ASBM Business
Updates is a Weekly Selective Compilation of Business News from Various
Sources. To find details follow the links.
ASIAN BUSINESS
Key benchmark indices provisionally closed near the
flat line after witnessing intraday volatility. Engineering & construction
major L&T tumbled over 7% after reporting weak Q1 results. Weak Q1 results from L&T had ripple effect on
shares of power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel), which also fell sharply. The barometer index,
S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 8.59 points or 0.04%, off
about 105 points from the day's high and up close to 90 points from the day's
low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was
negative.
Reliance Industries (RIL) declined after Q1 results.
Asian Paints dropped after the company reported weak Q1
result at the fag end of the trading session. IT major TCS scaled record high.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) edged higher after the company
reported good Q1 results on Friday, 19 July 2013. Among metal stocks, Tata
Steel hit 52-week low.
A bout of initial volatility was witnessed as key
benchmark indices trimmed losses after a weak opening. The Sensex reversed
initial losses and moved into positive zone in morning trade. The market
hovered in positive terrain in mid-morning trade. The Sensex extended intraday
gains in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices trimmed intraday gains in
mid-afternoon trade after weak Q1 results from engineering & construction
major L&T sent the stock tumbling. The Sensex regained positive zone after
slipping into the red in late trade.
Asian
stocks retreated from seven-week highs on Thursday after Wall Street buckled under profit-taking pressure and as
investors were wary as the earnings season got underway, while upbeat US
economic news helped the dollar snap a three-day slide.
MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.5%, having closed on Wednesday at its highest
since early June. Tokyo's Nikkei dipped 0.3%, continuing to find resistance ahead of
the 15,000 mark.
"As
the market has been in overbought territory technically speaking, investors are
staying on the sidelines," Yasuo Sakuma, portfolio manager at Bayview
Asset Management, said of Japanese stocks. "Although the weaker yen lent
some support to the market, there are few factors to buy," he added.
The
earnings season kicked off in Japan and South Korea, while results in places such
as Australia are set to follow soon, keeping equities in check as investors
look to gauge the business outlooks amid challenging growth prospects in the
region, including a rapid slowdown in China.
The
decline in Asian bourses came after the US S&P 500 index shed 0.4%, a
modest move and yet still the biggest fall in almost a month.
Analysts
said Wall Street was taking a breather as investors booked profits in a rally that
has swept the index to a string of record highs. They were also waiting on
company results and outlooks before deciding on whether to jump back in.
BUSINESS
Reliance Industries Ltd and state-run ONGC
plan sign a formal pact for sharing the infrastructure
in the gas-rich D6
block of Mukesh Ambani's firm, a move that industry officials say can end the
dispute over the alleged 'gold-plating' of costs in the deep-sea gas field of
RIL.
ONGC, which is developing deep-sea fields adjacent
to Reliance's D6 block, said that it had signed a "significant"
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RIL
to work out modalities of sharing of infrastructure, identifying additional
requirements and firming up commercial terms. ONGC said this would minimize its
capital expenditure and speed up development of its deep-sea gas fields which
will produce 6-9 million metric standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of natural gas
in four years. "The companies intend to enter into a formal agreement
after conducting a joint study which will be spread over the next nine
months," ONGC said in a statement. ET was the first to report that the
state-run company would use RIL's infrastructure in the east coast.
ONGC Chariman Sudhir Vasudeva said that it is a
win-win situation not only for both the companies which are striving hard to
accrete new reserves and put them on production at the quickest time but also
for energy starved nation.
The government and the national auditor has accused
RIL of building surplus infrastructure in the D6 block. The oil ministry
has disallowed recovery of part of the field-development costs on the ground
that the expenditure and the infrastructure that was build was far in excess of
the actual gas output, which fell sharply. Instead of rising to 80 mmscmd,
natural gas output from the D6 block has fallen to about 14 mmscmd.
