Atul Auto gains as Birla Mutual Fund buys stake

Atul Auto is currently trading at Rs 441.00, up by 23.50 points or 5.63% from its previous closing of Rs. 417.50 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 422.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 444.00 and Rs. 410.00 respectively. So far 168127 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 447.00 on 12-Sep-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 135.00 on 24-Feb-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 434.00 and Rs. 380.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 941.36 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 55.07% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 6.85% and 38.07% respectively. Birla Mutual Fund has acquired 200,000 equity shares of Atul Auto at Rs 405 per share through a bulk deal. Meanwhile, Vijay Kishanlal Kedia sold 175,000 shares of the company at Rs 405. Recently, Kedia Securities has sold 3.21 lakh shares of Atul Auto through the open market route. The shares were sold on an average price of Rs 398.07 valuing the transaction to Rs 12.78 crore. Atul Auto is a leading manufacturer of 3-Wheeled Commercial Vehicles in the state of Gujarat, presently engaged in the manufacturing of Three Wheelers like 6-seater Auto Rickshaws, Pick-Up Vans and Chassis of Passenger Vehicles.

GAIL rises on plan to sign gas-supply pact with Vega Energy Partners

GAIL (India) is currently trading at Rs. 476.80, up by 2.10 points or 0.44% from its previous closing of Rs. 474.70 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 471.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 479.70 and Rs. 470.00 respectively. So far 43765 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 551.35 on 31-Oct-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 323.50 on 27-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 502.00 and Rs. 469.25 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 60576.14 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.11% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 40.01% and 2.32% respectively. State-run gas utility GAIL India is reportedly planning to sign a gas-supply agreement with Houston-based Vega Energy Partners soon. The deal is for supplying gas to the Cove Point LNG Terminal project located at Lusby in Maryland, US. Vega Energy Partners is engaged in the management, optimization, and development of natural gas assets. The $3.8-billion Cove Point LNG project is owned by Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP with which GAIL had signed a terminal service agreement in April 2013 (through GAIL Global (USA) LNG LLC) for booking 2.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) liquefaction capacity in Cove Point LNG Terminal. Earlier in November, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with State Oil Company of Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). Under the MoU, GAIL and SOCAR intend to jointly pursue LNG opportunities through capacity booking, LNG procurement and promotion of LNG projects globally. GAIL is India’s flagship natural gas company integrating all aspects of the natural gas value chain including exploration and production, processing, transmission, distribution and marketing and related services.

Kotak Mahindra Bank gets RBI’s nod to form arm to enter into General Insurance Biz

Kotak Mahindra Bank has received approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to form a subsidiary to enter the General Insurance business. The bank had earlier received an in-principle approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for incorporation of a General Insurance Company. The company would now be required to apply and complete the registration process with IRDA to act as a General Insurance company, subject to the provisions of Insurance Act 1938, Companies Act, 2013, regulations notified by IRDA and all other laws prevailing in India. Kotak Mahindra Bank is engaged in commercial banking, stock broking, mutual funds, life insurance and investment banking. The bank has an international presence through its subsidiaries with offices in London, New York, Dubai, Mauritius, San Francisco and Singapore that specialize in providing services to overseas investors seeking to invest into India.

Ricoh India bags order worth Rs 1370 crore

Ricoh India has bagged order worth Rs 1370 crore from Department of Posts, Government of India towards 5 Year Project of Rural Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of Department of Posts, Government of India. Ricoh India is a leading global player in the area of imaging solutions like Digital Plain Paper Copiers, Colour Plain Paper Copiers, Colour & Mono Lazer Printers, Fax machines, Thermal paper etc.

