ASIAN
BUSINESS
Asian
shares edged up on Friday on expectations a deal will eventually be
reached to avoid a US fiscal crisis, but investors wary about taking big
positions before the year-end were likely to take profits on the rises and buy
on dips.
Investors will also be looking at data from Asia on
Friday and Saturday for signs that global growth deterioration may be slowing
down. Japan's industrial output
unexpectedly rose 1.8% in October, up for the first time in four months,
government data showed on Friday, suggesting the impact of the global slowdown
and a diplomatic row with China may have run their course.
Later on
Friday, India will report its third-quarter gross domestic product at 0530 GMT
and China will release the official manufacturing PMI for November on Saturday.
MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1% on Friday,
after rising 1.1% to close at its highest level in nearly nine months on
Thursday.
Australian
shares gained 0.5% to a fresh three-week high, helped by firmer base metals
prices and a higher close on Wall Street.
Tiffany
& Co lowered its fiscal-year sales and profit forecast for the third
straight quarter and reported lower-than-expected revenue and earnings after a
drop in same-store sales in its key Asia market.
Shares
slid more than 8 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.
The
high-end jeweler, famed for its blue boxes, has banked heavily on new markets,
particularly Asia, where it gets nearly one-quarter of its business and is its
fastest-growing segment. But the region has been affected by the economic
slowdown in China.
Sales at
Asian stores open at least a year fell 4 percent, excluding currency effects.
Tiffany
now expects global net sales to rise between 5 percent and 6 percent for the
year ending in January, down one percentage point from its most recent
forecast,
Chief
Executive Michael Kowalski said the company had a "cautious"
near-term view of the global economy, but expects results to start improving
during the current holiday season, when Tiffany rings up one-third of annual
sales.
Sales were
also weak in its least expensive category, silver jewelry, suggesting
price-conscious shoppers were hesitant to spend money on items they didn't need
right away.
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
Digital media technology platform Komli Media has
entered into an exclusive partnership with Twitter to manage the latter’s
South-east Asia ‘promoted products’ suite. The partnership between Twitter and
Komli Media will expand the availability of Twitter’s suite of advertising
products to marketers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the
Philippines.
Under the partnership, Komli will also run a series
of education and training programmes to develop the regional market for
Twitter. A dedicated sales team specialising in Twitter’s advertising products
has been appointed. The solutions offered include promoted tweets, promoted
accounts, and promoted trends, which are currently only available to marketers
in the US, UK, Japan and Latin America.
“South-east Asia is one of Twitter’s fastest-growing
markets,” said Shailesh Rao, VP, international revenue, Twitter. “We
are seeing significant interest from marketers who want to use our promoted
products to build their businesses and connect with consumers. Komli and its
management team gives Twitter a strong partner with a footprint throughout the
region,” he added.
This move marks Twitter’s foray into the South-east
Asian market, with Komli becoming the first partner of the micro-blogging site.
Nearly 50 percent of the world’s social network users are in Asia, according to
a Komli statement.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management has today announced
that its local currency institutional money market funds in Asia now total more
than $10bn equivalent in assets. J.P. Morgan Asset Management was the first to
pioneer AAA-rated money market funds both in China in Chinese Yuan (CNY) in
2005 as well as in Singapore Dollars in 2007. In 2007, it also launched what is
now the only AAA-rated money market fund in Japan in Japanese Yen (JPY) and has
managed an AAA-rated money market fund in Australian Dollars since 2010. In
October, our landmark JPY government liquidity fund was launched in Japan as
both the first institutional money fund restricted to government risk and the
first to offer T+0 settlement in Japan for subscriptions and redemptions.
The current suite of seven mutual funds in Asia has
more than doubled in size since July 2010. The fastest growing local currency
fund in 2012 has been the onshore Chinese Yuan money market fund, which has
added more than CNY 8 billion ($1.25bn) in assets during the year, closing at
CNY 20.9bn ($3.3bn) on October 31, 2012. The fund accounts for 90% of assets in
AAA-rated money market funds in China, and with a growth rate above 33% year to
date, it has outpaced the 22% increase across the entire money fund industry in
China.
BANKING
Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on Friday
called off the proposed acquisition of the Indian retail & commercial
banking operations of Royal
Bank of Scotland amid its cost cutting drive globally. The decision comes
after a two year long ordeal.
In July 2010, HSBC had agreed to
buy select assets of RBS
India for a premium of $95 million. The Reserve Bank
of India had given a conditional approval to the deal in December 2011,
where in it declined transfer of RBS bank branches to HSBC. Meanwhile, RBS has
decided to wind down its retail and small and medium enterprises business. The
agreement for the acquisition by HSBC of RBS's Indian retail and commercial
banking businesses has expired as the long stop date
of 30 November 2012 has been reached without all conditions required to close
the transaction being satisfied. HSBC Asia Pacific is a wholly owned subsidiary
of HSBC Holdings plc,'' said HSBC in a statement.
