Maruti to launch new SUV Escudo on July 5, priced at Rs 14-15 lakh

Maruti Udyog is preparing to drive deeper into the imported vehicle market . The car maker will unveil the Suzuki Sports Utility vehicle (SUV) Escudo at the forthcoming Auto Expo to test the waters for rolling out the vehicle in India.

The vehicle, if marketed, will be introduced through the fully-built import route. This will make Escudo Maruti’s second offering in the SUV market after Grand Vitara. Escudo is positioned globally as an urban cross-country vehicle that offers the riding comfort as a passenger car.

Suzuki had earlier, this year, announced plans to launch the Escudo in the US, Europe and other parts of Asia in 2006. If introduced, the Escudo is expected to be positioned as a compact SUV in India in the Rs 12-15 lakh price bracket. Powered by a 2-litre and a 2.7-litre engine, Escudo is sold in some overseas markets as Grand Vitara.

Maruti will also unveil a host of new sportier variants of its existing hatchbacks Zen and Swift. It will also showcase an office-on-wheels concept with its mini-van Versa.

Maruti is also planning to set up a design clinic at the Auto Expo. Visitors will get a chance to design a car on computer , they can then choose the colour and put their own accessories to get a version of the car they want.




Bank of Baroda sells 0.9% NSE stake to Citigroup at Rs 2,281/shr

Bank of Baroda has completed the sale of 4,00,500 shares of National Stock exchange of India (NSEIL) (representing 0.90% of NSEIL equity) to Citigroup Strategic Holdings Mauritius at a price of Rs 2281.01 per share and booked a profit of Rs 90.65 crore.

The deal was contracted on February 14, 2007 together with other banks and concluded on June 28, 2007 on the receipt of the regulatory approvals.




Ratan Tata, TCS: Rupee appreciation a concern; Competition from IBM, Accenture to lead co to offer gamut of svcs

Speaking on TCS, Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group said that rupee appreciation is a concern. He said that their employee strength will cross 1 lakh this year. Competition from IBM, Accenture will lead the company to offer a gamut of services, Tata says. TCS acquisition strategy is driven by need to offer end-to-end services.




Industrial construction, roads & exports will contribute to growth, order book at Rs 7000 Cr, expect to grow at 30-35% in FY08: Simplex

Simplex Infra has posted its Q4 net Profit at Rs 17.79 crore Vs Rs 10.63 crore while its Q4 net sales at Rs 550 crore Vs Rs 396 crore. Amitabh Das Mundhra, Director, Simplex Infrastructures said industrial construction, roads & exports will contribute to growth going forward. Our order book stands at Rs 7000 crore which is to be executed over 2.5 years. We expect to grow at 30-35% in FY08. We will finalise real estate plans in 2 months.




Tech Mahindra launches near shire centre in Belfast, Ireland

Tech Mahindra has formally announced creation of a Centre of Excellence for business service delivery including
solution design in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The centre, which is being supported by Invest Northern Ireland, will provide end to end IT and BPO solutions to customers primarily in the European and US markets. The centre will have the capability to provide multilingual support to Tech Mahindra customers on 24X7 basis. The addition of this centre will be an important milestone in Tech Mahindra's efforts to build a global delivery capability.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Kalra President Strategic initiatives at the Company said, "Global Telecom and Financial markets are a well developed ecosystem. Tech Mahindra as a leading Solutions provider to the Telecom industry has clients and partners worldwide. Our growth requires high class talent with the right attitude and a good work ethic. Belfast has this refreshing attitude and the spirit of innovation in abundance. Our Belfast centre will play a pivotal role in servicing and growing our client base in Europe and North America."




Looking for sales growth of 70-80% in FY08, margins much high on export sales, FY08 turnover seen at Rs 400 Cr: Indo Asian Fuse Gear

Indo Asian Fusegear has won the most promising SME in the auto ancillary space of cnbc-TV18 and ICICI Bank emerging India awards. VP Mahendru, CMD, Indo Asian Fusegear said we are looking for sales growth of 70-80% in FY08. Our margins are much high on export sales. FY08 turnover is seen at Rs 400 crore.

Indo Asian is a leading manufacturer of LV electrical switchgear & lighting equipment. It commissioned 2 plants in Uttaranchal. The company received Rs 21 crore order from West Asian partner for lighting equipments. Its export contributed 16% of revenue in FY06.





