Daily News Roundup - Apr 25 2011

Zensar budgets Rs1bn to buy US-based SAP firms. (BL)

Dr Reddy's reaches deal with Pfizer arm on patent case involving generic version of blockbuster anti-depressant drug Effexor XR. (BL)

Indian Bank plans to raise US$1bn medium term notes to expand its overseas lending. (BL)



Reliance Industries, DE Shaw to combine core strengths in financial services JV. (BL)

DGH to summon Reliance Industries for failure to meet drilling commitments at KG-D6 block. (BL)

Unity Infra bags contracts for Rs893mn from Ministry of Earth Sciences and AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation in Hyderabad. (BL)

Coal India to auction US$300mn worth of coking coal. (BL)

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam is planning to set up a 3mn tonne capacity steel plant under JV with the Karnataka Government. (BL)

Paradip refinery to be commissioned by Nov 2012, says Indian Oil Corp. (BL)

Essar, L&T among 12 companies shortlisted for developing an iron ore export terminal of 7.5mn tonnes a year at West of Breakwater of Mormugao Port in Goa. (BL)

Dhanlaxmi Bank is looking to raise Rs5bn equity capital before May-end to boost its capital adequacy ratio. (BL)

PowerGrid has signed a MoU with Kenya Electric Transmission Company for development of power transmission network in the African nations. (FE)

Jet Airways and Godrej Properties to develop a 2.5acre plot at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. (FE)

UK has opposed the Indian government’s move to put conditions for clearing Vedanta’s acquisition of Cairn India, saying that such a decision will kill the US$9.6bn transaction. (BS)

MMTC expects its coal imports to drop by 33% in the current financial year, mainly on account of a lower import order by NTPC. (BS)

Reliance Industries may invest more than Rs1.5tn over the next five years for setting up new businesses and expanding existing ones. (ET)

Reliance Power has sought the centre's approval for diverting excess coal worth an estimated 24MT from the captive mines of its Tilaiya UMPP to other power projects that the company hopes to win in Jharkhand. (FE)

Tata Steel will sell its 51% stake in group company Tata Refractories to Nippon Steel’s associate Krosaki Harima Corporation for Rs5.8bn and induct the Japanese firm as a strategic partner. (ET)

BF Utilities is close to selling 14.9% stake in the second phase of an ongoing expressway project to Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. (ET)

GlaxoSmithKline is in talks with the Hyderabad-based Biological E to purchase its vaccines division. (ET)

Biocon will be investing up to Rs2bn in the current fiscal for enhancing its R&D and manufacturing. (FE)

Alstom Projects boiler assets are set to be demerged into a new entity. (BL)

Coal India said the compensation-cum-rehabilitation package for the state of Jharkhand would stand at around Rs78bn. (BS)

Coal India’s production in 2012-13 is likely to take a hit with the environment ministry extending a pollution related moratorium on expansion to September 2011. (ET)

Coal India will start exploratory drilling at two coal blocks in Mozambique in the next three months. (ET)

SAIL plans to invest Rs29bn towards the first phase of modernization of its integrated steel plant in Durgapur, West Bengal. (BS)

Essar group will go ahead with its decision to sell 33% stake in Vodafone Essar for US$5bn in cash despite the order of the Madras High Court. (BS)

Government has directed Reliance Industries to immediately stop supplying gas from KG-D6 block to refineries, steel firms and petrochemical plants and divert the volume to meet the demand of priority consumers. (ET)

Accenture is learnt to be the frontrunner in a deal for buying a 60% stake in Subex that could be in the range of Rs5-6bn. (FE)

Aditya Birla Group has drawn up a blueprint to invest around US$1.2bn in pulp business, including capacity expansions across units. (TOI)

Economy Snippets


RBI has asked banks to top up at the earliest the buffer provision for bad debts. (BL)

Foreign exchange reserves declined by US$286mn to US$308bn following fall in foreign currency assets during the week ending April 15. (BL)

Bankers have turned down a request by MFIs to create an Rs10bn fund to help them recover from losses arising due to mass defaults in Andhra Pradesh. (BS)

Union road transport ministry has cut the national highway project award plan for 2011-12 to 7,300km from the originally planned around 11,000km. (DNA)

Food inflation inched up to 8.74% for the week ended April 9 following a rise in prices of egg, meat, fish and onions during the week. (ET)

RBI directed banks to implement 1% interest subsidy scheme on housing loans up to Rs1.5mn announced in the Budget with immediate effect. (ET)

Bankers urged the RBI to allow them to dip into 2% of their SLR of the mandated 24% to meet short-term asset liability mismatch. (ET)

Finance ministry is planning to give infrastructure status to operating oil pipelines, LNG terminals, strategic storage of crude oil, tourism and capital stock of educational institutions and hospitals. (FE)

FDI flow in services dips 22% to US$3.3bn in April-February of previous fiscal. (FE)

Reserve Bank of India has said that an earlier guideline requiring additional funds to be set aside for bad loans will not apply to loans that turn bad after September 2010. (TOI)