Asian markets exhibit mixed trade in early deals on Tuesday

Asian equity indices are exhibiting mixed trade in early deals on Tuesday, following the previous session's sharp rally after an unexpected rate cut announcement from the Chinese central bank lifted stocks across the board. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market is trading higher tracking the overnight gains on Wall Street and playing catch-up with its Asian peers following Monday's holiday. Besides, weakness in yen versus the dollar, boosting the outlook for export earnings, amid growing confidence in the global economy also contributed to the upside. On the economic front, the Bank of Japan expanded its massive quantitative and qualitative easing in a 5-4 vote, raising the monetary base at an annual pace of about 80 trillion yen. The Chinese stock market improved amid speculation the government will extend cuts in interest rates and accelerate state-owned enterprise reform to support the economy. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea are trading marginally lower. Meanwhile, Shanghai, Malaysia and Taiwan are modestly higher. Nikkei 225 soared 45.15 points or 0.26% to 17,402.66, Shanghai Composite added 17.90 points or 0.71% to 2,550.78, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI strengthened by 4.97 points or 0.27% to 1,838.74 and  Taiwan Weighted was up by 9.70 points or 0.11% to 9,132.03. On the flip side, Hang Seng dropped by 30.23 points or 0.13% to 23,862.91, KOSPI Index slipped 1.16 points or 0.06% to 1,977.38, Straits Times contracted by 1.32 points or 0.04% to 3,339.21 and Jakarta Composite was down by 16.69 points or 0.32% to 5,125.07.

Essar Steel raises $1 billion through long term export securitization

In a bid to pre-pay existing rupee debt, Essar Steel has raised $1 billion through long term export securitization. The company had earlier raised $1 billion through external commercial borrowings (ECB) route. With this financing, the company has dollarised $2 billion of its debt which has led to significant benefits. The move was prompted by reduction in average interest cost from the rupee linked rate to the dollar. The conversion is estimated to save an interest to the tune of Rs 720 crore annually on elongation of the average maturity period of its debt from 3.5-6.75 years. It will help Essar Steel to de-risk its balance sheet as its revenues are dollar linked or dollar denominated and hence provides a natural hedge for dollar denominated debt. Essar Steel, as part of its business activity of steel manufacturing has a gas plant which produces oxygen, nitrogen, and argon gases, while Inox Air Products is engaged in the business of manufacturing and supplying industrial gases across India.

Ashok Leyland rises on selling 32% stake in HTL

Ashok Leyland is currently trading at Rs. 51.95, up by 0.20 points or 0.39% from its previous closing of Rs. 51.75 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 51.95 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 52.20 and Rs. 51.75 respectively. So far 83,000 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 56.15 on 13-Nov-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 14.90 on 17-Feb-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 55.75 and Rs. 51.55 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 14727.41 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 38.82% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 34.70% and 14.10% respectively. Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland has sold 32 per cent stake in its subsidiary firm Hinduja Tech (HTL) to a strategic investor. However, the company did not disclose the amount for which the stake has been sold. Consequent to the allotment of equity shares to the strategic investor, the holding of Ashok Leyland now stands at 68 per cent from 100 per cent. Hinduja Tech was incorporated in 2009 with a focus to provide engineering, manufacturing and enterprise (EME) services and solutions for automotive, aerospace, defence, industrial and general manufacturing industries, while Ashok Leyland is engaged in the manufacturing of commercial vehicles and related components. The company’s products include buses, trucks, engines, defense and special vehicles.

Bharti Airtel inks pact with American Tower for Nigeria tower sale

American Tower Corporation and Bharti Airtel have entered into a definitive agreement, through Bharti Airtel’s subsidiary company, Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV (Airtel),  for the sale of over 4,800 of Airtel’s communications towers in Nigeria. Airtel will be the anchor tenant on the portfolio under a lease with a ten‐year initial term.  The agreement will allow Airtel to focus on its core business and customers, enable it to deleverage through debt reduction and will significantly reduce its on‐going capital expenditures on passive infrastructure in Nigeria. American Tower and Airtel expect to close the acquisition during the first half of 2015. Bharti Airtel is a leading integrated telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers.