FTIL, ONGC, BHEL and OIL to see some action today

Chairman and group CEO of Financial Technologies India (FTIL), Jignesh Shah has been arrested in NSEL fraud. Earlier FTIL has moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directive barring it from holding stake in key market institutions such as stock exchanges and clearing corporations. On March 19, SEBI had passed an order against the Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, deeming it not ‘fit and proper’ to hold stake in key market institutions. In its order, SEBI had directed FTIL to divest its entire stake in all market infrastructure institutions within 90 days. SEBI’s order followed the Forward Markets Commission (FMC)’s December 17 order that deemed FTIL not ‘fit and proper’ to hold more than two per sent stake in any regulated commodity exchange. The FMC order came in the wake of a Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at National Spot Exchange (NSEL), FTIL’s subsidiary. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to drill a record 130 wells at its prime Mumbai High oil and gas fields in a bid to rejuvenate the ageing reservoir in the Arabian Sea. The drilling campaign, which will cost over $1.1 billion, will start later this year and continue for three-four years. The wells are part of the third phase of the Mumbai High redevelopment plan. ONGC is investing almost Rs 20,000 crore in the third phase of redevelopment at Mumbai High, targeting production of 132 million to 147 million barrels of additional crude oil. 73 new offshore wells will be drilled on the northern part and another 50 in Mumbai High South. Also, 38 poor producer wells on Mumbai High North will be side-tracked. In a move which will encourage medium scale industries in backward regions of Vidarbha, the Maharashtra cabinet today approved the Rs 2,731-crore BHEL project in Bhandara district to produce solar photo voltaic cells providing employment to 3,000 people. The company will produce 240 mw solar photo voltaic cells and 100 mw photo voltaic modules at its plant in Sakoli in Bhandara district. This will be the Central government's first project in Vidarbha and it can avail subsidies from the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). In August 2013, BHEL increased its project cost from Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 2,450 crore and sought more concessions and also promised more employment opportunities. Oil India (OIL), the nation's second-biggest state-run explorer, has bought a 50 percent stake in an oil block in Russia for $85 million. OIL last month signed an agreement with Ireland- registered but Russia-focused firm PetroNeft Resources plc to take a 50 percent non-operating interest in License 61 in Tomsk Oblast in Russia. The deal includes a three-stage payout including $35 million in cash up-front, $45 million in exploration and development spending and a performance bonus of up to $5 million. Tungolsky Licence 61 is located on the east side of the Ob River in the least explored oil bearing region of the Tomsk Oblast. The 4,991 square kilometer Licence contains 7 oil fields and over 25 identified prospects and leads. Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering plans to set up its main system integration facility for manufacturing missiles and torpedoes in Hyderabad. The company, which was the first private firm in India to get a licence to build warships, has already firmed up strategic partnerships for missile and torpedo making under the Ministry of Defence’s Make-and-Buy programme. The company is looking at tie-ups with local firms in and around Hyderabad working in the sub-system design and manufacture of missile and torpedo parts. The firm has recently entered into a strategic partnership with Saab in key technology areas, including combat management systems and missiles. It is currently bidding for 43 ships command management systems. Lupin’s operating profit margin expanded by 2.6 percentage points to 28.1 percent in the March quarter, thanks to the strong sales of recently launched high-margin, generic version of drugs such as Niaspan, Cymbalta and Trizivir in the US. Lupin has brought in capabilities for the future in terms of complex injectibles and inhalation products. Lupin has also initiated a layered research plan crystallising around its acquisitions, but anchored in India. So research on injectibles would be out of the Netherlands and India, while inhalation products would be from the US and India. Lupin has a list of about 20 difficult-to-make injectibles. Textile Company Raymond has pegged its capital expenditure for the current fiscal at Rs 250 crore, besides setting aside Rs 30 crore towards media spends. Apart from giving facelifts to its stand-alone stores ColorPlus and Park Avenue, the company has unleashed ads for its largest selling menswear brand, Park Avenue. The company is now planning to reduce its seasonal discount period to derive better margins. Raymond’s fabric portfolio is also expected to get a boost from its made-to-measure (MTM) business, as the same fabrics would be converted for its tailoring operations. The textile company has been improving its cost-and-supply chain efficiencies by relocating its manufacturing facilities for ColorPlus from Chennai to Mumbai. Hinduja Foundries’ Rs 150 crore greenfield facility in Andhra Pradesh is in trouble as the state Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has decided not to further extend the project implementation period. APIIC, in a letter on March 25, 2014, communicated its decision not to grant further extension to the project period and had requested the company to surrender the land within 15 days. The company is setting up a forging facility at Medak near Hyderabad. The company had acquired land from the APIIC and the registration in its favour was to be completed upon commencing of commercial production before March 31, 2012. However, the company informed lack of basic infrastructure including electricity and water supply had made commercial production difficult. Simplex Projects has received an approval from the Government of Libya for resumption of its project for construction of 2000 housing units, service buildings and related infrastructure at Ghira, Shabiyat of Ashati, Libya which was stalled due to political unrest in Libya since February 2011. In view of the revised agreement the project is to be completed within a period of 900 days from the date of initial payment of outstanding dues. Simplex Projects (SPL) controls project sites all over India. In a decade of its working SPL has emerged as a renowned civil engineering and construction company. The company has procured a fleet of construction equipment over this period.