Economy

By IANS, Islamabad : Pakistan's economy has been in free-fall mode in the first 100 days of the new coalition government, with inflation at 19.2 percent, forex reserves plunging by $2.1 billion and the rupee depreciating by Rs.8.3 against the US dollar. Public debt during this period has swelled by Rs.373.5 billion or by Rs.3.70 billion per day, The News reported Tuesday, saying "these shocking disclosures based on hard facts were gathered after deep investigation".

By IANS Shimla : State-owned Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) will now build a hydropower project in Nepal, marking its entry in the international market. SJVNL won a bid for the 402-MW Arun-III hydropower project, edging out nine other power companies including GMR Energy, Jindal Steel and Power, Reliance Energy and J.P. Associates. The company signed an agreement with the Nepalese government Monday, a spokesman said here Tuesday.

By IANS, Kolkata : Tata Steel Monday announced that it has changed the name of its fully-owned subsidiary Tata Ryerson to Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd (TSPDL). Tata Steel had last July bought US-based Ryerson Tulls' entire stake in Tata Ryerson, which had been set up as a 50-50 joint venture. Tata Steel will now invest about Rs.500 crore in the subsidiary to increase its processing capacity by one million tonnes by 2012, said Anand Sen, the company's vice president of the flat products division, who is also chairman of the subsidiary.

By IANS, Mumbai : India's largest private lender ICICI Bank Saturday reported a 21 percent increase in net profit at Rs.878 crore ($183 million) for the quarter ended June 30, as compared to Rs.728 crore in the same period last year. The total interest income fell 5.02 percent to Rs.1,985 crore in the quarter from Rs.2,090 crore in the corresponding period last year, the bank said in a regulatory statement.

By IANS, Hyderabad : Infiniti Retail Ltd, a 100 percent subsidiary of Tata Sons, plans to open 20 Croma stores with an investment of Rs.600-800 million (Rs.60-80 crore) in 2009-10, a top official said Thursday. "The opening of 20 Croma stores by March 2010 will take the total number of stores across the country to 50," Infiniti Retail chief executive and managing director Ajit Joshi told reporters after opening two Croma stores here. Tata Sons has invested Rs.2.2 billion in this multi-brand durables and electronics chain.

By NNN-PTI, New Delhi : The government will consider a cut in fuel prices if crude oil prices stabilise at levels where losses of oil companies are lower, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said today. "Prime Minister has said we cannot reduce prices now because the oil companies are losing heavily," Deora said. Deora wanted losses to come down further and crude prices to stabilise before considering a price cut.

By IANS, Islamabad : Indian firm Godrej wants to make an investment in Pakistan, a media report said. The investment will be made in the country by the end of the year, it announced.

By IANS, New Delhi : State-run Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and international trading firm PEC Ltd have won awards for being the most efficient public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India.

By Sanjay Singh, IANS, Helsinki : With a host of Finnish companies like Nokia having their hubs in Chennai and Bangalore, Nordic carrier Finnair soon proposes to add these two cities to its schedule as part of a larger strategy to expand in Asia, a top official said. "Direct air connectivity will also help bring Indian information technology and telecom professionals from India to our country," said Christer Haglund, senior vice-president for public affairs with Finnair.

By DPA, Tokyo : The Bank of Japan (BOJ) pumped one trillion yen ($9.69 billion) into the money market to ease disruptions amid the global financial crisis. Japan's central bank Tuesday conducted the emergency measure for the 15th consecutive business day since the US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy Sep 15. The bank's move came after the Tokyo market plunged to a five-year low, which sent the key Nikkei Stock Average index below the 10,000 mark Tuesday.

By IANS Dubai : The US foreign investment committee has cleared a proposal of Dubai's state-owned stock exchange Borse Dubai Limited (BDL) to acquire a stake in Nasdaq, the second largest US equities exchange, WAM news agency reported Wednesday. According to the plan, the BDL will get Nasdaq's stake in the London Stock Exchange Group and a 19.9 percent stake in the US exchange, although its voting stake will be limited to 5 percent.

By IANS New Delhi : The government will not allow cartelisation of cement prices and will take necessary measures to control them, Minister of State for Industries Ashwani Kumar said Tuesday. "We will take all necessary steps to bring down cement prices. The government is importing more cement. The prices are high due to strong demand from the construction sector," Ashwani Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit here.

By Shweta Thakur, IANS New Delhi : Long before McDonald's or Pizza Hut, they popularised pizzas, burgers and ice cream sundaes in the Indian capital. And now restaurant chain Nirula's Group is spreading its branches to smaller cities. People in Meerut, Pathankot, Ludhiana and Moradabad are among those who can now look forward to Nirula's food in their home ground.

