Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Jitin Prasada, said that IOC has “regretted its participation” as equity partner in the proposed Barmer refinery due to financial constraints. (BL)

The European Investment Bank had agreed to a £340mn loan to the Jaguar and Land Rover brands of Tata Motors. (BS)

Daimler sold its 5.34% stake in Tata Motors for nearly €300mn (Rs18.6bn). (ET)

A group of British Members of Parliament launched a scathing attack on the mothballing of Corus’s Teeside Cast Products plant in northern England. (BL)

NMDC is expected to increase its production to 50mt by 2013-2014 from the present 30mt and also plans to introduce a new pricing mechanism from April 1. (BS)

Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro, announced that it has signed a Microsoft business productivity online suite “dedicated advisor” agreement with Microsoft Corp. (FE)

Wipro Infotech, the India and West Asian IT business of Wipro, won a turnkey project from the Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) of the Union Ministry of Finance to implement the FINnet project. (BS)

Hindustan Unilever has appealed against the Calcutta High Court’s interim injunction, which restrained it from airing a particular commercial for its washing soap/powder, Rin. (BS)

FMCG major Marico plans to launch its beauty and wellness chain, Kaya in the Middle East by opening 4-5 clinics in the region in FY11. (ET)

The Steel Ministry said it will send the 20% share sale proposal of SAIL to the Cabinet this week. (ET)

IDBI Bank hoped to raise US$250-300mn through a medium-term note program, but would wait until market conditions were more favorable. (BS)

Indian Hotels is mulling the possibility of completely doing away with its Residency brand luxury hotels and gears up for a stronger push of its Vivanta brand. (BL)

The QIP issue of India Cements, launched late on Monday, is said to have a received good response from institutional investors to raise US$75mn. (ET)

Tata Teleservices has acquired 75,000 sq ft built up space for Rs280mn in the newly built IT building named ‘Prince Infocity II’ near Chennai. (ET)

Binani Cement plans to venture into commercial real estate development in order to cash in on its idle land bank and to reduce dependence on the cyclical nature of the cement business. (ET)

Patel Engineering has received coal linkage for its proposed 1,050MW thermal project at Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. (BL)

Aditya Birla Minacs part of the Aditya Birla Group, has acquired the UK-based firm Compass BPO for an undisclosed sum. (ET)

Bosch Ltd declared a lock-out at its Naganathpura production plant near Bangalore, after workers resorted to a flash strike and assaulted an officer over wage revision. (FE)

Even as reports of Bt cotton 1 developing resistance to pink bollworm create concern in the farming community, Monsanto has begun work on two new technologies Bollgard III, the third generation Bt cotton technology, and Roundup Ready Flex, a technology that gives herbicide tolerance to the plant. (BL)

Garware Offshore Services bagged a contract worth Rs225mn from ONGC. (FE)

CCCL Infrastructure Ltd, part of the Chennai-based Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltd, plans to raise Rs15-20bn through private equity. (BS)

Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, India’s second-largest coal producer, and also a state sector undertaking, plans to foray into power generation by setting up 1,200MW thermal power plant in Adilabad for an investment of Rs56bn. (BS)

The Railways carried over 800mt of freight, an increase of 6.95%, in the ongoing financial year to February. (ET)

The government plans to carry out bulk of its targeted borrowing for fiscal 2010-11 in the first six months, the country’s top policy adviser has said. (ET)

The RBI plans to amend its rules to pre-empt NBFCs from misusing the liberal rules governing limited liability partnership firms. (BS)

India and Russia are expected to sign four agreements in the fields of business and economy and one of the pacts includes fertilizers. (FE)

After de-controlling the prices of fertilizers containing phosphorous and potash from April 1 this year, the government is planning to encourage their free imports. (FE).

According to leading developers in the housing segment, home buyers are set to face higher prices due to the imposition of service tax as well as an increase in cost of various inputs like cement. (BS)

The Central Board of Excise and Customs has recommended to the Director General of Foreign Trade that the norms for issuing export/import licenses be more stringent. (BS)

The Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission’s plan for the deployment of 20,000MW of solar power by 2022 needs an investment of Rs3trn, based on a capex of Rs150mn/MW. (BS)

The government will provide Rs95bn for recapitalisation of public sector banks in the first quarter next year, while about Rs70bn will be infused during the rest of the financial year 2010-11. (BS)

Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh may cross 4.5mt during the ongoing 2010-11 season as cane yields surpass expectations. (BL)

• Ahluwalia in talks for Rs.100 cr acquisition: Ahluwalia Contracts India is in acquisition talks for specialised construction firms, with a war-chest of up to Rs.100 crore, and hopes to sew up the deal by June. The firm sees a 25-30 per cent organic growth for next five years and acquisitions of up to Rs.100 crore could be funded from its internal resources. The company could also look for opportunities if a bigger firm suits its criteria. Ahluwalia Contracts is expecting new government orders of around Rs.500-600 crore for construction of specialised buildings like hospitals, hotels and education institutions by the end of March 2010. At present, the firm has government projects worth Rs.700-800 crore. As on Jan 31, the diversified construction firm’s pending order book was at Rs.3300 crore, while it had submitted bids for 150 crore rupees that are yet to be finalised. The cash-rich company is not looking to raise funds for now. It is also planning to foray into construction of power projects and is in discussion for pre-qualification with a number of players.

• Govt seeks to cut stake in SBI to 51%: The government sought parliamentary approval to cut its stake in top lender State Bank of India to 51 per cent from 55 per cent, seeking to raise $1.2 billion (Rs.5000 crore) at current market prices from the key reform move. The government had earlier said it would move to cut its holdings in staterun banks while retaining majority control, but has faced political and union opposition.

• Nagarjuna Construction bags Rs.1221 cr contract: Nagarjuna Construction Company secured new contracts aggregating to Rs.1221 crore. The first order is of two contracts valued at Rs.647 crore from Hyderabad Growth Corridor. In addition, it has secured three contracts worth Rs.358 crore from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution. The first is from NTPC worth Rs.99 crore, another from IOC worth Rs.63 crore and the last from the Director of National Institute of Technology worth Rs.54 crore.

• Reliance MediaWorks ups open offer for Fame: Reliance MediaWorks raised its open offer for cinema chain Fame India by 100,000 shares to meet a regulatory requirement. Reliance MediaWorks had in February made a competitive bid for a majority stake in Fame at Rs.83.40 a share, 63.5 per cent higher than an offer by Inox Leisure for 20 per cent equity at Rs 51 a share. Inox already holds 50.48 per cent in Fame. The company will make an open offer for 21.7 million shares, not 21.6 million shares that it had announced earlier. Reliance MediaWorks increased its offer size after it reported that it held about 100,000 shares less than what it had said in its previous public offer announcement on February 21.

• Suzuki raises Maruti stake,fuels talk of full control: Suzuki Motor has raised its stake in Maruti Suzuki to 55%,triggering speculation about the Japanese firms intentions for its Indian subsidiary and whether the move is part of a larger plan to take full control of the countrys top carmaker. Suzuki raised its stake in Maruti by 0.8% through secondary market purchases very recently. Suzuki was set to increase its stake further. Indian rules allow companies to make creeping acquisitions of up to 5% a year and any increase beyond 55% will require Suzuki to make an open offer for another 20%. However any change in the stakeholding will only come up before the board at the statutory board meeting scheduled for the third week of April. Maruti, which sells every second car in India, has established itself as the crown jewel in Suzukis global operations and is a rare bright spot for sales across the world. It already contributes nearly 80% of Suzukis profits and in volumes too, it has eclipsed its parents tally. Despite a flourish of global carmakers gnawing at its market share,India continues to be a lucrative market for Suzuki. Indeed, Maruti sold 96,650 cars in February, the 22% leap from a year ago its best monthly performance yet. Theres no reason why Suzuki would want (it) unless it has a larger game-plan lined up. After Suzuki, FIIs and LIC are the biggest stakeholders in Maruti, owning 22.21% and 11.22%,respectively. Marutis current market value is around $10 billion and if Suzuki were to fully delist the company, it would have to shell out nearly $5 billion at current prices. Maruti is looking to increase its capacity from 1 million units a year by up to 75% in the next five years.

Economy News:-

• India tea exports rise 41%: India’s tea exports rose 41 per cent in January 2010 as the global crop shortage accounted for higher demand for Indian teas abroad. Data released by the Tea Board showed, total exports in January stood at 17 million kg from 12.02 million kg a year ago. “This is a continuation of the situation prevailing for the last three months when the demands from various tea importing countries improved significantly as other tea exporting countries like Kenya and Sri Lanka are facing a huge production deficit,” S Patra, Joint Secretary, Indian Tea Association told. Though India’s total exports in 2009 fell 5.7 per cent to 191.5 million kg, the trend reversed in December, when they rose 36.9 per cent to 22.24 million kg for the month, he said. Meanwhile good post-monsoon rains in Southern India resulted in 25 per cent rise in India’s total tea production for the month of January to 27.1 million kg compared with 21.6 million kg a year earlier, Tea Board said. Total tea production in South India was higher by 60.25 per cent at 18.4 million kg as against 11.4 million kg a year ago. Tea production globally during 2009 fell to 1.84 billion kg from 1.89 billion kg during 2008, the Tea Board data showed. While India’s total tea production during January-December was down marginally at 978.9 million kg compared to 980.81 million kg a year earlier, production in Kenya and Sri Lanka during the same period fell more than 9 per cent, the data showed. India exports CTC (crushtear-curl) variety of tea mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK and the premium orthodox variety of tea to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

• Domestic car sales jump 33%, bikes 31% in Feb: Domestic passenger car sales jumped by 33.20 per cent to 1,53,845 units in February. According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), motorcycle sales in the country during the month was also up was also up 30.72 per cent to 6,42,419 units from 4,91,451 units in the corresponding month last year. Total two-wheeler sales in February grew by 32.78 per cent to 8,37,653 units from 6,30,838 units in January 2009. Sale of commercial vehicles jumped by 87.11 per cent to 58,024 units from 31,011 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said. Total sales of vehicles across categories increased 34.98 per cent to 11,29,783 units in February against 8,37,017 units in the same month last year, it added.

