Central Bank of India shortlists Spanco to implement mobile based application

Central Bank of India (CBI) has shortlisted Spanco to implement Mobile Banking and mCommerce related application and services. The bank had invited bids for the same in which Spanco emerged as the most qualified bidder on the basis of technical score and price bid.

Spanco will build a full services mobile based application for the bank thus enabling CBI’s customers to avail all the services on their mobile. It will also build a secure and robust mCommerce platform for the customers to have the convenience to do extensive utility and other transactions through their mobile.

In addition to this Spanco will help CBI customers to migrate seamlessly to the mobile banking application by conducting campaigns and road shows. Spanco’s mobile banking system works on all phones irrespective of their make and model. State Bank of India, Canara Bank and J&K Bank are the other banks who use Spanco’s Mobile Banking Platform.

Idea Device raises $4 m from Sequoia Capital

Idea Device, a data centre automation platform company, has raised $4-million funding from Sequoia Capital.

The Bangalore-based company will use the funding to expand in markets such as the US and Singapore and to hire talent and expand its product suite.

“We are very impressed with the team and the cross-platform, agent-less technology built by Idea Device. Their client success at such an early stage is a terrific validation of both the market need and their technical prowess,” said Shailendra Singh, Managing Director at Sequoia Capital India Advisors.

Idea Device is exploring opportunities for global expansion by making inroads into Singapore and the US through partnerships and associations.

Idea Device provides automation solutions to help enterprises reduce operational errors and manual processes in data centres. The company currently works with leading organisations in the IT and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.

Sept trade data pushes Sensex up, financials gain

The broader markets traded higher with mid-caps and small-caps adding 0.5-0.7 per cent on the BSE.

Markets extended gains in the afternoon session this Wednesday on back of buying witnessed in financials after country’s trade deficit narrowed to a two-and-a-half-year low in September.

The deficit for the month stood at $6.7 billion, the lowest level since March 2011, compared with $10.9 billion in August, the commerce ministry said today.

At 2:15PM, the 30-share Sensex rose 165 points to trade at 20,149 and the 50-share Nifty gained 47 points at 5,975 levels.

The key trigger for markets now will be Infosys quarterly results this Friday that will kick start the earnings season for July-September quarter.

A heavily-bet Infosys could see large volume pick-up but very little price volatility, said analysts.

Meanwhile, global risk appetite was frail as US shutdown entered its second week, with an October 17 deadline for raising the borrowing limit approaching.

The broader markets traded higher with mid-caps and small-caps adding 0.5-0.7 per cent on the BSE.

The market breadth was positive. Out of 2,373 stocks traded, 1,223 stocks advanced while 993 stocks declined on the BSE.

RUPEE

Rupee gained in trades today after a better-than-expected trade data boosted sentiment for the local currency.

At 2:10PM, the partially convertible rupee was trading at 61.76 per dollar against the yesterday’s close of 61.80 on the Interbank Foreign Exchange.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks traded mixed as US lawmakers wrangle over the debt limit and partial government shutdown.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1% to 14,037, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.6% to 23,033, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.6% to 2,211 while Singapore’s Straits Times was up 0.3% to 3,155.

European markets also opened lower. France’s CAC declined 0.1% to 4,130, Germany’s DAX shed 0.05% to 8,551 while UK’s FTSE was down 0.4% to 6,343.

STOCK MOVERS

Domestically, the key sectoral gainers were healthcare, capital goods, realty, oil & gas, power and IT while consumer durable sector declined on the BSE.

The laggards were Sesa Sterlite falling 1.3%, Mahindra & Mahindra dropped 1.2%, ICICI Bank shed 0.9%, Coal India declined 0.8% while Maruti Suzuki was down 0.7% on the BSE.

The gainers were Sun Pharma surged 4%, Larsen & Toubro added 2%, HDFC Bank rose 1.7% while Reliance Industries gained 1.6% on  the BSE.

NSE Corporate Bonds Trading report

As per the NSE data, EXIM BANK 8.10% 2015(S -N-04), currently trading at Rs 97.9871 at Last Trade Yield (YTM) Annualized of 9.3500% was in maximum demand, followed by HDFC 9.20% 2015 (SR-K-023), trading at Rs 99.6786 with a YTM of 9.3700%, PFC 8.78% 2020 (S-70) at Rs 96.4282 and YTM of 9.4800% and LICH14, trading at Rs 100.0000.

Sept surprise: Trade deficit at US$6.7bn

India's trade deficit narrowed to $10.9 billion in August

The Indian government released its monthly trade data for September today. The September trade deficit stood at $6.7 billion compared to 10.9 billion in August.

