Sensex, Nifty cautious ahead of Infy earnings

The Indian equity market ended on a flat note on Thursday as the benchmark indices yet again struggled for direction throughout the day.

The Market opened on a flat note in early trade and from there on it remained stuck in a tight trading range. 

The capital goods, FMCG, realty and the banking stocks were among the top losers. However,? bucking the negative trend were oil and gas, power and the healthcare stocks.

The IT stock were in momentum ahead of results of Infosys is scheduled to be announced on Friday. The stock marginally gained by 0.7% and closed at Rs. 3448 per share.

Amar Ambani Head of research at IIFL said, “Based on our expectation Q3 FY14 revenue growth would be better than that factored in the current revenue guidance, we estimate Infosys to raise FY14 revenue growth guidance to 11.5-12%. On the margin front, Infosys is expected to deliver the best margin performance with sequential improvement of 100bps. But this has to be looked in the context of steep margin fall in previous quarters.”

Shares of gold loan companies were in the limelight after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised the loan-to-value (LTV) cap for gold loan non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to 75% this quarter from 60%. Shares of Manappuram Finance and Muthoot Finance both hit 20% upper circuit.

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 20,713 down 16 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,168 down 6 points over the previous close.

Jaihind Projects soars on bagging three orders worth Rs 48.27 crore

Jaihind Projects is currently trading at Rs. 14.45, up by 0.60 points or 4.33% from its previous closing of Rs. 13.85 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 13.48 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 14.45 and Rs. 13.48 respectively.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 43.65 on 10-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 12.25 on 10-Dec-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 14.90 and Rs. 13.32 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 14.10 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 66.35% while Non-Institutions held 33.65% stake in the company.

Jaihind Projects has bagged two Work orders worth Rs 44.56 crore from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which includes work order worth Rs 30.39 crore for Composite Mainline and combined station works for re-routing of existing Barauni-Kanpur Pipeline in different stretches between Mughalsarai & Kanpur for dedicated Freight corridor of Indian Railway, and work order worth Rs 14.17 crore for laying of 18 OD, 64Km (app.) cross country crude oil pipeline by extending existing loop lines Group-B-from Dumri to Barauni (about 27 kms) and other associated works.

Meanwhile, the company has received one work order from Gujarat State Petronet (GSPL) worth Rs 3.71 crore for Parle Connectivity Projects (6’ Dia X 5.587).

Jaihind Projects is engaged in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) with a focus on the hydrocarbons, water & infrastructure sectors. Jaihind Projects is a public Listed Company with its shares listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Gujarat Automotive Gears approves sub division of equity shares

Gujarat Automotive Gears Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on January 08, 2014, inter alia, have considered and approved the following; 

1. Shifting of the registered office from Vadodara in the State of Gujarat to Baddi in the State of Himachal Pradesh and thereby altering clause II of the Memorandum of Association.

2. Sub-division of the existing equity share of nominal value of Rs. 10/- each fully paid up into 5 (five) equity shares of nominal value of Rs. 2/- each fully paid up and thereby altering the Capital Clause of Memorandum of Association of the Company consequent upon sub-division of existing equity shares as above.

3. Alteration in Article 130 of the Articles of Association of the Company.The aforesaid proposed alteration in Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the Company are subject to the approval of the members of the Company through postal ballot.

4. Postal Ballot Notice to seek the approval of the members of the Company on aforesaid proposals.

5. Appointment of Mr. Sunil D Jaithwar, Chartered Accountant of S. D. Jaithwar & Co. as the Scrutinizer for conducting the Postal Ballot in a fair and transparent manner.

Reliance Industries commences production from the MA-8 well: Report

Reliance Industries (RIL) has reportedly started producing gas from the MA-8 well on January 1. The well has a capacity to produce 1 million to 2 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of gas and the output is likely to stabilise by mid January.

At present, the company is producing about 10 mscmd gas from the KG D6 block, sharply lower from the 60 mscmd production at the end of 2010.

