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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
Datacom Group will net $A20 million from the sale of
its contact centre operations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Manila, Philippines.
The centres and 850 staff members will pass to
Cincinnati headquarted business process outsourcer (BPO) Convergys
by the end of April this year. Datacom ran the contact centres since 1995.
Datacom Group CEO Jonathan Ladd told Computerworld Australia that the
Asian contact centres had reached a “tipping point”.
“In Asia, it’s a global game and Convergys is one of
the giants with 177,000 people. To compete, we would have needed to employ
10,000 staff [in Asia],” he said.
While this was considered, a decision was made to
concentrate the Group’s investment on its systems business and BPO business
within Australia and New Zealand.
However, Ladd added that the company would continue
to operate its Kuala Lumpur and Manila systems business, which includes cloud
computing and data centre services.
Shell Australia is selling its Geelong refinery in a
move that will put hundreds of jobs at risk if no buyer is found and the energy
giant instead converts the site to a fuel import terminal.
The move consolidates the energy giant's shift to
focus almost exclusively on more lucrative upstream investments, and
effectively ends its presence in the struggling Australian oil refinery sector.
Shell Australia’s vice president of its downstream
business, Andrew Smith, said a sale was the best way to keep jobs at the site.
About 450 people are employed at the Geelong site,
and 100 to 150 contractors work at the site "on any given day", he
said.
The approach "recognises that against other
investment opportunities Shell has, Geelong can't compete for capital", he
said.
"(The decision) is driven by Shell's global
strategy to concentrate investment on large refinery sites, and the competition
for capital in a company that has such a rich pipeline of investment
opportunity," he said.
It comes after Shell in September cut up to 245 jobs
on shutting its Clyde refinery and converting it to a fuel import terminal.
Mr Smith refused to be drawn on questions about the
profitability of the refinery, saying Shell did not release financial details
on individual segments of its business.
He cited increased Asian competition in the downstream
sector as a reason for the sale.
"A number of large refineries have opened up
over the last couple of years, this has created the competitive pressures the
industry finds itself in," he said.
But Geelong products are niche, which puts Shell
"in a different place" with potential buyers.
Niche products include aviation gas, bitumen, high
octane gas, and solvents and chemicals for other industries.
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
Rapak, a manufacturer of liquid bag-in box packaging
and filling systems, announced on Monday that it has opened a new manufacturing
facility in Chachoengsao, Thailand.
The new facility -- located 20 minutes from
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport -- is positioned to service
customers in the South East Asian region. These regions will 'benefit from
reduced lead-times, lower inventories and freight costs," the company
said. .
“Rapak Thailand will provide local customers with
more than just a regional focus, as its strategic location near various
irradiation facilities and Thailand’s larger shipping port -- Laem Chabang
-- provides an efficient supply chain that customers will benefit from,”
commented Santi Khunpisitwong, general manager of Rapak Thailand.
“The new facility -- built to the highest
standards including clean-room environments for bag manufacturing -- will
be focusing in the manufacturing of aseptic bag-in box products and has great
potential of expanding its product offer to other emerging market segments for
bag in box such as Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) and Food Service.” concluded
Khunpisitwong.
Baring Asset Management has announced the completion
of its acquisition of South Korea-based investment firm SEI Asset Korea as part
of its Asian expansion plans.
The deal had been announced in August of 2012
as part of Baring's intentions to increase its presence in new markets, with
South Korea, the third largest Asian investment market, being a particular
focus.
Seoul-based SEI Asset Korea (SEIAK), which will now
be known as Baring Asset Management Korea Limited, has a comprehensive asset
management licence to operate in the South Korean market.
Completion of the deal also increases the volume of
assets under management now controlled by Barings. It adds approximately $7.4
billion to Barings’ existing assets of $53 billion.
SEIAK was formed in 1988 as Tong Yang Advisory
before merging with Asset Korea in 1997. It currently has 49 employees of which
28 are investment professionals.
BANKING
Syndicate Bank today said it would raise $500
million to fund its London operations through the medium term note (MTN) bond
issue.
