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
Oil prices were mixed in Asia
today, weighed by a slowdown in China’s manufacturing sector and spending cuts
in the United States, analysts said.
New York’s
main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, dropped six cents to
$90.62 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for April delivery increased 13
cents to $110.53.
“Asian
markets have been suffering a little from weaker-than-expected China PMI which
barely showed contraction for February,” said a report by IG Markets Singapore.
China’s
official purchasing managers’ index released on Friday showed growth in
manufacturing activity has slowed last month, suggesting a recent pick-up in the
world’s number two economy is weaker than initially thought.
The
sentiment was also hurt as across-the-board cuts of $85 billion in federal
spending in the United States kicked in on Friday.
Economists
have warned that the cuts could lead to job losses and hinder growth in the
still fragile US economy, a key global economic engine.
The
spending cuts “won’t brighten the outlook for growth or the unemployment rate,”
DBS Group Research aid report.
US
President Barack Obama had on Saturday urged Congress to find a balanced
approach by blending “smart” cuts with reforms.
Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) achieved a record year in 2012 for
contracting with Diverse Business Enterprises (DBEs) with nearly 42 percent of
its contracting budget going to minority businesses for goods, supplies and
services. DBE companies fall into three categories: Minority Business
Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE) and Service-Disabled
Veteran Business Enterprises (SDVBE).
"Over the years, focused outreach and broad
collaboration has allowed us to build a very robust Supplier Diversity
Program," said Anne Shen Smith , chairman and
CEO of SoCalGas. "We have helped many diverse businesses succeed, and in
return, we greatly benefited from the relationships with them. Having access to
a larger pool of qualified firms has led to more competitive pricing and higher
quality of goods and services that we use to serve our customers."
As a result of SoCalGas' efforts, spending grew in
all areas (minorities, women and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses)
last year with a total of $348.3 million spent or
41.9 percent. DBEs provide SoCalGas with everything from meters to pipes and
computers, to legal services, heating and air conditioning, information
technology to janitorial services and advertising solutions. One example of a
DBE who has benefited from this program is Randy Uchida of
Uchida Pipe & Industrial Products. Uchida has
been providing SoCalGas with steel pipe for nearly 30 years. He credits
SoCalGas with helping his business grow.
"I had no idea how to get certified but
SoCalGas guided me through the certification process," Uchida said.
"Diversity programs get minority suppliers in the door and rightfully so.
But I don't get business with SoCalGas because I'm a minority. I get it because
of my experience and competitive prices."
BANKING
Bank of Baroda will rebalance its international
portfolio to improve profitability of its overseas operations, its recently
appointed Chairman and Managing Director, S. S. Mundra, has said.
Currently, this public sector lender has 98 outlets
in different countries, accounting for about 25 per cent of the bank’s profits
in a financial year.
As much as 30 per cent of the bank’s overall
business comes from international operations. BOB will soon open a full-fledged
branch at Dubai International Financial Centre.
The aim is to enhance the share of international
operations to overall profit of the bank to 30 per cent, from the current 25
per cent, said Mundra, who assumed charge of his new role in end-January.
Mundra, who will have a limited tenure at the helm
of BOB (he will retire in mid-2014), made it clear that he will not look for
aggressive topline growth in international operations in the present global
economic scenario.
BOB would aim for more fee-based earnings to improve
the profitability of international operations.
“There is lot of scope to rebalance the portfolio in
international operations to further improve the profitability from overseas operations,”
Mundra told Business Line in an interview during his visit to the
Capital on Saturday.
HSBC Bank (China) Co launched a project on Jan 17 to
fund outstanding community service projects and cases in Guangdong province
with 1.2 million yuan ($193,020).
In cooperation with Shanghai-based NPI, an
aggregation of several non-governmental supporting organizations and
Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily, HSBC aims to select and support
innovative community service cases to enhance the professional quality of the
services, expand their scope and promote the concept of community service.
