Glenmark weakens: SC restrains manufacturing two anti-diabetes drugs

The stock has hit a high of RS. 919 and a low of Rs. 895.

Supreme Court restrained Glenmark from manufacturing two anti-diabetes drugs, according to reports.

The stock is down 1% at Rs. 907.

The stock has hit a high of RS. 919 and a low of Rs. 895.

RBI eases norms for small value contactless card transactions

The contactless technology works only when the card is waved at a range of 4 cms and currently requires a pin for every transaction 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday relaxed requirement of additional factor of authentication for small value 'card present' transactions where near-field communication (NFC) technology is used. Such cards enable users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader.

The contactless technology works only when the card is waved at a range of 4 cms and currently requires a pin for every transaction.

In recent past, RBI has received requests for waiver of the requirement of AFA so as to foster innovative payment processes as also enhance the convenience factor in certain types of card transactions. After examining the comments received on a draft circular outlining the relaxation, RBI on Thursday said it has decided to relax the norms.

Merger & Acquisition Round up - 11 May- 15 May, 2015

The Board of Directors of Aditya Birla Retail Limited, in their meeting approved the acquisition of Total Superstore Business, the Retail Division of Jubilant Agri & Consumer Products Limited 

Top News

Aditya Birla Retail to acquire Total Superstore Business from Jubilant Agri 

The Board of Directors of Aditya Birla Retail Limited, in their meeting approved the acquisition of Total Superstore Business, the Retail Division of Jubilant Agri & Consumer Products Limited (“JACL”). 

“The acquisition of Total Undertaking is a good strategic fit for ABRL in terms of its store locations and catchment areas”, avers Mr. Pranab Barua, Business Director, Apparel & Retail Business, The Aditya Birla Group.  

In line with the approved transaction, ABRL will acquire in an all cash deal, the leasehold rights for 4 hypermarkets of Total Undertaking in Bangalore, along with movable and immovable assets, a warehouse, an office premise, working capital, trademarks, intellectual property and other rights associated with Total Undertaking by way of a slump sale for a lump sum consideration.  Total Superstore business has an aggregate retail footprint of 2.87 lakh sq. ft.

  

The transaction is subject to the approval of shareholders of JACL and Jubilant Industries Ltd (JIL), the parent company of JACL. Moreover, this transaction is also subject to necessary regulatory approvals including, but not limited to approval from the Competition Commission of India. 

  

Royal Enfield acquires Harris Performance

Royal Enfield, the world’s fastest growing motorcycle manufacturer, has acquired UK based Harris Performance Products Ltd. Established over forty years ago by brothers Steve and Lester Harris and Stephen Bayford, Harris Performance is one of the leading experts in designing and manufacturing of specialised high performance motorcycle chassis and components. Under the terms of the deal, Royal Enfield will acquire all assets, employees, trade names, technical know-how and intellectual property of Harris Performance Products Ltd. Harris Performance has had a long standing relationship with Royal Enfield and was responsible for the chassis development of the brand’s iconic Continental GT café racer model. 

Speaking about the acquisition, Siddhartha Lal, CEO Royal Enfield said: “Royal Enfield is working on its new generation of products and platforms; to have the Harris Performance team dedicatedly working with us will clearly enhance our engineering and product design capabilities. Their proven expertise, deep insight and understanding of motorcycling and Royal Enfield will be invaluable for us in our journey towards achieving leadership in the global mid-sized motorcycling segment.”

 Alongside successful relationships with the Royal Enfield brand, Harris Performance has been the only manufacturer from UK to have been officially commissioned by Yamaha and Suzuki to design, develop and manufacture race bikes for Grand Prix and World Superbike. 

Domestic News

APL Apollo Tubes board approves proposal for amalgamation of Lloyd Line Pipes

APL Apollo Tubes Limited has announced that the Board of Directors in their meeting held on May 9, 2015, approved the proposal for Amalgamation of M/s Lloyd Line Pipes Limited with the Company, in terms of the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (applicable as on date) or any corresponding provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. 

The Board had earlier in September 2013, approved the Merger of the said companies, however, due to technical difficulties the same could not be pursued. The board Accepted the resignation of Mr. Aniq Husain, an Independent Director.quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Arvind plans to take over Sephora’s India biz

Arvind is planning to take over the Indian operations of cosmetics and beauty retailer Sephora, according to reports.

