ASBM Business
Updates is a Weekly Selective Compilation of Business News from Various
Sources. To find details follow the links.
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
ASIAN BUSINESS
-mopay, a leader in mobile payment solutions for online
merchants, today announced its continued global expansion with two new
representative offices in Asia. Located in Seoul, Korea and Jakarta, Indonesia,
mopay’s expanded presence will support Asian online merchants to grow
internationally. Since establishing its regional headquarter in Beijing in
2010, mopay has succeeded in building a well-trusted payment brand among Asian
merchants, acquiring over 100 new clients in the region, including Tencent,
Shanda Interactive and Changyou. Today, mopay is working with nine out of
China’s top ten online game companies. Asia has dominated the mobile payments
market and now represents 40 percent of all mobile payment users worldwide,
more than 2.5 times as many as North America, according to Gartner. Direct operator billing is especially popular with
online gamers and ranks among the top three preferred payment methods for
virtual good transactions in Asia/Pacific.
To expand internationally, Asian merchants are
increasingly looking for a partner who understands the importance of a
convenient, customized checkout process that can help achieve the highest
possible conversion rates. mopay’s new offices are staffed with experienced
payment professionals, providing the knowledge that enables online content
providers to gain traction in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.
UK
independent fund manager Neptune Investment Management plans to expand its
operations into Asian markets by forming a partnership with Peak Capital.
Recognizing
the challenges of providing client service to Asian investors from London,
Neptune has enlisted Peak Capital to help it connect with professional and
institutional investors in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively.
Part of
this outreach will include two investor events held by Peak Capital in February
2013 and attended by members of the Neptune investment team.
Douglas
McDowell, head of investment strategies at Neptune, said: “This
development has been prompted by the rise of private banking in Asia and the
consolidation of wealth management in a few key centres. We are focussing on
Singapore and Hong Kong because of demand from those regions for non-benchmark,
high-conviction equity fund management. Peak Capital will be marketing
specific funds from Neptune’s US, Russian and global range.”
ASIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
A
three-day long International Management Convention (IMC’ 13), on “Inclusive
Growth: Need to Rethink the Business Models”, was held at Asian
School of Business Management Campus from 7th-9th
February.
Inaugurating
the event, Chief Guest Prof. M. J. Xavier, Director, IIM Ranchi, said,
"Management education in India is an exclusive model but not an inclusive
one." Management students should have the urge to work for Social
Responsibility causes, he said.Guest of Honour on the occasion, Mr.
Somasajeevan T.K., Executive Vice President – HR, Manappuram Finance Ltd
said," Inclusive happiness brings inclusive growth. India has the
potential to be a leading nation across the world. But it requires a sustainable
business model all along."
Prof.
Biswajeet Pattanayak, founder and director ASBM, while introducing the theme,
spoke about the key hindrances that spell doom in the way of inclusive growth
such as dismal spending especially on sectors like health & education, lack
of focus on elementary education, non-subsidizing of higher education etc.
Among the developing nations and also as compared to the BRICS countries, India
fared poorly when it comes to the spending on these two sectors, the director
said. This is evident as a meager spending of 1% of GDP is spent on healthcare
and public health sector and 3.5% of GDP in educational sector, the Director
said.
BANKING
Corporate houses can soon open banks despite
misgivings within the central bank as well as the International Monetary Fund
that it could lead to risky loans if newcomers succumb to the temptation of
lending to their related firms.
The government wants to reform a sector dominated by
often lethargic state banks and which only reaches half the country's
households. Ultimately, it hopes issuing banking licences to corporate groups
will provide fresh impetus for an economy that has struggled to close the gap
with emerging market star China.The biggest conglomerate, Tata Group, is
reported to be interested. Final rules, expected soon, have been delayed over
disagreement between the government and central bank on whether the traditionally
more financially volatile sectors of property and brokerages should be allowed
to apply for licences, which the Reserve Bank of India opposes.
Opponents of the new measures worry the reform,
driven by the finance ministry, could backfire if risky loans from one branch
of a company to another go bad and trigger a broader crisis.
"It will be like one person is cooking and the
same person is eating it," said one critic, V.K. Sharma, chief executive
of LIC Housing Finance.
"Most of the time if they need money they will
go to their own bank, and it will be difficult to regulate that," Sharma
said. His firm, an arm of state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India, plans to
apply for a banking licence.
The RBI regulates banks and has the final say on how
the rules are shaped and implemented, but is not statutorily independent so
takes the government's views into consideration.
According to the National Police Agency (NPA), some
48 million yen (approx. $518,000) was transmitted electronically from the
accounts of 63 Internet
banking users without them even knowing of it during the period between June
and December of 2012. Shockingly, this January alone saw another 22 million yen
($237,500) from the accounts of 20 users stolen in a similar modus operandi.
According to the NPA, sophisticated computer-based scams have been employed by
the culprits, which the unknowing consumer easily fell for.
Perhaps the most common is where users are tricked
into entering a fake portal site that looks like the authentic site of a major
bank. They are then asked to provide their personal information, which include
the passwords they use for internet banking. E-mails sent to the victims even
told them to take precautionary measures and led them to a supposed secure
webpage. The victims of this scam were customers of five major financial
institutions in Japan, which included Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corp. Culprits also obtained private banking information through
the use of a virus, wherein the victims will go to the authentic website of the
bank but a fake data entry appears courtesy of the virus. The NPA believes
that this has been used in the cases recorded this year.