“The bank has board approval for a $500 million MTN
bond issue. It could hit the overseas market between May and December this
year, depending on the demand for credit,” Chairman and Managing Director of
Syndicate Bank, M G Sanghvi said here.
The funds raised would be utilised for expanding the
credit operations of the bank’s London branch, he said.
A medium-term note (MTN) is a debt security that
usually matures in 5-10 years.
The bank’s London branch had reported total business
of around Rs 43,000 crore by March 2013, as per provisional estimates.
“As per provisional estimates, the branch’s total
advances are Rs 25,134 crore, while deposits are of Rs 18,301 crore,” Sanghvi
said.
The PSU bank, had raised $500 million last year
(2012), the second tranche under bank’s MTN programme of $1 billion. An equal
sum was raised by the bank in 2011 through the same bond route.
Meanwhile, he said that the bank is likely to close
this year with a total business of Rs 3.30 lakh crore, including global
deposits of over Rs 1.64 lakh crore and global advances of over Rs 1.45 lakh
crore by March 2013.
The bank’s net NPA in the first nine months (up to
December 2012) of the fiscal marginally declined to 0.85 per cent from 0.86 per
cent levels, while its capital adequacy ratio stood below 12 per cent.
The bank targeting to be Basel-III guidelines
complaint by 2018, has sought capital infusion of Rs 1,400 crore from the Union
Government.
“We had applied for capital infusion to the
government last year, and expect some funds infusion this year as provision has
been made in the Union budget,” Sanghvi said.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Social Fund for
Development (SFD) Egypt and the World Bank.
The MOU was signed in the presence of visiting
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand
Sharma here today.
Under the MOU, SIDBI and its associates will provide
consultancy for three year period to SFD and establish credit guarantee system
for micro, small and medium enterprises in Egypt, Sushil Muhnot, Chairman &
Managing Director, SIDBI told Businessline.
SIDBI will also help SFD in cluster development,
introduction of venture capital and risk capital products in Egypt besides
developing responsible micro-finance in that country, Muhnot said.
World Bank is carrying out a SME development project
in Egypt and will fund the technical assistance/consultancy to be provided by
SIDBI, it is learnt.
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
Nlyte
Software, the world's leading software company focused on the management
and optimization of data centers, today introduced its next generation software
suite, Nlyte
7, the industry’s first data center infrastructure management (DCIM)
solution to seamlessly integrate with all of an organization’s business IT
management fabric.
“Our seventh generation suite continues to define
the modern DCIM suite, and takes the next step to align IT with business
interests,” said Doug Sabella, CEO of Nlyte Software. “Each data center has a
unique DNA, and by recognizing that, we have evolved Nlyte 7 to a level that
extends the business process into the IT fabric. In doing so, CIOs and CFOs
gain real-time, accurate insight to make the most informed decisions possible
and run the business more efficiently.”
The feature-packed suite
includes the industry’s first business intelligence engine, the industry’s only
contextual data repository, an intuitive web interface, improved workflow
and business process management, global scalability, asset
discovery and reconciliation and resource visualization now extended to the
rack level. With version 7, Nlyte now includes extensive real-time
monitoring of power and virtualized resources as well as centralized
management of all of the assets within the data center. As a business
management suite, Nlyte 7 provides the ability to optimize current operational
costs, minimize risk, and reduce future capital expenditures (CapEx)
INDIA BUSINESS
The popularity of overseas bonds in currencies,
other than the US dollar, is rising among Indian companies exploring
opportunities to raise money from foreign markets. While favourable swap rates
have made fund raising less expensive in non-US dollar currencies, raising
money in different currencies has also allowed domestic companies to diversify
their investors’ base.
Consider this: In 2009, all the overseas bond issuances by Indian companies were in US dollar, while in 2010 only one out of the 16 issuances was in currency other than the US dollar. In 2012, Indian companies opted for different currency in 11 out of 28 such deals. In the first three months of this calendar year, one out of every four issuances was in currency other than the US dollar.
In the past 15 months, Indian companies and financial institutions have raised money in Australian dollar, Chinese renminbi, Singapore dollar and Swiss franc. According to investment bankers, a few domestic companies are also exploring opportunities to raise money in British pound, Japanese yen, South African rand and euro.