The September trade deficit is the lowest in past 30 months, while the imports for the month of September were lowest since March 2011.

The trade deficit for April-September stood at $80.12 billion.

Exports (including re-exports)

Exports during September, 2013 were valued at US$27679.33mn (Rs. 176461.53 crore) which was 11.15 per cent higher in Dollar terms (29.77 per cent higher in Rupee terms) than the level of US$24902.00mn (Rs. 135978.63 crore) during September, 2012. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-September 2013 -14 was US$152105.40 mn (Rs. 901194.97 crore) as against US$144673.91mn (Rs. 790838.40 crore) registering a growth of 5.14 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 13.95 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

Imports

Imports during September, 2013 were valued at US$34439.50mn (Rs.219559.04 crore) representing a negative growth of 18.10 per cent in Dollar terms and a negative growth of 4.38 per cent in Rupee terms  over the level of imports valued at US$42051.45mn (Rs. 229624.04 crore) in September, 2012. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-September, 2013-14 was US$232231.64mn (Rs. 1365699.30 crore) as against US$236493.90mn (Rs. 1292490.99 crore) registering a negative growth of 1.80 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 5.66 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

Crude Oil and Non-Oil Imports:

Oil imports during September, 2013 were valued at US$13196.5mn which was 5.94  per cent lower than oil imports valued at US$ 14029.5mn in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April-September, 2013-14 were valued at US$82876.1mn which was 3.58 per cent higher than the oil imports of US$80011.6mn in the corresponding period last year.

Non-oil imports during September, 2013 were estimated at US$21243.0mn which was 24.19 per cent lower than non-oil imports of US$28022.0mn in September, 2012. Non-oil imports during April-September, 2013-14 were valued at US$149355.5mn which was 4.55 per cent lower than the level of such imports valued at US$156482.3mn in April-September, 2012-13.

Trade Balance
The trade deficit for April-September, 2013-14 was estimated at US$80126.24mn which was lower than the deficit of US$91819.99mn during April-September, 2012-13.

Exports & Imports : (US$ Million)
(PROVISIONAL)
                                                         SEPTEMBER APRIL-SEPTEMBER
EXPORTS(including re-exports)  

2012-13                                                   24902.00              144673.91
2013-14                                                   27679.33              152105.40
%Growth2013-14/ 2012-2013                   11.15                     5.14

IMPORTS

2012-13                                               42051.45                        236493.90
2013-14                                                34439.50                       232231.64
%Growth2013-14/ 2012-2013                -18.10                             -1.80

TRADE BALANCE

2012-13                                               -17149.45                      -91819.99

2013-14                                               -6760.17                        -80126.24

 
EXPORTS & IMPORTS : (Rs. Crore)
 
(PROVISIONAL)                            SEPTEMBER               APRIL-SEPTEMBER
 
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2012-13                                           135978.63                           790838.40
2013-14                                              176461.53                            901194.97

% Growth 2013-14/ 2012-2013             29.77                                    13.95

IMPORTS

2012-13                                                229624.04                            1292490.99

2013-14                                               219559.04                             1365699.30

% Growth 2013-14/ 2012-2013              -4.38                                     5.66

TRADE BALANCE

2012-13                                                -93645.41                            -501652.59

2013-14                                                -43097.51                          -464504.33

Crompton Greaves shines as arm synchronizes first 600MW unit in Chhattisgarh

Crompton Greaves is currently trading at Rs. 93.35, up by 0.75 points or 0.81% from its previous closing of Rs. 92.60 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 92.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 94.20 and Rs. 91.65 respectively. So far 76,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 140.70 on 12-Oct-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 71.70 on 25-Jun-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 95.45 and Rs. 87.95 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 5,988.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 41.69% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 38.93% and 19.14% respectively.  Crompton Greaves promoted -- Avantha Power & Infrastructure -- has synchronized first 600MW unit in Chhattisgarh. Moreover, the company’s two thermal power projects in Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) and Seoni (Madhya Pradesh) are under various stages of implementation and one thermal power project in Gujarat is in planning stages.

Avantha Power & Infrastructure (APIL) is an established power generation company with 191 MW of operational thermal power capacity, 2,460 MW of generating capacity under various stages of implementation and 1,320 MW of generating capacity under planning.

Crompton Greaves is engaged in designing, manufacturing and marketing electrical products and services related to power generation, transmission and distribution.

Banks can't bid for term repos at or below rate: RBI

The RBI said that it will conduct seven-day and 14-day term repos on alternate Fridays starting this Friday

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that banks cannot bid for term repos at or below the prevailing repo rate under liquidity adjustment facility (LAF). The repo rate currently stands at 7.5%.

