RCom gets nod from bourses on SSTL acquisition

Country’s fourth-largest telecom operator Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) on Thursday said stock exchanges BSE and NSE gave their approval to its deal to acquire Russian conglomerate Sistema's Indian telecom unit, Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL), as per the media reports. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, RCom said, “The company have received Observation Letter from BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited on the Scheme of Arrangement (Scheme).” “The company and SSTL are proceeding to file necessary application with the Bombay High Court and Rajasthan High Court respectively for approval of the scheme,” it added. In November, RCom had announced the acquisition of Sistema’s Indian telecom unit in an all-stock deal that will create an operator with 118 million subscribers. As per the deal, SSTL will hold about 10 per cent stake in RCom and pay off its existing debt before closing the deal. SSTL offers mobile telephony services under MTS brand across nine telecom circles in the country. The deal will give RCom access to spectrum or airwaves in the 850 Mhz band which can be used for 4G services that it plans to start by the year-end. Also, it will be able to extend the validity of its licence by 12 years in eight high revenue generating circles of Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, UP (West) and West Bengal. Meanwhile, shares of Reliance Communications were trading at Rs 78.40 apiece, down 0.57 per cent, from previous close on BSE at 13:54 hours.

Railways to ask NBCC to redevelop two stations

The railways is mulling a plan to offer two stations to National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) for conversion into the country's "most- modern" rail premises as part of a redevelopment plan, reported PTI. "We are in discussions with NBCC for redevelopment of Gomtinagar station in Lucknow and Bhubaneswar station in Odisha," said a senior Railway Ministry official. The plan for modernisation of the two stations is part of a railways' initiative to redevelop 400 major stations across the country. Talking about the project, NBCC Chairman and Managing Director Anoop Kumar Mittal said, "The modalities are being worked out. After receiving the work order, we will prepare detailed project reports for the two stations." The plan envisages vertical development of rail premises with the construction of shopping malls, eateries, parking lot, office complex and other commercial ventures, he said as per the media report. The redevelopment plan is to be implemented on a turnkey basis. NBCC would prepare a business model for leveraging the real estate development of the two stations. Mittal said the real estate prospects differ from station to station. "One can leverage the real estate to develop modern facilities at stations. Once we get a concrete offer, we will decide how to go about it," he said. Railways wants to showcase a few station modernisation projects to attract private players for such projects. It is already working on the modernisation of a few stations such as Brijawasan and Anand Vihar in Delhi and Habibganj in Bhopal. NBCC, a PSU of Urban Development Ministry, is engaged in the business of project management consultancy services for civil construction projects and civil infrastructure for power sector and real estate development.

Titagarh Wagons' Italy unit wins big order

Titagarh Wagons Ltd (TWL) said that the company in a consortium with Hitachi Rail, has bagged a Euro 110 million order in Italy to supply double decker trains to Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM). Titagarh Firema Adler (TFA), Titagarh's Italian subsidiary, has been assigned about 60 per cent, or Euro 65 million (about Rs 475 crore), of the total value of the order for supplying complete trains from its plant in Caserta (Italy), whereas the balance trains will be supplied by Hitachi Rail. These double decker trains will be used to connect Milano with various cities, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The train sets will be delivered to FNM over time and completed by by April 2017. Titagarh Wagons had formed Titagarh Firema Adler after buying the business of Italy-based Firema Trasporti in July last year. TFA has design and production facilities and owns advanced technologies for manufacturing metro coaches and high speed regional/intercity trains in Europe. "This is a great development as it marks acceptance by the market to place new orders to our Italian acquisition," said Umesh Chowdhary, vice chairman and managing director, Titagarh Group. With the new train order, Titagarh's total order book stands at about Rs 2800 crore. This includes an order for export of wagons by TWL to African region valued at $ 8 million with technology and designs provided by TWA - Titagarh's subsidiary in France. Meanwhile, Titagarh is reportedly planning to invest in its Uttarpara (West Bengal) unit to start manufacturing metro coaches in India under the Make in India initiative. Meanwhile, shares of the company closed trading at Rs 134.50 apiece, down 4.58 per cent from the previous close on BSE.

Majesco enters into strategic partnership with Appulate

Majesco, a global provider of core insurance software and services has said that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Appulate, the leading provider of forms parsing and data bridging technology.