Typically, when an Indian company raises money in a foreign currency, it immediately converts the funds into dollar. If the swap rates for such conversions are favourable, it turns out to be cheaper than raising money in US dollar.
In March, 2013 Export Import (EXIM) Bank of India became the first Indian issuer to sell Australian dollar bonds. The bank’s funding cost was 10-15 basis points lower than the cost it would have incurred by raising the money in US dollar. Bankers, however, claim cost savings is not the only criteria while choosing a currency.
Consider this: In 2009, all the overseas bond issuances by Indian companies were in US dollar, while in 2010 only one out of the 16 issuances was in currency other than the US dollar. In 2012, Indian companies opted for different currency in 11 out of 28 such deals. In the first three months of this calendar year, one out of every four issuances was in currency other than the US dollar.
In the past 15 months, Indian companies and financial institutions have raised money in Australian dollar, Chinese renminbi, Singapore dollar and Swiss franc. According to investment bankers, a few domestic companies are also exploring opportunities to raise money in British pound, Japanese yen, South African rand and euro.
Typically, when an Indian company raises money in a foreign currency, it immediately converts the funds into dollar. If the swap rates for such conversions are favourable, it turns out to be cheaper than raising money in US dollar.
In March, 2013 Export Import (EXIM) Bank of India became the first Indian issuer to sell Australian dollar bonds. The bank’s funding cost was 10-15 basis points lower than the cost it would have incurred by raising the money in US dollar. Bankers, however, claim cost savings is not the only criteria while choosing a currency.
Malaysian budget-carrier AirAsia Berhad has
incorporated an Indian company Air Asia (India) Ltd, to get its with its joint
venture with Tata Group off the ground to enter the Indian country's domestic
aviation sector.
The proposed airline will compete with rivals Jet
Airways, Go Air, Indigo, Spice Jet and state-controlled Air India.
The company was incorporated as an ''Indian
non-government company'' with its registered office in Mumbai, filing all the
requisite documents including article of association, memorandum of
association, airline logo and other forms with the ministry of corporate
affairs.
Earlier in March, AirAsia received the approval from
the country's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the proposed JV
with Tatas and Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Arun Bhatia, a
close relative of steel baron Lakshmi Mittal. AirAsia will hold a 49-per cent
stake in the venture, while Tata Sons will have 30 per cent and Telestra
Tradeplace will hold the remaining 21 per cent.
The JV will be a re-entry for the Tata Group into
the aviation sector after six decades.
Air India, formerly Tata Airlines, founded by
business magnate and father of Indian civil aviation JRD Tata, was nationalised
in 1953.
The initial authorised capital of the new airline is
Rs 5 lakh, which the company can increase at a later stage. For comparison, the
authorised capital of rivals run into hundreds of crores.
AirAsia will have an initial investment of about
Rs80 crore ($14.5 million).
INSURANCE
L&T Finance will buy Pantaloon Retail’s 50 per
cent stake in the general insurance business of Future Generali for an
estimated Rs 560 crore.
The deal values Future Generali India Insurance
Company at around Rs 1,100 crore.
Pantaloon Retail would be exiting the venture by
selling 50 per cent stake through direct and indirect transfer to L&T
Finance, sources said, adding the deal could be valued around Rs 560 crore.
Currently Future Group holds 74 per cent stake in
the Future Generali India Insurance Company, while the remaining 26 per cent is
with Italy—based Generali Group.
Out of Future Group’s 74 per cent stake, 50 per cent
was with Pantaloon Retail and 24 per cent was with the promoter of the retail
chain - Kishore Biyani family.
Earlier this month, Pantaloon Retail had sold 22.5
per cent stake in Future Generali Life Insurance to investment company IITL for
an estimated value of over Rs 300 crore. The deal valued the JV at over Rs
1,330 crore.
The move was aimed at helping Future Group to pare
some its debt.
Post the transaction, L&T Finance would become
the majority shareholder with 50 per cent stake in the general insurance
venture.
