Daily News Roundup - Aug 18 2009

Bharti Airtel has received bids from 13 banks from US, EU & Asia, of US$500mn each for funding its merger with MTN. (ET)

L&T to initiate its third round of major business restructuring in 2010 and has appointed consultants McKinsey and Bain to guide on the same. (BS)

HDFC has raised Rs43bn through a QIP issue of non-convertible debentures with attached warrants that entitle the holder to buy its shares at ~Rs3,000 per share within three years. (ET)

The Government plans to fix the price band of Oil India’s proposed initial public offering at Rs1,200-1,450 per share. (ET)

NTPC may move SC on RIL gas row this week. (BS)

The Government has approved shifting of Cairn oilfield delivery point. (BS)

The petroleum and power ministries are exploring the option of a mutually acceptable solution to the ongoing legal battle between NTPC and RIL. (ET)

TCS to hold a majority 74% stake in the JV with the Maharashtra Government, MahaOnline, for making government services available online. (ET)

Bharti Airtel may look at selling bandwidth or connectivity on its undersea cables to global operators. (ET)

Tata Power has received approval of 80% of the land owners in Raigad district for the acquisition of land, required for its 2,400mw imported coal-based power project. (FE)

Cairn JV has discovered a market price of US$6.75/mBtu for the fuel from the Ravva Satellite field. (BS)

RIL to allow scrutiny by any government agency for the expenditure incurred on development of gas fields, where Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has not been able to complete audit since 2007 for want of more information. (BS)

Essar Energy has submitted a bid to acquire Shell’s UK refinery complex Stanlow along with two German refineries. (ET)

HCL Infosystems’ board has approved fund raising plan worth Rs8.25bn. (ET)

Coal India to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Mozambique to expedite the exploration process. (BS)

IDBI Bank has revived the proposal to sell IDBI Home Finance, its wholly-owned subsidiary, to Dewan Housing Finance. (BS)

L&T likely to start general insurance business operations in six months without roping in a partner. (BS)

Jet Airways to go in for more Airbus 330s other than Boeing 777s due to cost efficiencies. (BL)

L&T Finance to raise up to Rs10bn through a non-convertible debenture issue (NCD). (BL)

Pantaloon Retail set to float FDI-friendly SPV to offload its non-core assets to overseas investors. (ET)

The Tiruchirappalli unit of Bhel targets over Rs100bn turnover in FY10. (ET)

Aurobindo Pharma is set to buy Trident Life Sciences for Rs1.35bn in an all cash-deal. (ET)

IDBI Bank-led consortium of lenders, have raised U$1.1bn loan for Air India to purchase aircraft. (FE)

Tata Motors may not join race to pick up a majority stake in Italian car design firm Pininfarina. (ET)

TVS Motors to launch a 100cc scooter and a motorcycle for the executive segment by the end of FY10. (BS)

Bank of Baroda plans to hire 3,500 people by March 2010. (FE)

Allahabad Bank has cut interest rates on retail loans by 100bps. (FE)

Nucleus Software has entered into a tie-up with Sistemas Esco which will be its channel partner in Argentina. (ET)

Asian Paints has received Bombay High Court’s approval for amalgamation of its wholly-owned subsidiary with itself w.e.f April 01, 2009. (FE)

Canara Bank plans to raise up to Rs6bn by issuing bonds. (FE)

The Bombay High Court reserved its order on Aditya Birla Nuvo case. (ET)

The Finance ministry has warned DoT against allotting any second-generation radio frequencies to telecom companies before the 3G auctions. (ET)

The Government plans to double sugar levy quota to 20%. (ET)

The commerce ministry will release the Foreign Trade Policy for the next five years on August 27, 2009. (FE)

India’s sugar production in the next season starting October is expected to rise by over 1mn ton to 16mn tons. (ET)

The new direct tax code is likely to cut income tax sops of SEZs. (FE)

Power Ministry to miss 100-day capacity addition target. (FE)

The Government has told states to reschedule farmers’ crop loans by converting them into medium-term loans. (FE)