Guangdong has been picked for the pilot project
because the province is in a leading position in the country in terms of social
work - and greater professional quality and project execution capability are
needed as the reform in this field deepens, according to HSBC Bank (China).
Guangdong also borders Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, where HSBC initiated the District Community Programme in
1992 to support small local community projects through the Hongkong Bank
Foundation.
HSBC hopes to bank on its experience in supporting
community projects in Hong Kong and the strong policy support for social
building in Guangdong to participate in the development of community services
in Guangdong in a deeper way, said Daniel Lam, managing director and head of
the Guangdong office, HSBC Bank (China).
Community building is closely related to the
happiness index system the Guangdong government has been advocating since late
2011, said Li Jinmin, director of the social work division of the provincial
civil affairs department.
BUSINESS
Operations
at the Dabhol Power plant have tripped again following the stoppage of gas
supply from the KG-D6 field. This delivers another blow to the project that has
been mired in trouble ever since it was conceived by Enron two decades ago.
The 1,967
MW coastal plant between Mumbai and Goa, has facilities to import 5 million
tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year but this works out to be too
costly to find buyers for electricity. This has cast a shadow on the future of
the plant, which is now run by Ratnagiri Gas & Power (RGPPL), a joint
venture between NTPC
and Gail
India. It has never received even half of the 7.6 million metric standard
cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas it was allocated. "On
Friday, we stopped receiving natural gas, which was already reduced to less
than 0.25 mmscmd. We are unsure about the plant's operations as there is no
certainty of fuel supplies," RGPPL MD Manash Sarkar
told ET. He added that RGPPL customers would not purchase expensive power
generated from expensive R-LNG. Maharashtra
buys 95 per cent of the plant's power, while Goa purchases 1 per cent. The
union territories of Daman
& Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli consume 2 per cent each. When the plant
was run by Enron, before the US energy giant became bankrupt in 2001, it was
mothballed after a billing dispute with Maharashtra. Since its inception RGPPL
— better known as Dabhol power project — has been facing rough weather.
Shares in National Hydroelectric Power Corporation
fell as much as 26 per cent on Monday. The state-run hydroelectric major traded
20 per cent lower at Rs. 20.75 as of 11.55 a.m. on the
National Stock Exchange.
NHPC was the top loser on the BSE Power index. The stock has fallen 28 per cent over the last week, shaving off nearly Rs. 10,000 crore from its market capitalization.
NDTV Profit spoke to ABL Srivastava, director (finance) at NHPC about the crash. Mr Srivastava said the company has prepared a list of top 100 sellers, but their transaction amounts to only 3 crore shares, which is negligible as compared to the total equity of the company.
"This selling is beyond fundamentals, beyond logic," Mr Srivastava said.
Close to 24 crore shares in NHPC were traded as of noon on Monday.
Mr Srivastava did not rule out the possibility of a bear cartel behind the selloff in NHPC shares.
The sharp fall in NHPC shares have come amid a crash in mid and small-sized shares over the last fortnight. NHPC is a large cap stock with the government holding 86.36 per cent in the company.
India's midcap shares have been under pressure this year, due to concerns about their earnings as well as persistent speculation of funding issues that are leading to the sell-off of pledged shares.
Controlling stakeholders of Indian companies often receive loans from financial institutions, pledging their shares as collateral, making these stocks vulnerable to any rumours of liquidations. The total value of pledged stocks in India reached Rs. 1.5 lakh crore as of the end of December, according to a Morgan Stanley report last week, marking a 5 per cent increase from the July-September quarter.
Developed in partnership with Cisco, the service, known as Cloud Collaboration, will be delivered via Telstra's cloud infrastructure, enabling customers to focus on core business priorities whilst benefiting from a services model managed by Telstra without the need for on-premise systems.
Telstra is extending its continued investment in cloud by adding popular applications from Cisco within the Telstra cloud infrastructure. All services will be hosted locally in Telstra's Australian data centres and delivered to customers over the company's NextG and Next IP networks, ensuring high level security and reliability.
