Neyveli Lignite unions can’t go on strike: Madras high court

 The Madras high court restrained labour unions of public sector company Neyveli Lignite Corp. Ltd (NLC) from striking in an interim order on Wednesday.
Eighteen unions last week announced they would go on strike from the night of 3 July to oppose a move by the Union government to dilute a 5% stake in NLC.

On Wednesday, ahead of the planned labour action, the Madras high court ordered an interim stay on the strike planned by the labour unions. The bench posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.
NLC had moved the high court seeking a direction to the employees to stop gathering outside the company’s gates in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, and staging an agitation.

A labour strike at NLC, a mining and power generating company, could worsen the severe electricity shortage in Tamil Nadu. Although the situation has improved in the southern state over the past three months due to generation of wind energy, if NLC shuts operations Tamil Nadu would be staring at a deficit of 900-1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, said Amol Kotwal, associate director of energy and power systems practice for South Asia and Middle East at Frost & Sullivan.

Neyveli Lignite officials were not immediately available for comment.
S. Rajavannian, general secretary of the NLC Labour Progressive Union, said the unions are discussing the court’s decision and he would not be able to comment on the situation immediately.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs decided to divest a 5% stake in NLC on 28 June to adhere to the market regulator’s stipulation of 10% public holding in a state-owned enterprise. Currently, the government owns 93.5% of NLC; a 5% divestment is expected to fetch it about Rs.466 crore.
The trade unions at NLC have for over a decade prevented the Union government from diluting its stake in the company by resorting to strikes and with the backing of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party in Tamil Nadu and its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

NLC’s general manager (human resources) M. Maheswaran, in his petition to the high court against the planned labour strike, said the organization was a public utility service and any disruption to its mining and power generation activities would affect other services. The management requested the court to restrain the 18 labour unions from preventing work by threats, intimidation or otherwise, or hindering the free movement of workers, officers and executives.
Though the right to strike is a recognized right, it is not a fundamental right, and “such right can be exercised only as per the provisions of the industrial laws”, Maheswaran said in his petition.

Shree Renuka to start sugar exports from Haldia unit

Top sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars aims to soon begin exporting white sugar from its Haldia unit on the country's east coast to cash in on strong demand during the Ramadan festival and limited supplies in Asia amid a weak rupee.

Higher white sugar exports by Indian companies may help bring down the sweetener's premiums that have surged on Ramadan demand and limited supplies from Asian exporters like Pakistan.
"Right now exports demand is very strong. Returns from exports are higher. So we will be shortly commencing exports from Haldia refinery," Narendra Murkumbi, managing director of Shree Renuka Sugars, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

The company has been exporting whites from its Kandla refinery on the west coast. It re-started the Haldia refinery in October last year to cater to the local market, but right now overseas markets were giving better returns, Murkumbi said.
To take advantage of hefty white-over-raw premiums, which measure refining profitability, Shree Renuka is planning to refine 1.5 million tonnes of raw sugar in the year ending March 31, 2014, compared to about 1 million tonnes a year earlier, Murkumbi said.
The premium is hovering around $130 a tonne, compared to $100 two months back. "Our expectation is premium would remain strong in the rest of the calendar year because it is off season in Asia. Thai production would be available for exports only from December," he said.
Exports of sugar produced from locally grown cane is also possible due to the weak rupee and the company has started exports from its factories in Karnataka, he said.
Indian traders have signed deals to export 75,000 tonnes of white sugar in July, reversing an imports trend after the rupee's depreciation and with strong demand in Gulf and African states.
During the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts this year on July 9, consumption of sugar rises because it is used to make traditional confectionaries eaten at night.
A fire at Saudi food company Savola Group's United Sugar Co in Jeddah in June has squeezed whites supplies in Asia, dealers said.
LUCRATIVE ETHANOL
Shree Renuka used 63 percent cane to produce sugar and the rest was used for ethanol production at its units in Brazil in 2012/13.
This year the company is planning to allocate 45 percent cane for sugar production and the remaining would be used for the production of biofuel as ethanol was more lucrative, Murkumbi said.
"This year we are prioritising production of ethanol. Ethanol prices in Brazil are higher than sugar exports prices," he said.
Per hectare cane yield, which was hurt by drought in Brazil last year, is likely to rise this year on conducive weather and will allow Shree Renuka to crush higher cane, Murkumbi said.
"Right now (cane) yields are better than long term average in Brazil. Last year we crushed 9.5 million tonnes. This year we expect (to crush) more than 11 million tonnes," Murkumbi said.