“In the partnership, Majesco will offer Appulate Uplink as an integrated component of Majesco Policy for P&C and Majesco Distribution solutions. The partnership will offer Majesco customers best-of-breed connectivity to any agency management system, improving efficiency and quality while reducing agent data entry,” the company informed in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In turn, Appulate will gain a distribution partner that offers market leading solutions for policy and distribution management for insurance carriers.

Commenting on the development, Majesco COO Ed Ossie said, “With this partnership, Majesco is able to offer its customers an effective and affordable turnkey solution for agent connectivity that will strengthen agent channel relationships while streamlining the insurance placement process to support evolving customer engagement strategies.”

“Adding Appulate to our partner ecosystem enhances our solution as we help our customers adapt to the changing distribution channel demands and customer expectations,” he added.

Markets open flat on mixed global cues

The Indian markets were trading on a flat note during the morning trading session tracking mixed Asian cues. The companies that will announce their December quarter results are Hindustan Unilever, Oberoi Realty, and Zee Entertainment among others.

At 9:28AM BSE SENSEX was at 24842.9, up by 69.93 points or by 0.28 per cent while the NSE Nifty was at 7550.55, up by 13.75 points or by 0.18 per cent.

The BSE MIDCAP was at 10695.3, up by 66.23 points or by 0.62 per cent while the BSE SMLCAP was at 11232.05, up by 100.67 points or by 0.9 per cent.

The top gainers of the BSE Sensex pack were Infosys Ltd. (Rs. 1154.65,+2.30 per cent), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (Rs. 4312.05,+1.47 per cent), Reliance Industries Ltd. (Rs. 1073.40,+1.15 per cent), Axis Bank Ltd. (Rs. 394.15,+0.92 per cent), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (Rs. 2941.50,+0.90 per cent), among others.

The top losers of the BSE Sensex pack were Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (Rs. 220.75,-1.74 per cent), GAIL (India) Ltd. (Rs. 351.60,-1.69 per cent), ITC Ltd. (Rs. 315.35,-0.58 per cent), Wipro Ltd. (Rs. 542.50,-0.53 per cent), Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (Rs. 823.00,-0.42 per cent), among others.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong. On BSE, out of total 1429 shares traded, 1089 shares advanced, 293 shares declined and 47 were unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices on BSE, BSE_IT index was at 10985.17, up by 111.97 points or by 1.03 per cent led by Tanla Solutions Ltd. (Rs. 40.80,+4.75 per cent), Datamatics Global Services Ltd. (Rs. 64.70,+3.44 per cent), MindTree Ltd. (Rs. 1570.70,+3.29 per cent), Moser Baer India Ltd. (Rs. 12.02,+2.91 per cent), SQS India BFSI Ltd. (Rs. 1072.00,+2.85 per cent).

Asian markets rebounded on Friday with energy shares leading the gains after global crude oil prices rebounded from their lowest level in 12 years. Further, the Chinese Yuan also stabilised. The Nikkei was up 0.7 per cent while Straits Times was trading with marginal gains. However, China's Shanghai was down 0.9 per cent while Hang Seng was down 0.5 per cent

Investors ready to commit capital into India's energy sector: Goyal

Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Japanese financial institutions have evinced keen interest in investing large amount of capital in various sectors including energy space in India. "I had a very good interaction with six financial institutions and banks this afternoon... The high level of integrity and good governance that has been the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has excited investors who wished to commit large amount of capital particularly for the energy sector," Goyal said as per the PTI report. He was addressing reporters at the India-Japan Strategic Energy Dilogue where CII is leading a high powered business delegation. Some of the financial institutions with whom the minister had meetings are SMBC (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation), Mizuho Bank, BTMU (Bank of Tokyo Mitsubhishi UFJ), JICA, NEXI(Nippon Export & Insurance Investment), JBIC. "Most bankers expressed deep satisfaction at the growing importance that Japan places on Indo-Japanese Strategic Partnership and wish to participate in this engagement," the minister said. The minister also had a meeting with top executives of Japanese companies like JPower and Hitachi. "Almost unanimously all... Have expressed great deal of satisfaction at the progress made by the new government in building up investors sentiments, allaying the fear of several investors developed in the last few years, particularly after the slowdown of the economy which was compounded with the series of litigations which tampared the investment moods," he said. However, he added that a few issues were raised by some bankers which were related to regulatory concerns both in the financial services and power sector and about health of the state distribution companies over the last few years. "They have expressed satisfaction that the government is taking proactive measures to resolve these problems particularly through UDAY programme," he said. He added that they have also expressed satisfaction that Indian discoms and the government have never defaulted "due to which they feel great deal of comfort with Indian government.