The end to end, intelligent Telstra network with the ability to prioritise traffic, such as business critical voice data, means that Telstra's cloud services are responsive to high bandwidth applications, enabling customers to extend Unified Communications capabilities to more places, particularly to regional or remote workers.
NHPC was the top loser on the BSE Power index. The stock has fallen 28 per cent over the last week, shaving off nearly Rs. 10,000 crore from its market capitalization.
NDTV Profit spoke to ABL Srivastava, director (finance) at NHPC about the crash. Mr Srivastava said the company has prepared a list of top 100 sellers, but their transaction amounts to only 3 crore shares, which is negligible as compared to the total equity of the company.
"This selling is beyond fundamentals, beyond logic," Mr Srivastava said.
Close to 24 crore shares in NHPC were traded as of noon on Monday.
Mr Srivastava did not rule out the possibility of a bear cartel behind the selloff in NHPC shares.
The sharp fall in NHPC shares have come amid a crash in mid and small-sized shares over the last fortnight. NHPC is a large cap stock with the government holding 86.36 per cent in the company.
India's midcap shares have been under pressure this year, due to concerns about their earnings as well as persistent speculation of funding issues that are leading to the sell-off of pledged shares.
Controlling stakeholders of Indian companies often receive loans from financial institutions, pledging their shares as collateral, making these stocks vulnerable to any rumours of liquidations. The total value of pledged stocks in India reached Rs. 1.5 lakh crore as of the end of December, according to a Morgan Stanley report last week, marking a 5 per cent increase from the July-September quarter.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Telstra today announced its next generation of
unified communications with a range of cloud collaboration solutions for its
business, enterprise and government customers.
The new offering allows Telstra customers to
operate Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) including integrated voice,
video, presence and mobility applications for compatible desktop and mobile
devices, representing a significant shift forward in communication
capabilities.Developed in partnership with Cisco, the service, known as Cloud Collaboration, will be delivered via Telstra's cloud infrastructure, enabling customers to focus on core business priorities whilst benefiting from a services model managed by Telstra without the need for on-premise systems.
Telstra is extending its continued investment in cloud by adding popular applications from Cisco within the Telstra cloud infrastructure. All services will be hosted locally in Telstra's Australian data centres and delivered to customers over the company's NextG and Next IP networks, ensuring high level security and reliability.
The end to end, intelligent Telstra network with the ability to prioritise traffic, such as business critical voice data, means that Telstra's cloud services are responsive to high bandwidth applications, enabling customers to extend Unified Communications capabilities to more places, particularly to regional or remote workers.
FINANCE
S.
Kumars Nationwide Ltd (SKNL) plans to raise about Rs.600 crore by selling
shares of its Reid
and Taylor (India) Ltd unit through a qualified institutional placement
(QIP), having put its initial public offer (IPO) plan on the back burner,
according to three investment bankers familiar with the development. The money
will be used to pay off the company’s debt, said one of the three people on
condition of anonymity.
UBS India will
advise the company on the transaction. “It is UBS’s policy not to comment on
market speculation or rumour,” said a UBS spokesperson.
An SKNL
spokesman said “plans to revive the IPO will depend entirely on market
conditions”. He, however, declined to comment on the company’s likely stake
sale to a private equity firm and the plans of raising money through QIP or any
other method. “We would not like to comment on market rumours,” he said.
SKNL had
planned to list its Reid and Taylor business in 2010. The Rs.1,000 crore IPO
seems to have met with hurdles owing to high debt on the books of other
businesses of SKNL apart from Reid and Taylor, said one of the people cited
above.
The
consolidated debt of the S. Kumars group stood at Rs.4,262.93 crore as on 31
March, up 26% from a year earlier, according to financial data provider
Capitaline published by Capital
Markets Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
SKNL’s
debt-to-equity ratio stands at 1.83% for fiscal 2012, much above its peers. Pantaloon
Retail (India) Ltd’s debt-to-equity ratio as on 31 December stood at 0.98%
while that of Shoppers
Stop Ltd was 0.18% as on 30 September.