• Garment exporters need interest subsidy on lines of handicrafts: The ministry of textiles has asked the government to extend the interest subsidy scheme for garments exports for another year as has been done for handicrafts, carpets and small & medium enterprises (SMEs). The government has in the Union Budget for 2010-11 proposed to extend the interest subvention scheme for one more year till March 31,2011, for select sectors like handicrafts, carpets, handlooms and SMEs. With a view to insulate the employment-oriented sectors like leather and textiles, including handlooms, handicrafts and carpets from the impact of demand slowdown, the government had earlier extended the interest subsidy scheme for concessional export finance in the last Budget till March 31,2010. Under the scheme, banks provide loans at 2% lower than the market rate to the sectors eligible for interest subvention. The Textiles Ministry recently wrote to the Finance Ministry for continuation of the subsidy to garment exports sector as well. The scheme is to expire on March 31,2010. “We have already taken up with the finance ministry the point relating to more provisioning of funds by it to the commerce ministry so that the requirements of the Indian garment manufacturers could be addressed through the Budget instruments of the commerce ministry”, secretary in the ministry of textiles Rita Menon said. The ministry is also taking up the matter with the commerce ministry, Mrs Menon added. The garments export,which had started declining in October 2008, had shown some initial signs of recovery in November 2009. But in December 2009, it again declined by over 11% to $ 862 million due to lower demand from the US and EU, which together account for 70% of Indias garments export. The apparel exports industry provides employment to about 3.5 million workers directly and another three million indirectly.

International News :-

• Kraft faces probe on Cadbury deal: Kraft Foods is being probed by the UK regulators over allegedly misleading investors and workers of British confectioner Cadbury, says a report. In January, Kraft said it would take over Cadbury in a cash-and-stock deal worth about 11.9 billion pounds. The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers is looking into comments Kraft executives made during the contentious takeover battle about Cadbury’s Somerdale candy factory in Keynsham, the report noted. According to the publication, Kraft officials had repeatedly said they believed the factory could be kept open. While Cadbury had said it would close the plant and move Somerdale’s 500 jobs to Poland. Last month, when it became clear that Kraft had won the takeover battle, the company reversed course and said it would close the plant by 2011. Kraft executives would be called later this month to give evidence in front of a parliamentary committee, which is holding hearings on the takeover.

• Shell, PetroChina bid $3 bn for Australia’s Arrow: Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina jointly bid more than $3 billion for Australia’s Arrow Energy, marking a Chinese firm’s first foray in the country’s burgeoning coal-seam gas sector and sending Arrow’s shares soaring by nearly half. Arrow said that the bid from a company jointly owned by Shell and PetroChina would give shareholders A$4.45 in cash per share, plus a share in a new entity comprising Arrow’s international business. Shell confirmed it was in discussions to acquire Arrow’s domestic business. PetroChina said the bid was at an early stage and there was no timetable. Coal-seam gas is natural gas trapped in seams of coal. Arrow has reserves of 6,150 petajoules of coal-seam gas, the largest in Australia. The deal could come under scrutiny as Australia has had an uneasy relationship with Chinese investments after Rio Tinto scrapped a $19.5 billion deal with Chinalco last year and regulators said they preferred state-owned companies to keep their stakes in Australia’s top resource firms to no more than 15 percent. The relationship was further strained after China arrested four Rio Tinto staff last year on charges of bribery and stealing business secrets. This is not the first collaboration of PetroChina and Shell. The two started joint exploration of a shale-gas block in China last year. Arrow’s board recommended shareholders take no action on the offer, which is non-binding and conditional, and appointed Citi and UBS as financial advisers to evaluate the deal.

• Suzlon to add over 700 MW wind energy in US this year: Suzlon Wind Energy subsidiary of India’s Suzlon Energy Ltd, plans to generate 728 MW of clean power in the US in 2010 through nine wind farms. The company will install 351 new turbines for the nine wind energy projects to be implemented this year, which will produce clean power for 220,000 homes in seven states. These projects will also create over 50 long-term wind turbine maintenance-related jobs in rural areas. The nine Suzlon projects are located in seven states of Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington. During the construction and commissioning of the nine wind farms, Suzlon estimates that its employees will contribute USD 1.5 million to the local economies where they will live and work. At present, Suzlon has more than 1,750 MW of wind turbine capacity installed in the US and expects to have 2,480 MW by the end of the year. Suzlon Energy is the world’s third-largest wind turbine maker with a global market share of 12.3 per cent.

• Essar’s CBM blocks hold gas worth $4 bn: Essar Oil’s coal bed methane (CBM) blocks hold about 7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of recoverable gas resources, more than double the previous estimate, which may be worth over $4 billion at current prices. Essar’s exploration and production business is set to become a major wealth creator for Essar Oil. Renowned international consultants, Netherland Sewell and Associates Inc and RPS Energy and Advanced Resources Inc of US have certified an aggregate in-place gas resources below coal seams (CBM) of 15 Tcf and recoverable CBM resources of around 7 Tcf in its Raniganj, Rajmahal and Mehsana blocks. Previous assessments had put recoverable reserves and resources at 3 Tcf. Besides, its offshore block in Nigeria holds an estimated 200 million barrels of oil equivalent resource, while its yet-to-be-signed Ratna and R-Series fields in Mumbai High hold 160 million barrels of oil equivalent. Essar will start producing 9,000-10,000 cubic meters a day of gas from its Raniganj block in West Bengal by the second quarter. Peak production of 3.5 million cubic meters a day would be reached in mid-2013 and will last 20 years. The company has signed long term (gas sale) contract with two large industrial customers. With these reserves, Essar’s E&P business is poised for significant growth. Essar’s Raniganj block in West Bengal, which has in-place resource of 4.6 Tcf and recoverable resource of around 1 Tcf, will start production in the second quarter. In Rajmahal block, where Essar has been declared provisional winner in the recently-concluded auction of CBM areas, in-place resource of 9.5 Tcf has been estimated with recoverable resource of 4.7 Tcf. The company had stated in 2009 that it plans to drill 500 wells over the next 3-4 years to produce 3.5 mmscmd of peak gas output from Ranigang CBM block, whose life has been assessed at 20 years. Essar will invest $300 million in the block but needs $150 million, for which it is in talks with banks. Raniganj block is located in the industrial region of West Bengal with two major steel plants of SAIL, three existing and one upcoming power plant and a range of industries with a huge appetite for gas in the vicinity. Raniganj is the country’s oldest coal-mining zone. The block is located about 150 km from Kolkata near the steel city of Durgapur in Burdwan district.

• NTPC may exit PTC India to focus on own biz: State-owned NTPC is believed to have approached the Power Ministry on selling off its 16.5 per cent stake in PTC India as the company plans to focus on its own power trading business. PTC India is a government initiated Public-Private Partnership, primarily focused on developing a commercially vibrant power market in the country. NTPC, NHPC, Power Finance Corporation and Power Grid Corp currently hold 16.5 percent stake each in PTC India. NTPC would like to offtake its stake in PTC India as they (PTC) are already off the ground. The power generator would want to concentrate on its own trading company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam. It (NTPC) is in discussions with the Power Ministry regarding the same, they said, adding that NTPC is of the view that PTC India is already on its feet and does not require its support . The main objective of NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam will be to purchase electricity generated both from both conventional and non-conventional sources.

• Essar set to buy US co Trinity Coal for $600 m: Essar Group is negotiating to buy US based Trinity Coal for about $600 million, as it follows the Tatas and the Adanis in ring-fencing raw material supplies for cost-effective production of steel and power to feed the worlds second fastest-growing major economy. The attempt also signals the emergence of overseas takeover frenzy in India witnessed before the credit crisis in 2008, with Bharti Airtel looking to buy Zains African assets, Shri Renuka Sugars purchase of Brazils Grupo Equipav for Rs1500 crore and Reliance Industries attempt to buy bankrupt petrochemical maker Lyondell Basell. If the deal happens, it would add 200 million tonne of coal reserves enough to produce at least 100 million tonne of steel. Essar is doubling steel capacity to 14 million tonne. Indian companies are back in the hunt for global assets that appear relatively inexpensive compared with their precrisis peaks. The limping back of global financial markets to near normal levels with sufficient funding is boosting Indian entrepreneurs quest for global resources and technology. Valuations in some developed nations are still affordable as recovery looks fragile there, unlike emerging markets such as India and China where growth is set to top 8%.

• Adani Power in race for 1,000-mw Kosovo project: After spreading its operations beyond Gujarat to Maharashtra,Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Adani Power is now looking for opportunities outside India. The power company is in race for a 1,000-mw power generation project in Kosovo, part of the EU. It is competing with AES of the United States, Turkeys Demir Export AS & Park Holding and a consortium including Public Power Corp, Greece and ContourGlobal US. Kosovo, with a population of 20 lakh and sizeable lignite reserves, is suffering from acute power shortage and wants to attract private players in the energy sector. The successful bidder will pump in about Rs.5000 crore and get access to the local lignite mine for fuel linkage. The Kosovo government is expected to take the final call by September and expects to start building the plant early next year. It may also hold equity in the power project. The Kosovo project has been much delayed. The authorities had originally received expressions of interest from six parties of which four were shortlisted last week. One of the bidders, CEZ from Czech, had withdrawn citing possible delays and changing bidding terms as reasons. The Kososvo government at first wanted a 2,000 mw plant, but later settled for 1,000 mw. Adani Group is working on commissioning close to 15,000 mw of power generation capacity in India. Its two units of 330 MW each have become operational at Mundra in Gujarat. Adani Power is planning to commission total coal-based generation capacity of 4,620 mw at Mundra.