Hindustan
Unilever will declare its first quarter results today. Analysts on an
average expect the largest FMCG company in India to report 35 percent
degrowth year-on-year in reported profit after tax at Rs 860 crore, according
to a CNBC-TV18 poll.
In a year
ago period, the profit after tax had included an one-off financial other income
of Rs 120 crore. After adjusting for like-to-like profit, growth is expected to
remain flat on a YoY basis.
Total
income is seen going up by 10 percent from a year ago to Rs 7,025 crore and
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation (EBITDA) may
grow by 11 percent to Rs 1,070 crore in the April-June quarter.
HUL 's operating profit margin is expected to be
flat at 15.2 percent.
The result
will be closely watched by the street after its parent company Unilever PLC
announced results
for April-June quarter on Thursday. The stock fell more than 3
percent yesterday after Unilever flagged off slowing growth in
emerging markets.
HUL was
further down 3.1 percent at Rs 666.35 on NSE in morning trade on Friday.
Other
companies like Nestle and Coca Cola have talked of emerging
markets slowing down.
India is
the second largest contributior after Brazil in the 67 percent
portfolio of Unilever - which comes from emerging markets.
In India,
"Unilever sees an overall slowdown of the market, as well as the consumer,
and in our business to a certain extent," CFO Huet said.
However,
Unilever has managed to maintain over double digit growth (10-12 percent) from
emerging marking countries for 10 straight quarters.
According
to analysts, the first quarter will see the full impact of royalty increase,
lower other income from treasury and a higher tax rate, which will
arrest profit growth.
They
expect HUL to report Q1 volume growth of 5-6 percent (Q4 at 6 percent) on
a high base of 9 percent last year. Value growth is likely to be 3-4 percent.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
ORBIT Communication Systems, Ltd., a leading
provider of mission-critical connectivity solutions for satellite
communications, tracking and telemetry, and communication management systems,
today announced that Embraer S.A. has chosen ORBIT's AMSIP system as part of an
AEW&C program based on the EMB 145 platform. The total value of the deal
exceeds $1.2 million.
"The rapidly changing communications market requires airborne platforms to support a wide range of communication assets - from legacy analog systems up to the latest and most advanced VoIP systems," said Ofer Greenberger, CEO of ORBIT. "Seamless integration of these diverse communication devices is the name of the game. We are committed to remaining at the forefront of developing and deploying such solutions for both military and civilian applications."
AMSIP (Audio Management Solution over IP) is a patent-pending digital audio management system with IP interfacing capabilities. This advanced solution enables aircraft crew to manage a wide variety of communication assets in a secure mode. By supporting analog, digital and IP based communications the AMSIP is an ideal system for AEW&C applications dealing with a dynamic range of communication assets.
"The rapidly changing communications market requires airborne platforms to support a wide range of communication assets - from legacy analog systems up to the latest and most advanced VoIP systems," said Ofer Greenberger, CEO of ORBIT. "Seamless integration of these diverse communication devices is the name of the game. We are committed to remaining at the forefront of developing and deploying such solutions for both military and civilian applications."
AMSIP (Audio Management Solution over IP) is a patent-pending digital audio management system with IP interfacing capabilities. This advanced solution enables aircraft crew to manage a wide variety of communication assets in a secure mode. By supporting analog, digital and IP based communications the AMSIP is an ideal system for AEW&C applications dealing with a dynamic range of communication assets.
Alaska Communications (NAS: ALSK) and General
Communication, Inc. ("GCI") (NAS: GNCMA) today announced
the companies have completed the previously announced transaction to form The
Alaska Wireless Network, LLC ("AWN").
