HOT FROM THE PRESS :
* BANKS : Govt decides to double the limit of authorized capital in PSU banks to
help some banks like OBC, Syndicate Bank & UCO Bank to raise funds, which hv
been constrained so far because of the limit
* INFOSYS : CFO denies co looking at acquiring European IT firm Ciber Novasoft
* RELIANCE IND : Sinopec & TPG weigh a joint bid for LyondellBasell..
seperately S&P says limited benefits for Co if bid for LyondellBasell succeeds
* UNITECH : plans to raise $700mn via FCCBs.. seeks Govt nod for the issue
* SATYAM : the Central Bureau of Investigation finds evidence of an additional
Rs47bn corporate fraud in the co, perpetrated by its erstwhile promoters
* EXIDE INDUSTRIES : mgt says sales to remain low & no expectation of growth in
sales of batteries for heavy commercial vehicles in Q3
* GUJARAT FLUOROCHEM : plans to invest Rs 5bn for doubling existing capacity to
meet increased demand from dom and intln mkts
* ACKRUTI CITY : plans to set up Rs 3bn textile park to be completed in a year
* BAJAJ HINDUSTAN : Jt MD says prodn shortfall in India could push sugar prices
higher by 36% to 30 cents/pound, a 29 yr high
* MPHASIS : PAT Rs 9.09bn for yr ending Oct'09, Rev Rs 43.09bn
Corporate News – Industry trends
* The man who spearheaded the Satyam fraud, which had rocked the
corporate world early this year, was booked by the CBI for allegedly
accepting bribe; The country’s premier investigating agency has taken
into custody R Vasudevan, the acting chairman of the Company Law
Board, for allegedly accepting Rs 7 lakh from a company secretary
whose case is being heard by the board (BS)
* Infosys Technologies, the country’s second largest IT services
company, is actively looking at acquiring companies in the consulting
and healthcare spaces in the range of US$400-500 mn (BS)
* Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd said it has bagged an Rs 56bn contract
from an arm of Jaiprakash Associates for setting up a thermal power
plant in Uttar Pradesh (BL)
* Reliance Industries has reopened about two-thirds of its 1,432
petrol pumps in the country and is selling about 2,000 kilolitres of auto
fuel per day, RIL president-refinery business P Raghavendran said (BS)
* Bhushan Steel may look at doing a JSW Steel-JFElike deal with
Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Industries; Sources said Bhushan might
explore offloading around 2.1 mn shares of its 42 mn shares to
Sumitomo. This was in addition to the joint venture opportunity being
explored for the six mn-tonne Bengal steel project (BS)
* The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has
recommended approving Gucci’s plans to pick-up 51 % stake in Luxury
Goods Retail Ltd, under single brand retail (BL)
* Unitech will raise US$700 mn through FCCBs; the company has
sought approval from the Department of Industrial Policy and Planning
(DIPP) and the Reserve Bank of India to raise the fund through
convertible instruments (ET)
* Hindalco Industries has raised US$600 mn by selling shares to
institutional investors. The issue that was launched on Monday, diluted
Hindalco’s equity capital by 11% and pared down the promoter
shareholding (ET)
* JSW Steel, which last week tied up with Japanese steel giant JFE for
technology, may sell as much as 40% in its upcoming 10-million tonne
steel unit in West Bengal to its overseas partner (ET)
* Sun TV Network Ltd, announced tariff revision for its flagship
channel Sun TV; On the basis of its “sustained viewership and
consistent higher ratings for its serials,” the company has increased its
advertising rates by 9% to 33%, says a press release from the
company (BL)
* Mumbai-based real estate developer Ackruti City plans to set up an
Rs 3bn textile park on 60 acres in suburban Biwandi near here (BL)
* To promote traffic of automobiles through the railways, its
ministry is considering 15 automobile hubs to be set up on PPP across
the country; the railways would provide land for constructing the hubs
and the facilities would be set up by private sector players. These auto
hubs would not only serve as vendor parks, but also have assembling
units where components can be put together before cars are
transported to sales centers (BS)
Economic/Regulatory development
* PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack
Obama attempted to give new impetus to the strategic relationship
and push forward ties in several key areas from climate change to
counter-terrorism; “I believe relations between India and US will be
the defining moment of the 21st century,” said Mr Obama at a joint
press conference after the talks (ET)
* THE auction of 3G spectrum, vital for high-end services such as
ultra-fast internet on mobile, which is slated to begin on January 14, is
likely to be deferred by a ‘few weeks’, as the DoT and the defence
ministry will require more time to coordinate and assign the airwaves
vacated by the armed forces (ET)
International trends
* The US economy grew more slowly than first thought in the
third quarter, but house prices rose for the fifth month in September
and US consumer confidence was up in November in data published on
Thursday, suggesting a slow economic recovery is still intact (BS)
* Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, plans
to raise a record 13.5 bn pounds in the country’s biggest rights
offering, selling shares at a 59.5% discount. The bank gained in
London trading (BS)
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