MTNL touches the roof on plan of inking pact with BSNL for offering pan-India mobile services

The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.25% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 22.67% and 16.61% respectively. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), the state owned telecom firm which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, is likely to sign a pact with another state-run unlisted telecom services provider BSNL to utilise each others network for providing pan-India mobile services.

As per the agreement, the company would use the network of BSNL only for national roaming service for its subscribers except in Delhi and Mumbai, while BSNL will only use MTNL network for roaming services to its customers in Delhi and Mumbai. 

MTNL was set up by the Government of India to upgrade the quality of telecom services, expand the telecom network, and introduce new services and to raise revenue for telecom development needs of India's key metros -- Delhi and Mumbai.

Unitech gains on signing Rs 800-crore leasing deal with Aon Hewitt

Unitech has inked Rs 800-crore leasing deal with MNC human resource firm Aon Hewitt in order to lease space at one of its IT SEZs in Gurgaon. The HR firm has leased over eight lakh square feet of space at Unitech’s Gurgaon Infospace Tikri SEZ for a period of over 15 years.

The 25-acre Infospace Tikri SEZ is located next to a 150-acre residential township being developed by Unitech (Uniworld resorts) about half a km from NH8 and in close proximity to Sohna Road. The total leasable area on completion of this SEZ project is 3.32 million square feet.

Unitech, being one of the leading real estate companies, has several business segments relating to residential, commercial, Information Technology (IT) parks, retail, amusement parks, etc, with over four decades of achievement and continues to be a prominent player with high degree of quality and affordable real estate in the Indian market space.

Crude oil prices down in Asian trade

Oil prices fell further in Asian trade today on easing concerns about supplies from West Asia, but upbeat economic data from Europe and China capped the losses, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November was down 19 cents at $103.40 in mid-morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for November eased 13 cents to $108.03.

WTI dipped $1.16 in New York yesterday, while Brent fell $1.06 in London trade.

“Oil prices edged lower... due to higher output of crude from Iraq and a potential improvement in US-Iran relations, easing supply concerns,” Teoh Say Hwa, head of investment at Phillip Futures in Singapore, said in a note.

Production in Iraq

Officials from Iraq, the second largest producer in oil cartel OPEC, were yesterday quoted as saying that the country has restored normal output after completing repair work on a pipeline leak.

The European Union had yesterday announced that Iran’s foreign minister would meet major powers this week on Tehran’s nuclear programme in what could be a historic top-level contact with the United States.

Tehran's nuclear programme

Sanctions imposed on Iran by Western powers for its alleged efforts to build a nuclear bomb have caused its oil exports to fall by more than half, to below one million barrels per day. Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Teoh said the dip in oil prices were capped by positive manufacturing data from the Euro Zone and China.

China PMI

HSBC had yesterday said that its preliminary purchasing managers’ index of Chinese manufacturing in September hit a six-month high of 51.2, while a PMI of business activity in the 17-nation Euro Zone hit a 27-month high of 52.1.

A reading above 50 indicates growth, while anything below signals contraction.

Dabur India launches Oral Health web portal

Dabur, India's largest Natural Oral Care products maker has launched a first-of-its-kind standalone oral health portal. The portal will be a one-stop shop for all the oral hygiene needs, right from providing natural solutions for a variety of dental problems like toothaches, cavities, bad breath, Gingivitis etc, to providing information about natural kitchen ingredients for dental care.

The blogs from leading dentists will address specific issues and offer information that’s much sought after by and are highly useful for people across age groups. The first blog on the portal, for instance, speaks about the importance of baby teeth and proper dental care tips.

Dabur India is one of the largest FMCG Company in India. Building on a legacy of quality and experience of over 125 years, Dabur operates in key consumer products categories like Hair Care, Oral Care, Health Care, Skin Care, Home Care & Foods.

Lupin surges on inking Strategic Agreement with US based Onset Dermatologics, LLC

Pharmaceutical Major, Lupin's US subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has signed a strategic co-promotion agreement with US based Onset Dermatologics, LLC (Onset) that grants Lupin exclusive rights to promote Onset's Locoid Lotion (hydrocortisone butyrate 0.1%) to Pediatricians in the US. Locoid is the most highly prescribed mid-potency steroid brand in the U.S.

Locoid Lotion is a corticosteroid indicated for the topical treatment of mild to moderate Atopic Dermatitis in patients 3 months of age and older. Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common skin disorders in young children and has a prevalence of 10% to 20% in the first decade of life.

The addition of Locoid Lotion will enable Lupin to strengthen its US Brand business and expand its product portfolio for the US Pediatrics segment. Lupin's current pediatric portfolio consists of Suprax and Alinia for Oral Suspension and such the Company is well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity. Onset has had minimal promotion of Locoid Lotion to pediatricians. Lupin's 160+ strong specialty sales force will promote Locoid Lotion with Onset providing strategic marketing support thus creating an opportunity for incremental revenues with minimal additional sales or marketing expenses.

Indian Bank employees to participate in one day strike

Indian Bank will be participating in one day strike call given by All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) to be held on September 25, 2013. AIBEA and BEFI have given a call for observance of one day nationwide strike in banks in support of their demands.

If the strike materializes, a section of the bank’s employees may take part in the proposed strike on the said date, in which case, the normal functioning of the branches / offices of the bank may get affected.

Government keeps the borrowing estimates of second half in limit

The government, standing firm on its fiscal commitment and sending a strong signal that it is determined to meet the fiscal deficit target for the full year, has said that it will not borrow more than Rs 2.35 lakh crore in the second half of the current fiscal, as originally planned in the budget. The borrowings were Rs 3.44 lakh crore in the first six months of the current fiscal, keeping the government’s gross borrowing programme for 2013-14 intact at Rs.5.79 lakh crore.