Economy News:-

• Coal imports to rise 21% in 2010-11: India’s coal imports are expected to rise 21 percent in the coming fiscal year beginning April and the government may allow joint ventures with foreign partners to bid for coal blocks to raise output, the coal minister said. Coal contributes more than half of India’s annual energy consumption, but local output lags booming demand in the energy-hungry country. “This year we have increased our production by about 8 percent, but energy requirement has increased by 15 percent,” Sriprakash Jaiswal told. “The reason is that our country’s growth is rising so fast. Industrialisation is so fast, people want power.” Factory output in India, Asia’s third-largest economy, grew nearly 17 percent in December from a year earlier, the fastest pace on record, signalling a strong economic recovery. Jaiswal said India’s coal production in 2010/11 is likely to reach 571.87 million tonnes from an estimated 533 million tonnes in the current fiscal year that ends on March 31. “If we start the bidding process, the private players who will come in, could raise production,” he said. Jaiswal said imports in 2010/11 is seen at 84.44 million tonnes from 70 million tonnes in the current fiscal year.

• US construction machinery export to India jumped 55% in ‘09: When exports of construction machinery from the US dropped by more than a third due to the global economic slump in 2009, shipments of such equipment to India jumped up 55 per cent, Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has said. In 2009, India imported construction machinery worth $181 million, up 55 per cent over 2008, making it the US’ top 14th export destination for the equipment, AEM said. India is the only country in the US’ 15 construction machinery export destinations to have registered an increase in 2009. US construction equipment exports dropped more than 38 per cent in 2009 compared to the previous year. “Exports have literally been a lifeline for the construction equipment industry, which saw US business plummet more than 40 per cent last year and unemployment soar to more than double the national average,” AEM President Dennis Slater said. According to AEM, construction machinery exports declined 29 per cent in 2009 to South America, 34 per cent to Central America and 35 per cent to Asia. Such exports to Europe declined 51 per cent to $1.5 billion in 2009, and by 41 per cent to Canada at $3.7 billion in 2009. Africa imported 29 per cent less construction machinery from the US worth $986 million in 2009, while exports to Australia/Oceania decreased 46 per cent to $962 million for the year.

International News :-

• China targets 8% economic growth in 2010: China, the world’s third largest economy targeted an 8 per cent GDP growth for this year and allocated $77 billion for the defence sector mainly to increase the ability of the country’s army to respond to “multiple security threats”. In his customary ‘State of the Union’ address to the Chinese parliament, Premier Wen Jiabao said the country’s economy was the first in the world to have staged a recovery after the global economic slowdown in 2008, thanks to the $586 billion stimulus package announced last year. “Consumption played a much bigger role in fuelling economic growth” as the bailout managed to raise domestic spending to compensate the fall in exports, he said. Wen also said 2010 would be a “crucial but complicated” year for China as it will have to continue fighting against the financial crisis while maintaining a stable and comparatively fast economic growth and accelerating transformation of growth pattern. Last year, the Chinese economy grew 8.7 per cent. He said China plans to increase its national defence spending by 7.5 per cent to 519.082 billion yuan in 2010. It is about 36 billion yuan more than last year. China’s current military budget is almost double as that of India. Though China effected a modest increase this year in its defence spending, it would still continue to be the second largest spender in this field, next only to the US. India increased its defence spending by 3.98 per cent this year to $32 billion (Rs.147344 crore) last week. In his speech to some 3,000 members of the National People’s Congress, Wen said the focus of the military spending will be to strengthen all aspects of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing army, to make it more revolutionary, modern and standardised. “We will concentrate on making the army better to enable it to win informationised (IT-driven) local wars to enhance its ability to respond to multiple security threats and accomplish diverse array of military tasks,” he said. “We will work to strengthen the army ideologically and politically. We will accelerate the comprehensive development of a modern military logistics system. We will intensify Research and Defence on defence and the development of weapons and equipment,” he said. He said “we will run the army strictly and in accordance with the law and make it more standardised.” “We will actively yet prudently deepen reform of national defence and the army. We will modernise and improve the armed police force and make it better to enable to carry out duties, respond to emergencies, combat terrorism and safeguard stability,” he said.

• British economy faces risk of relapse: Britain, which emerged from recession in the final quarter of 2009, faces a high risk of relapse and below-average growth in the next two years, the British Chamber of Commerce warned. The UK economic outlook will remain highly uncertain for a considerable time, the BCC said in the groups latest economic forecast. The recovery will be fragile and the risks of a relapse are high. The BCC predicted that the economy will grow 1% this year followed by expansion of 2.1% in 2011. It shrank by 5% in 2009. The 2010 forecast was unchanged from previous guidance but the 2011 figure was lower than its prior prediction of 2.3%-expansion. The obstacles to a sustained medium-term recovery now appear greater. The BCC added that the recovery would be modest and below the historical average in the next two years. Britain escaped from recession in the fourth quarter of last year with growth of 0.3%. The expansion during October-December 2009 followed a deep recession that lasted six quarters the countrys longest on record. The recession may have technically ended but there is no room for complacency, BCC director general David Frost said. For the recovery to be sustained, it is crucial that all the political parties recognise the vital role of wealth-creating businesses in driving economic growth and job creation. The government must use the forthcoming budget as a platform for laying the foundations for a business-led recovery, Frost added.

• Dubai World debt plan likely this week: Troubled conglomerate Dubai World expects to put its debt plan to creditors as early as this week but the final proposal is being delayed by efforts to accurately value developer Nakheels assets. Dubai Worlds plan for repaying $26 billion in debt will not include a proposal to raise capital or contain any surprises, such as the repayment of Nakheels Islamic bond in December after a last-minute bailout by Abu Dhabi. Valuing Nakheels assets and determining the size of any financial help from the Dubai and Abu Dhabi governments would determine the size of the haircuts creditors would have to take. Dubai is unable to contribute much while Abu Dhabi will be selective in its aid. The debt plan comes after Dubai said in November it wanted a standstill on repayment until the end of April and give the conglomerate time to restructure. Abu Dhabis full $10 billion aid which includes $5 billion from two banks linked to the wealthy emirate is conditional on Dubai World reaching a satisfactory deal with creditors.

Government likely to set NMDC floor price for the FPO at 30-35% discount to the current stock price. (ET)

IOC’s Paradip refinery in Orissa to commence operations by November 2012 which may dent the available income tax breaks. (ET)

Infosys plans to have a third of its total revenues coming from new services, including cloud computing and platform-based offerings, over next few years. (ET)

Nissan will continue to source the Pixo, a small car from Maruti Suzuki, until the contract expires in 2012. (BS)

TTML is preparing a war chest of Rs85bn to bid in the forthcoming 3G auctions. (ET)

NMDC is planning to raise long-term contract prices of iron ore by 40-50%, effective April 1, 2010. (BS)

Wipro has rejigged its non-IT businesses along with leadership changes. (ET)

AstraZeneca has sued Sun Pharmaceuticals for challenging the patent on its ulcer drug brand, Nexium IV, in the US market. (BS)

Sudan, Congo, Nigeria, Libya, Ghana, Angola, Egypt and Uganda are among the African countries that ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) is focusing on for acquisitions of oil and gas assets. (BL)

Wipro Infotech is betting big on cloud computing and will mainly target the US$4.5bn SME segment to drive its growth. (BL)

NMDC issue will be priced according to the book building route. (BL)

Ashok Leyland to invest Rs30bn over next three years on various expansion projects. (ET)

Suzlon Energy has won an order from Gujarat State Petronet to set up, operate and maintain a 52.5 MW wind energy project in the Rajkot and Porbandar districts of the State. (BL)

Raymond to recast its garment business; to pull out of weak brands. (ET)

Aurobindo Pharma has created a division, Auro Source, within the company to focus on CRAMS. (ET)

Essar Oil plans to invest about Rs40bn in the next three years for developing its three CBM blocks in Jharkhand, Gujarat and West Bengal, having recoverable gas reserve of close to 7tcf. (BS)

Zydus Cadila has commenced the phase II and III of the clinical trials of its H1N1 vaccine. (BS)

Strides Arcolab to buy South Africa-based Aspen’s Brazilian facility for US$75mn. (ET)

Ahluwalia Contracts plans to foray into the construction of power projects. (BS)

Food inflation rises to 17.87% for the week-ended February 20th. (ET)

Center to pump in Rs350bn into PSU Banks over two years. (ET)

GST rates likely to be pegged at above 12%. (ET)

Government to allow power projects situated in SEZs to sell electricity to units outside the zone. (ET)

Direct Tax collection till February stood at Rs2.78 lakh crore, short by Rs1 lakh crore to meet the target set for the fiscal. (ET)

India will have a new policy to auction hydrocarbon assets for exploring oil and gas reserves — Open Acreage Licensing Policy (Oalp) — in 18 months from now. (BS)

Centre to curb movement of 20% non-urea fertilizers. (BL)

Airbus has forecasted that India will require 1,032 aircraft, valued at US$138bn, in the next two decades. (BL)

The Government is inclined to allow an increase in FDI limit beyond the existing 26% in the defence sector on a case-to-case basis. (BL)

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved raising the ceiling for payment of gratuity for private sector employees from Rs 0.35mn to Rs 1mn. (BL)

• Aurobindo gets Canadian nod for antibiotic: Aurobindo Pharma has has received an approval from Canada for its antibiotic drug. The drug is called Cefuroxime Axetil Tablets, and is the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Ceftin Tablets. Aurobindo has received approval to market 250 mg and 500 mg versions of the drug. Ceftin Tablets is used to treat patients with mild to moderate infections. This is Aurobiondo’s eighth approval from Health Canada. The company has a wide-spread international presence and markets its products across 125 countries. Its manufacturing facilities are approved by various regulatory agencies from US, Canada, Brazil and South Africa. Aurobindo manufactures both generic medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Apart from antibiotics, Aurobindo has products across different areas of medicine like anti-retrovirals, anti-allergins, gastro-enterologicals, cardiovascular drugs.