BUSINESS
Reliance
Communications today said it has outsourced operations and management of
its network in northern and western India to Ericsson in an $
1 billion agreement spread over eight years.
The contract would cover one lakh kilometres of
fiber and mobile infrastructure in 11 telecom circles of RCom, across North
and West of India including Delhi and Mumbai, a joint statement by the two
companies. The eight-year agreement is valued at $ 1 billion, it said adding
5,000 employees of RCom will join Ericsson in this regard.
"Given the complexity of network increasing with
platforms, technologies and application offerings, we are banking on the
experience, innovation and technical expertise of Ericsson to improve the
productivity of our network," RCom's Chief Executive Officer for Wireless
Business, Gurdeep Singh said.
As per the contract, Ericsson will manage the day to
day operations across wireline and wireless networks and will
take over responsibility for field maintenance, network operations and operational
planning of RCom 2G, CDMA and 3G mobile networks, it added.
The partnership will allow RCom to free up resources
to focus on user experience, as well as improving innovation power and speed
across the specified geographies, the statement said.
"With this partnership, Reliance will increase
focus on their core business and innovation. We are pleased to welcome more
than 5,000 employees who will join us from Reliance Communications,"
Ericsson's Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit Global Services
Magnus Mandersson said.
Ericsson will be responsible for improving network
performance and ultimately service quality, with the goal of increasing
customer satisfaction and retention, the statement said.
Goldman Sachs cuts its global view on equities to
"neutral" from "overweight" for the coming three months,
arguing it expects the recent rally on global equities over the last quarter to
lose momentum due partly to lingering worries over the debt situation in the
euro zone and United States.
However, the investment bank maintains a broader
"overweight" rating on equities on a 12-month timeframe, as it
expects a gradual pick-up in the global
economy over the course of the year to lift equity markets later on in
2013. "Over three months, the U.S. fiscal outlook and the European
sovereign situation remain downside risks, and even though we would not expect
any sell-off to be long-lived or particularly large, we also don't see the near-term
upside risks as very large," Goldman writes in a strategy note.
"However, our downgrade of equities is a close
call and we would see any sell-off as an opportunity to add exposure
again," it adds.
Goldman Sachs
expects a 3 percent return on the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 index over the
coming three months, and for that index to yield a 13 percent return on a
12-month basis.
Goldman has a "neutral" rating on European
equities on a 3-month basis, with an "underweight" recommendation on
Europe over 12 months.
"We doubt that Europe will keep up with the
Asian markets given its much weaker economy," writes Goldman.
Goldman is "overweight" on Asian equities,
excluding Japan,
and has an "underweight" rating on U.S. equities.
"The U.S. market has already recovered strongly
from the financial crisis, yet the level of economic growth remains weak and
this is the only region where our earnings forecasts are below consensus,"
it writes.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
Tata Communications has entered into an agreement
with AT&T to extend its global business video ecosystem. The agreement now
enables even more face-to-face collaboration around the world, across each
respective network.
With this latest in a series of interprovider agreements, Tata Communications’ Global Meeting Exchange network provides connections to most of today’s major providers of Telepresence services, offering customers unprecedented reach for their business video networks.
“To help the telecoms industry meet the requirements of enterprises as the growth of business video continues, there needs to be collaboration and openness amongst service providers”, says Peter Quinlan, Vice President, Integrated Business Video Services, Tata Communications.
“The creation of an open ecosystem in which service providers align and interconnect their respective business video communities will allow enterprise customers to receive not only the best service possible, but it will also give them unprecedented reach to other Telepresence rooms around the world, enabling them to embrace video as a daily business communication tool. The agreement with AT&T is the latest step in our strategy to make business video a truly global collaboration tool for enterprises, regardless of network, service provider or location.”
With this latest in a series of interprovider agreements, Tata Communications’ Global Meeting Exchange network provides connections to most of today’s major providers of Telepresence services, offering customers unprecedented reach for their business video networks.
“To help the telecoms industry meet the requirements of enterprises as the growth of business video continues, there needs to be collaboration and openness amongst service providers”, says Peter Quinlan, Vice President, Integrated Business Video Services, Tata Communications.
“The creation of an open ecosystem in which service providers align and interconnect their respective business video communities will allow enterprise customers to receive not only the best service possible, but it will also give them unprecedented reach to other Telepresence rooms around the world, enabling them to embrace video as a daily business communication tool. The agreement with AT&T is the latest step in our strategy to make business video a truly global collaboration tool for enterprises, regardless of network, service provider or location.”
The communication sector’s contribution to Ghana’s
inflation rate has remained relatively constant over the past two years,
showing a very low price change of below one per cent.
This means the price level of communication services
such as telephone charges (with a weight of 90%), EMS charges (5% weight) and
standard postage (5% weight), as captured by the Consumer Price Index for the
sector, has remained largely unchanged over the period.
Commenting on the sector’s contribution in helping
to keep inflation rate down over the past year, Mr Asuo Afram, Head of Pricing,
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), said the communication sector had for the past
year been characterized by high competition leading to price cuts by service
providers, hence the lower price levels.
The year-on-year inflation rate for December 2012
was 8.8%, down from 9.3% recorded in November the previous month. The non-food
group in the CPI basket of which the communication sector belongs to, recorded
a year-on-year inflation rate of 11.6%.
