Fidelity’s terminates 30 in Gurgaon

Highlights: Economic Survey 2007-08 - HT
The survey, tabled in Parliament today, pegs economic growth in FY 08 at 8.7%, lower than 9.6% in FY 07
* Economic growth in FY 08 pegged at 8.7%, against 9.6% a year ago
* Inflation to decline from 5.6% in FY 07 to 4.4% in 08
* Inflation and infrastructure biggest challenges for growth
* Dearth of skill causing attrition, wage hike; pushing inflation
* Farm growth in FY 08 seen at 2.6%, against 3.8% a year ago
* Foodgrain output seen at 219.3 MT in FY 08 against 217.3 MT in FY 07
* Acceleration in domestic investment, savings drove growth
* Macroeconomic fundamentals continue to inspire confidence
* Industrial growth slower at 9% in first 9 months of FY 08
* Costly rupee, sluggish consumer goods and infra a concern for the economy

Good news for Indian cos on IT spend

BANGALORE: Early indications on IT spending by large global corporations suggest that growth in offshore/outsourcing budgets may be either flat or marginally up. For the Indian IT services industry, especially for the large players like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, the annual IT budgets of its clients sets the tone for the rest of the year.
The IT budgets, which are generally finalised by the end of December or early January, was delayed this time primarily due to the uncertainty in the US economy. The dependance of the Indian IT industry on the US economy is well above 50%.
According to Forrester's Global IT 2008 Market Outlook, the IT services spending by the US economy is expected to show a growth of 4% in 2008 against 6% in 2007. While early indications suggest IT budgets have been either flat or moderately up, there has been a cut in the BFSI spending, according to analysts. The cut in BFSI spending has been largely by the US banks, which have been hit hard by subprime crisis and are under pressure to cut costs. –

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2820866.cms

Fidelity's offshore facility hands out pink slips to 30 in Gurgaon
Recruiters for global financial firms say they have not seen any slowdown in their clients' hiring drive

Fidelity Business Services India Pvt. Ltd, the business process offshore division or back office of one of the world's largest asset management firms, has terminated the services of 30 employees at its investment management services group in Gurgaon in what it terms as a "business decision."
Fidelity Business Services provides research and information technology assistance to the global operations of its parent, Fidelity International. Established in 2001, the firm employs around 7,000 people across three offices. The number of people employed in the investment management services group isn't known.
"There was a review of the way in which analyst support was provided to global offices. The reorganization of the team has led to some roles being discontinued. However, Fidelity remains committed to India," said a Fidelity spokesperson.
Fidelity International also runs an asset management company in India, Fidelity Fund Management Pvt. Ltd. This firm managed Rs9,509 crore of assets as on 31 January. It is also registered as a foreign institutional investor (FII) with stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Fallout of the US crisis?

A senior executive of a back office firm said it was only a matter of time before the US credit crisis that has affected large financial institutions in that country, has an impact on the so-called captive back-office units of those companies here. "One could see either a slowdown in the recruitment process at these captive units or the resources may be channelized into other operations," this person added.
Wall Street investment banks, stung by debt losses, have cut tens of thousands of jobs, and even more significant cuts could come in the months ahead amid a bleaker earnings outlook.

US financial services firms eliminated more than 52,000 jobs in the second half of last year, a New York City official said in the second week of February, based on a quarterly study. Boston Consulting Group's Achim Scvhwetlick estimates that firms may reduce headcount by 5-7%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc., Bear Stearns Cos Inc. and Morgan Stanley have been cutting jobs since June, though pink slips have been on the rise since late January.
Many of these firms have outsourced some of their operations to India, employing thousands of people. Lehman has a back office in Mumbai, Lehman Brothers Financial Services (India) Pvt. Ltd; JPMorgan Chase and Co. has two such units in Mumbai and one in Bangalore; and Goldman Sachs has one in Bangalore. It is not known whether any of these firms has seen a slowdown in the recruitment process, although an executive at a staffing services firms thinks that unlikely.
"It (the crisis) hasn't affected the hiring requirements" of the back offices of the "international finance companies we work with," said Raman Hariharan, general manager, information technology enabled services practice, at Manpower Services India Pvt. Ltd.

Other recruiters also do not see a slowdown in hiring by the back offices of finance firms. Asim Handa, country manager at New Delhi-based Futuresteps, a subsidiary of recruiter Korn/Ferry International, said his firm has not seen any slowdown in the ­recruitment drive of his ­clients.

Futuresteps hires middle management executives for the captive business operations of some international financial services firms here.

Joseph A. Giannone of Reuters in New York contributed to this story.

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News across India 28th Feb 2008

--Ahmedabad bourse in tie-up talks with Nasdaq
--ICICI Lombard rolls out weather insurance -
--Increasing tax efficiency
--IIM-A, IIM-C hike fees; others may follow suit -
--Market cheers Economic Survey –
--NIIT Technologies acquires German firm
--Indiabulls Securities may list in March: Official
--Annual inflation seen at 4.79% on February 16
--Govt staff may get a 25% pay hike
--Slowdown in capital flows could affect market in short term: Survey    
--Chidambaram confident of 9% growth in 2008-09

Ahmedabad bourse in tie-up talks with Nasdaq

Nasdaq, one of the largest electronic equity exchanges in the US, is in talks with the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange (ASE), India's second-oldest exchange, and a couple of other regional stock exchanges for a possible collaboration.

If the deal is struck, the ASE will become the first regional exchange to have a foreign partner.

"The tie-up with the ASE could either be an equity partnership or a technology tie-up, or both. The regulatory bodies have to clear the proposal and we also need approval from our members first," a top ASE official said on conditions of anonymity.

