Daily News Roundup - Jan 23 2012

SAIL has decided not to develop and operate the proposed 14 mn tonnes per annum Rowghat iron ore mine project in Chhattisgarh; instead it would assign a private outsider for the job on entire mineral off-take contract at a prescribed price.(BL)

Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd is hopeful of raising the first tranche of its proposed US$1-bn infrastructure fund by October or November this year. The company plans to raise about US$500 mn in the first tranche.(BL)

Ramky Infrastructure Ltd., through a step down subsidiary, has signed a concession agreement with the National Highways Authority of India for a Rs 10.3bn road project (a tollway) in Karnataka.(BL)



Bajaj Auto is betting big on new bike launches to keep its growth momentum ticking through 2012-13.(BL)

To help improve public transportation in rural areas, the Road Transport Ministry wants to help procure almost 86,000 buses over the next five years. If this proposal gets a final nod of Finance Ministry and Planning Commission, business worth about Rs 150bn for bus manufacturers such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland would be generated during the five year period. (BL)

Indian Overseas Bank is likely to close current fiscal with a credit growth of 20-22 % its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr M. Narendra, has said.(BL)

After a long wait for government approval, Reliance Industries (RIL) is to begin work on development of four satellite fields—D-2, D-6, D-19 and D-22—in India’s largest gas field, block D6 in the Krishna-Godavari basin, or KG-D6 .(BS)

French cosmetics firm L'Oreal and Indian herbal skincare products maker Lotus Herbals are in talks to form a joint venture to target the Rs70bn beauty salon industry in the country.(ET)

Tata Power is in talks to pick about 15% stake in MEC Coal, the Dubai-registered company that owns more than two billion tonne of coal reserves in Indonesia, said a person familiar with the development.(ET)

LIC, has decided to step up its investment in commercial papers to provide liquidity to corporate and finance companies struggling with tight liquidity. The insurer will buy Rs.50bn worth of paper as opposed to Rs.30bn hoping also to benefit from higher rates.(ET)

A possible technical partnership between ONGC and Reliance Industries-BP could be in the offing.(BL)

Ford will invest Rs7.5bn in Tamil Nadu through its Indian subsidiary Ford India. The company is planing to make the additional investment in its existing Maraimalai Nagar plant, 45 km from here, to produce its new model Ford Eco Sport.(BS)

Italian luxury brand Canali has picked up 51% stake to form a joint venture with its Indian franchise, Genesis Luxury Fashion, two persons familiar with the matter said.(ET)
Economy Snippets

The finance ministry wants the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to switch its policy stance, with growth concerns occupying centre stage and inflation showing signs of moderating. The RBI should cut policy rates to give a push to rate-sensitive sectors, the official added.(Bs)

India plans to set up a new body that will oversee telecom and cyber security to avoid overlap between various ministries and intelligence agencies that are currently handling this issue.(ET)

The government, the largest owner of landed property in the country, is preparing a comprehensive land sale policy to raise revenues and check corruption in government-owned property deals.(ET)

India is expected to grow at 6.8% this year, as against the previous forecast of 8%, but expansion is expected to accelerate strongly in 2013 to touch 9.5%, global audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) has said.(ET)