Six sub groups recorded a year-on-year inflation
rate above the non-food group’s average rate with Transport recording the
highest of 20.6% followed by education, 16.5%; and alcoholic beverages, tobacco
and narcotics with 15.1%.
In the communications subgroup, inflation was lowest
at 0.4% in December. “Communication services’ contribution to inflation rate in
recent past has been low and at times zero mainly because of the high
competition among the service providers resulting in price cuts through various
price schemes to attract customers,” Mr Afram explained.
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
Good
Avenue Forms, a leader in service business automation, has announced the
release of a platform for small business owners for handling receipts,
invoices, and forms electronically. Accessible from the web via laptop, tablet,
or portable device, the system eliminates the need for handwriting receipts and
invoices.
The platform eliminates the need for costly triplicate forms or invoices. It simplifies the process of managing previously difficult to manage paperwork, at a cost of $13.00 per month for up to five users to access the system. There is no need for filing cabinets or even computer storage. Forms of various kinds are available on a searchable database, accessible from any device connected to the Internet.
No software needs to be installed and the system is designed to speed up the sales and billing process for small businesses and even larger companies. Good Avenue Forms also eliminates messy handwriting, increasing the accuracy of data on forms, receipts, and invoices. In addition, all data are stored securely, with all work orders and service transactions kept in storage. All business records can be secured in the cloud for use in the office and in the field.
Each form can incorporate the business logo and appears on a familiar looking interface. The product integrates features for business owners to have real-time visibility, team leaders to see forms as soon as work orders are closed, and team members to speed up the work order and payment process. Also, the platform supports electronic signatures and text or spreadsheet format reports.
The average time for training and to learn the system is 15 minutes. A training page with a video series is available on the company’s website. The company also provides 24-hour technical support via e-mail.
UK's accounting watchdog investigating Autonomy finances pre-HP deal
The platform eliminates the need for costly triplicate forms or invoices. It simplifies the process of managing previously difficult to manage paperwork, at a cost of $13.00 per month for up to five users to access the system. There is no need for filing cabinets or even computer storage. Forms of various kinds are available on a searchable database, accessible from any device connected to the Internet.
No software needs to be installed and the system is designed to speed up the sales and billing process for small businesses and even larger companies. Good Avenue Forms also eliminates messy handwriting, increasing the accuracy of data on forms, receipts, and invoices. In addition, all data are stored securely, with all work orders and service transactions kept in storage. All business records can be secured in the cloud for use in the office and in the field.
Each form can incorporate the business logo and appears on a familiar looking interface. The product integrates features for business owners to have real-time visibility, team leaders to see forms as soon as work orders are closed, and team members to speed up the work order and payment process. Also, the platform supports electronic signatures and text or spreadsheet format reports.
The average time for training and to learn the system is 15 minutes. A training page with a video series is available on the company’s website. The company also provides 24-hour technical support via e-mail.
UK's accounting watchdog investigating Autonomy finances pre-HP deal
The U.K.'s Financial Reporting Council has launched
a probe into Autonomy's financial reporting over a period of more than two
years prior to its acquisition by Hewlett-Packard.
Autonomy's reports from January 2009 to mid-2011
will be examined by the FRC, according to a statement released Monday.
Following the investigation, the FRC will decide
"whether to bring disciplinary proceedings against Member Firm or Member
and, if so decided, referral to Disciplinary Tribunal," the statement
adds. Such a tribunal could lead to a "wide range of sanctions,"
including an "unlimited fine" and the "withdrawal of practising
certificates or licences," the FRC said.
The Autonomy deal was already being investigated by
the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office as well as the U.S. Department of Justice.
In November, HP
announced it would take a US$8.8 billion writedown on the Autonomy
business, attributing some $5 billion of that total to alleged accounting
improprieties at the vendor prior to the acquisition. Autonomy, which sells
information management software, cost HP $10.3 billion, a price tag that has
been widely criticized as too expensive.
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch has roundly
denied HP's allegations and alleged that company officials haven't been
wholly forthcoming.
A statement posted on Lynch's website Monday expressed
praise for the FRC's investigation. "The accounts of Autonomy have
previously been reviewed by the FRC, including during the period in question,
and no actions or changes were recommended or required," it reads.
"We welcome this investigation. Autonomy received unqualified audit reports
throughout its life as a public company. This includes the period in question,
during which Autonomy was audited by Deloitte. We are fully confident in the
financial reporting of the company and look forward to the opportunity to
demonstrate this to the FRC."
FINANCE
The units of Security Printing and Minting
Corporation of India (SPMCIL) at Nashik in Maharashtra and Dewas in Madhya
Pradesh will be soon modernised with latest
technology at a cost of Rs 400 crore.
Union
Minister of State for Finance, Namo
Narain Meena made this announcement while speaking at the Foundation Day of
India
Security Press (ISP) here at the Nashik road yesterday.
Stating that the Corporation was generating a profit
of Rs 100 crore every year, Meena congratulated ISP for maintaining high
quality and standards in production.
The ISP was awarded for being best performing SPMCIL unit on the
occasion.
He said that both the units in Maharashtra and MP
will be equipped with modern technology to upgrade productivity.
The minister also appealed to the employees to
maintain secrecy and integrity while performing their duties at the units as
SMPCIL was the only body engaged in printing currency notes and judicial stamp
papers in the country.
