Business News

Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's expression of confidence on Monday in the US "capacity to bounce back" from economic turmoil, latest data suggests it is no longer India's top export destination, yielding the position to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008-09.

Moody's outlook for the Indian banking system remains negative, having been changed from stable in January 2009, reflecting the challenging economic conditions and the rising level of bad loans, and the resulting adverse implications for asset quality.

State-run utilities, together with players from the private sector, in a bid to exploit the 1,50,000-mw hydro potential of the country, have unanimously demanded immediate steps to simplify land acquisition and securing of environment and forest clearances.

Funds with low cash holdings outperformed those with higher cash holdings in the long run. Also, while funds with higher cash holdings reduce losses in a falling market, they tend to miss out on a subsequent rally, according to a study by Crisil on equity funds ranked under Crisil-CPR (Crilsil-Composite Performance Rankings).

ACCOUNTS VIP invites pitch for creative account VIP Bags has called for a pitch next month for its creative duties for the brands under the VIP umbrella, including Coupe, Nuovo and Aristrocrat.

Kotak Mahindra receives $51-m credit from IFC As a first initiative of its kind in India, a World Bank entity will provide credit facility of up to $51 million to Kotak Mahindra Bank to help small & medium enterprises, hit hard by the global financial crisis, meet their export and import obligations.

In an effort to localise its vehicles and make them more price competitive, Japanese auto major Toyota is planning to set up an engine and transmission plant in India.

The overall telephone subscriber base in the country reached 525.65 million in October with the wireless subscriber base constituting the bulk at 488.40 million, according to data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Despite the "fair" porting charges for impending mobile number portability (MNP) set by Trai, experts believe that this won't be a respite for mass success of this technology in India.

Foreign players can freely enter and exit the Indian real estate market now. The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) — the nodal foreign investment policy-making body — has proposed the removal of the mandatory three-year lock-in for foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate. The department has moved a draft Cabinet note to this effect for an inter-ministerial clearance.

During October 2009, total approvals received by Indian companies to raise capital through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) have risen by 130% to $2.58 billion from $1.12 billion in October 2008 , according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on ECBs and FCCBs, released on Monday.

Edelweiss Capital and Japanese insurance major Tokio Marine Holdings (TMH) have signed an agreement to form a joint venture and launch life insurance operations.

The IT hardware market has indicated positive signs of recovery in the recent quarters. However, analysts view the market situation as "cautiously optimistic". The initial two months of the fourth quarter (October-December) have seen positive developments, driven by upbeat consumer sentiments and optimistic enterprises.

The recession-hit realty sector now has reason for cheer. The Maharashtra government, seeking to hasten the availability of housing stock under its flaghship programme of providing 10 lakh houses in five years, plans to create a land bank of 1,000 to 2,000 hectare across the state.

Reliance Industries' bid for LyondellBasell, if successful, could mark India Inc's highest buy-out that could range between $13-$15 billion (over Rs 60,000 crore), say top industry sources.

SBICAP invites bid for sale of investor stake Brokerage firm SBICAP Securities invited bids for the sale of an investor's stake in the National Stock Exchange and the Multi Commodity Exchange.

Indian companies that had bankrolled acquisitions or expansion with foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) between 2005 and 2007 are increasingly looking to ease the burden of imminent redemption, either by restructuring the bonds or via a buyback.

GE Healthcare, the healthcare wing of General Electric, unveiled its new initiatives in the Indian healthcare IT domain as part of the expansion strategy.

HCL Insurance Business Services (HCL IBS), part of HCL Technologies Ltd, on Monday said it has bagged a contract worth $200 million from Equitable Life Assurance Society (Equitable Life).

The shortage of coal in the country is expected to be worse than what was estimated previously, according to an analysis by the Planning Commission.