Alaska Communications and GCI, leading wireless
providers in Alaska, have each contributed their respective wireless assets,
including spectrum licenses, cell sites, backhaul facility usage rights, and
other assets necessary for AWN to design, build, and operate a statewide
wireless network. From the start, AWN's network will cover more of Alaska's
population than the network of any other wireless provider. AWN will provide
the latest wireless services, including LTE, to its owners, Alaska
Communications and GCI. Alaska Communications and GCI will independently sell
these services to their respective retail customers and continue to operate as
competitors in Alaska. "The wireless business is capital intensive,
requires scale to compete successfully against national carriers, and demands
more spectrum than either of our two companies individually owns," said
Alaska Communications President and CEO Anand Vadapalli and GCI President and
CEO Ron Duncan. "By combining our respective wireless assets, we can
provide a state-of-the-art Alaska wireless network owned and operated by
Alaskans for Alaskans. We believe that The Alaska Wireless Network will provide
the fastest, most geographically extensive, and most reasonably priced wireless
services for Alaska subscribers, allowing us each to compete more effectively
in the retail market."
FINANCE
Higher lending to the retail segment led financial
services arm of Larsen & Toubro, L&T Finance Holdings, post 20 per cent
rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 144.9 crore for the first quarter ended
June 30, 2013.
It had posted consolidated net profit of Rs 120.6 crore in the April-June quarter of last fiscal, L&T Finance said in a statement on Tuesday.
The total income during the period rose to Rs 1,183.06 crore from Rs 914.04 crore in the same period a year ago.
As of June 30, 2013, the company's portfolio quality deteriorated further, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 2.54 per cent of advances as against 1.63 per cent in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.
Its net non-performing assets (NPA) also rose to 1.67 per cent from 1.17 per cent.
The uncertain macro environment resulted in an increase in gross NPA, contributed mainly by the corporate, infrastructure and SME segments, it said.
Disbursement trends continue to be similar to the last quarter with construction equipment and commercial vehicle segments witnessing de-growth, while the rural products finance and infrastructure financing for the transportation sector showed healthy growth, it said.
"We continue to follow a cautious approach to credit selection and consequently disbursements in corporate, auto and construction equipment segments have been impacted," it said.
It had posted consolidated net profit of Rs 120.6 crore in the April-June quarter of last fiscal, L&T Finance said in a statement on Tuesday.
The total income during the period rose to Rs 1,183.06 crore from Rs 914.04 crore in the same period a year ago.
As of June 30, 2013, the company's portfolio quality deteriorated further, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 2.54 per cent of advances as against 1.63 per cent in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.
Its net non-performing assets (NPA) also rose to 1.67 per cent from 1.17 per cent.
The uncertain macro environment resulted in an increase in gross NPA, contributed mainly by the corporate, infrastructure and SME segments, it said.
Disbursement trends continue to be similar to the last quarter with construction equipment and commercial vehicle segments witnessing de-growth, while the rural products finance and infrastructure financing for the transportation sector showed healthy growth, it said.
"We continue to follow a cautious approach to credit selection and consequently disbursements in corporate, auto and construction equipment segments have been impacted," it said.
INDIA BUSINESS
Telenor ASA,
the Nordic region’s largest phone operator, reported second-quarter earnings
rose as its unprofitable Indian business narrowed its loss.
Adjusted
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 8.86
billion kroner ($1.5 billion) from 8.06 billion kroner a year earlier, the
Fornebu, Norway-based company said on Tuesday. The operating loss of Telenor’s
Indian business narrowed to 107 million kroner from 619 million kroner.
Chief
executive officer Jon
Fredrik Baksaas is expanding the company’s wireless Nordic network to fend
off rivals that are cutting prices. The phone operator is also adding users in
emerging markets while seeking to reduce costs by 5 billion kroner by 2015.
Telenor agreed to buy Globul, the second-largest mobile carrier in Bulgaria, in
April for €717 million ($946 million).
Telenor
said it’s starting a buyback program to repurchase about 1% of its stock before
the next annual general meeting.
Telenor’s
report was solid and I expect consensus to raise estimates, but the share
buyback of 1% of shares is a slight disappointment since they bought back
almost 3% last year, said Stefan
Gauffin, an analyst at Nordea Bank AB in Stockholm.