Recently, the company said that it is planning to increase gas production of around 1-3 million standard cubic meters per day from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields in January as it begun the process of reversing the trend of falling output.

Ashok Leyland plans to reduce debt by Rs 1,000 crore this year

Ashok Leyland, the flagship of the Hinduja group and one of the largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles in the country, is planning to pare down its debt burden by optimizing resources, rationalizing working capital and through better planning and execution. The company is on track to bring it down by Rs 1,000 crore this year.

Besides, the company plans to launch up to 18 different types of trucks this year under its new brand for commercial vehicles, ‘Captain’.

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship company in India, is engaged in the manufacturing of commercial vehicles and related components. The company’s products include buses, trucks, engines, defense and special vehicles.

Reserve Bank allows NBFCs to lend against gold jewellery up to 75 percent of LTV

In the view of moderation in the growth of gold loan portfolios of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the recent past, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed NBFCs to lend against gold jewellery up to 75 percent of Loan-To-Value (LTV) of metal from 60 percent at present.

The RBI further noted that the value of the jewellery for the purpose of determining the maximum permissible loan amount will be only the intrinsic value of the gold content excluding the other cost elements such as making charges. Further, the central bank clarified the need to give a certificate on the purity of gold cannot be dispensed. The certified purity should be applied for determining the maximum permissible loan and the reserve price for auction.

The NBFCs can include suitable caveats to protect themselves against disputes on redemption. Earlier, NBFCs had raised concerns over certification of the purity of gold jewellery accepted as collateral and underscored that under the current practices it was possible only to arrive at the proximate purity of the gold and such a certification could lead to dispute with the borrowers.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals eyes more acquisitions in the future: Report

After Rs 2,004-crore Torrent-Elder deal, Torrent Pharmaceuticals is reportedly eyeing more acquisitions in the future, both in domestic and overseas market. The company will prefer a much smaller acquisition, in the range of Rs 50-100 crore. Though, the company has not specified which areas it is going to foray for an acquisitions.

Earlier in December 2013, the company entered into a definitive binding agreement with Elder Pharmaceuticals (Elder) to acquire its branded domestic formulations business in India and Nepal (India Business) for a consideration of about Rs 2000 crore.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals is flagship company of the Torrent group, a leader in cardiovascular and central nervous system segments. It also has presence in gastro-intestinal, diabetology, anti-infective and pain management segments.

Goldman Sachs Investments Mauritius offloads 3.9 lakh shares of Strides Arcolab: Report

Goldman Sachs Investments Mauritius has reportedly offloaded 3.9 lakh shares of Strides Arcolab through the open market route. The shares were sold on an average price of Rs 888.66 valuing the transaction to Rs 35.39 crore. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) PTE has bought 5 lakh shares in the company for an average price of Rs 894.98, through open market route valuing the transaction at Rs 44.74 crore.

Strides Arcolab is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bangalore, India that develops and manufactures wide range of IP-lead niche pharmaceutical products with an emphasis on sterile injectables.

RBI to hand out banking licences by March 2014

Both government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have fast-tracked the process for banking licences and are in bid to issue these by March 31, 2014, two months before the General election in April-May.

The screening panel, headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, has already reviewed all the applications and has sought additional details from RBI. This screening process is expected to be completed within current fiscal and new banking licences will be handed soon after that. The committee will hold another two meetings for elimination of applicants which do not meet the ‘fit and proper’ criteria for getting a licence.

As many as 26 applications were given for setting up new banks, of which two were later withdrawn, from Tata Sons and Videocon Industries' subsidiary, Value Industries, while one more, from KC Land & Finance, was added.

Further, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Anand Sinha is likely to be appointed as officer on special duty for three months after his term expires on January 18, to help complete the work on new bank licences that he has been overseeing. However, since Sinha will be appointed as consultant to RBI after his current term ends, the government would appointment a new deputy governor to replace him.