Tata
Motors Ltd’s revenue may get a boost as it braces for an Indian Army
programme of buying tracked future infantry combat vehicles. The owner of
British premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover
Plc is also considering using one of the Land Rover Discovery models for the
future requirement of the Indian Army.
Tata Motors will
bid for the $10 billion (Rs.54,500 crore) project and expects to corner almost
two-thirds of the business, V.S. Noronha,
vice-president, defence and government business, said in an interview last
week. The development cost of the combat vehicles could be around Rs.300 crore,
he said.
If it gets
the order, India’s largest auto maker by sales would set up a facility at
Dharwad, Karnataka, for making the tracked vehicles, the prototype for which is
ready, Noronha said.
Tata
Motors is one of the four companies which have received expressions of interest
to supply around 2,000 units to the army.
In early
2010, the ministry of defence had invited Tata Motors, the Mahindra
Group, Larsen
and Toubro Ltd and the state-run Ordnance Factory Board to submit proposals
to develop a combat vehicle.
If the
order comes through, it would increase Tata Motors’s revenue by 20-30% over the
period of the order, according to Umesh Karne, analyst at brokerage Brics
Securities Ltd. “It will also help in de-risking the business,” said Karne.
It is not
known yet over how many years the order would be spread. In the fiscal year
ended March 2012, Tata Motors’s revenue was Rs.59,220 crore, excluding
subsidiaries.
The
government seeks to reduce its dependence on imports and own intellectual
property rights for the source codes, which could become a casualty during an
insurgency, firms in private sector would play a bigger role in the years
ahead, said Deba
Mohanty, chairman and chief executive at Indicia Research and Advisory, a
Delhi-based firm that offers research and consulting services to the defence
and security sector and deals with government relations.
Moreover,
the indigenously produced combat vehicles would shave costs by 20-30%, Mohanty
said.
INDIA BUSINESS
Google has officially launched its Business Photos initiative in
India, allowing consumers to see inside a company's premise without actually
stepping inside the location. The program allows local businesses to provide
Google users a virtual tour inside the business through interactive 360-degree
imagery. This imagery can be viewed on Google Search, Google Maps, and Google+
Local Pages.
The program is currently available in more than
eight countries globally including United States, Australia, New Zealand,
France, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Google Business Photos allows customers to walk
through, explore, and take a closer look at a business premise. Also,
businesses can embed these photos on their Web sites and social media channels
using an embedded code from Google Maps.
Commenting on the value for business owners,
Shailesh Nalawadi, Google's product manager of Geo, said: "For the
businesses, this provides an opportunity to visually present their product and
services. For example, before visiting a store to purchase an electronic
device, consumers can use business photos to evaluate and view the selections
offered by various retailers."
Hard Rock Cafe in an upscale pub in Pune, India's
seventh largest metropolis, has its imagery on Google Maps as part of the pilot
program. A customer can check out the décor, seating, and ambience before
planning an evening out at the pub.
The $6-billion Japanese giant YKK AP has acquired
the aluminium extrusions business of Bhoruka Aluminium (BAL), part of TCI-Bhoruka, in
a slump sale, said people directly briefed on the matter. Mysore-based Bhoruka
is India's second largest commercial extrusions firm after Jindal Aluminium.
The deal is part of BAL's efforts to pare debts after it become a non-performing asset (NPA) to lender State Bank of India. YKK has executed the buy through its Singapore-headquartered holding company YKK Holdings Asia.
BAL's extrusions business caters to the construction, automotive and industrial sectors in the country. YKK is expected to pay around Rs 120 crore to buy out the unit. Investment bank Singhi Advisors were sole advisors to the transaction.
YKK Group is a significant player in the global aluminium products and a worldwide leader in zipper business. The deal is expected to be announced later this week.
