Federal Bank board approves stock split

The board of directors of Kerala-based Federal Bank Ltd has approved the sub-division of equity shares of Rs 10 each into five shares of Rs 2 each.

The Investment and Capital Raising Committee of the board will meet on September 14 to consider the record date for the stock split, the bank has said in a statement to the stock exchanges.

The shares closed lower on the BSE at Rs 297 today. The stock, which crashed to a 52-week low of Rs 221.25 on September 4 on the exchange, has seen a sharp bounce back since then. But it is way off its 52 week high of Rs 550.75 that it reached on January 2 this year.

Sensex ends 200 pts lower; rupee depreciates

The main losers on the Sensex were Tata Steel, Hero Moto, BHEL, ONGC & Maruti Suzuki

Benchmark indices closed the trading session on a lower note amid weakness in rupee against dollar, along with metal, financials and auto shares leading the fall.

The Sensex closed down 216 points at 19,782 and the Nifty slipped 62 points at 5,851.

The government will unveil country’s July factory data and August retail inflation data after the market hours. The factory output or IIP is expected to shrink for third straight month signalling persistent slowdown fears in Asia’s third-biggest economy.

Short positions in the Indian rupee fell to a four-month low as sentiment toward emerging Asian currencies improved on growing doubts the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus as aggressively as first feared, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. At 15:45 hrs, the rupee was trading at 63.68 against dollar.

India's slowing economy and its massive current account and fiscal deficits are not structural problems and can be fixed with modest reforms, newly appointed central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday.

On the global front, Asian shares surrendered earlier gains while the dollar remained under pressure on Thursday, facing growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve's impending stimulus reduction might be smaller than some had believed.  

A stronger yen and downbeat economic data helped push Japan's Nikkei stock average down 0.3 percent.

European markets reversed initial gains and after Indonesia's central bank surprised markets with a quarter-percentage-point increase in its benchmark policy rate.

The government will decide on raising the retail prices of diesel and cooking gas (LPG) in a few weeks, the oil secretary said on Thursday, in a bid to cut the biggest item in its import bill and support the local currency.

Back home, BSE Metal index melted by almost 3% followed by counters like Banks, Consumer Durables, Auto, Oil & Gas, IT and Power, all falling down between 1-2%. However, BSE Realty index gained by 1%.

The main losers on the Sensex were Tata Steel, Hero Moto, BHEL, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki and Coal India.

On the gaining side, Tata Power, GAIL, ITC, Cipla and NTPC surged between 1-3%.

The market breadth in BSE ended positive with 129 shares advancing and 355 shares declining.

SMART MOVERS

Shares of Hindustan oil Exploration Company (HOEC) jumped 5% to Rs 37 after the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) have approved the commerciality of ‘Dirok’ hydrocarbon discovery in Block AAP-ON-94/1 located in Assam-Arakan basin.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) ended higher by 20% at Rs 15.36 on reports that the group of ministers (GoM) would be meeting today to look into affairs of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and MTNL.

Financial Technologies (FTIL), the promoter of the crisis-ridden National Spot Exchange (NSEL), gained over 18% in an otherwise weak Mumbai markets amidst expectations that the group may get some relief from the speculated sale of NK Proteins, a borrower company.

Jaiprakash Associates slipped 12% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Thursday.

A day earlier, Manoj Gaur promoted Jaiprakash Associates announced that its subsidiary Jaypee Cement Corporation Limited (JCCL) entered in an agreement with Aditya Birla group company –UltraTech Cement Limited for sale of its Gujarat cement plant comprising an integrated 2.4 MTPA cement plant at Kutch and a 2.4 MTPA cement grinding unit at Wanakbori, in a Rs.3800 crores deal.

AMW ties up with IndusInd Bank

Commercial vehicle maker AMW Motors has inked a pact with IndusInd Bank for vehicle finance.

The company has entered into an agreement with IndusInd Bank for financing the retail sales of its range of medium and heavy haulage vehicles and tippers, AMW Motors said in a statement today.

