Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Top economic news of the day - April 15, 2015

Coal imports into India, the world's third largest buyer, jumped 33.5% in the last fiscal year to 242.4 million tonnes as lower purchases by China depressed prices and helped consumers elsewhere, preliminary data from mjunction showed. 

Woman Reading Newspaper
India will overtake China as the fastest growing emerging economy in 2015-16 by clocking a growth rate of 7.5% on the back of recent policy initiatives, pick-up in investments and lower oil prices, the International Monetary Fund said.
 
Coal imports into India, the world's third largest buyer, jumped 33.5% in the last fiscal year to 242.4 million tonnes as lower purchases by China depressed prices and helped consumers elsewhere, preliminary data from mjunction showed. 
 
Assocham has urged the Finance Minister to bring commercial real estate and petroleum within the purview of Goods and services tax levy. The chamber has also made a case for dropping the proposal to levy additional 1% tax on inter-state supply of goods, as it would defeat the objective of GST.

Top corporate news of the day - April 15, 2015

Government plans to auction 69 small and marginal oil fields of ONGC and Oil India Ltd to private firms on a new revenue sharing model. 

Tablet computer with business news
Zomato has acquired MaplePOS, a cloud-based point of sale product for restaurants, for an undisclosed sum. MaplePOS has now been renamed Zomato Base.
 
Bajaj Auto expanded its Pulsar range in the adventure sport bike category - AS200 and AS150 - priced at Rs79,000 and Rs91,550 (ex-showroom Delhi). 
 
Government plans to auction 69 small and marginal oil fields of ONGC and Oil India Ltd to private firms on a new revenue sharing model. 
 
DHFL reduced its home loan rate by 25 basis points to 9.9%. The new rate will come into effect from Wednesday.
 
Parag Milk Foods is planning to raise anywhere between Rs4bn and Rs5bn from private equity firms to expand its operations over the next three years, according to its chairman. 

Welspun Renewables said it has signed an agreement with Germany-based iPLON for supplying equipment required for its 550 MW upcoming solar power capacity in India. 
 
Facing backlash over net neutrality, e-commerce major Flipkart has pulled out of discussions with Airtel for the Airtel Zero platform. 
 
Vodafone said that it invested Rs4.8bn in the last fiscal to enhance its network coverage in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. 
 
PVC pipe maker Skipper announced its foray into the western region with a new manufacturing facility being set up at Changodar. The facility will help the company establish footing in the Rs60bn PVC pipes western region market. 
 
Alstom T&D has secured a Rs569m order from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre to provide a 220/11kV, 25/31.5 MVA substation for its Challakere unit in Chitradurga, Karnataka. 
 
Ashoka Buildcon has raised Rs5bn from a share sale to institutional investors, sources said. 
 
KNR Constructions Limited has bagged three State Highway road upgradation contracts in Tamil Nadu together worth Rs7.3bn. 
 
Muthoot Group has entered into the home loan segment with the launch of Muthoot Homfin. 

Market erases early gains

The CNX Midcap and Smallcap indices are out-performing the NSE Nifty in early morning deals. 

The market started the day on a positive note, on the back of positive CPI inflation data and firm global cues.

The CPI inflation slowed down to three-month lows of 5.2 percent in March 2015 (new base 2012=100) from 5.4 percent in February 2015. Food items were major contributors to the CPI inflation decline in March 2015.

The BSE Sensex opened higher by 43-odd points at 29,087 and the NSE Nifty was up ten points at 8,844 at the opening bell.

The key benchmark indices soon pared early gains and slipped into the negative zone, owing to weakness in metal, pharma and auto shares.

The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty touched a low at 29,000 and 8,812, respectively.

Currently, the Sensex is down 37 points at 29,007 and the Nifty-50 shares index is down ten points at 8,824.

The broader indices are out-performing the CNX Nifty index, the Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained 0.3 percent each at 13,700 and 6,079, respectively.

Among sectors, the CNX Pharma and Auto indices have declined over 0.5 percent each at 13,640 and 8,766, respectively. The Metal index also moved down 0.3 percent at 2,479.

On the other hand, Bank Nifty index has gained 0.5 percent at 18,898 and the FMCG index has added 0.3 percent at 21,520.

In the Nifty-50 stocks - Mahindra & Mahindra is the top loser, down over 2 percent at Rs. 1,221. Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma have dropped almost 2 percent each at Rs. 417 and Rs. 1,129, respectively.

Tata Motors, Idea Cellular, HDFC, HCL Technologies and Coal India are the other significant losers.

On the other hand, ACC has jumped 2 percent at Rs. 1,628. IndusInd Bank, Zee Entertainment, Sesa Sterlite, Kotak Bank and Punjab National Bank have also spurted over a percent each.