• KNR Constructions JV wins Rs.225 cr order: KNR Construction’s 50:25:25 joint venture with JKM Infra Projects and Kamala Constructions has been awarded Rs.225.27 crore by Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar. The order involves the construction work of renovation, modernisation and extension of Eastern Kosi Canal System in the state.

• Reliance Capital acquires Fame India shares: Reliance Capital has purchased 11,830 equity shares of multiplex operator Fame India. This purchase was done yesterday and constitutes to 0.03 per cent of the equity share capital of Fame India. The average price of the acquisition is Rs.82.10 per share and the highest price paid is Rs.82.32 per equity share. This transaction was done through open market purchases on the normal segment on the stock exchange.

• SAIL hikes steel prices by Rs.600/ tone: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has hiked steel prices by up to Rs.600 a tonne, effective from March 1, on account of increase in excise duty. The price increase is effective from March 1. The hike in excise duty will result in steel prices going up. Partially rolling back the fiscal stimulus in Budget 2010-2011, the government raised excise duty by 2-10 per cent across the board. To spur economic activities, the government had earlier initiated massive spending programmes and slashed duties from December 2008 in three stages following the global financial crisis that began in September same year.

• Nectar raises Rs.252 cr from NSR for fund expansion: Nectar Lifesciences has raised Rs.252 crore by selling its stake to US-based private equity firm New Silk Route Partners (NSR). The company has raised Rs.91 crore by issuing 2.60 crore share at Rs.34 a piece to NSR group firm– NSR Direct PE Mauritius– on preferential basis. Nectar has further raised Rs.161 crore from the same private equity firm by allotting global depository receipts (GDRs). The company would use the fund for expansion of its generic business, which includes construction of new manufacturing plants, filing of regulatory approvals, R&D, and other associate expenditure apart from strategic alliances and acquisitions. Nectar Lifesciences has hailed association of NSR with the company as a landmark achievement, which is likely to add tremendous value to the company’s march into highly attractive formulations markets of US, Europe and Japan. With the proposed GDR and preferential allotment of shares, the total equity transferred to NSR would be 72 million shares, accounting for around 30 per cent of the total paid-up capital of the Chandigarh-based firm. By investing Rs.91 crore, NSR Direct PE Mauritius would be the single largest non-promoter foreign investor in the company.

• REC to allot FPO shares for QIBs at Rs.206 each: Rural Electrification Corporation will allot shares through its follow-on public offer at Rs.206 per piece to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), which includes foreign institutional investors and mutual funds. The state-run power financing firm has fixed the clearing price for qualified institutional investors at Rs.206 a share and for the company’s employees at Rs.193 per piece. REC had hit the markets with its public issue of 17.17 crore shares at a floor price of Rs.203 per piece. The company will allot shares to noninstitutional and retail individual buyers at the floor price. The Rs.3529.94-crore follow-on public offer was open for subscription between February 19 to February 23. The FPO of REC was subscribed 3.12 times on good demand from institutional investors, even as retail investors cold- shouldered it. The public issue constitutes 17.39 per cent stake in the company. Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, BofA Merrill Lynch, ICICI Securities, JM Financial and RBS Equities (India) are the book running lead managers to the issue.

Economy News:-

• India needs 400 airports, 3,000 aircraft in 10 yrs-Patel: India needs at least 400 airports and 3,000 aircraft in the next 10 years to keep pace with the growing demand, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said. He said as the aviation industry has been growing at 18 per cent CAGR, the country needs up to 3,000 aircraft in the next ten years. He also underscored the need for making air travel safer and more secure. “Our job is not over by creating infrastructure for aviation industry to grow. We need safe and secure aviation. Indian aviation will not grow at the cost of safety and security,” the Minister said. He said the bidding process for New Mumbai airport is expected to be completed in a year.

• US moves WTO on textile export sops: In yet another demonstration of its protectionist tendencies, the US has asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to examine whether India still qualifies for concessions which allow it to give export subsidies to the textiles and clothing sector. India, however, is confident that its subsidies to textiles exporters cannot be challenged at the multilateral forum as they are mostly short term. The US, in a recent submission to the WTO committee on subsidies and countervailing measures (SCM), stated that it has reason to believe that India has met the definition of ‘export competitiveness’, as defined in the SCM Agreement for certain products. The agreement exempts developing country members (with per capita income below $1,000) from prohibition on export subsidies, as long as exports of individual products are lower than 3.25% of world trade for two consecutive years. “The US requests that the Secretariat (WTO) undertake a computation of the export competitiveness of textile and apparel exports from India, in accordance with Article 27.6 of the SCM Agreement,” the submission said. At present, the subsidies being given to Indian textile exporters (which includes handicrafts and carpets) include discount on interest on loans and incentives for exporting to particular markets in the form of duty-free import scrips that can be sold in the market. These sops are part of the Centre’s efforts to help the Indian industry tide over the effects of the global economic crisis. Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry (CITI) secretary general D K Nair pointed out that since the subsidies were short term in nature, they would probably be gone by the time the WTO takes a decision on the issue. “Moreover, these subsidies may not be actionable under the WTO,” he said. According to Manab Majumdar, head of Ficci’s WTO committee, even if India’s exports of textiles and clothing turn out to be greater than 3.25%, the country could easily continue to give subsidies under other flexibilities allowed by the WTO. “India is also allowed to give support to exporters under the special & differential treatment (S&DT). So, I don’t foresee any problems,” he said. A Ficci calculation shows that in 2008 India’s exports of textiles and clothing were $21 billion, forming 3.4% of the sector’s global trade at $612 billion. In 2009, however, India’s textile exports to EU and the US (which together account for more than half of India’s total textiles and clothing exports) fell due to a severe slowdown in demand.

• Steel demand in 2010-2011 to grow by 10%: Steel demand is seen rising by 10 percent in the fiscal year to March 2011, helped by higher spending on infrastructure, Steel Secretary Atul Chaturvedi said. “Steel demand will continue to rise because a lot of emphasis has been put in the budget on infrastructure development,” Chaturvedi told. India’s budget for 2010/11, which was announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, proposed to invest Rs.173000 crore on infrastructure, a measure cheered by the steel industry. “We expect about 10 percent increase (in steel demand) from the current year’s level,” he said, adding, he expects the current fiscal year’s demand to rise 9 percent, higher than the earlier estimate of 8 percent. Steel production in the 2010/11 (April-March) fiscal year is likely to be 65 million tonnes, compared to 60-61 million tonnes in the current year, he added.

International News :-

• IMF says China should be more flexible on yuan: China should be more flexible on its currency and encourage more domestic consumption. The yuan is pegged to the US dollar at a level that supports Chinese exports, raising concerns of global economic imbalances where the West runs up huge debts to fund consumption of Chinese-made goods while Asia racks up sky-high savings. “Currency flexibility is important,” IMF deputy managing director Murilo Portugal told. “There is also a need to move towards generating more internal demand and not just depend on exports,” he said when asked if China needed to be more flexible with its currency. The United States and other countries complain that China is keeping its currency undervalued, unfairly helping its exporters. The IMF has for some time argued that China’s exchange rate is too low and this year IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the yuan was “really significantly undervalued”. The IMF expects Asia, especially China, to lead the world in the current economic recovery. Portugal, who expected global imbalances to widen in the medium term, said China needed to invest more in its social sector and reform its financial sector. Likewise, the United States also needed to invest in the tradeables sector, rather than depend on domestic consumption to help its way out of an economic slump, he added.

• Greek PM sounds alarm, eyes tough new fiscal steps: Prime Minister George Papandreou painted a grim picture of the Greek economy in a speech to parliament on Tuesday, preparing the nation for new austerity measures needed to avert default and a broader euro zone crisis. Papandreou is expected to announce further deficit cutting steps in the next two days in the hopes of allaying market fears about the country’s strained finances and secure concrete support from fellow EU members. “Today we must make tough, harsh decisions which in many cases are unfair. This is not a choice, it’s a necessity,” he told. Papandreou, who will discuss the economy with his cabinet on Wednesday, is under pressure to identify up to 4.8 billion euros ($6.49 billion) worth of measures, possibly ranging from a VAT hike to public sector salary cuts and new taxes, before going to Germany on Friday to push for concrete help. “Without brave decisions from us and from (the EU) the whole of Europe and Europe’s economy is threatened,” he said, repeating that Greece was counting on its peers’ support. Without providing details, Papandreou sent signals about the new measures he is considering by warning civil servants that they must help carry the burden. “The government is forced to ask for the contribution of all citizens, to ask public servants to get by with less,” he said. Papandreou also accused his conservative predecessors of corruption and cronyism that had brought Greece to the brink of collapse with a deficit at 12.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and debt of about 300 billion euros — well above the country’s economic output of 240 billion. “If anyone thinks that this is a remote nightmare scenario, they don’t realize what the situation is,” he said. “Each day we discover new holes, new debts new landmines, in the budget.” He said his government was determined not to leave the country at the mercy of market speculators and stressed that he was determined to fight the root causes of the crisis. “Now is the time for the entire country to turn the page,” he said. “In this hour of historic decisions citizens expect every one of us to assume our responsibilities. We are ready and determined to assume our responsibilities.

• RIL may lose Lyondell bid, eye Canada company- Reliance Industries (RIL) is on the verge of losing its bid for bankrupt petrochemical company LyondellBasell, as it baulks at rising valuation due to the recovering global economy, but that may help it focus on the possible acquisition of Canada’s Value Creation. The bid by the nation’s largest private sector company, which was raised 21% to about $14.5 billion from the initial $12 billion in November, may not be acceptable to creditors who are leaning towards the revival plan proposed by the current management. Lyondell’s reorganisation plan to be filed with the US bankruptcy court in Manhattan on Monday will influence the final decision. RIL has raised about $2 billion selling its own shares from the vault between November and now to possibly bid for Lyondell. It still has shares worth about $7 billion for which it has not publicly spelt out a strategy.

