Daily News Roundup - May 26 2010

Bharti Airtel has raised around Rs85bn from a consortium of financial institutions, including SBI, to pay for 3-G spectrum (ET)

Leading telecom operators, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular withdrew their petition before TDSAT, challenging the recommendations of TRAI on 2G spectrum. (ET)

ONGC is in talks with energy majors BP Plc, Exxon Mobil, BG Group, Eni and BHP Biliton for a strategic tie-up for its Krishna-Godavari basin gas block. (FE)

The Orissa government has identified land for the solar power projects proposed by NTPC in the state. (BS)

Coal India has received preliminary expressions of interest from NTPC and Damodar Valley Corporation for import of approximately 5mn tons of coal in 2010-11. (BL)

DLF is planning to build a 90-storey tall super luxury housing project in Mumbai, which it estimates will fetch Rs150bn. (FE)

Bajaj Auto, which is jointly developing power bikes with Austria's KTM, plans to launch a model in the next financial year first in Europe and then in India. (ET)

M&M is looking to buy a strategic stake from private equity players Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurvetson in the Bangalore-based electric carmaker, Reva Electric Car Company. (BS)

Biocon, which recently entered into a manufacturing and supply agreement with Optimer Pharmaceuticals, is expecting revenues from the tie-up to touch US$50mn per annum in the next five-six years. (BS)

GMR Infrastructure plans to raise Rs50bn by issuing equity shares, GDRs, ADRs, FCCBs or through private placement of shares. (FE)

Reliance Infrastructure expects extra revenue of Rs20bn by FY12 from 11 infrastructure projects, to operationalise during the current financial year. (BS)

The CA Institute has submitted second and final report on the Satyam scam and the role of the company's statutory auditor in that accounting fraud to the Corporate Affairs Ministry. (BL)

Adani Group is likely to enter Africa for coal mining projects. (BL)

The retail arm of RIL has cut its losses as a new centralised supply chain brought savings, and shoppers started spending. (ET)

Bank of India plans to re-enter mutual fund business, for which it is scouting for a foreign partner. (ET)

Mastek said its US subsidiary MajescoMastek and BPO firm Genpact formed a strategic alliance to jointly cater to the clients in the insurance, government and financial service space in the US market. (FE)

Marico announced the acquisition of an aesthetic skincare business of Singapore-based Derma Rx Asia Pacific Pte for an undisclosed sum. (ET)

HCC has been awarded a contract worth Rs8.9bn by NPCIL to build the main plants for units 7 and 8 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project. (ET)

Hotel Leela Venture plans to launch a share sale to institutions after July to raise about Rs3.8bn and aims to cut debt by Rs7-9bn. (ET)

Zydus Cadila received a milestone payment of US$10mn from US-drug maker Abbott under a licensing and supply agreement signed earlier this month for 24 products to be sold in 15 emerging markets. (ET)

Aurobindo Pharma said it has received the nod from the US health regulator to manufacture and market its Valacyclovir Hydrochloride tablets, used for the treatment of chicken pox. (ET)

Indraprastha Gas Ltd may raise CNG prices in the national capital by Rs5.60/kg to Rs27.5/kg following the government’s decision to more than double the price of natural gas. (FE)

Aban Offshore plans to raise additional long-term resources through issue of FCCBs, GDRs and ADRs not exceeding to US$400mn. (FE)

GE Shipping will spend around US$577mn over the next three years to increase its tonnage capacity. (FE)

SpiceJet is considering GDR and follow-on public offer to raise upto US$75mn. (FE)

Sembcorp Utilities, a company based in Singapore, has picked up 49% stake in the 1,320-MW coal-fired plant of Thermal Powertech Corporation India Ltd, a SPV and subsidiary of Gayatri Projects, for Rs11bn. (BL)

MTNL plans to issue a fresh tender to select a franchise partner for its 3G operations. (ET)

Lodha Developers has agreed to pay an arm of the Maharashtra government Rs40.5bn over a period of five years for the right to construct a multi-storied apartment complex and a truck terminus in the central Mumbai suburb of Wadala, the biggest-ever land deal in the city and an indication of rapid demand recovery in the realty market. (ET)

Borrowing by telecom companies, which have to pay 3G licence fees to the government, has led to a shortage of liquidity forcing banks to hunt for large deposits. (ET)

The government will consider changes in rules to allow flexibility to 100% foreign owned and well-capitalized NBFC’s in setting up subsidiaries, a provision that was withdrawn by the FDI guidelines issued last year. (ET)

The EGoM on gas allocation will soon draw up a list of the next set of beneficiaries in the power sector to receive gas from RIL’s KG basin. (ET)

The finance ministry has shot down a telecom department proposal to expedite an end to licence fees for landline services. (ET)

IT companies can outsource their overseas jobs to units in the SEZ’s, a move that will help SEZ’s become BPO centers. (ET)

The bids for broadband wireless access auction in the country reached Rs32bn on Tuesday for one pan-India licence, up 82.7% over the original bid price of Rs17.5bn. (ET)

Exporters of engineering products and handicrafts may get more fiscal sops to help them tide over the demand crunch. (ET)

Tyre prices are set to go up again, by 3-4% in June for the fourth time in six months. (BS)

In the first two years of the current Plan period, the power sector, especially generation projects, saw investments of Rs2.3trillion against the projected Rs1.8trillion, according to preliminary estimates complied by the Planning Commission. (BL)