Business

Ess Dee to raise Rs 81 cr thru pref issue

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:29:39 -0500

Ess Dee Aluminium, aluminium foil and packaging material maker for pharma and FMCG industry, on Wednesday said that it will raise Rs 81.08 crore through issue of equity shares to Morgan Stanley on preferential basis. The board of directors at it s meeting decided to issue 14.1 lakh shares at Rs 575 per share on preferential allotment basis to Morgan Stanley, Ess Dee said in a filing to the BSE.

The aforesaid share allotment is subject to shareholders' approval which would be sought at an extra ordinary general meeting scheduled on September 3, it added.

"Such funds will facilitate its pursuit of expanding its horizons through both organic and inorganic routes thus enabling the entity to expeditiously capitalise on the growth opportunities,'' the Daman-based company said.

Earlier on July 30, the shareholders had approved the proposal to raise $150 million from overseas markets through issue of securities. "The packaging opportunities in the pharmaceutical, food and FMCG sectors are immense and the company with its inhere nt strengths, unique vertically integrated business model and end-to-end solutions providing capability, is well poised to reap the benefits,'' it added.

Shares of Ess Dee were last trading at Rs 543.90, down 0.81 per cent on the BSE. - PTI

Sical sells mfg units, assets of auto parts division

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:28:35 -0500

Port terminal cargo handling company Sical Logistics has sold manufacturing facilities and assets of its auto components division, Indrad Auto Components, for Rs 14.69 crore to Lucas TVS. With this, the total funds realised by Sical since the st art of the disinvestment process in 2006 has gone up to Rs 90.18 crore, a company press release said here on Wednesday.

The exit from the facilities of the auto components division, part of the non-logistics business of Sical, was in line with the company's strategy to move out of its non-core segments and focus on the core business of logistics. The current sale does no t include the "GATE'' business of Indrad, the release said, adding that the firm was in a 'technology transfer' agreement with GATE SRL of Italy since 1997 to source ready components used in manufacture of high wattage engine cooling modules. The facilit ies at Indrad were used for assembling and completing process technology related activities before delivering the end product to the customer. - PTI

Tata Sky to invest Rs 2,000 cr

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:27:30 -0500

With an aim to increase its foothold in the ever growing DTH market, Tata Sky will invest Rs 2,000 crore in the coming years in its infrastructure and expects a seven-fold increase in its subscriber base at 8 million by 2012. The company, whi ch reached a subscriber base of one million in its first year of launch, also plans to introduce new value added services which includes features in interactive TV and launch of Personal Video Recorder (PVR), which enable users to pause live TV. "We hav e already invested Rs 1,000 crore and plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore more in the medium term to meet the requirements,'' Tata Sky Managing Director Vikram Kaushik told reporters here.

Tata Sky, which currently has 125 channels on its platform, is also looking to add more channels with a focus on regional content. "We have enough transponder space... the number of channels can go up to 200. We want to bring more regional content on ou r platform,'' he said. The company will very soon come out with a service, which will enable customers to recharge their connections through SMS. It already has launched the facility of recharging through Internet and has between 15,000 to 20,000 outlet s across the country for selling such coupons.

Tata Sky has set up a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure including an uplink centre in Gurgaon and three call centres in Hyderabad, Mohali and Pune. DishTV and DD Direct are other two operational DTH service providers in the country. Reliance and S un TV plans to launch their DTH operations this year while Bharti is expected to come out with it next year. - PTI

Allergan opens pharma R&D company in India

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:26:16 -0500

US-based Allergan Inc on Wednesday launched a pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) firm here. Part of the Allergan's worldwide R&D operations, the Allergan Pharmaceutical Development Centre India would focus on implementing global ph armaceutical research and development projects that Allergan conducts in the country.

The centre here would initially have 15 clinical research and data management personnel which is expected to double within two years, Allergan Worldwide Executive Vice President (R&D) Scott M Whitcup said at a press meet here. He estimated the company's investment for this India initiative at 3-5 million in the next couple of years.

"R&D activities at the centre will initially focus on therapies in areas such as inflammatory and infective conditions of the eye, movement disorders and urological indications,'' Whitcup said. The opening of the centre would allow close scientific coll aboration with leading researchers and medical professionals in India, he added.

"Our goal is to develop new and innovative treatments that will benefit patients in India and the rest of the world,'' Mr Whitcup said. The centre here is the third largest outside of the US for New York Stock Exchange-listed Allergan, which clocked $3. 01 billion sale for calendar year 2006, after Sydney and London, he added

Allergan India Pvt Ltd, another arm of the company, also located here, would continue to manage the commercial side of Allergan's business in India. - PTI

SBI eyes more fee income from credit card purchases

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:25:14 -0500

State Bank of India wants to use its vast branch network to get a little more of the fee income from credit card purchases. It plans to acquire one million Point of Sale (POS) terminals — machines used to swipe credit cards — over the next three years and put them up at shops.Mr O.P. Bhatt, Chairman and Managing Director, State Bank of India, said that the bank’s strong presence in various cities would act as a benefit in this venture. “It will act as a source of income for the bank. However, the customer would not be charged for the same.”