General insurance products are yet to gain the same
level of acceptance in India as life insurance products. The general insurance
industry, which includes risk covers for motor vehicles, health, accident and
home, has a penetration of just 0.71 per cent as against the global average of
1.5 per cent to 4 per cent. But the sector could see rapid growth over the next
few years, according to Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance. In an
interview with The Indian Express, Jain said that products like home insurance
are also likely to catch up. Excerpts:
General insurance is usually regarded as one of the
most neglected areas in the insurance sector and its penetration in the country
is very low. Your advice to investors?
In terms of priority, general insurance is still way
down in the list. However, in most countries, insurance gain acceptance once
average per capita income crossed $1,000. We in India are at a higher per
capita income level but still our penetration level for insurance is low.
In my opinion, the general insurance industry in
India is expected to grow thrice the GDP growth rate for the next 8 to 10
years, that is if the GDP growth is five per cent we expect the industry to
grow at 15 to 20 per cent. The new set of existing and proposed regulations
will also give a boost to the sector.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
Stating that the deal would not have adverse impact
on competition in India, CCI has given green signal to US-based Titan
International's proposed acquisition of Titan Europe Plc.
However, CCI has slapped a fine of Rs 1 crore on Titan
International for delay in seeking approval after finalisation of the deal.
The combination involves the purchase of the entire share capital of Titan
Europe by Titan International. Consequently, Titan International would have
35.91 per cent equity share capital of Wheels
India Ltd -- which is currently held by Titan Europe.
"... the combination does not give rise to any
adverse competition effect in India," Competition
Commission of India (CCI) said in an order dated April 2.
According to the fair trade regulator, as a result
of the acquisition of the entire share capital of Titan Europe by Titan
International, 35.91 per cent stake held by Titan Europe in Wheels India is now
indirectly held by Titan International.
At the same time, the Indian promoters -- TVS Group --
still hold 49.71 per cent stake in Wheels India.
"It is observed that, in India, there is no
horizontal overlap in the business activities of Titan International and Wheels
India, as Titan International has no significant presence in India except its
indirect stake in Wheels India," the order noted.
Further, CCI said observed that post combination,
there is no change in the number of players in the market for steel wheels in
India.
US-based Titan International is into designing,
testing and manufacturing of wheels and tyres, and combining these wheels and
tyres into assemblies for use in the agricultural, earthmoving/construction and
consumer markets.
UK-based Titan Europe is engaged in designing,
developing, manufacturing and supplying tracked and wheeled movement systems
for mining, construction and agricultural vehicles.
Engineering and construction firm KEC International
on Monday said it has bagged orders worth Rs 914 crore in transmission, power
system and cables businesses in domestic and international markets.
The RPG Group company has bagged Rs 800 crore worth contracts in transmission business, Rs 40 crore order in power systems business and Rs 74 crore worth contract in cables business, a company statement said.
It has secured a Rs 129 crore order from Indonesia's State Electricity Corporation for design, supply and erection of 150 kV Bengkayang-Ngabang-Tayanwith transmission line.
The company's wholly-owned subsidiary SAE Towers has secured two orders aggregating to Rs 188 crore, including Rs 73 crore order from Canada, to supply poles and Rs 115 crore for supply of lattice towers and hardware from Canada, United States, Brazil and Mexico.
"SAE Towers is currently expanding its pole production capacity from 5,000 MT to 12,000 MT at its existing facility in Mexico with an investment of Rs 25 crore to cater to the increasing demand of poles in the North America region. The expansion is likely to be completed by September," it said.
The company has bagged a Rs 196 crore order from the Saudi Electricity Company for design, supply and erection of 380 kV transmission lines associated with interconnection of Al Salam, Madinah.
It has also got a Rs 219 crore order from the Power Grid Corporation for supply and erection of 400 kV transmission line between Kurukshetra-Jalandhar and 220 kV transmission line between Jalandhar-Hamirpur.
Besides, KEC has secured additional orders from its existing transmission projects valued at Rs 68 crore.
