ASBM Business
Updates is a Weekly Selective Compilation of Business News from Various
Sources. To find details follow the links.
ASIAN
BUSINESS
Asia's manufacturers are continuing to struggle in the
face of tepid demand from the United States and Europe, according to business
surveys and data releases on Monday that underlined the fragility of the global
economy.
More data later is expected to confirm that the euro zone is
mired in recession
while the prospects of a firmer U.S. recovery remain delicately balanced.
Equity and commodity markets slipped in Asia, where China's official
manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed factory activity
contracted for a second month in September and a survey of Japan's big
manufacturers showed sentiment worsening over the past three months.
Adding to signs that the region's vast factory sector
is flagging in the face of strong global headwinds, Taiwan's PMI fell to its lowest
in 10 months and South Korea reported small a year-on-year decline in exports.
"I don't see troubles stabilising as yet. It will
take a while longer until global demand shows signs of stabilisation,"
said Saktiandi Supaat, foreign
exchange research head at Maybank in
Singapore.
Asian shares eased on Tuesday after sentiment was
weakened by data showing Germany's business confidence dropped in September,
and a weak earnings forecast from Caterpillar Inc , both of which underscored
worries about a global growth slowdown.
Uncertainty
about the bailout prospect for Greece and Spain, which are the two major risks
in what has become the euro zone's three-year-long debt crisis, also undermined
investors' risk appetite. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan inched down 0.1 percent. Australian shares were down 0.2
percent, and South Korean shares fell 0.3 percent.
Tokyo's Nikkei average opened down
0.4 percent, hitting a fresh one-week low.
"The German data is just the
latest sign of a global slowdown and is likely to drag on the market
today," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex.
The German Ifo institute's monthly
business sentiment index fell for a fifth successive month in September to its
lowest level since early 2010, with the outlook component touching its worst
level since May 2009.
ASIAN
MANAGEMENT
Asian
equity markets, which have had a stellar rally this year with gains of more
than 10 percent in much of the region, are now starting to lose their shine as
the outlook for regional exports deteriorates, analysts told CNBC.
"It's tough generally. Our
companies are telling us that they are not seeing any pickup in business and
activity, said Hugh Young, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management in
Singapore. "We will see marginal earnings growth this year at
best...Single digits, I think."
Aberdeen owns shares of companies in
a range of industries including China Mobile, CNOOC, Siam Cement, and SembCorp
Marine and United Plantations.
Economies across the region are
struggling with slowing exports as orders from their biggest markets decline.
Much of Europe is in recession, while economic growth in the US remains weak
and China's economy has slowed more than expected in recent months.
Singapore's
non-oil domestic exports in August fell by a bigger-than-expected 10.6 percent
from a year earlier, hurt by a 28.7 percent plunge in shipments to the European
Union, Singapore's largest market.
Asian shares mostly rose on Friday on optimism
economic reform and budget plans unveiled by Spain will help the debt-saddled
nation manage its debt imbalances, in a move seen as an effort to pre-empt the
likely conditions of international assistance.
Riskier
currencies such as the Australian dollar, the euro and commodities also drifted
higher as the dollar remained defensive. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.7 percent, extending
Thursday's sharp gains triggered by a spike in Chinese shares as speculation of
further stimulus steps spread. Sentiment was buoyed by Spain's announcement on
Thursday of a detailed timetable for economic reform and a budget based mostly
on sharp spending cuts rather than tax hikes.
Madrid is talking to European Union
authorities about the terms of a possible aid package, which would pave the way
for initiating the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme aimed at
easing the country's borrowing strains.
"It's a move in the right
direction because at the very least they have to meet the conditions for the
ECB to buy their bonds," said Tetsuro Ii, CEO of Commons Asset Management.
ASIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
“Odisha needs more skilled manpower in manufacturing, R&D and
Information Technology space to grow persistently which can be met through
producing unwavering and efficient managers. This shortfall can be met with the
continuous endeavors of management institutes.” His Excellency, Hon’ble
Governor of Assam, Shri Janaki Ballav Pattnaik said this while inaugurating the
7th batch (2012-14) PG programme of Asian School of Business Management (ASBM)
today. Speaking on the commendable performance of the institute, the Governor
said, the institute ranks at par with the IIMs in terms of quality teaching, to
impart quality management education in the state which in turn generates
skilled and qualified management professionals to cater to the needs of the
corporate and industries at large.
The Governor expressing concern about the state being poverty stricken, growing illiteracy rate along with infant mortality rate and diseases prevailing, urged for creating more skilled manpower; a panacea to move the state on a growth track. He further went on to add that, the country outpace China in terms of employability of more Information Technology professionals every year. He further stressed upon the need to create platform to generate more human resource in the manufacturing and R&D space besides the service sector
The Governor expressing concern about the state being poverty stricken, growing illiteracy rate along with infant mortality rate and diseases prevailing, urged for creating more skilled manpower; a panacea to move the state on a growth track. He further went on to add that, the country outpace China in terms of employability of more Information Technology professionals every year. He further stressed upon the need to create platform to generate more human resource in the manufacturing and R&D space besides the service sector
A two-day Faculty
Development programme on Research Methodology which was organized by Asian
School of Business Management (ASBM) at its campus has been concluded recently.