Some of these POS terminals are owned by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HSBC and Citibank. These banks pay the merchantsthe value of purchases made by cardholders. Banks that give cash to the merchants are in effect doing it on behalf of the bank that has issued the credit card in the first place. Hence they get to keep a small portion of the cash discount that the merchant establishment offers on the value of the purchase.

There are approximately 3.7 lakh such terminals, mostly in cities. Considering the vast retail trade network in the country, SBI reckons that there is immense scope for installation of more such terminals. It plans to tap the boom in retail trade by setting up POS in towns where it has a stronger presence.

The POS will enable the bank to have access to more customers and will also act as a source of income for the bank. The bank is in talks with several vendors to finalise the plan by the end of this year.
Gold card launch

Mr Bhatt was speaking at the sidelines of the launch of SBI Gold International Debit Card in association with Visa International. SBI has launched the Gold Card, which is first in the series the bank plans to launch with Visa.

The bank also plans to increase the number of ATMs by nearly three times. It has about 7,200 ATMs at present and is planning to set up 25,000 more within three years.

Carlos Slim world's richest man: Fortune

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:09:35 -0500

Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim has overtaken Microsoft founder Bill Gates as the world's wealthiest man with riches of USD 59 billion, Fortune magazine said on Monday.

Fortune, which tracks the performance of the world's top companies, said Slim has increased his net worth by USD 12 billion so far this year based on the market value of his companies listed on stock exchanges.

In an online profile of Slim, 67, Fortune said he had a fortune of USD 59 billion based on the value of his public holdings at the end of July.

Gates, the Microsoft founder and perennial No. 1, had a net worth estimated to be at least USD 58 billion," the magazine said.

Slim, the son of a Lebanese immigrant, owns Latin America's largest cell phone company America Movil.

Fortune said Slim's companies, ranging from a restaurant chain to a bank, made up a third of the Mexican stock market and his family's holdings represented more than 5 percent of Mexico's gross domestic product last year.

In July, a respected Mexican financial journalist announced that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man but the magnate said he did not care.

"It's water off a duck's back to me," the cigar-smoking Slim told foreign correspondents last week. "I don't know if I'm No. 1, No. 20, or No. 2,000. It doesn't matter."

Gates and billionaire US investor Warren Buffett, who was the second-richest person in the world until Slim overtook him this year, have been giving more of their money to charity in recent years.

Slim also backs philanthropic causes and last week announced a USD 300 million plan to build 100 schools in Mexico, but says he does more good by creating wealth and jobs through his own companies.

Wipro to open two BPO centres in China

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:08:14 -0500

Wipro is setting up two BPO centres in China by next month with a combined employee pool of 300, while another unit in the US will be opened later.

"We would be starting by next month...it will be up (in China)," Wipro Chief Executive Officer (BPO) T K Kurien said.

The two centres are coming up in Shanghai and Chengdu, he said.

The two centres in China would provide financial services and finance and accounting works, Kurien said.

"Our ambition is to grow to 10-15 customers in China," he said. "All our current customers will go there".

Wipro BPO's Chinese foray is the second such initiative after Romania, where it has already set up a unit.

Wipro BPO also plans to open a centre in the US in the next six to nine months, he said.

"We have identified the place. I can't talk about it right now," Kurien said. "It (the proposed US centre) will basically do processing. All our customers are demanding round-the-clock processing."

Wipro BPO is also weighing the option of starting a centre in Brazil, where the Bangalore-headquartered, New York Stock Exchange-listed company already has an IT centre. "We will try to integrate this (BPO centre in Brazil along with the IT centre). That's an option."

For the June quarter, Wipro BPO reported a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue at Rs 251.5 crore.

Stock market on roller-coaster ride; Sensex gains 30 pts

ArtKerala — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:06:55 -0500

The stock market had a roller-coaster ride with the benchmark BSE Sensex surging by 240 points in intra-day trading but ending with a gain of just 29 points.

The Sensex, which had been under bear-hammering for the last one week, turned volatile before closing with a small gain of 29.74 points at 14,932.77. Earlier in the day, it touched a high of 15,142.04 and a low of 14,901.83 points.

In similar fashion, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed higher by 16.85 points at 4,356.35. It touched the day's high of 4,406.40 and a low of 4,341.50 points.

The recovery was on the back of a surge in capital goods, public sector undertaking, realty and oil and gas stocks.

Brokers said the domestic market rebounded after global markets recovered from their lowest levels in a month on speculation the US government will take steps to check mortgage losses that led to a crash in global equities.

"This is a pull back in select segment stocks after the recent decline," Rajiv Malik, a Mumbai-based broker, said and added, "the US housing problem is still a worry and until that is sorted out, markets will remain volatile".

Interested In Paid Surveys On The Internet?

ArtKerala — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:22:49 -0500

They are easy to find. Type "paid surveys" into Google and you'll get back 7,810,000 results (as of Aug 2, 2007). With a list like that it shouldn't be too hard to find paid surveys on the internet, but there's a catch.

