian company and that would be taxed, then that's a far-fetched argument," he says.

Corporate tax lawyer HP Ranina says the fear is that the tax authorities will not go only by the Tax Residency Certificates issued by Mauritius and therefore they will go into what they call the "Commercial Substance".

"The company will be deemed to be resident in Mauritius only if it has commercial substance in that country.

And not if it has just set up office in a lawyer's outfit with no employees and no other business activity. So, in that case, they will not apply the treaty and therefore the exemption which currently they enjoy from capital gains will not be applicable," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Market experts warn that unless there is clarity on the exact details of the GAAR guidelines, the markets may see more pain.

"This has been made very clear by the government as a general principle that India will not allow the use of tax havens - where this is used as a tax saving route or tax evasion route. So definitely harassment by tax department cannot be ruled out. The clarification given just now by the government that tax residency will be sufficient for claiming the exemption, that should suffice," investment analyst SP Tulsian told the channel.
However, Ambareesh Baliga, COO of Way2Wealth Brokers feels, if it is very clear that it is only prospective, then this may not be too much of an issue.  "The fear of it being retrospective, then invest climate will get visited, and downtrend nervousness will continue for a while longer," he explained.


Q: There is a lack of clarity on exact modalities on the entire issue. Can you throw some light on what kind of implications it could have?

Butani: General Anti-Avoidance was on anticipated lines. GAAR is a replica of the last draft that the government had brought out in the 2010 amendment bill.

The only difference is that, it's being legislated from 1st April 2012 rather than 1st April 2013, which coincides with the provisions of the DTC.

The last draft that the government came out did not announce the guidance with respect to and the circumstances under which the General Anti-Avoidance law will be invoked.

Guidance will also have checks and balances which the accessing officer and the commissioner will have to keep in mind before invoking GAAR. The fact that they have fast-forwarded the GAAR to 1st April 2012 there has been no change.

Q: Investments or profits made through participatory notes will be subject to tax and even investments routed through companies in Mauritius probably will be taxed, is there any reason to believe that these kinds of investments will be subject to short-term and long-term capital gains tax in India?

Butani: There is some anxiety as far as Mauritius issue is concerned. The amendment that has been brought in this Budget, which is applicable from 1st April 2012, states that a Tax Residency Certificate is an essential document, but not a conclusive proof.

The Supreme Court verdict in Azadi Bachao Andolan case, which was rendered on the back of a government circular of 2000 to some extend, gets diluted.

Now, that applies to all forms of investment that comes from Mauritius, whether it's an FII or an FDI route. Tax authorities will have a right to investigate into and go beyond the tax residency certificate i.e. the merits of the Mauritian structure and question the bases. And if a need arises disallow the benefit. That is very independent of the general anti-avoidance. The larger sentiment in the market could be driven by a combination of the two questions that you raised.

Q: Is there an element of confusion in the participatory note route?

Butani: Now you are talking about an amendment, which is in relation to Vodafone verdict, which talks about the underlying asset that would be a very strict interpretation. What you are saying suggests that, if the participatory note is in relation to an underlying asset i.e. part of the investments into an Indian company and that that would be taxed then that's a far-fetched argument. I need to read the code and then come to the conclusion that indeed is the issue.

Q: Does the market fear that stock bought via P-notes could be subject to tax?

Butani: There are several issues when it comes to divestment in a stock exchange in India. There are clear guidelines that suggest that such income is not liable to tax or is liable to tax under the capital gains provision.

Many of the FIIs had been structured through Mauritius and there is a greater degree of reliance on the Mauritius treaty. Combination of retrospective amendments, strict source-based rules, amendments dating back to 1962, general anti-avoidance provision and the added restriction on Mauritius treaty all adds to an element of nervousness.

The government intends that if there is an investment made in India through the FII route, the government will use a strict source-based rules to tax a part of that income that's seems to be the underlying philosophy of the government.

Nobody can be denied of legitimate change. The manner and the direction of the tax policy is suggestive of the fact that in future the government wants to bring many of these under taxation in India and it's in the process, they want to carry amendments.

Source: www.moneycontrol.com

Mar 23, 2012

Bharti Airtel files petition against taxman at Delhi HC:

Yet another battle may be brewing between a telecom player and the taxman. Bharti Airtel has filed a petition against the tax department's claim of Rs 1,067 crore.


