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ASBM Business Updates is a Selective Compilation of Business News from Various Sources. To find details follow the links.
ASIAN BUSINESS
South Korea's Samsung Life Insurance said it is interested in acquiring ING Groep's Asia-Pacific insurance operation as part of its overseas expansion strategy.
Samsung's potential bid could heat up the race in the sale of ING's Asian insurance business, potentially Asia's second-biggest insurance sale ever.
The country's top life insurer added in a regulatory filing on Friday, however, that no decision had been made yet.
Samsung Life, part of the country's top conglomerate Samsung Group, has said the company would accelerate its overseas businesses, looking to expand in Asian regions, especially Southeast Asia.
Asian stock markets were mixed Monday as high oil prices dampened enthusiasm for riskier assets like stocks ahead of the release of data likely to show that the U.S. economy is improving at a slow but steady clip.
Benchmark oil remained near $109 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index was 0.5 percent higher at 9,698.99 after briefly touching 9,736.11, the highest midday mark since Aug. 4.
Hong Kong's Hang added 0.3 percent to 21,479.11. Benchmarks in mainland China and Singapore also rose. But South Korea's Kospi lost 1.2 percent to 1,995.12. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6 percent to 4,279.80.
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
As more and more hedge funds rush to Asia, in terms of size, bigger is proving to be better.
Fifty eight new funds were launched in Asia in 2011 raising US$4.43 billion, the highest figure since the financial crisis, according to a survey by industry publication AsiaHedge. In 2007, Asian hedge funds attracted $7.8 billion. Most of the new funds were set up in Hong Kong, followed by Singapore.
MercuryGate International Inc., the market leader in Transportation Management Solutions (TMS) announced that it has entered into a partnership with JFE Pfe Ltd, a leading supply chain solutions provider, to create MercuryGate Asia Pacific.
Based in Singapore, MercuryGate Asia, (MGA) will provide sales, implementation and product support services throughout the Pacific Rim for MercuryGate International multimodal, global products for shippers, 3PLS and freight forwarders.
BANKING
A string of banks have grabbed headlines with big reductions in handouts to staff for 2011. Royal Bank of Scotland, 82 percent state-owned after a government bailout, is to cut its bonus payouts for 2011 by 58 percent.
French bank Credit Agricole will lower trader bonuses by 20 percent and larger rivals BNP Paribas and Societe Generale have pledged cuts of 50 percent.
Britain's finance minister George Osborne welcomed RBS's moves and UKFI, the agency which manages government shareholdings in UK banks, also supported its bonus policy.
It said although RBS made a loss in 2011, this reflected the business environment and costs from its legacy business.
RBS (RBS.L), up 5.1 percent, was the second-top blue-chip riser, recovering after the previous session's weakness, as the part-state-owned bank posted an as-expected fourth-quarter loss of nearly 2 billion pounds, hurt by writedowns on assets and restructuring costs.
Peer Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), also majority-owned by the British government, rallied 3.3 percent ahead of its full-year results on Friday.
Solid earnings gave Capita (CPI.L) a lift too, with the outsourcer ahead 4.3 percent after it unveiled a 6 percent rise in 2011 profits and said early contract wins and a buoyant sales market make it confident of better growth prospects this year.
The upbeat outlook statement also supported peer Serco Group (SRP.L), up 3.2 percent
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
A group led by Apollo Global Management LLC agreed to acquire El Paso (EP)’s oil and natural gas exploration business for $7.15 billion in the second-biggest private equity takeover of an energy producer.
Apollo joins Riverstone Holdings LLC, Access Industries Inc and other investors in the transaction, El Paso said in a statement on Saturday. Riverstone, based in New York, invests in the energy and power industries, and Access is the New York-based firm founded by Russian-born investor Len Blavatnik.
El Paso Corp. has entered a deal to sell its exploration and production arm for $7.15 billion to a group of private equity firms led by Apollo Global Management, LLC.
Kinder Morgan, Inc., which announced in October that it would acquire pipeline giant El Paso, said that proceeds from the sale of El Paso’s upstream unit would be used to pay off a portion of Kinder Morgan’s debt in its acquisition.
Both deals are expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. Kinder Morgan’s $21.1 billion mega-deal was announced in October.
Apollo will lead the consortium of firms acquiring El Paso’s exploration and production business, EP Energy Corp. The investors include Riverstone Holdings, LLC, Russian-born industrialist Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and other unnamed firms.
FINANCE
Xander Finance, the Indian NBFC (non-banking financial company) arm of the global investment firm Xander Group, has invested Rs 70 crore or $14 million in an office & retail project, being developed by the realty firm Ajmera Group. Christened as the Times Square, the grade A office & retail project is located in Andheri East and promoted by Rajnikant S. Ajmera of Nilkanth Tech Park Pvt Ltd.
Xander’s investment is structured as senior secured non-convertible debt. Xander Finance is the Indian credit arm of the Xander Group and claims to be one of the most active NBFCs in the country. Xander Group is focused on infrastructure (it has already invested in HCC Concessions and Sadbhav Infrastructure), hospitality (Sinclairs Hotel), retail (Trent) and real estate sectors. Since 2005, the firm has committed over $1.8 billion of equity capital to the Indian market across private, public and credit investments.
Emerging markets for environmental financial investment and trading continue to attract significant global investment interest from untraditional investment sources. $8.99 billion was deployed for cleantech investment in global markets up 13 percent for 2011 according to the Cleantech Venture Network (www.cleantech.com). This sector’s underinvestment has been held up by regulatory uncertainty on the continuation of subsidies for renewable energy under the Production Tax Credit which expires at the end of this year.
INDIA BUSINESS
Late last year, when energy major British Gas’s Indian arm, BG India, announced plans to exit from two of its Indian energy assets, the industry wondered if it was a fullstop to BG’s India plans.
BG is selling 65.12 per cent stake in Gujarat Gas Company (GGCL), India’s largest private sector natural gas distribution company in terms of sales volume. Also, British Gas Exploration and Production India (BGEPIL) sold - 25 per cent stake in the Mahanadi deep water block MN-DWN-2002/2; 45 per cent in KG OSN 2004/1 block and a 30 per cent interest in KG 98/4 block — it held in partnership with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Now, ONGC holds the entire stake in these blocks.
Norwegian telecoms group Telenor plans to form a new entity in India and will migrate its existing business, including customers and employees, into the new company, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Norwegian telecom major Telenor Group today announced plans to set up a new company for carrying out its Indian operations post Supreme Court quashing its 22 licenses. Telenor also sought damages from Unitech accusing it of “fraud and misrepresentation” of facts based on which it had invested over Rs 6,000 crore in the joint venture with the real estate firm.
INDIAN MANAGEMENT
The Board of Control for Cricket India’s top brass, including the board’s president and vice president, the Indian team management has stepped forward to clear the air, after the counter statements from Dhoni and Sehwag triggered speculations of dissension in the Indian dressing room.
They strongly rubbished the reports of any rift in the dressing room, and the Indian manager GS Walia said that there were no issues prevailing in the team that need to be resolved by the intervention of team coach Duncan Fletcher.
"There was no communication gap [between Dhoni and Sehwag] and the team is concerned about whatever media has been writing," said the Indian cricket team manger GS Walia from Sydney.
"Let us all forget it and be positive in the future. There are no differences but we will be vigilant in future and avoid such situations," he added further.
With growing incidents of breach of fencing along the India-Bangladesh border sending alarm bells ringing, India is planning to raise the issue with Bangladesh Home Minister Sahara Khatun on Friday.
The second Home Minister level talks between India and Bangladesh will be held in New Delhi tomorrow. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Bangladesh Home Minister Shahara Khatun will hold one-on-one meeting before the delegation-level talks.
Issues concerning security, border management and enhanced cooperation between the police and law-enforcement agencies of the countries will be high on agenda. National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, Union Home Secretary R.K.Singh and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will be among Indian delegates, whereas on the Bangladesh side, Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Adviser to the Prime Minister, Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq A Karim and Senior Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, C.Q.K. Mustaq Ahmed, will be among the delegates.
INSURANCE
The Local Government Association (LGA) wants to replace a soon-to-expire 'safety net' covering flood-risk areas.
It commits insurers to offer insurance to existing customers at significant risk of flooding if there are plans to reduce that risk within five years.
The government said it does not want impossible burdens put on the taxpayer.
The LGA has written to the government and insurers calling for the Flood Insurance Statement of Principles to be replaced, saying it could potentially risk an £11bn liability. That statement expires next year.
The Freelancers Union, a nonprofit created to represent freelance workers and independent contractors, will receive $341 million in loans from the U.S. government to start health insurance plans in three states.
The plans will compete with for-profit offerings from companies including UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. and nonprofit Blue Cross plans beginning in 2014, Marilyn Tavenner, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement. The programs are called “co-op” plans, after a provision of the 2010 health law that authorized them.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Israel, under threat of war from its neighbours since being founded in 1948, produced better risk-adjusted returns than all other developed stock markets in the past decade as the technology-driven economy attracted global investors.
The Bloomberg Riskless Return Ranking shows the Tel Aviv TA-25 Index (TA-25) returned 7.6% in the 10 years ended on Sunday, after adjusting for volatility, the highest among 24 developed-nation benchmark indexes. Israel beat Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, the next-best market with a risk-adjusted gain of 6.7%, and Norway, which had the highest total return.
Corra Group has expanded its services to offer corporate credit reports for businesses nationally and internationally. The corporate credit reports assist companies in evaluating the credit risks of new clients as well as older clients who had experienced tough times during the economic downturn.
“We are seeing the economy start to turn around,” said Gordon Basichis, Corra Group Co-Founder. “And with the economic rebound, more industries are ramping up as they are approached by new and existing clients in need of goods and services. But after a rocky couple of years, we are finding that many businesses are approaching new business much more cautiously than before the recession.
LOGISTICS
The Adani Group plans to transform and streamline its businesses to focus on three core sectors - resources, logistics and energy - and will spend $6 billion to expand globally.
The group will also hive off non-core operations, such as its real estate business, and form separate companies that will be operated by Adani family, chairman Gautam Adani said at the launch of the new brand identity of the group.
Century Logistics' core business, contract logistics is expected to continue to perform well with a healthy expansion of its clientele base, although its core earnings for the financial year ended December 31, 2011 (FY2011) came in below consensus forecasts.
According to OSK Research, Century Logistics has allocated a capital expenditure of some RM50mil to RM60mil to develop a distribution centre, including a fourth warehouse in Pelepas Free Zone in the next 2 years.
MANAGEMENT
Indian fund managers will soon be able to manage domestic and offshore funds. Market regulator SEBI is planning to relax rules that require funds to appoint separate managers for each activity - mutual funds, portfolio management services and offshore advisory services, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
A comprehensive National Risk Management Plan would be ready by June to ensure minimize devastations of monsoon season in disaster prone areas, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir said.Talking to APP here on other day, he said 30 disaster prone districts have been identified to establish proper mechanism there to promptly meet any emergency. The National Disaster risk Management Framework has been formulated to guide the work of entire system in the area of disaster risk management. It has been developed through wide consultation with stakeholders from local, provincial and national levels.
World's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal has made some headway in India by getting possession of about 1,827 acres for the proposed 6 million tonne plant in Karnataka.
The company said in its annual report for 2011 that it has completed all necessary steps to acquire the land in Karnataka and is expecting to get the remaining 972 acres by May for the Rs 30,000-crore ($6.5 billion) project.
ODISHA BUSINESS
The Odisha Assembly was adjourned four times on the second day of the budget session today after opposition Congress created pandemonium over the government's decision to raise VAT from the existing four to five per cent.
Speaker P K Amat was forced to adjourn the House first at 1055 hrs in the middle of the question hour for one hour and five minutes.
It was subsequently adjourned from 1226 to 1236 hrs,1236 hrs to 1256 hrs and finally for lunch at 1256 till 1500hrs. Trouble started right from the beginning when the House assembled to take up the question hour.
RETAIL
The news boosted shares of the operator of Sears department stores and the Kmart discount chain by nearly 19 percent, the biggest jump in more than three years, and quelled some concerns about the financial health of the retailer which on Thursday also posted a $2.4 billion quarterly net loss and a 19th straight quarter of declining sales.
The moves were seen by the market as boosting Sears' liquidity profile, but did not erase the other problems plaguing the retailer, which had $747 million in cash at the end of the fiscal year, down from $1.36 billion a year earlier.
"The actions announced today buy time, they do not buy success," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said. "They are steps in the right direction, but we believe that the hole that has been created will not be as easy to climb out of as investors believe."
Kalamandir South India’s favorite designer saree destination was awarded Retailer of the Year Award for excellence in traditional fashion and lifestyle retailing on 14th February, 2012 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai in an event organized by the Asia Retail Congress. Kalamandir also won the title “Master Brand” at the awards hosted by CMO Council and CMO Asia.
On Feb 14, 2012, Sai Silks Kalamandir Ltd, leader in designer sarees was conferred with the Retailer of the year for excellence in traditional fashion and lifestyle retailing at Taj Lands End, Mumbai in an event organized by the Asia Retail Congress. The awards were hosted by CMO Council and CMO Asia and Kalamandir was awarded the “Master Brand” title.
On Feb 14, 2012, Sai Silks Kalamandir Ltd, leader in designer sarees was conferred with the Retailer of the year for excellence in traditional fashion and lifestyle retailing at Taj Lands End, Mumbai in an event organized by the Asia Retail Congress. The awards were hosted by CMO Council and CMO Asia and Kalamandir was awarded the “Master Brand” title.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Reducing the carbon profile of its supply chains is one of AkzoNobel's major challenges. In fact, approximately 45% of the company's cradle-to-grave carbon footprint is attributed to emissions generated in its upstream processes, which the company can control only in close cooperation with its suppliers and, in turn, their suppliers.
Keen to be at the forefront of the move toward a more resource efficient economy, AkzoNobel conceptualised a strategic initiative – the AkzoNobel approach to supply-chain sustainability. This approach pursues two major goals; introducing sustainable product solutions, and reducing the ecological footprint of the company. It works along two lines in parallel; reduction of carbon footprints in existing chains, and introduction of new chains, with improved eco-footprints.
The role of supply chain management will gain more importance as the manufacturing revival spreads across the United States and economy revs up.
That’s the message of Rick Blasgen, president and CEO of the Illinois-based Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, delivered in a keynote speech at the Modex 2012 supply chain trade show here earlier this month.
Blasgen, a 25-year veteran of supply chain management who has worked for Nabisco, Kraft and ConAgra, noted that between 1990 and 2010, the cost of logistics for U.S. businesses grew by 184% percent to $1.2 trillion.
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Source of Information for this issue : Google alert accessed on February 27, 2012
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu, B.A., PGDCA, MLISc,
Professional Library Trainee
Sabita Sahu, B.A., PGDCA, MLISc,
Professional Library Trainee
Concept, Layout and Editing
Rajashekhar Devarai
Chief Librarian
Chief Librarian
Information and Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road, Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012
Sabita Sahu : Professional Library Trainee and R.S.Devarai : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in
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