Sensex adds 240 points; ITC, software majors lead gains

Dealers say that though a depreciating rupee is keeping investors cautious, reasonable valuations rule out a steep downside from current levels. 


Indian shares advanced over 1% on Thursday after closing in the negative in the previous session. Dealers say that though a depreciating rupee was keeping investors cautious, reasonable valuations rule out a steep downside from current level.

The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally closed up 1.25%, or 240 points, at 19,417.76, while the National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty ended 1.24%, or 71.35 points, higher at 5,842.25.
ITC Ltd shares were up 3.74% and were the top contributor for the gains on Sensex.
A depreciating rupee boosted software stocks on expectations of higher revenue in rupee terms. Sector leader Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and rivals Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd were up 3.26%, 2.29% and 2.13%, respectively.

Asian currencies to rise as mkts price in Fed policy shift

Asian currencies will gain some ground against the US dollar in the next twelve months despite sputtering regional economies and dwindling yields, according to a consensus forecast in a Reuters poll.

Emerging Asian currencies have been among the worst-hit in the global sell-off that was triggered in late May after the US Federal Reserve signalled a possible reduction in its stimulus programme.

The announcement sent investors racing out of risky Asian bets, in turn dragging most equity indexes and currencies in the region lower.

But analysts said markets have largely priced in the Fed's shift in policy and the US dollar stood to gain little when the stimulus tapering eventually happens.

The poll of 65 currency strategists and economists over the past week showed all nine emerging Asian currencies were expected to appreciate in the next year, with the Philippine peso and Indian rupee expected to lead with over 4 percent gains.

The peso has lost some 5.4 percent and the rupee is the worst performing currency in Asia ex-Japan so far this year.

But while large remittances and inflows, along with strong economic fundamentals, have kept investors bullish on Philippines, India's gaping current account deficit and policy inertia have caused large scale fund outflows from the country.

"The general picture is that of US dollar strength," said Leong Sook Mei, ASEAN head of global markets research at BTMU.

"But, since the Fed has signalled that there is a possibility of tapering in its quantitative easing programme, the selling should stabilise and the US dollar may give back part of the gains."

A majority of analysts expect the Fed to start tapering its bond buying programme sometime in the fourth quarter this year and put the amount of the first cut at USD 20 billion.

Analysts were however split on which type of bonds the Fed would buy less of with the consensus equally split among treasuries and mortgage backed securities.

The Fed has pumped trillions of dollars into the economy to aid job creation and spur growth, weakening the US dollar and forcing investors to seek high yielding assets in emerging markets.

Those flows will likely reverse now that the US economy is seen gaining traction and growth in Asian powerhouses, China and India, sputters.

China's yuan will probably weaken further against the dollar this month if the economy shows further signs of slowing, before resuming gradual appreciation that should see it gain more than 1 percent over the next 12 months the poll showed.

Rupee declines as Subbarao says RBI not protecting any level

The rupee moved into a narrow band till afternoon but lost its value by more than 20 paise after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subbarao said in Chennai that the central bank is not looking to protect any particular level of exchange rate but will iron out volatility.

The partially convertible rupee fell to 60.38 per dollar at 1.55pm, the lowest in the day, and was trading at 60.26 at 3.30pm. In morning trade, it had risen to 59.9175 a dollar after opening at 60.
RBI doesn’t have “an exchange rate target or band” but it will intervene only to “curb volatility”, Subbarao told reporters in Chennai after the central bank’s board meeting.
He also said RBI is concerned about India’s current account deficit. The trade gap narrowed sharply to 3.6% of the gross domestic product in the March quarter from its record 6.7% in the three months ended December.
The rupee hit a record low of 60.73 to a dollar on 26 June.