Sensex to open on a positive note

Indices may get nervous at higher levels as the result season gets underway. India WPI numbers are expected. 

Bombay-Stock-Exchange-Building
The good news is that India's economic growth rate will overtake China in 2015 to become the world's fastest growing major economy, the IMF and World Bank have stated in separate forecasts.  IMF sees 7.5% growth next year while World Bank sees India’s growth at 7.9%. The IMF-World Bank spring meetings in Washington is underway and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is there along with RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.
India's growth acceleration is being driven by business-oriented reforms and improved investor sentiment and that growth could reach 8 per cent in fiscal year 2017-18 on the back of significant acceleration in investment growth, the World Bank says.

The outlook is a positive start. Indices may get nervous at higher levels as the result season gets underway. India WPI numbers are expected. EU interest rate scenario will also be watched. Market will also react to CPI numbers which were lower in March at 5.17%.  Sugar stocks could be in focus as Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan will brief media about sugarcane arrears issue.

The Dow rose 0.33% while S&P 500 gained 0.16%. Nasdaq was up 0.22%. Asian indices are mixed with Japan's Nikkei 225 index flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index marginally higher. China's Shanghai index is also subdued.

Global warming coupled with changes arising out of an evolving El Nino may have combined to cause the heavy spells of unseasonal rain which have devastated crops in many parts of India since late February, a leading meteorologist has said.

Government has shortlisted various PSUs including IOC, National Fertilizers, MMTC, Hindustan Copper and ITDC for stake sale to achieve current fiscal's disinvestment target of Rs 41,000 crore, according to reports.

Department of Disinvestment is planning to divest 5-15% government stake in these state-owned companies. While 10% stake each would be diluted in Engineers India Ltd, NALCO, NMDC and Indian Oil Corporation.

About 15% stake would be up for sale in National Fertilizers Ltd, Hindustan Copper Ltd, India Tourism and Development Corp, State Trading Corp and MMTC, says report.

Without further fiscal reforms, the Indian government may find it difficult to sustain the increase in public investment spending, according to a report, titled "India's Fiscal Roadblocks  Could Stall Infrastructure Progress," Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said ."Although India's budgetary performances have strengthened in recent years, its hard-won fiscal improvements could yet unwind because of a financial or  commodity shock," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kim Eng Tan. "Subsidy spending is one key source of weakness, despite fuel-subsidy reforms in 2014. Another constraint is the heavy government debt."

ONGC, OIL and BPCL is planning to invest $6 bn in developing a giant gas field off the Mozambique coast and converting the fuel into LNG for export to nations like India, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reportedly said.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India Ltd and a unit of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) hold 30% interest in Rovuma Area-1."We will be investing another $6 bn by 2019 to develop Rovuma Area-1 field," Pradhan said.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned another 600 MW thermal unit in Chhattisgarh. The unit was commissioned at Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited (DBPL)’s upcoming 2x600 MW thermal power project located at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa District of Chhattisgarh.
Axis Bank has cut its base rate by 20 basis points to 9.95%, according to a media report. The bank has also decreased retail deposit rates by 25 bps across maturities. 

India's largest car-maker by volume, Maruti Suzuki is planning to outdo its rivals by planning a double-digit growth in the new financial year. The company has reportedly set a target of 10-11% growth, which will require it to sell close to 1.3 million units in this financial year, according to media reports. 
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Indian Oil Corporation Ltd's (IOC) Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR), its senior unsecured rating and ratings on its outstanding senior unsecured debt at 'BBB-'. The Outlook is Stable.

Indag Rubber was locked at the 20% upper limit at Rs. 1,066 on the back of strong Q4 performance. The company reported a solid 50 percent jump in Q4FY15 net profit at Rs. 9.48 crore when compared with Rs. 6.34 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income too was up over 18 percent to Rs. 65.79 crore from Rs. 55.68 crore.

HDFC ended flat at Rs 1303  on the back of RBI nod for raising $ 500 million via the ECB (External Commercial Borrowings) route.

RPP Infra Projects jumped 1.2 percent to Rs. 152 on the back of winning a fresh order worth Rs. 46.53 crore from Hindustan Prefab, an Government of India Enterprise.

Shriram EPC zoomed over 12% to Rs. 44.10 after the company's board approved conversion of the funded interest term loan to the maximum of Rs. 313 crore of the CDR Lenders into equity shares of the company.

Larsen & Toubro gained 2% at Rs. 1,801 after the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AREVA for Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project.

Sequent Scientific scaled to a fresh 52-week high at Rs. 668 after the company announced that it allotted 11 lakh warrants to Pronomz Ventures LLP, a Promoter Group entity, at Rs. 475 on 11 April 2015. The stock finally ended at Rs. 651, up 17 percent.

