ASIAN BUSINESS

Google pulls 'Make Me Asian' app after uproar

Google has removed a “Make Me Asian” app — that let players change their appearance — following an uproar by Asian American activists who said the game promoted derogatory stereotypes.

As of yesterday, “Make Me Asian” and similar apps such as “Make Me Fat” and “Make Me (American) Indian” were no longer available on the search engine giant’s online store Google Play.

“Make Me Asian” had billed itself as allowing a person to “make himself a Chinese, Japanese, Korean or any other Asian.” The user was able to add features to a person’s picture, such as a conical hat or a Fu Manchu moustache.

Nearly 8,500 people signed a petition on the social action site change.org urging Google to remove the app after the blog Angry Asian Man in November drew attention to it, calling it “ridiculously racist”.

Peter Chin, the Washington pastor who launched the petition, said he was concerned that stereotypes offensive to Asian Americans would become more mainstream if distributed through Google Play.

“I understand if people still use those characterisations, but I don’t feel comfortable with them becoming commonplace.

That would really, I think, be going backwards for the Asian American community,” he told AFP.

“If this were several generations down the line and these kinds of stereotypes were so old and played out that no one even cared, then I could understand. But I don’t think we’re quite there yet. They are still fairly offensive and used very often,” he said.

Asian shares retreat from highs, yen volatile before BOJ

The yen and Asian shares marked time on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting, with expectations running high for bold monetary easing measures aimed at reflating the world's third-largest economy.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 percent. The index was pulled down on Monday after briefly touching 17-1/2-month highs as Malaysian stocks suffered their biggest drop in 16 months on election risks.

European shares rose on Monday near two-year highs, with investors betting on an improving economy in Europe. Wall Street was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Australian shares were up 0.5 percent to a fresh 20-month high early on Tuesday while South Korean shares opened almost flat.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened up 0.2 percent. The Nikkei has faced choppy trading over the past two sessions as the yen became more volatile ahead of the BOJ meeting. Tokyo shares have been rising in tandem with the yen's slide against major currencies. The Nikkei tumbled 1.5 percent on Monday after investors booked profits from the index's 2.9 percent rally on Friday.

Early on Tuesday, the dollar inched down 0.1 percent against the yen at 89.51 yen, after touching a fresh 2-1/2-year high of 90.25 yen on Monday. The euro fell 0.3 percent to 119.11 yen, off its peak since May 2011 of 120.73 hit on Friday.

ASIAN MANAGEMENT

Among Asia's hedge funds, smaller was better last year

For those investing into Asia's hedge funds last year, smaller was better.
The region's largest hedge funds - those managing more than $500 million - delivered weaker returns on average than nimbler, small to medium-sized funds, according to fund research and people with knowledge of the individual funds.
In a year when several Asian stock markets rallied, many bigger hedge funds failed to beat benchmark returns.
Blue chip funds such as Ortus Capital Management and Senrigan Capital lost money, while high-profile launches Azentus Capital and Dymon Asia ended the year barely in the black, said people familiar with their returns. Smaller hedge funds such as Factorial and the Splendid Asia macro hedge fund, however, made their investors richer.
"The industry's dirty little secret is that institutions' need for scale leads them to invest in organisations and funds that are actually too big to be safe," said Peter Douglas, founder of Singapore-based hedge fund consultancy GFIA.
The numbers for last year will feed a cynical view that hedge fund managers who raise a lot of money get rich from the management fee, regardless of performance. Most hedge and private equity funds keep a fifth of their profits and charge a 2% fee on the money they raise - so the more capital coming in from investors, the bigger the fee.
But managers of the smaller funds in Asia realise that if the bigger funds stumble, the entire industry will be affected. While some money meant for large funds will be diverted to smaller, better-return funds in the region, others will opt instead to send their money to the United States and Europe.

ASIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

National Seminar on Logistics & Supply c18th Jan 13

A National Seminar on Logistics & Supply chain was held here at Asian School of Business Management campus on 19^th January, 2013.

Chief Guest on the occasion, Mr. Santosh Kumar Mohapatra, Chairman Dhamra Port said, "Supply Chain (SC) is gaining importance as a concept everywhere across the globe. But effective SC Management depends on three factors, Globalisation, Outsourcing and Technology through IT revolution.  Besides, the whole SC process have to be cost effective, which is made possible by the above three factors."

Mohapatra also went on to add that, "Today logistics is rather called Supply Maze Management than Supply Chain Management and becoming more complex in structure." Competitiveness of logistics depends on complete awareness of processes and infrastructure," the Chief Guest added.

Addressing on the occasion, Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker Dr. Sadananda Sahoo, Emeritus Professor, IIT Bhubaneswar said, "Logistics interfaces with both Manufacturing and Marketing activities."

The whole LSC process consists of Inbound, Internal and Outbound logistics with the Cost Minimization Efficiency being the Prime objective, Mr Sahoo added.

Mr. P R Choudhury, Executive Director (S&P), NALCO, Guest of Honour on the occasion said, "Infrastructure development plays a major role in effective SC Management. Nalco is going to invest around Rs 600 Crores in next 4 years in upgrading infrastructure in the country."

Storage of Raw Material along with Finished Goods and developing proper distribution network is vital for effective SC Management, Mr Choudhury added.

Founder and Director ASBM, Prof Biswajeet Pattanayak apprised that, around 90-125 bn dollar is invested in Logistics sector and nearly 45 Million people are already engaged in this sector so far. Highlighting about the spending on Logistics sector, he added that, "While US, Europe and Japan used to spend around 9%, 10%, and 11% respectively, India fared better with regard to spending on logistics which constituted around 13% of GDP."

Markfest and IGKNIGHT, 2013 22nd Jan 13

The National Business Cultural Fest IGKNIGHT 2013 is organized here at Asian School of Business Management campus on 21^st & 22^nd January to bring students from across the b-schools of the country in a common platform to showcase their talents. The extravaganza was marked by various competitions and events such as Markfest, Best Business Manager, Nach Baliye, Ad-Diction, Counter-Strike, Extempore, Poster Competition, Winquiz, and Fashion Show among others.

Chief Guest on the occasion, Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani, Hon'ble Member of Parliament lauded Prof. Biswajeet Pattanayak, Director ASBM for his constant endeavor in grooming management graduates through such type of Business Cultural Fest being conducted every year.

Delivering his welcome address, Prof Biswajeet Pattanayak, director ASBM said, "IGKNIGHT is a platform to ignite the minds of business students to generate idea and money. To be a good business manager, one needs to be 'Innovative', 'Creative' and should have the urge for 'Invention'. One should not stick to the old traditional approach rather should kill his existing idea to create new ideas to be a good entrepreneur."

Guest of Honour, Shri Ranjan Padhi, Chief Manager (Response), The Times of India also encouraged the students by his overwhelming speech and enthused them to become next-gen entrepreneurs by imbibing necessary entrepreneurial skills.

BANKING

Swiss government to accept group requests for banking information from various ...

Switzerland will be able to provide banking and other details sought by other countries, including India, from next month about a 'group of persons' even without their individual identification, provided the information has not been requested as part of some 'fishing expedition'.

A new Tax Administrative Assistance Act will come into force on February 1 and a resolution to this effect has been passed by the Switzerland's Federal Council, a senior official in Swiss finance ministry said here. The development follows intensified global pressure on Swiss authorities in the past couple of years to act against the secrecy walls of Swiss banks, which have been often accused of providing safe haven to illicit wealth from abroad and not sharing the account details citing their client confidentiality provisions.

While the Swiss government provides assistance to those foreign countries with whom it has relevant information exchange or tax treaties, which includes India, but requests for a 'group of persons' not accepted so far.

With the new Tax Administrative Assistance Act (TAAA) coming into force next month, group requests in accordance with the international standards will now be possible as well, said the official who is here for the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum.

Such requests would require a detailed description of the actions taken by any Swiss bank's clients "to avoid taxation and must be clearly distinct from fishing expeditions," the Swiss Federal Council has said in its resolution for the TAAA.

Twenty five RRBs merged in first nine months

As part of consolidation in the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) segment, 25 such entities have been merged into 10 during the first nine months of the current fiscal.

“Restructuring of RRBs by amalgamating geographically contiguous RRBs sponsored by different banks within a state is in progress,” an official said.

Up to January 7, 25 RRBs have been amalgamated into 10 RRBs in seven states. As a result, the number of RRBs has reduced from 82 as on April 2012 to 67 in the first week of January, the official said.

The consolidation is aimed at improving efficiencies and helping RRBs achieve scale. The amalgamation will also help in optimising the use of modern technology.

“Post amalgamation, there has been no disruption in delivery of services by the RRBs and merged entities have been discharging their functions properly,” the official added.

States where the mergers took place are Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

RRBs have a network of about 16,000 branches spread across the rural and semi-urban centres of the country.

Consolidation of RRBs has been going on in a phased manner since 2005. The number of RRBs came down to 133 in 2006 from 196 at the end of March 2005. It further came down to 105 and subsequently to 82 at the end of March 2012.

As on March 2012, of the total RRBs, 79 were profit- making while the remaining three had registered losses.

BUSINESS

L&T Fin up 2.5% on talks to buy Morgan Stanley's wealth biz

Shares of L&T Finance Holdings  gained as much as 2.5 percent in early trade on Monday on reports that the company is eyeing Morgan Stanley’s wealth business.

According to Business Standard report, the company is in advanced stages of negotiations to buy Morgan Stanley's wealth management business in India.

"The proposed acquisition would help L&T Finance strengthen its foothold in the country’s nascent wealth management industry, almost a year after it roped in Manoj Shenoy and 12 executives from Swiss private bank EFG, which shut shop in India last year," the report said.

At 10:23 hours IST, the stock rose 1.13 percent to Rs 89.40 on Bombay Stock Exchange. Market capitalisation of the company currently stands at Rs 15,342.72 crore.

Maruti Suzuki to set up two manufacturing facilities in Gujarat

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's largest passenger car maker, is set to establish two vehicle manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, in order to ramp its production in the domestic market. The company's upcoming Gujarat plants are anticipated to be built on a similar layout of its existing Gurgaon-based units. Expressing his views regarding the company's production plans in the Gujarat state, R. C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, was quoted as saying, “We are looking for a second location and the land is being acquired currently. We are saturated in Haryana with no scope of expansion. We would have a similar two-location model in Gujarat that would be developed and expanded in accordance with market demand.”

As per reports, Osamu Suzuki, Chairman, Suzuki Motor Corp. (SMC), is coming to India on a two day trip on January 24, 2013, in order to finalise blueprints of MSIL's upcoming Gujarat manufacturing plants. Maruti Suzuki is the largest subsidiary of Japanese multinational automobile giant, SMC, in the world. Accordingly, Indian passenger car market is of great significance to the Japanese firm for its global profit margins and turnout.

In the first phase, Maruti Suzuki will make an investment of around Rs. 4,000 crore on its proposed Gujarat plants, with the amount being used for land acquisition and construction of the unit. The upcoming facilities are believed to be able to churn out an annual production yield of 2.5 lakh vehicles, in its initial years. Further, Maruti Suzuki will use its Gujarat units for both domestic market and overseas export purposes. At present, MSIL operates five vehicle assembly plants at two separate locations in Manesar and Gurgaon, Haryana.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Navy's P-8 aircraft suffering from radar, communication problems

Issues with the radar and communications systems on the Navy's new P-8 anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance aircraft could seriously degrade its performance, Nextgov reports.

The aircraft has image quality problems with its synthetic aperture radar used to track surface targets, according to test results. Boeing has a contract to develop the P-8 based on its commercial 737 twin-jet aircraft. The Navy plans to buy 122 of them at an estimated cost of $34 billion.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Mobizy for mobile business management on Symbian and everything else

Mobizy is a service for small businesses to handle collaborative activities such as scheduling, contact management and notes. Unusually, it's available every mobile platform you can think of: Symbian, Windows Phone 7, iOS, Android, and even Blackberry. The basic service is free, but Mobizy plans to sell extra services to clients; currently all of these extra services are in beta and are thus free of charge. One area that the Symbian version seems to be missing is installing extra services. The (beta) services currently on offer are To Do list management, "Time Clock" (time tracking), Social media communication, sales force management, client management, etc. Unfortunately, the services store in the Symbian version only appears to offer the To Do list manager as an option.

GE Energy Management profit spiked 68% in 2012

Bloomberg's Dominic Chu reports that General Electric Co. reported higher profit than analysts estimated as earnings rose at all of its industrial businesses for a second straight quarter. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "In The Loop." Atlanta-based GE Energy Management saw a big jump in profit in 2012, but parent company General Electric Co. had a profit dip.

Fairfield, Conn.-based GE’s (NYSE: GE) revenue was flat at $147.4 billion as its net income decreased 4 percent to $13.9 billion, or $1.29 a share.

But GE Energy Management’s segment revenue rose 15 percent to $7.4 billion and its segment profit spiked 68 percent to $131 million.

“We ended the year with a strong quarter despite the mixed global economic environment,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt. “The outlook for developed markets remains uncertain, but we are seeing growth in China and the resource rich countries. With our largest backlog in history and a substantial amount of cash generated by our businesses in the fourth quarter, we have great momentum going into 2013.”

FINANCE

Investigators probe Boeing 787 battery maker

U.S. and Japanese aviation safety officials took their investigations into problems with Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner to the headquarters of the plane's battery maker on Monday, seeking clues into why one of the technologically advanced aircraft made an emergency landing last week.
A spokesman for GS Yuasa Corp, said investigators from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) were in the east block of the company's compound at Kyoto, where it makes airplane batteries.
He said the company was fully cooperating with the investigation, and its engineers were working with the officials.
Authorities around the world last week grounded the new lightweight aircraft, and Boeing halted deliveries after a problem with a lithium-ion battery prompted an All Nippon Airways 787 into the emergency landing at Takamatsu airport during a domestic flight. Earlier this month, a similar battery caught fire in a Japan Airlines' 787 parked at Boston Logan International Airport.

Cement companies under pressure as Ultratech PAT disappoints

Shares of major cement companies were down on profit booking on Monday as lower-than-expected net profit of Ultratech Cement hurt sentiment.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 600.8 crore, down 2.4 per cent, compared to Rs 616 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Net sales increased to Rs 4,857crore, up 6.3 per cent, compared to Rs 4,565 crore in the same period last fiscal. According to analysts, the counters were down on concerns of subdued cement demand and higher cost following increase in railway freight and hike in diesel prices. Most of the major companies are fairly valued at current prices and further upside looks capped, they say.

"Most of the cement companies at this point of time are quoting at a fair valuation. Having further headroom from the current table would mean that they would require to have additional amount of volume coming and should that happen then may be you could see 10 per cent to 15 per cent kind of an upside, otherwise they may probably consolidate for some more time," said Deven Choksey, MD, KR Choksey to ET Now.

Meanwhile, Kotak Institutional Equities retained 'sell' rating on UtlraTech Cement after its net profit dipped to Rs 601 crore.

INDIA BUSINESS

Indian companies top global charts for investment in R&D

Indian companies have come on the top globally when it comes to growth in their research and development (R&D) investments, leaving their counterparts in the US and Europe far behind, a new study by the European Commission shows.
However, Indian firms rank far below when it comes to absolute R&D investments made by them and the top-ranked company from the country, IT major Infosys, is ranked at 329th place globally, shows the latest annual global R&D Scorecard for 2012 prepared by European Union's executive body, the European Commission.
Japan's Toyota Motor is ranked highest, followed by US-based Microsoft, Germany's Volkswagen, Swiss pharma giant Novartis, South Korea's Samsung Electronics, American drugmaker Pfizer, Switzerland's Roche, Intel, General Motors and Merck US in the top ten. The top-ranked Indian company is Infosys at 329th place, followed by Reliance Industries (507th), Dr Reddy's (776th), Tata Steel (867), M&M at (888), Lupin (916), Ashok Leyland (1136), ONGC (1,222), BHEL (1,230), Cipla (1,275), Cadila Healthcare (1,313), Glenmark Pharma (1,314), Sun Pharma (1,336) and Wockhardt at 1,472nd place globally.
These are the only 14 Indian companies present in a list of top-1500 entities worldwide in terms of their annual R&D investments.

Reliance Industries ends lobbying activities in US

Amid a huge uproar over lobbying by American firms to gain access to Indian market, India's leading corporate house Reliance Industries has terminated its lobbying activities among the US lawmakers after having spent nearly 2 million dollars (over Rs 10 crore) to its lobbyist here in the past four years.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) began lobbying among the US lawmakers through leading lobbyist firm, Barbour Griffith & Rogers LLC (BGR), in January 2009 for its business activities and other causes.
However, the company had put on hold its lobbying activities here for the past five quarters and it has now terminated its lobby registration itself in the US. The company, which has been expanding its presence in global markets, including the US, in the recent years and has interests in businesses ranging from energy, polyester and retail to telecom back in India, has paid a total amount of $1.88 million (over Rs 10 crore) to its US lobbyist since January 2009.
According to its latest lobbying disclosure report dated January 18, filed with the US Senate through BGR, it terminated its lobbying registration with the US authorities on January 11.
The disclosure further mentioned that there was "no lobbying issue activity" during the last quarter, which ended on December 31, 2012. This was the fifth consecutive quarter when BGR reported 'no lobbying activity' for its client RIL among the US lawmakers.

INDIA MANAGEMENT

Planning Commission pitches for management overhaul of Railways

The Planning Commission has criticised the Railways for failing to attract private sector participation in its multi-crore infrastructure projects and has called for overhauling its management to allow “relevant experts” to be part of its decision making process.

In its comments to a recent Cabinet note moved by the Railways to promote participatory models for rail connectivity and capacity augmentation, the commission argued that for the past two years the country has attracted the highest public private participation (PPP) but the railways have not been a part of this success story.

“Although successive railway ministers during the past seven years have announced increasingly ambitious plans to attract PPP investments, the progress so far has been negligible. This is primarily due to lack of institutional capacity and processes within the railway ministry. This requires some institutional restructuring coupled with access to relevant experts,” the Commission observed in its note.

The apex planning body said it is imperative for the railway ministry to build dedicated capacity within the Railway Board to structure, process and award PPP projects.

Alcatel wins $1-billion deal to manage Indian phone network

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent has won an eight-year contract valued at more than $1-billion to manage Reliance Communications Ltd.’s mobile and fixed networks in the east and south of India.

The network outsourcing contract, intended to cut costs for India’s No. 3 carrier, builds on a previous joint venture between Alcatel and Reliance Communications under which the gear maker managed the nationwide mobile network in a five-year $750-million deal. About 4,000 people, about 15 per cent of the Indian company’s employees, will move to Alcatel-Lucent as part of the deal, Gurdeep Singh, chief executive of Reliance Communications’ wireless business, said on Wednesday.

Alcatel-Lucent shares rose as much as 2 per cent before paring back gains slightly. Reliance Communications shares closed down 6 per cent amid a broader slump in telecom stocks that traders said was due to profit-taking after a substantial rise so far this month.

Most leading Indian telecommunication carriers have outsourced the management of their networks to firms including Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Chinese firms Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp. as they try to lower their costs.

INSURANCE

Birla Sun Life Insurance launches ULIP pension plan

Birla Sun Life Insurance has launched its non-participating unit-linked pension plan ‘Empower Pension.’

The plan enables customers to accumulate their premiums and investment returns into a corpus for their retirement needs in the accumulation phase. In the vesting phase, this corpus would be used to purchase annuity, which ensures a stream of regular income payable for the rest of their lives.

“The Indian economy lacks access to a comprehensive and in-built social security regime unlike other developed economies and is under strain due to rising life expectancy. This, coupled with the increasing trend of the nuclear family system in India, makes it imperative for individuals to plan their savings towards meeting their post-retirement lifestyle today,” said Jayant Dua, Managing Director and CEO, Birla Sun Life Insurance.

The product offers guarantee at exits like vesting and death, tax benefits and guaranteed additions from the sixth policy anniversary.

Tata AIG General Insurance introduces claim approval service within 4 hours

Tata AIG General Insurance has introduced a service where it will settle health claims within four hours of filing for a claim.

"Normally it takes over six hours for claims approvals due to processing. We thought to tighten the procedure further and bring down the time to only four hours. We introduced this feature to prevent a medical emergency from becoming a financial burden on our customers," Tata AIG General Senior Vice-President, Consumer Lines, Ramesh Ramani told PTI here. This fast-track approval feature is available for existing customers as well as the new ones, he added.

The private insurer is relatively a new entrant into the health space and launched its first product in the segment around 10 months ago.

"Being a new player in the health space we are planning to introduce innovative features and products that will not only establish our brand but also help us increase our customer base," Ramani said.

The firm, a joint venture between the Tata Group and American International Group Inc (AIG), has eight health policies under its portfolio. It has sold over 20,000 health polices between April-December 2012.

Going ahead, the private insurer is looking to launch segment specific products under the health category.

"We already have filed few segment specific health products with the regulator IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority). We hope to launch our first such product in the next six months," Ramani said.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Sony Unveils Ultra-Thin Full HD 'Xperia Tablet Z'

Japanese technology company Sony unveiled on Monday its Android-based 10.1-inch 'Xperia Tablet Z'. With big-screen devices set to dominate the technology market this year, Sony is rolling out a slew of smartphones and tablets that boast massive displays and other high-end features. Couple of weeks ago, the company had unveiled its 5-inch Xperia Z smartphone at the international CES (Consumer Electronics Show).

Sony's all-new Xperia Tablet Z is touted as the world's slimmest 10-inch tablet in the industry. The device is more compressed than the 7.2 mm Apple iPad mini. The tablet is expected to come in Black and White colour variants.

Xperia Tablet Z packs quite a punch with an advanced camera along with a faster processor and ample memory space.

Sony's previous release Xperia Tablet S was bit of a disappointment due its flawed water proof case. The tablet sales were temporarily stopped for additional scrutiny. The company had also recalled tablets to fix the manufacturing flaw.

Sony has confirmed that the new ultra-thin Xperia Tablet Z will be initially released in the Japanese market this spring. The tablet's price and date of availability in other markets remains undisclosed so far.

HTC to Launch Flagship 'Butterfly' Smartphone in India

The Taiwanese tablet and smartphone maker HTC is reportedly planning to launch its crown jewel 'Butterfly' smartphone in India. Citing an unnamed informer, tech website AndroidOS.in reported that 'Butterfly' smartphone would be priced around ₹44, 000, making it the most expensive Android smartphone released in India.

Previously, Samsung's Galaxy S3, which was released last year, was the most expensive Android phone at ₹43, 000. However, the price of the smartphone has been slashed to around ₹32,000. The Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is expected to release the international variant 'Butterfly' smartphone in India in a few weeks' time. HTC India has also released a number of teaser snap-shots of their flagship smartphone on their official Facebook page with a tag line 'Guess what's flying into town soon?'Before the international variant 'Butterfly' smartphone was unveiled last month, HTC had released the limited version 'Butterfly J' smartphone specifically in Japan and other select Asian markets. It also released a limited version of Butterfly smartphone with an another moniker called  'Droid DNA' in the  American market.

LOGISTICS

Jamaica Planning Island-Wide Consultations on Logistics Hub Project

Jamaica’s Ministry of Industry, Investment Commerce plans to conduct a series of island-wide public consultations on the government’s plans for a logistics hub in Kingston, Minister Anthony Hylton announced.

The government is developing the project to capitalize on the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is slated for completion in 2015.

The project will have six elements, inculding the dredging of the Kingston Harbour; expanding the port facility at Fort Augusta and Gordon Cay; establishing a Dry Dock facility at Jackson Bay, Clarendon; establishing a transshipment commodity port facility near Yallahs, St Thomas; developing the Caymanas Economic Zone and developing an air cargo and passenger facility at Vernamfield.

“The recent Cabinet retreat has resolved that the project represents the centrepiece of the country’s economic growth strategy, and is therefore a major initiative to drive the development and growth of the Jamaican economy,” he said. “It is our opportunity to leverage the radical shift in the geography of global trade to build and anchor an engine of growth that will generate sustained growth and jobs for years to come.”

Hylton was speaking on Friday at a two-day logistics hub retreat, the first in a series of events targeting stakeholdres in Jamaica who will be involved in the hub’s planning and implementation process.

The Minister has said previously that the government is modeling the project on similar hubs in Dubai and Singapore.

Cardinal Logistics Expands Business Development Team

Cardinal Logistics Management, one of the nation's premier industry leaders in transportation management services and dedicated delivery, today announced that Travis Maxey will join the company's management team as Vice President of Business Development. In his new role, Maxey will be responsible for establishing new business relationships and increasing new and profitable sales growth.

Maxey is an experienced business development professional who brings 23 years of logistics knowledge and expertise to Cardinal.  Prior to joining Cardinal, he served as Vice President of Sales with Ruan. In addition, he also served as Director of Business Development – Supply Chain Solutions for Averitt Express and Director of Customer Development for Ryder Integrated Solutions.

"Cardinal is thrilled to welcome Travis Maxey to our Business Development team at a time of exciting growth for our company," said Skip Stritzinger , SVP of Sales and Marketing at Cardinal Logistics Management. "With his history of excellence in sales, operations, marketing and transportation management, Travis will be a tremendous asset to Cardinal. We look forward to utilizing his vast industry knowledge that he will bring to his new role."

Cardinal Logistics Management provides delivery solutions for U.S. companies coast to coast – allowing deliveries in places where companies do not have sufficient density, activity or resources to justify having their own facilities, drivers and trucks. As has been widely noted, outsourcing is now a key trend as companies look to improve service while cutting costs. Companies like Cardinal provide solutions.

MARKETING

Global marketing budgets rise, but Asia-Pacific marketers continue to scale back

For the first time since May 2012, global marketing budgets have risen, however despite improving conditions, marketers in Asia-Pacific and Europe continue to cut budgets, according to Warc's Global Marketing Index report.

The Global Marketing Index provides a monthly indicator of the state of the global marketing industry by tracking current conditions among a global panel of 1,225 members, comprising experienced executives working for brand owners, media owners, creative and media agencies and other organisations serving the marketing industry.

The data for this report was collected from 7 through 18 January.

Globally, the marketing budgets index registered growth in January (50.4), buoyed by improved confidence in the Americas, rising from 53.9 from 50.2 (a reading of 50 indicates no change, and a reading of over 60 indicates rapid growth). However, marketers in Asia-Pacific (48.1) and Europe (46.2) continue to cut budgets.

This is in direct contrast to the burst of confidence marketers in Asia-Pacific registered, rising 2.3 points to the value of 53.8 overall on the headline index, which is a composite of the marketing budgets index along with indices of trading conditons and staffing levels.

"Positive budget setting in the Americas has lifted the index for global marketing budgets into growth territory for the first time since May," said Suzy Young, data editor at Warc. "But despite an improving outlook in terms of general trading conditions, marketers in Asia-Pacific and Europe continue to scale back their budgets."

ODISHA BUSINESS

Odisha launches project for bio-medical waste disposal

Concerned over the adverse environmental impact of disposal of infectious waste generated from health care units, Odisha government today launched a special project for scientific and hi-tech disposal of bio-medical wastes at an investment of about $8 million.

The project, launched in assistance with Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Global Environmental Facility (GEF), would be implemented for five years, said forest and environment minister Bijayshree Routray after launching it.

“Yes, we have the mechanism for disposal of bio-medical wastes in the state since five years. But this project will ensure that the wastes generated from health care units are disposed using a modern technology without burning.

The disposal of bio-medical waste will be of high standard at par with one done in USA and European countries,” he said.

Improper disposal of bio-medical wastes causes release of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), pointed out Dr Subba Rao, director, MoEF, adding that reduction and ultimate elimination of POPs was an obligation for India under the Stockholm Convention.

“The project has been formulated to promote Best Available Technology and Best Environmental Practices (BEP) in the health care institutions,” said S P Dhua, regional coordinator of UNIODO.

Besides Odisha, the special project would be implemented in Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab. Altogether, $40 million would be invested in the project, he said.

Posco gets one more year to start work on Odisha project

South Korean steel giant Posco’s proposal to invest Rs 53,000 crore in a multi-product Special Economic Zone in Odisha has got a breather with the Centre agreeing to give it more time to start work on the project.

The Government was considering cancellation of the project as the company has not been able to acquire the required land in the past six years. It decided to give the company one more year to start implementation after the State government gave a letter in its support.

“The Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZs has agreed to give Posco one more year to start work on its proposed multi-product SEZ in Odisha,” a government official told Business Line.

The Centre had given in-principle approval to the South Korean steel giant’s Indian arm in 2006 for setting up a multi-product SEZ over an area of 1,620 hectares in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur.

RETAIL

Reliance Industries to bring retail cos under one unit to help resolve ...

Reliance Industries plans to consolidate all its retail units under a single entity, signalling that it is not looking for a foreign partner in any of its businesses, a person with the direct knowledge of the development said.

The company has initiated a process to club all its eight independent retailing companies such as apparel chain Reliance Trends and consumer electronics chain Reliance Digital under grocery chain Reliance Fresh, in a bid to remove administrative glitches and increase synergies and efficiencies among various businesses, the person said. This will make Reliance Fresh a single retail entity under Reliance Retail, the group's holding company for retail business.

Reliance last Monday had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, seeking permission for a scheme of arrangement of several of its entities including Reliance Retail, Reliance Fresh, automotive accessories format Reliance Autozone, Reliance Trends, footwear chain Reliance Footprint, consumer electronics chain Reliance Digital Media, Reliance Leisure, Reliance Gems and Jewels, and Reliance Replay Gaming.

In India, companies need high court approval for mergers and demergers to take effect.

An email sent to Reliance Retail did not elicit a response till late on Sunday.

Sandeep Junnarkar, partner of Junnarkar & Associates, the law firm that has petitioned the court on Reliance's behalf, declined to comment.

Smart Utility Systems Announces the Release of SUS Smart Energy Retail-Lite ...

Smart Utility Systems (SUS), a global leader in products, solutions and services that accelerate return on smart grid investments for the energy and utility sector, today announced the launch of SUS Smart Energy Retail-Lite, a hosted solution for handling all aspects of energy trading and risk management for the retail sector. The cloud-based solution will be formally launched at DistribuTECH 2013, the upcoming industry conference at San Diego (January 29 - 31, 2013).

Competitive retail markets are characterized by complex, multi-party transactions to supply consumers and it is essential for suppliers in these markets to have access to relevant market and consumer information. SUS Smart Energy Retail-Lite is oriented towards these markets - it has the ability to interact and process retail business requirements and integrate them with the wholesale energy supply platform.

A cloud-based, secure integrated solution, SUS Smart Energy Retail-Lite handles all the key aspects of Energy Trading and Risk Management in the context of distributing power to retail customers. As a completely hosted solution, it eliminates the need for any IT resources, hardware or software from the customer. Retail-Lite has the added flexibility of being deployed on-premise should that be a customer preference.

SUS Smart Energy Retail-Lite meets a long-felt industry need. While many retail gas or power providers have attempted to force-fit many of their requirements into vendor-supplied ETRM systems, most of these systems lack key areas of functionality and ultimately necessitate the use of additional systems or custom developed functionality.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Benetton unites with Greenpeace to detox supply chain

United Colors of Benetton has become the latest high-profile fashion brand to promise to 'detox' its supply chain, agreeing to kick off the process this year by reporting on the release of hazardous chemicals.

Benetton Group, which also owns Sisley and Playlife, announced last week it would eliminate releases of hazardous chemicals throughout its entire global supply chain by 2020. The Italian fashion house will join Greenpeace's Detox Program, which already includes a hist of high street brands such as Nike, Adidas, H&M and Zara.

Greenpeace has been campaigning for clothes retailers to 'detox' their supply chains since a report in 2011 found Chinese textile factories were discharging hazardous and persistent chemicals that contain hormone-disrupting properties.

"The 2020 goal demands the collective action of industry, as well as engagement of regulators and other stakeholders," the group said in a statement.

"To this end, Benetton Group will work with other companies in the apparel sector and other brands we sell, as well as material suppliers, the broader chemical industry, NGOs and other stakeholders to achieve this goal."

Benetton now plans to publish a restricted substance list by April, followed by reports that will disclose discharges of hazardous chemicals from all of its 30 supply chain facilities.

Nobert Dentressangle join Mitsubishi to launch new hybrid vehicle

Norbert Dentressangle and Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. have teamed up to invest in the latest clean vehicle technology; introducing a new diesel/electric hybrid to the dedicated distribution fleet.

Originally appointed by MEU-UK in 2008, Norbert Dentressangle (ND) is responsible for the distribution of products, including large industrial air conditioning units, Ecodan heating systems, spare parts and instruction manuals, to MEU-UK’s customers throughout the UK and Ireland.

Using a mixed fleet of traditional 7.5 tonne and 18 tonne vehicles, ND handles upwards of 300 orders per day and delivers palletised product using a fleet of dedicated vehicles.

In line with Norbert Dentressangle and MEU-UK’s shared commitment to minimising the impact of their activities on the environment and volume growth in the operation, the two companies took the decision to invest in a 12 tonne DAF LF Hybrid. It is anticipated that the vehicle will deliver a 17% reduction in CO2 emissions over a standard vehicle, along with an additional two pallet load capacity over the 7.5 tonne vehicles and better accessibility than the 18 tonne vehicles in the existing fleet, supporting improved operational flexibility.

Divisional Manager and Head of IT and Supply Chain Management for MEU-UK and MEU-Ireland, Michael Freeman said: “Norbert Dentressangle have proved themselves a valuable partner to Mitsubishi Electric, both through the distribution operation and through our shared commitment to the environment. As the market leader in providing heating, cooling and ventilation solutions for commercial and domestic buildings, Mitsubishi Electric recognises its responsibility to the environment – not only in terms of our products but also in how we operate. In partnership with Norbert Dentressangle, the introduction of this new hybrid vehicle provides further evidence of this commitment.”

Sabita Sahu :Junior Librarian 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