Report said that Arvind and Sephora are finalizing a deal giving the former rights to manage operations of the cosmetic retailer in India.

The company is preparing a new plan for Sephora which would give it a much wider footprint of 50 stores in the near future, says report.

. Apax Partners buys 20.37% stake in Shriram City Union Finance

Private equity firm Apax Partners Llp has acquired a 20.37% stake in Shriram City Union Finance Ltd, a unit of Shriram Group, by buying out shares held by TPG Capital, according to a media report.

TPG India Investment sold its 20.37% stake or 1.34 crore shares in Shriram City Union Finance for about Rs. 2,300 crore in an off-market deal to Apax Partners.

The purchase of shares was concluded on Monday by Apax Partners' subsidiary, Dynasty Acquisition (FPI) Ltd, report added.

International News

Verizon to acquire AOL for $4.4bn

Verizon Communications Inc. announced the signing of an agreement to purchase AOL Inc. for $50 per share.

The estimated total value was approximately $4.4 billion.

The agreement will also support and connect to Verizon’s IoT (Internet of Things) platforms, creating a growth platform from wireless to IoT for consumers and businesses.

Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, said: “Verizon’s vision is to provide customers with a premium digital experience based on a global multiscreen network platform. This acquisition supports our strategy to provide a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers to deliver that premium customer experience.”

He added, “AOL has once again become a digital trailblazer, and we are excited at the prospect of charting a new course together in the digitally connected world. At Verizon, we’ve been strategically investing in emerging technology, including Verizon Digital Media Services and OTT, that taps into the market shift to digital content and advertising. AOL’s advertising model aligns with this approach, and the advertising platform provides a key tool for us to develop future revenue streams.”

mGage acquires Unicel Technologies

mGage, a global leader in mobile multi-channel messaging, has acquired Unicel Technologies, a Bangalore, India based mobile messaging company.  Unicel is a market leader providing integrated cloud communications solutions across SMS, Voice, USSD and e-mail platforms in India. With this acquisition, mGage is now the dominant player in the enterprise mobile marketing and mobile CRM market in India.

As a combined organization, mGage will enable more than 60 Billion transactions annually.

 mGage’s expanded multi-channel mobile engagement platform has the newest and most advanced messaging features with retargeting capabilities including SMS, Voice, Email, USSD, Push Notifications and OTT. 

The mGage multi-channel platform serves more than 1,000 blue-chip brands, enterprises and partners through a network of more than 800 mobile operators around the world.

Equirus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to mGage for the transaction.

RBI tells banks to deliberate on 7 themes in board deliberations

The business strategy theme includes development of new products; competitiveness of individual businesses; business reviews in relation to targets 

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday directed bank boards to deliberate on seven critical themes including business strategy, risk, financial report and their integrity, customer protection, financial inclusion and human resources as prescribed by the PJ Nayak committee.

The business strategy theme includes development of new products; competitiveness of individual businesses; business reviews in relation to targets.

The theme of risk includes policies concerning credit, operational, market, liquidity risks; assessing the independence of the risk function.
The theme of Financial Reports and their integrity consists of detailed scrutiny of quarterly and annual financial results; NPA management and reported NPA and provisioning integrity.

Compliance comprises meeting the regulatory requirements; adherence to RBI and SEBI norms; observations from the annual financial inspection by RBI, and from the Long Form Audit Report; review of decisions in previous minutes of meetings, and key decisions within subsidiaries; review of action taken reports; appointments to board committees.

Customer protection consists of regulatory requirements; adherence to RBI and SEBI norms; observations from the annual financial inspection by RBI, and from the Long Form Audit Report; review of decisions in previous minutes of meetings, and key decisions within subsidiaries; review of action taken reports; appointments to board committees.

Financial inclusion will include Review of priority sector lending; payments for the disadvantaged; deposit mobilization from weaker sections; support to microfinance institutions; and other issues.

The human resources would include appointments and approvals of directors, perks and perquisites for employees, incentive schemes for employees, promotion policies for employees, training and skill development of employees. 