Reliance Industries too extended its winning run, and was up another 2% at Rs. 922. The stock has rallied nearly 12% in the last five trading sessions. Media reports stated that the company has discovered massive gas reserves at MJ-1 block in its KG-D6 basin.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries stock ended 3% higher 1% at Rs 1148.The company has announced that the Allotment Committee of the Board of Directors has approved the following at their meeting held on April 10, 2015 allotted 334,956,764 (Thirty Three Crore Forty Nine Lakh Fifty Six Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Four) equity shares of Re. 1 each to the shareholders of erstwhile Ranbaxy in the ratio of 8 (eight) equity shares of Re. 1 each of the Company for every 10 (ten) equity shares of Rs. 5 each of erstwhile Ranbaxy held. After allotment, the total number of issued and paid up equity shares of the Company has aggregated to 2,406,120,674 of Re. 1 each.

Hester Biosciences has continued its winning run into the tenth straight trading session.The stock has hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 681.In the process, the stock has surged by nearly 63 percent in the last ten trading sessions.

Firstsource Solutions Ltd stock closed 4% higher at Rs 34 after report said that the company is looking at Organic & Inorganic growth.

Monday, 13 April 2015

BHEL jumps 2.5% on commissioning of thermal unit

The unit was commissioned at Dainik Bhaskar Power's upcoming 2x600MW thermal power project located at Dhabra in Jangir 

Bhel
Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has surged 2.7 percent to a high of Rs. 241 on the BSE on the back of commissioning 600MW thermal unit in Chhattisgarh.

According to a release issued by the company to the BSE, the unit was commissioned at  Dainik Bhaskar Power's upcoming 2x600MW thermal power project located at Dhabra in Jangir Champa District of Chhattisgarh.

The stock is now up 2.5 percent at Rs. 241. Around 165,000 shares are traded on the BSE counter, when compared with two-week daily average volume of 613,000 shares.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has jumped 140 points at 29,019. 

SEBI reviews securitisation trustee norms

SEBI has proposed that trustees would have the power to inspect books of account, records and the trust property. 

The SEBI on Thursday released a discussion paper on SEBI (Public Offer And Listing Of Securitised Debt Instruments) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015. These Regulations shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

In the paper, SEBI has highlighted the role and responsibilities of trustees of SDI (securitised debt instruments). An applicant seeking registration to act as a trustee shall have a networth of not less than Rs. 2 crore. The duty of calling for periodic reports from sellers and ensuring the investors of SDI have been allotted debt would lie with the trustee of SDI.

A trustee shall supervise the implementation of the covenants regarding creation of security for the securitised debt instruments; do such acts as are necessary in the event the security becomes enforceable and supervise the enforcement of the security in the interest of the investors.

In the discussion paper, SEBI has proposed that trustees would have the power to inspect books of account, records and the trust property to the extent necessary for discharging its obligations.

SEBI has also said that securitisation trustee shall not be party to any manipulative practices and creating of false market. The regulator has invited comments from the market till August 28 

Info Edge invests Rs 155 crore in Zomato

Upon completion of the allotment of shares, Info Edge's aggregate investment in Zomato will be about Rs 484 crore. 

Info Edge (India), through its wholly owned subsidiary, has invested an amount of Rs 1.55 bn (Rs 155 crore) in Zomato, being Info Edge's proportionate share of Zomato's recent fund raise of USD 50 million.

Upon completion of the allotment of shares, Info Edge's aggregate investment in Zomato will be about Rs 484 crore. 

Info Edge, along with its wholly-owned subsidiary will continue to hold, on a fully converted and diluted basis, 50.1 per cent of Zomato.

HDFC Bank is set to introduce 'iWatch' banking

The Bank's mobile banking app will be available on the Apple Watch, which will be launched in India later this month 

HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank is all set to introduce “watch banking” or “i-watch”, according to a media report.

The Bank's mobile banking application (app) will be available on the Apple Watch, which will be launched in India later this month, the report added.

HDFC Bank’s mobile banking app has about 75 features. The Bank will offer around 10 features commonly available on the mobile banking app.

Among the common features include balance enquiry, re-charge of pre-paid mobile phones, cheque book request and account statement, as well as paying utility bills.

Sun Pharma Board approves allotment Of 33.49 Cr equity Shares to Ranbaxy Shareholders

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced that the Allotment Committee of the Board of Directors has approved the following at their meeting held on April 10, 2015 pursuant to merger of erstwhile Ranbaxy into the Company 

Sun Pharma
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced that the Allotment Committee of the Board of Directors has approved the following at their meeting held on April 10, 2015 pursuant to merger of erstwhile Ranbaxy into the Company:

Allotment of 334,956,764 (Thirty Three Crore Forty Nine Lakh Fifty Six Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Four) equity shares of Re. 1 each to the shareholders of erstwhile Ranbaxy in the ratio of 8 (eight) equity shares of Re. 1 each of the Company for every 10 (ten) equity shares of Rs. 5 each of erstwhile Ranbaxy held. After allotment, the total number of issued and paid up equity shares of the Company has aggregated to 2,406,120,674 of Re. 1 each.