The company has got an order for establishment of a 765 kV gas insulated substation (GIS) in Tamil Nadu from PGCIL. "The order worth Rs 40 crore marks its entry in 765 kV GIS substation space," the release said.
The company has secured Rs 74 crore orders for the supply of power and telecom cables, it added.
The RPG Group company has bagged Rs 800 crore worth contracts in transmission business, Rs 40 crore order in power systems business and Rs 74 crore worth contract in cables business, a company statement said.
It has secured a Rs 129 crore order from Indonesia's State Electricity Corporation for design, supply and erection of 150 kV Bengkayang-Ngabang-Tayanwith transmission line.
The company's wholly-owned subsidiary SAE Towers has secured two orders aggregating to Rs 188 crore, including Rs 73 crore order from Canada, to supply poles and Rs 115 crore for supply of lattice towers and hardware from Canada, United States, Brazil and Mexico.
"SAE Towers is currently expanding its pole production capacity from 5,000 MT to 12,000 MT at its existing facility in Mexico with an investment of Rs 25 crore to cater to the increasing demand of poles in the North America region. The expansion is likely to be completed by September," it said.
The company has bagged a Rs 196 crore order from the Saudi Electricity Company for design, supply and erection of 380 kV transmission lines associated with interconnection of Al Salam, Madinah.
It has also got a Rs 219 crore order from the Power Grid Corporation for supply and erection of 400 kV transmission line between Kurukshetra-Jalandhar and 220 kV transmission line between Jalandhar-Hamirpur.
Besides, KEC has secured additional orders from its existing transmission projects valued at Rs 68 crore.
The company has got an order for establishment of a 765 kV gas insulated substation (GIS) in Tamil Nadu from PGCIL. "The order worth Rs 40 crore marks its entry in 765 kV GIS substation space," the release said.
The company has secured Rs 74 crore orders for the supply of power and telecom cables, it added.
LOGISTICS
Logistics company DHL has announced that its supply
chain division in Japan will start construction work for its new Sagamihara
Logistics Center, with around 5 billion yen ($50 million) to be invested in the
development over the next 10 years.
Strategically located in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the facility is a stepping stone to further business expansion, a statement from the company said.
With the addition of the facility, DHL Supply Chain will expand its total warehousing space in Japan by approximately 20 per cent. Construction starts in April 2013, with a target completion date of March 2014.
The Sagamihara Logistics Center is a multi-user hub facility with the warehousing area of approximately 44,000 sqm (13,000 tsubo). Supply chains in the consumer retail industry, including fashion and apparel, are becoming more efficient and globalised amidst growing needs for e-commerce, causing businesses to seek advanced expertise, quality, speed and efficiency in logistics services.
DHL Supply Chain will use this facility, and apply its global best practices, in-depth know-how for the Japanese market and industry expertise to deliver optimum logistics services, primarily for the consumer retail industry, for further business expansion, the statement said.
The site is close to National Route No16 and the Sagamihara Interchange of the Keno Expressway (Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway, to be completed in FY2013 – FY2014), offering superior access to Japan's largest commercial zone, the Tokyo metropolitan area, as well as to airports and port facilities.
With close proximity to the Ebina Interchange of the Tomei Expressway, the facility is also well-located for convenient distribution to western Japan. It is strategically located to maximise convenience for many customers in the consumer retail sector, including fashion and apparel, as well as the manufacturing sector, which requires efficient access to the metropolitan area and markets in central and western Japan.
Strategically located in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the facility is a stepping stone to further business expansion, a statement from the company said.
With the addition of the facility, DHL Supply Chain will expand its total warehousing space in Japan by approximately 20 per cent. Construction starts in April 2013, with a target completion date of March 2014.
The Sagamihara Logistics Center is a multi-user hub facility with the warehousing area of approximately 44,000 sqm (13,000 tsubo). Supply chains in the consumer retail industry, including fashion and apparel, are becoming more efficient and globalised amidst growing needs for e-commerce, causing businesses to seek advanced expertise, quality, speed and efficiency in logistics services.
DHL Supply Chain will use this facility, and apply its global best practices, in-depth know-how for the Japanese market and industry expertise to deliver optimum logistics services, primarily for the consumer retail industry, for further business expansion, the statement said.
The site is close to National Route No16 and the Sagamihara Interchange of the Keno Expressway (Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway, to be completed in FY2013 – FY2014), offering superior access to Japan's largest commercial zone, the Tokyo metropolitan area, as well as to airports and port facilities.
With close proximity to the Ebina Interchange of the Tomei Expressway, the facility is also well-located for convenient distribution to western Japan. It is strategically located to maximise convenience for many customers in the consumer retail sector, including fashion and apparel, as well as the manufacturing sector, which requires efficient access to the metropolitan area and markets in central and western Japan.
Kern and KernPack, both world leaders in their
respective fields, have collaborated to bring a truly innovative product to the
market place; Intelligence Logistics Packaging Solution (ILPS). This
ground breaking solution has been designed to combine state of the art
packaging and mailing technologies in a single solution targeted at high
volume, complex packaging operations within the home shopping, catalogue and
internet retail market sectors where high volume manual labour is currently the
only and costly option.
With the ability to provide an end to end packaging
process, ILPS is a file based solution that integrates within existing customer
WMS software systems to automate the packaging process through the use of
automated reading, printing, inserting & packaging systems for the
processing of customer orders. The Kern PackFactory software suite
ensures that customer orders are processed efficiently with products being
read, tracked and matched faultlessly with on-line printed packing notes.
Advertising material inserts are automatically selected and added while bagging
and matched address labels are applied downstream. Physical packing includes
wrapping, addressing and scanning at a rate of up to 2,000 items per hour while
the PackFactory software manages the operation with ease while providing
various levels of MIS… management information systems reporting.
MANAGEMENT
HP says its new cloud-based mobility management
service allows firms to give users access to apps and data via smartphones and
tablets while still maintaining control over security.
The new service, HP Enterprise Cloud Services –
Mobility, enables companies to deploy tools and services quickly for access to
applications, file storage and sharing via multiple mobile platforms, according
to HP. It provides organisations with the tools to set appropriate security
policies and controls to protect data.
Ovum analyst Richard Absalom said there is nothing
massively ground-breaking in HP's product launch from a technical point of view
but the timing is significant.
"In terms of the controls and settings and
everything around device and application management — there are a whole raft of
vendors in this space at the moment," Absalom said.
"What is interesting is that companies the size
of HP are making their move into this market. We've had recent announcements
from IBM. Dell
are wanting to get into this as well," he said.
"It's an indication of just how big the market
is that the big fish are deciding they want to be involved and are taking it
seriously."
HP Enterprise Cloud Services — Mobility allows users
to download approved apps from a secure storefront, and upload and synchronise
files between the HP cloud and mobile devices. HP said mobile data is encrypted
in transit and at rest.
According to Absalom, not that many businesses are
putting this kind of application management into practice yet.
MARKETING
INBOX25, a leading provider of cloud-based marketing
solutions will expand into Marketing Automation with their newest platform
(v4.0), unveiled today at SugarCon 2013.
INBOX25 v4.0 will be officially released on May
30th, although an early access program is being offered to a limited number of
users, at no cost, on April 30th. Users can request to join the early access
program online at inbox25.com/go4
For the first time, SugarCRM users will have access
to a complete Marketing Automation platform without leaving their CRM. INBOX25
integrates tightly with SugarCRM to enable marketing teams to leverage all of
their valuable CRM data, including leads, contacts, opportunities, tasks, quotes,
contracts and more. The platform realigns marketing and sales teams with
essential campaign tools to drive automated lead nurturing and tracking that
provides crucial insight into prospects like never before. The new integration
is designed to allow sales teams to focus exclusively on sales-ready leads,
while automatically and simultaneously nurturing other potential prospects that
may not be ready to purchase. With the new, comprehensive approach, sales
agents will know where each prospect is in the sales cycle and where their time
is best spent.
HTC Corp. will soon launch a new marketing campaign
for the HTC One across the United States in an attempt to boost consumer
awareness of the Taiwanese smartphone vendor's new flagship device.
Starting on April 11, the "HTC One Showrooms" campaign will begin appearing in high-traffic malls across the U.S., with the showrooms to remain in the shopping centers for a minimum of three months, HTC said in a statement on April 5.
The campaign, to be held in eight major U.S. cities -- Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. -- will offer consumers the opportunity to see, hear and hold the new smartphone before it becomes available nationwide through conventional retail outlets.
"HTC One Showrooms are taking the concept of a pop-up store to a different place by creating a large, playful, interactive exhibit where we expect people to be entertained and have a new experience with the HTC One at each visit," said Erin McGee, vice president of marketing for HTC in North America.
"We've created a mobility-powered playground that is good for our consumers and for our retail partners as we send informed customers to their doors," he wrote in the statement.
Unveiled Feb. 19 in London and New York, the new HTC One sports a 4.7-inch display with full-HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 1.7-gigahertz quad-core processor and a new "UltraPixel" camera that enables ultra-sharp photo shooting and video recording.
Starting on April 11, the "HTC One Showrooms" campaign will begin appearing in high-traffic malls across the U.S., with the showrooms to remain in the shopping centers for a minimum of three months, HTC said in a statement on April 5.
The campaign, to be held in eight major U.S. cities -- Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. -- will offer consumers the opportunity to see, hear and hold the new smartphone before it becomes available nationwide through conventional retail outlets.
"HTC One Showrooms are taking the concept of a pop-up store to a different place by creating a large, playful, interactive exhibit where we expect people to be entertained and have a new experience with the HTC One at each visit," said Erin McGee, vice president of marketing for HTC in North America.
"We've created a mobility-powered playground that is good for our consumers and for our retail partners as we send informed customers to their doors," he wrote in the statement.
Unveiled Feb. 19 in London and New York, the new HTC One sports a 4.7-inch display with full-HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 1.7-gigahertz quad-core processor and a new "UltraPixel" camera that enables ultra-sharp photo shooting and video recording.
ODISHA BUSINESS
State run power major NTPC, which had proposed to
invest over Rs 11,000 crore to set up a 1,600 MW coal-based project at Gajmara
in Odisha has decided to relocate it to Gadarwara in Madhya Pradesh, due to
delay in land and environmental clearances.
"We have pulled out of the project...There was delay in land acquisition, problems of environment and forest clearance. We have shifted the Gajmara project to Gadarwara," an NTPC official said here.
NTPC currently operates two thermal power plants Talcher Kaniha (3,000 MW) and Talcher (460 MW) in Odisha.
The company proposes to set up another thermal power project at Darlipalli, which is also facing problems on the equipment front.
This is due to BGR Energy, one of the key suppliers, pulling out of the project as NTPC and the state government of Odisha could not receive the necessary clearances in the stipulated time frame which further delayed the manufacturing process.
Despite facing various hiccups in the execution of this project, the company has said that it would go ahead with it and will invite fresh tender for sourcing equipment.
"There will be a fresh round of bids for securing power equipment for the Darlipalli plant," the official said.
BGR Energy was awarded the contract for supplying Boilers for the plant whereas the turbine-generator sets would be supplied by state-owned BHEL.
On asked whether there would be a new tender for boilers as well as turbine-generator sets, the official said, "Maybe both."
The project, which would be located at the Sundargarh District of the state, shall get coal from Dulanga Mine and water from Hirakud Reservoir.
"We have pulled out of the project...There was delay in land acquisition, problems of environment and forest clearance. We have shifted the Gajmara project to Gadarwara," an NTPC official said here.
NTPC currently operates two thermal power plants Talcher Kaniha (3,000 MW) and Talcher (460 MW) in Odisha.
The company proposes to set up another thermal power project at Darlipalli, which is also facing problems on the equipment front.
This is due to BGR Energy, one of the key suppliers, pulling out of the project as NTPC and the state government of Odisha could not receive the necessary clearances in the stipulated time frame which further delayed the manufacturing process.
Despite facing various hiccups in the execution of this project, the company has said that it would go ahead with it and will invite fresh tender for sourcing equipment.
"There will be a fresh round of bids for securing power equipment for the Darlipalli plant," the official said.