“This retail finance loan tie-up with IndusInd Bank will be a great boon to buyers with a good track record as they look to expanding and diversifying their fleet,” AMW Motors President A. Ramasubramanian said.

The company expects that the agreement with IndusInd Bank will help its sales offices and dealerships to reach out to more truck operators across the country and offer them a range of financing options, he added.

IndusInd Bank is one of India’s leading private sector banks with over 530 branches across the country. The bank has a strong presence in the North, South and Eastern regions of country and has more than 10 per cent market share in the commercial vehicle, commercial equipment lending sector.

AMW Motors is the country’s third largest manufacturer of heavy commercial vehicles. It sells trucks ranging from 16 to 49 tonnes.

ICICI Bank launches chip-based credit card

ICICI Bank Ltd, India’s largest private sector bank, has launched ICICI Bank Carbon in partnership with Visa.

“The ICICI Bank Carbon will be offered to select ICICI Bank credit card members only. It is available at an inaugural one-time fee of Rs 1,000 plus applicable service tax,” the bank said in a statement.

The member initially needs to generate a CodeSure PIN on the ICICI Bank Web site before using the card. This is a one-time activity.

The PIN can instantly help generate a one-time-passcode (OTP) on the card plastic itself. The display panel on the back of the card then shows this OTP which can be used to authenticate online transactions.

In case of a loss of the physical card, it cannot be used for online transaction without the CodeSure PIN, the bank said.

The card provides reward points, complimentary movie tickets, access to culinary treat programme, access at select airport lounges in India and complete waiver of 2.5 per cent fuel surcharge at HPCL fuel stations.

Powered by Visa CodeSure, it provides EMV chip technology with embedded microchip that can minimise the risks of skimming and counterfeit of cards, especially for online shopping.

Sensex falls around 200 points on profit-taking after 5-day rally

- The BSE Sensex falls on profit-taking, after gaining nearly 10 percent in a five-day winning streak on the back of strong foreign flows.
The Sensex and the Nifty fall around 1 percent.

Among private banks, ICICI Bank falls 1.9 percent while HDFC Bank is down 2.2 percent on profit-taking.
Jaiprakash Associates  falls 6.9 percent after earlier rising as much as 2.1 percent on profit-taking after announcing a cement unit sale to UltraTech Cement Ltd on Wednesday.

Shares in Housing Development Finance Corp are off lows, up 0.65 percent after falling as much as 2.3 percent as FTSE increased its "investability weight" to 100 percent from 74 percent in its global equity index series, as per its website.
However, shares in IDFC Ltd  gain 5 percent after the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday lifted restrictions placed on foreign investors purchasing shares of the company as their shareholding in IDFC fell below the prescribed limit.

Gold futures down at Rs 30,505 per 10 gm

Tracking a weak global trend and rising rupee, gold prices fell 0.18 per cent to Rs 30,505 per 10 gram at the futures market today as speculators indulged in trimming positions.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in far-month December fell Rs 55 or 0.18 per cent to Rs 30,505 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 122 lots.

Similarly, the yellow metal for delivery in October lost Rs 52 or 0.17 per cent to Rs 30,630 per 10 grams in 2,594 lots.

Market analysts said the fall in gold futures was mostly attributed to a weak trend in the global market where it retreated to a three-week low on speculation that the US Federal Reserve will commit to reducing the stimulus next week.

Besides, rising rupee against the dollar has also put pressure on the yellow metal prices, they said.

Meanwhile, gold dropped 0.80 per cent to $1,354.51 an ounce in Singapore, the lowest level since August 20.

Silver futures decline to Rs 52,170 per kg

Silver prices fell 0.51 per cent to trade at Rs 52,170 per kg at the futures trade today as participants engaged in reducing their positions amid a weak trend in the global market.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver for delivery in December fell Rs 269 or 0.51 per cent to Rs 52,170 per kg in a business turnover of 2,290 lots.

In a similar fashion, the white metal for delivery in far-month March traded lower by Rs 177 or 0.33 per cent at Rs 53,478 per kg in 14 lots.

