Daily News Roundup - Oct 13 2011

L&T General Insurance will see a capital infusion around Rs5bn from its parent over next three to four years.(ET)

Maruti Suzuki will halt production of some of its popular models, including the best-selling Swift hatchback, with the ongoing strike at one of its plants disrupting supply of critical components.(ET)

ONGC Videsh has acquired 25% stake in the highly prospective Satpayev exploration block in Kazakhstan, which can produce close to 300,000 barrels per day. (ET)



Ashoka Buildcon is in advanced stage to rope in a strategic investor in its newly formed road development projects subsidiary to raise up to US$150mn.(ET)

The Government is keen that SAIL be part of South Korean steel firm Posco's proposed US$12bn steel plant in Orissa. (BL)

JSW Steel Ltd has entered into a joint venture with Tokyo-based Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc to set up a steel processing centre in north India with an investment of Rs1.22bn. (BL)

Muthoot Exchange, Dubai has entered into a remittance arrangement with Mercantile Bank Ltd Bangladesh. (BL)

Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines have signed a pact for commercial services between India and Vietnam, according to a report. (BL)

Moser Baer Clean Energy Limited (MBCEL) has set up Asia’s largest solar farm having power generation capacities of 30 Mw in Banaskantha district of Gujarat. (BS)

Bajaj Finance Limited is set enter the credit card business by launching a co-branded credit card with Standard Chartered Bank. (BS)

There's action off the track even before the first ever Formula One race to be held in India kicks off – the UB Group's Mr Vijay Mallya has sold 42.5 per cent stake in his Force India F1 team to Sahara Group, headed by Mr Subroto Roy.(BL)
Economy Snippets

The Coal Ministry has agreed to the Power Ministry's demand to divert a portion of the coal currently being sold through the auction route to power stations stranded without fuel. (BL)

The Reserve Bank of India should pause its interest rate hikes as the deceleration in industrial growth is now clearly apparent, with both consumer and capital goods segments showing sluggish growth, Mr B. Muthuraman, President, Confederation of Indian Industry, said. (BL)

The government strategy to look for newer markets and change the composition of exports has paid off, as exports grew 36.3 % to US$24.8bn in September year-on-year, blunting the impact of slowdown in the Euro zone and the United States.(BS)