INSURANCE
Insurance companies are preparing to issue e-insurance
policies in the near future, in a move towards a more paper-free environment.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has recently said insurers can enter into agreements with one or more repositories. An insurance repository would provide a facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes or revisions speedily. Policyholders could opt to digitise their policy or have it in the existing format. Irda has granted in-principle approval to five entities for entering the insurance repository business. These five have yet to launch operations. A senior official with one of these said, “We would launch operations within the next few months.” Rajesh Relan, managing director and country manager, PNB MetLife India, said: “The guidelines on digital insurance repository and e-issuance of policies have been further streamlined through the clarifications issued recently. At PNB MetLife, we are already maintaining a digital database of all insurance policies and have also migrated to the use of Mudrank (digital stamp instead of paper ones).”
Irda rules say to become an insurance repository, an applicant should be a public limited company with a minimum share capital of Rs 5 lakh. The net worth of the applicant, on grant of an in-principle approval by the Authority, should be at least Rs 25 crore before issuance of certificate of registration to it.
These repositories would have to maintain records of e-insurance accounts with a unique number, records of e-insurance policies issued and records of e-insurance policies reconverted into physical form, an index of policyholders and their nominees/assignees/beneficiaries in respective life insurance policies, among others. And, maintain a history of claim data. Each repository would have to preserve records for a minimum of 10 years from the date of termination or assignment of insurance. They also must have provision to safeguard privacy of data. All individual life insurance policies, including those issued to groups and all general insurance policies held by individuals, including group policies, are eligible to be held in electronic form.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has recently said insurers can enter into agreements with one or more repositories. An insurance repository would provide a facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes or revisions speedily. Policyholders could opt to digitise their policy or have it in the existing format. Irda has granted in-principle approval to five entities for entering the insurance repository business. These five have yet to launch operations. A senior official with one of these said, “We would launch operations within the next few months.” Rajesh Relan, managing director and country manager, PNB MetLife India, said: “The guidelines on digital insurance repository and e-issuance of policies have been further streamlined through the clarifications issued recently. At PNB MetLife, we are already maintaining a digital database of all insurance policies and have also migrated to the use of Mudrank (digital stamp instead of paper ones).”
Irda rules say to become an insurance repository, an applicant should be a public limited company with a minimum share capital of Rs 5 lakh. The net worth of the applicant, on grant of an in-principle approval by the Authority, should be at least Rs 25 crore before issuance of certificate of registration to it.
These repositories would have to maintain records of e-insurance accounts with a unique number, records of e-insurance policies issued and records of e-insurance policies reconverted into physical form, an index of policyholders and their nominees/assignees/beneficiaries in respective life insurance policies, among others. And, maintain a history of claim data. Each repository would have to preserve records for a minimum of 10 years from the date of termination or assignment of insurance. They also must have provision to safeguard privacy of data. All individual life insurance policies, including those issued to groups and all general insurance policies held by individuals, including group policies, are eligible to be held in electronic form.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
A US judge on Thursday said he had approved IBM's
2011 settlement with US regulators over charges of foreign bribery after
prolonged consideration of whether regulators should have more aggressively
investigated the case.
US District Judge Richard Leon approved the
settlement between International
Business Machines Corp and the Securities
and Exchange Commission after the parties finally reached an agreement over
reporting requirements. Leon, however, warned the company that if regulators or
the courts discover new violations in the future, he would be stricter in his
review.
"If there's a problem in the next two years,
obviously it won't be a day like today, it won't be a happy day," Leon
told IBM's General Counsel Robert Weber
at the court hearing.
IBM in March 2011
agreed to pay some $10 million to resolve SEC charges over improper gifts to
government officials in South Korea and China. IBM neither admitted nor denied
the allegations, a common feature in SEC settlements.
In February, Leon scolded IBM for a
"history" of violating provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act and "major payments" to foreign governments, the latest federal
judge to express concerns over US regulators' handling of settlements with
corporations during the past two years.