Allotment of 5,000 Secured Rated Redeemable 9.20% Non-Convertible Debentures of the Face Value of Rs. 10,00,000/- each to the NCD holders of erstwhile Ranbaxy in the ratio of 1 (One) NCD of Rs. 10 lac each of the Company for every 1 (One) NCD of Rs.10 lac each held in erstwhile Ranbaxy. After allotment the total number of NCDs of the Company is 5,000 Secured Rated Redeemable 9.20% Non-Convertible Debentures of the Face Value of Rs. 10,00,000/- each


Indices to open flat

Investors will want to pay more attention to stock-specifics rather than take an overall view on the market. 

Bombay-Stock-Exchange-Building
Welcome to a truncated week which promises some amount of swing. While many stocks have hit headlines with new highs, there are some 166 stocks in the BSE 500 trading below their January 2008 highs, a report stated.  The IIP data which came in after market showed that industrial production had moved higher to 5%. CPI and WPI inflation data are expected today and tomorrow.
The outlook is a tentative start as investors will want to pay more attention to stock-specifics rather than take an overall view on the market. Global cues are mixed. US indices were mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 is down while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is trading higher. China's Shanghai index is also up almost a percent.

ACC, TCS, RIL and IndusInd Bank are some of the major companies announcing quarterly numbers this week. We expect Banking sector performance in Q4 FY15 to be a mixed bag with most private banks continuing to report strong growth and earnings while PSU banks reporting another soft quarter market by sustained pressure on margin and asset quality.

Under attack over Land Ordinance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government was instituting a "rational framework" for acquisition of land without causing distress to farmers and other landowners.
Government agencies are reportedly lining up nearly Rs 40,000 crores of bonds in the next few months, but the yields may be lower by as much as a one-and-a-half percentage points, thanks to falling interest rates and rising investor appetite for such bonds. Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), may obtain the highest allocation of about Rs 15,000-17,000 crore to issue such securities aimed at tapping retail money to meet the country's infrastructure needs, a report stated.

Infosys plans to put in place a new incentive structure to reward its sales superstars in a bid to retain key personnel amid a scramble to win large outsourcing deals and regain industry-level growth rates, a report stated.
Maruti Suzuki aims to again outpace the local market in the new financial year with double-digit sales growth. The local unit of Japan's Suzuki Motor, which sells one in every two cars in the country, has internally set a target of growing 10-11% by selling 1.29 million to 1.30 million vehicles in the local market in the year that began on April 1, people with knowledge of the plan said. It aims to manufacture 1.39 million to 1.44 million units, including for exports, says a report.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan signalled the country may be on course to have full convertibility of the currency without mentioning a time frame, according to reports.

India's foreign exchange reserves surged for the third consecutive week. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $ 343 billion for the week ending April 3, 
Apollo Global Management LLC sold part its stake in Dish TV, Asia's largest direct-to-home service operator. A report said that Apollo sold 3% of its stake or 32 million shares at an average price of Rs 82.05 for Rs 263 crore.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on India-based Tata Steel Limited (TSL) at 'BB+'. The agency has also affirmed the 'B+' Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR on TSL's wholly owned subsidiary Tata Steel UK Holdings Limited (TSUKH). The Outlooks are Stable. 

HDFC Ltd has got RBI clearance to raise up to $ 500 mn (about Rs 3,100 crore) as External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) to fund its business growth. 
HDFC Ltd also announced a reduction in its Retail Prime Lending Rate (RPLR) by 20 basis points, with effect from April 13, 2015. This reduction would benefit all customers. The company has received an approval from RBI to raise external commercial borrowing (ECB) of up to USD 500 million. The said approval is valid for a period of 6 months. 

Minister of State (I/C) Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan visited Mozambique on April 9-10, 2015. Besides meeting his counterpart the Minister of Mineral Resources & Energy, Pedro Couto, he also met Foreign Minister Mr Baloi and called on Prime Minister Agostino Rosario. Three Indian PSUs (ONGC Videsh, Oil India Ltd & Bharat Petroleum) have already invested in a gas block, Rovuma Area 1 in offshore Mozambique. This is one of the largest investment of India in any single hydrocarbon asset abroad.

NITI completes 100 days on 11th April, 2015. The last three months have been tremendous for the institution: from its inception as a ‘Think Tank’ of the Government – a directional and policy dynamo to taking steps in liaising with States while fostering the spirit of cooperative federalism.