Market analysts said offloading of positions by speculators following a weak trend overseas on speculation that the US Federal Reserve will commit to reducing its stimulus next week, weighed on silver futures prices here.

Meanwhile, silver fell 1.4 per cent to $22.87 an ounce in Singapore today.

Essar Energy gets $300-million credit to repay bridge loan

London-listed Essar Energy plc today said it has got an additional borrowing of $300 million that will be mostly used to repay an existing bridge loan.

The company said, “it has upsized its existing $150-million loan facility with Axis Bank to $450 million, with the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) providing $300 million as a new lender.”

The $150-million facility, originally agreed with Axis Bank, was signed and disbursed in September 2012 and allowed for an increase to $450 million. Both facilities mature in 2017.

“The proceeds of the upsized loan will be used to repay an outstanding amount of $233 million under an existing bridge loan facility and for general corporate purposes,” the company said in a statement.

Essar Energy Chief Financial Officer Deepak Maheshwari said: “The upsizing of the existing Axis facility following Exim Bank’s agreement to lend a further $300 million marks a further milestone in our programme to strengthen our balance sheet and improve liquidity within Essar Energy.”

“We continue to make good progress with our refinancing activities across our power and oil and gas businesses to lower risk, lower costs and extend repayment maturity time-frames,” he added.

Zensar enters into agreement with Kapela Holdings

Zensar will be the majority shareholder of the Company expanding Zensar’s presence in South Africa with services in many areas to new customer segments.

Zensar Technologies Ltd has announced today that an agreement has been entered into with a majority black owned investment business Kapela Fund 1 (Kapela) and The Tomorrow Trust to set up a new Broad Based Black Economic Empowered company in South Africa.
Zensar will be the majority shareholder of the Company expanding Zensar’s presence in South Africa with services in many areas to new customer segments.

Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Zensar Technologies, says: “This new Company reiterates our commitment to South Africa and its transformational agenda will help consolidate our leadership in the region. We have had an extraordinarily successful decade of operations in South Africa and established leadership in providing technology solutions to the Banking, Insurance, Retail, Manufacturing and Mining sector. This venture will help us expand our footprint into Government contracts and also enhance our standing in the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) code of the Government.”

Speaking to the Press, Israel Skosana, Executive Chairman of Kapela Holdings said, “We are delighted to partner with one of India’s IT leaders to establish a trailblazing venture in our country.  Zensar has established an excellent reputation in the South African corporate sector and we will work jointly for both Public and Private Sector projects.”

The Board of the Company will have representation from Zensar, Kapela and The Tomorrow Trust.

Kim Feinberg, CEO of The Tomorrow Trust said, “The Tomorrow Trust is a perfect partner in this very important BEE deal. We are ensuring that we have youth who are educated up in order to be proactive participants in both our economy and society. For business to succeed we have to make sure that education is a priority in our country. Zensar has acknowledged and has committed to this fact and therefore has partnered with us to make sure that this indeed happens. Our synergies with bursaries and leadership will be highlighted and developed, creating sustainable impact. The Tomorrow Trust Board of Trustees and I are all very excited about this deal.”

Harish Lala, Vice President and Africa Region Head, Zensar said, “In line with Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) framework, Zensar launched its Learnership Development Program (LDP) and has been identifying local students from the PDI community in South Africa and training them in both South Africa and India. We are pleased that over eighty of them have already joined the workforce. The new Company will widen and deepen these partnerships for community development and reinforce our ‘Proudly South African’ vision for the country.”

The Learnership Development Program primarily equips students with crucial IT skills, such as software development and testing to ensure they are eligible for quality jobs. Sarvesh Batta who heads the initiative said, “Our aim is to home grow skills to service local Zensar clients in South Africa and also across Africa and increase our global capacity. By building a globally competent IT workforce, we can be part of the development of a world-class IT industry in South Africa.”

The South Africa program is part of Zensar's Centre of Excellence (COE) initiatives around the world focused on training local students to join the workforce.