Ph.D scholars, teachers and corporate professionals from various institutes
took active participation in the programme. Inaugurating the programme, the
founder Director of ASBM, Dr. Biswajeet Pattanayak highlighted the importance
of research skills development for professionals. He said, ‘Time has come
when we have to come out of rote learning and should integrate research
findings in the teaching methodology.’ The valedictory ceremony was graced by
Prof. RK Panda, Director, Naba Krushna Choudhury Centre for Development
Studies. Giving thrust on knowledge, Prof. Panda said that knowledge has
emerged as a new capital. According to him, today we need value based
education for better use of resources which can ultimately pave way for
increasing the GDP.
The two-day workshop witnessed 8 technical sessions on various topics. The contents of the workshop were Research in Business, Setting-up Objectives, Review of Literature, Development of Research Proposal, Research Design & Questionnaire, Data Testing, Analysis & Interpretation, Data Preparation & Analysis through SPSS, Bibliography Designing and Research Report Writing. On the concluding day, the participants were given away certificates. The function was attended by the faculty members of all the departments. The programme was coordinated by Prof. Padmanava Mohapatra and Prof. Susan Das. |
BANKING
Spain’s banks have a capital deficit of euro 59.3
billion ($76.3 billion), less than previously estimated, according to a test
designed to lift doubts about the financial industry’s ability to absorb
losses.
The
Bankia group, a nationalised lender, had a euro 24.7-billion deficit and Banco
Popular Espanol had a euro 3.22-billion shortfall in stress tests conducted by management
consultants Oliver Wyman and released on Thursday. The tests of 14 lenders
showed no deficit for seven including Banco Santander SA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya
Argentaria SA and Banco Sabadell SA, the Bank of Spain and Economy Ministry
said in a statement. Spain commissioned the stress test
as part of terms to win a European bailout of as much as euro 100 billion for
its banking system after more than euro 180 billion of losses linked to souring
real estate. Demonstrating how lenders would bear an extreme scenario — a
three-year economic contraction — is part of the government’s drive to show
it’s fixing the economy while debating whether to seek another rescue package.
“The tests look credible with good
methodology and it’s what Spain needed to do, but the market is still going to
test them,” Luis Garicano, an economy professor at the London School of
Economics, said in a phone interview
Britain’s market regulator today
unveiled proposals for sweeping reforms of the much-maligned London Interbank
Offered Rate, Libor, but stopped short of recommending a replacement of the
rate or basing it entirely on actual submissions by banks.
Martin Wheatley, managing director of
the Financial Services Authority, announced the 10-point reform plan to the
rate used as a benchmark for the pricing of assets globally running into
trillions of pounds following a three-month review. “This is not a London
issue. This is a global issue,” said Wheatley.
While the system was “broken” and in
need of “a complete overhaul”, the rate was not beyond repair and could be
fixed, he said. He warned of the risks to existing contracts and to financial
stability that replacing it entirely would pose. However, he called for an
international discussion and evaluation of alternatives over the long term.
Actual transaction data would have to be
used to support Libor submissions across a fewer number of rates and
currencies, rather than the current system under which 150 rates were published
daily, based solely on banks estimations across 10 currencies and 15
maturities. However, “some degree of judgment” would still have to be used, he
said. “Even in the more liquid markets there is not enough daily data available
to have a system in place that is entirely based on market transactions,
particularly in times of stress.”
BUSINESS
Laxmibai Karanure sifts through the
heavy bangles and necklaces that make up her entire life savings, working out
which pieces to sell from the 100 grams of gold she holds to tide her family
over during the drought at their farm.
The 55-year-old Karanure's heirlooms
will add to a booming recycling trade, which could account for up to half of
India's consumption this year and boost a fledgling refining industry.
The surge in recycling also comes as
India looks set to be overtaken by China as the world's biggest consumer of
gold, after a hike in import duties in March and a rapidly weakening rupee
pushed local gold prices to record highs.
The potential for recycling is huge
with India's 1.2 billion people estimated to have stored up about 20,000 tonnes
of gold in various forms like jewellery, coins and bars, according to an
estimate from industry body the World Gold Council about three times the holdings of
the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Vadodara, Mehsana, Rajkot,
Bhavnagar and Surat to replicate the Gandhinagar model, will generate 25MW
power
After Gandhinagar, five more cities in the state, including
Vadodara, Mehsana, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Surat, will soon get rooftop solar
power projects.
These projects will have a combined power generating
capacity of 25 MW.
The state-run Gujarat Power Corporation Limited, in an
advertisement, has invited bidders to buy the “request for proposal” (RFP)
documents for these five projects.