Worldwide PC shipments fall 8.3% in Q4 FY’15: Gartner

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 75.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 8.3 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2014, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. For the year, 2015 PC shipments totaled 288.7 million units, an 8 percent decline from 2014. “The fourth quarter of 2015 marked the fifth consecutive quarter of worldwide PC shipment decline,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Holiday sales did not boost the overall PC shipments, hinting at changes to consumers’ PC purchase behavior. On the business side, Windows 10 generally received positive reviews, but as expected, Windows 10 migration was minor in the fourth quarter as many organizations were just starting their testing period.” “All regions registered a decrease in shipments. Currency devaluation issues continued to impact EMEA, Latin America and Japan,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “Collectively EMEA, Japan and Latin America saw their markets reduced by nearly 10 percent in 2015.” Gartner’s outlook for PC shipments in 2016 is for a decline of 1 percent compared with 2015, with the potential for a soft recovery in late 2016. Ms. Kitagawa said the PC market is still in the middle of structural change which will reduce the PC installed base in the next few years. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Lenovo registered a worldwide PC shipment decline for the third consecutive quarter. However, Lenovo declined less than the industry average, and it extended its lead in the market. Lenovo accounted for 20.3 percent of worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2015 (see Table 1). Lenovo did particularly well in North America to offset shipment declines in EMEA, Latin America and Japan.

CIL to make biggest tech changes in 4 decades to curb theft

State run Coal India Ltd has said that it is planning to make its biggest tech changes in four decades to check extensive theft. As per reports, the state-run company's monopoly had allowed it to delay the use of modern technology common in international mining, but it cannot afford to wait any longer as the Government is set to soon announce a plan to allow private competitors like Adani Group to mine and sell coal. Coal India's productivity is estimated at just one-eighth of its technologically advanced rivals in the United States, and as much as a fifth of its annual output is stolen, costing the company up to USD 1 billion each year. As per reports, the upgrade is expected to cost around 3.5 billion rupees (USD 52 million) initially, but the attraction of working with the world's largest coal mining company and the promise of follow-on business is luring some major companies.

FM rejects Railways plea for Rs 32,000 cr: Reports

Finance Ministry has said that it has rejected the request of Railways for Rs 32,000 cr as revenue grant, sought to tide over the impending impact of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on the public transporter. Commenting on the issue, a senior Railway Official told the media, “Finance Ministry has categorically rejected the Rs 32,000 cr demand expressing its inability to provide the grant, and has asked the public transporter to raise its own resources to manage the finance.” As per reports, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had written a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seeking Rs 32,000 crore as grant from the exchequer's for implementation of the Commission recommendations and had cited the difficult financial position that the railways was passing through. According to the 7th Pay Commission report, the annual financial impact on Railways will be approximately Rs 28,450 crore in addition to the normal growth which will require to be built into the Railway Budget 2016-17.

India's foreign reserves eased in December: DBS Bank

India’s foreign reserves eased to USD 350 billion by the end of December last year, down about USD 5 billion from its record peak seen in mid-2015, according to a report published on Tuesday by a leading Singapore-based bank, said the PTI report. Currency valuations and the authorities’ active presence to contain rupee volatility likely influenced the pace of reserve accumulation, DBS Bank said in its Tuesday's report on Asian economies. The report said despite the modest pullback, the current stock is comfortable on domestic metrics, especially with regard to the import cover (10x) and adequacy to cover short-debt external debt levels. But the coverage falls short when compared to the total external debt position and as a percentage of gross domestic product vis-a-vis regional counterparts. “Looking ahead, we expect the focus on higher reserves to persist even as the pace of accumulation slows,” DBS said. Foreign inflows into India's debt and equity markets lost momentum last year. In the calendar year 2015, foreign equity inflows narrowed to USD 3.2 billion, a fourth of the USD 16 billion registered the year before. Debt flows also moderated to USD 7.4 billion from a strong USD 26 billion in 2014. “These flows are off to a slow start so far this year,” it said. Given the backdrop of heightened external risks and slower global growth, incremental portfolio flows into the domestic markets will slow, the report said. “This will lower the need for the central bank to mop-up liquidity aggressively. Additionally, authorities will be less interventionist if the rupee weakens gradually in sync with its regional trading partners, stepping in only to minimise volatility,” said DBS. DBS Bank is the largest bank in South East Asia by assets and among the larger banks in Asia.