Sources close to the development said one of the objectives of the collaboration is to create a third parallel platform on the lines of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the two largest equities markets in India. (Full story)

 

 

ICICI Lombard rolls out weather insurance -

Product aided by satellite to enable accurate yield assessment.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance, in association with Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS), has launched a hybrid weather-cum-satellite imagery-based insurance product in India to cover the risk of farmers growing wheat in the Patiala district of Punjab.

Although weather-based crop insurance covers are available, ICICI Lombard's product is unique as it uses satellite-based imagery to assess crop yields.

The Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu governments have also agreed to introduce the same product in some of their districts.

The product, if successful, is likely to significantly reduce the time required for estimating the yield of an area by carrying out crop-cutting experiments. The procedure can also verify the accuracy of crop-cutting experiments conducted to assess yields.

 

 

Increasing tax efficiency

Tax officials across the country will welcome Finance Minister P Chidambaram's statement that, with tax collections growing handsomely, they can expect an incentive bonus. Certainly, there is reason to celebrate when the tax to GDP ratio has climbed quite significantly, and when direct taxes on incomes and profits (which have grown by more than 40 per cent for two years running) overtake indirect taxes on goods and services. Any modern tax system reduces taxes on commodities and focuses more on taxing incomes — that way the system causes fewer distortions and also becomes more egalitarian. But it may be premature to equate rising tax collections with rising tax efficiency; the growth in revenue could simply be a result of the sharp growth in profits, a trend that now seems to be tapering off as the economy slows. The finance minister has already referred to the problem with excise duties, which for many years have been rising at less than half the growth rate for industrial output. The key question is whether compliance has improved, and whether the tax net is catching all those whom it is intended to catch.

On this score, the news is not so good. Analysis of major tax trends and efficiency levels, done by Sanjay Kumar, AL Nagar and Sayan Samanta of the tax department and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, show that while there has been improvement in the indices of tax compliance, there are action areas that need urgent attention. Indeed, in an article in this newspaper last week, Mr Kumar argued that compliance rates have not gone up so significantly as to the general demand for lower tax rates.

 

 

IIM-A, IIM-C hike fees; others may follow suit -

Studying at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) is going to be costlier with two institutes — IIM-Calcutta (IIM-C) and IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) — hiking fees for the two-year post graduate management programme (PGP) by Rs 1 lakh.

The other IIMs, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Kozhikode, IIM-Lucknow and IIM-Indore, are also expected to decide on fee hike at their board meetings in early March.

IIM-C announced it would hike its annual fee for the first year to Rs 3 lakh from Rs 2 lakh and for the second year to Rs 4 lakh from Rs 2 lakh.

Last year too, the premier institute had increased its fees from Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per annum.

This means students at IIM-C will have to shell out Rs 7 lakh for the 2008-10 PGP batch, compared with the current Rs 4 lakh.

However, students seeking admission to the 2009-2011 batch will have to pay Rs 8 lakh.

Commenting on the fee hike, IIM-C Director Shekhar Chaudhuri said, "The decision to raise the fees was taken in view of the rising costs and will be implemented from the coming academic session. (Full Story)

 

 

Market cheers Economic Survey –

MUMBAI: Stock rose from the day's lows as investors cheered data from the pre-Budget Economic Survey. The government has sounded a word of caution to investors, asking them to resist the herd mentality, but also stated that the road ahead is optimistic for equity investment. At 12:40 pm, the Sensex was up 4 points at 17,830.24, rising from a low of 17,692.13 in trade so far.

Hindalco Industries (up 3.37%), Cipla (2.31%), Mahindra & Mahindra (1.99%), HDFC Bank (1.05%) and ONGC (0.83%) led the advances. Ambuja Cement (down 2.44%), State Bank of India (1.79%), ACC (1.17%), Reliance Industries (1.14%) and ICICI Bank (1.01%) continued to drag.

The Nifty was up 8 points at 5276.05, off the low of 5227.55. The market breadth showed 517 advances and 664 declines on NSE. Presenting the Economic Survey, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said investors would do well to resist from commonly observed 'herd mentality' and 'panic' in their buying and selling operations.  (Full story)

 

 

NIIT Technologies acquires German firm

MUMBAI: NIIT Technologies signed a share purchase agreement for acquisition of 100 per cent of share capital of Softec GmbH, Germany. Softec GmbH focuses on providing IT solutions and services worldwide in the airline revenue accounting and operations space. They have a major market share of about 40 small to medium airlines within Europe, Africa and Asia. At 12pm, the stock was at Rs 133.45, down 1.15 per cent on the BSE.

 

 

Indiabulls Securities may list in March: Official

MUMBAI: Brokerage firm Indiabulls Securities Ltd, which was spun-off from flagship Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd last year, is expected to list next month, a senior company official said on Thursday.

"Approvals from the stock exchanges have been received and now we are waiting for Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) clearance," Indiabulls Financial Chief Executive Officer Gagan Banga told reporters.

Shareholders of Indiabulls Financial will get one share of the brokerage for every share held. Indiabulls started operations as a broking firm, but now gets majority of its revenue from financial services business.

Its realty arm, Indiabulls Real Estate, which was also spun off from the main firm in 2007, has now forayed into retail and power generation.

 

 

Annual inflation seen at 4.79% on February 16 - Economics Times

MUMBAI: Annual inflation rate is expected to jump to its highest in more than eight months in mid-February, as higher oil and food prices take effect, a poll of 11 analysts showed on Thursday.

The wholesale price index is forecast to have risen 4.79 percent in the 12 months to Feb 16. That is sharply higher than 4.35 per cent a week earlier, and will be the highest reading since June 2, 2007, when it hit 5.09 per cent.

Still, it would be the 37th successive week that inflation has been below 5 percent, the Reserve Bank of India's target for the fiscal year that ends in March.

Govt raised state-set retail prices of petrol and diesel for the first time in 20 months two weeks ago, a move analysts said would increase the inflation rate in coming weeks. In a policy review last month, the central bank kept key rates steady, saying inflation risks persisted, but signalled its readiness to act if turbulence in global markets threatened growth and financial stability.

