Coal India gets nod for MCL project worth Rs 11363.18 crore

Coal India has received its board's approval for Project Report of 2X800 MW Coal-based Super-critical Thermal Power Plant (STPP), Hemgir (Sundargarh, Odisha), MCL with a total capital investment of Rs 11363.18 crore. This Project is being set up by Mahanadi Basin Power (MBPL) a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahanadi Coalfields, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India. Coal India is the world’s largest coal mining company. It also produces non-coking coal and coking coal of various grades for diverse applications.

BF Utilities reports 26% drop in Q4 net profit

BF Utilities has reported results for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2014. The company has registered 25.78% fall in its net profit at Rs 4.26 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 5.74 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company has decreased by 21.83% at Rs 9.7 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 12.41 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. The Company has reported a fall of 73.61% in its net profit at Rs 1.29 crore for the year ended as compared to Rs 4.89 crore for the previous year. Total income of the company has decreased by 14.92% at Rs 25.19 crore for year ended under review as compared to Rs 29.61 crore for the year ended September 30, 2013.

Bond yields fall to a 16-month low on Friday

Bond yields fell to a 16-month low on Friday, tracking the fall in global crude oil prices after oil producers' club OPEC decided not to cut oil output. The yields also slipped tracking overnight drop of US treasury yields. Though, losses were limited as the central bank announced an open market sale of up to Rs 12,000 crore worth of debt on December 1, 2014. Meanwhile, prevailing caution ahead of the release of Q2 GDP data due to be released on Friday and estimated to have grown at 5% or even lower in the second quarter of 2014-15, sharply lower than the 5.7% witnessed in the first quarter also weighed on the sentiment On an assessment of current and evolving liquidity conditions, Reserve Bank has decided to conduct sale of government securities under Open Market Operations for an aggregate amount of Rs 12,000 crore on December 1, 2014 through multi-security auction using the multiple price method. On the global front, benchmark U.S. Treasury yields hit their lowest levels in over a month on Wednesday, while long-dated yields hit more than one-month lows for a second straight day on weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data and continued low yields in Europe. Meanwhile, brent crude held above $72 a barrel on Friday, close to a four-year low touched in the previous session after OPEC decided not to cut oil output to support prices. Back home, the yields on new 10 year Government Stock 2023 was trading 4 basis points lower at 8.11% from its previous close of 8.15% on Thursday. The benchmark five-year interest rate swaps were trading 7 basis points lower at 7.16% from its previous close of 7.23% on Thursday. The Government of India have announced the sale (re-issue) of the Government Stock through auctions to be held on November 28, 2014, including (i) 8.27 per cent GS 2020 for a notified amount of Rs 3000 crore (ii) 8.40 per cent GS 2024 for a notified amount of Rs 6000 crore and (iii) 9.20 per cent GS 2030 for a notified amount of Rs 2000 crore and (iv) New 30 Years GS for a notified amount of Rs 3000 crore.

Crude oil futures decline on MCX

Crude oil futures declined on MCX as speculators indulged in reducing their exposures amid a weakening trend in Asian trade where it plunged to over four-year lows after the OPEC cartel refused to cut production. The contract for December delivery was trading Rs 4232.00, down by 1.37% or Rs 59.00 from its previous closing of Rs 4291.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 23236.00 lots. The contract for January delivery was trading at Rs 4267.00, down by 1.39% or Rs 60.00 from its previous closing of Rs 4327.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 2177.00 lots on MCX.

Avantha Holdings sells 8% stake in Crompton Greaves to institutional investors

Avantha Holdings has sold 52 million shares, representing about 8% of its stake in Crompton Greaves to institutional investors Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets at Rs 193 a share. Avantha Holdings is planning to raise about Rs 3,000 crore from asset sales and the proceeds will be used to cut the group’s debt. Further, Avantha Holdings is also planning to cut stake in the Crompton Greaves’ consumer product business, which is being hived off as a separate subsidiary. Avantha Group has been under pressure to cut debt raised through private equity firms and banks for its power business and earlier in the week had also announced its plan to sell of a 600-Mw power plant in Chhattisgarh to Adani Power for Rs 4,200 crore. Crompton Greaves is a global pioneering leader in the management and application of electrical energy. With more than 15,000 employees across its operations in around 85 countries, CG provides electrical products, systems and services for utilities, power generation, industries, and consumers.