BAL, with aluminium production capacity of 18,000 MT per annum, had borrowed heavily in the years prior to the 2008 global meltdown to increase its production base. The economic crisis and the subsequent crash in the Indian construction market saw the company finding it tough to service the debt,and turned an NPA in 2011. However, lenders and creditors of BAL agreed on a restructuring settlement with the company's board, wherein the company's aluminium extrusions business with approximately Rs 120 crore as liabilities would be hived off.
The deal is part of BAL's efforts to pare debts after it become a non-performing asset (NPA) to lender State Bank of India. YKK has executed the buy through its Singapore-headquartered holding company YKK Holdings Asia.
BAL's extrusions business caters to the construction, automotive and industrial sectors in the country. YKK is expected to pay around Rs 120 crore to buy out the unit. Investment bank Singhi Advisors were sole advisors to the transaction.
YKK Group is a significant player in the global aluminium products and a worldwide leader in zipper business. The deal is expected to be announced later this week.
BAL, with aluminium production capacity of 18,000 MT per annum, had borrowed heavily in the years prior to the 2008 global meltdown to increase its production base. The economic crisis and the subsequent crash in the Indian construction market saw the company finding it tough to service the debt,and turned an NPA in 2011. However, lenders and creditors of BAL agreed on a restructuring settlement with the company's board, wherein the company's aluminium extrusions business with approximately Rs 120 crore as liabilities would be hived off.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The auto maker, which sold 10,424 units in the
corresponding month last year, witnessed a fall of 44.12 percent in the domestic
market sales during February, taking the total number of cars sold to 4,490
units against last year's sales figure of 8,035 units.
The company has marked a growth of 15.66 percent in
the export market with a total of 2,763 units compared to 2,389 units in 2012.
"In the domestic market, we continue to witness
some tough and challenging conditions...Policy uncertainty and resulting
lowered consumer confidence is impacting our business," said Vinay
Piparsania, Ford India
Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) on the sales performance of
the company. He also said that the company is looking to strengthen India's
export of small cars. Ford is expected to launch its Special Edition Figo on 4
March to mark its third anniversary in the country. The Special Edition Figo
will hit the market with changes to its exterior and interior. The company was
also rumoured to unveil its EcoSport in India.
Earlier reports said that Ford was waiting to see it
the Union Budget would offer any benefits to the auto market. Along with the
other auto makers, it has expressed disappointment over a Budget proposal which
called for a three percent hike in excise duty on SUVs.
LOGISTICS
Year 2012 saw private equity (PE) players increase
their fund flow to the $225-billion Indian logistics sector.
PE investments into the sector saw 43 per cent growth in 2012 at $280.87 million against $195.26 million in the previous year. According to experts, the sector has been able to attract more PE investors because freight business has shown signs of stabilisation and the sector has witnessed a rise in opportunities for growth.
In 2012, the sector witnessed 14 deals, up from 10 deals in 2011. In 2013, the sector has till date attracted $58.01 million in two deals, including PE-firm Everstone Capital Advisors' Rs 220-crore (around $40.8 million) investment for a significant minority stake in Transpole Logistics, according to data from VCCEdge.
Some of the other notable deals concluded in the past two years include Warburg Pincus' $100-million investment in Chennai-based Continental Warehousing in April 2011, General Atlantic's $104-million investment in Fourcee Infrastructure Equipments Pvt Ltd in January 2012, Mauritius-based Nalanda India Equity Fund's $41.05-million investment in Great Eastern Shipping, the $53-million fund infusion by KKR and Goldman Sach in TVS Logistics Services, and New Silk Route's $40-million fund infusion in VRL Logistics Ltd in April 2012.
According to a PE sector expert, logistics is expected to be one of the top five sectors to attract PE investments in India in the near future. According to him, the average deal size would be in the range of $20-25 million.