As you start to look through the results you'll find a common theme. The sites are NOT the actual survey sites, but rather sites that promise "$150 an hour taking surveys" or "get rich taking surveys". Some want your email address to register and get access to their list of paid surveys on the internet and others expect you to pay your hard earned money for "membership" to their site. Other sites may even claim that getting paid for internet surveys is a total scam. So what should you do and who can you believe?

Is it really worth it to try getting paid for internet surveys or should you stay away?

First, you need to understand that these websites with lists are not the ones that will be paying you to do internet surveys. The surveys and payments come from market research companies, many of which started off line, but have moved to online surveys to be able to reach a larger audience. These market research companies have been paying people for their opinions for years, sometimes decades. They have found that the internet is an efficient and cost effective way for them to reach the largest number of people to get data for companies who pay them for their research. These market research companies are, for the most part, completely legitimate. Their research is used by companies to improve existing products and services or to determine the best way to introduce new products and services.

The thing is that there have been many sites, some good and some really bad, that are trying to cash in as well on the popularity of paid surveys on the internet. The information itself is not bad, but some sites require you to pay them for membership to their sites and access to their "special" list of paying surveys. Honestly, there is no reason to ever pay someone for a list of paying internet survey companies. This information is freely available and anyone who wants you to pay them for the information is simply stealing your money. The ones who offer free access, but require your email address to register are not quite as bad, at least they are giving away the information, but it still comes at a price. If you give up your email address to register at one of these sites don't be surprised if the amount of spam you receive increases dramatically. They only want your email address to resell or to use it to market to you themselves.

So, you've managed to avoid the scams and you've found the legitimate paid surveys on the internet and now you still want to know if it's worth it trying to get paid for internet surveys. That totally depends on what you expect. If you're looking to get rich and retire then keep looking. You won't be able to retire with what you make taking internet paid surveys, however you can make several hundred dollars a month and improve your lifestyle.The key to making paid surveys actually pay is twofold.First, sign up with as many paid survey companies as possible. Since the survey companies are looking for a certain demographic for each survey you won't always qualify. By signing up with more survey companies you'll get more survey opportunities. Second, make sure to respond to all of the surveys you get. The survey companies will track your response rate and guess what?Those who are more reliable responders will get the better surveys. Makes sense doesn't it?

Each survey typically takes 15-20 minutes and pay ranges anywhere from $1.00 to $50.00 per survey. You can take 3-4surveys a day in just 1 hour and at an average pay of $5.00a survey you'll make $150 in a months time. Of course your earnings will vary from month to month depending on what surveys you get, how fast you're able to complete the surveys and how much time you devote to taking surveys. In any case you should be making around $15 an hour which isn't bad for a part time job you can do at your leisure from home.

Indians welcome hallmarked jewellery - trade jittery

ArtKerala — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:02:05 -0500

India's gold industry is fretting about its ability to meet a deadline for compulsory hallmarking or certifying the caratage of jewellery, while consumers have embraced the government-initiated plan.

A fifth of the world's gold output is consumed in India. Jewellery accounts for 80 percent of Indian sales, much of it handmade and fashioned in small workshops, often using mouth blowpipes and candle or oil flames.

Government officials say traditional handcrafted pieces, with their many joints and alloys used for soldering, leave room for dubious claims on caratage.

Gold jewellery can now be certified for purity at government centres, and a seven-year old hallmarking scheme will become mandatory from January 2008 -- but the industry says there are not enough assessors yet for the programme to work.

"It is like defining a speed limit, before even setting up the highway," said Ashok Minawalla, chairman of All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.

"The trade is spread across the remotest parts."

A government survey in 16 cities last year found that out of 162 samples, 147 -- more than 90 percent -- fell short in purity terms by between 13.4 percent to 44.7 percent.

That meant a customer who bought gold jewellery labelled 22 carats could find it was only 18 carats when trying to sell or exchange it.

There are 55 hallmarking centres authorised by the state-run Bureau of Indian Standards. Traders say that this will not be enough to cope with needs of 300,000 jewellers spread across cities, towns and villages, who have sales of 700 billion rupees annually.

A senior official in the Bureau of Indian Standards said 40 to 50 firms had shown interest in setting up hallmarking centres.

While the industry has its doubts, top jewellers say that the trend for wanting hallmarking certification has increased.

"Hallmarking has caught up quite nicely in Chennai," said Ranjit Rathod, owner of a jewellery unit, who estimated that nearly half of his sales are hallmarked jewellery.

Shrikant Zaveri, chairman of Tribhovandas Zaveri, one of India's most respected gold jewellery houses, said that a majority of customers in his shops ask for certification.

"Out of every 10 customers, six or seven people ask for it," he said.

Jewellers say that even small shops are opting for it, though the move has not made much headway in villages and small towns.

Minawalla, who noted that Mumbai has 10,000 jewellers, said that the scheme could work if it was first introduced in cities, and then moved to villages in phases.

"The confidence is not there in the trade that the government will be able to provide the kind of hallmarking they are looking for," he said.