ITC gains on Gold Flake price hike report

Shares in ITC  gain 3.1 percent after dealers say the company raised the price of its Gold Flake Regular Filter cigarettes.
ITC officials were not immediately available for comment.
According to UBS, ITC has raised the price for the brand to 58 rupees from 55 rupees for a pack of 10 cigarettes.
The bank says the price increase will not impact volumes but could lead consumers to upgrade to Gold Flake King size cigarettes given the price difference between the two would be reduced to 1 rupee.
Any shift would provide ITC with a "much better value positioning", UBS says.
UBS maintains ITC as a top pick with a "buy" rating and a target price of 400 rupees.
Dealers also add that some value buying was also seen after ITC shares fell 4.6 percent in June, underperforming India's benchmark index 1.8 percent fall in the same period.

No plan to pay interest on cash reserve ratio: RBI

Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao today said the central bank has no plan to pay interest on cash reserve ratio.

Speaking about fraudulent schemes, Subbarao said the RBI team will study why villagers are attracted towards fraudulent schemes.

The governor did not provide any definite number about the number of bank licences to be issued. However, not all eligible applicants may get licences for new banks.
Subbarao was addressing a press conference after a board meeting.

Markets displayed intra-day gains in the afternoon session today with banking shares inching lower after the Subbarao said that the monetary policy transmission is not as quick as needed.

At 02:15PM, the benchmark Sensex was up 132 points at 19,312 and the 50-share Nifty gained 35 points at 5,706 levels.

On Wednesday, finance minister P Chidambaram met the heads of public sector banks and urged them to lend money at cheaper rates. 

According to the minister, the objective is to stimulate consumer demand, the main driver of a sluggish economy that has been pulled down by high inflation and interest rates.

The RBI has reduced its key short-term lending rate (repo) by 1.25 percentage points since January 2012, but banks have passed on only 0.3% to consumers.
Only state-run Bank of India will cut its base rate, the rate below which it cannot lend to customers, to 10% from 10.25% with effect from 8 July.

Germany's incoming tourism continues to develop positively

Destination Germany recorded an encouraging increase of overnight stays Jan-April 2013 as compared to the same period in 2012. According to the federal statistical office, accommodations with ten or more beds had 18.2 million overnight stays by foreigners and many key source markets showed constant development.

Petra Hedorfer, CEO, German National Tourist Board however cautioned that although it is expected that there will be a 2-3% increase for destination Germany in 2013, the flood situation in some regions of Germany in June might affect the balance sheet.

Maximum growth was recorded from Switzerland, UK, Denmark & Poland. From the BRIC countries Russia topped with a growth of 18.6% in Jan-Aprl 2013, followed by China and Brazil.

According to the German National Tourist Board the growth from BRIC countries has contributed significantly to Germany’s incoming tourism.

Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office, India said “We have seen a promising increase in the number of Indians Travelling to Germany, we anticipate that the Indian market in the May-July season should notice a further increase. Even with the Indian currency’s present volatility, it’s hoped that our marketing efforts in collaboration with the travel trade should attract good numbers to Germany”.

Sobha Developers builds on good sales in Q1

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 210.34 points or 1.1% at 19,388.10.
On BSE, 5,759 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 7,931shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 345 and a low of Rs 332.30 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 472.40 on 13 February 2013. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 322 on 30 August 2012.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 3 July 2013, sliding 12.81% compared with the Sensex's 2.21% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 9.33% as against Sensex's 2% rise.
The mid-cap real estate developer has equity capital of Rs 98.06 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Sobha Developers said that its sales value surged 25.7% to Rs 602.80 crore in Q1 June 2013 over Q1 June 2012. The average price realization rose 14.1% to Rs 6,548 per square feet (sq. ft) in Q1 June 2013 over Q1 June 2012.

During Q1 June 2013, the company had launched two projects in Bangalore viz. Sobha Landscape, a plotted development project admeasuring 0.20 million sq. ft and a commercial project at St. Mark's Road, Bangalore admeasuring total developable area of 0.35 million sq. ft (super built-up area of 0.20 million sq. ft).