PE investments into the sector saw 43 per cent growth in 2012 at $280.87 million against $195.26 million in the previous year. According to experts, the sector has been able to attract more PE investors because freight business has shown signs of stabilisation and the sector has witnessed a rise in opportunities for growth.
In 2012, the sector witnessed 14 deals, up from 10 deals in 2011. In 2013, the sector has till date attracted $58.01 million in two deals, including PE-firm Everstone Capital Advisors' Rs 220-crore (around $40.8 million) investment for a significant minority stake in Transpole Logistics, according to data from VCCEdge.
Some of the other notable deals concluded in the past two years include Warburg Pincus' $100-million investment in Chennai-based Continental Warehousing in April 2011, General Atlantic's $104-million investment in Fourcee Infrastructure Equipments Pvt Ltd in January 2012, Mauritius-based Nalanda India Equity Fund's $41.05-million investment in Great Eastern Shipping, the $53-million fund infusion by KKR and Goldman Sach in TVS Logistics Services, and New Silk Route's $40-million fund infusion in VRL Logistics Ltd in April 2012.
According to a PE sector expert, logistics is expected to be one of the top five sectors to attract PE investments in India in the near future. According to him, the average deal size would be in the range of $20-25 million.
As the country's car industry goes through a process
of reincarnation, from one based almost solely on sales of brand new cars to
one in which pre-owned vehicles are becoming common, plenty of other industries
are cheering.
One such is Ceva Logistics, the world's
fourth-largest third-party logistics provider by revenue, which is helping
drive its growth in China's huge automotive logistics market.
Third-party logistics companies typically specialize
in providing full supply chain solutions, such as design and implementation,
warehousing and transport services that can be scaled and customized to
customers' needs based on market conditions, specific demands and delivery
requirements. These services often go beyond logistics and include value-added
services related to producing or procuring goods.
Attracted by the strong growth in China's automotive
industry, Ceva of the Netherlands is focusing on working with auto producers
and setting up an efficient supply chain to reduce logistics costs to seize
more market share in China.
Martin Thaysen, executive vice-president of Ceva
Logistics China, says China is a must-win market for Ceva. The company is
building capacity and leveraging its global network to meet China's demand for
different vehicles domestically and globally, he says.
Since China has become the global automakers'
revenue powerhouse, an increasing number of foreign carmakers have set up joint
ventures with Chinese companies, and they have synchronized the launches of new
models in China with the those in the US and Europe.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
says China's auto production and sales set a world record for the fourth
consecutive year last year.
MARKETING
Adobe
announced a new predictive marketing workflow in Adobe Analytics that enables
marketers to quickly identify and target high-value audiences in minutes.
The
company made the predictive
analytics announcement about Adobe Analytics, a key element of Adobe
Marketing Cloud, at its digital marketing conference, Adobe Summit 2013,
held here March 4 to 8.
Adobe
officials said traditionally marketers have relied on a cumbersome,
time-consuming process that requires crunching large quantities of data over
weeks or months to help them identify high-value audiences. The complexity and
expense of this approach has led some marketers to bypass the use of data
analysis altogether and end up defining audiences based on opinions or
assumptions.
However,
the new predictive marketing workflow in Adobe Analytics is designed to help
marketers and marketing analysts sort through terabytes of data quickly to
uncover valuable audiences. In a matter of minutes, the marketer can identify
audiences based on shared characteristics and score them according to how
likely they are to convert. This allows marketers to then use Adobe Target to
tailor offers to each distinct audience.
In a bid to cement its position in the surging
smartphone market dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung and to reclaim
some of its lost popularity after the brand’s demerger with Ericsson, Sony has
launched its flagship smartphone, Xperia Z in India.
Nursing an objective of establishing Xperia among
the top three smartphones in India, this new launch is accompanied by the
rollout of an aggressive marketing strategy by Sony. To increase connect and
engagement with consumers, Katrina Kaif has been brought on board to endorse
Sony mobiles.
