Daily News Roundup - June 7 2010

Reliance Industries may foray into nuclear energy after being freed from a non-compete agreement with the ADAG that barred it from investing in some businesses. (ET)

Fortis Healthcare may avoid a hurried response to counter Malaysian investment fund Khazanah’s bid to acquire management control over Parkway Holdings. (BS)

Tech Mahindra to focus more on the Middle East and African market, in talks with three-four African telecom companies for large contracts. (BS)

Reliance Communications has granted an in-principle approval to the sale of 26% stake in the company to strategic or PE investors; however, it did not name any buyer or give a timeframe for the proposed sale. (BL)

AT&T is in talks with Reliance Communications to buy a shade under 15% stake. (DNA)

SBI to fix base rate around 8%. (FE)

GAIL set to start work on Dabhol-Bidadi project, To invest Rs 2,000 crore in 2010-11. (BS)

BEML plans to set up another greenfield manufacturing plant at an investment of Rs3.16bn in Bangalore. (BS)

JSW Energy plans to invest about Rs20bn in coal mine development. (BS)

Neyveli Lignite commissioned its lignite-based power plant at Barsingar, in Rajasthan. (BS)

Maytas Infra wins contract worth Rs1.85bn to build part of a metro rail network in the northern Indian city of Gurgaon. (BS)

SsangYong Motor lists six companies as its possible buyers, including M&M and the Ruia Group, of the original list of seven. (BS)

Jaiprakash Associates plans to invest around Rs100bn in the next three years to increase its annual production capacity to 50mn tons from a little over 20mn tons at present. (BS)

Bharat Forge forms joint venture with KPIT Cummins to produce a hybrid engine technology, which will hit the market in six months. (BS)

Adhunik Metaliks plans to invest Rs55.68bn in setting up a 2.2mn tons steel plant in Karnataka. (BS)

Life Insurance Corporation plans to sell its employee housing portfolio worth Rs13bn to its mortgage arm, LIC Housing Finance. (BS)

R-ADAG emerges as the preferred bidder for acquiring a controlling stake in Over-The-Counter Exchange of India from some of the exchange’s existing institutional investors. (ET)

Amtek Group forms 50:50 joint-venture with US-based American Railcar Industries to make railway wagons in Punjab. (ET)

SBI might look at raising money through a bond sale abroad during the next quarter. (ET)

Pipavav Shipyard bags Rs26bn contract to build offshore patrol vessels for the Indian Navy. (ET)

Ashok Leyland says that it has achieved 229% growth in its May sales to 6,502 units as compared to 1,977 in the same month last year. (FE)

Apollo Tyres is gearing up to supply tyres to German car maker Volkswagen in Europe. (ET)

Ashok Leyland and Nissan plan to roll out their first LCV product by mid-2011. (BS)

Welspun Corp. says it has received orders worth Rs7bn for pipes. (FE)

Shree Cement enters into a MoU with the Karnataka government to invest Rs20bn for setting up a cement unit and a power plant. (BS)

CESC acquires 100% ownership in Dhariwal Infrastructure by snapping the remaining 50% for a shade over Rs1bn. (ET)

Mastek is eyeing an acquisition in the insurance vertical in North America as well as the UK, and could spend up to US$50mn for the same. (BS)

Bhushan Steel plans to raise funds worth US$500mn from the market to finance the company’s greenfield projects. (ET)

Essar Oil plans to raise US$300mn by selling FCCBs to its promoter to part finance its expansion. (ET)

Havells India plans to undertake a rebranding exercise in Mexico to introduce products under its own brand. (ET)

Government has amended the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules to increase the non-promoter holdings in Indian companies to at least 25%. (BL)

India’s forex reserves dipped US$1.4bn in the week ended May 28, reserves are at almost US$272bn. (ET)

Value of pan India broadband spectrum has reached Rs95bn after 77 rounds of bidding. (BL)

Government to decide on free market pricing of petrol and diesel and increase the price of kerosene and LPG. (FE)