Banks classify ABG Shipyard's loan account as NPA

ABG Shipyard's bad loan has put pressure on the banks to follow a legal case against the shipping company 

ABG Shipyard has failed to make payments to some banks which have classified the account as bad loan, according to a media report.

ABG Shipyard's bad loan has put pressure on the banks to follow a legal case against the shipping company, the report added.

ABG Shipyard had restructured its loans to Rs. 11,000 crore in 2014 due to stress in business. The company failed to meet even the liberal norms set by the 22 banks, including State Bank of India, Bank of India, Canara Bank andIDBI Bank through the so-called CDR programme, the report added.

ABG's revenue declined to Rs. 30.4 crore in the December 2014 quarter from Rs. 1,595 crore in the full fiscal year of 2013-14, regulatory filings show. Its December quarter widened to Rs 294 crore, from the previous fiscal year's loss of Rs 199 crore. 

SBI to e-auction distressed properties every quarter

The first e-auction for distressed properties will take place in mid-June

State Bank of India on Thursday said it has decided to hold e-auctions of distressed properties in the middle of the last month of every quarter, according to a media report.

The first e-auction for distressed properties will take place in mid-June. The Bank has decided to conduct e-auction of distressed properties every quarter separately for retail properties.

SBI will hold these auctions in the middle of the last month of every quarter. Thus, mid-June will see a new auction.

These properties came to SBI as they were collaterals plegded by borrowers for housing or other business loans. But the borrowers defaulted on repayment, forcing the bank to take over them under the Security and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act.

RBI prescribes Calendar of Reviews for boards of banks

Calendar of Reviews uses considerable Board time and as a result the Board may not be in a position to give focused attention to matters of financial importance, says RBI 

The RBI has prescribed a comprehensive 'Calendar of Reviews' to be deliberated by the boards of banks, with significant additions to the calendar over the years.

"Banks are advised to determine the board agenda items and the periodicity thereof, with the approval of their boards, such that there is adequate focus on matters of strategic and financial importance, including the seven broad themes...," RBI said in a notification on Thursday.

The RBI replaced it with the seven critical themes prescribed by the PJ Nayak Committee "namely, business strategy, financial reports and their integrity, risk, compliance, customer protection, financial inclusion and human resources, and leave it to banks' boards to determine other list of items to be deliberated and periodicity thereof," it said.

It has been observed that Calendar of Reviews uses considerable Board time and as a result the Board may not be in a position to give focused attention to matters of strategic and financial importance, it said.

"Time spent on reviews reduces the leeway for the board to discuss issues of strategic importance for banks such as product market strategy and risk management," it said. 

Sequent Scientific rallies as RBI hikes FII limit

According to media reports, the RBI has now allowed FII investment up to 32.46 percent in the company. 

Sequent Scientific has rallied over 6 percent to touch a high at Rs. 576 after the Central Bank hiked the FII investment limit in the company.

According to media reports, the RBI has now allowed FII investment up to 32.46 percent in the company.

As per the shareholding pattern for the quarter ended March 2015, FIIs held 6.60 percent equity in the company.

The stock is now up 6 percent at Rs. 575.

 The counter has seen trades of around 4,911-odd shares as against the two-week daily average volume of around 18,000-odd shares on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the Sensex is up 46 points at 27,252.

KNR Constructions jumps on receiving order

The stock has jumped over 3 percent at the opening bell on the BSE. 

KNR Constructions started the day with a surge of 3.4 percent at Rs. 500 on receiving order worth of Rs. 669.06 crore.

The stock so far has soared 6 percent to a high at Rs. 513 and is now up 5 percent at Rs. 507.

Around 4,605 shares are traded on the BSE counter, as against two-week daily average volume of 4,260 shares.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has jumped 115 points at 27,321.

JK Tyre surges on stellar Q4 earnings

Whereas, total income declined by 5.4% to Rs. 1,815 crore from Rs. 1,919 crore for the above mentioned period. 

JK Tyre & Industries started the day on a firm note after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs. 106 crore in Q4FY15, as against Rs. 44.9 crore in Q4FY14.

Whereas, total income declined by 5.4% to Rs. 1,815 crore from Rs. 1,919 crore for the above mentioned period.

The stock opened with a gain of 2.7 percent at Rs. 124 and soon, has soared 5.8 percent to a high at Rs. 128.