Numerous federal judges who have recently asked
whether US regulators were aggressive enough in responding to corporate
misconduct.
LOGISTICS
As a global logistics business operating a total of
167 logistics networks, Pantos Logistics has joined forces with Bondex
Logistics, a high-ranking comprehensive logistics provider in China, to further expand logistics business in China.
Pantos Logistics has announced that recently it has
signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bondex Logistics to establish
strategic partnership between them and develop long-term business cooperation
models.
Specifically, through the strategic alliance, the
two companies have agreed to further strengthen their cooperative relations.
They will work together to discover key futuristic businesses such as
international express, finance/sourcing logistics and distribution logistics,
accomplish win-win achievements through joint task promotion taking advantage
of each other's strengths, strive for joint investment opportunities and
promote J/Vs or joint M&As based on mutual cooperation.
Pantos Logistics expects to accelerate its business
expansion and increase its market share in China
through collaboration with Bondex Logistics in the whole range of logistics
business including W&D (warehouse & distribution), an obvious advantage
of Bondex Logistics, and air and sea transport.
Kim Sang-rae, head of
Pantos Logistics China said, "The alliance is a great opportunity for both
of the companies. They will be able to create business success in new business
areas by maximizing the synergy effects of their collaboration: Pantos
Logistics is equipped with global competitiveness in logistics and Bondex
Logistics is emerging as a powerhouse in the Chinese logistics market."
MANAGEMENT
Sandalwood Management, Inc. has implemented
sophisticated customer relationship management software, ILoveLeasing.com div Spherexx.com, over the last nine months. ILoveLeasing.com apartment CRM automatically
collects and records prospect and missed telephone inquiries. It provides a
plethora of product correspondence, complete with brochure, application for
residency and the opportunity to schedule a tour.
On the management side, the staff has reminders in place to follow leasing initiatives. ILoveLeasing.com automatically scores leads so staff members do not have to spend time sifting through a mass of lead data to determine priority. It follows the prospects’ response to advertising media, frequency of contact, urgency and demand.
Behind the scenes, the program is constantly computing the cost per lead, cost per lease, best advertising investment, contact response time, closing rates per team and team member; frequency of communication exchange and additional marketing metrics. This information is rolled up for review by management leaders by property, portfolio or other chosen correlations. Information is current, which is especially important for a geographically wide-spread company like Sandalwood Management. Upper level management members often need to be in more than one place at a time. The program simplifies commission accounting and ties to the community’s financial management software.
“ILoveLeasing.com gives you all the tools you need to ensure timely follow-up and accurate traffic tracking. The program is easy to navigate, user friendly and integrates with my resident management software, instantly updates traffic and rentals. ILoveLeasing.com has made tracking my staff’s follow-up and closing a breeze. Marketing cost reports and traffic source reports are at my fingertips,” says Lisa Loflin, Community Manager.
On the management side, the staff has reminders in place to follow leasing initiatives. ILoveLeasing.com automatically scores leads so staff members do not have to spend time sifting through a mass of lead data to determine priority. It follows the prospects’ response to advertising media, frequency of contact, urgency and demand.
Behind the scenes, the program is constantly computing the cost per lead, cost per lease, best advertising investment, contact response time, closing rates per team and team member; frequency of communication exchange and additional marketing metrics. This information is rolled up for review by management leaders by property, portfolio or other chosen correlations. Information is current, which is especially important for a geographically wide-spread company like Sandalwood Management. Upper level management members often need to be in more than one place at a time. The program simplifies commission accounting and ties to the community’s financial management software.
“ILoveLeasing.com gives you all the tools you need to ensure timely follow-up and accurate traffic tracking. The program is easy to navigate, user friendly and integrates with my resident management software, instantly updates traffic and rentals. ILoveLeasing.com has made tracking my staff’s follow-up and closing a breeze. Marketing cost reports and traffic source reports are at my fingertips,” says Lisa Loflin, Community Manager.
