Daily News Roundup - Apr 15 2011

RIL has announced the start of planned expansion of its domestic projects in the polyester sector. (BL)

RIL has refused to sell natural gas to power and fertilizer plants by cutting supplies to non-priority sectors like steel and refineries. (ET)

ONGC Videsh to sign pact to buy stake in a Kazakh block. (BL)

Essar has approached the RBI seeking its nod to sell 10.97% equity in the joint venture Vodafone Essar for US$1.2bn, which the company claimed is lower than the fair value of shares of US$1.72bn. (ET)



Essar Power in race to buy Australian company’s premier coal. (ET)

Essar Steel has commissioned a state-of-the-art Compact Strip Production (CSP) mill having a capacity of 3.5mtpa. (BS)

NTPC Ltd has decided to go ahead with Rs26bn tender for expansion of its gas-based Kawas project in Gujarat. (BS)

SingTel has increased its stake in Bharti Airtel to 32.3%.(ET)

Nokia-Siemens JV, a provider of fixed and wireless telecom gear, is exploring options to sell a controlling stake in the firm which could be worth about US$2bn. (ET)

Tata Steel has received board approval for merger of its subsidiary Centennial Steel with itself. (BL)

Tata Steel is planning to raise around Rs33bn by issuing corporate hybrid securities overseas. (FE)

Coal India plans to invest up to US$3bn in a coking coal mine. (BS)

HPCL has installed a new Rs9bn processing unit at its Mumbai refinery to boost refining margins by raising output of high-value products such as petrol and cooking gas. (ET)

Jaypee Group has set its eyes on the dairy sector with an investment of Rs1bn. (FE)

Hero Honda declares interim dividend of Rs70 per equity. (ET)

GMR group will raise US$150mn from a consortium of three private equity firms Standard Charted Bank’s PE arm, Jacob Balas & Citi Group.(ET)

ACC not to merge with its promoter company Ambuja Cements. (ET)

Hexaware Technologies announced a deal with its US-based financial services client that would help it generate US$10-15mn in annual revenue.(BS)

In a bid to tap US$452mn fexofenadine drug market, Dr Reddy's Laboratories announced the launch of generic version of Allegra — fexofenadine HCl — tablets in the US market. (ET)

Fortis Healthcare will buy an 86% stake in diagnostic services firm Super Religare Laboratories. (FE)

Mahindra Satyam to kick off the merger process with Tech Mahindra in June which is expected to complete in 8-10 months. (BL)

Emaar Hospitality Group, the subsidiary of Dubai-based property developer Emaar Properties, is looking to bring its 5-star hotel hotel brand ‘The Address’ to India. (ET)

Tata Chemical has signed deal with Notore Chemicals Industries of Nigeria for providing technical advisory services. (BS)

Tata Teleservices is looking to increase its stake in its joint venture with Virgin Mobile India.(BS)

Government nod for Cairn-Vedanta deal unlikely before 10th may. (BS)

GlaxoSmithKline would have to pay ~Rs710mn for alleged over-pricing on drugs. (BL)

KEC International has bagged orders worth Rs5.5bn. (BL)

Madras Fertilizers has sought a fresh loan of R3.5bn from the centre for conversion of its fuel base from multiple feedstock to gas. (FE)

Reckitt Benckiser has completed its acquisition of Paras Pharmaceuticals after getting necessary regulatory clearance. (BS)

Strides Arcolab gets US health regulator’s approval to market a product from its new facility in Karnataka. (ET)

Ashok Leyland to launch its construction vehicles in July or August this year, and plans to invest Rs2bn in product development this financial year. (BS)

Titan plans to open 100 Helios stores in 3 yrs. (BS)

Dhanlaxmi Bank's proposal to raise capital to meet its growth needs will be taken up by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on April 20. (BL)
Economy Snippets



Excise duty on readymade garments which had imposed in budget won’t be rolled back. (ET)

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had recommended setting up of a telecom manufacturing fund with an initial corpus of Rs30bn to provide venture capital to product manufacturers .(BS)

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has proposed that mobile phone companies be mandated to source 80% of their network equipment and other related infrastructure from domestic manufacturers. (ET)

Wheat procurement has declined by 75% to 1.3mn tones. (ET)

India to sign tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) with 7 countries. (BS)

The government will introduce amendments to the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, which will give it the power to confiscate any property that is declared benami. (ET)