Sobha Developers said the company remains positive about achieving the guidance set for FY 2014, albeit in a challenging economic environment.

Sobha Developers' consolidated net profit declined 28% to Rs 69.60 crore on 12.1% growth in net sales to Rs 585.40 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.
Sobha Developers is a real estate developer. It is primarily focused on residential and contractual projects.

Larsen & Toubro wins $352 mn Oman road project

         Oman has awarded Larsen and Toubro  a contract worth 135.6 million rials to build a road project in the northwest of the country, a tender board official said on Wednesday.

      " Larsen & Toubro is the successful bidder for the Batinah road project package 4. The project will take two years to build," the official told Reuters, without providing further details.

Firm trade continues led by heavyweights

 Markets continued to trade higher in early noon deals led by gains in  IT, FMCG and oil shares. The Sensex was up 132 points at 19310. Nifty was up 43 points at 5,813.

Buying interest was visible in the FMCG index - up 1.6% at 6,714. Consumer durables, IT, capital goods and oil & gas indices also advanced 1-1.5% each. However, some weakness remained in the metal and auto sectors.

Broader markets were marginally up in green. The indices were up 0.2% each at 5960 anmd 5676, respectively.

ITC was the major mover among Sensex shares - contributing around 45 points to the Sensex's upmove. Reliance, Infosys and Larsen & Toubro were also playing a part. Tata Power continued to shine with 3.4% gains at Rs 85. Bharti Airtel added 2%, followed by Wipro and Sun Pharma.

On the other hand, BHEL slipped 2% at Rs 175. Sterlite, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank and ONGC were also in red.

Markets continued to trade firm in late morning deals on the back of bargain hunting and short covering in index heavyweights after the correction in the past two trading sessions.

At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 147 points at 19,324 and the 50-share Nifty was up 42 points at 5,813.

The rupee today strengthened by 19 paise to 60.02 against the dollar in early trade, snapping its three-session falling streak at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased selling of the US currency by exporters. The local currency had lost 55 paise to close at 60.21 yesterday due to fresh capital outflows and sustained dollar demand from importers. Dealers said besides increased dollar selling by exporters, a higher opening in domestic equity market and yen's gain against the American currency overseas also helped the rupee to recover.

Asian stocks were trading with gains were capped as investors turned cautious in wake of the political turmoil in Portugal and US jobs data due on Friday. The Nikkei was marginally down while the Shanghai Composite and Straits Times were up 1% and the Hang Seng surged 1.8%.

The BSE Consumer Durables index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices up 1.7% followed by IT, Capital Goods, Oil and Gas, FMCG and Healthcare indices up 0.4-1.3% each.

Shares were software exporters shed some of its early gains after the rupee strengthened against the US dollar. Infosys was up 0.9% and TCS gained 0.7%.

Larsen and Toubro is trading higher by 2% at Rs 1,416 on media reports that the company has emerged as a successful bidder to build Batinah road project (package 4) in the northwest of Oman.

Among the index heavyweights, Reliance Ind extended gains and was up 2%, ITC rose 1.5%, mortgage lender HDFC was up 1% and Bharti Airtel was up 1.9%.

Among other shares, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers has dipped 8% at Rs 51.70, extending its previous day’s 10% fall, after Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals has acquired a 24.5% stake the company for Rs 179 crore from open market transaction.

Tech Mahindra is trading higher by nearly 3% at Rs 1,028 after the company has merged Mahindra Satyam within itself. The trading of Mahindra Satyam shares has been suspended from today as the swap ratio of Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra will come into force.

The broader market also witnessed profit taking. The BSE Mid-cap was up 0.2% and the Small-cap index was up 0.3%.

India, China gas reforms open door to more imports

Moves by China and India to raise local gas prices will pave the way for increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the two nations try to ensure they can meet rapidly increasing demand for the fuel.