 

 

Govt staff may get a 25% pay hike

NEW DELHI: Less than 48 hours from now, the suspense on salary slips for nearly 40 lakh government employees should come to an end. Budget 2008-09 is expected to provide the first indications of whether the Sixth Pay Commission will turn out to be a bonanza.

And if the provision for railway employees is an indication (Rs 5,000 crore for 14 lakh em-ployees), government employees may be in for a 20%-25% hike. In the current fiscal, the outgo on account of pay and allowances for the government is being estimated at Rs 46,379 crore. However, if one factors in the arrears and pensions with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006, the actual impact could be as high as three times this figure, experts say. (Full story)

 

 

Slowdown in capital flows could affect market in short term: Survey

MUMBAI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram tabled the Economic Survey for 2007-08 - a report card on the economy during this fiscal that would show the direction of government policy in the year ahead. The government today said that any slowdown in the excess capital flows from last year's high levels could affect the stock market in short-term, even as it would make the monetary management easier.

"There has been a renewed expansion of liquidity by these countries (US and other developed economies) and this may increase the capital inflows into India and other emerging markets," the pre-Budget Economic Survey said, while outlining its concern over the US sub-prime crisis.

The government said in its Economic Survey 2007-08, tabled in Parliament today by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, that the situation of excess inflows is likely to remain, though the pressure on reserve accumulation and rupee is likely to ease.  (Full story)

 

 

Chidambaram confident of 9% growth in 2008-09

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday exuded confidence of achieving a nine per cent economic growth and containing inflation in 2008-09 and said this would help ensure overall welfare of common man.

Speaking to reporters after tabling Economic Survey 2007-08 in the Parliament, Chidambaram said that he was confident of achieving 11th Plan target of 9 per cent growth.

With the better targeting of government reserves and increase in quality, we can ensure the overall welfare of the common man in terms of both private consumption and supply of public goods, he said.

"Given the solid foundation of domestic investment and savings, we are confident of meeting the 11th Plan target of nine per cent average growth," the Finance Minister said.

"We will be able to mobilise the resources for meeting the growth target of nine per cent," he added.

Chidambaram said that economy has precisely moved to higher growth trajectory during the five years to 2007-08 in terms of GDP with an average growth rate of 8.7 per cent per annum during these five years.

"This indicates stability and sustainability," he said.

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International Markets - 28th Feb 2008

Fed chiefs comments help US Market end higher

US Market witnessed sea saw trading for the entire day but ultimately ended higher for the day today, Wednesday, 27 February, 2008. The day started with a few not-so-exciting economic data. But then, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke today hinted that Fed in all possibility will go for another soft landing in its next meeting thereby reducing interest rates by another 50 bps. But at the same time, he once again remained cautious about the current economic condition and inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a gain of 9.3 points at 12,694. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 8.6 points at 2,353. S&P 500 finished lower by 1.1 points at 1,380. Fifteen out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the green today. Merck and Mac Donalds were a couple of noted Dow laggards.

In economic news, January durable good orders declined by a larger than expected amount. January durable good orders fell 5.3%, which is more than the consensus estimate that called for a decline of 4.0%. Excluding transportation, orders fell 1.6%, compared to the expected decline of 1.4%.

Also reported in the morning was that new home sales in January fell to an annualized rate of 588K, a decline from a prior reading of 605K. The number marks a 2.8% decline month-over-month. Market was expecting a slightly better reading of 600K.

A first quarter earnings loss by luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers added to further woes in the housing sector.

Regarding Chairman Bernanke's testimony at Capitol Hill today, Bernanke continued to emphasize downside risk to growth more than inflation. However, he said upside risks to inflation are greater than a month ago, noting commodity price gains. He said that this might cause an increase in the Fed's outlook on inflation.

Crude prices fell by more than a dollar today as Energy Department reported more than expected build up in crude inventories for the week that ended on 22 February, 2008. This was the seventh weekly rise in crude inventories. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for April delivery today closed at $99.64/barrel (lower by $1.24/barrel or 1.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the overnight session, the April contract touched a high of $102/barrel due to slumping dollar against rivals.

EIA reported today in the weekly inventory report that crude inventories grew more than expected, rising 3.2 million barrels to stand at 308.5 million barrels in the week ended 22 February. Market was expecting an increase of 2.6 million barrels.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange surpassed 1.4 billion, and for every seven stocks on the decline, eight were posting gains. On the Nasdaq, 1 billion shares traded hands, and decliners ran past advancers, also by 8 to 7.

Tomorrow there are economic reports on the dock. The fourth quarter preliminary GDP reading is due before tomorrow's opening followed by the jobless claims for the week ending 23 February.

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Mutual Funds News 28th Feb 2008

--Sundaram BNP Paribas MF files another offer document
--Principal Pnb MF files another offer document
--SEBI forms new norms for MF ad warnings
--No rapid fire MF risk warnings: SEBI
--Sebi to simplify MFs` new fund offer documents
--Quantum MF raises Rs 3.4 crore through Gold Fund
--ING MF declares dividend under FMP Series
--SBI MF files an offer document
--Birla AMC appoints new CEO



Sundaram BNP Paribas MF files another offer document

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund files another offer document to launch Fixed Maturity Plan- 90 days - Series 4. The scheme will have two-investment options viz. growth and dividend options. The dividend option will have reinvestment facility under it. The objective of this scheme would be to achieve income with minimum volatility by investing in a portfolio of fixed-income securities. The minimum application amount under retail plan is Rs 5000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The amount of investment under institutional plan is Rs 1 crore and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter.