• No restraint on revenue deficit yet- In Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may have earned plaudits for projecting a decline in the fiscal deficit to 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2010-11, but his targets for revenue deficit reduction are relatively modest and represent a departure from the 13th Finance Commission’s recommendations. Mukherjee’s Budget for 2010-11 proposed to reduce the fiscal deficit from 6.9 per cent (including the impact of oil and fertiliser bonds) in 2009-10 to 5.5 per cent next year, lower than even the 5.7 per cent mandated by the 13th Finance Commission. But the revenue deficit has been pegged only at 4 per cent of GDP in the Budget for 2010-11, down from 5.3 per cent according to the revised estimates for the current financial year. In sharp contrast, the Commission had recommended a reduction in the revenue deficit next year to 3.2 per cent of GDP.

Bhushan Steel plans to invest about Rs280bn to set up a value-added steel plant in Karnataka. (DNA)

Maruti Suzuki would raise prices between Rs3,000 to Rs13,000 across various models, with immediate effect. (DNA)

Cement companies across all regions have increased prices in the range of Rs10-12 per bag to offset the twin effects of hike in excise duty and rise in diesel rates. (ET)

RIL is on the verge of losing its bid for bankrupt petrochemical company Lyondell-Basell, as it baulks at rising valuation due to the recovering global economy. (ET)

Coal India will increase its spending by three times to Rs98bn in the next financial year, primarily to fund its expansion and acquisition programmes. (FE)

Hindustan Dorr-Oliver has acquired Sheffield-based DavyMarkham, a 180-year-old company involved in design, manufacture and assembly of large equipment used in mining, power, oil, gas and nuclear sectors. (BS)

Tata Steel rules out raising equity to meet covenants. (BS)

MphasiS Ltd is scouting for a company with revenues in the region of US$45-60mn and having a good presence in the cloud computing space, with a view to growing its Infrastructure and Technology Outsourcing (ITO) business. (BS)

SAIL to spend ~Rs123bn in the next financial year largely to fund its mega expansion programme. (FE)

Bhushan Steel would spend Rs280bn to build a 6 lakh tonnes steel plant in the Bellary region of Karnataka. (ET)

Nabard plans to provide Credit Plus services through the Farmers’ Clubs. (BS)

Tata Motors reported 58% yoy growth in total sales volume, including exports volume. (ET)

FPO of NMDC may be at a substantial discount to its market price, going by the numbers announced by finance minister in his Budget speech. (Mint)

Venezuelan government owned oil firm likely to buy stake in ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals for setting up an aromatic unit in Mangalore SEZ. (FE)

SAIL will be spending Rs123bn in the next financial year, mainly to fund its expansion program. (FE)

Budget clarification on extension of service tax will include all activities in the entire continental shelf and exclusive economic zone will increase the cost of offshore exploration for ONGC and Reliance Industries. (BS)

ICICI Bank hikes long-term deposit rates by 25-50 bps. (ET)

The Tatas will have to either buy out the 26% stake in its life insurance JV or rope in another partner if Prudential UK buys out the Asian life insurance business of AIG. (BS)

United Bank of India fixed issue price of its IPO offer at Rs66 per share. (BS)

M&M plans to launch nine vehicles in various segments till March 2011; raises product prices by up to Rs18,000 following the increase in excise duty announced in the Budget. (BS)

Non-banking finance companies like IDFC, Aditya Birla Financial, Reliance Capital, Religare Enterprises and Indiabulls planning to queue at the RBI to seek banking licences. (BS)

Bharti Airtel may sell stake to cut Zain deal debt. (ET)

Shriram Transport Finance enters the second hand truck finance market through its new subsidiary Automall. (BS)

Maharashtra government decides to award the Worli-Haji Ali sea link project to a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure. (ET)

Reliance ADAG scales up its stake in the Fame by 1.7% to nearly 14%. (ET)

Texas Pacific Group may take over the assets of troubled Vishal Retail and convert it into a cash-and-carry operations. (ET)

Fiscal deficit for 2010-11 pegged at 5.5% of GDP. (DNA)

Government raises excise duties by 2% to 10% on all non-oil products as part of withdrawal of the stimulus measures. (DNA)

Domestic oil companies increased ATF prices with the increase in price ranging from Rs1.3/litre in Delhi to Rs1.4/litre in Chennai. (BL)

Economy recorded a less than expected 6% growth in Q3 FY10, lower than the 7.9% GDP growth recorded in Q2 FY10. (BL)

The Government has decided that telecom companies offering 3G services will not be allowed to claim tax breaks under Section 80 IA of the Income Tax Act. (BL)

Minister of Road Transport and Highways has lowered the target for awarding national highway contracts to 7,000km by June from the earlier stated level of nearly 12,000km. (BL)

Finance Ministry hopes to garner about Rs260bn in 2010-11 from the budget move to go back to the pre-June 2008 duty structure position on the petroleum sector. (BL)

RBI is considering giving some additional banking licences to private sector players, including non-banking finance companies. (BL)

Vehicles prices set to rise across the automobile industry as the government announced a 2% hike in excise duties across all segments in Budget 2010-11. (BL)

Due to increase in customs and excise duties on petrol and diesel, consumers will now have to pay Rs2.71 per litre and Rs2.55 per litre more respectively. (BL)

Foreign exchange reserves fell by US$527mn to US$279bn for the week ended February 19. (BL)

Government has estimated the net borrowing for FY11 at Rs3.5tn or Rs534bn lower than the revised estimates of the current year. (BL)

Government proposes to introduce competitive bidding process for allocating coal blocks for captive mining. (BL)

The government is seeking a uniform low risk weight on banks’ exposure to the specialised infrastructure financing companies. (ET)

RBI has indicated that it will take longer than April to implement base rate scheme. (ET)

The Indian Banks’ Association had asked RBI to extend the deadline for base rate implementation by banks by three months to July. (ET)

SBI to raise Rs200bn via right issue; needs over Rs500bn capital in the next five years. (ET)

ONGC is looking to enhance its presence in Africa and Latin America. (ET)

Wipro wins 10-year outsourcing deal from Punjab and Sind Bank. (BS)

SBI to buy significant stake in Tata Motor Finance says SBI chairman. (ET)

Bharti Airtel eyes US$7bn offshore loans to back its offer to buy Zain’s African cellular assets. (BS)

Government puts on hold the IPO of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam following poor response to the FPO of NTPC and REC. (ET)

Rahul Bajaj sells stake in Bajaj Electrical to Shekhar Bajaj. (BS)

ITC plans to foray the food market of UAE and Gulf Co-operation Council. (BS)

Mindtree to raise debt upto US$100mn. (BS)

Thermax has reached an out of court settlement with US based Purolite to end the legal dispute regarding polymer business in US. (BS)

Fidelity International sells 2% stake in Financial Technology owned MCX exchange to Passport India. (ET)

US media giant turner has acquired 85.68% stake in NDTV imagine. (BS)

Pantaloon to merge two units of its arm with itself. (BS)

Kotak Mahindra Bank to replace Grasim in Nifty50 from April 8th 2010. (ET)

Bayer drags Cipla to Supreme Court over anti-cancer drug patent. (FE)

Ashok Leyland has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Paramount Group

Texmaco to de-merge its Heavy Engineering and Steel foundry division; to transfer it to 100% subsidiary Texmaco Machines. (ET)

ATC acquires Essar’s tower business for Rs20bn. (FE)

DoT sets new deadline for 3G auctions; to start on April 9th 2010. (BS)

Decrease of 100rs per

Railways not to hike freight and passenger rates. (FE)

Railways push for PPP and seek private investment for world class station, auto hubs and high speed passenger train corridor. (FE)

Outstanding bank loans grew by Rs226bn in the fortnight ended February 12th 2010 reflecting a 9.9% yoy growth. (ET)

India Inc has announced a capacity expansion to the tune of Rs500bn over the next two-five years. (ET)

Tea export from India stood at 181.5mn kg in 2009 down 11.63mn kg over the previous year. (ET)

Indian power utility to import 48mn tons of coal in the next financial year. (ET)

Global trade dropped by 12% yoy last fiscal the biggest decline since the World War II. (ET)

Power Grid Corp of India plans to raise Rs35bn by selling shares to fund an expansion of its grid to end blackouts. (BS)

Religare Enterprises is close to buying a majority stake in US based venture capital and private equity investment firm Northgate for US$200m (ET)

Tata Steel expects the arrival of equipment and machinery worth Rs5bn for the 6mtpa project at Kalinganagar by the end of FY10. (BS)

The devastating fire at IOC’s Jaipur fuel depot has delayed commissioning of Cairn India’s pipeline for transporting crude from its Rajasthan oil fields. (BS)

The Government is likely to approach state-owned banks and institutions, including the biggest local investor, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), to bail out REC’s equity issue, if investors choose to stay away. (ET)

Apollo Tyres plans to make Chennai its hub for both manufacturing and research and development (R&D) and is setting up a Rs20bn manufacturing facility. (BS)

ITC plans to launch noodles under the ‘Sunfeast’ brand name. (BS)

L&T will finalise plans to unlock value in its financial services arm in the next 12 months. (ET)

US-based investor fund QVT has proposed an alternative debt restructuring plan to Wockhardt. (BS)

Neyveli Lignite plans to set up a 4,000 mw UMPP at Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram district. (ET)

Max India to raise Rs5.3bn via issue of convertible debentures to private equity arm of Goldman Sachs. (ET)

MIC Electronics has bagged an order to supply video screens to Parramatta Eels National Rugby League Club in Australia. (BL)

Elecon Engineering has bagged three orders worth Rs228.7mn from Birla Corporation, IFFCO Kalol and Anrak Aluminum. (BL)

Tantia Constructions has received a Rs471.8mn order from Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer. (BL)

HCL Technologies has won an IT infrastructure management contract from Electrolux, a global home appliances company. (BL)