India heading towards the better times: PM

Dismissing apprehensions of the Indian diaspora on the state of the economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that there was no need to worry about the future growth of Indian economy as the country was heading towards better times. Manmohan Singh urged people to remain engaged in the future of this country with confidence despite the concerns about the social challenges, better governance and future of the Indian economy. Highlighting the perceptions outside India that the country is losing its growth momentum in the past decade, which is amplified by the political uncertainty on account of coming general election, he clarified that despite a number of weak external and domestic factors, Indian economic fundamentals are strong.

Prime Minister dismissed perceptions that Indian economy was struggling with slowdown in past decade saying that economy has done well over the past decade with averaged healthy growth rate of 7.9 percent per annum. India’s savings and investment rates are still over 30 percent of GDP and business sentiments in India is escalating. Referring to the decade low growth of 5 percent in previous fiscal, Manmohan Singh pointed out that a number of international as well as domestic factors have contributed to low growth in FY13. Prime Minister expects that domestic economy is likely to grow at 5 percent in the current fiscal.

Suven Life secures 3 product patents for their NCEs in Australia, Sri Lanka and South Korea

Suven Life Sciences has received grant for three product patents one each from Australia, Sri Lanka and South Korea corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases and these Patents are valid through 2029.

The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective 5-HT compounds discovered by Suven and are being developed as therapeutic agents and are useful in the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington’s disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia.

With these new patents, the company has a total of 16 granted patents from Australia, 9 granted patents from Sri Lanka and 12 granted patents from South Korea. These granted patents are exclusive intellectual property of Suven and are achieved through the internal discovery research efforts. Products out of these inventions may be out-licensed at various phases of clinical development like at Phase-I or Phase-II.

Foreign investment in Jubilant FoodWorks reaches trigger limit

Reserve Bank of India has notified that the aggregate net purchases of equity shares in Jubilant FoodWorks by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in primary/secondary markets under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) have reached the trigger limit. Accordingly, further purchases of equity shares of this company would be allowed only after obtaining prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

Jubilant FoodWorks is India’s largest and fastest growing food service company. The company and its subsidiary operates Domino’s Pizza brand with exclusive rights for India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

MOC de-allocates Bikram coal block allocated to Birla Corporation

Ministry of Coal (MOC) has de-allocated Bikram Coal Block allocated to Birla Corporation on the grounds that the coal block has not been developed as per the milestones prescribed in the allocation letter. The Company is in the process of taking appropriate legal recourse against the de-allocation of coal block and deduction of Bank Guarantee.

Though significant progress has been made in the development of the coal block the delays have been entirely due to delays/lapses in receipt of various clearances and approvals from the government authorities, which were beyond the control of the Company. Such facts have not been recognized by Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) constituted by the government to review the progress of development of allocated Coal Blocks in arriving at the decision to de-allocate the coal block.

Order regarding deduction of 50% of Bank Guarantee, which is linked to the milestones set for the development of the block, would be issued separately after receipt of calculation of amount from the office of Coal Controller. Birla Corporation operates four division cement, jute, vinoleum and auto trim. It has eight manufacturing facilities located in Pune, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gurgoan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Axis Bank inaugurates branch in Shanghai

Axis Bank has inaugurated a branch in Shanghai after getting nod from the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Following the opening of the said branch, Axis Bank has become the first domestic private sector lender to have a branch presence in China.

The branch will engage in foreign currency businesses that includes all business approved by the banking supervision and regulatory authorities of the China. The branch will also offer services like public deposits, short-to-long-term loans, discount and accept bills, buy and sell treasury bonds, financial bonds and other securities priced in foreign currencies other than shares.

Following the opening of Shanghai branch, the banks overseas presence has grown to five branches, one each in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Colombo, and Shanghai, two representative offices at Dubai and Abu Dhabi and an overseas subsidiary in London.

