Telecom stocks in action today

Telecom minister A Raja said the auction of airwaves to offer third-generation mobile services will be conducted by the end of the financial year, missing a 7 December 2009, deadline targetted earlier. The auctions would generate at least Rs 25000 crore of revenue for the government, he added.

The telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) is reportedly planning to make the per second billing a mandatory tariff option for all operators, a move that will benefit customers by potentially reducing call charges and adding transparency to their tariff plans.

Reliance Communications (RCom) said on Monday, 5 October 2009, it will offer a flat rate for all calls on its network at 50 paise a minute. The scheme will replace all existing schemes. Under the new scheme - 'Simply Reliance Plan' - RCom will charge a single rate of 50 every minute for all local, STD, incoming and outgoing roaming, and SMS'es. The call rates would be applicable for all calls made from its CDMA, GSM or its landline phones. The scheme, which opens for subscription on Tuesday, 6 October 2009 will be available for both CDMA and GSM services.

RCom's announcement was after trading hours on Monday. Telecom shares plunged ahead of the announcement that day on reports the auction of 3G telecom services by the government could be delayed. RCom dropped 5.6% to Rs 300.20 and Bharti Airtel tanked more than 8% to Rs 400.30.

The board of UltraTech Cement meets today, 6 October 2009, to a consider a proposal for merger of its cement business with a unit of Grasim Industries which is a part of a plan to consolidate the cement business of the Aditya Birla group under one roof.

Tech Mahindra has reportedly won an IT implementation contract from Saudi Telecom 7010.SE, valued between $40 million to $50 million. The Indian firm has won part of a contract from Saudi Telecom, which is rolling out GSM services in Bahrain.

Bajaj Auto is reportedly planning to set up an assembly plant in a free-trade zone in Brazil next financial year. The company is in the process of studying the site and working out financial details.

Parsvnath Developers is reportedly in talks with various private equity funds to raise around Rs 600 crore by the end of 2009/10 by selling sakes in its projects. A major chunk of the funds will go towards repaying debt.

Ashok Leyland is reported to be in talks with Argentina's Grupo Plaza to set up a joint venture to produce buses and trucks in that country.

NTPC will reportedly need to spend an additional almost half a billion dollars as part of its plans to acquire a South African coal mining firm.

Orbitech, part of the global financial giant Citibank NA, has reportedly sold close to 4% in mid-sized technology firm Polaris in tranches in the open market.