What is the Taxman's claim:

When anyone travels abroad there is a certain amount of fee that your service provider makes to its international partners to ensure that you have services on a roaming basis. So, the payments which Bharti Airtel has been making since 2007 to 2011 to its international partners have been taxed by the tax department. The demand notice that was given to Bharti Airtel in January pertains to these payments.

If one breaks up the claim of Rs 1067 crore, sources says that for 2007-2008 they had asked for Rs 202 crore, for 2008-2009 it was Rs 329 crore, for 2009-2010 it was Rs 303 crore and 2010-2011 it was around Rs 221 crore

Bharti Airtel's action:

Bharti Airtel is looking at fighting this and has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court. The petition outlines that they have adhered to all tax rules and the demand on tax for international roaming payment is not valid.

This is an industry wide case, if the taxman is filing a case and fighting against Bharti Airtel, some other players might also be taxed. Bharti Airtel would take this up and other telecom players might be looking at taking it up if there is any kind of tax claim case against them.

Source:www.moneycontrol.com



At $695 b, China’s external debt hits 27-year high in 2011:


China’s external debt totalled a whopping $695 billion last year, highest in 27 years, adding to concerns that it might undermine the country’s fiscal position at a time when its economy has slowed down due to declining exports.

The external debt rose by $146 billion, or nearly 27 per cent from 2010, data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said.

The proportion of short-term external debt to the total also climbed to a record high of 72 per cent as of December 31, in contrast to 68 per cent in 2010 and 60 per cent in 2009, SAFE data said.

But the year-on-year increase in short-term debt moderated. As of 2011 end, outstanding short-term debt stood at $500.9 billion, up 33 per cent. The growth rate was nearly 12 percentage points lower than in 2010.

The jump in foreign debt shows that China, which lends more than it borrows, is borrowing more from overseas to hedge against the devaluation of its foreign exchange reserves, analysts said.

Meanwhile, enterprises on the Chinese mainland have resorted to borrowing from overseas due to financing difficulties at home, they added.

As the yuan has strengthened against other currencies, the value of China’s foreign exchange reserves has shrunk, Li Jian, a research fellow from the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation from the Ministry of Commerce, said.

According to SAFE, the yuan has risen 13.69 per cent against the US dollar since the beginning of 2008.

The yuan appreciation also had an adverse impact on China’s foreign exchange reserves of $3.20 trillion, highest in the world. As a result, the value of the Chinese government’s dollar-denominated assets has fallen, Li argued.

Borrowing in dollars allow the Government to offset some of those losses because it would effectively have to pay less when the loans come due if the yuan continues to strengthen, Li told state run Global Times.

Also, the Chinese business enterprises have become more reliant on borrowing from abroad due to soaring costs of domestic financing, Zhang Yugui, dean of the College of International Finance and Trade at Shanghai International Studies University said.

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Mar 22, 2012

CAG says no loss to government, disowns coal blocks report:

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has virtually disowned its report on the allocation of coal blocks and called media reports related to it misleading. The CAG told the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that there was no loss to the exchequer in the allocations of 155 coal blocks across the country between 2004 and 2009.

According to the CAG the report on the coal blocks which appeared in the media on Thursday does not constitute their findings and the loss figure of Rs 10.7 lakh crore was misleading. The CAG told the PMO that the audit report on coal blocks was still under preparation.

The PMO issues a statement saying that the CAG had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said that the report was still at a very preliminary stage
"With reference to the lead story published in the Times of India today titled 'Government lost Rs 10.7 lakh cr by not auctioning coal blocks: CAG', the Prime Minister has received a letter from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India at 1:30 pm today," the PMO press release said.

The press release added: "Among other things, the letter clarifies that: In the extant case the details being brought out were observations which are under discussion at a very preliminary stage and do not even constitute our pre-final draft and hence are exceedingly misleading. … Pursuant to clarification provided by the Ministry in exit conferences held on 9.02.2012 and 9.03.2012, we have changed our thinking …. In fact it is not even our case that the unintended benefit to the allocatee is an equivalent loss to the exchequer. The leak of the initial draft causes great embarrassment as the Audit Report is still under preparation. Such leakage causes very deep anguish."

According to a report in 'The Times of India', 155 coal blocks were given to commercial entities without auction between 2004 and 2009 leading to a loss of nearly Rs 10.7 lakh crore. The estimated loss is six times higher than the presumptive loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore for the 2G spectrum allocation.