The RBI said that it will conduct seven-day and 14-day term repos on alternate Fridays starting this Friday.

“It would conduct term repos will be for a total amount of 0.25% of Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) of the banking system,” the RBI added.

No bids would be accepted at or below the prevailing Repo Rate under LAF, RBI said in a notification.

Term Repo under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) for 14 days and 7 days tenors will be introduced for banks (scheduled commercial banks other than RRBs) in addition to the existing daily LAF (repo and reverse repo) and MSF.

Term repo auctions will be conducted on CBS (E-KUBER) platform through electronic bidding as is done in the case of OMO auctions.

The central bank will arrange all bids in a descending order of the term repo rates quoted and the cut-off rate would be arrived at the rate corresponding to the notified amount of the auction. The notified amount would be announced one day prior to the auction each week, the notification showed.

Rupee pares early gains; down at 62.24/dollar

The rupee gained 60 paise to 61.20 per dollar in the opening trade against the previous close of 61.80 on the back of Reserve Bank of India’s measures to improve liquidity in the banking system.

However, it was trading weak at 62.24 per dollar at 10.00 a.m.

Indranil Sen Gupta, India Economist, DSP Merrill Lynch, said in a research report: “We were always sceptical of the July tightening to defend the rupee as the FII equity portfolio, of $220 billion, which responds to growth, is far larger than the $28 billion FII bond portfolio, which may respond to rate hikes. Not surprisingly, the long-awaited FCNR (B) deposit-cum-swap facility ($5.7 billion so far) to raise FX reserves has been far more effective in stabilising the INR.”

Call rates, G-Secs

The 7.16 per cent government security, which matures in 2023, opened higher at Rs 91.57 from the previous close of Rs 91.33. The yields softened sharply to 8.45 per cent from 8.49 per cent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The inter-bank call money rate, the rate at which banks borrow from each other to meet their short-term fund requirements, opened higher at 9.10 per cent against the previous close of 8.95 per cent.

PTC India surges on receiving Rs 778.00 crore from UPPCL

PTC India is currently trading at Rs 52.80, up by 2.30 points or 4.55% from its previous closing of Rs. 50.50 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 52.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs 54.15 and Rs 52.10 respectively. So far 194495 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 81.25 on 22-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs 34.70 on 05-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 51.90 and Rs 45.65 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 1562.92 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 16.22% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 62.31% and 21.47% respectively.

PTC India has received an amount of Rs 778.00 crore from UP Power Corporation (UPPCL) towards past outstanding dues against sale of power to UPPCL.

PTC India acts as intermediary between buyer and sellers of power. In case of cross-border trading, the company plays the role of a nodal agency. It offers advisory services for setting up independent power producing plants.

Gross direct tax collections up 11% for April- September

Gross collections of Personal income tax is up by 16.15%

Gross direct tax collections during April-September of the F.Y. 2013-14 is up by 10.66 percent and stood at Rs.3,01,250 crore as against Rs.2,72,221 crore in the same period last year. Gross collections of Corporate taxes has shown an increase of 7.93percent and stood at Rs.1, 92,308 crore as against Rs. 1,78,173 crore during the same period last year.

Gross collections of Personal income tax is up by 16.15 percent and stands at Rs.1,06,231 crore as against Rs. 91,463 crore in the same period last year.

Net direct tax collections is up by 10.72 percent and stands at Rs. 2, 50,959 crore, as compared to Rs. 2, 26,653 crore in the same period in the last fiscal.

The collection of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) stands at Rs. 2,210 Crore showing the growth of 6.45 percent. The Wealth Tax has posted a growth of 5.27 percent and stands at Rs. 499 crore as against Rs. 474 crore in the same period last year.

Essar Projects bags Rs. 70 cr sewage treatment project in Gujarat

Essar Projects (EPL), a Global EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contractor headquartered in Dubai, has through its Indian subsidiary Essar Projects (India) Ltd. secured a Project from Jamnagar Municipal Corporation (JMC) in Gujarat, India, involving construction of a 70 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and its allied infrastructure along with operation of the plant for 15 years.

This is a path breaking project since it incentivises sale of treated water to industries. To facilitate these sales, Essar Projects will invest an additional Rs. 80 crore to create the necessary pipeline infrastructure for sale of water to industries in and around Jamnagar. Both projects shall be completed in 2 years time.

India Ratings maintains negative outlook on Tata Steel

Credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research has maintained negative outlook on Tata Steel as its profitability would remain under pressure in the near-term. The negative outlook reflects the company’s higher-than-expected net financial leverage in FY13 together with uncertainty regarding deleveraging in the near-term with slower volume growth in Europe and lower growth trajectory in the Indian markets.

