Re declines on rising dollar demand
Mumbai: The rupee fell against the dollar on Monday due to heavy demand from corporates for the US currency. The domestic currency ended the trade with a loss of 27 paise against the dollar.

Opening at 44.67, the rupee touched an intra-day low of 44.9950 and recovered briefly to 44.84/85 but finally closed at 44.98, down from Friday's close of 44.71/7150.

Forwards: In forwards, the six-month premium closed at 1.77 per cent (1.79) and the 12-month ended at 1.68 per cent (1.72).

Bonds: Bond prices rose almost nine paise tracking US treasury yields.

G-secs: The 7.59 per cent 10-year 2016 paper opened at Rs100 (7.59 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs100.01 (7.59 per cent YTM) against Rs99.92 (7.6 per cent YTM) on Friday. The 8.07 per cent 11-year 2017 paper opened at Rs103.58 (7.55 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs103.67 (7.54 per cent YTM) against Friday's Rs103.46 (7.57 YTM).

Call rates: Call ruled between 6.85 per cent and 6.95 per cent against 6.9-7.1 per cent on Friday.

Reverse repo: In the first one-day reverse-repo auction under LAF, the RBI received and accepted two bids amounting to Rs270 crore. There were no repo bids. In the second one-day reverse-repo auction, it accepted and received five bids for Rs2,545 crore.

CBLO: The CBLO market saw 387 trades aggregating Rs20,974.55 crore in the 6.15-7.15 per cent range.
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Tata-AIG partners to hike capital
Bangalore: Tata-AIG General Insurance Company's joint venture partners are planning to hike capital ahead of deregulation of tariffs in the non-life insurance sector.

At present, Tata-AIG is capitalised at Rs175 crore, where the Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake. The companies expect premiums in some insurance segments are likely to fall with the beginning of deregulation. This is in line with other international markets, where market-based risk pricing is adopted. This drop in premiums is also likely to bring in pressure on incomes.
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Infrastructure Development Finance acquires minority stake in Arcil
Mumbai: Infrastructure Development Finance (IDFC) has announced the purchase of 8.71 per cent equity in Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd (Arcil) for Rs57.46 crore.

Arcil, India's first asset restructuring company is sponsored by SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI and PNB. IDFC has subscribed to the un-subscribed portion of the rights issue offer by Arcil, which closed last month. The infrastructure finance company will be paying Rs30 per share.

In the long-term, IDFC and Arcil could work together to restructure assets in the infrastructure space, which is the core competency of IDFC, as also undertake post-restructuring operations.
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Prudential ICICI to expand: launches derivatives fund
Hyderabad: Pudential ICICI Asset Management Company plans to be present in 180 places by the end of 2007 from the present 100. The company also plans to strengthen its distribution channel by having more agents and will lay stress on investor education and awareness.

The company has launched the Prudential ICICI Equity and Derivatives Fund. The fund offering would close on December 7.
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UTI Bank to raise Rs200-cr through bonds
Mumbai: UI Bank plans to raise Rs200 crore (with an option to retain over-subscription) through upper tier II unsecured redeemable subordinated debentures. The face value and issue price of one debenture is about Rs 10 lakh. The bonds have been rated "LAA'' by ICRA and "AA (ind)'' by Fitch, said a BSE notification. The coupon rate is 9.35 per cent payable annually. The issue opens on November 13 and closes on November 22.
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ICICI Bank NRI deposit scheme
Mumbai: ICICI Bank has introduced the `NRI SmartSave Deposits', a fixed deposit scheme for non-resident Indians. Under this, a customer who has a fixed deposit in any bank's overseas branch can get the amount transferred to ICICI Bank in India on maturity according to a press release from the bank.

Even after the amount is transferred to India, the deposit will continue to remain on NRE/NRO savings account, said the release. The bank will give free international credit card insurance and free personal accident insurance with the scheme.
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6000 SBI officers take early retirement
Mumbai: More than 6,000 officers including one chief general manager (CGM) in the foreign business division of the State Bank of India have taken early separation for reasons ranging from bleak future career prospects (no more promotions) to difficulty in adjusting with information technology and intensive work environment.

The total officers' strength of the bank is 55,000 and about 4,500 officers have already put in papers under the exit option scheme. The scheme which was thrown open in April 2005 was closed by October end this year.

The maximum response (approximately 600) to the scheme came from officers from the Maharashtra and Goa circle, which has largest share in SBI's business, a senior SBI official said.
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Finolex to foray into insurance
Mumbai: The Finolex group is planning a foray into the Rs50,000 crore insurance sector. Finloex sources said that the company sees great potential in insurance. The company's investment would be about Rs1,000 crore spread across 8-10 years.

The Finolex group promoted by PP Chabbria has Finolex Industries and Finolex Cables under its fold. Finolex Industries is an integrated petrochemicals player while Finolex Cables makes products for the telecom sector.

Insurance regulator IRDA has set varied percentages of foreign participation in domestic insurance companies, depending on the category of the company.
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Indian ties up with ICICI Bank to launch Platinum credit card
New Delhi: State-owned airlines Indian has tied up with the country's largest private bank ICICI Bank to provide credit cards to its regular customers.

Under the agreement, ICICI Bank will offer 'Indian Platinum Credit Card MasterCard' loaded with premium features to the regular customers of the airline.

In the pilot phase, the carrier will target senior level officials from the government, who are frequent fliers for its new credit card.

The card being offered by ICICI Bank operating on MasterCard's worldwide platform, will also be made available to high mile frequent fliers in future.

The card offers 20 per cent cash back on airline tickets purchased for full fare levels, dial-a-ticket facility, privileged access to lounges at domestic and international terminals and exclusive golf clubs along with waiver on fuel surcharge across all petrol pumps in India.

The card holders will also become members of a 24x7 concierge service, which provides access to personalised assistance in various cities in India.
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