ASBM Business
Updates is a Weekly Selective Compilation of Business News from Various
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ASIAN BUSINESS
Japanese television networks are scrambling into
Asia, seeing it as a new frontier of business opportunities as they struggle
with dwindling advertising revenue at home.
Fuji Media Holdings Inc. is pushing into the Asian
market with its Asia Versus program, a competition for amateur musicians. While
it is shot at a Tokyo studio, the program features contestants from various
Asian countries and a multinational mix of hosts and judges from the target markets
-- South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia as well as Japan.
Asia versus, which was launched in April in Japan,
will gradually be aired in the other three markets. It is produced by a company
jointly established by Fuji Media Holdings, which has Fuji Television Network
Inc. under its wing, and Itochu Corp., a major trading company.
Through Asia Versus, the Fuji group is hoping to
discover new talents and create a fresh revenue source. The group will collect
royalty fees on the winning musicians' music as the manager of the copyrights.
"There is a desperate hunt around the
world" for promising talents, Osamu Kanemitsu, an executive officer of
Fuji Media Holdings, said.
The Fuji group will also produce an international TV
shopping program in which home shopping hosts from Japan, Thailand and Taiwan
hawk hot items in their countries, including clothing products and accessories.
This program is supposed to produce a revenue stream of sales commissions for
the Fuji group.
"Merely selling programs to other countries has
its limits as an international business model; to achieve business expansion,
we must do more than that," Kanemitsu said.
Comcast, a
global media and technology company, today announced the Xfinity Asia Internet
destination (Xfinity.com/Asia), an online portal that brings together a wealth
of Asian-Pacific entertainment content from a variety of sources in one, easy
to navigate location. This is the first step in a larger Xfinity Asia
initiative designed to expand the availability of Asian programming, VOD and
tailored packages to the Asian-Pacific community throughout 2013. In addition,
Xfinity customers will gain access to special programming across Xfinity
platforms - TV, On Demand, online and on mobile devices - recognizing the
Asian-Pacific cultural influence on the world of entertainment.
The
Xfinity Asia website features news, blogs, and Xfinity TV programming
information relevant to the Asian-Pacific community. Content on the site
includes award-winning films, documentaries, history, bios, sports, anime and
music featuring Asian-Pacific entertainers, artists and historical leaders that
have contributed to the news, music and history of this country and the world.
Xfinity TV customers will have access to a large library of content on Xfinity
On Demand, and non-subscribers also will have the opportunity to explore a
range of entertainment options online. Content can be filtered by country of
origin, genre and more.
"The
Xfinity Asia Internet destination is the first step in providing customers much
more Asian-Pacific content than ever before," said Ruben Mendiola, vice
president and general manager of Multicultural Video Services. "This will
be an exciting year as we continue to expand new content and offerings for the
Asian American community."
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
Cazenove Capital Management has opened an office in
Hong Kong, its first in Asia, having received licence approval from the
Securities and Futures Commission.
The company originally announced its intention to
open an office in Hong Kong in August last year.
Sandy Dudgeon, managing director of Cazenove Capital
Management Asia, will head the wealth management business in Hong Kong,
alongside fund director Robert Ridland and office manager Catherine Chow.
Cazenove Capital chief executive Andrew Ross said:
“We believe there is a great opportunity to build on our current success in
this region.
"The Cazenove Capital brand resonates well in
Asia and we already have strong contacts and a high quality client base in Hong
Kong on which to build. Having a local presence in Asia demonstrates our
long-term commitment to current and future clients in the region.”
The wealth manager said it has already developed a
“strong and growing international client base” which includes a number of
wealthy families.
At the end of last month it was revealed UK asset
management and private banking giant Schroders had launched a £424m bid to buy
Cazenove. The company’s management board recently unanimously recommended shareholders approve the deal.
Schroders currently has a foothold in Asia, with a
private banking office in Singapore and one for its asset management arm in
Singapore. A spokesperson was unable to say whether there will be any
synergy between the two firms in Asia if the acquisition is approved.
Neuberger
Berman
is setting up shop in Asia’s credit markets. The fund manager announced last
week that it hired 22 people to handle debt investments in emerging markets,
including Prashant Singh, a portfolio manager, who will target Asia
local bonds from Singapore.
The New York-based investor has US$216bn under
management. It has been selling funds to clients in Asia for a while, and
covers Asian equities out of a Hong Kong office. However, it has not typically
invested directly in bonds in the region. Its exposure to Asian fixed income
has generally come from investments in 144a deals by its flagship high-yield
fund.
