No FDI involved in Vodafone deal
New Delhi: The Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the controversy over foreign shareholding in mobile telecom firm Hutch-Essar was just a case of transfer of shares from one party to another and that there was no FDI involved.

About the delay in decision by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB he said there was no need for an urgency and that the law ministry had given its view only recently which it needed time to study.

FIPB has deferred the decision for the third time to examine the Law Ministry's views on the foreign shareholding in India's fourth-largest mobile company. Vodafone in February this year bought a direct 52 per cent stake in the mobile joint venture for an enterprise value of $18.3 billion. FIPB, whose approval is necessary to complete the deal, is looking into the minority 12.6 per cent stake held jointly by Hutch-Essar managing director Asim Ghosh and Max Group chairman Analjit Singh to see if they are acting as the front companies of Hutch (earlier) and now of Vodafone.
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Cos can now spend more dollars
Mumbai: RBI's measures towards capital account convertibility in the annual monetary policy on Tuesday, will allow Indian companies to remit up to $10 million for infrastructure consultancy services against the current limit of $1 million. To enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to hedge the foreign exchange exposure, the RBI has allowed them to book forward contracts without underlying exposures or past records of exports and imports.

Banks have been allowed to open escrow/ special accounts on behalf of non- residents subject to specific conditions where such accounts are required to be opened in terms of SEBI regulations for open offers, delisting and exit offers.

The central bank has permitted authorised dealers, on request of depositors, to permit remittance of the maturity proceeds of FCNR (B) [foreign currency non- resident bank scheme] deposits to third parties outside India.

The facility of operation of accounts by power of attorney holder is extended to NRO (non- resident ordinary) accounts.

Remittances for donations by corporates for specific purposes, subject to a limit of one per cent of their foreign exchange earnings during the previous three years or $5 million, whichever is lower are allowed.

Corporates are also allowed to remit foreign exchange towards reimbursement of pre- incorporation expenses incurred in India where they do not exceed five per cent of the investment brought into India or $100,000, which ever is higher, on the basis of statutory auditors' certification.
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Decision on ATF hedging welcomed
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India's decision to allow domestic airlines to hedge risk on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) bought by them has been welcomed by the aviation sector. However, the airlines said that the announcement would not immediately lead to any fall in air fares.

Fuel currently accounts for 35-40 per cent of the total operating costs of domestic airlines.

The domestic base price of ATF is higher against what is charged in Dubai or Singapore and so far domestic airlines were not allowed to hedge risk on fuel being uplifted for domestic operations.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director of Kingfisher Airlines, said, "For the decision to be effective attempts should also be made to lower the sales tax levied on ATF and the monopoly of State-owned oil companies should be ended before the real impact of the decision can be felt," he said.

G.R. Gopinath, managing director of Air Deccan said while it was too early to say what impact the announcement will have on fares, it could have a positive impact on the bottomline of airlines. In the US, South West Airlines reported a huge profit largely on account of hedging.
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Vedanta to acquire Mitsui's stake in Sesa Goa
Mumbai: London-based Vedanta Resources has won the race for acquiring Mitsui's 51 per cent stake in leading domestic iron and manganese ore company Sesa Goa. The Vedanta group has acquired Mitsui's stake for $981 million in cash or approximately around Rs2,036 per share.

The final round of bidding for Mitsui's 51 per cent stake in Sesa Goa saw a decline of more than 25 per cent from the previous round because the government in the Union Budget for 2007-08 slapped an export duty of Rs300 per ton on iron ore.

Three companies Arcelor Mittal, Vedanta Resources and the AV Birla group had submitted bids the Birla group had appeared to be the front-runner with its bid for Rs1,550. Although Arcelor Mittal's bid was the highest around Rs1,700, the company had imposed many conditions, which were difficult for sellers to meet.