Dr Natarajan said, “The objective of the COE programme is to enable IT workforce development and facilitate the creation of global clusters of services-oriented competence across the world. The programme focuses on familiarising students with services-oriented solution patterns, processes, problems and pressures so that we have access to a pool of globally employable talent. We are expanding the initiative to UK and USA in the current financial year. The programme is not just about local skills development, but it is also a strategic initiative given Zensar's future plans in South Africa. We see this country as a potential centre for research, education and software development, and plan to invest significantly in developing global delivery capabilities here. This will be an important hub of development activities for all our new markets in the coming years.”

IDFC surges 7% as RBI removes FII restrictions

Shares in IDFC surged as much as 7 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday lifted restrictions placed on foreign investors purchasing shares of the company as their shareholding in IDFC fell below the prescribed limit.

The company had reduced the limit that foreign investors can own in the infrastructure lender to 54 per cent from 74 per cent without giving a reason in August.

Dealers said the FII investment limit was reduced earlier to comply with RBI's bank licence guidelines as the company has applied for a banking licence

The stock was trading up 4.7 per cent at 96.60 rupees as of 9:48 a.m. while the broader market was down 0.50 per cent

Govt notifies changes in FDI policy to enhance overseas investment

In a move to enhance the overseas investment into the country, the government has notified changes in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, widening the definition of the term 'control' for mergers and acquisitions involving overseas companies, a move that will provide more clarity to foreign investors and would also prevent backdoor entry of foreign companies in the prohibited sectors. The notification will have to be tabled in Parliament within 30 days of the commencement of the next session.

As per the revised FDI guidelines, the government had relaxed norms for multi-brand retail trading and eased the mandatory 30 per cent local sourcing norms for companies. The government is of the view that the move will help to enhance the FDI into the country. Meanwhile, FDI increased to $9 billion in April-June quarter from $5 billion in the same period of FY13.The foreign direct investment (FDI) policy is now notified under FEMA regulations and is effective from August 22.

The new definition of control will include the right to appoint majority of directors and will also be expanded to include control over the management or policy decisions, instead of just the right to appoint majority of the shareholders. Presently, a company is said to be controlled by an Indian resident if the Indian investor holds more than 51% stake and can appoint the majority directors in the firm. As per the new guidelines, an Indian company will be considered a foreign entity if the major stake in the firm is held by foreign investors or is foreign controlled and any investment by such a company will also be considered as foreign investment.

IWAI receives bids for coal movement for NTPC's Barh project

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has received only two technical bids for barge transportation of coal along the 1000-km long stretch (between Sagar Island/Haldia, West Bengal, and Barh, Bihar) of the 1620-km long National Waterway No 1 (NW 1). The bidders are Jindal ITF and a consortium of two firms, namely, M Pallonji & Company Pvt Ltd and Goa-based Sociedade de Fomento Industrial Pvt Ltd.

The bids, invited in April this year, were opened on Tuesday, after several extensions of last dates. The job involves transportation of three million tons of imported coal annually for a period of 10 years for NTPC’s Barh super thermal power plant still to start generation.

IWAI, inquiries reveal, is likely to invite price bids within a month or so. Once finalised, the bids will be placed before NTPC for the award of the contract to the successful bidder. If everything progresses as planned, the award of the contract, it is felt, should be possible by the end of the year.

The transportation has to start within three years from the date of the award of the contract, it is learnt. Hopefully, the Barh project will be ready by that time to receive imported coal by river route. The foundation stone for the project was laid in March 1999 by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

It might be noted that the contract for barge movement of coal between Sagar Island/Haldia and Farakka(560 kms and also on the NW 1) for NTPC’s Farakka super thermal power plant in West Bengal was awarded more than two years ago with the stipulation to start movement within two years. That has not happened. More than two years have passed since the award of the contract but the movement is yet to start.

There have been several postponements of the commissioning date. The trial run, it is understood, is now being planned in October. Jindal ITF has been awarded the contract for transporting by barges three million tons of imported coal annually for seven years.

Jaiprakash to sell Gujarat cement unit to UltraTech

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd has agreed to sell its cement plant in Gujarat to UltraTech Cement Ltd for around 38 billion rupees including debt.

UltraTech, the country's largest cement maker by production capacity, will issue shares worth up to 1.5 billion rupees to Jaiprakash and assume debts of about 36.50 billion rupees, the companies said on Wednesday.

Jaiprakash Associates, which also has interests in power and infrastructure, has been trying to sell the plant for more than a year and was in talks with several potential buyers, including Ireland's CRH(CRH.I).

Including subsidiaries, Jaiprakash has total debts of 550 billion to 560 billion rupees which it plans to cut by 150 billion rupees by selling more assets including cement and power businesses this fiscal year ending next March, Executive Chairman Manoj Gaur said.

"The contraction in the economy has brought challenges to everyone," Gaur told reporters, after the company announced the sale of the cement unit. "Now we are focussed on debt reduction across all business."

Jaiprakash, which currently has a cement production capacity of 36.8 million tonnes, will remain the country's third largest producer, the company said in a statement.

Rising input and energy costs have been squeezing margins at cement companies, while demand remains a worry amid a weakening economy and high interest rates, which have slowed housing and infrastructure development in Asia's third-largest economy.

This has put pressure on cement makers, especially those with debt that has become expensive to service due to a sharp fall in the rupee against the dollar and high domestic interest rates, forcing some to sell assets.

Shriram EPC Ltd last month agreed to sell its stake in Sree Jayajothi Cements Ltd to My Home Industries Ltd, owned by CRH, for 14 billion rupees to reduce debt.

Production capacity at UltraTech, part of the $40-billion diversified Aditya Birla Group, will rise to 59 million tonnes after the acquisition of the 4.8 million tonnes Jaiprakash unit, said Kumar Mangalam Birla, the billionaire chairman of UltraTech.

"Despite the prevailing muted growth of the industry, we believe the long term fundamentals and growth prospects remain intact. We will add more capacities in the coming years," he said in a statement.

UltraTech plans to raise its capacity to 70 million tonnes by 2015, he said.

Jaiprakash and UltraTech expect their transaction, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, to close in seven to nine months.

Standard Chartered Plc advised both UltraTech and Jaiprakash, the companies said.

RBI lifts restrictions on FII purchase in IDFC

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted restrictions on purchase of shares of IDFC by foreign investors. The restrictions were lifted after the shareholding of foreign institutional investors (FII) and other category of foreign investors fell below the prescribed threshold limit as specified in the FDI policy.

The FII holding in the company stood at 52.19% at the end of the June 2013 quarter, down from 53.23% in the previous quarter.

IDFC is the country’s leading integrated infrastructure finance player providing end to end infrastructure financing and project implementation services.

Asia shares nose higher, dollar under pressure

Asian shares eked out small gains and the dollar remained under pressure on growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve's impending stimulus reduction might be smaller than some had believed.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan managed a gain of about 0.1 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average added 0.2 per cent.

One regional standout was New Zealand's currency, which jumped to a four-week high of $0.8150 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its benchmark cash rate steady at 2.5 per cent as expected. It said it would likely hold interest rates for the rest of the year but that rates would start to rise by mid-2014.

"As these are the most hawkish comments that we have heard from a major central bank, investors could start to see the New Zealand dollar in a new light and drive the currency up another 3 to 5 per cent," BK Asset Management managing director Kathy Lien said in a note to clients.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets next Tuesday and Wednesday. While it is still widely expected to begin scaling back its $85 billion monthly asset-buying programme, Friday's disappointing jobs data prompted many to believe the reduction will be more modest than some had previously expected.

A Reuters survey earlier this week showed most economists see the U.S. central bank trimming its asset purchases by about 10 billion.

The dollar index slipped about 0.1 per cent to 81.474, having fallen as far as 81.445 on Wednesday, breaking below its 200-day moving average and losing more than 1 per cent from a seven-week high hit on September 5.

The waning likelihood of an immediate U.S. military strike on Syria also continued to undermine the dollar. The five permanent veto-wielding powers of the U.N. Security Council met in New York on Wednesday to discuss plans to bring Syria's chemical weapons under international control.

The dollar bought 99.80 yen, down about 0.1 per cent. It moved away from Wednesday's high of 100.60 yen, which was the highest since July 22, according to Reuters data.

The euro was slightly higher at $1.3315 after rising as high as $1.3324 on Wednesday, its highest since August 29.

Reduced expectations of Fed tapering have eased pressure on emerging market currencies that recently sold off amid fears of capital outflows. That buys some time for the central banks of Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea, which have to consider the impact of eventual Fed stimulus reduction when they review their policies at meetings on Thursday.

Markets like Brazil and India, which must import capital to finance spending, will feel the effects of the reduction more than countries such as Mexico and South Korea, which are less dependent on foreign funds.

On the commodities front, copper rose 0.2 per cent to$7,183.50 a tonne, lifted by an improved outlook for China's economy and reduced risk of a U.S. strike on Syria.

Gold edged slightly down to up to $1,364.96 an ounce, after touching a three-week low of $1,356.85 on Wednesday.

Oil was slightly higher, with Brent crude trading at $111.54.

CARE revises rating of Mcnally Bharat Engineering Company’s Bank facilities

Credit rating agency, CARE has revised rating of Mcnally Bharat Engineering Company’s Long-term Bank Facilities worth Rs 3,904.20 crore, enhanced from Rs 3,779.80 crore from ‘A+’ to ‘A’ and Short-term Bank Facilities worth Rs 300.00  crore from ‘A1+’ to ‘A1’.

The rating agency has also revised rating of company’s Non-convertible redeemable preference share worth Rs 100.0 crore from ‘A’ to ‘A-’ and Short Term Debt (including CP) worth Rs 80.0  crore from ‘A1+’ to ‘A1’.

The revision in ratings of MBEL takes into account the deterioration in the financial risk profile of the company in FY13 and Q1FY14 marked by decrease in net profit margin, significant increase in debt level and elongation of the extended collection period along with high exposure to group & associate companies with net losses on consolidated basis.

McNally Bharat Engineering Company is one of the leading engineering companies. It provides turnkey solutions in areas of power, steel, alumina, material handling, mineral beneficiation, coal washing, ash handling and disposal, port cranes, civic and industrial water supply etc.

UltraTech Cement to acquire 4.8 mtpa Gujarat Cement Unit at enterprise value of Rs 3,800 crore

UltraTech Cement has received an approval for acquisition of the Gujarat Cement Unit of Jaypee Cement Corporation (JCCL), by way of a demerger, comprising of an integrated cement unit at Sewagram and Grinding Unit at Wanakbori. JCCL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jaiprakash Associates (JAL). With this acquisition of 4.8 mtpa the company’s current capacity increases to 59 mtpa. The board of the company at its meeting held on September 11, 2013 has approved for the same.

The enterprise value is Rs 3,800 crore besides the actual net working capital at closing. UltraTech will take over all the assets and the liabilities of the unit at closing and the net amount of enterprise value less liabilities taken over will be the consideration. Such consideration will be discharged by allotment of equity shares of UltraTech to the shareholders of JCCL, subject to a maximum value of such equity shares to be Rs 150 crore.

The combined capacity of both the divisions of the Gujarat Unit is 4.8mtpa of cement with 57.5 MW Coal based Thermal Power Plant, limestone reserves for over 90 years at current capacity and a captive Jetty at Sewagram.

The proposed transaction is subject to the approval of shareholders and creditors, sanction of the Scheme of Arrangement by the High Courts, approval of the Competition Commission of India and all other statutory approvals. The company anticipates the transaction to close in 7 to 9 months.

Standard Chartered acted as a Transaction Advisor for the company while Axis Capital acted as Independent Fairness Opinion. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Company were Legal Advisor while Bansi S. Mehta & Company acted as Valuation Expert.