HSBC remains committed to pursuing growth in India,
a key strategic market for the Group, through its existing operations,'' the
bank said. In the past two years the sale negotiations has hit regulatory and
commercial roadblocks.
As a part of the deal HSBC was keen on acquiring
some RBS branches in India, which the RBI had turned down. The Reserve Bank of
India does not permit automatic transfer of branches in an asset sale. This has
also gone against the deal,'' said a senior banker in the know of the
development. On an average, the central
bank issues about 14 branches to all foreign banks every year. RBS has 31
branches in India.
The European
Commission gave the go ahead to Spain to overhaul its stricken nationalised
banks on Wednesday and opened the door for a nearly 40-billion Eurozone aid to
be disbursed, offering hope for an end to Spain's banking crisis.
Lenders Bankia, NCG Banco,
Catalunya Banc and Banco de
Valencia will need 37 billion ($48 billion) to be recapitalised and the
banks' bondholders will face losses, said EU competition commissioner Joaquin
Almunia. The approval allows the Eurozone to disburse funds from its
permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM) fund and could mark a turning
point in a banking crisis that has dragged Spain into recession after its real estate
bubble burst. Spain was given nod to receive up to 100 b from the ESM in June.
The announcement sets down one of the most far-reaching restructuring plans of
any European banking system ordered by the Commission since the start of a
banking crisis in mid-2007 with the near collapse of German lender IKB. "The
approval of the restructuring plans of BFA/Bankia, NCG, Catalunya Banc and
Banco de Valencia is a milestone in the implementation of the Memorandum of
Understanding between Eurozone countries and Spain," Almunia said,
referring to Spain's Eurozone bank bailout.
BUSINESS
Faced with soaring demand, stagnant output at home
and a need to diversify from Iranian crude imports lost to Western sanctions,
Indian oil companies are hungry for deals like ONGC's Kashagan buy that promise
supplies sooner rather than later.
State-run ONGC Videsh has agreed to pay about $5 billion for 8.4 percent of the Kashagan field in Kazakhstan, the world's largest oilfield discovery in four decades - which could boost its output by about 16 percent within a year.
The deal adds to a stable of assets that span some of the trickiest territories in the world - Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Libya among them - accumulated as parent Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) struggled with domestic output. But it's a drop in the ocean for the world's fourth-biggest crude importer - it buys in 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) - where the energy gap triggers constant power cuts. Asia's third-largest economy plans to hit 8 percent growth in 2014/15 and by 2030 that could lift it to be third-largest in the world and also the No. 3 energy consumer, according to BP.
Oil supplies have become more urgent as Western sanctions over nuclear projects squeeze Iran, once India's second-biggest supplier. India's imports from Tehran slipped by nearly a fifth to 257,000 bpd in April-September.
"Our priority is to look for discovered, developed and producing assets which give us production growth immediately," TK Anantha Kumar, head of finance for Oil India, the country's other state-run explorer, said.
State-run ONGC Videsh has agreed to pay about $5 billion for 8.4 percent of the Kashagan field in Kazakhstan, the world's largest oilfield discovery in four decades - which could boost its output by about 16 percent within a year.
The deal adds to a stable of assets that span some of the trickiest territories in the world - Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Libya among them - accumulated as parent Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) struggled with domestic output. But it's a drop in the ocean for the world's fourth-biggest crude importer - it buys in 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) - where the energy gap triggers constant power cuts. Asia's third-largest economy plans to hit 8 percent growth in 2014/15 and by 2030 that could lift it to be third-largest in the world and also the No. 3 energy consumer, according to BP.
Oil supplies have become more urgent as Western sanctions over nuclear projects squeeze Iran, once India's second-biggest supplier. India's imports from Tehran slipped by nearly a fifth to 257,000 bpd in April-September.
"Our priority is to look for discovered, developed and producing assets which give us production growth immediately," TK Anantha Kumar, head of finance for Oil India, the country's other state-run explorer, said.
After
having ended its alliance with Bajaj Auto to develop a small car in the
sub-R2-lakh category, French carmaker Renault has now decided to develop it for
the Indian market along with its global alliance partner Nissan. Also on the
menu now is another small car priced at R3.6 lakh which would compete with the
likes of Maruti Suzuki India’s WagonR and Zen Estilo and Hyundai Motor India’s
i10 and Santro.
For the
low-cost car, sources said Renault is working towards an approximately R2.1
lakh price target (3,000 euros), which puts it between the Tata Nano and the
popular Maruti Alto 800. To be developed with Japanese alliance partner Nissan.
The car is
expected to hit the roads by end-2014 and will be manufactured at the group
plant in Chennai. In fact, Nissan's Datsun will also launch a similarly priced
model by the same time, the mechanics of which could be shared.
The second
small car, with a higher price target of about Rs 3.6 lakh (5,000 euros) is
also being developed alongside and will be priced below the Renault Pulse (the
rebadged Nissan Micra).