By Prensa Latina, Moscow : A joint $10 billion anti-crisis fund is atop the agenda of the leaders of the Euro-Asian Economic Community in Russia. Russian Presidential Advisor Serguei Prijodko says the EAEC project will help soothe the effects of the global economic and financial crisis started in the US. The fund will grant sovereign loans and stabilization credits, fund commercial operations with the EAEC and help effect inter-state investments, says the official.

By IANS, Bangalore: Keen to improve the country's "financial literacy", the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to introduce financial sector issues as part of the curriculum in schools and colleges and chosen Karnataka for the pilot project. The plan is part of the central bank's platinum jubilee celebrations.

By IANS, New Delhi : Asian carrier Singapore Airlines made profits in the third quarter ending December this fiscal at $286 million after reporting losses in the two preceding quarters. The airline earned $286 million during October-December 2009. The net profit was $95 million in the second quarter and $185 million during first quarter of the current fiscal. The airline has a fleet size of 107 passenger aircraft and is six-years-old. Singapore Airline is optimistic about this year.

By IANS Chennai : Indian Internet firm Consim Info Pvt Ltd that owns popular matrimony portal bharatmatrimony.com has started its battle with cyber squatters. Consim Info recently got a restraining order from the Madras High Court, stopping Vinu Mohan of Dubai from running marriage portal bharathmatrimony.net as the name was almost identical with that of the one owned by Consim. The difference between the two portals was the presence of the letter 'h' in bharath and the .net domain of Mohan.

By IANS Bhopal : The Madhya Pradesh government Monday said it plans to cover all villages under Nirmal Gram scheme by the year 2011. The first phase of the total sanitation scheme will be completed in 10 percent of the state's village by the end of current the financial year, an official communiqué said. Thirty percent villages will be covered during 2008-09, 35 percent during 2009-10, and 25 percent during 2010-11. This will ensure that the entire state is made "nirmal" (clean) by year 2011, said the official statement.

By IANS, Mumbai : Anil Dhirubhai Ambani promoted Reliance Communications plans to roll out Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) by the end of this year, a top official said. Reliance Communications president Mahesh Prasad told IANS on the sidelines of the BIG TV launch here Tuesday: "With customers demanding personalised entertainment, IPTV service would allow subscribers more choice and control. We will launch this service within this year."

By IANS, Kolkata : The revenue growth of ITC Infotech Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, may dip in the second half this fiscal due to the economic meltdown in the US, a top official said here Tuesday. "We grew by 50 percent in 2007-08 and we maintained the trend in the first half of the current year. But the growth rate could dampen in the second half," ITC Infotech managing director Sanjiv Puri told reporters on the sidelines of a chief executives' summit, organised by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities started Wednesday with a negative bias and slipped below the 16,000-mark.

By IANS, Kolkata : Security at the Tata Motors' Nano plant at Singur in West Bengal was tightened Friday, a day after pro-farmer organisation Paschimbanga Kshet Mazur Samiti (PKMS) staged a demonstration in front of the factory, preventing hundreds of workers from leaving the plant. Sources said water cannons and fire tenders were brought in to tackle any untoward incident at the project site. "Adequate security personnel are there at the factory site and we are keeping a watch on the situation," West Bengal Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.

By IANS, Mumbai: A benchmark index of the Indian equities rose 107 points in afternoon trade Friday on renewed buying across the board.

By IANS, Madrid : Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous three months for the first time in 15 years, in the fallout of the worsening global recession, EFE reported Saturday. The decline was due to weak domestic demand due to a lack of consumer confidence, increased unemployment and the erosion of disposable income in soaring inflation, the country's central bank Banco de España said in its October bulletin. Spain's gross domestic product climbed 0.9 percent relative to the third quarter of last year.

By KUNA Berlin : The euro shot to another record high against the dollar in trading at Frankfurt's stock market on Friday, reaching USD 1.5283, traders told the media here. The euro has been rising steadily since the start of the current year, bringing the value of the dollar down to 0.6572 euro, said market traders who attributed the dollar retreat to a slowing of the American economy and an increase in the price of oil and energy products.

By Arun Kumar, IANS,

By IANS, Chennai : Hero Electric, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Hero Group, Tuesday said the company was in acquisition talks with two Indian firms. "We are in discussions with two companies that make motors and controllers, two critical components in an electric two-wheeler," Hero Electric managing director Naveen Munjal told IANS here Tuesday. According to him, acquisition is part of the company's expansion strategy for which Rs.200 million ($5 million) have been set aside.

By IANS, New Delhi : Railways Minister Lalu Prasad is set to present the country's interim rail budget for the next fiscal in parliament Friday, with an expectation that he would once again spare the average citizen from fare hikes and introduce some new trains. The minister had presented all the five previous rail budgets for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government since 2004, during which he set a record of sorts in terms of generating revenues despite lowering fares.

By IANS, Mumbai : India's foreign exchange reserves (forex) plunged by $336.5 million to $287.62 billion in the week ended July 6, data from India's central bank showed.