PFC Consulting, a subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation, is believed to have formed two special purpose vehicles for executing two ultra mega power projects (UMPP) at Saakhi Gopal and Gogarpalli sites in Orissa. (ET)

Emami Group has made a foray into food and beverage business by launching healthy & tasty brand of edible oil. (ET)

DoT is working on a new proposal to give incentives from the universal service obligation (USO) fund to support wireline services in rural areas. (BS)

During April-January this fiscal, the private sector alone has commissioned 3,357MW of fresh capacity, as against 3,383MW added cumulatively by the Central and State sector projects. (BL)

Banks with poor customer service standards may have to set aside more capital, according to RBI. The regulator has also asked banks not to discriminate in lending rates between old and new customers, if they fall in the same risk category. (ET)

The RBI has decided to reduce the risk weight on loans to power sector projects guaranteed by state governments, unlocking funds worth Rs300bn for the sector. Lending to power projects currently attracts a risk weight of 100%, which is proposed to be lowered to 20% when such loans are guaranteed by state governments. (ET)

India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to US$2,254 per tonne on import of certain stainless steel products—used by consumer durables and auto industries—from the US, EU, China and other countries. (ET)

United Spirits enters the non-alcoholic drinks category with Romanov Red Energy Drink. (BS)

Burnpur Cement plans to set up cement plants in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and in neighboring countries like Nepal, to increase capacity to 10mn tones in the next few years. (ET)

Coal India plans to file the draft red herring prospectus with SEBI for its initial public offer by June. (BL)

A more than three-fold jump in private remittances is expected in 2009-10 as the economy stages a stronger-than-estimated rebound in the second half, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister has projected. (BL)

The Reserve Bank of India reduced the ceiling rate on export credit in foreign currency by banks to Libor plus 200bps from Libor plus 350bps. (BS)

New FDI policy to be unveiled on March 31. (BL)

India’s PC market sales touched ~2mn units in Oct’-Dec’ 09, a 25.7% growth over corresponding quarter of previous year. (BL)

Foreign exchange reserves rose US$485mn to US$279bn for the week ended February 12. (BL)

Cement dispatches by major manufacturers grew by a healthy 12.6% yoy in January at 18.2mn tonnes. (TOI)

Communication minister says number portability would be launched in the first week of May; in the first leg, it would be launched in Chennai and Bangalore. (TOI)

The finance ministry is considering a proposal to rationalise end-use exemptions granted to businesses through various duty reliefs. (BS)

Iron ore shipment declined 11% in December to 12.37mn tons in December 2009 compared to 13.85mn tones in the corresponding month last year. (BS)

SBI may not raise deposit rates before May-June. (BL)

REC FPO subscribed just 0.29 times receiving bids for 34.90mn shares out of the total issue size of 171.73mn shares on opening day. (BS)

HDFC Bank increases the rates on fixed deposits by up to 150bps across maturities. (BL)

Reliance MediaWorks has made an open offer to purchase a controlling stake in Fame India. (Mint)

Bharti Airtel chairman says his company does not need any regulatory approvals in India to acquire African assets of Zain Telecom; hopes the deal would be concluded by the end of April. (TOI)

Bharti Airtel lines up funds aggregating US$9bn from foreign and local banks for its proposed acquisition of Zain Telecom, as it settles to finance the entire deal through debt in the first phase. (ET)

S&P and Crisil placed Bharti Airtel’s long-term bank facilities and debt programme on ‘rating watch with negative implications. (ET)

Ambuja Cements plans to spend around Rs35bn to expand its capacity to 24mn tons from the current 19mn tons by year-end. (ET)

Shree Renuka Sugars announces the acquisition of 51% stake in Equipav S.A. Acucar e Alcool, one of the largest sugar and ethanol companies in Brazil, for Rs15bn. (BL)

Patel Engineering plans to dilute as much as 40% of equity in its power subsidiary, Patel Energy Resources. (BS)

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board asks United Breweries Holdings to clarify some issues on an application to bring in foreign investment. (BS)

Nestle India reports 6.7% fall in net profit at Rs1.13bn for Q4 as against Rs1.21bn. (BS)

Offshore services provider Great Offshore plans to raise funds up to Rs17.5bn by issuing securities. (BL)

The government is likely to sell its 330mn shares in NMDC next month through a price band of Rs415-430 per share and leave the auction route adopted in the case of NTPC and REC. (BS)

NMDC is set to pick up a 50% stake in Ferrous Resources’ Brazilian operations for US$2.5bn. (ET)

Kingfisher Airlines, British Airways in talks for code-sharing in India. (ET)

Videocon’s Elcoteq bid take a hit as creditors’ eye higher compensation to cede controlling stake. (ET)

Emami enters F&B business; launches edible oil brand. (FE)

Apollo Hospitals plans to come up with three more liver transplant clinics across the country. (BS)

Godrej Industries’ real estate arm has lined up Rs20bn of investments for developing five projects over 30mn square feet in Bangalore. (DNA)

Jaypee Infratech says it was proposing to raise Rs16.5bn through initial public offering and the issue was likely to be launched by next month. (FE)

BP Plc has joined the race with RIL to acquire a majority stake in Canadian oil-sand major, Value Creation, with an offer of US$1.2bn. (BS)

PVR Cinemas has decided to terminate its agreement to acquire real estate developer DLF’s exhibition hall business, DT Cinemas. (BS)

Ballarpur Industries has put in a bid close to US$200m for acquiring Malaysia’s largest integrated paper manufacturer GS Paper & Packaging Group (ET)

Indiabulls Real Estate is considering the demerger of its wholesale trading business, to unlock value from the venture. (BS)

Work on Jaypee Power Ventures Limited (JPVL)’s, a subsidiary of Jaypee Group, 2,700MW hydro project in Arunachal may commence by 2011. (BS)

SBI to provide interest-free seed capital of upto Rs1m to aspiring entrepreneurs under a new scheme – SBI SMILE. (ET)

Shoppers’ Stop plans to add 1mn sq ft over the next three years. (BS)

Bharat Electronics is likely to end the present financial year with an order book of over Rs120bn, a growth of 20% during the year. (BS)

Adani Power enters MP with 1,320MW power project.

Stone India inks JV with Japanese firm for manufacturing air springs. (BS)

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals is set to increase its field-force, and introduce several products including patent-protected ones, over the next 12-18 months. (BL)

NTPC ‘in talks’ to take over Jharkhand’s Patratu power station. (BL)

Ruchi Soya Industries has approved a scheme of amalgamation with Palm Tech India Limited (PTIL), of Andhra Pradesh. (BL)

Four Soft has won a contract from the European firm Len Lothian Ltd for the deployment of its warehouse management system, 4S eLog. (BL)

PVR Cinemas has called off the deal to acquire DT Cinemas. (FE)

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI), surged to a 14-month high of 8.56% in January, beating the Reserve Bank of India’s projection of 8.5% by the end of March. (BS)

The finance ministry has cleared the decks for the auction of third-generation (3G) telecom licences by the end of this financial year, by assuring the law ministry that it would ensure all successful bidders the availability of spectrum by September 1, instead of selectively releasing spectrum depending on availability. (BS)

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has introduced new norms that will bar a developer from bidding for new projects if the company has not been able to achieve financial closure of three or more projects. (BL)

State-owned oil firms to cut aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by 2.5% on falling global rates to give some relief to Indian carriers. (FE)

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has decided to audit the accounts of Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Tata, Vodafone and BSNL for 2009-10. (BS)

Oil regulator DGH asks Reliance Industries to club marketing margin with sale price for royalty calculation. (ET)

BHEL plans to step up focus on other areas of operations, including the transportation sector, transmission equipment and renewable energy. (BL)

Bharti Airtel is set to announce another US$2bn mega equipment contract. (ET)

Mahindra & Mahindra plans to foray into the motorcycle segment with a full range of products by this year. (ET)

PNB plans to enter South Africa and Indonesia to expand its international business operations and raise its share in the total business to 7% in next three years. (BS)

Reliance Communications plans to buy 2mn CDMA handsets for Rs3.4bn from Chinese telecom vendor Huawei Technologies. (BS)

SAIL denies any dialogue with South Korea’s Posco for a possible joint venture at Kulti in West Bengal. (ET)

JSW Steel is evaluating proposals to acquire coal mines overseas. (BS)

SCI plans to acquire in phases Capesize vessels and VLCCs four each. (BL)

NMDC is likely to file a revised draft papers for follow-on public offer. (mint)

Arvind plans to scale up organic denim biz. (ET)

Shriram Transport Finance is looking aggressively for more acquisitions. (BS)

Cabinet is likely to approve SAIL’s share sale plan on February 18. (DNA)

GSS America plans to raise up to US$75mn through QIP, FCCB, and GDR & ADR to fuel its inorganic growth plans. (BS)

Dewan Housing plans to launch a new subsidiary, NewCo for an investment of Rs1bn and also plans to divest 20% to PE investor. (BS)

West Bengal allots 505 acres for Rs70bn Adhunik Corp proposed steel & power Facility. (ET)

Hinduja Ventures board approves the acquisition of IDL Speciality Chemicals. (BS)

Tata Teleservices enters into a franchisee agreement with Future Group to offer GSM mobile telephony services under a new brand T24. (BS)

Maruti to stop selling M-800 in 13 major cities from April 2010. (ET)

Emami Group hikes stake in Rama Newsprint to 5%. (ET)

Tube Investments acquired 77% stake in Sedis Group, France, in order to strengthen the industrial chains business. (ET)

Board of Directors of Ruchi Soya approved for merger with Palm Tech. (BS)

Future Group plans to reorganise fruit and vegetables business. (ET)

The Union Mines Ministry to seek Cabinet approval for its proposal to divest 20% stake in Hindustan Copper. (BL)

American Tower Corp, USA’s is close to acquiring Essar Telecom Infrastructure for over US$425mn. (ET)

Industrial production grew 16.8% in December 2009 from a year earlier, boosted by a 46% increase in consumer durables and a 38.8% jump in capital goods. (ET)