The issuance of draft RFT comes at a time when the
state government is currently developing two pilot solar rooftop projects of
2.5 MW each in Gandhinagar under a public private partnership (PPP) model.
“Following the successful implementation of the PPP
transactions for the two Gandhinagar pilot projects, the government has decided
to replicate the rooftop solar project in five other cities of Gujarat,” states
the introduction of the RFP.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
ShoreTel®
(NASDAQ; SHOR), the leading provider of brilliantly simple unified
communications platforms, including business phone systems, applications and
mobile UC solutions, today announced it will showcase its unified
communications and mobility
solutions at, IP EXPO, stand
D19, Earls Court 2 on 17 and 18 October 2012.
ShoreTel's purpose-built distributed voice
architecture forms the heart of its unified communications premise-based
platform, allowing for its rich feature set and highly reliable distributed
voice services. In addition, ShoreTel has integrated instant messaging (IM),
audio conferencing and Web conferencing into its core architecture to bring the
power of collaboration to enterprise communication.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is another trend that
will play a significant role at this year's IP EXPO, alongside Cloud and
Network Security and Big Data. ShoreTel Mobility, the company's answer to BYOD,
is compatible with a wide range of mobile phones and integrates seamlessly with
existing enterprise communication and applications infrastructure, making it
easy for enterprises to support flexible work practices.
Tata Communications has been awarded the 2012 Frost
& Sullivan Asia Pacific Managed Enterprise Video Service Provider of the
Year. The award was presented at the 2012 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific
Best Practices Awards held on the 25th of September at the
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore.
This award is presented each year to the company who
exhibits excellence in Growth Strategy and Implementation, Degree of Innovation
with New Products and Technologies, Leadership in Customer Value and Market
Penetration.
The Unified Communications-as-a-Service market is a
very dynamic and vibrant market in the overall hosted and managed business
applications industry. The 2012 market for hosted and managed UC applications
is expected to be worth US$1.9 billion, growing at an
expected rate of 15.8% over the previous year. The market is in varying levels
of maturity, depending on the applications and the geography. Tata
Communications was one of the pioneers of managed business video services in
the region, as well as globally.
"When it comes to enterprise video and
Telepresence services, Tata Communications' service portfolio is one of the
most comprehensive in its ability to offer complete turn-key solutions that
take the load off managing expensive hardware, their product refresh cycles and
maintenance costs," said Nitin Bhat, Partner
& Head of Consulting, Frost & Sullivan.
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
Group’s manufacturing businesses has reduced its debts
by €800 million to €475 million, its chief executive, Paul O’Brien, told a
conference yesterday.
The group is now 75.1 per cent controlled by its
bankers and bondholders. The State-owned Irish Banking Reconstruction
Corporation – formerly Anglo Irish – holds 24.9 per cent of this.
Mr O’Brien was appointed last year and runs the
group’s manufacturing operations. Its general and health insurance businesses
have been sold. He told the annual corporate restructuring summit at the
Convention Centre, Dublin, that its new management had secured 2,600 jobs,
1,100 of them in Ireland.
Its debt has been reduced by €800 million and its
funding is secured until 2016.
Mr O’Brien also said there had been 16 serious
incidents of sabotage and intimidation against the company since the share
receiver’s appointment.
Speaking after the conference, Nils Melngailis, a
director of financial services restructuring specialists Alveraz and Marshal,
said one of the key tasks facing the Republic’s banks was the need to rethink
business models in order to compete in the current economic circumstances.
“In that situation, you should not start by looking at
where you are, you should start with where you should be,” he said.
The firm has advised the Government and Irish banks on
various aspects of dealing with the crisis, and it is currently working with
Spain on a mechanism for cleaning out distressed assets from its banks’ balance
sheets. Mr Melngailis also suggested that Irish banks needed to recognise that
the economy was not going to grow strongly in the near future, but travel along
a “flat line”.
PROFITS at investment firm Walter Scott & Partners
surged by more than 25 per cent last year as assets under management passed the
£30 billion mark.
The strong performance saw the highest-paid director at
the Edinburgh-based company receive a pay and incentives package of £4.4m, up
from £3.3m in 2010.
In total the ten directors at the business, owned by
US-banking group Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon, shared almost £20m in pay and
bonuses.
Overall, the 101 staff at the company, including
directors, received pay and share-based payments of £35.7m – an average of more
than £353,000 each.
Turnover at the firm, which provides portfolio
management services to institutional investors including pension funds, rose by
27 per cent to £143.7m.
Pre-tax profits rose to £94.1m from £75.3m and assets
under management increased by 5 per cent to £30.4bn.
The company’s accounts provided little explanation of
the bumper figures but in their report the directors pointed out that the
long-term success was based on investment performance.
Its investment managers target long-term real returns
of between 7 per cent and 10 per cent for the portfolios it manages.
BNY Mellon reportedly paid £400m to take control of
the firm in 2006, valuing the 70 per cent stake held by the company’s founder
at around £280m. A former star fund manager at Ivory & Sime business, Scott
had founded the business in 1983.