40% of overall margin depreciation on account of rupee appreciation,60% on account of raw materials: KRBL

Priyanka Mittal, Director, KRBL, said that rupee appreciation is going to impact Q1FY08 results as well. She said that 40% of overall margin depreciation is on account of rupee appreciation while 60% is on account of raw materials.

She said that YoY basis sales has grown from Rs 734 crore to almost Rs 920 crore and our profitability after tax grown from Rs 32 to Rs 49.5. So the company has done well despite its trying circumstances. The rupee appreciation partly has played a factor due to which the next quarter would be somewhat subdued but company will cover it in future quarters because the raw material prices have gradually now been passed on to consumers and the rupee appreciation effect would also be balanced out.

She said that the company has been hedged - the rupee has been appreciated far beyond the level than the company expected and also the number of orders that the company booked has also jumped up more than what was expected and hedging was only 50% of the total order so that has had basically an impact. It’s basically the level of appreciation of the dollar as well as how the order book looks at the moment.





C & C Constructions & NHAI sign BOT Agreement

C & C Constructions has informed that the company in JV with B Seenaiah & Co. (Projects) Ltd (BSCPL), has signed a concession agreement with NHAI for KuraliKiratpur Road Project. This marks the entry of the Company into the BOT segment, which provides the Company contracting revenue as well as revenue from operations.

The Company has been granted a concession for the development, design, construction, maintenance and operation of 44 km stretch of the highway from Kurali Kiratpur on NH-21 connecting Chandigarh to the tourist and apple belt of Kullu Valley and beyond and other districts of Himachal. This road has a historic significance as it connects the religious siteAnandpur Sahib. It also provides access to two industrial areas of Himachal Pradesh Nalagarh & Baddi. The project is valued at an estimated cost of Rs 400 crores with a grant from the government of Rs 44 crores. The concession period is 20 years including
construction period of two and half years.

The Company and BSCPL are infrastructure project development Companies, that provide engineering, procurement and construction services for infrastructure projects.

The Company has also significant expertise in EPC contracts, and has also recently forayed into urban infrastructure projects. As part of its international operations, the Company and their JV partner BSCPL has been present in Afghanistan since 2003 and have executed a number of infrastructure projects for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Major clients of the company include NHAI, AAI, Infrastructure Boards and PWD's of various State Governments, Govt. of Afghanistan, The Louis Berger Group Inc, RITES Ltd and UNOPS etc.




REI Agro Q4 Net Profit at Rs 29.65 Cr; To demerge and spim-off Rice, Power & Retail into separate entities

REI Agro has reported its numbers. Its Q4 Net Profit is at Rs 29.65 crore vs Rs 14.25 crore. The Net Sales are at Rs 369 crore vs Rs 216 crore.

The company has also approved demerger and will spin-off Rice, Power & Retail into separate entities.

Sundip Jhunjhunwala, Chairman of REI Agro says that the rice and power businesses have stabilised, but the retail needs to grow. As for the rupee impact, he says that they have hedged their currency and currently all its present order book is hedged. He also adds that the overseas buyers have agreed for price increase. The company is targetting for the exports to contribute 20-25% of total revenues. They had touched 15% last year. They have no fund raising plans post the demerger.

The demerger is aimed at enhancing shareholder value. "We believe that there is hidden value within our company which can be unlocked by de-merging the flagship company REI Agro, vertically into three companies. This move besides creating shareholder value will bring increased focus and thrust into the three verticals through independent capital raising ability, increased revenues, better operating margins and quick scalability,” said Jhunjuhunwala.

The company over the past few years has scaled up its wind power business considerably with an installed base of over 45 MW at Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. REI Agro has also forayed into retail having successfully launched the retail venture with over 20 neighborhood convenience stores operational in the NCR and with major expansion plans on the anvil. Hence the flagship company was not confined to its core business of Basmati Rice only.

With Indian economy growing rapidly and renewable energy and retail showing tremendous promise in the future demerging was the most rational option that could provide focus on the respective strengths of each of these businesses and generate further revenue growth, better margin and enhanced returns for the shareholders. Apart from that the PE ratios of the three businesses are also quite different which would be reflected correctly only if they operate as independent entities





Varun Shipping zooms ahead, Volumes multiply; Co plans to acquire a vessel in Singapore

Varun Shipping has touched an intra day high of Rs 63.40 and an intra day low of Rs 55.50. Currently, the share is quoting at Rs 61.35, up Rs 5.55, or 9.95%. It is trading with volumes of 394,454 shares, compared to its 5-day average of 35,733 shares, an increase of 1,003.90%.

