ASIAN
BUSINESS
Asian stocks markets shrugged off yet another dismal
prediction about global economic growth to mostly post solid gains Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2 percent to 21,076.82
and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 percent to 1,990.09. Mainland China’s Shanghai
Composite Index climbed 1.6 percent to 2,109.39 and the smaller Shenzhen
Composite Index added 1.8 percent to 864.44.
Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Australia also
rose. But Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent to 8,831.31.
Stock markets gains in Asia came despite the
International Monetary Fund cutting its forecast for global economic growth,
just a day after the World Bank issued a warning about a slackening expansion
in Asia.
Some analysts suggested that Asia still remained a
bright stop and that investors should keep the big picture in mind.
‘‘Asia has grown nearly 32 (percent) in the four years
since Lehman Brothers collapsed,’’ analysts at DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore said
in a market commentary. ‘‘That’s how big Asia is today and how fast it is
growing. A weak Europe will never be a plus for Asia. But it’s never mattered
less either.’’
Asian shares and the risk-sensitive Australian dollar
edged higher in choppy trade on Thursday, with investors worrying about slow
global growth and awaiting fresh U.S. economic data and a European Central Bank
policy meeting later in the day.
U.S.
stock futures rose 0.5 percent, as a CNN/ORC snap poll said 67 percent of
registered voters surveyed thought Republican candidate Mitt Romney, seen as
pro-business, won the first debate with President Barack Obama. Financial
spreadbetters expect London's FTSE 100, Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX to
open as much as 0.5 percent higher.
The rise in U.S. stock futures
bolstered Japan's Nikkei average, which was up 1.2 percent, adding to earlier
gains made on better-than-expected U.S. labour and service-sector data
overnight and a weaker yen.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan erased earlier losses to edge up 0.3 percent. Chinese
markets are closed this week for public holidays.
Australian shares were up 0.3
percent, after a 14-month closing high on Wednesday boosted by an interest rate
cut and a weaker local dollar. But South Korean shares were flat while the Hong
Kong market edged up 0.2 percent.
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
High yield bonds (90% overweight) and global emerging
market bonds (70% overweight) are the most popular with Europe's recent bond
buying scheme and QE3 in the US bringing some confidence back to the market and
resulting in a search for yield.
Geoff Pidgeon, head of global asset management for
HSBC Bank Australia said institutions are increasingly searching for alternate
yields and debt including bank loans, RMBS and high-grade credit going at
distressed prices.
The high levels of government debt at this point in
the cycle have led to a pick up in interest at the corporate level although
volatility is pushing institutional investors towards more hard currency debt.
"When you invest in emerging market or Asian debt
from a USD point of view, you're not taking on currency risk as much as you are
by investing in local currency," Pidgeon said.
"Typically when you're investing in local
currency you're investing predominately in corporates whereas when you're
investing in hard currency or USD you're predominately investing in Asian and
Emerging Markets sovereign - so the risk and volatility profiles of those two
asset classes are quite different."
The present risk on/risk off environment has led to
more money flowing to hard currency bonds, which tend to be less volatile.
Services industries from Asia to Europe cooled last
month, with China and Spain taking big hits, while the pace of growth in the
vast US services sector picked up last month as new orders accelerated.
China’s purchasing managers’ index fell to 53.7 last
month from 56.3 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics and China
Federation of Logistics and Purchasing in Beijing said on Wednesday. That is
the lowest since at least March last year.
In the euro area, a gauge slipped to 46.1 last month
from 47.2 and a UK measure also fell. Readings below 50 indicate contraction.
China’s weaker services number underscores a slowdown
that spurred the Asian Development Bank to lower its regional growth estimate
for this year.
As Europe’s economic slump deepens amid a fiscal
squeeze and weakening confidence, the bank said the threat of a "shock
emanating from the unresolved euro-area sovereign debt crisis" is among
the biggest downside risks to Asia.
In Britain, a services measure fell more than
economists forecast to 52.2 last month from 53.7. Markit said the underlying
trend in the UK economy is near stagnation.
BANKING
The non-performing assets (NPA) of the
banking sector rose sharply to 1.28 per cent in 2011-12 from 0.97 per cent a
year ago due to high interest rate and slowdown in the economy.
The NPAs or bad loans of the public
sector banks rose to 1.53 per cent in 2011-12, up from 1.09 per cent in the
previous year, said the latest RBI report.
As per the Profile of Banks: 2011-12
released by the RBI, the NPA for India’s largest public sector lender SBI along
with its associates rose to 1.76 per cent from 1.49 per cent in 2010-11.
SBI’s net NPA rose to 2.22 per cent in
the first quarter of the current fiscal from 1.61 per cent a year earlier.
However, private sector banks managed to
reduce their NPAs in 2011-12 to 0.46 per cent from 0.56 per cent in 2010-11, it
said.
Non-performing assets of old private
sector banks increased marginally to 0.58 per cent during the year from 0.53
per cent in the previous fiscal.
Also, foreign sector banks had their
NPAs below one per cent at 0.61 per cent, down from 0.67 per cent in 2010-11,
the RBI said.
The hackers behind the cyber attacks
on major U.S. banks have repeatedly disrupted online banking by using
sophisticated and diverse tools that point to a carefully coordinated campaign,
according to security researchers.
The hackers, believed to be
activists in the Middle East, were highly knowledgeable about the defensive
equipment used by the banks and likely spent months on reconnaissance, said
several researchers interviewed by Reuters, who viewed the assaults as among
the strongest and most complex the world has seen to date.
In the past two weeks, customers of
top U.S. banks including Bank of America Corp , JPMorgan Chase & Co , Wells
Fargo & Co , U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial Services have reported having
trouble accessing their websites, as unusually high traffic volumes appeared to
crash or slow down the systems.
No thefts have been tied to hacked
sites, but an untold number of customers were not able to pay bills or transfer
money from their computers, leaving banks with remediation expenses and
customer irritation as the biggest costs.
BUSINESS
Shares in Indian housing finance
companies gain after market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) said it will allow debt-oriented mutual funds to invest up to 10 per
cent of their net assets in companies in the sector.
Previously housing finance companies
had been included as part of SEBI's broader 30 percent cap on debt investments
in the financial sector.
As a result, funds had typically
preferred to invest in bigger financial companies, such as lenders and
insurers.
Giving housing finance companies
their own cap on investments should steer money into the sector and lower
funding costs, analysts say.
HDFC Ltd gains 0.6 percent, LIC
Housing Finance rises 1.5 percent, while Dewan Housing Finance also gains 2.4
percent.
India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd sold
a lower sulphur gasoil cargo and offered another, its first such cargoes in
more than a year, as it moves away from exporting the polluting high sulphur
grade, traders said on Monday.
The state-run refiner sold a gasoil cargo with a low
2500 parts-per-million, or 0.25 percent, sulphur content for loading from New
Mangalore over Nov. 1-3 to BP at premiums of about $2.75 a barrel above Middle
East quotes.
This is $1.25 a barrel, or about 83 percent, higher
than a similar cargo sold a year ago.
MRPL also offered a low sulphur gasoil cargo for Nov.
6-8 loading.
MRPL normally offers high sulphur gasoil every month
and is one of most regular exporters of the grade, so any cutbacks will likely
push up prices of the grade, the traders added.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
In a deal that can accelerate Tata
Communications' brand image across the world, the company's multi-year
technology service and marketing arrangement with the Formula 1 management is
running smoothly.
Tata Communication's large network of
subsea cables has been transmitting uninterrupted streams across televisions
and Web sites across the globe effectively taking care of the communications
logistics of the sporting spectacle.
“We are showcasing all aspects of our
technology in real-time. The relationship with Formula 1 goes beyond
conventional marketing and sponsorship. It is a live case study of the
market-leading work Tata Communications does,” Rozzyn Boy, global head of
communications and brand, Tata Communications, told Business Line recently.
Boy led the negotiations for the
multi-marketing agreement and global sponsorship of Tata Communications’ F1
deal from the brand perspective.
Ensuring a smooth, hiccup-free run for
the four-million odd users on F1's official Web site over race weekends, which
reportedly spikes to seven million during the race itself, has not been an easy
task.
Momentum,
a premier digital voice and broadband management provider, today at Interop New
York announced a new unified communications service, Momentum
Messenger, designed to make business communications more centralized and
efficient. With Momentum Messenger, a wide array of business processes such as
video conferencing, instant messaging, voicemail, softphone, and click-to-dial,
can all be carried out from a single interface.
"Unified communications brings freedom and flexibility to the way people work. Adopting an activity-based solution that allows employees to receive calls and messages from anywhere, and on a multitude of platforms, results in quicker response times and ultimately helps improve customer satisfaction," said Brandon Hagood, Momentum's director of product development.
In the past, this type of service had only been a viable option for enterprises due to cost. Momentum has now solved that problem by offering a unified communications solution at a price point that is affordable for businesses of all sizes.
"Unified communications brings freedom and flexibility to the way people work. Adopting an activity-based solution that allows employees to receive calls and messages from anywhere, and on a multitude of platforms, results in quicker response times and ultimately helps improve customer satisfaction," said Brandon Hagood, Momentum's director of product development.
In the past, this type of service had only been a viable option for enterprises due to cost. Momentum has now solved that problem by offering a unified communications solution at a price point that is affordable for businesses of all sizes.
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
For many small businesses an
investment of capital can mean the difference between staying in business or closing
for good.
But with banks unwilling to lend, Nexxus Management (www.nexxusmanagement.com)
of Fort Lauderdale is stepping in with an infusion of financial and human
capital designed to ensure that even the smallest mom and pop not only
survives, but thrives.
Founded by a team of entrepreneurs
who have experienced the success and failure of their own ventures, Nexxus Management
devised a small business assistance strategy designed to give the smaller fish
the tools to make a big impact.
Nexxus
provides an array of partnerships, revenue-sharing plans and fee-based consulting services,
as well as an experienced staff with expertise in e-commerce, marketing and
sales, public relations and advertising, and technology development.
Nexxus also offers small businesses the option of a free consultation to
determine what they need to take their operations to the next level.
"What we do is take the burden
off managing the day-to-day operations so small business owners can do
what they do best – develop ideas and create innovative products," said Tim Keyes, CEO and founder of Nexxus Management, with
offices also in Miami.
Microsoft on Wednesday launched enterprise resource planning (ERP)
solution, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, a comprehensive business management
solution for small and midsize businesses (SMB).
It is the first Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution for Windows Azure giving customers the choice to move to the cloud on their own terms. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 is simple to implement and use, with a familiar look and feel, great integration with other Microsoft technologies and a user interface tailored to the individual/specific organizational roles. Dynamics NAV 2013 combines business process, communications and collaboration capabilities to support SMB operations with secured, seamless integration and in turn enhance productivity. Highly adaptable and rich with features, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 is easy to deploy because of its on-premises or in the cloud capabilities. It helps companies manage their business, including finance, manufacturing, sales, shipping, project management, services, and more. It also optimizes IT investments and shorten the time to value with easy-to-use flexible solution. It also provides enhanced reporting, business insight and streamlines various management tools. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 works seamlessly with other Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft Office and SharePoint and other.
It is the first Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution for Windows Azure giving customers the choice to move to the cloud on their own terms. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 is simple to implement and use, with a familiar look and feel, great integration with other Microsoft technologies and a user interface tailored to the individual/specific organizational roles. Dynamics NAV 2013 combines business process, communications and collaboration capabilities to support SMB operations with secured, seamless integration and in turn enhance productivity. Highly adaptable and rich with features, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 is easy to deploy because of its on-premises or in the cloud capabilities. It helps companies manage their business, including finance, manufacturing, sales, shipping, project management, services, and more. It also optimizes IT investments and shorten the time to value with easy-to-use flexible solution. It also provides enhanced reporting, business insight and streamlines various management tools. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 works seamlessly with other Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft Office and SharePoint and other.
FINANCE
The Centre’s decision to limit the number of
subsidised LPG cylinders per household to six annually could spell doom to
those living in apartment complexes.
Following the government announcement, gas agencies
have decided to restrict the number of subsidised cylinders for an entire flat
society to six, irrespective of the number of families residing there.
Many flat societies in the state have centralised gas
distribution or piped gas system. As per the system, LPG is stored at a
particular place in the apartment complex and distributed to all the flats of
that complex through pipelines.
With the new decision, an entire apartment complex or
a housing society will be treated as a single consumer.
An official of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
said the regulation has been made as the Union Government reduced the number of
subsidised cylinders per consumer.
“As of now, an apartment with a single connection will
get only three subsidised LPG cylinders for the rest of the financial year,” he
said.
The government took such a step to curb the misuse of
subsidised LPG cylinders, he said.
If everything goes according to plan, the city will
shortly have a Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) on the lines of Ahmedabad in
Gujarat. After implementation of the programme, entry of two-wheelers and cars
will be banned in the heart of the city, and public transport facilities will
be developed in the city centre.
Plans have been made to shift the city bus stand to
other places, and the place of the present bus stand will be developed as a
historical place as it is adjacent to the Palace. The measures have
been taken to keep the core area environment-friendly.
This decision was taken at a City Corporation Council
meeting held in the city on Sunday, based on the Mysore Master Plan-2031.
City Town Planning director Chowdegowda explained the
project in detail to Mayor M C Rajeshwari and Deputy Mayor Mahadevappa during
the meeting. He further requested three to four months to make the project
understood for the council members.
Apart from this, if the house owners have to obtain a
completion report, they have to compulsorily equip their houses with solar
power, rain water harvesting, and other environment-friendly measures. The move
has been taken to protect the environment.
INDIA
BUSINESS
Lufthansa airline
is all set to introduce internet services on board its India flights. This
truly high-speed on board internet service allows Lufthansa passengers, in all
three classes, to enjoy the freedom of broadband communication during their
flights between Germany and India. Initially, the services will be available on
some Indian routes. The service will gradually expand to all flights between
Lufthansa's 5 Indian destinations and Frankfurt as well as Munich. This
investment comes close on the heels of Lufthansa launching the new B747-8
aircraft to India, introducing its new full lie-flat Business Class seats and
opening an exclusive Lufthansa Lounge in Delhi for the Indian market.
A statement released by the airline stated that the
internet service will give passengers travelling with a WLAN-enabled laptop or
smartphone, unlimited online access. Using laptops, tablets such as an iPad or smartphones,
passengers can connect to the Internet through a hotspot on board in the same
way they would connect through any public hotspot on the ground. Thanks to the
high bandwidth connection, e-mails - even with large file attachments - can be
sent and received without time delay.
Caesars Entertainment, the world's biggest casino company, is
entering India through non-gaming businesses such as luxury hotels and
entertainment businesses such as managing Bollywood-centric events, concerts,
musicals, drama and stand-up comedy.
India does not allow foreigners in the gaming business.
The Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, which owns 50 hotels and casinos and several golf resorts around the world, plans to open up to 15 hotels in India in a decade and has already initiated talks with around half-a-dozen real estate developers, a top official of the $9-billion firm said. "We have spent the last one year in exploring the Indian market and there is a lot to offers," Neera Chanani, South Asia head at Caesars Entertainment Hospitality, said.
"In the non-gaming space we will focus on hotels and convention centres and building entertainment destinations within or adjacent to them," she said.
The company plans to bring its global brands and offerings such as upscale hotel brand Caesars Hotel and luxury offering Caesars Palace, and customise them for the local market.
"In the entertainment space one of the major focus areas will be Bollywood. We are looking to create content that is specific to the Indian market," Chanani said. Caesars is in talks with large event management companies as well as production houses in India for partnerships. Experts say it's a good time for Ceasars to enter the country.
India does not allow foreigners in the gaming business.
The Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, which owns 50 hotels and casinos and several golf resorts around the world, plans to open up to 15 hotels in India in a decade and has already initiated talks with around half-a-dozen real estate developers, a top official of the $9-billion firm said. "We have spent the last one year in exploring the Indian market and there is a lot to offers," Neera Chanani, South Asia head at Caesars Entertainment Hospitality, said.
"In the non-gaming space we will focus on hotels and convention centres and building entertainment destinations within or adjacent to them," she said.
The company plans to bring its global brands and offerings such as upscale hotel brand Caesars Hotel and luxury offering Caesars Palace, and customise them for the local market.
"In the entertainment space one of the major focus areas will be Bollywood. We are looking to create content that is specific to the Indian market," Chanani said. Caesars is in talks with large event management companies as well as production houses in India for partnerships. Experts say it's a good time for Ceasars to enter the country.
INDIA
MANAGEMENT
Indian mutual funds, private equity houses and wealth
managers may run into a regulatory hurdle in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a
large offshore market for financial products.
In a recent order, the UAE's Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) has instructed distributors and investment advisors to seek its approval before selling a product.
"Prior to any promotion, an application for the promotion of foreign mutual fund units must be submitted to the SCA by the local promoter (product distributor, banks selling third-party investment products, etc) ... enclosing the documents stated in the form for each fund wishing to promote its units within the UAE," the circular said. The UAE is an important fund-raising destination for Indian mutual funds, private equity funds and offshore pooled accounts.
According to rough estimates, India-focused 'private funds' - as private equity funds and offshore fund pools are classified by the SCA - mobilise over $4 billion from the UAE every year.
Public funds - classified by the Securities & Commodities Authority as retail-focused mutual funds from well-regulated markets - launched by Indian mutual funds manage around 1,000 crore belonging to UAE-based investors, fund industry sources said.
The UAE regulator has further said it would review product prospectuses and give approvals within 30 days of receiving the submissions. The SCA has also retained the right to disallow products that could potentially be detrimental for investors in the UAE.
In a recent order, the UAE's Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) has instructed distributors and investment advisors to seek its approval before selling a product.
"Prior to any promotion, an application for the promotion of foreign mutual fund units must be submitted to the SCA by the local promoter (product distributor, banks selling third-party investment products, etc) ... enclosing the documents stated in the form for each fund wishing to promote its units within the UAE," the circular said. The UAE is an important fund-raising destination for Indian mutual funds, private equity funds and offshore pooled accounts.
According to rough estimates, India-focused 'private funds' - as private equity funds and offshore fund pools are classified by the SCA - mobilise over $4 billion from the UAE every year.
Public funds - classified by the Securities & Commodities Authority as retail-focused mutual funds from well-regulated markets - launched by Indian mutual funds manage around 1,000 crore belonging to UAE-based investors, fund industry sources said.
The UAE regulator has further said it would review product prospectuses and give approvals within 30 days of receiving the submissions. The SCA has also retained the right to disallow products that could potentially be detrimental for investors in the UAE.
Private
equity and real
estate advisor Everstone
has entered into a contract with property consultancy firm Jones
Lang LaSalle India for providing retail property management services to
four of its shopping malls in India. The tie-up marks Jones Lang LaSalle
India's entry into retail property management services business in the country.
Under the contract, Jones Lang LaSalle will be responsible for operations and
marketing , besides providing leasing, property and financial management
services for the next five years to Everstone's malls in Pune, Kochi, Vadodara
and Ahmedabad. The four malls are spread over nearly 2 million sq ft of
leasable space.
"We are ramping up our business in the real
estate domain and a global name in mall management will help us in enhancing
retailer, customer experience and ensure strong mall occupancies," said
Dhanpal Jhaveri, partner and chief executive officer at Everstone Capital
Advisors , which advises private equity and realty funds of nearly $1.7 billion
in assets.
Most of the leading international property consultants
in India are already offering services like retail space leasing and facilities
management. However, this will be the first time that a property consultant
will be offering a consolidated retail property management services.
INSURANCE
The finance ministry’s proposal to allow insurance
companies to invest in AA-rated securities will broaden investment options for
insurance companies but is also likely to expose their policyholders to higher
risk.
Currently,
insurance companies only invest in AAA-rated securities, which restricts their
choice to government bonds and debt instruments of top government-owned companies
and a handful of the country’s largest private sector firms. The AA-rated
universe is several times bigger and various kinds of companies are its
members. This diversity, however, can cause policyholders to sweat as the
balance sheet of a typical AA-rated company is more leveraged and it has lower
earnings cushion to service debt than AAA-rated peers. Rating
agencies and insurance companies, however, say the new norms will help insurers
provide better returns to policyholders without sacrificing safety. “AA-rated
securities give 50-100 basis points higher returns than AAA-rated paper and
there’s no great difference in risk profile,” says Kartik Srinivasan, co-head,
financial sector ratings at Icra. Sam Ghosh of Reliance Capital agrees.
Others point out its indirect
benefit to India Inc. “It will help broaden and deepen the bond markets and
from our perspective, the 'IND AA' rated universe of issuers represents a very
high degree of safety,'' says Tarun Bansal, senior director and head, BRM,
India Ratings & Research (formerly Fitch Ratings India).
Market
regulator Sebi today proposed to bring more classes of financial instruments,
including insurance policies and fixed deposits, under the ambit of asset
categories that can be held in demat or electronic form.
The proposed move is expected to
make it simpler to maintain and safe-keep various kinds of financial
instruments, as the risks like loss and theft get minimised in demat form, as
compared to the physical paper form.
At present, all the securities
traded in capital markets such as equity shares and mutual funds can be held in
demat accounts, maintained by two depositories NSDL and CDSL, which come under
Sebi's jurisdiction.
After its board meeting here, Sebi
said "there have been demands for dematerialization of assets/records
other than securities, such as, Warehouse receipts, Fixed Deposits with banks
and corporates, Insurance Policies, Investment products of Post Office, etc."
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
As Advertising
Week 2012 continues in New York, a widely discussed topic is how to
generate measurable business results for the brands sold by marketers.
Coincidentally, a study to be released Tuesday addresses the value of powerful
brands - and the problems of brands whose value is diminishing. The study
is the 13th annual Best
Global Brands report from Interbrand, a brand consulting company owned by
the Omnicom
Group. The report ranks what it deems the 100 most valuable brands on
criteria that include financial performance, the role the brand plays in
influencing the choices made by consumers and the brand's ability to help its
parent's earnings.
Such measures ought to attract more attention on
Madison Avenue, Christine Fruechte, president and chief executive at Colle
& McVoy, an agency owned by MDC Partners, said during an Advertising Week
panel Monday.
"When we put together advertising programs, we're
constantly keeping in mind how to add shareholder value," Fruechte said.
"We want to have a tangible impact on the client's business or
services."
Fruechte cited as an example a client, the Caribou
Coffee Co., whose stock, she said, has risen to more than $18 a share from
$1.17 when the agency began its work.
Crisis-hit global Airline Industry may
stem its growing losses and even record modest profits next year, with air
carriers in Asia-Pacific estimated to post profits this year, IATA said today.
A major reason for this upward revision
by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was better performance by
the airlines through better matching of capacity to demand and various
cost-cutting measures, IATA estimated in its latest financial forecast titled
‘Downward Pressure Starting to Ease’.
Noting that the European sovereign debt
crisis continued and China was experiencing moderate growth, IATA Director
General and CEO Tony Tyler said, “While some of these risks have diminished
slightly over recent months, they continue to take their toll on business
confidence. The outlook improvement is due to airlines performing better in a
difficult environment”.
The Global Airlines’ body estimated that
Asia-Pacific airlines were set to post a $ 2.3 billion profit for 2012, which
was $ 0.3 billion better than previously forecast.
But these carriers, which catered to 40
per cent of the global cargo market, were “the most exposed to weak cargo
demand”.
While European Airlines were expected to
post the largest loss of any region at $ 1.2 billion, worse than previously
forecast, those from North America were estimated to post profits of $ 1.9
billion in 2012, up $ 0.5 billion from the previous forecast, IATA predicted.
LOGISTICS
One of the most important trends in logistics
is considered to be the constant advances being achieved with ICT — in terms of
speed, quality of service and flexibility to cater to customer demands for
goods that are arrive cheaper, quicker or fresher.
Being able to do work faster and
smarter is becoming vitally important in the sector; intelligent goods-handling
systems and automated-pick warehouses, as well as wireless vehicle tracking and
routing, all figure in this regard. The problem with this technology,
especially in times when investment capital is tight, is that there is the high
initial cost associated with its implementation.
Vehicle tracking, for instance,
calls for the installation of GPS/GPRS equipment in each vehicle to be tracked.
Additionally, it requires specialist software and display hardware to provide
office-based logistics managers with constantlyupdated views of vehicle
locations and up-to-the-minute reports on scheduling.
The good news is that the technology
that used to cost in millions has been made affordable to small and medium
businesses as a low-cost managed service. Thanks to the clever combination of
GPS location systems, the mobile network and Web-based mapping applications,
telco companies can now offer a full range of commercial options that include
pay-as-you-use pricing, connectivity to the telco’s network, access to the
tracking system, map and software updates, and the necessary in-vehicle
hardware.
The UAE’s leading integrated healthcare provider, NMC
Healthcare, today unveiled its new expanded logistics centre at the Dubai
Investments Park.
With more than 65,000 “stock keeping units”, or individual product lines, NMC Trading is a fully owned subsidiary of NMC Healthcare and is one of the largest distribution companies in the UAE with interests in FMCG, food stuffs, pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicine and scientific equipment.
The need for expanding NMC Trading’s warehouse capacity has been brought about by a rapidly expanding range of new products across all divisions, which has increased by 12% since December 2011. With the commissioning of the new Logistics Centre, NMC Trading will add another 20% of additional warehousing space and reduce the load on the existing facilities, increase inventory holding capacity and pave the way for additional products to be added to the distribution business.
Speaking on the occasion of the opening ceremony, Binay Shetty, Chief Operating Officer, NMC Healthcare and NMC Trading said, “Last year the company’s strategic team closely evaluated the evolving warehousing and distribution needs and signalled a logistics expansion to cater to the growing needs of the FMCG and food stuff divisions. The new expansion will help NMC Trading’s further expansion by expanding its warehousing and distribution capabilities.”
MANAGEMENT
Tata
Teleservices will shortly expand its outsourcing pact with China's ZTE and
award a contract to the Chinese gearmaker to manage and maintain CDMA mobile
networks in the eastern
region, executives familiar with the matter told ET.
Earlier this year, Tata Tele renewed its contract with
ZTE to manage and maintain its GSM networks for three years in Orissa, West
Bengal and Bihar (including Jharkhand). Now it is in advanced talks to give the
world's fifth-largest telecom gearmaker the additional mandate of also managing
its CDMA networks in these regions. Executives privy to these discussions did
not reveal the deal size but said ZTE would have to scale up network management
operations in these Tata Tele circles by roughly 20 per cent. "If the deal
goes through, ZTE will manage an additional 3,500-odd CDMA sites alongside the
7,500 Tata DoCoMo sites that it is already managing in Orissa, West Bengal and
Bihar," said a top executive, adding that the Chinese gearmaker's scale-up
costs would be modest as it already delivers managed services in these regions.
At present, Tata Tele directly manages its CDMA networks in these eastern
circles. Accordingly, the ZTE-managed service deal size will hinge on the level
of cost savings that the outsourcing model brings for Tatas.
The mutual fund industry saw a 7.9 per
cent rise in assets at Rs 7.47 trillion (Rs 7.47 lakh crore) — the highest since
September 2010 — in the second quarter of the current fiscal, according to
Crisil Ratings.
The average assets under management
(AUM) for the July-September quarter stood at Rs 7.47 trillion, up from Rs 6.93
trillion in the previous quarter.
“The rise in average assets under
management in absolute as well as in percentage terms was the highest since
September 2010 quarter, when the AMFI started declaring average AUMs on
quarterly basis,” Crisil said.
“Rise in the average AUM was primarily
due to inflows into income funds, ultra-short term debt funds and money market
mutual funds,” it said.
Among the debt schemes, the money
market, ultra-short term and short-term debt funds together saw a rise of 16
per cent in assets to Rs 3.34 trillion during the quarter under review.
“The rise in assets was on account of
inflows due to an improvement in the liquidity situation following the Reserve
Bank decision to cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and cash reserve ratio
(CRR) during the quarter,” the credit rating agency said.
On the other hand, fixed maturity plans
that had been witnessing inflows in the past few quarters saw assets shrinking
by 7 per cent to Rs 1.19 trillion.
MARKETING
T-Mobile has removed the image of Apple Inc.’s
iPhone one month into a marketing campaign that encourages people to bring
their unlocked iPhone to the carrier.
The marketing push openly invited people to bring an
unlocked iPhone from AT&T Inc. to the network and claimed savings of
$50 in their monthly bill. Images of the iPhone as the bottom of an open
padlock were featured prominently in stores.
T-Mobile is the only major U.S. carrier that doesn’t
sell the iPhone, something it has cited as a reason for losing customers.
The iPhone made for AT&T’s network can also run on T-Mobile, which has
said there are more than one million iPhones operating on its network.
A T-Mobile spokeswoman said the reason for the change
was a “natural progression” of the campaign. The company only used the
imagery in September to capitalize on the excitement around the launch of
the iPhone 5, she said. The company is switching out the iPhone image for
“other AT&T smartphone images”, the spokeswoman said. The program,
which includes having demonstration iPhones in stores, hasn’t changed.
Qatar Airways said Monday that it plans to join the
Oneworld global marketing alliance, in a move that is likely to trigger further
changes in the ties between other airlines and the way they transport
passengers on intercontinental routes. The airline becomes the first of the
trio of fast-growing Middle East carriers to join one of the three global
pacts—Oneworld, Star and SkyTeam—that have dominated industry strategy for a
decade, funneling passengers between members with coordinated schedules and
common access to airport lounges and frequent-flier programs.
Qatar Airways' planned entry to the Oneworld grouping
late next year or in early 2014 raises questions about the future membership of
existing participants including AMR
Corp.'s AAMRQ -0.52%
American Airlines, which is in talks about a potentially conflicting deal with
Dubai-based Emirates Airline, the largest carrier in the Middle East.
Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi, on Monday
announced a pact with SkyTeam member Air France-KLM and Oneworld's Air Berlin
PLC in a further sign of how existing ties are breaking down. Emirates, which
has vowed not to join an alliance, last month announced plans for an extensive
alliance with another Oneworld member,Qantas
Airways Ltd. QAN.AU +0.38% of
Australia.
ODISHA
BUSINESS
The government of Odisha has decided to
form a separate company, Odisha Green Power Corporation Ltd (OGPCL),
exclusively for the purpose of promoting large-scale solar power plants and
other renewable energy projects.
The decision to form OGPCL was announced
by the State’s Energy Minister, Mr Arun Kumar Sahu, at a solar conference
organised in Bhubhaneswar by the local chapter of TiE along with Canyon
Consultancy Pvt Ltd, a firm that focuses on renewable energy technologies on
Saturday. (TiE, or The Indus Entrepreneurs, is a global non profit organization
that aims to foster entrepreneurship.)
The new company is expected to be a
subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), which has substantial
lands on which to put up solar projects. OHPC intends to put up a 22.5 MW solar
project, spread over three of its hydro project locations, through its green
power subsidiary. OHPC is also discussing with Water Resource department to
have solar projects on the canals of Odisha for multiple benefits.
Speaking at the conference, Mr B K
Misra, Member, Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission, called upon the major
industries in the State such as NALCO, Hindalco and Vedanta, to put up rooftop
solar plants in their industrial units, which could help them meet their
‘renewable purchase obligation’.
TiE Bhubhaneswar has recommended to the
State government to declare 2013 as the ‘Solar Year of Odisha’ and also to set
up a 100 MW solar park during the year. It has further suggested that the solar
plant capacity in the State could be raised to 1,000 MW by 2017.
The Odisha government expects the Biju Patnaik airport
in the city to be upgraded to an international airport by 2013.
“The
Centre has assured that the Biju Patnaik airport will be declared an
international airport by 2013,” said Patnaik. The state
government has been persistently demanding international status for the city
airport.
During his recent meeting with civil
aviation minister Ajit Singh in New Delhi, Patnaik pointed out that Odisha
still remained deprived of international operations despite attracting a rush
of investment proposals across sectors. Total investments proposed in Odisha in
calendar 2011 stood at Rs 3.21 lakh crore, the highest among all states.
Patnaik had also stressed upon the
need to provide adequate infrastructural support to the aviation sector in the
state to ensure unhindered industrialisation and also keeping in view the
growing inflow in domestic as well as international tourists.
Besides, Patnaik had pitched for air
connectivity between Bhubaneswar and West Asian as well as South-East Asian
nations while reiterating his demand for declaring the Biju Patnaik airport in
the city as an international airport.
The Union minister had assured the
Odisha chief minister that all necessary steps are being taken to upgrade Biju
Patnaik domestic airport into an international airport at the earliest.
International airline operators like
Fly Dubai and Air Asia had evinced interest in running their flight operations
to and from the city, realizing the growing importance of Bhubaneswar as an
important business destination. Work on a new domestic terminal at the city
airport was nearing completion.
RETAIL
Multi-brand
retail chain V-mart plans to raise Rs. 120 crore
through an initial public offer to fund its expansion strategy, under which it
will almost double its showrooms to 120 outlets by 2015.
The company is also looking to aggressively expand in the North Eastern region and aims to have a presence in all the states. To start with, it will open the first outlet in Assam in 2014.
"We have an aggressive expansion plan. We are looking to add 58 stores in 55 new locations by March 2015 and almost all of these will be opened in smaller Tier II and III cities," V-mart Retail Chairman and MD Lalit Agarwal told PTI.
The company currently operates 62 outlets at 52 different locations, he added.
"We are planning to invest Rs. 180 crore to fund this expansion programme. Out of this, Rs. 120 crore in expected to come from the proposed IPO, while rest will be from the internal accruals," Agarwal said, the company currently has a debt of around Rs. 45 crore.
V-mart Retail has already the filed the draft red herring prospectus with the capital market regulator SEBI and is currently awaiting approval.
The company is also looking to aggressively expand in the North Eastern region and aims to have a presence in all the states. To start with, it will open the first outlet in Assam in 2014.
"We have an aggressive expansion plan. We are looking to add 58 stores in 55 new locations by March 2015 and almost all of these will be opened in smaller Tier II and III cities," V-mart Retail Chairman and MD Lalit Agarwal told PTI.
The company currently operates 62 outlets at 52 different locations, he added.
"We are planning to invest Rs. 180 crore to fund this expansion programme. Out of this, Rs. 120 crore in expected to come from the proposed IPO, while rest will be from the internal accruals," Agarwal said, the company currently has a debt of around Rs. 45 crore.
V-mart Retail has already the filed the draft red herring prospectus with the capital market regulator SEBI and is currently awaiting approval.
Not long ago the creators of video games
were declaring their medium the art form of the 21st century. Games could
aspire to the drama and spectacle of movies but would captivate society with
their irresistible interactivity .
More than 200 million Wii, Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3 systems were sold worldwide . Sales of portable gaming machines
surged as well. Upward of 12 million subscribers were paying $15 a month to
play the online game World of
Warcraft , and competitors were plotting to develop worthy rivals. The
motion-sensing Kinect
system from Microsoft generated considerable buzz, with its promise of freeing
players from having to push buttons and wave wands. And yet the gaming world
has found itself teetering at the edge of a financial cliff.
In the first eight months of this year, retail sales
of video games plummeted 20% in the United States. That followed a lackluster
performance in 2011, when sales fell 8%.
An analysis on the website Gamasutra this year said it
was possible that 2012 would be the worst year for retail video game software
and hardware sales since 2005.
The struggling economy has
certainly been a factor in the decline, especially considering that young men —
long a core audience for games — were hit so hard during the recession.
Another development will sound familiar to anyone who
once had a groovy record collection: the democratising , disrupting effect of
less expensive digital downloads has changed the business model.
Nearly everywhere , it seems, people have been sharing
Words With Friends, slinging Angry Birds
at pigs or springing their creatures through a precarious Doodle universe .
All those games, made for smartphones,
sure are popular, and the financial picture improves when their sales are
included , but they can be had for pennies and seemingly become disposable
almost as fast as they are released.
SUPPLY
CHAIN
OVER the recent months our UFU Vegetable Committee
have highlighted the continued pressures and challenges within their vegetable
supply chain. On exploring this further it became evident that these
pressures were not unique to Northern Ireland.
The NFU launched their report ‘Catalyst for
Change’ suggesting better ways of doing business in the Horticulture and
potatoes sector earlier this year. NFU Chairman Sarah Dawson travelled to
Northern Ireland, visited a number of local producers and presented the
findings and recommendation from the report at a special Horticulture event in
Greenmount Campus (CAFRE).
The UFU Vegetable Committee have reviewed the report
and discussed the importance of delivering a charter for best business practice
in the fresh produce sector. ‘The Fruit and Veg Pledge’ will promote best
business practice and improve relationships and balance risk between retailers,
intermediaries and growers. The pledge clearly sets out the behaviour and
commitment that the supply chain must aspire to if it is to achieve a vision of
a productive and profitable horticulture sector.
Our UFU Vegetable Growers welcomed the pledge, as it
gives opportunity for the grower to highlight their commitment and
ability to produce the highest quality, traceable and farm assured fresh
fruit and vegetables that consumers increasingly demand.
A new industry organisation has been launched in
a bid to tackle trade, importation and port issues.
Freight forwarding industry advocate Paul Zalai
has formed the Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) to give voice to
importer interests and representative bodies.
Zalai says the body, which encourages
alliances with transport industry organisations on common issues, was
formed in response to supply chain complexities facing customs brokers and
freight forwarders.
According to Zalai, these supply chain complexities
include increasing border security requirements, evolving global trade
agreements, variations in international shipping practices and numerous
domestic landside logistics issues requiring ongoing reform.
He says the new group’s focus will be on improved
statutory compliance, processes and operational efficiency.
“These issues are intertwined requiring the need for a
considered approach in representation to government and various sectors of
commerce,” he says.
“In this contemporary environment, it is essential
that advocacy is representative of a cross-section of Australia’s international
trade sector.”
Zalai will look after the core advocacy role and will
have expert support on insurance and finance issues, while the body’s website
is presently being completed.
“Increasingly, so many of the issues flow on from one
sector to the other and, increasingly, issues are intertwined,” Zalai says
about the need to work with trucking bodies.
______________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 8th, 9th and 10th
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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