Daily News Roundup - May 22 2012

Reliance Industries Ltd approaches banks seeking a five-year loan of about US$1bn (Rs54.74bn). (BS) L&T Infotech said it has entered in a global strategic partnership with BMC Software to provide infrastructure management solutions such as data centre automation, IT service management and cloud computing management. (BS) BHEL has won a contract for supply and installation of Electrostatic Precipitator package for 2x660 MW (1,320 MW) Solapur Supercritical Thermal Power Project. (BS) NTPC and Coal India have agreed to sign new fuel supply agreements (FSA) on 2009 terms. (BL) ABB India has won a Rs1.75bn order from National Thermal Power Corporation to build two sub-stations in Maharashtra. (BL) Jain Irrigation Systems will invest US$375mn in Sub-Saharan Africa to build sustainable agriculture and improve small farmers' income. (BL) L&T Construction has bagged orders valued at Rs7.44bn. (BL) Akzo Nobel India Ltd has planned to set up a plant at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of about Rs1.5bn. (BL) As per a petroleum ministry communication to oil retailers on Monday, IOC would get Rs208.6bn, HPCL Rs84.9bn and BPCL Rs91.5bn as state subsidy for the January-March period of 2012. (FE) Warburg Pincus is close to buying out Pantaloon Retail India's stake in non-banking financial company Future Capital Holdings. (FE) The Children’s Investment Fund has fired a fresh salvo at the Indian government, effectively setting a 6-month deadline to act upon the allegations put forth by the foreign institutional investor in the matter of Coal India. (FE) Thomas Cook Group will sell its entire 77.1% stake in its Indian arm, Thomas Cook India, to Toronto-based Fairbridge Capital. (ET) JSW Steel said its April crude steel production rose 35% over the previous year to 715,000 tonnes. Economy Snippets Indirect tax collections recorded a modest growth of 10.4% at Rs330.45bn in April 2012, against Rs299.36bn in the year ago period, as customs’ collections fell by 8.8% due to duty drawback outgo and cut in duty on petroleum products last year. (BS) In a meeting attended by bankers and representatives of the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell, bankers have proposed to change the rules to ensure promoters bring in more funds than they do now. (BS) The rupee slide continued, and the currency closed at a new low of 55.0350 to the dollar on Monday. (BL) Foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail could turn into a reality at least in a clutch of Indian cities soon, with the UPA government set to revive last November’s Cabinet decision to permit up to 51% FDI in the sector. (FE) The government said that it might consider tweaking import duties on gold and jewellery to curb the precious metal trade, and introduce attractive financial tools to lure away investors from "unproductive assets". (FE)