Singapore has become the hottest destination for Indian shipping companies. The tax-friendly regime in Singapore is encouraging domestic shipping companies to acquire vessels through their subsidiaries in that country. Shipping majors are also queuing up to raise finance in Singapore. Varun Shipping Company, which specialises in LPG transportation, is also planning vessel acquisition through its Singapore subsidiary, reports the Business Standard.





Chowgule Steamships seeing good buying; Co had secured contract from MMB for handling 4 mln tonne cargo

Chowgule Steam has touched an intra day high of Rs 33.45 and an intra day low of Rs 28.40. Currently, the share is quoting at Rs 32.50, up Rs 4.60, or 16.49%. It is trading with volumes of 792,246 shares, compared to its 5-day average of 86,944 shares, an increase of 811.22%. Yesterday the share closed up 3.33% or Rs 0.90 at Rs 27.90

According to a Business Standard report, Chowgule Steampship had secured a contract from the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) for developing Jaigad port for handling 4 million tonnes of cargo by constructing of four berths and a dry dock. The MMB is the nodal agency, which takes care of the regulatory and developmental framework of the state’s maritime activities. Also it is believed that Japanese Steel company Kobe is in talks with the Chowgule group for an iron nugget plant in India.

Meanwhile, with reference to the news item regarding sale of a vessel, Chowgule Steamships has clarified that the news pertaining to the sale of a bulk carrier m.v.Maratha Explorer to undisclosed interests for $ 32 million is incorrect and not based on facts.




Glenmark receives US FDA approval for Ondansetron IR and Ondansetron ODT tablets; Had sales of $ 744 mln last FY

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a research-based pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Mumbai (India), has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for Ondansetron Hydrochloride (HCl) Tablets, 4 mg (base), 8 mg (base) and 24 mg (base) and Ondansetron Orally Disintegrating Tablets 4mg & 8mg.

Ondansetron HCl Tablets are the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Zofran(R) Tablets. It is a popular anti- emetic, commonly used by cancer patients. Ondansetron HCl Tablets had U.S. sales of approximately $ 744 million for the same strengths for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, according to IMS Health.

Glenmark is manufacturing the finished dose formulation at its USFDA approved manufacturing facility in Goa, India. Glenmark’s US subsidiary, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA [GPI] will start marketing the product in the US. With this approval, GPI now has a portfolio of 18 generic products for the US market and has over 35 ANDAs undergoing US FDA approval process/launch.

The Company has generic formulation and API business interests in over 80 countries across the world including the highly regulated markets of USA and Europe. The formulation business spans several product segments such as Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Gynaecology, ENT, Diabetes and Oncology. Glenmark's first Asthma/COPD molecule, Oglemilast [GRC 3886], was licensed out to Forest Laboratories and Teijin Pharma Limited for the North American and Japanese markets, respectively, in two landmark deals. Oglemilast is presently undergoing

Phase II clinical trials in the US. The Company’s second lead GRC 8200, a DPP-IV inhibitor for Type II Diabetes was out-licensed to Merck KGaA, Germany for the North American, European and Japanese markets. A third molecule targeting pain, GRC 6211, is undergoing Phase II clinical trials in Europe. Glenmark has three other programmes across obesity, inflammation and pain management at the pre-clinical stages; all of which should enter the clinics in by H1 FY 2008.




Suzlon bags 300 MW additional order from PPM Energy, order valued at over $ 300 Mn

Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, the US-based subsidiary of Suzlon Energy A/S of Denmark, just extended its contract with PPM Energy to add 300 MW of wind turbine capacity to become one of the largest single contracts in the history of the company and the US wind energy industry. The original agreement calls for delivery of 300 MW of turbine capacity in 2008 and 100 MW of capacity in 2009, but now has been extended to include an additional 300 MW in 2009 for a total of 700 MW over two years.

PPM Energy had earlier awarded 400 MW order to Suzlon.

Suzlon’s S88-2.1 MW wind turbine is the featured machine of the agreement and will be delivered to various ready-to-build sites across the US starting in the summer of 2008.

PPM Energy is part of the IBERDROLA group of companies, the world leader in wind power, with more than 6,500 MW of combined wind power capacity.