Priced at Rs. 38, 990 in
India and with an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, Sony Xperia will
compete against brands like HTC Butterfly, Nokia Lumia 920, BlackBerry Z10 and
the much awaited Samsung Galaxy S 1V, all of whom target the premium consumer
segment.
RETAIL
NEC Asia Pacific
Pte Ltd (NEC APAC), the Asia Pacific regional headquarters of NEC Corporation
(NEC; TSE: 6701), is establishing a "Regional Retail Business Support Center"
(RBSC) in May 2013 as part of strengthening its solutions for local retail
business and implementing NEC's global business strategy.
Until recently NEC's retail business was largely focused on providing solutions for leading retailers in Japan. NEC provides comprehensive solutions including in-store POS systems, back office systems for stores and convenient mobile terminal systems such as barcode readers for checking inventory and ordering.
NEC is now seeking to standardize these soutions for global markets and to promote its expertise in system planning, development, deployment, operation and maintenance through the RBSC.
The RBSC will help formulate regional strategy and support sales, technological issues and human resource development. The RBSC will also work in cooperation with NEC's Southeast Asian affiliates, including those in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, in order to expand NEC's services throughout a wide range of retail businesses, such as convenience stores and drug stores, and provide solutions that are customized for local needs.
Furthermore, NEC is launching a Global Training Curriculum (GTC) in order to continue reinforcing the operational and technological strength of the RBSC and each regional affiliate's retail business solutions. The GTC is focused on training sales teams, system engineers, maintenance staff and others in order to effectively approach new customers, manage sales channels and implement new systems with retail stores and head offices.
The GTC is expected to create a solid business foundation that enables local affiliates to proactively carry out strategic plans.
Until recently NEC's retail business was largely focused on providing solutions for leading retailers in Japan. NEC provides comprehensive solutions including in-store POS systems, back office systems for stores and convenient mobile terminal systems such as barcode readers for checking inventory and ordering.
NEC is now seeking to standardize these soutions for global markets and to promote its expertise in system planning, development, deployment, operation and maintenance through the RBSC.
The RBSC will help formulate regional strategy and support sales, technological issues and human resource development. The RBSC will also work in cooperation with NEC's Southeast Asian affiliates, including those in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, in order to expand NEC's services throughout a wide range of retail businesses, such as convenience stores and drug stores, and provide solutions that are customized for local needs.
Furthermore, NEC is launching a Global Training Curriculum (GTC) in order to continue reinforcing the operational and technological strength of the RBSC and each regional affiliate's retail business solutions. The GTC is focused on training sales teams, system engineers, maintenance staff and others in order to effectively approach new customers, manage sales channels and implement new systems with retail stores and head offices.
The GTC is expected to create a solid business foundation that enables local affiliates to proactively carry out strategic plans.
Sebi moots 20% reservation for retail
investors in IDR redemptions
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has said reservation of 20 per cent will have to be made for retail investors during conversion of Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) into underlying shares. The regulator today issued a detailed road map and framework for enabling partial two-way fungibility for listed and future IDR issuers to encourage more foreign companies to issue IDRs in the Indian market. At present, Standard Chartered is the sole IDR listed in the Indian market.
Current regulations allow partial fungibility of such instruments - in a financial year conversion to the extent of 25 per cent of the IDRs originally issued is permitted. Sebi has said after completion of one year from the date of issuance of such securities, the issuer can provide redemption and conversion of IDRs into underlying equity shares. The issuer will have to, through advertisements in leading national dailies and through stock exchange notification, invite expression of interest from IDR holders at least one month before implementation. The issuer can either give the option of converting IDRs into underlying shares or IDRs into underlying shares and selling the underlying shares in the foreign market or both of these to the IDR holders. Sebi has said the periodicity for fungibility will be at least once every quarter and the window should be open for a period of at least seven days. Meanwhile, the issuer will have to fix the number of IDRs available for fungibility before the opening of the window. If there is a higher demand for fungibility, it should be satisfied on proportionate basis.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has said reservation of 20 per cent will have to be made for retail investors during conversion of Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) into underlying shares. The regulator today issued a detailed road map and framework for enabling partial two-way fungibility for listed and future IDR issuers to encourage more foreign companies to issue IDRs in the Indian market. At present, Standard Chartered is the sole IDR listed in the Indian market.