Gas prices in both countries have been kept artificially low at levels well below globally traded LNG costs, meaning either LNG importers suffer a loss or local LNG users have to pay a big premium to domestic prices.

India last week nearly doubled the price from around USD 4.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) to a pricing formula that will bring prices to around USD 8.40 per mmBtu from April 1, 2014.

China made a more modest reform, increasing non-residential natural gas prices by 15 percent, but prices will be higher at up to USD 10- USD 12 per mmBtu in many coastal provinces.

Chinese and Indian gas demand is expected to soar in the coming decade, driven by growing energy demand and efforts by China in particular to increase the amount of cleaner burning natural gas in its energy mix.

Higher gas prices will make LNG imports more attractive and provide incentives for domestic gas developments.

"It's broadly positive for LNG, as most (Chinese) LNG players are nervous of low (cost) competing gas sources," said Beijing-based senior gas analyst Gavin Thompson of Wood Mackenzie.

"We'll start to see a little more of the China influence in the spot, short-term LNG markets than the past few years."

LNG spot prices into China are around USD 14.50 per mmBtu, while India's gas imports are at USD 13 to USD 14 per mmBtu.

"I am expecting there will be some change in (India's) consumer psychology and demand pattern," said RK Garg, the head of finance at Petronet LNG .

India imported 15.17 million tonne of LNG in 2012, which is expected to rise to 50 million tonnes by 2020, while demand in China, which bought 14.7 of LNG last year, is expected to hit 60 million tonnes by 2020, said consultancy Tri Zen International.

"We had assumed higher prices in the forecasts so don't think the latest hikes in the two countries will trigger any changes to the forecasts," said Tri Zen analyst Tony Regan.

The price hikes will also provide an incentive for investment in LNG importing infrastructure.

"A formal indication of a hike in domestic prices will give regasification terminal developers more clarity about future supply potential," said Gautam Sudhakar, senior analyst with IHS in Washington DC.

Within days of the gas price hike, Indian firm H-Energy called for bids from EPC contractors for building an 8 million tonnes-per-year LNG terminal in Maharashtra state.

India has plans for an additional 83 million tonnes of LNG import capacity on the books for 2020, much of which may hinge on whether developers feel they can get market prices for LNG.

Chinese importers may be more willing to sign up short-term supplies with export facilities planned in East Africa, Canada and the United States, as well as the more traditional suppliers such as Australia and Qatar, experts say.

The lift in domestic prices will also trim losses at PetroChina's Rudong and Dalian import terminals, which have contracted pricey term LNG from Qatar, and at CNOOC Ltd's Zhanjiang and Fujian terminals which will import LNG from Australia and Indonesia.

Gas company GAIL  India Ltd has already contracted around 8 million tonne of US LNG imports, raising concerns about who would pay for the expensive imported gas.

"All the uncertainties have been put to rest now... paying a few dollars more per mmBtu for a more certain 20-year profile isn't going to be a hard sell," said Karthik Sathyamoorthy, head of Asia Pacific at energy consultancy Galway Group.

Crude oil futures down at Rs 6,085 per barrel

Crude oil futures prices fell 0.43 per cent to Rs 6,085 per barrel today, as speculators trimmed their positions, tracking a weak trend in the Asian trade on profit-taking.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in July shed Rs 26 or 0.43 per cent to Rs 6,085 per barrel in 3,241 lots. Likewise, August contracts moved down by Rs 26 or 0.42 per cent to Rs 6,092 per barrel in 692 lots.

Trading sentiment eased at the futures trade as crude oil prices declined in the Asian trade largely on profit-taking, but remained concerned about the political turmoil in Egypt, analysts said.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices for August delivery was down 8 per cent at $101.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after ending at its highest level yesterday since May last year.

Finance minister nudges banks to lower lending rates

Bank of India cuts base rate by 25 bps; SBI says it can't.

Finance minister P Chidambaram was at it again on Wednesday, goading public sector banks to cut lending rates in order to boost consumer spending and industrial growth despite the fact that their cost of funds remains high.