MARKETING
Marketing
analytics platform developer Datorama
has raised $3 million in a Series A round of financing from Cedar Fund and Eric
Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors. The funding will be used to support the
continued development and marketing of the company’s self-service cross-channel
marketing analytics platform.
Datorama
CEO Ran Sarig said, “Having worked with marketers and agencies for the last
eight years, we established Datorama and developed our cross-channel marketing
analytics platform to finally solve the industry’s biggest pain point -
understanding which marketing is working and which isn’t."
Marketers
can see the effect of each individual channel or event visualized through the
company’s platform and at the aggregate level, Datorama clients see all of
their unified and normalized marketing data in one interface across all
channels, including TV, social media, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), online
display and video, programmatic, email, internal sales data, print, etc. By
understanding the impact each channel has on the others, Datorama clients are
able to restructure their marketing to take advantage of cross channel
synergies to improve reach, frequency and marketing ROI.
Four of
Advertising Age's 20 leading national advertisers are working with Datorama’s
cross-channel marketing analytics platform less than four months after the
company released the product.
The total sales revenue of Oman's three oil
marketing companies Oman Oil Marketing (Omanoil), Shell Oman Marketing and Al Maha Petroleum Products
grew by just 3.1 per cent to RO510mn in the first six months of 2013 against
RO494.3mn in the corresponding period last year.
Omanoil, which announced its preliminary results on
Monday, outperformed Al Maha Petroleum and Shell Oman with its sales gaining
six per cent during the six-month period to RO147.7mn compared with RO139.2mn
in the same period last year.
Omanoil's net profit rose 20 per cent to RO4.97mn
from RO4.16mn in the same period last year, the company said in its filing to
the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) on Monday.
Omanoil shares closed 4.9 per cent higher on Monday.
Also on Monday, Shell
Oman reported an 11.4 per cent drop in net profit for the first six months
to RO6.04mn from RO6.82mn last year. Its sales revenue went up 3.4 per cent to
RO208.8mn from RO202mn.
Analysts have a positive outlook on the sector for
the rest of this year as the companies are expected to post moderate growth in
sales volumes.
Joice Mathew, head of research at United Securities,
said the performance of the three oil companies has been in line with our
expectations.
"Omanoil earnings beat our estimates as the
company witnessed six per cent growth in consolidated revenue with
contributions from all the segments, except aviation, and recorded its
highest-ever quarterly profits. Aviation segment revenue declined 35 per cent
from a year ago as the company's fuel-supply contract with Oman Air was not
renewed," he said.
"The performance of the other two firms was
also in line with expectations. We expect revenue growth in the coming quarters
to be primarily driven by gains in the retail segment," added Mathew.
ODISHA BUSINESS
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd’s (JSPL) plan to acquire up to 60 per cent stake in Gopalpur
Ports Ltd (GPL) has been aborted with the Odisha government refusing to permit the company to acquire
controlling stake in the project.
The state government reasoned that acquisition of controlling stake by JSPL would violate the terms of concession agreement signed with the original promoters of GPL.
“The law department has raised objections to acquisition of 60 per cent stake in GPL by any firm. As per the concession pact signed with the developers of GPL, the original promoters of GPL have to retain at least 51 per cent stake for at least three years from the start of commercial operations. So, we have refused dilution of 60 per cent in GPL in favour of JSPL,” said an official of commerce & transport department.
JSPL said, the state government has reacted belatedly to its earlier proposal of acquisition of 60 per cent share in the port project.
“Initially, we had submitted a proposal for picking up 60 per cent stake in GPL. Later, JSPL presented a revised proposal, stating it is okay with 49 per cent equity since the concession pact would not allow the company to acquire controlling stake in the project. But, our revised proposal is yet to be sent by GPL promoters to the state government,” said a senior company official.