The turbine agreement includes the total supply of 143 units of the S88-2.1 MW in 2008 and 191 units in 2009. Suzlon is also contracted for operations, maintenance and service of the wind turbines for two years and an option for five, and will do so by expanding its service territory with new facilities to meet the demand.




ABB continues to make good gains; Analsyt suggests to hold on, Add to portfolio if it corrects

ABB has touched an intra day high of Rs 1,088 and an intra day low of Rs 1,039. Curently, the share is quoting at Rs 1,078.90, up Rs 45.15, or 4.37%. It is trading with volumes of 173,548 shares, compared to its 5-day average of 163,603 shares, an increase of 6.08%. Yesterday the share closed up 8.35% or Rs 79.69 at Rs 1,033.75.

The stock went ex-split yesterday. Ketan Karani, VP Research of Kotak Securities is of the view that one can hold ABB for long-term perspective.

Karani told CNBC-TV18, "ABB has performed very well today and entire this month, power ancillary, capital goods have performed very well. With the kind of power requirement in India and the growth in 11th and 12th plan visible now very clearly for the power sector, we believe that ABB would be one of the better plays to be in, in the entire power generation segment and equipment side of the power generation segment. From a long-term perspective the one can hold on to the shares. If the stock corrects in future, one can add the stock."





IDBI hits 52-week high; Sells 2% stake in NSE for $ 50 mln, Works out to Rs 2.8/sh for IDBI

IDBI has touched a 52 week high of Rs 116.35 and an intra day low of Rs 113.65. Currently, the share is quoting at Rs 116.00, up Rs 3.35, or 2.97%. It is trading with volumes of 1,528,817 shares, compared to its 5-day average of 4,721,323 shares, an decrease of -67.62%. Yesterday the share closed up 0.63% or Rs 0.70 at Rs 112.65.

Pursuant to the approval received from the concerned statutory and regulatory authorities, IDBI has sold 9 lakh equity shares constituting 2% of the issued and paid up capital of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. to MS Strategic (Mauritius) Ltd. for an aggregate sum of US $ 50 million.

The NSE stake sale works out to Rs 2.8/sh for IDBI.




Broadcast Initiatives to launch Bhojpuri channel in Q4

Broadcast Initiatives has announced that it, is all set to launch world's first Bhojpuri Channel, in the fourth quarter of 2007. "Bhojpuri market is developing, as a very strong regional market and the enormous success of the Bhojpuri cinema can be duplicated in the television arena through a concentrated effort in specialised content for that market. The group is known for many media initiatives in the past and with regional markets growing at a rapid pace accounting, for more than 24% of the total Television advertising pie there is a concentrated effort by the group to target these markets by launching the Bhojpuri channel and an already launched Marathi entertainment channel Mi Marathi" said Mr. Markand Adhikari, Vice Chairman and MD.

Most of the regional markets have at an average 6-7 regional language channels and the Company's foray into the Bhojpuri market will give that market its first regional language channel.

The Company already has two channels, one news and current affairs channel Janmat and a Marathi General Entertainments Channel Mi Marathi, in the Subsidiary of the Company Sri Adhikari Brothers Media Ltd (SABML).

After the maiden IPO of the Company, Company is investing hugely in the latest equipment and technology for the news channel Janmat and this new revamped avatar will be visible in the month of July.

Mi Marathi a Marathi entertainment channel has a strong foothold in the Marathi market and in the third month of its launch has already posed 2nd position in terms of reach after Zee Marathi with 33% reach as compared to ETV which has 31% reach in whole of Maharashtra, (Source TAM, period Week 24, TG Females 15+ SEC ABC, whole day).

"Being a dialect of Hindi we are confident of grabbing good market share in Bhojpuri market and will be completely equipped to take first mover advantage", said Mr. Markand Adhikari, Vice Chairman and MD.





Sun TV rises after posting good results; Management says no political impact on the company

Sun TV has risen today in early market trades after posting ood results yesterday. Currently, the share is trading at Rs 1610, up Rs 73.85 or 4.8%. The share is trading with volumes of around 19,000 shares.

Sun TV announced its Q4 FY07 results yesterday. Its standalone Q4 net profit was at Rs 118.86 crore and its net sales were at Rs 379.04 crore. During FY07, its standalone net profit was at Rs 246.94 crore and standalone net sales were at Rs 677.96 crore.

Natarajan, CFO of Sun TV said we expect to margins to be maintained going forward at 73% for FY08. Regarding pricing we do not have any plans in mind at the moment. It is not fair to compare our business with Raj TV. There has been no impact on our market share. It remains same. There is will be no impact of any major political actions.