 

         

Principal Pnb MF files another offer document

Principal Pnb Mutual Fund files another offer document to launch Fixed Maturity Plan- 91 days - Series 15. The scheme will have two-investment options viz. growth and dividend options. The dividend option under both plans will have the facility of payout and sweep. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to build an income-oriented portfolio and provide returns along with regular liquidity to investors. The minimum application amount will be Rs. 1000.

 

         

SEBI forms new norms for MF ad warnings

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has put a speed breaker on the rapidity with which mutual fund advertisements deliver their standard warnings. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read the offer document carefully before infusing must now be displayed and read out for at least five seconds in television and radio ads, said SEBI, in a circular. Currently, the warning could take up as little as 10 per cent of the time in a 20-second ad. The rapid-fire manner in which the standard warning is recited in the audio visual and audio media renders it unintelligible to the viewer/listener. The new norms have been decided in consultation with Associations of Mutual Funds in India.

 

 

No rapid fire MF risk warnings: SEBI

Market regulator SEBI has ruled that the standard warning message while selling mutual funds should be made intelligible to investors. It has made it mandatory that the time for display and voice over of the standard warning be enhanced to five seconds in audio visual advertisements, or alternately should be read in an easily understandable manner.

Although most fund officials say that any move which makes an investor more aware of the risk factors is desirable, they point out insurance investments do not carry the same level of warnings.

According to them, insurance companies selling Unit Linked Insurance Plans, should also be asked to state that they are subject to similar market risks since Ulips essentially invest in the stock markets too.

Unless IRDA comes up with a similar set of rules for insurance houses, the problem of no level playing field still remains, they reckon. In recent years, MFs have been losing the battle to insurance companies selling Ulips, as the latter fetch more commissions for the people selling them.

In a release issued on 27 February 2008, SEBI has objected to the rapid fire manner in which Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read the offer document carefully before investing is recited in the audio visual and audio media.

It said that the recital should be made in a manner that makes the motive behind warning more cleared to the listener or the reader. AP Kurien, chairman of AMFI, a trade body of all mutual fund houses in the country, said that the regulator had come out with the move after consultation with the body.

 

 

Sebi to simplify MFs` new fund offer documents

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to simplify the offer document (OD) of mutual funds new fund offerings (NFOs) in a move to make it investment decisions easier.

Sebi has reportedly held two rounds of discussions with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), which is the body for mutual funds in the country.

The proposal is likely to be referred to the Sebi board shortly.

The new rule will reduce the costs and time involved in preparing and filing offer documents with Sebi.

The move coincides with Sebi circular, asking mutual funds to spend at least five seconds to warn investors on the risks involved in mutual fund investments.

Sebi recently proposed fast-track clearances for fixed maturity plans (FMPs), investing only in short-term debt instruments.

About 70% of the mutual fund offer documents are filed for closed-ended schemes such as FMPs and interval schemes involving several series.

Although mutual fund houses make disclosures according to mandatory key information memorandum (KIM), the market players still think that a large portion of the offer documents is repetitive.

 

The Indian mutual fund industry has 33 players managing assets worth Rs 5,48,063.51 crore.

Several players are awaiting the Sebis approval to enter the mutual funds business in India.

The proposed rule may not be applicable for new funds as investors have limited knowledge about their businesses.

Sebi also intends to have a portal containing vital information about companies.

This will not only ease the filing process, but also do away with redundant information. It is an important move by the Sebi.

 

 

Quantum MF raises Rs 3.4 crore through Gold Fund

Quantum Mutual Fund has collected Rs 3.4 crore through its Quantum Gold Fund during its initial offer period from 24 January 2008 to 8 February 2008.

Quantum Gold Fund is an open-ended fund, which will be listed on the exchange in the form of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) tracking domestic prices of gold through investments in physical Gold.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns that are in line with the performance of gold and gold related instruments, subject to tracking errors. QGF is designed to provide returns that, before expenses, closely correspond to the returns provided by Gold.

The scheme will invest 90%-100% in physical gold. The scheme will invest 0-10% in money market instruments, short-term corporate debt securities, CBLO, and units of debt and liquid schemes of mutual funds. As the scheme invests 90% to 100% of the net assets into gold, the scheme will, by and large, be passively managed fund. However, the scheme may invest in gold related securities including derivatives.

 

 

ING MF declares dividend under FMP Series

ING India Mutual Fund has announced 4 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of ING Fixed Maturity Plan - Series XXXVII.

The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV of dividend option from the date of allotment to 4 March 2008 as dividend. The NAV under institutional plan is Rs 10.2066 and under retail plan is Rs 10.2055 as on 26 February 2008.

ING Fixed Maturity Plan - Series XXXVII is a close -ended scheme offering an investment objective to generate returns comparable with alternative fixed-income instruments of similar maturity. The scheme will invest in so as to minimise the impact of price fluctuation of such securities on the value of the at maturity.

 

 

SBI MF files an offer document

Name of Fund: Magnum Sector Funds Umbrella Banking and Financial Services Fund

Scheme: It is an open-ended equity scheme.

Objective: The investment objective of the scheme is to provide investors with opportunities for long term growth in capital through an active management of investments in a diversified basket of equity and equity related instruments of banking and financial services companies in equity and equity related instruments including derivatives of banking and financial services companies and in debt and money market instruments.

Investment options: The scheme offers two plans: Retail Plan and Institutional Plan. Both plans have growth and dividend options. Under the dividend option, facility for reinvestment and payout of dividend is available.

Asset Allocation: The scheme will invest 65-100% of its portfolio in equity and equity related instruments including derivatives of the banking and financial services companies. It may invest 0-35% in debt and money market instruments. The investment in debt and money market instruments includes 20% investment in securitized debt.

Exposure to derivatives instruments in the scheme can be up to a maximum of 50% of the equity portfolio of the scheme. Exposure to derivative instruments will be for hedging and portfolio balancing purposes in addition to exploring opportunities for returns enhancement.