Managing Director of SMPCIL, M S Rana, Director Dr
Manoranjan Das, NCP
MP from Nashik Sameer Bhujbal were also present.
Tata Power slumped into consolidated net loss of Rs 328.92
crore during the quarter ended December 2012, bogged down by impairment charge
of Rs 600 crore related to its Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project.
The country's largest private power producer had posted net profit of Rs 297.95 crore in the October-December quarter of 2011.
The total income from operations climbed, however, to Rs 9,039.31 crore in the third quarter of current financial year.
In 2011-12, it was Rs 6,659.87 crore, Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.
Impairment charge of Rs 600 crore with regard to its flagship 4,000 MW Mundra UMPP, which is grappling with high fuel costs and low tariff realisation, pushed the company into the red.
Imported coal fired-Mundra, the country's first UMPP, is being implemented by Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL). Rise in overseas coal prices is impacting the financial viability of the project and the company has sought higher tariff for electricity generated from the plant.
The company said it has decided to take a provision for impairment loss after reviewing the "recoverability of the carrying amount of the project (including assets under construction) considering the fuel cost, exchange rate variation and other operating costs that would impact future cash flows on commencement of commercial operations".
The impairment loss provision for nine months of this fiscal ended December is Rs 850 crore.
To support CGPL's cash flows, Tata Power will restructure its holding structure whereby at least 75 per cent of its equity interests in the Indonesian Coal Companies to CGPL, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
The country's largest private power producer had posted net profit of Rs 297.95 crore in the October-December quarter of 2011.
The total income from operations climbed, however, to Rs 9,039.31 crore in the third quarter of current financial year.
In 2011-12, it was Rs 6,659.87 crore, Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.
Impairment charge of Rs 600 crore with regard to its flagship 4,000 MW Mundra UMPP, which is grappling with high fuel costs and low tariff realisation, pushed the company into the red.
Imported coal fired-Mundra, the country's first UMPP, is being implemented by Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL). Rise in overseas coal prices is impacting the financial viability of the project and the company has sought higher tariff for electricity generated from the plant.
The company said it has decided to take a provision for impairment loss after reviewing the "recoverability of the carrying amount of the project (including assets under construction) considering the fuel cost, exchange rate variation and other operating costs that would impact future cash flows on commencement of commercial operations".
The impairment loss provision for nine months of this fiscal ended December is Rs 850 crore.
To support CGPL's cash flows, Tata Power will restructure its holding structure whereby at least 75 per cent of its equity interests in the Indonesian Coal Companies to CGPL, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
INDIA BUSINESS
India's love for value and price sensitivity is
leaving its imprint on car branding. Top multinational carmakers like Nissan,
Volkswagen and Daimler
are either cranking out India-specific brands or lining up their global
no-frills badges for this market. Last week, top officials from Volkswagen told
global media that the German major is looking into the possibility of
developing a low cost, no-frills car in China to be sold across all BRIC
markets. Nissan has already announced the resurrection of the Datsun brand for
markets like India and Indonesia and Russia.
Sister company Renault debuted in India with a product from its Dacia no-frills stable (Logan) and its current bestseller Duster is another Dacia product. Others like Hyundai and Toyota have toyed with the idea of introducing the Kia and Daihatsu brands in India while Daimler Commercial Vehicles has created the Bharat Benz brand specifically for India. Even GM has started rolling out products from its Chinese JV in the Indian market though under Chevy badging.
Says Rakesh Batra, India automotive sector national leader, Ernst & Young: "Multinational car companies don't want to dilute the mother brand by offering products at significantly lower price points for the Indian market which is very price sensitive." The no-frills option is both a branding as well as a product option for car MNCs. "Datsun is a global brand, with local products. It is not necessary that global cars can succeed in all markets. For some markets, we need specific local products. This is where we believe Datsun brand will come to help us in India. Nearly 2,000 engineers are working in our Chennai design centre getting the India specific Datsun ready. It is also a myth that just a cheap car will sell in India. Datsun will be entry for a customer to get into our family as he moves to Nissan next and possibly Infiniti (the luxury car brand of Nissan)," Toru Hasegawa, Corporate VP, Africa, Middle East and India, Nissan Motor Company said.
US India Business Council pitches for foreign direct sales in e-commerce ...
Sister company Renault debuted in India with a product from its Dacia no-frills stable (Logan) and its current bestseller Duster is another Dacia product. Others like Hyundai and Toyota have toyed with the idea of introducing the Kia and Daihatsu brands in India while Daimler Commercial Vehicles has created the Bharat Benz brand specifically for India. Even GM has started rolling out products from its Chinese JV in the Indian market though under Chevy badging.
Says Rakesh Batra, India automotive sector national leader, Ernst & Young: "Multinational car companies don't want to dilute the mother brand by offering products at significantly lower price points for the Indian market which is very price sensitive." The no-frills option is both a branding as well as a product option for car MNCs. "Datsun is a global brand, with local products. It is not necessary that global cars can succeed in all markets. For some markets, we need specific local products. This is where we believe Datsun brand will come to help us in India. Nearly 2,000 engineers are working in our Chennai design centre getting the India specific Datsun ready. It is also a myth that just a cheap car will sell in India. Datsun will be entry for a customer to get into our family as he moves to Nissan next and possibly Infiniti (the luxury car brand of Nissan)," Toru Hasegawa, Corporate VP, Africa, Middle East and India, Nissan Motor Company said.