Coal block beneficiaries include almost 100 private companies as well as some public sector units in industries such as power, steel and cement.

According to the CAG report the estimated "windfall gain" of Rs 6.31 lakh crore (PSUs - Rs 3.37 lakh crore and private companies - Rs 2.94 lakh crore) is based on the prices prevailing during the year of allocation on constant cost and price basis and as on March 31, 2011.

The amount at current prices would now work out to Rs 10.67 lakh crore (PSUs - Rs 5.88 lakh crore and private parties - Rs 4.79 lakh crore), the CAG said in the draft report.

Source: www.ibnlive.in.com

Business Quiz 12

1. Where has Harvard Business School set up its classroom in Mumbai for Executive Education in India ?

Ans. Taj Land’s End, Mumbai

2. Why has Nestle India been hauled up for violating advt norms ?

Ans. The tins of Lactogen do not have warning reg Mother’s milk in Hindi and font size was small

3. Name the celebrity who endorses Fast track, Flying Machine jeans, Herbalife, Fair and Lovely for men, Sangam suitings etc.

Ans. Virat Kohli

4. Connect Ventura, Mantra, RAHI, Turbo

Ans. Regional airlines started in India recently

5.What is the increased limit of free baggage allowance as per the recent budget ?

Ans. Rs 35000 from Rs 25000 earlier

6. Who has launched a special Tendulkar edition of a drink to honour Tendulkar 100th century ?

 Ans. Coca Cola

7. Strayer University US has launched an 18 month Executive MBA delivered online in collaboration with a fmr CEO, now retired. Who ?

Ans. Jack Welch

8. After 244 years Encyclopedia Britannica has stopped recently. What reasons have been cited ?

Ans. Internet and Wikipedia

March 21st, 2012

Tech Mahindra-Mahindra Satyam merger approved; swap ratio of 2:17:

The boards of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam have approved their merger with a swap ratio of 2:17. This means two shares of Tech Mahindra will be given for every 17 shares of Mahindra Satyam.

All assets & liabilities of Mahindra Satyam will be transferred to Tech Mahindra at book. Also, 20.4 crore Satyam shares will be transferred to Tech Mahindra Trust. The appointed date of scheme will be April 1, 2011.

The merger makes Tech Mahindra the fifth largest IT company by market cap. British Telecom holds 23.2% stake in Tech Mah.

Deutsche on Tech Mahindra:

-‘Buy’ rating, with target price of Rs 1,000
-Merge to be EPS dilutive initially
-Estimate FY13E EPS to be lowered by 9% to Rs 79
-Expect valuation discount vs other large caps to narrow
-Merged entity to have 45% discount to HCL Tech

The Tech Mahindra management spoke at a press conference on the merger. Here are the key takeaways:

-British Telecom to own 12.8% in new company
-10.4% stake to be held as treasury stock
-New entity to have $2.4 bn in revenue
-New entity to have 350 active clients; 75,000 employers
-Mahindra group to own 26.3% in combined entity
-Merged co to get 42% revenue from us & 35% from Europe
-In a position to give a much better value proposition
-Combined entity will have 75,000 employees, 350 clients
-Combined entity will have revenues of $2.4 bn
-Shown improvement in performance over last 6 quarters
-To focus on telecom ERP mobility post merger
-Merger process to take 6-9 months
-Will take it to HC of AP & Maharashtra for approvals
-Achieved all targets set for ourselves
-Merged entity to get 18-19% revenue from BT Group
-35 mn Tech Mahindra shares will be cancelled out
-EBITDA for merged entity is 17%
-A Trust will hold 10% of the merged entity
-To get consultants for merged entity's branding
-Both organisations have levers to improve margins
-Yet to finalise mgmt structure for merged entity
-Expect zero redundancies in staff
-Branding of the new entity will be decided in due course
-Will need approvals from CCI, stock exchanges
-Last 12 months combined entity revenue at $2,432 mn
-Last 12 months combined entity EBITDA at $392 mn

Vineet Nayyar
-Board accepted recommendations of investment banks for merger
-To approach AP, Maharashtra HC for approval of merger
-Process of merger to take 6-9 months for completion
-To focus on telecom, mobility, engineering post merger
-To take decision on branding in-time
-Already working on new mgmt structure

CP Gurnani
-Satyam performance consistent in past six quarters
-Merged co can leverage into new edge technology


IIM placements 2012 talks big money yet again:

It is that time of the year again when large global companies come to India to pick the best of talents for the best of price! The Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) across the country warmed up to begin the placement sessions in March, and there were new happy endings echoed from each corner of the country.

