Daily News Roundup - Feb 2 2011

ONGC Videsh Ltd has decided to relinquish its oil block in Egypt as it did not find the discovery commercially viable. (BL)

Indian Oil Corporation plans to invest Rs50bn to expand its Koyali refinery in Gujarat from 13.7 mn mtpa to a 18 mn mtpa refinery. (BS)



Oil ministry said it cannot decide on giving approval to Vedanta Resources’ US$9.6bn acquisition of Cairn India within the fixed timeframe. (ET)

SBI will raise Rs100bn through bonds to augment its capital base to meet the growing business requirements. (BS)

M&M said it plans to launch 8-10 new products, including a premium sports utility vehicle, across various segments by March 2012. (ET)

M&M announced the launch of the Genio, its next generation commercial vehicle, in Chandigarh. (BS)

M&M has formed a core committee to expedite the integration with Ssangyong Motors as it receives creditors’ approval to buy out 70% stake in the Korean sports utility vehicle maker. (ET)

HDFC has entered the booming Indian education sector by picking up a stake in Indus World Schools, which is promoted by education company Career Launcher. (BS)

HDFC has increased its retail prime lending rate by 25bps to 15.25%. (BS)

DLF Ltd said that the company and its 22 subsidiaries have received an additional tax demand of Rs 11.8bn from Income-Tax authorities during December quarter. (BL)

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has started manufacturing samples at its new plant in Indore.(ET)

US court lifted an injunction and cleared the sale of Dr Reddy's drug. (BS)

Bank of India said it would raise Rs300mn by way of issuance of fresh shares on a preferential basis or by offering global receipts.(FE)

Dabur has shut down its Egypt plant due to the ongoing unrest in the nation. (ET)

Sun Pharma is scorched by regulatory concerns connected with manufacturing facilities. (BL)

IFFCO, UAE-based manufacturer of consumer products, has selected KPIT Cummins to strengthen its supply chain execution using Oracle Transportation Management. (BS)

Quality Chemicals Industries, a Ugandan pharmaceuticals manufacturer partly owned by Cipla, said it plans to invest US$80mn in two separate expansion programmes over the next two years. (ET)

Godrej Properties has launched a 2.8mn sq.ft mixed-use project here at Vikhroli. (BL)

Symphony Ltd is planning to set up a manufacturing unit at the special economic zone at Sachin near Surat to cater to its export market. (BS)

Pfizer completed a tender offer to purchase shares of King Pharmaceuticals Inc and intends to finish the acquisition by the end of February. (BL)

Essar group's Aegis Ltd, has won a US$2bn order to manage the customer-care operations of Saudi Telecom Company. (BL)

Elder Pharmaceuticals is targeting US$1bn revenue from the lucrative US$70bn Japanese pharma market. (ET)

RPP Infra Projects, in a joint venture with Resurgent Gabon, has bagged Rs1bn SEZ project at KNOK, Gabon, in west central Africa. (FE)

Hindustan Motors is gearing up for the launch of a small car, possibly in July. (ET)
Economy Snippets

Indian companies raised over US$3.41bn overseas in December through external commercial borrowings and foreign currency convertible bonds. (BS)

A 36% jump in exports led to a sharp decline in India's trade deficit in December 2010 to US$2.6bn from US$11.6bn a year ago. (FE)

The revenue loss on retail diesel sales has risen by almost Rs3 as a result of Egypt crisis, which led the global crude oil prices to cross $100 a barrel. (BS)

Exports of goods from India are likely to exceed the government’s target of US$200bn by the end of this financial year, driven by a number of incentives being offered since the global financial downturn. (BS)

The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture is drawing up a plan to revamp its flagship scheme to boost milk production. (BS)

Oil dropped from a two-year high as concern eased that supplies through the Suez Canal may be disrupted by unrest in Egypt and Brent crude traded at more than $100 a barrel for a second day. (BS)

The Centre has approved subsidy payment of Rs80bn to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) for the losses incurred by them on the sale of diesel, LPG and kerosene during the third quarter. (BL)

The Export Promotion Council for Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones (EPCES demanded that the Government should extend the tax holiday to EOUs by another five years in the forthcoming Union Budget. (BL)

The country's goods exports have shot up by 36.4% in December 2010 to US$22.5 bn, the highest in 33 months. (BL)

India and Italy have identified some 10 areas including infrastructure, automotive and food processing for joint cooperation and expansion of bilateral trade and investments. (BL)