US India Business Council pitches for foreign direct sales in e-commerce ...
Post reforms in multi-brand retail, the US India
Business Council has asked the Union
Finance Minister P Chidambaram
to lift current restrictions in foreign
direct sales (FDS) to Indian consumers via e-commerce and allow foreign
companies to acquire direct ownership in real estate
for investment.
"USIBC believes the next step in retail sector
development is lifting current restrictions in foreign direct sales to Indian
consumers via e-commerce," the apex body of American companies doing
businesses in India asked the Finance Minister. In a detailed 23-page
memorandum submitted ahead of the annual budget later this month, USIBC said such an
on-line approach to India's retail market could benefit the country in several
ways.
First, unrestricted e-commerce would give Indian
consumers a wider variety of goods at lower prices, thus directly advancing the
goal of inclusive growth, said the memorandum, a copy of which has been
provided to PTI by authoritative sources in the Union
Finance Ministry.
"Second, this online activity would
dramatically lower the costs of government procurements, thus reducing the
budget deficit. Third, it would increase the productivity of Indian exports,
which would narrow the trade deficit.
"Fourth, e-commerce lowers the barriers to
entry for small and medium-sized businesses that often lack the capital to
create physical stores," USIBC said.
Fuelling the creation and growth of small
business would promote employment, especially in rural areas that lack
access to the infrastructure of India's major cities, it said.
USIBC added that e-commerce promotes the development
of infrastructure because it creates the need for warehouses, customer
fulfilment centres, systems for transportation and delivery, and a virtual
network to support the process.
"The infrastructure development would in turn
trigger more employment as workers would be hired to build and operate the new
systems.
INSURANCE
Philex Mining Corporation has entered into a $25
million settlement agreement with Chartis Philippines Insurance Inc, to defray
the expenses incurred for the tailings spill incident in its Padcal copper-gold
mine in Benguet last year.
“Philex Mining Corporation has entered into a
settlement, release and policy buy-back agreement with Chartis Philippines
Insurance Inc for the compromise settlement of the company’s insurance claims
under its Pollution Legal Liability Select Policy with Chartis,” Philex
president Eulalio B. Austin Jr. said in a disclosure to the local bourse late
Friday.
“The claims pertain to the discharge of tailings
from the tailings storage Facility 3 of the company’s Padcal mine that occurred
commencing in August 2012.”
The company said that under the terms of the
agreement, Chartis would pay the $25 million in full settlement with 15 days
from the date of the agreement.
Company officials said that pending the collective
decision on the use of the settlement funds, it would be diverted to the
company’s general fund for general corporate use.
“It (funds) will be part of the company’s general
fund for general corporate purposes,” said company spokesman Mike Toledo.
The frequent run-ins between the ruling side and the
Opposition may not push important reform legislations off the table in the
Budget session, but, BJP
leader Yashwant
Sinha on Sunday told ET that his party was open for talks with the
government on hiking the quantum of FDI in the insurance
sector. This development comes in the backdrop of intense lobbying by foreign
and domestic players for raising ceiling in the insurance sector to 49 per cent
from the existing 26 per cent. Former US envoy Frank Wisner, who had worked
with the US-based mixed financial services and international organisation AIG, and a group of
CEOs have been interacting with senior leaders of the government and Opposition
including Sinha on raising the FDI cap.
"We are open for a discussion with the
government. But government leaders are yet to approach us. The BJP will take a
call on the bill after talks with the government," Sinha told ET.
Sinha said Wisner and other insurance company
officials were not enthused by the proposal to allow FIIs in the insurance
sector. According to insurances companies, FIIs may not fulfill the capital
needs of the sector.
A section of the leadership here is also of the view
that proposal to permit FIIs to own up to 23 per cent could only bring hot
money into the country.
A section of the government had mooted 23 per cent FII
investment, following BJP's reservations over hiking the quantum of FDI beyond
26 per cent. Sinha's assertions on Sunday indicate a willingness to consider
revising this position. "I cannot hazard a guess on our position now. I am
told the government is working on a new formula. We have to discuss it in the
party," Sinha said.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
China surpassed the US to become the world's biggest
trading nation last year as measured by the sum of exports and imports of
goods, a milestone in the Asian nation's challenge to the US dominance in
global commerce that emerged after the end of World War II. US exports and
imports of goods last year totaled $3.82 trillion, the US Commerce Department
said last week. China's customs administration reported last month that the
country's total trade in goods in 2012 amounted to $3.87 trillion. China's
increasing influence threatens to disrupt regional trading blocs as it becomes
the most important commercial partner for countries including Germany, which
will export twice as much to China by the end of the decade as it does to
neighboring France, said Goldman Sachs's Jim O'Neill. "For so many countries
around the world, China is becoming rapidly the most important bilateral trade
partner," O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs's asset management division
and the economist who bound Brazil to Russia, India and China to form the BRIC
investing strategy, said in a telephone interview.
"At this kind of pace by the end of the decade
many European countries will be doing more individual trade with China than
with bilateral partners in Europe."
When taking into account services, US total trade
amounted to $4.93 trillion in 2012, according to the US Bureau of Economic
Analysis. The US recorded a surplus in services of $195.3 billion last year and
a goods deficit of more than $700 billion, according to BEA figures. China's
2012 trade surplus, measured in goods, totaled $231.1 billion. The US economy
is also double the size of China's, according to the World Bank.
In 2011, the US gross domestic product reached $15
trillion while China's totaled $7.3 trillion. China's National Bureau of
Statistics reported January 18 that the country's nominal gross domestic
product in 2012 totaled 51.93 trillion yuan ($8.3 trillion).
LOGISTICS
CSI Aviation, a global leader in aviation support
and logistics, announced today that it will be expanding its operations into
additional international markets, while at the same time rebranding its
marketing program in support of those efforts. Some markets targeted for
expansion include corporate air transportation and federal government
operations.
CSI Aviation is a service-oriented,
Albuquerque-based company that was founded in 1979 by Allen E. Weh. With a
$25,000 bank loan, hard work and great vision, Weh built CSI Aviation from a
one-man business into one of the world’s most respected aviation support
companies. The CSI team specializes in designing and implementing complex
air transportation programs that include everything from emergency evacuation
and movement of people to retrofitting aircraft to accommodate special security
or delicate cargo transport needs.
“Since founding the company, I have seen the markets
shift and change. But never in my 34 years at the helm of this company have I
seen more opportunities to provide aviation support than we are seeing today,”
Weh said. “We are excited to push forward and introduce this company to new
markets around the world, and bring our unparalleled experience and our
commitment to service to their industries and operations.”
Charter Hall Group Ltd will join with two
institutional investors to create a new vehicle which will acquire and manage
core Australian logistics properties.
In a statement to the Australian Securities
Exchange, Charter Hall said the new vehicle – the Core Logistics Partnership
(CLP) – had already acquired two seed assets worth a collective $103.1 million.
The first asset is a logistics facility in
Melbourne, which was acquired from Amcor Ltd on a 10-year sale and leaseback
for $39.6 million.
The second asset is a 50 per cent tenants in common
interest in the Metcash Distribution Centre at Canning Vale, Perth which was
purchased for $63.5 million from the Australian Unity Diversified Property
Fund.
Charter Hall joint managing director, David
Harrison, said the group had been increasing its investment in industrial
sector because of its strong property fundamentals.
He said Charter Hall was "pleased to be
partnering with two high quality Australian institutional investors for this
new, growing industrial portfolio."
MANAGEMENT
While industry pundits continue to debate the merits
of public versus private clouds, most business technology decision-makers are
trying to determine the best way to manage a mixed environment. But it's
proving difficult for a number of reasons.
Most mid-size and large organizations have never
gained full control over their on-premises IT operations and business
applications. For many IT groups, legacy network and systems management
software has been far too complicated and costly, much like ERP
systems, which most businesses still haven't been able to implement fully.
The way in which companies adopt cloud
services and the various ways in which cloud service providers support
their offerings compound the IT department’s challenges. The consumerization of
IT lets business units and end users acquire software-as-a-service,
platform-as-a-service and even infrastructure-as-a-service alternatives without
IT's help or approval. This end-run can strain networks, trigger security
alerts and create additional integration requirements, putting another layer of
complexity on top of the existing data center chaos. As a result, these IT
organizations are seeking a new generation of management tools to help them
monitor their existing on-premises systems along with their new cloud services.
They’d like these tools to provide an end-to-end view of their IT operations --
both internal resources and external services.
Ideally, they'd like tools that not only give them
real-time data and issue alerts when a problem occurs, but also provide
analytics that can anticipate problems before they disrupt their operations.
Fulcrum Asset Management LLP, the $1.4 billion
computer-driven hedge fund group founded by former British Broadcasting Corp.
Chairman Gavyn Davies, made Andrew Bevan and Mohammed Fawaz partners.
Bevan, director of research, and Fawaz, a portfolio
manager, were made partners on Jan. 1, according to Companies House records.
Bevan, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managing director, joined Fulcrum in
2006. Fawaz has been with the London-based hedge fund since 2005.
They join Davies, co-founder Andrew Stevens, Chief Investment Officer Suhail Shaikh, North American President Tom Dempsey,
Chief Operating Officer Joe Davidson and Jeremy Bedford as partners, according
to the company’s website. An official at Fulcrum declined to comment when
contacted by Bloomberg News on Feb. 8, asking not to be identified in line with
company policy.
Fulcrum Alpha, the company’s flagship fund, returned 1
percent net of fees in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, beating
the 3.4 percent decline in the Newedge CTA Trend Sub-Index, which tracks the
performance of the largest computer-driven, or quant, funds. Alpha lost 8.9
percent the previous year and has returned 31 percent since its inception in
2006, compared with a 16 percent increase in the Newedge index.
MARKETING
NextAdvisor.com, which provides independent reviews
of online services for small and medium business, announced the addition
of a new email marketing services section. Editors for the company tested and
reviewed eight of the top services to determine which provided the best value
and a general idea of how each service worked. The results are included below,
and details can be found on NextAdvisor's main email marketing review page.
A recent survey done by StrongMail found
that 56% of marketers plan to either increase or maintain their email marketing
budgets. Email marketing has become, and continues to be a key element for
small business to reach and grow their audience.