Kirloskar Brothers inks partnership pact with Tata Power

Kirloskar Brothers (KBL), leading global fluid management company has entered into partnership pact with Tata Power and installed the world’s largest water pumping system for Tata Power’s Mundra Ultra Modern Power Plant (UMPP).

A mammoth 10.5 million litres of water is circulated with the help of KBL’s 10 sets of Concrete Volute Pumps every minute. The Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL), Tata Power’s wholly-owned subsidiary, which has implemented the 4000 MW (800 MW x 5 units) UMPP requires an enormous amount of water to condense the heat generated in the production of power.

Kirloskar Brothers is engaged in manufacturing pumps. It is a part of $2.2 billion Kirloskar group and India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of pumps and valves.

Ranbaxy Laboratories inks Licensing Agreement for biosimilar product ‘Infliximab’

Ranbaxy Laboratories, a division of Daiichi Sankyo Company, and EPIRUS Switzerland GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston-based EPIRUS Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., have inked a licensing agreement for BOW015, a biosimilar version of Infliximab. The product will be introduced in India and other Emerging Markets. Currently, there is no biosimilar of Infliximab approved in India.

Under the terms of the agreement, EPIRUS will develop and supply the product, and upon regulatory approval Ranbaxy will market the same in India and other emerging markets. BOW015 is a biosimilar version of infliximab, a biologic therapy marketed under the name REMICADE.

Ranbaxy Laboratories, India’s largest pharmaceutical company, is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies.

United Spirits gets nod to explore potential sale of Whyte and Mackay

United Spirits has received an approval to initiate a process to explore potential sale of Whyte and Mackay, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The board of directors at its meeting held on January 08, 2014 has approved for the same.

The board also approved to the amalgamation of Term Distilleries, a wholly owned subsidiary with the company and amalgamation of SW Finance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary with the company.

United Spirits is the largest spirits company in India and a flagship entity of $2 billion UB group. It manufactures wide range of whisky, vodka, rum and other spirits.

NHPC inks MoU to develop wind power project

National Hydropower Corporation (NHPC) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on January 06, 2014 with Government of Kerala for the development of Wind Power project by the company in state of Kerala. As per the agreement NHPC shall take up the grid interactive wind energy project with proposed installed capacity of 82MW in Palakkad District of Kerala.

NHPC is engaged in the planning, development and implementation of an integrated and efficient network of hydroelectric projects in India. It executes all aspects of the development of hydroelectric projects, from concept to commissioning.

Government retains policy of 100 per cent FDI in existing pharma firms

Keeping aside concerns about non-availability of affordable drugs in view of MNCs takeovers, Government has decided to retain the policy of allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the existing pharma firms. However, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has underscored that as far as the contentious issue of non-compete clause is concerned, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will decide upon the same on case-by-case basis.

Faced with a rush of multinationals acquiring Indian pharma firms, the DIPP had earlier proposed stringent norms to tighten the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for the sector. On the grounds of Indian pharma companies being severely impacted by availability and affordability of generic medicines in the country, DIPP had earlier proposed reduction in the FDI cap to 49 per cent from 100 per cent in rare or critical pharma verticals. However, Union Cabinet at its meeting ruled out that suggestion.

As per estimates, over 96 per cent of the total FDI in the sector between April 2012 and April 2013 has come into brown-field pharma. The government, recently in September, cleared a Rs 5,168 crore proposal of US-based pharma firm Mylan Inc's to acquire Indian generic drugs company Agila Specialties. As per the existing rules, India allows 100 per cent FDI in pharma sector through automatic approval route and 100% in brown-field projects through the FIPB approval route.

HCL Technologies receives Best Governed Company Award

HCL Technologies, a leading global IT services company, has been conferred with the Best Governed Company Award by The Asian Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability, a ‘Not for Profit’ independent institution, at the Asia Business Responsibility Summit 2014 in Mumbai.

HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company working with clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses.

