Everest Industries commences commercial production of Steel Building Plant

Everest Industries has commenced the commercial production of Steel Building Plant located at Dahej in state of Gujarat with effect from January 21, 2015. Everest Industries provides the world-class building solutions to meet construction requirements, in the Industrial, commercial and residential sectors. Historically, this company has provided rural shelters by making corrugated roofing sheets available to farmers at a competitive price.

ICRA reaffirms rating of Good Luck Steel’s bank facilities

Credit rating agency, ICRA has reaffirmed the ‘BBB’ rating assigned to the Rs 98.43 crore (reduced from Rs 115.97 crore) term loans and Rs 221.62 crore (enhanced from Rs 220 crore) long term fund-based limits of Good Luck Steel Tubes (GSTL). The outlook on the long term rating is stable. The rating agency has also reaffirmed the ‘A3+’ rating assigned to the Rs 58.04 (enhanced from 55.03 crore) short term non-fund based limits of GSTL. Further, ICRA has assigned ratings of BBB(Stable) and A3+ to Rs 12.91 crore unallocated limits of the company.

The reaffirmation of ratings continues to factors in the company’s experienced management, its continuous capacity expansion initiatives to attain growth as the current capacities are utilized to 75-95% levels.

Good Luck Group is an ISO 9001 certified organization, engaged in manufacturing and exporting of wide range of Automobile CDW Tubes, Forged Engineering Products, T&D Towers & Boiler Structure, Galvanized Pipes, Roofing Sheets & Annealed Sheets.

Sun Pharma continues winning streak, up 4%

Sun Pharmaceuticals has extended its winning streak for the fifth straight day this morning on the back of renewed buying interest at the counter.

The stock today touched a high of Rs. 918, and is now up 4.06% at Rs. 922. The counter has seen trades of around 181,000 shares as against the two-week daily average volume of around 271,000 shares on the BSE.

In the last five trading sessions the stock has soared nearly 12 per cent (Rs. 97).

Meanwhile, the Sensex has surged 114 points to 29,003.

Top corporate news of the day – January 22, 2015

Government has sought expression of interest from reputed merchant bankers for divesting 10% stake in iron ore miner NMDC that could fetch about Rs55bn to the exchequer.

SpiceJet's revival has run into trouble after aircraft leasing companies pulled out the Boeing 737 planes leased to the Indian budget airline.

Government has sought expression of interest from reputed merchant bankers for divesting 10% stake in iron ore miner NMDC that could fetch about Rs55bn to the exchequer.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), announced that the company's flagship TCS Research Scholarship Programme (TCS RSP) will be extended for another five years to reach over 200 additional doctoral research scholars across India in the area of Computer Science.

Tata Motors’, Jaguar Land Rover is developing a range of new technologies that will use colours, sounds and touch inside the car to alert drivers to potential hazards and prevent accidents involving bicycles and motorbikes.

Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (GSFC) plans to spend over Rs12bn towards capacity expansions this year.

Air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration company Blue Star Ltd would finalise the land to set up a manufacturing unit in the Southern region, which would see investments of about Rs1.50bn.   

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is putting up an intra-city fiber network in Mumbai and Delhi to facilitate India's digital vision of seamless coverage.

The half a dozen public interest litigations (PIL) filed in various courts across the country against the proposed launch of four-wheeled transport vehicle called quadricycle has been instigated, claims Pune-based bike major Bajaj Auto.

Auto major Maruti and consumer durables maker Lloyd Electric (brand to be promoted will be Lloyd Air Conditioners) will be on-air sponsors of the month-and-a-half-long cricket world cup.

Life insurance companies are making a beeline at DCB Bank, earlier known as Development Credit Bank, for a bancassurance tie-up, as the lender’s current contract with Birla Sun Life Insurance is coming up for renewal.

Crude Palm Oil futures trade lower on sluggish demand

Crude Palm Oil futures traded marginally lower on MCX due to sluggish demand in the domestic market against higher supplies from producing belts. Furthermore, rising output in the major producing belts too put pressure on crude palm oil prices. The contract for January delivery was trading at Rs 444.80, down by 0.20% or Rs 0.90 from its previous closing of Rs 445.70. The open interest of the contract stood at 1315 lots. The contract for February delivery was trading at Rs 451.50, down by 0.09% or Rs 0.40 from its previous closing of Rs 451.90. The open interest of the contract stood at 3525 lots on MCX.