The esteemed management school of the country has not only maintained its placement story, but also outperformed itself in some cases. For instance, IIM- Calcutta’s (IIM-C), interviews were slotted to be held over five days; however, in just four days flat each of the 356 students bagged a job. Moreover, the total count of offers made, stood at 423, which meant that some of the students managed to get hold of more than one offer!

The institute saw an impressive response from FMCG, telecom, media and pharmacy companies like P&G, HUL, ITC, Kraft Cadbury, Nestle and Johnson & Johnson, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Biocon, GSK Pharma, Novartis and Times Group. Moreover, technology major Lenovo recruited for the very first time from IIM-C.

On the other hand, IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), got the deemed Boston Consulting Group to issue offers to 17 graduates, compared to 11 offers last year. The institute has also been able to attract renowned consulting companies such as McKinsey, Bain & Co, AT Kearney, Accenture and Oliver Wyman. The average salary being offered to the students is estimated to be around Rs 22 lakh to Rs 27 lakh.

The content story continued as IIM-Bangalore (IIM-B) concluded its placement process with 423 offers from 126 companies for 363 PGP students. IIM-B officials reportedly said that this was the biggest group recruited in the institute’s placement history. Of these 423 offers, 206 offers were made during the final placement, 124 during lateral placements and the remaining 93 were pre-placement offers (PPOs).

Consultancy sector was the major employer at IIM-B, employing upto 30% of the students. Finance and sales-marketing sectors followed close on heels and employed 22% and 21% of students respectively. The institute also saw as many as 36 first-timers including Zynga, Redbus, Development Bank of Singapore and Raymond.

Though the placement saga ended on a happy note for IIM-B, the institute has seen a steady drop in overseas offers this year due to the slowdown seen in the global economy. Last year, there were 74 overseas offers made, as compared to 43 offers this year. However, of the 74 overseas offers made in 2011 only 54 students had opted for them, but this year, 41 have accepted the overseas offer. Offers were made by firms based out of Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, London, Paris, New Jersey, Dallas, Seoul and Switzerland.

IIM-Lucknow (IIM-L) had 57 first-timer recruiters like Michael Page International, Target Retail and Ingersoll Rand. IIM-L, had a total of 446 offers being made by 216 companies for the 389 graduating students of 2012 batch.

At IIM-Kozhikode (IIM-K), first-time recruiters increased by an appalling 47%, which included Global Environment Consulting (GEC), String Infotech, Head Hunters and Arbitron. Around 135 companies participated in the placements this year and IIM-K witnessed a top international pay package of $150,000, which was offered by a Europe-based investment bank. The institute also attracted start-up companies like Sports Cradle, Global Environment Concern, Neudesic and Heckyl.

Following the success stories of its counterparts, on a rather disturbing note, IIM-Indore has chalked out a plan to partner with some placement firms to get all the 450 students in its current batch recruited. The institute is reportedly in talks with around five agencies.

Govt pays Rs 2,500 cr to Vodafone after SC rejects review petition in tax case:

The Supreme Court has rejected the government's review petition in the Rs 11,000 crore Vodafone tax case.

Earlier in January, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Vodafone - observing that the income-tax authorities have no jurisdiction to tax Vodafone's $2.2 billion purchase of a majority stake in the Indian mobile unit of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa.

News came in last evening that the IT Deparment has handed over Rs 2,500 crore to Vodafone and that too with interest of 4%.

Union Budget 2012 had proposed to tax such transactions retrospectively. So the government can still send fresh notice to Vodafone, but it will have to wait till the Budget is passed.

Reacting to the entire incident, law minister Salman Khurshid said that the dismissal of the review petition and the Finance Bill can't be linked and that the consequence will be different once the government amends the IT Act. “Finance Bill will have separate consequences for government, Vodafone. Consequences may be convergent with Supreme Court's verdict,” he said.

Source: http://www.yourmoneysite.com



Vodafone will have to pay tax if I-T Act is amended: Govt:

British telecom major Vodafone will have to pay over Rs 11,000 crore tax, once the amendment to change the Income Tax Act is approved by Parliament, a Finance Ministry official said today.