Reliance Industries hit 52 week highs

Shares of Reliance Industries surged nearly 4 per cent, hitting 52-week high, on the Bombay Stock Exchange after media report suggested that its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has received approval from the government’s green panel to build the Indian part of the Asia-Africa-Europe One (AAE-1) submarine cable under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). According to Financial Express report, this license authorises RJIL to provide all telecommunication services except Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite Service. The company is scheduled to hold a meeting of the board of directors of the company on January 19, 2016, to consider and approve the standalone and consolidated unaudited financial results of the for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015. Tracking firm trend in broader market, shares of the company jumped 3.85 per cent and touched 52-week high in intra-day trade to Rs 1085.40 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange. In a similar trend, stocks of the company advanced 3.57 per cent in intra-day trade to Rs 1,082.75 a piece on National Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the broader benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 24,833.25, up 151.22 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 14:35 hours.

Marksans fails inspection

Shares of Marksans Pharma fell by nearly 20 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company's Goa plant failed to clear an inspection by the UK drug regulator, media reports said. The company got a notice of deficiency from UK MHRA related to the matter. The drug regulator is said to have found violations in goods manufacturing practices (GMP) norms in the Goa plant. Following the development, shares of the company dropped 19.96 per cent to Rs 75.80 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares of the company dipped 19.98 per cent to Rs 75.70 a piece on National Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the broader benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 24,579.72, down 102.31 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 11:30 hours.

Surya Roshni ties-up with Snapdeal to enter e-commerce space

Lighting & steel tube products maker Surya Roshni Ltd on Wednesday said it has entered into a strategic alliance with Snapdeal, country’s largest online marketplace, to sell its LED bulbs via e-commerce platform. “Surya Roshni and Snapdeal partnership makes LED bulbs affordable for all,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on January 13, 2016. The company said that its 7 watt Surya LED bulbs will be available on Snapdeal at most affordable prices. Also, the partnership initiates a disruptive trend in energy conservation by making LED bulbs affordable and within reach of millions of people in tier 2 and 3 areas who otherwise would have found LED bulbs inaccessible and unaffordable, it further said. Surya’s eco-friendly and energy saving LED bulbs will be available for sale on the e-commerce website from January 2016, it added. Meanwhile, shares of the company were trading at Rs 152 apiece, down 6.58 per cent, from previous close on BSE at 13:43 hours.

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital to invest Rs 600 cr for expansion

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital chain announced that it is looking to invest Rs.600 crore for the purpose of expanding its operations in the country as well as overseas over the coming 60 months. At present, the hospital chain has 60 hospitals and is looking to l add 140 by 2020. Commenting on this, Amar Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director said, “The investment will happen in two phases. Since our debt is low, around Rs.20-25 crore, we will raise more funds through debt, internal accruals and private equity.” The chain is targeting a total of 200 hospitals with 150 in India and 50 in Africa, West Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. Agarwal said, “We are planning to continue our expansion in the East and West of India.” The chain recently commenced its operation in Kolkata co-branding with Peerless Hospital, a well-known hospital chain there, taking over its eye care operations. We are looking at organic and inorganic growth,” Agrawal said and added that they are looking at Gujarat, New Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab for the next stage of development.”

Suzlon forays into solar sector with 210MW LoIs from TSSPDCL

Leading wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd on Wednesday said it has won 210MW Letter of Intent (LoIs) from the state utility, Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSSPDCL) through a competitive bidding process. “Suzlon forays into solar; wins 210MW projects in Telangana,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on January 13, 2016. The 210-MW project consists of six different capacity projects to be located in across the state, including one project of 100 MW, one of 50 MW and four projects of 15 MW each. These projects are expected to be commissioned during financial year 2016-17, it said. These solar projects will be developed under six different special purpose vehicles of which one is an existing subsidiary of Suzlon, while five have been acquired by taking over 100 per cent shareholding. These would be used as the proposed solar special purpose vehicles for the project, it added. Meanwhile, shares of the company closed flat at Rs 20.75 apiece from previous close on BSE.