Neuberger said 19 of the new hires came from ING
Investment Management. The team includes 12 portfolio managers, six credit
analysts and four economists and strategists. It will be part of the firm’s
fixed-income platform. Rob Drijkoningen, based at The Hague, and Gorky
Urquieta, based in Atlanta, will lead the new emerging-markets platform. Brad
Tank is chief investment officer of fixed income at Neuberger.
The firm has competition in the region’s credit
market. Loomis Sayles, a US investor with US$191.4bn under management, hired
Paul Ong as managing director to head Loomis Sayles Investment Asia last year.
He worked on building a team over the past year and last month received the
full operational licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where the
fund is based in Asia.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, five former JP Morgan
traders have partnered with Canada’s Mackenzie Investments to set up a two
investment funds that will focus on credit markets, foreign exchange, equity
indices and interest rates, Reuters has reported.
BANKING
ING Vysya Bank’s net profit for fourth quarter (Q4)
of FY 2012-13 increased by 33.7 per cent to Rs 170.3 crore compared to Rs 127.4
crore same period of the previous year.
Bank’s total income for Q4 is up 20.9 per cent to Rs
624.1 crore.
Other income increased to Rs 200.4 crores. Operating
costs in the quarter increased by 14.9 per cent to Rs 339.8 crore. Staff cost
for the quarter includes provision towards the 10th Bipartite settlement
between the IBA and bank unions.
Operating profit increased by 29.0 per cent to Rs.
284.3 crore and cost to income ratio improved to 54.4 per cent from 57.3 per
cent.
Shailendra Bhandari Managing Director, said: “For
the Quarter, net interest margin improved to 3.73 per cent and ROA improved to
1.34 per cent. Our asset quality continues to be best in class with Gross NPA
at 1.76 per cent, Net NPA at 0.03 per cent.”
Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter increased
by 32.7 per cent to Rs 423.7 crore from Rs 319.2 crore in the corresponding
quarter of the previous year.
The Net Interest Margins (NIM) was significantly
higher at 3.73 per cent from 3.29 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the
previous year.
Provisions and contingencies reduced to Rs 33.6
crore from Rs 56.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Provisions for the quarter included provision of Rs.21.9 crores related to mark
to market receivable on the derivatives contract mentioned in the footnote.
Total Deposits were Rs. 41,334 crores at the end of
March 2013, up 17.4 per cent from Rs 35,195 crore as at the end of March 2012.
Current and Savings (CASA) deposits grew by 11.4 per
cent to Rs 13,435 crore from Rs 12,063 crore as at end of March 2012. CASA
ratio was at 32.5 per cent of total deposits as at the end of March 2013.
However, after adjusting for certain large CASA flow towards the end of the
year, core CASA would have stood at 31.8 per cent.
German and British banking lobby groups have slammed
plans by US regulators to toughen rules on foreign banks, saying they risk
fragmenting banking supervision and causing major disruption to US bank
operations.
Germany’s banking association, BdB, said the push by
US regulators to tighten oversight of foreign banks would put European banks at
a competitive disadvantage internationally.
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said imposing
localised capital and liquidity requirements on foreign banks “will cause
significant disruption to many foreign banks creating onerous and complex
operational issues.”
In December, Federal Reserve Board Governor Daniel
Tarullo said foreign banks should be required to hold as much capital as their
US counterparts, regardless of how their overseas parent companies are funded -
a move that could trigger competition among regulators requiring banks to hold
different levels of capital.
“If other countries followed the US example, it
would result in a dangerous fragmentation of financial markets. Different rules
and standards would make markets more unstable and inefficient,” BdB managing
director Michael Kemmer said.
“These new rules amount to a clear disadvantage when
it comes to competing with US banks on a global level.”
The United States has traditionally relied on
foreign supervisors to regulate overseas banks and specify appropriate levels
of capital, just as US banks operating in the euro zone are judged on their
worldwide capital.
BUSINESS
South
Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries said on Monday it had won a $700 million deal
to build the world's largest container ships for China Shipping Container
Lines.
Under the deal signed with China's number two shipper, the world's largest shipbuilder will build five vessels, each
Under the deal signed with China's number two shipper, the world's largest shipbuilder will build five vessels, each
capable of
carrying 18,400 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) container boxes, Hyundai said in
a statement.