Now, the stock is up 3.2 percent at Rs. 125. The BSE counter has registered trades of around 107,000 shares, when compared with two-week daily average volume of 199,000 shares.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has added 97 points at 27,303.

Rupee opens at 63.43 against US dollar

The FIIs were net sellers of Rs737mn in the cash segment on Thursday

The rupee opened at 63.43 against the US dollar today.

The local unit closed at 63.39 against the US dollar on Thursday.

The Indian currency has hit a high of 63.37 and a low of 63.57 today.

The FIIs were net sellers of Rs737mn in the cash segment on Thursday.

The domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs3.02bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.

ICICI Bank continues to grow corporate book cautiously

In the context of restructured loans, there is some lumpiness in terms of one or two assets and if they slip, they create a bit of volatility in the provision, says ICICI Bank

After a rise in bad loans during 2014-15, ICICI Bank has decided to change its lending and underwriting norms, to contain the rise in its non-performing assets (NPAs) and the restructuring book.

During fiscal 2015, the aggregate addition to NPAs was Rs. 80.78 billion. Of this, the fresh NPA addition was Rs. 35.49 billion which is lower than the previous year.

However, slippage from restructured loans to the NPA category was Rs. 45.29 billion in FY2015. Loans restructured during this period were Rs. 53.94 billion.

Thus, the sum of loan restructuring during the period and NPA additions, excluding slippages from the restructured portfolio was Rs. 89.43 billion, about Rs. 15 billion lower compared to the previous year.

According to the new norms, ICICI Bank will be more careful in lending to the construction sector. “In this space, where there are lots of receivables, things have got delayed, which in turn has put pressure on those companies, leading to devolvement of guarantees. That is one sector, where one has to be a bit careful,” said NS Kannan, executive director, in an analyst conference call.

ICICI Bank has been continuing to grow its corporate book cautiously. In the fourth quarter, domestic corporate loan growth was 9.8 per cent year on year; the retail loan book grew at 24.6 per cent over a year. Kannan says they’ve decided to move towards lending to higher-rated companies.

“In the context of our restructured loans, there is some lumpiness in terms of one or two assets and if they slip, they create a bit of volatility in the provision. We would aim to minimise a similar situation, going forward. Incrementally, we are looking at tighter concentration thresholds, so that anything above, say, a particular number gets highlighted and escalated to the higher level committees,” said Kannan.

Top corporate news of the day - May 15, 2015

State bank of India will resume mega e-auction for properties, acquired from borrowers following defaults, next month. 

Making its third diversification from its core technology business, HCL Corporation forayed into the business of skilling by launching HCL TalentCare 

Tata Group flagship company Tata Steel announced Rs65bn goodwill impairment charge for the loss of value of operations in Europe, Canada and Mozambique in 2014-15. 

Country's largest lender State bank of India will resume mega e-auction for properties, acquired from borrowers following defaults, next month.

Enterprise software provider Ramco Systems has launched its payroll software in China, to address the Chinese market with unified bilingual platform. 

India's state-run National Buildings Construction Corp (NBCC) is betting on the redevelopment of millions of square feet of vacant government property as it plans to grow its USD3.4bn order book by 25% a year to 2020. 

The Supreme Court dismissed a batch of petitions filed by various telecom companies, including Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, seeking extension of their spectrum licences. 

State-run Power Grid will invest over Rs10bn in the next few years for execution of two projects including creating transmission network in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh 

Tata Motors’ UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc has reported its strongest-ever April retail sales performance as the company sold 37,286 units. The luxury carmaker reported 0.3% YoY  rise in sales from 37,171 units a year ago.

Reliance Industries is in talks with Chinese manufacturers to secure cut-price phones that could be sold in packages from USD30, as it seeks to repeat the low-cost revolution it unleashed with its first dip into India's mobile market more than a decade ago. 

Top Economy news of the day- May 15, 2015

WPI fell to a new low of 2.65% for the month of April, 2015, after declining to 2.33% in the previous month, as per government data. 

The wholesale price index (WPI) fell to a new low of 2.65% for the month of April, 2015, after declining to 2.33% in the previous month, as per government data. This is the sixth straight decline in wholesale prices, a clear indication that inflationary pressures in the economy remain muted.