Tata Steel bags two-year contract from French rail operator SNCF

Tata Steel has won a two-year contract to supply more than 200,000 tonnes of track to French rail operator SNCF. The contract will see Tata Steel supply the majority of SNCF’s rail requirements in lengths of up to 108m from its plant in Hayange, Northern France. The Hayange rolling mill is supplied with steel from Tata Steel’s Scunthorpe steelworks in the UK.

The order was secured following a €35 million investment by Tata Steel in 2011, which allowed the Hayange mill to produce 108m lengths of rail that SNCF will use throughout France’s standard and high-speed networks. The new order is an extension of a previous contract with SNCF.

Further, the news comes just weeks after unveiling of the new €12 million heat-treatment facility at the Hayange plant, built as part of Tata Steel’s customer-focused approach to the market. Heat-treated rail can last up to three times longer than standard rail when used in high-wear conditions such as heavy traffic, high axle loads or tight curves. The newly opened facility will allow Tata Steel to more than double its annual output of heat-treated rail from 55,000 to 125,000 tonnes.

Markets to make another cautious start on sluggish global cues

The Indian markets finally broke the jinx of closing in red and the benchmarks managed some gains in last session, albeit modest. Today, the start once again is likely to be in red tailing the weakness in the regional markets on Fed concern. However, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to dispel apprehensions of the Indian diaspora on the state of the economy, saying the country was heading towards “better times” and there is no reason to despair. Also, the Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has said 2013-14 is likely to end with an economic growth of about 5 percent on the back of spurt in investment activities in the later half of the fiscal. There will be some action in pharma sector, as the government has decided to retain the policy of allowing 100 percent foreign investment in the existing pharma firms. The DIPP had earlier proposed stringent norms to tighten the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for the sector and asked for a reduction in the FDI cap to 49 percent from 100 percent in rare or critical pharma verticals. Gold finance companies too are likely to cheer the decision of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow finance companies to offer loans of up to 75% of the value of pledged gold as against 60% earlier. There will be some buzz in the banking licence aspirants too, as the process of selecting new banking entities has been put on a fast track by the RBI.

The US markets made a mixed closing on Wednesday despite payroll processor ADP reporting that private sector employment increased by more than expected in the month of December. The Asian markets have mostly made a weak start with Fed minutes signaling more stimulus cuts and the Japanese market was down by over a percent on yen’s strength.

Back home, buoyed by firm global cues, Indian equity benchmarks, snapping their five days losing streak ended in the positive terrain on Wednesday for the first time in 2014. Though, the domestic bourses traded in narrow range, but in the green, throughout the session as investors opted for wait and watch approach ahead of the official start of the third quarter corporate earnings, beginning on January 10, 2013 with IT major Infosys and private sector bank IndusInd Bank. Supportive cues from US markets provided the much needed support to local markets initially and Rally in Asian markets too boosted the traders’ morale. However, disappointing start of European markets took its toll on domestic sentiments and capped the gains on the up-side. Back home, some support came in after Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked taxmen to step up collections in view of fiscal deficit threatening to exceed the target. Some support also came in from currency front where Indian rupee appreciated 19 paise to 62.16 at the time of equity markets closing, as against the previous close of 62.30 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market. Stocks related to gold and jewellery space viz. Rajesh Exports, Shree Ganesh Jewellery, Gitanjali Gems, PC Jeweller etc. edged higher, as the Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri pitched for relaxation in curbs on gold imports citing improved current account deficit. Gold imports fell to 19.3 tonnes in November from a high of 162 tonnes in May in the wake of a series of curbs by both the government and the RBI. Additionally, shares of select public sector companies like, Coal India, IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank, Allahabad Bank etc. edged higher on the buzz that the government may force cash rich state-run firms to declare hefty interim dividend to enable the government to meet the fiscal deficit target for the current year. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 36.14 points or 0.17%, to settle at 20729.38, while the CNX Nifty added 12.35 points or 0.20% to settle at 6,174.60.