By DPA Essen (Germany) : India's Sona Group has bought a major German forgings business that supplies parts to the automotive industry, Germany's biggest steel group ThyssenKrupp said Monday. The unit, Praezisionsschmiede, has plants in the German cities of Remscheid, Duisburg and Munich with a total payroll of 1,630 and a US subsidiary, Precision Forge, with 130 employees. Essen-based ThyssenKrupp has been selling off non-core businesses which supply the car industry and were originally acquired as the expanding group took over major customers of steel.

By IANS, New Delhi : Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Wednesday launched here a new sedan, Verna Transform, priced at Rs.6.5-7.5 lakh. The petrol variant of the car starts at Rs.6.55 lakh and goes up to Rs.7.31 lakh, while the diesel version is priced between Rs.7.87 and 9.02 lakh. "The Verna Transform will boost Hyundai's already superior line-up of products," said Arvind Saxena, sales and marketing director, HMIL.

By IANS Raipur : The unexpected power tariff cut announced this week for industrial and domestic consumers is estimated to cost the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) Rs.4.23 billion a year, officials said Wednesday. "CSEB will suffer a loss of about Rs.4.23 billion annually because of Monday's announcements of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to slash power tariffs," a CSEB official told IANS Wednesday. The tariff cut will be effective from Nov 1, the seventh foundation anniversary of the state.

By IANS, Mumbai : The public sector Indian Bank has increased its benchmark prime lending rates by 75 basis points to 14 percent per annum with effect from Monday. However, the home loan floating rates for sanctioned limits up to Rs.3 million for both existing and fresh accounts are not being revised. Educational loan interest rates for both these accounts are also not being revised. The bank has also decided to increase interest rates on domestic term deposits with effect from Aug 9.

By NNN-APP New Delhi : Pakistan has invited Murli Deora, Indian Petroleum Minister to Islamabad on Feb 7 to sort out issues relating to Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. Pakistan has offered India to charge transport fee based on global practice rather than the arbitrary tariff it sought last February, the Indian Express reported.

By IANS Bangalore : Bosch Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of the euro 46 billion Bosch group that manufacturers automotive and industrial products, posted a net profit of Rs.6.1 billion ($152 million) in calendar year 2007, posting a 14 percent growth, the company said here Thursday. The Bangalore-based Bosch, formerly Motor Industries Co Ltd (MICO), reported net sales of Rs.42.8 billion ($1.07 billion) in the same period, registering a 13 percent growth. Its operating profit was up 20 percent.

By DPA, New York : Major US stock market indices halted a three-day slide after the price of oil fell Thursday. The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) dropped 4.75 dollars per barrel to close at $131.93 per barrel. The oil market moved after the Chinese government announced a hike in subsidized petrol prices. China, the world's most populous country, has one of the fastest growing economies and is the second- largest consumer of oil, trailing only the United States.

By IANS, Mumbai: A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was Wednesday trading 67.17 points lower in afternoon trade, led by a selling spree in auto, oil and gas and metals stocks.

By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS, Chennai : The Netherlands-based 9.19-billion euro ($13.9-billion or Rs.586-billion) global staffing solutions company Randstad Holding has started consolidating its Indian operations. In India, Randstad has seven outfits - Beresford Blake Thomas (BBT), EmmayHR Services Ltd, Team HR Services (popularly known as Team4U), Ma Foi Consulting Solutions, Ma Foi Global Search Services and Ma Foi Management Consultants.

By IANS New Delhi : By ranking India at a low 120 despite its strong stock markets and an economic growth of over 9 percent, the World Bank Wednesday said it was not easy doing business in the country and even called its judiciary the "least efficient" in the world. India was ranked 120th - though up 12 positions from last year - in the annual report titled "Doing Business 2008" issued by the World Bank and its private lending arm International Finance Corp (IFC). India ranks below Tunisia, Botswana, Uruguay and Ethiopia.

By IANS, New Delhi : India's largest farmers' cooperative will collaborate with the Coconut Development Board (CDB) to market select value-added coconut products inside the country and abroad under the NAFED brand. A tripartite agreement to this effect is expected to be signed in the next fortnight by NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd), the CDB and the coconut product processors. The three parties held a meeting here Wednesday to fine-tune the details.

By IANS, New Delhi : The oil industry will do "introspection" to ensure that there is no recurrence of the strike that paralysed the economy this week, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey said here Sunday. "We have to ensure that the trauma does not occur again. The oil industry will have to undertake introspection," Pandey told reporters at the inauguration of the media centre for the country's premier oil and gas conference, Petrotech 2009.