Face Value: Rs 10.

Entry Load: Under retail plan, the scheme may charge an entry load of 2.25% for the investment below Rs 5 crore. For the investment above Rs 5 crore it may not levy entry load. The scheme under institutional plan may not charge an entry load.

Exit Load: Under retail plan, the scheme may charge an exit load of 1% for exit within 6 months from the date of reopening of the scheme. For exit after 6 months, the scheme may not impose any exit load. There will be no exit load charged under institutional plan.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs. 5000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. Under institutional plan, the minimum investment amount is Rs 5 crore and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter.

Minimum target amount: Rs 25 crore

Benchmark index: BSE Bankex.

Fund Manager: Mr. Sudhanshu Asthana

 

 

Birla AMC appoints new CEO

Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company has appointed Mr Anil Kumar as the Chief Executive Officer. Prior to this; Mr. Kumar has worked with Citibank in London, where he was the Global Head-NRI.

Mr Kumar has taken over his new responsibilities effective from 25 February 2008.

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Economy News 28th Feb 2008

--91.43-crore deficit Budget for MP
--Rupee at 39.78 against US dollar
--Economic Survey to be tabled today
--Court: deputation should add to service period for pension

91.43-crore deficit Budget for MP

BHOPAL: Finance Minister Raghavji on Feb 27 presented in the State Assembly the Madhya Pradesh Budget for 2008-09 with a budgetary deficit of Rs.91.43 crore. The Minister announced a reduction in entry tax on raw material inputs for textile industry and removal of entry tax on sponge iron and iron scrap for induction furnace. He also announced a reduction in VAT on diesel from 26 per cent to 25 per cent.

Mr. Raghavji went on to announce pension and medical facilities to those detained under the dreaded MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) during the infamous Emergency. Those who served six months or more behind bars would get Rs.6,000 per month as "Loknayak Jayaprakash Samman Nidhi" (monthly pension) while there would be a pension of Rs.3,000 for those jailed for more than three months but less than six months. One of the major budgetary announcements was that wheat would be available to each BPL family at the rate of Rs.3 per kg and rice at Rs.4.50 per kg . The budget for 2008-09 has a revenue surplus of Rs.2839.78 crore and the fiscal deficit for year is estimated at Rs.4741.00 crore, which is 3 per cent of the GSDP. The Finance Minister told media persons later that one of the important goals was to focus attention on gender budgeting to ensure equality for women, economic empowerment and women's participation in developmental schemes covered by 21 State departments. The Budget provides Rs.1371.47 crore for Energy, Rs.1656 crore for construction of roads and Rs.484 crore for road maintenance. The Finance Minister incorporated the Chief Minister's recent announcements at a Kisan Mahapanchayat here and told the House that there would be budgetary provision for a bonus of Rs.100 per quintal of wheat procured by government agencies for the public distribution system, reduction in rate of interest from 7 per cent to 5 per cent on short-term agriculture loans, relief in payment of old outstanding electricity bills, and increase in the rate of grant from 10 per cent to 30 per cent on drip/sprinkler irrigation.

 

 

Rupee at 39.78 against US dollar

Extending its surge against US dollar for third day in a row, rupee on Wednesday appreciated by 12 paise on sale of greenback by exporters and fresh capital inflows into the equity market. Weakness in dollar overseas as well as possibility of another rate cut by the Federal Reserve also contributed to the rupee's surge.

Rupee turned stronger by about 20 paise at 39.70 during morning trade after a strong rally in Asian equity markets raised hopes of increased portfolio inflows into the Asia's fast-growing economy. The Indian unit ended at 39.78/79 a dollar after moving in a range of 39.70 and 39.83 during the day. It touched the 39.83 level as local stocks turned weak in the afternoon trade.

 

 

Economic Survey to be tabled today

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram will table in Parliament on Thursday the Economic Survey - a report card on the economy during this fiscal that will also show the direction of government policy in the year ahead.

It will be followed by the presentation of the Budget for 2008-09 on Feb 29. The industry, which is upbeat after the presentation of a populist Railway budget yesterday, expects the Finance Minister too to announce cut in income tax and excise duty on various commodities to sustain GDP growth - now under pressure due to a slowdown in the US economy.

The Survey, mainly authored by the Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Virmani, is expected to indicate the government's priorities and thrust areas for the Budget 2008-09.After posting a scorching 9.6 per cent growth in 2006-07, the Indian growth story was seen slowing down in 2007-08. The Survey is expected to indicate policy measures to dampen inflation, which is ruling above the four per cent mark, reverse slowdown in export growth, tackle the impact of rising rupee and address the issue of spurt in global crude oil and food prices.

It is also expected to present a rosy picture of the economy and outline the achievements of the United Progressive Alliance government, besides high growth in tax collections. Savings and investment.

 

 

Court: deputation should add to service period for pension

New Delhi: If teachers working in State government schools are on deputation to Central institutions, their total period of service should be taken into consideration for calculating pension, the Supreme Court has held. A Bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice R.V. Raveendran pointed out that the Government of India, by official memoranda dated August 29, 1984 and February 7, 1986, clarified that the scheme of counting previous service would apply to State government employees moving to Central autonomous bodies.

The scheme required the previous employer, viz. the State government to accept pension liability for the service in accordance with the principles laid down in the memoranda, the Bench said. The State government should first work out its pension liability for the period the teacher worked in the State. For the period of service in Central schools, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) would work out the pension. This order was expected to benefit a large number of teachers who were working or who worked in Central schools on deputation from State governments.

In the instant case, Raghunandan Bhargava retired as an employee of the KVS on December 31, 1999. Prior to joining the KVS, he worked as assistant teacher in the Madhya Pradesh Education department from November 4, 1960 to January 7, 1978. As his full service was not calculated for pension, he moved the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur, for reckoning and adding the period of his service as assistant teacher in the Education department. The tribunal allowed the petition. The Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected an appeal from the KVS against the tribunal order. In its special leave petition against that order, the KVS contended that since the employee failed to exercise his option as envisaged under the 1984/1986 schemes, he was not entitled to pension for his full service.