Panel recommends direct cash transfer of food subsidy

In a bid to rationalize the subsidy, a high level panel has recommended a cut in food subsidy,  giving cash to beneficiaries and shifting rice and wheat procurement to states that do not have provisions for administered purchase price. In its report submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the panel highlighted that Food Corporation of India (FCI), the union government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, should focus on eastern states, leaving bulk purchase to state agencies in Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The panel has suggested giving cash transfer in 52 cities having 1 million or more population in two years and also asked the government to give deficit states the option of either supplying grain or cash transfer. To improve foodgrains storage, the panel has suggested outsourcing of stocking to Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs) and private organisations. Further, in order to strengthen distribution of foodgrains, the panel suggested ‘end-to-end computerisation’ and setting up of a vigilance committee. As states imposing higher mandi taxes on wheat and rice, the panel favoured uniform tax of minimum 3 percent and maximum 4 percent and the same to be included in the minimum support price (MSP). The government has asked the Department of Food and Public Distribution to give its comments soon on the report so that it can be implemented in a time-bound manner. The government had allocated Rs 1.15 lakh crore for food subsidy this year, of which Rs 92,000 crore is for FCI.

Cabinet gives green signal to 3G spectrum swap

The Union Cabinet approved the 3G spectrum swap between the department of telecommunications (DoT) and the defence ministry. With this approval, DoT would be getting 15 MHz of spectrum in the 3G band of 2100 MHz by giving away equal amount of spectrum to the defence in the 1900 MHz band. However, in a dampener for telecom companies, the time-frame for the sale of this 15 mhz of spectrum remains undisclosed and would not take place in February. In the February auctions, the government would be putting up 800, 900, and 1800 bands for sale, along with that only 5 MHz spectrum in the 2100 MHz band would be available, which would lead to inflated bids. Nevertheless, the Centre's decision marks an end to eight-year battle between the telecom and defence ministries on what would constitute the 'defence band' as well as the swap. Of the 49 bands of spectrum or radio-waves between 3 MHz to 40 GHz band, 9 have been identified for exclusive use by the defence. In 31 other bands, different users like telecom firms, broadcasters, civil aviation and space would co-exist. Meanwhile, for the remaining 9 slots, a working group has been constituted to sort out the issues. Besides, a ‘Defence Interest Zone’ has been marked till 50 km into the Indian side from international borders, wherein spectrum will be used for telecom operations in times of peace, with defence ministry kept in the loop.

SSLT’s arm receives clearance to operate Korba’s based 1200 MW Power Plant

Sesa Sterlite’s (SSLT) subsidiary Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) has received approval of Consent to Operate (CTO) from the Chhattisgarh State Pollution Control Board and other clearances for starting its Korba’s based 1200 MW Power Plant.

Sesa Sterlite is one of the world’s largest diversified natural resource companies. Its business primarily involves exploring, extracting and processing minerals and oil & gas.

Top economic news of the day - January 22, 2015

Road projects worth Rs500bn would be started in Uttar Pradesh by the year-end, Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said.  

The government initiated the coal block re-allocation process by starting allotment of 36 coal mines to state run entities from Jan 23.

The Civil Contractors’ Association of Dakshina Kannada district has urged the Government to bring down the cement price in the country. 

The Union Budget for financial year 2015-16 will be presented on Saturday, February 28.