By IANS, Raipur : Dozens of steel and power companies have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to set up plants in mineral rich Chhattisgarh by 2010, resulting in a total investment of Rs.3.26 trillion, an official said Friday. "Since December 2003 we have inked deals with various business houses for a total investment of Rs.3.26 trillion in the steel and power sectors. The projects are to be completed by 2010," Rajesh Munat, Chhattisgarh's Industries and Commerce Minister, told IANS.

By IANS, Sharjah : Reliance Exploration and Production, a subsidiary of India's largest private sector company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has signed here a cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates-based petroleum company Crescent Petroleum, WAM news agency reported Wednesday. The deal aims at establishing a framework for jointly developing industrial projects of mutual interest in the region's energy sector that would include upstream development, midstream pipelines as well as downstream industrial and petrochemical projects.

By IANS Mumbai : Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has bagged orders worth Rs.11.07 billion from the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) for turnkey construction of a coal and coke handling plant and a base mix preparation plant at its plant at Burnpur in West Bengal, the company said Friday. An L&T spokesperson Friday said the company's engineering constructions and contract division will execute this order and the project will be completed in 26 months.

By IANS,

By IANS, Toronto : The Canadian economy bounced back with a record growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, official figures released Monday said. Beating all predictions, the economy posted an annualized growth rate of five percent in the last quarter of 2009, beating the Bank of Canada's forecast of just 3.3 percent growth for the quarter. Overall, the nation's GDP increased 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter. This is the largest quarterly economic growth since the third quarter of 2000, according Statistics Canada.

By IANS, Mumbai : Engineering and infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Monday said it has bagged a Rs.2,155 crore deal from state-run National Fertilizers to convert two existing oil-run ammonia plants. "The two projects involve changeover of the feedstock of the existing 900 tonnes per day ammonia plants from fuel oil to natural gas," said L&T in a regulatory statement. Both projects will be executed concurrently and are expected to be commissioned by January 2013. With this project, L&T has now secured three feedstock conversion projects in the fertiliser sector.

By IANS, Mumbai : Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Energy Monday changed its name to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, the company announced here. The infrastructure major has received the certificate from the registrar of companies, Maharashtra, registering the change in the name. Reliance Infrastructure is directly and indirectly engaged in a number of projects in the field of power generation, transmission and distribution.

By IANS, Bangalore : Wipro Technologies has bagged an outsourcing contract for an undisclosed amount from telecom company Unitech Wireless, the IT firm said Wednesday. Unitech Wireless, which received licence last year to operate in 22 telecom circles in the country, is yet to launch its services. "We are launching a greenfield telecom operation and want to create a strong customer proposition for our services based on cutting-edge technology and business processes aligned with IT," Rohit Chandra, chief operating officer of Wipro, said.

By IANS, New York : The terror attacks on India's financial capital Mumbai revealed several chinks in the country's emergence as an economic superpower, a French scholar has said. "The attacks exposed the weakness of the so-called Indian economic takeoff," Gilles Kepel, an analyst of the Islamic and Arab societies, said in an interview to Forbes.Com. "The aim of the attack was mainly political, but the economic dimension is still visible," he added. Kepel said India, Brazil, Russia and China may have double digit growth but most of the population lives in poverty.

By IANS, Kolkata : Bharti Airtel Ltd, which has already started a trial run of its proposed internet protocol television (IPTV) services in New Delhi, is planning its commercial launch in six cities soon, a top official said here Monday. "We are currently covering 1,000 households in New Delhi on a pilot basis. Issues like infrastructure capabilities and different pricing models are being tried there," Atul Bindal, president of Telemedia Services of the company, told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of Airtel's direct-to-home (DTH) service in Kolkata.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities markets were trading quiet around noon Wednesday, with a key index hovering marginally below its previous close. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which had opened at 12,100.69 points, was ruling at 12,105.67 points, 27.50 points or 0.23 percent lower than its previous close. However, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was ruling at 3,666.75 points, 0.13 percent higher than its last close.

By IANS, Bangalore : Karnataka will buy 1,000 MW of power daily for the next three years as the state is reeling under a severe energy crisis, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said Tuesday. "The state hopes to be power sufficient in the next three years and till then we will buy 1,000 MW (daily), irrespective of good rains or not," the chief minister told reporters after a meeting to review the power situation. The state buys power from private producers and states like Gujarat which have surplus power.

By IANS New Delhi : With India's exporting community in distress because of the rising rupee, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday urged all state governments to ensure that their taxes do not burden external trade. "Exports are under some stress due to rapid appreciation of the rupee against a weak dollar," Chidambaram told the a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) here to approve the 11th Five Year Plan.

By Gyanendra Kumar Keshri, IANS,

By Xinhua Beijing : Chinese shares surged sharply in morning trade Monday following a rally on the Wall Street and news of improving weather in the country's snow-hit regions. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 269.35 points, or 6.23 percent, to close at 4,590.12 points in the morning session. Last Friday, the index lost 1.43 percent to 4,320.77, the lowest closing in six months. The Shenzhen Component Index ended up 1,063.88 points, or 6.74 percent, to 16,840.75.