“We have advised the banks to look at the base rates. While the base rate of State Bank of India (SBI) is 9.7%, the average of the other banks is 10.20-10.25%. Reduction in the base rate will be a powerful stimulus to the credit growth,” Chidambaram said after a top-level review attended by chairmen and managing directors of banks and financial institutions.

Since the Reserve Bank of India has reduced policy rates, banks should pass on the benefit to the customers, he said. “Banks will review their base rate in July and take an appropriate decision.”

To be sure, the RBI has cut policy rates by 125 basis points (bps) since April last year.

However, banks have not been able to cut rates at a similar pace because of stagnant deposit growth and lower credit demand.

Hours after the meeting, Bank of India cut its base rate by 25 bps to 10% from July 8.

SBI, however, ruled out any reduction. “We are already at the lowest. We are at 9.7%.

Other banks have been asked to come to SBI level,” chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said.

Chidambaram also announced that four lenders – IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank and Dena Bank – would be capitalised on a priority basis this year to prop up their Tier-I capital adequacy ratios. The Budget had earmarked Rs 14,000 crore for capital infusion in banks this fiscal.

“Priority would be given to these four banks. They will also plough back some of the retained earnings. They will also find other ways to raise capital. I think by the end of the year, these four banks will move up to the 8% internal norm,” said Chidambaram.

The banks have been asked to submit a plan on their capital needs by the end of this month and focus on their top defaulters.

On financial inclusion and branch penetration, Chidambaram said about 8,000 branches would be added this fiscal, creating employment opportunity for at least 50,000. In addition, one lakh kiosks will come up for people to access banking services.

L&T - Fixes Record Date for Bonus Issue

Larsen & Toubro Ltd has informed BSE that the members of the Company have approved through Postal Ballot, the issue of Bonus Shares in the ratio of 1:2 (i.e. one bonus equity share of Rs. 2/- for every two fully paid up equity shares of Rs. 2/- each held), on July 03, 2013.

Accordingly, the Company has informed that July 13, 2013 has been fixed as the Record Date in order to determine the Members entitled to receive the aforesaid Bonus Shares

Bharti Airtel subscribes 2% stake in Qualcomm's entities

          Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, has announced that it has subscribed to an additional 2% equity share capital in all the four India BWA entities of Qualcomm AP.

         With this all four entities are now subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel. On May 24, 2012 Bharti Airtel and Qualcomm had announced an agreement under which Bharti had acquired 49% interest in Qualcomm AP’s India entities that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala.

Finance Minister urges PSU banks to cut lending rates

In order to boost the consumers demand, Finance Minister P Chidambaram urged public sector banks (PSU) to review their minimum lending rates or base rates to bring the cost of borrowing down to stimulate consumer demand, the main driver of an economy that has been pulled down by high inflation and interest rates. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced its key policy rates (repo) by 1.25 percentage points since January 2012, but banks have passed on only 0.30 percent to consumers. Presently, the average lending rates for PSU banks is around 10.25 percent.

After meeting the heads of state-run banks, Chidambaram said that reduction of the base rate will be a powerful booster to economic growth and powerful stimulus to the credit growth. By adding further, he said that banks should look at the base rate as the central bank has cut the policy rates by 125 basis points, thus some part of this must indeed be passed on to borrowers. On the other hand, bankers said that they are constrained to pass on the rate cut benefit because of higher provisioning norms as well as due to increase in their own borrowing cost by up to 0.5 percent. However, they assured finance minister that they would review their base rate this month and will take appropriate decision on cutting the base rate.

Further, Chidambaram also advised the banks to focus on their top 30 non-performing accounts and take action recovery against the willful defaulters. Recently, the banking sector has taken various steps to improve the asset quality, and a significant improvement has been witnessed in the gross NPA ratio of banks.  

Havells India to double manfacturing at Baddi plant

 Havells India on Tuesday announced doubling of manufacturing capacity at its Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh. It will invest a total of Rs. 100 cr for same, said reports.

"Our facility at Baddi in Himachal will begin manufacturing 1 million stock keeping units (SKUs) per day by this month-end, which is just the double of the present capacity of 5 lakh SKUs per day there," Havells India said Havells in a statement to press.