Analysts say that though the numbers are not strictly comparable with the previous year's results as the company had merged both the Gemini TV and Udaya TV businesses with itself, the profit growth is still impressive,





Tata’s plan to bid for Cadbury Schweppes’ US beverages business along with PE players Blackstone & Lion Capital as minor partners

India's Tata group is likely to submit a bid for Cadbury Schweppes Plc's Snapple range of beverages, the Economic Times said on Friday.

The Tata group, India's second-largest private-sector conglomerate, is in talks with private equity funds Blackstone and Lion Capital and could join them as a minor partner. Tata is not interested in the entire beverages portfolio, and wants the right to carve out Snapple if the Blackstone consortium emerges winner, the newspaper said, in an unsourced report. The Tata group's "financial exposure in the deal is estimated to be just over $ 2 billion", it said.

Cadbury, the world's largest confectionery company, is getting ready to separate its drinks arm, which includes Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple and Hawaiian Punch. Sources have said at least two groups of private equity firms were bidding for the business and a U.S. trade publication recently reported Coca-Cola Co. may be interested in buying Snapple. Snapple, which sells flavoured teas, lemonades and juice drinks, was the third-largest U.S. bottled tea brand in the first quarter.

Tata group company Tata Tea Ltd., the world's second-largest branded tea firm, in May sold its 30 percent holding in vitaminwater maker Glaceau to Coca-Cola for about $ 1.2 billion, nearly double what it paid last year for the stake.

A senior company official said at that time it was looking for "a beverage target in the U.S.". Tata Tea, which is looking to expand its non-tea portfolio, recently bought a controlling stake in an Indian bottled water brand, besides herbal and fruit tea brands in the United States and eastern Europe.




Nicholas Piramal develops drug leads from Antarctica

Indian drug major Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) is likely to be among the first pharmaceutical companies worldwide to develop drugs isolated from the flora and fauna of Antarctica. It will shortly apply for patents for two drug leads for antibiotics and cancer developed from live microbes brought from the southern continent. This follows participation by Shailendra Sonawane, a senior scientist from Nicholas Piramal’s research and development (R&D) centre, in an expedition to Antarctica from December 2005 to March 2006. The expedition was organised by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa.

“This was the first exploration by an Indian pharmaceutical company to develop drug leads from geographies like Antarctica. The live microbes in Antarctica exist in less than minus 50 degree Celsius, which prompted us to think of collecting rare species of microbes with potential drug leads", said Swati Piramal, director, strategic alliance, Nichola Piramal.

Commercial exploration of the region’s natural resources is not permitted under an international treaty on Antarctica. However, a source in NIO’s Antarctica Centre clarified that R&D was permitted and any commercial development to flow from the patent would involve collaboration with the government. “The NPIL scientist was part of a collaborative research mission and any scientific benefits derived from the expedition will be pursued through a memorandum of understanding with the collaborators,” the official said.

The Indian government has conducted 26 expeditions to Antarctica for scientific research.

Piramal explained that although microbes cannot be patented, it was possible to patent the results of the application of medicinal chemistry and computer drug design on them. “The results so far are exciting and the pre-clinical screening is on. It is too early to say whether and when we could come up with drugs, since new drug discovery is a process of 10-12 years,” she said. While more than 60 per cent of the drugs in use are developed from the 150,000 known natural products or natural product derivatives, there are only about 10,000 marine resource-derived natural products.

Nicholas Piramal is also exploring rare microbes in the interior forests of the Amazon in Argentina in association with Nappo Pharma of the US, as part of a joint drug research programme since last year. Nappo has established links with the tribals in the Amazon valley for exploring plant diversity. Research work is already underway in the US and India. NPIL, in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research laboratories, was also exploring the Indian coastal areas for new and rare microbes, said Piramal.

Last year, researchers with the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) developed two energy-giving herbal food supplements, Antarctica Tea and Antarctica Laddoo, meant for Indian soldiers working in Siachen. CCRAS also conducted a “unique human clinical trial” of these products in Antarctica to prove the high anti-oxidant character of the products.

Two years ago, researchers with the University of South Florida isolated a hormone, Palmerolide A, found in the ice brought from Antarctica. Advanced research at the US Cancer Research Institute led to the development of a drug to cure skin and related forms of cancer. The drug is now in the clinical trials stage.