By IANS, Bangalore : In a day of swift developments, independent director M. Rammohan Rao resigned from the board of IT major Satyam Computer Services, the company said Monday. "Yes, he (Rao) has resigned as the non-executive and independent director of the company's board. We have intimated to the stock exchanges," company secretary V.S.N. Raju confirmed to IANS from Hyderabad by phone. Rammohan Rao is the dean of the internationally-reputed Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad since 2004.

By IANS,

By IANS,

By Gurmukh Singh, IANS, Toronto : There is more bad news for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) as its smart phone sales have slipped to the third position in the US market.

By Sasha Horne, IANS,

By Neelam Mathews, IANS, Sao Paulo (Brazil) : Air India has set March 2011 as the outer deadline to join the Star Alliance, the world's largest commercial pact among carriers, chairman Arvind Jadhav said here late Friday. This is the first time since an invitation was extended in Beijing in late 2007 that the Indian carrier has set a specific time frame to become a member of Star Alliance, which now has has 27 members with Brazil's TAM Airlines formally joining it Friday.

By IANS, Washington : Robert L. Nelson Jr, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm based in Washington, has been elected to the board of directors of the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

By IANS, Mumbai : After yet another day of mauling, Indian equities markets ended in the red once again Thursday with a key share index shedding nearly 400 points to close below the psychologically important 9,000-point mark. The 30-share benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) finished at 9,734.22, down 385.79 points or 3.81 percent from its previous close Wednesday at 10,120.01 points.

By IANS New Delhi : India's thriving insurance sector is all set to grow from Rs.500 billion to Rs.2 trillion ($50.7 billion) by 2010, says the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). The main reasons for such a major growth would be the coming of private players and aggressive marketing, the industry chamber said. The industry, which has seen a compounded annual growth rate of around 175 percent in the last couple of years, is likely to throw up several new avenues of business potential.

By IANS, Bangalore: State-run Syndicate Bank posted a net profit of Rs.262 crore for the first quarter this fiscal, registering a whopping growth of 198 percent year-on-year from Rs.88 crore in the like period last year. "We have nearly trebled our net profit in the first quarter on a healthy 16.4 percent growth in net interest income (NII) to Rs.586 crore from Rs.503 crore a year ago and better management of treasury operations," bank executive director V.K. Nagar told reporters here Friday.

By IANS, Shimla : Authorities in hydropower major Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), who are upbeat over the central government's decision to divest 10 percent stake through public offer, Tuesday said disinvestment will help in branding and creating identity of the company. "This (Disinvestment) will help us in branding our company. It will create our identity as shares will be floated in the market," company Chairman and Managing Director H.K. Sharma told IANS. Sharma said SJVNL will invest more than Rs.23,000 crore (Rs.230 billion) in the power generation sector.

By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,

By ADB News Mnila, Philippines : Asian Development Bank representatives are highlighting the continuing prevalence of poverty in the region during discussions over the replenishment of the Asian Development Fund (ADF), an endowment used to provide grants and low-interest loans to some of Asia and the Pacific's poorest nations. Despite the impressive progress made by Asia-Pacific nations over the past decade in fostering economic growth, 1.5 billion people in the region still live on less than $2 a day.

By IANS, New Delhi : A majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India are still struggling to cope with the global slowdown and remain unaware about the stimulus measures taken by the government to help them, says an industry survey. "Ninety-four percent of the respondents reported that their overall business has been affected �severely or moderately' due to the current economic slowdown," said the survey conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

By IANS, New York : The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is close to clinching a deal with the Steven Spielberg-founded Hollywood studio DreamWorks to invest $500-600 million towards equity, a leading business paper has said. The Wall Street Journal reported that the cash from the Indian group would allow Spielberg and his associates to end their existing pact with Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Viacom's Sumner Redstone.

By IANS, Chennai : Internet services firm Sify Technologies Ltd will raise around $57 million (over Rs.2 billion) with a premium equity issue to Infinity Satcom Universal Pvt Ltd, the company said here Tuesday. "The company will issue 12,817,000 Indian Equity Shares having a par value of Rs.10 to Infinity Satcom at Rs.175 per share. The funds will be used for expanding our business," M.P. Vijayakumar, Sify's chief financial officer, told IANS. With this fresh infusion, Sify Technologies' equity base will go up to around Rs.556 million from the current level of Rs.428 million.

By IANS, Mumbai : India's economy will grow by six percent this fiscal while inflation would rise to around four percent, the central bank said here Tuesday while announcing a 25 basis points cut in key rates in its annual economic policy review. "With the assumption of normal monsoon, real GDP growth for 2009-10 is placed at around 6.0 percent," said Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao. GDP growth for 2008-09 was 7.1 percent.

By Nirmala George, IANS, Singapore : New Delhi's signature restaurant, Bukhara, has been named among the top 20 restaurants in Asia, according to a new pan-Asian restaurant guide published Saturday. No other Indian restaurant made the cut to the 'best 20' list although the panel of judges shortlisted 28 restaurants in six Indian cities for The Miele Guide, a compendium of Asia's finest restaurants.

By IANS,

By NNN-PTI Mosco : In a move that, if successful, could provide ICICI Bank a faster penetration into the Russian market, Moscow Bank of Reconstruction and Development today said it is in talks with India's largest private sector lender for a tie-up to sell products like mortgage loans. "We are talking to ICICI Bank. The deal may be finalised soon and we feel this will be a win-win situation for both the banks," MBRD Chairman Sergey Zaytsev said.

By Mohammed Shafeeq, IANS Hyderabad : It is barely three weeks since the new international airport at Shamshabad near here commenced commercialoperations, but its developers are already planning an expansion that will enable it to handle up to 20 million passengers a year. Work on the next phase of the country's first greenfield airport in public-private partnership is expected to begin in six to nine months.

Jeddah : The Saudi Arabian Council of Ministers has approved opening its stock market, the largest in the Arab world, to direct foreign investment starting sometime in the first half of 2015, the market regulator said on Tuesday.

By IANS,

By IANS, Mumbai : A key index of the Indian equities markets ended trade Friday 254 points above its last closing figure, as banking and capital goods stocks picked up. The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened at 14,552.72 points, closed at 14,913.05 points - 254.56 points or 1.74 percent higher than Thursday's close. Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the day 1.7 percent up at 4,422.75 points.

By IANS, Mumbai: A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Friday rallied to a two-month high, rising 439 points on hopes of a eurozone revival and the government clarification on tax laws.

By IANS, Mumbai: Tata Motors Group Tuesday reported an increase of 14 percent in its international sales, which stood at 102,411 units, for the month of February.

By IANS Bangalore : The Infosys Technologies Ltd is on a hiring spree. For the ensuing fiscal year (FY 2008-09), it has made a whopping 18,000 job offers in about 1,000 colleges across the country to take its total headcount to over 100,000, a top company official said here Thursday.

By IANS, Mumbai : Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Wednesday reduced the timeline for rights issue to 43 days from 109 days. Contrary to the market expectations, SEBI also kept in place the curb on participatory notes or p-notes - an instrument to sell stocks to foreign clients.

By IANS Kolkata : Global learning solutions firm Aptech has garnered four awards for franchising at the prestigious Indian Franchising Awards 2008 in New Delhi, the company said here Wednesday. Bagging four awards at the event organised by the Franchising Association of India Sunday, Aptech has reinforced its standing as a premier franchiser with a network in more than 35 countries, a company official said.

By IANS Dubai : Once the ultimate job destination for many middle class Indians, Gulf countries now face a severe crunch of skilled workers from the country thanks to India's steady economic progress and rise in incomes, say company heads in the region. Gathering together at a function in the Qatar capital Doha to celebrate the 60th anniversary of India's independence, employers said that though they were extremely happy for India the economic expansion did pose a problem in getting skilled workers, reported the Gulf Times.

By IANS New Delhi : As India's profile rises across the world, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday made a special mention of projecting India's "soft power" in a more "sophisticated and subtle manner" by propagating the country's rich art, culture and entertainment. While presenting the national budget for 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha, the finance minister proposed that the entertainment industry be projected in a more sophisticated manner and announced an allocation of Rs.750 million to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

By Sujit Chakraborty, IANS Agartala : A flagship programme of the central government for providing road connectivity to far-flung areas -- The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) -- has come a cropper in the northeast, according to official reports. "All the eight states of the region are lagging behind in meeting the targets set under this programme," said a status report made available to IANS. According to plans, an estimated 10,786 human settlement areas in the northeast were to be connected by all weather roads by 2009.

By IANS, Mumbai : Reliance Communications, an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company, crossed 100,000 subscribers on the first day of the launch of its service in Mumbai, the company said in a statement Monday. "The high volume sales can be attributed to the company's aggressive strategy," an R-Com spokesperson said in the statement. The company is offering up to 100 percent savings to sub-Rs.300 ARPU (average revenue per person) mobile customers at a one-time subscription charge (including GSM SIM) of Rs.25.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Delhi government will analyse the effect of recent hike in diesel prices and review it in two months, Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit said here Monday.

By IANS, New Delhi : A senior Asian Development Bank (ADB) official has questioned the Indian government's policy decision to reduce retail fuel prices, but preventing oil companies from charging market rates when global prices were at a peak. "Is it right that when oil prices were at a peak, companies were not allowed to charge the appropriate price. I am just posing a policy question," ADB executive director Ashok Kumar Lahiri told reporters on the sidelines of Petrotech 2009, an international conference on oil and gas, here Wednesday.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Wednesday was volatile in early trade and was ruling 56 points higher than its previous close. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,621.12 points, was ruling at 16,673.75 points, 56.65 points or 0.34 percent up from its previous close at 16,617.1 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,005.9 points, up 0.38 percent from its previous close.

By IANS, New Delhi : India's inflation rate climbed to a 13-high of 11.05 percent for the week ended June 7, compounding the woes of a ruling coalition that is fighting with its back to the wall to salvage a prestige-staking nuclear deal with the US. The impact of zooming inflation was even felt in the capital market with the Sensex losing 516.7 points, the biggest drop since August 2007.

By IANS, Raipur : As many as 125 sponge iron unit owners in Chhattisgarh have sought increased iron ore supply from the state-run National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) to tide over the current shortage. The Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturing Association (CSIMA), an industry body that represents the sponge iron makers in the state, Saturday said it needed an urgent increased quota from NMDC to the state's sponge units to help them get over the severe iron ore shortage. Last week, iron ore shortage forced 25 sponge iron units in the state to stop production.

By IANS, Mumbai : HDFC Bank Thursday evening raised its retail prime lending rate by 75 basis points (bps), after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightened monetary policy to curb inflation. This rate hike would be effective from Friday. Earlier this week, the central bank raised its repo rate by 50 bps and cash reserve ratio by 25 bps.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Supreme Court Monday adjourned till Sep 1 its hearing on a row between Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and his brother Anil's Reliance Natural Resources over natural gas supplies and asked the two parties to reply to the government stand on the matter. Commencing the hearing on the petition filed by Reliance Industries that challenges the verdict of the Bombay High Court last month on gas supplies from Krishna-Godavari Basin, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, the apex court declined to pass any interim order.

By IANS, New Delhi : India's new Foreign Trade Policy was unveiled Thursday with a mix of fiscal sops and procedural reforms in a bid to reverse 10 consecutive months of decline in merchandise exports and ensuring healthy growth of out-bound shipments. The continuation of the popular duty-free export promotion scheme till end-2010, special sops for labour-intensive sectors and zero duty on capital goods import were some of the highlights of the policy unveiled by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma here.

By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : The unorganised retail sector is expected to grow at about 10 percent per annum to reach $496 billion in 2011-12 despite the steady expansion of organised retailers, a study released Wednesday said. The report on the impact of organised retail on small shop owners, released in parliament by the Delhi-based think tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier), said the retail business in the country would grow at 13 percent annually from $322 billion in 2006-07 to $590 billion in 2011-12.

By RIA Novosti Khabarovsk (Far East) : Russian energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] has requested the government's permission to prospect three natural gas blocks of the Sakhalin III project in the Far East, a company official said on Thursday. "We would like to resolve the issue of allowing geological prospecting at the Ayashsky, Odoptinsky and Kirinsky blocks of the Sakhalin III project by the end of the first quarter," Alexander Ananenkov, deputy chairman of Gazprom's management committee, said at a meeting in Khabarovsk chaired by Board Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.

By IANS, Dubai : Bahrain will host the 15th annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC), the largest gathering of Islamic finance leaders in the world, Nov 23-25. The event will help shape new growth strategies in the increasingly global market of Islamic finance, according to the state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA). Notwithstanding the gloomy backdrop of the subprime crisis afflicting conventional financial institutions across the world, experts remain optimistic of the Islamic banking and finance industry.

By IANS, Patna: As they prepare to accompany Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to Beijing, Bihar's businessmen hope to explore new technology from China's manufacturing industry.

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : For long private capital and investors were pariah for the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), but now the Left government in Kerala has set a target of attracting Rs.250 billion ($6 billion) worth of private investments in the next three years.

By IANS, Hyderabad : Infotech Enterprises Tuesday announced it has acquired US-based network engineering and management firm Wellsco Inc in an all-cash deal to raise its business from the telecom sector. The Hyderabad-based technology solutions provider, however, did not disclose the amount it paid for the acquisition. The company in a statement said its wholly owned subsidiary Infotech Enterprises America Inc.(IEAI) acquired Wellsco.

By IANS New Delhi : After flooding the Indian markets with crackers and lamps during Diwali, it is now time for China-made merchandise to capture the imagination of those shopping for pichkaris and watercolours this Holi. From bright coloured water canons to smaller water pistols and the traditional pichkaris (water pumps) to glittering confetti, makeshift stalls that have mushroomed in the national capital are swarming with Chinese Holi merchandise.

By IANS,

Mumbai, Feb 18 (IANS) Chandrasekhar Bhaskar Bhave took over the reins as the new chief of markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Monday evening from outgoing chairman Meleveetil Damodaran. The former chairman of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), India's central repository of dematerialised stocks, Bhave hails from Nagpur in Maharashtra. He is no stranger to SEBI. In 1992, Bhave joined the newly formed SEBI as executive director.