The company makes switch gears & switches at its Baddi plant and is aiming to up the manufacturing capacity of a newly-released range of switches 'REO'.

The company is expecting a revenue of Rs. 200cr through penetration in Tier 2 and 3 cities. 

Cairn India surges on inking MoUs with National Geophysical Research Institute and GVK-EMRI

Cairn India is currently trading at Rs. 293.45, up by 3.30 points or 1.14% from its previous closing of Rs. 290.15 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 294.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 294.00 and Rs. 291.85 respectively. So far 8,394 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 365.90 on 17-Sep-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 267.90 on 28-Mar-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 300.00 and Rs. 276.35 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 56,057 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 58.77% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 25.69% and 15.54% respectively.

Cairn India has inked two separate memorandum of understanding (MoU), one with National Geophysical Research Institute and other with GVK-EMRI. This collaboration will help to ensure efficient management of various crucial elements in the operating sites of the company. It will also enable the company to leverage their capabilities and strengths for developing world class business further.

Cairn India is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in India. The company and its JV partners account for more than 20 percent of India’s domestic crude oil production.

Hind Copper OFS fully subscribed, govt gets Rs 260 cr

Government today raised Rs 260 crore from sale of its 4.01 per cent stake in Hindustan Copper with the issue being over-subscribed well before closure of markets.
     
The issue attracted bids for over 4.38 crore shares as against a total number of over 3.71 crore shares on offer, at a base price of Rs 70 apiece.  "The issue was subscribed 1.18 times. The approximate gross receipts on allotment would be Rs 260 crore," an official statement said.
    
Hindustan Copper is the second successful disinvestment in the current fiscal. Last month the government had sold 9.33 per cent stake in MMTC to rake in Rs 568 crore.

Deepak Fertilizers up 4% on stake buy in Mangalore Chemical

Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals Corporation shares gained more than 4 percent in morning trade Thursday, after the fertiliser company through its subsidiary SCM Soilfert bought 24.46 percent stake or 2,89,91,150 equity shares in Vijay Mallya-led Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers  (MCF) on Wednesday.

The company bought stake through multiple block deals amounting to over Rs 179 crore at Rs 61.75 apiece.

Deepak Fertilizers said, "The investment is very strategic and a good fit with the company’s business.

UB group said there was no takeover battle for Mangalore Chemicals. "We will retain control over MCF," he added.

United Breweries Holdings holds 16.07 percent stake and McDowell Holdings has 4.92 percent stake in MCF as of March 2013.

The prominent sellers were DSP Blackrock (which sold 2.4 percent stake at Rs 63/share), Sundaram BNP Paribas MF (sold 2.5 percent stake at Rs 63/share), Indian Syntans (sold 3.4 percent stake at the same price) and Robust Marketing (sold 4.6 percent stake at Rs 56.25/share).

In April, Goa-based Zuari Agro had bought 9.72 percent stake in MCF.

Zuari said the company was evaluating all options and intended to be long-term investor in company.

Jaypee Infra - Fixes Book Closure for Dividend & AGM

Jaypee Infratech Ltd has informed BSE that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from July 23, 2013 to July 29, 2013 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of Payment of Dividend & Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on July 29, 2013.

Ashoka Buildcon selects as bidder for Chennai-ORR Project

            Ashoka Buildcon Ltd has informed BSE that the Company along with GVR Infra Projects Limited, as a Consortium (50% : 50%) had submitted its bid to the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Ltd. ("TNRDC") for the Project viz. "Development of Chennai Outer Ring Road Phase II from Nemilicheri in NH 205 To Minjur in Thiruvottiyur - Ponneri - Panchetti (TPP) Road on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) Annuity basis at Chennai, in the State of Tamil Nadu" ("Project"). The project is on Annuity Basis with a Concession Period of 20 years and TNRDC cost of the Project is Rs. 985.44 Crores.

          Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Ltd. has declared the Consortium as a "Selected Bidder" for the aforesaid Project vide Letter of Award dated July 02, 2013.