The ships
will be the world's largest, breaking the previous record of another South
Korean firm, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine, which won an order in 2011 to
build 20 18,000 TEU container ships for Denmark's AP Moeller-Maersk.
Delivery
of the mega-vessels will begin in the latter half of 2014, Hyundai said. Each
ship will boast a 400 metre (yard) long deck, and stand 58.6 metres wide and
30.5 metres high.
They will
feature electronically-controlled main engines that automatically adjust fuel
consumption in line with sailing speed and sea conditions, helping to improve
fuel efficiency, reduce noise and cut emissions.
The deal
takes the value of Hyundai Heavy's order book so far this year to $9.7 billion,
about 40% of its annual target of $23.8 billion.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 47.39 points, or
0.24%, to 19,623.03.
On BSE, 1,627 shares were traded in the counter as
against an average daily volume of 6,875 shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 1,265.80 so far during
the day, which is also a record high for the counter. The stock hit a low of Rs
1,219 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 865 on 20
June 2012.
The stock had underperformed the market over the
past one month till 3 May 2013, sliding 0.63% compared with the Sensex's 4.12%
rise. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter,
rising 10.17% as against Sensex's 1.04% fall.
The mid-cap company has an equity capital of Rs
53.89 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
Kansai Nerolac Paints' net profit rose 35.34% to Rs
292.20 crore on 9.81% rise in net sales to Rs 2839.50 crore in the year ended
March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
The company reported an exceptional income of Rs
114.90 crore for the quarter and the year ended March 2013. The company
retrospectively changed its method of providing depreciation on its fixed
assets from the 'written down value' to the 'straight line' method. Accordingly
excess depreciation charged for the previous years upto 31 March 2012
aggregating Rs 114.90 crore was written back and recognised as an exceptional
item for the quarter and the year ended March 2013.
The company's profit from operations before other
income, finance costs and exceptional items rose 10.76% to Rs 62.80 in Q4 March
2013 over Q4 March 2012. It rose 2.88% to Rs 289 in the year ended March 2013
over the year ended March 2012.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
HP
announced integrated, easy-to-use and simple-to-manage solutions designed to
improve communications among employees, customers and citizens.
Today’s
highly distributed workforce has caused organizations to adopt new
communication tools like voice, video, instant messaging and shared desktop
capabilities that deliver seamless, effective communication across multiple
applications and geographies. The adoption of these technologies has
highlighted the failure of siloed application infrastructures and legacy
networks to cope with the demand of new tools.
Announced
at Enterprise Connect, HP’s new open standards-based multiservice routers (MSR)
include HP MSR Survivable Branch Communications Module (SBM)—the industry’s
first complete business continuity solution(1)—and the new HP MSR Open
Architecture Platform (OAP) with VMware vSphere Series. These solutions
streamline and simplify communications through true interoperability with
Microsoft® and cloud-based platforms, enabling organizations to improve
productivity, reduce cost and complexity.
“The
onslaught of varied communications tools, coupled with an increasingly
distributed workforce, has created complex infrastructure challenges for
organizations that legacy networks just can’t handle,” said Prakash
Krishnamoorthy, Country Manager, Networking, HP India.
INDIA BUSINESS
Japanese electronics goods major Panasonic
Corporation will invest
Rs 1,500 crore in India over the next three years and restructure its
operations here as it aims to take on bigger rivals in a market dominated by the
Korean chaebols Samsung
and LG.
The company plans to increase the share of its enterprise business in India, introduce new products and strike strategic partnerships with Indian business groups like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and the Tatas in order to treble its India turnover by 2015, Panasonic's president Kazuhiro Tsuga told a select media group Tuesday.
This comes in the backdrop of the company unveiling a three-year business plan to pare losses in its semiconductors , mobile phones and television businesses globally and push new growth areas.
India though has been performing well for the Japanese firm having doubled its sales.
"Having done well in the consumer business, and keeping in line with the new global business plan, we now have a renewed focus on the business to business segment. We are aiming to double our contribution of the B2B segment to Panasonic's overall revenue by 2015 and will be introducing new product ranges in this segment mainly in the energy solutions, security and surveillance systems," Tsuga said. The company will soon enter the IT products segment here. In India, Panasonic drew almost 60% of its $1.3 billion sales from the consumer products portfolio.
To push the enterprise business, the president has held talks with RIL and the Tata group on his Mumbai trip. However, Tsuga did not give details of his meetings with the Indian business groups.