India can explore export potential in food items to bride trade gap with China

Amid rising concern over the widening trade deficit with China, India can explore export potential of food products like dairy products, marines, fresh and processed items to China with a view to bridge the widening trade gap. India’s trade deficit with China stood at about $36 billion during FY14 with exports around $15 billion against $51 billion imports. India has already expressed concerns over widening trade deficit with China and limited market access to its products due to a host of issues. India exports raw materials and imports mostly finished items. The exports of domestic products like engineering goods, pharmaceuticals and farm products is limited due to various issues related to tariff barriers, regulatory and other complexities. However, the government is taking various measures to enhance the Chinese investments in the country. It had recently given an in-principle approval to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) allowing China to set up industrial parks in the country. The industrial parks are expected to include special economic zones (SEZs) and manufacturing zones. At present, China is setting up two industrial parks in states including Maharashtra and Gujarat. Further, India and China have set $100 billion trade target by 2015. However, India had already asked the Chinese government to provide more access to the market so that the target of $100 billion can be achieved in a more balanced manner. Better access of Chinese markets to domestic IT-enabled services, cotton textiles, home furnishings and pharmaceuticals could also help India to reduce the imbalance in trade.

Physical rubber prices showed some firmness on Wednesday

Physical rubber prices showed some firmness on Wednesday due to enquiries from the non-tyre sector. Spot prices for RSS-4 variety remained unchanged at Rs 120/ kg, while RSS-5 variety improved to Rs 112/ kg compared to its previous closing of Rs 110/ kg.

In the futures market, contract of February delivery weakened to Rs 120.50 compared to its previous closing of Rs 121.25, while March delivery closed at Rs 121.33 compared to its previous close of Rs 122.17 on the National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE).

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala hikes stake in Polaris Consulting

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has hiked his stake in Polaris Consulting and Services from 1.58% at the end of September 2014 quarter to 3.83% in December quarter. Polaris is a full-spectrum Financial Technology major, using technology as an enabler to drive unprecedented operational productivity in Retail, Corporate and Investment Banking. Polaris services over 200 banks across the world, including 9 of the top 10 banks, with a comprehensive suite of products, services and consulting offerings.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 139.34 crore in index futures and options segments on January 21

According to the data released by the NSE, the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 139.34 crore in index futures and options segments, as per Wednesday’s data, January 21, 2015. FIIs were buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 483.32 crore and they sold index options worth Rs 343.98 crore. In the stock segment, FII’s were net buyers of stock futures worth Rs 114.88 crore, while they bought stock options worth Rs 39.57 crore.

Religare MF introduces Invesco Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 25 - Plan B (1098 Days)

Religare Mutual Fund has launched the New Fund Offer (NFO) of Religare Invesco Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 25 - Plan B (1098 Days), a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on Jan 22, 2015 and closes on Jan 28, 2015.  No entry load or exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter. The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index and its fund manager is Nitish Sikand. The investment objective of the scheme is to investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments maturing on or before the date of maturity of the Scheme.

Gold futures edge marginally lower on Wednesday

Gold futures dropped marginally on Wednesday as investors weighed some mixed economic data from the US with housing starts rising more than expected, while building permits issued dropped unexpectedly in December. Gold prices weakened further as profit-taking entered the market following the reports of a proposed bond-buying program for the European Central Bank (ECB).

Gold futures for February settled down 0.04 percent at $1,293.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. While spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,294.61 an ounce.

IOC unveils ‘XtraRewards’ Cash Customer Loyalty programme in Kerala

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has launched its ‘XtraRewards’ Cash Customer Loyalty programme in Kerala. This is the first on-line loyalty programme in the country which facilitates instant earning and burning of reward points. The reward points thus earned through the ‘XtraRewards’ loyalty programme can be instantly redeemed for free fuel or other gift items from the catalogue, at their participating Retail Outlets. Currently, about 30 Indian Oil Retail Outlets in Kochi are part of this programme. The company aims to cover 400 to 500 retail outlets in Kerala by March, 2016, thereby offering wide reward earning options for their Retail Auto Fuel Customers in Kerala. IOC is the largest enterprise in the country and the foremost ranked Fortune Global 500 Company in India and has presence in the complete hydrocarbon value chain from downstream refining & marketing, pipeline transportation, Petrochemicals, E&P and Gas Marketing.