Sensex opens on a flat note

The Sensex and the Nifty opened the session flat on buying by funds and retail investors in select stocks amid mixed Asian cues.

At 9.15 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 23.47 points (0.12 per cent) at 20,020.92 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 9.7 points (0.16 per cent) at 5,922.85.

Asia’s benchmark stock index swung between gains and losses after Japanese machinery orders increased less than expected and as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week.

Japan's Nikkei fell 42.15 points or 0.29 per cent to 14,382.90, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 73.33 points or 0.32 per cent to 23,010.50 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 12.91 points or 0.25 per cent at 5,247.30.

No car loan if annual income less than Rs. 6 lakh, says SBI

 Individuals with annual income of less than Rs. 6 lakh will not get a car loan from State Bank of India (SBI) as the bank has tightened eligibility conditions for its four-wheeler loan scheme with a view to minimising possible defaults.

The eligibility limit for loan issuance to salaried individuals for car purchase has been raised from Rs. 2.5 lakh per annum to Rs. 6 lakh per annum, as per a recent circular by the bank. For SBI account holders, the limit has been raised to Rs. 4.5 lakh per annum.

SBI currently offers car loans at an interest rate of 10.45 per cent, as per the bank's website.

Giving the rationale for the increase in the eligibility criteria, a senior bank official said the decision to revise upwards the gross income limit is taken in view of the moderation in economy.

The official futher said that this is a preemptive step to ward off fresh slippages.

The bank's auto loan portfolio grew by 38.71 per cent to Rs. 26,411 crore at the end of first quarter of the current fiscal year as against Rs. 19,040 crore at the end of same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Market share of the bank rose 2.91 per cent against 2.44 per cent in the same period last year.

Gross non-performing assets of the bank rose to 5.56 per cent as compared to 4.99 per cent at the end of the first quarter of 2012-13.

At the same time, net non-performing assets (NPAs) of the bank rose to 2.83 per cent as against 2.22 per cent at the end of June, 2013.

Snapping a nine-month streak of declines, domestic passenger car sales grew by 15.37 per cent to 1,33,486 units in August this year, compared to 1,15,705 units in the same month last year.

Industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), however, played down the feat saying the growth was mainly due to low base effect as a result of the month-long lockout last year at the Manesar plant of the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI).

Jaypee plans to monetise assets to cut debt

In hunt for strategic partners too

Jaypee Group,with debt of Rs 56,000 crore, is planning to monetise its cement, and thermal and hydro power assets and is hunting for partners to reduce the debt to Rs 41,000 crore by the end of this financial year. Moreover, the company is looking at options to sell a good chunk of its land bank of 9,000 acres.

Jaiprakash Power was reportedly in talks with Abu Dhabi Water and Electric Authority to sell its 300-megawatts (Mw) Baspa-II and 1,000-Mw Karcham-Wangtoo projects in Himachal Pradesh.

“The deal with UltraTech is the first step towards our debt reduction. Though people talk more about the debt, we are sitting comfortably as a Group, as we have assets worth Rs 70,000 crore,” said Manoj Gaur, executive chairman of the Jaypee Group.

Through bulk land sale, the Group is looking to bring down the debt of Jaypee Infratech by about Rs 5,000 crore, from the current Rs 7,000 crore.

“The deal has brought down the debt of Jaiprakash Associates by Rs 3,600 crore,” he said. Jaiprakash Power Ventures is in the process of adding another 3,000 Mw in the next 14 months, through Nigrie project in Madhya Pradesh and the Bara project in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, Jaiprakash Power has 1,300 MW of hydel and 500 MW of thermal capacity.

“Our turnover has increased from a mere Rs 7,000 crore in 2009 to Rs 23,000 crore now. We are constantly looking for expansion. We are currently among the major players in cement, power and real estate. Hence, rising debt or the current difficulties can only be considered as part of the overall dip that the country’s GDP is seeing,” Gaur said.