"They (Vodafone) will have to automatically pay the tax after approval of the amendments to the Finance Bill by Parliament. We don't need to send fresh tax demand notice to them," a Finance Ministry official said.

The government yesterday refunded Rs 2,500 crore along with 4% interest to Vodafone following dismissal of its review petition against January 20 order by the Supreme Court.

The government had raised a Rs 11,000 crore withholding tax demand on UK-based telecom firm for its $11 billion acquisition deal with Hutchison Essar in 2007.

With an aim to clarify the "intent" of the Income Tax 1961 on taxation of overseas deals involving domestic assets, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his 2012-13 Budget has proposed to amend the law with retrospective effect, to ensure that such deals are taxed.

"You can only tax on the basis of existing law. We have no right to tax them, current law will prevail so long law is not changed," Law Minister Salman Khurshid had said yesterday after a meeting of senior Cabinet Ministers following dismissal of review petition by the apex court.

According to the Finance Ministry official, "an important question is about equity in taxation. While ordinary tax payer pays its taxes honestly, those who have huge wealth do not pay taxes by taking recourse to tax avoidance through creation of multiple structures and routing their investments through low tax and no tax jurisdiction."

In the $11.2 billion deal in May 2007, Vodafone had acquired 67 percent stake in the Hutchison-Essar Ltd (HEL) from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Group through companies based in the Netherlands and Cayman Island.

Source: www.business-standard.com

March 20th, 2012

SC dismisses review petition in Vodafone tax case:


It is yet another setback for the government in the Vodafone tax case -- the Supreme Court today dismissed the review petition filed by the central government in the tax case. With this the apex court retained its earlier ruling of no tax liability in Hutch-Vodafone transaction.

The Supreme Court dismissed the tax department's plea seeking a review of the court's ruling in January that Vodafone Group was not liable to pay any tax on its acquisition of Indian mobile assets, a lawyer on the case said.

Vodafone won a five-year legal battle against the Indian tax authorities in January as the country's top court dismissed a USD 2.2 billion tax demand raised over the British mobile phone giant's acquisition of Indian mobile assets in 2007.

The tax office last month filed a petition seeking a review of that judgment.

Will Vodafone be slapped with a new tax?

That is quite possible because they have moved a retrospective amendment. Clearly they have put in a validation clause in the finance bill saying that this over rules any court judgment.

So, the fact that the review petition has been dismissed today leaves the government with only two options,
one is to file a curative petition and the second is for a fresh tax amount to be slapped.

Another thing to remember is, the inance bill is now the property of the house. So, if the Parliament decides to pass the finance bill, which has a retrospective amendment, which has the validation clause in it and which has also changed the law of limitation to 16 years of foreign assets, then if you look at all these three aspects its is to enable and facilitate the government to be able to file a fresh tax demand.

We have also spoken to Vodafone's lawyers on this and they have said that if that happens they will again take the matter to court. So even though the petition may have been dismissed today, its certainly going to go this way or the other.

Source: www.moneycontrol.com

FDI up by 92% in January to $2 billion:


India received $2 billion foreign direct investment in January, showing an annual growth of 92% and taking cumulative inflows to $26.19 billion for April-January period of the current fiscal.

In January 2011, the country received foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $1.04 billion.

Experts feel if reforms are pushed, there is much more potential for attracting increased foreign investment.

"There is an urgent need for strong reforms like 100% FDI in sectors like multi-brand retail and insurance. There is a need to boost investor confidence. $2 billion in month is not a big number," Ficci Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said.

The sectors which received large foreign FDI inflows during the 10-month period this fiscal are: services ($4.83 billion), pharmaceuticals ($3.20 billion), telecommunication ($1.99 billion), construction ($2.23 billion), power ($1.56 billion) and metallurgical industries ($1.65 billion).

Mauritius remain the top source of inflows ($8.91 billion), thanks to the double taxation avoidance treaty.

Other sources were Singapore ($4.30 billion), Japan ($2.75 billion), UK ($2.75 billion), Germany ($1.46 billion), Netherlands ($1.16 billion) and Cyprus ($1.31 billion).

FDI inflows into India totalled $19.42 billion in 2010-11 financial year, down from $25.83 billion in 2009-10.

Recently, the government has liberalised the FDI regime and allowed overseas investment in bee-keeping and share-pledging for raising external debt.