Moser Baer commences upgraded solar cell manufacturing line

Moser Baer has commenced operations of its upgraded solar cell manufacturing line. The company’s revival plan of cell & module manufacturing comes in wake of government’s programs focused on domestic content requirement (DCR) of solar cells & modules for solar farms. This upgraded cell line operations allows the company to participate & supply to DCR projects and further entrench our position as India’s pre-eminent solar manufacturer. The new government has set an ambitious target of solar power capacity to touch 1 lakh mw by 2019. In the upcoming fiscal, around 3,000 Mw has been kept for solar projects to be based on domestically sourced solar cells. Moser Baer India headquartered in New Delhi, is a leading global tech-manufacturing company. The company also emerged as the first to market the next-generation of storage formats like Blu-Ray discs in India.

Poddar Developers raises Rs 125 crore via QIP

Mumbai based real estate developer Poddar Developers has raised Rs 125 crore through selling shares to investors through qualified institutional placement (QIP). Goldman Sachs, ICICI Pru and IDFC Capital are the lead investors in the issue. Poddar will issue shares at Rs 1,125.21 per share. Equirus Capital was lead manager to the QIP.

The company is engaged in the manufacturing Color & Additive Masterbatches for dope dyeing of man- made fibres, various plastic applications and engg. plastics & compounds

Essar Ports hits 10% upper circuit on block deal

Essar Ports suddenly zoomed in early morning deals and hit 10 per cent upper circuit limit at Rs. 134 on the BSE after a block deal of 56.6 lakh shares was executed on BSE at Rs 113.05 per share. 

The stock has pared some of its initial gains, and is now up over 8 per cent at Rs. 120. 

 The counter has witnessed huge volume of around 5.8 million shares as compared to its two-week daily average volume of 91,000 shares on the BSE.

Sensex hits 29,000, all time high

At 9:19AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 29,009 up 120 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,747 up 18 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index and BSE Small-cap Index was trading up at 1%.

Auto, Consumer Durables, Power, banking, capital goods, FMCG,  healthcare metal, realty, Oil and gas indices are the gainers, while Teck and IT indices are losers.

GAIL, BHEL, COALINDIA,SUNPHARMA,TATASTEEL, Reliance, Hindalco are among the gainers, whereas HDFC Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank, HUL are losing sheen on BSE.

The much awaited Union budget will be on a Saturday this time (Feb 28). The Budget session will begin on February 23 with the traditional Presidential Address to both the houses of Parliament.  The Railway Budget will be presented on February 26 followed by the tabling of the Economic Survey on February 27.

The US stock market ended with slight gains. Asian markets are mixed. Japan's Nikkei is lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is higher. China's Shanghai index is marginally up.

Bank of Baroda and Corporation Bank will see stock-splits today.

Poddar Developers, which has presence in the affordable housing segment in Mumbai, raised Rs. 125 crore through stake sale. Not many real estate companies have managed this.  

The Coal Ministry kicked off the process of re-allotting mines, starting with central and state public sector units on Wednesday. Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said all the 36 blocks earmarked for allotment will be offered for PSUs to cherry-pick from in a single phase. The Centre proposes to complete the whole process by February 20. Priority will be given to PSUs with units close to the mines, Swarup added, a report stated.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s full-fledged Budget is likely to propose a fresh round of indirect tax reforms by removing existing anomalies such as the inverted duty structure. This is being done to boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ programme. Power generation machines, telecom equipment, and petroleum products are among the categories affected by the inverted duty structure, according to a report.

Indian officials will brief their US counterparts on steps taken to promote manufacturing under the ‘Make in India’ campaign and improve ease of doing business, in a meeting in New Delhi today.

SEBI will come out with fresh norms for algo trading shortly, according to UK Sinha, Chairman, SEBI said. Meanwhile, SEBI is expected to discuss changes to norms governing issuance of partly paid shares and warrants as well as amendments to regulations for securitisation trustees, according to a report. Besides, the board is likely to take up amendments to certain regulations related to listing of debt securities, the report added.

The Finance Ministry has initiated the process of disinvesting 10 per cent stake in Hyderabad-based mining company NMDC.

Standard & Poor's Ratings  Services believes political developments in a few Asia-Pacific sovereigns  could become important factors in shaping credit trends in the next few years,  said a report published today, titled "Asia-Pacific Sovereign Rating Trends,