India Inc all set to lose Rs 163-crore

NEW DELHI: The Indian team’s loss to Sri Lanka at Trinidad Friday night, virtually throwing men-in-blue out of the reckoning for the second-stage in the ongoing ICC World Cup, has upset many a marketer’s neatly laid out business plans, big time. India’s dismal showing in the Caribbeans, a source of much heartburn and anxiety amongst advertisers has clearly turned into panic now. Marketing and media plans are being furiously reworked to salvage big spends around the World Cup, and long faces abound across some of corporate India’s marquee names - Pepsi, LG, Reebok, Visa, Nokia, Videocon, Hero Honda, Hutch, Samsung et al.
According to Mindshare, a media buying agency, India Inc’s losses would tot upto over Rs 163-crore. And this just on the Rs 350-400-crore advertising monies that they had committed with the official broadcaster, Sony Entertainment Television (SET). Mindshare’s estimates are based on the premise that viewership for the rest of the World Cup matches, sans India, will drop as much as 50%. “Advertisers are now talking about the loss in profits. We are looking to strike an amicable resolution with Sony on this issue,” says Manish Porwal, managing director, Starcom India (West & South), another big media buying firm.

Read more at Economic Times

UBI to open first overseas branch in Shanghai

Keeping an eye on the foreign markets, Union Bank of India is set to open its first overseas branch at Shanghai in China next month.

The bank is also contemplating to open another branch in Doha and two representative offices in Hong Kong and Dubai.

"We will open our first overseas branch in Shanghai next month," Union Bank of India, General Manager, V K Dhingra said.

The bank has been given licenses by RBI for opening offices in Hong Kong, Doha and Dubai, he said. "These will also be opened soon but the bank is just awaiting the approval from their respective governments."

Expansion on the domestic front is also in the offing with the bank planning to open 125 branches during the next fiscal. "We will open 125 branches in next financial year across the country with a view to strengthen our position here," he said.

Mittal violating pact with ONGC: official

Steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal's acquisition of 49% stake in Hindustan Petroleum's $3 billion Bhatinda refinery has violated his pact with Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to pursue hydrocarbon opportunities exclusively with the flagship Indian firm, an ONGC official has said.

Though Mittal inked a joint venture agreement in July 2005 with the state-run firm to form ONGC-Mittal Energy for acquisition of oil and gas fields, refinery business and LNG projects, the steel czar recently decided to go it alone in investing Rs 3,300 crore in the Bhatinda refinery.

Besides, Mittal has on his own bought 50% stake in a Kazakhstan oil firm from Russia's Lukoil for $980 million and acquired 3% stake in the $6 billion Chevron-operated Olokola LNG (OK-LNG) project in Nigeria.

Read more at Business Standard

Mahanagar Gas to invest Rs 1200cr in 5 years

Mahanagar Gas (MGL), a joint venture between GAIL India, British Gas of United Kingdom and the Maharashtra government, has rolled out piped natural Gas (PNG) in south Mumbai.

PNG pipelines will soon be reaching homes in Thane, Meera Road - Bhayandar and places Navi Mumbai where PNG is not already being supplied.

In three years, MGL expects to double its subscriber base from 2.88 lakhs to six lakhs in Mumbai and treble in five years, increasing supply of PNG from 1.4 million metric standard cubic metre per day (MMSCMD) of gas to 4.5 MMSCMD in five years. For this, MGL will have to partly depend on the increase of natural gas production, expected towards the middle of 2008, P K Gupta, managing director, MGL, said.

The investment in this project would be Rs 12,000 crore, which would be through internal accruals, he said.

Read more at Business Standard

Bajaj Auto may make cars, says Rahul Bajaj

Facing the heat over the prospect of Tatas' Rs 1 lakh car affecting the two-wheeler market, Bajaj Auto today said it may build cars to ward off the threat.

"The JD power study says that it (Tata's one lakh car) will affect the two-wheeler market. If that happens then we would also manufacture cars for the market," Rahul Bajaj, chairman, Bajaj Auto said.

International consultancy firm JD Power said early this week the "people's car" from Tatas that will come out on the roads in 2008 could create a major dent in top-end motorcycle sales with its lucrative price tag, provided the corporate house gets the product right in the first shot.

Bajaj's statement is the first confirmation that the country's top three-wheeler and second-largest motorcycle maker was interested in developing a low-cost car.

The company had earlier announced it was developing a four-wheeler goods carrier scheduled for launch in 2009.

Read more at Business Standard

Rating agencies gear up for IPO grading

Credit rating agencies are gearing up for increased activity following market regulator Sebi's decision to make grading of initial public offerings (IPOs) mandatory.

Crisil, the biggest of the four rating agencies in the country, plans to expand its team shortly. R Ravimohan, managing director, Crisil said around 20 companies were currently in talks with the company for IPO grading.

According to him, contrary to market perception, IPO gradings would not cost much to the issuers.

Ravimohan said Crisil would be charging 10 basis points of the amount to be raised with a ceiling of about Rs 10-15 lakh. Thus, even in the case of a mega-IPO, there would be a cap on fees, he noted.

Read more at Business Standard