Besides, the conditions for FDI in construction of old-age homes and educational institutions have been eased.

These will not be subject to the minimum and built-up area, capitalisation and lock-in period norms as applicable for the construction activities.



Source: www.dnaindia.com

March 19th, 2012

Feb retail inflation rises to 8.83% but veggies get cheaper:

Retail inflation was at 8.83 percent in February on account of higher prices of protein based items and edible oil products.

Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index, was 7.65 per cent the January, as per the government data release here on Monday.

Among other items, only vegetable prices saw a decline of 4.73 percent over the February 2011 level.

During the month, the prices of egg, meat and fish rose by 10.62 per cent, while milk and its products turned costlier by 15.76 percent, year—on—year.

While ‘cereals and products’ reported a moderate price rise of 2.40 percent in February, pulses and products saw a rise of 4.17 percent.

Inflation in the ‘oil and fat’ category shot up 12.76 percent and condiment spices became costly by 8.68 percent.

Price of fuel and light, and clothing, bedding and footwear segments were in double—digits.

The inflation rates for rural and urban areas were 8.36 percent and 9.45 percent in February.

According to the revised data, retail inflation in rural and urban areas was – 7.28 percent and 8.25 percent in January.

Source: www.firstpost.com


Poverty dips to 29.8% in 2009-10: Planning Commission:


 The Planning Commission today said poverty in India declined 7.3 percent points to 29.8 percent of the population over five years to 2009-10.

Poverty in rural areas declined at a faster pace than in urban cities between 2004-05 and 2009-10, according to the Planning Commission estimates released on Monday.

Poverty in rural areas declined at a faster pace than in urban cities between 2004-05 and 2009-10. Reuters
The total number of poor in the country has been estimated at 34.47 crore in 2009-10, as against 40.72 crore in 2004-05.

“The all India head count (HCR) ratio has declined by 7.3% points from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10, with rural poverty declining by 8% points from 41.8% to 33.8% and urban poverty declining by 4.8% point form 25.7% to 20.9%,” said an official statement.

The sharp decline in poverty of over 10% points was witnessed in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.

The data revealed that the poverty has increased in North-eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, the statement said.

Some of the bigger states, such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh have shown only marginal decline in poverty ratio, particularly in rural areas.

Source: www.firstpost.com

14 March 2012

Railway Budget 2012: First fare hike in 10 years:

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi "marginally" increased passenger fares while presenting his maiden Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Trivedi announced that passenger fares were subsidising freight rates so they need to be rationalised. It is the first time that passenger fares have been increased in the last 10 years.

Trivedi increased the passenger fares by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class; 3 paise per km for mail/express second class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC Chair Car, AC 3 tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2 tier and 30 paise per km for AC I. Even the price of platform tickets has been raised to Rs 5 from Rs 3.

Trivedi laid a lot of stress on safety and modernisation. Pointing out that he took over as the Railway Minister on a day when there was a train accident, he said that he would work towards making the Railway one of the safest mode of transport in the country.

Trivedi laid a lot of stress on safety and modernisation. Pointing out that he took over as the Railway Minister on a day when there was a train accident, he said that he would work towards making the Railway one of the safest mode of transport in the country.

Announcing the setting up of a Railway Safety Committee, which will be headed by Anil Kakodkar, he said that Indian Railways need to learn from Europe where there have been no major accidents for the past several decades even though trains run at a very speed there. He added that all unmanned level crossings would be abolished in the next five years.

Trivedi announced that signalling system and 19,000 km of track would be modernised through renewal upgradation would be undertake. He said that the track which are proposed to be modernised account for almost 80 per cent of traffic. Trains would be able to run at more than 160 kmph on the upgraded tracks. The tracks would also be able to tackle 25 ton axle load.

The Railway Minister started his speech thanking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Trivedi also took the names of his predecessors in the Railway Ministry in his speech. He lauded their efforts in making the railways India’s lifeline.

Live updates:

All meter gauge, narrow gauge sections to be made broad gauge, except heritage lines, by end of 12th Five Year Plan.

Logistics Corporation will be created for providing logistics solutions for rail users.

Indian Railways Stations Development Corp will redevelop stations and maintain them on pattern of airports.

Plan to modernise 19,000 km of railway tracks, which cater to 80 per cent of traffic.

Annual plan for 2012-13 targeted ar Rs 60,100 crore.

Anil Kakodkar to head High Speed Rail Safety Committee.