Current regulations allow partial fungibility of such instruments - in a financial year conversion to the extent of 25 per cent of the IDRs originally issued is permitted. Sebi has said after completion of one year from the date of issuance of such securities, the issuer can provide redemption and conversion of IDRs into underlying equity shares. The issuer will have to, through advertisements in leading national dailies and through stock exchange notification, invite expression of interest from IDR holders at least one month before implementation. The issuer can either give the option of converting IDRs into underlying shares or IDRs into underlying shares and selling the underlying shares in the foreign market or both of these to the IDR holders. Sebi has said the periodicity for fungibility will be at least once every quarter and the window should be open for a period of at least seven days. Meanwhile, the issuer will have to fix the number of IDRs available for fungibility before the opening of the window. If there is a higher demand for fungibility, it should be satisfied on proportionate basis.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Tesco is to lay open its supply chains to public
scrutiny for the first time after a backlash over the horsemeat scandal, its
chief executive will announce today.
The biggest supermarket in Britain will promise to
give shoppers an “unprecedented level of information” about where its food
comes from on a new website in an attempt to patch up consumer confidence.
The step is a dramatic U-turn after Tesco refused to
release details of its suppliers last week.
In a statement circulated yesterday, Philip Clarke,
the chief executive, acknowledged significant flaws in the supply chain and
wrote that the discovery of horse DNA in its beef products had “shaken public
trust” in the food retailer.
“The fact is that the way food is sourced in some
cases has been allowed to become far too complicated,” he wrote. “There are
middlemen where there don’t need to be middlemen, putting greater distance
between the retailer and the farmer, and creating opportunities for things to
go wrong.”
At the National Farmers Union conference in
Birmingham, Mr Clarke will try to repair Tesco’s reputation by launching a
“dedicated interactive website” with details of where the supermarket’s food
travels on its way to the consumer.
It is not yet clear whether Tesco will disclose the
full details of its supply chains. John Pal, senior lecturer in retail at the
Manchester Business School, said it would be disastrous for the supermarket if
it failed to give consumers the whole picture.
“They will need to be very clear with customers
about the issues to do with sourcing and the processing of the products as
well,” he said. “Customers have very much got this issue at the front of their
mind at the moment.”
DHL Supply Chain has announced an investment of €40
million in its Indonesian operations over the next few years, following the
launch of its latest 17,000 sqm warehouse in Cimanggus.
The company plans to increase its transportation
fleet by over 100 percent, up from its current fleet of 370 vehicles at
present. In addition, the company plans to grow its current staff complement of
over 2000 employees by over 70 percent and add 60 percent more warehouse space
to its 164 warehouses in the country.
Oscar de Bok, DHL Supply Chain CEO for South and Southeast Asia said, “Indonesia is a key focus for us. Industry experts estimate average growth this year in Indonesia will be a regional high of 6.3%¹ and within the supply chain industry we actually expect to see double digit growth here. This is why we are proactively investing to ensure we have the right infrastructure and people to support this.”
Oscar de Bok, DHL Supply Chain CEO for South and Southeast Asia said, “Indonesia is a key focus for us. Industry experts estimate average growth this year in Indonesia will be a regional high of 6.3%¹ and within the supply chain industry we actually expect to see double digit growth here. This is why we are proactively investing to ensure we have the right infrastructure and people to support this.”
____________________________________________________________________
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Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 4th, 5th and 8th March 2013
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu
Sabita Sahu
Junior Librarian
Concept, Layout and
Editing
Syamaghana Mohanty
Chief Librarian
Chief Librarian
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E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.inSabita 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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