The company plans to increase the share of its enterprise business in India, introduce new products and strike strategic partnerships with Indian business groups like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and the Tatas in order to treble its India turnover by 2015, Panasonic's president Kazuhiro Tsuga told a select media group Tuesday.
This comes in the backdrop of the company unveiling a three-year business plan to pare losses in its semiconductors , mobile phones and television businesses globally and push new growth areas.
India though has been performing well for the Japanese firm having doubled its sales.
"Having done well in the consumer business, and keeping in line with the new global business plan, we now have a renewed focus on the business to business segment. We are aiming to double our contribution of the B2B segment to Panasonic's overall revenue by 2015 and will be introducing new product ranges in this segment mainly in the energy solutions, security and surveillance systems," Tsuga said. The company will soon enter the IT products segment here. In India, Panasonic drew almost 60% of its $1.3 billion sales from the consumer products portfolio.
To push the enterprise business, the president has held talks with RIL and the Tata group on his Mumbai trip. However, Tsuga did not give details of his meetings with the Indian business groups.
LOGISTCS
DTDC Courier &
Cargo, the largest homegrown courier services provider, today said it has
bought a controlling 70 per cent stake in the Bangalore-based Nikkos
Logistics for about Rs 1 crore upfront investment.
The deal also involves the firm investing another Rs
10 crore over the next two years into Nikkos, Suresh Bansal,
Director and Head of International Business and Supply Chain Solutions at DTDC,
told PTI. Post-acquisition, the new entity will be known as DTDC Nikkos
International Logistics. It will focus only on international logistics
business, he said.
The nearly Rs 550-crore DTDC enjoys 14-15 per cent
market share in the domestic courier market, which is dominated by the
Bluedart-DHL combine.
Nikkos, set up in 2011, offers complete end-to-end
logistics services and supply chain management. Its customer base includes
verticals like pharma, construction, aviation, food, agriculture, handicrafts
and engineering.
Bansal said the deal will give an edge to DTDC in
its international logistics business.
"The acquisition of Nikkos complements and
expands our strategy to offer complete end-to-end logistic solutions to
customers in national and international markets. Nikkos logistics solutions
will help expand our network by linking the domestic offerings globally and
vice versa."
DTDC Executive Director Abhishek Chakraborty said
the acquisition will allow his company to combine its strength with Nikkos to
penetrate and consolidate its presence globally. Tapping on opportunities will
further enable more feet on street, robust infrastructure and quality delivery
capabilities for DTDC around the globe, he said.
DTDC has been steadily building up product portfolio
and international presence by setting up various subsidiaries and joint
ventures. Last year, it acquired Eurostar
Express in Dubai
which has now become significant player in West Asia.
"Nikkos is our second successful acquisition
within one year," Basal said.
Syncreon, a closely held logistics company that
ships goods for customers including General Motors Co. and Dell Inc.
(DELL), is up for sale, according to people familiar with the process.
The company, which has its operational headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan,
may be valued at as much as $1 billion, said three of the people, who asked not
to be identified because the talks are private. The owners, Irish businessmen
Michael and Brian Enright and New York-based buyout firm GenNx360 Capital
Partners, are working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to find a buyer, said two
of the people. They’re also working with Morgan Stanley, one of the people
said.
Syncreon was formed in 2007 after the combination of
Walsh Western International, which served technology companies, and TDS
Logistics Inc., which focuses on the automotive sector, according to the
company’s website. The company has activities in 25 countries
and about 12,000 employees, according to a November press release.
The effort to sell Syncreon comes amid a pick-up in
car sales and economic growth in the U.S. Light-vehicle sales are on track for
their best year since 2007, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Consumer confidence
unexpectedly jumped in April, showing the recovery in residential real estate
is buttressing the U.S.
economy.
Private-equity bidders are the likeliest buyers,
though logistics firms including Deutsche Post AG (DPW) may also take a look, three of the
people said.
MARKETING
Online marketing strategy, when executed properly,
has the potential to effectively widen a company's reach beyond its usual
client base.
Because it is relatively more cost-effective than
traditional methods of selling and promoting, Internet marketing also holds
particular value to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to
executives at Genesis Consulting Middle East, a marketing communication agency
based in Dubai.
In Bahrain and the rest of GCC and Middle East, as
in many regions worldwide, the SME sector has been an invaluable economic
driving force.