Businesses can now customize and segment audiences
like you used to be able to with direct mail, only on steroids. Embeddable
sign-up forms, branded & personalized messages that can speak directly to
users have become common features. Not to mention list management, merge/purge
capabilities and other features designed for small, medium and large lists used
for everything from acquisition to retention and everything in-between.
Editors signed-up for each service and used them as
a small business would. Looking at email creation, analytics & tracking,
interface, customer support and overall usability they came up with an overall
ranking. Other factors included the allotted number of contacts and email
allowances to cost, which provides good estimates of the value for business.
Global pharmaceutical major Mylan has entered into
an agreement with Bangalore-based Biocon for the global development and commercialization of
the latter's generic insulin analog products (long lasting insulins), which has
a global addressable market of $11.5 billion.
The Rs 1,600-crore Indian biotech player has
developed a generic insulin analog Glargine, which retails in India as Basalog
with a 85% market
share in the vial category, and has two more generic insulin analogs,
Lispro and Aspart, that are expected to enter the clinical trial phase soon.
These three generic insulin analogs will be
co-developed and exclusively marketed by Mylan in the US, Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, the European Union and the European
Free Trade Association countries through a profit share arrangement with
Biocon. For the rest of the world markets and emerging markets, both companies
can pursue their own marketing arrangements. "There is an upfront
licensing fee payable to us by Mylan, a large part of which will be reflected
in this quarter," said Kiran
Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon. Shaw expects the Mylan partnership to yield
profits from 2016. Biocon will share the development costs of their analog
products in the global markets with Mylan.
Three months ago, in November, Biocon had entered
into an agreement with New York headquartered Bristol-Myers
Squibb (BMS) for the development of its potentially game-changing novel
molecule for the treatment of diabetes, oral
insulin IN-105.
ODISHA BUSINESS
After getting reprimanded by the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) of India for signing 89 MoUs (memorandum of understanding)
with steel and power companies in the absence of any proper policy, the state
government has replied that it has not done anything wrong since the MoUs were
not legal instruments and had been inked just to shore up investors’
confidence.
In a reply to the CAG, the state government said, since MoUs are not legally binding documents, there was nothing wrong in signing the agreements with the companies without selecting them through competitive bidding route.
“The MoUs signed by the state government with different promoters for setting up of steel plants/pellet plants are to provide comfort to the investors. MoU is not a legally binding instrument,” said the state steel and mines department in its reply recently.
The state government has so far signed 89 MoUs for establishment of steel, power and cement plants in the state. Currently only three MoUs are valid. Out of the MoUs whose validity period has expired, while renewal of 45 are under consideration of the government, 26 companies have not applied for renewal.
CAG pointed out that while MoUs were signed with some promoters, there were many other projects in state where no MoU was signed. These included the ones being put up by Utkal Aluminium International Ltd, Mid-East Integrated Steel, Saraf Agencies Ltd and Dinabandhu Steel & Power Ltd, which have been provided with land and other facilities.
The state government said, land acquisition proceedings were not entirely guided by provisions of MoU. The land acquisition is processed under the land acquisition act without any discrimination between MoU and non-MoU projects as they are guided by the recommendation of high level project clearance committee headed by the Chief Minister.
In a reply to the CAG, the state government said, since MoUs are not legally binding documents, there was nothing wrong in signing the agreements with the companies without selecting them through competitive bidding route.
“The MoUs signed by the state government with different promoters for setting up of steel plants/pellet plants are to provide comfort to the investors. MoU is not a legally binding instrument,” said the state steel and mines department in its reply recently.
The state government has so far signed 89 MoUs for establishment of steel, power and cement plants in the state. Currently only three MoUs are valid. Out of the MoUs whose validity period has expired, while renewal of 45 are under consideration of the government, 26 companies have not applied for renewal.
CAG pointed out that while MoUs were signed with some promoters, there were many other projects in state where no MoU was signed. These included the ones being put up by Utkal Aluminium International Ltd, Mid-East Integrated Steel, Saraf Agencies Ltd and Dinabandhu Steel & Power Ltd, which have been provided with land and other facilities.
The state government said, land acquisition proceedings were not entirely guided by provisions of MoU. The land acquisition is processed under the land acquisition act without any discrimination between MoU and non-MoU projects as they are guided by the recommendation of high level project clearance committee headed by the Chief Minister.
The Odisha government is all set to hand over 1,554
acres of land to Posco-India for setting up its proposed mega steel project in
Jagatsinghpur district, official sources said today.
"The state government has already handed over 546 acre of land to Posco and rest 1,554 acres is ready to be handed over to the company," official sources said quoting recent status report on Posco-India project.
The government expects that with the handing over of the land, the company would expedite its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities at the proposed plant site villages, sources said.
The state government maintains that the South Korean steel major required 2,700 acre of land for its 8 mtpa capacity steel facility near Paradip on stage-1. Of the immediate requirement of 2,700 acre of land, the state owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has already acquired 2100 acre of land, it said.
"Balance 600 acre of land is expected to be acquired within the next four months. After that, IDCO will be in a position to hand over this land to Posco," it said adding that the company required a total of 4,004 acre of land for setting up its proposed 12 mtpa greenfield steel project at an investment of Rs 52,000 crore.
The required land (4,004 acre) would be acquired from eight villages like Nuagaon, Dhinkia, Noliasahi, Gobindpur, Polang, Bayanalakanda, Bhuyanpal and Jatadhar, sources said.