Tata Steel, the flagship company of the Tata group is the first integrated steel plant in Asia and is now the world’s second most geographically diversified steel producer and a Fortune 500 Company.

Crude oil prices down as US shutdown drags on

Crude oil prices edged lower in Asian trade today with little progress made in ending the bitter US government shutdown that has sparked fears of a chaotic debt default, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November, was down one cent at $103.48 in mid-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for November eased 16 cents to $110.00.

“There has been little change in the focus on the oil front as the US budget stand-off continues to put pressure on prices,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

With the partial US Government shutdown entering its ninth day, President Barack Obama yesterday said he would not give into demands from Republicans to make cuts to his healthcare law before they agree to a new budget and raise the country’s borrowing limit.

However, he did say he would accept a short-term deal to lift the debt ceiling and reopen the government — a move that would effectively postpone the crisis for a number of weeks.

Failure to lift the ceiling by an October 17 deadline will mean the Government is unable to pay its bills or service its debts, causing a default that analysts have warned could send the world economy back into recession.

Despite Obama’s comments Chua said “investors are still well aware that a resolution still depends on the House (of Representatives), which remains deadlocked“.

Dealers will be looking later today to the release of a weekly US oil inventory report, with expectations of in stockpiles of 1.4 million barrels, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.

Bharti, Walmart part ways, to independently operate retail biz

Bharti Enterprises and Walmart Stores Inc. said that the two firms have reached an agreement to independently own and operate separate business formats in India and discontinue their franchise agreement in the retail business. The agreement is subject to finalisation of definitive agreements and receipt of the requisite regulatory approvals.

Upon receipt of required clearances, Walmart would acquire Bharti’s stake in Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd a joint venture between Bharti and Walmart, giving Wal-Mart 100 per cent ownership of the best price modern wholesale cash and carry business.  

Walmart plans to continue to grow this business while working with the government and interested stakeholders to create conditions that enable foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.

As part of the proposed transactions, Bharti will acquire the Compulsory Convertible Debentures (CCDs) held by Walmart in Cedar Support Services, a company owned and controlled by Bharti. Bharti Retail will continue to operate ‘easyday’ retail stores across all formats and invest in and grow the business.

Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice-Chairman and MD, Bharti Enterprises, said:  “Bharti is committed to building a world-class retail venture and will continue to invest in Bharti Retail across all formats. We believe that with our current footprint of 212 stores, we have a strong platform to significantly grow the business and delight customers. We wish Walmart the very best for the future.”

Scott Price, President and CEO Walmart Asiam said:  “Given the circumstances, our decision to operate independently will be beneficial to both parties. Through Walmart’s investment in India, including our cash and carry business, supply chain infrastructure, direct farm programme and supplier development, we want to serve India and its people, and continue to make important social and environmental contributions to the country. Walmart is committed to businesses that serve our members and provide good returns for our shareholders, and we will continue to advocate for investment conditions that allow FDI multi-brand retail in India. We wish Bharti well as they grow their retail business.”  

Sensex down 122 points on global cues

Indian stock markets fell over 0.6 per cent in the opening session on Wednesday on fresh selling by funds and retail investors owing to negative global cues.

At 9.15 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 122.59 points (0.61 per cent) at 19,861.02 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 40.8 points (0.69 per cent) at 5,887.60.

Most Asian stocks were down due to concerns that the US political impasse over increasing the debt ceiling may lead to a default and after the International Monetary Fund cut its global outlook.

The International Monetary Fund has cut its global outlook for this year and next year as capital outflows further weaken the emerging markets, and warned that a US Government default could “seriously damage” the world economy.

Japan's Nikkei rose 60.93 points or 0.44 per cent to 13,955.50, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 138.16 points or 0.6 per cent to 23,040.70 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.85 points or 0.04 per cent at 5,151.30.

DLF’s arm divests 60% stake in Star Alubuild for Rs 79.80 crore

DLF’s subsidiary companies, namely, DLF Home Developers and DLF Projects have divested 60% stake in Star Alubuild, a subsidiary at an enterprise value of Rs 79.80 crore. Accordingly, Star Alubuild ceased to be subsidiary of the company. This transaction is part of DLF’s objective of divesting its non core assets.

Star Alubuild specializes in designing, engineering, fabrication and installation of curtain walls for commercial buildings, retail malls and doors & windows for projects throughout India.

DLF, founded by billionaire Kushal Pal Singh, has a land bank of 10,255 acres, the biggest in the real estate sector. At its peak, its debt pile stood at Rs 23,000 crore.