The nuclear physics graduate was renowned for visiting
potential clients in countries such as the US wearing tartan trousers or a
kilt. The company is now chaired by Dr Ken Lyall, who joined in 1983 from
Arthur Andersen. He took over at the helm of the company when Walter Scott left
the firm in 2008.
FINANCE
Amid a weak global trend and sluggish domestic demand,
crude palm oil futures prices
fell sharply by 2.66 per cent to Rs 432.20 per 10 kg today.
The sentiment weakened after palm oil tumbled to the
lowest level in more than two years in global markets, on speculation that
Malaysian stockpiles will continue to increase amid a seasonal gain in output.
At the Multi
Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in October plunged by Rs 11.80,
or 2.66 per cent, to Rs 432.20 per 10 kg in business turnover of 727 lots.
Similarly, the oil for delivery in November fell by Rs
11.70, or 2.65 per cent, to Rs 430.20 per 10 kg in 1,092 lots.
Market experts attributed the fall in
crude palm oil futures to sluggish demand in the spot market
amid a weak global trend.
Meanwhile, palm oil for the December delivery lost 2.8
per cent to USD 806 a tonne on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the lowest
level since July 2010.
For Apple fanboys in India there seems to be some good
news. According to a report in Economic Times, Apple could launch its own stores in
India. The report quoted two top executives who say that Apple could look
to launch stores in India if the government
allows its IT outsourcing operations in India to be included as part of the
mandatory 30 per cent local sourcing requirement, the two executives said.
As of February 2012 Apple was outsourcing software
application development and maintenance work to Indian software companies to the
tune of nearly $100 million.
Although Apple refused to confirm the report
officially - “We
don’t comment on rumours and speculation,” a company
spokesperson has told ET.
This isn’t the first report this year to state that
Apple will be opening retail stores in India. Earlier in January, BGR
reported that Apple was set to enter the Indian market but then CEO Tim Cook
rubbished the reports.
Later in July, at the company’s official earnings
call, Tim
Cook emphasised that, “I love India but I
believe that Apple has higher potential… in some other countries. That doesn’t
mean we’re not interested in India — we are. We’re going to continue putting
some energies there, but in the intermediate term there will be larger
opportunities elsewhere.
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The General Office of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee has called for efforts to improve the Party's human
resources management work and to create a large, high-quality talent pool for
the country.
Party organizations should be the key leadership in
human resources management, ensuring that the Party's relevant policies are
completely implemented, the office said in a circular published Wednesday.
Efforts should be made to create an environment where
capable people can stand out and their talents can be best utilized, the
circular said.
The Party's management work in the human resources
field should be focused on significant issues, including planning the talent
development strategy, formulating and implementing major human resources
policies, coordinating relevant forces in this regard and providing better
services for talents, the circular said.
Furthermore, while managing human resources, Party
organizations should act within their power limits and refrain from meddling in
the work of other departments, the document said.
The circular also called on Party organizations to
follow the objective laws for talent development in their work and respect the
market's role in the optimization of human resources.
A toolkit has been launched to help companies better
manage their human resources and attract and retain talent.
The Enhanced HR Capability Toolkit, jointly developed
by SPRING Singapore and Singapore National Employers Federation, was launched
today by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and
Industry and Ministry of National Development.
Speaking at the opening of Sheng Shiong's
headquarters, warehouse and distribution centre, he said the toolkit aims to
improve and strengthen SME human resource management capabilities by addressing
HR gaps and promoting good HR practices.
"The enhanced HR Capability Toolkit addresses the
fresh challenges faced by companies today, with the inclusion of two new
modules - 1) talent management & succession planning and 2) employee
relations.
This is an enhancement to the existing six areas which
covers manpower planning, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits,
performance management, learning & development and career management,"
he said.
Mr Lee said over 36,000 users have downloaded the
toolkit, with at least 3,800 SMEs benefiting from the free HR advisory and
information services provided. 180 SMEs have undertaken HR capability
development projects.
A dedicated HR portal has also been developed for
companies to access case studies of best HR practices and to locate advisory
services offered by HR consultants. Companies can also peruse other HR-related
events and articles.
INDIA
BUSINESS
Arvind Lifestyle Brands, a subsidiary of
Arvind, one of the oldest and largest integrated Indian textile players, has
bought the business operations of British fashion retailers Debenhams, Next and
American Lifestyle brand Nautica in India from Planet Retail.
Addressing a press conference, Sanjay
Lalbhai, Chairman and Managing Director, Arvind, said, “we want to change the
DNA of Arvind from being synonymous with denim and by doing so, we will increase
shareholder value. The industry is at an inflexion point, and although the last
year has not helped, we still grew at 38 per cent.”
He said the total cost of the
acquisition of these three brands in India was Rs. 55 crore. “Including
acquisition cost, our investment in these three brands over three years would
be Rs.150 crore,’’ he said, adding, “this signals our entry into the department
store segment through Debenhams, the globally fast growing apparel specialty
retail segment through Next, and sportswear lifestyle segment through Nautica.”