Indian economy is likely to clock 8.1% growth in the current financial year, spurred by strong consumer spending amid low inflation, infrastructure projects and government's reform measures, says a UN report.

While 20 members of Parliament have alleged that airlines are indulging in cartelisation and complained of excessive fares charged by airlines during holiday season, travel agents and online portals say airfares are 15-20% lower this summer compared to 2014.

The government is likely to approve in few days a final policy on adding 100 GW of solar power, as it targets energy generation of 175 GW from renewable sources by 2022 

Sensex, Nifty open in green; auto, banking stocks gain

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.52% at 10,581, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.66% at 11,044. 

At 9:27 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,336 up 130 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,264 up 39 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.52% at 10,581, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.66% at 11,044.

Some buying activity is seen in banking, auto, IT and capital goods sectors, while pharma and metals sector are showing weakness on BSE.

Vedanta, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, SBI, M&M and Bhel are among the gainers, whereas Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Coal India and Cipla are losing sheen on BSE.

 The Circumstances refuse to really change in the market as the main indices flattened to deceive the bears this time and closed with minimal losses on Thursday. Concerns over a delay in passage of reform-centric legislative proposals have kept the investors on the backfoot. The FM has expressed disappointment over the delay in passing the legislation on GST, stating that the Congress' stand was "disappointing for the country."

Meanwhile, foreign brokerages too have mixed opinion on where the Indian market is headed. While those with a bullish view on the country said stock valuations have become attractive after the recent fall, the pessimists are worried about foreign investors' heavy exposure to local stocks, says a report. On the macro front, the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, remained in negative zone and stood at -2.65% (provisional) for the month of April, 2015.

Tata Steel could crash on reports that it will take a $785 mln non-cash writedown in Q4. The main indices could see some green at start but the Nifty is struggling to cross the 8300 mark. The action is likely to shift to a host of side counters in the mid-cap and small cap space which have seen a sell-off in recent weeks. Global cues are mildly positive for now.

The Dow rose 1.06%, Nasdaq added 1.39% and S&P 500 was up 1.08%. Asian markets are also in the green with Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and China's Shanghai clocking some gains.

Motherson Sumi Systems could be in action as it is doing a due diligence on three auto component makers in Europe for possible acquisitions, its chairman Vivek Chand Sehgal was quoted as saying.

ICICI Bank to open branch in Shanghai

ICICI Bank has now got the regulatory approvals to open its first branch in Shanghai 

ICICI Bank is set to open its branch in Shanghai, China soon, according to a media report.

The branch is expected to be inaugurated on Saturday by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ICICI Bank's Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar will also be present, the report added.

ICICI Bank already has a representative office in China and it has now got the regulatory approvals to open its first branch in Shanghai, the report added.

Supreme Court rejects telecom cos' plea for licence extension

"We see no merit. The petitions are dismissed," a bench headed by J Chelameswar said 

The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of petitions filed by various telecom companies, including Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, seeking extension of their spectrum licences.

"We see no merit. The petitions are dismissed," a bench headed by J Chelameswar said.

The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on a number of similar petitions filed by Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone Mobile Services and Loop Mobile India which had sought extension of their 20-year spectrum licences by another 10 years. 

Indices to open flat

The main indices could see some green at start but the Nifty is struggling to cross the 8300 mark. The action is likely to shift to a host of side counters in the mid-cap and small cap space which have seen a sell-off in recent weeks. 

The Circumstances refuse to really change in the market as the main indices flattened to deceive the bears this time and closed with minimal losses on Thursday. Concerns over a delay in passage of reform-centric legislative proposals have kept the investors on the backfoot. The FM has expressed disappointment over the delay in passing the legislation on GST, stating that the Congress' stand was "disappointing for the country."

Meanwhile, foreign brokerages too have mixed opinion on where the Indian market is headed. While those with a bullish view on the country said stock valuations have become attractive after the recent fall, the pessimists are worried about foreign investors' heavy exposure to local stocks, says a report. On the macro front, the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, remained in negative zone and stood at -2.65% (provisional) for the month of April, 2015. 