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
In the
communications industry, there are numerous telecom providers who are offering
technologically advanced internet-based voice over Internet products to
different businesses by using VoIP telephony systems. It is not easy to define
any of those VoIP providers as good or bad in terms of the quality of services
they are providing before you use their services. Sometimes, you may find a low
grade voice over internet provider which could be the best business option,
provided you’re satisfied by their services and price. It is really the hard
part to find and select the best VoIP service provider solely based on business
need since so many exist.
VoIP providers
are simply providing their services on a strictly rental basis, though it is
not in the actual format of rental system. The features of the providers are
also available for rent through the cloud, as well. The bottom line of those
systems is to ensure the high return from a low investment for a better
business communication purpose. All the communication need for business purpose
of telephony are fulfilled by the TruPhone and its low investment profile. This
service provides the best interface for digital voice communication purpose at
a considerably low price, which is also equivalent with the over-the-top
telecommunication system.
Avaya, a
global business communications and services company, has opened shop in
Nigeria as part of its expansion plan in Africa. The group also
plans to extend its operation to Ghana in a bid to offer next-generation
business solutions on the continent.
The group’s office which was inaugurated over the
weekend will support local customers, cater to needs of its nearby partners,
and effectively manage businesses in Lagos and surrounding areas while
providing state of the art next-generation business collaboration and
communications solutions, unified communications, real-time video
collaboration, contact centers, networking solutions and related services to
firms of all sizes throughout the continent.
Managing Director, North, West, East, and Central
Africa, for Avaya, Mr. Hatem Hariri said the firm sees tremendous
opportunities in investing in local talent and partners to assist in not only
identifying new business opportunities but expanding its regional customer
base.
According to Hariri, “Nigeria is a critical market
for Avaya. It harbors thousands of businesses and organisations and has one of
the largest populations in Africa with close to 162 million people. The capital
Lagos alone has a population of 7 million, which also houses over 100
international business and organizations. The Nigerian office will be the
fourth office placed in Africa, following Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. Its
major functions will be to offer customer service, as well as marketing and
sales and the opportunity to service the West African market.”
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
Identity and access management (IAM) is an essential
function for protecting the privacy of information, enhancing user experience,
enabling accountability and controlling access to an organization’s assets.
Improving IAM systems and processes has been a growing priority in financial
services institutions in recent years. Keeping up with access control
requirements driven by Sarbanes-Oxley and Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council (FFIEC) IT examinations consumes considerable time and
resources. The IAM budgets of large financial services organizations have
increased significantly over the last few years, and in some instances, all-in
budgets exceed US$ $80 million for multiyear IAM transformation programs. Our
experience shows that emerging cloud-based IAM solutions offer a great
potential advantage, including the possibility of reducing implementation times
by as much as 70% and cost by 50%. Success with this strategic approach
requires strict business-value management, common and consistently applied IAM
processes and strong integrated security and risk management discipline.
FINANCE
Living up to the promise made by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to remove trade and non-tariff barriers between India and
Bangladesh, India has decided to adopt a liberal visa policy for various
categories of Bangladesh nationals, as a pro-active step, to promote economic
engagement, people-to-people contact, cultural ties and tourism between the two
nations.
It was in October this year when both countries
agreed during the Home Secretary level talks to hold exclusive meeting to work
out procedures and modalities at the earliest. However, India has not waited
for joint working group (JWG) to be set up to sort out the liberal visa regime
issue and has gone ahead unilaterally to simplify visa procedures for senior
citizens, students, businessmen, medical patients and to promote tourism.
“There is no formal agreement between India and Bangladesh on the visa regime.
As a step towards showing India’s commitment to joining hands with Dhaka in
giving a boost to the economic prosperity of Bangladesh and its people, we have
decided to adopt a liberal visa regime,’’ India’s Ambassador to Bangladesh,
Pankaj Saran told journalists here at the start of the “India Show” organized
by Ministry of Commerce and Industry and FICCI. India at present gives nearly
500,000 visas to Bangladesh nationals every year and with a new visa regime in
place, this figure is likely to witness a massive hike.
Media conglomerate Network18 today said it will sell
its entire stake in financial data and news terminal business NewsWire18 to
private equity firm Samara Capital for Rs 90 crore.
"Network18 has entered into a definitive
agreement with Samara Capital to divest its entire stake in NewsWire18 and the
total transaction will result in proceeds of Rs 90 crore for Network18. This is
in line with the stated objective of divesting non-core assets profitably to
allow greater focus on its core television and digital businesses,"
Network18 said in a statement.
NewsWire18 will also be rechristened over the next
90 days as a result of the transaction, it added.
It has more than 600 customers across banks,
regulators, insurance companies, equity and commodity brokerages, the corporate
sector, media houses and educational institutions.
The transaction is expected to add about Rs 70 crore
to Network18's consolidated pre-tax profit for the current quarter, it said.