In the UAE alone, the SME landscape has expanded so
rapidly over the past years that it now represents 40 per cent of the nation's
GDP, and is responsible for generating over 40pc of domestic employment
requirements.
"While there is currently no research that
underscores the extent of regional SMEs' online marketing penetration levels,
anecdotal evidence shows that some companies, unfortunately, are late to the
game as they fail to capitalise on possible sales leads that lie in
cyberspace," said Genesis Consulting ME public relations manager Bahaa
Fatairy.
However, the trend is not exclusive to Bahrain and
Middle East. In the UK, less tech-savvy SMEs are reportedly losing out on £122
billion in sales revenue by neglecting to develop and implement a sustainable
marketing plan, particularly one that involves an online strategy, according to
a survey published in March by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Mr Fatairy said that as their numbers increase and
the market become highly competitive, SMEs must embrace innovation as their
plan of action in order to remain afloat.
"Online marketing, for this matter, has been an
ideal platform to promote and grow a company, not just within its home base,
but also worldwide as recent media trends would suggest."
Over the years, online media's influence has been
gathering momentum and gaining an upper hand versus print media as more and
more readers turn to the Internet for their daily information consumption.
As consumers make their presence felt on Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter, companies are obliged to embrace social media in a bid to
engage with existing and potential customers.
ODISHA BUSINESS
Global
infrastructure major GMR Group Tuesday said it has started commercial operation
in the first unit of its 1,400 mega watt (MW) power plant in Odisha.
The power
project in Dhenkanal district, about 100 km from here, is the group's second
coal-based power plant to be declared commercially operational.
The group
is setting up 4x350 MW coal-based power plant in the region in two phases of
3x350 MW and 1x350 MW, respectively.
"The
first 350 megawatt unit of GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited (GKEL) was declared
commercially operational today (Tuesday)," the company said in a
statement.
"This
is yet another example of our commitment to on-time delivery of projects, which
will now generate revenue and enhance our shareholder value" G.M. Rao,
group chairman of the GMR Group said.
The power
produced from GKEL's first unit has been offered to state run GRIDCO Ltd., as
per the long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state government.
Work on
commissioning two other units of 350 MW in the first phase is in advanced
stages and likely to be completed by August this year.
When fully
commissioned, the GKEL power plant would serve the people of Odisha, Bihar,
Haryana and other parts of the country, the company said.
In March
this year, commercial generation commenced from the first 300 MW units of GMR
EMCO Energy Ltd.'s 2x300 MW power plants at Warora in Maharashtra.
Following its move to shift its flagship Gadarwara
project from Odisha to Madhya Pradesh, power generator NTPC has crossed a major
hurdle by securing the environment ministry’s approval for the Rs 11,640-crore
power plant. Once commissioned, the project would add 1,600 Mw to the company’s
portfolio.
As the ministry’s environment clearance was on the condition that the project be set up as a role model, NTPC has quickly moved to source equipment and fuel for the project. “The order for the main plant equipment for the Gadarwara project has already been placed with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. The environment ministry’s approval for the project comes as a major positive for us,” NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury told Business Standard. The fuel would be sourced from the new mines the coal ministry might allocate to NTPC soon.
An NTPC executive said the project was likely to be commissioned in four years. Currently, NTPC operates two thermal power plants in Odisha, including the 3,000-Mw Talcher Kaniha plant and the 460-Mw Talcher plant.
Initially, the Gadarwara project was scheduled to be set up in Gajmara district in Odisha. However, after NTPC faced several hurdles related to land acquisition and environment and forest clearances for the site, it decided to shift the project to Madhya Pradesh. The project requires 1,350 acres. Of this, 318 acres are barren government land, and this has already been transferred to NTPC. The plant would need eight million tonnes of coal a year, at 90 per cent plant load factor.
As the ministry’s environment clearance was on the condition that the project be set up as a role model, NTPC has quickly moved to source equipment and fuel for the project. “The order for the main plant equipment for the Gadarwara project has already been placed with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. The environment ministry’s approval for the project comes as a major positive for us,” NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury told Business Standard. The fuel would be sourced from the new mines the coal ministry might allocate to NTPC soon.
An NTPC executive said the project was likely to be commissioned in four years. Currently, NTPC operates two thermal power plants in Odisha, including the 3,000-Mw Talcher Kaniha plant and the 460-Mw Talcher plant.