The outlook is a flat start. Tata Steel could crash on reports that it will take a $785 mln non-cash writedown in Q4. The main indices could see some green at start but the Nifty is struggling to cross the 8300 mark. The action is likely to shift to a host of side counters in the mid-cap and small cap space which have seen a sell-off in recent weeks. Global cues are mildly positive for now. 

The Dow rose 1.06%, Nasdaq added 1.39% and S&P 500 was up 1.08%. Asian markets are also in the green with Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and China's Shanghai clocking some gains.

Motherson Sumi Systems could be in action as it is doing a due diligence on three auto component makers in Europe for possible acquisitions, its chairman Vivek Chand Sehgal was quoted as saying.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan stated that the Board Discussed Legislative Changes needed to take Financial Sector forward. The board suggested of having IT subsidiaries to look after Cyber Security, added Rajan.

Nitesh Estates stock has hit 10% upper circuit at Rs 16.01.The stock has hit a high of Rs. 16.01 and a low of Rs. 14.50.The company announced that conclusion of partnership platform agreement signing (MOU) with Goldman Sachs, a leading global financial institution to jointly invest / acquire income producing office buildings, Shopping Malls and Luxury Hotels across India.Under this platform arrangement Goldman Sachs will make Investments through Nitesh Estates SPVs, Associates, Subsidiaries, JVs etc., as the case may be asset class wise.

MAN Industries zoomed over 14.5 percent to Rs. 69.40 on receiving orders worth Rs. 510 crore from international market for oil & gas sector.

Pennar Industries soared 7% to Rs. 50.90 on reporting more than two-fold jump in Q4 net profit on year-on-year basis. The company recorded a net profit of Rs. 16.02 crore for Q4FY15, when compared with Rs. 7.42 crore for Q4FY14. 

Lycos Internet jumped nearly 5% to Rs. 34.35 on launching suite of products that connects people to their digital world called Lycos Life. 

Aditya Birla Chemicals (AB Chemicals) was up nearly 2 percent at Rs. 216 on the back of multi-fold jump in profit. The company reported a net profit of Rs. 8.6 crore for Q4FY15, as against Rs. 74 lakh for Q4FY14.

Pantaloons Fashion & Retail slipped 2.2% to Rs. 165 after the company reported Q4 results.The company reported a net loss of Rs. 63.78 crore for Q4FY15, as against a net loss of Rs. 70.75 crore for Q4FY14.

D B Corp turned volatile after the company reported almost 17 percent drop in consolidated Q4 net profit at Rs. 63.9 crore when compared with Rs. 75.9 crore on year-on-year basis. The stock shed almost 5.5 percent in intra-day deals, but eventually ended over a percent higher at Rs. 367.

Indian Bank rallied 6.5% to a high of Rs. 165 after the bank's gross NPAs declined to 4.4% for the March quarter when compared with 4.52 percent in the December quarter. The stock however ended 2% higher at Rs. 157.

Aditya Birla Nuvo rebounded into the positive zone and ended 1.5% higher at Rs. 1,857 after the company reported 88 percent jump in Q4 consolidated net at Rs. 331.63 crore when compared with Rs. 176.13 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. 

Lupin slipped over 3% to Rs. 1,636 after the company acquired Brazilian drug maker Medquímica Indústria Farmacêutica SA. The value of the deal was not disclosed. 

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) surged 11% to Rs. 215 on the back of asset quality improvement. The bank's gross and net non-performing assets (NPA) ratios improved to 5.18 percent and 3.34 percent, respectively, at the end of March 2015 quarter on sequential basis.

Arvind Ltd has announced that the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat has sanctioned the Composite Scheme of Arrangement in the nature of demerger and transfer of Real Estate Undertaking of Arvind Limited to Arvind Infrastructure Limited. 

Nectar Lifesciences Limited (NecLife), the fast-growing manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and formulation products has received ANVISA cGMP approval for Brazil for its Cephalosporin APIs’ manufacturing facility in Dera Bassi, Punjab. The regulatory authority concluded that the facility, systems and practices comply with ANVISA cGMP requirements.

Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sobha Ltd., a developer of repute having pan India operations, for the development of Company's Industrial land at Badarpur, New Delhi, admeasuring about 27,504.78 sq. mtrs. equivalent to 2,96,062 sq. ft. for Group Housing Residential project as per applicable laws (the said Land).