Weak opening in the offing

Even as the US commemorates colonial America’s rejection of imperial British rule, there’s nothing much to cheer about around the world as far as markets are concerned.

The outlook is a weak start and it’s unlikely that some fresh triggers could emerge during the day to give a push to stocks. Value buying in certain counters will take place but investors will continue to remain on guard tracking global developments closely.

Now there’s turmoil in Portugal and fears are this could again raise issues regarding Europe's debt crisis which appeared to be buried for some time.

Yields on Portugal’s 10-year government bonds rose above 7% and even hit 8% intra-day. The fear is any back-stepping by Portugal could result in others like Greece and Cyprus seeking concessions from lenders. On Monday, Eurozone finance ministers will review a progress report on Greece.

Violent clashes in Egypt continue bringing with it rising oil prices.

Better-than-estimated U.S. jobs data brought hopes that US economy is recovering.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index is down marginally while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up over a percent. South Korea's Kospi index is flat while China's Shanghai index is lower.

The Dow Jones the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed the day between 0.1 % and 0.3%.

US markets will be closed today in observance of Independence Day.

The European Central Bank meeting will also be eyed.

US oil prices rose as high as $102.18, the highest they've been in over a year, before settling at $101.24 a barrel, 1.7% higher.

Standard & Poor's downgraded three European banks citing worries over the size of their investment banking portfolios and the impact of new regulations.

The Indian government garnered Rs. 260 crore from stake sale in Hindustan Copper which got subscribed 1.14 times.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has advised public sector banks to cut base lending rates asking banks to focus on the top 30 loan defaulters.

The rupee will remain in focus after it fell 55 paise to close at 60.22 over Tuesday’s closing of 59.66.

Private payrolls increased by 188,000 last month, the ADP National Employment Report stated. The US Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000.

Growth in services, the largest sector of the Indian economy, fell in June compared to the previous month, according to the HSBC purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The index declined to 51.7 points in June from a three-month high of 53.6 points in May, indicating that economic recovery is not that certain

A day after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a clarification on the Jet-Etihad deal, Jet Airways supremo,
Naresh Goyal, met with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

The Government took the ordinance route to implement its ambitious Food Security Bill, after efforts to have a debate in Parliament failed.  The Food Security Bill aims to give legal rights to 67 per cent of the population over a uniform quantity of 5 kg foodgrains a month at Rs 1-3 a kg.

The RBI Governor and deputy governors will attend RBI Central Board meeting this morning after which a media address I scheduled.

JSW Steel to pay $4.36m in dispute

Abu Dhabi-based Al Ghurair Iron and Steel has won an arbitration award worth $4.36 million against JSW Steel Ltd as a result of a breach of a contract by Ispat Industries, now owned by JSW. The dispute arose in 2010 over the quality of hot-rolled coils produced under a 2008 contract, signed by Al Ghurair Iron & Steel with Ispat Industries Ltd. The matter was then brought for arbitration in Mumbai. Following detailed hearings on the arbitration proceedings, the Tribunal issued its award in June this year, holding that the coils supplied did not meet the specifications and hence the supply of the coils was in breach of the sales contract.

Govt allots 14 coal blocks to power PSUs; 4 to NTPC

Kickstarting the process of coal blocks allocation, the government has allocated 14 coal mines to Central and state PSUs, including four to NTPC .
    
"Ministry of Coal has allocated 14 coal blocks for power sector. Around 15 states and six Central PSUs have been allocated coal blocks," an official release said.
     
The allocation of the blocks, having a  geological reserve of 8,311 million tonnes (MT), will lead to an investment  of more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore in the power sector, it said.
     
Of the four coal blocks allocated to NTPC , two are in Chhattisgarh and the remaining two in Odisha. The blocks have reserves of 1,995 MT of coal.

Other PSUs which have been allocated mines include Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd, Odisha Thermal Power Corp, Jammu & Kashmir State Power Dev Corp, Chhattisgarh State Power Gen Co Ltd, Andhra Pradesh Generation Co, Maharashtra State Power Generation Co, Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam and Punjab State Power Corp Ltd.