BGR Energy was awarded the contract for supplying Boilers for the plant whereas the turbine-generator sets would be supplied by state-owned BHEL.
On asked whether there would be a new tender for boilers as well as turbine-generator sets, the official said, "Maybe both."
The project, which would be located at the Sundargarh District of the state, shall get coal from Dulanga Mine and water from Hirakud Reservoir.
RETAIL
Samsung has thrown down another gauntlet in its
battle with Apple. This time, the Korean electronics giant is going
head-to-head with Apple stores by opening retail boutiques, called ‘Samsung
Experience Shops,’ in 1,400 Best Buy locations by the beginning of June. Stores
will start operating in all of Best Buy’s big-box stores by May 1 and at
smaller stores by June 1, around the same time as the Galaxy S4′s release date
in the second quarter of this year.
The new stores will join Samsung’s first prototype location in Lewisville, Texas. Samsung
previously had no retail spaces of its own in the U.S. and its Best Buy stores
are intended to help it grab customer eyeballs and dollars away from Apple and
Microsoft’s own stores (Apple also has retail spaces in Best Buy). Each of
Samsung’s boutiques will be about 460 square feet and offer Samsung
smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, and accessories. The Wall Street
Journal reports that Samsung’s spaces will be larger than Apple’s and allow
customers to purchase Samsung items without having to go through the main
checkout line.
Samsung hopes having its own boutique spaces will
boost its brand recognition among U.S. customers and allow staffers to show how
its smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs can work together, potentially
boosting sales of devices. In turn, Best Buy may be able to gain an edge on
competitors like Amazon.com, Wal-Mart and Target by offering boutiques where
customers can see demos and try out products. Sales at Best Buy stores open for at least 14 months fell 2.9 percent last year,
its third straight annual decline.
Australia retail sales surged by the most in three
years in February, blowing away expectations in the clearest sign yet that
consumer demand is responding to lower interest rates.
The startling surprise lifted the local dollar and
led investors to further lengthen the odds of any more cuts in interest rates
this cycle.
“Clearly very strong, very surprising,” was the
reaction of Stephen Walters, chief economist at JPMorgan, to the data.
“Near-term chances of a rate cut are very slim,” he
added. “I think the Reserve Bank has
been looking for a few things one of them has been whether the household sector
has been recovering and on this evidence they clearly are.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held rates
steady at 3% at its April policy meeting this week in a show of confidence that
175 basis points of rate cuts since November 2011 were percolating through the
economy.
Yesterday's data from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics showed retail sales surged 1.3% in February, far outstripping
forecasts of a 0.3% increase. It was the largest monthly gain since November
2009 and followed an upwardly revised 1.2% rise in January. The spending was
also broad-based, with every retail sector enjoying gains of over 1% for the
month. Sales of household goods jumped 1.6%, clothing was up 1.2%, department
stores 1.6% and eating out 1.3%.
The revival in sales is a boon for the economy as
the A$260bil (US$265bil) retail sector accounts for 17% of Australia's A$1.5
trillion gross domestic product (GDP) and over 10% of all jobs.
SUPPLY CHAIN
As private
equity has expanded over the last 20 years, being able to make a profit from
companies has become more difficult. Gone are the days when a good purchase
price, a touch of financial engineering and finding a bigger buyer were all it
took to make a profit. Private equity groups are being forced to start making
their profits by diving into operations in order to make firms more profitable
and efficient.
However,
there may still be a few places where financial optimization and smart
negotiation can boost the operating profits of companies. One place that has
started to get more attention recently is supply chain finance. While most
firms focus on internal optimizations, different types of financing throughout
a supply chain can have significant effects on every firm involved in the
production and sale of a given product.
Supply
chains are typically affected by two major financial issues. The first is
double marginalization, where everyone in the supply chain thinks of themselves
as an independent entity and tries to protect their own profits by pushing up
prices. As the price rises each step, the total profits for the entire supply
chain are lowered and the end product becomes less competitive in the retail
market – especially when compared against vertically integrated producers.
_________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 8th and 12th Apr 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.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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