Initially, the Gadarwara project was scheduled to be set up in Gajmara district in Odisha. However, after NTPC faced several hurdles related to land acquisition and environment and forest clearances for the site, it decided to shift the project to Madhya Pradesh. The project requires 1,350 acres. Of this, 318 acres are barren government land, and this has already been transferred to NTPC. The plant would need eight million tonnes of coal a year, at 90 per cent plant load factor.
RETAIL
Swedish fashion retail giant H&M aims to open 50
stores in India to tap the South Asian nation's growing middle-class market, an
Indian government statement said on Monday.
It is the second Swedish chain to seek entry into India after the government last year relaxed legislation to allow foreign retailers to set up shop in India and sell directly to Indian consumers to boost investment from abroad.
H&M, one of the world's leading clothing retailers by sales, has applied to make a 100-million-euro ($131-million) investment and "will establish 50 stores", the Indian government said in a press release. But Stockholm-based H&M added in a statement that there "are no concrete plans" yet for when it would open its first stores in India.
Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said in New Delhi he welcomed the application by H&M.
"After the liberalisation of FDI (foreign direct investment) policy in single brand retail, there has been a considerable interest shown by all global retail majors," Sharma said.
"The government remains committed to a liberal economic reforms agenda," he added, saying foreign investment was "a source of technology, finance and means of creating gainful employment".
In February, H&M which like many other European retailers is seeking to diversify from the crisis-hit euro zone, said it aimed to start "with a few stores" in India and would "expand heavily" if all went well.
The application by H&M comes as IKEA awaits final government clearance to enter India and invest $1.9 billion in coming years. It hopes to open 25 of its trademark blue-and-yellow stores in India as part of an emerging markets push.
It is the second Swedish chain to seek entry into India after the government last year relaxed legislation to allow foreign retailers to set up shop in India and sell directly to Indian consumers to boost investment from abroad.
H&M, one of the world's leading clothing retailers by sales, has applied to make a 100-million-euro ($131-million) investment and "will establish 50 stores", the Indian government said in a press release. But Stockholm-based H&M added in a statement that there "are no concrete plans" yet for when it would open its first stores in India.
Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said in New Delhi he welcomed the application by H&M.
"After the liberalisation of FDI (foreign direct investment) policy in single brand retail, there has been a considerable interest shown by all global retail majors," Sharma said.
"The government remains committed to a liberal economic reforms agenda," he added, saying foreign investment was "a source of technology, finance and means of creating gainful employment".
In February, H&M which like many other European retailers is seeking to diversify from the crisis-hit euro zone, said it aimed to start "with a few stores" in India and would "expand heavily" if all went well.
The application by H&M comes as IKEA awaits final government clearance to enter India and invest $1.9 billion in coming years. It hopes to open 25 of its trademark blue-and-yellow stores in India as part of an emerging markets push.
Banks focus on retail lending has helped to
boost retail credit with outstanding retail loans growing by 14.5%
year-on-year for March compared with a growth of 12.9% recorded in March
2012, shows data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday.
All other major segments slowed during the year 2012-13 data showed.
The focus of banks had shifted towards retail loans as economic growth had slowed down last fiscal due to which credit demand from corporates was muted. Credit to industry grew 15.7% y-o-y compared to 20.3% last year.
Fall was also observed in priority sector lending. Credit in priority sector grew 8.6% y-o-y compared to 12.1% growth last year.
In personal loans all segments grew except for education loans which slowed down. Though lending against fixed deposits, shares and bonds also slowed down – such portfolio forms a very small amount of the banking systems asset book. Vehicle loans grew 24.9% y-o-y compared to 22.2% last year. Credit card outstanding showed growth of 23.8% as compared to 12.9% last year.
Housing loans showed growth of 14.6% compared to 12.3% growth last year. In the year banks have significantly lowered the interest rates on retail boosting the credit growth in this segment.
In priority sector, direct lending to agriculture grew at 8.1% compared to 13.3% a year ago. Loans to priority sector housing were almost flat rising just 0.6% compared to 10.7% last year. Education loans in priority sector also grew at lesser pace rising 9.4% compared to 12.3% last year.
All other major segments slowed during the year 2012-13 data showed.
The focus of banks had shifted towards retail loans as economic growth had slowed down last fiscal due to which credit demand from corporates was muted. Credit to industry grew 15.7% y-o-y compared to 20.3% last year.
Fall was also observed in priority sector lending. Credit in priority sector grew 8.6% y-o-y compared to 12.1% growth last year.