Strong case for government to significantly enhance investment in Railways.

National investment needed in Indian Railways.

Want operating ratios at 74 per cent by 2016-17.

Huge sum of Rs 14 lakh crore is required in the next 10 years.

Want to reduce operating ratio from 95 per cent to 84.9 per cent in 2012-13.

825 km of gauge conversion to be completed. 85 new line projects and 114 new line survey to be carried
out.

State governments requested to come forward to share the cost to facilitate early completion of projects.

All the lines for which the Planning Commission has given approval have been included.

Allocation of Rs 6,872 crore has been made under new lines plan.

Most of the projects can't be completed in time bound manner unless supported by government.

Suggests ploughback dividend of Rs 20,000 crore.

Rs 2.5 lakh crore as budgetary support from government in 12th five-year plan.

Will invest Rs 3.5 lakh crore during 12th five year plan in Railways.

Recommendations of Kakodkar committee on safety to be implemented.

Expert committee observed that Indian Railways suffers from implementation bug.

To set up Railway Research and Developmental Council.

To set up independent railway safety authority.

Funding is an issue which needs to be addressed collectively.

Eliminate level crossings.

Target should be zero deaths.

Safety never sleeps. Safety has to be benchmark. Safety has been remarkable in Europe.

Entire emphasis will be on strengthening safety.


Mar 12, 2012

January IIP at 6.8%; cap goods down 1.5% YoY:



Industrial output rose higher-than-expected in January at 6.8% buoyed by an increase in production of non durable goods even as the capital goods and mining sectors continued to decline.

The consumer non-durable goods sector saw a growth of 42.1% versus 5%, year-on-year. However, the capital goods space remained a sore point as the figure dropped to negative 1.5% compared to 5.3% growth same period last year.

According to Upasna Bhardwaj, economist, ING Vysya, the recovery is not broadbased. "Subdued capital goods output continues to increase the call for expediting measures to boost investment activity."

Analysts on average had expected a rise of 2.1%, a CNBC-TV18 poll showed. The January figure compares with December's provisional increase of 1.8%.

Manufacturing output, which constitutes about 76% of industrial production, rose 8.5% from a year earlier, the statistics office said.

During April-January, industrial production expanded 4.0%. Output grew 7.8% in the 2010-11 fiscal year that ended in March, below the 10.5% clocked the year before.

The mining sector of the economy grew at (-) 2.7% in January versus (-) 3.7% in December.

The BSE Sensex pared gains after stronger-than-expected industrial output reduced hopes for a rate cut, which some analysts had previously said could have come as early as this week's RBI policy meeting.
In a surprise move on Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its cash reserve ratio by 75 bps, which is expected to release Rs 48,000 crore into the system.

Now, the central bank is certainly going to wait for the Budget and the government's borrowing programme for the next year and what is going to be the (fiscal) deficit number, says Ashok Gautam, senior vice president and global head of markets, Axis Bank. "That is why we believe the rate decision will happen in April."

March 2012

March 13th 2012


Natco Pharma bags licence to sell Bayer's cancer drug copy
-Bayer says disappointed with patent controller in India's decision
Star India sells 17.3% stake in Hathway Cables for Rs 358 cr
-Macquarie Bank buys 1.06 cr shares @ Rs 145/share
-Providence Equity Advisors Mauritius buys 1.41 crore shares @ Rs 145/share

Azim Premji trust to sell stake via OFS
-BSE to be designated exchange for Wipro OFS
-Promoters to sell 3.5 crore shares; floor price not to be disclosed
-Issue to open on March 14
-Issue to open at 9:15 am and close at 1:30 pm
-Morgan Stanley, CSFB, Citigroup, UBS bankers to OFS

PharmAsia Exclusive: Sources
- Biocon - Pfizer deal for a range of insulin seen in crisis
-Deal may be called off but efforts on to diffuse issues
-Pfizer, Biocon decline comment on market speculations
Trent QIP
-Book launched yesterday (Closed last night)
-Raises USD 50 million, issue priced at Rs 912/share
-Issue subscribed 2 times, issue only for domestic investors
-JM Financial and Standard Chartered book runners to the issue

Financial Technologies :
-Two arms seek Mumbai court okay for capital reduction
-Sees Rs 42.3 crore hit on books if arms cut capital

DB Corp says
-Promoters to cut stake via auction, other means to 75%
-Promoters to sell 11.43% stake in company by June 3, 2013