Finance Minister and petroleum minister failed to reach a consensus on a hike in fuel prices. (DNA)

CERC draft proposes to streamline power pricing to facilitate integration of electricity markets. (BS)

Reserve Bank of India relaxes exposure limits for banks lending to Infra Finance companies. (ET)

Domestic passenger traffic increased by 23% last month over the same period last year, passengers carried by all airlines in January stood at 41.41 lakh, compared with 33.76 lakh in 2009. (ET)

The Government is expected to take a final decision on the timing of auctioning third generation (3G) spectrum this week. (BL)

Realtors seek infrastructure status for affordable homes. (BL)

The government may announce a major capital infusion into public sector banks, or PSBs. (ET)

SAIL divestment plan to be presented to cabinet in 10 days. (ET)

Hindalco to raise Rs49bn via debt. (BS)

The dispute between Netherlands based Brakel Corporation and Reliance Infra for twin Hydro projects in Himachal Pradesh has reached the Supreme Court. (ET)

ONGC not to set up arm for Assam operations. (BL)

RIL plans to shift registered office to Jamnagar. (ET)

Government plans private placement of BSNL shares. (BS)

Telenor buys additional 7% stake in Unitech Wireless for more than Rs20bn. (ET)

Shree Cement is setting up a grinding unit at Roorkee and Suratgarh for an investment of Rs3.5bn. (ET)

IDBI hikes FD rates by 50bps. (ET)

Ranbaxy to market Daiichi products in Mexico. (ET)

Kingfisher Airlines plans to raise Rs4bn via 1:1 rights issue. (ET)

Tata Tea to enter mass packaged mineral water market. (BL)

Fortis to raise Rs12.5bn by issuing shares in domestic and international market. (ET)

Essar Steel plans to raise US$1bn from overseas markets to fund expansions. (ET)

Bombay Dyeing promoters’ eye to hike their stake by 5% by subscribing to convertible warrants. (ET)

Elder Pharma enters into injectable segment with a new manufacturing facility at Dehradun. (BL)

Zensar Technologies may go for acquisition by September. (BL)

NIIT Technologies bags order worth Rs2.3bn from Border Security Forces. (BL)

FM to meet petroleum minister to discuss political feasible price rise in fuel prices. (ET)

RBI to introduce a new benchmark from April 2010 that will more accurately reflect movement in interest rates. (ET)

Centre plans to freeze F&O trade in companies opting for FPOs. (ET)

Government may remove anomaly in import duty structure, which is affecting the competitiveness of domestic firms. (ET)

Excise duties are likely to be raised by 2-4% in forthcoming budget. (BL)

Issuance of oil bonds are expected to be phased out as the first step towards containing fiscal deficit. (BL)

All India Tyre Dealer Federation has asked union finance and commerce minister to remove import curbs on tyres. (BL)

• Strides gets US regulatory nod for hypertension injection: Strides Arcolab has received the US regulatory approval for a hypertension injection — Labetalol Hydrochrolide (HCl). The company announced receipt of Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approval for HCl injection in the strengths of 100 mg/20 ml and 200 mg/40 ml. The company expects to launch the product shortly. According to the American Heart Association, more than 70 million Americans have hypertension, or high blood pressure. According to the IMS estimates, 2009 sales of Labetalol HCl injection in the United States approximated USD 9 million. Labetalol is the third product launched under Stride’s partnership with pharma firm Sagent. Under this joint venture partnership, Sagent and Strides Arcolab are jointly developing, supplying and marketing more than 25 injectable products for the US market. Labetalol HCl injection is latex-free, helps to prevent potential allergic reactions in patients and health care providers.

• Subex to raise Rs48 cr by allotting shares to promoter: Subex Ltd will raise Rs48 crore by issuing securities to promoter of the company, Subhash Menon on preferential basis, and the proceeds will be used to repay loans. The shares are being placed exclusively with the promoter group at the rate of Rs80 per piece. A maximum of 60 lakh shares would be issued as part of this placement, Subex Ltd said in a release. The proceeds of the issue will mainly be utilised by the company to reduce some of the liabilities like bank loans. The proposal is subject to shareholders approval.

• L&T bags Rs.582 crore orders: Electrical and Gulf Projects Operating Company, a part of L&T’s construction division, has bagged orders aggregating Rs 582 crore for four electrical projects in India and UAE. The company has secured an Rs.155 order from Tamil Nadu Electricity Board for the turnkey construction of an environment-friendly multi-circuit transmission line in Chennai. The second order, worth Rs.90 crore, involves the construction of a air insulated substation at Uttar Pradesh. The company has secured another order, worth Rs.70 crore, for building a gas-insulated switchyard at Tuticorin and lastly, a Rs.267 crore order for gas-insulated sub-stations in UAE. Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is a technology, engineering and construction group.

• Sadbhav Engg bags Rs.1225 cr NHAI road project: Sadbhav Engineering has bagged a road project worth Rs.1225 crore in Karnataka from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). A consortium led by the company has bagged a four-laning project in Karnataka.The concession period of the project is 20 years. Sadbhav Engineering holds 77 per cent stake in SEL-MCL Consortium, which has bagged the contract.

Economy News:-
• Cut in stimulus likely on healthy Jan exports: India’s exports are estimated to have grown by about 8 per cent to $14 billion in January, retaining the positive trend for the third month in a row after contraction for 13 months. In January, I expect exports to be $14 billion, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar told. The country’s exports, which came under severe pressure due to the global slowdown after October 2008, had aggregated a shade lower than $13 billion in January 2009. In the backdrop of exports moving in tandem with a smart economic recovery, Khullar asked exporters and the industry to expect partial withdrawal of fiscal stimulus. After a 13-month contraction with demand slowdown in the western markets, India’s exports started recovering from November. However, because of a sharp decline till October, the April-December shipments showed contraction of about 20 per cent. The official data for January is yet to be released.

• Domestic car sales jump 32%, bikes up 44% in Jan: Domestic passenger car sales have increased 32.28 per cent at 1,45,905 units in January from 1,10,300 units in the same month last year. According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) today, motorcycle sales in the country during the month was also up 43.69 per cent at 6,50,633 units, compared with 4,52,809 units in the corresponding month last year. Total twowheeler sales in January grew by 43.43 per cent to 8,34,383 units from 5,81,729 units in January 2009. Sale of commercial vehicles rose over two-fold during last month to 53,447 units from 23,154 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said. Total sale of vehicles across all categories increased 44.94 per cent to 11,14,157 units in January, against 7,68,698 units in the same month last year, it added.

• Centre may import 1mt sugar for subsidised sales: The government plans to import one million tonne of ready-toeat white sugar through state-owned trading companies for selling to local consumers at subsidised prices, amid growing concerns that Indias sugar production may not fully recover even in the next season beginning October. It may also hedge its purchases on the London-based LIFFE commodity exchange to reduce risks in a highly volatile international market. Sugar prices in the world market climbed to a 29-year high last week as the world expects India to remain dependent on imports to meet local demand. Local retail prices have more than doubled in the last one year to about Rs 40 per kg, adding to food inflation and spiralling prices of processed food and soft drinks. Food inflation is running at near 18% levels as per the wholesale price data released by the government. As India is currently at the peak of the 2009-10 sugar producing season, this import is expected to be timed only after April, when the cane harvest is over. The government may use the same mechanism that was adopted to import wheat couple of seasons ago. At that time, Food Corporation of India used public sector trading companies to import wheat. A company with experience in international exchanges was used to hedge this physical position on an overseas futures exchange to reduce risk from price volatility. State-run agencies, such as STC, MMTC and PEC, may be asked to import refined sugar and sell it to traders and bulk users at the ports. This will help it save transportation cost and cool down wholesale prices immediately. Bulk users account for more than half of Indias sugar consumption. There is a growing realisation within the government that direct market intervention has become critical and unavoidable as cane planting in the forthcoming 2010 season too is likely to remain below normal. India is expected to produce around 15 million tonne of sugar in 2009-10 , while the demand would be around 23 million tonne. This means India will have to depend on imports to meet the shortfall. The government had asked PSU trading companies to import refined sugar early last year. But the plan was infructous because international prices were much higher than local prices and any import would have been at a loss. Now the government may consider offering a subsidy to these PSUs so that their balance sheets do not take a hit. Instead of simply supplying sugar through ration shops, it is far more worthwhile for the government to subsidise a direct intervention because that way the entire market gets price cues.

• India’s software exports face protectionism: India’s flagship software and services exports industry is facing rising protectionist sentiment in key markets. The industry is alive and kicking after the global crisis said Pramod Bhasin, chairman of the the National Association of Software and Services Companies. Nasscom last week forecast India’s software and services exports will post double-digit export revenue growth of 13 to 15 percent to hit up to $57 billion in the year to March 2011. The extent of the downturn in the United States — which is the main market for India’s software giants — is still unclear, Bhasin said at the start of a three-day summit hosted by the outsourcing body in financial capital Mumbai. But with unemployment in the United States running at just below 10 percent, there are calls for protectionist action to protect jobs, he added.

International News :-
• UAE growth to stay low in 2010: The UAE’’s growth rate will remain “low” in 2010, but will still be better than that in 2009, Central Bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi has said. In the first high-level official response to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) revision of the country’s economic forecast last month, Al Suwaidi said, “We do not contradict their prediction. But the IMF changes their forecasts from time to time”. Al Suwaidi reiterated that banks are not in need of more liquidity in order to spur lending activity, but said the UAE still faces “lingering effects” of the global financial crisis. The IMF report lowered its 2010 GDP growth forecast for the UAE from 2.4 per cent to between 0 and 1 per cent, citing continued instability in the Dubai real estate sector. The fund said its calculations show the UAE economy contracted by 0.7 per cent in 2009 compared to an earlier projection of -0.2 per cent. The IMF criticised the low level of transparency in government decision-making, but credited the steps taken by the Central Bank which pumped Dh70 billion into the banking sector, guaranteed deposits and lowered interest rates, helping the country avoid a bigger slump.