GPL was initially floated as a consortium of three partners- Hong Kong-based Noble Group, Odisha Stevedores Ltd (OSL) and Delhi-based Sara International Ltd (SIL). Noble Group exited the consortium in May 2010. The consortium was to develop the seasonal port at Gopalpur into an all-weather port. Presently, OSL’s holding in GPL is 50.5 per cent while the rest 49.5 per cent is with SIL.
The state government reasoned that acquisition of controlling stake by JSPL would violate the terms of concession agreement signed with the original promoters of GPL.
“The law department has raised objections to acquisition of 60 per cent stake in GPL by any firm. As per the concession pact signed with the developers of GPL, the original promoters of GPL have to retain at least 51 per cent stake for at least three years from the start of commercial operations. So, we have refused dilution of 60 per cent in GPL in favour of JSPL,” said an official of commerce & transport department.
JSPL said, the state government has reacted belatedly to its earlier proposal of acquisition of 60 per cent share in the port project.
“Initially, we had submitted a proposal for picking up 60 per cent stake in GPL. Later, JSPL presented a revised proposal, stating it is okay with 49 per cent equity since the concession pact would not allow the company to acquire controlling stake in the project. But, our revised proposal is yet to be sent by GPL promoters to the state government,” said a senior company official.
GPL was initially floated as a consortium of three partners- Hong Kong-based Noble Group, Odisha Stevedores Ltd (OSL) and Delhi-based Sara International Ltd (SIL). Noble Group exited the consortium in May 2010. The consortium was to develop the seasonal port at Gopalpur into an all-weather port. Presently, OSL’s holding in GPL is 50.5 per cent while the rest 49.5 per cent is with SIL.
RETAIL
Reliance Jio, the coming fourth-generation (4G) telecom
service provider from Reliance Industries (RIL), might get the captive
customers of a million subscribers before its commercial launch as it looks for
synergy with sister concern Reliance Retail.
Reliance Jio plans to launch its service by June next year, with high focus on mobile-based enterprise solutions for small-scale businesses, besides traditional mobile services and voice over internet. And, Reliance Retail is expanding its cash and carry business under the banner of Reliance Market, which caters to kirana shop owners, traders, caterers and hoteliers. “The company is looking at synergy between the retail and telecom business,” confirmed a person familiar with the development.
Reliance Jio has pan-India 4G spectrum (2,300 MHz) and has signed two separate agreements with the Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Communications to use the latter’s nationwide telecom tower infrastructure and inter-city optic fibre network. The company has an estimated $3 billion capital expenditure in the current financial year to launch its service.
“Our offerings will be a combination of what Omnitech, Verizon and Google offer,” said a company executive on the sidelines of RIL’s annual general meeting last month. Omnitech InfoSolution is an information technology outsourcing and managed services company providing business-to-business solutions. Verizon is a fullscale mobile service provider in the US, with offerings as diverse as WiFi, wireless, internet television and LTE (long-term evolution) technology-based mobile services. By referring to Google, the company means the voice over internet service.
Reliance Jio plans to launch its service by June next year, with high focus on mobile-based enterprise solutions for small-scale businesses, besides traditional mobile services and voice over internet. And, Reliance Retail is expanding its cash and carry business under the banner of Reliance Market, which caters to kirana shop owners, traders, caterers and hoteliers. “The company is looking at synergy between the retail and telecom business,” confirmed a person familiar with the development.
Reliance Jio has pan-India 4G spectrum (2,300 MHz) and has signed two separate agreements with the Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Communications to use the latter’s nationwide telecom tower infrastructure and inter-city optic fibre network. The company has an estimated $3 billion capital expenditure in the current financial year to launch its service.
“Our offerings will be a combination of what Omnitech, Verizon and Google offer,” said a company executive on the sidelines of RIL’s annual general meeting last month. Omnitech InfoSolution is an information technology outsourcing and managed services company providing business-to-business solutions. Verizon is a fullscale mobile service provider in the US, with offerings as diverse as WiFi, wireless, internet television and LTE (long-term evolution) technology-based mobile services. By referring to Google, the company means the voice over internet service.