Record high opening: Sensex jumps 300 pts, Nifty eyes 8600

Equity benchmarks started of December series on a strong note with the Sensex and Nifty hitting an all-time highs led by banking and financials. The Sensex climbed 277.05 points or 0.97 percent to 28715.96, and the Nifty rose 83.60 points or 0.98 percent to 8577.80. About 971 shares have advanced, 258 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged on the Bomaby Stock Exchange.   ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, BPCL, Asian Paints and Jindal Steel topped the buying list, up 2-4 percent while Gail and Infosys are marginally in red. Cairn India fell 3.56 percent and DLF declined 1.59 percent. Indian rupee has opened lower by 6 paise at 61.93 a dollar on Friday, compared to previous day's closing value of 61.87 per dollar. Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity says investors are likely to trade cautiously today as markets are already trading near all-time high levels & investors are short of confidence & are unsure of market upside. According to him, the rupee is expected to trade rangebound to slightly weak, taking cues from a strong Dollar. "Range for the day is seen between 61.40-62.20/dollar," he adds. 

Ceat raises Rs 400 crore through QIP

Ceat, one of India’s leading tyre manufacturing companies, has raised Rs 400 crore through a qualified institution placement (QIP). The funds will be used for capacity expansion. The company will issue 44,94,382 equity shares at a price of Rs 890 per equity share. Earlier, the company’s Board of Directors had approved an investment of Rs. 420 crore for setting up a plant for manufacture of 2-3 wheeler tyres with a capacity of 120 metric tonnes per day. Ceat is among the best tyre manufacturers in India. It manufactures a wide range of tyres for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, tractors and tippers and trucks. Besides tyres, the company also manufactures and markets tubes and flaps.

AXIS MF introduces Fixed Term Plan - Series 73 (1098 days)

AXIS Mutual Fund has launched the New Fund Offer (NFO) of AXIS Fixed Term Plan - Series 73 (1098 days), a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on Nov 28, 2014 and closes on Dec 03, 2014.  No entry load or exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5,000 in multiples of Re. 10/- thereafter. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns through a portfolio of debt & money market instruments that are maturing on or before the maturity of the respective plan(s).

Coal India, Essar Steel and Punj Lloyd to see some action today

Coal India will soon start mining in Mozambique, which, along with the projects of the Adani group in Australia and Sanjiv Goanka in South Africa, will increase supplies of the dry fuel in India. The final phase of exploration for Coal India's A1 and A2 mining blocks at Tete Province in Mozambique is complete. Coal sampling is in progress. Geological report and detailed project report will be prepared. Essar Steel has commissioned  its Integrated Pellet Complex comprising an iron ore beneficiation facility at Dabuna in Keonjhar district and a six million tonne per annum (MTPA) pellet plant at Paradip connected by a 253 km long slurry pipeline. The company has invested `6000 crore in the project, designed to process low grade iron ore fines into pellets that can be used as raw material for steel making. Punj Lloyd will soon foray into the power transmission and distribution business and is preparing a blueprint for the same. The government’s initiative to build independent transmission projects is the prime reason for the company’s foray into that space. The Ministry of Power has earlier announced setting up of independent transmission projects by seeking greater participation from the private sector. The objective of this initiative is to develop transmission capacities in India. Britannia Industries has tied up with e-tailer Amazon India for a pilot launch of Good Day Chunkies, a new chocolate chip cookie, for a period of 15 days. The offer, which is currently on, will close on December 5, following which the product will hit offline stores. Interestingly, Britannia is the first biscuit company in the country to leverage e-commerce for brand promotions ahead of players such as Parle Products and Mondelez. The Bombay High Court has adjourned the NSEL-FTIL merger matter till December 22, giving the government time till then to file its reply on why the amalgamation should go through. The government on the recommendation of commodity market regulator FMC passed a  draft order to merge NSEL with FTIL last month in public interest. Odisha's nodal agency for land acquisition and industrial infrastructure development, Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has sought the nod of the state government to execute a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation(IOCL). The pact's objective is to chalk out a roadmap for development of a petrochemical complex at Paradeep. The petrochemical complex to set up by IOCL is a part of the PCPIR (petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region) hub. The PCPIR hub is planned across an area of 284 sq km straddling the coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara. Ceat has raised Rs 400 crore through a qualified institutional placement and the funds would be utilised for expansion. The company will issue 4494,382 equity shares at a price of Rs. 890.00 per share. The issue price translates to a discount of approximately 0.8 per cent on closing price on November 26, 2014. Wintac has decided to hive-off Trade Marks and Marketing Division for the marketing of the Oncology Products in order to have complete focus on the core activity of Product Development and Manufacturing activity for the Regulated Export markets. The size of the Oncology Division business was small and during the previous financial year (2013-14) recorded a sales of Rs. 201 lakhs and contributes about 6.48% to the sales turnover of the Company.