Arvind has the license to operate in
India, and plans to focus here.
The company has over 1.3 million sq. ft.
of retail space pan-India with 730 retail stores in 150 towns and has a
presence in 700 Indian multi-brand outlets. It has five stores in Dubai and two
in South Africa.
It is operations of a different kind at the
international airport here when FedEx's " midnight hub"
comes alive, taking advantage of the complete pause in the activities at the
airport for four hours every night.
About dozen of its aircraft fly in and out to pick up
and drop cargo during this time to make exclusive use of the runways. Hubs are
not new to FedEx, which operates many of them from nooks and corners of the
world, including from India, as a global logistic service.
But its operations at the Baiyun International Airport
here takes the cake
as about 13 of its flights land, unload, load and take off in a four hour time
making exclusive use of the two runways when there are no activities.
FedEx officials say
their Asia Pacific hub here known as the "midnight hub" is one their
best marketing and technological innovation.
This has been undertaken, taking advantage of a major
opening provided by the Chinese government in 2009 permitting it to make use of
the runways despite no operations for a few hours at the airport.
"Night after night, everything is done in a clock
work precision as we have to take full advantage of the night window"
Rakesh Shalia, MD, Marketing, FedEx's Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa said.
FedEx looks at Guangzhou hub as a strategic investment
to take full advantage of the massive increase in e-business.
INDIA
MANAGEMENT
India's manufacturing activity growth in September
held steady compared with August, supported by a pick up in export orders and
output, a business survey showed on Monday, but an increase in inventories could
hurt growth in the future.
The
HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges the business
activity of India's factories but not its utilities, held steady at 52.8 in
September from 52.8 in August, which was a nine-month low. Still,
the index has remained above 50, which divides growth and contraction, for more
than three years.
Measures by the US Federal Reserve
and the European Central Bank to resuscitate their economies pushed foreign
demand for Indian goods higher.
"Economic activity in the
manufacturing sector, held steady supported by faster output growth and rising
export orders," said Leif Eskesen, an economist at HSBC. "However, a
rise in inventories may dampen output growth in coming months."
The export orders sub-index jumped to 53.8 last month from 49.2 in August, its biggest rise in almost two years and the first reading above 50 in three months.
However, the increase in inventories - stocks of purchases and finished goods - suggested factories may reduce output unless the buildup is cleared by faster incoming orders.
Manufacturing accounts for a significant share of India's gross domestic product, so a slowdown would not augur well for Asia's third-largest economy, already grappling with its weakest GDP growth in almost three years. The latest government data showed industrial output growth stalled in July from a year earlier.
The export orders sub-index jumped to 53.8 last month from 49.2 in August, its biggest rise in almost two years and the first reading above 50 in three months.
However, the increase in inventories - stocks of purchases and finished goods - suggested factories may reduce output unless the buildup is cleared by faster incoming orders.
Manufacturing accounts for a significant share of India's gross domestic product, so a slowdown would not augur well for Asia's third-largest economy, already grappling with its weakest GDP growth in almost three years. The latest government data showed industrial output growth stalled in July from a year earlier.
Maruti
Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi's remuneration is
amongst the lowest compared to other chiefs of private sector firms that form
the part of BSE 30-stock benchmark, Sensex.
Nakanishi had a total pay package of
Rs 2.8 crore last fiscal ended March 31, 2012, slightly higher than Rs 2.4
crore in the previous year, as per Maruti Suzuki's latest annual report for 2011-12.
His remuneration in 2011-12 included
salary and perquisites worth Rs 2.01 crore and performance-linked bonus of Rs
80.3 lakh, while he was not paid any commission by Maruti Suzuki, the country's
leading carmaker.
Earlier, his pay package was incorrectly
reported as Rs 28.14 crore.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, those
with a lower remuneration mostly included public sector companies, as also some
IT firms like Infosys
' SD Shibulal and Wipro's
Azim Premji. At another private sector firm Tata Power, there was a change at
the position of Managing Director mid-way during the year and therefore the
figures are not comparable.
For Dr Reddy's Labs, the individual
pay package of its business head could not be ascertained, as the company has
only disclosed total remuneration of all Executive Directors in its annual report.
The total remuneration for its EDs rose by 3.4 percent to Rs 27.1 crore.
INSURANCE
Soon after rolling out foreign direct
investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and aviation in a renewed surge of
reforms, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on a fast-forward mission mode, is
keen on raising the FDI cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from the
existing 26 per cent.
While work is in progress in this regard
at a feverish pitch and a Cabinet note is under preparation for approval of the
higher FDI limit in the insurance sector, the UPA government is also engaged in
assessing the political fall-out of the financial sector reform.