Network18 Media and Investments shares were trading at Rs 46.10 apiece, up 0.11
per cent at 1315 hrs on the BSE.
INDIA BUSINESS
Swiss companies are keen about business
opportunities in India, a Swiss
government official said here Thursday.
"Swiss companies are now not just looking at China. They are looking at Asian and Latin American markets that have high growth potential. They are looking at the growing middle class such as the one in India," Chris Watts, of Swiss government's Trade and Investment Promotion body, told IANS.
According to Watts, Switzerland is the eleventh biggest foreign investor in India and Swiss companies have created about 66,000 jobs in India in the last 10 years. Currrently around 100 Swiss firms are doing business in India.
"Bilateral trade (between the two countries) is expected to grow 5-10 percent over the one to two years. I expect Swiss exports to grow little faster than Indian exports to Switzerland," he said.
The trade between India and Switzerland stood at around $5 billion last year. Indian companies too are showing a lot of interest in investing in Switzerland.
Watts was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by the Swiss embassy to present Glenmark Pharmaceuticals chairman Glenn Saldanha with the Swiss Ambassador's Award for Exceptional Innovation.
Presenting the award Switzerland's Ambassador to India, Linus von Castelmur said: "Innovation has become the new driving force of Indo-Swiss partnership and Glenmark is a very good case in point. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was the first Indian life science enterprise to establish a research and development facility outside India in 2006. Glenmark's 3000 sq m state of the art laboratory in La Chaux-de-Fonds employs 60 highly qualified scientists."
"Swiss companies are now not just looking at China. They are looking at Asian and Latin American markets that have high growth potential. They are looking at the growing middle class such as the one in India," Chris Watts, of Swiss government's Trade and Investment Promotion body, told IANS.
According to Watts, Switzerland is the eleventh biggest foreign investor in India and Swiss companies have created about 66,000 jobs in India in the last 10 years. Currrently around 100 Swiss firms are doing business in India.
"Bilateral trade (between the two countries) is expected to grow 5-10 percent over the one to two years. I expect Swiss exports to grow little faster than Indian exports to Switzerland," he said.
The trade between India and Switzerland stood at around $5 billion last year. Indian companies too are showing a lot of interest in investing in Switzerland.
Watts was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by the Swiss embassy to present Glenmark Pharmaceuticals chairman Glenn Saldanha with the Swiss Ambassador's Award for Exceptional Innovation.
Presenting the award Switzerland's Ambassador to India, Linus von Castelmur said: "Innovation has become the new driving force of Indo-Swiss partnership and Glenmark is a very good case in point. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was the first Indian life science enterprise to establish a research and development facility outside India in 2006. Glenmark's 3000 sq m state of the art laboratory in La Chaux-de-Fonds employs 60 highly qualified scientists."
Bharti Walmart, the 50:50 ‘cash-and-carry’ venture
between Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, and Bharti Enterprises, has
asked five of its executives not to come to work for some days. The reason:
Experts are probing allegations of corruption in the company. Bharti Walmart
hasn’t disclosed what it is, nor has it named the executives who have been
suspended. What is clear is that there has been a violation of the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977, in the United States, which makes it
illegal for American companies to pay bribes anywhere in the world.
While announcing its quarterly results earlier this
month, Walmart stated it had extended its internal probe into potential
violations of the anti-corruption law to Brazil, China and India. Walmart
claims it has spent more than $35 million on its global FCPA compliance review
efforts over the past 18 months and has, in the last six months, embedded
professionals from Miami-headquartered law firm Greenburg Traurig in its
anti-corruption drive. “Subject matter experts,” the company says, “have
provided FCPA training to 328 senior, business unit and store-level associates
in India. “
INDIA MANAGEMENT
India's manufacturing sector beat the expectations
of economists to grow at its fastest pace in five months in November, boosted
by strong export orders and a surge in output, a business survey showed on
Monday.
The HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index ( PMI),
which gauges the business activity of India's factories but not its utilities,
rose to 53.7 in November from 52.9 in October. Readings
above 50 denote growth, and economists had forecast a rise to 53.1 in November.
Although
India's factory activity has now expanded for over three-and-a-half years, it
is a long way from the robust growth seen before the onset of the financial crisis
in 2007.
India's
economy grew 5.3% from a year earlier in the quarter to September, provisional
government data showed last week, extending its long slowdown. It is now headed
for its weakest full year growth in a decade.
"The manufacturing sector gained momentum thanks to a strong pick up in new orders, which lifted output growth," said Leif Eskesen, economist at HSBC.
The new export orders sub-index rose to a six-month high of 55.9 in November, giving thrust to overall orders and factory output, both of which expanded at their fastest pace since July.
"The manufacturing sector gained momentum thanks to a strong pick up in new orders, which lifted output growth," said Leif Eskesen, economist at HSBC.
The new export orders sub-index rose to a six-month high of 55.9 in November, giving thrust to overall orders and factory output, both of which expanded at their fastest pace since July.
MphasiS
Ltd, an Indian IT services and back-office support provider and a unit of
Hewlett-Packard Co, has agreed to buy U.S.-based Digital Risk LLC, a mortgage
management specialist, for $175 million.
The purchase furthers MphasiS' strategy of focusing
on financial services clients, a shift the company started in 2010, CEO Ganesh
Ayyar said in a statement. Florida-based
Digital Risk sells software, analytics and forensics solutions that mortgage
providers and insurers can employ to reduce risk of default and ensure regulatory
compliance, according to the statement.
Bangalore-headquartered
MphasiS expects the all-cash deal to conclude by January 31, subject to
regulatory approvals.
Privately
held Digital Risk has 1,500 staff and expects $127 million in revenue for the year
ending December 2012.
Avendus
Capital acted as financial adviser and Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal
adviser to MphasiS. Portico Capital Securities LLC served as financial adviser
to Digital Risk.
INSURANCE
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA) has permitted the use of Credit Default Swap (CDS), a derivative
instrument that offers credit protection, for insurance companies to hedge their
risk.
Insurers are allowed only as users (protection
buyers) of CDS subject to condition, IRDA said in a final guideline for
investment in CDS.
The CDS is a guarantee in which the buyer of a
credit swap receives credit protection, whereas the seller of the swap
guarantees the credit worthiness of the product.
By doing this, the risk of default is transferred
from the holder of the fixed income security to the seller of the swap.
The permission by IRDA comes almost a year after RBI
allowed banks and financial institutions to deal with such instruments.
The guidelines said: “The CDS are permitted as a
hedged to manage the credit risk covering the credit event. The category of the
investment will not change pursuant to buying CDS on such underlying.”
Insurers are allowed to use CDS on listed corporate
bonds as underlying. Companies can, however, buy unlisted rated bonds of
infrastructure companies. Also, insurers can invest in unlisted and unrated
bonds issued by the special purpose vehicles set up by the infrastructure
companies.
It has disallowed companies from any CDS transaction
between entities belonging to a promoter group. Insurers cannot be purchased on
short-term instruments with maturity up to one year such as commercial papers,
certificates of deposit, non-convertible debentures.
Besides, the regulator directed that “all CDS
transactions shall be reported to the investment committee, audit committee and
to the board on a quarterly periodicity”.
Berkshire will pay Caixabank's insurance unit
VidaCaixa a fee of 600 million euros ($779 million) and the Spanish bank will
book 524 million euros in capital gains for the deal, the lender said.
U.S.-based Berkshire Hathaway maintains an active
business reinsuring life and health risks internationally through its
subsidiary General Re, which accounts for about 15 percent of the
conglomerate's total insurance premiums.
The business has been profitable this year, though
much less so than Berkshire's bread-and-butter activities of reinsuring
property risk.
In its most recent quarterly report, the company
blamed the shortfall on its Australian contracts, while noting results in
Europe had been strong.
Because of Berkshire's appetite for risk, it is not
uncommon for companies to shed insurance risk to Buffett's conglomerate.
Buffett, in turn, gets to grow Berkshire's "float," or the premiums
that have been collected but not yet paid out.
That figure stood at $72 billion at the end of the
third quarter.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
Kolkata-based Vikram
Solar, a leading solar module manufacturing company, will design,
install and commission a 100 kilowatts-peak (kWp) solar power facility at the Cochin
International Airport in Kerala.
The proposed energy production will be at an
estimated 148 megawatt hour per year with a capacity of 100 kWp. The energy
capacity of each module will reach up to 240 - 250 watt peak. “This will be a welcome sight for millions of visitors that
will use the Cochin airport,” said Shaibal
Ghosh, President – International Business & Head Marketing at
Vikram Solar.
Gyanesh
Chaudhary, Director, Vikram Solar, added, “We are honored to get an opportunity
to install our modules and give our services for the improving the facilities
at the Cochin International Airport. I am confident that we will successfully
implement this prestigious project as per target timelines.”
From
module ranging from 3wp to 350wp, Vikram Solar looks forward to rapid expansion
in the near future with an eye at 140MW in 2012 in the EPC space and also looks
forward to foray into the cell manufacturing by the end of this year with a
production capacity of 10MW.
Land
Rover vehicles in the hundreds have found their way into Myanmar over the
past year as the country has opened up. Jaguar Land Rover's partner for
Southeast Asia is laying the groundwork for its first official foray into the
territory. Dale
Jones, chief executive officer of Guava
International said discussions are under way with three potential
dealership partners in Myanmar and official sales should begin in 2013
"Everyone's trying to understand what is the right way to compete, how do
you set up business. The market is changing very quickly. We see that as an
excellent opportunity," Jones said.
Jaguar Land Rover is owned by Tata
Motors Ltd. Myanmar which was for half a century a pariah state, began a
series of reforms when its junta stepped aside in 2011. With the suspension of
Western sanctions and a new investment law, the country, strategically situated
between economic powerhouses China and India, is becoming a magnet for overseas
firms.
The government started a "cars for
clunkers" system late last year, allowing people to trade in old cars for
licences allowing them to purchase models built no earlier than 1995. Guava
International, which operates Jaguar Land Rover sales and services across more
than 60 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, has seen sales in Thailand this
year outperform overall growth in the luxury car sector.
Year-on-year sales of the high-end Range Rover model
are up 60 percent compared to an estimated 15 to 20 percent growth for the
sector overall. With a new Range Rover model for Thailand announced at the
motor show on Wednesday, Guava projects year-on-year sales in 2013 will
increase 30 percent, meaning total retail sales of between 200 and 250 units.
LOGISTICS
Spoton, a logistics company wholly owned by private
equity firm India Equity Partners, plans to start domestic air cargo services.
The company, which has a strong network in the road delivery service, plans to
launch the air service in the first quarter of next year, according to Abhik
Mitra, Managing Director, Spoton; and Platform CEO, IEP (Logistics
Investments).
Like its competitor DTDC, Spoton will have tie ups
with airlines to secure space in passenger flights for cargo transport. The company
guarantees to deliver the parcels in one day. The initial plan is to cover the
top 30 locations in the country, he said.
Spoton was launched as an independent business on
October 2 by India Equity Partners in the second phase of its acquisition of
TNT Domestic Road Express.
Mauritius-based India Equity Partners acquired the
domestic road express business of TNT India in December 2011 and operated it as
Startrek Logistics, which was later rebranded as Spoton. After the acquisition
of TNT Domestic Road Express, it took nearly three quarters for Spoton to
stabilise. First, the company hired senior professionals, and then introduced
its own Information Technology system. Having stabilised, it is time to focus
on growth, he said. At the time of the acquisition, the company had around
4,000 customers, nearly 900 employees, vendors and business associates. There
has not been much change since then, he said.
Mitra said Spoton is targeting a 10-15 per cent
growth to around Rs 220 crore for the year ending December 2012, he said. The
organised road express industry is currently worth about Rs 2,500 crore. Of
this, 70-80 per cent is held by companies such as Gati and Safex, with Spoton
already rubbing shoulders with these companies to join the industry’s big league.
The Transport and Logistics Market
in the Middle East is estimated to grow by more than 10%, reaching $35bn by the
end of 2012. This growth is largely driven by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries that have been making substantial investments in infrastructure
development and have achieved significant economic growth in the recent years;
despite economic downturn that has impacted the global economy in a big way. The GCC's
logistics market is estimated to reach $27bn in 2012 with the UAE
in lead having revenue of $9bn.
The market growth leaves huge opportunities for the logistics sector in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) to capitalize on.
This growth prediction was part of the focus of senior Jafza officials at the recent Annual Logistics Strategic Customer Forum, organized by the Free Zone for key stakeholders involved in logistics and trade in Jafza to collaborate, ensuring the sector in Jafza makes the most of these opportunities.
The market growth leaves huge opportunities for the logistics sector in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) to capitalize on.
This growth prediction was part of the focus of senior Jafza officials at the recent Annual Logistics Strategic Customer Forum, organized by the Free Zone for key stakeholders involved in logistics and trade in Jafza to collaborate, ensuring the sector in Jafza makes the most of these opportunities.
MANAGEMENT
MphasiS
Ltd, an Indian IT services and back-office support provider and a unit of
Hewlett-Packard Co, has agreed to buy U.S.- based Digital Risk LLC, a mortgage
management specialist, for $175 million.
The
purchase furthers MphasiS' strategy of focusing on financial services clients,
a shift the company started in 2010, CEO Ganesh Ayyar said in a statement.
Florida-based
Digital Risk sells software, analytics and forensics solutions that mortgage
providers and insurers can employ to reduce risk of default and ensure
regulatory compliance, according to the statement.
Bangalore-headquartered
MphasiS expects the all-cash deal to conclude by January 31, subject to
regulatory approvals. Privately held Digital Risk has 1,500 staff and expects
$127 million in revenue for the year ending December 2012. Avendus Capital
acted as financial adviser and Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal adviser to
MphasiS. Portico Capital Securities LLC served as financial adviser to Digital
Risk.
British
bank Barclays today said it would increase its
personnel at the wealth management division here by up to 15 per
cent this financial year, even as gloomy economic conditions make the going
difficult for its peers.
“We will add 12-15 per cent (four-six people) to our
client facing staff this financial year,” Barclays wealth and investment
management chief executive Satya Narayan Bansal told reporters here. He said the British lender, which has been drawing down its
retail lending activity in the country and is embroiled in the Libor rate
rigging scandal, employs 120 people in its wealth management business, of which
40 are field staff.
A majority
of the new hires would come from the investment and corporate banking space as
well, Bansal said, adding a fourth of its force was currently from a corporate
banking background.
He said
the wealth management or private banking industry was in a phase of
consolidation at present as business is getting thinner due to gloomy economic
conditions, but stressed that his company was unaffected by it.
The weaker
players would go out of business, Bansal said, adding Barclays was open for any
growth opportunity, but added acquisition was not part of its growth strategy.
MARKETING
Growing population of youngsters and changing
cultural dynamics are set to boost the country's online
dating market, with the count of users likely to touch 115 million in
three years, feel market players.
Though at a nascent stage, market players said
number of users exposed to online dating are gradually rising in India.
According to StepOut.com, an online dating site that started its operations in
India last year, currently there are about six million people who use online
dating services in the country. Going by the site, the count is anticipated to
touch 115 million by 2015, with market size to be around $206 million.
Currently, the market is worth over $130 million, according to estimates.
Globally, the market for online dating is estimated to be worth about $ 4
billion.
"Dating culture in India is evolving rapidly.
Changing cultural dynamics like the increase in average marriage age... are
shifting the dating paradigm significantly," StepOut co-founder and CEO Adam Sachs
told PTI.
Another online dating site QuackQuack.in, that also
began operations last year, expects the online dating industry to see an annual
growth rate of 20 per cent.
"They (users) see dating as a healthy sign of
making close companionship and knowing someone well in advance before taking a
plunge to marriage.
"Also people are willing to use Internet dating
service mainly due to its convenience and accessibility," QuackQuack.in
Marketing Head Sahana said. Over the last few years, with the booming economy and young
generation adapting the urban culture, a fast paced life have become the norm,
she added.
Slowdown pressures clearly weigh heavy on car sales
as the festive cheer failed to add much fervour to demand in November, dampened
by high interest
rates and uncertain economic climate. While car market leader Maruti Suzuki and utility vehicle major Mahindra &
Mahindra managed to touch
double-digit growth in November sales, others were not so lucky as the poor
sentiment among buyers saw their volumes go down sharply year-on-year.
Talking about gainers, Maruti Suzuki had an edge from the launch of a refreshed version of its Alto800 mini. Aided by the new variant, the company's November volumes gained 10% at 90,882 units against 82,870 units in the same month last year. Senior Maruti officials have said they expect the momentum to continue through the fiscal ending March, 2013.
Mahindra has also been riding high on the back of new launches as well as low diesel prices that have ensured a steady flow of customers to its fold. The company, that recently added an entry-level SUV to its portfolio in the Quanto, sold 24,604 units at a growth of 38% against 17,813 units in the corresponding month of the previous year. Slowdown pressures clearly weigh heavy on car sales as the festive cheer failed to add much fervour to demand in November, dampened by high interest rates and uncertain economic climate. While car market leader Maruti Suzuki and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra managed to touch double-digit growth in November sales, others were not so lucky as the poor sentiment among buyers saw their volumes go down sharply year-on-year.
Talking about gainers, Maruti Suzuki had an edge from the launch of a refreshed version of its Alto800 mini. Aided by the new variant, the company's November volumes gained 10% at 90,882 units against 82,870 units in the same month last year. Senior Maruti officials have said they expect the momentum to continue through the fiscal ending March, 2013.
Mahindra has also been riding high on the back of new launches as well as low diesel prices that have ensured a steady flow of customers to its fold. The company, that recently added an entry-level SUV to its portfolio in the Quanto, sold 24,604 units at a growth of 38% against 17,813 units in the corresponding month of the previous year. Slowdown pressures clearly weigh heavy on car sales as the festive cheer failed to add much fervour to demand in November, dampened by high interest rates and uncertain economic climate. While car market leader Maruti Suzuki and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra managed to touch double-digit growth in November sales, others were not so lucky as the poor sentiment among buyers saw their volumes go down sharply year-on-year.
ODISHA BUSINESS
The decision to de-allocate Utkal-D coal block given to Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), a state owned
public sector undertaking (PSU), shows the central government’s intention to
block industrialisation in Odisha, said Rajnikant Singh, state steel and mines
minister.
“The de-allocation decision shows the central
government has no sympathetic view even on state PSUs. It means the Centre does
not support our view to allocate all blocks to the state owned miner. It is a
clear sign that the Government of India does not want industrialisation in
Odisha,” he said. After the coal block row, Odisha had
requested the central government to reserve coal fields inside its territory
exclusively for its PSU, he added.
The
inter-ministerial group (IMG) at the Centre, formed in July this year after
coal scam row to scrutinise the status of allocated coal reserves, in November
recommended to de-allocate eight coal blocks given to PSUs citing delay in
developing the coal fields.
A formal
letter was written to OMC
on November 30 by the Coal Ministry.
Utkal-D
coal block in Odisha was allotted to OMC in December 2003, after which the
state-run miner had joined hands with Delhi-based Sainik Mining & Allied
Services Ltd (SMASL) for coal mining in the state. Both the companies had
formed a JV named Kalinga Coal Mining (Private) Ltd for raising coal from Utkal
D Block in Angul district, with an estimated coal reserve of 138 million.
Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is taking various steps
to improve the quality of its CRNO silicon steel, company sources said here
today.
The steps include improving consistency in coating
and colour variation, reducing thickness variation in coils, and reducing edge
waviness.
Other measures include wrinkles and buckling,
avoiding rustiness in the strip due to water ingress and removal of dents on
the strip surface, the sources said. Inconsistency
in coating and colour variation is being reduced by improved bottom coating by
optimising of roll pressure and viscosity.
Colour
variation is avoided by reduction in line interruption by installing DCS system
and by synchronising line speed by use of new PLC in the decarb line.
Thickness
variation in coils is being checked by better management of pickling bath
conditions and by better inputs from Hot Strip Mill through HR coil gauge
control with the newly installed digital drive controls, the sources said.
Dents on
the strip surface are being reduced by use of modified spray nozzles in
scrubber section to prevent roll pick up, the sources said.
RETAIL
A bigger than expected drop in German October retail sales
dented hopes on Friday that private consumption could compensate for the impact
of the euro zone crisis on export activity in Europe's largest economy.
The notoriously volatile retail indicator was down
2.8 percent on the month in real terms and 0.8 percent on an annual basis,
preliminary data showed on Friday. Economists had forecast retail sales would
fall by 0.2 percent on the month and gain 1.2 percent on the year. "This
is a serious disappointment, as consumer confidence is high, the financial
crisis has calmed down, stock markets are functioning well," said Christian
Schulz of Berenberg
Bank. "The hope is that Christmas sales will be all the better. Unemployment
remains low, inflation as well, real incomes are rising. All of this promises
rising consumption." Germany proved largely immune to the first two years
of the European debt crisis but recent data suggested its resilience is wearing
thin, with growth slowing to 0.2 percent in the third quarter. Data this month
showed the private sector shrinking, industrial orders and output down and
exports falling at their fastest pace since late last year
Government today tabled in Lok Sabha amendments in
the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to allow FDI in multi-brand retail.
Five amendments, notified by the Reserve Bank of
India between May and October this year, were tabled in the House by Minister
of State for Finance Namo Narayan Meena during Zero Hour. The notifications
were tabled as per the Section 48 of the 1999 Act which requires their
acceptance by both Houses of Parliament.
Opposition parties, particularly CPI(M), has been
demanding a voting on the amendments to FEMA allowing foreign
investment in multi-brand retail.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury made it clear that his
party would move statutory resolutions in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to
disapprove these amendments.
He said the CPI(M) would use "all options"
available in the rules of business in Parliament to thwart government's
attempts to implement FDI in retail.
Maintaining that the RBI amendments in FEMA to allow
FDI
in multi-brand retail would have to be voted within a time- frame as laid
down in the Foreign Exchange Management (FEMA) Act itself, he said "due to
its obduracy, the government has agreed to have a vote on the issue twice"
-- once when the FDI issue comes up for vote after a debate and the second time
after the RBI amendments are tabled in Parliament to amend FEMA to allow FDI in
retail.
SUPPLY CHAIN
China's Heilongjiang Feng agricultural group has
purchased around 30,000 hectares of grain growing land in the past month, after
buying 6,500 hectares near Ongerup for over $20 million. This comes following
the purchase of the 230 square kilometre Lake Varley property earlier this
month. The company plans to buy more than 100,000 hectares of land and create a
direct supply link to China with the construction of rail linking the land to
Albany port. According to Newdegate farmer Trevor de Landgrafft, this was
unrealistic and it was highly unlikely given there was no way it could be
profitable.
He said that was just propaganda that went along
with the whole sweep of the thing. Australian farmers understood very well
where the margins were in farming and it did not include building
infrastructure that was going to go to port, he added.
Software AG today announced that Armada Supply Chain Solutions, LLC has
selected the company’s best-of-breed technology to change the way they do
business. The technology will assist Armada in correcting issues quickly,
anticipating changes and reacting faster to customers’ last-minute changes. The
supply chain management services and logistics provider has a long history in
the food service industry and will leverage Software AG to pursue its mission
of developing, implementing and managing innovative logistics
solutions for its business partners.
“Based on
Software AG’s experience in supply chain, we have found the right team and the
right technology to move us to the next level,” said Mark Ohlund, CIO, Armada.
“Our goal is to create more agile, proactive, automated supply chains for our
customers.”
“As Armada
continues to transform the food service industry with leading-edge supply chain
management services, our technology opens the door for enhancing their
supply-chain processes,” said Jay Johnson, President & CEO North America
and member of the Group Executive Board, Software AG. “We are pleased they
selected us and look forward to a great working relationship.”
Sabita Sahu : Professional Library Trainee and Syamaghana Mohanty : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in
______________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 3rd, 4th and 7th Dec 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
Sabita Sahu
Professional Library
Trainee
Concept, Layout and
Editing
Syamaghana Mohanty
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
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