• G-7 renews calls for yuan appreciation: Finance ministers from the G-7 group of the world’s richest developed nations met in Canada over the weekend to discuss, amongst other things, the continuation of economic stimulus measures and tougher regulation of global banks. But exchange rate flexibility was also on the agenda. A report to the finance officials recommends major economies with inflexible currencies consider strengthening them if the global economy is to be weaned off its dependence on spending by US consumers and the high level of savings in many Asian countries. No prizes for guessing the target of that recommendation—China and its yuan. Global activity in the years leading up to the global financial crisis was sustained to a large degree by the US consumer, buoyed by easy availability of credit, low cost of financing and appreciating house prices, leading to exuberant consumption. Coupled with a high saving rate in Asian economies, this led to a circularity regarding global trade and capital flows. US consumer spending on Chinese imports led to large trade surpluses in China; the Chinese would look for somewhere to save this money, investing in US dollar-denominated assets; this essentially financed the US deficit, allowing US consumers, businesses, governments the opportunity to spend more, import more Chinese goods, generate more debt, and perpetuate the cycle. Ordinarily, currency movements would balance this. Currencies in demand (such as the yuan) would appreciate, while currencies in deficit (such as the US dollar) would depreciate. Adjustments to levels of export competitiveness (and import-competing business competitiveness) would eventually restore balance to the system. However, China maintaining its fixed exchange rate has driven a large accumulation of foreign reserves, while preventing the global system from balancing. The global downturn has shown that at least one side of this circular argument is unsustainable—debt-fuelled U.S. spending and perpetual deficits do not constitute a steady state. A mortally wounded financial system and high unemployment indicates that when the system ultimately breaks down it has dire economic and social consequences. The sharp downturn in most Asian economies witnessed as global consumption declined and exports capitulated suggests there are obvious problems with the other side of the argument as well. Given perpetual support from western consumer demand is no longer “a given”, Chinese policymakers will want to move away from the country’s dependency on US consumers. Ultimately China needs to move towards a more domestically-generated growth model, as do other Asian nations. But shifts like this take years. It requires the construction of strong social safety nets, the development of sufficient health care systems, the generation of education opportunities and so forth, to address the cultural characteristics that lead to higher than  necessary savings rates. But in the first instance, part of the global rebalancing solution will rely on allowing the yuan to appreciate.

• China buys into US Inc: Flush with cash despite the global economic downturn, Chinas sovereign wealth fund quietly bought more than $9 billion worth of shares last year in some of the biggest American corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup. Although most of the stakes were small, the China Investment Corp, the governments $300 billion investment fund, now owns stock in some of the best-known American brands, including Apple, Coca-Cola , Johnson & Johnson, Motorola and Visa. The detailed list, which contained holdings totaling $9.6 billion as of December 31, was disclosed on Friday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); it lists stakes only in companies traded in the US. The filing offers a glimpse of how China is trying to diversify its more than $2 trillion in foreign currency holdings with stock, rather than investing almost entirely in US Treasury bonds and other debt securities issued by governments and by governmentsponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China and other officials have repeatedly expressed worry about how the countrys holdings of Treasury securities could be hurt by inflation or by mounting US debt. By buying the securities of international companies, China is trying to spread its fast-growing wealth more widely. It is also seeking to acquire strategic stakes in companies that could feed its hungry economy with a range of commodities. The China Investment Corp, already one of the worlds largest sovereign funds, was formed in 2007 with about $200 billion. It now has assets of nearly $300 billion and, according to state-run news media, is expecting another large injection of funds. The sovereign wealth fund got off to a rocky start in 2007 and early 2008 by acquiring a $3-billion non-voting stake in the American private equity firm Blackstone and paying $5 billion more for a 9.9% stake in Morgan Stanley. Shares of both companies plummeted in 2008 during the financial crisis , leading to a storm of criticism directed at the wealth fund. Exactly when the investment corporation bought the shares of various companies was not disclosed in the filing . Its acquisition of non-voting units of Blackstone and its early stake of preferred shares in Morgan Stanley are not listed in the filing, apparently because they are not traded equities.

GMR Infrastructure plans to raise over Rs15bn via private equity route. (ET)

Mahindra & Mahindra and the UK’s BAE Systems to inject US$21.25mn over a three-year period into their joint venture company, Defence Land Systems India. (BS)

Pantaloon Retail plans to spin off at least five of its brands and merge them with Capital Foods. (ET)

Nagarjuna Construction secured five orders aggregating Rs5.8bn. (BL)

Jet Airways plans to raise US$200mn in the coming 3-4 weeks via QIP route. (FE)

Areva T&D India bagged two projects worth Rs2.8bn from Power Grid Corporation of India for installation of sub-stations in Punjab and Haryana. (BL)

Cipla maintained its top position in the domestic market for the 2009, with a market share of 5.38%.(BS)

JSW Steel group has brought forward the date for commencement of work on its steel project at Salboni in West Bengal by about a year. (BS)

Global private investment firm TPG has submitted a proposal to the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell to buy stake in the Vishal Retail. (BS)

Turkish Airlines to lease three Boeing 777 from Jet Airways. (BS)

PTC India Financial Services Ltd, an arm of power trading major PTC India, has raised Rs1bn by issuance of secured non-convertible debentures. (BL)

Wadia family of Bombay Dyeing is considering raising its stake through a preferential issue of warrants. (ET)

Lupin has received final approval from the US drug regulator for marketing Amlodipine-Benazepril capsules, used for treating high blood pressure, in America. (ET)

Inox Leisure has acquired a 43.28% stake in Fame India for an all-cash consideration of Rs664mn. (ET)

L&T Finance plans to raise upto Rs5bn through non-convertible debenture. (ET)

Centre mulls domestic sugar ban for bulk users. (BS)

India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) has kicked off work on a US$1bn medium term note program to raise resources for funding power, road, port and airport projects. (BS)

Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) pegs 2009-10 growth at 7.2% on industrial progress. (BL)

With soaring asset prices, RBI has ruled out one more round of restructuring of real estate loans which may increase non-performing assets of banks. (ET)

The commerce department clarified that SEZs would continue to enjoy tax benefits in their current form even after the proposed Direct Tax Code is implemented. (ET)

The financial ministry officials noted that it has no plan to raise the limit on foreign institutional investment in debt. (FE)

Larsen & Toubro is gearing up to enter the general insurance business with no plans of a foray into the life insurance space. (BL)

Reliance Industries gives a US$2bn acquisition proposal to Canadian oil-sand major Value Creation Inc. (BS)

After an uncertain three days of the NTPC’s FPO, the issue was subscribed 1.2x on its last day, according to NSE data. (BL)

Tata Steel, Nippon Steel joint venture plans to invest US$400m to set up an automobile venture in India. (BS)

Mahindra Satyam wins two multi-million dollar contracts in South America to deploy enterprise business systems technology. (DNA)

Indiabulls Group plans to develop a 2500 acre SEZ at Sinnar near Nashik in association with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. (BS)

Maruti looks to export Ritz to SE Asia, Middle East. (BS)

DLF looks to start construction work of Rs10bn Infopark project in the city by April 1 this year. (BS)

Tata Steel says steel sales from its Indian operations rose 9% in January to 0.6mn tons. (DNA)

US FDA has rapped Ranbaxy’s US-based subsidiary, Ohm Labs Inc, for manufacturing an old `unapproved drug’. (FE)

NTPC plans to start on 500MW project in Sri Lanka by February end. (BS)

Maruti to produce over 1mn cars in 2009-10, says Suzuki. (FE)

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court orders a halt on any activity at DLF’s River Valley project in south Goa on February 1. (ET)

HUL may hike prices by mid-year. (TOI)

Shree Renuka plans to put in final bid for Brazil’s Equipav SA Acucar E Alcool. (ET)

McNally Bharat bags Rs 57-cr orders from Hindalco. (BS)

Istithmar PJSC, Dubai sold entire 13.05% stake in SpiceJet. Reliance Mutual, Birla Mutual and DSP BlackRock — and a FII together bought the offloaded stake. (BS)

TPG looks to acquire a majority stake in Vishal Retail for Rs2.5bn. (BS)

Dishman Pharma receives USFDA nod for producing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) at its Naroda facility. (BS)

ICICI Prudential investment arm set to buy 40% in residential project of the Ansal API group in Ghaziabad. (BS)

BPCL plans to convert 60 ‘In&Out’ outlets into profit making ventures such as food courts and coffee shops by the next fiscal. (ET)

Inox Leisure purchased an additional 7.21% stake in Fame India through a block deal for Rs127.7mn. (ET)

Kingfisher Airlines hires Seabury Aviation & Aerospace, US to advise on its restructure plans. (BS)

Reliance Media objects to Inox’s Fame acquisition at Rs 44 a share. (ET)

Electrotherm India is looking at exporting its Yobykes to developed countries like the US and in Europe. (BS)

Graphite India has lined up investments of Rs4bn over the next one year for capacity expansions and setting up a thermal power plant in Durgapur, West Bengal. (DNA)

Eveready mulls Rs1.5bn acquisition of a FMCG firm. (FE)

BSNL says that it has rolled out 3G services in 318 cities with 0.9mn subscribers. (BL)

Foreign exchange reserves fell US$1.98bn to US$280.95bn during the week ended January 29. (BS)

PM signals further opening of retail trade to curb price rise. (BL)

Government plans to set up an exclusive Rs30bn pharma fund to promote innovation, R&D in drug discovery. (BL)

Cap on FDI needing cabinet nod raised. (TOI)

The long awaited reform of India’s indirect taxes system is set to get a major fillip, with a broad consensus forming within the finance ministry on a rate of 16% for the proposed GST for both Centre and states combined. (TOI)

The government has decided not to take any fresh initiatives to discuss mergers and acquisitions among public sector banks. (BS)