Such as exercise, according to
government sources, is essential as though the Bill on the insurance sector was
tabled in the Rajya Sabha with a proposed higher FDI limit of 49 per cent, the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had suggested retention of the
investment cap at 26 per cent. Even in May, the government was forced to
postpone a decision on hiking the FDI limit following pressure from its own
coalition partners.
Reliance
Life Insurance is targeting over 25 per cent growth in its new business
premium at Rs 2,300 crore in the current fiscal, according to a senior official.
The company expects new business premium of Rs 2,300
crore in 2012-13, as against Rs 1,809 crore collected in the last fiscal.
"We are hopeful that our new business premium will grow more than 25 per
cent by the end of the current financial year," said Reliance Life Insurance
President and Executive Director Malay Ghosh.
To achieve its business targets, the company is
expanding its reach by employing 50,000 advisors and focusing on Tier II and
III cities with a wide range of product and services during 2012-13, he said.
Reliance Life, however, is eyeing a marginal growth in
the renewal premium to Rs 3,800 crore this fiscal from Rs 3,688 crore in
2011-12.
The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Life is aiming at
collecting over Rs 6,000 crore premium by this financial year, as against a
total premium of Rs 5,497 crore in the previous fiscal 2011-22.
Ghosh said the company is confident of growing over 10
per cent in 2012-13.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
eBay
International AG, a Swiss tax resident, need not fork out any income-tax on the
profits earned from its two India-specific Web sites.
This ruling of the Mumbai Income Tax
Appellate Tribunal is a significant one in the context of e-commerce
transactions, say tax experts.
The Tribunal has ruled that fees
received from customers for use of an online platform cannot be characterised
as fees for technical services (FTS) under the Income Tax Law. Such fees are in
the nature of ‘business profits’.
It has concluded that eBay
International has no permanent establishment (PE) in India and, therefore, the
‘business profits’ earned here ar not taxable in India.
eBay International operated two
India-specific Web sites which provided an online platform to facilitate the
purchase and sale of goods and services to users in India. Both the Web sites
are operated from outside India.
eBay international earned revenues
from the sellers of goods who were required to pay a user fee on every
successful sale of their products on the Web site.
The e-tailer had engaged its Indian
affiliates — eBay India and eBay Motors — for availing of certain support
services in connection with the Web sites for which it had entered into a marketing
support agreement.
Both eBay International and the
Indian tax authority had filed the appeal before the Mumbai Tribunal.
Eastman Kodak
Co said it plans to stop selling inkjet
printers from 2013 as it winds down most of its consumer businesses and
focuses on commercial printing.
Printer makers are struggling with falling sales as
companies cut costs and people increasingly use mobile devices to take snaps
and share them digitally. Lexmark
International Inc said last month that it will stop making inkjet printers
and focus on its more profitable imaging and software businesses.
Kodak, which has already shuttered its digital camera
business, said on Friday it expects to incur a charge of $90 million related to
the wind-down of the inkjet business.
The company will, however, continue to sell ink to
existing customers of inkjet printers.
Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year
after struggling to adapt to the digital age, also said it received
"significant interest" from suitors for its printing kiosks and
scanner businesses.
The company said it expects to cut 200 more jobs,
adding to the 1,000 announced earlier this month. It has cut 2,700 jobs so far
this year.
Kodak, which once employed more than 60,000 people,
expects to emerge from bankruptcy in 2013 as a much leaner company. The latest
jobcuts will reduce its workforce to 13,100.
The company said it was still in talks to sell its
patents, estimated to be worth between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion, and that
it will submit a motion to a bankruptcy court to extend its right to file a
reorganization plan until Feb. 28, 2013.
LOGISTICS
The stock of Sical Logistics is trading
flat Rs 66 on the BSE, a gain of 0.38 per cent over the previous day’s close of
Rs 65.75 ahead of the company’s offer for sale.
On Monday, Tanglin Retail Reality
Development Pvt Ltd had submitted to the BSE a consolidated notice of offer for
the sale of an aggregate 1.67 lakh equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of
Sical Logistics through a separate window provided by the stock exchanges for
this purpose.
The window will open on Wednesday
between 9.15 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.
In order to facilitate promoters to
dilute/offload their holding in listed companies in a transparent manner with
wider participation, SEBI has allowed promoters to reduce their stake in the
companies through offer for sale of shares through a separate window
provided by the exchanges.
Promoters — A.C. Muthiah and
others — hold 75.3 per cent stake in the company. Other significant
stakeholders are ICICI Bank (1.06 per cent) and Passage to India Master Fund
Ltd (1.35 per cent).
C.H. Robinson Worldwide
Inc (CHRW.O),
a third-party provider of freight transport, said it would buy smaller rival
Phoenix International for $635 million in cash and stock to expand its
international freight forwarding business.
C.H. Robinson, which arranges freight transport
through its 53,000 contracted carriers, said it expects the deal to be modestly
accretive in the first year.
The company, which has a market value of about $9.30
billion, said it would pay $571.5 million in cash and the remaining in newly
issued C.H. Robinson stock.
Sources had told Reuters in June that Chicago-based
Phoenix International was exploring a sale that could fetch as much as $500
million from global logistics companies, including C.H. Robinson and United
Parcel Service (UPS.N).
MANAGEMENT
Religare Asset Management Company, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Religare Securities, has sold 49 per cent of its
stake to Invesco, a US-based asset management company.
While the fund house did not reveal
details regarding the size of the deal, sources said that it was about Rs 450
crore. Sources said that the deal was valued at about 6-7 per cent of Rs 14,
443 crore, the total assets under management of the fund house as of August 31,
2012. This amounts to about to a valuation of Rs 900 crore, 49 per cent of
which stands at Rs 450 crore.
“We were looking for a product
partnership in the feeder fund category, which was the only fund category
missing from our portfolio. The tie-up with Invesco will help us in tapping the
opportunity and give access to global startegies,” said Saurabh Nanavati, chief
executive officer of Religare Asset Management Company.
Invesco is a US-based asset management
company managing assets worth $ 646.6 billion. The company is listed on the
NYSE with a market-cap of $11 billion and is present in more than 20 countries.
Retail investors contribute to nearly 60-65 per cent of the total AUM of the
AMC.
Religare Enterprises shares today rose
nearly 4 per cent to close at Rs 330 at the BSE.
Growing internet-based businesses depend
on net
neutrality, the ideal of treating all communication passing through an
electronic network independent of (a) content, (b) application, (c) service,
(d) device, (e) sender address, and (f) receiver address. Today, the freedom of
the internet is under threat from the very sources of its success: the 'killer
apps', including videoconferencing,
and file-sharing
that take up increasing amounts of bandwidth resulting in congestion. In 2010,
worldwide IP traffic stood at 20.2 exabytes (billion billion bytes) per month,
according to Cisco.
Overall IP traffic is expected to quadruple by 2015. One way to manage
congestion is to deploy advanced traffic management techniques that allow for a
wide range of operations such as the construction of fast lanes for certain
types of data, the provision of guaranteed network capacity for certain types
of users, prevention of access to illegal content and authentication of customers.
Charging the application and content providers for differentiated access to the
internet is another option that is being explored, giving rise to the prospect
of a 'two-speed' internet. This option militates against the principle of net
neutrality.
MARKETING
At the
launch of his Evalia people carrier in Mumbai recently, Takayuki Ishida, chief
executive of Nissan India, was unmoved by talk of trouble in the Indian car
market.
"In the short term, there is some fluctuation,"
said Ishida who moved to the auto-hub of Chennai this year. "But in the
long term, definitely, this market will continue to grow hugely." Few
analysts disagree that India is poised to join China and the US in what Booz
Allen, the consultancy, dubs a future "global automotive
triumvirate". But such talk cannot disguise the fact that 95 percent of
Indian households still do not own a car, according to the 2011 census.
Meanwhile, the car market is
suffering an unusually sharp slowdown. Falling sales in August raised alarm
when economic weakness combined with rising fuel and financing costs and import
tariff rises sent output down by 19 percent year on year.
Violence played a part too. Maruti
Suzuki , India's leading carmaker by revenues, suffered from a
month-long shutdown following industrial unrest at a factory near New Delhi -
although analysts say August's figures would have fallen even if Maruti had
been operating at full tilt.
Philips Healthcare, India plans to
introduce products and solutions to meet the rising demand for primary and
secondary healthcare services in smaller towns. The company also plans to
expand its marketing network through direct sales force and distributor network
and strengthen its servicing facilities in Tier II and III towns.
According to Rekha Ranganathan, senior
director and chief marketing strategy officer, Philips Healthcare, the
expansion of major hospital networks like Apollo and Fortis in these towns is
pushing the demand for products that help improve access to healthcare.
“We are looking at hospitals expanding
into different Tier II and III cities where bed sizes are 50-200 to cater to
the local population. We are targeting developing areas and offering affordable
equipment for them that enable more patient throughput,” Ranganathan told Business
Line.
Philips Healthcare has been growing at
30 per cent year-on-year. The focus on Tier II and III towns will help the
company boost its growth rate further.
ODISHA
BUSINESS
Orissa Mineral Development Co Ltd
(OMDC), the listed step down mining subsidiary of RINL, is likely to add shine
to RINL’s (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd) forthcoming IPO valuation. But OMDC is
still struggling to come out of six year-long dark patch.
“The debt-free OMDC’s high market
capitalisation, reserves and deemed asset base will cast favourable light on
RINL’s share valuation,” an RINL senior official told Business Line.
RINL sources said the Department of
Disinvestment is currently having a final look at the red herring prospectus
(RHP) before its filing with the SEBI shortly. The RHP will figure strengths
and weaknesses of 2011-acquired public sector Bird Group of Companies — EIL,
the holding company, and its two mining arms, OMDC and Bisra Stone Lime Co
(BSLC).