The top eight cities have added just short of 5 per
cent to their total mall supply in the first six months of 2013. This is a
strong number considering each square foot of this addition is made more costly
by the sluggish pace of growth in consumer purchase. Jaideep Wahi, director,
retail agency, Cushman & Wakefield India says, "The total mall supply
has risen by 2.9 million square feet added during first half of 2013 adding to
the total stock at 65. 9 msf across eight major cities."
Wahi and other analysts, however, are being
cautious. With the announcement of the liberalisation of foreign direct
investment (FDI) rules for both single and multi brand retail, 2013 should have
seen catalogues opening fast. That has not happened so far.
Research by DTZ India shows that retail rental
values have largely remained flat or grown by approximately 10 per cent over
the last four quarters. There is a reason. Vacancy levels are high.
"Cumulative vacancy levels for top seven cities
(Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad) stands at
around 13 per cent in Q2 2013, up 2 per cent over the previous quarter,"
says Anshul Jain, chief executive of the company.
According to him, there is what can be loosely
described as a mixed response in the retail sector. Several retailers are
cutting back on expansion plans, realigning their markets and stores.
"Other the other side, international retailers such as VeroModa,
Starbucks, Marks & Spencer are continuing with their expansion plans across
many cities," says Jain.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Apple's changes
to iPhone 5 and iPad displays are shifting the supply chain for the touchscreen
industry, according to NPD DisplaySearch.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) recently
adopted two new touch sensor structures for its mobile devices--in-cell for the
iPhone 5 and GF2 (double-sided ITO films) for the iPad. This shift is expected
to spur a doubling of in-cell touchscreen shipments this year.
In-cell
touch technology integrates touch-sensing circuitry with the LCD array,
resulting in a thinner smartphone, explained
AppleInsider. In addition to the iPhone 5, Sony's Xperia P and Huawei's
Ascent P6 use the in-cell touch technology, the report noted.
NPD
DisplaySearch predicts that in-cell touch displays will increase from 7.3
percent of mobile phone shipments in 2012 to 13.7 percent in 2013, while
shipments of GG DITO (double-sided ITO glass) structure will drop from 10.3
percent to 0.6 percent. Shipments of tablet GF2 sensor structure will rise from
4.7 percent in 2012 to 28.4 percent in 2013, while shipments of GG DITO
structure will decline from 37.2 percent to 8.1 percent.
"Mobile
phone and tablet PC touch technologies and sensor structures are evolving
quickly, due in large part to Apple's move away from GG structure to in-cell
touch technology and GF2. Apple's high market share in these categories means
that any technological movement is felt throughout the component supply
chain," said Calvin Hsieh, research director at NPD DisplaySearch.
An integrated supply chain allows manufacturers to
look into business processes across multiple suppliers and across disparate
platforms to follow materials and components wherever they are — expanding
traditional supply chain management beyond tracking materials, information, and
finances as they move from supplier to manufacturer. As ERP solutions provider Eresource notes, integration transforms the supply chain
into a network of relationships among trading partners. This almost always
means linked computer systems.
Effective supply chain integration starts with
C-level commitment at the buyer. WBResearch notes, “The heart of an effective supply chain
is the purchasing department that initiates all ordering documents. As such,
the manager of the purchasing function or the company officer to whom
purchasing reports is the final authority on supply chain management
decisions.”
So even though proper supply chain integration will
include representatives from sales, engineering, logistics, and purchasing to
verify customer needs, confirm deliverability, and iron out transportation, the
C-level executive overseeing purchasing must back the project.
To get suppliers on board with supply chain
integration, buyers must demonstrate that it is in suppliers’ best interests to
do so. When correctly done, WBResearch notes, an integrated supply chain
benefits everyone, even though “the buyer has the most to gain.”
_______________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 29th, 30th July and 2nd Aug 2013
We welcome your suggestions in improving this information updating service.
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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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