By IANS Chennai : Cars and two-wheelers are expected to become cheaper with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday giving handsome excise concessions to the Indian automotive industry in his budget for 2008-09. Chidambaram has cut the excise duty on bus chassis, small cars, two- and three-wheelers from 16 percent to 12 percent. In the case of hybrid cars, excise duty has been brought down to 14 percent from the current 24 percent, a drastic cut of 10 per cent. The government's move brings great relief to two-wheeler manufacturers suffering from slow growth.

By Devirupa Mitra, IANS New Delhi : In 2000, per capita income in the West African nation of Chad was just $175 (Rs.6,866). Today, thanks to petroleum riches, it has shot up nine times to $1,500 (Rs.58,856). In many ways, landlocked Chad is a classic example of the spectacular growth of the African hydrocarbon industry, which has witnessed production increase of over 30 percent in the last decade.

BEIJING, Jan. 11 (APP) -- China’s foreign exchange reserve had reached $ 1.53 trillion by the end of 2007, up 43.32 percent from 2006, the People’s Bank of China announced on Friday. A total of $ 461.9 billion were added to the country’s forex reserve in 2007, said the central bank and in December alone, the forex reserve rose by $ 31.3 billion. China’s forex reserve kept a sharp growth in 2007, reaching $ 1.2 trillion by the end of March, $ 1.33 trillion by the end of June, and $ 1.43 trillion by the end of September.

By IANS, Mumbai : Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Thursday said it had won orders worth Rs.747 crore from Coal India, Indiabulls Power and Hindalco for projects involving construction of coal handling plants and an aluminium rolling mill. "L&T has secured a lumpsum turnkey contract worth Rs. 276 crore from Coal India for coal handling plant at Amlohri in Madhya Pradesh," said the company in a regulatory filing. The project will be completed in two years.

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : The World Bank has approved two projects worth $405 million designed to promote environment friendly modes of urban transport and to improve management and delivery of services in urban areas in Andhra Pradesh. A $105 million loan for the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) will finance capacity building and demonstration projects in select cities that will create models of sustainable transport solutions for Indian cities to replicate.

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS, London : Bajaj Group Chairman Rahul Bajaj mounted a scathing criticism of France over its protectionist position in world trade talks just as the country took over the presidency of the European Union. In an address to an influential forum of British business, Bajaj also held the position of France - and the US - responsible for India’s reluctance to introduce any further liberalisation of its economy, particularly in the financial services sector.

By IANS, Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to get tough with leading winemaker Indage Ltd for its failure to procure apple and grape crop from within the hill state, a senior leader said Monday. "A notice has been issued to Indage Ltd as it's not procuring apples and grapes from the farmers here. It has not fully operationalised its two plants," state horticulture minister Narender Bragta told IANS.

By IANS New Delhi : India's ratio of taxes to gross domestic product (GDP) has jumped to 11.8 percent this fiscal from 8.2 percent in 2001-02, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday. "Buoyant economic growth along with efforts to improve the tax administration system has yielded rich dividends," the finance minister told the parliamentary consultative committee attached to his ministry.

By IANS, Mumbai : Ratan N. Tata, chairman of Indian Hotels Co that owns Wednesday night's terrorist-targeted Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel in Mumbai, has said acts of terror would make India stronger. "We must show that we cannot be disabled or destroyed, but that such heinous act will only make us stronger. It is important that we do not allow divisive forces to weaken us. We need to overcome these forces as one strong unified nation," he said in a statement Thursday.

By IANS Mumbai : Indian equities markets Thursday bounced back on strong showing by global peers and ended the day in positive territory. The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,825.22 points and notched a high of 17,911.66 before closing at 17,734.68 points. It gained 117.08 points or 0.66 percent at the day's close. The S&P CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened at 5,156.90 points, closed at 5,191.80 after touching the day's high at 5,206.10 points.

By IANS, New Delhi : Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) posted a net profit of Rs.4,008 crore (Rs.40.08 billion/$868 million) in the quarter that ended Dec 31, on the back of higher revenues from its refining and gas business, to register a 14.48 percent rise from the Rs.3,462 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. RIL also saw net sales increase 89.7 percent to Rs.57,364 crore from Rs.30,227 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, according to a company statement.

By IANS New Delhi : India is not planning any fresh wheat imports as there is enough stock to meet domestic demand, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here Wednesday. "We have enough stocks to meet domestic demand. We are not planning any fresh imports as of now," Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of the 5th Millennium Knowledge Summit organised by Assocham.

By Xinhua

Brussels : The world's biggest food and beverage company Nestlé has won conditional approval from the European Union (EU) to buy the nutrition business of pharmaceutical giant Novartis.