"The state government has already handed over 546 acre of land to Posco and rest 1,554 acres is ready to be handed over to the company," official sources said quoting recent status report on Posco-India project.
The government expects that with the handing over of the land, the company would expedite its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities at the proposed plant site villages, sources said.
The state government maintains that the South Korean steel major required 2,700 acre of land for its 8 mtpa capacity steel facility near Paradip on stage-1. Of the immediate requirement of 2,700 acre of land, the state owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has already acquired 2100 acre of land, it said.
"Balance 600 acre of land is expected to be acquired within the next four months. After that, IDCO will be in a position to hand over this land to Posco," it said adding that the company required a total of 4,004 acre of land for setting up its proposed 12 mtpa greenfield steel project at an investment of Rs 52,000 crore.
The required land (4,004 acre) would be acquired from eight villages like Nuagaon, Dhinkia, Noliasahi, Gobindpur, Polang, Bayanalakanda, Bhuyanpal and Jatadhar, sources said.
RETAIL
While speculations on the India launch date of the
highly anticipated smartphone BlackBerry Z10 are still going on, an online
retail website ha already listed the smartphone and says that the product will
be available to Indian consumers this month.
A message on the website Saholic.com says ''BlackBerry Z10 will be available by
25/02/13''. There is no mention of the price of BlackBerry Z10 on the website.
The website also says that the Google LG Nexus 4, which is yet to be launched
in India, will be available by February 15.
The BlackBerry Z10 is also being sold on eBay
India by a user at exorbitant prices. The smartphone is being sold at Rs.
50,000. ''Brand New Blackberry Z10 BB10 OS, Full Touch Screen..18 months
company warrantty...Dispatch after 15th Feb ONLY..'' says the post on eBay
India. The user claims to have had five smartphones of which now only one unit
remains.
Last week, new rumors emanating from press reports
in India suggested February 24 as the possible launch date of BlackBerry Z10.
Also, according to FoneAreana BB Z10 would be priced at Rs. 39,000.
However, some Indian consumers seem to think that
the smartphone should cost lesser. ''The hardware configuration isn't that
great, ideal price should be not more than INR 30000 if RIM wants to reclaim
their market share,'' says a CIOL viewer. ''BlackBerry has lots and lots of
catching up to do. Android and iOS is far far ahead of BlackBerry OS 10,'' says
another CIOL viewer.
Even as the US-based multi-brand retail chain giant
Walmart is firming up its India plans, the world’s largest online retail
company Amazon.com has decided to send its top brass to the country to lobby
for policy changes that would allow it entry.
The revised foreign direct investment (FDI) policy
in retail announced in September last year blocked foreign investments in e-commerce
while allowing up to 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail stores and 100 per
cent FDI in single-brand retail.
Paul Misner, Vice-President, Global Public Policy,
Amazon.com, will lead a team of officials to New Delhi next week to discuss
with policy-makers the possibility of re-working the policy to allow FDI in
e-commerce.
The US-based online seller of books and electronic
items had been eyeing the Indian e-commerce market, estimated at about $2
billion, for long and was hopeful that the FDI policy relaxation in retail will
allow it entry. “Amazon was disappointed that the foreign investment policy
liberalisation for retail announced last year did not include e-commerce. It is
expected to lobby hard for a policy change,” the official said.
Misner is scheduled to meet Commerce & Industry
Minister Anand Sharma early next week, a Department of Industrial and Policy
Promotion official told Business Line.
“The Government may look at coming out with a
separate policy paper on FDI in e-commerce. However, nothing concrete has
happened in the area yet” the DIPP official said.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Infor,
a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000
customers, today announced an enhanced version of Infor Supply
Chain Execution (SCE), to further reduce the complexity of warehousing and
logistics management and clarify daily decision making. With more than 100 new
core industry features, including mobile and voice enablement, visual metrics,
and ION integration to ERP, Infor SCE helps provide a single, unified solution
to meet warehousing, transportation, labor and 3PL billing needs.
As an end-to-end, easy-to-use solution, Infor SCE 10.2 unites the strategic, tactical and operational elements of supply chain execution, and empowers users to manage logistical needs. Infor SCE can be used across a wide array of industries including manufacturing, distribution, high tech, fashion, food & beverage and 3PL
As an end-to-end, easy-to-use solution, Infor SCE 10.2 unites the strategic, tactical and operational elements of supply chain execution, and empowers users to manage logistical needs. Infor SCE can be used across a wide array of industries including manufacturing, distribution, high tech, fashion, food & beverage and 3PL
LLamasoft, Inc., the global leader in supply chain design
software solutions, today announced the launch of Supply Chain Sherpa, a mobile supply chain modeling app
developed to make supply chain design and what-if scenario analysis accessible
to everyone throughout the extended enterprise. With a focus on ease of use,
Supply Chain Sherpa enables users to rapidly model a complex supply chain
network using the iPad® touch screen environment. Supply chain designs are
instantly visualized on configurable maps and graphs, and all metrics including
service, cost, logistics, sustainability and risk are immediately available due
to Supply Chain Sherpa’s embedded reference data.
Users can quickly copy and edit a supply chain to
compare alternative scenarios, and the resulting metrics are immediately
available using LLamasoft’s new proprietary Deterministic Flow Model algorithm.
_____________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 11th, 12th and 15th Feb 2013
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
Junior Librarian
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
E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in 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
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