The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the government, has issued an indicative calendar for issuance of Government dated securities (G-Secs) for the second half of the fiscal year 2013-14 totalling Rs 2,35,000 crore. The H2 FY14 borrowing programme will close in the first week of February. While 45 percent G-Sec to be sold will be of 10-14 years tenor, 25 percent will be of 5-9 years tenor, and 20 percent will be of 15-19 years tenor. Month of November will see the maximum auction of securities worth Rs 60,000 crore, followed by December, January and October.

Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said any shortfall in revenues will be met by cutting non-essential expenditure and further said that “We are going to finance oil subsidies through budgetary resources.”

The government’s commitment to keep the borrowing in the limit has came as a respite amid concern of fiscal slippage with subsidy bill rising because of the depreciation in the value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar and rise in global crude prices.

BSE Sensex, Nifty flat; Jindal Steel,SBI major losers

Indian rupee fell 19 paise in early trade Tuesday to 62.79 per dollar as against previous day's closing of 62.60 per dollar. The market has opened a flat note after the aggressive selling in the last two sessions. The Sensex is down 33.46 points or 0.17 percent at 19867.50, and the Nifty down 10.70 points or 0.18 percent at 5879.05.


The market has opened a flat note after the aggressive selling in the last two sessions. The Sensex is down 33.46 points or 0.17 percent at 19867.50, and the Nifty down 10.70 points or 0.18 percent at 5879.05. About 291 shares have advanced, 238 shares declined, and 40 shares are unchanged. Indian rupee fell 19 paise in early trade Tuesday to 62.79 per dollar as against previous day's closing of 62.60 per dollar.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank says that the rupee has been trading in a very narrow range with a weakish bias. "Profit booking in equity markets, clubbed with demand from importers has put mild pressure on the currency," he adds. According to Raina, the rupee is expected to trade in a range of 60-64/USD for the week. "The range for the day is seen between 62.50-63.30/USD." Asian markets fell after steep losses on Wall Street overnight. Nikkei saw cuts of almost a percent, which resumed trade after holiday extended weekend. In commodities, oil prices dropped by more than 1 dollar per barrel while gold edged higher following three days of losses.

IDBI Bank on bad loan recovery drive

IDBI Bank wants its managers — at the zonal, regional and branch levels — to focus their energies on making recoveries from the top 20 bad loan accounts in their jurisdiction.

What this means is that the bank does not want its officials to spread themselves too thin by seeking to make recovery from all bad loan accounts at the same time.

To clean up its books, the public sector bank has launched a special ‘Own Your NPA’ (non-performing asset) campaign so that officials give it all they’ve got for faster resolution of bad debts.

According to IDBI Bank Chairman and Managing Director M.S. Raghavan, as part of the campaign, each zonal, regional and branch manager will personally go and meet the customers.

“Hitherto, the focus (recovery) was missing. So, now the focus has returned. It is not 200 accounts but the top 20 (bad loan) accounts that are getting attacked time and again,” he said.

The total number of cases identified under the campaign, which was launched on August 1 and runs up to December 31, is 1522, involving an aggregate principal outstanding of Rs 5,805 crore.

Through the campaign, the bank is trying to settle some 73 per cent of its total NPAs of Rs 7,959 crore as on June-end 2013.

Raghavan said the managers have been told that their achievements on the recovery front under the campaign will be an important factor in their overall performance appraisal.

“We said that ideally these accounts should be closed. However, we all know this is not possible. In any case, there should be substantial progress on the recovery front,” said the IDBI Bank chief.

Year-on-year, IDBI Bank has seen a 45 per cent increase in NPAs, from Rs 5,496 crore as at June-end 2012 to Rs 7,959 crore as at June-end 2013.

Raghavan observed that in any bank’s loan portfolio, about 1 per cent is the normal stress that is built up due to various reasons, including business failure.

But what is more important is the stress arising from external factors, such as slowdown in the economy.

So, the stress from external factors is one major factor that has affected the asset quality of all major banks. This will get minimised only if the economy makes a turnaround.

Pre-Market: Shares seen opening lower, Asia muted

At 08:30AM , the indicator, SGX Nifty was down 40 points at 5,888.

Markets are likely to see a soft start on account of weak global cues on fears that the Fed could still begin scaling back its stimulus later this year. At  08:30AM , the indicator, SGX Nifty was down 40 points at 5,888.

Overnight, U.S. stocks declined for a third straight session. William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in a speech the timeline that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke articulated in June for scaling back the central bank's stimulus measures is "still very much intact," as long as the economy keeps improving.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.32 percent, at 15,401. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.47 percent, at 1,702. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.25 percent, at 3,765.

Asian share markets got off to a soggy start while currencies dithered in recent ranges as a dearth of major economic news left investors to chew on the outlook for monetary policy in the United states and Europe.

Taking its cue from a softer Wall Street, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.4 percent. Returning from holiday, Tokyo's Nikkei dipped 0.3 percent in very light volumes.

Stocks to Watch

Indian Overseas Bank is likely too see some moves as the Public sector bank has requested the Ministry of Finance to infuse a capital fund to the extent of Rs 2,100 crore to the bank to meet tier I capital requirement under Basel III norms, for the fiscal year.

MTNL may add on some gains on reports that BSNL and MTNL are likely to sign a pact tomorrow that would allow the state-run companies to utilise each others network for providing pan-India mobile services.

Fortis Healthcare will be in limelight as the firm will fully redeem privately placed debt securities of the company totalling Rs 150 crore on the redemption date today.

SBI may remain under pressure after Moody’s downgraded its rating for SBI's senior unsecured debt and local currency deposit from Baa2 to Baa3 due to  increasing pressures on credit from the economic slowdown.