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Market News 28th Feb 2008

--Bharat Forge to raise Rs 300 Crores through a Preferential offer to the Promoters
--BGR Energy awarded Turnkey Balance of Plant (BOP) contract of Rs 793 Crores
--Mahindra & Mahindra Financial - Allotment of equity shares

Bharat Forge to raise Rs 300 Crores through a Preferential offer to the Promoters

Bharat Forge Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on February 27, 2008 approved a Preferential Issue of Convertible Warrants subject to requisite approval by the Shareholders and the applicable guidelines to the Promoters Group.

Pricing of the issue will be governed by the Guidelines for Preferential Issue in terms of the applicable SEBI Guidelines.

The Company will raise Rs 300 crores through the issue of these convertible warrants. The proceeds will form a part of the corpus that will serve a two-fold purpose of funding the Company's ongoing organic growth programme in the capital goods and non auto space as well as enhancing the Promoters stake in the Company.

 

 

BGR Energy awarded Turnkey Balance of Plant (BOP) contract of Rs 793 Crores

BGR Energy Systems Ltd has informed that the Company has received a Letter of Intent from Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGENCO) whereby APGENCO has awarded a contract for Rs 7930 Million for Design, Engineering, Manufacture, Procurement, Supply, delivery, testing at manufacturer's works, transportation to the site, storage, construction, erection, testing at site and commissioning of Balance of Plant including Civil works for the 500 MW Kothagudem StageVI (1 x 500 MW) Unit XI.

In this connection, the Company has issued the following Press release:

"BGR Energy Systems Ltd has secured a Turnkey contract from Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Ltd (APGENCO) for the execution of Balance of Plant (BOP) for the 1 x 500 MW, Stage VI Unit XI Kothagudem Thermal Power Station valued at Rs 793 Crores. The contract scope of work includes Design, Engineering, Procurement and Construction of complete Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation and Plant Civil works for project. This contract will be executed over a period of 26 months.

BGR Energy has emerged as the largest EPC contractor of Power Plant Balance of Plant in the Country for large Power Plants of 500 MW and above. The Company is currently executing three Balance of Plant contracts for 500 MW capacity coal based power projects and this contract is the Fourth contract. The current order book of the Company stands at Rs 3715 Crores."

 

 

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial - Allotment of equity shares

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd has informed that the Committee of Directors at its Meeting held on February 27, 2008 has allotted 1,09,00,000 (One Crore Nine Lakhs) fully paid-up Equity Shares of Rs 10 each at a price of Rs 380/- (Rupees Three Hundred and Eighty) per Equity Share aggregating to Rs 414,20,00,000 (Rupees Four Hundred and Fourteen Crores Twenty Lakhs) on a Preferential Allotment Basis to TPG-Axon (Mauritius) II Ltd and Standard Chartered Private Equity (Mauritius) Ltd.

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Industry News 28th Feb 2008

-'Software developers touch 6.5 lakh'
-Computer Associates sees growth from India

 

'Software developers touch 6.5 lakh'

Hyderabad: The large community of software developers is the backbone for open source code and their number is increasing every year, according to Executive Vice-President of Sun Microsystems Rich Green.

Talking to presspersons after the inauguration of the seventh edition of Sun Tech Days here on Feb 27, Mr. Green said that open source was all about participation and the developer population in India alone touched 6, 52,610. 'Open opportunities', the theme for the Sun Tech Days, provided a platform for the developers to understand the technology to move to the next level by collaborating, contributing and competing. The company was organising the Tech Days in the wake of completion of its acquisition of Swedish company for US $ I billion, My SQL, an open source database tool -- a combination of operating system, application software, web-oriented data base, and wherever required, the hardware to run all this.

 

 

Computer Associates sees growth from India

Mumbai: Yet another American IT company Computer Associates (CA) marketing itself hard in India to counter the sluggish growth in the US. Don Friedman, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, CA, knows the Indian market is opening up and he wants to warm up to the potential clients to make most of an almost $10 billion opportunity.

CA says it will team up with local partners Wipro, TCS and Infosys to make its presence felt in India especially to crack open government opportunities like the railways.It is not difficult to understand why India is the new focus market for Global IT biggies like CA, IBM, SAP or Oracle.According to Gartner the IT budgets are increasing by only 2-3 per cent in markets like US whereas Asian markets like India and China are clocking over 12-13 per cent growth in their IT budgets that can only increase going forward.

It is not only the domestic market, which is luring companies like CA to India, thanks to the skill set availability, India is fast turning into an R&D hub as well.CA for instance has a third of its R&D workforce of 1700 employees based out of Hyderabad who help run its global operations. Clearly, for CA India is a strategic market on the global IT landscape.

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Corporate News 28th Feb 2008

-Wipro - Allotment of equity shares

-Union Bank of India ties up with 3i Infotech

-Mirae Asset MF launches new Liquid Fund

-Aban Offshore - Updates

-Listing of equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd

-Listing of equity shares of Gujarat Glass Ltd

-Lotus India MF files offer document

-Kotak MF revises minimum purchase amount

-Kotak MF declares dividend under quarterly interval plan

-Max New York sets up office in Kochi

-Subhash Projects - Award of Order for Rs 272.68 Crore

-Kohinoor Foods gives 30 days notice to bondholders

-NIIT Technologies signs share purchase agreement with shareholders of Softec GmbH

-Parsvnath Developers commences construction of group housing project

-Indiabulls Real Estate to issue equity shares / GDRs

-Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gets USFDA approval

-NTPC signs loan agreement with Nordic Investment Bank

-Ansal Properties & Infrastructure allots secured redeemable non convertible debentures

-3M India to expand manufacturing facilities at Ahmedabad

-Cummins Inc selects Infosys Technologies as one of three global preferred vendor

-Satyam Computer Services allots equity shares

Wipro - Allotment of equity shares

Wipro Ltd has informed that Administrative Committee of the Company's Board of Directors vide their resolution dated February 26, 2008 has resolved the following:

1. To issue and allot 6000 equity shares of Rs 2/- each pursuant to exercise of the stock options by the eligible employees under the Wipro Employee Stock Options Plan i.e., WESOP 2000 and Restricted Stock Unit Plan 2004.

2. Allotted 139675 equity shares of par value of Rs 2/- to JP Morgan Chase Bank, the Company's depository as underlying shares in respect of ADRs to be issued and allocated to the purchasers, pursuant to the exercise of the stock options granted to the employees under the Company's ADS Restricted Stock Unit Plan- 2004.

 

 

Union Bank of India ties up with 3i Infotech

3i Infotech, a global provider of IT solutions and the fourth largest Indian Software Product company declared that Union Bank of India (UBI), one of India's largest state-run banks has inked an agreement to implement AMLOCK, the company's award winning Anti Money Laundering (AML) software at Union Bank of India. There is an increasing global awareness for matters relating to Anti Money Laundering and leading banks in particular, are addressing these requirements by implementing a suitable software solution. Union Bank of India too, is among these forward looking banks which have decided to implement the AMLOCK Anti Money Laundering Solution from 3i Infotech.

 

         

Mirae Asset MF launches new Liquid Fund

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund launched Mirae Asset Liquid Fund. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate reasonable returns with low volatility and higher liquidity through a portfolio of debt and money market instruments. The scheme does not guarantee any returns. The scheme will have super institutional, institutional and regular plans. The scheme offers growth, bonus and dividend option under each plan. The scheme offers dividend with facility of dividend reinvestment on daily, weekly and monthly dividend. It also offers dividend transfer and monthly dividend payout option.

 

 

Aban Offshore - Updates

Aban Offshore Ltd has informed that a subsidiary of the Company has received a Letter of Award from PTTEP International Ltd for a 3 well contract offshore Myanmar, for the jack-up drilling rig Deep Driller 5, with an estimated duration of 4 months. This contract will be in direct continuation of the current contract with Cairn Energy Sangu Field Ltd. The estimated contract value is approximately USD 25 million.

 

         

Listing of equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd

Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from February 28, 2008, the equity shares of Manjushree Extrusions Ltd (Scrip Code: 532950) are listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of 'B1' Group Securities. For further details please refer to the notice no 20080227-7 dated February 27, 2008.

 

         

Listing of equity shares of Gujarat Glass Ltd

Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from February 28, 2008, the equity shares of Gujarat Glass Ltd (Scrip Code: 532949) are listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of 'B1' Group Securities. For further details please refer to the notice no 20080226-9 & notice no 20080226-24 dated February 26, 2008

 

         

Lotus India MF files offer document

Lotus India Mutual Fund files offer document to launch Fixed Maturity Plan- 3 Months - Series 17-18. This close-ended bond scheme has two options i.e. growth option and dividend reinvestment option. The investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme. The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs.5000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter.

 

 

Kotak MF revises minimum purchase amount

Kotak mutual fund has announced the change in the minimum purchase amount under regular plan of Kotak Mahindra Bond Unit scheme 99. According to the announcement, the fund has raised its minimum purchase amount from Rs 5000 to Rs 5 lakh with effect from 3 March 2008. Kotak Mahindra Bond Unit scheme 99 is an open-ended debt scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to create a portfolio of debt instruments of different maturities so as to spread the risk across a wide maturity horizon and different kinds of issuers in the debt market.

 

 

Kotak MF declares dividend under quarterly interval plan

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced 3 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan - Series 4. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.1474 as on 25 February 2008. Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan - Series 4 is an interval debt fund. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns through investments in debt and money market instruments with a view to significantly reduce the interest rate risk.

 

         

Max New York sets up office in Kochi

Kochi: Max New York Life Insurance has expanded its footprint in South India and beefed up its operations in Kerala by opening its first general office in Kochi Feb 27. With this, the company has set up a countrywide network of 233 offices across 155 cities in India. Max New York Life Insurance wants people to see insurance as a financial protection and wealth creation instrument and not just a tax-saving tool. Since the launch of our operations, its focus has always been on giving risk protection and long-term wealth creation solutions to our customers.

The company said in a statement that Kerala is an important market and that it will be opening six other offices over the next few days at Kottayam, Thrissur, Kannur, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. The company has till date sold over 2.1 million policies and recorded a sum assured of over Rs 62,000 crore. It has positioned itself on the quality platform. The company has developed a strong corporate governance model based on defined core values of caring, knowledge, excellence and honesty.

 

 

Subhash Projects - Award of Order for Rs 272.68 Crore

Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd has informed that the Company has recently been awarded the under-mentioned orders by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd as per details given below:

(a) Supply and erection of equipments / materials for execution of Swarna Jyothi Scheme (Rural Load Management System-II) with associated Extension and improvement of 11KV and LT Line Works in partial Turnkey Basis in Tiptur Division (Lot-9).

- Rs 123.72 Crore

(b) Maintenance Contract of Swarna Jyothy Scheme (Rural Load Management System-II), Tiptur Division, BESCOM (Lot-9).

- Rs 20.73 Crore

(c) Supply and erection of equipments / materials for execution of Swarna Jyothi Scheme (Rural Load Management System-II) with associate Extension and improvement of 11KV and LT Line Works in partial Turnkey Basis in Chitradurga Division (Lot-13)

- Rs 62.51 Crore

(d) Maintenance Contract of Swarna Jyothy Scheme (Rural Load Management System-II), Chitradurga Division, BESCOM (Lot-13).

- Rs 8.16 Crore

(e) Supply and erection of equipments / materials for execution of Swarna Jyothi Scheme (Rural Load Management System-II) with associated Extension and improvement of 11KV and LT Line Works in partial Turnkey Basis in Hiriyur Division, (Lot-14).

- Rs 48.47 Crore

(f) Maintenance Contract of Swarna Jyothy Scheme (Rural Load Management System-II), Hiriyur Division, BESCOM (Lot-14).

- Rs 9.09 Crore.

 

 

Kohinoor Foods gives 30 days notice to bondholders

Kohinoor Foods has issued US$ 20,000,000 1% unsecured convertible bonds due 2010 in the year 2005.The company has satisfied conditions 5.2.1 of the terms and conditions of the offering circular dated 12 September 2005 for mandatory conversion of 50% of the bond value held by each bondholder into shares of the company.

The company is giving 30 days notice to the bondholders on 26 February 2008 for mandatory conversion of 50% of the bond value held by each bond holder.

The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Wednesday, 27 February 2008.

 

 

NIIT Technologies signs share purchase agreement with shareholders of Softec GmbH

NIIT Technologies has signed a share purchase agreement with the shareholders of Softec GmbH, Germany for acquisition of 100% of share capital of Softec GmbH in Germany.

Softec GmbH is a Germany based company focusing on providing IT solutions and services worldwide in the airline revenue accounting and operations space. They have a major market share of about 40 small to medium airlines within Europe, Africa and Asia.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 28 February 2008.

 

 

Parsvnath Developers commences construction of group housing project

Parsvnath Developers has announced the start of construction of 'Parsvnath Preston' a high-end group housing residential project, in Sonepat, Haryana. The expected realization from the project is over Rs 500 crore in next 3 years including this financial year. The project is spread over a saleable area of 2.2 million sq. ft.

Parsvnath Preston is a part of Parsvnath City, a township project from Parsvnath which will also have School, Health care facilities, shopping mall, club etc located near Tau Devilal Park at Main NH-1, G.T. Kamal Road, the project is just 17km far from Delhi border, making it well connected from the National Capital region.

The company made this annoucement during the trading hours today, 28 February 2008.

 

 

Indiabulls Real Estate to issue equity shares / GDRs

The board of Indiabulls Real Estate has decided to issue equity shares / GDRs.

The board has decided to purchase up to 100% of the ordinary shares of DPD by the issue of new IBREL shares.

This was decided at the board meeting held on 28 February 2008.

 

 

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gets USFDA approval

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has announced that USFDA has granted final approval for the company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market its generic version of Hoffman la Roche's Demadex, torsemide tablets.

These generic torsemide tablets are therapeutic equivalents of hoffman La Roche's Demadex tablets and include four strengths: 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg and 100 mg. These strengths of torsemide tablets have annual sales of approximately US$ 35 million in the US.

Torsemide is a diuretic, indicated for the treatment of edema associated with congestive heart failure, renal disease, or hepatic disease. Use of torsemide has been found to be effective for the treatment of edema associated with chronic renal failure. Torsemide is also indicated for the treatment of hypertension alone or in combination with other antihypertensive agents.

The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Wednesday, 27 February 2008.

 

 

NTPC signs loan agreement with Nordic Investment Bank

National Thermal Power Corporation has signed a loan agreement of Euro 68.56 million with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) on 15 February 2008, a multilateral financial institution owned by the Nordic and Baltic countries, to part finance the capital expenditure of its projects. The loan has a maturity of 12 years including availability period of 3 years. The loan carries a floating rate of interest linked to EURIBOR and is without sovereign guarantee. This is the first loan that NTPC has tied up with NIB.

The company made this announcement after the trading hours on Wednesday, 27 February 2008.

 

 

Ansal Properties & Infrastructure allots secured redeemable non convertible debentures

The board of Ansal Properties & Infrastructure has allotted 1,00,00,000 secured redeemable non convertible debentures having the face value of Rs 100 each for cash at par by way of private placement to LIC Mutual Fund, Mumbai, having the tenure of less than 365 days.

These shares were allotted at the board meeting held on 27 February 2008.

 

 

3M India to expand manufacturing facilities at Ahmedabad

The board of 3M India has approved investment of not exceeding Rs 250 million in buildings, furniture & fittings, equipment and plant & machinery with regard to expansion of existing manufacturing facilities at Ahmedabad for corrosion protection products under automotive and specialty materials markets segment.

This was approved at the board meeting held on 27 February 2008.

 

 

Cummins Inc selects Infosys Technologies as one of three global preferred vendor

Infosys Technologies has announced that Cummins Inc., which designs, manufactures and sells diesel engines and related technologies, has named Infosys as one of three global preferred vendors (GPVs) for IT application outsourcing and business consulting services. This new partnership will bolster Cummins operations so it may handle the growing global demand for power technologies and components.

Cummins, which serves customers in more than 160 countries, launched an effort in January 2007 to identify its GPVs who would help the Company transform its IT application outsourcing to support growth in core technical capabilities and global reach. Infosys was the only new company selected during this rigorous process. Together, the Cummins and Infosys team will deploy IT solutions that will help Cummins grow to more than $20 billion in revenue over the next several years.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 27 February 2008.

 

 

Satyam Computer Services allots equity shares

The committee of Satyam Computer Services has allotted 44,553 equity shares through circular resolution on 26 February 2008 under stock option plans of the company.

Consequent to the above allotment, the paid up share capital of the company has gone up from 670,090,616 equity shares of Rs 2 each aggregating Rs 1,340,181,232 to 670,135,169 equity shares of Rs 2 each aggregating Rs 1,340,270,338.

This was approved by the committee of directors on 27 February 2008.

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