Promising to speed up the process of financial
inclusion, mainly in rural areas of Odisha, HDFC Bank today announced its plan
to increase the number of branches from 61 to 102 in the state by the year end.
"Now the bank has 61 branches in 25 districts of
Odisha. The bank is going to open 11 more branches by October and would add 30
new branches by December, 2012," Managing Director of HDFC Bank, Aditya
Puri told reporters here.
With
the opening of the 102 branches the leading private sector bank would have
branches in all the 30 districts of the state, he said. HDFC
Bank has 60 per cent of its branches in rural and semi-urban areas, Puri said
with the opening of more branches in rural belts, more than 75 per cent of the
branches of the bank would be located in villages and semi-urban pockets.
In addition to deposit mobilisation,
the bank is lending to all sections of people in Odisha and the focus was now
on micro-financing and loans for the farm sector like crop loans.
RETAIL
Mahindra Retail, which has entered the
retail space through its Mom & Me stores, expects to have 150 stores by the
end of the current fiscal.
The company intends to remain focused on
specialty retail that deals with the needs of mothers, infants and children,
according to K. Venkataraman, CEO, Mahindra Retail, which is part of the
$15.4-billion Mahindra & Mahindra group.
In an interview to Business Line,
he said investment in retail stores had already crossed the Rs 100-crore mark
and by the end of this month, the company would have more than 100 Mom & Me
stores and 25 Beanstalk stores He expected the number of stores to reach 150 by
March.
Planet Retail has exited franchise agreements with three
fashion brands – departmental store chain Debenhams and fashion brands Nautica
and Next – as part of its business restructuring exercise.
The brands have been taken over by textile and apparel
major Arvind Ltd’s wholly owned subsidiary Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd.
Ramesh Tainwala, chairman, Planet Retail Holdings Pvt
Ltd, told DNA Money, “I have just concluded the deal and have transferred all
the rights in favour of Arvind Lifestyle Brands.”
He, however, did not share financial details. Industry
experts said that the transaction value would not be very large as Planet
Retail was not the owner of these brands but a franchisee for India.
“It would be difficult to put a value to the size of a
deal of that nature,” said a retail consultant.
As part of the deal, Arvind will absorb all the
300-400 employees associated with the Indian operations of the three brands,
Tainwala said.
Arvind Lifestyle Brands, which runs value retail chain
Megamart, owns 50% stake in Tommy Hilfiger’s India unit. Its existing portfolio
of international fashion apparel brands includes Gant, Arrow, US Polo, Elle and
Flying Machine. Tainwala said they were looking for a strategic buyer who had
expertise in both manufacturing as well as retailing of fashion brands.
SUPPLY
CHAIN
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) plans to
develop a complete supply chain of its three core business -– palm oil, sugar
cane and rubber -- in Myanmar.
To realise the goal, the group has
signed a memorandung of understanding (MoU) with local partner, Pho La Min
Trading Ltd (PLM), to explore rubber plantations and rubber processing in the
country.
President and Chief Executive
Officer Datuk Sabri Ahmad said under the deal, a joint-venture company will be
set up to develop rubber business in three phases, starting with the
establishment of a processing plant.
“We hope to conclude this in
December or early next year and then we will plan to grow rubber trees on
30,000 hectares in Myeik.
“As for the third phase, we are
looking at downstream opportunities such as tyre manufacturing and rubber
glove,” he told reporters after the MoU signing.
In addition to this, he said, FGV also wants to emulate Felda’s social scheme in Myeik and was studying the feasibility.
In addition to this, he said, FGV also wants to emulate Felda’s social scheme in Myeik and was studying the feasibility.
Sabri said the group had also
identified areas suitable for sugar cane and oil palm plantations.
“Generally, the southern region
areas are more suitable for oil palm. The middle region and other areas are a
bit too dry for oil palm. So, rubber is more feasible.
Holding over one sixth of the UK's retail fuel market, Tesco relies on Norbert Dentressangle to help maintain its competitive edge by providing safe, reliable and strategic delivery services.
Operating more than 490 petrol filling stations around
the country selling over six billion litres of fuel every year, Tesco holds an
impressive 16 per cent of the total UK retail fuel market (source: Experian
Catalist).
The UK fuel market continues to be extremely
competitive and Tesco Petrol Filling Station continually strives to give its
customers a combination of competitive prices, high-quality fuels, no roadside
mark-up on convenience snacks and treats, friendly and efficient service and
loyalty rewards through its Clubcard scheme.
Norbert Dentressangle works alongside Tesco to deliver
that service within strict Health, Safety and Environment criteria.
The Norbert Dentressangle team – which includes more
than 350 dedicated drivers, operational management, engineers, health and
safety teams and human resources officers – works to support a 24-hour,
seven-days-a-week operation.
______________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 1st and 5th
Oct 2012
We welcome your
suggestions in improving this information updating service.
Knowledge
Is Power. Be Informed, Be Knowledgeable, Be Powerful.
Best wishes
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
Tel:0674-2374832, 2374833
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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