Other stocks and sectors that are in news today:
- Coal India to pay Rs 9.5/share as interim dividend
- Sesa Goa commits USD 2.6 billion to develop Liberian assets - BL
- Thermax to replace Continer Corp in FTSE IDFC Infra Index - BL
- NMDC to buy Brazilian company for USD 150 million - ET
- Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) cancels 50 flights on Monday


March 12th 2012

RBI
Cuts CRR by 75 bps to 4.75% from 5.5% effective March 10
CRR cut to inject Rs 48,000 cr into the system
Cut to ensure smooth credit flow to productive sectors
Liquidity deficit high on structural, frictional factors
Liquidity deficit large despite 50 bps cut on Jan 25
CRR cut to inject permanent primary liquidity
Overall liquidity deficit persists above RBI comfort level
Liquidity scene tightening in March due to advance outgo
Liquidity deficit seen rising significantly in Mid-MARCH
Injected Rs 1.24 lakh cr via OMO so far in FY12

CNBC-TV18 Exclusive - Banking Secy Says
RBI has taken the right decision
Unusual move by RBI to advance decision before credit policy
Decision taken by RBI in the right spirit
Tax collections next wk would have created mismatch for banks
Banking system was creating huge liquidity crunch

SBI Chairman Says
CRR cut to boost SBI liquidity by Rs 6,500 cr
CRR to boost SBI FY12 bottom-line by Rs 300 cr
No immediate plan to withdraw 'unfixed' deposit scheme
SBI to decide on base rate in 7-10 days
Chanda Kochhar Says
CRR cut of 75 bps is a proactive step by RBI
CRR cut will help to inject permanent liquidity in system
CRR cut to ensure smooth flow of credit in corporate, retail
Expected to bring down high level of overnight borrowings

CNBC-TV18 Exclusive on Neyveli 's FPO
Fresh move initiated for NLC follow on offer
Draft cabinet note moved for 5% FPO in NLC
Preferred route for FPO via auction route
Neyveli lignite FPO likely in next fiscal

Jet Airways
Defaults on service tax payment
Tax dept threatens to freeze the airline's accounts
Jet Airways statement:
Jan service tax of Rs 35 cr will be paid on Mar 12
Feb service tax of Rs 35 cr will be paid on March 15

KFA
In talks to sell 24.5% stake in Kingfisher Airlines (will not trigger open offer)
Also looking to sell KF house, The Qube
Other stocks and sectors in the news
Coal India board meeting today to consider interim dividend for FY12
Anil Ambani sells its 8% stake in NICE for Rs 300 cr (Nandi Infra Corridor) valuing co at Rs 4000 cr - TOI
Ban on cotton exports lifted
India Securities delisting offer opens on March 26, closes on March 28, floor price Rs 56/sh
REC bond issue closes today (plans to raise Rs 3000 cr)
ICSA to restructuring FCCBs worth USD 21 million

Fortune 500 Companies 2011

Rank: 1 (Previous rank: 1)

CEO: Michael T. Duke

Compare tool: Wal-Mart Stores vs. Top 10

Wal-Mart rules the Fortune 500 for the second year in a row -- and the eighth time this decade -- beating

Exxon Mobil decisively in the battle to be crowned America's largest company.

But things haven't been easy: Sales at its U.S. stores have dropped for seven straight quarters, despite gains in worldwide revenues and profits.

To fight back, CEO Michael Duke is restocking shelves with lower-priced products dropped by his predecessor, Lee Scott. He's also jumping on the anti-obesity bandwagon: Thousands of packaged food items are being reconfigured to cut their salt and sugar content. --Peter Newcomb, contributor

March 2012

March 1, 2012

Exports grow 10.1% in Jan to $25.34 bn:


India's exports grew by 10.1 per cent year-on-year in January to USD 25.34 billion despite weak demand in the Western markets, reversing a declining trend shown since the peak of July 2011.
However, the exports growth rate was a marginal increase over December 2011. The shipments had grown by 6.7 per cent year-on-year in December 2011.

Imports grew at a faster rate of 20.25 per cent to USD 40.1 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 14.76 billion, according to the Commerce Ministry data released here today.

From a peak of 82 per cent in July 2011, export growth has slipped to 44.25 per cent in August 2011, 36.36 per cent in September 2011 and 10.8 per cent in October last year.