In personal loans all segments grew except for education loans which slowed down. Though lending against fixed deposits, shares and bonds also slowed down – such portfolio forms a very small amount of the banking systems asset book. Vehicle loans grew 24.9% y-o-y compared to 22.2% last year. Credit card outstanding showed growth of 23.8% as compared to 12.9% last year.
Housing loans showed growth of 14.6% compared to 12.3% growth last year. In the year banks have significantly lowered the interest rates on retail boosting the credit growth in this segment.
In priority sector, direct lending to agriculture grew at 8.1% compared to 13.3% a year ago. Loans to priority sector housing were almost flat rising just 0.6% compared to 10.7% last year. Education loans in priority sector also grew at lesser pace rising 9.4% compared to 12.3% last year.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Developed in conjunction with transport management
solution specialist Microlise, the app provides at-a-glance vehicle location
data, including departure and arrival times, plus real time POD information.
In trials, the results have been impressive, cutting
admin costs and payment lead times, while allowing drivers to concentrate on
their deliveries rather than have to report regularly to base.
Leading UK agribusiness, Openfield, which subcontracts up to 100,000 loads of grain to third-party hauliers annually, is one of the first companies to roll out the app and is already reaping the benefits, dramatically cutting paperwork, avoiding traffic delays and cancelled loads.
The app is a cost effective solution which has been welcomed by drivers, farms and mills alike, significantly reducing admin. Simple to use, it integrates with most transport management systems, enabling easy tracking of deliveries.
Jim Hotchin, director of operations of Openfield said: “With our drivers on the road Monday to Friday, it was taking up to two weeks to process information, resulting in delayed cash-flows and supply shortages. Using the SmartPOD app, we get delivery information in real time making a significant impact to efficiencies, which in turn are driving cost savings.”
Leading UK agribusiness, Openfield, which subcontracts up to 100,000 loads of grain to third-party hauliers annually, is one of the first companies to roll out the app and is already reaping the benefits, dramatically cutting paperwork, avoiding traffic delays and cancelled loads.
The app is a cost effective solution which has been welcomed by drivers, farms and mills alike, significantly reducing admin. Simple to use, it integrates with most transport management systems, enabling easy tracking of deliveries.
Jim Hotchin, director of operations of Openfield said: “With our drivers on the road Monday to Friday, it was taking up to two weeks to process information, resulting in delayed cash-flows and supply shortages. Using the SmartPOD app, we get delivery information in real time making a significant impact to efficiencies, which in turn are driving cost savings.”
“DHL has enhanced the service we provide to our
customers, while optimizing our supply chain and reducing costs. By embracing
this technology, we have made our customers’ lives easier and that's the
service excellence we strive for,” he added.
Ian Fisher, VP IT strategy, planning & innovation, DHL Supply Chain, Europe added: “We’re delighted with the response to the new app and are accelerating its roll out to our customer base across all industry sectors. Above all, we wanted to make it easy to use - just like any other smartphone app - and we’ve succeeded.”
Ian Fisher, VP IT strategy, planning & innovation, DHL Supply Chain, Europe added: “We’re delighted with the response to the new app and are accelerating its roll out to our customer base across all industry sectors. Above all, we wanted to make it easy to use - just like any other smartphone app - and we’ve succeeded.”
Burts Potato Chips has deployed a new ERP system to
improve its supply chain and financials.
The Devon company supplys snacks to farm shops,
cafes and deli's, as well as high street retailers including Sainsbury's and
Waitrose.
Burts has deployed Access SupplyChain and Access
SelectPay, with the 85-strong company having aspirations to grow into a £20
million-turnover firm over the next three years.
Burts said Access' supply and financial ERP modules
would address its requirements for tighter controls over its financials,
production processing and stock control.
"Access SupplyChain is helping us to scrutinise
every area of our business. It's already saved us thousands of pounds through
greater efficiency and faster access to information," said Mike Cosby,
finance director for Burts Potato Chips. Cosby said the firm's previous Sage
Line 200 system could not provide "the level of analysis and management
reporting required".
Burts says it is benefiting from "significant
time and cost savings" and has "considerably reduced manual
processing".
Cosby said, "We no longer carry out monthly
stock takes as inventory is reconciled in real-time saving us around £12,000 a
year.
"With Access SupplyChain we can view the stock
position on the system in real-time too and know it's 99% correct. This has
given a real boost to our customer service as we have full confidence in the
accuracy of the information we're providing."
_______________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 6th and 10th May 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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