Against this, Vedanta Resources' bid of Rs1,330 was seen to be far behind market expectations.
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Reliance to introduce own brand of consumer electronics
New Delhi: Reliance Retail, the subsidiary of petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, will soon launch its own label of consumer electronics goods to complement its retail appliance stores - Reliance Digital. Read more
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Hinduja TMT completes demerger of BPO biz
Mumbai: Outsourcing major, Hinduja TMT has divided its ITES-BPO business into two forming a separate company called HTMT Global Solutions.

While Hinduja TMT would re-commence trading on the stock exchange from today, HTMT Global Solutions would list after completion of regulatory approvals, Hinduja TMT told the Bombay Stock Exchange.

HTMT Global Solutions would deal in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and contact centre services and has 19 delivery centres across US, Canada, Mauritius, Philippines, India with over 9,500 employees servicing more than 60 clients across the globe.

The paid-up capital of HTMT Global is around Rs20.53 crore and net worth of a bout Rs650 crore as on December 2006.

Hinduja TMT further said it owns 63 per cent stake in leading integrated media company, IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL) which has a presence in the businesses of digital media distribution, broadband internet, cable movie and home shopping channels. The paid up capital of Hinduja TMT is approximately Rs20.53 crore and net worth of about Rs587 crore as on December 31, 2006.
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Bajaj Hindusthan Q2 net down 94 per cent
Mumbai: Sugar and ethanol maker Bajaj Hindusthan, a part of the Shishir Bajaj Group, has posted over 94 per cent slump in its net profit to Rs3.66 crore in the second quarter ended March 31 as against Rs64.51 crore for the same quarter a year ago.

Gross income of the Uttar Pradesh-based company however rose to Rs527.76 crore for the three-month period ended March 31, up 25.14 per cent over Rs421.73 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, Bajaj Hindusthan informed the National S tock Exchange.
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Hexaware Technologies Q1 net up 25.77 per cent
Mumbai: IT and BPO services provider Hexaware Technologies has registered a 25.77 per cent jump in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs26.30 crore for the quarter ended March 31, as against Rs20.91 crore for the same quarter last year.

The total income of the company for the first quarter ended March 31 stood at Rs127.23 crore, up 40 per cent compared to Rs90.92 crore registered for the year-ago period, Hexaware informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company said its revenue and profit have grown consistently with its medium-term business plans. The company has registered an impressive increase in the order book of $61 million and acquired 20 new clients, the highest we recorded so far.

In the fourth quarter ended December 31 last year, the company had posted a profit after tax of Rs42.81 crore and a total income of Rs143.47 crore.

Hexaware, currently has forward cover in excess of $60 million at an average rate of Rs44.73, a company statement shows.

Hexaware expects revenues from operations to be in the range of $64 to 65 million (Rs268-273 crore) - a growth of 6.5-8.1 per cent over the first quarter.
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Wockhardt obtains US FDA nod for lisinopril
Mumbai: Wockhardt has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to sell lisinopril, generic form of AstraZeneca Plc's Sestril, used in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart disease.

The company said the US market for lisinopril was about $375 million and with an annual consumption of 3.25 billion tablets, it was the most widely used heart medication in the United States.

This is Wockhardt's fifth FDA approval in five weeks and would help boost its growth in the U.S. market.
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Maruti Q4 net up 24.3 per cent; announces 90 per cent dividend
New Delhi: India's largest car maker Maruti Udyog has reported a 24.3 per cent jump in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2007 at Rs448.6 crore over January-March 2006.

Total income (net of excise) grew 36.6 per cent to Rs4,634.7 crore during the quarter over the same period of the previous financial year, the company said in a statement. MUL said its board has also recommended a dividend of 90 per cent for 2006-07.

For the fiscal 2006-07, net profit stood at Rs1,562 crore, up 31.4 per cent over the previous fiscal, it said. Total income for the fiscal under review stood at Rs15,252.3 crore (net of excise), a growth of 22.2 per cent over the previous financial year, it said.
During 2006-07, Maruti sold 674,924 units including exports of 39,295 units. This was the highest-ever annual sale for the company. It represented a growth of 20.1 per cent over the previous year, Maruti said.
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